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Lance covered his ears as his sister squealed. He turned to glare at her from the passenger seat, but she was too lost in her own world of excitement to even acknowledge her brother.
This was, without a doubt, the worst idea his parents had ever had. Sending his twin with him to spend a couple weeks with their Abuela in LA, no one would think that would possibly end well.
Rachel was beside herself with glee. Apparently, the singer she’d been following for months was in town. Not odd, he resided here according to the tabloids. He’d returned though after a national tour of his newest album.
Not that Lance cared, he was just some pompous, stuck up, rich asshole, Keith Kogane.
Lance found his music to be acceptable, but he didn’t understand the hype. The dude had a mullet. A mullet. What sort of self-respecting person had a mullet these days?
He scowled at his sister, but it too, was lost on her. They’d borrowed their Abuela’s car, driven to where Keith was said to be performing. Rachel had found him – stalked him – using her many apps. It gave crazy stalker vibes, but Lance said nothing. Apparently, it was normal.
Rachel abandoned him to the car the moment they’d found a park. He rolled his eyes, though decided to enjoy the peace and quiet. Without her squealing, he decided he’d enjoy himself.
He left the car, locking it up and going for a stroll. He wasn’t a huge fan of big cities, having grown up in a fairly small town by comparison. He could see the appeal, the night life was buzzing. Bright, neon lights flooded the streets where people were moving about to their own beat. It was refreshing, seeing so many people just existing in a space together.
Trying to avoid the crowds, Lance found an alleyway to cut through. He was ready to go home, the loud and bright lights starting to get to him. He found a spot in the alley and tried to call Rachel.
That’s when it happened. The door opened. Right into Lance.
He went sprawling back, head hitting the pavement with a dull thud. He winced, sitting up and rubbing the spot instinctively. That would leave a nasty bump.
Someone walked out the door, shadow falling over Lance. Alarmed noises sounded from the figure and Lance glanced up, vision narrowed in the darkness to find his assailant. His frown only deepened when he saw a man with a terrible haircut watching him.
“Are you ok? What were you doing standing behind the door?”
Lance moved to stand, ignoring the slight dizziness the motion brought. “What was I doing? You opened the door on me!”
Another man stepped out from behind the door, assessing the situation. He froze when his eyes landed on Lance, cupping his bruised head.
“What were you doing behind the door?”
Was he concussed, or had the man just repeated himself? “Blaming me, that’s real classy.” Lance snapped, taking a step closer to the idiot. “Why don’t you take more care when opening doors? Where’s the rush?”
The man ran his hand through his hair, growing more concerned. Lance narrowed his eyes, then groaned. He knew exactly who this was.
Keith freaking Kogane.
Of course, Lance’s luck would be bad enough that he’d get hit by the one person he’d never, ever wanted to meet.
Before anyone could say anything further, Lance promptly threw up.
All over Keith’s shoes.
Keith jumped out of the way, making a loud, rash noise. He glared at Lance, then schooled his features. “Right, doctor. We need to get you to a doctor. This wouldn’t have happened if you weren’t lurking.”
“I wasn’t lurking, asshole.” Lance snapped, though he allowed himself to be guided into the seat of a rather fancy red vehicle. Shiro, because that’s who the other person had to be, closed the door behind Lance. He was Keith’s bodyguard and brother, the two were rarely caught apart.
“I was trying to find my sister, if you must know. She went inside.”
Keith’s fists clenched as they drove to whatever hospital they deemed fit.
“What were you doing, leaving in such a hurry, anyway?”
The singer’s fingers began to relax slightly around the wheel, though his glare remained firmly on the road. Lance watched, unable to stop himself. The light of the car really made his cheekbones stand out.
“Trying to leave, obviously. Without getting spotted.”
Lance rolled his eyes, unable to stop himself. “Why would you care about that?”
“You wouldn’t understand.”
Lance’s lips curled into a cruel grin, feeling no sympathy for this little spoilt rich boy. “Oh, no. the poor pop star, followed around by people who adore him.”
Keith turned his eyes to glare at Lance in the rearview. It was the sort of glare that Lance knew, if looks could kill, he’d be dead. “I said, you wouldn’t understand.”
“No, I guess not.”
“Boys,” Shiro snapped, cutting the tension, turning his glare on his brother. Lance was glad it wasn’t on him, because as frosty as Keith’s was, Shiro’s was dangerous. “Enough.”
“He started it,” Keith said, sounding completely petulant and childish. Lance refused to believe it was cute, he was a grown man picking fights with someone he’d potentially concussed. Keith was not cute.
The doctor, it turned out, was married to Shiro. He was a nice enough fellow, checked Lance out and sent them on their merry way. Keith got lucky, Lance didn’t have a concussion, just a slight bruise.
Keith’s next move was to drive Lance home, but he’d received a call before he could. He scowled through the phone call, fists clenching around the wheel angrily. Their course changed and Lance was once again hostage to Keith’s evening as they made their way to his estate.
“Ok, stay here,” Keith said, depositing Lance in a room. He wasn’t even sure the room belonged to Keith, there was hardly anything personal. Lance watched Keith slip through the door and sight.
This was all Rachel’s fault. He just wanted to be in his own bed, sleeping or reading a book. Instead, he was hiding in a room upstairs at a popstars house, trying to pretend like this wasn’t the single weirdest thing that could be happening to him.
Music drifted up towards the balcony and Lance moved closer, hearing a soft voice. A party crowd was gathered below, people watching Keith play his guitar with wonder and intrigue. Lance had heard numerous of Keith’s songs – Rachel drove, she chose the music – but he’d never heard it so raw, so strong. He was talented.
It was definitely Keith’s element, performing like that. Holding the attention of those around him. It could never be Lance. He prided himself in having a large group of friends, but the idea of being famous held no interest to him.
Keith returned after a while to drive Lance home, taking a smaller red vehicle. Lance was amused to find no less then four red cars in the garage. Keith had a theme going. They drove in silence, Lance surprised to discover it wasn’t uncomfortable.
It wasn’t until they turned onto Lance’s street that Keith spoke up. “Did your sister get home ok?”
The concern was genuine, Lance hadn’t even realised the popstar had so much as heard him talk of her before. “She texted me earlier to say she was leaving without me.”
Something in Keith’s features hardened as they pulled into the drive. “She left without you?”
Lance shrugged, popping his seat belt with ease. “Yeah, I mean. She was there to meet you, she would’ve been bored. I told her I’d see her at home.”
Keith shook his head, disbelief colouring his eyes. “My brother would never abandon me like that.”
“She didn’t abandon me,” Lance said, even though she kind of had. He felt the desire to defend his sister, despite how much she irked him. Why couldn’t it have been Veronica who’d come with him? None of this would have happened without Rachel.
Keith fixed a pointed stare on Lance.
“I abandoned her first,” Lance said, though he sort of hadn’t. He’d been kidnapped.
“You got hit by a door,” Keith shook his head, raising his eyes to the roof. “What are you doing in LA anyway?”
Lance looked down, unsure what prompted him to spill the truth, but he would blame it on the knock on the head. It definitely had nothing to do with the way Keith was watching him, eyes so intent, like he genuinely wanted the answer.
“Visiting my Abuela, she’s – we’re trying to convince her to move closer to us, given she’s getting older. Mama sent out her youngest to do her dirty work.”
Keith didn’t respond, clearly unable to find words.
Lance turned, moving to open the door. “Let’s not do this again.”
He loved the beach. Love, love, loved the beach. He loved the waters, crisp and blue. He loved the sand, gritty and sticky. He loved the sun, warm and refreshing. He was only too happy to agree to Rachel’s request to go to the beach.
Lance had expected the beach to be populated, but he hadn’t expected it to be crowded. He’d seen people all over the beach, in the water, on the sand, playing with balls or getting sunburnt. His eyes raked over a streak of black hair that made him pause.
“How did you recognise me?” Keith snapped, glaring at Lance who’d kicked sand at his feet. To be fair to him, Keith had donned dark sunglasses, a terrible bucket hat and had his jacket collar up around his neck. He could be easily confused as someone else.
“I’d recognise that mullet anywhere,” Lance said, shrugging as he dropped into the available seat beside him.
“Thought you weren’t a fan,” Keith said, sounding almost smug.
Lance laughed, unable to stop himself. “I’m not, I spent a great portion of my night in a fancy car sitting behind that mullet.”
Keith relaxed slightly into his shoulders, glancing around. No one else had noticed them. “What are you doing here?”
Lance gestured vaguely to where his sister was mingling with a group of people. She was able to make friends wherever she went, just as Lance could. “Rachel dragged me here, but I actually love the beach, so I figured this one would be fun.”
“Shouldn’t you be convincing your Abuela?”
Lance gave a short laugh, shaking his head. “Ah, no. If we make it too obvious, she’ll know we’re up to something.” He paused, gaze landing on Rachel briefly. “Besides, the one thing we can agree on is that Abuela loves it here. This needs to be done carefully.”
“Do you like it here?” Keith asked, inclining his head.
“Never been, not really a city type,” he replied.
Keith’s features had a more determined set to them, his eyes lifting slightly. “You’d love it here, you know. If you gave it the chance.”
“Thanks, but no thanks. I don’t do tours.”
The singer was silent a moment, an unknown emotion flickering across his face. He looked away for a moment, biting his lip, then turned back to Lance, a new sense of determination in his eyes. “I’ll prove it to you then.”
Lance blinked. “What?”
Without another word, Keith stood. He watched Lance expectantly, then walked off.
Lance followed.
They found Keith’s car, a friendly little red thing that looked like it could actually blend in on the road. Lance was hesitant, looking back to where Rachel was happily on the beach, then folded himself in to the car. There was something about that challenging look in Keith’s eye that drew him in.
He shot off a text to Rachel, telling her he’d see her later. She had the car keys.
“Where are we going?”
Keith merely grinned, igniting the engine. “I have a few ideas.”
Lance wasn’t sold on the city, and he said as much.
The singer had merely told Lance to be ready by 9 the next morning.
Three days later, Lance was still unsold on the city, but he was coming around to the singer. In actuality, he was finding himself falling for him. It was unfair, really, the man was so far from his league they were in different solar systems. Yet, he couldn’t help but look forwards to Keith picking him up and trying to prove his city was great. He would show up in a silly little disguise in a silly little red car and they’d go about their day, chattering away.
Keith was still trying to prove Lance wrong, and he became more adamant then ever not to like the city. No, the city got to keep Keith. It was the only way to have him coming back to Lance.
Two weeks ago, Lance would never have thought he’d actually want to talk to someone like Keith Kogane, but now, he knew that had changed.
There were only three days left of his visit, and he’d planned another beach trip with Keith. Rachel was at home with Abuela, having apparently given up on meeting her star. Lance got to borrow the car this time, meeting up with Keith at the beach.
It wasn’t nearly as crowded as the main beaches of LA. This one was peaceful, the coarse sand rough under his bare feet. Lance grinned as Keith arrived, glasses donned and shrouding his features. He looked like he was trying to hide something.
Lance tore off his shirt, bolting into the ocean, hearing laughter follow him into the waves. Keith decided to join him, having removed his own shirt. Lance did his best not to let his eyes wander, but damn. Keith wasn’t just a pretty face. Those muscles were quite impressive.
It was so refreshing, seeing Keith so relaxed in the water. Around the crowds, Keith’s shoulders would hunch, he’d duck away from phones or people who stared too long. But in that moment, he was just another guy, just another man who Lance was falling for. He knew it would only break his heart, but he couldn’t stop himself.
“So, why do you hide?” Lance asked, finally free of the water. They were leaning on towels, looking out at the ocean. The water still clung tightly to their skin, leaving a soft, silky sheen.
Keith leant back, turning purple eyes skyward. “I just, I wasn’t expecting it all, I guess. Fans around every corner, every movement I made publicised. I just wanted to share my music with people, but instead, all they see is a pretty boy.”
Lance couldn’t help but grin. “I don’t see a pretty boy,” not in so many words.
Keith laughed, jostling Lance’s arm with a hand. “You are one of the few.”
Lance turned back to the waves. They stayed there, sitting in silence, enjoying each other’s company, the sound of the waves, the birds, the wind. It was peaceful. “I’m sorry,” he said, startling Keith. “I’m sorry about how I acted the other day, I was incentive.”
“You didn’t know me,” Keith said, voice full of acceptance and forgiveness. “Most people want the fame, the money, but I just. I only wanted my music to be heard. How am I supposed to be normal, do normal things, if I’m watched constantly?”
“You’re not normal,” Lance said, feeling those eyes land back on him. Dissecting him. “You’re not. For a start, you have a mullet.” That did earn him a snort, he called that a victory. “And, you’re gifted at singing, and you are famous. You’re not normal. But, that doesn’t mean you can’t do normal things.”
A small smile spread across Keith’s lips. It was real, true, and it made Lance’s heart ache just a bit more. “I can’t even date a normal person,” the words surprised both of them.
Lance recovered slowly, heart remembering its pattern in his chest. “Who wants to be normal anyway? I’m not normal.” And he really, really hoped that wasn’t too obvious.
Keith turned away, lips quirking in a small smile. “No, you’re not.”
They lay on the beach until the sun began to set. Lance sighed, taking that as his cue to leave. He stood, shaking his towel and removing grains of sand from his legs. Keith’s hand reached out, grabbing his own. Lance froze, eyes moving to meet Keith’s.
Something passed between them. Sparks, electricity, a jolt. Lance was frozen in time, staring only at Keith. Those dark eyes, watching only him. He swallowed, eyes lowering, daring to Keith’s lips.
Finally, Keith grunted, then covered Lance’s lips with his own.
Lance was shocked, mouth falling open, but he wasn’t going to let Keith win this one. He kissed back, body reacting with a ferocity he wasn’t expecting. He wrapped his arms around Keith’s shoulders, holding him close.
The moment seemed to drag on forever.
It was shattered as they pulled apart and a flash of light appeared.
Keith pulled back, making a horrified gasp.
Someone had a photo of them touching.
Keith pulled away as though Lance’s skin was made of lava. He got pulled away by a sea of people all chanting his name.
Lance left his heart on that beach, taking only shattered pieces. He never got a text back.
He was glad to be back home. Back with his parents, his siblings. His life, his routine, his simple day. The plan to get their Abuela to come home had almost worked, it would only take another visit. Lance was refusing to go. He would not.
Not after Keith had texted, said he’d had a great time, but they were just too different. Their worlds could never mix.
What a joke.
Rachel had flicked on the television, rushing into the room and declaring they were talking about Lance on the tabloids. Keith’s face, smiling at the camera, appeared. Lance’s heart ached, seeing the man look so unlike the one he’d spent so much time with. Who was the real Keith?
“Do you know this man?” the interviewer, Bob, asked, gesturing to an image of Lance pulling away from Keith.
Keith shrugged, looking vaguely disinterested. “I can’t say that I do, I meet a lot of fans on the beach.” He flashed an award-winning smile at the camera, all false and pretend.
Lance left the room.
Rachel found him outside, sitting on the steps on his phone. Reporters had started looking for the man from the beach, but Lance wasn’t to be found.
“What happened, Lance?” Rachel asked, dropping onto the seat beside him.
“I don’t know.”
Rachel hummed, pulling Lance closer with an arm around his shoulder. He could feel the eyes of his other siblings from the window. He’d been quiet since his return, but he couldn’t help it.
“Is he nice?”
Lance scoffed, unable to help the bitterness that rose in his voice. “He just – lied, to the world, and you think I would say yes?”
She said nothing, lips pressed to a firm line. Lance left, going for a walk on the beach.
It had been a long week. He stood at the edge of the water on the beach, his small hometown beach, nothing like the beaches of LA. It was small, peaceful, with only Lance in sight. It wasn’t a particularly pleasant day anyway.
He began to hear music further down. Lance’s heart ached as he recognised it. He’d heard it playing on the radio, the newest song from Keith. Trust that his music had followed Lance all the way to his own little corner of the world. He sank to the sand, feet in the ebbing waves.
The music grew louder, until finally Lance was forced to look up. The music wasn’t a stereo, he realised, too late.
Keith freaking Kogane was singing to the beach. He’d gathered a huge crowd (where had they even come from?), some even holding boom boxes as they walked along the sand.
Lance was torn between running and hiding, and going straight towards him. It led to him staying right there, watching Keith merely walk down the beach, right for him.
His voice was smooth as silk. It was rough where it needed to be, and it was a joy to listen to. It made Lance want to cry, because how dare this man come here, to this beach, after kissing him? After leaving him, then lying? How dare he?
The singing stopped. Keith was staring right at Lance, watching. Waiting. Lance held his breath. He couldn’t move, his legs frozen.
When Keith moved first, Lance felt the air around them change. The world around them vanished, all that was left was the sound of blood rushing through his ears, his heart thumping in his chest and Keith, moving towards him.
Keith stopped above him. Lance swallowed, then made a move to stand. His legs shook as he stood, unable to look up and meet Keith’s eyes. He couldn’t bare another rejection. Couldn’t have this being their final goodbye. It was a cruel and unusual punishment.
“I’m sorry,” Keith said, and Lance’s mouth dropped. There was far too much sincerity, raw emotion, in that voice for Lance to think he didn’t mean it. “I do know you, Lance. I know you love your family, and the ocean. I know you want to become a researcher, because you’re a nerd. And I know I want to date you.”
Words went into Lance’s ears. He processed them carefully. Brought himself to look up, meet those dark purple eyes he’d fallen for. His heart stopped beating, seeing the truth, the honesty in those eyes.
“Me?”
Keith nodded, moving a hand to reach for Lance’s. “You, Lance. You see me, you know who I am. I want you by my side. Say yes, please.” He wouldn’t say Keith was begging, but he certainly wasn’t far off it.
“No more disguises?”
Keith shook his head.
Lance smiled, and Keith relaxed, tension leaving his shoulders. Lance was almost relieved to see it had been there, that this really was serious for him. “Yeah. A date.”
Keith beamed, taking Lance’s hand and pressing his lips. Cheers erupted around them, but all Lance saw was Keith, his beautiful smile and the world at their feet. Maybe his sister wasn’t so bad. She’d brought Lance to Keith, and he was never letting go of this man.