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Contrary to popular belief, Lance didn’t consider himself a dramatic person. Sure, he’s had his fair share of what one might call overreactions, but he’s just extremely in touch with his emotions, and there’s nothing wrong with that!
But then Lance heard about Keith’s new boyfriend, and he wanted to (very undramatically, mind you) jump off the closest building. Honestly, he’d argue it was an underreaction, considering how much he was pining for the guy.
It all started the week before his astrophysics exam when Lance realized that skipping lecture all semester would definitely bite him in the ass. So there he was, walking to office hours and praying that it would somehow make up for the missing time, even if they were led by graduate students instead of the actual professor (Iverson seemed like he couldn’t care less about the class).
As Lance walked toward the room, he heard people inside talking. He stopped in his tracks when the words began to register.
“I’m really happy for him. Keith really deserves this.” The voice belonged to Adam, the TA for the class. Lance leaned in closer to the door, pressing his ear against it.
He wasn’t eavesdropping – he was just…very carefully and respectfully listening to a conversation that he was not a part of. It happens.
“Yeah, he’s been through a lot. It’s nice to finally see him happy,” a different person replied. Lance froze.
He’d recognize Shiro’s voice anywhere. Smart, tall, buff… and also Keith’s older brother. Just like Adam, he was a grad student, co-teaching some aerospace engineering course that Hunk and Pidge were taking. He had a tendency of crashing his fiancé’s office hours.
“Keith’s never had a boyfriend before, has he?” Adam asked. There was some hesitance from Shiro, who was probably trying to think of what to say before he finally responded.
“No. Hopefully, he won’t be as stupid as I was with my first boyfriend.” Adam chuckled at that. “I’m just glad I know the guy—he's patient, and they’re a good match.”
The two continued with their conversation, but all Lance could hear was a sharp ringing in his ears as his heart shattered into pieces. He wanted to fall to his knees and scream in agony toward the sky and rip his shirt open like that one wolf picture Pidge kept sending him
Keith had a boyfriend. Some dude named—
What was it that Shiro said? Paige…Shen?
His words echoed through Lance’s brain. “I’m just glad I know the guy—he’s Paige Shen, and they’re a good match.”
Fuck.
He stood up, shaking his head frantically, hoping the action would somehow get rid of the thoughts that were beginning to fill his head and wake him up from this nightmare. It, unsurprisingly, didn’t help.
Instead, he stormed away, feeling agony and despair pool in his body from both astrophysics and Paige Shen.
All Lance could do now was try to move on. That is, if “move on” meant “avoid his problems and pretend like they didn’t exist.”
Sure, that probably wasn’t the healthiest route, but he would deal with the issue (eventually) (within the next year).
But for now, everything was great! No one would even notice that something was wrong because absolutely nothing was wrong and—
“Okay, dude, something’s up,” Hunk said, arms crossed as he leaned against the opening of the living room. He gave a pointed look at the boy sprawled across the tiny apartment couch.
It hadn’t even been a day since Lance heard of the agonizing news, but of course, if someone were to notice something was wrong, it would be Hunk.
“Huh? What?” Lance sat up, setting his book aside. He could feel himself sweating bullets under Hunk’s glare. Lance was convinced that in another life, Hunk would have made a badass sci-fi soldier fighting in an intergalactic war—still friendly and kind, but also incredibly intimidating when interrogating the enemy like he was doing now with Lance. “Something’s up? Like the sky? Yup, the sky is, in fact, up. Unlike me. Nothing’s up with me.” Ok Lance stop talking. “The only thing up about me is my spirit. Not because I’m high on drugs! I’m just high on life.”
He was met with an unamused eyebrow raise from his friend. Hunk exhaled, louder than usual for added dramatics (the two were best friends for a reason), then walked to the couch. He grabbed Lance by the shoulders.
“Lance, bro, you know I love you,” Hunk began. “You know you can trust me with things, right? You don’t have to deal with this alone.”
Lance sighed. He knew that Hunk was right. He had to face it: Keith Kogane had a boyfriend and was in love probably and he would eventually get married and have 10 kids with someone that wasn’t him. Just the thought of it made Lance want to cry.
“Yeah, bud, you’re right.” Lance sighed, before going in to hug Hunk. The boy squeezed back in return. “I just…love repressing my feelings.” Hunk laughed at that, which earned him a pinch from Lance.
“Ouch! Dude, I already know you do. I’ve known you for way too long. Now, hit me. What’s happening?” Hunk pulled away, his warm brown eyes meeting Lance’s almost unnerving blue ones.
Lance felt the anxiety pool in his stomach. Speaking the words out loud made the situation too real, and Lance wasn’t ready to face that.
“It’s…it’s a code red.” Hunk froze.
“Shit. I’ll get the vodka.”
And that’s how he, Hunk, and Pidge ended up getting crossed on a random Tuesday night.
“What do I do, guys?!” Lance cried to his best friends, emergency face mask on and ice cream by his side. He was wrapped in the quilt his Mamá made him for his birthday, and Pidge had some comforting music playing in the background (Mitski). He had not moved from the couch all day, and Hunk and Pidge, in solidarity, were lying in their own spots (a beanbag and the floor respectively).
“Homewreck!”
“Kill him.”
“You guys are the worst!” Lance cried, shoving a spoonful of ice cream into his mouth. A part of him did contemplate the latter option, though. If he were to just find the dude’s apartment, sneak in with his super cool ninja skills, then just boom kick pow – Paige didn’t stand a fucking chance.
“Are you sure that’s his boyfriend’s name?” Pidge asked, interrupting Lance’s daydream. It was just getting good, too; Lance had just defeated Paige and had been confessing his undying love to Keith. Lance sighed, blinking out of the daydream. It would soon be a reality, anyway.
Lance nodded his head in response, forcing a groan out of the younger.
“Dude, I’ve searched the university’s systems and haven’t found any matches,” she said, frustration in her voice. She began to type intensely on her laptop, the little clicks scratching the itch in Lance’s brain. He loved ASMR, but at the same time, he had no clue how Pidge could still hack into whatever system while crossed out of her mind. He decided not to question it. She could definitely take over the world if she tried. “It’s possible he doesn’t even go here. I found some matches from other schools.”
“That’s even worse!” Lance cried, draping his arm dramatically across his face (making sure to not actually touch it and ruin the face mask). “What if it’s a really really hot international student who’s super loaded and visits Keith weekly on his private jet and gets him super expensive gifts?! How am I supposed to compete with that?! I earn minimum wage!”
“Sounds like a pain. I mean, that can’t be environmentally friendly, can it?” The question seemed to be more directed to Hunk, who nodded in agreement
“Yeah, dude. I also feel like Keith’s not really into that kind of stuff. Well, wait, actually… I don’t know. Maybe Keith’s into rich hot men! Wait, no. I shouldn’t have said it like that. But sometimes I wonder what is he into? Not in a sexual way, I mean that’d be interesting to know but I’m sure you’d be more interested in that than me and–”
“ Ok Hunk thanks that’s enough !” Lance cut him off with a flail of his arms, sitting upright on the couch. He tried to ignore the heat in his face.
The situation was so much worse than he expected. Keith, being so cool and handsome and whatever, attracted the attention of not only every person on Garrison University’s campus, but from other campuses, too. He had options, so why wouldn’t he pick someone super rich and attractive? It was everything Lance felt like he wasn’t, solidifying the pit in his stomach and creating more tension in his body. Lance groaned in dismay.
He couldn’t take on a hot rich international student! His sharpshooter ninja skills could only do so much.
He heard his phone ding in the distance, breaking him out of his spiral. Lance grabbed the phone, looking down at the message before crying in dismay.
“What? What is it, Lance?” Hunk asked worriedly. “Did someone die?”
“Worse! Guess who just texted me?!” Hunk and Pidge quickly rushed to the boy, squishing next to him and trying to read the message on the screen.
Mullet (19:32): Hey, want to grab lunch tomorrow? Don’t know if you saw the email, but lecture got canceled.
“Oh my god this is totally a date,” Lance muttered to himself before typing ferociously. “He’s so in love with me.”
“Lance. Don’t know if you forgot but…he is quite literally taken and in love with someone else. No offense.”
“Please, Pidge, I’m manifesting here. Catch up and shut up. Also, none taken.”
Me (19:33): omg good
Me (19:33): was gon skip anyways LMAO
Me (19:33): lets go to new sushi place!!!! is sooo good
Me (19:34): better than shitty grocery store sushi…..how r u even alive after eating that D:????
Keith responded not even a few minutes later.
Mullet (19:36): Nothing wrong with grocery store sushi.
Mullet (19:37): But fine, let’s check it out. Looking forward to it :)
Lance threw his phone out of reach, letting out another anguished cry. The phone landed on the ground with a thud, regret immediately hitting him. Lance already had a broken heart – he couldn’t deal with a broken phone, too.
“What? What did he say? My eyes couldn’t focus fast enough.”
“He said he’s looking forward to it and then sent a smiley face!” Hunk gasped, and Lance could have sworn he heard Pidge mutter that he needed to “stand the fuck up.”
“Okay okay okay.” Hunk stood up, beginning to pace the room. Lance could practically hear the gears turning in his head, that engineering brain of his formulating some kind of gameplan. The three remained silent, save for the frantic footsteps. Hunk’s eyes began to brighten, and he stopped dead in his tracks. Lance leaned in subconsciously out of anticipation before his friend’s smile dropped. “Never mind, I forgot it.”
“Ugh! Dude!” Lance cried, throwing a throw pillow (haha) at him. It hit Hunk right in the face. “We shouldn’t have gotten crossed.”
“It was a code red! You needed this!”
“Okay, fair point, but–”
“Okay, Lance,” Pidge cut in. Turns out her brain was the only one working. She crawled back onto the floor, lying so she was facing the ceiling. “Why don’t you just –oh, I don’t know– talk to him ? Ask him if he’s seeing anyone and if he is, learn to be friends with the dude. 'Cause y’know, you gotta keep your friends close but your enemies closer.” The two boys stared back at her in amazement.
“Wow, you really are a child prodigy!”
“That’s really good advice!”
“I’m only a year younger than you guys!” She groaned, sitting up. “I’m fucking asexual, how am I the one giving decent relationship advice right now?”
“Hey, man, the coaches don’t play the game,” Lance responded, ice cream spoon in his mouth. Hunk nodded in agreement, plopping down onto the beanbag. The three remained in comfortable silence, with nothing but the soothing screams of Mitski’s Drunk Walk Home playing in the background, allowing Lance to drift into a deep sleep.
When Lance woke up, he found himself in his room all tucked in, face mask off and bedtime pjs on. The sun was beginning to rise, and he could hear Hunk’s soft snoring from the living room. His head ached. His stomach craved for something with actual substance in it. Lance took a deep breath in an attempt to ground himself and find some inner peace, especially after the night he had, but it was very quickly interrupted when he suddenly remembered the texts between Keith the night before.
He was not emotionally prepared to see him. Today was going to be a long day. He just needed to survive today and also the next week and then disappear off the face of the Earth and–
“Lance, you’re zoning out on me. You good?” The boy in question blinked a few times, before making eye contact with sharp violet eyes. Keith’s stupid face was scrunched in an adorably stupid way, concern present in the way he furrowed his eyebrows.
Lance couldn’t handle this. He just wanted to bite him and squeeze him and stuff him in his pocket…all out of love, of course (Lance should not be allowed to have crushes).
The two were sat in a booth seat at the sushi place Lance kept praising. The restaurant was beautifully decorated, having a very charming ocean aesthetic to it and a diverse menu that was (somewhat) affordable for broke college students. It was all that Lance could ask for in a restaurant, so it was no surprise that Keith was concerned with how uncharacteristically quiet Lance had been. Lance ran his hand through his hair, chuckling nervously as he sputtered over his words.
“Yeah dude, I’m great! Never been better! Just thinking so hard about how much I love this sushi,” Lance said, using his chopsticks to poke at the roll that he has definitely not touched. He internally high-fived himself. Good save. Keith won’t suspect a thing.
Keith stared at him, then redirected his attention to Lance’s untouched sushi roll. He shot him a look before smirking.
“Thought you said you liked this place? Can’t even eat a piece?” The boy teased, clearly trying to keep a casual tone, but there was no denying the worry that laced each word. Lance scoffed, taking a piece of sushi and stuffing it in his mouth.
“See, I like it!” is what Lance tried to say, had he not just stuffed sushi in his mouth out of pure spite. And Keith – he laughed. He has always loved Keith’s laugh, with his nose scrunched up and his dimples showing and his violet eyes sparkling. He’d do anything to hear that laugh for the rest of his life.
Lance stared down at Keith’s plate, seeing that he had eaten half of his roll already. He crossed his arms and huffed. “Dude, you also like it! You ate more than me!”
“I plead the fifth.”
“The evidence is right–”
“I plead the fifth. ”
“I’m above the law, Mullet! Try to go back to grocery store sushi, I fucking dare you–”
The two fell into a comfortable banter, the initial tension slowly disappearing as they continued with their meal. It was enough that Lance almost forgot about his issues.
Almost.
“You have anything else planned for the rest of the day?” Keith asked once the waiter came back with the bill. He placed his credit card into the tiny booklet.
“Not really, probably just going to do work.” Lance wished he was doing Keith instead. Sorry, the demons said that. “Also, let me know how much I owe you.” Keith looked at him with amusement, before chuckling.
“Just treat me next time,” Keith said with a smile. “We could always go to the grocery store and pick up some sushi and other snacks. That’d be a cute date.”
Then he winked.
Keith Kogane can wink?
The answer was no, he can’t. He was very awkward doing it, as if his eyes were confused and only really knew how to blink. It was like a weird muscle spasm. Lance hated himself for finding it extremely endearing.
But on the other hand–
Keith Kogane winked at him?
If Lance’s brain wasn’t working overtime before, it definitely was now. He could practically hear the gears screeching inside his head, a noise rivaled only by the loud thumping of his heart. He felt his face turn red, and instead of saying anything intelligent, he just sort of…gaped at Keith.
The other boy’s face began to match the same shade as Lance’s, and Lance hated himself for thinking that their matching blush was such couple goals.
They weren’t a couple.
They weren’t a couple.
Lance needed to get that through his thick skull. No matter how Keith looked at him or flirted with him or insisted on spending time with him, it didn’t change the fact that Keith had a boyfriend. A boyfriend whom he was definitely cheating on—or at least trying to cheat on—with Lance.
There was no other explanation for why Keith was acting like this, especially when you considered how direct and impulsive of a person he was, always knowing what he wanted and not being afraid to go for it. Flirty when necessary and with intention – nothing else.
And Lance didn’t think Keith would be that kind of person. He fell for the dude for his blunt honesty, for his selflessness, for his good heart. He wanted Keith to like him…to love him, even…but not like this.
“Wow. Okay, flirting is a no-go for me then,” Keith muttered, before giving him a small, unsure smile. He began to stand up. “Guess people call you the Loverboy for a reason.”
“Yeah, I guess so,” Lance responded, trying to avoid eye contact as he and Keith walked out of the restaurant and into the rain. The weather really knew how to set the scene, and with that, the tension was back. The tension was back and worse than ever, and Lance wasn’t even sure if Keith noticed.
That was a lie. Keith definitely did.
Keith rummaged through his backpack for his umbrella. Lance did the same.
And if his luck couldn’t get any worse, he realized he forgot to pack it in his tote bag before leaving the apartment. Keith, on the other hand, took out his obnoxiously red umbrella that Lance always made fun of. He, unfortunately, felt happy to see that ugly thing.
(“You just don’t like it 'cause I own it.”
“Why is it so red? You look like a tomato…but like, stupid.”
“Good one, Lance. You really got me.”)
Keith held the umbrella over the two of them, but because the stupid thing was so small, they were squished together.
“Is this alright?” Keith asked, his voice wavering slightly with uncertainty. His face was too close to Lance’s.
Lance was afraid to breathe, to move, to speak. Afraid that any movement would scare Keith away, afraid that he would miss his chance to pull him closer and allow their souls to finally entangle with one another. Just a slight touch of lips that would make it hard for anyone to deny that there was something between them. It would be so easy to close the space, too…so easy to just lean in and–
Fuck. Stop it, McClain. He was definitely turning the same shade as the umbrella.
“ Yes this is fine thanks Keith! ” Lance cried in a very sensible manner. Keith chuckled, and the two began walking towards the direction of their apartment buildings. “So, uh, what were your plans for today?”
“Was going to ask if you wanted to come over, but I didn’t want to push if you weren’t feeling all too well,” he responded, then in an attempt to lighten the mood, added, “Maybe the restaurant sushi made you sick.”
“Haha. Funny,” Lance muttered back, before pausing to think. He really shouldn’t...
But he couldn't deny Keith even if he tried.
“Hmm, I’m sure I can free up my schedule and come over…not that I want to or anything. Just want to say hi to Rose.” Keith laughed at that, shaking his head in amusement.
“Wow, I’m honored that the Lance McClain made time in his busy schedule to spend time with me.”
“Not with you, with your cat. Don’t be growing an ego on me now, Mullet.”
The two continued walking for a few minutes before finally approaching Keith’s apartment building.
It was a nice place, only a short walk from main campus and from Lance, Pidge, and Hunk’s apartment. Even though the trio insisted on Keith living with them, he preferred his living situation, staying in the same building as his brother and sharing a place with Allura.
Despite the two being seemingly different, they formed an unexpected friendship freshman year, having “trauma bonded” over chemistry.
Keith unlocked the door to his place, holding it open for Lance to enter before him. Lance should not have been blushing over that. He really needed to take Pidge’s advice and stand the fuck up. A small part of him, though, was whispering that maybe chivalry wasn’t dead.
The bar was in Hell.
Lance entered, taking off his Converse at the door. He took a good look at the place, keeping an eye out for Keith’s cat.
Keith and Allura were both very different people aesthetically. Allura, with her fashion minor, was very thoughtful about her style. A majority of the apartment was decorated to her liking, with warm-toned lighting, beautiful paintings and decorations on the walls, thriving plants, and bold-colored furniture that accented well.
Keith, on the other hand, had a more…questionable aesthetic. Lance would describe it as “underdressed boyfriend” or “looks like he uses 4 in 1 soap shamelessly.” In other words, he was a loser with no style. Lance should not find it as endearing as he does.
A tiny cat peeked out from under the couch, meowing quietly before racing out to greet Lance. The boy broke out in a bright grin before kneeling down to pet Rose, who purred in response. She leaned into his touch.
“I think she likes you more than she likes me,” Keith said over Rose’s loud purring. Lance turned back and gave him a grin.
“What can I say, I’m irresistible,” Lance said, before turning back to Rose, “Aren’t I, baby?” Rose meowed in response.
“You really are,” Keith said. It was barely above a whisper, but Lance definitely heard it. He froze in his spot. Keith didn’t seem to notice Lance’s internal conflict as he walked past the boy, setting his bag down by the dining table. Lance blew Rose a small kiss before standing up, following Keith around the apartment.
“So, where’s Allura?” Lance asked as Keith sat down on the couch, leaving some space for him. He didn’t take it, instead hesitating before walking towards one of Allura’s plants and inspecting the leaves.
He was just so interested in botany, definitely not trying to avoid Keith and whatever moves he was attempting to make. If Keith noticed his odd behavior, he chose not to acknowledge it.
“Allura is in class, then I think she’s staying at Romelle’s for their anniversary.” Lance could feel Keith staring at him, but he didn’t turn around. He couldn’t meet his eyes. “So…we have the apartment to ourselves.” Okay, never mind. Lance turned around, trying to fight the heat blossoming in his face from the implications of that statement. Keith at least had the decency to look embarrassed, his voice wavering slightly as he added, “I mean, you’ve just been stressed all day. I don’t…I don’t mean it in that way. Unless that would help you relax? I just want you to be okay, and I don’t really know if it was something I did but I want to be here for you and…”
The boy trailed off, leaving the two staring at each other in painful silence. Lance felt lightheaded. He could feel the blood rushing through his body, could feel a tight pressure in his lungs with every breath he took, squeezing tighter than the hold Keith had on his heart. Could feel every nerve firing and telling him to run, to run away from his feelings and from Keith and from this messy situation and life he’s made for himself.
Yet he stood there, frozen under Keith’s soft gaze like a lovestruck suitor of Medusa. He tried to break away, but he found that he couldn’t fight the part of him that yearned for the boy. The part that yearned for the look he was giving him now, one that was filled with too much care and love that no one could even try to deny that Keith completely adored the man more than anyone in his life. Loved him like it was the only thing he knew how to do.
And Lance? Lance was a weak man with a weaker heart, reaching out for the warmth of the sun despite knowing full well he would burn at the end of it all. He wanted it all though. Wanted to fly as close as he could to Keith regardless of the fate destined for him. Wanted everything he could get from him, even if he knew it could only last for a moment.
He hadn’t even noticed Keith standing up, hadn’t noticed him making his way towards Lance and reaching his hands out. Lance looked down at them hesitantly before allowing his hands to intertwine with Keith’s.
He stared down at the contrast between their skins touching. He couldn’t help but think that it looked so right . That this was what was meant for the two of them. He refused to look up and meet Keith’s eyes.
The two stood silently as Lance’s breathing began to level out. He hadn’t even noticed how bad his anxiety had been clawing at him these past few days.
But Keith did. Keith noticed. He didn’t just know him, he understood him. Keith saw through him, saw every part that Lance so desperately wanted to hide, every flaw and every freckle that marked his skin. Saw Lance at his absolute worst, yet never left.
Lance needed to tell him. He needed to know what was happening, even if it ruined everything between them. Even if it ruined any chances they had to be together.
“I’m here for you, Lance.” Keith’s soft voice broke through the silence. “You can talk to me about anything, or be silent about everything. Either way, I want to be here for you.” His reassurance eased away the last bits of tension that had built up in Lance’s muscles.
Lance finally looked up, meeting the violet eyes in a silent thank you. He took a few more deep breaths before finally speaking.
“Look, Keith,” Lance began, holding his hands even tighter. Keith squeezed back. “I’m…sorry. It’s just been hard recently 'cause I just – I really fucking like you.” He felt his voice waver. “I just don’t know what to do. I don’t know how to deal with it. I don’t know how to deal with the fact that this can’t happen.”
“Why not?” Keith asked. His voice was barely a whisper, yet Lance could feel the intensity of every emotion. Confusion, sadness, frustration. He had no right. Lance could feel the anger bubbling inside himself, ripping his hands away from Keith’s. He instantly missed the warmth.
He began gesturing frantically, the unspoken words and feelings finally breaking out.
“Why not? Keith! You have a boyfriend! And – and you’ve just been all lovey-dovey and flirty with me and trying to bang and I just couldn’t believe you’d cheat on someone and also lead me on cause I know you know that I have feelings and you’re just playing with me and I just don’t get why you couldn’t have–” Lance’s rambling halted to a stop as he tried to search for words to say, but his brain was moving too fast for his mouth and everything was too overwhelming and oh my god did he really blow up on the guy he’s been in love with for years what was wrong with him he should–
“Lance…” the boy in front of him raised his hands slowly in surrender, his face scrunched in pure confusion. The conflicting emotions from before were completely drained from his body. Lance blinked the tears away, wiping rapidly at them. At least tears were good for his skin. “Take a deep breath, okay? I’m not… I’m not quite following what you’re saying?”
Lance took a deep breath, his hands balled into tight fists that would surely leave marks.
“You are Keith Kogane.” Keith stared. He furrowed his eyebrows but played along, nodding slowly.
“Uh…yes. I’m Keith Kogane”
“You have a boyfriend.”
“Yes.”
“His name is Paige Shen.”
Silence. The two held uncomfortable eye contact. Lance felt like he could cut through the tension with that gay-ass knife Keith was always carrying around. He wished it was that easy.
“I’m sorry but…who the fuck is Paige?”
Huh?
“Um, hello! Your boyfriend? You don’t even know your boyfriend’s name?!” Lance cried, the flow of tears increasing as the frustration consumed his thoughts.
“Uh,” Keith said very intelligently. “You’re my boyfriend.” He paused again, before adding quickly, “I think?”
“I’m…I’m what?” The gears that were once working overtime in his brain had suddenly screeched to a halting stop. He knew he was gaping, his blue eyes definitely doing the Thing that blue-eyed people do when they’re trying to show off the colors of their eyes. Keith stared back with the same intensity, the confusion that was once painting his face quickly turning into pure panic.
“You’re my…Lance, you asked me out last week!”
“Keith, my man, my buddy, I think I’d remember asking you out!”
Keith rolled his eyes and huffed, moving away from Lance to grab his phone from his bag. He began scrolling intensely, before finally shoving the phone in Lance’s face.
It was a text conversation with Shiro, dated to a week ago.
Me (02:34): Shiro. Emergency.
Missed Call from “Annoying”
Annoying (02:35): Keith, is everything okay? Why aren’t you picking?
Me (02:36): Sorry, on call with Lance.
Me (02:36): I think we’re boyfriends now?
Annoying (02:37): Wow.
Annoying (02:38): What an emergency.
Me (02:40): Shut up. I’ve lived through your gay panics for years now.
Annoying (02:42): Fair enough. What happened?
Me (02:45): Ok we’ve been on call playing Minecraft for a few hours and then out of nowhere he just started rambling about how much he likes me and he wants to take me out on a date.
Me (02:45): And yes, I said yes.
Me (02:50): No, we did not put our beds together in Minecraft. I’m not ready for that step yet.
Annoying (02:53): Aww, how cute :3
Annoying (02:54): I’m happy for you though! Lance is a good kid.
Annoying (02:54): You guys are perfect together! He’s super patient and can deal with
Annoying (02:55): You know
Annoying (02:55): Everything going on with you
Me (02:58): I’m gonna ignore that last text.
Me (03:03): But holy fuck I STILL CANT BELIEVE HE LIKES ME BACK. Maybe life is good. Maybe love is real.
Annoying (03:05): Chat he’s winning!
Me (03:06): ???
Annoying (03:08): Sorry, Adam keeps saying it. I don’t really know what it means.
Lance stopped reading, staring in shock at the texts.
First off, seeing Shiro, a whole ass adult with a fiancé and a job, using :3? Amazing. Spectacular. It made these past few days so so worth it. He was definitely gonna make fun of him the next time he saw the man.
Second off, Keith likes him.
Keith Kogane likes him.
He felt absolutely giddy. He felt as though he could jump to the stars and scream to the whole universe that holy fuck, out of all y’all, Keith chose me! He wanted to scream his love to the universe, let it ripple throughout all of time and space so that even when every star has exploded and every life form has passed away, this love he feels would still be there, existing despite it all.
That was until, like a slap to the face, the pieces started to click.
Patient.
Paige Shen.
Holy fuck he was an idiot.
And looking back, he did, in fact, remember that night. Or at least, the first few hours…before he dozed off.
The two got into a habit of calling late at night, staying up to play video games. Recently, all their friends got super into Minecraft, playing on a shared server.
It was Keith and Lance, though, who grinded until the morning broke. Keith and Lance who, of course, turned it into a competition over who could get the most Netherite by the end of the month.
Keith and Lance, neck and neck, as always.
The night Keith was referring to was after a particularly long shift at Altea Bakery. Lance was worn down, having dealt with customers who were worse than usual, yet he couldn’t refuse Keith even if he tried to. He got back to his apartment, accepting the phone call from the boy and logging onto the server without a second thought.
Then at some point in the night, he had dozed off. The quiet hums from his computer and the soft muttering of Keith trying not to rage-quit were all he needed to drift peacefully to sleep.
When he finally woke up, he was no longer by his desk, instead waking up in his bed with his computer set completely turned off and a sweet good morning text from Keith.
He didn’t, however, remember getting into bed, or the moments leading up to it.
That was all thanks to some…sleeping conditions he had.
Lance started sleeptalking and walking when he was a kid, something his parents said most likely stemmed from stress. It used to scare his siblings, who told him he’d randomly get up in the middle of the night, rambling about some random topic and ultimately freaking everyone out. Lance ended up being the butt of many pranks because of that, until everyone realized he couldn’t exactly control it and they all just had to come to terms with his sleep-actions.
As he got older, the habit only really happened when he was super stressed, where he’d find himself waking up the next day completely clueless as to what his sleepy counterpart did…
…and Lance had been pretty stressed about astrophysics the past two weeks.
Everything clicked into place.
He stared back at Keith. He saw the hurt and confusion in his eyes, silently trying to prod him for some kind of answer.
“Did you know that I, uh,” Lance paused. Oh my god. This was awful. “I have a habit of sleeptalking? And just…generally doing things in my sleep?”
Keith stared at him with wide eyes. Of everyone in the group, it made sense that he didn’t know about it. He didn’t live in their apartment, nor has he slept over enough to see Lance in his sleepy-stressed state.
Lance continued, “It only really happens now when I’m stressed. Like…yesterday I was so stressed about you, I woke up in my bed completely changed and tucked in even though I definitely fell asleep on the couch in my work clothes.”
Keith blinked at him, trying to process the onslaught of information. His eyebrows furrowed as he started connecting the dots. “So...you were sleeptalking that night?”
“Yup.”
“And that's… that’s why you don’t remember asking me to be your boyfriend?”
“Yeahhhhh...” Lance’s voice trailed off. Keith inhaled sharply before pinching the bridge of his nose. It was a trait he got from his brother.
“Well, it was nice knowing you, Lance.” Keith ran a stressed hand through his hair, then walked towards the door, grabbing his shoes and making sure to avoid as much eye contact as possible. “I’m dropping out. Probably going to find a nice shack in the desert and never talk to anyone ever again. I’m probably never going to recover from this embarrassment so I’ll see you in another lifetime I suppose.”
Damn, and people say Lance is the dramatic one. They truly were made for each other.
He couldn’t help it. He started to laugh.
Maybe it was the built-up stress from the past few days, or maybe the relief of having his feelings actually reciprocated. Regardless, he felt light. The pressure that was consuming him was finally lifted.
Maybe he and Keith would be alright after all.
“Why are you laughing?” Keith muttered, his hand frozen on the door knob. Lance hunched over, wheezing. There were tears in his eyes, both from laughing and from crying. Keith quickly took off his shoes before walking to Lance, kneeling down and brushing a curl out of his face.
“Keith, buddy, I’m like…I’m like seriously in love with you man.” Lance’s voice was hoarse, yet it conveyed everything he wanted it to: the relief, the gentleness, the love. “I spent the past 2 days thinking you were in love with some mysterious rich dude. Turns out I just have shitty hearing.” Another laugh-sob escaped him, and suddenly, he was engulfed in a tight hug.
The way Keith hugged was no different from how he approached everything else in his life: with intention, with an underlying passion. He knew what he wanted, and what he wanted was Lance.
Lance squeezed him back.
They would be alright.
Hours passed, and once the boys were finally able to get everything out in the open, they laid in Keith’s bed. A comfortable silence fell over the two, the fairy lights Allura gave to Keith adding to the softness of the night. The rain outside, which had been falling since they left the restaurant, tapped gently against the window. Their hands were intertwined, a silent promise that they were here, that this was real, that their hearts would continue to beat in synchrony with one another for as long as the universe allowed them to have.
“Hey, Keith?” Lance whispered, sitting up. He didn’t let go of his hand. He never wanted to let go.
“Yeah?”
“Do you want to be my boyfriend? For real this time?” Keith sat up in response, a small smile painting his face, as he leaned in closer.
“I’d love to.” And with that, the two kissed.
It was everything Lance could have wanted and more, his lips pushing softly against the other boy’s as he entangled himself with the other. He was never going to leave. This was where he belonged, in the arms of his lover.
Lance was so glad he didn’t have to fight some stupid guy for Keith’s love. Not that he didn't think he'd win (he definitely would have, if you asked him), but it was nice knowing that Keith chose him. He so glad that this love between them was always there – had been there for a while now.
They just had their own silly way of realizing it, but that’s what made them Keith and Lance.
And Lance wouldn’t have it any other way.