A/N: My friend showed me a prompt kind of like this and I wish I knew where it came from. Let me know what you think of it!

Common Knowledge

"Man, I gotta say," Hunk murmured, "if I were a lady, I'd swoon if Matt said that to me."

"Eew!" Pidge cringed, pushing the larger boy with a giggle. "Don't talk about my brother that way, it's gross!"

Hunk rolled his eyes exaggeratedly, turning to look at Lance. "Lance, you feel me, right?" He pointed towards the side, where Matt was currently wooing- with surprising success- an Olkari girl. The engineer's cheeks were tinged purple in embarrassment against the greenish-yellow of her skin, and she tittered delightedly as Matt suavely complemented her mech's design once again. The young man winked, running his hand through his long hair with a debonair grin as he spoke of modifying the cooling system, and the girl was practically putty in his hands.

Lance glared at his best friend, fuming silently. Leaning over, he muttered, "Dude, don't blow up my spot, I'm not-"

"We know, we know," Hunk assured him, holding his hands up in a peaceful gesture. "You're super straight, except for-"

"Not. Another. Word," Lance hissed, eyes darting frantically over to where Keith sat at their table. The quiet, stoic boy's face was twisted up, confusion clear as day on his furrowed brow as he tried to follow what the others were talking about. Thankfully, he had never been very good at reading subtext.

Shrugging wryly, Hunk patted him on the shoulder. "Alright, alright. I, for one, am comfortable saying that he's gotten pretty smooth over the last few years of galaxy-saving." Leaning over to Pidge, he added evilly, "I'd bet he even likes to single-modulate things, too. A man of class."

Huffing, Pidge squawked, "No Holt would bother single-modulating, Hunk. Get over it! Double-modulating is better!"

The two began to bicker about the same old argument, leaving an uneasy Lance and a quiet, albeit befuddled Keith. Finally, the taciturn boy stood up, drawing the attention of the other three. With a thoughtful lilt in his eyes, Keith commented, "Hunk's right- Matt's pretty handsome now."

Pidge stuck her tongue out, grossed out by the prospect. "Oh, eww, you'd date Matt?"

Keith shrugged placidly. "I mean, he's not my first choice, but… he's not bad." And with that, the boy walked over to Coran, ready to talk strategy for their next mission.

Pidge and Hunk traded exasperated, if amused, looks, before taking a breath to jump back into their modulation argument. Before they could continue, however, Lance murmured, "Guys, wait- what was that?"

"What was what, man?" Hunk asked, leaning forward on his elbows. "You're gonna have to be more specific."

Lance gestured frantically between Matt and Keith. "Keith just- he said- Matt's handsome now?"

"Aw," the girl teased, "is Loverboy-Lance jealous?"

The Cuban boy spluttered, waving his hand indignantly. "No, no- okay, may- no!" Slamming his open hands onto the table, he squeaked, "Is Keith… y'know…"

"Know what, Lance?" Hunk sighed, growing more exasperated. "Just say it."

"Is he… gay?" The last word was whispered, an air of hope filling Lance's eyes.

The two others traded blank looks before turning back to Lance, deadpan. Hunk said, "Well, yeah."

"I thought everyone knew?" Pidge added obliquely. Lance just spluttered in place, lips forming the words with no sound escaping. The Green Paladin crossed her arms, a wicked smirk growing on her face. "You're telling me that you seriously didn't know?"

Hunk sighed, shaking his head. "Pidge, you're talking to the one person who didn't figure out that you're a girl until you told him."

She laughed aloud, slapping a pouting Lance heartily on the shoulder. "Hey, I forgot about that!" Calming down, she added, "But seriously though, yeah, we thought you knew. I mean, he idolizes Shiro, for more than one reason."

"And respecting Kolivan is one thing, but Keith worships the guy way more, if you know what I mean." Hunk paused, recognition flitting over his face. "Is that why you won't ask Keith out?" Hunk asked curiously, smiling gently at his friend. "You thought he'd never be interested?"

Lance buried his head in his arms, folding in on himself as he dramatically fell onto the table. "I can't believe it. You're all terrible. Why didn't you say anything? Why? Do you have any idea how long I've had to suffer?!"

"Because," Pidge quipped, "we always want to give your stupidity the benefit of the doubt!" She stood, stretched, then sauntered off to tease her older brother and his new alien lady-friend.

Hunk ruffled Lance's hair affectionately. "And yet, you always prove that there's no need," he murmured fondly before heading off to the kitchen. Over his shoulder, he called back, "Try it! You never know!"

Lance huffed, turning his head over on his arms to look at the Black Paladin. Keith was engaged in an animated conversation with Coran across the hall, and his eyes in the light of the Castle of Lions looked so determined under his thick furrowed brow, sparkling with hope and an intensity that made them almost glow purple with the fire inside their depths, and Lance felt that fire covering his skin for the nth time. Lance's eyes homed in on the sharpness of Keith's silhouette and the strength of his shoulders and-

He groaned, turning his head back the other way. He pulled his arms out from under his head, letting the cool table soothe the redness he could feel creeping up his face and ears. His eyes fell back onto Matt, the older boy introducing his sister to the Olkari girl proudly. "Keith's more handsome," he muttered aloud before his words truly hit. He sighed, letting out a pitiful whine.

"You okay?" a familiar voice asked.

Lance bolted upright, laughing nervously as he saw Keith's concerned expression staring back at him. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," he chuckled, antsy in his seat. Please say he didn't hear that, please say he didn't hear that-

Then, a warm, relieved smile blossomed on Keith's lips. It was tiny, but it was there, and it was for him. "That's good," Keith breathed. He awkwardly looked away for a moment, running a hand through his long hair. "Let me know if you need anything, okay?"

Lance gulped, eyes transfixed to how each strand fell again over Keith's forehead, over the wrinkle in his brow and the rueful glaze in his eyes. "Yeah," he breathed in response. "…I will. Thanks."

And the tiny smile returned, and Keith nodded again, all familiar affection in his quiet stoicism, and Lance settled his head back down on his arms. But this time, he was contented and hopeful and at peace, knowing that Keith appreciated the silent company- his company- too.