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“Have I told you that you’re insane today?” Lance asked as he set up the tripod that would later record their session.
“Only a million times,” Keith replied as he dragged a tent out of the truck and dropped it onto the dirt.
“Well you’re insane for believing that we’ll catch a UFO today,” Lance stated.
“Thanks, and when we do encounter one you’ll be begging for forgiveness,” Keith smirked, blowing his bangs out of his eyes.
Lance laughed good-naturedly and continued to work on setting up the scene. Keith rolled his eyes. As much as he loved his boyfriend, it sometimes got annoying when Lance made fun of him for his love of cryptids and the supernatural. Then again, their show wouldn't exist if Lance hadn't agreed to be his co-host of the show.
Their show was a simple one with a small but determined following on Youtube known as Unsolved Mysteries that basically had two components. The first component of the show focused on the history and context of the legend. Want to know the origins of Mothman, or why the Pennhurst Asylum is haunted? Keith would read out-loud the origins of every supernatural investigation (with the addition of some of Lance's comments) and then, later on, visit the place. That was the second part. Yeah, the producers of the show would force them to spend a couple of hours or even a whole night at a place to investigate paranormal activity or try to spot a cryptid. And while Keith loved the outdoors and camping outside with the rest of nature, Lance’s attitude sometimes soiled the trips.
It wasn’t that Lance wanted to be mean, but he simply didn’t believe in cryptids and ghosts like Keith. When walking through haunted mansions Lance would jokingly taunt the spirits or poke fun at Keith for taking it too seriously. Oh, and who could forget the time Lance just left Keith in the attic of a demonic household because he thought it was funny?
“I could have been possessed!” Keith had yelled at Lance on the way back to the hotel, “Or worse: died!”
“But you didn’t, and I knew you’d be fine because guess what? Ghosts aren’t real,” Lance had snickered, replaying the footage on the camera to poke fun at Keith once more.
“Our viewers are going to yell at you again for disrespecting the afterlife you know. And you promised you’d stop doing it!”
“I know, I know I’m trying. I’m sorry for leaving you there.” Lance placed the camera down to his lap with an apologetic smile.
His hand was by Keith’s, open and inviting. When Keith looked up to look at Lance, his lover was staring out the window watching the country pass by. Keith took the hand and smiled.
“It’s okay, I love you.”
Despite everything, there wasn’t anybody better to have as Keith’s partner for the show. Even with their opposing views, their chemistry was amazing. In fact, it was their partnership with the show that had brought them together.
After finishing with the camera and smaller gear, Lance wandered over to see if Keith needed help with setting up their tent.
“You know, despite the fact that I think all these UFO sightings are bogus, a lot of the stories are...well they’re interesting.”
“I know right?” Keith asked, “When Shiro and Allura finally gave me the heads up that we can do this episode I was excited. I have years of UFO sightings and government cover-ups. This has got to be my favorite subject when it comes to the supernatural.”
“More than Mothman?” Lance asked, a teasing glint in his eye.
“Hey, hey, nothing tops Mothman and you know it,” Keith said warningly.
“Sometimes I wonder who you love more: me or your cryptids.”
“Isn’t it obvious?” Keith answered winking at Lance, “I’m Mothman’s boyfriend.”
-
After setting up the tent, the two went back to their truck and began to take out their belongings. A gallon of water for the hot Texas afternoon, binoculars to see far away objects and a blanket with a picnic basket, to sit on and enjoy a snack. It was almost like a date, except with searching for UFOs and a camera filming everything they do.
“This is insane,” Lance commented as he sat down on the blanket, “Like we’re actually searching for a flying saucer. Are we even in the right place?”
“Well, this place is supposedly a popular area with lots of sightings,” Keith replied, turning on the camera.
“I don’t know the locals sound like lunatics too.”
Keith frowned, “Don’t be like that, they were nice and informative. Some of them gave us great stories to put into the episode.”
“ Locos ,” Lance repeated, “Let’s turn on the camera and get this over with.”
Keith nodded pressing the record button on the camera. The camera whirred and beeped affirmatively, indicating that had begun recording. Keith angled the camera so that it was facing the two of them and made sure the shot was focusing on the two of them.
“So we are finally on the outskirts of Stephenville after talking to some of the locals and we are hoping to just casually stumble upon a sighting,” Keith said.
“UFO watch,” Lance joked in the background.
Keith ignored Lance’s comment, the only indication of him having heard it was a small smile as he continued talking. Keith turned the camera to the field showing the beautiful desert. “This location is said to be a popular area where UFOS have apparently been spotted. It’s a beautiful afternoon out here, clear skies but it’s going to get really cloudy soon and there’s a chance of rain. The perfect recipe for a flying saucer to appear in the sky.”
Keith turned the camera back to himself and Lance, “Let’s get started.”
Lance picked up a pair of binoculars and lifted them up to his eyes and looked out into the distance. A moment later, Lance lowered the binoculars and frowned, “Those clouds in the distance look really dark. I don’t want to get caught up in that storm.”
“Well then let’s hope we leave before the storm starts,” Keith replied.
“We better, or we’ll be out here waiting for some non-existent spaceship to come by, and soaked.”
“Boy, that’ll suck,” Keith drawled, sarcasm dripping from every syllable.
“You’re cutting this out right?” Lance asked.
Keith nodded. “I’ll probably replace it with some more information about UFO sightings around this area.”
“When do we start exploring the area?”
Keith glanced down at his watch, “Well, it doesn’t rain before then we should camp here for about two hours before we go out and start walking around.”
“Great, gives us time to eat this lovely picnic and relax before we go through our casual stroll,” Lance joked as he opened the basket and began to pick through the food packed in there. He took out a bag of grapes and opened it, popping one into his mouth.
“Or we could, you know,” Keith dipped his hand into the bag and took a few grapes himself, “Stay here and enjoy the outdoors like normal people.”
Lance laughed, “Says you.”
“Just look through the stupid binoculars already and tell me what you see.”
“Okay okay,” Lance complied picking up the pair of binoculars and looked through them. He looked up into the sky for a good fifteen seconds, which in Lance time was probably years, “Oh oh I think I see something!”
“What!” Keith replied excitement coursing through his veins. Could it be that they have been able to spot a UFO so easily?
Lance handed Keith the binoculars pointing at a point on the horizon, “Look over there in the distance!”
Keith grabbed the binoculars and looked through the lenses. The sky was beginning to get cloudy, the dark clouds merging together. It was pretty but nothing fascinating, and there was certainly no UFO in the sky.
“Um, what am I looking at?”
“Clouds,” Lance responded.
Keith shoved the binoculars at Lance and turned to the camera, “He’s sleeping outside the tent tonight.”
“What?!” Lance’s face turned pale, “No, no, no, you are not leaving me outside with the bugs!”
“Should’ve thought of that before you decided to joke around,” Keith growled.
“Okay, okay I’ll stop. Just please don’t make me sleep with the scorpions and tarantulas,” Lance begged.
“Good,” Keith said as he gave Lance a teasing smile, “Now let’s get back to looking out for extraterrestrials.”
Lance sighed as he picked up the binoculars and looked out again, “I think a more interesting place to visit would’ve been Roswell, New Mexico. Going to check out the alleged UFO crash site would’ve been more fun than this.”
“But there’s nothing there, the government had cleaned it all up.” Keith countered.
“But like, we talked about it back at the studio and it’s such an interesting case. I really do think there was a cover-up.” Lance pouted, putting down the binoculars.
“So do I but I thought it would be more interesting to look for aliens rather than visit a historical place you know?”
“UFO sightings are rare and most of them are fake. The probability of us finding one are slim. We can’t just,” Lance stood up and began to wave his arms like a madman, “Hey green short boys! Come before yee and let us take recordable evidence of your existence!”
“Oh my god, Lance,” Keith facepalmed, “Now they definitely aren’t going to show up.”
“Maybe it’s a good thing I scared them off,” Lance supplied as he picked up his binoculars again a shit-eating grin adorning his face, “Maybe the aliens orbiting around Earth wanna invade and wipe all of humanity out.”
“What if they’re good aliens just wanting to form an alliance with us, or can give us resources to help us advance technology?” Keith countered.
“But what if they’re bad?”
“Just shut up and look through your binoculars, we’re looking for a UFO.” Keith snapped in exasperation.
“Okay, okay geez,” Lance giggled as he looked through the device, “Somebody’s pushy today.”
“Well maybe, if you actually took this a bit more seriously, I wouldn’t be mad,” Keith huffed, crossing his arms.
“I always take this seriously, we’re a pair remember? I’m the gorgeous funny realistic one, and you’re the handsome serious grumpy one.”
Keith snorted, a smile beginning to form as he shook his head. He’s in love with a moron .
“See?” Lance smiled as he prodded Keith’s cheek, “You’re laughing.”
“No, I’m not,” Keith swatted Lance’s hand away.
“Yes, you are,” Lance teased, a big goofy smile on his face, and those blue eyes of his sparkling with amusement. He’s in love with a gorgeous moron .
“C’mon, we’re on the border of having to cut this entire segment of the episode off because we’re goofing off,“ Keith said, his smile widening as he lifted the position of the camera on the tripod.
Lance straightened up and returned to looking out into the deserted valley, “Serious mode: activate!”
Keith involuntarily released a chuckle as he watched his boyfriend look out into the valley. The dark storm clouds were rapidly growing close and he knew that soon they would have to move somewhere else. They might even have to return to the hotel if the oncoming storm is that bad.
Suddenly, Lance gasped and he looked down at his binoculars.
Keith took a curious step towards Lance. “Everything alright?”
The binoculars had returned to Lance’s face and he repeated the process a few more times before turning to Keith, blue eyes almost bulging out of his skull.
“I can’t believe it,” Lance said his voice soundly distant, “Aliens are real.”
Keith’s ears began to ring. Did he hear that correctly? “What?” he asked.
Lance offered the binoculars to Keith and pointed to the sky. Keith met Lance’s eyes, searching for any sign of him joking around. But everything on his face came off as serious. Keith felt his palms sweat as he grabbed the binoculars and looked in the direction Lance was pointing.
“It’s easy to miss since it’s in the clouds but it’s a strange moving object in the sky.”
Keith nodded as he lifted the binoculars to his eyes and looked through them searching for the flying saucer. His heart pounded rapidly in his chest as he searched for the object. If what Lance was saying was true, then it was all over. For a millennium, the world had been searching for solid proof of UFOS and alien life and it could end right there. It was too much for Keith to handle- he couldn’t believe it.
Finally, in the dark stormy sky, he spotted it. A flying object in the sky that was unmistakably not of this world. It didn’t look like the typical UFOs described in the texts. Instead of a saucer-like sphere with glowing lights that spun around as it soared through the sky, it was long and looked plain. There were no flashing lights, no spinning around and it moved majestically as if it were a bird navigating the thermals.
Keith was in awe. Next, to him, Lance rested his elbow on Keith’s shoulder.
“Amazing isn’t it?” He commented, “I can’t believe it…”
“Neither can I,” Keith replied, still in shock from the extraterrestrial life in front of him. He was witnessing something historical and magical at the same time. He was afraid to pinch himself and suddenly be awakened from a daydream.
“Look, it’s coming towards us!” Lance pointed out, “I can now see it without help!”
The UFO was indeed getting closer and more details could be seen as it neared. Keith can make out that the UFO was blue, and looked like it wasn’t even made from metal. It moved through the sky as if it were gliding in the ocean and resembled a whale - wait. A whale?!
Keith blinked and studied the sight before him. Sure enough, what was before them was not a UFO but a whale...in the sky.
“Lance, it’s not a UFO, there’s a freaking whale in the sky.”
“There’s a what , in the sky?!”
Keith handed the binoculars to Lance, “A whale.”
“Is that even...possible?” Lance asked as he looked at the object and then dropped the binoculars. “Did-did we just discover a new species?”
“No,” Keith corrected, shaking his head as he looked up at the whale, “I’m pretty sure that’s an atmospheric beast.”
“That sounds like a lame name for such an exotic animal.”
“They’re not,” Keith corrected, “They’re more like...spirits. Some say that they’re aliens, from other worlds and in some cases, dimensions. They resemble creatures of the sea so dolphins, sharks, jellyfish…” Keith looked up at the beast, “whales.”
By now it was close enough that they could see the whale without any assistance from the binoculars. The pair stood there staring up at the majestic creature in awe, Lance’s arms wrapping around Keith’s waist and pulling him into his side.
“This is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen,” Lance said in awe.
Keith nodded in agreement. Behind the whale were more moving dots in the sky. Keith’s eyes widened and he pointed with delight, “Look there’s more!”
Sure enough, beasts that resembled jellyfish, manta rays, schools of fish and even more whales came into view, making the sky appear as if they were in the ocean with them. It was beautiful seeing all the beasts in the sky passing through without a care in the world.
The two turned to each other, eyes reflecting the bluish hues each of the creatures in the sky gave. And the two of them smiled. They did it, they managed to discover something amazing. And they did it together .
Overcome with emotion, Keith took Lance’s face in his hands and kissed him. When they pulled apart, Keith whispered, “I love you.”
Lance’s eyes widened and began to water.
“What’s wrong?” Keith asked.
“That is...the first time you’ve ever said that to me,” Lance replied.
“Oh,” Keith flushed as he turned away looking up at the sky again, “Well, it’s true.”
“I love you too,” Lance said.
Keith smiled in reply.
Suddenly water began to pour down on them and the two froze in shock as they looked down at their soaked clothes. In the distance, thunder rumbled a flash of lightning flickered through the sky. The two men’s eyes met and they laughed before hugging each other looking up at the sky again. As the last of the atmospheric beasts passed by, they faded away into the dark clouds without a sign that they had ever been there.
“Should we call it a night and head back to the hotel?” Lance asked.
Keith nodded. “Let’s go.”
Later when they arrived at the hotel, excited to relive their magical moment from earlier, they discovered that during the events of the day the camera battery died, leaving no record of their findings.
