It was raining. Lance was walking to school. He'd forgotten his umbrella and all his books got soaked. He hated when that happened. He just wanted to get to school. His books weren't the only thing soaked through. He was shivering by the time he reached the high-school entrance.

He heard the motorcycle before he saw it. It revved up behind him. Lance turned just in time to see Keith take of his helmet. His leather jacket was barely wet. He swung around his mullet. Lance felt himself blushing and immediately turned away. Keith got off the motorcycle and walked into school acting like he owned the place. He was to cool for words. Lance walked in behind him. "Oh shit," he thought nervously, "what if he sees me and thinks I'm following him."

Luckily he reached his locker. He felt much better when he put away his wet books. Suddenly the locker door slammed shut, barely missing his face.

"Hey, nerd." It was Keith.

"Hey," Lance replied timidly. This time he wasn't able to hide his blush. He kept his head down. If Keith had noticed he didn't let on.

"I wanted to ask you a question," He declared.

"O-kay," Lance said hesitantly.

"Do you tutor people?" Keith asked, looking him straight in the face.

"Not really," he replied before quickly adding, "but I can try."

"Great!" Keith said grinning. "Meet me outside at the end of school. See you then."

"Cool," Lance said blushing madly.

"Bye," Keith said coolly before sauntering away.

"Bye," Lance said under his breath. He closed his locker, going to his next class.

RING!

It was the final school bell. Lance walked back to his locker and put two of his notebooks in his duffel bag. He left school and was about to head home. Then, he remembered he told Keith he'd tutor him, for what he had no idea. He turned on his heel just in time to see Keith rev up his motorcycle.

"Get on," he said, his voice muffled through the helmet.

"What?!" Lance said shocked.

"Get. On." He repeated.

"Okay…" Lance replied getting on. He was hesitant to hold onto Keith waist. But just then, Keith grabbed his hands and put them on either side of his waist. "Hold on," he said before speeding down the road. They zoomed around corners and down straight roads. Lance kept tightening his grip on Keith's waist. By the time he stopped and pulled over, Lance's arms circle the entire length of Keith's waist. Keith seemed unfazed by this but waited for Lance to untangle himself before getting off. Lance on the other hand was super flustered and quickly withdrew his arms.

"Come on," Keith said grabbing his hand, hardly waiting for him to get his bag. They came in and Keith set his bag down by the door. Lance hesitated before doing the same. "Anyway," he said, "what did you want help with."

"Well…"Keith said trailing off. He couldn't continue, he was so embarrassed to be asking this of Lance. So, instead, he handed him the note his teacher had given him.

Lance started reading and immediately his eyes almost popped out of his head.

Keith,

You need to catch up on all your subjects. The many days you've missed are unacceptable. This is why I have assigned Lance McClain to tutor you. It is your job to tell him so.

Principle Alex

Lance didn't understand. He turned to Keith to ask "Why'd you miss so many days-" But got cut off when he saw Keith wasn't there anymore. "When'd he get up? Where'd he go? It's a small house, not many places to go."

Lance heard rustling coming from the kitchen. He'd assumed it was Keith and went to go see. It wasn't Keith at all. It was someone else. The guy was older, probably a senior. He had black hair and a startling white fringe. He was tall and muscular. He heard Lance come in and turned to him. "So, Keith how was-" he started, but then realized it wasn't Keith. He smiled. "Keith didn't tell me he was having someone over. What's your name?" he asked.

"Lance." He answered.

"Hi, Lance." He said with ease. "I'm Shiro."

So this was Shiro. The guy everyone talked about. All the senior girls wanted to date him. All the boys wanted to be him. He was basically the Keith of 12th grade. There was a long period of silence it was basically super awkward.

Keith, being the fricking ninja that he is, came up behind Lance and broke the silence. "So you've met my brother." He said to Lance. He jumped at least a few feet in the air.

"Don't sneak up on me like that!" Lance said outraged. "Where'd you go?"

"Calm down, I just-." He was cut off by Shiro "Did you take them yet?" To which Keith just replied by holding up his fist and a glass of water. "Good." He said before leaving. "Have fun, Lance."

Lance acknowledged Shiro and then turned to Keith suspiciously "What did you need?" he asked.

"Nothing," Keith said abruptly. "Let's just go."

They made their way back to the living room and plopped down on the couch. "So I'm assuming you want to do math…" Lance guessed.

"Hmm? No. I want to start with my extracurricular."

"Okay," he said hesitating "so like…"

"Art," Keith said a bit shyly.

"Alright, can you get your sketchpad, or notepad, or whatever you draw on?" Lance said starting to get a hang of talking to Keith. This guy wasn't so intimidating. In fact, he seemed down right meek at home. He wouldn't even look him in the eye.

"Yeah," Keith muttered shoving a journal in his hands "here." Lance didn't say a word as he opened the book. The drawings left him speechless and breathless. Keith was studying his expression with a satisfied expression. "And those are just my sketches," he declared proudly. "Do you like them?"

"Like them? I love them!" Lance exclaimed. "Keith, why didn't you tell me you were such an artist?"

"Well…" he said embarrassed.

"I mean," Lance said looking up with an awed look on his face. "What could you possibly need help with?"

Keith sighed and slumped further into the couch. He started playing with his fingerless gloves. "My teacher doesn't think it shows the real me."

"Oh," Lance said, then moving closer he asked in a low voice, "What is the 'real you'?" He might have just imagined it but at that moment he could've sworn Keith blushed. "Well, I don't like…" he paused for a second then blurted out the rest, "girls."

"So, you're gay?" Lance asked shyly.

"Well, yeah, I guess." Keith stuttered.

"Well then," Lance said, "I don't understand."

"Understand what?"

"What's so wrong with this art!"

"She said it seems superficial. Like this one." He jabs at a drawing of a girl that looks like Keith but lifeless. She's being reflected off a broken mirror. "That shows my mum," he said sadly. "She passed away and now all I remember is this broken figure. The last few days she looked exactly like this lifeless, tired, broken."

Lance noticed tears start to well up in his eyes. "And this one," he flips a few pages and points at a watercolor drawing. "This is how I felt when I last felt joy and belonging since my mother-" he put a fist in his mouth. He was crying freely now. Lance looked at him, not sure as to how he should comfort him. He put his arm around his shoulder and felt him tense. But, he needed to know someone was there. Keith put his head on Lance's shoulder. He let him cry, ignoring the damp patch soaking through his shirt. Lance rubbed small circles into his back, all the while whispering sweet nothings to him. They stayed like that till Keith calmed down.

When he pulled back he stared at his lap and quickly apologized.

"It's okay Keith, I get it," Lance said with a half-smile. Keith looked up. He looked so vulnerable Lance brought him into another hug. Lance was suddenly reminded of his sister. Whenever she was sad Lance hugged her and if need be, let her cry for as long as she wanted.

Keith looked up at him the sadness gone from his face, replaced with a timid sort of gratitude. "Thanks, Lance," he said.

"Anytime Keith," he said placing a hand on Keith's cheek. "Is it okay if-" he asked. Keith nodded.

Lance closed the space between him and Keith. Keith's lips were soft and easy to get lost in. Neither of them had done this before but, that didn't stop either of them. When they pulled away, Keith asked "So what does this make, us…"

"Well, would you do me the honor of being my boyfriend, Keith?" Lance said amused.

"Yes," Keith said breaking into a grin.

With that, Keith rested his head on Lance's shoulder, and Lance entwined their fingers. "I waited for this for so long," Keith said after a while.

"Really?" Lance said surprised, "Bad boy Keith fell in love with a little nerd like me?"

"No, I always thought you were just quiet and shy," He replied "but you're kind and sweet. And there was always something about you that I wanted to find out."

"And I have." He said coolly.

"What?" Lance said, slightly embarrassed.

"Your smile really does shine brighter than a thousand suns."

Lance grinned. "That's so corny."

"I know," Keith said moving closer to Lance. "I know."

They completely forgot the tutoring. They stayed cuddled together like that for ages. And that's exactly how Shiro found them in the morning, tangled in each other's arms, asleep.