* Requested fanfiction by Shiranai Atsune * I hope you all enjoy this rewrite of Season 8 :)
"Don't you just love how everyone's rooting for Keith and Allura to finally hook?"
"Mmn."
"Hey, Lance, I bought a goat and named it after you."
"Mmn."
"Lance?"
"Mmn?"
"What's on your mind?" Hunk leans a little closer over the table as Pidge continues to bomb the boy. "You've been acting this way ever since we sat down for lunch. Wanna spill the juice?"
Lance slouches on his hand and gently shakes his head. He'd been moping for hours because Keith and Allura had been the hype for the last couple of days. "Sorry. Just don't feel well." After saying that, he stands up and heads toward his room.
Kallura… Kallura… Kallura… That's what they call it. That's what they call the so-called "romance" between them. No one ever talks about me and Keith. Never even bothered thinking about it. And maybe that's how it's bound to stay.
A gentle knock is heard at the door, and Lance quickly puts away his pen and journal before turning to face the opening door. It's Keith.
Great.
"Hey," Keith quietly mutters, taking a seat on the bedside next to Lance. "Heard you've been a little… down these past few days. Thought I'd see what's up."
As Lance avoids eye contact, Keith takes a quick note of the clutteredness of the room. "Your room is a mess, Lance." His hand moves to the man's shoulder and comfortably rests there. The sad look in Keith's eyes says more than it needs to.
Lance stares at the floor. "Keith, I…" He swallows and then faultlessly looks into Keith's blue-gray eyes. "I think I'm coming down with a really bad cold."
An amused, almost relieved grin comes onto the man's face, and his hand slips from Lance's shoulder down to the bed cover. "Then you better get some hot cocoa or something."
Lance waves it off as he forcefully coughs in another direction. He lets out a choked "It'd only burn my throat".
"Fine," says Keith as he gets to his feet, "I'll get you some Hall's." He opens the door to leave, but first asks, "Red's your favorite, right?"
"Yeah." Lance responds, quickly fixing it up with a weaker 'Yeah' to further convince his friend. Keith shakes his head with a smirk and closes the door after himself.
Holy shit. Kill me now.
The next day started alright for poor Lance. Last night Keith had come into his room with some red Hall's and a warm smile. Even though Lance tried to act like it meant nothing, he treasured every single moment. However, when he walks into the Garrison cafeteria just now, his eyes fall on the table of hunched friends. Keith is inside the circle.
"Ask her already, you wimp!" Pidge laughs as she teasingly punches Keith in the arm.
Lance's sister, Veronica, studies Keith with utter glee. "We all know you two are… a thing."
The Cuban man wasn't all that certain of it, but from what he could pick out, Keith seemed to be low-key pissed off. As in, he seriously wanted to be left alone. Maybe I'm just being too optimistic, Lance thinks.
Like always nowadays, Keith tries to cover everything up with a smile. He tiredly whines as he begins searching for an excuse to escape the nagging. While he's scanning the room, he meets Lance's fixed gaze, which only asks for attention. In fact, the whole table becomes quiet and watches Lance standing there by his lonesome, a sad tray of food in his shaky hands.
He gives them a tiny wave of his hand before turning one-eighty and walking back to his bedroom, his new favorite place to hide out. There, he puts his food tray down and flings himself onto his bed. Why? Why did I have to find love where it wasn't supposed to be? Everyone will hate me for it. But I… These feelings. They can't stop. They won't stop. Ever since my first days in the Garrison, Keith has been an influence in my life. Yes, I always covered it up by yelling at him, but that doesn't mean I hate him. In fact, I really love him. A lot. And it won't end.
Pidge throws her hands up into the air in frustration. "He didn't do it! He didn't ask her out." She plays with her spoon in her bowl of pudding while Lance reads a book. "How can you be so calm about it, Lance?!"
He shrugs and mumbles, "I'm not really into that juicy stuff."
She gawks at this and glances at Hunk before slowly saying, "You… are the last one I'd expect to say that." This earns her a quick, dull look from Lance as he turns a page.
"If there's something up, Lance," mutters Hunk in his gentle, trademark voice, "we're always here." He takes his chocolate chip cookie from off his plate and holds it out to the boy. "Cookie?"
Lance looks up from his book at Hunk, pulls off a small, sad grin, and takes the cookie. "Thanks."
"What are your thoughts on our sexy warrior boy?" Romelle chants, her head cupped in her hands as a goofy grin comes up on her face. Allura is surrounded by the Garrison girls, all of them with a nagging smile or giggle.
Veronica plays with her silver ring, trying to imitate the well-known "Lord of the Rings Frodo ring spin". "You do like him, right?"
The Altean princess shrugs and looks out the window. "He's a good man, but I'm not sure if I see him in that way…" The group is shocked. "And I'm sure he has someone else on his mind than me."
Rizavi laughs and shakes her head from side to side. "Someone else? What's better than a little spice between two Paladins?" She gets several head nods from other girls.
"Please, girls," Allura mutters with a sigh, "if you're trying to set anything up with me and Keith, it isn't worth your time. I don't have romantic feelings for him, and neither does he for me." She stands up and trots off down the hall, leaving the girls alone with an awkward silence.
Rizavi sucks in a harsh breath. "Did I say too much...?"
Knock, knock.
"Who is it?"
"Me, Keith."
Lance sighs before tiredly mumbling, "Come on in."
Keith walks into the still-messy room, a determined yet exhausted furrow of his brows showing. "Lance, I need your help."
"What is it?" he quietly answers, peeling another one of his favorite red Hall's out of its wrapper.
"I need someplace to hide."
Lance's eyebrows shoot up. "Why…? And why here?" The groan Keith lets out explains enough. "Okay, okay, you can stay." A couple moments pass before the corner of Keith's mouth turns up, making Lance awfully uncomfortable. "What?!"
"But I thought you were sick."
A hot flush rises to Lance's cheeks as he throws the Hall's into his mouth and then proceeds to nearly choke on it.
"LANCE!" Keith quickly pats Lance's back to help out, and the tiny square Hall's soon pops out and onto the floor. He lets out a relieved sigh. "You idiot."