Finally
The last bell rang and he stopped allura in the hallway “I need to talk to you—it can be whenever but It’s important”
She looked concerned “What happened?”
He shook his head “It’s nothing bad—I just need to talk about something”
“Okay, do you want to talk at my house?”
”Yeah”
Once practice was over, he left and drove to alluras house and her dad answered the door. “She’s upstairs”
Keith thanked him and walked up to her room and opened the door. She was at her desk and jumped “Oh my god! You could’ve knocked!”
Very desperate to talk about it, he sat down put his head in his hands “He thinks I’m straight”
”What?”
He looked up at her “Lance. He thinks I’m straight”
She made an ‘ooh’ face and put her chin on her hand “You said something to him?”
He explained what happened in the bathroom earlier and she laughed “You said that??”
”Yeah, I don’t know why—it just came out”
”That’s hilarious but to be fair, you’ve never said anything to him about being gay so how would he know?”
Keith sighed, embarrassed to talk about it “I’ve been—“ he looked down “I’ve been giving him…signals…”
She smiled “signals? Like what?”
”Like compliments and sitting too close and shit like that—but he doesn’t notice”
She moved next to him and pat his back “Lance is the most oblivious person in the world—signals won’t work”
”Why didn’t you tell me??”
”I didn’t know you wanted him to find out??”
”I didn’t until I talked to shiro about it!”
”You told him?” She smiled and Keith nodded “Yeah, cause it turns out, he’s gay too so I’ve been talking about it with him and his boyfriend, Adam for a while now”
”He’s gay??”
Keith nodded and allura smiled happily “That’s amazing”
”Is it?”
”Yeah! Because now youre not completely alone—at least in that regard” she nudged his arm “And now someone can answer your spicy questions”
He nudged her back, scoffing “Gross”
”What, like you don’t want to? Based on what you just said—it seems like you’ve thought about it”
He rolled his eyes and they talked about this for a bit and Keith ranted about how lance is oblivious etc. they also talked about other random stuff.
But it’s dark now and he doesn’t need to talk anymore so he left. She walked outside with him and he got on his bike as she talked about whatever they were talking about.
He started it and allura smiled, weirdly.
“Also—“
Keith looked at her, waiting for her to talk.
She smiled “You’re just as oblivious as lance”
“What?”
She walked to her door, still smiling “It’s obvious, Keith—I’m not going to elaborate.”
She said bye and went inside and Keith stayed where he was, confused. What’s that supposed to mean??
He started to move out of the driveway but stopped—frozen and shocked. He thought about the signals he’s been sending lance and, all too late, realized that lance has been sending the same ones.
He’s such an idiot.
He zoned out while driving, thinking about how much of an idiot he is.
Because either lance is just really gay and touchy or he actually likes Keith. He hopes it’s the latter.
He’s still kind of doubting himself though. Because he literally has no idea how he would react if he told him. When he tells him.
Which just so happens to be now. He stopped and parked where his family couldn’t see his bike and got off, forgetting to put the stand down. He tried to let the bike fall gently before letting go. It wasn’t graceful and he almost fell but at least he didn’t break anything.
He took a deep breath before walking…….two steps. He stopped. Oh shit, what’s the game plan here?
Maybe he’s seen too many rom coms because he’s genuinely considering climbing up to his balcony.
He took out his phone and called him. That’s a whole lot smarter.
After a few rings, it went to voicemail. Either he’s asleep or he doesn’t have his phone on him. Since it’s 10:45, Keith is assuming he’s asleep.
He took another deep breath, preparing himself for the very dumb thing he’s about to do.
He begrudgingly walked up the side of his house and, if he weren’t too focused on his stupid feelings, he would laugh at how conveniently there were vines. Great. It’s like the universe wants him to do this.
He started climbing and after about four minutes, he was as the top. He pulled himself up and caught his breath before looking at the window. There’s a curtain—probably to prevent people like Keith from seeing in his room.
He tried calling again and after a few rings, Keith sighed—
“Hello?”
He froze, not expecting him to have answered. His voice was quiet and course like he just woke up. Oops.
Oh yeah, he should talk.
”Uh—“
Good words, keith. He tried again.
”Um…hey…?”
”Keith…? You knows it’s like…night…right?”
”Uh—yeah, I uh—I know”
”Is everything alright?” He heard shuffling and then a quiet gasp “Oh my god”
”What?” Keith frowned and lance kept whispering “I don’t know if I’m still asleep but someone’s on my balcony”
Oh…Keith sighed “Uh—so—about that…”
”Wha…? Is it you?!”
”Um………yeah…”
Lance hung up and after a few seconds, the curtains opened and Keith smiled awkwardly. This was not his smartest idea.
Lance opened the door and moved so keith could walk in. He shut it and turned on his lamp.
”Uh……” he rubbed his eyes “Hey—I guess”
Keith laughed, still awkwardly “Uh….hey”
Lance looked down at his shirt “Don’t look at my shirt, it’s my nasty sleep one”
His shirt was just a plain white shirt so Keith didn’t even notice it before. He did notice the gym shorts he was wearing though. It’s…cute. And his hair is messy.
”You mentioning it made me look at it”
Lance covered it with his arms and keith smiled “I don’t care about your nasty shirt”
”Well, I do”
He covered his mouth to yawn, which made Keith smile again.
”So……what are you doin’ here?” Lance said, crossing his arms.
Fuck, he forgot why he’s here.
”So, um…” he looked down, noticing his cute socks. They’re bees and honeycombs ”So, about what happened in the bathroom…” he still couldn’t look up and he noticed one sock says ‘You’re bee-utiful’. It’s fitting for him.
Lance sighed “Look, I know you’re not gay—you just did that to help me. And I’m really thankful for it.”
Lance looked up at him and smiled—but it looked kind of sad “And I’m only saying this because I’m like, half asleep and I’m not really thinking, but…I know you like teasing me and that’s fine—I think it’s funny too—but sometimes it gets a little real for me and—“ he laughed, looking down “I dunno—my gay brain malfunctions and thinks you’re actually flirting and I’m sure that’s why you’re here, to tell me that you guessed I kinda had feelings and tell me that you’re straight and don’t wanna lead me on or whatever and that’s fine! I completely understand—I really—“
Keith interrupted him by cupping his cheeks and kissing him. Lance didn’t kiss back immediately and Keith definitely knew he made a mistake.
He went to stop—but lance kissed back and Keith was overwhelmed by so much relief. As they kissed, Keith laughed—making lance pull away—looking nervous “What?”
He kept his hands on his face “You smell like that face wash”
Lance stared at him for a few seconds before smiling “Oh—oh yeah”
He rubbed his cheeks with his thumbs, liking how soft his skin is.
Lance laughed “It works, right?”
Keith nodded and leaned in to kiss him again.
But Lance looked down “Hold on—“
Keiths heart stopped, thinking maybe this really was a mistake.
”Are you teasing me again? You’ve kissed me like 10 times already and I’m confused”
Keith sighed and dropped his hands “Im not that mean”
Lance looked up “I know that! I just—I’m—ugh!” He moved to his desk and sat down on his chair.
Keith sat down on his bed and lance slouched down dramatically, staring at Keith, obviously still tired.
”Look—“ he pointed at him with a pencil—the pencil Keith gave him “I’m gonna be real with you—“
That relief went away instantly.
”I’ve dreamt about this moment a few times—and I can’t tell if I’m dreaming right now” he seemed completely serious and Keith tried not to smile. He doesn’t want him thinking he’s making fun of him.
He looked at lance, now smiling ”Come here”
Lance scooted the chair closer to the bed, frowning and still slouching.
”Give me your hand”
Lance maintained eye contact as he raised his hand up towards Keith and smiled, a little teasingly “Ok, Prince Charming”
Keith, without warning, pinched his hand. Lance pulled it away and sat up “Ow!”
“Did that hurt?”
Lance rubbed his hand and scoffed “Uh—Yeah?!”
”Then you’re not dreaming”
Lance looked at his hand and his eyes got wide. He looked at keith, shocked “I’m not?!”
“No, lance, you’re not” he sighed and lance frowned at him “You’re in no place to judge, you’re the one who woke me up in the middle of the night to express your undying love to me”
”My undying love?”
”Yeah” he pursed his lips and looked away “It’s obvious”
”Oh yeah? Then why didn’t you say something”
”Because I’m polite”
”You’re wearing a stained shirt and bee socks that’s not exactly polite”
”You broke and entered!”
”I broke nothing”
”You’re breaking my heart right now” He pretended to cry and Keith rolled his eyes and got up “Okay, I’m sorry—your nasty shirt and cute socks are very polite”
”Cute?” He looked up at him through a gap in his fingers.
”Adorable.”
He dropped his hands and smiled “Thank you”
“You’re welcome”
Lance stood up and sighed “Ok—here’s the deal” he put his hands on Keith’s shoulders “I want you to tell me all this tomorrow when I look better—feel better—and am not fighting to stay awake”
Keith frowned “Will you respond differently?”
Lance hugged him turned his head slowly and whispered in his ear “Yes”
It gave him shivers. He whispered back, putting his arms up to hug him “How”
“I’ll kiss you longer”
Keith smiled and moved his hands a little down “What else?”
Lance moved his hand to his neck “I’ll be dressed a lot better so I’ll be more confident”
”Yeah?” His hands were at his waist now.
Lance nodded “Yeah, and I’ll rant less”
Keith let his lips touch lances cheek and he closed his eyes “I like your ranting”
”Then I’ll rant more” he felt lance smile and Keith moved his hands down to his hips. He raised his shirt a little, hesitantly, he whispered, even quieter “Is that ok?”
Lance nodded and he lifted the shirt a little more, rubbing his thumb against his hip bone. He heard lances breath hitch, which was……uh……exciting…
He put the tip of his thumb under the band of his shorts and lance ran his fingers through Keith’s hair.
They were interrupted by a noise coming from outside his room. They moved away from each other and Lance laughed and looked at Keith “Damn, how much tension do we have?”
Keith smiled “It all started when you felt me up that one day”
Lance hit his arm and gasped “That’s not fair to bring up now”
”So will you tell me now who you were dreaming about?” Keith smiled cheekily and lance rolled his eyes “You really wanna know? Because it wasn’t you—if that’s what you’re hoping”
Keith kept smiling—now more interested “I need to know”
Lance pursed his lips “Itwasyourdad—now you should go now, it’s really late and I’m practically sleep walking right now—“
”My dad??” Keith really couldn’t believe it. He didn’t expect it at all either. He thought it would be an actor or someone embarrassing.
”Byee~” he shoved him towards the balcony and Keith stopped him “You can’t just shove me out after telling me that?”
”You just woke me up with huge news—so I absolutely can”
”That’s different news—what if I told you I had a wet dream about your dad?!”
He scoffed “Sick!”
”Exactly!”
”Uh—no, your dad is hot—I don’t expect you to understand. Plus you look like him so it’s a compliment”
”What—“
”Goodnight!” He closed the doors and Keith stood there, gaping at him through the glass.
Lance smiled and waved at him and Keith flipped him off. Lance scoffed and closed the curtains.
Keith started climbing down and when he got to the ground, lance yelled down at him “Bye!”
Keith looked up and dismissively waved his hand. He heard lance scoff again so he smiled.
After he left, he texted lance ‘Im picking you up at 4 tomorrow be ready’
Lance responded ‘Ok bossy’
It’s 3:40 and Keith is just sitting in his truck, trying his best to hype himself up. He seriously can’t believe last night actually happened. When he woke up this morning, he had to look at the texts to make sure all of it actually did.
What if lance doesn’t feel the same anymore? What if he went too far when they hugged?
What if his dad finds out? What if……what if lance wants to continue what they were about to do last night? Oh god, Keith isn’t ready for that?! I mean, he is, but he can’t say he is or he’ll sound desperate?! Or what if lance isn’t ready and he feels rushed?!
He laid his head down on the steering wheel and took a really deep breath. He can do this. It’ll be like getting with a girl right? Just……completely different…?
And if he doesn’t want to do that, it’ll still be the same. Like going on a date with a girl. But that girl is lance…it’ll be like hanging out with lance………romantically?
He still can’t get the ‘what if he changed his mind’ thought out of his head. Like, what will Keith do if lance answers the door and is like ‘Uh nevermind”
Maybe he should text him and do it first? Just tell him he was joking and never speak to him again and then move schools and never speak to anyone and die alone?
Ok…no, he just needs to drive to his house and deal with however lance is acting. whether it’s with regret or joy, he can deal with it. They’ll still be friends—Keith respects lance and his decisions and reactions to people’s sudden admitting of their feelings towards him……
He looked at the time and freaked when he saw it was 4:05. Great, now he’s gonna be late!
He started driving and thinking about what he’s gonna say during the day and what he’ll say if lance doesn’t feel the same. What he’ll say if lance never wants to talk to him again…just pretty much every possible or impossible situation that could ever possibly or not possibly happen. He even thought about what he’d say if aliens came and asked if he wanted to go far away with them in space. It would depend on lances reaction.
No, if yes—Yes, if no.
He parked, not in the driveway, and walked to the front door. He took a second before knocking.
The door opened really fast and it was lance. He looks upset. Fuck.
“It’s 4:30”
Keith’s mind stalled. Ok, maybe he overthought this.
”Uh—“
Lance rolled his eyes and walked outside. Keith noticed that his outfit was nicer than usual. Before he could shut the door, Veronica stopped it and smiled at them. She leaned in closer and kind of whispered “Have fun on your date~”
Lance angrily said something in Spanish before pulling the door closed.
”Sorry—let’s go!” He smiled at him—a bit too enthusiastic. He’s overcompensating for something.
Lance started walking and Keith didn’t move. Lance turned around and frowned “What?”
”You what” he pointed at him and lance sighed “Just come on—”
Now feeling like he wasn’t overthinking earlier, he walked with him to the truck and they both got in.
Keith looked at lance, who looked terrified. He looked at Keith and smiled, still too much “What’s the holdup?”
Keith sighed “What’s wrong”
”Nothing‘s wrong? I’m cool~—fine and cool…as a cucumber……a cool cucumber……and a fine one”
Keith stared at him, now just confused.
Lance covered his face and slouched down “Sorry—I just—I was really confident last night and now I’m terrified cause I don’t wanna mess this up and I’m still kind of processing all of it and I’m really happy about it but I’m also scared that you won’t like me if you get to know know me—“
”I thought I got to re-tell you”
Lance looked at him and didn’t say anything for a second—thinking about something. He sat up and took a deep breath “Yeah—Yeah, of course” he nodded “So Keith, what was this thing you wanted to tell me? This important thing? This big, big thing that you’ve never mentioned before?”
Keith stared at him. Then he turned the key.
”I’ll tell you later” he started driving and lance scoffed “What??”
He shrugged “It’s not that important”
”Seriously.”
”Yeah, it’s pretty small actually—barely anything”
Lance crossed his arms and pouted “Now my answer really will change”
Keith just smiled and started driving.
After driving for a bit, lance looked at Keith, smiling “So where are you taking me?”
Keith shrugged and lance scoffed “You don’t know??”
He shrugged again and lance rolled his eyes “Can you tell me the thing now so I can say something not that platonic?”
Keith glanced at him, smiling “I forgot what I was gonna say”
Lance squinted at him and smiled “Alright, I have something I want to tell you”
Keith didn’t look at him “Yeah? What’s that”
”I—“
”Alright—we’re here, come on” he parked the car and opened the door, ignoring Lance complaining.
Lance got out with him and frowned at Keith “The diner? Seriously?”
”What? It’s the first place I thought of”
Lance sighed and then walked inside with him. Coran immediately noticed them and smiled “Hey! Still reading that book?”
Lance laughed “No, we’re just hanging out”
They sat down in their usual spot and coran walked up to them “What can I get for you?”
”You know what I want, come on now”
Coran laughed and looked at Keith, who started thinking about what he’s actually doing and completely zoned out, hoping he can deal with his own feelings and lances. At least lance said he was happy about it? But what if—
“Keith?”
He looked at them and shook his head “Oh, I’m not hungry”
Coran frowned “Are you sure?”
Keith nodded and Coran left, leaving keith to think more about the huge change this is causing in his life.
”You good?”
He looked at him again and nodded “Uh—Yeah, I’m just—thinking”
Lance frowned “About what?”
He shook his head “It’s nothing”
Lance nodded and looked down, looking sad. Shit, he’s messing this up. But what does he say? They’re in public, Keith is still insecure about how lance really feels—and Keith actually is hungry so he’s regretting not getting anything.
“So are you gonna tell me what you wanted to say?” He looked up and lance was smiling now.
Keith smiled back “You should eat first”
”Why? Is it crazy?”
”Maybe”
”Sounds pretty crazy”
”You sound pretty crazy”
Lance opened his mouth, jokingly offended.
”Here you go!”
Lance jumped and Keith tried not to laugh. Coran did laugh “Sorry!”
Lance put his hand on his heart and sighed “You were quick!”
”We’re not that busy” he put the plate in front of him and left.
”Just say—“
”And here you go” he was back with another plate of the same thing lance got but he put it in front of Keith.
Lance took a deep breath “You scared me again!”
”Sorry, I just wanted to bring something else in case you get hungry—it’s on the house”
”For me too?” Lance pouted and Coran squinted at him. Then he sighed “Fine”
”Thank you~”
Coran just laughed and shook his head before leaving and tending to other customers.
Keith looked at the plate and lance pursed his lips “If you don’t want it, I’ll eat it”
Keith looked at him and picked up a piece of bacon and ate it. Lance frowned “I thought you weren’t hungry”
”Well now I am”
”Good, cause I hate eating alone”
Keith smiled and they both ate and talked about the diner and he told a few stories about coran. Like, the first time he met him.
After he left soccer practice, he started walking home. But as he was walking, he thought about things. Things like how his life is going to be when he’s older. What kind of friends he’ll have. What kind of person he’d meet.
Things like how happy he’ll really be.
How can he be happy if he’s lying to everyone he loves? How can he be happy if everything he is goes against what his family wants for him? How can he be happy without them?
As he thought, he realized he was crying. He wants to be happy. But he also doesn’t want to hide this big part of himself that he knows he can’t change. God, he’s been trying to change it for years now.
But no matter how many times he tries to be with girls, how many times he tries to stop himself thinking about guys—how many times he’s hurt himself when he did—he can’t get it to go away.
And he doesn’t want to try anymore. He doesn’t want to lie to people. He doesn’t want to feel this way any more. And he won’t soon.
He pushed all thoughts out of his head and kept walking. The only thing he paid attention to were his feet—one in front of the other—so he wouldn’t just stop and stand there forever.
His left foot went forward—
Then his right—
Left—
right—
left—
right—
does he walk weird?—
Is his right foot supposed to go first?—
What if he should think about this more?—
This is a pretty big decision, right?—
Not changing feet when walking—
The whole “leaving” thing—
I mean, he can’t even say the words of what he wants to do—
But he’s 13 and he’s gay, what else is he gonna do, own it? Where they are, it’s not even legal for two guys to have sex—so people aren’t exactly understanding when it comes to that stuff.
I mean, not like he wants to yet—he hasn’t even done it with a girl.
But anyway, he won’t have to deal with that anymore—his family won’t have to deal with it—his friends……oh god, he’s crying more.
”You okay, young man?”
He jumped at a loud voice, with a weird accent. He looked up and saw a kind of crazy looking man. He looks like a nice guy though. And concerned at lance.
He guesses he stopped walking when he started thinking about the other things and this guy probably thinks he’s crazy. Which he kind of feels like anyway.
The guy walked up to him and looked even more worried “Are you alright?”
”Uh—“ he froze and started to freak out, feeling…caught. He started crying more, not able to speak.
The guy put his hand on his shoulder and spoke gently ”Do you wanna come in the diner? I can make you something if you want”
He just followed him to the doors, not feeling scared at all that this guy will try anything. Even if he was, he doesn’t care that much anymore.
They walked in and the guy stopped.
”You can sit anywhere—I own the place so don’t you don’t have to worry about paying”
Lance rubbed his eyes and nodded, siting down in the first seat he saw and putting his backpack on the floor. The guy went in the kitchen. Lance laid his head down and still couldn’t stop crying.
He doesn’t know how long he stayed there but soon, the guy came back with a plate of eggs and bacon. He rubbed his eyes again and the guy sat down across from him “So what’s your name?”
Lance sniffled “Uh—Lance”
”I’m Coran—and as I’ve told you, I own this little diner”
Lance nodded and looked down, kind of embarrassed that this guy is seeing him cry “Sorry”
Coran shook his head “Don’t worry about it! Just eat, I have to clean and close up anyway”
He got up and lance started eating. He doesn’t know if it’s just because he’s sad and he likes eating when he’s sad, but this is probably the best food he’s ever tasted.
He ate while Coran cleaned and put away stuff and when he was done, he looked up. He spoke quietly, since he was just crying and he’s kind of nervous “Do you need any help?”
He shook his head “Oh, no thank you, I’m done anyway”
Lance nodded and looked down, fidgeting with a keychain on his bag.
”So what’s going on? What’s got you down?”
Lance looked back up and shook his head “Um…it’s just…” his vision got a little blurry.
Coran sat down and lowered his voice “You don’t have to go into detail if you don’t want to. But if you don’t feel safe going home, I would like for you to tell me”
Lance looked up, shaking his head faster “Uh—no, it’s not that. Not at all—it’s just…it’s kind of…taboo…I guess…”
He looked confused “How?”
”Um…” he looked at him again and for whatever reason, he just blurted everything out. He told this guy everything.
He ranted for who knows how long and Coran didn’t say anything while he spoke. He just nodded.
When he was done talking—he looked at him again and regret everything. He probably shouldn’t have said anything—this guy’ll probably call the cops on him or something. He freaked out.
”Uh—I have to go” he started to get his bag and coran didn’t move “Hey…”
Lance stopped and rubbed his eyes. Coran spoke again.
”You can leave if you want to, but I’d like to say something about what you’re going through—is that alright?”
Lance relaxed a little bit and let go of his bag before nodding.
”I know a lot of people don’t think this way and that’s really unfortunate but there’s nothing wrong with being gay. Everyone has their differences but still, you definitely aren’t the only gay person in the world. You’re 13, you have your whole life ahead of you. And I’m certain you’ll meet more people who will understand and love you for who you are. But anyway, just know you’re not alone and I think this plan of yours will only hurt the people who love you now. Because even if your family doesn’t understand, I’m sure they still love you and don’t want you to die.”
He started to cry again and Coran moved next to him to comfort him.
“You can come here any time you need to—but you should get home, your mother is probably worried about you”
Lance nodded and Coran offered to drive him so he let him.
When he got home, his mom answered the door and looked mad “Where were you?! I tried calling!”
“Sorry, my phone was dead—I stayed late for practice”
He walked in and his sisters also looked mad “You dummy, I thought you got kidnapped!” Veronica pushed him and he rolled his eyes “I was at practice”
”For an extra hour? I bet he was with a giiirrll~” Rachel said, making his scoff “I wasn’t!”
They all teased him and if it were any other day, he would hate it but knowing they were worried just made him feel better.
Lance was laughing after he told that story but Keith was focusing on the whole ‘hurting himself’ and the ‘plan’ he had. They were both done eating by then so Keith got up.
”Are we leaving?”
Keith nodded “Yeah, come on”
Lance smiled and walked out with him, saying bye to Coran. They walked back to the truck, Keith started driving—actually knowing where he wanted to go now.
He finally got to the place and lance looked out the window. “Here? Why?” He went to the place hunk suggested a bit ago.
Keith parked the truck and looked at the pretty view. “I don’t know, I just liked it here”
”Why? Cause you kissed me?” Lance smiled at him teasingly and Keith looked at him, smiling back “That’s kind of what I wanted to talk about”
Lance stopped smiling and Keith continued “Can I tell you the thing now?”
Lance looked at him for a few seconds before smiling “Honestly, I kinda forgot about that” he sat up straight and took a deep breath before turning towards Keith “What did you want to tell me? And why is it related to that kiss?”
Keith sighed “I……”
Lance nodded, leaning towards him a little. “Yeah?”
”I…I think I’m a much better kisser than you”
Lance frowned “If I’m such a terrible kisser then why’d you kiss me again last night”
Keith smiled “What do you mean? Nothing happened last night”
”No, I said you could tell me again—not pretend it didn’t happen”
”If I kissed you last night, I wouldn’t be able to say anything cause you would know”
”Then kiss me again—even if I suck at it apparently” he pouted and Keith laughed “I never said you were bad—I just said I’m better than you”
”Then let me prove you wrong”
Keith’s heart skipped and lance leaned over to kiss him. This time, no one froze and he kissed back immediately. It was a lot softer than every other time. Needless to say, he really liked it.
It didn’t last that long though because lance pulled away and laughed “Sorry—it hurts leaning like that”
”Do…Do you want to go to the back seat?” He was a bit nervous to ask because he didn’t want lance thinking he was trying to go further with him so quick. But before he could backtrack, lance nodded, smiling a little.
They got out and moved to the back and right when Keith closed the door and looked at lance, lance kissed him.
Keith didn’t expect it so he didn’t kiss back as fast. Lance pulled away “Sorry—too eager?” He laughed nervously and Keith shook his head “No” he kissed him and Keith thought about the night with allura.
He’s done this before with girls. But obviously he’s never done this with a guy. He’s always been ready and calm—maybe a little nervous sometimes but only because he didn’t want them finding out he was gay—but not nervous about the girl.
But now—he’s terrified. He’s terrified of screwing this up or doing something wrong. He’s scared of going too fast and ruining their relationship—their friendship. And he is not ready for anything more than kissing. It’s not that he wouldn’t want to if it happened, he just has no idea what to do and he doesn’t want to seem dumb or awkward. I mean, last night, he went a little farther and it seemed normal and Keith was excited but the more he thought about it the more he realized how stupid he would have seemed if anything happened.
He’s never felt so insecure about this type of thing before. But he really likes lance and he doesn’t want to fuck anything up.
”Is everything ok?” Lance pulled away, looking worried “You don’t seem into this”
Keith cursed himself and shook his head “No, I’m just…um…” he couldn’t bring himself to say how he felt and lance moved back. Shit.
”If you changed your mind or something, I won’t be hurt” he looked down, fidgeting with his fingers “I don’t want you to feel like you have to do this just because of last night. I’ll understand if it was just a spur of the moment type thing.”
Keith sighed and looked away, rubbing his face “No, it’s not that…I’m just…” he lowered his voice “I’m…nervous”
Lance didn’t respond so Keith looked at him. He rolled his eyes when he saw him smiling “Nervous?” He moved closer “Do I make you nervous?~”
“Shut up”
Lance moved even closer “I make you—the quarterback, stoic and strong Keith, nervous”
”You’re making me want to change my mind” he couldn’t stop his smile and lance moved close enough to whisper in his ear “Why, cause I’m making you nervous?”
It gave him chills just like last night and Keith moved his hand up to his neck “No, it’s because you’re annoying”
”If I’m that annoying then why haven’t you changed your mind yet” He put his hand on Keith’s chest and Keith turned his head to look at him “Because for whatever reason, I like you anyway”
They kissed again and Keith stopped thinking about everything he’s insecure about and let himself enjoy the moment. He’s never enjoyed this type of thing but right now, he’s really liking it.
And if it were a girl, Keith would know that when she puts her hand on his thigh, it’s because she wants to go farther.
But since lance is doing it—he has more to think about. If Keith assumes wrong will lance think he just wants to be with him for this? Or will he think he’s going way too fast and judge him? Or will he feel forced or pressured if Keith asks if he wants to?
Even though it’s really tempting, Keith decided to slow it down. He pulled away and lance didn’t move his hand. Maybe he didn’t mean anything by it—like, that’s just where his hand went?
”Maybe I was wrong about me being a better kisser” Keith laughed and lance shrugged.
”I think it’s a tie”
Keith looked down and after catching his breath a little, he lowered his voice “And I’m uh, sorry about last night”
Lance moved his hand and moved closer, getting comfortable on the seat and laughing “The only thing you should be apologizing for is scaring me and calling my shirt nasty”
Keith smiled but kept his voice quiet “No, uh, I think I may of went a little too far”
Lance stopped smiling “Oh, you mean when we hugged?”
Keith nodded and lance put his hand back on his leg, it seemed more casual though “You don’t have to apologize for that” he laughed “I liked it actually”
Keith looked up “Really?”
Lance nodded “Yeah but if you aren’t ready for anything more, that’s fine”
”I mean……I don’t mind it…I don’t know how to do anything…like that…so if we did it any time soon I’d probably seem really dumb”
Lance looked down, smiling “I don’t either so we’re both as dumb when it comes to that”
Keith smiled “I don’t wanna rush anything so we don’t even have to think about it”
Lance nodded “Good”
Keith nodded too and lance smirked “And I’ve heard the more tension you have built up, the better it’ll be”
Keith rolled his eyes and they smooched some more before just sitting in the back seat and talking.
After he drove him home, Keith couldn’t sleep. All he kept thinking about what the things that could go wrong. Why can’t he just enjoy this moment? Why does his brain immediately have to go to the negatives?
Why couldn’t he have just been normal?
Monday, all Keith had to go off for how lance was feeling about Saturday was a good morning text with a heart and a Goodnight text.
When he got to the school, he couldn’t help but feel like everyone knew. Like, by ‘confessing’ to lance, he also outed himself to everyone. He hasn’t seen his dad yet because he’s been extra busy at work. Obviously he knows he doesn’t know but it’s still uncomfortably in the back of his mind.
He went to his locker and nyma was standing there, at hers, texting. She looked up and smiled, putting away her phone “Big day today!”
He frowned “Why”
”Isn’t the first playoff game today?”
”What”
”The playoffs, they start today—it’s all rolo talked about during the weekend”
He didn’t respond—though he was a little tempted to ask why she’s still with him—but he’s more concerned about the fact that the playoffs start today and he had completely forgotten.
He walked away, and on his way to his first class, he passed lance, who smiled at him. Keith wasn’t thinking so he did nothing and continued walking to his class.
The whole time, he barely listened, he just thought about how the hell he’s gonna be prepared for today.
The bell rang and he walked to his second class, still freaking out. He walked in and sat down. He hasn’t been listening to the coach when he talks. He needs to start listening more. He pulled out two pencils. What does he do if he’s the reason they lose because he’s too unprepared?? Lance sat down next to him. What if he loses and has to explain that he’s been distracted by a boy?? He can’t say a girl because who would he say?? People would talk?! God, why doesn’t he listen—
“Keith!”
He jumped and looked at lance, who looked concerned. “What?”
Lances face didn’t change “What’s wrong?”
”….huh?”
Lance scooted a bit closer and lowered his voice “Are you okay? Is this about yesterday?”
Keith suddenly remembered that he actually told lance and they kind of went on a ‘date’ yesterday. Shit, he should say something.
”Uh—No! The playoffs are today”
Lance frowned “Yeah…?
”I forgot”
”How??”
”I don’t know what Im gonna do??”
”You’re prepared, right?”
”I mean, I’ve been going to practice but I thought it was weeks away”
”You don’t keep up with that stuff?”
”Not really?”
Lance scoffed “Then you need to start!”
Keith sat back in his seat and took a deep breath. He can do this? He’s the best player—he’s prepared.
He’s not prepared. He’s never freaked out before a game like this. Everyone is hyping him up and saying he’s gonna be the star of the night. How the hell is he gonna do that if he didn’t even know the game was happening.
All the players were already in their gear, shouting and getting ready to play. While Keith is still in his school uniform.
”Hurry up, the band is playing already” One guy said, as he left the locker room. Keith took a deep breath and changed his clothes.
Honestly, he’s not even worried about doing bad, he’s worried that he’ll disappoint his dad or the coach if he fails. His dad isn’t even here so he doesn’t know why it matters.
But he’ll have to come home and tell him ‘hey guess what I lost the game and ruined everyone’s chances’
”You coming?” Hunk appeared and Keith nodded “Uh—yeah”
”Everyone got dressed up”
Keith raised his eyebrows, confused, and hunk motioned for keith to follow him. He did and saw lance, allura, and pidge in the front row dressed in red and white with their faces painted.
He walked up to them, smiling “You know this is the least important game, why are you all painted?”
”All of them are important! And this one is probably the most important because you don’t even get a chance to try again if you lose” allura said, pointing at him.
Keith nodded, frowning “Thanks for reminding me”
”Oh be quiet”
”You better not lose cause this paint stains!” Pidge said, squinting at him.
“He forgot the playoffs started today!” Lance said, making everyone gasp.
”How do you forget something like that??!” Allura laughed and Keith shrugged, glancing at lance “I’ve been distracted”
”Must be a pretty good distraction to make you forget something like this” lance said, smiling at him.
”It’s more of an annoying distraction” he smiled back and before lance could say something back, it was their cue to leave so they went with the team. He feels a little better now.
Scratch that, knowing they’re all here for him, makes him feel a lot better.
The game started shortly after they left. Lance feels conflicted about the fact that Keith forgot about this. Firstly, he feels really good because duh, he was able to distract someone like Keith. But also, he feels kind of bad because what if he messed him up?
Thirdly, kind of unrelated, but it’s hard to think about anything when he’s watching keith. His hair is up which he likes an embarrassing amount. And lance has always had an affinity for sweaty sports guys. It’s one of the only reasons he got with James actually. Also because he thought he was the only other gay one in the world at the time.
Now he just has to not fuck it up with Keith.
He already kind of forgot about boundaries when he put his hand on his leg Saturday. Then again, Keith did almost go way farther the day before.
But still—lance needs to go waaaaay slower. Keith said he made him nervous so that’s definitely what he should do. And keeping this from his friends is gonna be pretty hard. And allura. He doesn’t know how allura would feel about all this. Is this like, breaking girl code or something??
Hold on, did allura know he was into guys and is that why they broke up?? Wait, lance has so many questions he needs to ask?!
Right as he thought that, Keith did something that was apparently really awesome because everyone started cheering. Lance doesn’t know what he did but it was definitely hot?
“So when did you say something to him?”
”Friday” he froze and looked at pidge, who was looking at him knowingly.
”I’m assuming it went well” she looked back at the field, smiling smugly. Lance leaned down to whisper “Well talk about it after the game”
She nodded, still smiling.
Keith did another cool thing and lance was starting to get kind of nervous about telling pidge. What if she doesn’t approve? And what if now that she knows, he has to tell allura?
After the game ended, they all waited for hunk and Keith to leave the locker room. Hunk walked out and pidge ran up to him and jumped on him.
Keith came out after him and lance was finally struck with a whole bunch of feelings. None of them age appropriate.
“Alright, come on, we’re celebrating at a restaurant tonight” allura grabbed Keith’s arm and they walked to pidges van.
Lance really wanted to say something about the game and congratulate him for winning. But his thoughts are so grossly jumbled right now, he can’t speak. Emphasis on gross.
They all got in and lance stayed silent as hunk drove to the restaurant. Every time Keith spoke he would need to make sure he wasn’t staring at him. This is gonna be a long night.
But he’s not gonna say anything because he’s taking it slow.
They got out and walked into the restaurant—Corans diner that he kept open just for them.
They sat down at a booth and Pidge and Keith got in first and then lance. But he noticed that he was sitting kind of far away. Hunk couldn’t get in after allura so lance moved closer to Keith but he seemed kind of hesitant about it.
“So when is the next playoff game?” Allura asked and Keith looked at her “Next week”
Lance put his head on his hand and and Keith was starting to feel a little weird. Did he do something?
”That one is at another school though” hunk added, sparking a conversation about that school.
They talked for a bit—lance stayed kind of quiet though. And when he did speak, it was very quick answers.
Coran had taken their orders and given them their food already and they spoke some more as they ate.
But the more they all spoke and lance didn’t, the more Keith was worried.
Everyone else was talking so he took the opportunity to lean close to him and whisper “You good?”
Lance jumped a little and looked down before laughing “Uh—yeah! I um—I have to use the bathroom though—“ he got hunk and allura to let him get out of the booth. He went to the bathroom and everyone just looked confused.
Allura looked at Keith “What happened?”
Keith shrugged and they sat back down. After a few minutes, allura looked at Keith again “Will you go check on him? He’s been weird all night”
Keith felt a little put on the spot but nodded “Uh—yeah, sure”
They let him get out and he walked to the bathroom. He opened the door and since he didn’t know if he was upset at him, he made sure to be quiet.
Since the diner is closed, he knew obviously the only closed stall was the one lance was in. He walked up to it but stopped when he heard a weird noise. His felt his face get really hot when he heard him muttering something in Spanish.
Fuck, he should say something???
Too flustered to speak, he just coughed. There was a crashing noise and Keith didn’t speak—way too embarrassed that he walked in on lance…doing something that is pretty private.
”Um…” lance spoke, his voice was a little shaky which made Keith even more nervous. But he will admit—this is pretty funny.
”Uh…” Keith coughed “So…should I leave?”
”Um—I-uh…”
Keith smiled “Don’t worry, we all do it”
”Shut up”
“You need help?” He heard another crash noise, which made him laugh.
“You’re not helping right now so no”
He walked closer to the stall, starting to feel a little…excited.
”You like football this much, huh?”
”I swear to god if you say another word—“
”What? I’ll make it worse?”
Lance stayed quiet for a second before sighing “…Yeah”
He crossed his arms and leaned against the door, smiling “I will?”
”You are”
“How? I’m not doing anything?”
”You are! You know you are!”
He kept smiling “What am I doing?”
”I dunno, like, being…smug”
”You like when I’m smug?”
“What?? No…”
He started to feel the same way when they were hugging and he kind of spoke without thinking.
”You cuss in Spanish?”
“What?—oh god, you heard me?!”
Keith laughed “Yeah”
”That’s…embarrassing”
”I find it flattering”
”Okay, mr. confident, how do you know it’s because of you?”
”If it makes you feel better, I’ve thought of you”
Lance was silent before cursing again under his breath “You have..?”
Keith looked down, not really knowing why he just confessed that “Yep”
”Ok fine, it is you”
Keith smiled but bit his lip to stop “Duh”
”Shut up”
”You sure you want me to?”
”You’re still not helping”
Keith stood up straight and faced the stall, lowering his voice “seriously though, I’ll leave if you want me to”
Once again, he was silent but then he heard lance zip up his pants and the door opened. Lance immediately started kissing him, which he didn’t expect but went with. I mean, why wouldn’t he?
They moved back into the stall and in between kisses, lance spoke “I told pidge”
Keith just nodded, not really caring if she knew. He doesn’t care if anyone knows right now.
“She told me I was oblivious!” He said, not believing her.
He laughed, still not slowing down the kissing “You are”
”I’m not”
Keith stopped but kept his hands on his face “I’ve been giving you hints for weeks—and even right before I told you you didn’t know”
”Yeah, cause I thought you were straight”
”I’ve kissed you so many times—how could I possibly have been straight”
”I don’t know!”
Keith laughed “You’re crazy”
”You’re mean” lance was smiling so keith knew he didn’t mean it.
“Do you still need to finish or are we gonna go back now?”
Lances eyes got wide “Oh shit, I forgot!—I’m good, let’s go”
Lance washed his hands before they left and he made the excuse that he felt sick. Keith could tell pidge didn’t believe him. But she was going to find out one day since she knows everything so he doesn’t mind.
They dropped him off at the school so he didn’t have to leave his bike there and he drove home.
His dad wasn’t home yet so he just went to sleep. He can talk about the game tomorrow. Or maybe not at all, he doesn’t really care.
When he tried to go to sleep, he was hit with a weird feeling. Something he’s kind of been trying to ignore for a while.
He’s upset his dad wasn’t there.
The next few days went like normal, things weren’t weird with lance, they were just…tense…?
And it was weird being around shiro since he knew but he hasn’t told him that he said anything yet. He doesn’t want to deal with that teasing.
They walked out of his room and lance stopped him. He looked hesitant. “Do you wanna come to my house after school?
Keith looked at him for a second before remembering to speak “Uh—Yeah, sure”
“Yeah, we can…study”
Keith smiled and lance looked down, trying not to “I don’t mean it like that”
Keith nodded, still smiling and backing up “Yeah, I mean, I do have a lot of homework”
”Good!”
“Good” he turned around and walked to his next class, feeling extra giddy. But then it hit him—what if he actually didn’t mean study??!
He really did mean study. And he meant study for the other times they met up too. The next two playoffs games happened and they were pretty boring, the only difference was that they were at other high schools. He did really well though. His dad still didn’t come though, which was a bit upsetting. The next one is still at another high school, it’s just a bit far away. But he’s nervous for when they go to a college because that’s when people pay attention. And a lot of people go to those games and being honest, Keith is pretty nervous about so many people watching him play.
But besides that, these two weeks for him and lance have made things a whole lot more tense. It’s pretty obvious their intentions aren’t to study anymore but they’re both too nervous or something to initiate.
Plus, this time, he really does have a lot of homework. So he got ready to go to lances house and took his bike and when he got there, he went to the door and stalled before knocking. I mean, if he does mean study, he’s prepared if he doesn’t….what the hell does he do?
Ok, he’s just go in there with the intent of actually doing his homework. Maybe lance will understand the math work he has. Cause Keith sure doesn’t.
He knocked and immediately heard a loud crash. It sounded like glass broke. There was some yelling and before Keith could consider leaving, the door opened and it was a man, who looked tired. He’s never seen him before. He looked him up and down “I don’t want what you’re selling” he shut the door and Keith stood there, not knowing what to do.
Uh…..does he knock again? Should he call lance?
He heard some more yelling “Who was at the door!”
”I don’t know, some punk salesman”
Ok ouch.
”A what?”
”It doesn’t matter—“ his voice got quieter and Keith stood there, pondering wether or not if he should knock again, leave, or—oh yeah, he should call him. Because he is absolutely not knocking again.
He stepped back from the door a little and got his phone out of his bag. Or he would have if it was there. He then remembered it was in his blazer pocket. At home.
Welp, he’s not knocking again so he walked to the side of the house and started climbing. When he got up he knocked and after a few seconds, lance opened the curtain, looking unimpressed. Keith smiled and lance opened the door “You must like doing this”
”The guy who answered the door thought I was selling him something”
He walked in and lance laughed “Who answered?”
”I don’t know”
”Must have been Marco then, he’s here for the week. You haven’t met him”
“I don’t know if he’ll like me”
Lance laughed again “He would, he rides a motorcycle too”
”He called me a punk salesman”
Lance looked him up and down like he agreed and Keith scoffed.
After that, they both sat on the bed and Keith pulled out his binder “I don’t know—“
Lance suddenly kissed him and Keith dropped the binder. Lance pulled away, laughing “Sorry! I didn’t even see you had that”
Keith laughed and leaned down to pick it up “I did say I have a lot of homework”
When he sat up, lance looked a little embarrassed. He set the binder down beside him “I can do it later”
Lance looked at him and smiled “I’m not that bad of an influence—we’ll do our homework”
Keith smiled “If that’s what you want”
They moved where they would be more comfortable and lance whispered “Plus my family gives me no privacy”
Keith laughed “Ive learned that”
”Rude”
Keith finished his homework and looked at lance “Can I use your bathroom?”
Lance laughed, not looking up from his paper “You don’t have to ask—but yes, you can”
Keith put down his binder and went out of his room. He walked to the door and was relieved when he saw no one was there.
He quickly did his business and after washing his hands, he opened the door. He jumped and so did the other person. Marco.
But his fear quickly turned into……anger “You again! No way!” He grabbed his arm and very aggressively started dragging him away. Keith stayed silent—mostly because Marco was going on about how ‘punk teens always think they can do anything’
They walked down the stairs and Keith still didn’t say anything, too scared he would hit him or something.
Luckily though, Veronica saw and stopped him “Hey! What happened!”
”I caught this guy trying to break in through the bathroom!”
”What?” She shook her head and grabbed Keith from him. Marco looked confused “That’s Keith!”
Keith rubbed where he was holding his arm and after a few seconds, Marco looked shocked “Oh!”
”Shit, man, I’m so sorry!—Why didn’t you say something?”
Keith was still a bit too stunned to speak but Veronica did for him “Probably because you were yelling at him!”
“What’s going on??” Lance started walking down the stairs and Veronica laughed “Marco thought keith was breaking in”
”What? I told you he was coming”
”Yeah, I know, I forgot”
He stopped at the bottom “You forget everything!”
”I see a guy I’ve never seen in my home, you should be grateful I took some initiative!”
”Im not grateful”
”Mamá needs to teach you some manners then”
”She needed to teach you hygiene!”
Veronica stopped Marco before he could say anything back “Okay, that’s enough. You two go back now”
Before Keith could go to the stairs marco spoke “Sorry, man”
Keith shook his head “Uh—you’re good”
They left and laughed about it before continuing with lances work. But Keith couldn’t really focus. The kiss definitely made things more tense. And the fact that more people were now at his house so they couldn’t do anything about it.
They met up one more time to study before the next game. It’s still a bit weird but as more time passes, the more comfortable Keith is getting with the fact that he told lance he liked him. He still hasn’t told allura yet which he’s planning on doing after this game.
It’s not that he didn’t want to tell her, he was scared of making it ‘official’ or whatever. But he’s starting to feel…stronger about lance. Which is weird to think. Keith never thought he would ever have friends he cares so much about let alone a boyfr—
“Hey, before I go, I just wanted to let you know I won’t be able to make it to this game. I’m sorry”
Keith looked up from the fridge and again, he felt a little disappointed. “It’s fine” But this time he also felt…angry “It’s not like you’ve been to any other one”
He closed the fridge and his dad sighed “I’m sorry Keith, I’m just busy”
He nodded and got his bag “I’m gonna leave early”
“Wait, what’s wrong?”
”Nothing” He left and starting riding to school. He’ll be an hour early but he’d rather wait then deal with his dad.
When he got there, he saw lance sitting on a bench. His motorcycle is loud so lance saw him. He saw him smile before walking over to where he usually parks.
When he did park and take off his helmet, lance spoke “Why are you here so early?”
”Why are you here so early?”
He laughed “Cause pidge gets here early”
”Why?”
”Cause her dad takes her and he works”
He nodded and got off and they walked back to the bench. “Where is pidge?”
”She’s—“
”Hey losers” She sat down next to Keith and lance frowned “Says the loser”
”Hey at least I don’t deny it”
Lance shrugged and pidge laughed “So y’all are that type of couple now?”
Hearing that made Keith’s face heat up. Pidge noticed and laughed “Even after the whole diner thing you’re blushing at being called a couple?”
Keith looked at her, kind of shocked at how forward she was. I mean, it really shouldn’t shock him, she’s always like this.
”What do you even mean ‘that type’?” Lance said, sounding a little offended.
”Getting to school at the same time and waiting together”
”So what if we are?
”Im not judging, just asking”
”You were judging”
”Maybe a little”
”Well, we aren’t, I don’t know why he got here early”
”Why are you here early then”
Not wanting to talk about his feelings, he smiled and put his arm over lance “Maybe we are and I got here to see him”
“Yeah sure”
Worried someone would would see his arm around him, he just laughed and moved. Which turned out to be great timing because someone walked past them. They were on their phone though.
They started talking about random things as more people got there.
Before the game, Keith was feeling really weird about the whole ‘couple’. It’s actually really distracting him.
”What’s wrong?”
He looked at allura, who now had red and white dots on her face. Not questioning when she did that, he lowered his phone “I need to talk about something”
She looked worried and nodded “Do you want me to drive you to the stadium? We can talk on the way there”
He nodded and they walked to her car. When they got in, Keith just just blurt it out “I told lance”
She gasped “Really??”
He looked at her and nodded and she smiled “And…?”
He looked away, a little flustered but smiling “We’ve been…studying a lot together”
She shook him, giggling “That’s awesome!”
”Yeah but today pidge called us a couple and I’m kind of freaking out about it”
She let go “Did lance say anything?”
”No, he just went along with it and so did I”
”So you are a couple?”
”I don’t know!”
”And you—wait—pidge knows??”
”Yeah—but to be fair, she knows everything”
”True”
She started driving and Keith sighed, rubbing his face and thinking about how tense things are with him and lance. Shit, he’s more nervous about that than the actual game.
“Nervous?”
He nodded and she rubbed his arm “You’re gonna do great”
He smiled and sighed again. Yeah, he’ll do great.
They won once again but Hunk was throwing up so allura offered to drive him home. Pidge nudged Keith’s arm “Lance can drive you home—he drove me here”
”I hate you”
”Everyone loves me”
She left and got in the car with allura and hunk. They left and lance walked up next to him “Were stranded”
He shook his head and started walking to the locker room. As he walked there, he was stopped by Nyma, who was in rolos jersey.
”Awesome job!!” She hugged him and it didn’t feel as natural as everyone else hugging him. But he still quickly hugged her, patting her back.
She looked at lance, smiling “So you two are like, actual friends now, huh?”
Lance nodded “Yup” Keith noticed that he sounded weird but ignored it for now.
”Okay, well, I’m gonna go back to rolo, I’m gonna ask to go to his house—“she giggled as she turned around “He said his parents aren’t home”
”Gross” Keith smiled her, and she rolled her eyes, saying bye before she left.
They continued walking and Keith looked at lance. He looked like he was spacing out. Should he say something? No, he doesn’t want to pry or something.
When they got to the locker room, they stopped “I won’t be long” Keith went in and since everyone had to stick to the buses schedule, Keith was the only one there. Which was good because he’s never really liked taking showers in front of people.
Since lance was waiting for him, he was really quick.
When he was done, he wrapped a towel around his waist and starting walking to the other part of the locker room. He heard talking though so he stopped.
”Yeah, rolo said his parents changed their plans so he left without me. Apparently they don’t approve of me or something”
”Why not?”
”He said they thought I was a whore” she laughed and lance didn’t “They did?”
”Yeah, and they’re kind of right”
Lance snorted “Yeah?”
”Yeah, like, honestly, I know you’re his friend and don’t tell him I said this—but I’d totally hook up with Keith. I was kind of excited when he said it was him who kissed me at that party”
He laughed again, but it sounded a little awkward “What about rolo?”
She shrugged “He’s alright but he’s kind of a douche”
”Yeah”
”What about you? You with anyone?”
Lance was quiet for a moment and then laughed “Nah, not right now”
“Not allura? You’re always hanging out”
”We’re just friends”
”What about Keith?”
He heard lance sputter a bit “Huh?”
“Is he with anyone?—He’s not with Allura anymore, right?”
He coughed “Oh—uh, no, they broke up”
”You think I have a chance with him?”
”He wouldn’t get with a taken girl”
”He already did” she laughed.
”No he didn’t?”
”He kissed me at that party”
Lance was silent for another moment “It was me”
”What?”
”I was the one who kissed you—he just said it was him so rolo would be mad at him and not me”
This time, she was silent. Then she laughed “Damn, that makes me like him even more—bad boy with a heart of gold, who wouldn’t like that?”
“Yeah” he laughed ”So, why are you in here again?”
”Waiting for Keith to be done—speaking of, do you have any idea when that’ll be?”
He shook his head and she sat down on the bench, across from lance “Why are you waiting for him?”
”I’m his ride home”
”Oh—shit, I was gonna ask him to drive me home”
”I can drive you home?”
”You would do that? Thank you so much!”
”No problem”
Keith had kind of forgotten that he only had a towel around him so he just poked his head out from behind the lockers “Oh—hey”
They both looked and Keith looked at lance “Will you bring me that bag?”
He nodded and picked up his gym bag. He brought it over to him and opened his mouth to talk but Keith interrupted him “I heard—sorry I took so long”
Lance smiled and looked down for a second. Keith gasped a little and covered his chest. Lance laughed and keith left to change.
Lance sat back down and nyma leaned forward and lowered her voice “I have a weird question”
He did the same “Yeah?”
”Have you ever seen him shirtless? I wanted to ask rolo but he would make a big deal about it. But I need to know” she laughed and lance smiled but then started to freak out a little. Holy shit, Keith is probably ripped, right?
He kind of saw him shirtless before but only for like, a second and he forgot what he looked like.
Wait, what if Keith expects lance to be super fit? Like, what if he’s disappointed that he isn’t?? Or what if he isn’t attracted to him? Oh fuck, now he’s insecure.
He should answer nyma though “Uh—No, I haven’t”
”Damn” she leaned back and laughed again. He laughed awkwardly and—freaking finally—Keith walked towards them. He got up and so did nyma.
They left and walked to lances car. “Sit in the back with me!” Nyma grabbed Keith’s arm and he looked at lance, who looked…weird.
Before he could even say anything, she opened the door and got in, still holding his arm. When he was in, she closed the door and then lance got in.
”What’s your address?”
”Do you wanna hang out? I’ve never actually got the chance to hang out with Keith outside of school before”
”Uh—“ Keith tried to talk but was interrupted.
”Can I go to your house? I can always get a friend to take me home”
Keith felt a little bombarded by the offer so he just shrugged “Uh—sure?”
”Awesome!”
Keith looked at lance and nyma did too “Lance, you can just take me to Keith’s house”
He nodded and started driving.
”Hey, maybe you can see him shirtless” He laughed but Keith finally realized why he sounded weird. He’s jealous.
”Lance!” She hit his arm and laughed. Keith leaned forward “You should stay at my house too”
”We can both see him shirtless” she laughed again and lance glanced at Keith. “Okay”
Keith leaned back and sighed “Why do you even want to see me shirtless”
”Because six packs are hot?”
”What if I don’t have one?”
”You do”
”Doesn’t rolo have one?”
”Yeah, but he doesn’t look like you”
”What does that even mean”
”You’re prettier”
He rolled his eyes and looked at lance, smiling “Lance is pretty, why don’t you want to see him shirtless”
Lance laughed and so did nyma “He is, and I do!”
”Ill gladly take my shirt off”
”Really?—“
”If Keith does”
Nyma opened her mouth, smiling “Okay, I don’t know when I went to sleep—cause I’m dreaming”
”Sorry, but I’m not going to take my shirt off”
”Lame”
”Yeah, lame” lance said and Keith smiled.
They got to his house and Keith let them both in. Nyma closed her eyes and took a deep breath “It smells nice in here”
”I know, right” lance said as they waited for Keith to shut the door.
”Let’s watch a movie”
Keith nodded went to where they had their dvds. Lance sat on the couch and nyma walked over to Keith “Let me pick the movie”
He moved over and she picked out a movie that he actually really liked. But he probably shouldn’t admit that he likes it.
She gave it to him and he put it in the dvd player. Nyma gestured towards the couch “You can sit in the middle”
Lance was at the end of the couch and he still looked pretty jealous. Keith sat down and nyma sat next to him.
The movie started but nyma paused it “Do you have drinks? Or like, popcorn or something”
”In the fridge—but no popcorn”
She got up and walked over to the kitchen and opened the fridge. She went ‘oooh’ and got out three beers, holding them up “You wanna drink these?”
”I have to drive” lance shook his head and she looked at Keith. He’ll probably need it for tonight so he shrugged and nodded. Plus, he’s home already so it doesn’t matter.
”You have any stronger stuff? I like drinking at other peoples houses—it adds to the thrill” she laughed and Keith pointed to the top cabinet “Up there”
She got it and walked back to the couch. She handed keith the beer and the other bottle but still didn’t sit down “What about blankets? It’s cold in here”
”The door on the end of the hallway to the left”
She nodded and walked towards it. Keith looked at lance “Are you fine with us drinking?”
Lance nodded “Yeah, I don’t care—I would too if I wasn’t driving”
Keith moved a little closer “You can stay the night”
Lances voice got quieter, too “Are you sure?”
Keith nodded “Yeah—I want you to”
Lance smiled and nodded “Okay”
”These are so cute! And soft” nyma came back and Keith handed lance the beer he was holding. Nyma laughed “Drunk driving?”
”No, I’m staying”
”Cool! Sleepover!” She sat down and handed a blanket to lance. Keith saw she only got two and he knew why. She covered both of them and Keith glanced at lance who was already drinking.
She played the movie and nyma started drinking the stronger stuff. She handed the bottle to Keith and he drank some as well.
The movie ended and they were all talking about it. They weren’t drunk but definitely a little buzzed. Nyma got up and Keith realized how close she had gotten.
She got another movie and put it in the dvd player. She played that one and sat back down, this time, a lot closer. “This one’s a bit more romantic” she laughed and the movie started.
”I like this movie” Keith admitted and nyma laughed “You do?”
He nodded and laughed “Yeah, I like all these movies”
”That’s really awesome”
Keith looked at lance again, who still looked jealous. As he thought of a way to make him not so jealous, lance seemed to have come up with a better idea.
”This blanket is thin, can I share yours?”
Nyma laughed “Of course! Get over here!”
He moved closer and covered up.
”Better?”
He nodded, smiling “Keith is warm, right?”
She laughed and hugged his arm “Yeah!”
The movie played a bit more and him and nyma drank more. He was kind of focused on the movie but he doesn’t think lance was drinking as much. But things are starting to get a little fuzzy.
As the first kiss scene happened, Keith felt a hand on his arm. It was coming from his right so he knew it was lance. He tried to hold down his smile. His hand moved from his arm to his side and then down a little—another hand showed up.
He stopped smiling and lances hand moved back to his arm. But nymas hand kept wandering. But she’s not nearly as drunk as she was as the party so if he moved it would seem weird of him. Or would it? Honestly he’s too drunk to think.
Keith drank some more, knowing this night will be long if it goes on like this.
Nyma moved closer and put her head on his shoulder. Her hand was going down and Keith, way too drunk, looked at lance. His drunk mind imagined it was his hand, which made the whole situation…worse.
He drank even more as her hand moved where it was heading in the first placed his breath hitched and he kept looking at lance. Lance looked at him and Keith put his hand on his arm.
He felt nyma move her head up and close to his neck. She kissed him and Keith saw lance look at her, still jealous. Keith moved his head to face nyma and she kissed him. Drunk, not thinking, and not wanting nyma to think he’s gay because she would absolutely tell people, he kissed back. He also may have been imagining lance a bit too much.
He felt lance move away a bit and Keith, not really knowing what to do in this really weird situation, he put his hand on his thigh.
Lance stopped and Keith squeezed a little. Nyma opened her mouth and Keith did too, also moving his hand up.
Nyma moved back a little and pushed keith back. Since lance was there, he stopped and nyma laughed “Oh, shit—I forgot you were here”
She moved so she was on Keith’s lap and shrugged, still pushing him back on lances lap.
“I’ve done weirder shit” she scooted back a little and lifted Keith’s shirt a little.
Lance was staring at her, obviously shocked. Keith is used to being in these types of situations with girls but him also being on a guys lap is new.
He would stop this if it wasn’t lance. And if he wasn’t drunk.
She undid his belt and then his buttons. She grabbed the zipper and looked up at both of them, whispering “Do you want me to? Cause I’ll stop if you think this is too weird”
Keith looked at lance and he was looking at nymas hands on his zipper. He moved his hand up to lances face turning it away from her. He nodded and she pulled down the zipper and then everything else.
He kept his hand on lances face, making sure he didn’t look. And based on what he felt, he was sure lance wasn’t too upset about this. It did make it worse for Keith though.
As she started, his breathing sped up and lance looked down at him—with his eyes since Keith is still holding his head the other way.
She sped up and keith made a noise, which he felt also affected lance.
Lance tried to move his head and keith accidentally stuck his fingers in his mouth. He didn’t expect it to make him make another noise though.
Lance looked away again on his own. But Keith's hand was still where it was. He didn’t expect lance to smile but it made him smile too.
He moved his tongue around and that just about did it for keith so he quickly moved his hand and kind of frantically pushed his face away so he didn’t see anything.
Nyma sat up and was smiling. She got up and went to the bathroom. Keith pulled his boxers up and let go of lances face.
He then dropped both his arms and sighed. Lance looked down at him with his eyebrows raised “Did that just happen?”
Keith, still breathing a little heavily, looked up at him “Are we a couple?”
Lance just stared at him. Keith, also still drunk, laughed. He heard nyma open the bathroom door so he sat up and pulled up his pants and zipped them back up.
Nyma came back and sat down “My friend is coming to pick me up—That was……not at all what I expected…But weirdly I really liked it”
Keith smiled and she did too, adding “Sorry lance”
Lance stared at her and then started laughing. She did too and then Keith rubbed his face, trying not to laugh with them.
”I won’t tell rolo if you won’t” she kept laughing and Keith gave her a thumbs up, too exhausted to speak.
”…Alright, let’s agree that this never happened” she added.
”Agreed” lance said and Keith nodded.
She nodded back and then got up “Okay, well…I’ll see you later…?”
They said bye and she turned around but stopped. She turned back around and walked up to lance “Just in case you felt left out—“
She leaned down and kissed him and then walked to the door, smiling and waving to them before walking out the door.
When she shut the door, they sat there, not saying anything.
Keith was a bit too scared to look at lance, since he might be upset that he let that happen. Fuck, he should have thought about that.
A bit flabbergasted, lance didn’t say anything immediately. He’s not upset, just…he doesn’t even know.
He looked at Keith, who was obviously drunk. Lance was a bit drunk too so that’s probably why he’s not processing this.
”You’re crazy”
Keith looked at him and smiled “Yeah”
”And we are”
”What?”
Lance grabbed his face “A couple, stupid” he kissed him and Keith kissed back. As Keith kissed him, he spoke “I was imagining she was you”
Lance smiled and pushed him down “I know”
Keith smiled too and moved his hands to his waist “I wanna do that with you”
Lance felt his face heat up and he kissed his cheek “Me too”
”But I don’t wanna go too fast”
He moved down to his neck “I don’t either”
”Cause I really like you” he laughed “Sorry, I’m drunk”
Lance smiled and kept kissing his neck “I really like you too”
“I’ve never liked anyone like how I like you”
Lance stopped and looked at Keith. His face is even more flushed. Damn, how much did he drink? Maybe he won’t remember.
”Me too”
”Will you stay the night?”
”I already said I was”
Keith laughed “Oh yeah”
Lance laughed too and sat up, staying on his lap. He wants to do this when Keith isn’t drunk.
”I’ll put away the alcohol so your dad doesn’t see”
Keith nodded and lance got up. He put everything away and threw away the bottles. He felt Keith come behind him and he put his arms around him. Lance loves that a lot more than he thought.
”I’m tired”
”I’m sure you are” he closed the cabinet and Keith laughed “I can’t reach that cabinet”
Lance just laughed and turned around to face Keith, who looked just adorable “I like how tall you are”
Lance cupped his cheeks and smiled “I like how short you are”
”I’m not short” he never thought he’d see Keith pout but here he is, pouting. He loves it.
”You are”
”Well, we balance each other out then”
“We do”
”Are you staying the night?”
Lance shook his head “That’s the third time you’ve asked me—yes I am”
Keith laughed and put his head on his chest. Lance grabbed his hand and started walking to his room. When they got there, he locked the door, just in case his dad came back and looked.
Keith fell down on his bed and lance went to his closet and got shorts. He definitely needs to change.
”If you need boxers they’re in that drawer” he pointed to the dresser and lance squinted “How did you—“
”I was on your lap—I felt it”
Lance rolled his eyes and got the clothes and went to the bathroom to change.
When he got back, he saw Keith trying to take off his pants—but failing. He sat down on the bed “I might just sleep like this”
Lance shook his head and crouched down to help him. He got up to get him pants and when he turned around, he had already taken off his shirt and started moving back. He wrapped the blanket around him and lance shrugged and put the pants back.
He made sure the door was still locked and got in the bed next to him.
They both laid down and faced each other. Keith smiled “I took my shirt off, now you have to”
”I’ll do that when you aren’t drunk—plus I didn’t get a good look” he looked down but Keith made sure lance couldn’t see.
Keith squinted “If I don’t get to look then you don’t” Then he smiled and grabbed lances hand. He brought it to his chest and moved closer “You can touch though”
Lance smiled and felt around, imagining how it looked. And by the way his abs felt, he knew they would be impressive. But he felt insecure again.
”I don’t have abs like you” he dropped his hand and frowned.
”I don’t care” he grabbed his hand again and felt around his palm with his thumb.
”I don’t want to be like…disappointing”
”You already amaze me—that won’t change if you don’t have abs”
“No one’s ever said anything like that to me before”
He looked at him, smiling “Do you like it?”
Lance smiled and nodded “Yeah—a lot”
”Good”
“Can I hug you?” Lance asked and Keith nodded. He hugged him and Keith hugged him back.
”I want to sleep like this”
Lance smiled “Me too”