Csilla: so I haven't given up... surprisingly? I had this idea one day and Kris (mosherocks4) was super helpful in getting this idea out of my head and onto my laptop so hopefully I don't disappoint anyone.
Trust Me
chapter one;; utopia
The house was silent when Keith arrived, no surprise: he had stayed late, hoping to catch up on some paperwork with Allura and Coran. He's constantly surprised that either of them are able to handle the mountain of endless documents that comes their way.
Dropping his keys as quietly as he can manage in the wooden dish beside the door, Keith toes off his shoes – grateful that tonight no one had puked on them. Again. He really didn't have the energy to stay up much longer. He ascended the stairs, praying that the one stupid step that his husband still hadn't gotten the chance to fix, wouldn't wake him. Being a police officer is never easy, especially when there's a chance of being woken up in the middle of the night by a tip.
Relief flooded his veins as Keith reached the second floor, only a few more feet until he could collapse on their bed. Discarding his button-up at the hamper by the bedroom door, it wasn't long before his pants and socks followed suit. Another thing he was grateful for was that his husband was already in deep slumber so easing into the empty side of the bed shouldn't wake the other man.
Sleep came quickly for Keith, whose eyes fluttered shut the moment he exhaled after his head hit the pillow.
The next morning, Keith found himself under the duvet and curled up to the empty side of the bed. His pale fingers stretched out, feeling the cold fabric beneath his tips: it must be nearing noon or something. Pushing himself into a sitting position, Keith took a sideways glance at his husband alarm clock – sure enough the neon digits read '1:15 pm' meaning his husband had left for work almost seven hours ago. Stretching his arms over his head, popped a few of his joints, before he staggered out of bed and into the adjourning bathroom. A shower was the best way to wake-up next to coffee.
Discarding the last article of clothing, Keith promptly turned the shower on before stepping in as his mind poised a question:
How long has it been?
The thought plagued him as he let the hot water create streams down his sleepy body. Scrubbing the fatigue from his eyes, Keith ducked his head under the water as he pedaled back in his memories: how long has it been since they had done anything together? A year? Two? Keith couldn't even remember anymore, their schedules have become so skewed that nights like last were all they had.
Shaking his head, he concluded that thinking about it would do nothing, Keith turned off the water and immediately reached for a towel before stepping out of the shower. Using his husband's towel, Keith rubbed the material over his head vigorously before deeming it dry enough to head back into his bedroom.
Padding over to the dresser where his phone sat, plugged in -a deed his husband had done before heading out for work- with a few notifications from various applications. Opting for any text messages he missed while sleeping, Keith rolled his eyes as he saw a new text from his boss, Allura. At 9am. Only she could leave the bar at 4am, drive the ten minutes home, and somehow wake up before noon.
I have a couple interviews for today
and really would appreciate your help
deciding on new staff members.
Texting back a short 'what time do you need me there' Keith placed his phone back down before meandering over to his closet. For the time, he's known Allura – the girl preferred doing interviews a few hours prior to opening before allowing the ones she was considering to show her what they can do, meaning Keith would be judging a new person behind his bar. He could use the extra help, but it isn't his fault that everyone that passes Allura's interview doesn't hold up when they're up against Keith's judgment.
A short buzz arrived as he was sliding into a black button-up, padding over as he buttoned the shirt up, he saw the screen light up with Allura's name. Pausing in his actions, Keith swiped a finger over the screen:
And please no funny business!
Keith, you need the help behind
the bar! I cannot have you overworking
yourself and that's final! See you at 3
Rolling his eyes again, Keith went back to getting dressed -folding up his sleeves, slipping on a pair of black slacks, and tying his hair up in a messy ponytail- as he mentally noted that his boss must have quite a few since they don't open until 5 during the week. Usually they get one person every so often.
Grabbing his phone off the charger, Keith headed out but not without locking the door on his way out. He was reaching the end of his neighborhood when he decided to order ahead for coffee, opting for getting Allura and Coran one as well. The two have probably been at the bar since shortly after they woke up, Keith applauded their dedication to the bar Allura's father had left his daughter and widowed husband.
He would reach the local Starbucks in five minutes and it would only be five more minutes before he reached his workplace. Luckily for Keith, by the time he pulled up to the drive-thru: all the drinks were ready for pick-up and soon he was pulling into the parking lot of his workplace. He could hardly believe that almost twelve hours he was doing last call on the staggering remains of last night's crowd.
Pushing the front open with his back and elbow, Keith greeted the primarily empty space before him: "Hey, I'm here… brought you guys some coffee,"
"Ah, you're a godsend" Allura hurried over to him, giving him a short cheek kiss before running back the way she came.
Chuckling, "And you say I'm an addict," Keith passed the other extra coffee to Coran, who stood behind the bar taking stock of what they were beginning to run low on.
"Why thank you, number three" The orange-mustached man grinned before his gaze fell back to the clipboard he had previously been working on. With just one coffee in his hands, Keith met up with Allura in the back – hoping to get a peek at his possible new coworkers.
He could see Allura talking to a lanky brunette when he stepped into the bar's backroom, something about the motion of the lanky man's arm as he chatted with his boss felt familiar -almost nostalgic. Taking a large sip of his coffee, his eyes glanced over the others who sat waiting their turns. Most of them seemed like the most they could make is a barely passable rum & coke, but one caught his eye: a dark-skinned man with a tattoo sleeve and a long mane of silky white hair that was tied back.
"Ah~ Keith, I know you just arrived but Coran should almost be done at the counter so I'd like it if you could help me with the next part," Violet eyes flashed back over to acknowledge his boss's suggestion, a small nod -after all, this is why he came in early anyways.
As Allura turned to explain in further detail the next part of the interview process, Keith headed to the bar. His haven. His home away from home. Setting his coffee on the back counter between two hardly used bottles of rum. A fond smile spread on his face, those two bottles were absolute favorites of two of his regulars – who came in and never failed to order a glass from their bottles while playfully berating the other for his awful taste.
"…although its not me, you must impress this time but The Five Lions's respected bartender and I warn you now: he's not an easy person to get a compliment from" Allura finished as she gracefully walked over to the counter, resting her hand on the polished wood.
Keith could see the look of uncertainty wash over most of the people in front of him, clearing his throat: "Alright, in order to prove yourselves I'm going to have you step up and make one simple drink: a Daiquiri"
He would lying if he didn't take enjoyment in the relief that flooded their eyes or the soft: "ruthless" he heard Allura whisper as a smile tugged at her features. She had seen him do this 'simple drink' test on other applicants and so far: no one had passed this test.
Keith stepped aside, taking a seat on one of the stools, as the applicants made their way to where he had previously been standing. He waited on bated breaths for the question he always received: "Uh, where's your measuring spoons?" and just like that, an applicant spoke up.
"The Five Lions sees approximately a dozen or so people a second, as a bartender here: you won't always have the time to measure everything out so-"
"Done!" Someone from the far end bellowed out, Keith wasn't sure if he was more surprised that someone actually attempted it in the few moments of conversation or irritated that he had been interrupted. Regardless he hopped off his spot and headed over to the readied drink on the counter: he eyed it carefully.
The glass was clear of any extra liquid, no evidence of splashing, which was something Keith prided himself on. There was no lime juices sliding down the glass from the fruit perched on the rim. Appearance-wise the drink was flawless, but he knew from experience: appearance isn't everything. Taking a small sip of the drink, it took all of his mentality not to spit it back out and throw it in the applicant's face.
"Disgusting, too much lime juice and definitely not shaken enough" He concluded before Coran escorted the disheartened applicant out. He could hear a few applicants bustling while others stared on with renewed fear, it went without saying that Keith is a perfectionist when it comes to his job and has found himself more than once needing to eyeball his measurements. With practiced ease, of course.
He took a sideways glance at the applicants, who hadn't allowed fear of failure stop them. The lanky brunette that Allura had been talking with when he arrived, the dark-skinned man that Keith had been eying earlier, and a blonde who he hadn't even noticed within the group but he could see the fire in her eyes.
"If the rest of you aren't going to try, you might as well leave as well" Keith's remark had the rest of the fearful applicants sharing a look before reluctantly stepping away from the counter and leaving with their heads hanging in resignation.
Taking a seat in a stool again, Keith watched as the three remaining worked on their drinks. The raven knew that if someone merely attempted to think outside the box, anyone could make a passable attempt at a drink without measuring.
"Here, I think this will be more to your liking" The blonde stepped up, setting the drink in front of Keith as she rested her other on her hip. Confidence oozed from her posture -a quality that Keith personally respected. Any able bartender should always have confidence in their skills.
Violet eyes dropped to the glass, confidence aside: the drink wasn't as neat in appearance as the prior one, but there was a definite grace to how the lime was seated on the rim of the glass. Taking a small sip, Keith's tongue was greeted with a sugary swill that he couldn't stop himself from gagging. Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, "I don't even want to know what you did… You're done,"
"Hey man, not cool! You can't be expecting us to make amazing fucking drinks without proper tools," The brunette chimed in, leaning over the counter to glare daggers at him.
"You wanna join her out the door?" Keith glared back, noticing the finished glass in front of the lanky man. Snorting, "Let's see how yours did," the raven gave no further warning before he downed the brunette's drink. The taste that greeted Keith surprised him, it wasn't perfect but-
"not bad," The words tumbled out of his mouth before he had a chance to lock them away, even Allura had a look of absolute astonishment as her gaze blinked over to him.
The shit-eating grin that spread on the lanky man's face as Keith realized his mistake, which was short-lived as Allura took over: "Guess we have our new staff member~ welcome aboard, Lance" leaning over shaking the hands of the lanky man. Wait!
"L-Lance…?!"
"Took you a while, mullet"
"M-Mullet?"
"Do you two know each other?" Allura chirped, intrigued with the sudden atmosphere change between the two men.
Not missing a beat, Lance flashed her an award-winning smile: "We were like rivals in high school, Lance and Keith neck and neck,"
"Really?"
Someone cleared his throat from the sidelines, startling the trio from the banter they had fallen into. Keith's eyes glanced over to see the dark-skinned man, shuffling away: "Looks like I've lost,"
Allura stood up from her perch on the stool, picking up her what remains of her coffee: "I'll walk you out,"
"You really don't need to,"
"I want to," And with that note of stubbornness, the duo headed for the door while Keith and Lance shared a glance before chuckling at Allura's obvious interest in the other man.
Mirth settling into his chest, Keith cleared his throat: "I guess I should officially welcome you to The Five Lions, Lance"
"And I guess I'll have to get used to non-emo Keith,"
"Oh god! Please don't remind me… Ya know I still have that crop jacket, the one I wore all-"
"You do?! Shit, that's hilarious! Though, I guess I can't really tease you too much – remember that stupid finger gun thing I use to do?"
"Please tell me, you're kidding"
"Nope," and like a blast from his past, Keith was greeted with high school Lance's signature move before the man in front of him added: "although I only ever do it when I'm nervous-"
"You? Nervous? Not possible."
"I'm serious! Even the great Lancelot can suffer from the low-class emotion like nervousness" Lance had always had a flair for the dramatics and although Keith could only ever remember feeling annoyed by his antics, he felt a familiar warmth as he watched Lance further explain about the things that made him nervous.
"-and don't even get me started on how nervous I fucking was, applying for this job. Heard that one of bartenders here was an asshole with a giant stick up his ass? Tho I guess, that would be you" a light chuckle easing the small spark of irritation in Keith, "I wasn't even sure if that was you for a moment, you've really come out of your shell but I guess working here would do that to someone, even if that someone is-"
"Lance, relax… Yeah, I've changed a bit" Keith cracked a smile as he recalled Lance's habit of rambling to fill in a silence that he feared was awkward.
"I can see that, but ya wanna know who hasn't changed? Hunk and Pidge," at the mention of their two other friends from high school, Keith visibly perked up: he had lost contact with everyone when he went off to college. Pushing away that thought, he listened as Lance continued on: "Hunk can still make food that rivals my mama's, though please never tell her I said that. She'd beat my ass then shovel some of her amazing cooking down my throat"
"Doesn't sound so bad if I recall, your mom always made some pretty amazing food whenever you dragged us all over,"
Lance's eyes narrowed, "You know what I mean," any bite the words were supposed to have was lost as a small smile spread across his features as he tacked on: "As for Pidge, she's still a little gremlin… although you won't believe who they're dating?"
"You're kidding…"
"Hey, they're an adorable coup-"
"I didn't mean it like, I'm just surprised… Tho considering how often they would get into their own little nerdy world and leave us behind whenever we went to the mall-"
"Yeah, that was pretty much my reaction when they started"
"How long have they…?"
"I think its been five years," Lance's response allowed a dark shadow to cast over Keith's features as the raven recalled what had been going on in his own life: his marriage was young and full of laughter, love, and sweet little notes that sure, Keith had found embarrassing but he would be lying if he said he tossed them out. What happened to them?
Before any more memories could wash over him, Lance spoke up, his voice shattering the negativity surrounding his coworker: "So ya wanna give me the tour of the bar?"
Grateful for the distraction, Keith eagerly joined the brunette behind the bar -his coffee left abandoned on the counter- and began explaining not only where everything was stored, but also why he stored things like this. Lance added his own commentary to Keith's explanation, earning a few deserved jabs that had both of them reeling in nostalgia at the exchange.
This felt… nice? The happiest that Keith has felt in a long time, sure he enjoyed working with Allura and Coran and he considered the two of them his friends, but with Lance… With Lance, he wasn't starting from scratch. No awkward attempts at trying to open up with the other. There was history. There was playfulness that the two easily found themselves falling back into. When was the last time he couldn't stop himself from smiling?
Csilla: Please leave a review, they keep my anxieties at bay so I can keep writing this fic that I'm already head-over-heels in love with!