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“Back off Kogane before I rip that pretty little mullet off your head.” Lance glared up at the man next to him as they both reached for the door at Altea. The building was a beacon for the arts and all avenues into the future. Ever since six-year-old Lance saw the impressive structure on the news channel he was determined to end up inside the pristine building one day. Finally, he had his chance with a dream internship working under some of the brightest minds of the century in law.
“Oh, shove off McClain. I would sooner bite off my own leg than let you get this internship from me,” Keith bit back as he flung open the glass doors.
“Get to gnawing then. I have waited sixteen years for this and I won’t have you take it from me,” Lance vowed as he walked in the doors before Keith had the chance. Keith watched, flabbergasted as Lance charmed the secretary with a smile, before charging forward to get in the elevator with his rival.
“My brother works in this department so don’t get your hopes up,” Keith snarked as the elevator slowly rose up to the 46th floor: the home of Altea’s Law & Legal Department.
“Nepotism, lovely.” Lance rolled his eyes, drawing out the sarcasm in his voice. “Shiro, no matter how beautiful he may be, won’t be enough to make them forget about your complete lack of social skills and general ineptitude. Why do you even want this internship anyway? I thought you were trying to join the FBI.”
“This internship is good experience, proves I’m personable.” Keith replied curtly. Lance, kindly, stifled his laughter to help him feel better.
“For me, this will prove a lot more than how personable I am. I’m actually trying to go into law, become the greatest civil rights lawyer in the world.” Lance waved his hand dramatically, gesturing to an imaginary audience. “Soon everyone will come to me to help shape up this ugly world.”
“That’s... admirable actually.” Keith had such a genuine expression that Lance actually had to turn away.
“Did you really not know why I wanted this internship? What, did you think I was just trying to be a lawyer for the money or something?” Keith’s silence is damning and Lance bristled. “I should’ve known you wouldn’t have cared to find out. You don’t have a sincere bone in your body.”
The elevator door opens at last and Lance headed out first to find the Head of the Department: Allura Golion. She was a force to be reckoned with, well on her way to becoming a supreme court justice and the heir to Altea. The latter had earned her the title of Princess but she quickly crushed the idea with the heel of her Louboutins as she surpassed any person who could complain about her. With such a dynamic personality, Lance couldn’t wait to work with her.
“Are you two the candidates for the internship?” A new voice broke Lance out of his reverie and he turned to see a pretty girl; crystal blue eyes almost as clear as his own and two long braids laying neatly. The nameplate on the circular mahogany desk said Plaxum and she extended a smile at the pair. Her gleaming white teeth shone with her dark skin and Lance was all too happy to return the gesture.
“Yes we are! It will be a pleasure to work with someone so kind,” Lance said with an impish grin. Keith felt himself prickle but let it go and focused solely on Plaxum.
“Very confident! This will be fun,” she laughed loudly before getting up from behind her desk and gesturing for them to follow. Lance and Keith tried to, not so subtly, be faster than the other but eventually stopped when they almost bumped into their third paralegal. A temporary truce was called as Plaxum lead them through the winding offices, explaining who was who, before finally dropping them off at Allura’s office.
“Good luck with the interviews.” Plaxum’s phone began to buzz incessantly and she drifted away to deal with what sounded like the beginning of a business concern. The two sat in stifling silence, staring at the floor, the window, the passing employees; anything but each other. Lance’s leg bounced mindlessly as he tried to not think of what would happen if Keith managed to take this internship. He’d have to go back to his family and stand there in defeat as everything he wanted slipped away. Lance would have to go with a second rate firm willing to put money over morals and he would never get the solid base he needed to do great things.
“Can you quit it with the fidgeting?” Keith broke through Lance’s soliloquy with thinly veiled irritation.
“I will when you quit being a jerk,” Lance replied and jiggled his leg harder in retaliation. Keith kept trying to still legs with his hands or by attempting to shove him off the chair, so Lance would jiggle his leg even harder. Keith finally managed to kick Lance out of his chair
“The intern candidates?” Allura asked skeptically as she exited her office to stare at the two boys, one of which was sprawled out on the floor. Immediately they stood ramrod straight and hoped they didn’t already blow it.
“Ms. Golion, I’m so sorry!” Lance bowed so low his nose basically touched his legs and Keith grimaced while rubbing a hand on his neck.
“No worries, technically the interview hasn’t begun so we will all pretend this never happened.” Allura winked at them before calling in Keith to the office. Through the large wooden door, Lance could hear nothing and tried to sit on his hands to stop from messing with his jacket. When that didn’t work he switched to pouring over his resume again and again- just to be sure he had everything. After an unbearably long ten minutes, the door opened and Keith gestured for him to go inside. Lance smiled tersely at him before stepping into the office and being blown away by the view.
“I never get tired of looking at the city.” Allura said with a smile as she stared out at the skyline, incredibly present due to two of the office’s walls being made out of glass. The office was spacious and Lance felt himself relax in the comforting atmosphere. As he looked around, he saw large bookshelves lined up against the wall near the door he entered. He looked to his right to see a beige wall covered in art and a glass door. Lance snuck a glance and saw a another moderately sized office.
“That is the intern office. I always like to keep them close. Now, shall we begin?” Allura asked as she took the spot behind a large desk, filled with papers neatly organized into folders and a computer on the left. He nodded nervously and the rest of the time passed in a blur. All Lance knew was that his hands didn’t stop shaking until he stepped out of the room and he hoped that he had given good answers despite being so nervous he couldn’t remember a thing.
“That took a while,” Keith commented casually as he looked up from his phone. He had sprawled across the two chairs they had previously been sitting in and ignored the dirty looks people shot him as he made himself at home.
“Keith? I thought you would’ve left by now.” Lance was surprised that Keith had lingered so long. His watch told him it had been thirty minutes since he entered the office and if roles were reversed Lance would have already hightailed it out of there.
“Consider it the one sincere bone in my body wanting to see how you did,” Keith said wryly and Lance winced slightly. Sure they were rivals but that was a bit excessive for him to say. Stress and Lance never went well together.
“Sorry. I think I was good? I can’t really remember. How about you?” Lance asked as they began to head back toward the elevator.
“I wouldn’t hold my breath. It’s fine, I have actually been interviewing with a private security firm. They do more stuff that would help me in the FBI and I’m starting to like them as a choice. They sounded more suited to what I want right now than here.” Keith didn’t seem to care too much but Lance couldn’t help the twinge of relief and guilt that rushed through his stomach. Maybe his teasing went too far. “Besides, now you have a fighting chance at the spot.”
Lance turned to him in indignation before seeing a smirk on Keith’s face. He decided to say nothing, instead waving at Plaxum, until the elevator door closed. “Keith Kogane, cracking a joke! I never thought I’d see the day.”
“Things are always changing,” Keith said wistfully as he watched Lance laugh. His cheeks heated up as he saw Keith’s fond gaze and he cleared his throat awkwardly.
“Change is always good! The only constant is change and all that.” Lance adjusted his bag and let out a quick chuckle to avoid staring at Keith anymore. Why did his rival have to have such pretty eyes? Before he could say anything else Keith’s phone buzzed.
“Get your rejection yet?” Lance teased before his own phone started chiming obnoxiously. He looked up with wide eyes after reading what it had said. Starting Monday, Lance McClain: Law Student Extraordinaire, was going to be interning with Altea Golion. Despite his joy, Lance realized that if he got the job that meant Keith…
“Are you okay?” Lance asked tentatively when Keith still hadn’t spoken. Keith looked at him with confusion before showcasing his phone screen.
“That security place I was telling you about… they agreed to give me the internship. I’ll be starting at the Blade of Marmora next week.” Keith grinned, an honest grin, and Lance couldn’t stop his own beaming smile. It was almost too perfect.
“But if you got your internship and I got mine then what are we rivals for anymore?” Lance questioned as the elevator finally opened to the ground floor, jarring him from his thoughts. Now that they were in different internships with different majors and different career paths, what would be holding them together anyway? Lance felt like he was wading through sludge during his slow procession to the front doors of Altea. Keith stopped him right before he could open the doors with a hand on his shoulder.
“I don’t think we should be rivals anymore,” Keith confessed and Lance can already feel himself missing Keith- the one who always pushed him to do better and be better. “Though it couldn’t hurt to be… friends?”
“Us? Friends? I think the world would explode,” Lance laughed it off but when he saw Keith wasn’t kidding, he turned more serious. “I suppose it would be interesting to see what it’s like to be around you when we aren’t competing. Alright, friends.”
Lance went in for a fist bump while Keith tried to have a high five and the two ended up with an awful union of their hands. They laughed before Lance pushed open the doors and they stepped out of Altea. Almost immediately, Keith turned to the left and chuckled. Lance looked at him in confusion, but Keith just shook his head.
“There is the place I was telling you about- the Blade of Marmora. That’s where my internship is at. I guess I’ll be seeing you around,” Keith said, and Lance smiled back at him.
“I guess so.”
And if he just so happened to make plans with his rival turned friend to go get lunch together on their first day as interns, well, that’s just what friends do. And if Lance maybe, somehow, possibly, also kissed Keith on the cheek before leaving to go to his apartment well maybe that’s what more than just friends do.