Mini Golf and Milkshakes
"You've been awfully quiet today," Hunk mentioned. His sleeves were rolled up as he kneaded dough on the island in his kitchen.
"Hmm?" Lance hummed, stirring from his slumped position on the opposite side. He had dragged one of the breakfast bar stools over to the island, but it was slightly too tall for the island and so he was bent over, chin resting in his hand as he listlessly watched Hunk work.
"Quiet. You. It's not normal."
"When am I ever normal?"
"Touché. I was expecting you to still be high from your successful date."
The smile that stole slowly over Lance's face made Hunk feel a little better, though he knew something was bothering his best friend.
"It did end up being a pretty successful date, didn't it?"
"Yeah and you've been congratulating yourself since Saturday," Hunk pointed out.
Lance straightened and held up his hands, "Hey! It's the first amazing date I've ever planned. That actually MADE my date happy."
"In spite of being totally nervous about it," Hunk teased gently, patting the dough into a round shape.
Lance shrugged. "I wasn't sure if Keith'd like it. And when I thought of it and realized that I planned a date based on my own selfish wants…"
"Wait a second," Hunk interrupted, looking up from his task. "You weren't being selfish. I told you this. You were sharing something you love with Keith. That's not selfishness."
"But he was all about what I would like," Lance said, pressing his hand against his chest, "on the date HE planned. I was all about what I would like on the date I planned."
"So next time focus on him. He didn't complain did he?"
"No."
"Didn't he thank you for sharing what you love with him?"
"Yes."
"Then I think you're fine. Keith is so into you, I swear that you could do nothing that would change that."
Lance frowned at that. Hunk let him stew for a minute while he retrieved some plastic wrap from a drawer in order to cover his pasta dough. Once done, he shook his arms out a little as Lance watched.
"What's on your mind, Buddy?" Hunk finally said.
Lance sighed. Hunk always knew how to get into his head. 'A blessing and a curse,' he thought. "I keep worrying about what I overheard."
"You mean what Pidge said?"
Lance nodded, then leant back down, elbow on the island, the finger of his other hand tracing a pattern into the granite countertop.
"I told you not to worry about that. Keith told you not to worry about it too, didn't he?"
"Yeah, but…"
"But what?"
"What if they hate me, Hunk? I mean, it already sounds like they do," he could hear the stress in his own voice and he cringed. He tried not to let his insecurities get the better of him, but hearing the things Pidge said about him had been upsetting.
"Dude," Hunk said as he rested his palms on the floury surface of the island and leaned forward. "Pidge was upset herself and that's on Keith. Not you. He should have told Shiro and Pidge about you right away. It sounds like she was taking her anger out on him. Probably rightly so. If you hadn't told me about Keith right away, I know I'd be upset. I'm sure she's not directing her anger at you."
"It sure feels like it," Lance mumbled.
"She's not. Trust me. And once she and Shiro meet you, they'll know they're wrong."
"Why is this freaking me out so much?"
"Oh I don't know. Maybe cause you love Keith."
Lance's jaw dropped as he nearly fell off his chair, his hand falling flat with a dull slap on the counter sending up a little puff of flour. "HUNK!"
"You told me that last week," Hunk reminded him.
"I know, but geez!"
"That's why you want to impress them so badly. I get it. It's nerve-wracking meeting family. I've been there."
"But you're the perfect human being. Any mother would be thrilled to have their kid bring you home, Hunky. Me? Maybe not so much," Lance said, then chewed on his upper lip before continuing. "They already don't like me and I haven't even MET them yet. The things she said…"
"In anger," Hunk said again. "Keith told us all about them. They sound like really nice people. They sound like Keith. I'd say Keith is a pretty good judge of character."
"Doubtful, he is dating me," Lance muttered darkly.
Hunk frowned. "Stop that. Saying that indicates that you think me and Shay are bad judges of character too, since we love you so much."
Lance cringed, feeling guilty at that. He knew of no one who could better gauge what a person was truly like than Hunk and Shay. Hunk had known right away whatever date or boyfriend that Lance had introduced him to in the past that the guy was bad news. Did Lance ever listen? No. But Hunk still KNEW. Shay had the same ability.
When Lance didn't answer, Hunk said, "Like I said, Lance. I love you. Shay loves you. And while he hasn't said it yet, it's pretty obvious Keith loves you. And because I do, I'll keep telling you you're valuable, worthy of love, wonderful, a great friend, a great boyfriend, and that there'd be a huge hole in our lives if you weren't here. I just wish you'd believe all that."
Lance pressed his lips together as his face scrunched. He felt tears prick his eyes, too. He hated his insecurities, because he did know those things. His family, his friends – they all loved him for him. He knew it was the long string of failed dates and relationships with the wrong guys that had made him this way. Lance, ever the romantic, loved the idea of being in love and wanted, more than anything, one of those fairytale stories. His past experiences, however, drew him into cynicism. Guys never seemed to click with him and it seemed they only ended up annoyed by him.
As if reading his mind, Hunk said, "You're a unique person, Lance. I'll give you that. And yeah, you may not be everyone's 'cup of tea'. But there's nothing wrong with that. Those that love you, love you because of that. You always say I've got the biggest heart, but that's not exactly true. YOU do. You care SO much about everyone. So what if no guy has ever seen it before. What matters is that Keith sees it."
"But his family…"
"If they can't, it's their loss. Keith told you that it didn't matter to him if his family and friends don't approve of you. You make him happy and I know he won't give that up for anything." He paused for a moment. "I didn't tell you this, but on Monday while you were working at the aquarium, Keith and I hung out."
"You did?" Lance asked, surprised. Neither Keith nor Hunk had mentioned it.
"Yeah. He didn't have to go to school, so he came over and we had a nice talk. Got to know each other a little better. He opened up a lot to me. I'm not gonna tell you all he said, but I can assure you that he's fully committed to making this work with you, and nothing – and I totally believe him – nothing will change that."
Lance let out a long, shaky breath. "You are so good at making me feel better about everything."
Lance dressed casually, as Keith requested. To be sure, he went to great lengths to make himself as appealing as possible. Hair perfect, outfit stylishly coordinated, teeth brushed to their brightest shine. Oh, Keith would be knocked out, of course, even though Lance was only in shorts and t-shirt (it was unusually hot for May). But blue. Naturally, it had to be blue. That color, he thought, looked the best on him. He never missed the way Keith's eyes raked over him whenever he wore blue. Well, to be fair, Keith's eyes raked over him no matter what he wore. Lance gave himself a smirk in the full-length mirror on the back of his bedroom door at that last thought.
He shot himself a wink and his finger guns when he heard the knock on his door. A glance at the clock showed that Keith was exactly on time as promised. The boy was always on time, Lance thought with an eye roll as he hurried out of his room. How were they ever going to arrive stylishly late at future functions with Keith being Mr. Punctuality?
"You ready?" Keith asked when Lance yanked open the door.
"And hi to you too!" Lance exclaimed, somewhat grumpily. "What kind of greeting is that KEITHY?"
"It's Keith. And sorry," Keith said, though Lance didn't think he looked all that sorry. His grin certainly didn't indicate any remorse. "Is this better?" Keith asked, tilting his head up slightly for a kiss.
Lance complied, of course, and almost lost strength in his knees at the sensation of Keith's lips and his warm hands resting on his hips. Keith's kisses ALWAYS affected him like that. "Ok, that's better," he conceded.
"Good. And hi, by the way." Keith ran his hands up Lance's sides, tickling him a little.
Lance squirmed, "No tickling. We established those rules for a reason."
"I was unaware we had established rules."
"There are ALWAYS rules, Keith. NO tickling is the first."
"Mm. So you're ticklish, huh? Good thing to keep in mind."
"And you're not?"
"I guess you'll have to find out," Keith returned, then kissed him distractingly again.
With that, Lance did try to dig his fingers lightly into Keith's side, but got no reaction, other than a little smirk from his boyfriend. He pulled back a little, eyes narrowing. "So that's a 'no' to that spot."
"Yeah. Never been. Used to drive Shiro nuts, because he's really sensitive there. He was so pissed when I let Allura know. She uses it against him often."
"All's fair in love and war, Kogane. I'll find a spot on you that will get you down on your knees." Then, realizing what he actually said, he felt his cheeks fire up.
Keith pressed his lips together as if trying to suppress a laugh. After a moment of staring at Lance with that amused expression, he finally said, "Oh I think there's quite a few spots on me that will do that."
"KEITH!" Lance screeched, then hid his face in Keith's shoulder. How embarrassing. When was he going to learn to control his mouth? He felt Keith laughing quietly, however, and arms come around to hug him.
"You are so adorable, sweetheart," Keith murmured into his neck, before pressing teasing little kisses against his skin.
"M'not," Lance protested weakly.
"I beg to differ."
Though getting these little kisses was nice, Lance playfully shoved at Keith. "Ok ok, enough of the embarrassing poor Lance party," he said, affecting a pout that he knew would do things to Keith's heart. It did and Keith kissed him contritely.
"You make it too easy," Keith said, letting Lance go. "But seriously, are you ready? I told Hunk and Shay I'd pick them up at three."
"Hunk and Shay?" Lance asked blankly.
"Yeah. I think you know them."
"Duh, Keith, of course I KNOW them. But why are they joining us on our DATE?"
"I thought we could do a double date. What I've got planned is more fun with more people."
Lance's eyes narrowed, giving Keith his most suspicious glare. "And what would that be?"
"You'll see."
Lance grunted in annoyance. Keith had figured out that Lance HAD to know everything and that it drove him crazy not to know plans Keith had made. Lance was the type that tried to sneak peeks at his birthday and Christmas gifts. So Keith deliberately denied him. He loved to do this because he knew it drove Lance crazy. Lance was even more annoyed that denying telling Keith plans didn't bother the other young man in the slightest. Keith looked forward to surprises. It was unnatural.
"Keithy."
"Just for calling me that, I should blindfold you so you won't know what it is until we get there." The little kisses that followed that statement negated Keith's threat.
"I'll stop. But save that blindfold for the tenth date," Lance suggested, which made Keith blush. It wasn't often that Lance flustered Keith. Though his boyfriend was even more inexperienced in relationships than Lance was, he took most of what Lance said and did in stride. Lance didn't know how he did it. Keith had never even been in a relationship, and while Lance hadn't been sexually intimate with anyone, he had kissed and cuddled before. Keith, however, knew exactly what to say or do to make Lance a blushing mess, so Lance counted it a victory when he could finally do it to Keith.
"Oh you're going down, Kogane," Lance declared, pointing his putter at his boyfriend.
Keith's eyes widened slightly at the challenge in Lance's tone.
"Going down?"
"Yeah. I am going to KICK your ass!"
Keith glanced at Hunk, who was shaking his head after briefly closing his eyes. Shay hid a smile behind her hand.
"I told you this was a bad idea," Hunk said to Keith.
"Did you suggest this, Hunky?" Lance asked, preening a little. He propped his putter on the ground and leaned on it, his other hand closing into a fist and resting on his hip. One foot crossed in front of the other to rest the toe of his shoe on the ground, chin up in the air. "You wanted to see me humiliate poor Keithy here? That's a little low for you."
Keith sputtered. "Humiliate me? What? And this was MY idea!"
"And I told you it was a bad one," Hunk said again with a sigh.
Keith held up his hands palms up, nearly hitting Shay because one hand still held his own putter. "How is mini golf ever a bad idea?"
"Keith," Hunk said in a low tone, ignoring the snort from Lance, as he put an arm around Keith's shoulder. "Today you meet the dark side of Lance. It won't be pretty."
"Dark side?" Keith asked blankly while Lance protested.
"Dark side," Hunk said with a sigh. "It probably hasn't come up, but your boyfriend is about the most competitive person I've ever met."
Lance frowned at Hunk, but then his frown deepened when he saw the flash in Keith's eyes. Oh Keith's face had eased into an amused smile, but there was SOMEthing else there that he hadn't yet seen in Keith – a flash of challenge in his eyes. Lance's bravado faltered a little, though he did his best not to let it show.
"Oh he is?" Keith drawled, deliberately looking Lance up and down with a little leer. Of course, that flustered Lance and his cheeks warmed slightly, though he hoped he could blame that on the uncommon heat of the day.
"Annoyingly so," which just earned Hunk a glare from Lance. "Shay and I actively avoid playing any games with him."
"Hey!" Lance interjected. "We have game nights all the time!"
"So why'd you guys come today?" Keith asked Hunk, ignoring Lance.
Shay interjected, "Because, I admit we were curious to see how you would react to him."
"Shay, sweetie," Hunk said, giving her a disappointed look.
Shay shrugged, non-repentant. "If Keith can survive mini golf with Lance, then we know nothing else will scare him away."
"Geez, do I FEEL the LOVE today," Lance said, pouting.
"We're just honest, hon," Shay said.
"Just for that I WON'T even try to win. You can see I CAN be a good sport." He kept his eyes on Keith, who looked more amused than anything, but that gleam was still there. An almost predatory gleam that Lance hoped was Keith thinking about him. But he was afraid that it meant that Keith might just want to win as badly as Lance wanted to.
"We'll see," Hunk said in a resigned tone that indicated no hope that Lance would behave.
"You're cheating!" Keith exclaimed.
"I am NOT cheating KEITH!" Lance retorted, trying to hide the fact that he actually was. He had placed the ball a good half a foot ahead of the spot it was supposed to go on the little mat at the start of the hole.
"That ball is supposed to be on the mat!"
"It is!" Lance pointed his putter at the ball which was technically touching the little rubber mat.
"Not there. There's clearly a marked spot for the ball."
"There are NO rules that say it has to be in that spot," Lance argued.
"They mark that spot for a reason!"
"It's a suggestion, Keith. A suggestion."
"Just put the ball in the right spot, Lance. We all put ours there. Make it fair."
Grumbling to himself, Lance pushed the ball back into the little groove notched into the mat for it.
"We're only on the first hole," Hunk complained.
"Seventeen to go after this one," Shay said, shaking her head wearily.
Lance took mini golf seriously. He knew he was quite good at it and he had a reputation to maintain. Not only that, he just HAD to prove to Keith that he was better than him at this. Establish his dominance so that any future competitions Keith would know he was the best and would be so intimidated Lance would never lose again.
He could tell, however, that Keith probably was good too. That first shot of Keith's came awfully close to a hole in one. It wasn't a difficult hole, when all was said and done. You needed to thread the ball between two fake sand traps and around a corner. Not easy, but if you hit it just right, you could get at least close. Hunk and Shay both ended in the traps, but Keith's shot was almost perfect.
Slightly irritated with his perfect boyfriend, he stalked up the course, stopping every couple of feet to squat and measure out the perfect angles for his shot. He walked back and forth from the tee to the hole trying to determine the best path for his fluorescent pink ball. He finally returned to the tee, squatted down one more time to line up his shot down his putter, before he stood to get into position to tee off.
Lance happened to glance at Keith as he settled into his stance and almost laughed at the open-mouthed stare of his boyfriend. He would have laughed if this hadn't been so serious. Keith looked stunned. So Lance did what he did best. He gave his best smirk to Keith and without even looking, tapped his ball with the right amount of force.
Keith dragged his eyes away from Lance's in order to see the result. Lance's ball not only knocked into his own, pushing it further from the hole, but also bounced back a little and stopped about an inch from the hole.
"Boom!" Lance yelled, startling Keith.
"Told you," Hunk said again with a sigh.
"You hit my ball on purpose!"
"You hit mine on the first hole!"
"That was an accident!"
"You know you did it on purpose!"
"You're cheating!"
"ME!?" Keith exclaimed, stepping back. They had been practically in each other's face, foreheads almost touching, after the second hole. "You're the one trying to tee off closer to the hole!"
"I'm NOT cheating! Tell him, Hunk!"
"Don't put me in the middle of this," Hunk stated, trying to herd the two hotheads toward the third hole.
"THAT was unfair!"
"All's fair, sweetheart!"
"Touching my ass when I'm trying to putt is CHEATING KEITH!"
"My hand slipped!"
"My ass, it slipped!"
"No, it slipped onto your ass," Hunk supplied helpfully.
"YOU'RE NOT HELPING HUNK!"
"We're only at the third hole," Shay lamented.
At the fourth, Lance putted first. Keith, thankfully, kept his distance while he teed off. The shot was a respectfully good one, getting into the right pipe that Lance knew would lead to the correct position for putting straight into the hole. He bounded down the path to the lower level to wait for the others.
Keith went next and as his ball came out of the right pipe, Lance swung his putter down to block it. "ADDED HAZZARD!" he yelled.
"Are you KIDDING ME!?" Keith yelled back. Lance bolted down the path with Keith chasing close behind. "You'd better give me a DO OVER!"
Shay sighed, looking at Hunk. "Why did we agree to this again?"
"I guess we like to torture ourselves?" Hunk suggested as he lined up his shot. It ended up right next to the hole.
"Good one, sweetie!" Shay praised him.
Hunk kissed her on the cheek. "Thanks, love."
"You should probably check to see that Keith hasn't murdered Lance, and then herd them back here to finish their shots."
"I honestly feel like a dad sometimes."
After a thorough chastising from Hunk, both young men behaved for the next few holes. At the eighth, however, Lance resorted to taunting Keith while he tried to hit his first shot. The hole curved around a waterfall and it looked like it was easy to knock the ball into the water. Keith, who wore an expression Lance had never seen – angry and focused, cleared the water, but fell far short of the hole. Hunk and Shay both made it past, but then it was Lance's turn. He didn't even bother to try to get to the hole. Eyeing the purple ball of Keith's, he hit his as hard as he could right at it.
The purple ball ricocheted off the far barrier and bounced back right into the water.
"Dammit Lance!"
"HA! Extra stroke for YOU to get out of the water hazard, KEITHY!"
"STOP calling me that!"
"Keithy Keithy Keithy!"
"BOYS!" Shay yelled from the other end of the hole.
At hole ten, Keith started playing dirty. Lance stepped up to the tee and put his ball on the mat – IN THE RIGHT PLACE THANK YOU VERY MUCH KEITH – and settled into his stance. Involuntarily, he glanced at his boyfriend because even if he was being a jerk about this whole mini golf thing, he was still nice to look at. At just that moment, Keith lifted the hem of his t-shirt to ostensibly wipe the sweat off his forehead. Keith wore nothing under the t-shirt, and his shorts rode low on his hips. That just served to expose very toned abs and delicious looking 'v' to Lance's eyes. The heat left a sheen of sweat on Keith's pale skin and, to be honest, the image short-circuited Lance's brain.
Lance had seen Keith without a shirt, of course. They did go to the beach after all the previous weekend. But then he was EXPECTING to see Keith without his shirt. This UNEXPECTED exposure, especially a sweaty Keith, seriously made him feel as if a few of his brain cells died. He jerked his body back a little, smacking his putter into the ball and sending it off the tenth fairway.
"Looks like you'll have to take an extra stroke to put your balls back into play," Keith said in a low and sultry tone as he gave Lance a little leer.
Lance's face lit right up, not only from the innuendo, but also from the way Hunk and Shay tried to NOT laugh at him.
Needless to say, Lance could barely finish the tenth hole.
Lance finally composed himself by the twelfth hole and tried to use Keith's tactics himself. He tried exposing his own stomach and chest, tried hooking his thumbs in his pockets and letting them drag down his shorts to show a little more of his happy trail to Keith. Even went so far, when Keith was lining up his second shot, to pretend to drop his putter and bent over to pick it up, making sure his back was turned to Keith, giving Keith a full on look at him bent over with ass in the air.
It. Didn't. Work.
What the actual fuck? Did Keith NOT desire him? All indications pointed to 'yes' over the past weeks. Keith certainly was passionate and constantly showed Lance how much he wanted him. Why was he not affected now?
Lance caught Hunk's eye as he straightened and tried to ignore the disappointment he saw there.
Well that didn't work. Back to knocking Keith's ball into the water hazard.
"Dammit!"
"You're going to have to herd them up again," Shay groaned.
Was Keith really sucking on his fingers? Holy fuck. Lance could not take much more of this. No more looking at his boyfriend.
"Why are you NOT trying to get your damn ball in the damn hole!? Why do you keep aiming for mine?"
"You're in my way!"
"Go around!"
"If you didn't put your damn balls in my way, I wouldn't have to hit them!" Lance blushed and cursed himself at how that sounded.
"Fuck did you just HIT my ball!"
"No!"
"You did! You literally just hit it with your putter!"
"You're accusing me of cheating!?"
"You've been cheating all fucking day!"
"I never cheat KEITHY!"
"STOP calling me that! There! You did it again!"
"I did not!"
"I saw you!"
"Hunk tell Keith I don't cheat!"
"Trying to hit my ball over here Lance," Hunk called back.
"Shay!"
"Can't hear you, hon!"
"Dammit leave it alone!" Keith yelled, stomping toward Lance, who again took off.
Lance was fast, which he counted as a blessing. Keith, however, looked determined this time. It really was too hot to be running around like this, but Lance had the advantage of having been raised in Miami. He was used to this heat. While Keith had more stamina and ran regularly every morning, the heat slowed him down enough that Lance was able to dodge around the other holes, obstacles, trees, bushes and other golfers without being caught. He ignored the stares from the other patrons of the mini-golf/batting cages park, and hoped that Hunk would appear soon to halt the chase, as he already had a few times before.
Hunk never showed, and Keith's stamina won out. He actually tackled Lance, tumbling them both onto the soft grass at the side of the fourth hole. Lance screeched, which scared two of the kids on the course.
"WHAT do you think you're DOING!?"
Keith pinned him down, straddling his thighs and holding his arms firmly against the ground. Lance was helpless. "Stop fucking cheating!" Keith ground out in a voice low enough that it wouldn't reach the kids a few holes over.
Lance did his best to squirm. Not because he didn't WANT to be pinned under Keith like this. He would actually love to be in this position in the privacy of one of their apartments. What he wouldn't like is the scowl and glare Keith was sporting now. Keith was smaller and more compact, but he was heavier than he looked and Lance could not buck him off.
"Keeeeeeeeeiiiiiiiittttthy…" he whined.
"What has gotten into you?" Keith panted out.
"I have to win!"
"Why?"
Lance's mouth opened, but he didn't say anything. Then the way Keith's scowl morphed into a smirk just served to irritate him again. "I don't know," he said petulantly. "Why hasn't Hunk come to find us?"
"He's probably tired of it. Come on," Keith grunted, letting go of Lance's arms and getting to his feet too gracefully in Lance's opinion. Lance scrambled up next to him. "It's too hot for this shit." With that, Keith turned and stalked toward the fairway from which they had run.
"Thank every god, goddess and deity in the world that we're at the eighteenth hole," Shay declared.
"I had no idea Keith was as competitive as Lance," Hunk said in an apologetic tone.
The last three holes were a nightmare. Both of the young men did everything in their power to distract the other. Flashes of skin, dirty talk, innuendos, touches, blocking each other's shots. Lance kicked Keith's golfball off the course. Keith mocked Lance missing a shot with a "Smooth move, Sharpshooter." which just served to make Lance fume and stomp to the next hole with the air of someone hurt deeply.
"If they break up over this," Shay said in what was a severe voice for her, "I fully blame you."
"Me?" Hunk said, staring at her. "What did I do?"
"You didn't warn Keith enough."
"I DID warn Keith. It's not MY fault he didn't listen."
"Need help there, Keithy?"
Keith stood, hunched over his putter, lining up his shot. His head shot up to glare at Lance. "Help?"
"Yeah, your form is terrible. No wonder you can't putt for crap."
"I can't putt because you keep cheating," Keith ground out between his teeth.
"A true professional would be able to play mini golf no matter what the distractions."
Keith fully straightened and shook his head. "Professional mini golf player?"
"I'm sure it's a thing."
"And I'm sure it's not."
"ANYway. You should be able to play a good shot without distraction."
Keith pursed his lips for a few minutes, then nodded. "Put your money where your mouth is?"
"What?"
"You keep saying how good you are," Keith pointed out. "Prove what you say." Keith stepped back, tapping his ball back from the mat with his putter. "Be my guest," he added, gesturing to the tee. "You should be able to get a hole in one, or close to it."
Lance was immediately suspicious. Keith was suddenly too conciliatory and gracious. Something didn't compute. "What's the catch?"
"You say it can be done with distraction. Let me try and distract you."
"Oh this should be good," Hunk said. Shay giggled.
Lance was caught. He just HAD to prove he was right to Keith. Ugh, why hadn't he kept his mouth shut? But he also couldn't back down. "Fine. But no touching or anything like earlier."
"What's the bet?" Hunk asked.
"I don't have money," Lance said.
"Doesn't have to be money," Keith said. "If Lance can get the ball in the hole or within two feet of it, I promise to do whatever he wants me to do for the rest of the weekend."
"And if he doesn't?"
"Same, only him for me."
"I think that's fair," Shay said.
"Yeah. As long as you both promise not to make the other person do something illegal."
"Do you honestly think I'd do that, Hunk?" Keith asked.
"That was mostly for Lance," Hunk clarified, which Lance had to protest. "And no nudity here," Hunk added, pointing his finger down.
"I don't think I'll need it," Keith said.
Lance knew he'd lose. Dammit, he'd done this to himself. He couldn't even imagine what Keith was going to do to distract him, but he'd done it already by showing him his abs earlier. That was enough to almost kill him, and he knew Keith would be merciless to win this bet. Still, he couldn't lose face, so he put on his most confident expression and stepped up to the tee.
Maybe if he hurried and got the shot off before Keith could really DO anything…but no. Keith stepped right up behind him, pressing his body as close as he could without touching. Lance couldn't help but shiver, even with the weather as hot as it was and with the body heat radiating off Keith. 'Focus. Focus.' Lance chanted to himself in his head. His palms were sweating as he gripped the putter.
Then Keith spoke. How was Keith's mouth so close to his ear? And why was his breath so hot as it fluttered around his earlobe? The voice, that low and sultry one from earlier, lowered even more so that Hunk and Shay couldn't hear, said, "You know when I tackled you earlier? Sitting on top of you? All I could think about was holding you down in my bed like that. God it was so hot."
Oh shit, that had done it. There was definitely no concentrating on mini golf now. Keith had echoed his own thoughts from that moment.
But Keith wasn't done. "The way you moved under me, mmm," and yeah, that was a moan that made Lance's mouth dry. He had to close his eyes. "This ten date rule is killing me…"
Lance cleared his throat and opened his eyes again. Putter. Yes. Ball. Yes. Get ball to other end. Yes.
"I want to know what Keith is saying," Shay remarked. "I don't think I've ever seen Lance turn that shade of red before."
"I can't decide if I want to hold you down like that and lick every inch of your body before I make love to you, or ride you until I pass out screaming your name," Keith said, his voice becoming husky.
'Fuuuuuuuuuuck,' Lance thought, biting back a groan. His breath was hitching.
"Both sound so good…"
"Fuck, Keith," Lance said, smacking the ball hard, before dropping his putter and turning to grab Keith's face so that he could smush his lips against his boyfriend's. It didn't take more than a moment for Keith to melt into the kiss, his hands grabbing Lance's hips and pulling him closer.
"Uh guys. Much too hot out for this. And there's, like, young and impressionable children around," Hunk said.
They didn't pay too much attention to him.
"Seriously."
"Shay won? HOW?!"
Hunk rolled his eyes. "If you had actually PLAYED the game instead of doing your best to antagonize Keith, you probably would have won," he said, swirling his straw in his cookies and cream milkshake. They were seated at one of the picnic tables at the mini-golf place, enjoying a post-game early dinner of hot dogs, fries, and milkshakes.
"I lost? Keith beat me?" Lance said dejectedly.
"Sorry to tell you that, but you did."
"Your math is wrong."
"When has my math ever been wrong?"
"There's a first time for everything," Lance said, crossing his arms. "I think you put the wrong scores on there Hunk."
"Lance," Keith said reasonably in between sips of his chocolate shake. "You are constantly telling me that Hunk is the most honest person on the planet after Shay. Do you really think they'd cheat you at mini-golf?"
Lance was an honest enough guy himself to grunt acknowledgement at that. "Of course Hunk and Shay would never cheat," he responded poking with a fry at the rest of the fries on his plate.
"Anyway. Lesson learned, Keith. Lance is way too competitive to play games with. Don't even let him try and play you on his PS4." Keith laughed at that until Hunk leveled him a glance. "You're just a step up from being as bad as him."
"What!?"
Lance smirked at his boyfriend. 'There,' he thought as he took a long drink of his cotton candy milkshake. 'You're gonna get it now.'
"You're almost as bad as Lance. We are NEVER having a game night thing with you guys."
"I was just responding to him!" Keith said, gesturing to Lance.
"You wanted to win just as bad, Keith," Shay told him. She, like Hunk, opted for the cookies and cream milkshake, but chose to drink it without a straw. If Lance hadn't been so disgruntled, he would have laughed at her for the milkshake mustache she was currently sporting.
Keith grunted. "Well, yeah. But only because of how he acted."
"Keith," Shay said soothingly, "you just have to learn to ignore him when he acts like that." She poked her tongue out to lick off the cream on her upper lip. "We have. You just let him think that he's the best and he's happy."
"I'm right here, guys," Lance said.
"So what are you going to make me do?" Lance asked, his tone a little petulant, as Keith unlocked the door to his apartment.
"Mm…that's a good question. There are so many things I could make you do, isn't there?" Keith answered as he pushed open the door and sent Lance a wicked little grin.
Lance lifted his hands. "I'm all yours."
"That, I already know."
Red trotted over to meet them at the door and both of the young men stopped so that the lithe feline could weave through their legs, rubbing against their shins in greeting.
"Hey, handsome," Lance cooed, squatting down as Keith shut the door in order to give Red much deserved pets and scratches. Keith then took the takeout milkshakes they had grabbed before leaving the mini-golf place to the fridge. The milkshakes were too good not to have seconds, so all four of them got more to go.
"I think I'll start with having you brush him tonight," Keith said thoughtfully.
Lance looked up at Keith from his position on the floor. "Brush him?"
"Yeah. He's overdue, since I've kind of been busy seeing some guy," Keith said as he tossed his keys on the table. "You have to do it on the balcony though, because there's so much hair. It'd take me days to vacuum it up in here. Though," he paused, pressing his finger against his chin, "I could make you do the vacuuming tomorrow."
"Ugh, I hate cleaning."
"I know. So that's what I think I'm gonna have you do for me tomorrow."
"Keiiiiiiiiith," Lance whined.
"Among other things."
"Anything I'll enjoy?"
"You'll enjoy brushing Red. It's actually pretty soothing."
"Anything else?" Lance asked suggestively. He stood up to follow Keith into the kitchen in order to feed Red.
"I'm sure I'll come up with something," Keith said dismissively.
The two prepared Red's dinner, as well as cleaned up dishes from Keith's breakfast that morning. They worked easily together, without even having to talk about their tasks. They had settled into this routine as easily as they had settled into everything in each other's life. After things were in order in the kitchen, Keith disappeared into his room and returned with a brush and towel.
"You just brush, like this," he instructed, showing Lance how to run the brush down Red's back. "A lot of hair will come out – the brush is designed to remove his undercoat. I find it's easiest to sit on the towel and hold Red between your legs while you do. You'll have a ton of hair when you're done."
"Ok. I'll grab him after he's done eating." He fiddled with the brush Keith had handed him, leaning back against the counter. "I want to apologize for how I acted today," he said in a subdued tone.
"It was kind of a surprise to me," Keith said neutrally.
"Are we good?" Lance asked, looking at Keith with an anxious expression. "I mean. I guess. I don't know WHAT got into me. I just wanted to beat you so bad."
"Why?"
Lance shrugged, then tossed the brush onto the counter so that he could cross his arms. "I don't know. Hunk wasn't lying. I'm really competitive. I just, I don't know, want to prove I'm good enough? Maybe?"
"You don't have to prove anything to me," Keith said slowly.
"I know. But then I still think I do."
"But why?"
"Why? You're perfect!" Lance exclaimed. "I'm not. I just want you to think I'm GOOD at something."
"By kicking my ass at mini golf?" Keith asked, stepping just a bit closer. "Lance, I'm not perfect. Neither are you, but I like that about you. And how can you say you're not good at anything? Do you know how amazing I think you are?"
"You do?"
"Of course!" Keith closed the distance between them and placed his hands on Lance's hips. "I have never known anyone like you, and I still have trouble believing that you're in my life now. It's still a shock to me that this is happening."
"Me too."
"I just wanted us to have fun today. I thought that spending time with Hunk and Shay would make you happy. I knew it would make me happy. I had no idea it would turn out like that."
Lance felt guilty, because Keith looked distressed about his choice of date activity. And including Hunk and Shay to make him happy? He didn't deserve this perfect boyfriend.
"I'm so sorry. I don't deserve you."
Keith chuckled, then reached a hand up to Lance's cheek, cradling it gently. "Don't say that. You deserve me. Just like I deserve you. You may not be perfect, sweetheart, but you're perfect for me. That's all that matters."
Lance leant his head into Keith's touch, closing his eyes. "I can't believe you saw me at my worst and still want to be with me."
"If that's your worst, I consider myself lucky. Though, I hate to admit I'm just as competitive."
Lance peeked one eye open and considered the little smirk in front of him. "Good to know. So," he said, opening his other eye too and finally smiling at Keith, "I promise to be competitive, but I also promise to not go crazy like I did today. Unless…"
"Unless?"
"It gets me another show like I got today," he finished. He moved his right hand from the crossed position in order to run a finger over Keith's stomach. He could feel Keith's abs twitch and made a mental note to investigate at some point if Keith was ticklish there.
"We don't need to be competing in order for you to get a show like that," Keith responded, pressing himself closer.
"But first," Lance said, raising that hand from Keith's stomach to press a finger against his nose, essentially stopping Keith from getting closer. "We need to discuss WHY my displays didn't distract you, or apparently even turn you on."
"What?"
"When I showed you my abs. My happy trail. Bent over in front of you," Lance listed, bopping Keith's nose with each item. "None of that got a reaction. It was like I was posing to a dead stick." Lance pulled his lips into his most adorable pout.
Keith's confused expression slid smoothly into a lazy smile. "Oh you think so? Believe me, it did. I just hid it better." Lance felt himself blush at the tone of Keith's voice. "When you bent over I almost broke my putter in half."
Lance laughed at that, even as his cheeks flushed slightly. "Oh really? So I do turn you on?"
"Oh gods yes," Keith breathed, his hands moving from Lance's hips to encircle his waist. "All that stuff I said to distract you on that last hole was the truth."
Lance draped his arms over Keith's shoulders, "Mm, good. Because I can't even tell you how much it turned me on to be pinned down by you. You're lucky there were children present."
Keith chuckled, a low and throaty sound, before kissing him. As always, Lance felt his body light up, even from this light kiss. It wasn't light for long; Keith deepened it, licking into his mouth and pressing more firmly against him. Lance let him take the lead on how their mouths moved together – there was something so hot about giving in to Keith that it literally made his head swim in a way that had nothing to do with the stifling heat in the apartment.
Keith soon moved his lips to Lance's neck, giving him little love nips that were as gentle as raindrops, but still served to make Lance's mind go blank. Then Keith sort of rolled his hips against Lance and Lance could feel that Keith was excited. Oh god that was just too much for his poor brain, his poor body, his poor heart.
After a small bite to his earlobe, Keith whispered in his ear. "Any doubt now that you turn me on?"
'Fuck fuck fuck,' Lance chanted in his head. "No!" he choked out. "Oh fuck no."
Keith pulled back and looked up into the flushed face of his boyfriend, then loosened his hold. "Good. Don't ever doubt that," he said, giving Lance another little kiss. "Now don't forget to brush Red outside. Looks like he's done with dinner."
With that, Keith fully let him go and turned around to leave the kitchen area. Lance just stared after him with his mouth dropped open. "What the fuck, Keith?!"
"Gotta turn on the AC. It's pretty damn hot in here. I think I'll take a shower while you're brushing Red."
How the hell did he sound so normal? His tone didn't even indicate that just a second ago he was rubbing his…his…himself against Lance? Lance's whole mind was a whirlwind of emotion and he couldn't think straight for a minute.
"Need company?" he heard himself blurt out.
"Nah. Red needs that brushing," Keith called out with a laugh before shutting the bathroom door.
"Did I meet your approval?" Lance asked as Keith ran his hand over Red's back. The majestic feline had jumped on Keith's lap after they had sat down to watch a movie. Lance had picked Coco. Red appeared from the bedroom, where he had been sulking after his grooming incident, partway through the movie. The snack bowl on the coffee table was almost empty, as were the milkshake cups.
"You did do a good job," Keith approved. "It's especially important to do this when it's so hot out. His fur is so thick and I don't want him passing out from the heat."
"You should leave your AC on when you go out. Even on low it will help a lot."
"I will now. I didn't expect it to get this bad today. It's not even June."
The air in the apartment was much cooler and Lance felt ok with snuggling up against Keith, reveling in the strong arm around his shoulders. Red batted his head a few times against Keith's hand, then walked over to Lance's lap where the slightly less fluffy ball of fur turned three times before settling into a nap. Lance put one hand on the warm body in his lap and the other on Keith's thigh, playing absently with the hem of Keith's shorts.
"I think I thought of something else I can have you do," Keith said, his voice a warm purr in Lance's ear.
"Oh? In addition to cleaning your apartment tomorrow?" Lance asked.
"Mhm."
"What more do you want?" Lance asked, a little apprehensive. Cleaning the apartment was a lot already.
"Stay with me tonight."
Lance stared at the TV screen. His mouth had gone dry. Again. It had done that a lot today. One of his favorite scenes, Miguel and Hector singing "Poco Loco" couldn't even attract his attention. He barely even saw the images or heard the song. Just that phrase 'Stay with me tonight' running repeatedly over and over in his head.
"Lance?"
"Um," Lance managed to squeak out, then cleared his throat. "Uh…"
"Sweetheart?"
Lance finally turned his head to meet Keith's steady and loving gaze and that opened up a pit in his stomach. Did he want this? Yes. Did he want it now? Lance wasn't sure. He took this next step seriously, and they hadn't even said they loved each other yet. He knew he felt it, and he was positive Keith did, too. Lance just wasn't sure he was to that point yet to jump to sleeping together.
"I thought we were waiting for the tenth date?" he asked in a shaky voice.
"We are," Keith assured him, reaching for his hand. "I didn't ask you to stay so we could sleep together. Well, I guess I DO mean for you to sleep with me, but not like THAT. I'm not saying we should make love tonight or anything. I keep my promises, and we promised to wait for ten dates." Keith squeezed his hand. "The other night that you spent here. When we fell asleep on the couch. That feeling was," he paused, "incredible. I'd never felt so safe in my life. But the couch was sort of cramped and uncomfortable. I'd like to fall asleep with you next to me in bed. Wake up next to you. Have you be the first thing I see in the morning."
Lance felt the sting of tears in his eyes. He couldn't believe he'd won the affection of this amazing guy. Keith was an unexpected romantic and Lance ate it up. He had always been the one to be the romantic one - or at least the one that attempted the romance part of a relationship. No one he had ever dated had ever appreciated it, nor had they ever tried to do that for him. Not only did Keith appreciate him, he did his best to make Lance feel loved.
Love. There was that term again. He opened his mouth and almost said it, but something held him back from that. It was still too soon, his mind told him, though he knew he felt it. His emotions were overwhelmed and Keith looked so adorable - those eyes were so sincere, earnest, and beautiful - so he answered in the only way he could to diffuse the rapid beating of his heart.
"Well if you want me in your bed THAT badly Keithy, how could I refuse?"
Keith's answering grin and soft chuckle, however, did nothing to calm him. Lance saw that Keith understood what he couldn't say. How much this meant to him as well. He had been the one holding Keith all night that night. It was Keith's warm body pressed up against him. His own arm around the trusting body in front of him. His face pressed into Keith's hair, which smelled of generic shampoo and tickled his nose.
"You can't. I won that bet," Keith responded with a wicked grin. "And don't call me that."