Oh My God Keith! Don't Die!
"Come on, Keith. Hurry up! We'll be late!"
Keith ignored the pleading of his closest friend as he was currently looking for his gloves. The fingerless gloves he never left the house without. He remembered taking them off before his shower, but couldn't remember where he tossed them.
"KEITH!"
"Wait a minute!" he shouted over his shoulder as he dug through the pile of clothes on his floor. Maybe they had fallen here.
The door to his room opened to reveal a small bundle of fluffy hair, glasses, and irritation. "I have been waiting for this movie for months. I am NOT missing it!"
"I just need my gloves, Pidge. Jesus."
"Leave the house for once in your fucking life without them!"
"I can't!"
Pidge stormed over to him, grabbed his arm, and, in spite of her smaller stature, was able to pull him to the door. "You'll be fine. Just pull your sleeve over it. You're wearing long sleeves for Christ's sake."
"You don't understand. I can't even look at it. The gloves help."
"I do understand, Keith. Better than you can imagine. Haven't I known you for ten years? I know how you feel about it, but covering it up isn't going to make it go away." Her tone had turned from irritation to kind sympathy.
"At least you're not dying when you meet your soulmate," he said bitterly as he self-consciously yanked his arm away from her to pull his sleeve over his hand. "Let's go."
"Keith, come on. Don't be angry."
He just grunted at her, took his keys off the counter, and motioned to the door. They were running late after all and there wasn't time for hang-ups about his soul mark.
Keith drove to the theater as fast as he could, breaking the speed laws but thankfully, no police were between his apartment and the movie theater. The two friends were silent for most of the drive until Pidge finally spoke up. "You know, your soul mark doesn't necessarily mean that you're dying," she began.
Keith had heard it before. Anyone who saw his soul mark always tried to reassure him that it might not mean what he thought. What else could Keith think, though? Everyone was born with a soul mark on his or her wrist. Tattooed there with no way to remove it. The only way it disappeared was when you heard the words from your soulmate. They were the first words you heard from them. Pidge, for example, had "I like your robot" on her wrist. As Pidge liked to design robots, this made sense. She had heard it a few times from different people - young and old, male and female - but her mark remained. Pidge would anxiously look at her wrist when someone said it to her, eager to see the mark disappear. It remained, dark and clear, but she never gave up hope.
Keith, however, tried to hide his for two reasons. The first was to avoid awkward questions and the sympathy of others. The second was to avoid looking at it himself. Thinking of it caused his eyes to flicker to his naked hands, his inner wrist visible as his sleeve had slid up while gripping the steering wheel.
"Oh my god, Keith! Don't die!"
When Keith first understood the import of those words, it scared the hell out of him. He was going to die. He knew everyone did at some point, of course, but he didn't want to do it just after meeting his soulmate. As far as he knew, he was probably the only person who did not look forward to finding his soulmate.
"I know that it doesn't look...good," Pidge said, her eyes on the tattoo, seemingly emphasized by the bright afternoon sunlight, "but I'm sure there's a logical explanation."
"Yeah. I'll meet my soulmate and have what? Five blissful minutes together? Then die?" Keith spit out.
"No, I don't mean that. Besides, how can that be the first words your soulmate says to you? It has your name in it. If you have just met for the first time, how would they know your name?"
Keith shrugged. It was an argument Pidge, Matt, Shiro and Adam had all used with him. Yes, that part didn't make sense, but still, the dying thing was still there.
"Drop it, Pidge," Keith said. They had reached the theater and it took Keith a few minutes to find a parking spot. Once parked, they got out of the car, Keith yanking down his sleeve again.
"No time for popcorn or anything," Pidge commented, obviously following his wish that she drop the subject of soul marks. "I think we even missed the previews," she said, glancing at the time on her phone.
"At least we already have reserved seats," Keith grunted. Pidge showed her eticket to the usher and they rushed inside. They needn't have worried - it didn't look like anyone but them wanted to see this particular slasher movie. The only other people in the theater had seats in front of theirs - two boys. Keith barely took notice of them as he and Pidge settled into their seats.
The movie had started, but the opening credits were still on the screen, so Keith figured they hadn't missed much of it. He finally relaxed into his seat. The movie was much anticipated by Keith and Pidge - who both loved bad horror and slasher movies. The cornier, the better. It was a more obscure movie, so neither knew much about it, but they both thought the concept was good, in spite of being almost a horror movie cliché. Seven kids stuck in a house overnight with supernatural elements trying to kill them. Keith had read that the ways the movie had for killing off the victims were surprising and original, and Keith and Pidge enjoyed one of the actors, who specialized in these awful slashers.
Pidge liked to provide him with running commentary through these types of movies. She was louder when they watched at home, but in the theater she was somewhat respectful and kept her volume to a minimum. Still, Keith was amused at her quips and witticisms and it helped to take his mind off his soulmark for a brief time.
"I wonder if Movie Keith is as emo as you?" Pidge pondered. One of the characters was named Keith – a stereotypical nerdy teen with no explanation of why he was hanging out with six obviously popular and good-looking teens. Real Keith supposed that he was there for the comic relief. Movie Keith made Real Keith a little uneasy for some reason he couldn't fathom. "Nah, he's too much of a geek," Pidge added.
Keith leaned close to Pidge and whispered quietly, "Like you?" which earned him a light punch on the arm from his best friend.
None of the teens in the movie had died yet, even though they were a good quarter of the way into the film. Pidge was getting restless. "Just kill them off already, geez!" Then she hissed "Sorry!" as they heard a little chuckle come from one of the boys in front of them.
Come on Keith, let's explore the upstairs," a flirty redhead girl said to Movie Keith.
Movie Keith looked extremely nervous at the thought of that, "Upstairs? Like alone with me?"
The fake laughter of the actress grated on Keith's nerves. "Yeah! We can maybe find somewhere quiet?" the girl said.
"Sure!" Movie Keith squeaked. "Lead the way!"
"Lead the way to your death, Amanda!" Pidge cackled next to him. "Movie Keith is such an idiot. Kinda like you," Pidge whispered, trying not to disturb the two boys in front of them again. "It's all in a name, right?"
Keith just nudged her with his elbow.
Movie Keith and Amanda went upstairs, found a bedroom, and predictably started making out. Keith and Pidge made gagging noises. "At least we know you wouldn't do THAT," Pidge teased him, receiving only a glare in response.
The camera point of view shifted to a shaky shot that indicated that the killer was approaching the bed. "Here it comes!" Pidge said with suppressed glee.
Amanda was the first dispatched. Real Keith didn't think getting her head chopped off was particularly original, though Movie Keith's reaction was hilarious enough for him and Pidge to start laughing whole-heartedly. Movie Keith then tried to scramble off the bed and make for the door, but the killer pursued him.
"He's gonna bite it!" one of the boys in front of Keith and Pidge said.
"Oh my god, Keith! Don't die!" the other shouted.
Real Keith froze. Every cell in his body froze. Did...did this boy honestly just say that? No. It couldn't be.
"I liked Keith," the boy continued. "He was the most real one of all these idiots in this house! And the poor nerd was finally gonna get some! Psycho killers are, like, the ultimate cock block!"
Real Keith glanced at Pidge, who was staring back at him with wide eyes.
"Are you fucking kidding me?" Keith blurted out in a loud voice.
It took a few moments, but with that, the boy in front of them whipped his head around, going so far as to get on his knees on the seat and peer up at them. "What did you just say?" he demanded.
Keith stared down at him. He was difficult to see, as the theater was so dim, so Keith had no actual idea what he looked like. He could just make out the shadowy form below them. "What did YOU just say?" Keith echoed.
"Your wrist!" Pidge hissed, scrambling for her phone. The other boy in front of them had also fully turned his body to kneel on the seat next to his friend. In a moment, Pidge had activated her flashlight app on her phone and yanked Keith's left wrist toward her. Sure enough, the words were fading. Quickly. After a moment, they were gone.
"Holy shit, Lance!"
Lance. His name was Lance. His soulmate. And Keith wasn't dying. The light from Pidge's phone angled down toward the pair in front of them, briefly flashing over Lance's face, but didn't linger long enough for Keith to get a full impression. Pidge was angling the light toward Lance's hands. The boy flipped his left hand over to see the remnants of his own tattoo fading away.
"Oh my god," Keith breathed, completely ignoring the scene behind Lance of one of the teens being disemboweled with a pitchfork. His eyes locked on the form of the boy in front of him. Neither of them moved. They just stared.
"Dude, let's get out of this theater," the other boy suggested, glancing at Pidge, who nodded.
"Uh yeah, guys? I think you two need to talk."
Keith was barely aware of Pidge urging him to stand up. Somehow, she got him to his feet and nudged him down to the aisle. The other boy had physically pulled Lance to his feet and pushed the stunned boy ahead of him so that Keith and Lance stood together.
A loud and pained scream filled the theater, somewhat bringing both boys back to their senses.
"Ok, not exactly a good place to talk," Pidge said pointedly. "Out," she ordered.
The hallway was bright after the darkness of the theater, and Keith finally got a look at his soulmate. His soulmate. He was...'beautiful' was the best word for him. Knowing he had a soulmate didn't keep Keith from forming his own standards of what he would hope for in a partner, but this boy hit a lot of the marks. At least physically. Soulful eyes that, in spite of the lingering shock, sparkled with a joy that Keith supposed was always present no matter what. Dark and tanned skin - Hispanic - but with medium brown hair that tended to curl. Sharp features and a lean, lanky build. His height too. No awkward bending for either of them should they want to kiss. Kiss. Yeah, that. Keith's eyes focused on the lips. So kissable.
The other boy, a larger and taller young man with dark hair and darker skin than Lance, cleared his throat. "So, that happened..."
Keith couldn't pull his eyes from Lance. His soulmate. And he wasn't dying. That thought was so dominant in his head that he could barely think of anything else. For his entire life, he was convinced that he would meet his soulmate because of some horrible injury or accident. For almost eighteen years he had been terrified of this meeting. And the first words were for a fucking movie? The hilarity of it overcame him and he let out a high-pitched combination of a laugh and a gasp.
The high-pitched hysterical laughter wouldn't stop. He just couldn't, even though Lance and the other boy were staring at him, Lance with a mixture of confusion and intrigue. Pidge had hold of his arm, hugging it and muttering a string of words he couldn't even comprehend.
"I'm not dying!" he finally managed to say. His voice was rough and ragged with emotion.
"I'm confused," Lance confessed, finally looking away from Keith toward his friend for the first time since they stepped into the lobby. He had been staring at Keith as obsessively as Keith had been staring at him.
A sob from Keith startled all three of them, and Keith tore his eyes away from Lance to look at Pidge. "I'm not dying..."
With that, Keith turned back to Lance and lunged at him, wrapping his arms around the boys' neck and burying his face against his skin. Lance's arms automatically slid around Keith's waist, holding this virtual stranger close to him. It felt natural to hold Keith in his arms, which Lance supposed made sense. They were soulmates after all, but he was utterly confused. Keith's tears were damp against his skin and the shoulder of his shirt was becoming soaked. Keith was shaking and it didn't seem like it would end any time soon.
"What...?" Lance said in a quiet voice.
"Your first words," Pidge said, then realized that Lance still didn't get it. "Your first words were 'Oh my god, Keith! Don't die!'." When Lance nodded, she pointed at the still sobbing boy in Lance's arms. "His name's Keith. He's thought his whole life that he'd meet you when he was dying."
The look of horror on Lance's face when he finally understood the import of it startled Pidge, to be honest. Lance tightened his hold on his soulmate, pressing a kiss against the side of his head. "No sweetheart, no. Don't be scared. You're not dying."
"Unbelievable," the other boy breathed. "Poor guy. I'd be terrified too..."
"And here I thought I had it bad by having the word 'fucking' on mine," Lance said, his tone both teasing and sympathetic. "My mama was never happy with that and was worried my soulmate was some sort of degenerate."
"Look, is there somewhere we can go?" the taller boy asked. "Like, this is all nice, but we're getting a few stares, and these two really need to talk. I'm pretty sure Keith probably doesn't want to be out here where everyone can see him."
"We can go back to our place," Lance suggested. "That ok with you, Hunk?"
"Of course."
"Keith?" Lance said gently, focusing on the boy in his arms again. "Come on, ok? Let's go to my place. We can talk. Does that sound alright?"
Keith nodded, finally loosening his grip on Lance and pulling back only to look into the boys' eyes. His hands settled on Lance's shoulders as the boy smiled at him. Lance reached up to smooth Keith's hair, then caressed his damp cheek.
"Want to ride with me?" the taller boy asked Pidge. "I'm sure these two don't want to be out of each others' sight any time soon."
Pidge grinned up at him. "Sure. I'm Pidge, by the way. Guess we better get to know each other, huh?"
Hunk chuckled as they began walking toward the exit, Lance and Keith trailing behind, lost in each other's eyes and holding hands tightly. "Looks like we'd better."
"I'm sorry for losing it back there," Keith said, his voice rough from crying and from emotion.
"Don't apologize," Lance said, his eyes on the road in front of him. "I can't even imagine what you went through with that as a soul mark."
Keith warmed at the level of sympathy he could hear in Lance's voice. "I never wanted to meet you," Keith admitted.
"I wouldn't want to meet me either," Lance said, his tone still sympathetic, but with a teasing quality to it. "I mean, I am fabulously charming and all that, but if those were the first words I'd hear, I don't think I'd ever leave my house."
"It's been…tough. You know? I do rarely leave my house. Pidge would tell you I'm all moody and emo and unsocial. It's just I've been worried about this for so long."
"Well, you don't have to worry anymore, Keith. We found each other and nothing tragic happened. I'm so sorry that you had to live with that dread. I'll make it up to you, I promise."
"I don't even know what I'm supposed to do now," Keith admitted. "I never thought past meeting you."
"I'm not really sure either. I mean, I know people who have found their soulmates. Hunk has. I've dreamed of meeting you all my life." Keith was surprised at how open and honest Lance was. "But now that you're here, it feels a little awkward, but also good."
"Yeah," Keith agreed, then huffed a little. "I'm sure the first impression was great. Swearing at you and then crying all over you."
Lance chuckled as he signaled a turn into an apartment complex. "Well, usually first reactions to me are a little more happy and a little less damp, but don't worry. I totally understand." It looked as if Hunk had already parked his own beat-up VW. Lance had offered to drive Keith's car, as Keith didn't look up to handling that when they left the theater. Lance parked the car in a spot labeled 'Visitors'. "Here we are, home sweet home. Hunk and I are roommates," he explained, turning off the car and handing Keith his keys.
The four met at the front door and no one said anything as they climbed to the second floor and Hunk let them into their apartment. Keith barely registered anything on the inside. His focus was completely on Lance – his dark eyes following every movement of the boy.
"Keith and I are going to my room to talk," Lance announced as he took Keith's hand firmly in his. "We'll be out later."
"Sounds good, buddy," Hunk said, smiling. "Let me know when you're hungry, I can whip something up or order pizza or whatever. " He looked at Pidge, "So…Mario Kart?"
"Oh you're on, big guy!" she challenged.
"I guess we have a lot to talk about," Lance said, shutting his door gently, his other hand still firmly held by Keith. Keith, whose dark eyes never strayed from his face. Lance enjoyed the attention, especially from someone as hot as Keith was. All dark and pale at the same time, intense eyes, a low and pleasant voice, great body. Lance was already in love. He had always loved his soulmate, of course. Lance was a romantic, and in spite of the words on his wrist, he couldn't wait to meet the person destined for him.
It didn't stop Lance from being a flirt, of course, but he never meant it. Never dated. Never wanted to lead someone on for the fun of it, like some people he had known. He couldn't imagine doing that. Couldn't imagine wanting to do anything romantic with anyone other than his soulmate. He had heard the phrase on his wrist many times, but something about the way that Keith had said it had shocked him. Maybe subconsciously he knew that his soulmate said it.
"We do," Keith finally answered. "I don't know where to start."
"How about the beginning?" Lance suggested, leading Keith over to his unmade bed. He let go of Keith's hand with difficulty and hastily yanked the sheets and blankets up into a somewhat neater order. He certainly wasn't expecting to have company in his room tonight.
"The beginning?" Keith asked, watching him.
"Yeah. You know, get to know each other. Name, age, serial number. That sort of thing."
Keith had to laugh and Lance felt his insides flip. What a pretty laugh – soft and breathy. "Like a military interrogation?"
Lance grinned at him. "Well maybe not that formal," he said. He climbed onto his bed, situating himself so that he sat with his back against the wall, propped up by some of the dozens of pillows he had on the bed. Lance patted the spot beside him, "Care to join me?"
Usually Keith only did things like that with Pidge or his brother. Never with a complete stranger. And while Lance was his soulmate, he was still a stranger, so it felt awkward to crawl into the bed next to him. Awkward, but right at the same time. They sat about half a foot apart, their hands immediately joining between them.
"So I guess we can start with names?" Lance said, his tone indicated that it was more a question. "I'm Lance McClain."
"Keith Kogane."
"How old are you, Keith?"
"Twenty-one in a month."
"I'm only nineteen. I go to the college here in town, but I grew up not too far from here. Hunk's my best friend from when we were little. We wanted to go to school together, so we came here."
"I never went to college," Keith said. "I thought about it, but just never went. I do a lot of freelance graphic and web design." Keith smiled briefly, "What are you studying?"
"Elementary Education. I just adore kids. My older brother has a couple and I helped to babysit them a lot. Kids have always adored me. It just seemed like a natural fit. I've had to do some classroom observation for my program and just loved it."
"I…I can see that you'd be good with kids," Keith said, somewhat shyly. "I mean, from what I've seen. You seem so nice and friendly."
Lance beamed, squeezing his hand. "So who's your friend that is now so nicely occupying my best friends' time with Mario Kart?"
"Pidge. Our brothers are good friends. She's a freshman at the university, so a little younger than me, but we've been friends forever. Kinda by default since our brothers were always hanging out."
For the next two hours, the pair talked, asking and answering dozens of questions. In the short amount of time, Keith and Lance knew quite a lot about each other. Their favorite colors, most embarrassing story, first grade teachers' name, first pet – as many things as Lance could think to ask. Keith was happy to sit and wait for Lance's questions. His mind was in such a blur that he couldn't form his own, but he was learning that Lance was outgoing and talkative, something Keith loved. Like many introverts, Keith loved people willing to do the talking. Still, Keith talked more to Lance than he had ever talked to anyone in his life, aside from Shiro and Pidge. Lance was easy to talk to, and Keith chalked that up to not only Lance being friendly, but also his soulmate.
As he watched Lance describe a trip to Cuba to visit his grandparents, he was fascinated by the way Lance talked. He was so animated. Keith had hold of one of his hands, but the other was gesturing and flailing around in excitement. The special smiles Lance gave him between sentences made his heart go wild. He had dreaded this all of his life, but now, sitting in the room of his soulmate, he had never felt so light and happy.
Lance abruptly stopped his story and tilted his head. "What?"
Lance didn't look annoyed to Keith, just curious and wore a little smirk that twisted something in Keith's stomach. "You're my soulmate," he stated, unsure of what to say – how to articulate all the emotions he was feeling.
"I am," Lance agreed, but didn't add anything to help Keith with his struggle.
"I just. I don't know. I'm not good with words. Or talking. Or expressing myself. I don't know what to think or what to do or what to say."
"What do you feel right now?"
"Numb," Keith answered honestly. "And confused. But happy. Really happy. I'm not used to feeling this." He thought for a moment, chewing on his lower lip. "For as long as I can remember, I never thought past meeting you. I figured I had no future after that, you know? I've never pictured what it would mean having a soulmate, because I didn't think I'd be with him or her past the meeting."
He could see the tears in Lance's eyes and he felt guilty for putting them there. Keith reached up with his free hand, twisting his upper body towards Lance. His fingers gently touched Lance's face, causing his eyes to shut as he leaned into the soft touch. "Keith," he whispered.
"Don't cry Lance. Please," he pleaded. "It's ok, now. It's ok. I just need to adjust my thinking."
"I just feel so bad. Here I've been waiting for you all my life. Looking forward to finding you. Dreaming about you. Imagining our life together. And you just lived in fear. That breaks my heart."
Keith smiled, firmly cupping Lance's cheek, his thumb brushing an escaped tear. "But it's ok, now," he repeated. "If it means spending my life with you, I'd gladly live that time over and over to get to this point." They had scooted closer to each other, hands letting go so that Lance could snake his arm around Keith to pull him even closer. Their foreheads touched. "Tell me everything you imagined about us…"
Lance laughed quietly. "Wow. I thought you said you're weren't good with words. To tell you everything I've dreamed will take awhile…"
"I've got the rest of our life together to listen."
"I think I want to kiss you first."
"What are you waiting for?"