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Lance first sees Keith on a Tuesday afternoon.
He's out on the football field training alone, the rain cascading around him, dirt smeared on his cheek. Lance admires him straight away. His dedication, his spirit.
“He's... beautiful,” Lance tells his friend Hunk as they stand under the shelter provided near the gyms entrance.
“Talk to him,” Hunk offers, and Lance bites his lip.
~
And he does — talk to him.
Lance spots the boy in the cafeteria the next day. Pidge tells him he's a recent transfer. Lance instantly decides he's going to befriend him. He walks over to the boy, nerves a mess in his gut.
“Hi,” his voice is still stuck in that squeaky phase. Dirt-boy looks up at him, his lunch barely eaten as a book lays open on the table next to him. “I'm Lance. Mind if I sit here?”
Dirt-boy shakes his head slowly, bringing his tray closer to make room. Lance squeezes in, his long, lanky legs bumping the table-top slightly. Dirt-boy watches him with a curious glint.
Lance stares back, before nodding to his book. “What'cha reading?”
Dirt-boy looks down at it briefly. “Andy Weir.”
Lance finds himself grinning. “You like space?”
Dirt-boy blinks, then a shy smile begins to show. “I love it.”
~
The rest of the year Lance spends learning as much as he can about Keith.
He's aiming for quarterback next year. He's got an older brother who's a senior. He doesn't have any parents. His favourite food is caesar salad. He hates bullies. He loves the stars.
One day, after football practice, Keith asks him, “You ever thought about playing hoops?”
Lance shakes his head 'no'. Keith shrugs, pats his shoulder, lingers. “You have the height. And I know you're a great shot.”
Lance feels his face flush, and when his mum picks him up after school he's grinning the whole way home.
~
He made the team. His friends throw a surprise party for him after try-outs.
His family bombard him with hugs and kisses, and his grandfather gives him some sage advice back from when he used to play in the 50s. Lance feels over the moon.
His friends drag him upstairs and they camp out on the floor, food scattered about in the middle. Hunk tells a joke that has Lance laughing for a full two minutes, and then Pidge suggests a movie.
They all claim a spot on Lance's small double bed, and Lance finds himself pressed up against Keith's right side, bodies warm, feet tangled under the sheets. It's amazing, and he tries to act casual.
Halfway through the movie and Keith turns to him, voice low so only Lance can hear. “I'm really proud of you. You're going to make history, McClain.”
“No,” Lance whispers back, “We are going to make history.”
~
The first set of exams are coming up and everyone is a bit on edge.
They organise study groups, meeting in the library or at whoever's house is willing to host them. Lance sees Keith the most, though, finding the other boy calms him down considerably.
“Hey,” he starts, as they just clock into their third consecutive hour of flipping through text books older than they are. “Wanna head to the park? Let off some steam?”
Keith seems to think it over, his brows furrowed, which Lance wont deny is adorable. Finally he heaves a sigh, closing the book resoundingly. “Yes.”
Lance brings a basketball, tells Keith that every shot he scores, he's allowed to quiz Keith on the exam questions, and vice versa.
Keith grins. “That's not a fair fight.”
“Flattery wont get you anywhere, mister,” Lance says, throwing the ball in the air.
A while passes, the once bright blue sky now fading into a canopy of oranges and pinks. There's a breeze cooling down their sweaty foreheads, and the grass is ticklish when they lie down for a break.
“You did good,” Lance puffs out. “I know you'll pass, Keith, I really, truly believe it.”
Keith shoots him a soft smile. “You too. And thanks. For this, I mean.”
Lance feels something hook in his heart, tugging painfully. “No worries.”
~
At the end of junior year, all of Garrison High's sports teams have places in their respective finals.
Lance and Keith train vigorously, using any opportunity they can get to squeeze in practice time. Lance can't shake the nervous feeling threatening to cloud his goal of winning.
“Hey, you'll be great, no matter the outcome,” Keith offers, and Lance tries his best to believe the words.
~
His team don't win, and he masks how disappointed he feels because if it.
But his friends can read him instantly. Hunk hugs the stress from his shoulders, Pidge tells him confidently that Lance played the toughest game all season, and he did remarkably better than expected despite the odds.
And Keith.
Keith gives him that smile that doesn't equal to pity. It doesn't make Lance feel inferior, or like a weakling. It's a promise. Keith is telling him he knows Lance is destined for more, that this is only the beginning.
Lance wonders how he ever landed himself the most amazing friends in the world.
~
Keith's last game is next, and it feels as if the entire stadium are holding their breaths as the final minute ticks down.
Lance's hand has been squeezing around his now empty cup for the past half an hour, balancing off the edge of his seat as his eyes never leave Keith running on the field.
“The chances of winning now are low,” Pidge murmurs, her eyes glued to the score board.
“No,” Lance shakes his head. “This is Keith. He's got this.”
The team have one last huddle, heads nodding at whatever the coach is telling them. They break, lining up on the field one last time just as the announcer says:
“They're going for a Hail Mary pass, folks! It's all come down to this!”
“Oh, man,” Hunk breaths, and Lance feels his insides start to twist uncomfortably.
The seconds tick down, bodies a blur down below, and Lance sees the moment the ball is passed to Keith, and then he's running, down the field and out of reach, like a bullet across the open ocean. There's a second when they think he wont make it, but then, and then—
~
The crowd erupts into a valley of cheers, deafening in the most adrenaline inducing way.
Lance's voice is hoarse from how loud he's celebrating, and he sees the team hoist Keith into the air, and Lance doesn't realise what he's doing until he's halfway down the steps, pushing past spectators and cheerleaders until his feet are running across the grass.
Keith is standing again, receiving pats of encouragement, and then he spots Lance running towards him, and he breaks into a run too.
Keith is a grounding weight against him when they finally hug, and Lance murmurs his praise into the shell of Keith's ear, and Keith is laughing, and they're so happy, and then—
Lance kisses him.
He feels Keith's breath hitch, his hands go slack at Lance's back, but then they're gripping twice as hard as before, and they're kissing, kissing, kissing. Lance doesn't want to stop. Keith's lips are soft, pliant, and Lance chases him when Keith separates for air.
“You did it,” Lance says between kisses, “You're amazing,” another, “Keith, Keith. We'll be unstoppable; the greatest couple this school's ever seen—”
Keith laughs into his mouth, nodding, his hands running through Lance's hair.
They stay like that for a long time.
~
By the beginning of sophomore year, it becomes common knowledge that Lance and Keith are now Lance&Keith.
Pidge and Hunk had suffered through most of the honeymoon phase over the summer break, the two boys always near or draped over each other in some way. Pidge said her eyes were too young for this. Hunk took heaps of photographs to go in his scrapbooks.
Shiro had given them a quick talk about the birds and the bees, until Keith had started turning beat red and Shiro had proclaimed, “Nope. Never mind, I'm not equipped for this talk. I'll be eating my weight in Doritos if you need me.”
The entire school, including the teachers, knew how competitive Lance and Keith could get with their respective sports. They made bets daily, although it was usually about dumb couple stuff; mostly on who got to treat who more on the next date.
Keith was eventually appointted quarterback, and after finding out, Lance had actually run out of his class to go and find his boyfriend to congratulate him in person.
And then, when Lance's team had won the mid-year finals, he was ultimately nominated as captain.
“The Captain and the Quarterback: A Love Story,” Pidge snickers that day during lunch.
“So sweet, I could cry,” Hunk sniffs.
Lance wraps his arms around Keith tighter, placing his chin atop Keith's shoulder. “Like I said: we're going to be unstoppable.”
Keith turns his head, grinning, and kisses Lance long and hard.
~
Their first real fight comes near the end of the year.
Exams and practice have gotten things tense, and really, it was bound to happen eventually. Lance doesn't even remember the reason behind it. They were both tired and frustrated. Things they didn't mean were said.
Keith fumbles during practise, not able to concentrate right.
Lance couldn't study for more than 10 minutes at a time, worry clawing in his gut.
They find each other the next day, at the school's gates. They lock eyes, hesitating, but then Lance dumps his backpack to the concrete, and he opens his arms wide, and then Keith is there, solid and familiar against him.
“I'm sorry,” Keith whispers into his neck.
“No, I am,” Lance insists. They stay like that for ages, until the bell calls them inside for class. They walk hand in hand, and Lance thinks he's imagining it, but the whole school seems pleased they've made up.
That evening, Keith plays better than he ever has. Lance aces his exam after Keith comes over to study with him.
They always work better together than apart.
They really were the best team.
~
It's senior year, and Lance is determined to make it the best year so far.
He's captain of the basketball team. He's averaged a stellar 3.8 GPA. He also happens to have the most amazing boyfriend a guy could ask for.
Keith is leaning up against the wall by their lockers when he walks inside, Lance's captain jersey peaking out the top of his jumper. Lance is wearing Keith's varsity jacket, and they have trouble hiding their grins as they walk to class together.
One day, Lance shows up at Keith's doorstep, flowers in hand as he blasts a song from his dad's old tape player.
“Keith Kogane, will you do me the honour of accompanying me to prom this Friday?”
Keith laughs, breathes out, “You dork. And yes,” and kisses him long and deep.
Lance melts into it, and like everything they've ever done, it's easy and simple and just plain right when he says, “I love you.”
Keith pulls back, eyes wide with wonder, and he brings his forehead to rest against Lance's.
“I love you too.”
~
Keith in a suit just about kills Lance.
Prom is a wild night. Everyone was looking amazing, spirits were high, and Pidge and Hunk kept teasing them about being the sappiest couple on the dance floor.
When it came time for the prom king and queen announcement, to say Lance and Keith were shocked when both of their names were called out was a bit of an understatement. There were tears, Keith awkwardly thanking everyone until Lance took over the mic with a slew of fairytale memes.
A banner was released, with the word 'equality' painted on it in a range of colours. Lance hugged Keith close, so incandescently happy, until the crowd cheered for the couples first dance as prom kings.
Lance's heartbeat was steady and strong, and he couldn't help it as he leaned down to Keith's ear, exclaiming, “Unstoppable.”
~
Years later, when they're all invited back to celebrate their class's ten year reunion, Lance and Keith walk in hand in hand, rings on full display under the glow of the lights.
They see old acquaintances, teachers, coaches. People congratulate them on their newly appointed jobs at NASA. They ask incessantly about the wedding. When news breaks that they're planning to adopt, they receive nothing but love and support from their peers.
Awards are given out, and they hang out at the back of the room, gazes never leaving the other's, taking turns in feeding each other a plate of hors d'oeuvres they stole.
Finally, the 'Power Couple' award is presented, and they almost don't register their names being called out. Keith's much better at speeches now, and does most of the talking while Lance indulges himself with another champagne.
Later, once they say goodbye to their friends, they take a cab home, stumbling in blind and giddy through the front door.
Photos from their amazing, crazy life litter the walls with pride.
The final moments in their respective sports games; scoring the winning points and breaking school records. The first day of college and being roommates of course; Lance grinning proudly when Keith completes his dissertation; Keith standing on the sidelines as Lance aces his pilot training. Up on stage at graduation, with their ridiculous caps and smiling families. Keith crying right after Lance proposed to him. Lance crying when Keith finished saying his vows. Moving into their first home; planting their first tree; adopting a couple of cats in need; painting the baby's room a soft purple.
It was all there. It was a gleaming resume of Lance's life. And it had only just started.
Look out world, the Kogane-McClains were coming for you.
And they were going to be unstoppable.