The front door of the hair salon Lance McClain has been working in for almost 2 years now bursts open, drawing his attention towards the potential customer that made such a boisterous entrance. A woman as beautiful and graceful as Lance has never seen any woman storms in, causing Lance's flirting-instincts to kick in immediately.
"This is an emergency!" she exclaims loudly, seemingly to no one in particular but the entire salon, which is really just Lance and his current customer Claudia. Lance really likes Claudia, the middle-aged woman is easily his favorite regular and not only because she always talks about what a charming, young gentleman Lance is. When she gets a new haircut from him she always manages to get him all flustered by sighing a lot and dreaming about being young again to ask him out. Despite her age Claudia strongly believes that, sometimes, women have to take matters into their own hands.
Right now Claudia stares at the gorgeous woman with long, long, silver-white wavy hair just as dumbfounded and surprised, maybe even startled, as Lance does.
The young hairdresser is the first one to gain back his composure. "No need to panic, princess, no matter what kind of emergency may have occurred, I will save you." He shoots her a flirtatious smile but she just raises a sceptical eyebrow at him.
"Princess?"
"Well, with your looks I just assumed you are one." A seductive wink.
But just as so often the addressed beauty in front of him just rolls her eyes and even Claudia behind him makes a disapproving noise. Lance turns around, the corners of his lips now fallen to a frown. "What? Claudia, don't tell me this wasn't smooth?" he asks playfully desperate.
"Lance, this was terrible. You can do way better than this sweetie, I know that" she says in such an innocent and fond tone, somehow even supportive, that Lance couldn't be mad at her even if he wanted to be.
Now he's the one who sighs as he turns back around to face the stunning, dark-skinned stranger. "Fine. Please excuse my unreasonable behavior, I tend to get... distracted by beauty. What can we help you with?" he tries again in his professional business-voice his boss had spent days teaching him.
The woman's facial expression softens a little at that but it isn't quite a smile yet. "I need someone to fix my hair. I have a date in 30 minutes and the wind destroyed everything" she complains, clearly furious with mother nature.
"I can assure that you came to the right place, princess, we'll solve your problem in no time! But as you can see I already have a breathtaking queen to serve," - a giggle from Claudia - "so Coran will be there for you in a b-"
A loud, reproachful cough from the back of the salon interrupts him. "Excuse me, my boy?"
Lance closes his eyes to not roll them in front of the customers as he responds to the cheerful voice. "No Coran, I won-"
"Lance."
A deep breath to suppress the groan that wants to slip over his lips is needed, as well as a clearing of his throat before Lance says as melodic as possible: "Coran, Coran, the gorgeous man will be there for you in a second."
Deep down Lance loves to say those words but he would never, not ever, admit that within his employer's earshot.
Just one second later the door to the back of the salon bursts open, similar to how the front door has just moments ago, and Coran stalks into the room, twirling his mustache. "Why hello there, young lady. How may I serve you today?" he asks exuberantly with a deep bow and the young woman finally smiles, chuckles even. Shocked Lance stares from her to Coran and back with wide eyes, mouth agape. But before he can word his disapprovement of what is happening right in front of him, he hears another chuckle from behind him.
Betrayal.
Lance gasps indignantly. "Claudia, what is this about? Don't tell me you want Coran to be your hairdresser as well?!" Dramatically he grabs his shirt, right above his heart, and sinks to his knees.
"But no my dear, I'd never even think about that!" Claudia reassures him, eyes still shining with lighthearted amusement.
"I sure hope so, because it would really hurt my feelings if you would leave me behind for someone else." With a pout and crossed arms he emphasizes his statement, getting up again.
Claudia chuckles once more and the sound makes Lance ridiculously happy. This woman's laugh meant a whole lot to him ever since the very first haircut she got from him one year ago. Back then she has told him she wanted to look as pretty as possible as she was heading to her beloved husband's funeral.
"Never, Lance."
She also always kind of remembers him of his mamá.
"Fine. I will give you this one last chance, but only because your laugh is unfairly adorable" Lance says with playfully narrowed eyes and as a response Claudia nods at him, beaming brightly.
And just like that, as if nothing has happened, he goes back to his workspace and continues his cheerful conversation with Claudia that got cut off so abruptly. In the meantime Coran leads the woman, Allura, as Lance overhears, into the chair right beside Claudia.
Maybe some people would say he's a disgusting playboy who's flirting with literally every woman entering the salon, no matter their age, only to get tipped better. Which is not the case at all. Lance truly enjoys it to bring these women smiles and flirting had established as the most successful way to do so. It is a thing he does with basically everyone anyways; age isn't the only thing that doesn't matter to Lance when it comes to playful, or serious, flirting.
He would never complain about the tips though, which, in fact, are pretty nice.
"This salon may have a ridiculous, dumb name but it was the only one around and you guys seem to be fun. I'm glad I found it" Allura says in an elegant voice that perfectly suits her gorgeous appearance.
Coran sighs resigned but the twitch of his mustache gives away his true feelings concerning the name of his salon. "The name was the idea of my boy Lance right here and it is-"
"Brilliant? Catchy? Funny and unique? You are absolutely right, Coran!" Lance interrupts his boss before he can once again do his creation injustice by talking it down. "Everyone loves it."
"I love it, indeed!" Claudia strengthens Lance's statement with sincere excitement and Lance sends a smug grin Coran's way.
"See? Thank you Claudia, that's why I love you so much."
Once again Claudia's heart-warming giggle fills the room, causing not only Lance but everyone present to smile. "Oh Lance, I have to ask you to work slower. We're almost done and I don't want to leave already, it's so nice around here! There are so many great people to chat with!"
"Oh, that's utmost convenient since I need your help with this anyways, number two" Coran interjects and Lance flashes Claudia a bright beam before he walks over to Allura's impressive if not intimidating mane of hair.
"I think some pins got lost" Coran explains matter-of-factly and Lance furrows his eyebrows.
"Lost? In there?" he asks and points into Allura's hair.
"Well, yes."
"Oh, that happens all the time! Let me get them out real quick" Allura tosses in and already reaches up to rummage through the wild ocean of locks but Coran stops her before she can do even so much as touch her hair.
"But no, young lady, you trusted us with your powerful hair and we will do this for you. Or to be more accurate, Lance will."
Of course Lance knows that there's little use in trying to argue with his boss once he has made up his mind about anything but, like most of the times, he tries it anyways. "But Coran that-"
"We will!"
"She's probably much faster tha-"
"Are you disobeying orders?"
"No, I am just trying to point out the fact that-"
"We do it, I say!"
Lance throws his hands up in defeat. "Fine! Step aside, old man." No matter their employee-employer relationship, Lance would never refrain from getting a little revenge for getting bossed around like that.
But Coran only clicks his tongue in disapproval, not giving Lance the satisfaction of getting mad. Surprising for them all, Claudia decides to become his partner in crime and gasps in shock.
"Old man?! Coran is the paragon of an attractive, mature man in the prime of life, Lance! If you call him old, you call me older!" she exclaims dramatically, mimicking Lance's acting from earlier and her hairdresser's tanned face goes as pale as it possibly can.
"What? No! Claudia, I… I didn't mean it like that!" he backtracks distressed, obviously struggling. The last thing he would ever want is to hurt this woman's feelings.
"But it is true!" she adds, trying to sound devastated and broken but her goofy grin gives her away. Lance's expression turns from panic to grudge pretty fast.
"I see" he grumbles, shaking his head. He shoots Claudia a meaningful glance. "I'm only doing this because I like you so much!" he clarifies before he clears his throat and solemnly chants: "Coran, Coran, is indeed a gorgeous man!"
While Claudia smiles brightly and Coran nods at her impressed, Allura bubbles over with laughter. "Oh Lonce, beyond your terrible flirting you are truly adorable" she says delighted as soon as she can breathe properly again.
"Not exactly what I was going for but I'll take what I can get" Lance sighs resigned, unsuccessfully trying to ban his own amused smile from his face.
Then, finally, he gets to work and begins to pin Allura's hair up, not bothering to ask what kind of hairdo she imagines. He knows she'll love it.
And she does.
"Oh my- Lonce! This looks incredible!" Allura exclaims, inspecting her reflection in the mirror from every possible angle. She reaches her hands up but quickly drops them again, not daring to touch the masterpiece Lance had created out of her hair that was terribly tousled not very long ago. "I love it!"
Lance, standing behind her chair, smiles at her in the mirror. "I am very glad you do, princess. And now go sweep this date of yours off their feet!" he demands and she brightly smiles back at him.
"I'll do my best to do my appearance justice!"
"I am convinced you will."
Smiling almost blindingly at Lance she stands up and walks towards the counter where Coran already waits for her while Lance happily strolls back to Claudia's chair. She gives him a mysterious look, as if she is about to tell him one of the best hidden secrets of mankind.
"Allura's beauty is truly outstanding" she whispers earnestly, "but I think your girlfriend is way cuter than her."
That has Lance laughing and he looks down at her with a wide smile. "Yeah. Yeah, I think so too."
Waving her goodbyes Allura reluctantly exits the salon, not leaving before promising to come back soon and give report about how her date went. After the door falls shut behind her Coran goes back to his small office to take care of some business stuff Lance never is allowed to handle, leaving their remaining customer in his number two's trusted hands.
"Okay, but I have to get back to something you've said earlier" Lance says lowly, for only Claudia to hear. "Do you think Coran is more attractive than I am?"
Claudia laughs out loud at that, covering her mouth with one hand to muffle the happy sounds escaping her lips. "That's… He's... " Another wave of giggles overcomes her and Lance has to pause his work for a short moment again, not minding it at all since it delayed their inevitable goodbye further.
"It's… a different kind of attractive" Claudia finally manages to say. "Don't worry Lance, that doesn't mean you're any less dazzling."
He grins at her through the mirror. "I sure hope so."
With a frustrated groan Keith drops his bag and flops onto the couch face first, burying it into the cushions. College has been as boring and tiring as always, leaving him with nothing but the desire to stay home for the rest of the evening and watch silly Netflix shows while eating his roommate's brilliant snacks.
"Hello to you too, Keith!" a way too cheerful voice echoes out of the kitchen where said roommate hopefully already prepares said snacks.
As a response he only gets a low grumble from Keith who's trying to reach the remote without moving from his lying position.
"My sunshine in all his glory" the owner of the voice says with a smirk as he lets himself fall down into the comfortable mess of blankets and pillows right next to Keith's head, handing him a bowl overflowing with fresh cheese nachos.
"You're the best, Hunk" Keith sighs as he takes it, his mood already lifting.
"I know, I know" Hunk answers with a bright grin and steals some of the nachos for himself.
If someone would ask Keith to describe Hunk he would, first of all, panic. Panic over the fear that he wouldn't be able to find words that would do his precious friend any justice. Maybe, after a very long time of thinking, he could come up with the description: shining, soft and gentle giant to break Hunk's appearance and personality down to their essentials. These words may seem weird or ridiculous to describe a human being but not only is Keith one of the worst people when it comes to words, they are also the most accurate to characterize the man who may as well be truly a living teddy bear.
In the past, Keith has had a lot of roommates. Somehow he has always managed to scare or annoy them away, sometimes intentional and sometimes… less intentional. His brother has always begged him to be nicer to, well, everybody but Keith never saw any reason to do so.
Until he met Hunk. Hunk, who always is so incredibly nice that you have to be nice as well, at least a little bit. Who cooks meals for Keith that are out of this world almost every day without asking for anything in return. Who is possibly the only person that can make Keith laugh without any restraint.
Hunk, who, for some wonderful reason Keith would never deserve, stays with him. Is his friend, even. The best Keith has ever had.
"So, what are we going to watch today?" Hunk asks, his mouth full with the crunchy snack. Confused Keith raises an eyebrow.
"But I chose the movie yesterday already. Isn't it your turn today?"
"Nah man, you don't seem to be in any condition to be tortured with a Disney movie right now" Hunk replied with a shrug and a thankful smile tugs at the corners of Keith's lips.
"Thanks Hunk. How about we agree on some Bob's Burgers? I don't think I could follow anything with a real plot to be honest."
With an amused snort Hunk signals his agreement while Keith readjusts his position on the couch to make more, well-needed space for him.
"You're such a Bob" Hunk suddenly comments after 15 blissful minutes of comfortable silence between them. Keith puffs.
"Oh yeah? How's that?"
"You're always kind of tired and over everything but when it comes to the people you love, you always give your everything" Hunk explains genuinely without looking away from the screen, knowing very well that it would be too much for Keith to hear such words while holding eye-contact.
For a moment Keith stays silent, processing. Even though the information where saved somewhere deep down inside of him it always stunns Keith that Hunk thinks so highly of him. "Thanks buddy. That… means a lot."
With a friendly smile Hunk lightly nudges Keith's shoulder with his elbow. "Anytime, man. Only stating facts here."
Willingly Keith lets a small smile spread over his face before they both turn back towards the screen.
After watching some episodes Keith couldn't have spend less attention to a quiet snoring informs him that his companion has fallen asleep. Immediately a pang of guilt hits him right into his chest, leaving a nasty feeling there. Hunk's day sure has been just as exhausting as his own, if not worse, so he would have deserved to watch the most cheesy Disney musical there is tonight if he wished to do so. Instead, Keith has been selfish, not thinking twice about Hunk's wishes. With a reproachful sigh addressed to himself Keith decides to make it up to him as soon as possible - for now that includes wrapping him up in their fluffiest blanket. Then Keith grabs the empty bowl from their coffee table and makes his way to the kitchen, certain that Hunk has left behind a battlefield.
Not that Hunk is a messy person, not at all! But he likes to first enjoy his food before facing the unpleasant consequence of making food that is cleaning up. But recently he falls asleep before he can take care of it more often than not, much to Keith's delight. This way he can give back at least a small bit of all the things Hunk does for him on a daily basis.
Just as Keith finishes the dishes he hears a surprised gasp from behind him.
"Oh man, not again! You know you didn't have to do that!" Hunk says, the gratitude yet clearly noticeable in his voice.
Keith shrugs it off as he puts away the towel he has used. "And you know I gladly clean up after you cooked for me." Then he tries to walk past Hunk but his roommate most effectively blocks his only exit.
"Oh no, you're not getting away this easily, you grump!" he states and opens his arms widely, announcing one of his trademarked bear hugs. Keith rolls his eyes in the most fond way possible and lets Hunk embrace him with his warm, strong arms, hugging him tight. If Keith's honest it feels pretty good.
"Thank you, Hunk. You know, for everything" Keith says awkwardly as soon as his friend lets him go, living up to his name of being the worst person with words, ever.
"Thank you too, Keith. You know, for everything else." Hunk winks at him in that friendly way of his and disappears into his room, happily humming a cheerful melody.
Following his example Keith heads to his room as well, more than ready to crash down onto his bed and falling asleep instantly. Just as he's about to reach his much longed-for destination he remembers his bag that still lies on the ground next to the couch, turning around to get it. The thought also brings back the memories of how drained and pissed he has been just two hours ago and a smile plays around his lips at the realization of how Hunk's presence never fails to cheer him up.
Yeah. Life is pretty good.
