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The smell of spice sat heavy in the air of the coffee shop. Gentle streams of music rippled through the ebb and flow of consumerism, slipping past distracted lips and winding around Lance’s hips. He bobbed his head to it as he prepared the hot beverages, taking his time with each one since it happened to be a slow day.
That was, until Hunk tapped his shoulder and whispered to him in that amused tone of his. “Hey, have you checked your snap lately?”
Lance pressed the lid to the coffee he was preparing. “No, I usually check everything on my break.”
Hunk hummed, though Lance could hear something tickling within its ring. Waiting to burst. “You should check it. Like, right now.”
Lance had picked up the cup to deliver it to the person who ordered it, but he set it back down and rose a brow at his coworker, who he thought was conscientious enough not to encourage him to slack off during work. “Did you really just ask me to take out my phone? You? You’re literally always yanking it away from me so I could work. It’s like the reason why I don’t bother anymore.”
“Well, Shiro is a really good boss who deserves to have dedicated employees.” Hunk reaffirmed, and Lance gave him a look that said ‘okay, what is exactly your point?’
“That’s not really helping your case.”
Hunk gave half a shrug. “I don’t think Shiro would mind you looking for this particular reason… but suit yourself. You’ll find out soon enough, anyways. In like a minute, probably. Give or take.”
Lance narrowed his eyes at him, an inkling of uncertainty crawling up his spine. “Hunk, your being cryptic and I’ll have you know that it does not suit you.”
He raised his hands innocently, as though in surrender and went back to filling the display case with pastries. Lance allowed his suspicion to burn the back of Hunk’s neck as he passed him by. Hunk only smiled sweetly at him, over-exaggeratedly so.
Lance stuck his tongue out at him.
In between handing the customer their drink and heading back to his place behind the register, bells jingled and disrupted the gentle strum of guitar as someone walked in. Lance stopped to welcome them, but he was left slack jawed as his brain worked to catch up with his eyes.
Because Keith Kogane had just walked in.
And he… he was-
“Hey, Lance.” Keith was suddenly right in front of him, and how in the world did he get so close to him that fast? Lance was still hearing the echo of the bells, the the resounding ‘thank you’ of the customer he’d served. He gulped, hoped it wasn’t too obvious what this man was doing to him because Keith, he-
“Hey,” he finally said, breathlessly. His gaze flickered all over Keith’s face, not sure where to focus. He was overwhelmed with the burst of cologne that seemed to be emanating from Keith’s very being. It was intoxicating, yet it reminded him of the jasmine tea that Keith so happened to order all the time. Sweet and refreshing. But it was wreaking havoc in Lance’s system right now.
He reached out without thinking about it and rested a hand on Keith’s neck, the hair that used to obscure it now trimmed and exposing his bare flesh. “Your hair…” he murmured, fixated on the small collection of hair that had once been a long stream of never ending ink. It didn’t even reach his shoulders now, was cut into a ‘v’ over the stem of his neck.
“Um… yeah…” Keith looked off to the side, Adam's apple bobbing up and down. His voice was low, raspy. “I kind of cut it.”
Keith sent him a nervous smile, cheeks blossoming with color. Lance retracted his hand and cleared his throat. He opened his mouth, but then closed it. Opened it again, and down it went. On his third try he managed to execute some form of expression. “I can’t believe you, I - I never thought this day would come. I have to be in some caffeine induced coma or maybe I haven’t woken up yet and this is just a dream.”
Keith’s smile turned smug, and Lance tried not to cower beneath it. “What? You dream about me often?” He countered, thick brow raising with amusement.
Lance squeaked and pointed an accusing finger at him. “That’s - That’s not the point here! Your mullet, it’s gone!”
“Yeah...”
Lance let out a noise of distress and reached to tug at his own hair. “I don’t know wether to celebrate because you finally admitted that it was a mullet or to mourn the loss.”
Keith, somehow, turned even more red and reached up to touch the hair breaching the back of his neck. “Does it… not look okay?” he asked timidly, and Lance hadn’t heard him that uncertain about something in a long time.
It made his heart clench.
Lance felt his body heat up, a wave pulsing just beneath his skin. It’s not that it didn’t look okay, because if anything the haircut was… it was really cute, okay! It was really really cute. But maybe he had fantasies of pulling his hand through that long hair of his and curling his fingers around the strands, playing with them and drawing out content hums from Keith. Relaxing him, making him feel better after a long day… Braiding it, tying it up for him, finding the right conditioner that brought out its luscious glint. Of course that all came with him actually asking Keith out so he could have all the hair related boyfriend privileges, which he was more than nervous about doing, but still!
“No, no, it looks… nice,” very, very nice, but he digressed. “I think it suits you,” he added, truthfully. Because it did, it really did.
Keith’s shoulders eased up, but his hand was still covering his neck. An anxious habit. Lance offered a warm smile and reached over to tug it, tying it with his hand and wiggling it like a jump rope as though to knock some sense into him. “You look good, Keith. Honest.”
Keith’s smile returned fully, dimples poking at his cheeks and Lance could swear that stars themselves were twinkling in his eyes. It kickstarted Lance’s heart right back up, as if it ever even came down. “So…” he began, not yet letting go of Lance’s hand. “You’re mourning the loss, huh? I guess you didn’t hate it after all.” He was smirking, and Lance… Lance wanted to kiss it off his face so badly.
Integrity, Lance! Integrity! He shook himself out of it and pulled Keith to walk with him. “Nope! Not getting into it with you, not after you finally admitted it was a mullet! This is a win!” He brought them around the counter, Lance moving on the inside while Keith remained moving on the outside until they reached the register, hands still intertwined.
Keith laughed, loud and boisterous. Lance could hear his heart pounding in his ears. He couldn’t help how fondly he watched him, admiring the lift of his lips and the crinkle around his eyes. He was just so beautiful it literally hurt to watch.
He needed to take a breath. Or two.
“So, I assume you came here with the aim of consuming a beverage?” he asked wryly, trying to remain casual. Like he wasn’t slowly combusting from the inside out. Oh gosh, he hoped he wasn’t going to sweat.
Keith licked his lips and nodded. “Yeah.”
“The regular?” Lance asked, already beginning to punch the number in. But stopped when Keith spoke.
“No, I think I want something different today.”
“Oh, okay,” Lance gestured up at the menu hanging behind him. “Go wild.”
Keith hummed and Lance didn’t miss how their hands were still connected, the way he stroked his fingers as he surveyed the menu in thought. It was a bit strange that he didn’t order his usual, Lance couldn’t even think of a time where Keith didn’t get the Jasmine Green. And he entertained the idea that maybe he was stalling to give them a reason to hold on longer, what with the way Keith’s thumb circled over his, it was really hard to shove the thought down.
He smiled to himself, warmth spreading all over his face and down to his chest. A boy could dream, he sufficed.
Smooth jazz spilled through the speakers around them.
Lance watched how the shadow of Keith’s lashes fanned over his cheeks, the lighting of the shop catching in his eyes and turning them into the most captivating amethyst he’d ever seen.
Keith’s hand squeezed his own, absently or not Lance wouldn’t know.
“I’ll just get the Mango Green Tea,” he decided.
A chuckle bubbled out of Lance as his fingers swam over the register. “Very versatile.”
Keith tilted his head at him challengingly. Lance found himself missing how his bangs used to fall to the side with the movement. “What? Is there something else you think I should get?”
Lance shrugged, feigning nonchalance. “Well, you could try a coffee for once. My favorite is the Vanilla Latte, you can’t go wrong with vanilla. It’s not too strong, either.”
“Is that so,” Keith appeared to be considering it. His gaze trailed to the side for a moment, pondering, then he looked back up at him. “Why don’t I try it this weekend when I take you out on a date?”
“You already know that we’re closed on-” Wait. Lance froze and blinked up at him. Did he just hear that correctly? Did Keith just… “Uh,” his tongue almost slipped out of his mouth, heat smacking him right in the face.
Keith only smiled, watching him expectantly. His other hand found its way back up his neck, brows slowly lifting in a show of hope. And now that he had cut his hair Lance had a full view of those wondrous eyes that he had found himself lost in more times than he could count. Gosh, gosh, he was just so unbelievably cute.
He wanted to kiss his forehead.
“You’re the worst,” he eventually said, after finding his tongue and swallowing back his desire.
It brought Keith right out of the high he was on.
“Wait, what-”
“You ask at the worst time! Now that your mullet is gone I won’t even be able to play with it when we start dating.” He huffed, and that smile jumped right back on Keith’s face, fingers tightening over his at the same time. Lance’s heart tugged, and he thought that he might just be a violin in Keith’s hands. He couldn’t possibly know how he played his heart like a symphony.
The laugh that rang from his lips replaced the sax encircling them, a melody Lance would choose over any song he could think of. “I’ll grow it out for you, then.”
Lance’s lips quirked up, and he thought he might be melting. He was so glad it was a slow day and there were barely any customers coming in, or else he’d probably get fired for shooing them away just to indulge Keith. “Aw, you’d bring the mullet back just for me?”
Keith’s smile turned more brittle, shy and reserved. “I mean… who am I to pass up you playing with my hair?”
Lance covered his lips because he was smiling way too widely. He shook his head at him and then brought his hand up to pinch his thumb and forefinger together. “I’m like… this close to kissing your face right now,” he admitted, sigh coming out like a plethora of clouds. Dreamy and serene.
Keith brought Lance’s hand up to his lips and pressed the lightest of kisses over his knuckles. And suddenly it was like they were transported to utopia, the aroma of brewing coffee solidifying into a string of those dreamy clouds, the wood beneath their feet softening into plush grass, the people watching their exchange shrinking into the most colorful of butterflies, swarming around them like fireflies in the night.
“You can do that this weekend,” Keith told him softly, lips ghosting over his hand, which still buzzed in his gentle hold.
Lance bit his lip, feeling impossibly hot all over because he had no idea Keith could be this sweet and he’s absolutely convinced it would be his reckoning.
And he was more than okay with that.
“Oh… I plan to,” he found his voice, but barely. It was enough for Keith, though, as he sent him another golden smile. He’d never get tired of that smile, and he made a mental note to sneak a photo to set it as his screensaver later.
Because he’s not going to repeat the same mistake he did with that mullet. He’s going to do everything with Keith that he thought he’d never be able to do, and oh did he have a lot that he wanted to do.