Keith couldn't stop thinking about what Lance had said.
Cooler.
Bigger.
Grizzly.
Grizzly?
He knew two years had passed. Two years of getting to know his mother and opening himself up to her. But he didn't realize that he'd...changed. Physically, at least.
Apparently Lance noticed.
And no one else did.
No one else said anything about his appearance. But as soon as he made that video call, Lance picked up on it.
Now Keith was all flustered. Only in his dreams did Lance say stuff like that.
Maybe things were different now.
But how different?
Keith didn't let himself hope for the kind of different he wanted. The kind he desperately wanted.
That would never happen.
Right?
When they bumped into each other in the hallway, Keith's cheeks went bright red.
Lance's hand managed to find Keith's chest in the collision. Lance lingered a tick, flushed, then pulled away.
"Sorry," he muttered, looking down.
Keith didn't need to adjust to his size. It'd come gradually without his realization. He barely noticed it. But apparently he needed to adjust around the paladins.
"No," Keith said, "my bad. Wasn't looking."
Lance smiled apologetically. "Gotta get used to your new size, huh?"
Keith shrugged while his heart hammered in his chest. "I'm not all that different, Lance."
"Well...yeah you are," Lance stuttered. "I mean, look at you."
They both peered at Keith's torso. He tried to picture what he looked before. But he didn't remember; he'd never really paid attention to it.
Lance continued to stare. Keith felt insanely insecure under his scrutiny. But he didn't move.
Their eyes met when they both looked up.
Keith coughed, his gaze skirting away. He couldn't stop blushing.
"How'd it happen?" Lance asked.
Keith shrugged as nonchalantly as he could. "I'm not really sure. Time was different where I went."
"How different?"
Keith bit his lip. "I don't know how long I was gone by your standards, but for me, it was more than two years."
"Two years?" Lance yelped incredulously. His eyes widened. "You were gone that long?"
"Technically."
"Does that mean you're two years older?"
Keith paused to consider it. "I guess so."
Lance's eyebrows shot up. "Whoa."
Keith hadn't really thought about it. Lance seemed more interested than he was.
Lance flushed and scratched the back of his head. His gaze flickered downwards. "It uh...it suits you. The whole...older thing."
Keith's heart hammered harder. Faster. He felt weak in the knees. His voice strained when he said, "Thanks."
Sheepishly, Lance shrugged. "I don't know, man. You just look…"
"Look what?" Keith managed.
Lance swallowed. "Good," he struggled. "I mean...don't get me wrong. You looked good before. You...you always look good."
Keith couldn't believe he was hearing this. His world started to spin. "I...what?"
Lance's cheeks turned a new shade of red. "I just...I'm just saying the two years did you well." Keith couldn't believe he was hearing this. "Lance-"
But Lance looked like a bright tomato. An adorable tomato, at least. He bowed his head and cleared his throat. "But even now, you still don't look as good as me." He tried to cover it up with a joke but he failed. They both could tell there was no heart in the words.
Keith struggled to breathe. His mind faltered. "Lance-" he repeated.
And then Lance changed the subject entirely, much to Keith's disappointment.
"I gotta go find Hunk," Lance blurted. He briefly touched his palm to Keith's upper arm. Each of them looked down at the hesitant fingers. Keith felt the skin go warm. Lance pulled away sheepishly. "I'll see you around."
"Yeah." Keith watched him turn and go. "See you around."