Head First, Eyes Closed, Don't Look.

by Bronstiel

Summary:

Keith and his friends are holidaying on an exclusive resort isle courtesy of Allura, and there was no drama until Keith went out of his way to find some.

or; If you asked him, Keith would tell you his problems started when he bought that goddamn travel pillow.

Notes:

Dedicated to Faith.

Chapter 1

“Keith, if you want the neck pillow, just buy the neck pillow.”

Keith shook his head, but was unable to quite tear his eyes away from the flight accessory. “I don’t want the neck pillow.” He said. It was white with lime green stripes and pictures of cartoon frogs with their own little travel pillows stamped infinitely across the surface. Frogs didn’t even have necks. They didn’t need neck pillows. Keith wasn’t stupid.

“Well, we got twenty minutes before we board,” Pidge said flippantly, squeaking their shoe along the ground in the way they knew Keith hated. “So we gotta waste time somehow.” They moved further into the store and began riffling through a magazine, getting three pages in before becoming bored and putting it back. “I’m gonna buy some gum for the flight. What flavour do you want?”

They met back at the terminal with three packs of ‘Groovy Grape’ flavour Hubba Bubba, and Keith’s new travel pillow clipped on to his belt loops so he could ferry the coffee to their friends with their hands free. “Starbucks is shit.” Pidge said as they handed coffee to Shiro and Matt. All cups read Pudge.

“Starbucks is the shit,” Matt corrected, winking at his sibling before turning to Keith. “Cute pillow.”

Keith passed a cup to Allura, finally freeing a hand so he could unclip the pillow from his pants and tuck it under one arm instead. He looked at Matt impassively. “Thanks.” He deadpanned. Matt snorted into his coffee while Shiro rolled his eyes with a smile.

“How long is our flight again?” Pidge slumped in the seat next to Allura, cupping their venti in both hands. Keith took the seat next to them, balancing his coffee on his knee so he could pull his sleeves over his hands. Shiro had forbidden him from bringing his gloves because there would be no reason for them when they got to the island, but right now, with his fingers so cold they were red at the tips, all he could do was shoot a glare at Shiro from across the seats.

“It’s eight hours,” Allura said apologetically, looking stunning in her winter jacket. He hair was loose over her shoulders and she had a snood looped around her neck. She had gloves on. Keith had to force himself not to pout as he gripped his hot coffee. “But we’ve all got inflight entertainment, two meals are included and,” She cast her eyes at Keith, a smirk playing around her perfectly made-up face. “Keith has his neck pillow.”

Keith narrowed his eyes at her, burying his chin in the cowl of his jacket. “You were the one who suggested I try to sleep on the plane!” He took an angry sip of coffee whilst Pidge snickered beside him. He debated putting the pillow in his backpack and out of sight but he didn’t think it would fit.

“Of course,” Allura held up her hands in surrender, smiling into her snood. “We don’t want anyone to be sleepy when we get there. And I didn’t specifically suggest you get a travel pillow, I said loosen up! Have a good time on the trip. God knows you need to chill out.”

“I mean, it’s already passed my bedtime.” Shiro added in quickly to avoid Keith snapping back. He lifted his arms above his head, leaning to the side and stretching so everyone could hear his joints pop. Immediately, all four of them booed him.

“Shut up, Shiro!” Pidge heckled, almost slopping coffee onto their jeans. Allura leant away, towards Keith, to avoid any coffee stains on her white jeans. “Why do you always act like you’re fifty-thousand years old?”

Shiro dropped his arms back to his lap and picked up his coffee again where it had been settled safely on the floor. “It’s one a.m., Pidge.” He smiled before taking a sip. “And when you get to my age-” He teased.

They all booed him again, but were interrupted by the announcement for them to board, the stewardess looking annoyingly perky for that time of night. On the plane, Keith was seated by the window, with Pidge next to him and Allura on the aisle seat. Shiro and Matt were behind them, and Keith already knew this was going to be the worst flight he had ever endured because Shiro had flicked his ear three times and they hadn’t even taken off yet. Pidge already had their headphones on, but Matt had somehow gotten hold of the end of the cord and was preventing Pidge from listening to anything as well as slowly tugging the headphones off of their head, which was driving Pidge insane. Allura was seated proper on the end of the aisle, listening to the stewardess perform the safety instructions.

As soon as the engines started and after a few quiet threats to Shiro, Keith had his neck pillow on and was flicking through the movie options on his little airplane screen. Allura had her sleep mask on, and Pidge was squirming in their seat, impatiently waiting for the seatbelt sign to go off so they could pull their laptop out. Both Keith and Pidge were blowing opaque purple bubbles from the Hubba Bubba, and Matt was snapping his gum behind them (much to Allura’s disgust). Keith settled on a movie he’d already seen (Pidge rolled their eyes when they saw his choice but stopped berating him after he wedged his elbow into their ribs a few times) and accepted a cup of tea from a flight attendant as they walked around. He could hear Shiro and Matt talking quietly behind them, but soon even they drifted into silence, Shiro pulling the ends of his hair once and saying goodnight before falling quiet.

Keith got through a movie and a half before he fell asleep, and he woke up to Allura’s blinding smile and a nose full of Pidge’s hair where they were sharing his travel pillow. There was an hour and a half left on the flight, Allura informed him, and Shiro poked him in the ear to tell him he was also awake. He watched the last half of the second movie, ate the bland egg and cheese muffin the flight attendant handed him, and accepted another piece of gum from Pidge when the fasten-seatbelt sign lit up. He could feel his ears popping as he chewed, and tiredness prickled his eyes- despite his froggy pillow, he hadn’t slept that much. He ignored it, and when the plane landed he followed Allura through the small airport just like everyone else. They collected their luggage from the airport’s only baggage carousel, waited while Shiro painstakingly explained his prosthetic to the security in front of the metal detectors, and made their way to the only way in or out of the building. Shiro was stretching his shoulders, his hair sticking up all over his head like he’d stuck his prosthetic in a powerpoint. Matt was cricking his neck from side to side, already unzipping his bomber jacket in the humid air. Pidge was wiping the sleep form their eyes, their glasses settled unevenly on top of their head. And Allura, as always, looked impeccable.

“Welcome!” Allura was glowing. Her jacket was off and her snood packed into her carry-on, now just in jeans and a cream long-sleeve top. Keith was already sweating, and the golden morning sunlight streaming in through the airport windows told him that it was only going to get hotter as the day wore on. “To the Cat’s Eye Isle!”

Outside the window showed deep blue ocean that was sparkling in the light that was streaming down from the endless sky, no cloud in sight. Sandy beaches rolled beside the waves as far as Keith could see, curving wide around the shape of the Isle. There were hills rising up along the mainland, green foliage casting shade over the roads that led further through the island. The Cat’s Eye Isle was unfortunately named for its shape: the island tapered off on the north and south ends, giving it an oval shape that some smart alec rich asshole decided to be funny with and give it a difficult name that he probably thought was clever. He also made it an exclusive resort island with permanent housing for the uber-rich (and the staff) only.

“Do you hate that it’s called that?” Pidge hoisted their laptop bag more securely over their shoulder and squinted at Allura, obviously not pleased that they were going to have to take their jacket off soon. Keith snorted at Allura’s affronted expression.

“I admit that it’s a bit of a tongue twister, but there’s no chance of changing it now, so,” Allura shrugged as she withdrew a pair of sunglasses from her handbag. She turned and opened one of the doors. “Let’s get going to the hotel because I desperately need a shower.”

“You can’t smell worse than Matt,” Shiro said, Matt nodding sagely beside him as he tied his bomber jacket around his waist. Keith was still half asleep, absently still chewing on the now-flavourless gum in his mouth.

Allura stepped into the sunshine and let the warmth wash over her dark skin for a moment. “Our ride should be just-” She only had time to start her sentence before immediately being tackled. Keith woke right the fuck up and almost inhaled his gum while Pidge squeaked in alarm beside him. Shiro was on his way to charging out the door before they heard Allura laughing.

“Allura it’s you! Do you know how long I’ve been waiting here? It feels like ten-thousand years!” Allura was wrapped in the arms of a ginger-haired man with a brilliant moustache, laughing as he warbled on to her in a thick Australian accent. Keith choked as Shiro pounded him on the back, and Pidge watched as Matt quietly put a hand on his chest to calm himself down. They were too drowsy to be subjected to this shit so early.

“Our plane was on time, Coran! You can’t have been waiting that long!” Allura was returning the hug with fervour despite the hot outside air. Keith had by now spat out his gum and was heaving in lungfuls of air, and Shiro was massaging his eyes; due to the sun but also from the brief adrenaline rush they had all just suffered.

“I was just so excited for your arrival that I may have come a tad early,” The man- Coran- was saying. He and Allura finally uncoupled, but he kept a friendly arm around her shoulders. He was dressed in what Keith assumed was a uniform; a long-sleeved lavender coat, gloves, and slacks the same shade as the top. Not a drop of sweat was on his forehead, and Keith knew that this man was most likely an alien. No human could withstand this heat.

“Guys, this is Coran.” Allura introduced them. “He helped me organise the trip for us!” Shiro was the first to step forward with his hand outstretched, and the others followed. Keith squeezed the man’s hand once, nodding a greeting before going back to stand beside Pidge. He was already starting to sweat in the sun, but he refused to take his jacket off, even though now it was just he and Pidge who still had their jumpers on. They were committed to the aesthetic, and he now had to compete with Coran.

It also turned out that Coran was going to be driving them to their hotel, which they found out by him gesturing grandly to the minibus parked nearby. Coran took their luggage, brushing off Shiro’s offer to help, and began loading the vehicle up while the group took their seats. There was enough room for each of them to have their own seat, and Keith stretched his legs out and lent his forehead against the window, listening to Matt prattle on about the restaurants that were within walking distance of their hotel. Apparently, their hotel was the best- which they already knew because Allura assured them of it when they agreed to go on the trip- and had two pools (one with a swim-up bar), a restaurant where they had continental breakfast every morning included in their stay, was beachfront, and also had a cocktail bar on the ground floor. Keith hated to think how much this would be costing them if Allura’s dad didn’t own the hotel.

Once Coran was in the driver’s seat, Keith dug around in his backpack to grab his sunglasses, finally submitting to the heat and taking his jacket off. Coran gave them a detailed tour as they drove the ten minutes to their hotel, from what plants were growing along the side of the road (palm trees and cycads) to what roads led to the main shopping strip (which included at least five restaurants, one ice-cream parlour, three clothes stores, two pubs, and a nightclub, to name a few) which was by the pier, the staff housing (which looked decidedly less pristine than all other hotels and houses they could see) which was set a little behind the main street, and what other hotels were around.

“Our friendly staff work all over the Isle, and are each trained in several areas of expertise. So don’t be surprised if your friendly waiter from breakfast also teaches you how to paddleboard later that afternoon!” Coran was saying proudly. “And that building is where you can pick up your buggy!” Coran gestured to an open bungalow where heaps of little white golf-buggies were parked out front. “As I’m sure Allura has told you,” (she had) “Since the only cars on the Isle belong to our police officers- and obviously we staff have buses- you’ll be getting two complimentary buggies with your stay.”

Almost immediately, everyone shouted out dibs, Matt going as far as to half-climb out of his seat making grabby-hands in the air. Keith narrowed his eyes. He would fight his friends for those keys, straight up. Coran laughed at them, completely ignorant to his passengers glaring at each other. Keith met Allura’s eyes and she drew her finger across her neck, quirking an eyebrow at the same time.

“And here we are!” Coran pulled their bus up short, cutting Allura’s taunt off with a sharp jolt so she ended up poking herself in the throat. Keith lent against the window, craning his neck to see their hotel. It was twelve storeys, sandy brick riddled with balcony railings stretching to the sky. People in Bermuda board shorts and singlets were everywhere, and one of the pools (the one without the swim-up bar, as Matt pointed out) could be seen from the entrance, and was already teeming with people.

“Welcome to The Altean!” Coran opened the doors to the minibus and practically skipped outside, beginning to unload their luggage. He refused Shiro’s help again, chatting amicably to Allura whilst gently placing their bags onto the ground. Shiro sorted their luggage for them, and they headed inside, Coran jogging ahead to get their check-in started.

Check-in took forty-five minutes of Allura, Shiro, and Coran talking to the lady behind the desk, and by the end of it Matt had collected all of the brochures he could from the kiosk and made it rain over Pidge several times, each time pointing out what activities would be fun before showering his younger sibling with paper. Keith had his eyes closed and was listening to Matt and Pidge argue when Shiro walked back over and informed them that it was time to head up to their rooms. “We’re on the tenth floor!” He announced, hauling Keith up by his arm and shoving his suitcase into his hand. They waved goodbye to Coran as he headed back out to the minibus, and Pidge jammed the button for the elevator.

They had three adjacent rooms, each almost exactly the same. Pristine white walls with blue trimming, a tv settled on a cabinet that was half a chest of drawers, half a mini fridge, and a balcony overviewing the ocean.

“Why do we need pictures of the beach if we can see it from the window?” Matt askedin reference to the paintings delicately adorning the walls, shoving his suitcase in the first room they walked in to. He ran to the balcony doors and opened them, dramatically breathing in the ocean air like they hadn’t been outside just an hour ago.

“I dunno,” Pidge dumped their luggage next to their brother’s and joined him at the balcony. “Maybe if you close the curtains they don’t want you to forget what the sea looks like.” They grabbed the slate-grey curtains and flapped them in Matt’s face.

“Guess you guys will have this room.” Shiro nodded to their abandoned suitcases, and Pidge ignored him in favour of wrapping the curtains around a struggling Matt. “We’ll regroup in half an hour, yeah? Go get some lunch or something.” Pidge hummed in agreement and waved them out, so the three of them wandered into the room next door and ignored Matt’s cries of betrayal.

“Allura, this one’s yours.” Keith said immediately, looking at the only bed in the room. Allura whooped and ran to the bed, starfishing in the middle and sighing with content. “See you in a bit?” Keith asked, but Allura didn’t even open her eyes, just waved him out.

“Guess this is us.” Shiro opened the door to the last room, depositing his suitcase gently next to the chest of drawers. Keith kicked his towards one of the beds and walked around, inspecting the room. There was a linen closet hidden near the door where Keith grabbed a few spare pillows from, tossing some to Shiro before lining his up neatly on his bed.

“So what is the plan?” He asked, lying down on his stomach on the white comforter. He closed his eyes and listened to Shiro puttering around the room, putting his clothes away and flicking through the papers the hotel left near the tv.

“I’m thinking we go for a walk- it’s hot as heck out there so you’ll need to change- have a look around and maybe we can grab some lunch or something down at the shops near the pier.” Shiro said, and Keith heard the sound of a suitcase opening followed by a thump as Shiro tossed Keith’s froggy pillow next to him on the bed.

“And get our buggies.” Keith mumbled, now pressing his face into the neck pillow. Shiro was now digging through his own suitcase, looking for some suitable clothes to change in to. “Dibs, by the way.”

“I don’t think so.” Keith frowned as Shiro’s voice came from right next to him. Opening his eyes, Shiro was grinning down at him, now changed into some black board-shorts and a yellow singlet with a picture of an egg with arms flexing above the text Sunny Side Up!

Keith squinted at him from the depths of his froggy pillow. “Shiro, don’t-” was all he got out before Shiro sat on him, squishing him right into the fluffy mattress.

“I think we should get our buggies either this afternoon or tomorrow.” Shiro said conversationally, like he wasn’t crushing Keith into the bed. “That way we can walk around and enjoy the sights for a bit.” Keith let out a muffled groan. “I’m glad you agree, Keith.”

Shiro shifted around, and Keith kicked one of his legs half-heartedly into the air. “We’re all just here to have a good time, you know, Keith?” Shiro pretended to be oblivious to Keith’s torment. “So if there’s ever anything you wanna do, tell us, and we’ll work it in. Just let loose and have fun, Keith.”

“I hope you die today,” Keith mumbled into his pillow, and Shiro patted his head knowingly, before finally standing up and going to Keith’s suitcase, digging through it to throw a singlet and a pair of shorts to Keith. “Stop being dramatic,” He told Keith’s prone body, as he lay face down on the bed. “And get dressed. It’s time to go.”

They met the others outside their rooms and proceeded to head into the foyer. Allura was in a pink strappy singlet and lemon-yellow shorts, Matt was wearing a black singlet and purple board shorts, Pidge was in pale green overalls and a white t-shirt, and Keith was wearing what Shiro picked out for him: a grey singlet with an open blue overshirt, and white board shorts. Pidge had tied their hair in pigtails, Allura had twisted her hair up into a ponytail, Matt had a cap on, and Keith had tied his hair back off of his neck.

“Where to first?” Pidge bounced from foot to foot, the sunlight glinting off their glasses. “I’m so ready.”

“How about the beach?” Shiro suggested, pointing to the golden sand that stretched beyond the road and adjusting the backpack he had brought with him over his shoulder.

“Just be careful not to get sand in your arm.” Keith stretched his arms above his head and began to lead the way. There were people everywhere, milling about in swimsuits and summer clothes, splashing through the ocean as well as some of the pools they could see from their walk along the sand. Allura was walking up to her calves in the water with her shoes in her hand, chatting to Pidge, who was splashing through the bubbling froth where the sand met the sea.

It only took ten minutes before Matt got bored. “Can we go get lunch now?” He asked, walking to the shallows and kicking a slick of water at Pidge. They yelled at him and splashed back, and Shiro waded into the middle of the siblings before it escalated any further.

“Seconded for lunch,” Keith raised a half-hearted hand. “I can still taste that awful egg sandwich from the flight.”

“Then let’s duck in here!” Allura beelined off the beach and into the building they happened to be walking next to, and the others scrambled to follow.

The building turned out to be the open bungalow that housed the buggy hire- as well as a restaurant that opened to the beach, with a walk-up cocktail bar further inside. Baristas served the steady trickle of customers, but before they could get any closer a smiling hostess jogged over to them.

“Hi guys!” She grinned at them, her lips painted a slick shade of red, with her blonde hair piled neatly onto top of her head. She was wearing the uniform that Coran informed them that all the servers on the Isle would wear: a white collared shirt under a black vest and a black pencil skirt with tights- black slacks for males (Coran wore his own uniform- Allura said no one knew quite was his job was so his uniform was unique).

“Hello!” Allura smiled in return. “Can we get lunch here?”

“Sure!” The waitress gestured to a table of six out on the patio overlooking the beach. “Just this way. I’ll grab you guys some menus, though if you’re after some drinks, you’ll have to order them from the cocktail bar.” She pretended to pout, obviously for their benefit. “Sorry about that.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Shiro smiled at her, and she immediately blushed. Keith tried to hide his laugh by coughing, grabbing a menu from the hostess to hide his face behind. Shiro sat in the seat opposite, still smiling at the waitress, and kicked Keith in the shin.

“I’ll leave you guys to decide on what you want. I’ll be back in a few minutes!” She waved at them and trotted off, and Pidge immediately snatched the menu out of Keith’s hands. Keith let them take it with watering eyes as he glared at Shiro, who was now perusing a menu of his own.

“I’ll have a Tequila Sunrise please.” Pidge batted Keith’s head with the menu and shooed him off in the direction of the bar.

“Why am I buying? Why are you getting tequila?  And you’re not even old enough to drink! Why should I- stop hitting me Pidge!” Keith covered his face with his hands to hide from the assault of Pidge continuing to belt him the with menu.

“Shut up, Keith, why not just announce it to the world? I’m only a few months off. Why do you think I need you to buy me booze?” Pidge paused, then looked at Allura. “That’s okay, right?”

“Well, maybe you’ll have to pass at dinners where we have table service for drinks, but we can buy you ones straight from the bar.” Allura shrugged. “That means you can drive one of the buggies when we go out though.”

Pidge pumped their fist in the air. “Yes! Good deal!”

“And Keith, you don’t actually have to buy the alcohol now. At restaurants and things, if we choose to, we can charge it to our rooms and pay for it all at the end of our trip.” Allura smiled at him and Keith deflated a little. It was probably a combination of hunger and jetlag, but he was less fiery today.

“Speaking of booze…” Matt shimmied his shoulders. “I’ll have a Pina Colada.” He told Keith, who threw his hands up and stood from his chair.

“Romeo, what do you want?” Keith rolled his eyes, grabbing his room key from his pocket in an awkward shuffle.

“Mai Tai, please.” Shiro didn’t even look up from his menu, but flipped Keith the bird with perfect accuracy.

“I’ll come with you, Keith, and help you carry them.” Allura stood up and slid her feet back into her shoes, following Keith up to the bar. Miraculously, there was one bartender free, and he perked up when they began to approach him. Allura smiled, but Keith was frowning and looking at his hands, trying to figure remember the numbers on the room key so he wouldn’t fumble when he had to speak to the barman.

When they were ten feet away, Keith looked up from the key and met the bartender’s eyes and almost stopped in his tracks. The bartender smiled at him, all teeth, blue eyes crinkling, and Keith felt that egg sandwich from the flight swirling in his empty stomach. “Allura,” He whispered, and she turned to face him. “He’s cute.”

Allura had looked worried for a second but a knowing smirk immediately appeared on her face. “Do you want me to go back to the table?” She waggled her eyebrows, and Keith grabbed her arm.

“No, no, please don’t.” He pushed her in front of him. “Talk first please.” She laughed at him and approached the bar, Keith trailing after her with his eyes down.

‘Talk First’ was code between them for testing out the waters with new people. Since Allura was knock-out beautiful and Keith was agonizingly awkward, it had become a thing between them that whenever Keith wanted to see if a guy was painfully straight, he would send Allura up to talk to them first. If they flirted with her then Keith would squash his disappointment, Allura would blow them off with a cutting remark, and they’d go back to whatever it was they’d been doing before. If they didn’t, then nine times out of ten Keith would be too nervous to flirt with them anyway and nothing would happen. But the system worked.

“Hi there!” Allura put her elbows on the bar and smiled at the bartender.

“Hi, beautiful.” Immediately, Keith’s heart plummeted and he huffed, blowing his bangs out of his eyes. He went and stood next to Allura, leafing through a cocktail menu while she spoke to him. “What can I get you?”

“I’ll have a Raspberry Mojito please,” Allura, whose face had fallen to neutral one of displeasure when the bartender had complimented her, turned to Keith with a mischievous smile, knowing full well what she was doing. “And my friend here will have…” Keith glared at her before turning to the bartender and scooping his hair out of his eyes. She knew he hated having to order more than one thing at a time.

“Can I please have a Mai Tai, a Pina Colada, and a Tequila Sunrise.” Keith ticked them off his fingers, the words tumbling from his mouth in a rush.

“Hard day?” The bartender snickered, looking at Keith from under his golden-brown eyelashes. Keith squashed the butterflies in his stomach.

“They’re not all for me!” He squawked. The man laughed, and his nose crinkled up and Keith thought it was insanely cute. But he had failed the Talk First test so he’d just have to live with disappointment.

“So just the four for you guys then?” The bartender wrote the drinks down before raising his eyes from the pad of paper to smile at Keith. Allura jammed her elbow into his ribs.

“Actually, I forgot mine, sorry.” Keith wheezed, shoving Allura away from him. “A Cosmo for me, please.”

“No worries, gorgeous.” The bartender wrote down the last drink and completely missed Keith’s heart jumping to his throat. Allura pinched his cheek and mouthed ‘you’re blushing’ before he pushed her hand away.

“T-Thanks.” He took a deep breath in and willed the pink off his cheeks, hoping it worked.

“Yes, thank you, Lance.” Allura added, and Keith scowled at her. The bartender- Lance- tweaked his nametag with a wink before printing out their receipt.

“So, are you guys paying now?” Lance asked, smoothing the receipt out on the counter in front of them. “Or putting it on your tab?”

“Tab, please.” Keith got his room key out of his pocket because he had definitely forgotten the numbers already.

“No worries.” Lance shot them a blinding smile before grabbing a pen from beneath the counter. “Just sign your name, the hotel, and the room number you want the stuff charged to down the bottom here.”

“I’ll do it!” Allura snatched the pen from Lance and held her hand out for Keith’s key, which he gave over incredulously. He looked over at Lance, who smiled at him once again, so he immediately averted his gaze.

“So where are you staying?” Lance asked, bringing up bottles of spirits to the counter. He began to add ice to a cocktail shaker as Allura took the longest time in the world to sign the receipt.

“Um,” Keith coughed, and he knew the blush was resurfacing on his cheeks. “The Altean. We flew in this morning.” He fidgeted, eyeing Allura as she wrote the longest signature ever, finally putting the pen down.

“We’re here for ten days,” Allura brushed the end of her ponytail over her shoulder. “Any recommendations while we’re here?”

“That’s your Mai Tai,” Lace propped a drink onto the counter, “And, look, there’s heaps to do here on the Isle. Personally, I’d recommend stand-up paddleboarding, which is super relaxing and fun, and then there’s yoga, if you guys get up early enough for it.” The second drink came up. “They’re all free; yoga is at seven a.m. so we can watch the sun rise, and you can grab some paddleboards from the marquee down on north beach. That’s the Pina Colada, by the way.” He began to muddle some mint in a glass almost absentmindedly, pursing his lips in thought. “As for restaurants, I’d go for The Marine for fresh seafood and stuff like that, and then there’s La Cocina for, like, your Mexican food- their jalapeno poppers are the best. Raspberry Mojito,” He lined up the third drink, and Allura smiled happily. “There’s also the nightclub PJs- well, it’s called the Cat’s Pyjamas because, you know, Cat’s Eye Isle, but everyone just called it PJs.” Lance waffled on, grabbing the tequila next. “PJs is only open Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, though.”

“I’m gonna take these three back to the table.” Allura interrupted, and Keith froze. “I’ll meet you back there, Keith,” He gave her a wide-eyed stare, but she pointedly cocked her head towards Lance and gave him an encouraging thumbs-up before grabbing the three drinks and walking back to the table.

“Uh,” Keith was left blinking, but he schooled himself. He was a little frustrated- he wasn’t normally this socially awkward but today things were just a little too much. He was sure his eyes were puffy from lack of sleep and he was hungry and dear god by the amount of alcohol Lance was putting in the cocktails he should definitely get some more food in his stomach to soak it all up otherwise he was going to go loopy. “So what’s it like, working here?” He winced. Dumb question.

“Oh, dude, it’s insane.” Lance almost splashed orange juice everywhere in his expressive answer. “I’ve got my own room- it’s in the staff quarters so, like, we’re boxed up like sardines but I thought for sure we’d be rooming, but we don’t! So my own space is fantastic plus I’m neighbours with my best friend! We applied for the job at the same time and we both got it so it’s been so great, dude.” Keith was pretty sure Lance had said more words in that answer than Keith had said all day. “And well, it’s hard work but- you said the Cosmo was yours, right?” Lance propped up the Tequila Sunrise on the counter, and Keith nodded. Lance gave him a sly grin, but ploughed straight on with his answer. “Yeah, the work is hard because we get trained in like every station all over the Isle but they give us like two days a week off, sometimes in a row, and it’s so good. We hit up PJs when we’re off- ‘we’ being all the staff- and the crowd is great, and all the customers are usually so chill, though none are usually as good looking as you.” Keith had been absently nodding along to the tirade and almost missed the end, his eyes widening and he felt a blush stain his cheeks. He couldn’t actually believe someone had said that right to his face- usually people were a lot more subtle with their flirting. Lance waited a beat, watching his expression eagerly, before biting his lip.

“Look, man, sorry if I made you uncomfortable, I just-” He waved a hand, and Keith felt a jolt of pleasure at a slight pink starting to colour Lance’s cheeks. So he wasn’t as confident as he looked, and he was embarrassed. Keith settled back on his heels and smiled.

“No, no, you didn’t.” Keith leant forward, putting his forearm on the counter. Lance’s eyes immediately brightened, and he turned back to putting the finishing touches on the last cocktail. “I’m just not used to people, um, complimenting me like that.”

“Well, you should be. You’re insanely good looking.” Lance brought up the Cosmopolitan and place it gently near the other cocktail.

“Okay, now you’re making me uncomfortable,” Keith chuckled nervously, staring at the drinks so he could avoid looking at Lance.

“Sorry, sorry,” Lance laughed too, pushing the drinks carefully forward. “Oh hey, La Cocina is having a taco special on tonight, if you guys wanted a good night out. Taco Thursday.”

“Taco Thursday?” Keith raised an eyebrow sceptically.

Lance rolled his eyes dramatically. “I know right, it’s shitty. Like, everyone knows Taco Tuesday, but here we are. But,” Keith reached out to take the drinks, meeting Lance’s eyes. “Happy Hour is from five to seven p.m.,” Lance winked, and Keith lifted the drinks off the counter gingerly. “Cocktails are only ten bucks. Plus, cheap tacos. Taco Thursday. Get with it.”

Keith wrinkled his nose. “Maybe.” He took a step back, feeling his heart in his throat. “Bye, Lance.”

“See you around, Keith.” Lance grinned wickedly, wiping his hands on the front of his slacks before waving cheerily.

Keith turned around and made his way slowly back to the table, where his friends were ominously quiet. They all were holding menus but were looking at him as he approached, and even Matt was suspiciously tight-lipped as he took an obnoxious slurp of his Pina Colada.

Pidge accepted their drink without a word, and Keith’s chair creaked as he sat down. Allura met his eyes eagerly, and Shiro raised a conspicuous eyebrow. Keith grimaced, and took a mouthful of Cosmopolitan, and almost immediately spat it all back out. But, with a struggle, he swallowed.

Shit, there was a lot of alcohol in there.

His throat was burning, and he was sweating even in the shade. His friends were all waiting expectantly, and he wiped the back of his hand over his mouth. “Does anyone feel like tacos tonight?” He asked.

---

 La Cocina was right by the pier, the luminous yellow and orange lights of the Mexican-themed restaurant reflecting off of the dark ocean. In the light of day, it was coloured different shades of orange and green that were painted straight onto the salt-abused wood and up a short flight of stairs there were small circular dining tables and chairs across the open deck. In the dimness of the night, the paint was more washed out, but still visible because of the paper lanterns strung from the veranda ceiling. The lanterns were alternating with strung-up pots of plants that Pidge informed them definitely weren’t native to Mexico, colourful pink and white flowers among the green leaves. Shiro made his way up the stairs and to the doors to the interior of the restaurant, holding the door for the others to walk through.

They hadn’t gone far inside the restaurant earlier that day when they had finished lunch. Shiro had directed them off the beach and they had walked down to the shopping district near the pier, taking a good few hours to amble along the sidewalk. La Cocina was comfortably placed in the middle of the strip, beside an exclusive clothing boutique and an equipment hire store. Allura had run in quickly as they passed and made a booking for that night while the others had a look at what equipment they could hire. Whilst jet-skis and a ski boat did sound cool, they would wipe out all of their bank accounts just for a single day hire, so they decided against it. Allura returned and they continued their walk, Allura informing them they were booked in for six-thirty p.m.

They didn’t buy anything as they walked down to the end of the shopping strip, but on their way back Shiro and Allura ducked into the liquor store and bought what they called “the essentials”- a box of wine, a bottle of Irish crème whiskey (at Matt’s request) and some tequila. The bottles were promptly stored in Shiro’s backpack, padded with Keith’s overshirt he had discarded because of the heat, and Matt carried the box of wine under one arm. Matt also stopped by the ice cream store and bought he and Pidge double waffle cones that were, in his terms, insanely overpriced. “Thirty cents for sprinkles!” He cried, pointing to his bare ice cream. “A robbery!” No sprinkles. He was distraught.

On their way back to The Altean, they stopped for a moment and finally got their buggies. Shiro signed for one, Pidge for the other, and they respectively hid the keys as the others mobbed them. Buggy 117 was Shiro’s, and he carefully drove Allura and Keith back to their hotel, while buggy 403, driven by Pidge, sped past them with a small beep from their horn. They had spent the rest of the afternoon lounging around the hotel; Pidge and Shiro snoozing on sun lounges whilst the others dipped in and out of the pool. After an hour or two they retired to their rooms to clean up, the weather finally cooling down enough for Keith to pull on some jeans after he finished showering. He appraised himself in the mirror, turning from side to side before he realised he was being watched and he flipped Shiro off, slamming the door to the bathroom with his other hand. He didn’t know why he was fretting about what to wear- Lance wasn’t going to be there tonight as far as he knew. He threw on a black shirt and red converse and dried his hair before thumping down onto the bed and let Shiro fluff around in the bathroom while they waited. He emerged in knee-length shorts and a grey t-shirt with a picture of a black cat in a space-suit above the words cat-stronaut. Keith called him ugly, and Shiro tried to smother him with a pillow.

At six o’clock they met up with the others: Matt still in shorts and a snapback, Allura looking beautiful in a pastel skater dress and ankle boots, and Pidge dressed in a ruffled pink top and white jeans. Pidge drove Keith and Allura down to the pier, parking in the first spot they found near La Cocina. They heckled Shiro and Matt when they finally arrived, Shiro smiling and shrugging whilst Matt begged him to drive faster. Matt promised never to ride with Shiro again, and Shiro led the way up the stairs.

“Welcome to La Cocina!” One of the waiters greeted them as soon as they got through the door. He was handsome, waving them over to the host desk with a kind smile. His nametag said Hunk, which Keith thought must be a joke.

“Booking for Allura, please,” Allura beamed at the man, who smiled back equally as brightly. In fact, he seemed to know who they were, not even looking at the booking sheet and heading immediately to their table.

“I’ll have your waiter come over in a moment,” Hunk was still smiling, genuine humour on his face. “Have a look over your menus in the meantime. It’s Taco Thursday, so that means our tacos are all $4, or six for $20.” He placed another menu in the centre of the table, beside the small tealight sitting in a patterned glass. “Also, happy hour ends in thirty minutes, so I’d order a cocktail soon!” He looked up and waved to someone over Keith’s head, and Allura looked delighted. Keith felt dread deep in his gut. Surely not…

“And here’s Lance, your waiter for this evening, so I’ll be off.” Sure enough, Lance appeared at Hunk’s shoulder, grinning from ear-to-ear. He appraised the whole table, eyes sparkling when he reached Keith, whose ears were bright red. Lance looked almost exactly the same as he had that afternoon; same slacks, vest, and white collared shirt, though this time his shirt had short sleeves and a pen clipped onto the collar, and he had a black apron tied around his waist.

Keith’s heart was thundering with anticipation, but he had some food in him now, and sort-of knew where he stood when it came to Lance, and so he wasn’t as nervous as he had been earlier that day. What he was worried about was the slander his friends were going to lay on him as soon as Lance was out of earshot, which was going to be terrible, by the look of Pidge’s widening grin.

“Hi guys,” Lance waved Hunk off and turned back to the table, brushing some invisible dust off the front of his apron. “My name is Lance, and I’ll be helping you out this evening. I know you won’t have had time to look at the menus yet, so I’ll go grab you some water to give you guys a minute.”

He left as soon as he arrived, and Keith snatched the drinks menu from Matt’s hands and smacked Allura on the arm with it.

“You knew this was going to happen!” He accused as Allura laughed. Shiro took the menu off of him with a disapproving look, which Keith brushed off with an eye-roll. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I didn’t know!” Allura cackled, “You’re the one who wanted to come here!”

“You booked the table! Did you know he was- Oh hey.” Lance returned, and Keith deflated back into his seat, and Lance cast him an amused eyebrow. He began to pour them all water, keeping a respectful distance from everyone as he leant over their shoulder to reach their cups.

Once he was finished, Lance put the water jug in the centre of the table and took a notepad out of his apron, unclipping his pen from his shirt collar.

“Had a chance to look at the drinks menu?” Lance smiled at them, oblivious to the glare Keith was sneaking at Allura, who pinched his leg.

“I’m good with water, thanks,” Shiro said, because he was a good adult and driving one of the buggies home later that night. Matt rolled his eyes.

“I’ll have a Fruit Tingle, please,” He asked, adjusting his cap while Lance wrote it down, thanking him afterwards.

“Water for me too, thanks,” Pidge was more sullen than Shiro with their answer, but took a sip from their glass as if in example.

Lance turned to Allura, raising an eyebrow. “We don’t have Raspberry Mojitos here, unfortunately,” He laughed, and Keith was surprised Lance had remembered.

“I am quite disappointed,” Allura went along with the joke, crossing her long legs under the table. “But I had a look at the menu and I think I’ll go with a Peach Margarita,” Keith had no idea when Allura had had a chance to look at the menu, but, too late, he realised he had no idea what he was going to order.

Lance turned to face him, and Keith’s stomach clenched. This was ridiculous. “And you?” Keith almost breathed a sigh of relief when there was no ‘handsome’ or ‘gorgeous’ tacked on to the end, and, by the slight upwards twist to Lance’s mouth, he had left it out on purpose to see if Keith noticed. And he had.

“Uh,” Keith floundered. “What- What do you recommend?”

“Hm,” Lance shifted his weight to one leg, putting a hand on the back of Keith’s chair as he thought. Keith had to crane his head to look up at him, and he felt Shiro’s foot find his own under the table, before pressing down harshly on his toes. “Look, Mr Cosmo,” Keith felt his face flush, which was quite a contradiction to the pain building in his foot as Shiro kept pressing his foot down. “For your tastes, I’d probably go for a Watermelon Margarita, honestly.” Lance looked down at him, and Keith was hoping he wasn’t seeing his eyes watering from the pain. He was going to kill Shiro, who was acting nonchalant as he peered through the menu in front of him.

“Sounds good,” Keith smiled, and the pressure on his foot was suddenly released. He leant back in his chair in relief, but not before Lance took his hand away to write down the last order.

“Awesome!” Lance shot him a thumbs-up, and tapped the notebook. “I’ll go get them ordered for you! Thanks guys!” He waved before leaving them, and Keith leant his head back and stared at the ceiling. The table was silent. The pressure was back on his foot. He wanted to die.

Keith’s first interaction with his friends was to rear his foot back and slam his toes into Shiro’s shin. Pidge, Matt, and Allura continued to stare at him as Shiro gave a small cry in pain and hid his face in his hands. He then met Allura’s eyes and stared at her grumpily.

“So…” Pidge took a sip of their water. Keith pursed his lips. “Lance seems nice.”

“I wouldn’t know,” Keith crossed his arms. “I only just met him.”

“But you’re going to get to know him a little better, right?” Just what Keith wanted. Shiro’s opinion. “We’re here for ten days, Keith.”

“If this is how you guys are gonna act, then no, I never want to talk to anyone ever again.” Keith sank lower in his chair as everyone else rolled their eyes.

“You’re so dramatic,” Allura flipped her hair over her shoulder and frowned. “We’re not even doing anything.” Keith opened his mouth but Pidge shushed him.

“You just need to relax Keith,” Pidge eyed him seriously. “We’re not trying to make you uncomfortable. We’re just joking around.” Keith deflated a little at their words, some of the aggression leaving his body. “We’re not judging you or anything.” He fidgeted in his seat, finally eyeing the menu. He was still stubbornly silent when Hunk carried the drinks over on a tray, placing them gently in front of who ordered them. He then assured them that Lance would be back over in a moment to take their orders if they were ready.

Keith took a sip from the salt-lined rim of his margarita glass and raised his eyebrows in appreciation. It really was to his taste. He had a quick look over the menu, focusing mostly on the tacos because, well, Taco Thursday, as well as eyeing the jalapeno poppers. Matt and Allura were debating what the plan was for tomorrow, whilst Pidge and Shiro were obsessively discussing the merits of spicy food for digestion, all of them leaving Keith to stew in peace.

Lance returned after another minute, rubbing his hands together like some kind of supervillain. Keith tried not to look too obvious as he sat up straighter in his chair, taking a large mouthful of margarita to calm himself. Lance beamed at the table.

“Had a chance to look at the menu yet guys?” He asked, and once they’d nodded and given general sounds of agreement he fished inside his apron for his notepad with one hand, unclipping his pen from his collar with the other. “What can I do ya for?” He started with Shiro, working his way around the table with a grin, and Keith hoped no one else noticed the wink Lance sent his way when he ordered the jalapeno poppers.

“Good choice,” Lance said, and with a final flourish he capped his pen and hooked it back onto his collar. “I’ll be back, guys!” He waved at them with both hands before leaving to presumably go put their order through.

Keith integrated himself back into the conversation, and when their entrees came out he had his head thrown back with laughter at something Pidge had said, a pink tinge to his cheeks that may or may not be from his margarita. Hunk and Lance were delivering the four entrees everyone got to share, which included two serves of jalapeno poppers, some ceviche de pulpo (Lance recommended this- it was octopus marinated in lime juice), and some tostadas. Keith immediately covered his mouth with his hand when they set the food down, not wanting either of their waiters to see how uproariously he was laughing, though he was still giggling slightly through his fingers.

Hunk smiled at Allura as he put his dishes down, and Lance was announcing the name of every plate as it touched the table, though the tips of his ears were pink. Keith nodded his thanks and they all dug in to the delicious food, Matt immediately applying too much hot sauce to his serving of tostadas and crying tears of the overheated into his napkin for the next few minutes. Shiro was singing praises for the jalapeno poppers when Lance returned to ask them how their food was.

“Lance did tell us they were good,” Allura placed a piece of octopus delicately in her mouth before chewing enthusiastically. Lance beamed as he scooped up the empty plates, Pidge waggling their eyebrows at Keith as Lance stretched a slender arm around him to grab the dishes. Matt emerged from his napkin and grasped Lance’s sleeve, sniffling pathetically and requesting a glass of milk, and the rest of them booed him as Lance left to get him the drink.

“Since Matt ordered another drink, I think the rest of us will get another round too,” Allura said to Lance when he returned, covering Matt’s hand with the drinks menu as he flipped her off. Shiro began chastising him because “there are children around, Matt!”, as Allura ordered another round of the same drinks for everyone.

Mains were served at the same time Hunk brought the second round of drinks over, and Keith stared at the tacos with trepidation. He had thought they’d be… smaller. Less stuffed. He took a gulp of his margarita as a serve of prawn and chorizo tacos was placed in front of him, guacamole spilling from the tops of the shells. He was distracted from the guac by Pidge slapping Matt’s hand away from the hot sauce bottle, immediately starting a heated sibling argument that ended with Allura calmly taking the sauce from the table and passing it to a surprised Hunk as he walked by.

Customers were starting to leave once the group had finished their tacos, and Keith leaned back in his chair and blew his bangs out of his eyes to watch a family with particularly noisy kids walk out. Over the heads of some customers, Keith was distracted as he watched Lance and Hunk talking to the side of the restaurant where Hunk was quickly polishing some cutlery. Lance was scratching the back of his head whilst Hunk seemed to be rolling his eyes, eventually whacking Lance with the tea towel he was using and waving him off. Keith smiled and settled back in his seat, finishing off the last mouthful of his margarita and poking his tongue out at Pidge when they called him a lightweight.

“How was your food, guys?” Lance began to clear their plates, and gladly returned Keith’s (all right, a little tipsy) smile.

“Really great,” Shiro gave Lance a wonky thumbs-up with both of his hands. “Sorry about the hot sauce though.” He gestured to Matt and Pidge who both folded their arms and glared right back at him. Lance just laughed.

“Trust me, it’s definitely not the worst thing to happen in here. In fact, it doesn’t even make the list,” He leant on the back of Keith’s chair with one hand, cradling the dirty dishes against his chest with the other. Matt looked offended, and adjusted his cap with indignation.

“Once,” Lance continued, and the hand on the top of Keith’s chair was just barely brushing Keith’s shirt with his fingertips. “We had a lady who got so pissed on El Jimador that we had to cut her off- and she stood up and screamed at Hunk, who was the sucker who had her table that night, and made a huge scene and worked herself up so much she puked in her pork pibil and we kicked her out.” Allura choked on her cocktail at the story, fanning her pink cheeks as she tried not to laugh too much and ruin her makeup. “Then she tried to get into PJs but I know the bouncer so I told him what was up and she was so mad.” Lance continued, adjusting the stack of plates against his hip. He thought for a second, glancing over in Hunk’s directions, before once again bouncing the plates on his hip to get a better hold.

“Hey, if you guys aren’t doing anything tomorrow,” Keith sat up straighter now, watching Lance with interest. He looked unsure, almost apprehensive, very different from a second ago when he was telling them the story. “Um, me and Hunk actually have the night off and were planning on going down to PJs…” He trailed off, a doubtful frown upon his forehead. He glanced down and met Keith’s eyes for a moment, before raising his head again. “And it’d be cool if you guys, like, wanted to come. We could meet up.” He said the last few words in a rush, tongue stumbling to get the words out. The table was silent for a beat, and Keith met Allura’s eyes.

“Don’t- don’t like, feel pressured to come now that I’ve asked you or anything-” Lance hastily backed up a step away from the table, the dishes clattering in his hold.

“No,” Shiro interrupted the rising volume of Lance’s voice as he was looking across the table at Allura with an eyebrow raised, nodding his head slowly. “No, I think we will come.” He raised his eyes to Lance’s with a smile. “Sounds like a good night.”

“Problem,” Pidge raised their hands up and pointed to their face. “I’m not 21 yet.”

Lance laughed and shrugged, his cheeks holding a rosy blush as his eyes were sparkling with relief. Keith felt his heart stutter as he looked up at him. It must have been the alcohol talking.

“No worries,” Lance gushed, grabbing the last plate off the table. Matt polished off his drink and proceeded to steal Pidge’s water while they were distracted. “Like I said, I know the bouncer.”

“Awesome,” Pidge crossed their arms behind their head and leant back in their seat. Keith raised an eyebrow at Allura’s smile but said nothing to her, only turned to Lance.

“Guess we’ll see you tomorrow then,” He said, and the strong cocktail had made his throat a little hoarse. Lance beamed.

“Yeah you will,” A wicked sparkle entered his eye as he turned to take the dishes away. “Be there about 10.30 p.m. And Keith?” He dropped a wink before he walked off. Keith could already feel the blood rushing to his cheeks. “Wear something cute.”

---

The Cat’s Pyjamas was throbbing with music by the time they got inside. A blue disco light was shining above the dance floor, and the bar was crowded with patrons all calling to the harried bartenders for shots. It was a rather low-tech club; a DJ sat on a raised platform to the side of the dancefloor, but otherwise there were no bright LED screens displaying flashy techno colours or light-up floors. The most modern electronics in there were the flashing turquoise lights. There was, however, a disco ball.

Leafy fake-plants were scattered among the area dedicated to sitting down, where there were a few tables and chairs, and some were hanging from the high-ceiling above the bar and dancefloor. To the left of the dancefloor was a doorway leading outside to an open courtyard that was hidden from view of the street, where people were smoking and standing around chatting. The floor was wooden boards, tacky and warped with years of alcohol abuse and high heels stamping and dancing heavily upon it. The bar was manned with three bartenders who were all moving with lightning speed- flipping bottles and glasses where they could to entertain the more intoxicated customers so they’d dole out more tips.

They regrouped inside the door, Shiro squinting in the flashing lights whilst Matt cheered for shots. Keith volunteered to go with him to the bar, and they were swallowed into the crowd as they waited for service. When they reached the front of the crowd, Matt ordered two car bombs, five tequila shots, three vodka cranberries and two Jack and cokes. The young man serving them set up the car bombs first, and Keith and Matt clinked glasses before downing their first shots of their holiday. As Matt covered his eyes and handed his credit card over to the bartender, Keith balanced the five shot glasses filled with pale yellow tequila between his fingers. Matt managed to snatch a carry tray off the bar and stacked the actual drinks onto it as well as the offered lemon and salt.

“Tequila?” Shiro’s shoulders drooped when he sniffed his shot glass, and Matt grinned.

“I asked for the cheapest, nastiest shit they had.” Matt passed Shiro the salt and a slice of lemon. “But don’t worry, it’s flavoured.” Shiro perked up for a moment, eyes looking hopeful as he licked the back of his hand before salting it.

“Gasoline flavoured.” Matt held his shot glass up and everyone proffered their own glasses (Shiro looked near-tears already) before licking the salt of their hands and throwing the tequila to the back of their throats. Allura squeaked and ignored her lipstick as she crammed the piece of lemon into her mouth. Only the Holt siblings looked non-perturbed, only grimacing slightly at the burn of the cheap alcohol.

Allura bumped Keith’s hip with her own a few times, waggling her eyebrows. “Dancing time?” He was already being towed towards the crowded dancefloor before his mind caught up to him, and he had no choice but to spin around under Matt’s arms and pretend to be grumpy as the group began to move to the music.

Keith offered to get the next round, shaking his head to Matt’s plea for more shots. He left the group as Shiro began his “patience” lecture that Matt had received probably close to one hundred times now, and waited in line at the bar, licking his lips to get the last of the cranberry juice from them. He had finally gotten up to the bar and was waiting for a bartender when a hand fell heavily onto his shoulder. Irked, he turned with a frown on his face.

“Hey!” Lance leaned in close to be heard over the music, and Keith automatically leaned away from him, replacing his frown with a smile before he could stop himself. Lance looked ridiculous; he had on a grey singlet under an open bright yellow, green, and blue Hawaiian shirt, three-quarter khaki shorts and loafers. Keith was surprised he wasn’t wearing a straw hat, the way he was dressed. But it kind of suited him, in a weird sort of way. Before he could greet Lance, the bartender showed up.

“I’ll get this round!” Lance waved to the barman, who smiled back in recognition. Keith couldn’t stop himself from narrowing his eyes a fraction when Lance wasn’t looking.

“I wouldn’t.” He leaned in to Lance so he didn’t have to yell, his breath making the hair at Lance’s temples move. “I’m buying for everyone.”

“Just for us, then.” Lance smirked. “What do you have?”

Keith wet his lips, and saw Lance’s eyes track the movement. His insides squirmed. “Vodka and cranberry juice.” He said, adjusting his weight to one side and feeling the length of Lance’s thigh pressed against his own. Lance grinned.

“Alright! We’ll have one vodka cranberry, one Malibu and pineapple juice, and four jam donuts please!” The bartender rolled his eyes at Lance with a smile before grabbing all the liquors he needed. He lined up four shot glasses rimmed with sugar on the bar in front of them, and Keith raised an eyebrow but said nothing. Lance smiled again.

“So how was your day?” He leant an arm on the counter, and Keith suppressed the urge to bite his lip. His heart was thudding painfully in his chest, and he still couldn’t believe this was happening to him. But, three drinks in already and Keith was feeling a little braver than usual.

“Yeah good,” The bartender was filling the shot glasses with a dark liquor, and Keith tracked the movement. “We got up late, then just kinda just explored around the Isle on the buggies. I got to drive, so that was cool,” The bartender finished off the shots with a layer of Irish cream and slid them forward. Lance looked excited and pushed one towards Keith, snatching one for himself.

“Cheers!” Lance called, and Keith took the shot. As he placed the glass back on the table, Lance was shaking his head.

“See, this is why I got us four.” He quickly took his own shot and then passed Keith the second one, putting his hand on Keith’s wrist as he held his own. “When I say cheers, we-” he mimed bringing his glass gently across to touch Keith’s own mid-air, and then down to the bar again to softly tap the wooden surface with the shot. “-And then we can drink it.” Lance looked at Keith seriously. “Okay? This is sacred, so don’t agree unless you understand.”

“Okay,” Keith nodded, and Lance took his hand off his wrist. By now, the bartender had put up the other drinks, and Lance handed over his cash. Keith told him his order of three vodka cranberries, two Jack and cokes, one Malibu and pineapple and (“Quick, what does Hunk drink?”) one pint of pear cider.

“Cheers!” Lance called again, raising his glass. Keith smiled and raised his own before looking Lance dead in the eyes and taking the shot, feeling the creamy liquor slide down his throat as Lance gaped at him in horror. He smirked and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

“Guess we’ll have to try again later,” He said, and in a fit of braveness that was definitely brought on by the five shots of alcohol he had had already, he reached out and wiped a grain of sugar from the corner of Lance’s mouth with his thumb. He didn’t put it in his mouth- he wasn’t a porn star for god’s sake- but he did enjoy watching Lance’s eyes go wide and a pink tinge appear on his cheeks.

Keith was given the “patience” lecture when he arrived back to the dancefloor with one drink for everyone else and two for himself, plus he gloated immediately to Matt that he’d had two more shots while up at the bar. While Shiro was wagging a finger in is face (“I don’t want to be the one dragging you home while you vomit everywhere,”) Keith was finishing off his second vodka cranberry for the night, slurping obnoxiously through the straw when Shiro was done. There was a thick line between Shiro’s eyebrows, so he lifted the straw between his lips and blew, showering Shiro’s face in a few droplets of ice water. He grinned around the straw as Shiro’s face went blank as he blinked the water out of his eyes, before being sharply told he was “cut off!”

Being cut off was fine with him. Keith had been here for an hour tops and he was already feeling the weightlessness of the alcohol burning its way through his limbs. Keith wasn’t normally a clubbing type- in the two years since he’d turned twenty-one, he had only been to a handful of clubs, and that was mostly at Allura and Matt’s insistence. He knew how those nights went, usually with Pidge somehow always getting into the club with them but being the Designated Sober Friend™ because despite everything they say, they really didn’t want to disappoint Shiro. Keith didn’t particularly like dancing, but he knew not to struggle too much anymore when his friends dragged him onto the dancefloor. Dancing with his friends at the club was, even though he’d never admit it, always a good time. Everyone just let loose, letting the beat of whatever music they were listening to drive their movements. Plus, Shiro was a terrible dancer, and no one, not even Keith, could look worse than him on the dancefloor.

Though Pidge had called him one earlier, Keith wasn’t too much of a lightweight; yesterday had been an outlier as he hadn’t eaten or drunk much all day, he had been sleep-deprived, and he was pretty sure Lance had been free-pouring his cocktails. Today was different. They had known they were going out that night, and they’re group was nothing if not pragmatic. They had had three full meals, Coran even joining them for breakfast at The Altean before he started work for the day, and Shiro had been feeding Keith digestives from his never-ending supply he always had with him while they had waited until it was the right time to head to PJs. Keith knew his limits, and even though he was ‘cut off’ right then, he was fine. A bit loopy, but fine.

Hunk was the host from La Cocina the night before, and was already friendly to the group when Keith and Lance arrived back with drinks. After Shiro and Keith returned from where Shiro had pulled them to the side, Hunk introduced himself, shaking Keith’s hand firmly with a smile. He was dressed a little tamer than Lance, but Keith could see that they had similar styles. Hunk was wearing a yellow three-quarter sleeve top over his massive chest, with cargo shorts, canvas shoes, and an orange headband. He thanked Keith twice for the cider before turning to Lance and muttering in his ear. Keith was distracted by Pidge, who grabbed his free hand and used it to twirl in a circle, pulling him further onto the dancefloor and away from the group. Keith laughed and followed, beginning to sway his hips to the music when Pidge found a suitable place for them to dance. Soon they were joined by Allura, who’s eyes were almost fluorescent in the light, looking gorgeous in a patterned playsuit and wedge heels. Pidge was also in a dress that night, just a simple black skater dress over a white tee-shirt and boots. Though Pidge was normally more comfortable in pants, sometimes when Allura could get them hyped for it they would let her do their makeup and offer some fashion advice.

Keith offered his last drink to Pidge, who took the plastic cup in both hands and had a greedy sip from the straw before handing it back, bopping their head to the music. Allura took his glass next, avoiding the straw altogether and leaving lipstick smeared on the rim, handing it back to him with a wink. Her makeup was done to make her look almost ethereal; silver eyeshadow and thick brows, with her signature glittery pink crescent-moons on her cheekbones that sparkled under the light.

They got lost in the music, the thudding bass of pure techno alternating with classic golden old songs that had the crowd screaming the lyrics. Matt and Shiro found them later, and they formed a loose circle in a space they carved out on the dancefloor. Shiro started doing the sprinkler, pumping his arm to the beat, holding his prosthetic arm out straight. Pidge cupped their hands over their mouth and booed him before aggressively doing the mashed potato next to him.

Behind then, Keith could see Lance and Hunk dancing together, not as animatedly as his group were, more just swaying from side to side and talking. Lance would occasionally throw his head back with laughter, and Keith knew he was being creepy but he couldn’t stop watching the curve of his neck or the groove of his hips. Lance was a good dancer.

Keith was feeling good- he was with his friends, he’d had a couple of glasses of water so his head was clearing up, and everything was going well. Usually when they went out, he was always worrying about one thing or another- how they were getting home, what was due from college that week, if his friends were having a good time. But tonight, he wasn’t worried. College was out for winter break with no holiday homework, they were within walking distance of their hotel, and all his friends were here with him.

After a few hours, all of Keith’s drinks caught up with him. They had migrated off of the dancefloor and to the side near the tables. Shiro and Allura were sitting on chairs, Allura telling them all pointedly that while her feet were sore now, she would be back up to dance after a little rest, don’t you worry. Keith had been leaning on the back of Shiro’s chair, blowing his bangs out of his eyes, feeling sweat trickle down his temples. The balmy tropical weather only dropped a few degrees at night-time, and he was boiling.

“Bathroom,” He announced. He was still buzzed, and left the table with a small wave as he made his way around the side of the dancefloor. It had gotten pretty busy since they’d been here, and the dancefloor as well as the bar were thick with people. He had lost sight of Lance and Hunk when they had grown tired of dancing, but Keith had been half-watching the door so he knew they were still in the club somewhere.

There was no line for the bathroom, and Keith discreetly used some paper towel to wipe the sweat off his forehead when he was done washing his hands. Shouldering his way out through the door, Keith was feeling pretty sober by now. Maybe he’d head to the bar on his way back to his friends and buy another drink. Maybe Pidge would do some shots with him, or Allura. Allura would like the jam donut shots he’d done before. Maybe- His thoughts were interrupted, however, by a hand slapping onto his shoulder. For the second time that night.

“Keith!” He had to bite the inside of his lip not to laugh at Lance, but Keith knew his mouth was curving into an amused smile anyway. Lance had somehow found some glow-sticks and had now had a glowing blue necklace on, as well as Hunk’s headband wrapped around his forehead. Though two bright spots of colour flushed his cheeks, his eyes were surprisingly sober.

“Lance,” Keith acknowledged, still biting back a smile. He kept walking, and they drew closer to the dancefloor. He saw Lance’s mouth moving, but he frowned and shook his head, pointing to his ear.

“I can’t hear you,” He mouthed slowly and clearly. If he couldn’t hear Lance over the music, he doubted his voice would carry very far.

“I said,” Lance leaned in, and Keith blushed immediately. Lance had pressed his forehead to Keith’s temple, and every breath he took Keith could feel. He was so close that if Keith only turned in his direction he could-

“I said, how’s your night going, man? Sorry we got separated for a while there,” To make things worse, Lance trailed his arm from his shoulder across the back of Keith’s neck, tickling his hair, until he had it across his shoulders. “Also, why do you have a mullet? Who has a mullet these days?” Keith felt a small puff of laughter against his ear as Lance pulled his hand back and ran it through Keith’s hair again, seemingly on a whim. Keith froze. “Oh, sorry dude,” Lance dropped his hand back around Keith’s shoulders and smiled like he hadn’t just fucking caressed Keith’s hair.

“Yeah, uh, tonight’s going fine.” Keith turned and now his face was inches from Lance’s, and he was sure Lance could see the blush staining his pale complexion. He tried to control himself, steering the conversation back on track. “Everyone’s having a good time. Did, uh, Pidge ever thank you for sneaking them in, by the way?” He decided to ignore the mullet questions- he didn’t have a mullet, that’s just how his hair grew. He hoped Lance would let it go.

“Uh, yeah I think she did, in the thick of things.” Lance had to think for a moment, screwing up his nose, and from here Keith could see the freckles adorning his face, splattered all the way down until they disappeared inside the collar of his godawful shirt. He licked his lips and made his eyes go back up to Lance’s face.

“They did.” He corrected. “Pidge is nonbinary. They’d be cool with the mistake the first time but I’m just letting you know for the future.”

To his merit, Lance didn’t even blink. “My bad,” He blinded Keith with another smile, and if this kept going, Keith’s heart was going to thunder right out of his chest. “I’ll make sure to remember.”

“If you remember anything tomorrow,” Keith scoffed teasingly, and Lance looked suitably offended, tossing his head back dramatically.

“Bro,” Lance met Keith’s eyes like a challenge. “My dude,” Now he was pressing his forehead to Keith’s, and though he knew it was part of Lance’s retaliation joke, Keith felt his neck heat up. It was too intimate a position, especially since Lance was staring right into his eyes. “I haven’t even been tickled by the alcohol I have consumed this night.” Keith’s eyebrow raised, and Lance’s eyes followed the movement before quickly washing over the rest of his face, a crooked smile lifting the corner of his mouth.

“Okay, maybe I’m a little tickled.” With a mixture of relief and a little sadness, Keith could breathe again once Lance lifted his head, no longer staring right into his eyes. “But I will remember this,”

And then the music changed, and Lance’s eyes lit up. He gave Keith a look. “I love this song!” He said, and slipped his arm from Keith’s shoulder to his wrist.

“No,” Keith said, but Lance was grinning wildly and already dragging him towards to mass of bodies on the dancefloor. “No, no, Lance, no.”

“Oh, come on, Keith!” By now, they were among the crowd, Lance towing Keith along by the hand, practically shouting to be heard over the music. “I saw you dancing before, and though you’re pretty stiff, Hunk’s not here so you’ll have to do!” He managed to pull them into an empty space barely big enough to the two of them, and turned to face him. “What, you don’t like The Killers?” He was already moving to the beat, mouthing along to the song playing. Keith recognised the song, but he couldn’t say he knew every word like Lance did.

He started to sway awkwardly to the pop music, feeling embarrassed. Dancing with his friends was completely different; he didn’t care if he looked stupid or out of time, because that was the point when dancing with friends. None of them cared what he looked like when he danced. But now- Keith was freezing up. He wanted to look good in front of Lance. Or even average. Just normal.  How did you even dance? He thought in a panic. How could anyone look as good as Lance did when he danced? How did he move his hips like that? Keith looked at his feet and that made things even worse. Were his thighs bulging out of his jeans? God, they were way too tight. And why was he wearing converse to a club? Was he twelve? Do people move their feet when they danced or was it all in the hips?

Keith tried to force himself to relax, taking a big breath and raising his head and meeting Lance’s eyes. Almost immediately he felt Lance slide his hands onto his waist, grinning at him as he leant in close enough to put his lips near Keith’s ear.

“Relax, Keith,” Lance purred into the shell of his ear, and, impossibly, Keith felt himself calming down. His heart thudded as he smiled at Lance, embarrassed at his small panic, sweat prickling the back of his neck as he felt the weight of Lance’s hands on his hips. Lance returned his smile, nodding encouragingly as he put pressure on his hands, guiding Keith into a smoother rhythm.

Keith rolled his eyes and bit back a smile as he took Lance’s hands off of his waist, holding them out in front of him as he began to dance with more confidence. Lance took the opportunity and raised one hand above their heads and spun Keith beneath it. To his horror, Keith stumbled- mostly because he hadn’t expected to be spun in a tight circle, but also maybe because he wasn’t as sober as he previously thought. Luckily- or, unluckily, depending on which way you looked at it- Lance caught him as he slung an arm around his hips, throwing his head back and laughing. Keith was mortified for a moment, but Lance was sliding his hand from his waist to the small of his back, pulling Keith closer to him, and he couldn’t help but stare at Lance; the turquoise light washing his dark skin to an unnatural hue, sweat glistening from his throat, sharp collarbones protruding from his chest. Lance had pulled Keith close enough that he could lick the sweat off his neck if he wanted- which he really, really wanted. Heat was coiling in his stomach, his groin, and he tried to remind himself that he was here on holiday to have fun with his friends, not to fuck the first guy that hit on him, but it was becoming incredibly hard to think straight when he could feel Lance’s breath puffing onto his lips.

And then the song changed, and Lance was pulling away from him with a completely ecstatic look on his face, and the tension broke.

“Ladies and gentlemen…” Keith had to bite his bottom lip to stop from smiling at the look on Lance’s face, but it didn’t stop the huge grin he felt coming on. “This is Mambo No. 5” Keith was glad the song began because no one heard the giggle that escaped his mouth at Lance, who was now jumping up and down in his excitement at Lou Bega’s voice carrying across the floor. He turned and pointed at the DJ on his stand, who was obviously waiting for this and flicked Lance a thumbs up. Keith watched them signal each other for a few more seconds before the DJ flashed Lance another thumbs up and waved him off, and Lance turned back to Keith.

“I fucking love this song!” Lance called over the song, and Keith laughed, lifting his bangs off his forehead for a moment to wipe the sweat away.

“I can tell!” He yelled back, and Lance laughed, shrugging and continuing to dance to the hit. Now the tension between them had broken, Keith could relax. He picked at his shirt, lifting it off the hot skin of his chest for a moment, relishing in the slightly cool breeze it created. Lance was dancing energetically, doing what looked like some very practiced dance moves to the chorus.

Lou Bega faded into Cyndi Lauper, and as soon as Keith recognised the song he felt Allura’s hands tickling his waist as she appeared behind him with a grin.

“I had a feeling this song would summon you,” Keith laughed and said into Allura’s ear as she grabbed his hand and spun him around. He didn’t trip over this time, grinning when Allura pulled him close.

“You and Lance look like you’re having a great time,” She pulled away with a cheeky grin, and reached out to smooth his eyebrows out of the frown they’d fallen into. Before he could respond, Matt appeared with three drinks clasped precariously in his hands, and handed one to him and one to Lance, who reached one hand around over Keith’s shoulder to take it, sliding his other hand down Keith’s back at the same time. Keith stiffened with a blush, and hoped no one saw, especially now that Shiro, Hunk, and Pidge had joined them. Shiro handed Allura a drink as well, and waved to Lance and Keith, raising his eyebrows to tell Keith that he knew exactly where Lance’s hand was. Keith pursed his lips and stared back until Shiro started waggling his eyebrows and he had to break eye-contact to laugh.

He felt the hand leave his back, and when he turned to look at Lance over his shoulder, he saw Hunk whispering into Lance’s ear and grinning while Lance rolled his eyes, his cheeks growing darker in the turquoise light before he pulled away and laughed, shoving Hunk away from him with his elbow. Lance saw Keith watching and grinned, opening his mouth to say something but getting distracted by the DJ as the song changed again, fading from Girls Just Wanna Have Fun to the hyped up but still recognisable beats of Take On Me.

“Holy shit!” Pidge began erratically dancing next to Keith, and he burst into another bout of laughter, covering his mouth with his spare hand. Matt and Shiro were seeing who could dance the worst, with Shiro waggling his pointer finger and bouncing on one hip whilst Matt was trying- and failing- to crump. Before he could either get out his phone to record them or let out a snide comment, Keith felt Allura pulling at his elbow, and he allowed her to tow him off of the dancefloor and into the line at the bar.

“Hey Keith?” She turned to him, and he saw the makeup slightly smudged under her eyes from the sweat.

“What’s up?” He asked. He was grateful for the breather, though he had been confused to why she wanted to leave the dancefloor since she had just gotten there.

“Listen,” She planted a hand on her hip and turned to him with a neutral expression. He narrowed his eyes at her suspiciously. Surely she wasn’t going to lecture him at two-thirty in the morning. He raised his glass to his lips and drained it while he waited for he to go on. “If you wanted to, uh, ‘hang out’” she raised her hands in the air and made quotation-marks with her fingers. “with Lance tonight instead of coming back to the hotel with us, we’d understand,”

Keith choked, feeling his cheeks heat up as he pounded his chest with his fist for a moment to clear his airway. Allura was watching him shrewdly the entire time with a raised eyebrow and a slightly amused smile.

“What the fuck, Allura?” He gasped finally when he could speak again. They were almost at the bar now, and Allura had drained her glass while she had waited for Keith to cough up a lung.

“Well, it’s just me and the others were talking-” She started, rolling her eyes when Keith interrupted.

“You and the others were what?” He flared up, squeezing the glass in his hands. It was mostly out of embarrassment, but there was some anger there.

“Shush,” She raised her hand and then continued on like she hadn’t been interrupted at all. “We were talking, and it seems like you and Lance have a lot of fun together!” She spread her hands beseechingly. “Look, all we want for you is for you to enjoy yourself Keith. If you want to go with him tonight then… do it. We won’t judge you.” She flipped her hair over her shoulder and approached the bar finally. “And frankly, Shiro will be happy to have the room to himself. You know how you snore when you drink.” She turned and smiled at the bartender and ordered. Keith was bristling behind her but frankly couldn’t come up with a counter argument he knew she wouldn’t shut down immediately.

“Here,” She turned to him with a shot in her hand. “A peace offering!” She grinned and handed him the glass, which was topped with whipped cream. She held one herself, and tipped it towards him.

“What is it?” He asked, deflating a little. Allura smiled and downed the shot, and Keith followed suit.

“It’s called a blowjob.” She told him, and he sighed in defeat, but didn’t chastise her because it had been delicious. She grabbed his glass out of his hand and handed him another, now filled with-

“Tequila, for courage!” Her smile was infectious, and Keith didn’t even try to fight it anymore and held his hand out while she salted it. “And not that shitty stuff Matt bought,” She added with a shimmy, holding her lemon at the ready. They did their shots and made their way back to the dancefloor, Keith now nursing a cup of water and a slightly swimming head.

“Hey,” Lance sought him out immediately, and Allura practically scrambled out of earshot, giving Keith a wicked grin and a nod as she did so. Keith pressed his lips together and tried not to laugh, feeling unusually light and unguarded. “I was wondering where you went. You missed Eiffel 65,”

“What a shame,” Keith wrinkled his nose a little, trying not to smile too widely. “Allura kidnapped me for some shots though, so I’d say it was worth it.” He moved even closer to Lance, finishing off his water with a big mouthful. He saw Lance’s eyes dart to his bobbing throat, and felt his body begin to heat up. No judgement, he reminded himself.

“So, uh,” Keith floundered- he never had initiated anything before, and now he didn’t even know when to start. “You said you come here a lot?” He awkwardly gestured in the vague direction of the club. Lance looked delighted.

“Did you just ask me if I come here often?” Lance was grinning from ear to ear as he slid even closer. Keith frowned with indignation, and leaned away to place his empty cup on a spare counter.

“No,” Keith said, glowering. “It wasn’t a pick up line,” He didn’t know why he was arguing really, because he was trying to flirt in some form, but it was in his nature. And Lance’s huge, shit-eating grin wasn’t helping.

“Oh,” Lance’s eyes grew warmer, and now his hands were back on Keith’s waist. “That’s a shame, because it would’ve worked.” Keith swallowed, his throat suddenly dry despite all he’d drunk that night. He slid his hands up over Lance’s shoulders and pressed against the back of his neck, cocking one of his eyebrows.

“You always fall for bad pick-up lines?” He pressed his lips together as Lance absent-mindedly swayed them to the music, moving softly from side-to-side.

“Depends who’s using them,” Lance’s eyes were crinkling with warmth in the corners as he leant in and Keith’s heart was thumping so loudly in his ears and he couldn’t stop the grin from spreading across his face as Lance pressed their foreheads together, closing his eyes. Keith slid his hands from the back of Lance’s neck to his jaw, nudging it slightly before he stood on his toes and pressed his lips softly to Lance’s. He smiled into the kiss as Lance sighed into his mouth and pulled him flush against his body, opening his mouth against Keith’s, completely uncaring that they were in the middle of a club. It was stifling, humid, sweaty, but Keith loved every touch, every time Lance squeezed at his waist, the noises Lance made against his mouth, the slick feel of Lance’s lips against his own. He felt so lost in the sensation and the music that when they finally parted, Keith couldn’t tell if it had been one minute or one hour, and he realised he didn’t care.

Lance’s eyes were still closed when they parted, almost squeezed shut. “You don’t know how much I wanna take you home, Keith,” He said, tugging on Keith’s belt loops so their thighs were pressed together. Keith’s blood was electric, sizzling through his veins.

“So do it.” He replied, watching Lance’s eyes open with surprise, before leaning up to kiss him again.

“Really?” Lance bit his lip as Keith grinned, oblivious to the people around him, feeling the music pump in his veins. Now Lance was floundering, squeezing Keith’s waist.

“I’ll just go say bye to my friends,” Keith leant up and kissed Lance for the third time before stepping back to where he knew his friends were dancing nearby, probably watching the whole exchange. Sure enough, as soon as they saw him approaching they all looked away as though they hadn’t been staring.

“Hey guys,” Keith approached the dance circle, and Allura scooped him up in a hug.

“You were disgusting, Keith!” She exclaimed encouragingly, squeezing him tightly. “I’m so proud!”

“Truly gag-worthy,” Matt clapped him on the shoulder with a smile while Pidge pretended to stick a finger down their throat before grinning at him. Shiro was smiling with a wrinkled nose, but said nothing.

“Okay well,” Keith shifted awkwardly, “I’m gonna go. With Lance. We’re going.” He grimaced. “I’ll see you guys later. I’ve got my phone so I’ll let you all know when I’m on my way back.”

“Bye,” Shiro waved him off with raised eyebrows. “Be safe!” He called as Keith started to walk away, so Keith flipped him off over his shoulder. Lance was saying goodbye to Hunk when he returned, slipping the headband over his head and handing it back to his friend.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, buddy,” Hunk raised his hand and Lance bumped his fist with his own. “I’ve got work in the a.m., so try not to be too loud.”

“Hunk,” Lance looked halfway between mortified and ecstatic. “Why when you finally make a dirty joke does it have to be at my expense?” Hunk just shrugged and waved to Keith.

“Have fun guys,” He rolled his eyes and returned to the crowd with a laugh.

“He has to work in the morning?” Keith asked as Lance put his hand on Keith’s lower back and they walked out of The Cat’s Pyjamas into the cooler air of the night.

“Yeah, Hunk is a bakery apprentice so sometimes he has to start at ass o’clock.” Lance glanced sideways at Keith and dropped his arm as they began to walk along the footpath. He waved to the security guards as they passed, who both nodded in reply. The path ran alongside a short bank of sand just before the waves, which were lapping tamely at the shore.

“But it’s already almost three a.m.!” Keith laughed and raked a hand through his sweaty hair. Lance stepped off the path and onto the sand, pulling Keith along with him by the hand. The shore was deserted, the fading thump of the music from PJs fading into the starry night sky. There were no street lights, but the moon was bright enough for them to see clearly. “And I thought he was a waiter at La Cocina?” Sand rustled underfoot as they drew nearer to the staff quarters.

“Hunk lives on the edge.” Lance was clearly lying as his laughter punctuated ever word of that sentence. “And there’s a lot of staff around here that are trained in a lot of different places. I’m not sure it’s completely legal, but pretty much ninety per cent of the staff can work in more than one area on the island.”

“Can you?” Keith asked, half-teasing.

“Oh yeah,” Lance grinned. Under the clear moonlight, his skin was an ashy brown, with his hair almost black. His eyes, though, were silver. “I also teach yoga, and sometimes do snorkel-board.” He laughed at Keith’s raised eyebrows, and anticipated his next question. “Snorkel-board is the marquee at north beach. It’s teaching and loaning snorkelling gear and paddleboards.” Lance nodded, smiling devilishly.

“Nah but seriously,” He suddenly swung to the side, sliding his hands around Keith’s waist and pulling him close. “Hunk’s probably not gonna sleep and go straight to work,” He pressed a quick kiss to the side of Keith’s mouth before smiling devilishly. “And we’re not gonna get much sleep either.”

Keith tried not to laugh, he really did. “Does that line work often?” He snorted, trying not to choke from holding the giggles at bay.

“Hey man, if you don’t like goofy pickup lines then we’re gonna have a problem,” Lance said with a shrug. “Plus you’re the one who hit me with the classic ‘do you come here often’, so really, you’re worse than I am.”

Keith spluttered. “I did not!” He reached out to push Lance in the arm but stumbled on the loose sand. Once again Lance caught him, smirking at Keith and knowing full well what he had attempted to do. Keith looked up into his eyes and grinned right back before pushing with his feet and taking them both down onto the silk sand, landing on top of Lance with a laugh.

In the moonlight, the sand was silver beneath them, and Lance’s eyes were almost luminous in the glow. The sky was inky blue, so dark but filled with so many more stars than the city, glittering in the infinite mass of the heavens. The air was cooler here outside of The Cat’s Pyjamas, but wherever his skin was touching Lance’s it was burning hot.

“Awh, dude, now there’s sand everywh-” Keith cut off Lance’s complaint with a kiss, slowly sliding his knees up so he was straddling Lance’s waist, using one hand to steady himself in the sand by Lance’s head, curling the tips of his fingers of the other hand into the collar of that godawful shirt that Lance was wearing. Lance kissed back eagerly, argument apparently forgotten as he placed one hand on the back of Keith’s neck and used the other to ruck up Keith’s shirt to feel the smooth skin of his back.

After a few minutes of making out, Keith was beginning to feel impatient. He rolled his hips once, deliberately, and sat up, making sure that he was putting pressure on Lance’s groin. “I’m sorry, you were saying something about sand getting everywhere,” Keith laughed as Lance huffed, throwing his hands above his head. His cheeks were flushed dark in the moonlight, his teeth a bright white where he panted with an open mouth.

“You know,” Lance squirmed beneath him before sitting up gracefully, sliding his arms around Keith as he did so. “We still have to walk back to my place.” Keith quirked an eyebrow, and Lance laughed.  “I don’t know about you, but doing it on the sand just sounds itchy and gross to me.”

“’Doing it’?” Keith repeated, shifting his hips a little and grinning as he watched Lance’s pupils dilate.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Lance rolled his eyes and shifted his grip to Keith’s waist, holding him down on his groin. “Fucking on the sand just sounds itchy to me.”

“Is it far?” Keith was never the most patient person. “And can you walk back?” He tried to bite back the grin as he sat a little more firmly down, and Lance groaned a little, fingers tightening bruisingly hard on his hips.

“You little fucker,” Lance leant forward and took a few deep calming breaths with his head on Keith’s shoulder. “Okay, budge off,” He tapped Keith’s hip until he stood off him, holding a hand out for Lance to take. “Of course, we’d be there by now if you hadn’t just done that.”

“You’re saying you didn’t enjoy it?” Lance took his hand and Keith pulled him up on his feet.

“I’m saying I probably enjoyed that a little too much.” Lance adjusted his khakis and grimaced at Keith, before taking his hand again and leading him off the beach. “Distract me,” He said, and Keith laughed.

“How?”

“I don’t know man. Tell me something about yourself.” Lance thought for a moment. “How do you like your coffee?”

“My coffee?” That had not been the question Keith had been expecting.

“Yeah man, your coffee.” Lance shot him a sideways look. “We can’t talk about sexy stuff right now man, but we’re nearly there.” Keith laughed as Lance sped up, keeping pace easily. He could see rows of units in the distance, which he assumed were the staff quarters. Keith remembered back when Coran was explaining where everything on the Isle was, and it made sense that they had looped around behind the main streets to where the staff housing was.

“Dirty chai when I’m studying,” Keith said, and Lance swung their hands between them. Keith found that really cute. “Cappuccino sometimes. Double shot latte when I’m hungover, with maybe some caramel or toffee syrup in there.”

“What do you study?” They entered the first row of buildings, Lance towing him expertly through the winding maze of units. Each unit was made of dark redwood, with a wooden door and a single window next to it. There was a number in the middle of the door just above the peephole. Some units still had lights on inside, a dull yellow glow from behind the small window.

Lance turned them down a row, tugging his hand excitedly. Keith’s heart was thrumming with anticipation as he cleared his throat before answering. “Engineering,”

“Oh nice,” Lance was slowing down, so Keith assumed they were nearing his cabin. “You want to be a big fancy engineer one day?”

“Actually, no, not really.” Keith admitted. “I didn’t really want to go to college, but my foster parents insisted.” He shrugged, and Lance pulled him up to cabin number thirty-six. Now he was closer, Keith saw each cabin had a small porch- not anything special, but enough that there would be shade in the daytime.  A windchime hung from a nail half-hammered into the railing, Keith could see the backs of photographs lined up along the windowsill inside.

“We’re here,” Lance turned to face Keith, dropping his hand to fish around his khaki pockets for his keys. “I hope the walk didn’t kill the mood too much,” Keith grinned in anticipation and followed Lance to the door, pushing himself up along Lance’s back as he struggled to fit the key in the lock. “Guess not,” Lance licked his lips and fumbled when Keith’s hands came around his waist, but had the door open soon enough and was pulling Keith in by his shirt.

Lance’s mouth was hot on his as they stepped over the threshold, and he let out a groan as Keith turned them around to shut the door and back Lance up against it. “God that walk felt like it took forever, didn’t it,” Lance said between kisses, pulling at Keith’s shirt so he could run his hands on the bare skin beneath. Keith didn’t bother replying, already pushing Lance’s hideous Hawaiian shirt off his shoulders and kicking it out of the way when it hit the floor. “At least- at least we’re finally inside.” Lance kept talking, even as Keith bit along his jaw. He mouthed at Lance’s Adam’s apple for a moment before deciding the room was too stifling and stepping back to strip himself of his shirt.

Keith was an ‘act first, hopefully never ask questions’ kind of guy, and if it wasn’t for Shiro constantly buzzing around and being a quote good brother unquote, Keith’s life would have been very different. But he was still hot-headed and thank god Shiro wasn’t there at that moment, and Keith wanted this so very much that he was jumping in at top speed. Head first, eyes closed, don’t look.

“Wow,” Lance reached out and took Keith by the waist, drawing him closer and very obviously admiring the view. “You’re really hot, Keith,” Keith tried to hide his blush by kissing Lance again, pushing up against him so Lance’s back was against the wall and they were pressed flush together from chest to thigh. Lance was running his hands over Keith’s back, scraping blunt nails down his ribs before sliding his hands lower and grabbing a handful of Keith’s ass. Keith gave a muffled groan into Lance’s mouth and pulled on the hem of his singlet.

“Off,” He mumbled into Lance’s mouth. “This needs to come off.”

“Yeah,” Lance nodded, panting into Keith’s mouth. “Yeah it sure does. Hold on.” Keith stepped back whilst Lance grappled with his singlet, lobbing it above Keith’s head before hurriedly pulling him back in for a kiss.

Keith pressed him back up against the door before kissing a trail down Lance’s jaw, pausing to pop the glowsticks off and toss them aside and suck a light mark into his collarbone, feeling Lance squirm under his lips. He grinned against his skin as Lance carefully threaded his fingers into Keith’s hair, and continued kissing his way down Lance’s body. He paused right before the hem of Lance’s godawful khakis and sat back on his heels, ghosting his hands down Lance’s thighs.

“We still good?” Keith asked as he leant forward and pressed his cheek to Lance’s hip, looking up to gauge Lance’s expression. Lance’s eyes were dark, his cheeks flushed, and there was sweat running down his chest. Lance’s hands were still in his hair, and at his words, they tugged a little. Keith closed his eyes at the sensation, and he heard Lance take a quick breath in.

“Yeah man,” Lance’s voice was hoarse. “We’re still good.”

“Thank god,” Keith breathed before moving his hand from Lance’s thighs to the button of his khakis, brushing over the bulge there before popping the button open. He swiftly pulled Lance’s pants and underwear down, taking a moment to eye Lance’s dick before deciding where to start.

He pressed a kiss to Lance’s hip while he reached up and pumped his fist along Lance’s cock twice to make sure he was hard before leaning in and licking a stripe up the shaft. He heard a thunk and when he flicked his eyes up to check, he saw that Lance had let his head fall back against the door, his fingers already tightening in his hair. He tried not to smile as he took Lance’s cock into his mouth, sucking on the tip for a second before beginning to bob his head, seeing how far he could go. When he found his limit, he wrapped his other hand around the base of Lance’s cock and moved it to the rhythm he’d made with his mouth.

Keith wasn’t normally a blowjob kind of guy, but watching the muscles in Lance’s naked thighs flex, his chest rising and falling with every quick, ragged breath he was pulling, was giving him a thrill he hadn’t felt in a long time. Lance was moaning, too, and it was making the hair on the back of Keith’s neck stand up. He was the one making Lance sound like that. One of Lance’s hands quickly moved down the side of Keith’s face to brush the hair out of his eyes before returning to his head, but that simple movement made Keith’s heart stutter. It was a considerate act he wasn’t used to in sex, but he squeezed his eyes shut and put the thought out of him mind for the moment.

He didn’t want Lance to come just yet, so when the fingers in his hair were beginning to tug a little too hard, and he could hear Lance’s breath becoming frantic, he pulled away with a filthy sound. Sitting back on his heels, he wiped his chin with the back of one hand whilst looking straight up to Lance’s eyes.

“Oh boy,” Was all Lance could say before he was grabbing Keith by the shoulders and hauling him towards the double bed on the other side of the room, pushing him down onto the duvet as soon as he could and landing heavily on top of him. Lance was kissing him again, pushing his tongue into Keith’s mouth and Keith was almost laughing at his enthusiasm. Lance’s hands were exploratory, running down his sides and over his chest, one finally moving to rub Keith through his jeans. Keith keened at the touch, pulling his legs up so Lance was bracketed between them.

They kissed for a few minutes, with Lance gently rocking against Keith’s hip and massaging him through his pants. It couldn’t have been too comfortable for him, but Lance seemed too lost in the kiss to worry about the denim. Eventually, Lance undid the button-fly on Keith’s jeans and slipped his hand down Keith’s belly and under his boxers to stroke his dick, their kissing becoming messier until Keith was kicking off his shoes, jeans and underwear and Lance was laughing at the determined look on his face.

Once their clothing was fully off, Lance kissed down Keith’s body to eagerly replace his hand with his mouth around his cock. Keith groaned, raising both hands above his head and gripping the pillow he found there. He shut his eyes at Lance’s ministrations, but couldn’t stop the sounds coming out of his mouth. He tried to concentrate on his breathing, but Lance did something with his tongue and instead a breathy, embarrassing “Lance…” came out of his mouth.

Lance moved his mouth off of Keith’s dick with a wicked grin and propped his chin on his stomach. “What do you want, baby?” He asked, still gently, almost absent-mindedly, jerking a loose fist on Keith’s cock. Keith let a groan slip through his teeth and instantly regretted it as Lance’s grin grew wider. “That’s not an answer…” Lance almost sung, reaching up with his other hand to brush his fingers along Keith’s ribs. Keith curled his toes into the duvet beneath him and wrinkled his nose in annoyance, which only made Lance laugh harder.

“Fuck me, Lance.” He said, and Lance propped himself up on his hands, the tips of his ears bright pink. His lips were red, slick, and shiny with spit. Sweat was curling the hair above his ears, and his smile was bright and playful. He looked absolutely beautiful, Keith thought.

“Really?” Lance crawled awkwardly up his body until he was hovering above Keith with that gorgeous smile. Keith almost rolled his eyes and he ran his hands up Lance’s chest, smiling fondly enough to blame on the alcohol.

“Yes, genius, really.” Keith dragged him down for a kiss, which Lance pulled away from with a smile he was trying to hide.

“You’re mean,” Lance rolled his hips a little, and Keith almost unconsciously matched the rhythm, panting hotly. He hooked his ankles over Lance’s calves and rolled them so Lance was lying beneath him.

“I’m also impatient.” Keith said, trying not to focus on the delicious slide of skin lest he get lost in it. “So hurry up. Fuck me.”

Lance looked almost dazed beneath him, a goofy smile on his face as he gazed up at him. “Aye aye, captain.” He smacked a quick kiss to Keith’s mouth and slid out from underneath him to rummage in the drawers of the bedside cabinet. Keith watched him appreciatively from the bed, resisting the urge to continue stroking his dick. Lance was loudly scrambling around his drawer, and with a quick “heads up!” he tossed a bottle of lube over his shoulder in Keith’s general direction. Keith caught it and watched as Lance grabbed a condom as well and clamoured back onto the bed. He was so eager, and Keith found it unexpectedly endearing.

Lance knelt before him and leant forward and kissed him with closed eyes, surprisingly gentle. Keith smiled into the kiss and cupped Lance’s face, feeling his heart throb in his chest. He wrote it off as just excitement and tried not to read too much into it- nothing good could come of him catching feelings for this one-time fling. But in the heat of the moment he kissed Lance sweetly and took the condom from his hands to put it on the bed beside them.

Lance pushed him gently so Keith ended up on his back, with Lance propped up on one hand hovering above him. Lance was still kissing him, and Keith shut his eyes when he heard the lid of the lube bottle open.

“All good, baby?” Lance asked him against his lips, practically a whisper. Keith wasn’t too uncomfortable, and the aching need he was feeling overrode every awkward feeling he had, so he nodded.

“Oh! Wait a sec,” Lance broke away from him leant upwards and Keith couldn’t help but laugh, bringing a hand up to cover his mouth and Lance shuffled around above him. After a few seconds, he felt Lance’s hand lifting his head up and placing a pillow underneath, and then tapping at his hips so he could do the same there. “Better?” Lance practically chirped, obviously proud of himself.

“Yeah,” Keith reached up and drew Lance back in, smiling broadly into the kiss as Lance shuffled around and laughed with him, propping Keith’s legs up beside him so his knees were bracketing either side of them.

The lid of the lube bottle popped open again but Lance kept kissing him to try and distract Keith from the probing sensation that was beginning. Lance pushed one finger into him, just slightly, and he groaned.

“All good?” Lance stilled immediately, and Keith’s eyes flashed open.

“Don’t you dare stop now, Lance,” He snapped, and rolled his hips, driving Lance’s finger deeper inside of him.

“Alright, alright,” Lance grinned and pressed a kiss to Keith’s sweaty temple before beginning to push again, and Keith could feel it in the base of him, heat coiling in him, erasing the uncomfortable feeling completely. Lance drew his hand out and pushed another finger back in alongside the first, and Keith pushed his head back into the pillow, panting hard into the night. Lance’s bed was beneath a window, and he could see the deep indigo of the cloudless night sky beyond the glass, the tranquil image not quite fitting the burning desire in him, and the feeling of Lance’s slick, wet fingers filling him up.

“One more?” Lance murmured into the crook of Keith’s shoulder, and he nodded frantically, not trusting his voice at that moment. Lance added a third finger, scissoring them slightly and Keith turned his head to bite the pillow under him, but it couldn’t stop the haggard groan from escaping between his teeth.

Once he was sure Keith was loose and open enough for him, Lance took his hand away and leant up to kiss across Keith’s face whilst he felt blindly among the duvet for the condom packet.

“Let me,” Keith murmured into the kiss and picked up the bottle of lubricant with one hand, remembering where he had put the condom before and moving it to somewhere safer so it won’t get lost to the shifting duvet. He squirted a small amount of clear gel into his hand and rubbed it between his fingers to warm it up. He kept kissing Lance, slowly pushing his tongue deeper into his mouth as he reached down and began to rub the lube onto Lance’s cock. Lance gave a small gasp into the kiss and threaded the fingers of one hand into the hair at the nape of Keith’s neck to deepen it further, breathing heavily against Keith’s lips as he bore his weight more heavily onto him.

Keith grabbed the condom and rolled it onto Lance’s cock, pouring another handful of lube into his palm and made sure to spread it generously. Lance was taking shuddering breaths by the time Keith was finished, his face pressed into Keith’s shoulder while he pressed tender kisses into Keith’s neck. When the condom was on, Keith slid his hands up Lance’s back and cradled the back of his neck.

“All ready, Lance,” He whispered into Lance’s temple, pressing a kiss there before he fully realised what he was doing. Lance shuddered, and then pulled himself up so he could stare down into Keith’s eyes. It was a bit too much for him, and Keith’s heart clenched as he gazed back up into the deep blue of Lance’s eyes. It was easy for him to fall under the illusion that Lance truly cared- that all the tender actions, the sweet names and soft touches were because Lance cared for him. And he didn’t doubt that Lance cared but not- like that. Did he even want that?

It was too much at that moment, so when he felt Lance gently begin to push into him, his mouth hanging open slightly as he hovered above him, Keith shut his eyes. He concentrated on the feeling of Lance slowly filling him up, and he pulled at Lance’s back, pulling him closer, taking gasping breaths as he hitched his leg up and over Lance’s hip. When Lance had bottomed out, he paused, his arms trembling where they were beside Keith. “Feeling good?” Lance whispered into his ear, and Keith nodded, opening his eyes so he could guide Lance’s mouth to his.

“Go,” He whispered against Lance’s lips before kissing him deeply, moaning in pleasure as Lance started to move, just gentle rocking motions at first so Keith could get used to the pace, but beginning to lose his composure with every thrust. He lifted one hand from the bed to hitch Keith’s other leg up around his waist, too, rolling his hips harder, his forehead slick with sweat. Keith moved his hands, one clutching Lance’s shoulder, digging his nails into Lance’s skin, and the other cupping the back of his head. Lance’s face was now in the crook of his neck, and Keith could feel his hot breath panting against the sweaty skin of his collarbone.

Lance began kissing the side of his neck, shifting underneath Keith and hitching his legs higher around his hips. Keith gasped, scratching his fingers up Lance’s back when he felt Lance hit that sweet spot inside of him. He clenched, and Lance made a sound like he’d been punched.

“I’m not gonna- last much longer, Keith…” Lance said, and his rhythm was becoming more erratic, quicker and harder.

“Good. Just… I-” Keith tried to say what he wanted, but couldn’t get the words out, feeling the pleasure building in his entire body but it wasn’t enough, it wasn’t enough at all, he needed-

“I got you, babe,” Lance moved his hand from Keith’s leg to his cock and started to jerk him off and Keith was probably going to die. His whole body was on fire and he was happy to just burn away to nothing right then, in the heat and the sweat and the feel of Lance just filling him up and up and up and-

Lance came with a panting series of curses that were almost whispered into Keith’s jaw, and Keith could hear his own name mixed in with the English and- was that Spanish curse words? Lance wouldn’t let up though, and soon Keith was coming too, over his own stomach and chest and Lance’s fist, and it was glorious in the light of the moon shining through the window and the tropical heat and the sound of Lance saying his name over and over.

When Keith came down from his post-orgasm high, Lance had pulled out and was just laying across him, sighing happily. Keith poked him in the ribs.

“You’re crushing me a little, Lance.” He said, though the words had no sting to them. Lance rolled over and pressed a kiss to Keith’s lips before getting off of the bed. Keith shut his eyes for a moment, starting to feel slightly uncomfortable now the feelings of being covered in sweat and come were starting to register. He moved the pillow out from under his hips and tossed it to the floor, hoping Lance had another pillowcase because that one was pretty gross. In fact, he might want to throw that pillow out altogether.

Lance came back after a minute with a cool cloth, and began to gently wipe Keith down, and Keith let him, moving his limbs loosely. He opened his eyes to watch Lance toss the cloth in the direction of the bathroom, and he moved out of the way so Lance could roll the duvet down the end of the bed and they could both get under the sheets.

“So. Problem.” Lance propped himself up on one elbow, and Keith froze. What was left of the happy, post-orgasm haze he’d been in drained out immediately as the first thought through his head was oh god, Lance is going to kick me out.

“I only have two pillows.” Lance stated next, and Keith swiped at his arm so Lance’s face fell into the mattress. “Dude,” Lance laughed as he pushed himself up again and pinched Keith’s shoulder.

“I don’t see the problem,” Keith was feeling an immense amount of relief, and tried to quiet his heart as it thundered in his chest. He was also very confused at what Lance was telling him.

“I mean, I’m not sleeping on the come-pillow,” Lance raised his eyebrows seriously, and Keith couldn’t help but burst out laughing. He covered his mouth until he’d come down from his (a little bit nervous) laughter, only to realise Lance was watching him with pink cheeks.

“Why do you cover your mouth when you laugh?” Lance asked, shifting a little closer. Keith shrugged.

“I don’t know,” Keith felt a little awkward. “I just do.”

“Well you’re really pretty, Keith, especially when you laugh,” Lance rolled towards him again, slipping an arm around his waist. Keith narrowed his eyes at him.

“Are you just trying to get me to share the pillow?” He asked, shuffling a little to the side.

“Never!” Lance moved closer, a cheeky smile dawning on his face. “But now that you mention it… there is only one.” He cocked his head. “And we could cuddle. An added bonus, if you ask me. The bed’s only a double anyway, so it was bound to happen.”

Keith sighed, pretending like he wasn’t already letting Lance share the pillow. “I’m not that into spooning,” He said unconvincingly, rolling onto his side. Despite very much enjoying the banter, he felt his eyes drooping already. Briefly he wondered if his friends were still at the club, or already back at the hotel.

“You literally just let me fuck you, but now won’t let me be the big spoon?” Lance was already hugging up behind him, and though it was hot under the sheets, Keith relaxed in his embrace.

“Fine, I’ll let you, but you owe me.” He said, ending the sentence with a yawn as Lance’s hand found his under the sheets, lacing their fingers together like it was the most natural thing in the world.

Lance laughed behind him, and Keith could feel his body moving against his. He couldn’t stop the sleepy smile spreading across his face. “Goodnight, Keith,” Lance dropped a kiss to the back of his neck, and Keith meant to say it back, he did, but he was already drifting off to sleep.

---

Keith slowly rose to consciousness with fluttering eyelids as he felt the bed he was sleeping on dip. He shifted, and felt a hand run gently through his hair.

“Morning, Keith,” Lance leant down from where he’d put a knee up on the bed and kissed Keith’s temple. Keith felt him smile against his skin and he groaned.

“The fuck are you up so early?” He asked into his pillow, guessing from the cold half of the bed that Lance had been up for a little while.

“Habit,” Lance hummed, and placed something on the bedside cabinet. “I went out and got us coffee,” Keith cracked an eye open and looked at Lance. He wasn’t usually a heavy sleeper, so he was surprised to hear that Lance had been and gone without waking him up.

“Did you go out dressed like that?” He said with a note of amusement, after sweeping his eyes up and down Lance’s body. Lance was wearing dark grey sweatpants, a yellow snapback with the brim facing backwards, and a blue hoodie with the sleeves already pushed up his forearms.

“I did, and it was a mistake. But not for the reason you think- don’t be mean,” He held up a hand to stop Keith, who had opened his mouth with a grin. “It’s just already hot outside. I’m already sweaty.”

“Yuck,” Keith laughed when Lance flopped dramatically on top of him, rolling so he had his chin resting on Keith’s chest, fitting snugly between Keith’s legs.

“I said don’t be mean,” Lance pouted, and Keith laughed louder. “You drooled on the pillow last night, by the way,” Lance added, as if in retaliation to Keith laughing.

“So?” Keith smiled. At least he hadn’t snored.

“It was gross.” Lance said haughtily, and Keith snorted.

“You literally had my dick in your mouth last night, Lance,” Keith said. “But you think my drool is gross?” Lance was silent for a moment, so Keith felt content that he’d won that round of banter.

“Are you hungover?” Lance asked, changing the subject as smoothly as crunchy peanut butter. His cheeks were pink, but he was staring determinedly at Keith. Keith noted the slight sick feeling in the pit of his stomach, but it was nothing he couldn’t handle. He couldn’t really remember who drank the most out of the both of them last night, but although he was queasy, he was going to be fine.

“No,” He answered. “Are you?”

Lance thought for a moment, digging his chin slightly into Keith’s sternum. His forehead was sweaty, his hair curling where it poked out from under his cap. “Nothing a little coffee can’t fix.” He rubbed his head on the sheets above Keith’s chest, drying his face.

“Get off, you sweaty monster!” Keith laughed, wriggling so Lance had to rise, and Keith sat up too, smiling, now sitting cross-legged under the sheets across from Lance.

“Your chin is really pointy.” Keith remarked as he watched Lance reach across to the bedside table where two takeaway coffee cups were. He accepted the coffee Lance handed him and sniffed the rim, raising his eyebrows at the strong, sweet scent.

“That’s rude,” Lance took a sip of his own cup. “And that-” he pointed a slender brown finger to Keith’s cup. “Is a double shot toffee latte,” Lance grinned smugly at him from around the rim of his own coffee. Keith’s breath got caught in his throat. Lance had remembered their stilted conversation from the night before and… had gone out and bought him a coffee.

“Thank you,” He said, and took a mouthful of bittersweet liquid.

“All good,” Lance shrugged it off like it was nothing, and with a sinking feeling, Keith wondered if he did this a lot. Maybe Lance hooked up with a lot of the Isle’s visitors. Maybe he bought them all drinks, walked hand-in-hand with all of them, called them all baby in bed like it meant something. Maybe he bought them all coffee in the morning, and kissed them all awake.

Keith buried his anxious feelings under the coffee. He didn’t want to think how many other people had shared Lance’s bed. Lance’s smile was easy to come by and he gave it out effortlessly, and Keith drank it up for the moment, putting the other, darker thoughts out of him mind.

Now it was daytime and perfect sunlight was shining through the thin lacy curtain in front of the small windows, Keith could see Lance’s room. It was surprisingly similar to a college dorm room, with a desk under the window next to the front door, the bed they were sitting on, a bedside cabinet, a closet, a chest of drawers, and an ensuite bathroom. The bed had pale grey sheets and a dark blue comforter, and Keith could see the other discarded pillow had been pushed off towards the corner of the room. Lance had also fixed a corkboard on the wall next to the bed with pictures and letters pinned to it. Their clothes were strewn about the room- Keith saw Lance’s ugly Hawaiian shirt from where he kicked it into the corner where it was sadly crumpled, and Keith’s jeans had ended up on the desk. Lance’s glowsticks were by the door, looking much sadder than they had last night.

“Do you know where my phone is?” Keith asked, and it kind of ruined the moment. Lance moved back, shuffling along the duvet to check along the thin carpet. Keith took a second to have a look at the corkboard near the bed; it was mostly pictures of Lance and his family, though Hunk featured quite heavily. A picture of a beach was pinned to the top left-hand corner, and a photo of a cat stretching in a pool of sunlight was underneath it, on what looks like the same comforter as the one Keith could see folded at the end of the bed.

“Is this it?” Keith looked over to the phone Lance was waving at him. “It was in your jeans so if that’s not yours then I’m concerned.”

“You don’t approve of my pick-pocketing hobby?” Keith said as he took the phone from Lance, grimacing as he saw the messages.

 

(03:37) Mix n’ Matt to VaGAYtion Friends: Shiro cut us all off :(

(03:42) Pidgeot to VaGAYtion Friends: @Keef your brother is the worst.

(04:26) MomFriend to VaGAYtion Friends: @Keef hey we r bsck at th hotel now. Are yu staying the nigt?

(04:27) Pidgeot to VaGAYtion Friends: damn allura ur wasted

(04:32) MomFriend to VaGAYtion Friends: shh pidg. @Keef guess your stayin. NIght k!

(04:35) Mix n’ Matt changed Agent K’s nickname to Absolut Ledge

(04:35) Mix n’ Matt to VaGAYtion Friends: Night Keef!

(04:35) Pidgeot to VaGAYtion Friends: Absolute Ledge?

(04:35) Mix n’ Matt to VaGAYtion Friends: I want him to be a legend but I can’t say absulut leg now can i.

(04.36) Pidgeot to VaGaytion Friends: Fair point, well argued, credible sources.
(04.36) Pidgeot to VaGaytion Friends: Night Keefer Sutherland!

(04:42) Dad™ to VaGAYtion Friends: Goodnight Keith, let us know what’s happening as soon as you can.

 

There was only 12 per cent battery left, so Keith didn’t bother replying to the group chat, instead opening Shiro’s private messages. Keith wasn’t surprised that Shiro was up so early, but it was later than usual, so even he must have had a sleep in.

 

(07:49) Takashi: Hey, how’re you going?

(08:09) Takashi: You up yet? It’s not really like you to sleep this late.

(08:14) Takashi: u ded?

 

Keith snorted and punched out a quick reply, glancing up once or twice to watch Lance as he wandered around and collected their clothes from the night before. Lance had taken off his hoodie by now and had evidently not been wearing a shirt underneath, and Keith had to bite his cheek to keep from laughing at the red scratch lines down his back.

 

(08:48) Keith: Hey Shiro, slept in a little, let me live please. I’ll be back soon.

(08:49) Takashi: Bring cofeee please

(08:49) Keith: Only if you spell it properly, you useless excuse for a teacher.

 

“Here,” Lance deposited all of Keith’s clothes on the bed, shifting from foot to foot as he adjusted his cap. “I can, uh, head into the bathroom while you change.”

Keith raised his eyebrows. “Not to sound crass, but it’s nothing you haven’t seen before.” He grabbed his boxers from the duvet and stood out of bed, quickly pulling them on. When he looked up, Lance was gazing at him with pink cheeks, his coffee cup halfway raised to his mouth. Keith rolled his eyes and the look and tossed his phone at Lance. “Instead of staring, you can put your number in that,” He said, and turned away from Lance to pull his shirt over his head. His heart was thundering but he kept his face nonchalant. He shouldn’t have done that, because that implied that he wanted to see Lance again. And he did. But maybe Lance didn’t want to see him again? Oh jeez. Now was the time to bail, before the thoughts swirling through his head overwhelmed him. He had to get going before this little infatuation got any bigger.

After he’d slipped his socks and jeans on and Lance had given him his phone back, Keith hunted for his converse, draining the last of his coffee as he went. Once he’d found them and laced them onto his feet, he awkwardly stood by the door. Lance had been watching him idly shuffle around the room, but now was opening the door for him.

“Uh,” Now Keith’s face was burning, and Lance was right, it was hot outside. “Thanks for… having me?”

Could he have said that anymore awkwardly?

Lance laughed, grinning maybe a little too widely. “Oh, any time, Keith.” Lance leant in smoothly and pressed a kiss to Keith’s mouth, almost hanging off the doorframe, and Keith accepted it eagerly, reaching up to cup Lance’s face in his hands. He was being greedy, he knew, but he couldn’t help it. When he pulled away, Lance chased him a little, just for one more chaste kiss, before leaning back and smiling, softer now, eyes gentle and happy when they looked at him.

“I’ll see you around, Keith,” He said, and watched him go, only shutting the door when Keith had walked out of sight.

---

Shiro was still the only one waiting for him when Keith arrived back at The Altean, but when they went to drop off coffee to the others, they found Matt collapsed over the toilet in the bathroom of his and Pidge’s room, whilst Pidge was still completely knocked out in their bed. Allura graciously accepted her cup before almost physically throwing Keith and Shiro out of her room, so in the end, just Shiro and Keith went down to breakfast, after Keith had had a shower. They ended up at the beach for the rest of the day, with Allura joining them around mid-morning whilst the Holt siblings texted from their room. Pidge wandered down to the beach in the afternoon, telling them all that Matt was still curled up in bed with digestives, water, and Netflix. The decided to just eat at The Altean’s restaurant for dinner, Matt joining them finally in sweat pants and a singlet, telling them he was fully recovered but only ordering a root beer and a small bowl of chips.

“So what did I miss?” Matt asked when their food had all arrived. The others shrugged.

“We didn’t really do much today-” Keith started and Matt shook his head.

“Nah Keith, share the deets,” He popped a chip into his mouth and gave Keith a look. Keith blinked.

“Uh, no?” He stated, shifting awkwardly in his chair. Allura covered her mouth to try and hide her smile, and Shiro pretended to be completely focused on his food. Only Pidge didn’t bother to fake not being interested.

The whole day Keith had been in blissful silence about the previous night, with Shiro tactfully avoiding the conversation and talking about planning the rest of their trip as ‘this lazy day was such a waste’. Keith hadn’t seen Lance, which he couldn’t decide was a blessing or a curse. If he saw Lance again he might get flustered or awkward and Lance would probably think he was overeager and crazy.

“Why not?” Mat whined, and Pidge raised their eyebrows at Keith like Matt actually had a compelling argument or something. Keith stared at him.

“Do I really need to justify that with an answer?” He said.

“Well, are you gonna see him again?” Allura butted in now, and Keith glared at her. She just fluttered her eyelashes at him innocently.

“I mean, he does work here,” He said childishly. “So probably.” He almost poked his tongue out at them.

“Did you get his number at least?” Pidge asked, and Keith almost just sat back and yelled at the ceiling. How did his friends go from the best people in the universe to the worst in a matter of seconds?

He paused, and instantly cursed himself. “You did!” A wide grin spread across Pidge’s face.

“No I didn’t,” The lie came out immediately, and Keith wasn’t sure if he regretted it or not. In truth, on the walk home Keith had checked his phone and saw Lance had added his number like Keith had asked (demanded?) under the name Lance McClain :). His heart had practically jumped out of his chest and he quickly reeled in the wide grin that was spreading across his face, frowning instead and telling himself off for feeling that way.

“You did!” Pidge cawed across the table, and Keith fumed and stabbed his food angrily. Shiro patted his shoulder sympathetically.

“It’s not so bad.” Shiro told him. “I mean the only bad points are-” He pretended to pause and think, and Keith rolled his eyes. “Huh, I can’t seem to see any bad points,”

“Fuck off, Shiro,” Keith said without much conviction. He hadn’t texted Lance yet, and he wouldn’t without a reason. He didn’t even know if Lance wanted him to text- though he hadn’t given Lance his number, so he had to make the first move, if anything was going to happen. “Let’s just drop it.”

Shiro held his hands up in surrender and the subject changed, but Keith stewed for the rest of the evening. They opened a bottle of wine back in Allura’s room and watched a movie with Shiro, Allura, and Matt crowding the bed while Keith and Pidge lounged on the floor. Keith started a game of ‘that’s you’ with Shiro and each pointed to the ugliest creature in the scene. Allura took a photo of them all and they only realised when they got tagged in her Instagram post. Everyone only had one glass of wine, if that, all feeling a little tender after the night before.

They said goodnight after the movie had finished, Keith flopping down onto his bed and cuddling into his frog neck pillow without getting changed when they got back to his and Shiro’s room. He listened to Shiro fluffing around, and then the sound of the bathroom door closing and the hiss of the shower. He took the opportunity to change into his pyjamas and lay across his bed looking at his phone.

“Texted Lance yet?” The door to the shower opened and Shiro emerged, grabbing his own phone from the dresser and tumbling onto the bed beside Keith. He was in purple pyjama pants and a dark grey shirt with a big muscly bear on it above the words Bear Hug. His phone beeped. One new message.

 

(23:02) Keith: No.

 

“Very mature,” Shiro mused, rolling onto his stomach and flopping his legs over Keith’s. “May I ask why not?”

 

(23:03) Keith: No.

 

Shiro sighed. “I should’ve expected that. That’s on me.” He nudged Keith’s calf with the heel of one foot, pondering on what to say next. “So you don’t want to see him again?”

“Like I said,” Keith said slowly, pushing Shiro’s legs off of his. “I’ll probably have to because-”

“This has nothing to do with whether you have to or not, Keith.” Keith groaned loudly at Shiro’s lecturing voice. “You two seem to really hit it off, and, well, I’m just a little worried that-”

“Why does everyone have a problem that I had a one-night stand?” Keith snapped, rolling on to his side and kicking out at Shiro. Shiro didn’t even try to fend him off.

“Was that what it was?” He asked, and Keith glowered at him. Shiro looked sad. Keith wanted to punch him. “Maybe it was my fault. Maybe we shouldn’t have encouraged both of you-”

“Both of us?” Keith screeched, and this time he did punch Shiro, as hard as he could to his shoulder. Shiro winced, probably more at the volume than the physical impact.

“Well yeah,” Shiro shrugged, not looking the slightest bit perturbed by Keith’s violent outburst. “While Allura and you were talking and doing shots, I just had a nice short conversation with Lance about how sometimes you can be a bit… Well, let’s say shy.” Shiro nodded as Keith let out a cry of rage. “I definitely didn’t call you emotionally stunted, so you’re welcome. Pidge might have, but I didn’t.”

“I’ll kill you.” Keith flopped onto his back. “You’re dead to me. You and Allura. And Pidge. All of you.”

“He was fine about it! He seems to really like you.” Shiro tried to placate him, rolling onto his side, propped up on one elbow. “He seems to-”

“He flirted with Allura.” Keith deadpanned to the ceiling. Shiro stopped in his tracks, turned on his side to look at his brother, mouth slightly open. “That first day when we were getting cocktails, he flirted with her and I was just there and I was the consolation prize and this was a bad idea Shiro, because he flirted-”

“Keith,” Shiro started softly. “You know Allura wouldn’t-”

“Yeah I know Allura wouldn’t,” Keith said hotly, staring at the ceiling and only the ceiling. “But Lance might. Maybe- Maybe he does this all the time Shiro, and maybe I just look like an idiot. Maybe I’m just some stranger who Lance thought was hot and I don’t mean anything to him.”

“I don’t think so, Keith,” Shiro’s voice was gentle, and Keith rolled away so he could put his back to him. “So he may have made a pass at Allura one time- that was before he even met you. And last night Lance was really into you, and do you know it was a one-night stand?” Keith blinked. The memories washed over him- of Lance dancing close in the club under the neon blue light, Lance looking at him reverently in between kisses, hovering above him in bed, bringing him coffee in the morning (oh god, that he didn’t even offer to pay him back for!)- and he had to screw his eyes shut to stop them. He schooled his features back into a frown and remained silent.

“Maybe just send him a text?” Shiro prodded him gently. “You’ll never know unless you try,”

“Just drop it Shiro,” Keith muttered into his pillow. “Since when did you become dad?” He heard Shiro groan behind him.

“Never say that again please.” Shiro said, rolling off the bed. He tossed one of his spare pillows at Keith’s head before climbing under the covers. “Goodnight,” He said over his shoulder.

Keith held his phone close between his hands and tapped it against his chin, thinking. Why did he feel so angry and ashamed now? He was plenty keen for Lance’s attention the night before, but now… he felt used.

He seemed really into you!

Keith punched his pillow. He heard Shiro rustle in the bed next to him. Keith felt a surge of embarrassment, which immediately turned to half-hearted anger. He opened the chat and typed furiously.

 

(23:11) Absolut Ledge to VaGAYtion Friends: You’re all dead to me.

 

Shiro sighed. “Turn your phone off and go to sleep, Keith.” He said, his voice already strained with tiredness. A reply binged.

 

(23:12) Mix n’ Matt to VaGAYtion Friends: did shiro dob us in :(((

(23:12) Pidgeon to VaGAYtion Friends: i mean it worked didnt it

 

“Just turn it off,” Shiro said in answer to Keith’s angry snort. He hadn’t really expected any less from Pidge, so for once, he followed Shiro’s advice and pushed his phone onto the nightstand. He shut his eyes and tried to get to sleep, taking deep breaths to calm himself. He had to remind himself a few times that his friends weren’t against him, they were never against him, and slowly he relaxed enough to fall into a tense sleep.

---

 

Coran joined them for breakfast the next morning. Keith liked Coran. He was always enthusiastic about anything they were talking about, and had a pleasant aura about him that usually made for a great start to the day. Usually.

“So I thought maybe we could head down to north beach today?” Allura floated out to the group over her plate of fruit and yoghurt. Keith’s food went dry in his mouth, and he took a large swig of grapefruit juice to wash it down. Lance worked at north beach. He tried to act nonchalant.

“What’s down at north beach?” He prompted. Lance probably wasn’t even there. Between teaching yoga, waiting at La Cocina, bartending, and north beach, the chances Lance was on- what did he call it again? Snorkel-board?- at the marquee were pretty low.

“Oh the coral’s great just off of north beach!” Coran literally leant into the conversation, blocking Matt completely from Keith’s view as he tilted forward. “We have staff on at the marquee there- you can rent paddleboards and snorkel gear, it’s a great time!”

“That sounds great,” Shiro added in. Matt agreed, and Pidge mumbled something with a full mouth. So it was a definite plan then. Keith’s stomach clenched, and not in a good way. He pushed his half-finished plate away, and Shiro looked at him with a raised eyebrow, but Keith avoided his gaze.

“I might sit out this morning,” Keith said as casually as he could, though the table still fell silent at his words. He winced.

“Why?” Pidge asked bluntly. Keith made the mistake of looking them in the eyes, and could see they were having none of his bullshit. Keith bristled.

“Because I don’t want to go down to north beach. I don’t feel like it.” He sounded standoffish, even to his own ears, but he couldn’t help it. Shiro sighed and took a long sip of coffee.

“Well, you don’t have to come snorkelling,” Allura tried to placate him. “The beach there is really nice, you can just relax on the sand.” Keith pretended to consider this.

“Maybe I’ll come and join you guys after lunch,” He said. “I want to go to the gym for a few hours this morning,” He had never been a good liar, and Keith was pretty sure even Coran saw through him.

“Does this have something to do with Lance?” Pidge asked bluntly, and Keith felt his shoulders tense. He frowned.

“No, I told you, I just-”

“Does he work down at the beach or something?” Matt asked, setting aside his knife and fork on his empty plate. “How many places can one person work in this place?” Matt’s voice carried no animosity to it, unlike Pidge’s did, but his eyebrows were lowered with a hint of disappointment.

“Lance McClain?” Keith didn’t think anything could be worse, but now there Coran was, leaning back into the conversation with interest. Keith felt his cheeks begin to flush. “Is that who we’re talking about?”

“We don’t know his last name,” Allura said, glancing at Keith cautiously. He hadn’t told anyone that he knew Lance’s surname, but that was almost irrelevant now. He was slightly panicking. Would Lance get in trouble because of this? Not that Coran knew the extent of it, but could there be repercussions for Lance because of Keith?

“Lance is some guy who works at La Cocina,” Pidge brandished their fork. “He took us out to The Cat’s Pyjamas, and then Keith banged him.”

The table fell silent.

“Pidge!” Allura gasped like an old lady hearing a swear word. Matt was frowning at his sibling, and Shiro was pinching the bridge of his nose. Surprisingly, Coran looked the most unperturbed.

“What?” Pidge grumbled, but they looked like they knew they had overstepped the bounds. “It wasn’t a secret, was it?”

Keith felt sick. It wasn’t a secret, was it? Was Lance telling everyone he knew about him? Next time they saw each other, was Lance going to lean across to his co-worker, cover his mouth with his hand and whisper about him? That loose guy who Lance only had to buy two drinks for and then spread his legs for him?

“This is just like that stupid travel pillow.” Pidge continued, and Matt sighed next to them. “You say you don’t want it, Keith, you don’t want to buy that pillow and you tell me you don’t want the pillow but next minute you have to have it and then you get embarrassed when we talk about it but it’s just a pillow-”

“Enough, Pidge.” Shiro’s voice was final, and Pidge fell into a glum silence, angrily staring at their plate. Matt made a face at the table.

“I think that gets you out of going, Keith,” He said sheepishly, and Keith nodded, face still aflame. He thought about getting up and leaving then, but before he could, Coran spoke up again.

“Lance is a very nice young man,” He nodded, the tips of his moustache bouncing with the movement. Keith wanted to die. “He works very hard, but he always seems to be having a good time. It’ll be a shame when his contract runs out, because he told me he’s not renewing it next year.” Coran looked at Keith kindly. “I can check the rosters and see if he’s on the marquee today, if you’d like?”

“No,” Keith said, his voice strained. “No thank you.” He stood up from his chair, hoping his cheeks had lost some of the red in them. “I’m gonna go now guys. I’ll see you later.” He needed to go soon, because Allura’s pitying gaze was driving him crazy.

They all waved him off, and he went back up to their room to change into his exercise gear. The gym was on the fourth storey, and covered almost the entire floor, with separate workout rooms for cardio, bulking, and stretching. Keith plugged in his headphones, cracked his neck, and got to work.

His phone vibrated after a few hours, and Keith finished his reps before checking it.

 

(13:04) Pidge: hey sorry about what I said at breakfast :( my bad

 

Keith gave a huff of amusement. He had been angry with Pidge at the time, but he had put it out of his mind and now he thought back, he may have overreacted. Pidge was just blunt and took no bullshit from anyone- even their friends. Exercise was therapeutic to Keith; working out his muscles also worked out a lot of his stress and anxiety. That being said, he had looked at Lance’s contact in his phone a few times already and hadn’t had the courage to send anything just yet. But he had made progress. He had reasoned to himself that he would message Lance sometime. What had convinced him was surprisingly the memory of when he was leaving Lance’s cabin- of Lance leaning off the doorframe, smiling into the kiss. Keith’s whole body felt warm when he remembered that moment- Lance’s mouth curving against his, the sun radiating on his back, the feel of Lance’s cheek in his palm.

 

(13:18) Keith: its ok pidge.

(13:18) Keith: who made u apologise btw

(13:20) Pidge: wow (s)illy, (h)ow could you th(i)nk someone is (r)eally making me d(o) this?

(13:22) Keith: ofc

(13:22) Keith: hows northbeach?

(13:28) Pidge: Lance isn’t here

(13:29) Keith: Not what I asked.

 

He made his way to the treadmill, not quite decided on whether to do another bout of cardio or a cool down yet. Lance wasn’t at the beach, so really Keith could go down and join his friends. But since he was already there, he decided to keep working out.

 

(13:38) Pidge: Very nice beach. We went paddleboarding, matt sucks at it, allura was amazing of course. Youd like ti.

(13:40) Keith: I’d like ti?

(13:40) Pidge: piss off.

 Keith was watching tv and towelling his hair dry when the others returned. Shiro headed straight into the bathroom, pausing only to wave at Keith. It was early afternoon, and when Shiro had finished his shower he lay on the bed next to Keith with a book.

“How was the gym?” Shiro asked, testing the waters.

“Good,” Keith threw his towel on the floor. “Mostly did cardio. Also some weights.”

“Hopefully you didn’t push too hard,” Shiro said, “You don’t want to be sore while you’re on vacation.”

“I know,” Keith rolled his eyes. “The gym is pretty good though. Maybe we could go together next time.” Shiro closed his book with a smile.

“Did you lose count of your reps again?” He teased.

“No,” Keith grumbled indignantly. He opened his mouth to protest further but at that point, Matt noisily made his way into the room, followed by Allura, both looking tired but content.

“Hey Keith,” Matt rolled onto the bed next to them and tucked Keith’s froggy neck pillow under his head. Allura curled up on the armchair by the balcony doors and began to tell Keith about their time at north beach, and by the time she had finished Pidge had entered as well, freshly showered.

“So that’s pretty much all you missed out on,” Allura finished, tying her hair up in a ponytail. “But you did miss Matt and Pidge both being exceptionally terrible at paddleboarding.” Keith grinned.

“You told me it was just Matt who was shit.” He said to Pidge, who rolled their eyes.

“I mean technically I didn’t say anything about myself, so really, it’s your fault for not asking.” They grumbled. The group decided to put a movie on, but it was mostly just to fill the silence as they relaxed. Shiro went to read on the balcony, and Matt followed him out with his Kindle. Allura curled up on the bed and half-heartedly watched the movie, drifting in and out of sleep. Pidge pulled out a pack of cards from Shiro’s backpack and snatched the half-empty bottle of wine from the minifridge and ended up playing against Keith. By the time the movie ended, Shiro, Matt, and Keith were back on the bed, Allura was lazing on the armchair, and Pidge was laying on the floor.

“So where to for dinner?” Shiro asked the group.

“How about The Marine?” Matt suggested. He held up a finger and pointed to the picture of a fish that was on the wall. “Seafood diet.”

“You know how fucking boring the see-food-and-I-eat-it joke is?” Pidge groaned.

“We haven’t been to The Marine yet,” Allura ignored the bickering completely. “I could go for some fish tonight. Hopefully they have some salmon.”

“What restaurant doesn’t have salmon?” Pidge asked, thumping their bare feet floor.

“That’s fair,” Allura conceded. She sighed. “What time is it? Too early to go to dinner?”

“I don’t think so,” Shiro answered, hitting Keith on the back just because he could. Keith glared at him.

“Before we go,” Keith held up his hands nervously, catching his friends’ attention. “I want your help… drafting a… text…” He ran out of momentum at the end of his sentence, mostly because of nerves but partly because Allura looked like someone handed her the fucking moon on a platter.

“To Lance?” She asked, glee filling every syllable.

“Of course to Lance,” He grumbled, snatching his phone from Matt’s hands where he had picked it up from the bed. “I just want something like…” He could feel is face heating up, and he knew his cheeks were aflame. “Casual. Nice and chill.” He paused. “Please,” He said through gritted teeth.

“Of course!” Allura clapped her hands and flew off the armchair, somehow squeezing onto the bed next to Keith. Pidge took her place immediately. Keith wanted to die of embarrassment.

“What are friends for?” Matt patted Keith on the back from where he was lying behind him. He made no effort to see the phone where Allura was crowding over it. Keith thanked whatever higher entity was out there that Shiro was staying quiet.

“Okay so we’ll need to know some details,” Pidge held up their hands and flapped them at Keith when they saw him tense. “Not too many, dude, just something memorable so we can go from there.” Keith thought for a moment, Allura reaching out to smooth his eyebrows out of the frown they were in.

“He bought me coffee in the morning?” He offered awkwardly. To her credit, Allura kept her squeal of delight short and concise.

“Alright, pass me your cell.” Pidge cracked their knuckles and leant forward, looking like they were about to lay down the law, not dictate a text. Keith handed the phone over, already opened to a blank text.  Shiro patted him on the back. “This is what you need to write…” They typed quickly and in less than thirty seconds Keith had his phone back.

“Do you have read receipts on?” Shiro asked. Keith waved dismissively at him.

“You know I don’t,” He said, but checked his settings anyway. He mentally thanked Shiro because, whilst they were definitely off, he knew he would have panicked about it if he had remembered after he had sent the text. He stood from the bed, looked over the message, flexed his fingers, and hit send.

 

(17:54) Keith: Hey, so I think I owe you for the coffee. Can I take you out for another sometime?

 

A minute of nothing passed, and Keith threw his phone at Allura. “Kill me,” He said, before beginning to pace the room. Matt, who had been furiously tapping at his phone, opened up Spotify.

“I made a playlist!” He announced, before hitting play. Waiting for Love by Avicii came on, and Keith grabbed a pillow and beat him with it. Pidge began dancing awkwardly from the armchair, doing a mix between the sprinkler and the shopping trolley while Matt cried mercy. From across the bed, Allura gave a shriek of delight and lobbed Keith his phone, which he fumbled and dropped, diving across the floor to pick it up.

 

(18:03) Lance McClain :): Hey hey is this keith??

 

Keith yelled, before punching a reply. Shiro yelled in return.

 

(18:03) Keith: Oh yeah sorry. Its me.

(18:04) Lance McClain :): hi :)

 

Keith blushed furiously. He wasn’t good in spoken conversation, so texting was almost worse. His friends were eerily quiet, and all he could hear was the music and his racing heart. Before he could type out a reply, another text came in.

 

(18:05) Lance McClain :): lmao also u don’t owe me for the coffee bc I owed u for spooning remember ;))))

 

Keith hesitated. “You’re killing us, Keith.” Shiro groaned from beside the bed. The song had now changed to Still Waiting by Sum41, and Allura was telling Matt off for inappropriate genres. “Your expression says rejection but you’re also blushing, which means he’s flirting with you.”

Again, before he could respond, another text came through.

 

(18:05) Lance McClain :): noT THAT I WOULDN’T LOBE A COFFE WITH OU

(18:06) Lance McClain :): hunk’s telling me off for my bad flirting skills :’(

(18:06) Lance McClain :): sos.

 

“Um,” Was all he could say. Shiro sighed and left the bed to crouch next to him on the floor, reading the messages impassively over his shoulder. He took the phone, typed, and handed it back.

 

(18:08) Keith: So coffee or a drink tomorrow maybe?

 

“Just get it back on track,” Shiro stood again and returned to his spot on the bed. Keith sent the message, locked his phone, and scrubbed his hands over his face, but before he could do much else his screen was lighting up once more.

 

(18:10) Lance McClain :): yes yes!! happy to! have u been to the bar on northbeack yet?

(18:10) Lance McClain :): *northbeach

 

A hardcore blast of banjos hit him as I Will Wait by Mumford and Sons came on Matt’s playlist next, and he heard Pidge clearly say “I will kill you. Kill you dead.” To their brother.

 

(18:12) Keith: not yet. Sounds good though. Maybe around 3.00? if you’re not working.

(18:13) Lance McClain :): yeah yeah!! totally! see you then! Xx

 

Keith stared at the “Xx” that so casually punctuated the end of Lance’s text and willed himself not to get giddy in front of his friends. He cleared his throat and tried to rise nonchalantly from the floor like he hadn’t just been a drama queen three seconds ago.

“Well?” Shiro prompted.

“Three o’clock tomorrow we’re getting drinks,” He said, and they cheered, Allura giving him a high-five.

“See, that wasn’t so hard!” Pidge drummed their hands against his back with glee. “Now let’s go get some food before I starve!”