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Lance’s fingers twitched as he passed the bouquet of flowers between his hands, shifting his weight from one foot to the other as the seconds dragged on since he’d rung the doorbell of Keith’s house. Replayed the last two weeks in his head just to try and block out the voice screaming at him to flee before his first meeting with Keith’s family goes wrong.
Fifteen days since Lance had realised he wasn’t as straight as he’d previously believed. Fifteen days since Keith had kissed him on the stairwell outside their maths classroom. Shiro had told Keith that Lance had been flirting with him. Lance had been flirting with him. Lance just hadn’t realised he’d been flirting with him until Keith’s lips were on his and it had felt like everything was finally slipping into place. All the missing pieces were found under a healthy dose of heteronormative socialising and Keith had just come up and swept them all out into the open.
Rachel had called him an idiot, apparently she’d known he was bi since they’d attended Mateo Jones’ birthday party in the seventh grade.
It had been fourteen days since Keith had called him a coward on the front lawn. Fourteen days since Lance had kissed Keith in front of the entire school. He’d grabbed the hand that Keith was waving at him in his anger and pulled Keith to him, his other hand clutching the back of Keith’s neck as he shoved their faces together in a mess of inexperienced desperation.
Fourteen days since Keith said yes.
Twelve days since their first date when Lance showed ‘bad boy’ Keith that he was Cuban and so knew how to ride a fucking motorbike.
Five days since Keith told him that Shiro wanted to meet him officially and not just in the mad dash of after school pick up.
One day since Lance had spent two hours choosing his outfit only to go with his original idea, much to the frustration of his twin.
One hour since he’d bought the flowers, begging the shopkeepers to help him pick the perfect message in them. Respectful, yet endearing, tied with a red and blue ribbon because that had been their colours since that first day in class when Keith had caught Lance’s eye when he pulled out a red pen to work with. Lance still called him a heathen for it.
Three minutes since Veronica dropped him off, telling him to use protection as he got out of the car.
Forty-nine billion years since he’d rung the doorbell.
Or at least, that’s what it felt like.
The door opened and Lance’s worries melted away under the warmth of Keith’s smile. His hair was tied back into a ponytail, something Keith knew Lance was unable to resist, and there was a streak of flour across his cheek that Lance desperately wanted to kiss for some undescribable reason. Beautiful. Keith was beautiful. And he was all Lance’s.
“Hi,” Lance said, bouncing on the balls of his feet nervously.
“Hi,” Keith said back, rubbing one arm awkwardly, though his smile had not dimmed.
They stood there for a moment, waiting for the other to move, and when Lance was a second away from kissing him stupid, Keith broke eye contact, his gaze darting down.
“You brought flowers?” he said as he gestured for Lance to finally enter the house. “Adam is going to love you.”
“Adam?”
“My brother’s fiance, they met at a flower convention of all places, as though they weren’t cheesy enough. But they have a thing about flowers.”
“That’s actually really cute,” Lance laughed as Keith made a noise of disgust.
Keith led him into down a corridor lined with photographs. Keith seemed determined to drag Lance through as quickly as possible, though he did catch a glimpse of a tiny Keith sitting on teenage Shiro’s shoulders, an older man and woman on either side of them. They looked happy.
Lance didn’t know the details of what happened to Keith’s parents, only that his parents died when he was young and Shiro had raised him most of his life. It was impossible for Lance to imagine having only a brother to rely on for most of your life.
Keith led him into a large kitchen, the countertops covered in flour and pastry and two tall men standing watching them enter, stoic looks on their faces. Lance recognised Keith’s brother on the right from school pick-ups. There was no mistaking that haircut, Keith and Shiro really were brothers in disaster haircuts.
“Hi Shiro,” Lance smiled, even as the older man stared Lance down, narrowing his eyes, his lips pursed into a thin line. It was the opposite of the bright cool dad vibe Shiro had always given off at the school.
“That’s Mr Shiro to you young man,” Shiro crossed his arms “And this is my fiance, Mr Adam.” Adam raised his eyebrows as Lance looked at him, his hands on his hips.
“Seriously?” Keith muttered, sighing deeply. Lance dared a look at Keith who was slumped forward, his head tilted to one side as he shook his head at his guardians.
“I brought flowers,” Lance blurted out, holding them out to the older couple. Lance’s breathing returned as he saw the slight break in Adam’s resolve, the crack of a smile as he took the flowers, looking at them.
“That’s very thoughtful of you Lance, thank you.”
The four of them stood in silence for a moment, Shiro with his arms crossed his chest, Adam, just looked like he was trying not to smile. Keith groaned.
“Why do you have to be so fucking weird,” he whined, before dragging Lance out of the kitchen.
“Language!” Shiro snapped, but Keith didn’t bother responding.
“Come on, I have somewhere where they won’t bother us,” Keith said as he pulled Lance through the house and into the garden. Lance’s breath was taken away by the towering blossoming trees above them that was showering the grass with pink petals.
“Keith you better not be climbing the tree!” Adam yelled from inside the house.
“I’m not!” Keith yelled back as he began climbing the tree.
“I can see you, you little shit!”
“Okay!”
Lance laughed, following Keith up the branches, enjoying the view on the way up.
They climbed and climbed until the world below them dropped away, the sounds of the city stolen by the rustling of the leaves, the chirping of birds and the creaking of branches beneath their feet.
Keith stopped only when they could see the tops of the trees, the branches thin enough for rays of sunshine to shine through on them. Keith smiled as he backed out onto a branch, a leg on either side.
Lance followed him, pulled forward by the teasing glint in Keith’s eye, reaching behind Keith’s head as their knees bumped together. Keith’s eyes fluttered shut as Lance leaned forward, his head tilting to the side as it had so many times before. Lance smirked at the easy effect he had on Keith, everyone always said he was impossible, a hothead, a disruption to society, but Lance knew better. He knew all he had to do was lean close and Keith would close his eyes and open up to him. The way Keith trusted him, it made Lance want to kiss him more, but first—Lance pulled the hair tie out of Keith’s hair, letting the band fall loosely around his wrist. Keith leaned back, his own hand coming up to his hair as it fell to his shoulders.
“Hey!” he cried, bunching his eyebrows as he frowned at Lance, “why?”
Lance shrugged, “You look good like this.”
“I thought you hated my hair.”
"I might have lied,”
Keith rolled his eyes, but there was no hiding the hint of a smile across Keith’s lips as Lance leaned forward, cupping Keith’s neck. Lance pressed his lips to Keith’s and they were a world away, the flowers around them blooming in pinks and gold.
Keith pulled back as the wind rustled through the branches, causing flower petals to fall around them. Keith tilted his head back and laughed, the wind making his hair fly, petals getting caught in the strands. Lance’s chest warmed at the sound, his heart beating so fast as his breath was swept from him with the wind.
Keith beamed as he looked back at Lance. Until he caught sight of the wonder in Lance’s eyes as Lance brought Keith’s hand to his mouth, kissing it softly. Keith blushed, his expression as windswept as his hair.
“Beautiful,” Lance murmured. Keith rolled his eyes again but this time he didn’t try to hide his smile as he let out a shaky breath.
Keith’s eyes drifted down Lance’s face and his smile turned into a smirk as he hooked a finger around the leather necklace Lance was wearing.
“You really went all out didn’t you,” Keith teased, laughing as Lance stuck his tongue out. Keith didn’t let go of Lance though, tugging lightly on the necklace to bring him closer, Lance chuckled slightly, leaning in once again, joining them together as they were always meant to be.
***
Shiro and Adam watched them from the window, the boys not as secluded in the tree as they might have thought. Adam leaned his head on Shiro’s shoulder, “He brought him flowers, Takashi.”
Shiro just smiled, “I know.”