Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The flight was boring enough. Keith had boarded the plane with one grocery bag of salty snacks for the ride, and the rest of his meager belongings were in his pockets. Screw Shiro. If his brother wanted to be an asshole and invite Keith to his birthday party with the phone-equivalent of a smirk, saying, “You can even bring a plus one if you want,” then Keith would suck up as much of the older boy’s hospitality as he could. And that meant no clothes, no toiletries, no nothing: just an attitude. Which was Keith’s specialty.

The cheesy 80’s rom-com had finished playing on the airplane’s TVs a half hour ago, and Keith was idly tapping his fingers along to the music in his headphones, staring aimlessly at the blanket of clouds outside the plane window, when the seatbelt light turned on above him. He sighed and buckled it. Maybe he wouldn’t have minded going to Shiro’s so much if he wasn’t currently living in the Bahamas. That was kind of a hike from Texas, and Keith hated flying commercially. He liked to be in charge of his own aircraft. But Shiro’s therapist had recommended the location (some kind of “wellness” extended vacation, according to Shiro), and now Keith was stuck in a plane with an itchy seatbelt on over the Gulf of Mexico, nearly to their location.

The plane shuddered. Keith slid to the side of his chair, bumping the window, and took an earbud out to see what was going on as another violent shake rocked the whole plane. This was not normal turbulence - there were cries across the cabin, and the sound of more buckles snapping into place filled the air.

“Everybody stay calm!” One flight attendant shouted from the front of the cabin, hurriedly strapping herself into a chair.

The plane dropped dramatically, and Keith’s stomach swooped before it stabilized again. The other passengers were steadily growing more panicked, and Keith’s fingernails clenched into his palms. This was exactly what he hated about commercial flight.

The loudspeaker pinged, and everybody shushed each other to hear the announcement, eager to hear words of encouragement from the captain, and hopefully an explanation.

“Ladies and gentlemen, this is your Captain speaking. Well...not really, your Captain’s dead, but I can fly a plane!... I think….anyway, please put on your seatbelt, the Bermuda Triangle does NOT kid around haha.”

A beat of silence passed as the bright voice faded from the crackling speakers. Then the screams began.

Keith leaped to his feet, ignoring the frantic flight attendant’s “Sir, you cannot be standing!” and rushed toward the cockpit. Behind him, he was dimly aware of the oxygen masks descending for each passenger as the plane continued to lose altitude. His vision narrowed to the captain’s cabin ahead of him as he shouldered panicked passengers to the side and rushed down the narrow aisles. He was the best pilot at the Garrison. If anyone could save this plane, it was him, not whatever idiot wanted to play pretend-hero and get them all killed.

He pushed past the door and into the cockpit. The first thing he saw was the blue sky sprawled before the wide windows. The second was the very blue, very real, fast-approaching ocean spanning miles beneath them. The last was the shocking blue eyes of the boy in the copilot’s seat, brown brows furrowed in intense concentration and nostrils flared with determination as his hands gripped the controls with white knuckles. A middle-aged man sat slumped in the pilot’s seat, grip slack and eyes half-lidded and vacant. The boy steering glanced at the newcomer in the cockpit and started, losing his concentration for half a second - just enough time for the plane to dip again and the screams from the main cabin to begin anew.

“Get out of here,” he growled through gritted teeth at Keith, sparing him only one glare before returning his focus to the controls in front of him. “We’re so close to the Bahamas. I am not dying here. Dios , I am not dying right now.”

Keith stared for a moment, processing his smooth voice - a voice that immediately grated on him, for a reason he couldn’t quite place. Then he moved into action, pulling the heavyset man out of the pilot’s seat. “I’m going to copilot with you, since I don’t trust a stranger with my life. I’m not dying today either,” he shot at the boy now sitting next to him.

He hardly spared Keith another glare. “I’m perfectly capable, thanks,” he shot back, eyes narrowed.

“Well, I’m the best pilot at the Garrison. I assume you’ve heard of it?”

The boy’s brows lifted for a moment, then furrowed again. “Fine,” he bit out. “Just don’t fuck it up. The main airport is right in the crook of that peninsula, on the biggest island. See it?” he questioned, sounding skeptical of Keith’s directional abilities.

Keith vaguely wondered if the boy had been here before, then decided that wasn’t really important at the moment. “Yeah, I see it.”

They steered together mostly in silence after that, sniping out instructions at each other, both dubious that the other knew what they were doing. The plane descended, little by little, and Keith allowed himself a tiny smile as they swung low and smooth over the island, approaching the airport. He didn’t sigh with relief, however, until the wheels of the plane hit the ground of the airstrip and they came to a screeching halt on the airstrip. They radioed the airport together as applause filled the cabin, relieved sobs and a rush of chatter from the passengers filling the air as they waited for their impromptu captains to come out.

Keith stepped out of the cockpit with the blue-eyed boy right behind him, ducking his head a little as people rushed forward to shake their hands, tearfully thanking them. The flight attendants lowered the staircase onto the runway, and stopped Keith and the other boy for a moment before allowing them to exit.

“The airport will want you to make a statement,” one of them said. “But we wanted to personally thank you both for what you did here today. You’re heroes.”

Keith just smiled tightly and nodded, shaking their hands again, and sneaked a glance at the other boy. He seemed to be glowing with pride, basking in the attention and praise. He looked giddy with adrenaline.

What troubled Keith the most, though, was that when the announcement had come on, he hadn’t been scared. He had just felt threatened by this other pilot. And when he was co-piloting the landing, it had felt like just another Garrison simulator - not something that held the lives of dozens in the balance. He had cared more about proving himself to the stranger next to him than saving those behind him.

As they exited the plane and talked to airport officials, answering questions and fielding disbelief that two eighteen-year-olds could emergency land a plane, all Keith could think about was the boy with the bright blue eyes and the determination to save lives. He had cared about the other people. And Keith found something about that very...attractive. There was a tug, a little thread he could feel between them. Keith didn’t believe in fate. Never had. But at the thought of never seeing that boy again, Keith ached just a little. At the not-knowing. At the loss of a connection that can only be forged in the face of imminent disaster. So that was why, when the time came for them to separate, he caught up with the boy who was now striding away from the airport security office with a quiet and exhausted smile.

“Hey!” Keith called, jogging a little to keep up with him. “What’s your name?”

The boy turned around, and pinned him with those eyes again. “Lance. Lance McClain.” He waited for Keith to catch up to him. “And what’s yours?”

“Keith Kogane-Shirogane,” he said. “What’s your destination after this?”

“Well,” Lance said. “I was supposed to take a connecting flight to Cuba to see mi familia , but I missed it. They didn’t know I was coming anyway, it was a surprise visit, and I have the rest of the two weeks to get there. So I was thinking I might just explore around here for a while. I haven’t been to the Bahamas in ages.”

Keith held his breath. Was he really about to do this? It was so unlike him, but something about this boy - Lance - made him want to ask. “What do you think about being a plus one to a birthday party?”

Chapter Text

The little house by the sea was run-down, weathered, and had clearly seen better days, but it had a certain charm to it. Immediately, Keith could see why Shiro and Adam had picked it. Right. Adam. Keith had nearly forgotten to tell his plus one (god, that sounded weird to say, Keith had never brought a plus one to anything ) that it wouldn’t just be them and his brother - Shiro’s fiance, Adam, and who-knew-how-many close friends would be there. Already, there were multiple rental cars parked outside the cottage, causing Keith to turn his attention away from the location and back toward the equally run-down airport cab they’d taken here.

Keith rifled through his pockets for change, then flushed. “Uh,” he said, looking sheepishly at the cab driver. “I only have enough to cover the fee, not a tip.”

The driver, a weathered old man with skin as dark as the bark of the palm trees they passed, frowned at him, then rolled his eyes. “Americans,” he muttered under his breath as he turned around.

Before Keith knew it, a lanky arm was shoving past him, a voice saying “here,” and the clink of coins sounded. He looked at Lance, who just cocked his head. “You wanna go?” And he nodded toward the house.

Mutely, Keith nodded in response, and once they exited the cab, the driver, looking considerably more satisfied with Lance’s tip, sped off down the road. “Thanks for that,” he managed. “You didn’t...I mean, I probably could’ve asked my brother…”

“It was no problem,” Lance shrugged it off. “You paid for the drive, anyway. The tip was the least I could do.” And he started up the path to the front door, leaving Keith to catch up behind him.

The door swung open easily - no lock, it seemed - and some of the faded, peeling blue paint flaked off around the doorframe when Keith pushed the door into the house and stepped in. It was quiet inside, with the ocean breeze rustling the gauzy white curtains through open windows, and the wooden floorboards creaked under their footsteps.

“You can probably leave your bag here for now, and I can ask my brother what to do with it later,” Keith said, eyeing Lance’s duffel. It was obviously packed for the vacation with his family in Cuba. He idly wondered what Lance might have brought besides clothes - like the hippo charm and silver ring in Keith’s pockets, what did Lance consider to be of personal significance?

The thump of Lance’s bag on the bench by the door shook Keith out of his thoughts. He could hair faint laughter and voices coming from the back, by the beach. “I assume your brother and his friends are out there?” Lance asked, pointing vaguely toward the sound. “They won’t think it’s like...weird…that I’m here, right? I don’t want to be somewhere I’m not wanted, I can always head back to the airport. I mean, we barely know each other.”

For some reason, his comment stung. Feeling irrationally angry that Lance had ever been made to feel unwanted at something like this and a little more reckless than usual, Keith spoke without thinking. “That’s stupid, of course you’re wanted here. My brother is boring. Wanna play a prank on him to spice things up a little?”

Lance raised a groomed brow, his blue eyes sparkling a little bit. “What kind of prank?”

“One where we pretend to be...I don’t know, like, together,” Keith said, and the words were out of his mouth before he could stop himself. “Shiro doesn’t know we met literally hours ago, and he’ll be shocked that I have a significant other. When he invited me to this, he teased me about not having a plus one, so.”

The light in Lance’s eyes changed a little, but Keith didn’t have a good enough read on him to tell what had shifted. “So this would be like, a spite prank?”

“Sure,” Keith said, then immediately regretted it for some reason. “No? I don’t know, I guess. I just think it could be fun. I mean,” he rushed to say, suddenly feeling very embarrassed, “unless if you’re not - comfortable - with that, or…” God, he hadn’t even considered. What if Lance was dating someone and felt even a game was disloyal? What if he was a homophobe? Suddenly, Keith was very aware of the fact that Lance was essentially a stranger.

“No,” Lance cut in, cracking a smile, “I think it would be fun too. Let’s do it.”

Keith immediately heaved a sigh of relief that he tried to hide.

“Plus,” Lance said, “Not that you really asked, but...I’m bi. So. That’s not a problem with me.”

Keith couldn’t stop the little smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. “Cool.”

“Cool,” Lance echoed, offering another smile and a cocky tilt of the head as he extended his hand toward Keith’s, entwining their fingers and palms together. “Should we really sell this, then?”

Keith just looked at their hands for a minute, a little dumbstruck. Maybe he hadn’t quite thought this through. Lance’s hand was warm, Keith’s palms were sweating...Whatever. It was fine. Pretend-boyfriends. He could do that for a dumb birthday party, right? Even if he didn’t really know Lance. He seemed like a good guy. And the look on Shiro’s face would be priceless.

So they headed out the back door, hand-in-hand, and the screen swung out to reveal a wide-open beach that stretched for as far as they could see in either direction, with other building dotting the shoreline. The waves crashed against each other in a lulling rhythm, the water as blue as - well. They were a beautiful blue.

Several lawn chairs were set up around an ash-filled fire pit a little down the beach, with a wide umbrella providing shade above them. All the chairs, except one, were occupied. Still far enough away to remain unnoticed, Keith pointed out the respective people to Lance.

“The black-and-white haired guy with one arm is my brother, Shiro. His birthday is tomorrow, and he’s here on an extended wellness vacation recommended by his therapist, whatever that means. Adam, the brown-haired guy next to him, is his fiance. They’ve been together for a while now, they’re both higher-ups at the Galaxy Garrison.”

Lance nodded as they continued down the beach, still hand-in-hand, and took in the rest of the people. “So the rest are friends, then?”

“Yeah,” Keith answered. “Most of them are connected through the Garrison. The white-haired woman, that’s Allura. She and Shiro dated for a little while but they broke up on good terms and they’re like, best friends now. Matt, the guy next to her, was in their grade in piloting school. I’m assuming the others are their plus-ones - the kid with Matt, that’s Pidge, his younger sibling, and they’re non-binary. And the guy with Allura is in my class at the Garrison - Hunk, I think his name is? We don’t know each other super well. I don’t know who the rest of them are.”

Lance shot a quick look around the rest of the semi-circle. They were close enough now that they could hear the conversation, but the others hadn’t seemed to notice them yet. Maybe the waves muffled their voices. “Where are your parents? Wouldn’t they want to come to Shiro’s birthday party?”

A familiar weight settled in Keith’s stomach. “Not to give you, like, the whole sob story, but uh…” he kept his voice light. “Shiro and I are step-brothers, right? His mom died before I was born. My mom left our dad when I was little, and seven years ago, our dad died. So Shiro is sort of the only parent I have.”

“Oh,” Lance said quickly, flushing and refusing to meet Keith’s eyes. “I’m...really sorry. That was insensitive to ask.”

“No, it’s fine,” Keith said, and he meant it. “I’m used to it.”

And Keith tried to ignore the little furrow in Lance’s forehead as they finally drew close enough for Shiro to note their approach.

“Keith! You’re here! Last one to arrive, as usual,” Shiro cracked, his eyes crinkling in a genuine smile as he rose from his chair and gave Keith a one-armed hug. He actually seemed...really happy. Maybe this vacation was what he needed.

“Shiro,” Keith said loftily, trying to keep the smile from his face, “I’m gay. Being on time means nothing to me.”

Something like a snort came out of Lance, but it was quickly stifled by a suspicious-sounding cough.

Shiro rolled his eyes but smiled. “And who’s this?” he asked, turning his attention to Lance. His eyes snagged on their clasped hands, and his eyebrows rose.

“My plus one. My...boyfriend, actually. Lance.” Shiro threw Keith an appraising look.

“Nice to meet you at last, Shiro,” Lance said warmly and held out his free right hand to shake Shiro’s. “I’ve heard so much about you.”

Shiro just gave Keith another long look. “Nice to meet you too...Lance. Um, I guess we’ll be needing more chairs?”

“I’ve got it,” Adam said, rising smoothly from his chaise. “Hey Keith,” he said, offering a grin as he walked toward them. “And hello, Lance. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Likewise,” Lance said as he shook Adam’s hand. Adam headed off behind them, toward the house. They followed Shiro around to the empty space on the other side of the fire pit.

“Hey, Keith!” Allura said excitedly, getting up and hugging him. Keith hugged his brother’s best friend back, glad to see her. It had been a while since he had seen any of them, actually.

“And hello, Keith’s boyfriend!” Allura said, equally enthusiastic as she turned to Lance and hugged him too. Even Keith had been a little stiff at first, but Lance just eased into the hug, like he was used to them.

Allura returned to her chair, then offered a little smile. “Shall we all introduce ourselves for Lance’s benefit?”

So they went around the circle, Lance quickly following into an easy banter with the rest of the group. He seemed like he fit in here, whereas Keith...Keith always felt a little out of place.

Adam returned, dragging two lawn chairs behind him, and Keith and Lance settled into them, next to each other. Adam returned to Shiro’s side, and they shared a small kiss that Keith looked away from.

“So,” Shiro said, grinning at the two of them, “I’m glad Keith has finally found someone. How did you guys meet?”

It was a normal question. A perfectly normal expected question, but it caught Keith completely off guard. Idiot. What kind of prank was it if he didn’t even have a good backstory?

But to his surprise, Lance swooped in to save him just like he had with the tip. “It’s actually a bit of a funny story,” he said, laughing a little sheepishly. His acting skills were impressive. “About six months ago, I was hiking some trails around the Garrison, and Keith here ran straight into me and knocked me down a bit of a slope. He was too absorbed in his cryptid-hunting equipment, apparently, and wasn’t expecting to see someone else on the trail that late. He felt so bad he helped me back up to the trail, we got to talking, and well, the rest is history.”

“You went cryptid hunting without me?” Pidge demanded from across the circle. “Dude!”

“Haha, yeah, sorry Pidge,” Keith said, forcing himself to laugh. He met Lance’s eyes, and squinted at him, as if to say, I’m coming up with an embarrassing story for you later.

Lance’s eyes glinted back as if to say, Try me.

“It was a school night,” he continued, facing Pidge again. “I couldn’t very well risk the wrath of Colleen Holt by asking if you could drive all the way down to the Garrison for some Tuesday-night cryptid hunting, could I?”

“Hmph,” Pidge responded, crossing their arms. Matt just grinned, shaking his head.

“So you know all about Keith’s cryptid obsession and didn’t run away? I’m impressed,” the sandy-haired man said teasingly to Lance.

Lance just gave a little laugh and said to Matt, “We’ve all got our quirks.”

Keith looked at Lance again, a question in his eyes. But how did you know about the cryptids? I didn’t mention...

Lance’s gaze dipped down to the keychain hanging out of Keith’s pocket, which, sure enough, had Mothman and Bigfoot charms hanging from it. His gaze raised again to meet Keith’s eyes, and a mischievous light that seemed like more than just the sun radiated out of him. Lucky guess. You seem like the type.

Shiro rose from his chair, Adam with him, and all eyes around the circle shot to them. “I suppose now is a good time for the announcement,” he said, looking at Adam. They shared a fond smile before returning their attention to the rest of the group, and Keith knew something was up when he spotted the playful tilt to Shiro’s head.

“We may have lied to all of you about why you’re here,” Adam said, a grin creeping over his face.

“It is my birthday tomorrow,” Shiro said. “And that’s what most of you think you’re here for. But what would be the point of a destination birthday party? It doesn’t make any sense.”

“That’s what I said,” Keith muttered under his breath, but Shiro ignored him.

“In fact,” Shiro continued, “You are all here for, in my opinion, a much better reason. Our wedding."

Chapter Text

“What?” The word burst out of Keith, and similar noises of amused shock rang out from Matt, Pidge, Hunk, and the others. Allura, conspicuously, was silent, a wide grin splitting her face.

“Adam and I got a marriage certificate a month ago, before we came down here. But we wanted a small wedding, and what’s better than a beach wedding, we thought. So here we all are. We also didn’t want any gifts, so this seemed like a fun little surprise.” Shiro and Adam were both smiling, looking like self-satisfied cats.

“I witnessed!” said Allura, unable to keep it in any longer. “So I knew but I was sworn to secrecy. I’m so happy you all know now!”

Keith shot a look at Lance to see if he was just as shocked as Keith was, but he looked just as excited as Allura. “I love weddings!” he said enthusiastically. “All my older siblings are married, but none of them were fun enough to do a beach wedding, and I was practically made for the beach, so this is perfect.”

“We don’t even have wedding clothes though,” said Matt incredulously. “I didn’t pack anything formal.”

“We didn’t want a formal wedding.” Shiro shrugged. “The only thing we really wanted was for you all to be here. Adam’s parents are coming in tonight, and they know, and then everyone will be here.”

“At least tell me you got food, and a cake,” Hunk cut in. “Any good wedding has to have good food.”

“Well,” Shiro said, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

“That’s decided then. I’m cooking!” Hunk said excitedly. “Prepare yourselves for the best wedding feast ever. Man, I gotta start prepping now if I wanna have a good cake! Pidge, wanna help?”

Pidge shrugged. “Sure, I’ll help. I haven’t cooked in a while though, I can’t claim it won’t be a disaster.”

Hunk just waved them off, and with a “You’ll be a great sous chef!” they both headed up to the house, Shiro staring bemusedly after them.

After watching the two friends, their outrageous height difference comically stark against the bright sands, disappear through the house’s back door, Allura returned her attention to Keith and Lance.

“So,” she started, a bright smile curving her lips, “we know how you met, and what Keith does with all his time, since we’ve known him, like, forever. He’s practically my little brother, too,” she said, winking conspiratorially at Lance. Keith just shook his head, performing an exaggerated and clearly fake eye roll. “But where do you go to school, Lance? What do you like to do?”

Keith almost cracked his neck whipping his head toward Lance. He hadn’t even thought to ask where Lance went to school. If he didn’t go to the Garrison, how had he managed to land that plane so well? Because, and Keith would never say it out loud, Lance had seemed to know what he was doing.

A faint pink tinge colored Lance’s cheekbones, and his long fingers fidgeted on the arms of his beach chair. “I’m taking a gap year, actually. I wasn’t accepted where I wanted to go to school, so I’m hoping a year full of new experiences will look better on the app. I reapplied a few months ago, so fingers crossed I’m admitted for the fall semester at the Garrison.”

He offered a nervous smile to the group, his eyes avoiding Keith. Why hadn’t he said anything? And god, what kind of insensitive idiot was Keith for bragging about the Garrison during the plane landing, when he didn’t even know Lance’s situation -

“Really,” Lance said, breaking the awkward moment, “I know you’re all with the Garrison, it’s not a problem. I’ve had a whole year to get over it, and I got the opportunity to do a bunch of cool stuff this year. Like meeting Keith.” He threw a sly look in Keith’s direction, still avoiding his eyes.

“Well,” Matt said, his voice genuine, “I think it’s really cool that you’re taking a gap year. I wanted to do one so bad, but my parents wouldn't have it. Said if I took a year off I’d never want to go back to school. They might have been right.” He laughed, and the invisible string of tension around the circle snapped as the others chuckled in agreement. Keith forced himself to join in, still sneaking glances at Lance. If anyone wasn’t suited to a gap year, it was Matt Holt. But even though Lance’s face was smiling, it didn’t quite reach his eyes.

“Well, you and I should talk,” said Allura warmly, still directed at Lance. “My father owns a tech company that works closely with the Garrison - making equipment, computers, stuff like that. I’m sure he would be willing to put in a good word for you.”

Lance furrowed his brows, a spark of recognition in his eyes. “What company?”

Allura paused, a little taken aback. “Altea Tech. You’ve heard of it?”

Lance’s eyes widened. “Heard of it? Man, your dad owns Altea Tech ? That’s only, like, the world’s biggest aerospace technological innovator. Do you work there? That’s so cool!”

As Allura launched into an enthusiastic description of how she would eventually take over the company and she was a CFO, overseeing all the business communications, Keith’s attention remained on Lance. He was pretty sure the question about Altea Tech was partly genuine, but shadows still lingered in Lance’s eyes from the questioning about the Garrison. There was a deeper story there, Keith was sure of it. Feeling particularly emboldened by the Cuban boy’s subtle unhappiness, he reached out a hand toward Lance. He brushed a knuckle over the back of Lance’s hand, and the skin there was so soft he almost jerked away in surprise. But he held it there, rubbing tiny soothing circles, and Lance’s gaze finally shifted sideways to meet his.

The look was so vulnerable, so open, under the thin veneer of guardedness that it stole Keith’s breath away. He was so startled that his knuckle stopped its infinitesimal movements, and at the stop of motion Lance drew his hand away and turned his attention back to Allura, a smile plastered across his face. The loss of contact stirred something sharp in Keith’s chest that he wasn’t sure he was ready to examine closely. He was probably just tired. It had been a long day, after all, and the sun was starting to set. Had the plane landing really been that morning? It felt like lifetimes ago.

Shiro hummed appreciatively in the back of his throat as the sunset caused a momentary lull in the conversation. “I love the sunsets here.”

The others all murmured appreciatively in response, and this time Keith couldn’t help but agree with them. The horizon was awash in simmering red, setting the water farthest out on fire with light. As his eyes trailed upward, he could see the red bleeding into a softer orange, which then eventually faded into a blue that deepened into cobalt and midnight hues, stars starting to wink in behind their house.

Keith was the only one looking at the darker part of the sky when a star shot across it, too fast to be an airplane. His breath huffed out of him, and he couldn’t help but feel that maybe the wish was meant for him. But what to wish for? And then his eyes fell down to Lance, whose face was soft in the golden glow of the sunset, and a pang so swift and sharp struck his chest that he knew what his wish was.

Once the sun had begun its descent, it was swallowed swiftly by the choppy waves. It had gotten windier in the time they were out on the beach, so they all slowly got up from their beach chairs, joints aching, and dragged them across the beach toward a shed on the side of the house so they wouldn’t get moved around during the night. Once the chairs were safely locked up, they all moved inside the house, which was now full of the amazing smells of Hunk’s cooking.

The cottage felt even smaller once they were all inside, but it was a good sort of smallness. It made Keith feel closer, somehow, to his brother and their friends. And Lance, who should have felt foreign and strange in a homey scene so close to Keith’s heart, just seemed like a fixture of the house. Keith watched as he swiped a finger through a bowl of whatever Hunk was mixing, Hunk and Pidge laughing and teasing him.

Some of Shiro’s other friends bid their goodbyes and headed out the front door. “They’re staying on other parts of the island,” Shiro explained, suddenly next to Keith, having snuck up to his side. “Those are mostly their cars out front. Adam’s parents are staying elsewhere, too. They’ll be back tomorrow for the wedding.”

Keith just nodded vaguely, still watching the kitchen. Lance was now sitting on the counter, a smear of something across his face, and was laughing at something Pidge had said. If Keith didn’t know better, he would have pegged them as years-old best friends. He hadn’t really taken the time before now to notice, but Lance was attractive. The way his hair curled at the nape of his neck, the tiny blue earring he wore, the shifting of his broad shoulders underneath his cotton shirt -

Shiro followed his gaze, smiling slightly. Keith’s head snapped away from Lance and toward his brother, feeling heat rise up his neck. Shiro could read him better than anyone else, and Keith was honestly surprised he hadn’t seen right through the boyfriend lie. Maybe he was going to call him out on it now?

But Shiro said, “You really like him, don’t you.”

“Um…” Keith trailed off, trying to keep a grin from stealing over his features. Shiro was really buying it.

But he continued, “I can see it in the way you look at each other. It’s the same way Adam and I looked at each other, especially in the first several months of our relationship. I’m happy for you, Keith. I really am.”

And he clapped Keith on the shoulder before heading off to the living room, where Adam had sunk into a couch and was browsing Netflix.

Keith just stared after his brother, mouthing wordlessly. What…? Clearly, he and Lance were too good at acting. Or maybe Shiro was just blinded by his wedding being tomorrow. Whatever it was, Shiro’s comments had lopsided something in Keith’s chest that he’d thought was secure. A familiar off-kilter feeling that came with the punch of feelings he wasn’t expecting. But he couldn’t feel that about Lance. They had only just met today. Keith did not form crushes on people after hardly knowing, he wasn’t a casual person, he - He shook his head. He was getting stuck in a rambling headspace that could only spiral down, and Keith was going to firmly not acknowledge his not-crush. Because it wasn’t a crush. It couldn’t be.

Allura’s bell-like voice shook him out of his thoughts. The house was small enough that if she stood in the hallway next to Keith, she could talk to everyone in the kitchen and family room at the same time. “So, how are we doing the sleeping arrangements here? I know we’ll be sharing rooms, right?” And she rattled off the room situation: there were two bedrooms with twin beds, and two bedrooms with one bed big enough for two.

Keith wasn’t really listening as Hunk and Pidge, who seemed to know each other from the Garrison besides being plus ones to this destination-birthday-wedding thing, claimed one of the rooms with the twin beds. Adam and Shiro looked at each other, hands clasped, and agreed they would share a bed. Then the math added up in Keith’s head and…

“Matt, you good with sharing a room? We’ll each get our own beds,” Allura called to Matt, who was settled into a cushy armchair next to Adam and Shiro.

“Yeah!” he called back. “It’ll be like a sleepover.”

Horror dawning on him, Keith met Lance’s eyes for a brief, searing second across the hall as they both realized what had happened.

“I hope you and Lance are okay with sharing a bed for a couple nights,” Adam said, a touch of amusement coloring his poker face.

“Y-yeah,” Keith stuttered, a blush rising to his cheeks. “That’s...just fine.”

Adam must have misinterpreted his blush because he just grinned and stage-whispered to Shiro, “Young love.”

Keith snuck another glance at Lance to see his face was a similar shade of red. Luckily, the rest of the group didn’t tease them much after that, assuming they were just self-conscious about their relationship. Which was true, in a way. In the way that their relationship was non-existent . And they would be sharing a bed. And attending Keith’s brother’s wedding as dates.

And as the rest of the evening wore on, and they all crowded the small dining room table, and Hunk’s food proved to taste as good as it smelled, and Keith’s knees bumped Lance’s with every stretch across the table to reach another dish, he wondered what he had gotten himself into.

Chapter Text

“So…” Lance said awkwardly as he stood framed in the doorway of their bedroom. Their bedroom . It sounded odd, even after the hours Keith had had to think about it. This was a boy he barely knew, standing in their bedroom. Lance’s bag was hoisted over his shoulder, and he looked uncertain about where to set it.

Despite having four bedrooms, the house that Shiro and Adam were staying in was small, so each room felt down-sized. Miniature, almost. The small size hadn’t felt confining until now. The bed took up about half the room, the other half of floor space covered by a hand-woven rug. There was a small nightstand underneath a window that looked over the ocean, and a tiny closet was situated next to the door. They would be sharing a bathroom with Pidge and Hunk, while the four older adults shared another upstairs bathroom.

Lance cleared his throat. Sighing internally, preparing himself for a night of neck cricks and sore limbs, Keith spoke up.

“I can take the floor.”

They blinked at each other. They had spoken at the same time, and Keith couldn’t keep the slight blush from his cheeks as Lance’s brows furrowed a little more.

“I dragged you here, and the boyfriend thing was my idea. Let me take the floor,” Keith said to Lance, already resigned to the idea.

“No,” Lance said, and there was a familiar stubborn lilt to his voice. Keith had heard that tone before, thousands of feet in the air. “I’m the guest, this is your brother’s house. I’ll take it.”

“Seriously dude, I’ll take it, it’s not a big deal-”

“No, I’m fine with it, I have so many siblings I’m used to it-”

“You stubborn ass, just take it, I’m trying to be nice!”

“So am I!”

They stopped at an impasse, just glaring at each other from across the small room, both of them breathing a little harder. Lance’s mouth was set and his eyes were narrowed in a determination that sparked Keith’s blood. Keith knew there was the beginning of a scowl on his face from the way the corner of his mouth was tilting down, and then-

Lance bent over, laughing. “This is so stupid,” he managed to get out. His eyes scrunched up as he laughed, a bright pealing sound that filled the whole room. Maybe Keith was imagining it, but it seemed like the lamps of their bedroom glowed a little brighter, and he felt a smile begin to tug at his face, against his will. Lance’s laugh was infectious.

Lance straightened back up, laughter gone but a smile still playing on his lips. He hesitated before saying, “Why don’t we just both take the bed? Admit it, you don’t really want to sleep on the floor, no matter how nice this rug looks.” He toed the faded, threadbare carpet.

Keith sighed out loud this time, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Yeah, I...you’re right. I wasn’t really looking forward to a stiff neck.” Lance swung his bag onto the floor against the wall. Keith’s next words came out in a rush. “But I really don’t want to make you uncomfortable. Like, I wouldn’t be uncomfortable, I’m perfectly fine with sharing a bed, it doesn’t bother me, but if you would be bothered by it we can still work something out.”

Lance crossed the room in two long steps and stopped right in front of Keith, placing his hands on his cheeks to hold Keith’s gaze in place. His hands are so warm , Keith thought distractedly, when Lance said, “Look. I don’t have a problem with it. You don’t have a problem with it. We’re both secure in ourselves. No need to act like embarrassed twelve-year-olds on a school trip. We’re both adults. We can handle sharing a bed for a night.”

Keith nodded, and Lance removed his hands. Keith’s cheeks felt cool at their removal, despite the blush he was sure was staining his skin.

“Cool.”

“Cool.”

And with that, Lance rummaged around in his bag, pulling out what looked like pajamas. Keith was suddenly struck by the realization that he hadn’t brought any luggage (to spite Shiro, how stupid that seemed in hindsight) and cringed at the idea of sleeping in his jeans and shirt, which smelled like they had been in an airplane and airport for hours. Which they had.

Keith mumbled something about finding Shiro and set off through the house, leaving Lance in their room. He needed pajamas, and something to wear for the wedding, and God, who was even his size in this house? Keith was by no means out of shape, but Shiro was much more buff than he was...Maybe some of Adam’s clothes? Keith would have been embarrassed by asking if Adam hadn’t nearly raised him alongside Shiro.

When he went into their room and asked, Shiro just threw his head back and laughed. “I might say no just as payback for you trying to spite me with this,” he said, wiping his eyes, “but I’m not that cruel.”

Adam did indeed lend him some clothes he had brought with him, and Keith headed to go shower.

When he got to the bathroom, though, the door was partially open with steam curling from the opening. The door didn’t latch properly, it seemed. Like many of the other things about this house, it was probably just worn out. And beyond the malfunctioning door, Keith could hear Lance.

Singing.

It was something in Spanish, nothing Keith recognized, but Keith couldn’t help the shiver running down his spine at the sound of Lance’s voice, smooth and melodic. He could practically picture the boy’s eyes closed, maybe using a shampoo bottle as a microphone, his brown hair plastered to his forehead, water sliding down the column of this throat -

“Spying?” A sly voice asked behind him. Keith jumped.

“Jesus, Pidge!” He exclaimed, turning around with a hand on his chest, where he could feel his wildly beating heart. “Don’t sneak up on me like that, you gremlin.”

With the way the hall’s ceiling light shone one them, Pidge’s glasses glinted anime-style, in a way that prevented Keith from seeing their eyes. It made them look like even more of an owl than usual, and they were wearing a shit-eating smirk.

“What? Afraid to be caught pining after your booooyfriend?” They dragged out the vowels, tone lightly teasing.

“Wha - I - no -” Keith stammered, unable to form a decent excuse. Pidge, his best friend of years, knew exactly to get under his skin. They had long ago learned which buttons to push and had gotten especially good at it when it came to teaming up on Matt and Shiro.

“It’s okay, I won’t tell anyone,” Pidge said, cocking their head a little so he could see their eyes again. They winked, and their amber-brown eyes were mischievous as they backed into the room they were sharing with Hunk, making a V with their fingers and pointing between their eyes and Keith’s.

Once Pidge disappeared, Keith heaved a sigh. Their last comment had sounded suspiciously knowing. Did Pidge guess at the prank? Keith frowned at the thought. For some reason, he didn’t quite want to give up the charade yet.

Belatedly, he realized that Lance had ceased singing, and the shower was no longer running. He whipped around to face the bathroom door again, just in time for it to swing open, revealing a wet, bare-chested Lance with a towel slung low around his hips. Keith swallowed hard.

“Hey, Keith,” Lance said, sounding a little bemused to see him standing right outside the bathroom. “Were you planning on showering next?”

Keith just nodded slowly, keeping his eyes resolutely fixed to Lance’s face.

Lance frowned at the door handle. “I thought I closed this, but I guess it doesn’t really matter.”

“Faulty latch,” Keith said lamely, his voice a little higher-pitched than usual. He could feel his palms sweating, and he suddenly wished he had kept his gloves on.

Lance just hummed in agreement. “You’re probably right. Anyway, I left my PJ’s in the room, so I’m just gonna go grab those and then I’ll be done in here,” he offered, flashing Keith a smile.

Keith cleared his voice. “Sounds good.”

He managed to keep from wincing at his voice until Lance had gone into the room.

What was probably seconds but felt like hours later, Lance returned wearing fuzzy pajama bottoms and a faded t-shirt with a lion on it, hung his towel on a rack in the bathroom, and then stepped out, giving it a wide sweeping gesture.

“All yours.” And he disappeared back into their bedroom after offering Keith another smile. As he walked past, Keith could smell the shampoo he used. He smelled like coconut and sea salt and something he couldn’t quite put his finger on. Keith could barely stop himself from breathing deeply as Lance passed, it smelled that good.

The bathroom smelled even more like Lance, steam clouding the mirror and the floor still wet. Keith quickly got into the shower, feeling the day seep away from him as warm water soaked into his muscles, and immediately felt a little calmer. So what if Lance smelled good, and he had stepped out so confidently in his towel, and Pidge might have guessed the game they were playing? So what if he felt a little flutter whenever Lance flashed that megawatt smile at him? He was an attractive guy, Keith was gay, he was allowed to appreciate these things.

But each time Keith said it to himself, almost banging his head on the tiled wall of the shower, it felt a little more like a lie.

He might have spent a longer time in the shower than he needed to, putting off getting into the same bed as Lance. He took his time toweling off, running a comb through his damp hair, and donning the pajamas Adam had given him. The pants were a little too long since Adam was taller than he was, but otherwise, they fit fine. Keith brushed his teeth, too (Shiro had brought extra toothbrushes, of course, like the dad he was) and took an extra long time methodically cleaning each tooth. But before long, he couldn’t procrastinate any longer.

It had cooled down quite a bit after the sun went down, and Keith shivered a little in his short sleeves as his wet hair tickled the back of his neck. Lance had left the lamp on in their room, and with its light, Keith could see the other boy sprawled on the far end of the bed, the side closest to the wall. He was reading something, his lips pursed and brow furrowed - and were those glasses perched on his nose? He turned his head toward the sound of Keith’s feet hitting the floorboards. As he saw Keith, his lips parted, and his eyes widened imperceptibly. Self-consciously, Keith ran a hand over his hair.

Then Lance smiled, snapping close whatever he had been reading. “You look like a drowned cat with your mullet wet.”

A surprised laugh bubbled out of Keith, and his chest tightened a little in shock. It was so easy for Lance to make him laugh. “It’s not really a mullet,” Keith protested, trying to scowl but having a feeling he was more pouting.

Lance’s grin turned up a notch. “Oh, it definitely is.”

Keith edged closer to the bed. “I assume you want wall-side, then?” He asked.

Lance’s eyes crinkled at the corner, making his whole face a little softer. “Yeah. You can be my buffer from falling off.”

Keith chuckled again, even though he knew what Lance was doing. Joking, so it made things less awkward. Well, Keith would admit that it was working. He sat down on the edge of the bed, swinging his legs over the edge and pulling the covers up over them.

“What were you reading?” Keith asked as he laid his head back on the pillow, staring at the ceiling.

Lance waited a minute before answering. “Um. I’ve been keeping a journal of my gap year, y’know, just chronicling my experiences and stuff. My...therapist,” he paused on the word, sounding a little defensive, “said it might help with my anxiety, to have a written record of everything, and to have a way to express myself. So.”

The pause stretched, and Keith realized that Lance was waiting for him to say something. The bed hadn’t moved at all, and he could tell Lance was stiff and tense. Did he think Keith would judge him for going to therapy, or having anxiety? Keith’s jaw clenched at the thought, at the sudden surge of protectiveness he felt for Lance. Where had that come from?

“Keeping a journal might have helped me after my dad died,” Keith said, trying to keep his voice even. “But the state-paid therapy only lasted a couple sessions, and the therapist was too busy to really care about another kid from a broken home with depression and abandonment issues. Shiro was the one who really ended up helping me, in the ways that matter. Maybe I should try your journal method.”

He paused, still staring at the ceiling, trying to keep his breathing even. He wasn’t really sure why he was telling Lance so much about himself. With everyone else, he was stoic. Closed-off. Kept to himself. It had taken Pidge months of pestering to get him to break down. But maybe that’s why he felt like he could tell things to Lance - he was practically a stranger, and he didn’t have any pre-conceptions of Keith to judge him on. It was liberating.

Lance’s breathing was equally even, and he seemed to take a long time searching for the right words to say. “What a shitty therapist,” he finally said.

Keith huffed out a breath. “Yeah.”

Lance sat up suddenly, the movement pulling the sheets a little off Keith, and took off his glasses. “Can you set these on the nightstand for me?”

“Yeah,” Keith said again, taking them from him. Their fingers brushed for a moment, and the tiny touch sent a rush of sparks up Keith’s hand. He hardly had time to set the glasses gently on the table next to him when something went whizzing by his head. “What - “

“Nice,” Lance said in a self-satisfied tone, and Keith realized that he had thrown his journal, flicking his wrist so that instead of hitting the wall across from them, the notebook curved to land directly on top of his duffel bag.

“That’s...actually kind of impressive,” Keith said, propping himself up on his elbows.

Lance just shrugged, the movement echoing throughout his whole body, which Keith tried hard not to notice. “I have pretty good aim.”

“We’ll have to test that,” Keith said, a smile curving on his face as he looked at Lance through half-lidded, tired eyes.

Lance just cocked an eyebrow up in question.

“Shiro mentioned something about a Nerf gun collection in the game closet of this house,” Keith said. Lance’s eyes lit up with a childlike glee at the implication. “Since this home is owned by Americans, and gets rented out to other travellers, they keep it stocked with entertainment, I guess.”

Something like competitiveness gleamed in Lance’s eyes and the tilt of his head. Keith only recognized it because he’d seen it in the mirror so many times. “You’re on,” Lance said.

Keith yawned. “I’m gonna turn out the light now, if s’okay,” he slurred, feeling sleep rushing up on him. The plane landing, meeting new people, Shiro’s announcement - it had been a draining day, and it was finally catching up with him.

Lance nodded in agreement, and Keith stretched out a hand. Darkness claimed the room, and Keith settled beneath the sheets, feeling Lance doing the same. He could hear the waves crashing outside of their cracked-open window, and the sound of Lance’s deepening breaths, and the slight rustle of the curtains. Even though he could feel sleep coming on fast, he felt hyper-aware of every sense. Warmth radiated off of Lance next to him, and he could smell that coconut-sea salt mysterious scent that seemed to cling to the guy.

“Good night,” Keith whispered, unsure if Lance would answer or if he was already asleep.

It took a minute before the response came. “Good night, Keith.”

Chapter Text

All of the sounds, scents, and feelings were still the same in their bedroom when Keith jolted awake in the middle of the night. He wasn’t sure what had woken him up - he was a light sleeper, after all, but there was usually some disturbance that caused him to wake.

He stayed still for a moment, just laying awake, almost annoyed at his sleep being interrupted, when he figured it out.

Lance’s breaths weren’t even like they had been when they fell asleep. He was breathing short and shallow and fast, shifting around in the sheets. Keith opened his eyes, turning to look at his eyes, and saw that Lance’s expression was pained, his eyebrows scrunched together and his mouth set in a frown. A small cry escaped his lips, and he thrashed a little more -

“Lance!” Keith said, whisper-shouting. “Lance, wake up! You’re having a nightmare!” He shook Lance’s shoulder, and Lance’s eyes flew open with a gasp, his chest heaving.

He looked around, wild and panicked, his eyes scanning the whole room as he gulped down breaths, saying, “What - Where am I -”

“Shh,” Keith said, keeping his hand on Lance’s shoulder as they both sat up a little. “You’re safe. It’s okay. You’re at the cottage, remember, for my brother’s wedding?”

Lance sucked in another breath of air before closing his eyes briefly, nodding. “Yeah. Okay. Okay. Keith.”

Keith made a low noise of affirmation in the back of his throat. “I’m here. You’re okay.”

Slowly, so slowly, Lance’s breathing slowed and his blinks became less rapid as Keith continued to rub soothing circles on his back with his palm. Finally, once he had calmed down, he said, “Thanks.”

“No problem,” Keith said, still a little gently. “Do you wanna talk about it?”

Lance seemed like he was poised to shake his head, then loosed a sigh and reconsidered. “Actually...yeah, if you’re okay with that.”

Keith just mmhmm’d, letting Lance think it through. Lance had scared him for a moment - Keith had irrationally thought he was having a medical emergency or something, maybe a seizure, and even though he was relieved it wasn’t that, he was still worried about the nightmare. Lance had mentioned anxiety, and Keith knew what it was like to wake up in the middle of the night with fear clenching your throat so hard you couldn’t breathe.

“I…” Lance started, as if he was unsure what to say. “I haven’t had a nightmare in a while. It took me by surprise.”

Keith didn’t say anything. Someone had told him once that if you wanted someone else to keep talking, you just had to stay silent.

When he spoke again, Lance’s voice was tentative. “I dreamed...about the plane yesterday.” Keith’s breath caught in his throat. “I had been sitting up near the front, and I heard a flight attendant say something about the pilot, and I volunteered in a hospital for a couple years, so I went up to the cockpit to see if I could help. And -” Lance’s voice was rising again, so Keith made wider circles on his back. “And the pilot was just sitting there. Dead. A heart attack so fast he probably didn’t even know what was really happening, and he was just slumped over the controls, and there was a whole plane full of people behind us, and…” Lance’s voice trailed off into a sob.

Keith was making murmuring noises in the back of his throat, like he was soothing a frightened colt, but it seemed to be helping a little, and he didn’t know what else to do. He had never been much good at comforting people. But he wanted to comfort Lance. He remembered the pilot of the plane, and how he had moved the man without a second thought so he could take the pilot’s seat. His mind had blocked it out until now, and even though it wasn’t the first dead body Keith had seen, of course it was upsetting. And Lance had been sitting next to it for minutes before Keith had gotten there. Keith couldn't bring himself to worry about his own stress when Lance was clearly suffering so much more.

“I took flight lessons from my brother,” Lance said in a small voice that nearly made Keith’s heart break. “He’s a pilot. Went through the Garrison. He’s the one who got me interested in flying, and...in my dream... he was the pilot,” Lance choked out. “He was the pilot, and he was dead, and I had to sit next to him in the cabin and somehow save a plane full of people from dying in the middle of the ocean, and we were so close to the island. And then, suddenly, I knew - I knew -” he choked off again.

“Take all the time you need,” Keith said quietly.

Lance took in a shuddering breath. “I dreamed my whole family was in the plane. And I had forgotten how to pilot, and my brother was dead, and he couldn’t help me, so then the whole plane would be dead too. And I would be responsible for everyone’s deaths. And I just.” He laid his face in his hands, his shoulders shaking with the force of his tears.

“Hey,” Keith said, still in the same quiet tone but more earnestly. “Hey. We did it, okay? We got out alive. Your family is safe. You were the one, really, who saved that whole plane full of people. You should be proud of yourself.” And even though the movement was foreign, even though he so rarely did it, even though it felt uncomfortable...Keith reached out his arms and hugged Lance. He held him tightly to his chest, and Lance slowly sank into the embrace. Keith’s chin barely brushed the top of Lance’s head with the way he was leaned over, and he could feel Lance’s tears slowly soaking into his shirt.

Keith didn’t know how long they sat there before Lance’s breaths evened out, and the tears slowed, and he seemed to calm down. Even then, he didn’t move to pull away.

Another few minutes slid past, and Keith finally felt Lance was calm enough to let go. He slowly extricated his arms from their position, and he laid down again, Lance following suit.

“Can you…” Lance’s voice was still small, and raw. It was so vulnerable it made Keith’s heart ache. “Can you hold me? Like you just did? I’m used to sleeping with family members, and they hug me in the night, and it just...keeps the nightmares away,” he finished. He sounded so tentative, as if he was sure that Keith would turn him down, even kindly.

Keith didn’t say anything. Just wrapped his arms around Lance, tucking him comfortably against his chest, and slotted them together. It didn’t matter that they hardly knew each other, or that they had just met a day ago, or that after the next couple days they might never see each other again. There was only the way Lance perfectly fit into Keith’s body, and the way their breaths and heartbeats synchronized, and the soft lull of waves in the distance soothing them both back to sleep. In the moment, that was what mattered. Everything else could wait.

Chapter Text

“Good morning, you cuddling fucks!” came a shout from the hallway, right outside their door, that made Keith’s eyes shoot open. Pidge was clearly awake and wanted the rest of them to be, too.

A distant “Language, Pidge!” echoed from down the hallway. Aaaand  there was Shiro.

Then the door to their bedroom banged open, Pidge asking loudly,  “Ya guys decent?” but not stopping before barging into the room. They surveyed  the bed, and Keith belatedly realized that he and Lance were still hugging each  other, their arms entwined, Lance starting to stir against his chest.

“Wha’s going on?” he asked sleepily, his voice partially lost in  Keith’s shirt. Keith flushed.

“Pidge, get out of here,” he said, staring at the short figure in  the doorway, who just grinned at them. “It’s too early for this.”

“It’s not early!” Pidge chirped, throwing their window open wider.  “It’s ten o’clock. Time to get up! I’m bored.”

Keith groaned. “Can’t you just, like, go hack the Bahamas government  or something? And leave us alone?”

Pidge stopped for a minute as if actually considering. “Nah. Not  worth it. Plus, it’s wedding day! Shiro said to get everyone up.”

“I can’t believe Shiro set you loose on us,” Keith muttered. “Did  you even sleep?”

“Nope,” Pidge responded, popping the ‘p’.

“Gremlin,” Keith muttered again, but it was half-hearted.

Pidge just winked, looking Keith and Lance over with an appraising eye. “You know it.” They turned to leave the room, then paused just outside the door frame. “If you guys aren’t up in five, I’m bringing the ocean to you.”

Lance sat up in bed, blinking blearily.  “Pidge? What are you doing here?”

Pidge just gave an exasperated sigh and went back into their room.

“They said Shiro wants us up,” Keith said, a note of apology in his voice. They had both slept fine after they fell asleep together, but waking up in the middle of the night for an extended period of time never made for a good night’s sleep.

Lance groaned, rubbing his face. “Okay.” His voice was a little rough around the edges, raspy with the morning disuse. Keith was suddenly reminded that he was in a bed – had cuddled with, in fact – an extremely attractive boy.

Keith nearly leaped out of bed, turning around so Lance wouldn’t see his red cheeks. “Pidge threatened to dump ocean water on us if we don’t get up soon, so I’m gonna go shower.”

“I’ll go after you,” Lance said. Keith turned to leave the room when Lance cleared his throat. “Hey, Keith?”

“Yeah?”

Lance looked away, his cheeks slightly red. “Thank you.”

Keith knew it was for last night, for the comfort and listening and solidarity. He could feel a burn growing on his face, but he managed to keep his throat from bobbing as he replied, “Any time.” And meant it.

He didn’t look back at Lance’s face for a response before slipping into the bathroom. He showered quickly, not wanting to hold Lance up, and dressed in some of the clothes Adam had given him. As he slipped out of the bathroom, he bumped into Hunk, who was on his way downstairs.

“Those are some pretty nasty looking clouds out there,” Hunk said, sounding a little worried. “Isn’t rain bad luck for weddings?”

“Yeah, I think so,” Keith mused, looking out the window. Hunk was right – in the distance, there were swollen, full-bellied dark clouds sluggishly moving across the sky. “I can ask Shiro if they’re still gonna hold the wedding outside if it rains.”

Hunk nodded. “Sounds good, buddy.” And he clapped Keith on the shoulder before heading downstairs. Keith just stared after him for a moment. They had definitely been in the same flight group this past year, but they had never really talked. Keith hadn’t known that Hunk was friends with Pidge and Allura. But then again, it’s not like Keith made it easy for people to get close to him. He kept to himself at the Garrison, more out of a desire to be left alone than an actual aversion to people. But Hunk seemed so friendly, so easy. He had joined their group like it was nothing, like he didn’t think twice about talking to people or holding small social interactions.

Like Lance.

Once Keith had the thought, he couldn’t shake it. He already felt like this group – Allura, Matt, Shiro, Adam, Pidge, and himself – were a little family. The only family he’d had for years, if he was honest. But even though Hunk and Lance were new additions, and he had literally only met Lance yesterday, he couldn’t dispel the feeling that they belonged in the group too. It was like that little thread of fate Keith had felt running after Lance in the airport yesterday was tying them all together. He already felt intrinsically linked to everyone here, and he felt a little sad at the thought of leaving them tomorrow. And to do what? Spend the summer lurking around the Garrison, working a shitty coffee shop job for some extra cash, just waiting for the school year to begin again? Before, it hadn’t seemed like as much of a letdown.

“Hey babe,” a voice came from behind him, startling him. Keith whirled around to see Lance, hair wet from the shower. He winked at Keith, and Keith couldn’t keep his jaw from dropping a little. Right. The prank. Nooo other reason why he’s calling you babe. Get over yourself, Keith. He managed to close his mouth again.

“Gross,” came a muffled voice from Pidge’s room. “Get a room. Oh, wait.”

Keith just grinned and shook his head. Pidge, a proud asexual, didn’t hesitate to denounce Adam and Shiro whenever they were being too mushy. That now seemed to include Keith and Lance’s game, as well. But Pidge’s comment about the room still tugged at his thoughts – he still had the subtle suspicion that Pidge knew more than they were letting on. They always did.

“I’m headed downstairs,” Keith said to Lance, pointing a thumb in that direction.

“I’ll come with,” Lance said easily. “I’m done with the shower.” His shoulder brushed Keith’s as he headed downstairs, Keith right behind him, trying to ignore the warm tingly feeling now in his shoulder blade.

Hunk was already in the kitchen again, and the smell of bacon and frying eggs filled the air. “Hey, guys!” He chirped when he spotted them at the bottom of the stairs. “You want breakfast?”

“Hunk,” Lance said earnestly, pushing into the kitchen and staring at the big guy, “You’re my new best friend.”

Hunk laughed. “I’m gonna pretend that’s because of my stunning good looks and charming personality, and not just the fact that I feed you.”

Shiro was seated at one end of the kitchen table, sipping from a steaming mug. Keith didn’t have to look to know it was black coffee. He was frowning at his open laptop, alternating between looking at it and the dark clouds outside the window.

“Do you think it’s gonna rain?” Keith asked him, moving into the kitchen.

Shiro took a sip of his coffee. “Storms move pretty fast in this area. So even though it was clear yesterday, and it looks to be clear tomorrow, radar shows storms and rain on and off all day today.” He frowned again.

Adam, who was seated next to him, just patted him on the back. “Of course the one day we have planned for our beach wedding, and it decides to rain,” he said good-naturedly.

Shiro just smiled and squeezed his hand. “Should we reschedule to tomorrow? I’m not much one for superstition, but it doesn’t seem like a beach wedding should take place in a thunderstorm. And as much as I like this house, I would like to have the wedding outside and not in here.”

Adam just leaned back in his chair. “Your call.”

Shiro looked at him. “It’s your wedding too, don’t you want to make the decision?”

“Nope,” Adam said, his smile widening.

Shiro pulled a face. “You know I hate making casual decisions.”

“That’s why I’m making you do it.”

Shiro just gave a long-suffering sigh. “Fine. We’re rescheduling to tomorrow when there should be better weather. Are you all okay with that?” He addressed the kitchen at large.

Pidge, who had just hopped the last two stairs and was now leaning against a counter, munching on a slice of bacon, nodded. The rest of them agreed. Another day wouldn’t change anything. Matt and Allura were still upstairs, likely getting ready, and Adam bounded up the stairs to tell them not to bother with whatever wedding preparations they were doing.

Lance just looked at Shiro, a small confused smile on his face. “What do you mean, you can’t make casual decisions? Aren’t you an officer at the Garrison, making leader-y decisions and stuff?”

Keith grinned, cutting in before Shiro could answer. “Shiro is a functional bi with disaster bi tendencies. That means he can make life-changing decisions, like whether or not to jump into a battle, pretty easily, but when it comes to picking a restaurant, he’s hopeless.”

Lance’s eyes crinkled. “I’m definitely a disaster bi. As my siblings have made sure to point out time and time again.”

“How many siblings do you have?” The question was out of Keith’s mouth before he stopped to think.

Pidge threw him a strange look. “Isn’t that like, a pretty basic thing you should know about your boyfriend?”

Shit . “I, uh, just meant…”

“It’s easy to forget,” Lance jumped in smoothly. “Since I have so many cousins that act like siblings, even I sometimes change the number just based on who hasn’t pissed me off lately.” Lance was so bright, so bubbly, Keith couldn’t imagine him angry at anyone. Although he had been kind of close in the captain’s cabin during the plane landing, he guessed. “I have three older siblings, but a bunch of cousins, nieces, and nephews. You name the family dynamic, and the McClain’s have it.”

Pidge hummed thoughtfully, still looking at Keith. Pidge was definitely onto something.

Adam returned downstairs with Matt and Allura then, thankfully saving Keith from any further questioning.

“I’ll make calls after breakfast to your parents, and our other friends,” Shiro said, looking at Adam, who nodded in agreement.

“Breakfast is served!” Hunk announced, and Keith’s slip-up was completely forgotten in the rush to grab plates and steal the food before anyone else could take it all.

“So,” Matt said, his mouth full of omelet, “if no wedding today, what are we gonna do inside all day?”

As if on cue, thunder rumbled across the horizon.

“I should probably close the windows,” Shiro said, and he moved efficiently around the kitchen before moving to the rest of the house, sealing each open window.

“I heard someone mention Nerf guns?” Lance asked.

“Yes!” Pidge and Hunk exclaimed at the same time, their eyes lighting up.

Allura gave them an evil grin, immediately seeing the all-out war that was implied in their enthusiasm. “Oh, you are all going down.”

“No way,” Lance said. “I bet I have the best aim here.”

“Wanna bet?” Matt said, his tone teasing.

Keith examined Lance. “You sure you wanna bet against all of us?”

“I can take you any day, Mullet,” Lance said confidently. Adam choked on his bacon laughing.

“Okay, then,” Pidge said, an excited gleam in their eyes. “Each person hands ten bucks over to the winner?”

Allura grinned. “Deal.”

The rest of them nodded, and Shiro returned to look warily around at all of their faces. “…What did I just miss?”

Adam summarized. “Nerf battle after breakfast. Ten bucks from each loser to the last person standing. You in, Takashi?”

Shiro sat back down, a competitive flair in his eyes. He and Keith had loved the friendly rivalry between them when they were young, and they had done things like this all the time. “Oh, you’re on.”

Chapter Text

Two hours later, and Keith found himself crouched inside the dark game closet, his ear pressed to the door. He kept his breathing as quiet as possible, his weapon clutched tightly in his hands, listening.

The house was a battlefield, and Keith was prepared to ambush.

His ears perked up as he heard footsteps creeping down the hallway, and Keith’s limbs tensed as he coiled to spring out of the closet. But before he could, the door was open and light was flooding in and a warm body was slamming into his before the door shut again, plunging them into darkness once again.

“What the -” Keith started to hiss, but a warm hand clamped over his lips, shushing him. He could see Lance’s wide eyes gleaming in the dark.

Keith jerked his head in silent demand.

Lance, his chest still heaving from the sudden movement, just quickly put a finger to his lips.

Sure enough, seconds later, they could hear more footsteps treading down the creaking hall. “Oh, Lance,” came a cheerful voice. “Being Keith’s boyfriend doesn’t save you from losing that bet.” It was Allura, her voice so close she must have been right outside the door. Keith slowed his breathing so much that Lance finally took his hand off his mouth. Allura was frighteningly competitive, as he had already known. Unfortunately, so was everyone else, except maybe Hunk and Adam. Lance and Keith especially, as they had discovered during the first hour. Lance sparked a heat in Keith’s blood that made him want to whip his motorcycle around tight corners, to dive into the raging ocean, to start a rivalry and stick to it just for the intensity of the feeling that came with it.

It was intoxicating.

And that boy was now pressed against Keith in a small, dark space, and this time Keith was very, very awake.

“I know you’re around here somewhere,” Allura called out conversationally as if Lance were standing right in front of her. Keith could almost see the playful smirk on her face.

Lance just kept the finger to his lips, urging Keith to remain quiet and not reveal their position. Before long, they could hear her footsteps continuing down the hallway, and they both breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

“That was close,” Lance said, mirth in his voice. He was close enough that when he spoke, Keith could feel his hot breath brushing his face.

“Yeah,” Keith forced out. His eyes roamed Lance’s face, shadowed in the darkness of the closet. The small bit of light from the hall highlighted the curve of his lips, and Keith couldn’t help the pull of his gaze toward them. They looked soft, supple, and for a moment Keith wondered what it would be like to kiss them - No. He couldn’t quite stop himself from physically shaking his head.

“You good?” Lance questioned, his eyes fixed on Keith. His mouth was slightly agape, a strange expression on his face.

Keith flushed a scarlet that he hoped Lance couldn’t see as he said, throat dry, “Yeah, I’m good.” There was an awkward pause, and then Keith continued. “We’re not gonna get anywhere against the others if we don’t form alliances. You in?”

Lance’s eyes gleamed as he made a show of considering, taking his time looking Keith up and down as if he could see all of him, even in the dark. There was a different sort of light in his eyes when he finally looked back at Keith’s face and said, his voice low, “Good idea.”

Neither of them made to move, instead continuing to stare at each other. It felt like the outside world didn’t exist beyond the tight closet. Their shared body heat and breath mingling and eyes staring and bodies so very close….Lance’s hair stirred with each of Keith’s breaths, and he could feel himself leaning in, his gaze fixed on Lance’s lips, moving forward to meet -

And Keith pulled away, abruptly pushing out of the door. “We should go,” he said, hoping his voice didn’t sound as strangled as it felt. “Gotta take out the others, win this war, you know.”

He didn’t want to look back at Lance, didn’t want to see whatever expression was on his face - had he been imagining it, or had Lance been leaning in too? - but he couldn’t help himself. Wherever they were, whatever they were doing, it always seemed like Keith was the point of a compass, and Lance was the north pole, constantly tugging on his attention.

The other boy’s face was decidedly neutral, as if he had composed it that way, but Keith could have sworn he saw something like hurt traced there. He ignored it, his stomach twisting, chalking it up to his overactive imagination.

He couldn’t get attached.

Couldn’t, wouldn’t, get a crush.

Because if he did...Keith’s breath caught in his throat as he crept down the hall, gun held aloft, Lance at his back. If he did, then he would be done for. He might never see Lance again, and he would be a mess of knotted feelings for far too long after their parting. Keith wasn’t able to just let go of a crush. Instead, they stagnated inside of him, swirling around his head in a toxic mess that never amounted to anything because he was never brave enough to act on any of them. He was eighteen years old and had never been kissed, never held hands, never been in a relationship. Every time he got to the point where he might, he just...shoved away. Afraid to get too close.

Like he just had with Lance.

And Keith tried to put it out of his mind for the rest of the Nerf battle, not wanting his twisting thoughts to distract him from winning. In that way, at least, his competitive recklessness had a streak of self-preservation. (Shiro always had another name for it: Ignoring his problems.)

He and Lance snuck into the family room, where Pidge and Hunk had built a pillow fort, and the final, all-out battle was waged there, with the rest of the residents of the house joining once they heard the playful taunts and screeches when people were hit.

Lance lived up to his earlier boasts, and Keith was hit multiple times by Pidge when he got too distracted watching. Lance didn’t fire as often as the rest of them did, but he never missed. He always took careful aim, firing out round after round with each hitting their exact intended mark, and Keith couldn’t help but be impressed. Sharpshooter, indeed.

Keith’s own aim was pretty good from years of practice with Shiro, but he made up for it with daring, diving behind obstacles and risking himself to get closer to his targets. He could feel the wild grin he saw on Lance’s face mirrored on his own, and when their eyes connected in a brief lull of the battle, he could swear something sparked there.

It dragged on for another half hour before Hunk collapsed on the couch, saying, “Man, I’ll just...watch from here...so much easier.”

Shiro and Adam followed not much later, finally tired enough that they needed a break (Pidge had called them old, and Shiro had merely gestured to his white hair before giving Pidge the finger) and Matt faked an injury after that, saying he “pulled his hand”.

So it was just Keith, Lance, Pidge, and Allura left standing. They all regarded each other warily, each obviously tired but willing to continue if that’s what it meant to win. Those on the couch were swapping smiles and those standing were grinning at each other, and Keith felt it again - the undercurrent and pulse of an emotion he couldn’t quite place his finger on. The one that felt so much like the opposite of loneliness.

Pidge sighed dramatically. “So. It seems we are at an impasse.”

Keith narrowed his eyes. “What, afraid to keep fighting, Pidgey?”

Allura stifled a laugh. “Careful, Keith, or they’ll shoot you in the face with no remorse.” Pidge raised the gun threateningly as if to prove her point.

Lance moved quickly in front of Keith, draping himself backward across Keith. “Never!” he declared in a dramatically high voice. “I would die before see my beloved wounded!”

Keith felt a laugh bubbling out of him, the earlier incident in the closet nearly forgotten as he placed a hand on Lance’s shoulder. “Love ya, babe. Thanks for the sacrifice.”

Lance threw out an offhand comment. “Guess we do make a good team.” And he turned his head around and winked at Keith.

Keith’s heart stuttered.

“I really don’t think any of you are going to give up,” Adam said from the couch, where he was idly stroking his fingers through Shiro’s hair. “You’re all too stubborn.”

Keith could tell they all wanted to disagree, but then they shrugged. “Yeah, you’re right,” he conceded.

“Should we let the small one win?” Keith said, half to Allura, but also half to Lance, leaning close to him to say it in his ear.

“Hmm,” Lance said, and Keith was sure he was imagining the catch in his voice. “I want to say no, but I must admit they’re too adorable to shoot in the way we would need to so we could win this thing.” And they both dropped their weapons in sync, staring down Allura.

Keith couldn’t see Lance’s face, but he knew there was a smirk there as he looked at Pidge, ready to squawk in outrage at being called adorable. One day and Lance already knew exactly how to get under their skin. Keith was proud, to be honest.

Allura huffed, rolling her eyes, but she too conceded with a smile, putting her weapon down. “You win, Pidgey Pie,” she said, winking at Keith and Lance as she ruffled Pidge’s hair.

Everyone laughed at the murderous but simultaneously smugly self-satisfied look on Pidge’s face. They must have decided to let the affectionate nicknames and kidding go, though, because they raised their weapon victoriously in the air. “You guys all owe me ten bucks!” They crowed. “And I’m going to let you all pretend it was a pity surrender, and not because you’re all old and unable to keep up.”

Then, barely having to look at each other to confirm, every other person in the room rushed at Pidge, tackling them onto the carpet as they all dissolved in laughter.

It took a minute for them to all calm down, heaving for breath, grins still splitting their faces as they lay in a pile on the living room carpet.

And Keith suddenly knew exactly what that feeling was. It was the solidity of belonging. Finally, here, he didn’t feel like he was on a ship, the floorboards constantly pitching beneath his feet. He didn’t feel off balance, or separate, or like he had to pretend to be someone else.

These people - including Lance and Hunk, Keith noted with a warm satisfaction - didn’t just feel like family. They already were.

Chapter Text

Rain lashed the windows, the sound thundering on the roof of the little house as they all gathered on the couches around the living room. The lamps were glowing warmly against the gloom of the sky outside, and the Keith could feel the heat radiating off of Lance underneath their shared blanket. The guy never seemed like he was cold.

They had just finished a game of Monopoly, which had been fine until Hunk had placed a hotel on Boardwalk. Then everything had gone downhill. It had gotten down to Allura and Hunk by the end, and Hunk, predictably, won, smiling smugly at Pidge, who just stuck their tongue out mutinously. They had gotten very close to flipping the board, but their friendships were still all intact by the time the game was over and most everyone was bankrupt.

“Sweet, sweet capitalism,” Hunk had sighed as he counted his money at the end of the game.

Now, though, they had decided to do something ‘less stressful and less aggravating’, in Shiro’s words, but in Keith’s opinion, it was almost the same. Truth or Dare.

Not that Keith was going to complain - Lance had seemed so excited about the idea, and of course Keith loved friendly competition, but he knew he would choose Dare every time. Truth could get too dangerous.

“Who wants to go first?” Shiro asked. He was on the loveseat with Adam, both curled together under a blanket. Keith couldn’t see, but he was sure they were holding hands.

Allura’s hand immediately shot up from the armchair she was sitting on. “Ooh! Me!”

“Okay, then,” Shiro chuckled. Keith could feel a grin creeping up his face. Allura was inordinately fond of this game, and she tended to come up with really good questions and dares.

“I pick...Matt,” Allura said, grinning a little.

“Oh boy,” Matt said, sarcastically crossing himself. “Hit me.”

“Truth or dare?” she asked. Keith could feel every movement Lance made next to him from where they were pressed together on the couch, their arms and sides and legs touching. Hunk and Pidge were on the other side of Lance, and the couch was designed for three.

Matt made a show of considering. “Hmmm. I think I’m gonna have to go with….Dare,” he said, finishing with a smile.

Allura smiled wider. “Order us pizza.”

Matt gaped for a moment. “That’s a great idea,” Hunk exclaimed.

“Yeah, why have I never thought of that one before? I’ve been blind to the possibilities,” Lance spoke up from his spot next to Keith. If he concentrated, Keith could almost feel the vibrations from his chest moving between the points where they were connected.

Allura just laughed, a musical sound. Matt whipped out his phone, and after looking up the pizza places near Bermuda, dialed the phone and ordered them food. Allura cheered when he was finished.

“They’ll be here in about half an hour,” Matt said, grinning. Then he mock-frowned at Allura. “Only bad thing about this dare is that I have to pay.”

Adam piped, “Correction: That’s the good thing about this dare.”

“Okay,” said Matt, settling back into his chair. “My turn. I choose…Pidge.”

Pidge straightened, shooting Matt an evil grin.

“Truth or Dare?”

Pidge seemed to have a hard time deciding. “Truth, I think.”

Matt raised an eyebrow. “Really? That’s unusual.” He squinted at Pidge as if something was off with them.

Pidge just smirked. “What? I live to surprise.”

“Okay,” Matt said dubiously. “I wasn’t prepared for this. I guess…” He paused, a smirk taking shape on his face. “Tell the whole circle your tickle spots.”

Pidge’s eyes narrowed. “Mathematics Holt.”

Lance spluttered, laughing. “Is that actually your name?”

Keith could feel a grin splitting his own face, knowing that Pidge was ticklish, though they’d never admit it. Matt knew exactly how to rankle his sibling.

“Nah, it’s just Matthew,” Shiro cut in, a teasing light in his eyes as he looked at Matt, who was still grinning at Pidge. “But calling him Mathematics and Doormatt is so much more fun.”

Pidge seemed like they were regretting choosing truth. “ Thebacksofmykneesandmysides, ” they mumbled, rushing their words all together as if hoping the rest of them wouldn’t be able to understand.

“What was that?” Matt asked innocently.

Pidge sighed, slitting their eyes even more. “The back of my knees and my sides. Are the most ticklish.” It seemed like each word pained them. “You’re going down, Matt.”

“Oho,” Matt said. “That’s a lot of bluster for someone so small.”

Pidge’s face settled into something frighteningly innocent. They smiled sweetly at Matt. “It’s okay, Matt. I know where you sleep.”

Matt had the decency to not look unnerved until Pidge had looked away. Keith could feel Lance chuckling next to him, the movement shaking his whole body. His eyes and eyebrows scrunched when he laughed, his mouth tilting upwards so genuinely, and he looked so happy it took Keith’s breath away.

“You remind me exactly of my niece,” Lance said, his giggles subsiding as he faced Pidge. “You and she would get along, I think. But it would be a terrifying combination for the rest of the world.”

Pidge nodded matter-of-factly. “Then we shall have to meet. And we can work on terrorizing certain people .”

Matt’s grin showed this was nothing new.

“Okay, my turn,” Pidge said. And without hesitation, they said, “And I choose Keith.”

Keith flashed a grin that was more teeth than smile at Pidge. “Go on, then.”

“Truth or dare.” Pidge had a knowing look in their eye that made Keith want to stay away from truth.

“Dare.”

Then Pidge flashed him an evil grin, and he knew he’d made the wrong decision.

“Kiss your boyfriend.” Pidge’s voice was innocent, but the look they gave Keith said otherwise. I know, they seemed to say. What’cha gonna do?

Keith felt for a moment like he couldn’t breathe.

“What kind of dare is that?” someone asked. Keith couldn’t tell who with the blood pounding in his ears. “They’re literally boyfriends.”

Pidge responded, something about ‘public’ and ‘not Keith’s thing’, but he couldn’t pay attention. Lance was looking resolutely ahead, and each breath Keith drew felt like a lifetime. He couldn’t help the hesitation, couldn’t help that he was considering not going through with it. He didn’t want to make Lance uncomfortable, but what was almost more discomfiting was how desperately Keith wanted to do it. He tried to squash that part of himself down and settled on an alternative. Pidge hadn’t specified where Keith had to kiss Lance.

So after an indeterminable amount of time, (it was probably just several seconds, but it felt like so much longer) Keith twisted to his side, and lurched forward to peck Lance on the cheek, which he had decided was a much less invasive action, when suddenly his lips were met with warm skin and he was kissing Lance , who had turned his head at the last minute to see what was taking so long, and their lips fit seamlessly together and it felt like an answer to a question Keith had been asking his whole life. Lance’s eyes were wide and so blue and staring into his own as they softened into each other, something like a question and a fragility there.

And then Lance pulled away, leaving Keith breathless, exhilarated, feeling like something had both clicked into and out of place at the same time. I just kissed Lance , was the only thing Keith could giddily think while he barely registered the “awws” coming from the rest of their friends.

Lance met Keith’s eyes again for a moment, a self-conscious smile tugging at his lips. Keith couldn’t help his own smile from echoing back, knowing they were both blushing.

“I guess it was a pretty good dare if they’re both so self-conscious,” Shiro lightly teased, nodding at Pidge.

Pidge couldn’t stop themselves from giving a little cackle. “Yeah, it was.”

And Keith knew he and Pidge would be talking later. He narrowed his eyes at them, promising them the same with an expression.

Pidge just cocked an eyebrow, as if to say, You’re welcome to talk now, while everyone’s here .

Keith just gave a minute shake of his head. I’ll explain later.

Shiro gave them an odd look, as if he could tell there was something more going on, but he looked away when they resumed the game. Pidge let off of Keith and Lance after that, and nobody brought it up again, but Keith couldn’t focus for the rest of the game. He kept sneaking glances at Lance, and each time their gazes met it was like electricity was shot straight into Keith’s veins. He was painfully aware of how close they were to each other, and that they couldn’t just ignore what had happened now. Not like they had earlier, in the closet.

Keith’s stomach twisted again as he thought about the way he’d pulled away from Lance, and the look that had flashed across Lance’s face. He tried to shove the thoughts down and focus on the rest of the game.

They decided to call it quits when the pizza finally arrived, after Adam had gone through two rounds in a handstand, his face comically red by the end, after Shiro had ended up stripping down to his boxers (which Adam had seemed to appreciate, even from his upside-down position), after Lance had done a stellar job of Allura’s hair in just one minute, and Allura had answered a question about who her first crush was (it was Shiro). The pizza guy had looked harried and wet, and the clouds were still drizzling as they ate their lunch clustered around the living room.

As they sat, Keith laughing at the way Shiro had a piece of cheese stretched between his mouth and the pizza box on the table, Lance’s phone rang. He excused himself and he went into the hallway to answer it. Keith tried not to listen, but he couldn’t help himself from eavesdropping.

“ Hola, mamá. Sí….No….¿Lo dice en serio?....Sí, sí….¡Está bien!....Sí, mamá, gracias. Yo también te amo. ¡Hasta luego! ”

Keith watched him as he walked back into the room and settled back down next to Keith, slipping his phone back into his pocket. “You speak Spanish?” Keith asked, making sure to keep his voice quiet. None of the others were paying attention to them, anyway.

“Eavesdropping, were you?” Lance asked, raising an eyebrow but smiling easily. “Yeah. I don’t know if you remember, but I was planning on visiting my family in Cuba?”

“Oh, yeah,” Keith said. He hadn’t forgotten a single thing Lance had told him about himself - something about the other boy made him want to hang onto every word, note every detail. As he talked, his mind kept straying to the feeling of warm lips on his, and it was an effort to keep his eyes on Lance’s instead of his mouth.

“Well, they’re all my extended family. My mom moved to the States when she was little, and eventually, my Abuela moved back to Cuba to be with the rest of her family after my mom had me, her last child. So I was going to visit them as a surprise.” He paused as if he wasn’t sure if Keith would find all this interesting, but Keith just nodded earnestly for him to continue. “But my mom just called, and she said that my Abuela just called her, and well, long story short, my extended family are coming to the States to visit in a couple weeks instead because they didn’t know I was coming.” He smiled ruefully, shaking his head a little. “So I guess it really was a twist of fate that I ended up here because now I don’t need to leave tomorrow to make the rest of my trip.”

Keith just thought for a moment. If Lance had known he wasn’t going to Cuba, he never would have gotten on the plane. They might never have met. He might never have brought a plus one to Shiro’s wedding, might never have been kissed.

He blew out a breath. “Well, I’m glad for fate, or whatever it was.”

They traded shy smiles, and Keith felt a rush of warmth as he once again remembered what it had felt like to kiss Lance, how it had felt like the rest of the world melted away and it was just the two of them. And suddenly, he couldn’t ignore the desperate craving in the pit of his stomach for more . He wanted more time with Lance, more contact, more interaction.

The realization knocked the breath out of him. And he realized he was staring wide-eyed at Lance still, and Lance was still staring at him, and Keith could feel that magnetic pull again before remembering they were still in the living room, surrounded by their friends.

That made him break his stare pretty quickly, but when he glanced back up at Lance, the other boy was still studying him. And Keith hoped he wasn’t being naive when he thought he could see a reflection of his feelings in Lance’s expression. Hoped that, for the first person in his life who he had allowed to get this close, Lance wouldn’t reject him.

This was why Keith had tried to stay away from relationships so long - the fear. He tried to ignore it as he laughed with his friends, and ate pizza, and participated in the easy banter between them, but each roll of thunder outside seemed to echo the rhythm of icy paralysis spreading through his veins.

Chapter Text

The Nerf war and Monopoly game seemed to have exhausted all the “old” (Pidge’s word, not Keith’s) people, and after they polished off the pizza they split off to each do their own thing. Shiro and Adam both claimed they were going to nap together, and sure enough, a half hour later Keith could hear the rumble of Shiro’s snores from the downstairs hallway. Allura was perched on a couch, using Shiro’s laptop to go through her emails with a slight frown of concentration fixed upon her face. Pidge was enthusiastically showing Matt some of the plans they had drawn up for a new robot they were working on in their spare time (Rover, they had already named it) and Matt was nodding along in genuine interest. Hunk was in the kitchen again, this time prepping food for the next day’s wedding feast, and Lance had signed up to help him, claiming he had experience from being his mother’s sous chef during family holidays.

Keith, though he was sure if he looked he could find something to do, found himself drifting around the house. He felt a little aimless, a little like he was observing the rest of them through a pane of glass. It wasn’t a bad feeling, because he knew he could join them if he wanted to, but he was almost more interested in just observing. He liked to watch other people go about their daily lives, to see what they were like when they didn’t know anyone else was watching. In Keith’s opinion, that was the fastest way to get to know someone’s true self.

Then Keith heard a commotion from the kitchen, and he moved closer to lean against the doorframe, watching Lance and Hunk. Neither noticed him there. Hunk was looking mournfully at a yellow splatter on the counter. “I dropped an egg,” he said to Lance.

With a completely straight face, Lance said, “This is so sad. Alexa, play Despacito.”

They both cracked up, only to be interrupted by a blip and a cool female voice from the corner of the kitchen. “Playing Despacito by Luis Fonsi, featuring Daddy Yankee.”

Hunk and Lance looked at each other again, and as the beginning notes of Despacito started to play from the Amazon Echo in the corner of the kitchen that none of them had known was there, they both doubled over laughing again. “I never want to hear Alexa say ‘Daddy Yankee’ again,” Lance wheezed, tears in his eyes. Keith had to bite his lip to keep from smiling, still for some reason not wanting to let them know he was there.

They had both straightened up again by the time the lyrics started, wiping the tears from their eyes. Lance joined in with the Spanish, and suddenly Keith forgot how to breathe.

“Sí, sabes que ya llevo un rato mirándote/Tengo que bailar contigo hoy,” Lance sang, Hunk bobbing his head along as he chopped some vegetables. Keith was struck by how Lance’s normally American accent changed so radically when he sang in Spanish, adopting a completely authentic roll to his voice.

When Lance got to the chorus, after having nailed every lyric before it, he started to dance.

And that’s when Keith knew he was utterly, totally screwed.

It didn’t matter that the song was overplayed, or that it wasn’t Keith’s style of music, or that he didn’t understand a single word of the Spanish. Watching Lance hit every word perfectly as he swayed his hips, his eyes closed as he sidled around the kitchen, hip-bumping Hunk, moving like water, like he didn’t even need to think about being graceful -

Keith knew his mouth was wide open, his jaw dropped, and his stare fixed, but he couldn’t help it. He really hoped neither Hunk nor Lance would see him then because if they did, he wasn’t sure he would be able to compose himself in time. He could feel heat creeping up his neck, unable to tear his gaze away from Lance, eyes drawn over and over again to the casual snapping of his hips -

And then a hand was clamped on his shoulder, and Keith whirled around, eyes wide, ready to hit whoever was behind him in his panic - and was met with a smug, smirking Pidge.

“ Gremlin ,” he hissed, making sure to keep his voice down, already aware that Pidge had noted his flushed cheeks and wide pupils. “Don’t sneak up on me like that!”

“Not my fault you were distracted,” Pidge said, also keeping their voice down, their eyebrow cocked. “Wanna talk about it?”

Keith huffed but answered. “Sure. Fine.” And so he followed Pidge upstairs, past the slightly ajar bedroom door that showed Adam and Shiro napping contentedly together, and went into Pidge’s room.

Pidge closed the door behind them. “So.”

Keith crossed his arms. “So what?”

Pidge just sat down on their bed and patted the spot next to them. Reluctantly, Keith sat down. He wouldn’t be getting out of this.

Keith sighed resignedly. “What have you already guessed?”

Pidge wasn’t smirking anymore. There was just an open, frank sort of honesty on their face. “I know you and Lance aren’t really dating. And I know you should be.”

Keith’s mouth opened and closed but nothing came out - he felt like a fish. He couldn’t think of how to respond. And maybe, he realized with growing trepidation, it’s because Pidge was right. As always. “How did you guess?” He asked, and he hated how small his voice came out, how quickly Pidge was able to get under his facade.

“Keith,” Pidge said seriously. “I’ve known you my whole life, buddy. I can tell when you’re lying.”

He sighed again, running a hand through his hair. At this point, it would just be easier to tell Pidge the whole story. But where to start?

“Where did you meet, for real?” Pidge asked proddingly. “ When did you meet?”

And Keith realized he wanted to tell someone the whole story. Wanted an outside opinion on if he was really going crazy or not. So he started at the beginning. “We met on the flight here. Our pilot - he had a heart attack.” Keith’s voice faltered as he remembered stepping into the cockpit and seeing a dead man slumped at the controls, with a whole plane full of people behind them. At the time, he hadn’t allowed himself to think about it, to be worried about the situation. He’d just acted. But now, Keith couldn’t stop thinking about how fucking lucky he was to be alive.

Pidge didn’t say anything, letting him take his time. He exhaled hard through his nose and continued. “So I went up to the front, to see if I could help since I know how to pilot, and Lance was already there, looking for all the world like he was going to save the plane or die trying. Which -” Keith’s breath stuck in his throat. “I suppose he might have if we failed.”

Pidge’s eyebrows were furrowed, and they just made a little noise of comfort.

“So I joined him,” Keith said hoarsely. “And we landed the plane together. We were stuck at the airport for hours after, answering questions. Hours, Pidge,” he said a little desperately. “And I didn’t think to get his name until we were leaving. And then...I don’t know what came over me, but I asked if he wanted to be my plus one. And he said yes.” He knew his voice was a little wondering. He still didn’t quite believe it. The story sounded like a bad soap opera, and he still couldn’t quite recognize that it had actually happened.

Pidge cleared their throat. “Wow. That was...not what I was expecting.”

“What were you expecting?”

“I don’t know,” they mused. “But it wasn’t that.” They paused again. “And how do you feel about him now?”

Keith was quiet for a minute. “I think...I already have feelings for him. And I think…” he continued haltingly. A little knife twisted his stomach at the honesty, but he knew if he could tell anyone his secrets, it was Pidge. “It would be very easy to fall in love with him.”

Love. It was the first time he had thought about the word in relation to Lance. And as much as he wanted to dismiss the idea, to believe it wasn’t true, he knew deep down that what he had just voiced was right.

“But I’m not,” he said hurriedly. “In love with him, I mean.” He felt a sudden, nameless panic to clarify, to explain to Pidge. He was only 18. He had known Lance for two days, had spent a tiny fraction of his life with him, and however strong his feelings already were, however deep he might already be, he couldn’t be falling in love . Right?

“Would it be so bad if you were?” Pidge asked tentatively. “I’ve seen the way he looks at you too, you know. I mean, I don’t know what romantic love looks or feels like, but he looks at you the same way you look at him. I don’t think you’re alone in the way you feel.”

Keith just shook his head, conflicted. He didn’t know how to feel. “We’ve only known each other for two days,” he said, almost pleading with Pidge to knock some reason into the situation. “I’ve never - I’ve never felt like this before, even with people I’ve known forever. What if I’m just…” his eyes scanned the room, looking anywhere but at Pidge. “What if I’m just projecting onto Lance? What if I’m just so desperate to be loved -” his breath caught, his chest heaving, suddenly unable to go on. He could feel tears starting to prick at the back of his eyes, and he shook his head angrily. He hadn’t felt this vulnerable in so long. Only Pidge or Shiro would be able to get him to spill his guts like this.

“Hey,” his friend said, their voice firm but surprisingly gentle. “It’s okay to have feelings for him. It doesn’t mean you’re projecting. Maybe you had just never found the right person before this. Maybe it was fate that you met.”

Keith gave out a hoarse little laugh. “Didn’t know you were suddenly such a proponent of fate, Pidge I-question-everything Holt.”

Pidge just shrugged, the movement drawing Keith’s gaze, and he finally met their eyes. They were looking at him with a steady determination and a fierce protectiveness that made him want to cry again. “I don’t know if fate is real or if it isn’t. But I do believe that what you feel for Lance is real, or you wouldn’t be reacting like this. I do believe that you tend to doubt yourself, and you push people away, and that’s why you’re scared. And regardless of fate, I do believe some people are just meant to be together.” They hummed a little, searching for the right thing to say. “I don’t know for sure, because I’m not you, and I’m not Lance. But it seems to me like you’re both...you’re both socks.”

Keith couldn’t help the surprised (but watery) laugh that burst out of him. “What do you mean?”

They cracked a smile too as if they realized how they had sounded. “I mean...you’re both like socks missing a pair. You work perfectly fine on your own, and you still function perfectly well as a singular sock, but you match each other. Now that you’ve found each other, being a pair is so much better.” They frowned a little. “Now that I think about it, maybe that’s not the best analogy I could have come up with.”

Keith huffed out a laugh, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand. “No, I get it. I think...or at least, I hope you’re right.”

It was freeing, to admit that vulnerability. That he wasn’t sure if Lance did feel the same way, but that it didn’t necessarily matter. No matter how fragile it made him feel, it felt really good to finally have it out in the open.

Pidge scooched closer to him, wrapping their arms around his middle. Slowly, carefully, Keith raised his arms around them. Then Pidge let go of the embrace, giving him a little smile.

“Thanks for the heart to heart,” he said quietly, but he meant it.

Pidge flashed him a grin. “You know I’m available any time.”

From downstairs, they could hear Hunk distantly yelling, “Dinner for anyone who wants it!”

Pidge’s stomach grumbled, and they both laughed. “Right on cue,” Pidge said.

Keith could feel himself smiling again, and he was suddenly genuinely glad his best friend was so nosy. Sometimes he needed some encouragement to not just wallow in self-pity. “You gonna eat?”

“Uh, yeah,” Pidge said, giving him a Look. “You really I think I would miss out on Hunk’s cooking, even after that pizza earlier?”

Keith just shook his head, grinning. “Okay, then.”

And they headed downstairs, into the kitchen, where it was bright and warm and Keith could see that it had finally stopped raining outside. The sky was clearing, as the radar that morning had claimed it would, and as Keith looked at the darkened cobalt color starting to speckle with pinpricks of light, he remembered a shooting star. And felt settled.

Chapter Text

Keith hadn’t expected to feel so nervous about sleeping in the same bed as Lance for the second night in a row. Of course, that had been before they kissed.

It was only on a dare, right? Surely Keith was overreacting, and Lance wasn’t thinking about this as much as he was. Now that it had happened, though, and they hadn’t discussed it, he couldn’t help but feel that the silence between them was awkward, not comfortable.

Keith could feel the bed next to him dip as Lance shifted, turning to face Keith. Keith turned around too, so they were face to face. He could see that Lance’s eyes were alert in the dark, not at all lidded with drowsiness. Keith felt hyper-aware of the distance between them.

Lance broke the silence first. “I’m not very tired.” His voice was even, neutral, but Keith could hear the question there.

“Neither am I,” he agreed. “But that might just be leftover adrenaline from the Nerf battle.”

Lance’s eyes crinkled. “That was fun,” he hummed.

Keith made a wordless noise of assent. They both listened to the sound of the waves for a moment, letting the distant crashes fill the space between them.

“I’m glad you asked me to be your plus one.”

Keith felt the corner of his mouth twitch at the sudden confession. “Me too.”

Then Lance was moving, suddenly propping his head upon his hand, his elbow resting on his pillow. “Wanna play a game until we both get tired?”

Keith considered for a moment. The last game they had played had resulted in an irrevocable change in their relationship. “Sure,” he said, his voice maybe a little higher-pitched than normal. “What game were you thinking of?”

“Well,” Lance said, and Keith could see that his smile had turned almost shy. “It’s not really a game, I guess, but it could be fun. 20 Questions?”

Keith let out a breathy laugh. “Isn’t that what, like, fuckboys use when they want to know if you’re a virgin or not?”

Lance laughed then, a genuine sound, and Keith couldn’t tell if he was imagining the blush on his cheeks. “Maybe. But seeing as how we don’t know each other that well, and we’re both here…”

Keith just nodded, feeling the corners of his lips tugging up. “Okay then. Do you want to start, or do you want me to?”

Lance considered. “I’ll start. What’s your favorite color?”

Keith just stared at him for a moment. “Really? That’s what you’re starting out with?”

“What?” Lance asked defensively, laughing a little. “It’s basic but valid. I can up the ante on the next question if you want.”

Maybe Keith shouldn’t have said anything. “Scarlet, probably.” The answer was normal, familiar...but it felt a little bit like a lie as Keith stared into Lance’s eyes and realized he might also favor blue.

Lance wrinkled his nose. “But red is such a...I don’t know, violent color.”

“Red gets a bad rap. What’s yours then?”

Lance shrugged. “It varies. Dark green, gray, yellow-orange - I like them all. But blue especially. Something about it is just...calming. Peaceful.”

Keith couldn’t help agreeing. “Okay, so that’s one question down. Or does it count as two? I guess it doesn’t really matter. Your turn.”

Lance hummed for a moment, considering. “What are some of your favorite smells?”

Keith made a surprised noise. “Huh. I’m not sure if I’ve thought of that one before. Probably...old leather, and gasoline...the smells of my bike shop. And also...the smell of autumn. Of cold.”

“Cold has a smell?”

Keith squinted at Lance. “You know, like how it’s sort of fresh and sharp? Like, when there’s gonna be a cold snap, you can just smell it on the air, even in Texas.”

Lance hesitated and then nodded. “I guess I do know what you mean. In that case, I like the smell of the sun, and the ocean, and my Abuela’s flan.”

“Somehow, none of that surprises me. Although I don’t really know what flan smells like.”

Lance made a little moan at the back of his throat that made Keith’s toes curl. “Oh, man. It’s the best thing ever - my favorite dessert. Now I’m going to have to make it for you.”

They both fell quiet for a moment, and Keith knew that even in the darkness, he was flushed. “We should definitely do that.”

“Your turn, motorcycle boy,” Lance said teasingly.

Keith chuckled. “Okay. Um...What are some small things that make you feel better? Like, small-scale hobbies.”

“Hmm,” Lance said. “That’s an interesting one. Well, I like to sing and dance while I cook or do chores.”

I know , Keith almost said. And look damn good doing it. But Lance didn’t need to know that.

“And I suppose...since I started journaling, I like doing that. And also stargazing.”

“Yeah,” Keith breathed out. “I do that too.”

Lance shifted a little, and the dip of the bed brought them a little closer. Keith could feel Lance’s breath fanning across his face when he spoke. “And what are your other ones?”

Keith couldn’t help a little smile as he said, “I go bird-watching with Shiro sometimes.”

“Really?” Lance let out a surprised laugh.

“Yeah. It’s pretty calming, actually. We get to spend time together. And I like to read,” he said.

“What do you like to read?”

Keith’s chest felt tight. Nobody but Pidge and Shiro knew about this. “I don’t really have a particular genre. But mostly...when my mom left, she didn’t take much with her. She left a lot of books behind. She loved them - they were all bought used, so they had that old-book smell, and the covers were faded and creased, so I loved them. Since I never really knew her, I just started reading them to see if I could figure her out through them. I never stopped. They’re classics, mostly.”

He waited, a little tensely, for Lance to speak. When he did, it wasn’t what Keith expected. “You deserve more.”

Keith’s breath stuck. “What do you mean?”

Lance exhaled softly. “You deserve someone who won’t leave you. Someone who you can love in person, and not from far away, through books.” His thumb reached out to gently brush across Keith’s cheek. Keith hadn’t even realized he was crying.

He squeezed his eyelids together tightly enough to halt the tears. “Thanks,” he said, hoping his voice wasn’t as weak as he felt. “Your turn,” he said next, trying to crack a smile, which was partially successful.

Lance’s eyes crinkled in the dim moonlight spilling through the open window. “What did you want to be when you grew up?”

Keith considered, trying to remember. “I’ve mostly always wanted to be a pilot, and before it was a pilot, it was an astronaut. Although I’m not sure I crave to go to space anymore; it would stress Shiro out too much.” That made Lance smile, and Keith continued, even though it was a little painful. “And when I was really young, I wanted to be a firefighter, like my dad.”

Lance’s eyes studied him. He didn’t ask for an explanation - at this point, he didn’t need to. Keith was grateful. Then Lance spoke, without Keith having to return the conversation to him. “I was never quite able to settle. First it was a cook, then it was an Olympic athlete, then it was a marine biologist. But once I settled on pilot, everything else sort of...clicked into place.”

Keith thought about Lance’s words, how each answer to a question filled him out just a little more around the edges in Keith’s head. He felt like they’d already known each other for years. “What do you want to be remembered for, when you die?”

Lance’s eyes took on a thoughtful edge. “You know, if anyone else asked, I would probably say for my accomplishments, for being outstanding in my field.” He paused. “But truthfully, deep down, I think I just want to make people happy. I want to make the world a better place, and if I can do that by just being as sincere and kind as possible...I want that for my family.”

Keith’s chest felt like it was caving in as each hard string he had holding himself in place softened and snapped, as they had been slowly doing over the past couple days. And that emotion, so strong he couldn’t quite place it, was a deep and intense affection. He desperately wanted Lance to have his legacy, to be happy.

“That’s really nice,” Keith said, barely trusting himself to speak. The statement felt inadequate.

“And what do you want your legacy to be?” Lance’s voice was soft, tentative, his breath warm on Keith’s face.

Keith took a minute before responding. “I’m not sure if I want a legacy,” he said, the answer surprising even himself. “I don’t know if I could trust myself...to not fuck things up. I almost prefer just, I don’t know, I know it’s cliche, but to live in the moment. I’ve never been good at visualizing a future for myself.”

He was voicing things out loud that he had never voiced to anyone else, not even himself. He wondered what it meant, that he was saying them to Lance, but when he thought about it, he brushed up against something too sharp. So he ignored it.

“My turn,” Lance said, his voice just as gentle as before, as if he knew how fragile Keith felt confiding in him. “What’s your biggest regret?”

Lance’s eyes were wide open and trusting, his irises a blue that seemed to swallow Keith’s fears. Something in them made Keith feel emboldened, a little softer than normal. “Probably that I didn’t get to meet you sooner. That it took a plane crash for us to meet.”

It was a testament to Lance’s ability to self-heal that he didn’t seem anxious at the reminder. “I think we could have been either best friends or worst rivals if we met earlier,” he huffed.

Keith smiled. “Ha. Yeah, probably.” He hesitated before continuing. “But I still think if I knew you years ago...things might have been a little easier. To get through.”

Lance made a wordless noise of assent. “I think so, too.”

“And what’s your biggest regret?” Keith asked, wondering how Lance would respond.

Lance didn’t say anything for a moment. His eyes were scanning, searching Keith’s face for something, and Keith couldn’t help but stare right back, feeling some unspoken thing pass between them. His eyes flickered down to Lance’s lips, then back up to his eyes. Something inexplicable shifted between them - something subtle and warm. Then Lance exhaled, said, “That I didn’t do this sooner,” and kissed Keith.

It wasn’t like their kiss during Truth or Dare - that had been hurried, shy, unexpected. This was something entirely different.

Lance’s fingers tugged on the ends of Keith’s hair, pulling his face closer, and Keith had one hand on the back of Lance’s neck, connecting them further, and it was gentle, and thorough, and intense, shot through with a heat that curled straight into Keith’s stomach.

Their lips fit seamlessly together, moving in a rhythm Keith didn’t know but was more than willing to learn. Lance tasted like sea salt and boy, and even though Keith was sure his own lips were chapped, Lance’s were softer than satin. Keith barely had time to register that holy shit, Lance kissed him before Lance was tugging their heads together for a better angle, one that fit them together like Lance was the missing puzzle piece he had been searching for his whole life.

It was dizzying, being so caught up in each other’s scents and lips and bodies. Their legs entangled, heads bobbing together as their lips moved insistently, and Lance’s hands were warm against his skin and his skin was even warmer under Keith’s hands. Keith wasn’t sure who moved first, but the kiss deepened, and Keith opened his mouth to tug at Lance’s lower lip with his teeth, drawing a breathy little sound out of the other boy that made him want to kiss him into oblivion. Lance opened his mouth to Keith, and suddenly their lips and tongues and teeth were clashing together in a way that was probably sloppy and uncoordinated, but it felt so good that he didn’t care.

Keith was a drowning man, and Lance was the first gulp of fresh air.

Lance pulled back with a gasp, his cheeks flushed and eyes sparkling. His lips, Keith saw with no small amount of satisfaction, were slightly swollen and red in the low light. “Maybe we should - maybe we should stop,” Lance said, giggling a little at the pouty look on Keith’s face at the suggestion.

“What if I don’t want to?” Keith asked, moving forward to nudge at Lance’s throat with his nose.

Lance gasped a little, but he pulled Keith back lightly by the hair and said with a mock frown on his face, “It’s late. Your brother’s wedding is tomorrow. Don’t you want to be awake for the vows?”

“Hmm,” Keith murmured, his lips still close to Lance’s neck. He pressed a kiss to the base of his throat, and Lance shivered a little. Shiro felt like a far-away problem at the moment.

“Seriously,” Lance said, laughing as he tugged a little more insistently at Keith. “You’ll be grumpy if you don’t get enough sleep. I already know you’re not a morning person.”

Keith had to concede at that, and they both laid down on the bed, watching each other through half-lidded eyes, neither able to forget what had changed between them. Keith couldn’t keep his eyes from straying to Lance’s lips, but luckily, it seemed Lance was having the same problem.

Then Lance flipped onto his other side and was scooching backward until his back ran into Keith’s chest, their hips and legs slotting together. He flashed a mischievous smile over his shoulder. “Spoon me?”

And Keith knew the look in his eyes wasn’t entirely joking as they each remembered the previous night, of anxiety and fears unaddressed.

Keith just buried his nose in the crook of Lance’s neck in response, breathing in deeply the unmistakable smell of Lance . And as they settled into each other, and drifted off to sleep with little further prodding, Keith knew Lance felt like home.

Chapter Text

The sun fell in warm shafts across the bed as Keith slowly woke up, and he realized the sun wasn’t why he was warm. This was the second morning in a row he had woken up with Lance wrapped in his arms, still soundly asleep, and this time there was no Pidge shouting at the door.

What had happened last night….they had kissed. Thoroughly, even. Keith’s head still spun a little when he thought about it, and he felt a rush of unbridled affection as he looked across at Lance, his long eyelashes fluttering with every soft exhale. He was beautiful.

And for once, Keith didn’t have to suppress the thought. He let himself revel in it, the sensation of being completely honest with himself. Because...after last night, he wasn’t sure he could hide his thoughts away anymore. Something told him Lance would be able to read him.

So Keith decided to wake Lance up slowly, while they had time alone. He pressed small kisses along his jaw, his mouth moving over the boy’s throat, forehead, cheeks. It was gentle and unhurried, and as Lance started to stir, Keith felt a smile curling on his lips.

“Hi,” he said, a little breathlessly, as Lance’s eyelids slowly blinked open.

“Hi,” Lance replied, smiling in turn. His eyes flickered to Keith’s lips, and when he raised them again, Keith was sure he wasn’t imagining the echo of his own emotions there.

And then Lance was raising his head to Keith’s, and they were kissing again, lips meeting in a languorous exploration of the other’s. It was a restatement and a re-writing of the previous night, and Keith would never be able to choose whether he liked kissing Lance more in the dark or in the light because they were both so unique.

Keith was close enough to see Lance’s minute freckles, and their lashes fluttered against each other as they explored each other's mouths, occasionally nipping teasingly at a lip to elicit the sounds they had both discovered they loved to hear from each other.

He felt like he could melt into Lance and it wouldn’t feel any different: like they were fused into one. He never wanted to let go, never wanted to forget the feeling of satin-soft lips on his -

“Morning!” A bright voice came from the entrance to the room as the door banged open, making them both jump apart.

“Pidge,” Keith growled, not even looking at the door. Lance’s eyes were wide in surprise, but Keith could see mirth there as well.

“Oh, shit,” Pidge said from the door, and Keith finally turned around to see they were shielding their eyes. “Gross, affection.”

“Who was the one who barged into our room announced?” Keith said, cocking an amused eyebrow, even though he knew Pidge couldn’t see it.

“I didn’t think-!” Pidge started, but stopped themselves, just shaking their head. Keith realized he hadn’t told Lance that Pidge knew their ruse. “ Anyway ,” Pidge continued, “since today is actually wedding day, you guys actually need to get up.”

“It’s almost like we’ve had this conversation before,” Keith said drily.

“Ha, ha,” Pidge said, before turning around and skipping down the hallway into their room.

“Pidge,” he could distantly hear Hunk say, “Maybe if you didn’t bust people’s doors down in the morning you wouldn’t see things you don’t want to.”

“But Hunk,” Pidge replied, their voice light, “That wouldn’t be half as fun.”

Chuckling, Keith turned his attention back to Lance. “I suppose we should get up.”

Lance made a noncommittal noise. “Or we could...not do that.” His eyes twinkled. “At least not yet.”

Keith half-groaned. God, more than anything, he wanted to believe they had all the time in the world. But...his heart sank. In the best case, they had a couple more days together. And then they might never see each other again. It was enough to make him say, “I do believe Pidge will actually come back in here if we don’t get up. And we really should get ready, everyone else will be here soon.”

Lance just gave a little smile. “Alright, then. But I call the first shower!”

And then he was leaping over Keith, his long legs nimbly running him around the corner to the bathroom. Keith just let his head flop back down on the pillow, laughing.

He could distantly hear doors opening and closing downstairs, so he dragged himself out of bed and went to check out the source of the noise. Shiro was already downstairs, holding a mug of steaming coffee, and he was greeting multiple people as they walked through the door.

Adam’s parents came through the door first, and they embraced Shiro, happy smiles on both their faces. Adam’s dad clapped Shiro on the shoulder. “And how is my favorite son-in-law?”

“Not quite yet,” Shiro chuckled. “But I’m good. And -” He spotted Keith standing in the hallway. “Keith, come and say hi!”

Belatedly, Keith realized he was still wearing Adam’s pajama pants and a worn t-shirt, his hair still a mess from bedhead and where Lance’s fingers had tangled through it. “Hi,” he said, giving an awkward smile and raising a hand in greeting as he moved closer to the door.

“Keith!” Adam’s mother swept him up in a hug. “It’s been such a long time since we’ve seen you! Goodness, look at how much you’ve grown.”

Keith just laughed easily. Years ago, he had been uncomfortable with how affectionate Adam’s parents were. But now, he couldn’t bring himself to feel trepidation at being casually touched or talked to.

As Adam’s parents swept into the kitchen, chattering about how the chairs would be set up on the beach, and saying hello to Hunk, who had clearly been up for a while cooking already, Shiro’s other friends stepped in through the door. They were the same ones who had been sitting around the fire two days ago when Keith and Lance arrived. One man in particular had stood out in Keith’s memory, and now he was jovially chatting with Shiro in the hall.

“Ah, yes!” Coran said, his orange mustache bobbing with each word. It was fascinating to watch - like a very fluffy caterpillar sitting below his nose. “It is truly an honor to officiate such a joyous occasion! Back in my day -” and he launched into a story about something involving a parasitic brain worm and a wedding gone horribly wrong. Keith honestly couldn’t tell if it was true or not.

Then his attention snapped back when Coran caught sight of him. “Keith, my boy! How are you? Are you going to be in the wedding party?”

The question caught him off guard. Was he? Shiro hadn’t mentioned anything.

“About that,” Shiro said, an apologetic look on his face as he turned to Keith. “I forgot to ask until now since we didn’t really have much planned for the wedding.”

“I’ll say,” Keith said.

Shiro just gave him a sheepish smile. “Anyway, would you like to be my best man? We’re not having any other people in the wedding party besides that, to keep it simple.”

Regardless of the fact that it would put him more in the spotlight, regardless of the fact that it would shoulder Keith with more responsibility, he found himself wanting to say yes. For Shiro. “Sure,” he replied, and Shiro’s smile spread over his face.

“Great! And do you want Lance to be Adam’s best man, so you two can walk down the aisle arm in arm?” Shiro waggled his eyebrows.

Keith’s heart stuttered. Shiro didn’t know, couldn’t know...he was only offering because he thought Keith was officially dating Lance. It was teasing, for sure, but it was also out of respect for their relationship. “I’ll have to ask him,” he said. “But I think he’ll say yes.” And Keith realized - he did think Lance would say yes. He knew Lance well enough already to predict his responses and reactions.

“Who will say yes?” A mild voice asked behind him.

Keith turned to see Lance, freshly dressed, hair wet from the shower. His lips quirked in a smile when he saw Keith’s still-disheveled morning state.

“You, we hope,” Shiro said, and Lance turned his attention to him. “Keith has just agreed to be my best man, and Adam and I were talking this morning, and wondering if you would like to be his best man?”

“I would be honored,” Lance replied, almost immediately. Shiro smiled widely. “Plus,” Lance said, moving closer to Keith, “if it means I get to walk arm in arm with this boy, I don’t know how I could refuse.” Then he winked at Keith.

He could feel a deep blush staining his cheeks, and his mouth opened and closed as he tried to think of a witty response.

“Anyway, the shower is open now. You look like you could use it, babe.” That was the final straw for Keith, and he stood rooted to the spot, blushing furiously, as Lance swept into the kitchen as if he didn’t know exactly how his words had affected Keith. He didn’t normally find himself speechless. He could usually come with a sarcastic remark, or at least a look that conveyed the same idea, but with Lance, he always felt at a loss for words. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to sarcastically reply to him.

Shiro chuckled. “Dude, you’re a tomato. Go shower.”

Keith just shoved him in the side before turning around and walking upstairs again, but he couldn’t keep a stupid little grin from playing across his face.

He was about to head into his room when he realized that he had nothing to wear - again. He would have to borrow more clothes from Adam. God, why had he thought it was a good idea to not bring any luggage? At this point, it was just a hindrance.

“Hey, dude,” Pidge said, coming out of their room. “You don’t have any clean clothes, do you.”

Keith chuckled. “How did you know?”

Pidge leveled a flat stare at him. “You have your pained ‘I have to ask someone for something’ face on.”

“I don’t have a face like that!”

“Yes, you do,” Pidge gave the long-suffering sigh that only someone who had spent years with him could give. “Anyway, I already talked to Lance, and he knows you don’t have any clothes. He said to tell you just to wear the ones he set out on the bed since you’re about the same size.”

“Wear - wear his clothes?” Keith stammered. Sure, they had kissed, had spent two nights close enough together to feel each other’s breaths, but wearing Lance’s clothes felt like a whole new brand of intimacy. Once again, Keith cursed himself for the attitude that had gotten him into this situation in the first place.

“Uh-huh,” Pidge said, crossing their arms. “Please, you’ll be fine. I saw you two this morning.” They narrowed their eyes. “Was that what I think it was?”

Keith’s sheepish smile was answer enough. When he spoke, his voice was a little hoarse. “Yeah. Last night, we, uh...we kissed. And this morning.”

“Spare me the details,” Pidge said, waving their hand. But their eyes softened when they looked at him again. “I’m glad it’s working out between you.”

“Yeah. Me too.” They stood in silence for a moment before Keith cleared his throat. “Anyway. I should probably shower.”

Pidge bobbed their head in assent and left to go greet everyone downstairs. The shower gave Keith time to think, time to cool his racing thoughts and put his head in order. Even if every time he was around Lance he got flustered, he didn’t need to let it change the growing friendship between them. He could have both, even if it had never seemed like a possibility before that fateful plane landing.

When he stepped out of the shower, steam still clogging the mirror, Keith went into the bedroom and saw the clothes Lance had put on the bed. There was a soft button down shirt - in red. And then black jeans. Keith quickly pulled them on, trying not to think about the fact that his skin was touching fabric Lance’s skin had touched, and finished up in the bathroom. The pants were a little long, but if Keith cuffed them, it wasn’t a problem. He couldn’t stop inhaling deeply, because each breath brought a fresh wave of the scent that clung to Lance’s shirt, the scent that Keith had smelled so much before on Lance himself.

And as Keith went downstairs to finally help with the set-up of chairs and a foldable white arch that Coran had the foresight to bring with him, wrapped in another boy’s scent, he couldn’t stop thinking about weddings, and what they meant. Couldn’t stop wishing he had been able to witness his parent’s wedding. Couldn’t stop hoping that maybe, just maybe, one day he would have his own. It had never seemed like a possibility before. But now...even if it wasn’t with Lance (because Keith knew that realistically, it wouldn’t be), he realized he wanted one of his own. The reassurance and promises and love. He wanted it.

And as Keith padded out to the beach, his toes sinking in the sand, the smell of the sun and the waves mingling with the smell of the clothes he was wearing, he thought the blue-stained horizon looked like a future.

Chapter Text

The rain from the day before was completely gone beyond the trace of coolness it left behind, the lack of humidity. The sky was bright and clear, fluffy clouds resting low over the center of the island, the horizon endless and stretching. The water glittered, sunlight winking off the waves like the glint of silverfish scales, and the rolling undulations of the water were gentle swells that moved seamlessly from one movement to the next.

Keith was suddenly struck by the simple perfection of his brother’s choice in location.

He had doubted Shiro, at first, when he had been on the plane here. Had doubted that an extended beach vacation could help anyone so much. And then, when the true purpose of the trip had been revealed, had doubted the simplicity and the spontaneity of it. But now, as he stared at the flat expanse of sand and water and wind, he thought he understood.

Seated in the chairs ahead of him was a small but intimate crowd. The white folding chairs fit in perfectly with the simple white arch at the end of the aisle, terraced and laced with flowers that Allura had snuck into a market earlier that morning to buy. Palm trees swaying in the breeze provided shifting shade for the seats, sheltering from the late-afternoon sun. There were no particular sides to the chairs, and everyone was chattering lowly, their voices blending with the shush of surf on land.

Adam’s parents were holding hands, their heads bent together as they talked, both unable to keep giddy smiles off their faces. Allura was beaming next to Hunk, who was flanked by Pidge and then Matt. The siblings looked identical enough from the back that they could only be told apart by their heights. Some of Shiro’s other friends, whose names had slipped through Keith’s head like sand in an hourglass during the introductions, were seated throughout, eyes crinkled and smiles light on their faces. Coran stood under the white arch, a smile nearly hidden by his mustache resting on his lips and his hands folded neatly in front of him.

Keith felt his stomach flutter as Lance took up his place next to him and linked their arms. He was warm and solid to the touch - a reassurance and a quickening of the heart, all wrapped up in one person. “Are you ready to make your wedding debut?” Lance asked, his eyes filled with something Keith couldn’t quite name as they looked at each other.

Keith nodded. “I just hope I don’t trip, or sneeze during the vows.”

Lance laughed. “Somehow, I believe in your ability to not mess this up. It’ll be fine. Should be a fairly short ceremony, anyway.”

Then Coran made an announcement up at the front, and everyone fell silent, turning to look towards the back, towards Keith and Lance. Keith swallowed. “I think that’s our cue.”

Lance just secured his arm more in the crook of Keith’s and they began to walk together.

Keith could feel the prickle that came with having all those eyes on him, could feel the weight of what was happening. Even though Adam and Shiro had been practically married for years anyway, this was official. It felt official. Important. But Lance’s arm was a steady weight at his side, his presence calming. They walked together, not having to adjust their speed for the other, footsteps in sync on the shifting sand until they finally reached the arch. Lance’s arm slipping out of his felt like a loss. But as they each went to either side of the arch and stood there, facing the aisle and the audience and the house, Lance winked at Keith. He felt his face warm in a pleasant burn. He told himself it was just the sun.

And then his attention was drawn to movement behind the chairs. Adam and Shiro approached from opposite sides of the house, and their gazes were immediately drawn to each other, like magnets snapping into place. They kept their gaits smooth and slow as they approached the aisle, but Keith could tell they were itching to reach each other.

When they finally met at the base of the aisle, the look they shared between them was so fond it took Keith’s breath away. Then they, too, linked arms like Keith and Lance had, and made their way down the aisle together.

As the two men drew close to where Keith and Lance stood, he could see the mixed reactions from the crowd. Whoever wasn’t smiling with intense affection for either man was crying. Allura’s smile was as blinding as the sun, Hunk was sniffling, Adam’s mother was openly crying with a smile on her face, and Adam’s father was hastily wiping at tears under his eyes.

But Adam and Shiro didn’t have eyes for anyone but each other. They finally reached the arch, and let go of each other, if reluctantly, as they faced Coran.

“Family and friends of the grooms,” Coran began, his voice projecting clearly over the beach. “I am thrilled to welcome you here today as we witness the joyous union between two wonderful men.”

Shiro and Adam exchanged quick fond grins. They were both wearing their Garrison uniforms, and their respective medals gleamed officially in the bright sun. Shiro’s Purple Heart was always the first thing Keith’s eyes were drawn to, and then his prosthetic was always right after. His prosthetic, in fact, looked as if it had been recently cleaned, and shone brightly along with the medals.

Coran started up again. “We are surrounded today by a tight-knit community of support and love. There are parents -” he looked at Adam’s parents, who gave watery smiles back up at him - “siblings -” he nodded at Keith, who nodded back and gave a warm smile at Shiro as he glanced at Keith out of the corner of his eye, “and friends.”

The rest of the attendants smiled. “Each is equally important to the men who stand before you today, and will continue to be important as they continue on their path together.”

Coran continued on, speaking of the story of how Adam and Shiro had met, growing from flight partners to friends to lovers, but Keith let the words swirl around in his ears without really taking in the familiar story. His eyes connected with Lance’s from across the arch, snagging on the chips of blue color.

How are you holding up? Lance seemed to say, his face expressing what his words currently could not.

I haven’t sneezed yet, Keith tried to convey. He must have been successful because Lance’s eyes squinted in suppressed mirth.

I think you’re going to cry during the vows, Lance seemed to say, his eyes teasing.

Keith squinted, minutely shaking his head. Will not.

We’ll see . And then Lance turned his head away, breaking their connection. Keith turned his attention back to the ceremony.

“And now it’s time for the vows,” Coran announced. He turned to Shiro. “Do you, Takashi Shirogane, agree to take this man as your lawfully wedded husband?”

“I do,” Shiro said, his voice almost on the verge of cracking, his smile brighter than Keith had ever seen it.

Coran repeated the exchange for Adam. There was no hesitation in the sandy-haired man’s voice when he answered in turn, “I do.”

“Best men, please hand the grooms their rings.”

And sure enough, Keith could feel the trail of a hot tear slipping down his face, grinning so hard his cheeks were hurting, as he took the simple silver band out of his pocket and handed it to Shiro. His brother had never looked so happy.

As Lance handed his ring to Adam, he caught sight of Keith. Told you so.

Shut up , Keith conveyed, wiping at the tear. Adam and Shiro were slipping the rings onto each other’s left ring fingers so tenderly it was easy to forget Shiro was using a prosthetic.

Lance raised an eyebrow. I didn’t even say anything . But his eyes, too, were watery and glimmering with light. Besides, weddings always make me cry .

Keith swallowed hard, his throat bobbing, as he tore his gaze away from Lance. He didn’t want to miss the rest of the ceremony.

Coran finished up his speech, and finally spoke the words they had all been waiting to hear. With a massive smile lighting up his face, he announced, “With the power vested in me by the United States of America and a slightly shady online website, I now pronounce you, Takashi, and you, Adam, husbands. You may kiss the groom.”

Cheers and claps came from the audience as Shiro and Adam swept each other up in their arms, their mouths meeting in a sweet, long kiss, their rings reflecting the sunlight as easily as the waves. It had been so long since Keith had felt so deliriously happy. And maybe, just maybe, the wedding wasn’t the only reason why.

As Adam and Shiro turned to face the audience, hand in hand, everyone rose to sweep them in a massive group hug. Keith found himself squashed between Adam’s mother and Hunk, but he didn’t even mind.

Eventually, they all headed back up to the house, where Hunk had prepared, as promised, a feast. The reception would be casual, like the wedding, and Matt was going to DJ on a table set up on the back porch of the house. Coran set up a rolled mat that unfurled into a dancefloor on the beach.

“I didn’t even think about a dance floor,” Shiro said. “You really thought of everything, Coran.”

The ginger man just winked. “Always be prepared, that’s my motto,” he said good-naturedly.

Allura furrowed her brows. “You have too many mottos to count, Coran.”

“Right you are!” Coran replied, laughing jovially. “Mottos add a spice to life.”

Keith was absorbed enough in their conversation that he didn’t hear Lance sidle up next to him. “I have an idea,” Lance said, leaning close enough to Keith’s ear that his breath tickled his neck. Keith shivered a little involuntarily, which made Lance smile.

“Let’s hear it,” Keith said, arching a brow.

“Well,” Lance said, a mischievous light in his eyes, “I figured since we have a couple hours until the sun goes down and this party really gets started, we should make good use of this beautiful beach and go swimming.”

Keith’s breath caught. “I haven’t been swimming in a long time.”

Lance cocked his head. “If you’ve forgotten how, I promise to teach you again.”

“It’s not just that,” Keith cleared his throat. “I, um, haven’t got any swim trunks with me.”

“Good thing I have two pairs,” Lance said. At Keith’s surprised expression, he just laughed. “I was planning on going to Cuba. Varadero Beach. You really think I wouldn’t bring enough swim trunks?”

Keith felt a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. “I guess not.” He followed Lance into the house and upstairs, where Lance dug around in his bag for a moment before tossing Keith a pair of red swim trunks. Lance’s were blue.

Keith just shook his head at the colors. “It’s almost like you knew ahead of time that we would be meeting,” he mused.

Lance just laughed. “Guess it was fate.” And with that, he slipped into the bathroom, leaving Keith to quickly change in their bedroom. When Lance emerged, his mouth went dry at the sight of the other boy’s bare, toned chest.

He thought Lance might have given a hard swallow as well, but it was hard to tell.

They went quickly downstairs, Keith trying to keep his eyes off the shifting muscles of Lance’s lean back. As soon as they reached the back porch, Lance shot Keith an unreadable glance. Then, faster than Keith could react, he called out, “Race you!” And leaped off the porch, taking off sprinting across the beach.

Keith cursed at the headstart Lance had gotten and took off after him. Lance might have longer legs, but Keith was fast , and he quickly caught up to the other boy. They flew across the sand together, feet churning up clouds behind them, chests heaving, and then they were hitting the water, surf spraying up to their chests as they pounded into the waves at the same time.

Keith tried to stop, but his momentum carried him forward and the current caught at his legs and he was suddenly flying into Lance, tackling him into the water. They both rose up a second later, spluttering ocean water out of their mouths, rubbing at their eyes, laughing uncontrollably. Keith’s whole body shook with the source of his laughter, feeling it blossom deep in his chest, and the vibrations from Lance laughing underneath him shook through him as well.

Lance was sitting in the wet sand, the water lapping at his waist and covering his legs, and Keith realized he was sitting on top of him. His face flushed, but he didn’t make to move.

“I think I won,” Lance said, arching a brow.

“No,” Keith said, his mouth very dry. “I’m pretty sure I did.”

“A tie, then?”

“Sure,” Keith found himself breathing, and Lance was leaning in, and Keith was leaning in, as if they were pulled by the same magnetism Adam and Shiro had been. And as their lips met in a fierce clash of sea salt and warm, rushed breath, Keith felt like he could devour Lance and still not be sated. Here, skin chilling with the evaporation of water in the cool island breeze, half-submerged in the buoyant sea, lips fervently meeting Lance’s, Keith knew that however much time they had, it wouldn’t be enough.

Keith’s elbows rested on Lance’s shoulders and Lance’s fingers were tangled in their favorite section of Keith’s over-long hair, and each time they pulled away, gasping for breath, one of them would chase the other’s lips like they were the only goal worth reaching.

And then there was water engulfing the two of them and they were both sputtering, shutting their eyes against the stinging salt, as Hunk and Pidge charged into the waves.

“Are you guys gonna suck face all day or are you gonna actually swim?” Pidge cried as they waded further into the waves.

Hunk laughed, a full-bellied, joyous sound. “Yeah, come swim! The water is so warm.”

Keith just looked at Lance, whose face, while dripping wet, was flushed with heat, his eyes sparkling, his lips slightly swollen. Keith was sure he looked the same. They both exchanged grins before coming upon a mutual agreement.

“Splash war?”

“Splash war.”

“Oh no,” Pidge had the foresight to say, realization dawning on them, and then Keith and Lance teamed up on them and Hunk, sending waves crashing their way, thoroughly soaking them.

“It’s on!” Hunk cried, showing a rare but gleeful competitive side.

The waves were small, lulled into gentleness by a low breeze, the house on the beach was full of warm light and laughing voices, and the four of them were so wet it was as if they were underwater and not just splashing each other.

Their voices echoed across the waves as the sun trembled on the knife’s edge between day and night, setting the sea ablaze. Keith felt the fire echoed in his own heart, in every thrum of his pulse and electrifying brush against Lance’s skin, in every heated glance between them. He could have swallowed the sun and not burned brighter.

Chapter Text

Keith hovered on the edge of the dance floor, devouring a plate of food from the laden tables inside. Hunk had outdone himself, and Keith had realized he hadn’t eaten all day. He was changed back into dry clothes (the same ones he’d worn the day before, from Adam) and his hair was mostly dry now, the edges curling from the salt and humidity in the air.

The chef who was responsible for filling the hole in Keith’s stomach was now chatting animatedly to a woman who had been present earlier, but whom Keith had not yet spoken to. Shay, he thought her name was? That sounded right. In any case, Keith thought they both seemed enamored with each other, but that might have just been his own projection.

Matt was leaning on the edge of the DJ table, showing Pidge around his equipment, as low beats pulsed from his speaker. He was actually pretty good at reading the crowd, and even Keith could admit he liked the music taste, even if it wasn’t what he normally listened to.

“Hi,” Shiro said breathlessly as he moved to stand next to Keith. He pulled Keith into a quick hug, which Keith maneuvered to return, holding his plate stably behind Shiro’s back. Then Shiro pulled away, grinning. “This is the happiest day of my life.”

“I can tell,” Keith said softly.

“I just wanted to thank you,” Shiro said. “For coming down here. For being my best man, and my best friend throughout the years.”

“You’re such a sap when you’re happy,” Keith said, lightly shoving Shiro in the shoulder. But he couldn’t keep the grin from his face. “You’re welcome.”

Then Matt was tapping on the microphone. “Can everyone hear me? Yeah? Not like this is a big space anyway, whatever. Anywho, it’s time for the first dance! Hold onto your tear ducts, guys, this is gonna get super cute.”

And then Shiro was pulling away from his side, moving to meet Adam in the middle of the dance floor, as the first chords to Light by Sleeping at Last played through the speaker.

Neither Shiro nor Adam were very good dancers, but it didn’t seem to matter as they swept each other around the perimeter of the dance floor, lost in each other’s smiles.

“The world is brighter than the sun now that you’re here.”

They moved around the dance floor, feet occasionally stumbling but laughing it off. As Keith tracked their movements, his eyes locked with Lance’s across the large mat.

“I’ll give you everything I have, I’ll teach you everything I know.”

They stared at each other. Keith knew his jaw was slack, knew he had set his plate down on the table behind him a while ago, knew his fingers were curled loosely at his sides.

“Though your heart is far too young to realize, The unimaginable light you hold inside.”

Lance’s hair was curling, the breeze stirring loose strands of it across his forehead and the shells of his ears. His lips were parted, his face relaxed and open as he gazed at Keith.

“I will rearrange the stars, Pull ‘em down to where you are.”

And then Keith’s feet were moving of their own volition, drawing him around the edge of the dance floor, closer to Lance, and he could see Lance doing the same. They finally halted right in front of each other as the song came to its conclusion, and Keith barely registered that Adam and Shiro shared a brief kiss when they halted dancing. Everyone else was clapping, but it felt muted as Keith still stared, unblinking, at Lance.

And as much as Keith had found he loved kissing Lance, as much as he didn’t mind exploring those lips in front of an audience like he might have used to, he didn’t want to kiss Lance right now. Just needed, desperately, to be touching him, to have skin-on-skin contact. He reached out and his fingers brushed Lance’s, and together they interlaced in a fit that felt so perfect their hands must have been designed to be together.

Lance’s eyes flickered down to their joined hands, breaking the stare. His lips quirked in a smile. “What are we, Keith?” He asked teasingly, raising his eyebrows.

The question knocked Keith off guard. “I don’t know,” he said honestly, but hated the shift he saw in Lance’s eyes. “Do you want to dance?” he rushed to ask.

Lance just smiled easily. “Yes,” he said, his tone almost falsely bright. “Do you think you can keep up, Mullet?”

Keith just gave a fake scowl. “Any day, Sharpshooter.”

Lance loosed a surprised laugh at the nickname, his eyes a little wide as he dragged Keith onto the dance floor. Matt had turned up the volume, was playing a mix of thudding club music, easy synthetic melodies, and throwback pop. Hunk and Shay (Keith was definitely sure that was her name now) were dancing together, both a little awkward in their movements but immensely enjoying themselves. Keith could feel the buzz of the champagne they’d had earlier moving through his system, making him a little bolder than usual. He could see it in the flush of Lance’s cheekbones, the looseness of their movements around each other. Shiro and Adam were bobbing their heads as they chatted on the dance floor with some of their other friends, and Coran and Pidge were having some sort of intense self-regulated dance battle.

Everything felt a little blurred around the edges. Keith’s vision was a camera lens with the aperture turned low, and his focus was all on Lance.

The other boy moved easily and loosely, as Keith had already known from the other morning in the kitchen, but here it was exaggerated. Keith wasn’t a huge dancer, but his body was honed and trained to move as he willed it. So he just let go.

It wouldn’t be easy to do, normally. He didn’t like the loss of control or the lack of taking in every detail of a situation. But with Lance, it was so simple he didn’t have to think about it. He could completely focus on another person and not have to worry about how they would perceive him.

Soon Keith’s hair was plastered to his forehead with sweat from the island heat, the dancing, and the proximity to Lance. Every time their skin touched he shuddered involuntarily, and Lance’s eyes were half-lidded as they moved to the music. Keith’s head pounded in time with his heart, forming a rhythm that belonged entirely to Lance.

“Do you want to take a break?” Lance gasped eventually, and Keith realized he’d been so lost in the sensations that he hadn’t realized how much time slipped by.

“Sure,” Keith agreed. He suddenly realized he was desperately thirsty.

They both walked to the inside to grab a water from the fridge. It was cooler in the kitchen than outside, and Keith gulped greedily at the water, feeling it trickle down his throat. It was almost frightening, how quickly he had lost himself in Lance’s presence. The water cleared his head, sharpened his focus.

Lance, too, seemed as if he was coming out of a dream. It had been so easy to get swept up in each other, to forget about everything else, but now Keith found himself thinking about the coming days and impending consequences they had been ignoring.

“So,” Keith started. The kitchen was dark, lit only by the glow of the light over the stove and the moonlight filtering in through the window. He wasn’t sure why he brought it up, but he couldn’t help himself from asking. “When are you planning on heading back home?”

He was just curious, but it almost seemed like the wrong thing to say. Lance’s face tightened, but he kept his voice light. “What, trying to get rid of me so soon?”

“No,” Keith responded quickly. “In fact, the opposite of that.”

Lance’s expression softened. “I don’t know. I guess I was just planning on leaving whenever you did.”

“I was thinking about leaving the day after tomorrow,” Keith said. “I can’t really stay down here forever, and I want to let Adam and Shiro have their honeymoon.”

Lance nodded. “Makes sense.”

A tense silence fell between them.

Lance then broke it, saying, “You’re still planning on going to the Garrison next year, right?”

“Yeah,” Keith said, suddenly feeling very heavy at the thought. “I know you’re going if you get in, but what are you planning if you don’t?”

Lance set his jaw. “I haven’t thought about it.”

“But - doesn’t that scare you, to not have an immediate plan?” Keith asked. His heart clenched at the thought - he may not be good at planning his future, but ever since he had lost his father, uncertainty had become an enemy. Every immediate moment needed to be mapped out, planned for, accounted for. He needed to know what was coming.

“No,” Lance said shortly. “I’m just hoping I do get in this time. If I consider the alternative, I’ll psych myself out of going even if I do get in. So it’s easier to ignore it.”

Keith felt a familiar panic rising in his chest. It had been so easy to shove it down these past few days, but he could feel it again, like ice spreading through his veins. “And are you ignoring the fact that we might never see each other again after the next couple days, too?” His voice came out more bitter than he had intended, and he immediately cursed himself.

Lance narrowed his eyes. “Is it so bad if I am? I don’t want to think about it. What happened to you talking last night about living in the moment?”

Keith felt the tips of his ears burn. “Nothing,” he said, shaking his head as if trying to clear water from it. “That hasn’t changed. But you seem like you can just ignore it, like you can just - forget -” He halted, his chest heaving. He wasn’t sure why he was reacting so viscerally, why this was only catching up to him now. It felt, he distantly mused, like the edges of a panic attack.

“I can’t just forget it,” Lance said, nearly hissing the words out of desperation. “Jesus, Keith, I’m not heartless. I just can’t think of it. I can’t get my hopes up, I can’t fall in love with someone again just for my heart to get crushed!”

Keith just stared at him, wide-eyed. “Love?”

Lance turned his head to the side. “Never mind.”

Keith’s mouth twisted, and he felt an irrational anger rising in him. He just wanted to make Lance understand . “You can’t just ignore it! You can’t tell me you don’t feel it too!”

“Feel what, Keith?” Lance raised his voice. “You said it earlier, you don’t know what we are. So why do you care so much? We’ve known each other for three days!”

Keith thought he could hear an edge of panic in his voice, but it was hard to tell over the sound of his blood pounding. “Because I care too much!” And he knew he was yelling now, but he couldn’t stop. “I care too much, and I can’t stop, and I don’t know why because that’s not me ! Fuck, Lance, I don’t care about other people! Not like this! I’m scared, damn it!”

Lance’s chest was heaving and his eyes were bright, his mouth set in an angry tilt as he processed Keith’s words. “If you care so much, then why does it feel like you’re pushing me away right now? Why does it feel that every turn, at every interaction, you’re holding yourself back, like you’re limiting yourself? It’s exhausting, Keith! Maybe I want this as much as you do! But I can’t form another lopsided relationship, where I want more and the other person refuses to define things or tell me how they’re feeling. I’m done with that.”

Keith briefly wondered what had happened to make Lance feel this way before he could feel a response swelling out of him. Each word was clipped and shot through with venom. They tasted like bile coming out of his throat. “Maybe you shouldn’t stay if you’re so afraid of another relationship.”

“Maybe I shouldn’t,” Lance bit back, and Keith’s heart beat wildly as he fumed. “And if a relationship is what you wanted, Keith, you should have just said so! But you didn’t, because you’re scared of the commitment. God forbid you actually tell someone how you feel about them, because then they might reject you. Am I right? Is that why? I’m not some toy to be picked up and then broken once you’re tired of it, Keith!”

“If you think so lowly of me, you should have just said so.” Keith felt like someone was throwing a hammer to his skull, like he was about to drop into freefall. How had everything gone so wrong, so quickly? Just minutes ago, they had been dancing together. Now everything felt twisted, like the air between them had broken and the jagged edges were piercing his lungs with every inhale.

“ Fuck , Keith, you just -” Lance seemed to struggle for words. His face was crumpled in that anger Keith had wondered at days ago, had wondered at what it would look like. Now that he knew, Keith wished he could go back. “You just don’t understand. The whole goddamn point is that you’re one of the best things that ever happened to me, and I’ve only known you for three days! I feel like I’m going insane, like I swam too deep and now I’m drowning and I feel like thanking you . Don’t you understand? I have always been this way, and in the end, I am always the one who falls too deeply and can never get back up quite the same again.”

Keith felt like the air had been knocked out of his lungs. “Lance, I -” he cut off, feeling like his throat had been blocked, like sucking in the tiniest breath was a monumental effort.

Lance just shook his head, and Keith could see angry tears threatening to spill from his eyes. Keith felt them too, stinging the back of his retinas, hot and indifferent. “Forget it,” Lance said. The words were saturated and heavy, and they dropped like a stone between them. Lance turned heel and stormed away upstairs.

As the door to the kitchen slammed shut behind him, Keith finally managed to push out the words he’d been trying to say all along. The words he wanted to say the whole time. They felt like shards of glass pushing their way up his throat. I’m sorry I’m like this. I’m sorry I distance myself, that I’m afraid of losing another person, that you have become the most important person in my life so fast I was sure you would leave me too. I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry that - “I love you.”  

The last part, the part he had spoken aloud to an empty kitchen...it was what he’d wanted to tell Lance since the first night they’d spent together. It was what he wanted to whisper to him in the dark hours of the night, in the early light of the morning, in the bright midday sunshine. They were words he wanted to say for the rest of his life. Words he had always dreamed of saying, but never been able to envision.

And they were now words Keith wasn’t sure he would ever be able to say again.

Chapter Text

When Keith had first met Lance and felt that little thread tugging at him, connecting them, he hadn’t believed in fate. He still wasn’t sure if he did, but he knew now that there wasn’t another name he could come up with for what the last three days had been. There was no other way he could feel what he did for Lance with so little time together. Fate, coincidence, love at first sight - there were a million different ways to talk about it. But all Keith knew was that he’d fucked up. Badly. Sure, Lance had said some hurtful things too, but Keith had brought up the conversation, had egged it on, just because he was too stupid to realize his actions might be affecting Lance.

Idiot . He banged his head back on the pillow. His fingers stretched, trying to occupy themselves, searching for an outlet for his anger, but it was all self-directed. He groaned, flopping on his side. He didn’t want to open his eyes, didn’t want to face Lance after what he’d said, but he knew eventually he’d have to.

The previous night, after their fight, Keith had gone up to their bedroom, hoping against hope that Lance wouldn’t be in bed yet. He hadn’t even dreaded sharing a room so much when he found out about it that first night. But Keith was relieved to find their bedroom empty, and when he had glanced out the window, he had seen a distant figure sitting on the beach, watching the waves. He could only stare a moment before looking away, blinking back more irrational tears.

His fault. It was his fault. That was the mantra that had repeated in his mind, over and over again, before he finally slipped into the heavy sleep of someone entirely drained. And now it was morning, and even though Keith wanted to make things right, he didn’t know how to.

Keith kept his eyes squeezed tightly shut before steeling himself. And then, with great effort, opened them. The air was still. The house was quiet. It was still early, and everyone else was probably asleep. But - Keith’s breath caught. It was too quiet. There was no breathing next to him.

Whirling, Keith turned onto his side and then sat up. Lance wasn’t in the bed. Nobody was moving around the house and - and -

There was a note on Lance’s pillow. A small, folded sheet of paper, with ‘ Keith.’ written across in a cramped, blocky scrawl. Keith felt like his breath was coming in short bursts as he frantically opened the note, staring uncomprehendingly at the words written there.

Keith.

I’m catching the earliest flight back to the States.

I’m sorry to leave like this, but I didn’t have any other choice. This is what’s best for both of us. I hope you figure yourself out one day.

I hope you find your future.

Lance.

Keith blinked. Once. Twice. And then his legs were swinging over the edge of the bed, and he was bursting out the door, looking frantically, because he couldn’t really be gone, he couldn’t be -

“Keith!” Came a cry from the room to his right.

“Pidge,” he gasped, his eyes wild. His mind was racing at a speed faster than he knew what to do with, and he felt as if he were jumping through hyperspace, moving without direction.

“Keith,” Pidge said again, their face concerned and wary. “Slow down, buddy. You don’t look too good. Let me explain.”

“Explain what?” Keith said, his voice near hysterical. “Pidge, he’s - he’s gone , he left -” Pidge seemed like they knew what was going on already, but at his words, their eyes widened.

“Shit. Shit . I didn’t even think about how this might - about how you might -” they seemed slightly more worried now. Pidge knew the full scope of Keith’s abandonment issues, of the deep scars left by dead parents and prosthetics and parents unknown.

“Do you know what’s going on?” Keith asked desperately. “Did he really leave for the airport?”

“Yes,” Pidge said, and Keith sagged. This was the worst thing he could have imagined happening when he was so close to finally admitting his feelings - “Allura drove him over at dawn,” Pidge continued. “I don’t think he slept at all. He looked pretty bad.”

“Fuck, Pidge,” Keith cried. “Tell me what to do!”

“Keith.” Pidge had abruptly changed their tone. It was firmer, steely. They gripped Keith’s arms with unlikely strength. “Look at me.”

Keith forced himself to meet Pidge’s gaze. There was concern there, yes, but there was also resolve.

“What do you want to do?” They asked.

Keith took a few shuddering inhalations. “I don’t -”

“Yes, you do know,” Pidge said. “Cut the bullshit. I know you’re afraid, and you’re panicking, but you need to figure this out for yourself. Yes, Lance is gone. What are you going to do about it?”

“I -” Keith stared at Pidge with wide eyes for a moment. “I’m going to the airport. I need to try to catch him before he -” Keith took in another shuddering breath. “Before he leaves.”

Pidge just nodded with grim satisfaction. “So what are you waiting for?”

And with that, Keith took off down the hall, almost swinging himself down the stairs. He stopped short when he saw Allura in the living room, still in her pajamas, her hair uncharacteristically messy. She was staring blankly at the wall, her legs drawn up to her chest. A slight frown tilted on her lips.

“Keith!” She cried, jumping up when she saw him. “Thank goodness, I’ve been so worried - Is something wrong? Why did Lance leave so abruptly? I drove him to the airport, I hope I didn’t cause any trouble -”

“No, no,” Keith said breathlessly, dismissing her concern. “It’s fine, it’s done now. But I need you to take me to the airport too. Right now.”

Allura’s eyes widened and then she was nodding, scooping the car keys to the rental off the table and then speed-walking out the door, Keith close behind her.

They jumped into the car, doors slamming, and Allura was immediately backing out of the driveway and zooming down the road.

Then Keith told her everything. He told her about the plane landing, and their ‘prank’, and how Keith had accidentally fallen in love with Lance over the course of three days, which was so ridiculous but it was true , and he was pretty sure Lance felt the same way, but they had a fight and both said things they shouldn’t have and then Lance had left. The words came out in a garbled disorderly rush, but Allura seemed to understand well enough because by the time Keith was done, her eyes were wide as saucers and her driving had noticeably sped up.

“So now you’re going to the airport to see if you can get him back? This is just like the movies!” She said, a bemused smile lighting her face.

Keith gave a little hysterical laugh at the irony. Everything he had sworn he would never be, every cheesy trope he had sworn he would never fill, was now culminating in the biggest romantic overture of them all. But he couldn’t bring himself to care. For Lance, he would do it over and over again.

Before long, they were pulling up to the airport, and Keith could see planes landing and taking off in the distance. His fingers were twitching against his legs. The sight filled his stomach with clenched anxiety as he imagined Lance on each of the departing flights, bound for home. Away from Keith.

Allura pulled into the area designated ‘Departures’, and stopped the car in a lane with people unloading luggage and families from rental cars. She fixed him with a fierce stare. “Go get him.”

Keith moved to open his door, but then Allura grabbed his arm one last time. “And Keith,” she said seriously, her eyes glinting, “if you hurt that boy again, I will personally see to it that you regret it.”

Keith couldn’t help the quick smile that flashed over his face. “I don’t plan to.” He promised.

And then he was running, sprinting inside, weaving around tourists and suitcases, the air-conditioned air stinging his eyes, and he was searching desperately for security - once he spotted the long, looping line, he slowed to a speed walk, moving as fast as he could at a relatively normal pace.

“Excuse me,” he gasped, trying to get the attention of a security official monitoring the line of people unloading their belongings for screening.

The woman raised an eyebrow, taking in his mussed ponytail, the tiny black hoop earring that he’d gotten on a dare from Pidge, the woven cords around his wrists, his wild eyes and heaving chest. “How can I help you?”

“I don’t have a boarding pass or a ticket or - or anything,” he said, feeling that rising panic in his chest again. “But I need to get inside, to a gate.”

“Sir, I’m sorry, but our policy does not -”

“Please,” Keith said, his voice cracking on the word in his desperation. “You can follow me there, I won’t board a plane, but I need to see someone before they leave, or it will be too late, I might never see him again -” He knew he was causing a scene, was not painting the picture of a responsible person that they could let through security, but he couldn’t help it. The only thing his mind was doing was chanting Lance, Lance, Lance, over and over again like a record hell-bent on repeating forever.

The woman appraised him. Keith suspected this wasn’t the first cliche airport dash she’d seen, because she then decisively said, “Fine. You’ll have to pass through the body screen, but you can skip the line. Only because I’m coming with you. And if you do anything besides what you say you came here to do, you’re out,” she clarified at the relief on Keith’s face.

“Thank you, thank you so much,” he was babbling, and she led him past the line, held onto the stuff he removed from his pockets, and let him step through the screening. He came out clean, and she handed him back his things, including the silver ring and hippo charm he had arrived on the island with.

“What flight is this person you’re searching for on?” The official asked. Despite her chilly exterior, she seemed like she might be enjoying this interruption in the monotony of the workday.

Keith stopped short. Lance’s note, which was crumpled in his pocket, had said that he was taking the first flight out to the States, presumably around the airport they’d left from. “Are there any flights going to Houston?” he asked.

The woman raised her eyebrows as she checked something on a screen. “Yes,” she said. “First one out today. But it leaves in thirty minutes. It’s probably almost finished boarding.”

Keith’s chest felt like it was caving in. “Okay,” he breathed out, and she pointed him in the right direction. He took off in that way, flat-out running, weaving around people so fast he didn’t care if the official reprimanded him. She was surely following him, anyway. He had to reach Lance in time. He had to.

There was no other alternative.

Finally, finally, he rounded the corner, and his eyes were scanning the last dregs of the boarding line, before finally landing on a shock of brown hair, a lanky frame, a tapping foot.

“Lance,” Keith breathed out. He was the last in line, as if he didn’t care when he boarded. White earbuds dangled from his ears, and something about the set of his limbs was listless, devoid of energy. His phone was in his hand, but his gaze was fixed ahead of him, staring into empty space.

“Lance!” Keith cried, louder this time as he drew nearer, trying to compete with the sound of Lance’s music. The other boy’s hand rose hesitantly to his ear as if he thought he might be hearing things.

“ Lance! ” Keith said for the last time, almost yelling as he skidded to a stop behind him, drawing the attention of curious passersby. And finally, Lance turned around, his face sad and conflicted, and then his eyes were meeting Keith’s in an electric shock of blue, and Keith knew everything he was feeling was written right on his face for Lance to read.

Lance pulled out his earbuds. “When I asked the universe for a sign, I’ll admit this wasn’t what I was expecting.”

“What - a sign?” Keith asked, thrown off balance, suddenly forgetting everything he was going to say in Lance’s presence.

“Yeah,” Lance said, and Keith hated how his tone was a little listless, guarded. “You know, like a leaf in the face, or an upset stomach, something to tell me to reconsider. Fate loves a good cliche, though, I guess.”

Keith found himself nodding along, eager to do anything to ease the lingering pain of the last time they had spoken. And he knew Lance wasn’t going to say anything else until he did. He was dimly aware of the officer catching up to them and keeping her distance across the hallway, arms folded, a tiny smile across her face. A random pedestrian said, “Hey, aren’t those the kids who were on TV a couple days ago? Bob, look!” And pointed at them, but it was if Keith was underwater. Everything but him and Lance was muted, unimportant.

He let out his breath in a rush, and then everything was spilling out of him. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Lance, I should never have said those things. I regret it all. I was just - I am scared, I’m so fucking scared, and I know that’s not an excuse, and you don’t need to forgive me, you shouldn’t forgive me, but -”

Lance just held up a hand, and Keith immediately fell silent at the gesture. “I’m sorry too,” he said, and Keith’s heart leaped at the little flicker of hope he thought he saw in those blue eyes.

So he continued, and saying the words he had whispered in the kitchen the previous night was such a relief. It was like stepping out into the sun, or breathing fresh air, or waking up after a good night’s sleep. It was like being with Lance.

“I love you,” Keith said. “I love you, Lance McClain, I love you so fucking much it’s terrifying because we’ve only known each other for a few days and even if we never lay eyes on each other again and you leave today, I wanted you to know. If we had time…” Keith’s chest shuddered with a repressed sob. “God, if we had time, I would want to do everything with you, Lance. I want to go to college with you, I want to stay up all night spilling our secrets, I want to do stupid things together and laugh about it, I want time .

“Even if you don’t love me back, even if you decide to leave today, I had to tell you. I couldn’t let the best thing fate had ever given me slip away after a fight.” He wanted to say more, but he stopped rambling, chest heaving. He could feel tears slipping down his cheeks.

Lance’s eyes were wide, his pupils blown, and he looked stunned, disbelieving. Keith felt his chest tightening as each beat of silence passed. “This is insane,” Lance finally muttered. Keith felt his heart drop. “Because I love you too.”

Keith could feel his knees threatening to buckle.

“I love you, Keith Kogane-Shirogane.” Lance continued. “Which is insane, so insane that I could love you after three days. Even for me, that’s a record.”

“I loved you since I first set eyes on you in that cockpit,” Keith whispered. “Even if I didn’t know it at the time. I was just scared….after losing so much, I was afraid to lose you too.”

“I was afraid too,” Lance breathed. “Afraid I would get rejected again, afraid I would put my heart too far out and have it get stomped on in the process.”

“But that’s not going to happen now.”

Lance place his warm hands on Keith’s face, soaking up the tear tracks. “No, it’s not.”

The moment stretched, expanded, as if time had stopped for them. Their eyes were unwavering, no blinks interrupting them, and the world around fell silent. The airport melted away, the world melted away, until there was nothing but Lance’s hands on Keith’s face and his pounding heart and that infinitely fragile feeling fluttering in his chest.

And then they were kissing, and it wasn’t gentle or sweet. It was fierce, claiming, insistent. A promise. A promise to see each other as they were, to see all the little faults and fears and bad-tempered edges, and still accept each other. Still choose each other.

Keith hadn’t even realized they had an audience until he heard the shatter of applause from all the people in the area surrounding them, and the bubble of peace faded, and he and Lance broke apart with sheepish smiles. The airport official was still shaking her head, but she was grinning.

“So, what are we, Kogane?” Lance asked teasingly, but there was a fragility in the repetition.

Keith tilted his head so their foreheads were touching, their breath fanning across each other’s faces. “You’re mine,” he said quietly, but with conviction. “And I’m yours.”

“Yes,” Lance breathed. “That sounds good.” They stayed like that for a moment, just breathing in each other’s scents. Then he clarified, “So we’re boyfriends now?”

“Sure,” Keith said, feeling a laugh bubbling out of him. “Yes.”

“Last call for boarding on flight 671 to Houston,” a voice said over the crackling loudspeaker.

Keith drew his head back. He didn’t want to ask, but he knew Lance would be able to sense his question anyway. Lance paused, looking back at the now-empty boarding line, then at his bag, then at Keith.

Keith held his breath. Whatever Lance decided to do, he would respect. They owed each other that much.

Then Lance’s eyes crinkled. “I wouldn’t want to go on another plane without my co-pilot,” he murmured, then pulled Keith into another sweet kiss.

When they finally broke apart, they found the security official waiting behind them, tapping her foot. “If you aren’t getting on that plane,” she said sternly, “then I must request you find another place to be.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Keith said, his lips curving up. “And thank you.”

She gave him a perfunctory nod, but Keith could see the smile on her face as she walked away. “I think Allura is waiting for us in the car,” he told Lance.

Lance looked down at the boarding pass in his hands, raising his eyebrow. “I suppose I should switch this out to whatever flight you’re taking, seeing as how I just missed my flight.”

“I suppose you should,” Keith said, and he couldn’t keep the giddy smile off his face as they walked, hand in hand, back toward the exit.

They eventually found Allura’s rental car still idling in the drop-off line, currently fending off a harried airport worker telling her she couldn’t wait there any longer.

“Oh, there they are!” Allura said brightly to the man, pointing at Lance and Keith. “Thanks so much for your kind suggestion of other parking spots, sir, but we’ll be leaving now.” Keith and Lance climbed into the backseat, hoisting Lance’s duffel onto the floor beneath them. “Have a nice day!” Allura called out the window as they sped off.

The airport personnel just raised a hand in confused response as they rounded the corner.

Keith couldn’t keep his hands off Lance for the entire car ride home. Allura was chatting amiably about their plans for the rest of the day, of beach time and relaxation before they all parted ways. They were only partly listening; were more focused on constantly stroking their thumbs against the back of their hands, bumping knees, keeping fingers interlaced. Reassuring each other that they were both real, both there.

They were near to the house when Lance looked up from his phone and straightened very suddenly, staring at Keith.

“What?” Keith asked.

A grin split Lance’s face. “I just got an email!”

“And that’s exciting...why?” Keith asked hesitantly, confused.

“Let me finish, you idiot,” Lance laughed, but his eyes were excited. “I just got an email...announcing my acceptance to the Galaxy Garrison on full scholarship!”

Keith’s jaw dropped. “Oh my god!” Allura said from the front seat. “Lance, congratulations!”

It was almost too much to take in. Because, right there, unfolding in front of him, was a future.

“I’m really proud of you,” was all Keith could manage, his throat choked.

Lance, even though he was still practically vibrating with excitement, softened as he looked at Keith. “We’ll see who’s the best pilot at the Garrison after this year.”

“It’ll probably be you,” Keith admitted. At Lance’s shocked face, he just smiled. “It would be bad form to upset my boyfriend, wouldn’t it?”

“It’s even worse form to let your boyfriend win,” Lance pouted.

“Hmm,” Keith hummed, leaning forward to kiss Lance. “I guess we’ll just have to see then.”

Allura pulled into the driveway, and Pidge came running out of the house, eyes wild. When they saw Keith and Lance emerge from the car, hands joined and faces silly with grins, they pumped their fist in the air. “I knew it!” They crowed gleefully. “Yes!”

The four of them trekked back into the house, Lance and Pidge excitedly talking about the Garrison acceptance. By now, everyone was up and clustered in the kitchen. The guests who weren’t staying in the house with them must have left after Keith had gone to bed last night.

Shiro and Adam looked tired but happy, their left hands on the table as if they wanted to keep their wedding bands displayed at all times. Shiro, as usual, clutched a mug of black coffee, nearly empty. They wore confused expressions, and Matt and Hunk looked at the four of them entering suspiciously.

“Can someone explain what we’re missing here?” Shiro asked, one eyebrow raised.

“You’re using your Dad Voice,” Keith groaned.

Pidge nodded in agreement. “Yeah, stop that. It makes me want to like, clean the house or mow the lawn.”

Shiro just looked at Pidge. “I mean, if you wanted to do that, I wouldn’t stop you.”

“No!” Pidge said, swatting him as they moved around the table to sit next to Matt. “Just let them tell the story.”

And so they did.

Keith narrated most of it, but Lance jumped in at many times to add how he had been feeling, or details Keith had been too oblivious to notice or mention. When they got to the argument, they glossed over the details but described the turbulence it left in its wake. Keith could tell Lance was still hurt by the conversation. He was, too. And they weren’t ignoring it, weren’t pretending it never happened by agreeing to be together. After some more quiet discussion in the car on the way back, they had simply decided to heal. Together. And to learn how to move forward.

By the time they finished their story with getting into the car at the airport, Shiro’s eyebrows looked like they were going to disappear into his hairline.

“I can’t believe I didn’t pick up on any of this,” Matt said disbelievingly.

“Yeah, well, you’re super oblivious,” Pidge said.

Matt gave them a mock-frown. “Not true!” he said indignantly. After he turned around again, Pidge made bunny ears over the back of his head. He didn’t notice, even when Allura and Hunk snickered.

Shiro just fondly rolled his eyes at their antics. “Well, I’m glad you were able to work it out between you,” he said. “And I’m glad you finally decided to tell us the truth.”

“Dad Voice,” Pidge and Keith said at the same time. Adam chuckled at the quick grins they shared.

“Well,” Hunk said, clearing his throat. “I know I’m planning on leaving tomorrow, is that when everyone else was planning to as well?”

Everyone except for Shiro and Adam nodded their assent.

“Then I say we make the most of today,” Hunk said, a wide smile spreading over his face.

And as Keith and Lance looked at each other, passing between them a thousand smiles, a thousand kisses, a thousand fond moments still to come, they seemed to reach a mutual agreement. To make the most of today. In the end, that was all they could do.

“Yes,” Keith said. “That sounds like a good idea.”

Chapter Text

Lance’s fingers tapped the countdown to the last minute of class. When the professor finally finished his monologue on models of parabolic landing arcs and Lance had scribbled everything down, he nearly leaped from his seat in his haste to leave the lecture hall.

It was unusually crisp outside for October in Texas, and Lance pulled his jacket around him a little tighter as he leaned against the wall of the building, waiting to hear - there . He smiled as the low rumbling filled his ears, and a red motorcycle pulled to a stop in front of the building. The figure sitting astride it waited until he drew close and then pulled off his helmet, black hair and violet eyes spilling from beneath in a rush that still, after months of dating, knocked the air out of Lance’s chest.

He would recognize that mullet anywhere.

“Why hello, birthday boy,” he said when he was finally close enough to Keith. “How is the most talented, most attractive nineteen-year-old at the Galaxy Garrison?”

“I don’t know, how are you?” Keith raised an eyebrow as his mouth tilted in that smirk Lance loved so much.

“I - I -” Lance blushed. “I wasn’t expecting that.” Keith Kogane, with his leather jacket and gleaming motorcycle and helmet-mussed hair and soft expression, still made Lance’s stomach do things he couldn’t put a name to.

And it wasn’t just the mysterious, bad boy, careless exterior he had fallen in love with - in fact, it was despite that. Lance had seen Keith in a Mothman t-shirt at 3 am, had seen him cry at his brother’s wedding, had seen him cuddled next to a giant sleeping dog at the animal shelter, and felt his heart ache even more at each moment. Had loved him even more so for it, especially since it was a side he let so few people see.

And he wasn’t letting people see it now as he smirked up at Lance. Then Keith’s eyes narrowed as he spotted something over Lance’s shoulder.

“Kiss me,” Keith suddenly whispered urgently, maintaining the smirk on his face. But his eyes had shifted in a way so slight that if Lance hadn’t spent countless hours studying them, he wouldn’t have been able to pick up on it.

“Not that I need a reason to kiss my boyfriend,” Lance murmured, leaning in close to Keith under the guise of putting his arms around his neck. “But is there a particular urge?”

Keith made a little noise in the back of his throat. “James Griffin is behind you. And staring.”

Lance huffed out a breath. “Let’s give the ass something worth staring at, then.” And he pressed his lips to Keith’s, his fingers tangling in silky-soft hair, their brushing noses sending little sparks tingling up his sinuses.

Lance deepened the kiss a little more than he might usually in public, making sure everything they were doing was quite visible to anyone watching them, reveling in the sensation of warm lips sliding effortlessly against his; reveling in the floral-edged cinnamon scent that clung to Keith, and more often than not, himself.

When they finally broke apart, Keith’s eyes were glittering. “He looks scandalized,” he murmured against Lance’s mouth, his warm breath caressing Lance’s skin.

“Good,” Lance said, grinning, and he disentangled his arms from Keith’s shoulders. “Now let me get on your bike, birthday boy. There are some people waiting for us.”

Keith’s brow furrowed as Lance climbed around behind him and pulled a helmet out of the bike’s back compartment (blue, of course). “What do you mean? You didn’t plan a party, did you?”

“Whatever do you mean?” Lance asked innocently. “Besides, if there was such a thing as a Keith-Kogane-Nineteenth-Birthday-Party-Extraordinaire, I would never be the organizer of such a thing. That, of course, would rest on someone like Shiro, who has too much time on their hands. Er, hand.”

Keith laughed then, a pealing sound that made Lance forget there was a chill to the October wind. “Alright,” he said, his chuckles shaking against where Lance had rested his chin on his shoulder. “I should have expected it, I guess.”

“Mmm,” Lance hummed, wrapping his arms tightly around Keith’s warm waist. And as his boyfriend kicked off the ground, starting to move them away from the lecture hall, Lance caught the eye of one James Griffin, who was still watching them with angry eyebrows and a gaping mouth. Keith started to speed up, and Lance held the disappearing figure’s gaze as he gave Keith's old bully his most disarming smirk and the finger at the same time. And then they were whipping around a corner and Lance was burying his face in Keith’s shoulder once again, satisfied.

The first time Lance had ridden with Keith on this motorcycle, it had been a frightening experience. Not because of Keith (Lance had never felt safer than with him), but because of the sheer speed the motorcycle was capable of, and Keith’s unflinching use of that speed.

Now, though, it was second nature to let out a whoop as Keith took side roads, zipping past storefronts and pedestrians. Lance was sure that if he could see, Keith’s face would have a wild grin on it. And now, with the exhilarating autumn air in his lungs and a fistful of his boyfriend’s jacket in his hands, Lance knew his face was a mirror to Keith’s.

He was almost disappointed when they pulled up to Shiro’s apartment building, where Lance had directed Keith to go. As he pulled the helmet off, patting down his hair from where it stuck up, he breathed the chill air in deeply. “I can smell your favorite scent,” he said to Keith, whose eyes were still sparkling from the rush of his bike.

Keith’s brows furrowed. “What do you mean?”

“The air,” Lance said. “It smells like cold.”

Keith just gave a shake of his head and a fond smile that sent the butterflies in Lance’s stomach flying. “That’s not my favorite smell anymore.”

Lance felt a confused little smile play on his lips. “What is, then?”

“Mmm,” Keith said noncommittally, before leaning in to kiss Lance. Their noses were cold where they brushed together, but Keith’s lips were warm, his gloves slightly rough against Lance’s neck. Lance couldn’t help leaning into the kiss, almost whining when Keith pulled away. “Don’t you have a birthday party to take me to?”

“I said no such thing!” Lance squawked. Then he lowered his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “You can’t tell Pidge I ruined the surprise, they’ll kill me.”

Keith just raised an eyebrow, but he was unable to keep the little smile from his lips. “I can keep it a secret.” His smile widened. “But you might have to make it up to me later.”

Lance squawked again as Keith strode toward the building, leaving him standing on the sidewalk with his mouth agape and his blood heating. It was almost unfair, the effect Keith had on him. Lance was supposed to be the one flustering Keith, not the other way around!

He jogged to catch up to Keith, who was holding the building door open for him. “Guess chivalry’s not dead,” Lance threw over his shoulder as he passed through the door, looking in time to see Keith roll his eyes affectionately.

They reached for each other’s hands at the same time, interlacing their fingers in a fit so perfect Lance still marveled at it as they took the stairs two at a time. Finally, they arrived in front of the door to the apartment Shiro and Adam shared, and Lance knocked.

The door swung open to a full apartment, all people who turned toward them at the sound of the door opening. “Happy Birthday!” came the ringing shout from all the people present, and Keith did his best to look shocked before easing into a soft smile. It seemed to fool their friends well enough, because then they were being tugged into the warm apartment, the door swinging shut behind them.

Adam and Shiro were leaned against the counter, chatting with Pidge and Matt, and Hunk and Allura were animatedly discussing some new tech that had come to the Garrison. Coran was nodding interestedly as he listened to Shay discussing something, twirling his orange mustache.

Lance’s heart felt like it could burst at the warmth he felt walking into a room full of these people, his friends. People who he wouldn’t have met without Keith. And Keith, most of all, was the reason for that warmth, for that safe feeling.

Lance squeezed Keith’s hand, their gazes communicating in the way that only they could seem to understand.

Happy birthday, Lance thought, conveying through their stare.

I love you, Keith seemed to say, his eyes softening imperceptibly as if he could sense Lance already knew what the gesture of the party had meant to him. I choose you. Fate and all.

I love you too. Fate and all.

Eventually the sun set on their party, setting the desert sky ablaze with orange and red, and Lance couldn’t help thinking about how they’d come full circle, about the funny ways the world brought people together. Couldn’t stop thinking about coincidence, and the wide-open future, and love. Love most of all.

Because in the end, it didn’t matter if it came down to fate or coincidence. It didn’t matter how it had happened, how they had gotten here. What mattered was simply that they had.