Chapter Text
Lance was awakened by the blazing noise of his alarm. God he hated Monday’s. He stretched out his arms as his eyes opened, the blaring sun shining down on him through dark colored curtains. He huffed, forcing himself up and out of his lying position.
Why the hell did he set his alarm so damn early? With a tired sigh, he slowly stood and rubbed at his face. He looked back at the empty bed, the desire to get right back in it clawing at him. Instead, he walked away to his closet and grabbed a fresh outfit and towel.
He took a thirty minute shower – which was a lot quicker than the showers he’d take on a weekend. The ones he would take to make his mind shut off, where all he focused on was the sound of the water running and the quietness it brought him.
He made sure his hair was washed, shampooed, conditioned, and brushed out. Hair that used to be straight and neat was now curled and the perfect kind of messy.
He knew his family probably thought that he was ‘Letting himself go.’ but he was the happiest he had been in 5 years.
Lance had gone through a lot of changes in the last five years, and it made him feel like a stranger in someone else's body at first. Now, he’s going back to normal, getting his spark back. At least that’s how Hunk had put it.
After his shower, Lance walked out of the front room, past the living room towards the kitchen.
Lance made his way towards the kitchen pantry, ignoring the room a few feet away from the table. He reached for pancake mix, syrup, and then walked towards the fridge, grabbing eggs. bacon, and a large apple juice.
Lance couldn’t help how his omega basked in the domestic feeling of it all. Sure it could have been better if.. Someone was here, but they weren’t, and that was fine too.
Lance’s hand went up to his neck and he sighed at the feeling of smooth skin. He quickly snapped himself out of it, and turned his attention back to cooking those pancakes
Shaking himself back to his happy thoughts he walked towards the stove, reaching above it and grabbing all of the pots and skillets he needed for the morning meal. He started with the bacon, it could hopefully finish first.
The quiet sound of a door opening and closing barely made it past his ears. He smiled to himself and turned around to face the source, and there he was met with his pride and joy.
“Hey estrello, you sleep okay?”
He asked softly. He watched as Ezren yawned and scratched his arms over his head. Lance took a moment to smile at the sight of his son before turning back to the stove. He watched as the cub walked towards him and clung onto his leg.
“Good morning estrello,” he places a hand into dark curls.
There’s a groan and then Ezren rubs his face against Lance’s leg. “Hi papa..” Lance laughed, placing the pancake on the plate beside him and dropping a hand into black curls.
“Are you still tired mijo?” He asked knowingly, Ezren just nodded before whining,
“Can I bring Tiburón to school?” At the mention of the shark plush Lance took a moment to think, “Of course Carino, just don’t lose him, or give him to anyone else. He’s just yours, okay?”
He felt the pup nod against his skin before the smell of the food slowly began to settle in.
Ezren quickly seemed to wake up at that, letting out a happy purr. Lance smiled and before stepping back, Ezren moved back with him.
“Pancakes and bacon?” He heard, and Lance nodded, “Yep, It’s the start of the week and I wanted it to start on a good note, which means the greatest breakfast ever.”
Ezren smiled at him, and Lance smiled back. He grabbed the oven mitts and reached for the bacon carefully.
“Go get ready for school, breakfast will be ready by the time you’re done, promise.” Lance watched as Ezren nodded eagerly and ran to his room.
Yeah, this week is going to be a good one, Lance was sure of it. Lance kept good on his promise, by the time Ezren came back breakfast was done, and the table was made.
Ezren thanked him, holding his shark plush in one hand, with his backpack already on his shoulders.
The two enjoyed a nice – and obviously innocent - conversion. Lance took a quick glance at his phone; it was about time to go.
“Come on mijo, we gotta get you to school.” He said sweetly, wiping syrup off the side of his son’s mouth with a soft laugh.
Ezren smiled that sweet gaped tooth smile and Lance ruffled his hair. He gathered both of their dishes, placing them in the sink for him to wash later.
The two of them walked to the front of the house, and grabbed their jackets off the rack next to the back door.
Ezren called for him from the living and Lance quickly made his way there. Lance took in the sight of his five year old son, brown skin to match his own, purple eyes that reflected the night skies, and black curls.
He smiled, and then the two were off.
Lance still remembers when he found out he was pregnant. It wasn’t the best time of his life, but it had happened and he couldn’t change it. Lance remembers how fucking scared he was when he stared at the word ‘pregnant.’ plastered in the middle of the stick.
If he was being completely honest he was going to get an abortion had it not been for the amazing people in his life. They didn’t pressure him into anything, didn’t rush his choices. They just.. let him figure it out, and when he needed help they were there for him always
When he told his parents about the pregnancy they were overjoyed, kissing and holding him, but they also talked to him. Asked him what he wanted, and decided to support him in whatever he might’ve needed.
When he went to his siblings about aborting it, they were adamant on being there, or holding his hand if he needed it. His family was truly amazing.
He remembers talking to Veronica and Rachel about baby names, even if he already had one picked out. He went to Marco for finances, and Louis for baby tips. All of them helped him get here.
But his best friends were even better. He had known Hunk for a very good chunk of his life, and if it weren’t for his Mama, Hunk probably would have been the first person to know about his pregnancy.
When he finally told him, Hunk was more excited than his parents, and he wasn’t kidding. They talked for hours about how Hunk would spoil them with food, buy them everything they asked for.
He even started making Lance pregnancy safe drinks and foods. Hunk might as well have been the dad with how fiercely he took care of them both.
Then he had Romelle and Allura, Allura was his cousin, and Romelle he had met in senior year once she dated Allura. They insisted on throwing him a baby shower, a gender reveal, and even brought him cake, flowers, and stuffed animals to the hospital on the day he went into labor.
The point is, his pack was awesome. And even without his mate, the pregnancy still went well. Even afterwards, every single one of them had stepped up to help him even more than they had too for him and Ezren. It made him more grateful for them than anything.
Although, even with the support he had, Lance still found himself missing the feeling of his mate. Missing his scent, and his voice. He should have moved on by now, Keith had abandoned them. But the feelings would never go away.
The whispers in his ear, repeating in his head. The featherlight touches that were never really there. His mark had faded years ago. He was no longer claimed.
Maybe he didn’t deserve to be claimed in the first place, but he still missed it. Lance missed Keith.
No matter how angry he was after what had happened, he missed Keith.
It started off as Lance being an oblivious idiot, masking his feelings of jealousy and admiration with hatred and resentment.
Keith never paid him any mind, so Lance tried harder.
Call him a stalker, but he began to show up almost everywhere Keith went. He needed Keith to see him, had to know Keith knew he even existed.
But it kind of.. backfired? One day in their sophomore year, Keith had asked him out. Lance wasn’t stupid, he knew when someone asked him on a date. But when Keith did it?
That knowledge had gone completely out the window.
It took him a day until he realized Keith was serious, that his feelings for Keith were serious.
But once he did, he never looked back on it.
He loved Keith and he had accepted it. So, after years of being together, moving in, starting their official, adult life together, he never expected Keith to leave his side.
Until he did.
And Lance was left abandoned, disregarded, and ignored. He lost all contact with Keith, and then found out he was pregnant.
It had sent him into such a large depression that being able to tell people became kind of a miracle. He had expected to miscarry, to lose the pup and never get pregnant or mated again. But Ezren was a fighter, and he stayed a fighter the entire pregnancy.
Now, he was five, and Lance was getting a lot better than he was in the beginning. He was proud of himself, he was proud of Ezren, and he was most definitely happy with his pack.
He had been through a lot, everyone knew that, but he also knew how to pull himself out of it. How to get through it. He wasn’t ready for this life then, but it’s different now.
Lance had got a job at his uncle Coran’s diner, ‘The coffee lions.’ Despite the name having lions, they really only had cats. And Blu was his. They were best friends, locked in like a key stuck in the car.
Red was also kind of his, but she had set a lot of boundaries with Lance that kept them at an arm's length. He was lucky when she’d climb in his lap on his lunch breaks.
Funny thing about it, despite all their boundaries and miscommunications, Red only listened to him. It was the funniest, cutest, thing Lance had seen.
That was another thing that helped him when it came to his pregnancy, having something to look forward to. Coran was sweet, and probably his favorite person ever.
When everything went to shit, he had lost his last job, and Coran offered him one at his diner.
Now Lance tried his hardest not to miss a day, to be the best employee he could be. He needed the job, needed to take care of himself and Ezren. He liked it, he got to be around and meet a new person almost every day, plus he seemed to be well known.
Lance parked in front of his son's school, he turned to the back seat with a small smile, Ezren had started school 3 months ago, and Lance’s omega hated it. His pup was away from him for several hours a day after being by his side for 4 years.
He sighed, “Come on estrello,” He turned off the car and was quick to unbuckle Ezren from his car seat, the little cub smiling from ear to ear.
“I can’t wait to tell them all about Tiburón, papa!” Lance smiled down at him.
“I bet they can’t wait to hear every word.”
They walked into the building side by side, Lance letting Ezren rant as a practice for what he’d tell his friends about the shark plush.
When it came time to sign him in for class, Lance could feel his instincts yelling to grab his pup and take him back to his nest.
Instead, he waved goodbye, watching as a teacher walked with Ezren to his classroom. He let out a breath, he still had a shift at the diner in fifteen minutes.
So, instead of missing his son for about thirty seconds too long, he walked back in his car.
Keith was fucking exhausted. His face hurt, and his knuckles were bruised. He huffed and unlocked the door to the apartment. He walked in and looked around the living room. The house seemed quiet enough. Until he heard noise from further in the house.
Keith rubbed the exhaustion out of his eyes then the sound of rustling from clear in the kitchen caught his attention. It was late, so why was Lance awake? He walked cautiously, and there he was. Lance looked over, and Keith turned away sheepishly.
“Hey,” Keith spoke, and Lance crossed his arms,
“What happened to you?”
Keith let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. “Just some asshole at work.” He said bitterly, the right was really fucking stupid.
It probably wouldn’t have even happened had Keith not lost his temper, but the dude was really fucking stupid, and it ruined his mood.
Lance sighed and walked to the back, probably to get the first aid kit, although Keith didn’t look half as bad as the asshole, his face was still pretty fucked up.
“Come on, mullet brain.” He heard his mate scream from upstairs. He whistled at Kosmo and the two walked up.
He passed up the bathroom and went straight to their bedroom, Lance already there and waiting for him. He sat on the floor in front of the bed, first aid kit open and alcohol pads in his hands. Keith hated those, they always burned.
With a heavy sigh, he walked over to his boyfriend and sat in front of him.
“So, are you gonna go into detail, or leave it at ‘some asshole at work.’“
Lance moved closer to him. He lifted the alcohol pad to the wound on Keith’s bottom lip, causing him to hiss and hastily pull away.
“Hey, you know this shit hurts. You chose to fight, so now you deal with it.”
But as he said it, Lance kissed Keith’s nose, and the other just grunted. Then his head remembered the question he had been asked, and he looked down at his gloves.
“Some guy came into the shop today, obviously about his car, and Axca was the one working on it. The asshole didn’t like that a woman — let alone an omega was working on his car. He tried to grab her and I.. punched him.” He told quietly, Lance hummed to signal his acknowledgment.
“Well, look at my alpha being a great protector.” Keith laughed at that before hissing as the burning sensation moved to the cut on his eyebrow.
“Although I'm mad at you for fighting.” Lance smiled and reached for a band-aid to put on his eyebrow, “I’m proud of you for protecting your friend.”
He finished, just as the band-aid was placed correctly and placed another kiss to the alpha’s forehead.
“And your face is good as new. Now! Time for your hands,” Keith hummed, pulling Lance into his lap. Lance stared at him suspiciously before laughing and rolling his eyes.
“You’re impossible. I have to finish the rest, Keith.” Instead of listening, Keith just buried his face into the crook of Lance’s neck, holding on to him tighter.
“We can worry about the rest later.” He muttered against tan skin. Lance huffed and put his fingers in his hair.
“Kogane, you have a black eye, and bruises on your knuckles. Let me at least put bandages on your hand.”
Keith groaned, pulling away and staring up at his partner with an irritated look.
Lance narrowed his eyes, and Keith gave in.
“Fine, just please make it quick. I need you.”
Keith seemed to fail at preventing the smile his lips curved into at the memory, but of course, the expression was replaced with a frown a second later as if the smile was never there in the first place.
The sound of the bathroom door opening made his head snap up. He grabbed his phone and stared down at it, hoping he looked natural in the position.
Stepping out was his boyfriend, James. A towel around his waist and phone in his hand.
“Why did we move to Texas again? I mean really, couldn’t Shiro have just stayed down here with Adam while we were in New York?” Keith smiled and shook his head.
“Put on some clothes.”
James groans but moves to their closet anyway. Keith looks down at his phone before turning it off.
“And we moved here because Adam can not take care of Shiro by himself. And as his brother, I'm his next of kin. Besides, Texas ain’t so bad.” James looked back at him with a playful scowl,
“Ain’t? Now I wanna hear you say oil.” Keith rolled his eyes and crossed his arms.
“That is a word you will never hear me say. I can already guess your reaction, and it is not welcomed.” James just laughed as he got dressed.
“Oh, and don’t wear tight jeans, Dallas is hot as fuck. You’ll feel like you’re suffocating.”
James groaned, “Why the fuck did we move here?” Keith laughed as a response. “Stop complaining, we gotta meet with Shiro and the rest downtown.” Keith got off the bed and walked towards the bathroom.
“I’m taking a shower; be ready by the time I get out. And nothing tight!” He closed the door behind him and locked it. Keith relaxed, realizing his phone was still in his hand he stared. Why the fuck was he back here? He shouldn’t have come back here.
Just then, his phone rang with a notification. He looked at it, a text from Shiro. He rolled his eyes but walked towards the shower to turn on the water. Afterwards he just sat on top of the toilet seat and stared at the ‘Found a diner downtown.’ text he just got.
He typed in a simple response and sat his phone on the counter. He really needed a hot shower. Keith relaxed, and stood up. He quickly stripped, and grabbed his favorite shampoo and soap. He groaned before stepping into the hot water and let himself soak in it.
Once his shower was over, he grabbed a towel, to cover himself. He grabbed his phone again and walked out of the bathroom. James was on the bed, phone in hand, and texting.
Keith walked towards the closet and grabbed a simple outfit. He walks to the nightstand beside the bed and grabs a hair tie.
Quickly, and with the reminder of several tutorials, which took more time to understand than Keith would like to admit, he tied up half of his hair into a back ponytail while the rest hung out underneath it. He looked in the closest mirror.
Not bad.
He turned to his partner, already looking at him from the bed with a smile. Keith smirked back and laughed,
“You look awfully comfortable for someone who’s about to leave,” The beta drops his phone and rolls his eyes, “Well I'm sorry all of your showers take an hour.”
James smirks, and Keith feels his mouth drop open, “They do not,” He protests, and James shrugs his shoulders in response Keith just rolled his eyes, pulling his shirt down over his head.
“Shiro said they found some diner downtown for us to meet them at, sent the address,”
The beta reaches for his phone again, and Keith already knows he is opening his GPS app.
“Have you been there before?” Keith shakes his head, “Don’t think so? I haven’t been here in five years, I wouldn't remember,” he says as if he still doesn't remember, and constantly thinks of a mate five years later.
He sighs as he grabs a pair of shoes, “We can take the truck if you want, but I'm doing all the driving in it, got it?”
A smile makes its way back onto his face and the reaction he gets back should make it wider.
James wooed and ran towards the front, and instead of his smile getting wider like it should, it gets smaller. Despite the happy reaction, Keith can’t stop but think about how the voice isn’t right.
Can’t stop his alpha screaming that James isn’t his mate, isn’t the one who should be in his truck, but instead it should be someone else, it should be his omega.
His Lance.
The sound of the front door closing causes him to sigh. He shouldn’t have come back, if anything he should still be in new york, coming back to Dallas was extremely idiotic.
Keith shook himself free from his thoughts, walking towards the front and grabbing the keys off his drawer and following James. He whistled at Kosmo and the wolf was quick to follow after him, panting and barking happily.
He walks outside, Kosmo happily at his side. When they reach the large red truck, he opens the back and allows the husky mix to jump right in.
He closes the door behind him and hops into the front. James is already connecting his phone to the radio and Keith grabs his phone.
“Don’t play Drake,” he groaned. James rolled his eyes.
“I wasn’t gonna play that anyway you asshole!” Keith stares at him, there’s a look in his eyes that says he’s lying, but Keith lets go of his phone with a laugh.
“Who doesn’t listen to Drake....” He heard James mutter under his breath as he finally turned on his music. Keith actually liked some of the songs he played, but Drake would never be allowed in his car, no matter what.
He looked up in the rearview mirror, Kosmo laying comfortably in the backseat. God this was going to be a terrible fucking day. He could feel it.
He hadn’t been in Texas for five years. He left and didn’t look back. He shouldn’t be here, but he is. He is, and he should be comfortable, happy.
But there’s this feeling of dread, of.. regret. He can’t wash it out, it won’t leave him alone. His brain is telling him this is going to be a terrible day, that something awful is going to happen and he doesn’t even know what it could be.
He’s with James. He’s going to be with Shiro, and Matt, and Adam, and Pidge. He should at least be comfortable with himself now.
“It’s new by the way,” James says as he reaches for the radio and lowers the volume, Keith watching him silently,
“The diner I mean. It opened five years ago or so, it’s called ‘The Coffee Lions.’” Keith hums.
“So probably not too long after I left, I agree now, I hope they're good.”
They finally arrive, and Keith pulls into the parking lot. The building is pretty big, and the colors they used for the outside complement each other nicely.
Or at least that’s probably what an expert would say, Keith however, wasn’t one, and his opinion doesn’t matter.
He and James both reached to get out of the car. Keith stops at the back door to open it for Kosmo who jumps out eagerly. “Hey,” He stopped him.
“Best behavior for today.” Kosmo barks and Keith takes it as an agreement,
“Embarrass me and you lose access to treats for the next two days,” He says just in case. He reaches for the leach out of the backseat and connects it to the husky’s collar.
As they walk into the building, they’re hit with the calm and comforting scent of cinnamon, and Keith feels his body fully relax.
Though, that relaxation is quickly replaced with tension. From the left of them an old black cat makes its way towards Kosmo, who stares down at it. Keith feels himself go rigid, holding on to the leech a lot tighter than he was before.
James, staring at the interaction, lets out a gasp. He looks up to see a woman walking towards them.
“Is this a cat cafe?”
Keith can hear the excitement in his partner’s voice, yet it does nothing to calm his nerves. Instead, he takes a few deep breaths, inhaling the scent of the diner again.
The woman smiles at them and nods, “Yes, welcome to The Coffee Lions diner! This little one is black, she’s our oldest.” She leans down to pick up the feline, and it’s only then that every bit of tension vanishes.
He looks down at Kosmo who’s sitting beside his leg calmly. He smiles and pets him. “Good job, Kos.” He praises, and Kozmo’s mouth falls open in what Keith has classified as a smile.
“Here, I’ll lead you to a table, and don’t worry, we do have dog and pet-friendly options on the menu.” Keith is quick to stop her.
“Ah, actually, we’re meeting somewhere here instead, is that alright?” The woman keeps that same polite smile.
“You must be here for Shiro then? He informed me about a brother and his spouse?” She looks to James, who nods.
“Yes, that’s us.”
The beta smiles and motions for them to follow after her. She turns back to them, and signals for them to follow her.
The couple wasted no time and did as instructed. Following her to a large booth in the corner.
“No seriously, I mean think about it. Matt moves out, and it’s fine, but me?” He hears Pidge squeak. He laughs and takes a seat, letting Kosmo get the one in front of him.
“That’s what you get for being a hermit, Katie.”
James takes the seat beside him, and all the attention goes to the woman from the front as she takes the moment to sit both menus in front of their respective seats.
“Thank you,” James says politely, and the blonde woman nods.
“Of course, your waiter will be here any moment,” And then she’s walking away towards the inside of the kitchen. Keith turns to Shiro first.
“How’s your arm feeling?” Shiro doesn’t speak back immediately, instead he stretches out his arm.
He turns his head to Keith and gives that same reassuring smile that he’s been flashing since Keith was 14.
“My arm, and everything else, is fine.” The emphasis he puts on ‘everything else,’ is not unnoticed by Keith in the way his voice deepens.
Despite the urge in him to argue, to tell his brother he just got a surgery and lost his arm, and that he’s anything but okay; Keith stays silent and nods.
“Okay, if you’re feeling alright, I won’t ruin your day.” Shiro smiles, but this time instead of being laced with reassurance, it’s radiating warmth.
“Did you guys see green? She’s fucking adorable.” Pidge speaks up, from the corner of the table.
“Language, Pidge.” Shiro jokes, and Keith snorted. Kosmo barked and Adam laughed, “You sure he can be here with all these cats?” Keith shrugs.
“He knows what’s at stake if he can’t control himself.”
Kosmo glared at him before huffing. Matt reached over from his seat to pet him. Kosmo leaned in and looked at Keith and James who looked at each.
“You’ve spoiled him,” James laughed, Keith rolling his eyes. “He was spoiled when I got him.”
He shifted in his seat, the table laughed all together and Kosmo seemed to purr at being the center of attention.
The laughter is short lived as a cat with a blue color jumps on to the empty seat beside Kosmo.
Kosmo doesn’t move, instead he looks up at Keith, who’s most likely about to have a miniature panic attack, and then back at the kitten.
“Shit!” He muttered, grabbing at Kosmo leash, but instead of getting over excited, the husky lays his paws out, and rests his head against them, the kitten placing a small lick on his nose, something Kosmo returns right back.
His tail is wagging in the same way it does when he’s being pet, or when treats are being waved in front of him. And Keith just stares at the gentle show of affection.
He sighs and turns to James who’s already watching with wide eyes. “Well,” He says slowly, “I guess he really wants those after dinner treats, huh?”
Keith is ready to joke about it, lighten the mood and hopefully get his nerves back in place, only the familiarity of rainwater floods his nose, and the only thing he can think of is… is something he shouldn’t.
Omega. Our Omega is hurt.
The words are repeated in his head as the scent of distress seems to only get closer.
“Blu, where did you run off to, girl.” He hears someone shouting, and any air in his lungs is suddenly thrown out the window. His head snaps in the direction of the voice, and there he is.
Omega.
Keith swallows thickly and turns back to the cat with the blue collar, cuddling up to the side of his husky, and then darting back up to tan skin, blue eyes, and a scent he hasn’t smelled in years.
“Here,” His voice is hoarse and quiet when he says it, and he can feel the table’s eyes on him. He clears his throat and tries again.
“She’s uhm, she’s over here,” The words seem to leave him with more confidence the second time around. James is staring at him with worry, and Shiro is giving the exact same look with twice as much power.
The waiter seems to hear him though, and turns to face the table, his eyes immediately landing on Kosmo and the cat.
“Blu, there you are,” he says with a large huff of pure relief.
He reaches for the cat, whose eyes open simply on being moved. Keith has heard that cats don’t like to be picked up out of their sleep, and a part of him prepares for the worst.
Another part of him is still screaming in his ear about his omega, and the smallest part of him has so many things to say that won’t leave his throat.
“Thank you,” Keith could almost laugh if his body allowed for it. Hearing his voice, hearing Lance’s voice after five years apart, it still has some affect on him.
Still feels like a hug. Lance finally looks up from the cat and his eyes land on Keith.
Is it possible to lose breath if you didn’t have any in the first place? Because that’s how Keith feels as blue eyes lock on to him.
Lance doesn’t say anything and neither does Keith, the only thing breaking the silence being the meow that comes from the cat in Lance’s arms – Blu.
Keith clears his throat and looks around the table to see the concerned eyes of everyone still on him. He quickly reaches for his menu and flips through it.
“I think we’re ready now,”
Lance nods, his expression neutral as he places the cat down on the ground and lets her lay at his feet. He clears his own throat and reaches into the pocket of his apron for a small notebook and a pen,
“Sorry, about Blu. She’s the youngest, and very energetic today.” His tone sounds sincere, but instead of saying it to Keith, he turns to Kosmo. Keith feels a sharp tug at his heart.
Keith turns away from them and instead turns to James, the man he should love, the man whose scent should be making him feel… feel something.
Instead it brings nothing, instead the only three scents to every make him feel something were the scent of his father, a scent he would never smell again, the scent of his brother, who was too far away for his scent to directly affect him, and the scent of the omega taking said brothers order with a smile on his pretty tan face and acting as if Keith doesn’t exist, as if several years of being together were suddenly… gone.
And Keith can’t even be angry, because he had done the same exact same thing to Lance five years ago.
So, instead of standing up, getting on one knee and declaring his love for Lance, he sits back in his seat, places a hand on Kosmo’s head to calm himself, and waits for Lance to acknowledge him so he can order food, explain why he reacted the way he did, and then drive home with.. James in complete silence while his mind is infiltrated once more by none other than Lance Charles McClain.
When Lance does reach him, Keith can’t help but listen to every word said. He’s missed his voice, and his laugh, and everything else about the omega.
Today was a nice day, and Lance was expecting for his whole shift to go smoothly.
Really! Him and Blu were on a roll, taking orders, bringing drinks, dropping off orders at each table. He hadn’t even messed up an order yet.
It was a good shift. He had been finishing up the last minute of his break when Blu had run off, and despite the kittens being allowed to do so, Blu had the habit of jumping on unsuspecting customers. So, naturally, Lance had run after her to apologize and reel her back in, most likely with some treats.
“Blu? Blu, where did you run off to, girl?” He huffs in frustration, following the trail he could’ve sworn she had taken.
“She’s uhm.. Over here.” Lance’s head snaps up and he feels himself relax as he sees Blu curling up to the side of a large husky. She had always been one of the more social kittens.
A sigh of relief leaves him, and Lance walks over to the table with a smile. “Blu, there you are.”
He picks her up, and she curls into his arms as soon as his hands come into contact with her blue-grey fur.
Lance takes a minute to pet her before he gets the thought to apologize and thank the person who pointed her out. Lance rubs a finger against the kitten's ear.
“Thank you,” leaves his mouth as soon as he looks up, and then suddenly the air is knocked out of him like he was just hit by a 300-pound truck.
Keith.
For a moment, they just stare at each other, and Lance’s mind breaks into three parts with three different thought processes.
- Confusion: How the hell did Keith get here, why is he here, how did he find him?
- Anger: Why was he back after five years, why couldn’t he stay wherever the hell he was, and who the hell is the beta holding his hand?
- And finally, and the one Lance wishes wasn’t a part of the big three at this moment, was love. He loved Keith, and that feeling would never go away. Keith had marked him, had promised to marry him, of course the feeling wouldn’t go away.
But he also abandoned not only Lance, but their pup. Lance hated Keith, hated that he got to walk away while everything about Lance’s life began to change.
Before Lance can say anything, there’s a loud meow that comes from his arms and he looks down to see Blu staring up at him, her eyes giving away her impatience. Lance sighs with a playful roll of his eyes and sits her down beside him, where she decides to curl up at his feet.
Lance’s throat is dry, maybe seeing your ex after five years of taking care of a kid he doesn’t – and won’t – know about, does that to a person. Lance clears his throat and reaches for his pen and notebook before turning towards the husky mix.
“Sorry about Blu. She’s the youngest, and very energetic today.” Lance smiles when the Husky only barks and sticks his tongue out in a smile. Then he’s turning his attention back to the actual human beings at the table, though he makes sure his eyes avoid the purple ones staring right at him.
When he does get to Keith, he keeps his tone, and everything else about the way he speaks to the alpha, completely professional.
“Alright, your drinks will be here in a second, and after that, I’ll be right back with your meals, alright?” The table all nodded.
Lance gave a nod himself and turned down to Blue, “Hey pretty lady, we’ve gotta drop this off to the back,”
Blu looks up at him before moving on to her feet and walking away, Lance laughs and follows after her.
However, the entire way there all he can think about is Keith. Well, more so, what he’s going to tell Hunk, Allura, and most definitely Veronica, about his shift today. God did Lance have a lot of screaming to get through.
Suddenly he raises a hand to his head, the migraine the conversation coming seemingly very early.
“God damn it, Blu.”
Dinner passes ever so slowly for Keith. Lance comes around the table several more times throughout the evening, and despite being nice and professional, and overall, a top-tier waiter; he also spends the entire night avoiding Keith’s eyes, pretending they don’t know each other, and keeping all communication at an arm's length.
And Keith understands, honestly, he really does! He doesn’t deserve Lance’s kindness; hell, he half expected a drink to be thrown at him the first time Lance recognized him.
Only instead, the silence from someone Keith knows can be the loudest in the room feels even more heartbreaking.
“Are you okay?” James turns to him as everyone agrees to ask for the check. Keith smiles.
“Of course I am, why the question?” James looks away with a release of air and then he’s looking back at Keith like he has a bleeding head wound.
“I don’t know, I just… After that waiter came over, you’ve been all, you know, absent minded.”
Keith knows he’s right; he couldn’t even remember the conversations they were having before.
Yet, instead of telling his boyfriend; ‘The waiter is my omega who I selfishly abandoned five years ago because my brother almost died.’
Keith smiles then reaches for the betas hand and brings it to his lips.
“I’m okay, James. Kosmo being in here with all these cats just... Has me on the edge of my seat. Alright?” He watches as his partner's shoulders relax and feels himself relax as well.
“Okay. That’s good then.” Keith simply nods his agreement. This was a terrible idea. He should’ve said no when Shiro suggested moving.
He should have told him that New York had better doctors, better treatment. That they’d do his surgery with no problem.
But the look on his brother's face. The look that said, “Trust me on this, Keith.” was right there and staring him down.
So, he nodded his head, told his boyfriend, packed their bags, and suddenly they were on a plane going back to the place Keith had left behind him, or more so, the place he had turned his back on and abandoned. The check was placed on the table and yet all Keith could do was stare off.
Keith replays the somewhat of an interaction with Lance in his head. He memorizes features that have barely changed, imagines a scent he hasn’t smelt in years, he hears his voice, lacking in all of its usual emotion.
Then he sees his eyes, blue eyes that flashed with surprise, hurt, and hate all at the sight of him.
Keith had never seen Lance look that way, and five years ago he would do anything just for that reaction to never see the light of day, but now it’s directed at him.
And Keith realizes that he’s completely and utterly fucked.
Later that night, when he and James are home, he calls Shiro.
“Can I come over?” He blurts out into the phone. He can hear Shiro stutter, it takes a bit.
“Yeah, yeah of course you can.” Keith nods, even though he knows no one can see him, and he prefers that way because it keeps his very obvious frustration, less obvious than it is.
‘Okay I’ll,” he huffs, the house feels suffocating, and he’s glad to have a reason to leave it.
He can’t look at James. Can’t see him without seeing Lance first. “I’ll be there in five.”
The line goes dead after he says that, and he leaves the bathroom. Though, as soon as he does, he’s met with James. Staring at him with his arms crossed over his chest, only instead of anger he only looks to Lance with concern.
“Was that Shiro?” Keith doesn’t say anything. His throat tightens up and he no longer trusts his voice. Instead, he nods and pushes his phone into his pocket.
“Well... Is he okay?” James asks with genuine concern, and Keith knows he can’t just brush this off with a silent nod.
“Uh yeah,” He clears his throat.
“He’s good as far as I know, I just,” He swallows thickly, what the hell is supposed to say?
“I just worry. You know? Adam is soft on him, and I need to make sure he’s not overworking his bad arm.” James eyes him with skepticism but lets out a long breath and nods.
“Okay.”
Keith feels his shoulders relax. “I’ll be back before dark, I promise.” He gives a smile, and James returns a smaller one.
Keith pulls him closer by the arm and presses a light kiss against the betas head.
“Love you.” The lie rolls off his tongue.
Keith wants to shoot himself as he looks at James. He does love him. He’s spent two years loving him, but now? Now it’s like all of that love has evaporated, and that’s nowhere near fair for James.
James who moved away from his life in New York to be in Texas with Keith, the James who’s looking at him with so much love and worry, Keith knows he shouldn’t be leaving. That he should stay, and the two of them should talk. Talk about how Keith felt. But instead, he’s leaving his mate behind, again.
“Love you too,” James smiles at him and kisses his cheek, and that settles it. Keith is an asshole who doesn’t deserve James, let alone Lance. He stares at James for a moment more, and the dread grows. He doesn’t face the feeling, instead he runs.
Keith has always been a runner. He ran from home after his dad died, he ran away from store owners, from the cops, he even ran away from Shiro after stealing his car. Keith ran away from the love of his life.
He didn’t know how to be still. How to stay in one place. How to just be satisfied with what he had. What he had made of himself. The feeling seemed to be ten times worse when he was happy, when he had something worth all the running. He had always felt like him staying would make things fall apart. The radio was quiet in the background, Kosmo comfortable in the backseat with his head hanging out the window. Despite his eyes being completely focused on the road, Keith’s mind was wandering to several different places as he drove.
His life with James in New York, his life with Lance in Dallas.
He sighed and turned off the car as he pulled into reserved parking for Shiro and Adam’s apartment. He unbuckled his seatbelt and turned to the backseat, Kosmo already watching him with his tongue stuck out. Keith laughed, “Yeah buddy, we’re here to see Shiro.”
Keith exited the car, pulling the back door open and letting Kosmo jump out. Keith sighs, glad he still had treats in his jacket from early. He grabs one, and holds it in front of the husky.
“Sit,” He commands, Kosmo listens just at the smell of the treat, tail wagging freely as he did.
Keith throws the treat into the air, and Kosmo catches it with a bark, licking at his nose as the treat is swallowed. Keith rolls his eyes, knowing the expressive head tilt he does afterwards is the husky being very smug about his accomplishment. “Come on boy,” He huffs, and the two walk towards the familiar scented building.
Keith releases a breath. “Just tell them what you’re thinking.” He whispers into the air, his arms raising to knock on the wooden door. He needed outside feedback, and who better to go to than his brother?
This would be an easy, in and out conversation.