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A couple of months passed with neither Shiro making any advances, nor Keith showing signs of changes in opinion. One evening came along that was slow and relaxing. Keith didn’t have to work, but Lance was taking an early night shift so he would have to leave in a few hours. Keith was fairly quiet, but that was usual. Lance had not spoken to Shiro about Keith for some time but he still wanted to get some information out of Keith to potentially give to Shiro. Lance mainly wanted Shiro to ask Keith out because Lance knew Shiro would be a mess of emotions, and Keith needed something to get his mind off of work. Lance quickly planned out his next moves, which may of may not involve a little bit of lying.
“Whatcha reading?” Lance asked Keith, who was wrapped up in a blanket with a book in his hands.
“Anna Karenina.”
“Haven’t you read that already?”
“Yeah.”
Lance sat with Keith in silence for a moment. Maybe Keith would listen for a little while.
“I spoke to Shiro the other day.”
“Oh?”
“He told me he wants to get back into serious dating.”
Keith turned a page. “That’s nice.”
“Yeah, I’m happy for him. He’s been single for a while and I think being with someone would help him out a lot.”
“I’m sure it would.”
“He asked me if I knew anyone.”
“Okay.”
“But I thought that was a little odd because I thought for sure there was someone he was into.”
“Maybe they’re already in a relationship.” Keith was starting to listen just a little more.
“Oh, I know they’re not.”
“Well what are they like?”
“He’s…” How could Lance put this without giving away the answer? “He has dark hair, grey-ish eyes, neither short nor tall, fairly strong.”
“He sounds nice.”
“He’s new in town, too.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Yeah, he’s pretty chill, smart, funny. Shiro’s really into him.”
“That’s good for Shiro.”
Lance was starting to get frustrated. “Shiro is really into him. He talks about him all the time. He’s pretty much Shiro’s dream guy. Shiro has been dying for a date.”
“Maybe Shiro should just ask the fool out to end all his suffering.”
Lance bit his lip. “He’s planning on it.”
“Then why are you telling me all of this? I don’t care about Shiro’s dating life.”
“I thought that maybe you would want to know what your new friends are up to.”
“Maybe if they wanted me to know, they would tell me, especially if it’s something more personal, like, I don’t know, dating life.”
Lance was not in the mood for snarky comments. “It’s you.”
Keith looked up from his book. “What?”
“It’s you. Shiro likes you. Loves you. You make him go all gooey and silly. He gets embarrassed when I bring it up. He thinks you're cute and fun and wants to date you.”
Keith laughed and went back to his book. “Nice one, Lance.”
“What? It’s true!”
“Be serious.”
“I am! He told me! Well, I kinda guessed…”
“Don’t tease me like that, Lance.” Keith closed his book and started to walk away. “I don’t need that in my life right now.”
“No, Keith, I’m not-”
“Forget it, Lance. Just leave me alone. I don’t need you getting my hopes up for something as unrealistic as Shiro liking me in that way.”
With that, Keith was gone.
><><><
“Pidge, I fucked up.”
“What’s new?” Pidge and Lance sat in the diner they often met at. They sat at the same table and ate the same things. It had become a Sunday afternoon tradition.
“It’s not funny, Pidge. I told Keith.”
“About Shiro?”
“Yeah.”
“Are you a complete fool?” Pidge scowled at Lance. “Did you think it would make things better? What was your goal?”
“I thought it would help!”
“Why did you think it would help!?”
“I don’t know… I thought Keith would be happy, or it would give him some kind of warning.”
“Lance…” Pidge looked down at her food. “Do you ever think about your actions?”
“I do!”
“You know, Shiro was planning on asking Keith soon. I don’t know how your actions with affect the outcome. It may be your fault if Shiro gets rejected.”
“I just wanted Keith to be happy!” Lance sighed. “I thought Keith liked him back… But Keith can be hard to read. He hasn’t dated since he moved to Ireland and Shiro is a good guy. Of course I want them to at least test the waters, but Keith can be shy and I thought if he got caught off guard things would be even worse.”
“I guess you’re right. You know him better than I do.”
“Sometimes I just don’t know with Keith! He thinks so lowly of himself and I thought that maybe if he knew that someone as amazing as Shiro liked him he would have a positive response! He said it was ‘unrealistic.’ I just made things worse.”
“I guess we’ll have to make things better.”
“And how do you suppose we do that?”
Pidge sat and thought for a moment. “We could just not invade.”
Lance looked at Pidge unamusedly.
“Okay, okay, let me think for a second.” Pidge swirled her coffee and stared at the little bubbles on top. Lance had put quite a kink in the situation, but this opened up new questions about Keith’s personality. Pidge realized they would have to tread lightly through this minefield if she and Lance wanted to at least get Keith on a better page in regards to Shiro. One thing was for sure, Shiro was a really nice guy. He would be understanding, but it didn’t feel right telling Shiro all of these facts about Keith. They seemed personal and sensitive. “We should just see how it plays out. I think if we fiddle around too much things will go south very quickly. We’ll have to be extra nice to them, especially Keith.”
“I’ll let Hunk know, too.”
“Oh! Good idea! He’s better at reading people’s feelings than we are.”
“So how did you find out that Shiro was actually going to ask Keith out?”
“Hunk told me. They spend a lot of gym time together. I don't know for sure when or where, but I have a feeling it's going to be within the next few days.”
“Let's hope it's not too soon.”
“But Shiro is one to just get things done…”
“This is true.”
“You have to monitor them afterwards, too.”
“But really, is this necessary? What are we doing Pidge?”
Pidge took a deep breath. “I don’t know, Lance. I’ve never been in a situation like this, and you know Keith way better than I do.”
“I hate me…”
“Does Keith like Shiro?”
“I don’t fucking know! He shows two emotions: tiredness and displeasure.”
“Doesn’t he tell you stuff?”
“All the time! He told me all about every detail of his life while he was in college now he doesn’t say anything! Just goes about his life like nothing’s changed!”
Pidge turned and looked out the window. There was typical traffic for midday on a Sunday. All the cars moved at a steady pace.
“I don’t know, Lance…” she said as she finished her coffee. “Maybe this is a sign.”
“Of what?”
“That Shiro shouldn’t be with Keith? That you’re nosey? That Keith knows something we don’t?”
“I hate this.”
“I know. I think this will fizzle over soon.”
“I can only think about Keith though? Gosh, I just want him to be alright, y’know? He’s been through a lot and… Shiro is so nice and he would take care of Keith and they’re perfect!”
“Seriously?”
“I guess… Keith just needs someone to be nice to him.”
Pidge grabbed their check. “Let’s leave. This was exhausting.”
><> Several days later… <><
Shiro and Lance waited in the lobby of the gym, drinking their water and waiting for Keith.
“Where is that boy?” Lance said as he impatiently checked the time. “He said he had a regular workout today…”
“Maybe he’s taking a shower?”
“You know what? He’s probably still in the training room,” Lance said as he picked up his bag. “We should go get him. He loses track of time easily when he gets stressed at work.”
Shiro followed Lance down a corridor to a part of the gym that he had never been in. As they approached the door, Shiro heard the familiar sound of metal to metal, but once Lance opened the door, not so familiar sounds were mixed in. The sounds of leather to leather, chain to floor, then body to mat filled Shiro’s ears. So this was the boxing room - not too different than the main lifting area, but quite different. Punching bags lined one well, weight machines lined the other, and on one side boxing rings were set up with people sparring within, throwing punches and pinning each other down. It was like nothing Shiro had seen.
“Ah, there he is.” Lance started to make his way over to the far ring. “Keith!”
Shiro followed behind Lance, feeling very out of place. Every person in the room looked like they could take Shiro out with one swing. Shiro looked to where Lance was walking and saw that Keith was also one of those people. He was in the ring with what appeared to be an instructor. He bobbed and weaved as the instructor called out commands, Keith following them almost before he finished the word. Keith would throw a punch, hitting a pad with his gloved fist, the contact letting out a sharp slap. Shiro watched, amazed, as Keith kicked and punched, wearing the face of a killer. He would shake his bangs out, droplets of sweat jumping from his forehead. He was quick and nimble and powerful. He was amazing.
“Hello? Earth to Shiro?” Lance snapped his fingers. “Quit staring. It’s creepy.”
“Sorry…” Shiro leaned against the wall next to Lance. “I didn’t know Keith boxed?”
“I didn’t know you were so interested in the fact that Keith boxes.”
“C’mon Lance.”
“I’m just kidding. He’s been boxing since high school. He’s gotten pretty good.”
“I can see that.”
“That’s what got him out of letting his anger out on other kids. Instead of pounding their face, he could pound a bag.”
They watched Keith throw punches for a few minutes before both the instructor and him stood upright and finished their session. Keith wiped his forehead with the bottom of his shirt as he stepped out of the ring. Shiro’s eyes widened.
“I bet you also didn’t know Keith is fucking ripped,” Lance teased.
“He certainly is…”
“Keith!” Lance called. “Over here!”
Keith turned and smiled, removing his gloves as he walked over. “Hey Lance, Shiro.”
“Are you ready to go?”
“Yeah, but I want to get cleaned up a little. I don’t want to sit in sweaty clothes.”
“Alright, we’ll wait for you outside the door.”
Keith began to walk towards the locker rooms and Shiro and Lance made their way back out to the main hallway. Shiro was a bit confused.
“Why did we go in if Keith was just going to come out?” Shiro asked as Lance sat down on a bench.
“Are you complaining?” Lance looked up to Shiro. “Didn’t you like what you saw?”
“I’m not- Lance!”
Lance snickered and opened his phone. “I know, Shiro, I know. Just remember I have some tricks up my sleeve.”
“I wish you didn’t.”
Lance slowly stood. “Hey, could you wait here for Keith? I’m getting a call I need to take.” Lance scampered down the hallway, phone to his ear.
“Uh… alright.” Shiro leaned against the wall and took a breath. Damn Lance always had some obscure plan cooked up when he liked someone. Of course he would bring him in to see Keith boxing, because that was hot. But why couldn’t he be more subtle sometimes? Just let him in the dark.
“Hey, where’s Lance?” Keith asked as he appeared from around the corner and looked around the hallway.
“Oh, he, uh, had a phone call to take.”
“Oh, I hope everything’s okay.”
“I think it is.”
“So how are you, Shiro? I haven’t gotten to talk to you in a while.” Keith looked up to Shiro with a smile.
“Oh, I’m fine. I got a good workout in.”
“Well that’s good to hear.” Keith knelt down to tie his shoes tighter. “Mine went pretty well, as well.”
“I didn’t know you boxed.”
Keith smiled. “Oh, I've been boxing since forever. It’s fun, gets my energy out. Have you ever tried it?”
“No, and with my arm,” Shiro flexed his fingers, “I don’t think I would be able to.”
“I suppose you’re right. At least you can still lift, right?”
“Yeah, I can.”
“That’s good.” Keith smiled at Shiro and Shiro just about fell over.
Why am I like this? He thought. Just act cool, act natural.
“We can probably start heading for the exit,” Shiro said. “I think that’s where Lance went.”
“Alright.”
Keith and Shiro began to walk down the long hallway to the min entrance of the gym. They were quiet, Keith typing something into his phone. They got outside, where the weather was quite nice, and paused.
“Oh,” Keith looked at his phone. “Lance had to go. I guess I’ll have to take the bus.”
“Are you sure? I mean, I could drive you?”
“That’s very kind, Shiro, but I’m fine taking the bus. I don’t want to inconvenience you. We don't live on the same sides of town.” Keith turned and was about to part ways with Shiro.
“Hang on, Keith.” Keith turned to Shiro who stood nervously behind him.
“What is it?” Keith looked at Shiro with big, wondering eyes.
“I, uh,” Shiro cleared his throat. “I know we haven’t known each other very long, but I think you’re a pretty nice guy and stuff…”
Keith narrowed his eyes.
“I guess what I’m trying to say is…” Shiro searched for words in his blank mind. “Well, I really liked meeting you and I like being your friend, or at least friendly with you but…”
“Shiro, is there a question in this? I need to catch the bus.”
Shiro took a deep breath and tried to sound cool. “Could I take you on a date sometime?”