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Chapter Text

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

"I still can't believe Mystique designed this herself," Hunk said, running his fingers along a delicate design in the wood. "I never pegged her to be the designing type."

Lance pulled the handle of a tube and skittles came rolling into his hands. "Well she has good taste at least," he exclaimed while shoving the candy in his mouth.

Keith groaned from his chair as Pidge and Allura emerged from the bathroom. "Well. Makeup is on and I feel much more ready to face Florida," Allura declared, placing her makeup bag into her backpack.

"Not usually a makeup kind of girl but man do I feel refreshed!" Pidge exclaimed as she flopped on her chair.

Lance looked at her up and down. She was wearing what Hunk deemd as white "shortie short shorts", a lacy, neon green and pink splotchy tank top that matched Allura's, and flip-flops. Her hair fell just above her shoulder and Lance caught himself staring. He shook his head to clear it and went back to his skittles. "An improvement from this morning," he teased.

Pidge threw one of the complementary pillows at her co-worker. "Oh like you looked so amazing this morning," she retorted. 'Ugh. Who am I kiddig. He looked hot.' she mentally scolded herself.

"Oh look," Keith interrupted, not looking up from his magazine. "Something else for Pidge and Lance to have a lively debate about."

Keith, Hunk, and Allura were saved from further arguments by the pilot announcing their arrival. "I'm not sure Daytona Beach is ready for us," Hunk commented as everyone buckled up.

"Lance flung open the front door and took a few steps inside. "Ahh. Home sweet home," he exclaimed, taking a long breath in.

"This isn't your home Lance," Pidge reminded, coming in after him. "And did you really make me bring your suitcase in so you could have a dramatic entrance?"

"One," Lance began as the others filed into the three story beach house. "It is for the next two weeks and two, yes. Yes I did."

Pidge rolled her eyes, shoved Lance's suitcase at him, and climbed the stairs. She could hear the others clambering up the stairs behind her but she paid no attention. Afterall, with them stuck on the stairs, she'd get first pick of rooms.

The genius decided on a room at the far end of the hall. It was one of the two rooms that had a balcony plus it was facing the ocean. She quickly claimed the room and started unpacking a few things.

Meanwhile Hunk and Allura, having claimed their rooms, began to explore the house. "If I remember correctly, two stories, plus a basement, kitchen, livingroom, dining room, mud room, game room in the basement, five bedrooms not counting the pull out couch in the basement, two bathrooms and a hot tub all in a house litteally on the beach is what we are living in," Hunk recalled with slight wonderment. "Mystique really gets what she wants."

The two entered the large modern kitchen. The kitchen was furnished nicely with new appliances. "I feel like everything is too expensive to touch," Alllura commented running a finger over the marble countertop. Hunk flung open the fridge door and shrieked. Allura ran to her friend's side and peered over his shoulder. "What's wrong?"

"The only food in here is what appears to be a protein shake! How am I supposed to bake with a protein shake and the spices on that rack," he exclaimed, motioning to a full spice rack next to the stove.

"This is supposed to be a vacation, Hunk. We aren't supposed to work and your job is cooking," Allura replied. She walked back over to the counter and opened a wine cooler. "At least we have good wine."

Hunk closed the fridge and headed for the front door. "Well I, for one, love cooking so I'm going to go by groceries." He left Allura to finished exploring as he approached the stairs.

Lance and Pidge were just coming down the stairs as he passed. "Nope. He's totally going to choose Jessica," Pidge declared, stopping next to Hunk. "Where are you headed?"

"Groceries and probably the boardwalk," he replied slipping on some sandals. "Wanna come?"

"I got nothing better to do," Pidge replied. Both Hunk and Pidge looked expectedly at Lance.

Lance looked from his friends to the beach behind the house.

"I'll let you drive the Porsche," Hunk baited, dangling the keys in front of him.

"Done!" Lance exclaimed and grabbed the keys.

The trio headed to car, the conversation consisting mostly of the extravagance of the vehicle. Pidge ended up in shot gun and was therefore the navigator. With little to no trouble, excluding a slight detour, Lance soon had the car parked. They were only about a three minute walk from the boardwalk so Lance and Pidge decided to check it out while Hunk went shopping.

Almost half an hour later, Lance and Pidge had tried all the attractions that they had come by. They decided to stop and get ice cream at one of the shops. Lance was sitting at a table, checking his Instagram, while Pidge was piling her ice cream with gummy bears at the toppings table.

"Lance?!" an excited male voiced exclaimed from behind him.

Lance looked up from his phone but didn't turn around. "Oh no," he breathed before facing the source. "Landon!"

A dark haired man embraced him before he could even get a good look at him. "It's been forever, brother!" Landon exclaimed as he pulled back. "How ya been?"

"Landon, we saw each other last month at Dad's birthday party," Lance replied. He then noticed a cute, blonde girl standing patiently behind Landon. "Who might this be and what might you two be doing in Florida?"

Landon let out a little laugh as he pulled the girl into a side hug. "This is Amanda. And we are here celebrating our two week anniversary. Amanda, daring," he continued as he looked at the blonde. "This is my much younger brother, Lance."

"Actually I'm only eleven minutes younger then him. We are twins," Lance corrected, shaking Amanda's hand. "No offense to either of you but isn't two weeks a little soon to be spending a week away with each other?"

"Not when you're in love," Landon replied, gazing cheesily into Amanda's eyes. He looked back at Lance. "But what would you know about love? You've never been able to outlast me in relationships. What are you doing in Daytona? You clearly aren't here with a girlfriend."

Lance subconsciously clenched his fists. "That's so not true, Landon. Not that it's any of your business, but I am here with a girl!"

An unbelieving smile took over Landon's face. "Really? Like I would actually believe you found a girl who would put up with your antics," he scoffed, rolling his eyes.

Amanda lightly slapped Landon's chest. "Lan. From what I heard, Lance is not nearly as bad as you. Don't give him a hard time."

Landon's eyes turned to ones of affection when Amanda spoke. "It's my obligation, babe. I'm his older brother," he replied, never taking his eyes off Lance.

"Well BRO," Lance injected. He crossed his arms. "Obligation or not, you still have no reason to torment me this time. I am in fact here with my secret girlfriend."

"Oh? Then where is she? What's her name? What does she look like, huh?"

Lance's mind went into overdrive trying to think up an excuse. Before he could reply, he heard Pidge next to him. "Who's this, Lance?" she asked, smiling at Landon and Amanda.

A light bulb went off in Lance's brain. He put an arm around her waist which, to his surprise, didn't seem to faze her. "This is my twin Landon and his girlfriend Amanda. They are spending a romantic week here just like us," he explained. He looked at her, pleading with his eyes that she'd go along with his scheme.

"Oh," she replied, giving Lance a slight nod. She looked back at Landon and Amanda. "I was not aware that Landon had a girlfriend."

Lance silently applauded her for playing her shock off so well. For some reason, he superbly became conscious of his hand on her waist. A tingly feeling lept from his fingers to his shoulder. Little did he know, Pidge was highly distracted by the burning sensation his hand was leaving on her skin. Her shirt was pretty thin so there was very little between skin and skin.

"Well," Landon declared. "I don't believe we have had the pleasure of meeting." He held out his hand. "I'm Landon, Lance's much older much cooler brother and this is Amanda, my actual girlfriend."

"Katie but most people call me Pidge," she replied, shaking his hand. She then shook Amanda's hand.

Amanda smiled a friendly smile. "Such a fun nickname!"

"My brother called me Pidge when we were little and it just kind of stuck."

"Aww that's cute," Amanda replied with a smile. "Speaking of cute." She lowered her voice and almost whispered to Pidge. "Aren't those two adorable when they do that?" She gestured to the twins next to them.

Pidge had to admit, the two glaring daggers at each other did have an odd attractiveness to it. Landon was practically Lance's clone but had a rounder face and was a little taller. Pidge had to chuckle at their childlike behavior. "They are pretty adorable, aren't they," she replied just loud enough for them to hear. Pidge almost couldn't hold back a laugh at Lance's bewildered look.

"Well little bro, looks like our girlfriends," Landon put air quotes around girlfriends, "are getting along wonderfully."

Lance crossed his arms, Pidge immediately missing the presence of his hand. "What's with the air quotes?" he asked annoyance spewing from his tone.

It was Landon's turn to cross his arms. "If you two are really a couple, which I doubt you are, you will have no objection to getting supper with Mandy and I tomorrow night."

Lance hesitated for a split second but was saved by Pidge. "It's actually me and Mandy not Mandy and I. I'm a college professor but that's high school level," she corrected. Though her tone was firm, her eyes and smile were sweet. "Ignoring that, we'd love to."

Landon looked a little annoyed but nodded to the pair. "Good," he declared, gently taking Mandy's hand in his own. "Meet us at the fancy seafood place on the beach. Marco said they have amazing fish. Six-thirty, don't be late."

Amanda breathed a quick goodbye to Pidge before she was pulled down the boardwalk by Landon. As soon as they were out of earshot, Lance turned to Pidge.

"I'm sorry. I think I've gotten us into a pickle," he apologized, running a hand through his hair.

Pidge tried to ignore how attractive she thought the gesture was and sat at their table again. "Well I could've outed your lie but I didn't so I'm partially to blame too," she replied taking a spoonful of creamy ice cream. "And I'm the one who agreed to dinner."

Lance glanced after his brother but turned his attention back to Pidge. He sat across from her. "Why? Why did you go along with it so quickly? And why on earth would you agree to the date? I appreciate you helping me but I feel like you have an ulterior motive."

"First off, you need to relax. Second, I overheard your conversation. I also know a thing or two about sibling rivalry. Helping you get a point over Landon seems like a fun vacation scheme," she explained. She kept her other reason to herself because there is no way she is going to tell him that she thought being his girlfriend would be fun.

The man across the table eyed her skeptically. "So there is nothing you gain from this? Just a way to fill vacation time."

"Not necessarily."

"Ah-ha! Ulterior motive!"

Pidge rolled her eyes. "Oh calm down, Lancelot. I want you to come into one of my extra-cred lectures. I'm having trouble getting my students to understand the importance of careful consumption. It'd just be thirty minutes of my Life of Fullness course. Matt will be there too."

"You wouldn't have to blackmail me, Pidge," Lance replied, finishing the last of his ice cream.

Hunk arrived just before Pidge could reply. "You two ready to go? I got cold stuff in the car."

Meanwhile...
Shouts of joy erupted from the game room. Allura danced excitedly as Keith laughed. Even though Allura had beaten him at darts, he couldn't help but smile. She was so over enthusiastic about a game.

"Are you sure you've never played this before?" Keith asked as they went to collect their darts.

Allura nodded. "Yes. My uncle would never let a game like this into the house. If he knew I was playing it, he would have a heart attack."

"Allura we've known each other for years and I still don't know much about your family," Keith commented, retreating to a bar stool. "If I cross a line, tell me but why don't you talk about them?"

Allura thought for a moment before replying. "I don't know me parents. I don't even know if they're dead or alive. And I don't care to. I was raised by my uncle and aunt. It's not like I have a bad relationship with them or anything, in fact my aunt and I are extremely close, but I guess I just prefer to keep that part of my life private."

While she was talking, Allura took a seat next to Keith. They faced each other, causing their knees to overlap and their legs to touch. Keith listened intently to Allura. He felt a strange string of emotions. Sorrow for Allura's lack of knowledge about her parents, comfort at the fact that she may be able to understand his orphaned past, slight happiness that she had told him, and of course nervousness at the feeling of their legs touching with the memory of their kiss playing in his head.

"Thank you for telling me," Keith said after a moment of silence.

"What about you? I don't know anything of your family either."

"That's because I don't have one. I was in and out of foster homes until I was eighteen. Never stayed in one house more then a year. I was lucky to be able to go to school though." Keith gave a small laugh as he continued. "I actually went to the same boarding school for high school as Hunk, Lance, and Pidge. Of course, we didn't know each other back then. After I graduated, I moved out on my own and I've been working bars ever since."

Allura was slightly surprised that Keith wasn't more spiteful about his past. He had full right to be. "You were a bar tender before you could even drink?" she half asked, not able to suppress a giggle.

Keith laughed a little too. "As crazy as it is, yes. In one of my foster homes the adults, Duke and Julie, were both bar tenders. Duke would teach me tricks every night and apparently I became pretty good. Julie taught me basic bar drinks when I turned fifteen. They were the best family I had."

"What happened to them? Did they get in trouble for teaching you that stuff?" Allura asked, completely wrapped up in Keith's story.

Keith shook his head. "Nah. As long as I never drank anything, there was nothing wrong with it. Duke's dad, who lived in London, passed away so they had to move to take care of the business. Unfortunately, I could not join them." Keith suddenly felt the sting of loneliness and looked down at his hands.

Even now the topic of Duke and Julie made him sad. He had loved them and they loved him. They would've been a perfect family. Keith felt the tears preparing to fall. He squeezed his eyes shut, not wanting to cry in front of Allura.

He suddenly felt arms wrap around him. The bar tender opened his eyes to find Allura embracing him tightly. Keith gingerly hugged her back. He realized that she was crying and pulled back.

"Allura, why are you crying?" he asked in calm shock.

The woman across from him quickly wiped her eyes. "Because I'm emotional and you just told me about how you lost he only people that you wanted to call your family."

Keith couldn't help but smile a little. "I love that you're so touched but it's in the past."

"That still doesn't make it any less painful," Allura replied. The two heard someone come in upstairs before Lance's loud declaration of bringing lupper. "Keith. If you ever need to talk or just need a friend, I'm always here."

Keith smiled at her. "Thank you Allura." He stood and glanced up stairs. "Do you have any clue what lupper is?"

Allura chuckled and stood as well. "Nope. But apparently Lance has it. Let's go see," she replied, heading for the stairs. Keith followed her, smiling at the conversation that had just taken place.

Chapter Text

"Well, y'all are in way over your heads," Keith declared before taking a huge bite of chow mien.

Pidge scoffed and took a drink of Dr. Pepper. "Oh come on. We've done way crazier things then pretend to be dating."

"Like the time when we tested whether or not an umbrella will make you float if you jumped off a building," Lance chimed in, standing to get a beer.

"Or when we bet Shay we could learn Korean in a week."

"What about," Hunk added his ten cents. "The time when you took Allura's cat and put it in the fridge to try to get it to have kittens?"

"Okay, well, that time we were drunk but yeah, you get the picture," Pidge clarified.

Lance sat down again with a fresh beer in hand before speaking. "This is mild compared to our everyday stuff."

Keith stared at them blankly for a second. "Nope. Still the craziest."

"I have to agree with Keith on this one," Allura finally spoke up. She shifted on the ground in front of Hunk's legs to face Lance and Pidge who were at the opposite end of the couch. "As crazy and stupid and life threatening as your other antics were, none of them played with the desires of the heart. It's a delicate thing and I only hope this shenanigan doesn't end badly."

Lance and Pidge glanced at eachother with slight contemplation before replying in unison. "Not gonna happen."

About three hours later, Allura, all ready for bed, sat on Pidge's bed as the smaller woman took off what little makeup she had on. "I thought things were going to be awkward but I think we've moved past it," Allura was saying.

Pidge shook her head and turned to her friend. "You were criticizing Lance and I for, as you put it, 'playing with the desires of the heart' when you're here avoiding confrontation. A little hypocritical in my opinion."

"I'm not avoiding it...I am just trying everything I can to not talk to him about it."

"Allura. Allura. Allura,"

"Saying my name will not help," Allura interrupted.

Pidge continued as if she hadn't heard. "You can't ignore it. Face it. You and Keith kissed and now you wish it didn't happen."

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to the women, Keith, Lance, and Hunk were standing outside Pidge's bedroom door, silently listening to the conversation. They had been on their way to their rooms when they heard Pidge repeatedly saying Allura's name. Their curiosity was peaked and they couldn't resist a little eavesdropping. Now, Lance and Hunk wished for the life of them that they'd given into reason and went back to their rooms.

"BUT," Allura declared from the other side of the door. "It did happen. And now I have to deal with the consequences. Which is why I avoid it all together. I mean, think of the damage it would do to our friend group."

Keith suddenly turned away from the door, hurried down the hall, and disappeared behind the door of his own room. Lance and Hunk watched him go, wishing they'd know what to say.

"Maybe we miss heard them." Hunk's reassuring statement came more as a question.

"I hope for Keith's sake we did," Lance replied, running a hand through his hair. The two friends bid eachother good night before heading off to their rooms, both trying to gather their thoughts from the day.

"Where are you two going?" Lance asked, not looking up from the newspaper and taking a bite of his omelet.

"Out for brunch," Hunk replied, putting on his sandals.

Allura rifled through her purse. "You wanna join us?"

Lance glanced at them from the bar he was sitting at. "Nah. I got my Honeycomb cereal and a morning planned in the hot tub," he informed, neatly folding up the newspaper. "I have decided to embrace the life of a retired man living out his last years in Florida while I'm not scamming my brother."

"First off, aren't hot tubs bad for the health of the elderly?" Hunk asked, crossing his arms. "And secondly, brunch is exactly what a retired man would do."

"Wrong. Brunch is a couples thing," Lance answered, reaching two seats over to get juice to fill his glass.

Keith walked down the stairs just as Hunk and Allura scoffed and rolled their eyes at Lance's comment. Allura turned to Keith with a too-perky-for-morning smile. "What about you? Wanna get brunch with us?"

"Not really hungry," Keith half mumbled, avoiding eye contact with Allura. He proceeded to the stairs to the basement and was gone in an instant. Keith mentally scolded himself for being harsh but he really didn't want to talk to Allura right now. As soon as he stepped into the basement, he noticed Pidge behind the bar. "Isn't it a little early for a drink, Pidge?" he asked, taking a seat on a stool.

Pidge glanced up from pouring some of the concoction she whipped up into her glass. "You want some don't you?"

Keith had a brief stare down with the woman before giving in. "Yes," he sighed with defeat. "What are you making?"

"A Mojito."

"Eh. Don't feel like white rum. Can you make anything else?"

Pidge scoffed and set her own drink aside. "Oh please, I know how to make drinks."

"Really?"Keith eyed her skeptically. "Make me one of the easiest drinks in the book, a Cosmopolitan."

"Fine..." Pidge replied, not breaking eye contact. "First some lime juice, then cranberry juice, some Vodka Citron, and then Cointreau." Pidge added each ingrediant as she listed them off, mixed the drink, and poured it into a glass for Keith.

Keith nodded in approval. "Well consider me slightly impressed." He took a drink of the Cosmopolitan and immediatly regretted it. "GAH! That's disgusting!"

"I know the ingredients not the proportions," Pidge responded with a laugh as Keith attempted to get the taste out of his mouth.

"I didn't even know it was possible to make this taste so bad!"

Pidge picked up her drink. "What can I say? I've got a giift," she replied with a smirk, taking a sip. "Why aren't you going to brunch? You love brunch."

"Shhhhhh!" Keith hushed her. "I do NOT, under any circumstance want Lance to know about that. He'd tease me relentlessly."

"Tease you about what?" Lance asked from behind Keith, making the older man jump a little. Lance took a seat next to Keith. "The fact that you love brunch or that you wore socks with flip flops last week?" Lance nonchalantly opened his newspaper and grabbed Pidge's drink.

Keith gave him a glare. "I was getting the mail! It's not that big of a deal!"

Lance sipped at Pidge's drink before she pulled it from him. "Nice Mojito. Perfect amount of lime."

"Really? You can make a perfect Mojito but your Cosmopolitan is undrinkable?" Keith said. He burried his head in his hands, gaining both his companions gazes.

Pidge leaned on the bar. "Yeah this is deffinately about more then a drink and brunch."

Lance turned his eyes from his despairing friend to his fake girlfriend. "You can't make a Cosmopolitan?" he asked, surprise and skepticism in his voice.

"I'm just not sure if it's a good idea," Hunk reasoned, sliding into a booth at a seafood diner.

Allura snorted, something which Hunk never thought he'd hear. "Why not? You like her. She likes you. You're both single. I say go for it."

Hunk scratched behind his neck. "Let's just talk about something besides romance."

Allura opened her mouth but Hunk quickly interrupted. "And that includes Lance and Pidge's fake one too," he clarified.

"Fine," Allura conceded as the waitress approached. They both knew what they wanted, having looked up the menu on the way over, so they ordered immediatly. Allura continued once the waitress left. "Pidge says Matt's really skeptical about the break in at the bar."

"Oh yeah. He thinks the theif wanted something specific, not money, right? Mystique seemed pretty torn up about it. Can't say I blame her though," Hunk replied, unwrapping his silverware.

"I thought the only thing stolen was some kind of toolbox. Why would she be upset about that?"

Hunk shrugged. "It was her grandmother's. In any case, I hope Matt figures it out soon."

The conversation turned to the latest drama at the police station, tensions between partners and new recruits, and the new supermarket that opened a block away from the apartments. Their food was brought to the table and the two made quick work of trying the coastal cuisine.

Hunk cringed as he tasted his biscuits and gravy. "Gah! This gravy!"

"What's wrong with it?" Allura asked as she took a bite of his food. She gave the taste thought as she chewed. "I mean, it's not the best but it's not bad."

"Not bad? The gravy is not thick, is very salty, and there is no pepper! It's not that hard to make!"

Allura raised an eyebrow at the man across from her. "Is everything okay with you, Hunk? You'd never usually nitpick a dish unless it's your own dishes."

Hunk placed his napkin on the table as he stood. "I need to speak to the cook immediately!" he exclaimed, looking around for a waiter or waitress.

"Hunk. This is ridiculous. Just sit d..." Allura didn't finish as Hunk chased after a confused looking waiter. She rolled her eyes with a sigh and continued with her breakfast.

Allura kicked her shoes off at the door and placed her purse on the side table next to the coat rack. She looked around the entry, living room, and kitchen for her coworkers before hearing commotion coming from out back. She made her way across the living room and through the opened sliding doors to the porch. She couldn't help but laugh at the scene that greeted her. Keith, fully clothed was in the hot tub with a volleyball floating next to him. Pidge was dying of laughter but Lance stood cringing.

"LANCE!" Keith yelled climbing out of the tub.

"Hey! It's not my fault that you weren't tall enough to hit it!" Lance defended, quickly fleeing off the porch and toward the ocean.

Keith chased after him in his soaked clothes. "You hit it too high!"

Pidge and Allura composed themselves as they watched Keith chase Lance around the yard. "Hey Pidge," Allura started after a second. "Have you noticed anything different with Hunk lately?"

Pidge turned her attention to Allura. "Not really. Why?"

"He was really picky about his food this morning."

The shorter woman raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms. "Huh. That's not like him. I wonder if something is going on."

Allura shrugged in responce. "I have enough drama in my life currently."

She barely had time to finish her sentence before Lance barreled onto the porch and hide behind Pidge, which was an amusing sight considering Pidge was much shorter then the bartender. Keith was only a second behind Lance. "Coward," he declared when he saw the Cuban' s hiding spot.

"I am not a coward!" Lance responded, steppinng around his fake girlfriend to face Keith. "I just don't like fighting."

Allura let out a scoff. "Since when? Last month you had me eat two burgers in one sitting so I could prove to Matt that yours was better. Burgers still make me sick, by the way."

"That was not a fight but an argument, Lulu. There's a difference."

"Don't call me Lulu," Allura interrupted, to which Lance completely ignored.

"I do not like actual fights okay? That's why I'm not a bouncer," Lance said, leaning with his arm on Pidge's shoulder.

"Do you know what bouncers do?" Pidge questioned with complete seriousness.

Keith let out a little growl before heading to the door. "I'm gonna go change," he muttered before disappearing inside.

Allura watched him go, wishing that he'd at least acknowledge her. A sigh subconsiously escaped her lips.

Lance gave Pidge a questioning glance. "Let's go look at the water!" Pidge answered, grabbing Lance's hand and running toward the ocean. Pidge was apparently successful in avoiding his silent question as Lance's mind left Allura and instead focused on Pidge, who was surprisingly fast. Just as their feet touched the cool ocean, they heard a scream coming from the house.

The two turned toward the direction of the scream. "Oh come on!" Lance exclaimed. "First I run from Keith, then I run to the ocean, and now I have to run back to the house! Do you think it's really an emergency?"

A slightly deeper scream was heard before Pidge could answer. "I'm guessing yes," she said, rushing for the house.

Lance groaned in annoyance as he ran to catch up with her. "Stupid cardio."

Chapter Text

Keith's fear faded fast and was replaced by anger. Allura on the other hand was cowering behind him. The source of Allura's initial scream stood on the other side of the door laughing his head off. He was bent over in his fit of laughter with a Halloween mask in his hand.

"Lotor," Keith growled. Lotor was a bartender for a rival bar and a complete jerk. He picked on everyone but tended to single Allura out presumably because, as Lance put it, he was infatuated by her beauty.

Lotor straightened himself. "I knew I could get Allura but really Keith? You're scared of a little costume?" he mocked, tossing the mask at Keith.

The black haired man caught the mask with ease and threw it back at him. "What are you doing here, Lotor?" Keith asked through his teeth.

"Why, I'm scaring you of course," Lotor replied, calming himself. He continued as Lance and Pidge came running through the back door. "Why else would I come to this dump of a neighborhood?"

"Lotor?!" Lance and Pidge yelled at the same time.

Lotor glance at them. "Ah yes. The flirt and the shorty."

The fake couple both clenched their fists at his comment but it was Keith who spoke. "I meant, what are you doing in Daytona?" he questioned, crossing his arms.

"Oh you know. The beach, the races, curiosity as to why the five of you would just pack up and take a vacation," he replied, flipping his hair over his shoulder.

The four inside glanced at eachother before Keith abruptly closed the door. "Hey!" Lotor yelled. "You can't close the door on me."

"Just did," Keith answered, turning to face his co-workers.

"Go home Lotor," Allura called, speaking for the first time.

"Your resistance will only make me stronger! I will-AH!"

Keith, Allura, and Lance looked at Pidge. The youngest of the four looked from the pad on the wall to her friends and back again. "I turned on the sprinklers."

"Who knew all it took was water to get him to leave," Lance stated. "I can't believe that jerk followed us down here. Completely ruins my plans."

"I don't even wanna know what your plans were," Pidge commented, raising an eyebrow at her fake boyfriend.

"Did his hair get better?" Came Allura's voice, slightly hesitant.

Pidge nodded in agreement. "Wonder how he does that." Both women stared questioningly at the door where Lotor had just been.

Lance and Keith gave the women skeptical looks to which they merely shrugged. It was at this point that Allura realised she was still clutching Keith's wrist. Keith apparently realised too. They locked eyes for half a nanosecond before Allura quickly retracted her hand.

The door was suddenly flung open and a soaked Hunk ran in, closing the door swiftly behind him. "I tell you what! The people here are insane! They actually like Cook Caeabatchi's food! The tourists are no better though! Nope, they go home and tell all their friends about this so called amazing food thus luring them to their doom," he huffed in annoyance and stomped toward the kitchen.

The other four watched him go, completely taken back. Allura looked to Pidge, trying to send a reminder via telepathy about their previous conversation. Pidge apparently understood and grabbed Allura's hand before going after Hunk.

The women entered the kitchen just as Hunk was pulling stuff from the cabinets and the fridge. "Why are we adding more drama to our lives right now?" Allura half whispered to Pidge while watching the chief.

"Because Hunk is our friend and there is clearly something going on with him," Pidge answered. The two watched for a second longer before Pidge interrupted Hunk's mumbling. "What is wrong with you, dude? You're acting strange?"

Hunk spared only a quick glance at Pidge and Allura but continued gathering ingredients. "Nothing. I'm just making some edible biscuts and gravy."

Allura and Pidge glanced worriedly at each other. "Hunk," Allura started, eyes turning back to the busybody in the kitchen. "You can tell us anything."

Even though their tones had been soft and thoughtful, the women received a small outburst from Hunk, which was unusual for him. "I don't have anything to tell you okay!" he exclaimed before squeezing his eyes shut and taking a deep breath to calm himself. "Please just...leave me alone so I can cook."

Allura and Pidge knew that if they pushed him, he'd probably push back, which was not the outcome they desired. So, with reluctance, the two backed off and headed to the living room. "When you do have something to say, my ears are always open," Pidge quickly offered before her petite figure disappeared.

Lance and Keith were in the living room setting up a game on the coffee table. Both looked up as the women entered. "Ready for your weekly beating in Risk?" Lance asked, patting a pillow on the ground next to him.

Pidge scoffed. "Oh please! You haven't beaten me in weeks." She moved to take a seat next to her fake boyfriend when Allura lightly grabbed her arm.

"I don't think I can sit by him," Allura informed quietly. Her eyes quickly darted to the man across from Lance who was pulling Risk pieces out of the box.

Pidge let out a sigh of annoyance that she didn't know she was holding in. "Allura, what is wrong with you? It was just one kiss!" she started, crossing her arms.

Allura's gaze shifted back to Pidge. "It's not just a kiss, Pidge. It was a kiss with Keith. That makes it way more important then any other kiss."

"Uuuuugggghhhh," Pidge groaned. "I get that but if you want things to be not awkward between you two then just act normal. Don't make a big deal about sitting next to him, don't start shaking every time he looks at you, and do concentrate on the game."

"I shake when he looks at me?!"

Pidge didn't dignify that with an answer. The professor just spun on her heal toward Lance and proceeded to make herself comfortable on the pillow next to him. Allura more hesitantly took a seat next to Keith as Hunk was called in for the game.

The only response they received was a disgruntled, jumble of words which they took as a "I can't play right now." As usual, Lance and Pidge played Rock, Paper, Scissors to see who would get to go first and soon the game was in full swing. Keith took an early lead, taking Africa, but Pidge pushed him out within the next two rounds, gaining the crown for a short period of time. She was dethroned by Allura, whose lead only lasted one turn before Keith took out her troops in South America. Surprisingly, Lance was having a hard time taking the lead from his competitors. He resorted to saying Pidge was rigging the dice with her technical know-how. Which brings us to the present where Lance was making his case to the petite woman about her cheating ways. Pidge, of course, was fighting for her innocence just as hard. This left Keith and Allura with their eyes rolling.

The bickering and banter was all in good fun but for the on-lookers, it was exhausting. "I could've sworn they had this argument last time," Keith stated, shaking his head at the two across from him.

"I think they just enjoy debating," Allura commented, also watching Lance and Pidge.

Keith let out a huff as he looked again at the board. "In that case, their fake dating scheme isn't going to last long."

Allura looked to Keith with a small smile of amusement. "I give them three days."

"I give them one night," the bartender declared, looking at Allura. For a second, both seemed to have forgotten their panic and worry over the kiss they shared two nights prior. They had the sense of wonderment and curiosity in their eyes that they had had before their not-date.

Allura was suddenly brought back from her daze by a grandfather clock chiming. She glanced st the time and turned to Lance and Pidge. "What time are you supposed to meet Landon and Mandy?" she questioned the two.

Lance and Pidge were currently in a stare down which would apparently declare a victor in their debate and took little notice to Allura's question. "6:30," they replied in unison.

"How long does it take to get there, exactly?"

"Fifteen minutes," came the reply, once again in unison.

"I see," Allura stated, fake pondering her next words. Keith was slightly confused as to why Allura had interrupted their moment but he finally caught on as Allura continued. "So you need to leave by quarter after six?"

Pidge didn't take her eyes from the intense contest as she replied. "Yes."

Keith shook his head with more then a little amusement. "Guys, it's six o'clock."

"What?!" the fake couple exclaimed, both spinning to look at the clock.

"Why didn't you warn us!" Lance questioned Keith as he hurried to the stairs.

"Technically I just did so...," Keith called after him.

Pidge darted to the stairs in a panicked fashion, an uncommon occurance for the woman. "This is a fancy event Allura! Thanks for having my back!" She said the last part sarcastically but Allura laughed along with Keith nonetheless.

"Are we bad friends?" Allura questioned as the two regained their breath.

"It wasn't our job to watch the clock," Keith replied, pulling his phone out. He quickly snapped a picture of the board just in case it would get messed up before they continued.

"True," Allura agreed, watching Keith. Her mind didn't even have time to wonder before she pulled her eyes from her fellow bartender and moved to get up. "I better go see if Pidge needs help." Allura didn't want to let herself think too much about Keith right now.

"Why did you say that stuff to Pidge?" Keith blurted out, eyes still on his phone but attention on Allura.

The woman froze a foot away from where she had sat. 'Did he hear me talking about the kiss with Pidge?!' Allura squeezed her eyes shut before turning around and opening them. "Say what to Pidge?" she tried playing it confused.

"The kiss stuff. Don't act like you don't know what I mean."

Allura was at a loss for words. She was deffinately not ready to have this talk. Her emotions were still everywhere, no thanks to Pidge, and she was sure the kiss had been a caught-up-in-the-moment type of thing that Keith didn't really mean. I mean, he said sorry afterward for pete's sake. She just stood there, opening and closing her mouth with no words coming out.

Keith let out an almost inaudiable sigh before standing. "There's my answer," he half whispered before turning to leave the room, eyes never reaching Allura.

'Do something!' Allura screamed at herself. A soft Keith was the only thing that escaped her lips but it was enough to stop his exit. There was another moment of silence as Allura composed herself. She had to let him know that this wouldn't change their friendship and that she understood that he didn't intend for it to happen, even though she wished the opposite in both cases.

"Why did you say that stuff to Pidge?" he repeated, back still turned.

Allura took a breath. She couldn't let their friendship die, she had to save it. "I know the kiss wasn't planned. I know why you said sorry and then fled to your apartment. I regret that it has made this weird between us. But let's just forget about all that. I really do like hanging out with you Keith. Can we please keep being friends and not have any awkwardness between us?"

Keith pondered her words carefully in his head. Was she rejecting him? No. Was she saying she enjoyed the kiss? No. Was she saying the kiss was a bad thing? Also no. How did she know why he said sorry? And why is she reacting this way if she did know? So many questions flew through his mind, none of which Allura's statements seemed to clarify.

He finally turned back toward her. She was offering friendship. Sure, it wasn't the relationship he wanted, but it was better then nothing. "I'd like that," he replied.

Allura smiled widely, hopeful that maybe she can build on their friendship to one day become something more. This, in turn, caused Keith to smile a genuine little smile as well.

Their whole encounter was interrupted by a yell for Allura from Pidge. Allura sighed with a little irritation but moved once again to the stairs, leaving Keith alone with his thoughts. She pushed him from her mind as she took the stairs two at a time. She had a friend who was apparently in desperate need of some help.