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When Keith came to him, asking Lance to 'help me find my lifetime partner', his heart sunk. He hadn't decided whether he would want to share his feelings with his friend just yet, but this request really cut any of that off. He bit his lip before smiling at the other - ofcourse he would help his bud out.
"So we're obviously searching for a guy," Lance mused. Keith, however, immediately raises an eyebrow.
"Uh, I'm not really picky about the gender actually."
Oh. That was new information. He had really thought his friend had been gay - something that had made it easier for Lance to think about confessing, even though he feared ruining their friendship.
"O-oh. Right," he stutters out. He clears his throat as he looks around the cafeteria before his gaze fell back on the guy opposite him. "What are you looking for specifically?"
Keith hummed, resting his head in hand as he tapped his face. "Loyalty is important. Oh and I like them bigger. But not fat, you know? I want them to at least keep up with me when we go running."
Lance was about to groan. Great. So he wasn't Keith's type. He loved muscled people who often went out running. Whatever.
He reached for a pen inside his bag and a piece of paper, scribbling the information down. Crush or not. Keith was his best friend and he would try his hardest to help his mate out with this.
"Okay, got it. I'll keep an eye out. Meanwhile - did you note down physics?"
Keith sighed, though there was a smile on his face, as he turned to grab his notebook.
It was a few days later that Lance found his friend sitting with Hunk and Pidge. He grinned, joining the trio as he slid in the chair opposite of the raven-haired guy.
"Okay, guess what? I think I found the partner for you!"
Hunk and Pidge shared a glance before looking at Keith.
"You didn't tell him yet?" Pidge asked.
Lance stiffened. Tell him? Tell him what? Did Keith already have someone? Had he missed the dramatic meeting between Keith and this person?
Keith blinked as his eyes shifted between Pidge and Lance, the gears in his head spinning before his mouth fell open.
"Oh, I'm so sorry Lance. I asked your help yet- Yeah I found him," Keith said.
Hunk, seated next to him, grinned. "And he's adorable."
Traitor. He knew how Lance felt about Keith. Why hadn't he warned Lance?
"Though I still think you shouldn't name it Yurak just because your mom told you to," Pidge added, eyes now on their phone. "It deserves better."
Lance frowned. Wait, name it? What did they mean? You couldn't rename your partner.
"Yurak?" he mumbled.
Keith flushed. "Okay, I get it! It's a terrible name! Just-" He reaches for his phone, opening something up before he pushed his phone in Lance's hands. "Here. You couldn't help me pick him, but you can help name him."
In front of him, was a picture of a dog. Not any dog - but a šarplaninac.
Lance didn't know why he was looking at it though.
"You... Got a dog?" The question was careful. Because well, he hadn't thought Keith was a dog person actually. He had thought the other was more of a cat person, really.
Pidge snorted. "Keith asked you to help him find a dog and now you're surprised he got one?"
Ho. Ho, ho. Hold on. A dog. Help Keith find a partner for life - one that had to be loyal.
"Right, a dog - man's lifetime partner, got it."
Lance could hit himself. Of course he had misunderstood.
He ignored his friends chuckling, as Keith raised an eyebrow at him at that remark. He saw realization dawn on his friend's face and panicked. Although there was no need to. He had just misunderstood his friend, that shouldn't have been a problem. Right?
"How about Kosmo?" He blurted.
Whatever Keith wanted to say died on his lips. The guy frowned, trying how the name rolled of his lips as he glanced at the phone in Lance's outstretched hand.
"Yeah, I like Kosmo," he smiled, taking his phone back.
Lance couldn't help the fluttering in his chest at that soft gaze.
It was later that day he met Kosmo. Keith had invited him over to meet the creature, and he had happily obliged.
"He is so soft," Lance gasped as he petted the dog.
"Yeah, he sure is," Keith replied, kicking his shoes off. Lance followed suit, placing his own shoes neatly away before they passed the living area on their way to the kitchen.
Lance greeted Adam who was reading a book. The man looked up from his book to greet the boys with a small smile, before his eyes were back on the page in front of him.
"Soda?" Keith asked. Lance nodded, eyes on the dog that had followed them.
It certainly was a big boy...
"Hey Lance," Keith mumbled, hidden behind the door of the fridge. "You know I wouldn't force you to help me find a relationship, right?"
Lance met Keith's eyes as the guy shut the door, putting the bottle down. As he reached for two glasses, he continued.
"I'm glad to even have friends, and I'm really not interested to finding someone new to... You know."
"Then how about someone you already know?"
It was out before he knew it. Yet he slapped his hand over his mouth, his eyes wide as Keith looked at him surprised.
"What about them?" Keith asked. Though the gaze he kept trained on Lance told he already knew what Lance meant.
"Would you think about dating..." Lance forced himself to say, even when he felt his cheeks heat up. Even though that smirk growing on Keith's face made his insides squirm. "Someone you're already close with?"
"Depends," Keith easily replied.
Lance found himself lost for words for a moment. He knew what he was implying - and it was impossible Keith didn't know. Keith's only friends were him, Allura, Pidge and Hunk. Keith was gay so Allura dropped off that list immediately. Hunk was dating Shay, and Pidge... Lance didn't think their fem-presenting nonbinary friend really felt attracted to anyone. That left him.
Keith stepped closer, just as Lance voiced himself, about the 'date someone you already know' part. The boy smiled, reaching to intertwine their fingers.
"That depends on when this someone finally voices their feelings for me, I guess."
There was no blushing confession after that. Not Lance simply noting Keith had known and pressing his lips against the other.
No.
He yelled.
"You knew I liked you this whole time?!"