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Keith wasn’t sure where he was. His eyes were closed so he couldn’t tell. All he knew was that he was somewhere bright, the birds were chirping happily, and the warmth of the sun was hitting his face. He was resting against something soft and squishy, a pillow made from the softest of furs.
“Keith.”
He opened his eyes.
Her smile was warm and loving like he had always imagined it to be. Pale pink lips curved upwards as they gently kissed Keith’s forehead, and soft dainty fingers threaded through his hair.
“My precious son.”
Fingers caressed his cheeks as the smile softened.
“My starboy.”
Keith opened his mouth to say something, but he was interrupted by his mother’s voice.
“You don’t need to tell me what I already know,” she said, “Isn’t that right, honey?”
“Yes dear.”
Keith sat up and faced the direction of which the voice came from. By the glass panel, sitting next to a wooden table sat his father, exactly like how he remembered him. Tall, broad-shouldered, with the muscular build-up only one would have if they were a firemen. He was smiling adoringly at his family, the same way he used to when Keith was growing up.
Next to him, his mother stood up and joined his father, wrapping her arms around him and kissing his cheek. His father laughed, a beautiful deep one that reminded Keith of his youth.
More voices join the scene and Keith turned around, to face a door that lead out to the most beautiful garden he’s ever seen. There are large palm trees and gorgeous green lawns. Colorful and vibrant flower beds were scattered throughout the garden. Leading up to the door was a stone path lined with large green tredges that stood over four feet. And there, walking along the path to the room were a group of teenagers. They were all dressed casually, the girls in floral patterns and jewelry that shimmered in the sunlight; the boys in vibrant shirts and jeans. They were laughing, singing and overall looking like they were having a great time. As they approached the door that led inside, their voices grew louder and their joy grew more infectious. Before he knew it, Keith found himself smiling, and a warm feeling began to grow inside of his chest. He didn’t recognize any of the faces and yet he felt like they were all important to him, each of them holding a significant meaning to him. Was this feeling he felt for each of them love?
One of the girls in the group, tall with beautiful dark skin and shimmering white hair that looked soft opened the door and smiled, “Happy Birthday Keith!”
Behind her, a broad man was holding a cake. It was red with in white icing read: “Happy Birthday to the best: Keith”
Keith’s mouth opened to correct them but the girl interrupted him, “We hope you like the cake. It’s your favorite flavor: mint chocolate!”
Another boy with tan skin and blue eyes that resemble the sky smiled as he pushed himself to the front, “We know you hate actual cake, so it’s an ice cream cake.”
Keith gasped as the broad man rested the cake on the table and winked, “It was all Lance’s idea.”
The boy’s face reddened, “Well, it was Shiro who said that you hated cake, right Hunk?”
Lance playfully elbowed the boy next him, another tall broad guy with dark skin who chuckled, “It doesn’t really matter does it? We got you cake for your birthday and that’s that.”
Shiro laughed, “C’mon, let’s get the candles.”
Keith opened his mouth once again to correct them. It was certainly not his birthday, and he had just met them, they all had the wrong guy, he didn’t have friends...since when have people even noticed he existed? But before any sound could come out, a hand took Keith’s hand and he turned to find the girl from before locking her blue eyes with him. She raised a hand to her mouth and whispered, “He’s too shy to admit it but Hunk made the cake.” With that she winked and joined the others in setting up the cake.
Behind him his parents placed their hands on either side of his shoulders. He watched the group set up the cake, laughing and joking around as they placed the candles on the cake and lit them. They all looked like they were happy to be together and more than happy to be celebrating Keith’s birthday.
A wave of emotion washed over Keith and his eyes began to tear up. He was undeserving of this. These people had to be the greatest friends one could ever ask for.
The one named Hunk was the first one to notice the tears streaming down Keith’s face. “What’s wrong?” He asked as he approached Keith. He was really attractive and looked like the type that was strong enough snap the twig-like Lance in half but would never hurt a fly cause of his gentleness. His hazel eyes peered curiously at Keith as he placed a hand on Keith.
Keith frowned and turned away from Hunk, feeling his cheeks beginning to burn. He’d never had anybody come up to him and ask him if he’s alright, it wasn’t something he was used to. He was used to suffering quietly, alone tucked away where nobody else could see him. Nobody ever bothered to ask if he was alright. And yet, here was Hunk with a concerned face gently asking his friend what’s wrong.
Keith opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. It was like he had no voice, he could only breathe. Even without words, Hunk seemed to understand what Keith was trying to tell him. “Nervous huh? We talked about this, you’ve always wanted to celebrate your birthday with all of us.”
It was true, it was a dream of his. Since he was a kid, he’d wanted to celebrate his birthday with his family and friends. He was always alone when that time of year rolled around and he always resorted to quietly blowing out a candle on a cupcake he managed to steal from the local bakery. He’d never had this before…
Hunk smiled lovingly, taking Keith’s hand and kissing it, “It’s okay, we’re all here. We’ll always be here.”
Keith smiled back at Hunk, “Thank—”
Keith woke up in a cold sweat. He sat up, throwing the sheets off of him and recollected himself. Keith looked around the room. What was a beautiful sunroom in the middle of a garden was now a barrack. What was once filled with golden light was now pitch black with only the glow of the emergency exit providing light. Keith sighed as he laid back in bed, running a hand through his sweaty hair. This was his reality. His father was long gone, his mother was non-existent and he had no friends, much less a lover.
Keith turned in his bed and closed his eyes again, trying to find sleep. But he just couldn’t bring himself to slip under once more. His mind was racing thinking about that perfect dream. Why couldn’t he have that? Why couldn’t he be living a life so magnificent? Why couldn’t anything be done?
When his alarm blared, telling him it was time to wake up, Keith was already wide awake. He slammed the snooze button before delving into his sheets, trying to get sleep to overtake him. Unfortunately, even if he was exhausted from a night with no sleep, he just couldn’t get anymore shut eye. Begrudgingly, Keith got out of bed and began his day.
Classes were boring as always, the teachers taught something that could just be read in the books, none of Keith’s classmates paid attention. They were all passing notes or fooling around on their devices and a group of girls were gossiping in the corner of the room. Keith just sat there, dozing off until the bell rang each and every class.
When he dozed off, he was immersed in his sweet dream again. He was with his parents, giving him the love and support he’s always wanted, his friends were beside him like he’s dreamed of and he’s holding hands with a lover he’s always desired.
When Keith returned to his bed and fell asleep, he was greeted with them again. The golden light shining upon them as they kept him company. In some dreams it was all of them giving Keith the love he so wanted. In other dreams it was just his family hugging him and telling him how they loved him. There were dreams where he was with his friends, fooling around in the garden, whether it be racing Lance, or climbing trees, they were always laughing and smiling around Keith. Sometimes it would just be him and Hunk, sitting on the grass and watching the clouds go by. In some dreams, Hunk would take Keith’s hand and pull him closer until their bodies are flushed against each other and lips are pressed together. It was the perfect life needless to say, the life Keith would never have.
He began to live more in his dreams rather than reality. He’d sleep in longer, take naps during class and skip everything just to linger longer in his false reality. He stopped caring for himself, skipping meals and not bothering to brush his hair in his waking hours to the point that he looked like a ghost, pale and gaunt, like the sweet bliss of death was almost ready to take Keith.
It was okay if he died, Keith thought. For he believed his dream was his heaven and once he passed he’d spend an eternity where he belonged. He had no place in the Garrison, where he had absolutely nobody. Or so he thought.
Keith had woken up in the middle of the night and couldn’t fall asleep so he decided to sneak out of his room and find something to eat. He couldn’t remember the last time he had eaten and his stomach was growling because of it. Perhaps easing his empty stomach would help him sleep. Thankfully, nobody was around when Keith approached the kitchen and he was able to take a box of untouched strawberries and began to devour them. He was lost in thought when suddenly the lights turned on and like a deer in headlights he froze and turned to the direction of where the person had turned on the light.
There stood Hunk, and Keith almost dropped the strawberries in his mouth at the sight of him. He must be going insane from spending all his time in his sleep, because there he was, his lover from his dreams in the flesh.
“Dude, are you okay?” Hunk asked, eyebrows raised slightly in concern.
Keith blinked, too in shock to react before swallowing the rest of his food and turning back to the box of strawberries.
“Hey man, it’s okay, we all have one of those nights where we need to snack on something,” Hunk continued, approaching Keith cautiously, “Mama always told me the best antidote to midnight depression is stuffing your face and talking it out with somebody. There’s no shame here: shoot.”
Now that he was closer, Keith could smell the wonderful scent of cinnamon, something that the dream Hunk never had. Up close he can make out all the little birthmarks that dotted on Hunk’s skin. His skin was lighter than the one from his dreams, most likely from the lack of sun students at the Garrison received but it was still dark and beautiful, just like Keith remembered. It wasn’t until Hunk placed a hand on Keith’s shoulder did he realize that the man before him was the real deal, the real Hunk and not some figment of his dreams.
Holy shit he’s real . Was the first thing that popped inside his head before he gasped at the touch.
“Oh, sorry,” Hunk blushed as he took away his hand and sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck, “Here I am asking you to trust me when we don’t even know each other. My name is Hunk.”
Hunk offered his hand to Keith who just stared at it for a few seconds before turning away.
“Keith.”
“Keith! Oh I knew you looked familiar! You’re in my chemistry and stats class!” Hunk beamed, “It’s nice to finally meet you, you’re like a genius. My friend Lance is jealous of you because you’re so smart.”
Lance was real too, that meant that the people in his dreams weren’t made up and could be actual people Keith just failed to notice in his everyday life. They could all possibly be apart of the Garrison either as a student or an instructor. Instead of responding Keith continued to eat, hoping that Hunk will leave him alone.
But just like dream Hunk, the real Hunk was persistent when it came to comforting Keith, “What’s on your mind man?”
“Nothing!” Keith snapped, “Leave me alone.”
“Alright, got it, if you wanna stuff your face in fruits until you throw up be my guest but believe me you’re only going to feel shittier afterwards,” Hunk raised his hands in defeat and began to walk to the fridge to get his own food.
Keith gritted his teeth, he was exactly like the Hunk he was in love with in his dreams. And because he was in love with Hunk he knew that there was no winning here.
“I keep having these...dreams,” Keith explained, “Dreams of a life, I don’t have but I want to have.”
Hunk smiled sympathetically, as he took a carton of eggs out of the fridge, “We’ve all been there dude, believe me. I have this recurring dream that I’m a millionaire who owns a multi-million dollar company and–”
“No, no you don’t understand,” Keith interrupted, “I don’t have any life. My old man died when I was only seven and my mother left when I was a few months old. I have no friends, no family, no nothing, and yet in this dream….I do. It’s all I ever wanted, I’m...I want to be that guy in my dreams who has everything.”
Hunk placed the carton of eggs by the stove and approached Keith with that sympathetic smile before patting his back, “Sometimes our dreams tell us instead of what we don’t have, what we could have. Take a look around you, you’re surrounded by people who could one day grow to be your family, your friends and even, your lover.”
Keith took a moment to consider Hunk’s words. As always, Hunk was a voice of reason, even in reality. And he knew just the right things to put Keith at ease. If this were his dreams, he would be thanking Hunk with a kiss on the lips and a smile, but in reality they’re mere strangers. Instead, Keith hesitated before meeting Hunk’s eyes.
“You think finding people is that easy?”
“Of course, all you have to do is try. How about this, my group of friends are all that I could ever dream of. They’re the best! I think you’ll like them too. Sit with us tomorrow during lunch after chemistry.”
Keith felt his heart flutter. Hunk was inviting him to hang out with his friends? Could his friends all be the ones from his dreams? If Lance was already apart of the group, did that mean Allura, Pidge, and Shiro could be here as well? Was it really possible that his dreams could become reality? Keith wanted to believe it, He’d been alone for so long that he’d become dependent on dreams for company.
Hunk offered his hand to Keith like a prince, “You never know until you try.”
Keith smiled as he took the hand, allowing Hunk take him anywhere he would go, “I’ll take whatever I can get.”