Heartstrings and Homework

The next day, since it was still the weekend, he decided to fix his bike. He’s pretty good with mechanics because his dad used to let him “help” while fixing his car or motorcycle.

The motorcycle Keith has now is his dad’s old one. He’s always loved riding it, he remembers the first time his dad let him ride with him. His mom was furious though, yelling at his dad about how dangerous it was and how he could have killed Keith, etc. But that didn’t stop him from begging his dad to bring him with him every time he went out.

Sometimes he feels kind of guilty for riding it. He knows if his mom was here she would…he stopped himself from thinking about it. Whenever he does, it never goes well.

But he does kind of worry about what she would think about him now. Would she be proud that he plays football? Would she be proud that he hasn’t died yet in an awful crash?

How would she feel if he told her he was gay?

He’s sure he knows how his dad will react. He’ll probably throw him out or send him to one of those camps. That’s why he’s either never going to tell him or just wait until he’s 18.

He also wonders what she would think about his friends. Not his football friends but…his actual friends. Pidge and hunk—he actually doesn’t know where he stands with hunk—and……lance. How would she feel about him? Honestly, she’d probably love him.

She’s always loved loud friendly people—she was a loud friendly person. And she really liked bad puns and lance seems to as well.

Speaking of lance, he’s been trying his hardest to push down any thoughts of his feelings towards him. He can’t deal with that right now. But now that he’s done with the bike, he’s got nothing else to do and nothing else to think about.

So……

How do crushes even work? He’s never felt this way before? There’s other guys that are way better than lance but he’s never felt anything for them. Obviously, since he knows he’s gay, he’s felt attraction…but only for celebrities. Like, he had a few weird dreams about Adrian Grenier after he watched drive me crazy with his mom.

He obviously didn’t know what it meant at the time though. He just doesn’t know what’s so different about lance. Why him of all people? Because he’s good looking? Because keith has realized that he stares at lance sometimes when he’s waiting for him to finish a page in the book.

He’s always hyper aware of how close they are and his heart beats faster when their arms touch—god, he’s starting to hate himself.

He went back inside and laid down, already dreading tomorrow when they have to read together. He would cancel but……well, he doesn’t want to.

He’s glad he apologized because he does want to be his friend. It’s hard to stay stubborn for so long and Keith is getting tired of fighting him. And ever since the trip, lance has been quiet and not talking to him and being completely honest, Keith kinda hated that. So……….he’s gonna try. And if he starts to feel too strongly about him……he’ll keep pushing it down because there’s no way in hell anything will ever happen between them.

He doesn’t even know if he actually likes him, he could be misinterpreting his feelings but…he has a feeling he’s not. Which sucks.

But…it’s just something he has to deal with until…shit, I guess forever.

He got to the diner and the waiter looked up and smiled when he saw him “Hey! He‘s sitting right over there”

Keith smiled politely and walked over to the booth he was in. Lance looked up and smiled, making Keith want to leave.

”Hey! I was thinking today, we could go over the notes we took”

Keith nodded and sat down across from him, deep down, a little disappointed that they’re not sitting next to each other.

He brought his paper already so he just handed it to lance, who handed him his. He started reading over it and squinted. This handwriting is…awful. He can’t even read the first word.

He wanted to look like he was reading so he skimmed it and saw his name in once sentence. He squinted again, trying to read what it says. He managed to see ‘Read faster or Keith will hate you more’

Not gonna lie, it made him feel awful seeing that. He really is an asshole, isn’t he? He looked up at lance and saw him smiling at his paper. Keith didn’t make any jokes so he doesn’t know why.

Lance suddenly looked up and Keith panicked, looking back down at the paper, quickly. He really hopes he didn’t see him looking.

”Marlon is stupid”

Keith looked up at him and saw him still smiling. Keith set the paper down and nodded “He’s taking too long”

Lance nodded “Yeah, there’s obvious tension between him and Rosa”

”Maybe he’s hiding something though”

Lance looked down at his own paper “Yeah, you agree?”

Keith didn’t even know he wrote that so he nodded “Uh—yeah”

Lance stopped smiling and put his head on his hand “You can’t read my paper can you”

Keith swallowed, a little nervous to say yes. But he shook his head. And lance sighed, taking his paper. “I can rewrite it if you want”

Keith shook his head, “No, it’s uh, fine. Just tell me what you wrote—I’ll remember”

Lance looked a little surprised but nodded “Uh, okay, let’s just do that then”

Keith nodded and lance looked down at his paper and laughed “Yeah, my handwriting sucks”

Keith smiled a little, even though he was trying to hold it back.

”First, I wrote that I liked the beginning where it talked about the princesses feelings about being royalty—cause it shows that she’s a likable character—“

”I can’t hear you”

Lance looked up and looked around “Oh, uh…Do you want me to move over there?”

Keith kind of freaked out at the thought of them talking even closer so he shook his head “Did you drive here?”

Lance nodded, looking even more confused “Yeah?”

Keith got his paper and got out of the booth. “Are you leaving? Did I do something?”

Keith stopped and shook his head “No, uh, come on—it’ll be quieter in your car”

Lance raised his eyebrows “What? Oh! Ok, alright then!” He got up too and they walked out, lance said bye to Coran, who just waved since he was busy.

They walked to his car and once they both got in, Keith tried not to smile. He thinks he might be going crazy.

”So how’d you get here if your motorcycle is broken and your truck is gone?”

”I uh, fixed it myself yesterday”

Lance raised his eyebrows, seeming impressed “Well that’s cool—did you get your truck back?”

He shook his head “No my dads friend has it”

Lance nodded and looked down at his paper chuckling “Sorry for this being completely illegible”

”It’s fine” he smiled.

They started talking about the papers and Keith ended up writing down everything instead of lance. 

The next few days went pretty great, Keith actually talked to him which is really good because it means he’s beginning to like him! He still doesn’t really acknowledge him in class but at least he’s talking to him.

Today, they all ate lunch together, too, which allura seemed happy about. She hasn’t said anything about them and lance heard people talking about them in the hallway. Some people have even asked if they were together.

He’s not gonna say anything though because obviously for allura and Keith to decide.

But anyway, things have been great which is why lance is a little sad that Keith had to cancel their reading session because his coach wanted them to be early for practice. Probably because of the last game.

When lance got home, he did his homework and then got an idea. What if they just read after practice? He remembers him saying that he was free after 6. Maybe he still is?

Would he think it’s weird to read at one of their houses though? You know what, if he says no, lance won’t care—he’ll just keep reading with him after school. Nothing will change. Maybe it’ll be a little awkward…?

Before he could change his mind, he texted Keith.

Lance (4:35 P.M.)

Hey I was wondering if you wanted to read the book after practice? The semester is almost over and I heard some people have already started writing their papers.

I understand if you reply after 6 because that’s when practice is over right?

And I understand if you can’t football seems exhausting lol

He put his phone down, realizing he’s texting too much and trying not to regret it. Oh god, what if he just ruined everything. Keith obviously was more comfortable reading in a public place—what place would be open at 6? And if a place is open, who knows how sketchy or empty it would be??

He groaned, hoping he didn’t just frick up their whole friendship.

It’s 6:01 and lance is embarrassingly staring at his phone, hoping Keith texts him. And as if the universe was listening to him, he got a notification.

He quickly looked and saw that it was, in fact, not Keith.

It’s just a stupid app notification. He sighed and he put his phone down. He got another notification and tiredly looked at it again—

Its Keith!

He sat up a little too fast and read what he texted.

Keith (6:05 P.M.)

Your place or mine?

Lances heart sped up and he replied.

Lance (6:06 P.M)

Theres a lot of people at my house so if you’re fine with it, it can be yours

Keith (6:07 P.M.)

That’s fine do you need my address?

Lance smiled, feeling weirdly excited. He remembers where he lives but he said yes anyway, trying to seem as normal as possible.

He put his phone down and looked up at the ceiling for a moment. Then he got up really quick—he needs to get dressed?!

Keith got home and he saw his dads car in the driveway. Now, he wishes he would’ve went to lances house.

He parked and walked to the door and opened it. His dad was in the kitchen and he looked like he just got home. He smiled “Hey!”

Keith smiled back, tired and kind of nervous about him seeing lance.

”Uh—a friend is coming over soon for a project”

“Really? So late?”

Keith nodded “Yeah, it had to be after practice”

He nodded and went back to whatever he was doing “So who is it? Is it that girl you went to the dance with?”

Keith rolled his eyes “No, it’s someone else”

”Oh, well…then I’ll stay out of your way—if it’s a girl, still don’t close your door” he smiled and pointed at him and Keith shook his head.

”It‘s not—“

He heard a car pull into the driveway and slightly panicked. He heard a door close and a few seconds later, there was a knock on the door.

Apparently, he wasn’t just slightly panicking because he just stood there, staring at the door. His dad looked at him “Are you gonna open the door?”

Keith nodded and put his hand on the doorknob. Okay, he’s nervous. Really nervous. Why’d he say yes?? Why is his dad here so early?

“He’s gonna leave if you don’t answer” his dad laughed and keith shook his head, trying to calm himself down. He just opened the door and saw lance, looking startled.

”Hey!” Lance was dressed kind of nice. I mean, anything is better than the school uniforms but he’s dressed even better than he is when they read at the diner.

Keith moved so he could come in and lance stopped when he looked at his dad “Oh—hey!”

He smiled “Hey!”

”You’re Heith, right? Last time I was here you got a package and they said ‘Heith Kogane’ and I was like ‘wow that’s funny their names are so similar’…My names lance by the way….probably should’ve started with that…and…uh…anyway, it’s nice to meet you”

He nodded, looking confused “Uh—you too!”

Lance stood there, very awkwardly and Keith needed to do something so he grabbed his arm “Okay, come on”

He walked to his room and when lance got in, he closed the door. “Sorry, I didn’t think he’d be here”

He shook his head “No, that’s fine, it’s better than the hundreds of people in my house” he laughed and Keith smiled, still nervous.

”So, here’s the book—I also brought my paper in case you wanted me to decipher it again”

He handed keith the book and looked around “Nice room”

Keith opened it and looked at the bookmark, chuckling a bit “Why do you have this?”

Lance smiled “It was my nieces—I stole it from her cause I lost mine”

“She won’t miss it?”

He shook his head “Nah, she watches ‘Maria la del barrio’ now. A bit of an odd choice for a 6 year old but whatever”

Keith smiled, even though he’s never heard of that before. “You can sit wherever”

Lance kind of looked like he forgot he was Keith’s room and looked around “Oh, yeah…is the bed fine?”

Keith nodded and lance sat down at the end of the bed and Keith looked at him, frowning “You wanna read like that?”

Lance frowned back “I’m sitting?”

”Thats gonna get uncomfortable”

Lance laughed “Ok, should I take off my shoes then?”

Keith shrugged “If you want to”

Lance rolled his eyes and took his shoes off before moving to the back of the bed, leaning against the headboard. Keith sat down next to him and opened the book again.

They started reading and they seemed a bit closer than before. Maybe it’s because they’re both on a bed but still. It’s making Keith infinitely more nervous.

After a few pages, it seemed like lance was reading slower. He remembered what his paper said and felt guilty. He glanced at him and saw that he looked upset. He probably thinks Keith will get annoyed.

And Keith would have gotten annoyed if it were anyone else. Lance turned the page fast and Keith looked at him, guessing why “Did you finish reading it?”

Lance looked at him and waved his hand “Yeah, I did, don’t worry”

Keith frowned, not believing him, and turned the page back “Where did you stop?”

Lance looked kind of embarrassed and pointed to the end of the first page. It wouldn’t surprise him if he was just as nervous as Keith but he thinks it’s most likely (completely) for a different reason.

”Sorry, I can read faster” He looked back at the page and Keith saw his eyes moving fast. Okay, Keith can’t handle this.

”Just let me read it”

Lance frowned “We both have to read the book—“

”No, out loud”

Lance stopped and looked at Keith with a glint of something unrecognizable in his eyes “Really? That won’t get annoying?”

Keith shook his head “No, it’s fine”

Lance looked at the book and then back at Keith “…Okay”

Keith nodded and looked back at the book and started reading where he said he left off. 

After a good few hours of reading, lance doesn’t really know, he kind of lost track of time. Keith reading to him made it hard to concentrate but also really easy to.

He liked hearing his voice and he listened to what he was saying but his heart was going so fast, he thought he was having some kind of heart attack.

And he just realized how close he got to him, naturally, and he doesn’t know how to move without making things awkward. Why does lance have to be so touchy?

He finished the page and lance spoke “What time is it?”

Keith looked at him, their faces now way too close. He moved to get his phone, thank god, and then looked at lance, not as close.

”Uh, it’s 10”

Lance opened his mouth, shocked “It’s been four hours?” It feels like it’s been 4 minutes.

Keith nodded, looking just as shocked. Lance laughed “I should probably go”

Keith did too “Yeah”

They both got up and walked to the front door. Lance stopped “Uh…thanks”

Keith nodded and smiled a little.

”Alright, I have to go before my family thinks I was kidnapped or something”

They said bye and he left, feeling all sorts of things. But mostly…giddy. He can’t help it but he feels really giddy.

The next day, they decided to read after practice again, still at Keith’s house since the aforementioned entire family of lances still lives in his house.

When he got there, he opened the door faster but—it wasn’t Keith, it was his dad. Lance smiled, now scared.

”…Hey!”

He smiled and moved “Hey! Come in!”

Lance did and didn’t see Keith. “Keith hasn’t come home yet so you can stay in his room if you want”

Lance looked at him, terrified “Uh, okay! Thank you!”

He went to leave but heith stopped him “Hey, uh, can I ask you something?”

If there’s a word that’s more than terrified, he’s that. “Yes? ….sir?”

”How is Keith at school? He mentioned making some friends and you’re the only one I’ve met.”

Lance, still absolutely scared, smiled “Uh…yeah, he’s uh, good…and his new friends are also…good”

He nodded “Sorry, he doesn’t tell me these things—I just wanna make sure he’s okay. Ever since his mom passed, we don’t talk that much and I’m a little worried”

…what? Lance nodded, a little took back “Uh, yeah, of course. He’s good. His new friends are my friends and they’re good people…good influences”

He smiled “Good—he hasn’t had friends in a while so I’m glad”

Lance nodded, not as scared anymore. And also shocked as hell. He’s not surprised he didn’t tell him and he kind of feels bad that he knows but……oh my god?

”Yeah…I’m glad to be his friend”

He nodded again and before either of them could say anything, the door opened and Keith stopped when he saw them.

”Oh—uh…hey”

Lance doesn’t even know what to say. He knows he shouldn’t say anything about the new information he just learned. But should he ignore it? Should he wait until he says something to him??

”Hey!” He managed to say that and Keith looked awkward. He shut the door and looked at his dad and then back at lance “Sorry, the coach kept us late since the last game’s tomorrow”

Lance shook his head “It’s alright!”

“Ok, uh, we should go now…”

Lance nodded and started following him to his room. Everything’s fine, all he has to do is not mention his dead mom.

This will be easy……how hard is that?

Extremely hard. This whole time, he’s wanted to say something. He’s lucky Keith offered to read cause he would’ve said something if it was silent.

They got to another chapter and lance had a thought. Not a dead mom one. “I heard there’s gonna be a party after the game tomorrow…are you gonna go?”

Keith looked at him and shook his head “No, I don’t feel like drinking shitty beer and dealing with drunk people”

Lance smiled “A lot of people will be there and a lot of them won’t be drunk. I even got invited”

Keith raised his eyebrows “Are you going?”

Lance shrugged “Maybe—it depends”

”On what?”

He paused, a little hesitant to say what he’s about to say “If you go”

Keith frowned “You know everyone, why would it depend on me?”

”Cause I know everyone but they’re not all my friends. And hunk probably isn't going cause he gets sick after the important games.”

Keith looked down at the book “Do you want to go?”

Lance shrugged “I think so—I mean it’s my senior year, I think it’s worth making fun memories”

Keith smiled, shaking his head “Trust me, those are not memories you want to make”

Lance laughed “Why not?”

He looked back up at him “Because those parties are for people who peaked already”

Lance shrugged again “Yeah but it’s an experience”

”Then you should go if you want to—even if I’m not”

Lance lowered his voice, now a little embarrassed “I kinda….don’t wanna go alone”

Keith looked back at him, now with a new, soft expression. It only lasted for a second though because he looked back down “Ok, fine”

Lance smiled, excitedly “Really?”

Keith nodded “Yeah”

Lance gasped, startling Keith a little “Can I ride on your motorcycle?”

Keith frowned “What?”

He nodded, now excited “I’ve never been on one before!”

”I don’t know…”

”Please?” He pouted his lip and Keith frowned at him. Then rolled his eyes, looking back at the book again “Fine”

That helped him not worry about mentioning the whole dead mom thing because now he’s super excited about the whole motorcycle thing.

He definitely can’t tell his mom though.

All lance could think about the next day was the motorcycle. When he saw Pidge, he bragged about it and she just seemed uninterested but he didn’t care.

When the day was over, they all went early to the field like they always do and lance was more excited than ever.

”You’re not gonna like it” Pidge said, as if she just knows everything.

”I will”

She thinks he’ll hate it and be too scared. He’ll prove her wrong though.

”Okay, if you crash and die, don’t expect to see me at your funeral” Pidge said and lance put his arm around her “I won’t expect anything if I’m dead, will I?”

”Your ghost self will see everything”

”Nah, I’m being reincarnated—as a bug or something”

”You’re dumb”

“What would you be reincarnated as?” He asked allura and she looked away “Hmm…maybe a goddess”

”First of all, you already are—second, is that even possible?”

”We don’t even know if reincarnation is possible”

”Don’t make me all existential before the game—and before I have the time of my life on a motorcycle and a football party—making awesome high school memories”

”Whatever”

Lance moved his arm away, scoffing. “You’re just jealous”

”If anyone is jealous, it should be allura” They both looked at her and she shrugged “Why would I be jealous?”

Lance smiled and moved closer to her “Because I’ll be the first one to ride on your boyfriends motorcycle”

She rolled her eyes “I don’t even want to ride on that thing”

”Yeah, I know what you want to ride on”

She hit him and he and Pidge started laughing. Soon after that, the game started so she couldn’t scold him anymore.

The game went great, they won yet again, earning their place in the playoffs. And Keith is relieved. He’s taking a break. He has to. He can’t do this anymore. He doesn’t care anymore if the coach is mad.

Since he told Lance he’d take him to the party, he decided to shower and change back into his school uniform. The other players just took off their padding and went in their football clothes, not bothering to shower. Gross.

When he was done, he left and everyone was waiting for him. Allura hugged him and he didn’t feel awkward or anything—it actually felt good.

Pidge ran up to him and also hugged him—which hurt, but still felt just as good. Hunk looked sick, like lance said, and he pat keith on the back.

”So, don’t kill lance, alright?” Pidge said and he assumed that lance told him that he was taking him on his bike.

”I won’t”

”And make sure he doesn’t drink or do drugs or something”

Lance scoffed “You can tell me what to do”

Pidge looked at Keith “Watch him closely”

He groaned “Ok fine, I won’t do drugs or drink” he paused, smiling “that much”

”I won’t kill him and I’ll make sure he doesn’t kill himself”

”Good” allura nodded and hugged him again, this time whispering “Seriously, he has no self control”

Keith nodded, not being able to hold back his smile. Pidge scoffed “Ew get a room”

“Alright, we’re gonna go take care of hunk—Ill see you soon”

Keith nodded and Pidge glared at lance “Don’t be stupid, alright?”

He waved his hand at her, dismissively and they started walking to the bike. The other players were already at the party so he didn’t have to worry about people seeing them and…assuming.

”You can wear the helmet if you want” he gave it to him and lance smiled “I need a leather jacket to go with this”

Keith shook his head, chuckling “Just—make sure you don’t move or you can mess up the balance”

Lance nodded and then examined the helmet “Do I just put it on?”

Keith smiled and grabbed it “Here—“

He reached up and put it on his head. He couldn’t see anything at first until he moved a visor or something up.

Lance laughed “Do I look awesome?”

Keith kept smiling “Very”

He put his hands on the helmet “It’s heavy”

”That’s fine, you’re just the passenger.”

He watched as Keith got on and he looked at lance “Come on”

Excitedly, he got on behind him and Keith looked back “You can either hold on to these things on the side—or me”

Lance looked down, even though most his vision was blocked, he saw the little handles. They don’t look safe. He’d probably feel better holding onto Keith…but would Keith be fine with that?

”Whatever feels safest to you”

After he said that, lance just decided to hold onto Keith. He put his arms around him and Keith started it and, instinctively, he held on tighter.

”Are you good?”

Lance nodded and Keith started driving for a second—this is terrifying.

He stopped and lance whined “What?”

”I can’t breath”

He let go a little, embarrassed “Sorry…”

”It’s fine, just…you’re not gonna fall—trust me”

He nodded and Keith started driving again, this time not stopping.

After they got on the main road, he let go a little bit more because his nerves weren’t as bad. Also, he felt a little weird being so close to him around so many people. He doesn’t know why though, he gets all up in hunks business in public, why is it different with Keith?

I mean, probably because they haven’t known each other for that long. Like, a few months maybe? And for a lot of that, Keith barely talked to him.

But now, Keith finally is talking to him. He’s getting to know more about him and become his friend. And that makes him weirdly happy. Not even because of the stupid bet with pidge.

Though, he does feel a little bad that he heard about his mom from his dad and not him. But he’ll never mention it to him unless Keith tells him. He doesn’t want him to hate him again.

But pretty soon, they got to the house and Keith parked on the side of the road probably since too many cars were in the driveway. They both got off and he handed Keith the helmet, smiling, still trying to calm down from the ride. He set it down and looked back at him “So?”

Lance kept smiling “That was fun”

”When we leave, try not to squeeze me so tightly” He started walking towards the house and lance laughed, catching up with him.

”I wasn’t holding on that tight!”

”You were”

”Well maybe you went too fast?”

Keith shook his head “I went slower than I usually do”

”You go faster than that?” Lance frowned and Keith smiled “Way faster”

“You’re gonna die!”

Keith shrugged and lance just scoffed—he didn’t say anything because they were already at the door. Lance knocked and the door opened fast.

Nyma answered and she smiled “Oh my god! Finally, you came to one!” She hugged Keith, who looked really uncomfortable.

Then she looked at lance “And you too! Did you come together?”

Lance nodded, smiling—thinking about the motorcycle. She sighed, shaking her head “The two hottest guys in school are friends…this is a great day”

They walked in and Keith was immediately overwhelmed with everything. Nyma smiled at him, grabbing his arm “The drinks are in the kitchen, let’s go”

Keith moved his arm “I’m not drinking”

She rolled her eyes and looked at lance “I really hope you’re a lot more fun than him”

Lance smiled, letting her hook her arm around his “I just might be”

Keith looked at them, frowning and nyma smiled “We’ll be in the kitchen—actually having fun”

”You go do that—make memories” he said, kind of mocking what he said the other day. Lance smiled and rolled his eyes.

They left and Keith sighed and walked to the living room, hoping there was no one on the couch. There were a few people but it was big enough for him not to be near anyone. He sat down and just watched as people drank and talked—luckily, not to him.

At some point, someone shoved a red cup full of…something…in his face and he just took it so they’d leave. Even if he didn’t have to drive Lance home, he wouldn’t even think about drinking it.

Some people tried to talk to him but he barely talked back so they gave up. But after a bit, nyma came in and looked at him. She just immediately walked up to him and sat down—he could tell by her flushed face she was drunk.

She was already way too close but when she started talking, she got even closer “Hey, I know I’m like, with rolo or whatever but has anyone ever told you you’re like, super hot?”

She put her hand on his arm, rubbing it a little “And like, rolo isn’t at strong as you are—I’ve seen you play, you’re like…” she got even closer and Keith moved his head away from her, uncomfortable “really strong”

”I know that you and that allura girl are like, dating now but like, maybe tonight, we could have a little fun..? Make memories…”

”No thanks”

She kept talking and soon, moved his hand to his leg. He couldn’t move away that much since he was already at the end of the couch, but he didn’t care enough to get up. So he just zoned out and sometimes answered her and moved her hands when they wandered a bit too far.

Lance is usually chatty—he’s been that way his whole life, and when he first got here but…after a few drinks he just felt…tired. Bored. A little upset at the way nyma is sitting so close to Keith. And how he’s not moving away or stopping her. He looks good though.

Even though his thoughts are a little jumbled, he knows he’s not gonna say anything. He should probably stop staring at them though. 

Pidges words were kind of jumbled with a bunch of other thoughts so he decided to drink a little more.

Just a little…

Nyma had gotten up a while ago and things only got louder since everyone is playing drinking games. He heard lance come in but he didn’t look up because he didn’t know if he’d be able to look away.

At some point, he heard lance laughing so he looked up and saw them playing beer pong. He looks…really drunk. Everyone else looks just as drunk but he doesn’t care about them.

He threw the ball and everyone cheered when it landed in the cup. He grabbed it and drank it as they said “chug”. He considered stopping him but…he doesn’t really know if it’s his place to. I mean, Pidge and allura wanted him to watch out for him but…he doesn’t know…

He stumbled a little and someone laughed, grabbing him “Damn, how much have you drank?” They slurred their words a little.

Lance shook his head and laughed, too “I dunno”

Nyma moved next to him, holding two cups “Someone brought vodka—here” she handed him one before putting her arm around him “Let’s make memories!”

Everyone drank and lance winced then laughed. He looked around “Where’s another cup?” He grabbed one and Keith sighed.

Alright.

Keith stood up and walked over to them. Nyma laughed “Hey!!” He ignored her and took the cup from lances hand.

“Hey—what are you doing?”

”I think you’ve had enough for tonight”

He took the drink back “You’re not the boss of me” he went to drink it but Keith took it again “Come on, you’ve had too much”

Lance grabbed it once again “I’ll decide that… for myself”

Keith could barely understand him so he went to take it one last time, but lance squeezed it, getting beer, or whatever all over himself. He gasped, making some people look at him.

“You’re here?” Out of nowhere, someone said, making more people look at them. Keith turned around and saw James, one of the running backs. He looks almost as drunk as lance. But also mad. No, furious.

He scoffed “I thought you were too good for these parties” more people looked at them.

Keith didn’t say anything so he kept talking

“You know what? I’m sick and tired of you. This whole season, you’ve been so distracted over—I don’t even know! You could’ve screwed all our chances but you don’t give a shit.” He laughed “You think you’re better than everyone cause everyone likes you—even though you’re a shit person”

At that point, almost everyone was silent, mostly whispering. Everyone was looking at them.

He wasn’t going to say anything though. He’s just worried about lance. He looked at lance, who now looked really mad. He’s probably mad at him for making him spill the drink—but he doesn’t really care.

He turned around and looked at lance “Let’s go”

“Nothing? You’re just gonna leave? You know—most of us agree that you shouldn’t even be the quarterback—we think the coach just gave you the position out of pity since your stupid mom died!—“

Pretty unexpectedly, Lance punched him. A lot of people cheered and Keith pulled lance away before James could punch back. Someone else grabbed James since they were both still trying to get to each other.

Keith held down lances arms and since he seemed to have no intention of stopping, he picked him up and carried him to the door. He set him down and opened the door and walked out, making sure lance didn’t go back inside.

He held his arm as they walked to his motorcycle. They didn’t talk but even if they did, keith wouldn’t even know what to say.

He knew some people on the team knew, they overheard a conversation he had with the coach and asked him about it but he got mad and they haven’t talked to him about it since.

But he didn’t want anyone to know. He didn’t want anyone to try and act like they care. He didn’t want to have to talk about it with shiro.

After he put the keys in the ignition, Lance spoke quietly “Are you sure it’s safe to drive it?”

Keith shook his head “I didn't drink”

He nodded and Keith held out the helmet but lance shook his head “My head hurts”

Keith didn’t want to wear it either so he put it away and they both got on. Lance put his head on his back, which took a lot of willpower to ignore and he started to drive.

After a bit, lance moved his head up and spoke, really close to his ear, probably so he didn’t have to yell. Still, it gave him shivers.

”Can you stop for a second?”

He nodded and pulled over. Lance probably has to throw up, who knows how much he drank.

Lance got off and Keith kicked the stand down and did too. Lance didn’t throw up and just looked around, stopping at a little playground. He walked over to a bench and sighed, not sitting down.

Keith followed him. ”What’s wrong?”

”You know when you like, know something you don’t wanna know……but you know it anyway?”

”What?” Keith frowned and lance laughed a little, which was relieving because he thought he was sad.

Lance sat down “Like……I don’t know” he put his head in his hands and sighed. Keith sat down next to him, still not knowing what to say.

“You wanna know a secret?” He smiled up at him and Keith kept frowning, very confused. But slightly amused at how drunk he is.

He couldn’t help but smile just a little “Sure”

”I think……you’re really pretty”

Feeling his face get really warm, he frowned again, hoping he doesn’t notice “What”

He sat up and Keith’s heart sped up the more he stared at him “I mean—I guess it’s not that much of a secret—everyone thinks you’re pretty, that’s why you’re so popular”

Keith rolled his eyes and lance laughed again “But I also think your personality is pretty…which most people don’t know—and I know I barely know but still—I can just tell…”

Keith had to force himself to look away “You’re drunk”

Lance poked his cheek “And you’re pretty~”

Keith moved his face away, not being able to hold back his smile. He’s suddenly grateful that lance is completely inebriated.

Lance looked behind him at the playground “Aww, we’re at a playground, that’s so—“

He gasped loudly, scaring Keith.

He held up lipstick out of his pocket and Keith frowned, upset that he gasped so loud over that “Why do you even have that?”

”I don’t know! I think it might be alluras” he looked sad “I hope she doesn’t hate me…”

”She won’t hate you”

Lance smiled taking the top off and turning the bottom “Yeah I know, she loves me”

He started to put some on his hand “It’s a pretty color—it would look great on her” he stopped and held his hand up, admiring it “I wonder what it would look like on you”

Keith’s heart skipped a beat. What does that mean?

He started putting on his own lips and Keith couldn’t help but laugh “What are you doing?”

“I’m seeing if I’d be pretty~” he finished and looked up at Keith. He laughed again, seeing how messy and all over the place it was.

”Am I?” He batted his eyes and Keith rolled his eyes, smiling “Yeah. Gorgeous.”

Keith reached up and tried to fix it, not caring how it seemed since Lance definitely won’t remember this. Lance stayed still and let him do it. He kind of fixed it but it mostly stained his face.

“Now I get to do you”

Keith put his hand down and shook his head “No way”

Lance scooted closer and laughed “Come on, make memories!”

He didn’t say anything and lance reached up, about to put some on him and Keith wanted to move away but he stopped when lance moved even closer.

He started to put it on and Keith stayed completely still, hoping his face wasn’t getting red. Lance bit his lip, concentrating. When he was done, he cleaned the edges with his finger and didn’t move away before smiling “I’m done”

He held his face and smiled, making Keith’s stomach flip “You’re so pretty!”

”You look ridiculous”

Lance frowned and smiled again….evilly…then he quickly kissed Keith on the cheek, not giving him a chance to pull away. Which he couldn’t anyway, because he can’t breath now.

Lance laughed and let go “You have a kiss mark now”

Keith rubbed where he kissed him and lance whined a little “You ruined it!”

He went to kiss him again but, not being able to handle it, Keith moved away, laughing. Lance stopped and sighed, putting his head down on Keith’s shoulder. Keith didn’t move, frozen. His heart has never beat this fast. It’s kind of concerning.

“Sorry…”

Keith didn’t move “Why?”

”For causing such a scene”

Keith thought for a moment. He didn’t expect lance do do that, obviously. But for some reason, it makes him happy he did.

”It’s alright”

”I’ve never punched anyone before” he laughed “It’s exhilarating”

”Don’t go around punching people now”

He laughed again “I won’t”

”Good”

They stayed silent for a bit and then lance sighed “I think I’m gonna be sick later”

”I’m sure you are”

”I should’ve listened to Pidge and allura” he laughed and Keith nodded “Yeah”

”Keith?”

“Yeah?”

He paused for a second before saying anything “I’m sorry about your mom”

He was kind of hoping he didn’t say anything about her but he wasn’t mad. “It’s fine”

”Your dad asked about you that day you were late. He asked if you were fine and that he was worried about you since your mom. I said you were good but……I don’t know if you are”

A little upset at his dad for saying anything, keith frowned “He did?”

Lance nodded, not moving his head from his shoulder. Keith sighed, deciding to not be mad. He should be happy that his dad cares.

“So…are you good?” He was quieter and Keith’s heart slowed down.

”Yeah…I’m fine”

“I know it’s probably not my place but I feel like you’re not”

Keith would usually not answer and probably get mad or something but he doesn’t really mind him talking about this.

“I’m fine right now” he really is. Right now, he’s pretty happy.

”I know I’m super drunk right now but if you ever want to talk to sober lance about it—you can”

Keith smiled “Sober lance will forget this ever happened”

“What if he doesn’t? What if I wake up and am like ‘woah I remember everything’.”

”I doubt it”

“Yeah you’re probably right…”

Keith saw him open the lipstick again and before he could put any more on, he took it from him “That’s enough lipstick”

Lance laughed and sat up “But I wanna be pretty”

”You don’t need lipstick for that” he didn’t really mean to say that out loud. Lance smiled “Thank you”

Lance looked at him and stopped smiling “Just…You can talk to me if you ever need to”

Keith nodded “Maybe one day”

Lance nodded back and Keith sighed “We should go home—it’s late”

He laughed “Yeah, there’s no way I’m walking in my house like this, maybe Pidge will let me stay with her” he pulled his phone out his pocket and Keith shook his head, speaking without really thinking “You can just come to my house if you want”

Lance stopped and raised his eyebrows “I don’t think your cop dad will like an underage drunk person in his house”

Keith stood up “He won’t see you—he’s not even home yet”

Lance squinted “Ok……” he stood up “but we might have to stop a few times because I already feel sick”

Keith laughed and they went back to the motorcycle “Okay”

He was right about having to stop multiple times. Keith didn’t mind though, it did mean though, that by the time they got to his house, his dad was there.

”Can you try to act……not drunk?”

Lance nodded, looking sick “Oh god, now I’m nervous”

Keith waved his hand “You’re fine” he wiped his mouth, making sure he had no more lipstick on and so did lance, laughing a little.

He stumbled a little on the way to the door and when he opened it, he saw his dad in the living room so he looked at lance “Just don’t say anything, alright?”

Lance nodded, looking even more scared. He walked in and his dad looked back and looked shocked, probably because lance is there. He stood up and Keith felt his heart explode. He can act natural……he just hopes lance can too.

”Hey! How’d it go?” He stopped in front of them and Keith nodded “Uh—good, we hung out a bit after so….that’s why I’m…uh, late…” he glanced at lance while he spoke and noticed how weirdly he was smiling. He looked back at his dad, who was nodding slowly.

”He’s drunk isn’t he?”

Lance gasped—a little too dramatically “Whaat? No! I’d never drink underage……ly…I am…the most responsible…”

Keith pinched the bridge to his nose, though not really surprised. His dad talks about dealing with drunk kids all the time. And lance couldn’t look less drunk if he actually tried.

“It’s fine, just—go lay down, Keith will bring you water”

Lance nodded, fast “Yes, sir—uh, thank you…I’m lawful good!” he left just as fast and heith looked at Keith. He was smiling, which he didn’t expect.

Keith didn’t say anything and walked to the kitchen and got a glass and filled it with sink water. His dad walked with him and leaned on the counter “So you won?”

He nodded and turned the sink off “Yeah”

“I feel like I don’t say it enough, but I’m proud of you”

Keith stood there, feeling a little awkward “Uh—Thanks”

”I’m sorry I couldn’t make it to any of your games”

He shook his head “It’s fine”

“Trust me, I’ll be at the playoffs though”

Keith nodded, still awkward. His dad sighed, smiling again “You’re a good friend for bringing him here”

Keith smiled a little “Sorry”

He shook his head, laughing “No, he’s your friend, I get it—plus I partied a lot when I was in high school. I made a lot of bad choices actually—I’m just glad you’re not drunk.”

“Thank you”

”Alright—give that poor kid some water before he passes out. And if he’s staying the night, give him some of your clothes before he goes home, he smelled like beer”

Keith laughed and turned around “Alright—thanks”

He walked to his room, where lance was laying down on his back, just staring at the ceiling. He looked at Keith when he came in and waved “Hey…sorry if you’re in trouble”

He shut the door and shook his head “No, he didn’t care”

Lance smiled and sat up, taking the water when Keith handed it to him. He drank it slowly and Keith sat down next to him. “You can stay the night if you need to”

Lance nodded “Thanks”

”Do you need clothes? You spilled stuff on yourself”

Lance smiled “Are you sure?”

Keith shrugged “Yeah, I don’t care—it would probably be uncomfortable to sleep in the uniform anyway.” Since they went right after the game, both of them were still in their school clothes.

He stood up and went to his closet to find something for lance. He stopped and looked back at him “Do you want pants or shorts?”

”Anything is fine”

He nodded and got the first thing he saw—which happened to be shorts. He also got a random shirt and he heard lance stand up.

”Make sure it’s fashionable~” 

He handed him the clothes and lance walked to the door “Where’s your bathroom?”

”The door on the left”

He left and Keith got clothes for himself and had to very quickly decide if he changes here or waits until Lance is done. He decided to just change here quickly.

Luckily, he changed fast enough so he looked around his room and was a little embarrassed at how dirty it is.

He picked up a few things and tried to clean up as much as he could. He heard the bathroom door close so he just shoved some papers that were on his floor under his bed with his foot really quick.

Lance walked in and Keith tried his best to not look but when lance laughed, he had to.

”So where am I sleeping? I’m fine with anywhere, honestly—my head hurts and I just want to sleep”

Keith shrugged, nonchalantly “You can sleep on the bed if you want?” Keith will sleep on the couch. It’s pretty comfortable anyway.

Lance smiled and sat down, looking at him “I hug in my sleep so don’t think anything of it if it happens—and who knows what I’ll do since I’m drunk”

Time slowed down. First because the fact that lance just assumed that they would sleep on the bed together, and because obviously the thought of him hugging him while he sleeps is something Keith never knew he wanted until now.

Also, what the hell does that last part mean?? What is worse than hugging?!

Keith sat down on the bed, scared that he’d stutter if he spoke. Lance laid down and laughed “Your house smells nice—cozy”

”Thanks…?”

Lance looked at him, looking weirdly beautiful. “And these clothes smell like you”

Keith rolled his eyes, trying his absolute hardest not to blush. He laid down too, nervously fidgeting with his necklace.

”When’d you get that?” Lance asked, turning on his side. Keith looked at him, confused. “Get what?”

”That necklace”

He stopped messing with it “I’ve had it forever—I wear it under my clothes”

”Oh” he turned back and Keith glanced at him. He was staring at the ceiling again and Keith did the same.

”It was my moms”

He started messing with it again, he used to all the time. But after a few years, he just got used to it.

“Can I see it?”

He hasn’t taken it off since he put it on. He even wears it in the shower. He just can’t bring himself to.

He doesn’t want to say no though. He reached back and undid the clasp. It already feels like something is missing. He did it back before handing it to lance, scared that the charm thing will fall off.

It’s some kind of family symbol that she never explained to him. She’d just say that it was her moms.

”It’s pretty—I like the gem”

It also has a purple gem or crystal in it that Keith doesn’t know the name of. Lance handed it back and he put it back on. It feels comfortable. He looked at lance, who was staring at the ceiling again.

”Im sorry for being such an ass at first”

Lance smiled “Don’t worry about it”

After that, Keith turned on his side, away from lance. He heard lance turn too. He closed his eyes and went to sleep, thinking about him kissing his cheek earlier. It still feels warm. He hates how mushy he feels but…..he also kind of likes it.

Waking up, he felt a lot warmer than usual. And…closed in? He very suddenly remembered yesterday and realized what he feels is lance. I mean, he did warn him that he hugs in his sleep.

”……Lance?” He didn’t move, not wanting to wake him up if he’s still asleep.

”…………yeah?”

Confused as to why he’s still hugging him even though he’s awake, he still didn’t move.

”…Why are you hugging me…?”

Lance didn’t move “I woke up like this and…I’m kind of scared to move”

“We’ll, I’m going to if you don’t”

Lance whined and hugged him tighter, making Keith’s heart go a little faster “If I move, I’ll die”

Keith was too tired to hold back his smile so he’s thankful he’s not facing him “No, you won’t” he pat his hand and grabbed it to move it away from him but lance grabbed his hand back, whining again “Pleease?”

Keith can’t handle this so he moved lances hand behind him and sat up. Lance let go and squinted at Keith “You’re evil”

Keith smiled at him, a little teasingly “You’re the one who decided to drink so much”

He got up and walked to the door “I’ll get you water”

Lance gave him a thumbs up and he left. He knew his dad would be gone and he’s not worried about him seeing lance hug him. He doubts he checks on him before he goes.

He saw a note on the counter and some pills next to it “For your friend. Make sure he takes them right when he wakes up or he’ll be miserable -dad”

He smiled and took them before filling a glass with water. He walked back into his room and saw lance now sitting up. He glared at him and Keith handed him the water and the pills “Take these, they’ll help”

He took them, hesitantly “What, so you can drug me?”

”Just take them”

He squinted at him “If I die, I’ll haunt you” He took them and drank the water. He leaned back on the headboard and sighed “Sorry for hugging you—it’s a weird habit.”

Keith shook his head “I don’t care”

Lance smiled “Pidge doesn’t let me sleep on the bed with her because of it”

Keith smiled back and lance took another sip of the water. Then he chuckled “Don’t tell allura, she might get jealous”

Keith rolled his eyes and moved back to sit next to him. “Do you want me to call anyone?”

He shrugged “Don’t call Pidge, she’ll kick my ass”

”Allura?”

”Yeah—though I’m am a little scared of her, too”

He nodded and got his phone and he saw that he already had some messages from allura. Also that they slept in really late. He usually wakes up at around 10 or 11 but it’s 1.

Allura (8:27 A.M.)

What happened at that party??

Is lance alright?

I saw a video of what happened

Is he still with you?

are you alright?

Keith (1:05 P.M.)

He’s still at my house

And what video?

Allura (1:06 A.M.)

I thought you’d never answer!

someone took a video of James yelling at you and then lance punching him

is he okay?

and are you?

Keith (1:07 A.M)

Yeah we’re both okay

well kind of

lance drank a lot

Allura (1:08 A.M)

Oh god

do you want me to come over?

I don’t have anything to do today

Keith (1:09 A.M.)

Sure he told me to call you anyway

Allura (1:09 A.M)

Ok I remember your address I’ll be there in a little bit

He turned his phone off and looked at lance, who was still sipping on the water “Alluras coming over”

He nodded and slouched down, frowning “Shes gonna yell at me”

”Someone needs to”

Lance gasped, fake offended “Then why don’t you?”

”Because I’m tired”

”Then go back to sleep”

”If I do, it’ll be on the couch”

”You don’t like my cuddles?”

Keith chuckled “No, I don’t”

”Are you sure? You slept pretty soundly”

He glared at him, still smiling “I’m sure”

Lance moved closer to him, pouting “Not even a little?”

Keith looked away, defiantly “No”

”I don’t believe you” he moved even closer and Keith looked back at him.

”Shouldn’t you be throwing up or something?”

Lance sighed and put his head on Keith’s shoulder “Maybe, I am starting to feel a little sick”

Trying to ignore lances head on him, he asked “Do you remember anything from yesterday?”

Lance sat up, now looking scared “Oh god, what did I do?”

Keith laughed “You don’t remember anything?”

He shook his head and Keith laughed again “Apparently there’s a video”

Lance looked terrified “…of what?”

”Nothing—you just punched someone—“

”I what?!?” He yelled and then grabbed his head, wincing “Ow”

”Yeah, you also put lipstick on”

”After I punched him? Is that on video?”

He laughed, shaking his head “No, on the way back here”

”Did…Did I do anything else?” He looked pretty hesitant to ask but Keith kept talking “You tried to put lipstick on me”

Lance started to smile “Really?”

”Yeah” he paused “But I didn’t let you”

”Aww, you’d look so pretty though”

He rolled his eyes, a little embarrassed now that he let him put lipstick on him. But he doesn’t have to know.

”Also, the pills were from my dad”

He looked scared again “He knew??”

Keith nodded “You barely hid it”

”He didn’t care?”

He shook his head “No, he didn’t”

Lance nodded then laughed “My dad would’ve killed me—so would the rest of my family—even though one time I caught Veronica drunk but I was 12 so she made a deal that she would get me a bunch of candy if I didn’t say anything”

He put his head back down on his shoulder and swirled the water that was in the cup “Thanks for going with me, I probably would’ve done something real dumb if you weren’t there—and if you were anyone else, I would’ve left before you could wake up”

His heart stopped “Why didn’t you leave?”

”Cause your bed is comfortable” he laughed and drank the rest of the water “And cause…you’re kinda comfortable to be around…when you’re not being evil”

Keith didn’t say anything, knowing he would be a mess if he spoke. Lance sat up, laughing a little awkwardly “Sorry, I’m probably still a little drunk”

”Do you want more water?”

He looked at the empty cup and nodded “Yeah, my mouth is still dry”

Keith took the cup and got up and went back to the kitchen. As he filled it up, he thought about what he said. How is he comfortable to be around? Especially to lance, who he’s been a jerk to.

And this whole time he’s been trying not to think about how lance looks in the morning. But it’s starting to get overwhelming. But thinking about that, made him realize about how he looks.

Oh god, he probably looks ridiculous. He should look in the mirror, but he also kind of doesn’t want to because he’ll just feel awful if he looks bad. He’s literally never cared about what he’s looked like before. It shouldn’t matter. But he kind of wants to look good in front of L—

His thoughts were interrupted by the water overflowing on his hand. He turned the faucet off and dumped a little bit of the water out.

He turned around and almost dropped the glass when he saw Lance standing there. Lance walked up to him, looking worried “What?”

”Sorry—you just, uh, you scared me”

Lance smiled and grabbed the glass, making sure Keith doesn’t drop it “Sorry” their hands touched a little which didn’t help.

Keith shook his head, letting go of the cup “It’s alright”

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door and Keith, wanting to get away from whatever he’s feeling, walked over to it and opened it.

It was Pidge—which shocked him because obviously he expected allura. She walked in and lance looked up and choked on the water “I thought you weren’t gonna call her!”

”I didn’t!”

She glared at Keith “I’ll deal with you later” then at lance, who looked absolutely terrified “You”

Lance didn’t move as she walked up to him. She stopped and Lance swallowed “…yes?”

”You are lucky you have such a wonderful friend— because I will yell at you later. Also because I just woke up”

She turned around and looked at Keith, still angry. “You too”

There was a noise by the door so Keith looked and saw allura and hunk “Hey, sorry—Pidge got out so quick! I went ahead and picked up hunk too, cause this is kind of a big deal”

”Hey! Sorry for coming unannounced”

Keith shook his head, now even more conscious of how he looks “No, uh, it’s fine”

He brushed his fingers through his hair, hoping it wasn’t horrible. The biggest struggle with long hair is that it’s crazy in the morning. He usually sleeps with his hair up but he especially doesn’t look good like that. The only other time he wears it like that is during practice. And he couldn’t care less how he looks during that.

”Lance! Why did you drink so much? And why didn’t you watch him closer?” She scolded Keith, which he didn’t really expect. She looked back at lance and pointed her finger at him “And since when do you punch people? Even if it is James, you know better!”

“It was James?!” Lance looked even more terrified and allura nodded “Yeah, you haven’t seen the video?”

He shook his head, now looking sick “Oh god, I’m dead—he’s gonna kill me”

”No, he won’t—“

”He’s got like, groupies that would do it for him then!” he rubbed his face and looked at Keith “Why didn’t you tell me it was James?”

”I didn’t think it mattered”

”Of course it matters! You are so—oh god” he covered his mouth and turned around to run to the bathroom. The door closed and everyone stood there, not really knowing what to do.

”So……I’m gonna go check on him” Pidge left and allura looked at Keith, frowning “I’m still upset with you but I saw how you protected him in the video…so thanks”

He nodded and allura smiled “Okay, I’m not that upset, I get lance is a handful. He probably wouldn’t have listened to us if we told him to stop drinking”

That made Keith feel……embarrassingly good.

”Yeah, it’s hard to say no to him sometimes” Hunk laughed and Keith smiled, somehow knowing how that felt.

“So do you want us to take him off your hands? Cause dealing with a drunk friend probably wasn’t on your agenda today” she giggled and Keith shook his head “It’s fine, he can do what he wants”

She smiled at him kind of weirdly but looked away when Pidge walked out, looking sick “He needs a new puking buddy I can’t handle it”

Hunk shook his head, also looking a bit pale. Keith started walking towards the bathroom but Pidge stopped him “Not you—he doesn’t want you seeing him like this”

He frowned “I don’t care what he looks like?”

She shook her head “It’ll only make him worse. He said ‘you’re too pretty to see him so ugly’ or whatever” she rolled her eyes while saying it and Keith felt his face heat up.

”I’ll do it, I don’t mind” allura laughed and walked to the bathroom and Keith sighed “Im sorry for letting it get this bad”

Pidge shook her head again “Nah, don’t worry about it—he’s difficult”

”I heard that!” Lance yelled and Pidge rolled her eyes again.

”Let’s sit down, I don’t know when he’ll be done—and I don’t wanna hear it”

He nodded and they all walked to the couch and sat down. Pidge immediately turned on the tv and got really excited when kill bill was on.

”I named my baby after this”

Keith smiled, shaking his head “The black mamba?”

She nodded and since they had nothing else to do, they just watched it.

”I’ve never felt this sick” he doesn’t even know how long he’s been puking.

”That’s what alcohol does to you”

”I know” He looked at her, smiling mischievously “I slept in your boyfriends bed last night~”

She smiled, obviously disinterested in his antics “I hope you had a good time then”

”We had a great time. We played footsies and everything”

”Oh, did you?”

He nodded and before he could talk, he needed to throw up again. This sucks.

Allura rubbed his back “That’s what you get”

He just squinted at her, too sick to speak. He picked up the glass of water and it was empty so he pouted at allura. She rolled her eyes and got up, leaving to go fill it up.

As she was gone, he had no other choice but to think. Think about all his mistakes. He wants to see the video but his phone can’t play videos. He’ll have to ask allura when she gets back.

He’s glad Keith isn’t coming because he would never look at him again if he saw him this way. It’s already pretty embarrassing that he’s like this in his house but at least he’s not seeing how gross he looks.

It’s even worse than what he looks like in the morning. He usually takes time to look nice but now Keith has seen him all gross and tired and drunk.

And to be completely honest, he’s extremely jealous of Keith. He looks great. Like crazy good. And what was drunk lance thinking?! Hugging him while he slept!? He probably thinks he’s super weird now. Yeah, he said he didn’t care but…what if he’s just being polite? Well, it’s not really like him to be polite but still…he’ll probably never talk to him again.

Finally, allura came back, laughing “They’re all asleep”

Lance laughed “They all have weird sleep schedules”

She handed him the glass and he swished some water in his mouth and spit it out before drinking some.

”So what’s this video?”

She sat down next to him and pulled out her phone. Once she clicked on a few things, she handed it to him and he watched it. He heard James talking so he held the phone closer to his ear to hear what he was saying. He was getting mad already.

He heard Keith say ‘let’s go’ and it made lance a bit warmer. Then he said the last thing and lance punched him. He got even warmer seeing how Keith pulled him away as James swung at him. And he was burning up seeing how he carried him out—it wasn’t like, marriage style carrying, but still.

”You’re lucky he was there”

He forgot she was there for a moment so he didn’t reply straight away.

“It’s so weird, I don’t remember any of that”

”You know people are going to act weird at school, right?”

He shrugged “I don’t care, just as long as James doesn’t try to finish the fight”

She nudged him, giggling “You can get Keith to protect you more”

He smiled “I mean, I wasn’t even touched by james so he would make a pretty excellent body guard”

He put his head on her shoulder “But I won’t steal your boyfriend away”

”Thank you but if it’s for your protection, I don’t mind—take him”

He laughed and grabbed her hand “Alright, I’ll steal him just a little”

“Hey, move over” He was shook awake by lance, who looked a little better. But—what?! He didn’t question it though and moved so he could sit beside him but he bumped into someone, who groaned and he looked over and saw Pidge, laying down fully with her head on hunks lap.

Pidge sat up and looked around “What time is it?”

”It’s 3 p.m.” allura said and Pidge groaned again “Keith, can I go back to sleep?”

He rubbed his eyes, wanting to do the same “Go ahead”

She laid back down “Thank you, your couch is so comfortable”

Allura moved pidges legs and sat down next to Keith, who now had nowhere to move. But he didn’t want to, he’s way too tired anyway.

And since he’s too tired to filter his thoughts, he likes being this close to lance.

“It really is” allura laughed and he smiled, nodding.

”Before I forget—I just wanna say that keith, you’re almost as bad as lance”

”What?”

”With the hugging”

”Aww, he’s used to it now!” Lance laughed and keith crossed his arms, too tired to fight this completely false accusation. Lance poked his shoulder “Ive changed you”

He leaned up to look at allura “I’ve warmed him up for you, since I know how much you like to cuddle”

”Thank you” she laughed and shook her head. Keith didn’t hold back his smile. He’s so tired.

”My head is killing me so I’m also gonna sleep” lance said, moving his legs up on the couch. Keith looked at him “Don’t you want to sleep the bed?”

He smiled “No, I like sleeping with a lot of people” he paused and keith smiled. Lance frowned “Not sexually”

Lance laid his head down on the side of the couch and allura laughed “Hunk is a heavy sleeper, he’s probably passed out”

”If you want, you can sleep too?”

She smiled at him “You want to go back to sleep, don’t you?”

”I really do” he nodded and she laughed, smiling at him in a teasing way “You wanna cuddle?~”

He rolled his eyes and lance spoke “He’s comfy—trust me, you want to”

”Be quiet” she pushed him and he laughed “Seriously! He’s very warm. And she’s cold so you’ll balance each other out perfectly”

”It sounds like you want us to more than we do”

”Yeah, I’m trying to trick Keith into laying down so I can hug him again.”

Keith laughed “Well, now I really don’t want to”

”Can y’all shut up and cuddle already” Pidge said, making lance laugh. Keith admittedly does sometimes hug his pillows. “Fine, lay down”

Even though, he wouldn’t mind cuddling with Lance again, he doesn’t know if his heart could handle it. So he’ll just hug allura so he can sleep.

She giggled and laid down and he laid behind her and put his arm around her. She gasped a little “You are warm!”

“Told you”

”And comfy!” Allura added, making lance snort, proudly “I. told. you”

It was actually really comfortable and he’s exhausted so he fell asleep pretty quick.

When he got home, he noticed a car he’s never seen in his driveway. It’s a pretty nice car, too.

He got out and inspected it, wary of who might be in it. He deals with random people parked in places they shouldn’t be all the time. No one was in it and he saw a cat plushie on the dashboard. Oh! Is it a girl? Is it that girl Keith took to that dance??

Still a little cautious, he slowly unlocked the door, kind of hoping he doesn’t walk in on something that could ruin Keith’s relationship. And scar both of them.

He opened the door as quietly as he could and stopped when he looked at the couch. Okay, he did not expect like 43 people to be in his house, asleep, on his couch.

He recognized lance and allura though so it’s gotta be Keith’s friends. And he thinks the big one is on the football team. Where’s Keith? He looked around and walked in, making sure to stay quiet. He doesn’t want to wake them up.

He went to walk to Keith’s room to check on him but he looked again and—he’s there. He’s behind allura—hugging her!!?

He stepped a little closer, a little giddy to see his son around so many people. Yeah this is kind of weird but hey, it’s something.

He took out his phone and snapped a quick photo because this is adorable—

He realized something kind of weird though. Not the obvious fact that 26 people are asleep on one kind of small couch, but lance was laying pretty much on top of Keith and his hand is in a pretty up position on his thigh.

He gets some people are huggy in their sleep—Keith used to be that way as a kid—and he saw him hugging him this morning when he checked on him but…he’s probably reading way into it…yeah, it’s nothing.

Well, it was nothing until he started moving his hand up his shirt, mumbling something. Alright—what kind of dreams is this kid having??

He walked to the door, planning on making it look like he just got back from work. He opened it quietly and then closed it loudly.

They all opened their eyes and the small one sat up really fast and fell off the couch. The big one just looked startled and the girl looked behind her at Keith who was looking at lance, who looked mortified—his hand, still very much up his shirt.

Keith looked at heith and quickly moved lances hand and sat up with allura. Heith couldn’t help but smile.

“Sorry, I didn’t know you guys were asleep” the little one was looking around for something frantically “Where are my glasses?”

Allura picked them up off the ground and handed them to the small one—heith doesn’t really know if they’re a boy or a girl.

”Hey! I recognize you! I didn’t know you were Keith’s dad?” The big one spoke and got up. He walked up to him and held out his hand. Heith shook it, still smiling “You’re on the football team right?”

He nodded “Yeah, I’m hunk by the way”

”Heith”

They looked at everyone else and the small one fixed their glasses and walked up to him “I’m Pidge—I have problems with authority so forgive me”

”For what—“ They ran out the door and Allura waved her hand, now in front of him “Sorry about her, I don’t know if you remember me but I’m allura”

He shook his head, smiling even more “How could I forget you! That night was kind of memorable”

She laughed and he looked at lance, who wasn’t looking at him “Are you better?”

He looked at him and nodded, fast “Yeah—yes…sir…”

”You don’t have to say sir” he laughed and lance nodded “Yes sir—uh, I mean— not um—“

Allura rolled her eyes and shook him by the shoulders “What’s up with you?”

”I don’t know!” He whispered but heith could still hear him.

”Do you want to stay for dinner? I can make something if you do”

Allura smiled at him and now Keith was there “No, they don’t have to do that—“

”we would love to!” Allura said, still holding onto lance. He whispered to her again “I agree with Keith—“

”We can wait in Keith’s room!”

Heith nodded and allura pushed both lance and Keith into his room. Hunk smiled at him politely and said bye before following them.

He went to turn around but saw ‘Pidge’ standing at the door, looking hesitant. She opened the screen door a little “Where’d they go?”

”In Keith’s room”

She nodded and then ran to the room, going in quickly. That kids got issues.

”What are you doing?” Lance moved away from her and she took a deep breath, probably winded from pushing them.

”We’re gonna have dinner! Obviously. I knew you’d find some excuse to leave so now you can’t leave”

“You don’t have to stay—he gets way to chatty around people” Keith said, really hoping they decide to leave.

”Great! I’d like to know about baby keith” Pidge said, out of nowhere. Where’d she come from?

“Yeah! How else are we gonna learn about baby Keith?”

”Maybe we…don’t learn about baby Keith…” he suggested and she smiled “I really want to know about baby Keith”

“It’s gonna be really awkward—I promise you, you don’t want to stay”

”Awkward dads are usually just trying too hard—which means they care” Pidge laid down on his bed and Keith sighed. Maybe she’s right. “Okay, fine”

”Yay! Now get dressed, you can’t have a family dinner in pajamas” allura pointed to his closet and he frowned.

”Why not?”

She rolled her eyes “Because you have guests”

”I’ve been dressed like this the whole time—and Pidge has cargo shorts on” Pidge scoffed but didn’t say anything.

”Yes, and it’s been very rude—change” she looked at lance “You too”

”I don’t have any other clothes!”

”Wear Keith’s!”

”No offense Keith but that won’t be much of an upgrade”

”No, you’re right—he’s right”

She turned around and opened his closet door. She looked through all his clothes and took out the shirt he wore to the homecoming dance. His dad gave it to him after cause ‘he got his blood all on it’.

”Here! One of you can wear this”

”He can” they both said at the same time, making Allura laugh. Why is she so adamant that they change?

”rock paper scissors” Hunk said, now sitting on the bed. Allura smiled at them “Do it!”

Neither of them did anything and she stopped smiling “Right now”

Now a little intimidated, he looked at lance who was looking at him. He held out his fist and lance copied him. They started and……

He laughed when lance chose scissors. He chose rock. Allura threw the shirt at lance and lance scoffed “Out of three!”

Keith crossed his arms and shook his head “No, I won”

”What about pants then, do I just put on a nice shirt with these shorts?”

”No, you can wear your school pants” she looked back in the closet and pulled out a shirt he forgot he even had. Then his only pair of dress pants. How did she even find those?

”There, go put these on”

”Who’s going first, princess allura” he bowed a little and she rolled her eyes, smiling “Both of you, it’s quicker—now go!” She pushed them towards the door and opened it for them before pushing them out into the hallway.

She closed the door and they both just stood there, confused. They looked at each other and shrugged. “You can go first if you want”

Lance nodded and walked towards the bathroom but stopped when he opened it. He sighed and grabbed Keith’s arm and pulled him in the bathroom “Just hurry up—she’ll go crazy if we aren’t quick”

Keith nodded a little overwhelmed at his sudden change of mind. Lance took off his shirt and Keith turned around, not wanting to seem like he was staring. And he might if he looks.

He started to take off his shirt and it was silent so he feels like he should mention a certain elephant in the room. He laughed, hoping to make it less awkward “So what kind of dream were you having?” He put on the new shirt, which fit him better than he thought it would.

”You probably don’t wanna know” he laughed and Keith started putting on the pants “I think I have a right to” he laughed again and lance sighed “It’s really embarrassing”

He started to button his shirt and smiled “What? Were you having sex with someone weird?”

Lance gasped and hit his arm “It wasn’t that type of dream!”

He turned around and lance still had only his shirt off. Keith looked away as he put the shirt on and when he started to button it he looked back and Keith saw how red his face was. He kept smiling, deciding to tease him about it “Yes it was”

Lance didn’t look up “Shut up”

”Come on, tell me, you’re the one who felt me up”

Lance looked up, with his mouth open, shocked “I did nothing of the sort!”

”You did—and you’re lucky my dad didn’t see”

”I didn’t—and……yeah I am”

”Now tell me who it was” lance shook his head and turned away from him to finish buttoning his shirt. Keith leaned back on the wall and lance scoffed “How are you already done?”

”I didn’t take my time like you are now”

”Ok, rude—look away I need to change my pants now”

As an excuse not to look away, he told himself that he was just messing with him. So he didn’t look away. “I will if you tell me who it is” he paused, smiling “Or what”

Lance looked at him and pursed his lips “Okay fine” he expected him to tell him but what he did was take off the shorts. Keith wanted to look away but……he’s messing with him. Yeah, that’s what he’s doing.

He breathed slowly, trying to calm down his heart. Maybe he’s too weak to tease him like this.

”Was it about allura?”

Lance smiled at him “Would you be jealous if it was?”

”Was it…Pidge?”

He grimaced (happy birthday) “Gross”

”Whoever it was, you seemed to be enjoying it”

He frowned “Everything is good in dreams”

”So who was it then, if you weren’t really enjoying it?”

He pulled up the pants and zipped them up before walking to the door “I’ll never tell you” he opened the door and they walked to the bedroom again.

When they walked in, Pidge and hunk were playing rock paper scissors and allura was laying down, watching them.

”Finally! What took you so long?” She sat up on her elbows.

”Chill out, he’s not even done cooking”

She frowned and laid back down. Keith sat down next to allura and lance watched Pidge and hunk, now aggressively, play rock paper scissors.

“Do you need more cuddles?” She smiled at him and he smiled back “No, I don’t”

”Well that’s too bad—you really are very comfortable”

”How?”

She sat up and pat his shoulder “It’s always comforting when a ‘bad boy’ is wholesome”

He frowned again “Im not either of those things”

”You are” she nodded and pat his shoulder again.

He was about to say something but there was a knock at the door and his dad poked his head in, smiling “Dinner’s ready”

They all got up and he looked at Keith and lance “You got dressed?” You didn’t have to do that” 

Keith frowned “She made us”

Allura smiled “We’re all dressed up—it’s not fair for them not to be”

He laughed and they all walked in the kitchen. And Keith was immediately hit a very familiar smell. This is really gonna suck. When did he even get chicken?

Everyone sat down at the table, which already felt weird because they never eat here. He doesn’t even know why he kept this table—it a waste of space. And they never have guests anyway.

He put plates in front of everyone and hesitantly, in front of Keith. He smiled at him and Keith didn’t do anything back.

”It looks really good!” Allura said, making him smile “Thank you—it’s family recipe”

“Ooh, really? What’s it called?” Hunk looked mesmerized by it and heith lit up, excited to talk about the dish.

”It’s called Wind sand chicken—it’s pretty popular in Hong Kong” he glanced at Keith, and Keith looked down, not objecting to what he’s talking about. He knows he likes talking about her.

”My wife made it for me the first time she stayed at my place” he laughed “I didn’t even ask her to cook, she just did. So it’s more her family recipe—she grew up in Hong Kong”

”Really? That’s so cool! How did you meet then?” Allura looked genuinely interested so how he definitely couldn’t stop them. He doesn’t really want to though. It feels weird.

“At the time, I lived in texas—where I grew up—and I was a junior in highschool. And one day, there was a rumor about a transfer student and how she was extremely beautiful or something and at first I thought it was just gossip and highschool boys being, well, highschool boys—Until I saw her. She walked in the wrong classroom in her first day and since she could barely speak English, they had someone take her to her new class. And shocker, they chose me. And they were not lying, everything about her was beautiful, the way she looked, acted, talked, even the way she walked was graceful. But obviously, I never tried anything, she would never choose the boring awkward white guy to date. And I was right, I was her study buddy for a while and we became friends but nothing more. And one day, I decided to grow a pair and ask her to prom. It was my only chance to have something more. So I learned how to ask her in Cantonese so she would easily understand me.”

Everyone was listening, and eating slowly. Keith didn’t eat though. Hunk spoke “That is so sweet—she said yes?”

He laughed “Nope. She didn’t even let me down easy. She said no, went with another guy and she didn’t need tutoring anymore we stopped talking. The guy she went with, you should know him, he’s a teacher at your school—Shirogane”

Lances mouth was open “What—Mr. Shirogane??

”Yeah, they became best friends. Especially during the next year—I was kind of replaced by him”

”I mean, Keith exists so it’s gotta have a good ending” Pidge added, eating more.

Heith smiled, looking at Keith “Yeah, we met again a few years later at my job. I was just a rookie officer and I got a call about a ‘crazy lady yelling in an alien language’—keep in mind we’re still in Texas so people weren’t…they weren’t that nice to foreigners. So I got there and I immediately recognized her. She was still just as beautiful. They were in a book store and it turns out, she wasn’t even yelling, she was talking very passionately to another Chinese lady about a book”

”What book?” Lance had his head on his hand, fully concentrated on the story.

”I don’t know—because she started yelling at me. But I stopped her and said I knew her from high school and…she didn’t recognize me. I told her about asking her to prom and I asked again and that made her remember. And I asked her if she wanted to get a drink sometime to ‘catch up’ and she said yes.”

”Finally!” Pidge said, startling everyone and even herself. “Sorry…continue”

”Anyway, one date turned into two, then three, then 14–I counted. Then I invited her over to my apartment and she said she wanted to share something important from her childhood with me and made me this chicken—if I didn’t know I loved her before, I knew then”

”When did Keith come in the picture?” Allura asked, smiling at Keith for a moment.

”A few more years later, her mother insisted we get married before even thinking about a baby and we had been thinking about it for a while so I decided to propose but her mom was furious because it’s a tradition for the families to meet before the guy proposes but both my parents were dead so they were all confused and we we’re supposed to give them gifts and vise versa so I gave them a premade gift bag I found at half price because that’s all I could afford—and that sparked some talk about her finding a wealthier husband but she stood up for me so her family ended up pretty much settling for me. Most of her family was still in Hong Kong so we got married there. I couldn’t speak to anyone and I’m pretty sure I was the only white guy there but all of that didn’t matter because I was marrying her—so I did everything they told me to do, even some weird bath ritual where you bathe in leaf water and your parents comb your hair. Her mom combed my hair. It was actually really nice. But on the actual day of the wedding, there was even more stuff—I don’t really remember much but I couldn’t even understand what they were saying to me half the time anyway. But when it was time to see her in her dress—I was just blown away. It’s traditional to wear red so she was wearing a big red dress and she…”

He laughed and his eyes got a little watery. Keith wasn’t surprised though, he always cries when he talks about their wedding.

”She was perfect—she was truly the most beautiful person in the world. I said my vows in English, which her mother protested but I wanted to say them and mean them completely. She understood me and that’s all I cared about. I lifted her veil and we kissed and—the rest is kind of a blur, shiro was my best man so he gave an amazing speech and then a few weeks later, right after our honeymoon, she got pregnant.”

“It’s baby Keith time!” Pidge looked excited and heith laughed “The day she gave birth…she was yelling at me in Cantonese ‘this is your fault!” and she almost broke my hand. She was nice to shiro though, which, I’m not gonna lie, kind of hurt my ego but I can’t imagine how much it would hurt to push an 8 pound baby out of your uh…yeah, I just don’t think that would be that fun. Then, all of a sudden, he was born and suddenly, there were two perfect people in the world.”

Keith heard a noise and looked at lance, who was crying. It didn’t look like ‘aw this is a nice story’ cries. I mean, he does know his mom is dead so, that’s probably why. But…he kind of wonders why he cares so much?

”The first few months of having a baby though, were absolute hell. But we still loved him obviously, she was really patient with him—which I loved. It’s weird because I thought I loved her as much as a person could love someone else but the way she treated Keith made me see new things that I loved about her. Im just saying, that’s a lotta love for one little heart. I don’t know how I handled it as long as I did.”

He laughed but that made Keith’s heart hurt a lot. He didn’t even realize it but he was biting the necklace, which he hasn’t done in a while. He used to do it when he was upset—really upset. He doesn’t feel like how he used to so he doesn’t know why. He didn’t stop though.

“Did Keith do anything embarrassing when he was little?” Allura asked and heith glanced at Keith, smiling. He nodded “Oh yeah, he was a pretty weird kid.”

Keith started to zone out, still listening a little bit.

”He used to watch those chick flick movies with his mom—I think he liked them more than she did sometimes. And, it took him a while to get out of his cuddling phase—but his mom couldn’t say no to him when he asked to sleep in the bed. One day, I said he needed to learn to sleep in his own bed and I didn’t let her say yes to him. He was so stubborn, he slept on the floor outside our door. His mom cried that day because she felt so bad but—after a few days, he gave up and started sleeping in his room.”

”That’s adorable” Pidge said, snorting.

”Oh! And when we moved here, he insisted that the house was haunted by a ghost named ‘John’—which is kind of a boring name for a ghost”

”John?? I had an imaginary friend named Mr. Flufflepants—all you could come up with is John?” Allura laughed and at first, Keith didn’t know she was talking to him.

He didn’t look at her, trying to push down a lot of feelings “It was Jinn”

”Really? I always thought you were saying John”

“Mom freaked out and said it was the name of some demon so she called it john since she was too scared to say the actual name”

”So you saw a demon??” Hunk said, looking scared. He looked around the room—maybe he believes that stuff.

”No, I heard someone in a movie say Gin—like the alcohol—and I thought if I said I saw a ghost, they would let me sleep in their bed—it’s just a coincidence that I chose to name it that”

”You’re so sneaky!” Allura laughed and Keith glanced at his dad, who looked shocked. This is the first time he’s talked about his mom. He doesn’t know why it’s easy right now.

”Did it work?” Lance said, making Keith glance up at him. He still looks sad but he’s not crying.

”No”

They talked more about his childhood and his mom and good memories of her. It was hard but it also felt good to remember her.

But now everyone had to go home and they all thanked his dad for cooking except for allura, who pulled Keith to the side “Are you okay?”

He frowned “Yeah, why?”

”You didn’t eat”

He shook his head “I’m just not hungry”

She lowered her voice “I’m your friend, you can tell me if you’re not okay. I won’t force you to say anything but I want you to know you can talk to me, okay?”

His vision got foggy all of a sudden and he tried to make it go away by breathing slower but it was too late and he felt tears start coming down his cheeks. He just stared at her, not trying to stop them and not knowing what to say. His breathing started to hitch a little and she looked shocked but looked at everyone, who was walking out the front door. “Hold on”

She walked over to them and Keith looked away, wiping his face. He doesn’t want his dad to see him like this. He managed to completely dry his eyes before allura came back.

”I’m staying the night, okay? Hunk can drive my car”

He just nodded, scared that if he spoke, he’d start crying again.

She looked at heith, who was still holding the door opened for her. “I was planning on staying the night, if that’s okay?”

He raised his eyebrows and smiled at keith. Keith used that as an excuse to look away. He laughed “Yeah, of course!”

He shut the door and allura smiled “And we can clean up if you want?”

He paused “Are you sure? I can help—“

”Of course! You worked hard, we’ll be fine!”

He shrugged and smiled “Ok, alright then—thank you”

”No problem”

He walked to his room and stopped at his door “Uh—Goodnight!”

”Goodnight!”

Keith just nodded and he went in his room. Allura lowered her voice “I can clean up—sit down”

He shook his head “No, I’ll help” his voice was a little shaky but he ignored it.

”No, sit down—I’m fine”

”I want to help” He really did, he needed something to occupy his mind and she seemed to understand that he was serious so she nodded.

”Okay, I’ll wash the dishes”

He nodded and got the plates and threw away what was left and handed them to her. He was about to throw away what was on his plate but she stopped him. “Leave that—throwing it away is wasteful”

He just listened and put it back on the table before wiping the table off. Then he stood next to her and helped wash the dishes. They were silent but it wasn’t awkward.

When they were done, she dried her hands and looked at him “Sit down”

He did and she sat down and moved her chair closer to him. Then she moved the chicken in front of him.

”What?”

”You should eat”

He looked at it and his chest started hurting. “I can’t”

”Why not?”

He took a deep breath, not being able to look away. She spoke again “You can talk to me”

His vision got foggy again “I’m scared it won’t taste like hers—and it would mean I’ll never eat it again” he looked away, rubbing his eyes “That’s stupid, I know”

She shook her head “That’s not stupid at all—just try it” she smiled “It’s really good”

He picked up the fork and poked it, feeling like he was poking his heart.

”Does it smell like hers?”

He nodded and she scooted closer to him “Then chances are, it’ll taste like it”

He got some and brought it up to his mouth, not able to open it. He looked at allura who looked supportive and not judgy at all.

He put it in his mouth and almost immediately, the tears came back. It only got worse as he chewed. She grabbed his hand “So? Does it taste like it?”

He took another bite and his crying got worse. He put his head down on his hand. It tastes exactly like hers.

He ate more and couldn’t stop crying. She just sat there holding his hand as he ate and it was really comforting.

He didn’t eat all of it but allura didn’t say anything about finishing it. He threw away the rest and just put the plate in the sink without washing it. He told allura he’ll wash it tomorrow.

They went to his room and closed the door before looking at allura “Im sorry—that was probably weird”

She rolled her eyes and held out her hands “It wasn’t weird at all” he grabbed her hands and she pulled him into a tight hug.

Then she fell with him on his bed and he couldn’t help but laugh “What are you doing?”

”I’m touchy with my friends, deal with it”

She hugged him tighter and he didn’t fight it—it feels nice actually.

”Thank you”

She didn’t let go “You don’t need to thank me, I’m your friend”

”Well then thank you for being my friend”

”Thank you for being my friend—you didn’t seem to be that open to making friends before you were forced to ask me to homecoming”

He smiled “I wasn’t”

”But at least you had a friend—nyma”

”She’s not my friend—she just doesn’t leave me alone”

She laughed “That makes a little more sense”

She sat up and smiled at him “Can I borrow pajamas?”

He sat up, too “Yeah, sure”

”I can just wear what lance was wearing—he looked pretty comfortable in it anyway”

They both got up and Keith picked up the clothes he was wearing earlier “I can go in the bathroom if you—“ he looked over and saw her already taking off her clothes. He looked away and she laughed “Sorry—I’m used to changing in front of my friends—were like, weirdly close”

He laughed and looked back “I mean, I guess I did just change in front of lance”

She smirked at him, putting the shorts on “I’m sure that was a little different though”

It took him a few seconds to realize what she meant and scoffed, not seriously “Shut up”

She laughed “Im just saying—he is a pretty attractive guy—“ he laughed and threw his old shirt at her. “He is not”

“He is! Like—objectively”

He just rolled his eyes and continued getting dressed.

Once they were done, they laid down and allura turned to face him. He did the same. “Seriously though, if you ever need someone to talk to, I would happily be that person”

”Thank you” 

She smiled “Goodnight” she poked his nose “And don’t let the bed bugs bite~”

He pushed her hand away, scoffing “I don’t have bed bugs”

She laughed and turned on her back “Good because I would die if you did”

He just laughed and shook his head before turning around. It’s kind of weird how similar she is to lance. He was right, she kind of is the girl version of him. But……he has been thinking about something…

”I, uh, have a weird question to ask you…”

”Yes?”

”Are you like……British or something…?”

She was silent for a second and then laughed “That’s so random! I thought you were gonna ask to cuddle or something”

”What? No! I just thought it was weird you have an accent”

”Weird??”

”Not weird—just…nevermind”

“I used to live in London but when I was 12 we moved—and I’m around my parents a lot so I guess the accent just stuck with me” she laughed ”Lance asked the same thing—but he asked like a 12 year old—‘why do you talk like that?’. Well, he was 12 so it’s fine”

He turned around again ”So you met right after you got here?”

She nodded “Yeah, he was the first person to talk to me at school. I introduced myself in class and he asked that”

”So he’s always been…forward?”

She laughed “Oh yeah, he was worse when he was younger—he would never stop talking”

”I can’t imagine how that could’ve been worse”

She rolled her eyes and pushed his arm “He’s not that bad, after you get to know him”

”I know”

”You do?” She smiled at him and he tried to think of a way to backfire “Yeah, I mean, all of them are”

”Yeah, especially Pidge—she’s really weird towards strangers but when you get to know her, she’s a really great friend”

They talked about them for a bit before deciding they should definitely go to sleep. Keith went to sleep pretty fast and had a pretty crazy dream. I won’t go into detail but I’ll just say waking up to lances hand on his stomach didn’t help where his mind wandered.