Betrayed. He'd been betrayed by his two best friends.

When he got home that night, what he had expected to see was Hunk cooking dinner while Pidge sat at the table with her laptop. Hunk would possibly be trying a new recipe, something Lance was always up for trying. And Pidge could possibly be working on some of their grad school assignments, although it was more likely that she'd finished the assignments ages ago and was now focused on those dumb alien scanners she'd forced him and Hunk to help her post around town recently.

That night had resulted in him running from a security guard because she just had to have a scanner on top of the highest building downtown. The kind of building with pretty tight security. He'd managed to escape. And Pidge still owed him. Big.

However, what he had not expected was to come home and find Keith Kogane sitting at their kitchen table typing into his own laptop.

Lance's eyes narrowed. "Hey guys," he said slowly.

"Lance! Great, you're in time for dinner," Hunk replied cheerily from where he stood by the stove. At least Hunk could be trusted to be doing as expected. Perhaps he'd accused Hunk of betrayal too soon.

"Hey, Lance. You know Keith, right?"

Did he know Keith? Did her hear Pidge correctly? He knew not to let her innocent tone of voice fool him, especially when she was currently refusing to meet his eyes. Pidge knew Lance knew who Keith was! He'd been outright complaining about Keith since he found out that Mr. Perfect College GPA, a guy he'd pointedly tried to avoid through four years of undergrad, had also made it into the same graduate program that he, Hunk, and Pidge had been accepted into. He knew from what little time he'd spent paying silent attention to Keith in undergrad, that Keith was smart, so he wasn't surprised that he'd made it into the same cutthroat grad school program. His surprise had been having to look at Keith's dumb face every time they had class.

He looked at that dumb face now and found Keith's eyes fixed on him.

"Hi," Keith said warily.

Lance nodded in response. His good manners only lasted so long, however.

"So, did we finally hit a subject you don't understand? Had to come over and get some private tutoring from the smart kids?" Lance asked as he dug a soda out of their fridge and pointedly ignored The Look Hunk was sending his way.

"Keith was sick last week and missed a few days?" Hunk said, tilting the end of the sentence up like a question even though he was well aware that Lance had noticed Keith's absence from class. Lance had only mentioned wondering where Keith had been for the last four consecutive days at every possible conversational opportunity.

"So, I invited him over so he could copy my notes," Pidge added.

Lance's eyes narrowed again. Pidge - who could turn a piece of trash into an advanced technological instrument that major tech companies would drool over – invited Keith Kogane to come over in person so he could type up her notes onto his own damn laptop, instead of say, emailing the notes to him? Hacking into Keith's computer herself and just dumping the notes in there? Giving him a thumb drive with the notes in the safety of their classroom? Sending them on a goddamn carrier pigeon? It shouldn't surprise him that Pidge was the mastermind behind bringing his biggest rival right into their private dwelling. Their sacred home. Their batcave.

"Were you absent? I didn't notice." Lance did his best to appear casual as he sat at the table and hoped Keith didn't notice Pidge rolling her eyes.

"Wait, are you in our class?" Keith asked him.

Lance sputtered. "What? What?" Pidge reached over and moved his soda to the side before his flailing arms could knock it off the table. "Are you kidding? We're neck and neck in that class for the top grade?"

"Actually, I believe I have the top grade," Pidge muttered.

"Plus, there's only like ten people in there, dude. Do you not look around? How can you not know that we're in the same program?"

"And yet you didn't notice I was gone?" Keith said dryly as he kept his eyes on his laptop screen and kept typing.

Hunk chuckled then, although he tried to cover it with a weird choking noise, while Pidge released an actual giggle. Meanwhile, Lance resisted the urge to actually growl at the other boy for setting him up.

"At least I don't have a mullet. Ten points to me for having cooler hair."

Keith glanced up at him, and since they were now sitting right next to each - why had Lance chosen this seat? - they were now close enough for Lance to notice that the guy had purple eyes. Lovely Purple eyes. Why did the universe hate him so much?

Keith looked away first as he closed his laptop and began to slide it into his bag. "I think I've got all the notes I missed. Thanks a lot, Pidge."

"No problem, Keith."

"I should get going."

"What?" Hunk spun around to the table. "But I've got dinner ready to go. And there's plenty! You gotta stay and eat."

Lance made another sputtering noise. Betrayed by Hunk after all.

Meanwhile, Keith appeared genuinely shocked by Hunk's offer. "Oh, I'm sorry, Hunk."

And dammit if the apology didn't sound extremely sincere to Lance's ears, not that he could blame Keith, no one liked to disappoint the giant teddy bear that was Hunk.

"I actually already have plans tonight." Keith watched Hunk's face continue to fall. "Maybe another time?" Which was honestly an offer that he'd never made to anyone, not counting Shiro, in his entire life. But then Hunk's face lit up and Keith honestly felt himself feeling better as well.

"Yes! Since we don't have class on Fridays we always do a big dinner and movie night on Thursday nights. You'll join us this week?"

Keith's face fell a little bit at that as he prepared to disappoint Hunk once more.

"Actually, I have plans Thursday night as well." Were those puppy dog eyes Hunk was sending him? Keith honestly never had the urge to please other people, but here he was, about to do his best to make this almost complete stranger happy over a pair of puppy dog eyes. "I'm free Friday night?"

Hunk lit up once again. "We'll just do movie night on Friday then!"

"Whoa, whoa," Lance cut in, "reschedule movie night?"

"Lance, please," Pidge said, glancing up from her laptop. "Basically every night here is movie night and you know it."

"So, I'll see you guys in class tomorrow?" Keith stood and pulled his bag on his shoulder.

"And then movie night on Friday!" Hunk said, leaning in to give Keith a big side hug that lifted the other boy slightly off the ground. However, he didn't fail to notice Keith tense big time at the touch and he quickly did his best to set Keith gently back down.

Keith said his goodbyes and once he was out of the apartment, Lance spun around to his two ex-best friends.

"What the hell was that? Why was he here?"

"We told you why he was here," Pidge said, standing to move her laptop to safety before Hunk could get near it with the plates of food.

"This isn't funny, Pidge. He's my rival. He shouldn't be hanging out in my home."

"He doesn't seem to know who you are," Hunk said. "Don't rivals always know who each other are?"

"And he has a mullet. You let someone with a mullet into our apartment."

"I don't really think that counts as a mullet, Lance," Hunk said patiently as he sat down and began eating.

"And did you see his eyes?"

"No, only you stared longingly into his eyes while he was here," Pidge said.

"They're purple. Who has purple eyes? He's probably an alien, Pidge. Maybe you should point one of your little scanners at him."

"Say whatever is going to make you feel better, Lance," Hunk said. "Just try not to do it while he's here."

"And what plans would he have that he can't eat dinner with us tonight? Have you ever seen him with friends?"

"Let it out, buddy," Pidge added.

Lance ignored their patronizing voices. "He never hung out with anyone in undergrad either. Not once."

"Have you ever noticed how much of your attention you focus on Keith?" Pidge asked as she wondered if bluntly pointing this out to him would get them anywhere.

"I have to pay attention to my rival, Pidge!"

Pidge sighed and moved Lance's drink again before his ridiculous flailing arms knocked over the can.

"Maybe we should've invited him to hang with us back then," Hunk said thoughtfully.

Lance scoffed. "He wouldn't have been interested. He's got plans tonight. He apparently has plans on Thursday. Clearly, he's too busy with a full social calendar, amiright?"

"Oh, man, now I'm feeling guilty," Hunk peered down at his food and wondered if he could eat through all this guilt. Finally he decided he could.

"Guilty? Some people are loser loners who don't want friends, Hunk! And I'm only saying this because I want you to be prepared for him not to show up on Friday." Lance was kind of sincere about that last part. He didn't want to see Hunk disappointed.

"Um, did you see him doing his best to keep Hunk from flat out crying before? I have a feeling that he's going to come," Pidge said.

"Don't count on it - hey, where are you two going?"

"The solitude of my own room."

"We actually ate our dinner, Lance. We're leaving the table now," Hunk added.

Lance watched them go and then glanced down at his plate. He hadn't managed to take a single bite.

Stupid Keith.

The next morning at school Hunk waved to Keith as they entered their classroom. And after a short, startled moment, Keith waved back. He didn't move to sit near the three of them, though, and Lance told himself he was grateful. Small favors and all that.

And while he did his best to keep his eyes off Keith, he did spend a majority of their first class wondering what it was that seemed to put a perpetual, grumpy scowl on the other boy's face all the time.

Not that he cared. Cause he didn't.

And if he was surprised that Keith actually showed up Friday night, he was a master of hiding it.

"Whoa-ho, look who decided to grace us with his presence tonight!" Lance announced as he opened the apartment door.

Hunk was there in a second, pushing the door all the way open and inviting Keith inside.

"I, uh, brought some popcorn," Keith offered, handing the bag over to Hunk who beamed at him.

"Butterless popcorn?" Lance said with his arms suddenly crossed. "Who eat butterless popcorn? Don't tell me you're a health nut."

"Come in, come in," Pidge said, ushering Keith over to their table. "Ignore him. We do."

"Well I know someone who just got knocked off my Christmas card list," Lance huffed as he joined the others at the table.

During dinner, Lance was unusually quiet. He mainly watched as Hunk and Pidge asked Keith questions, which mostly just led to discussions about their coursework. The big nerds.

And maybe he should've felt secretly pleased to notice that Keith looked a little stiff during the meal. But for some reason he didn't understand, he didn't enjoy seeing Keith uncomfortable.

"Do you guys know where fish sleep?" he interjected into their conversation. He heard Pidge groan, but it was too late to stop. Keith glanced over at him but didn't offer an answer, while Hunk waited with a smile. Maybe he could take Hunk off his shit list. "Water beds!" he announced the punch line with a wide smile.

Hunk chuckled. Pidge groaned again. Keith stared at him blankly.

"Get it? Fish? Water beds?"

"I think fish keep moving even when they're sleeping," Keith said.

"It's a joke, Keith," he said dryly.

"I thought we discussed that you were going to stop sharing your little sister's jokes with us?" Pidge stated.

"Oh, except for that one about Cinderella," Hunk said.

Yes, yes Hunk could come off his shit list now.

"You mean - why was Cinderella kicked off the basketball team? Cause she ran away from the ball!" Lance said with a smile.

Pidge rolled her eyes. "Okay, I guess the gravity one was okay, too."

"Oh! I'm reading a book about anti-gravity. It's impossible to put down." He turned his smile towards Keith, who was still looking slightly bewildered. "Puns. They're puns, Keith. Like, I'd tell you a chemistry joke but I know I wouldn't get a reaction."

Keith blinked at him a couple times before turning his attention back to his plate. But Lance smiled anyway as he turned back to his own plate. Because Keith's face was turning slightly pink and he'd swear that Keith's mouth was so close to quirking into a smile.

"Pidgey, how much ice cream do you want?" Lance called out from the kitchen. The rest of them were settling over on the couch for the movie and he had taken it upon himself to shove Hunk out of the kitchen to relax while he worked on dessert.

"I'd say a 42."

Lance sighed. "That's – what is that? 42 on a scale of 1 to what? For once, can I please get a number between 1 and 10?"

"42, please Lance," Pidge repeated.

Lance grumbled as he scooped out what he could only imagine a 42 looked like.

"How about you, Mullet Man?" he called out. "Scale of 1 to 10?"

"I'll take a 28, please."

Lance grumbled again. "Keith's got jokes all of a sudden."

A few nights later, Keith's phone buzzed, and he picked it up to read a new text.

Shiro: Want to come over tonight?

Keith: Sorry. Have plans

Shiro: Plans with other people?

Keith: …

Shiro: Or plans to sit by yourself and watch TV until you fall asleep?

Keith: Yes. Plans with people.

Shiro: Real people?

Keith: What other kind of people are there?

Shiro: You didn't meet someone on the internet and now you're going off to meet them?

Shiro: I gave you the internet safety talk, right?

Keith: Shiro.

Shiro: Keith

Keith: TAKASHI

Shiro: I don't think this is a good idea

Shiro: I mean, fine, if you want to talk to someone online, I guess that's okay, but I don't think you should meet them in person.

Keith: Shiro. Jesus. I'm meeting with some of my classmates, okay? People I met in person through my grad program. That's all.

Shiro: Are you meeting them for an assignment or just willingly hanging out with them?

Shiro: Like for fun?

Shiro: Actually I don't care which answer it is

Shiro: I'm seriously proud, kiddo

Keith: Please stop

Lance and Hunk entered their apartment carrying a couple pizzas and found Keith and Pidge facing each other from opposite sides of the couch.

"It's a really great alien conspiracy documentary. I think you'd like it."

"That's the kind of quality content Netflix needs to include in their lineup," Pidge said seriously.

"I have a copy of it actually," Keith offered.

Lance eyed Keith as he pulled out plates. He looked relaxed. Lance liked it.

Pidge's eyes widened comically. "Keith, swear to me now you'll bring it for our next movie night."

Keith bit down on a smile. "Uh, I swear?"

"Okay, you two go grab Keith's movie from his place," Pidge directed as they walked out of class. "Hunk and I are going to grab snacks."

Lance nodded in agreement, although he didn't fail to notice the eyebrow waggle Hunk sent him as he seamlessly agreed to go off alone with Keith, instead of protesting that Keith didn't need help picking up a DVD and meeting back at their place.

Keith was frowning slightly, but he didn't argue the arrangement either. Instead, he began walking towards the parking lot and just counted on Lance following to keep up.

"So what kind of ride do you have, Mullet?"

Keith rolled his eyes and chose not to respond until they had reached the row with the motorcycle parking.

"This kind." He stopped beside his own bike and pulled a spare helmet out of the back in order to thrust it towards Lance.

Lance froze and stared down at the beautiful, shiny, red motorcycle. "Are you kidding?" he asked as he stepped closer with wide eyes. "I mean, I'm sure you're not kidding since you don't really do jokes, but still, are you quiznacking kidding me right now?"

"Quiznacking?" Keith repeated. "Is that a real word?"

But Lance didn't answer, because he was too busy now circling the bike as he continued to ogle it.

"Jesus," Lance whispered. "Ten points to Keith for having an awesome ride."

And okay, that seemed like a slightly veiled insult in regards to this rivalry Lance had going for them. But still, Keith could only feel pride as he watched Lance be genuinely impressed by his bike.

"Have you ridden before?"

Lance glanced down at the helmet in his hands and shook his head. He watched Keith pull on his own helmet and then straddle the impressive machine, turning it on in the process.

Did the words Keith and straddle just run through his brain? Likely. Because he was now definitely staring at Keith's ass. And his mouth was definitely dry. Thankfully he pulled his eyes up as Keith turned his head to look at him.

"You coming?"

Lance nodded without a word and pulled on his own helmet. He hesitated only another moment before he gingerly slid on behind Keith.

"You're going to have to hold onto me," Keith instructed as he turned his head back towards Lance. "And then just lean when I lean."

Lance wrapped his arms around Keith's middle and suddenly wondered if this is why the guy wore a jacket that only went halfway down his torso. But would a full jacket really get in the way of being a hard ass on a freakin motorcycle? Thoughts to be pondered later, he supposed.

"Tighter," Keith threw over his shoulder. "I'm not stopping if you fall off."

"Gee, thanks, Mullet."

Keith jerked the bike forward at that, just a few feet, and Lance quickly scrambled to not only hug the bike with his legs, but to institute a firm death grip around Keith's middle. Although, given the fact that he now had his arms wrapped around said middle, Lance could feel just how firm Keith's abs were, which meant he probably wasn't as offended by the near punishing payback grip as Lance had hoped.

Then, just as he was trying not to think about how nice Keith felt beneath his hands, Keith Kogane had to make it all worse.

Because Keith laughed.

And if he hadn't been a goner while wrapped around this beautiful boy on his motorcycle before, the pure sound of Keith's laugh would've done him in.

And even though Keith had just tried to throw him off the back of his bike, he found himself chuckling in response. He also felt Keith relax beneath him, which was just as endearing, since Keith wasn't usually prone to letting anyone touch him. He'd even shied away from some of Hunk's hugs as Hunk said goodnight after movie nights. And everyone knew Hunk gave the best hugs.

"Ready?" Keith asked, now that he'd deemed Lance's clingy koala bear abilities sufficient for the ride.

Lance nodded until he realized Keith couldn't really see him, then said a quick, "Yeah," before tightening his hold just a little bit more.

Keith pulled the bike out of his spot for real that time and while Lance didn't loosen his grip during the ride, he found himself relaxing his shoulders and sitting a little straighter the longer he was on the bike. He whooped when Keith sped up and laughed when Keith took tight turns.

It was over too soon, in his opinion, and his only consolation was that they'd be back on the bike one more time today since Keith was also going to drive them back to movie night.

"That. Was. Amazing!" he said as he hopped off the bike once they were in Keith's parking lot.

Keith could only admire Lance's flushed face, secretly thrilled that the other boy had honestly enjoyed the ride. He also knew instantly that they'd be taking the long way when they left to head to the other three's apartment.

Having Lance wrapped tightly around him hadn't been so bad, either.

"I mean, I don't know how we didn't just fall right over and crash on some of those turns!" Lance said excitedly as he followed Keith towards the apartment building. "Like, I could've reached a hand out and just touched asphalt, you know?

Keith chuckled at that and nodded as he unlocked his door and pushed it open. "Yeah, I know, Lance."

Lance followed Keith inside the apartment, suddenly feeling both nervous to be entering Keith's place and also slightly happy just to know where Keith lived.

While Keith tossed his backpack onto the couch and then headed across the room, Lance glanced around the small space. Couch, chair, television up on the wall. The whole place was sparsely furnished, sparsely decorated, and just so very Keith. When he stepped back he could see into a small kitchen. Another step to the side and he could just barely glance into Keith's bedroom.

"Wait, you have your own apartment?" Because unless there were more bedrooms in a secret location that he couldn't see from here, this appeared to be a one bedroom place.

"Yeah."

Lance looked around the main room again and suddenly pictured Keith sprawled on the couch, maybe dozing off as he watched late night TV. He tried to push away the image of curling up with him. Told himself he'd only pictured it in the first place because the couch looked pretty damn comfortable. And it would be rude to push Keith off his own couch to claim it for himself. Obviously.

"You don't get lonely?" The question was out of his mouth before he had time to think about it.

Keith huffed out a humorless laugh as he kneeled down to look through DVDs he had arranged in a small bookshelf.

"You're going to be shocked by this, but I'm not a huge fan of living with a random roommate."

Which wasn't the same thing as, 'No, I don't get lonely' Lance noticed, while also noting that Keith's voice was soft and made him sound small. Lance didn't like it. He thought back to the times he'd seen Keith on campus in undergrad. He'd always been alone. Lance had assumed it was because Keith didn't want friends. He assumed Keith was too busy being perfect in all their shared courses to bother with things like goofing off in the common areas between classes or going to parties on the weekends.

He kind of wished he'd made an effort to be Keith's friend before this. With Keith's back to him now, he glanced over at the other boy and was struck again at how much he liked the way Keith's black hair curled around the collar of his jacket.

"However did you survive dorm life?"

"It was a dark time," Keith deadpanned.

Lance chuckled. "You're right, McMullet, you've shocked me to my core."

Keith rolled his eyes and smiled, knowing full well that Lance couldn't currently see his face.

"How do you afford your own place?" Lance asked, wishing he could banish away the images of lonely Keith. "There's no way you're getting a bigger annual stipend from the grad program than me."

"Maybe I do," Keith answered. He grabbed the alien documentary that Pidge wanted to see and turned to face Lance while doing his best not to smirk. He wasn't the one who started the competitiveness between them, but it was hard not to join in when Lance set him up.

Lance had been watching Keith's face lately, way more than he would ever admit, even though Hunk and Pidge had called him out on it a few times. He stared hard at Keith now and noticed the quirk to Keith's lips, a slight raise of his eyebrows, the purple eyes that were openly teasing him. How strange that there had been a time when he just took the grumpy expressions at face value.

"You don't," Lance said with his own narrowed eyes and determined voice.

Keith smiled at him then. A full fledged, lopsided smile that revealed dimples. Goddamn dimples. As if Keith wasn't cute enough.

Keith tossed him the DVD and walked past him to enter the kitchen to see if he had any snacks he could bring.

"Wait, are you like, secretly wealthy? I mean, you do have a sort of bad ass motorcycle. Although, your hair suggests you don't have the money to spend on a real salon visit. And so far I've really only seen you in black t-shirts. But I guess if all your money is going to your rent, maybe you can't spend any on a flashy, rich guy wardrobe -"

"Lance," Keith said sharply.

"Although if you were really richie rich dude, you'd probably have a larger apartment, right?" Lance continued, his face deep in thought. "Maybe one with a pool? That's what I'd want." He finally lifted his eyes to take in the glare Keith was shooting at him.

"You know, with your own shaggy head of hair, I don't see why you keep making fun of my hair, which just grows like this, by the way."

Lance's only response was to grin. "I'm not hearing a denial about you rolling in the dough, Keithy."

"I have a job you moron."

"Hmm," Lance hummed as he dutifully followed Keith out of the apartment. "If that's what you want me to believe."

"Two more, you can do this," Keith said. He found that his clients did better when he spoke to them, even if it was just counting. In silence they began to doubt whether or not they could do what he was asking them to do. But when they focused on his voice, they pushed themselves to keep going. Sometimes he even got a few extra reps out of them without them knowing.

There was a reason he was one of the most sought after personal trainers in the gym.

Today he was up on the second floor in the weight room, helping a woman who needed to build up her upper body strength after a back injury had knocked her out of commission for a couple months. The wall next to them was sheer glass and looked over the lap pool. Keith wasn't sure what made him turn to glance down at the pool during his client's break between sets, but when he did look he found himself staring down at a barefoot, and, holy fuck, bare-chested Lance McClain.

Keith's eyes roamed over smooth brown skin and beautiful abs. Just beautiful, beautiful abs that had Keith's fingers twitching as he imagined being able to touch. The abs led his eyes like a roadmap down to a flat stomach and narrow waist before he skimmed over the blue swim trunks that ended a few inches above Lance's knees due to his ridiculously long legs. And while Lance typically came across as pretty lanky and noodle-like, Keith's eyes widened when he saw Lance's calf muscles. Like the kind of honest to goodness serious calf muscles that most of his clients would kill for.

Keith swallowed hard when Lance lifted his arms in a stretch as he walked to the edge of the pool in order to claim a lane. Lance pulled goggles onto his face and spent a moment adjusting them before he bent at the waist and then dove seamlessly into the water.

Keith stared. He stared until his client cleared her throat and he was forced to swing his eyes back to her.

"Ready to switch machines?" he asked, completely aware that his voice was suddenly hoarse.

And maybe his normal plan was to have her move to the pull-ups bar, but he led her into a set of seated cable rows instead. Maybe he wanted to vary her routine a little.

Or maybe it was because the seated cable row bench still allowed him a view of the pool. And maybe she had to clear her throat a few more times to get his attention as she worked through the sets. Because maybe he'd been mesmerized watching Lance's body move through the water like a goddamn dolphin. Like he was made to be there.

Keith had seen plenty of people swim down there before. Some looked like they were really struggling to move through the water. But right now, Keith swore the water was parting for Lance McClain to glide through it.

When he was finally finished with his client, and began to wipe down the equipment they'd used, he was pleased to find Lance still in the water. Keith cleaned slowly, even though his shift was over, as he wondered just how long Lance could continue swimming laps like that.

And when Lance finally stopped, he pulled his goggles off his head as he wrapped his arms over the edge of the pool, supporting himself in order to let his head fall down to rest on his crossed arms.

Keith found this fascinating as well, but only stayed to watch for a moment longer before he turned away and forced himself to leave. Because Lance as he knew him was loud and lively and constantly moving and just Lance. And, sure, maybe he'd spent most of the last half hour watching Lance swim without his knowledge. But to watch him in this still and quiet moment felt like invading his privacy at an even higher level.

Keith: I'm beginning to see the appeal in swimming laps

Shiro: I recently discovered I like mustard

Shiro: Was there more to that or are we just sharing random recent realizations?

Keith: That's all I got

Shiro: Thank you for sharing

Shiro: How's your day been otherwise?

Keith: Just finished work. Heading home to study

Shiro: And how are your classmates?

Shiro: Can I call them your friends, or will that offend you?

Keith: They're maybe my friends? Hunk and Pidge keep inviting me over for movie nights

Shiro: Have you picked out any of the movies?

Keith: Yes

Shiro: And they still invited you over after that?

Keith: ?

Shiro: You have terrible taste in movies.

Keith: Rude

Shiro: But even after subjecting them to that, they still invited you back? I'd call them your friends, kiddo.

Keith: …

Shiro: So its two friends?

Keith: Two friends and a Lance

Shiro: What's a Lance?

Keith: He's…..

Keith: I don't know. I'll tell you when I figure it out.

Shiro grinned down at his phone. He didn't like to see Keith frustrated, but as long as this Lance guy wasn't being an outright jerk, he was kind of happy to know there was something out there pulling Keith's head away from just focusing on work and school all the time.

"Let's play a game. Two truths and a lie."

"Huh?" Keith asked to Lance's sudden announcement.

"We need a study break," Lance announced. The four of them had been sitting around his, Hunk's, and Pidge's kitchen table working for over an hour. "We say three things about ourselves, but one is false, and everyone has to try to guess which one is the lie."

"Like a bonding game," Hunk said with a grin.

"Yeah," Lance said, more excited now that he had Hunk's endorsement. "I'll even go first." He sat back and tapped his chin thoughtfully. He'd made friends with Hunk and Pidge freshman year of college, so while they knew him pretty well, they didn't everything.

"Okay, when I was a kid, I was asked to be a stand-in for a movie that never made it to theaters," he said while lifting a finger.

Keith sat forward in his seat, suddenly intrigued by this game that would allow him to learn a little bit more about Lance.

A second finger was lifted as Lance continued, "When I want to be alone, I visit the aquarium downtown," - a third and final finger lifted - "and after I got lost once while on a school field trip, my parents never allowed me to attend any after that unless they could go too."

"I'm calling bullshit on movie stand-in," Pidge announced. "Even if the movie never made it theaters, there's no way you did that and haven't bragged about it before now."

Hunk nodded along. "I wouldn't word it exactly like that, but I'm going with that one too."

Lance turned towards Keith expectedly and Keith hesitated before answering. He pictured Lance gliding through the water at the gym. And the way Lance had rested his face on his arms at the end of the swim for what had looked like a moment of quiet.

"The aquarium," Keith finally said, because he had a pretty good idea where Lance went when he wanted to be alone.

One of Lance's eyebrows rose in shocked surprise. "McMullet is correct."

"What? No way!" Pidge said. "You were a movie stand-in and never told us?"

Lance nodded in response, although he kept his eyes locked on Keith's for an abnormally long second. Keith broke contact first, ducking his eyes down to the notes in front of him and Lance turned to his other two friends and shrugged.

"Since the movie never came out, no one ever really believed me, so I stopped telling the story before I met you guys."

"Way to go, Keith," Hunk said. "I think that means you're next."

Keith seemed to startle for a moment as he thought about sharing personal details about himself. Aside from Shiro, no one had ever really asked him personal questions before. He lifted his eyes to his three – friends? Yes, he decided. Friends.

He told himself he could do this. So he leaned back in his chair, fixed his expression and sighed before lifting fingers as he listed off three random things.

"I built my motorcycle from the frame up by myself. I worked for the art program for one semester in college as a nude model," - there was an audible gasp from Lance on that one that almost, almost made Keith smirk – "and I once secretly had a pet hamster that I named Voltron."

"No way you were a nude model," Lance said immediately. "I mean like, not that you couldn't be, I'm sure you could, probably -" Lance suddenly wished his mouth had an off button as he could feel his face going red. "But like, you weren't, right? Right?

Keith turned his continued blank expression towards Hunk and Pidge.

"Well, now that I've seen your taste in movies, I'm betting you would name a hamster something as weird as Voltron," Pidge said, tilting her head as she thought.

Hunk hummed. "But you've never talked about being able to build a motorcycle before," he said thoughtfully.

"Guys," Lance said, staring with wide eyes at his friends, "it's obviously the nude thing! Why is this even a discussion?"

"Which?" Pidge asked with narrowed eyes in Keith's direction.

"Hamster," Keith replied.

"Oh man, now I've gotta see this bike!" Hunk said with a smile.

Lance sputtered. "Forget the bike!" Although that was pretty amazing and he'd give it proper focus another time. "You barely even talked to anyone in undergrad but felt fine about strutting around in the nude in front of a bunch of strangers?"

Keith shrugged. "There was no strutting. And, honestly, they didn't hire me to talk."

Lance groaned loudly and let his forehead hit the table as a multitude of images crashed into his brain. Keith was going to be the death of him. "I change my mind. Let's just study."

He ignored the teasing kick Pidge sent him under the table. And the way that Hunk's shoulders were shaking with silent laughter.

And he especially ignored the small grin on Keith's lips as he turned his attention back to his notes.

"Keith!"

Keith turned and watched as Lance – dressed in only his swim trunks, flip flops, and a towel swung around his neck - practically ran over to him in the lobby of the gym.

"What are you doing at my gym?"

"Oh, so you own this gym?" Keith asked innocently, doing his absolute best not to let his eyes drop down to Lance's exposed stomach.

"I swim laps here all the time!" Lance said with a wave of his hands. "You work out here?"

"Ready when you are, Keith."

Lance's head swiveled to eye the newcomer who had interrupted his conversation with Keith, while also resisting the urge to step in front of Keith. It was probably a good thing he hadn't, considering the new guy was huge. The kind of guy who didn't have a neck and looked like he had a hard time putting his arms down due to the excessive muscles he was stuck carrying around.

"If you want to get started on the treadmill, I'll be in there in a minute," Keith responded easily. "Program three!" he called after the other guy.

Lance stared after the body builder before turning confused eyes back to Keith. "Is that your work out buddy?"

Lance's confusion was cute, Keith decided as he shook his head. "I do work out here, but I also work here, Lance. I'm a personal trainer. That's just one of my clients. He needs a little instruction on how to fit in more cardio in his workout."

"Personal trainer," Lance breathed out. "Sure. Okay."

Keith tilted his head, unsure what Lance meant by that. It didn't sound like an insult, more like Lance was in awe of this fact. At least, that's the way Keith decided to take it to avoid a fight.

"I'll see you in class tomorrow?"

Lance nodded slowly in response.

"Have fun with your laps."

Lance: Hunk. Dude. Buddy. Did you know Keith works as a personal trainer at my gym?

Hunk: Uh, no. He's never mentioned that.

Lance: I'm dying Hunk.

Hunk: I could see him doing that, though. He likes all that healthy food.

Hunk: I mean, I don't know the qualifications for working as a nude model for the art department, but they probably appreciated his fitness, right?

Lance: And now I'm dead

Hunk: You'll be okay

"I can't believe I forgot my lunch," Lance whined as he followed his friends outside to a table between classes. "Huuunk."

Hunk only shook his head as he sat and pulled his own lunch out. "Hey, I make the lunches. I don't also carry them here."

"You make his lunch?" Keith asked.

"Mine too," Pidge added.

"It's just another way I can be sure they'll eat something nutritious during the day," Hunk said with a nod.

"Don't frown at me, Mullet," Lance said without looking in Keith's direction. "He cooks, I clean."

Keith turned to Pidge.

"I'm the reason we have free cable and HBO," she said in her own defense.

"You wouldn't want to share with me, would ya Pidgey?" Lance knew better than to ask Hunk to share food. Something he now knew about Pidge as well as she slapped his hand away. "Ow!" He turned his attention towards Keith, who'd sat down but wasn't eating yet. "Where's your lunch, Keith?"

Keith shrugged. He wasn't willing to lie and say he'd forgotten it while it was actually just hidden away in his bag. But he wasn't exactly sure why he was about to say what came out of his mouth next. "Want to walk over to the food trucks with me?"

Lance's eyes lit up. A beautiful blue that Keith could only stare at in response.

"Yes! Brilliant!" He hopped up from his seat and waited for Keith to join him on the other side of the table before they began walking across campus together.

Pidge watched them go. "Are we making any progress here?"

"Yup," Hunk replied around a bite of his sandwich.

Keith: So I think Lance is a friend

Shiro: A friend? It took you how long to determine this?

Keith: You don't understand. He's loud and obnoxious.

Shiro: And?

Keith: …and…

Shiro: And a friend?

Keith: And a friend

"What's wrong with you?"

Keith's head snapped up from his laptop and he scowled. "How did you get in here?" He knew his apartment door had been locked.

But Lance only grinned at him in response before he began raiding Keith's fridge. He grabbed a spoon as well and then plopped down in a chair beside Keith before leaning in to see what he was working on as he began to eat the yogurt he'd found. He'd only been over here a couple times, but he'd given up on finding fun snacks like chips at Keith's place. "Why are you frowning at this? Is it your thesis work?"

Keith nodded. "They set me up with a statistician. But when I meet with him, he just does all the work himself. I have no idea where he's getting these numbers."

"Do you need to know?" Lance asked with a shrug. "Sounds like a pretty sweet set-up to have someone do the awful stat stuff."

"Yes! Lance, I need to know all the parts of this project. Plus, I'm hopefully going to be hired one day and my employer is going to assume I know how to do this stuff, and then what do I do?"

Lance kind of wanted to tease Keith for being so worried about such a minor part of his thesis. After all, it was what Keith did with the stats once he obtained them that really mattered. But Keith looked really upset, and Lance suddenly wondered how long the guy had been sitting here glaring at his computer.

"Do you – do you want me to show you the equation he used to get those numbers?"

Keith pulled his eyes from the laptop screen and turned towards Lance with wide eyes.

"I know, I mean, it's pretty unbelievable that I know how to do something that Keith Kogane doesn't, but - "

"No it's really not." Keith's voice was full of conviction that he hoped Lance could hear. And before he could talk himself out of it, his hand dropped on Lance's forearm, mainly because he figured that's what Lance would do for a friend. "Teach me?"

Lance's smile was a little shaky, although he wasn't sure if it was because of the request, the warm fingers on his arm, or the sincerity in Keith's face. He pushed away the old feelings of competitiveness and doubt that always hit him when he thought of undergrad Keith Kogane and focused on his friend, Keith, here in front of him. And his smile grew more confident as he pulled a notepad out of his own bag and dropped it in front of them.

"I took a couple stats classes in undergrad," he offered as he shifted Keith's laptop so he could see the numbers they were working with. "Be prepared to be dazzled by my stat skills, Mullet."

Keith leaned back in his chair slightly as a small, fond smile reached his lips. "Dazzle away."

Shiro: I just had this sudden urge to burst into tears.

Shiro: Like something is cosmically wrong.

Shiro: Feels like the universe telling me to check on you

Keith stared down at his phone in disbelief as Shiro's text messages continued to light up the screen.

Keith: wtf Shiro?

Keith: Are YOU ok?

Shiro: Are you chewing with your mouth open right now?

Keith: Seriously?

Shiro: Or being rude to someone in some way? I raised you better than that, Keith

Keith: No, Shiro. I don't chew with my mouth open. I also don't swear near kids or old ladies. I try not to scowl when I meet new people, tho the urge is strong. And I pay my bills. You raised me right.

Shiro: ….

Shiro: Don't take this the wrong way, but you didn't run over anyone with your motorcycle, right?

Keith: That was one time

Shiro: I just need to know you're not doing anything against humanity right now, kiddo.

Shiro: I have a bad feeling and I know it's connected to you

Keith: Why are you like this?

Keith: I'm sighing at you right now

Keith: And no, I'm not doing anything "against humanity"

Shiro: Then what are you doing?

Shiro: You know my dad senses are always spot on

Keith: Spot on? Did you get that from your English girlfriend?

Keith: Or are you still pretending you 2 aren't dating?

Shiro: Keith

Keith: Also, I don't think you should call them dad senses you dork

Shiro: Seriously, bud. Where are you and what are you doing right now?

Keith: Fine.

Keith: Don't freak out.

Shiro: Keith

Keith: I'm just getting a couple stitches.

Shiro: …..

Shiro: I can't tell if you're fucking with me over text, Keith

Shiro: KEITH

Shiro: I swear to god, Keith.

Shiro: If I find you downstairs in the ER I'm going to kill you

Keith: Keith says that would be counterproductive

Keith: And that surgeons aren't allowed to kill patients? Something about an oath?

Shiro: Who is this?

Keith: This is Lance. The doc finally came in to stitch up Keith's hand so he asked me to take over texting

Keith: Cause he said you were gonna continue to freak out if he stopped answering

Keith: He also says you don't have to come down here

Shiro: Lance, hmmm?

Lance's eyes shot up to Keith, ready to ask why the texting guy would be making insinuating humming phrases at him. But he stopped himself when he watched Keith grimace as the doctor began stitching him up.

"Hey, is he supposed to feel that?" Lance interjected, doing his best not to grab the doctor's arm to stop him from going at Keith's skin with the needle again. "Can he have another shot of that numbing stuff? Or maybe just be hit over the head and knocked out till you're done? Which I'll totally do for you, Keith, you know, cause we're buds."

He grinned wide when Keith glared at him.

"Um," the young doctor said intelligently as he glanced up at Keith's face. "Can you feel that?"

"Yes, he can feel it!" Lance answered loudly for Keith as he felt his arms begin to flail. Because Keith looked paler than ever, although, the jerk was still managing to be adorable in spite of it all. "Look at him! He's in major pain!"

Keith kind of offered a half shrug, but it was enough to lead the doctor to instruct him to not move his already sanitized hand before he left to see about getting another dose of the numbing medication.

Lance edged himself on the bed next to Keith and huffed out in irritation. "Keith, Jesus, you don't have to suffer, buddy," he said as he bumped a shoulder into Keith's.

"It's just, like, three stitches," Keith gritted out, although his scratchy voice wasn't helping his cause. "I just want to get it over with and get out of here before - "

"What the hell did you do?"

Lance jerked backwards when a tall, well built man in a white coat burst past the curtain where they sat. He had a shock of white hair falling over his forehead, even though the rest of his hair was black and he certainly didn't look old enough to be going gray. Lance tilted his head a bit to read the name embroidered above the coat pocket, Dr. Takashi Shirogane, Pediatric Surgery

Meanwhile, Keith's only response was to sigh loudly and drop his eyes to the floor as he held his hand up for inspection.

"How did you manage?"

Keith shot a glare in Lance's direction and Lance at least had the good grace to appear guilty.

"Someone broke into my apartment and - "

"I didn't break in!"

"What do you call entering a locked apartment when you don't have a key and I didn't open the door and invite you in?"

"Breaking in makes it seem like I was there to steal something," Lance muttered.

"How do you keep getting into my locked apartment?"

"Your hand?" Shiro interjected, still examining the deep cut in Keith's finger.

Keith sighed loudly in Lance's direction before turning back to Shiro. "I was slicing up an apple when this moron snuck into my apartment and grabbed me from behind in an attempt to scare me. My hand slipped."

"I'd say I did scare you," Lance added, "cause you jumped enough to cut yourself."

"Is that really what we should be focusing on right now?" Keith asked with another glare.

"I do prefer sneaking in over breaking and entering. Makes me sound like a ninja."

"Lance."

"And can I just say that I really don't think a knife that sharp is necessary for cutting up fruit?"

The original doctor returned then, but stopped short when he saw that someone had taken the spot on his stool. "Dr. Shirogane," he said with wide eyes, "did they call you down for this? It's just a couple stitches. I just stepped out because he apparently didn't - ,"

"React to the lidocaine?" Shiro said knowingly.

Keith ducked his eyes when Shiro's narrowed eyes landed on him.

"He knows it doesn't work on him," Shiro said with a tone that was a mix of exasperation and fondness.

And while the original doctor looked slightly guilty, as if he had still somehow administered the original medication inappropriately, Lance watched as Keith only half shrugged at new, buff doctor with a small smirk on his face.

"There's no way to tell if I've outgrown the resistance unless we try it out," Keith said matter of factly.

"You don't grow out of an intolerance to a medication, Keith." The exasperated fondness was still there as buff doctor shook his head at Keith. He turned towards the original doctor and offered a genuine smile. "I'll take over from here."

The original doctor looked frankly relieved and quickly exited their tiny space while Shiro quickly washed his hands in a nearby sink. He returned to sit in front of Keith again and manipulated Keith's fingers the way he wanted them on a small tray table between them so he could get to work. Lance felt himself tense as he realized there would be no numbing medication coming for Keith, and did the only thing he could think of, which was to land a hand on Keith's shoulder in what he hoped was a comforting gesture.

He half expected a glare, or to have Keith try to shrug him off. What he got instead was Keith – while not at all turning his head in his direction - but at least leaning slightly into Lance's hand. Encouraged, he let his thumb rub back and forth over the material of Keith's ridiculous jacket. He wondered again why he had a jacket that didn't even go all the way down to his tiny waist. Did he not understand the purpose of a jacket? He had to be cold in winter, especially on a motorcycle. Lance decided then to knit the loser a scarf. And maybe a hat. Someone had to make sure he kept warm.

"Grin and bear it?" Shiro muttered, although it was less a question and more a statement to let Keith know he was getting started. They'd learned years ago that normal numbing medications, including not only lidocaine but the novacaine the dentist typically used, didn't work on Keith. An unfortunate fact, considering the number of times Keith had required stitches.

Although, considering the amount of practice he'd earned from stitching him up over the years, Shiro's personal medical skills probably owed Keith a debt of gratitude. At least that's what Keith teased, anyway.

"I don't grin," Keith muttered back, because that was the normal response when Shiro said his stupid, although familiar and completely expected, line.

And maybe Lance was feeling awkward because he still didn't know how these two knew each other, although they clearly did, a fact that actually had Lance feeling slightly miffed because Dr. Shirogane was a hottie and Keith was clearly at ease with him. And with their teasing back and forth, he was beginning to feel like maybe his presence wasn't actually needed here.

But for some reason when he opened his mouth all that came out was, "He totally should though, he has a nice smile."

He didn't fail to notice - and feel since his hand was still latched onto Keith's shoulder – Keith's body still, but he kept his own smile plastered on his face as he watched this Dr. Shirogane very quickly and neatly add two more stitches to Keith's finger before glancing up at him.

"So you're Lance?" Shiro offered Lance a genuine smile before turning back to give Keith a look that Lance couldn't read.

"The one and only," Lance said, possibly in a tone that was louder than necessary as he continued to fight off his discomfort. His only consolation was that clearly Keith had spoken of him to this guy. He let that roll around in his mind for a moment. Keith had been talking about him. He hoped it was good stuff.

Keith began shifting in his seat, which Lance read as Keith being uncomfortable. He pulled his hand back into his own lap. "And you are?"

"Lance, this is my brother, Shiro," Keith finally offered.

While Shiro said at the same moment, "Keith is my baby brother," because he never missed an opportunity to describe Keith in such a way, no matter his age.

Although an irritated noise came from Keith beside him, Lance felt himself relax suddenly as his grin grew wider, and even more genuine. The easy back and forth between the two, something he knew from experience didn't just happen with Keith, suddenly made sense.

Shiro glanced at Lance and then sent Keith another look that Lance still couldn't interpret, although he was less concerned about it now that he knew these two were related. Likely it was a brother bonding moment or something. He certainly had enough faces he pulled with his own siblings.

"At least you got a friend to drive you here this time," Shiro said as he wrapped gauze around the stitches and then began to tape it to Keith's hand with red tape.

Lance turned to Keith and asked in his most incredulous tone, "Have you driven yourself to the hospital for stitches before?"

Shiro nearly snorted in response. But he didn't answer. Instead, he sternly directed Keith to stay put before he disappeared around the curtain as well.

Keith sighed and turned towards Lance, who he found was apparently still waiting for a response since he was staring at him with a shocked expression and eyebrows raised halfway up his forehead. Keith got slightly distracted for a second as Lance's current wide-eyed expression gave him an even better view of exactly how blue Lance's eyes actually were.

Then Keith went to run his fingers through his hair but was stopped when Lance grabbed his wrist and prevented him from using his injured hand for the job. And then he forgot Lance's question altogether because Lance's fingers were suddenly in his hair, as the other boy was doing his best to push some of Keith's bangs out of his face for him.

"Stupid mullet," Lance whispered, but he didn't stop, couldn't stop, running his fingers through the mop of hair that was way softer than any hair had the right to be. And when he tucked some of the ridiculous strands behind one of Keith's ears, he knew he didn't imagine the shiver that ran through Keith. His fingers lingered around Keith's ear as he glanced at Keith's face. And while there was some noticeable pink that had sprung up over Keith's cheeks, he found Keith's eyes turned downwards, down to where Lance still had his other hand wrapped around the wrist of Keith's injured hand.

Shiro pulled the curtain aside a moment later and froze, his eyes shifting back and forth between his brother and this other boy who currently had one of his hands tangled in Keith's hair. At least for the second longer that it went on, since Lance and Keith jumped apart from each other when they realized he'd returned.

"Got you a couple pain pills," Shiro said, his blank doctor face in place as he tossed the bottle to his brother.

Lance watched Keith catch it effortless with his uninjured hand. "So I'm free to go?"

"Well, since I'm not allowed to wrap you in bubble wrap before setting you loose, yes, you're free to go."

Keith slid off the bed and Lance quickly followed. He mentioned that it was nice to meet Shiro as they edged past him, and when Lance glanced back at him as they walked away, he swore he caught a wide smirk on Shiro's face as he watched them leave.

On the way back to Keith's apartment, he stopped at a drive-through, despite Keith's protests at eating junk food. But, he won the argument, partly because he was the driver. And partly because he explained to Keith that at least he could pick up and eat this particular food with one hand, which meant Lance wouldn't have to cut his food up for him. That got Keith to quiet down pretty quickly.

He wasn't sure if Keith wanted company when they got back inside his place. After all, he hadn't exactly been invited over earlier that day when he'd startled Keith into slicing his finger open. But Keith pulled a water bottle from his fridge and tossed it to Lance before he moved to sit on his couch with his own bag of burgers and fries. So Lance followed his lead and settled into the couch next to him. And he even convinced Keith to put on a movie that didn't have anything to do with aliens.

And as they watched National Treasure, which had enough conspiracies in it to satisfy Keith and enough dry Nicholas Cage humor to satisfy Lance, he thought about how comfortable he was spending time with this boy who used to irritate the ever living hell out of him merely by existing. He thought about their study sessions, and movie nights, and the way Keith could call him an idiot but Lance didn't mind because he swore those purple eyes Keith had were always laughing when he said it. Which of course led to him wondering why he'd ever disliked Keith in the first place.

He decided to think about it again another time as he jumped up and then returned with one of Keith's pain pills, certain that Keith would forget to take it on purpose. And thirty minutes later, when the pain med knocked Keith out and his head tilted to the side and landed on Lance's shoulder, Lance went ahead and began carding his fingers through Keith's unruly black hair for the second time in one night.

He sat like that, content, until the movie ended. Then slowly, and with great effort on his part, moved himself out from under the warm weight Keith had pressed against his side. Keith didn't even stir, which made Lance wonder if he was just a heavy sleeper or if it was the pain pill that led to such heavy unconsciousness, as Lance shifted the other boy on the couch so he'd be comfortable. When his head was on a pillow and he had a blanket that Lance had dragged from off his bed thrown over him, Lance let himself run his fingers through Keith's hair one more time before he let himself out.

"Remember how you totally owe me a huge favor?"

Keith's head popped up from the books and papers he had spread out across the kitchen table, no longer surprised at Lance's ability to get into the apartment without him unlocking the door.

"No. I really don't."

Half of Lance's mouth lifted into a smirk that Keith could only describe as a predatory.

"Keith. Buddy. Pal. You totally owe me a favor, dude. And -" he lifted a hand before Keith could voice his protest, "I have the perfect opportunity for you Friday morning. I'll be here to pick you up at 7 am."

"You've never even seen 7 am," Keith said, dryly, suddenly sure that Lance was pranking him as Lance began to edge out of the kitchen .

"Oh and dress in running clothes!" Lance threw out on his way out of the kitchen.

"I'm changing the lock!" Keith called back.

"Won't stop me!"

Keith shook his head as he glanced back down at his work. Then he swiped his phone on so he could stream music while he worked.

His apartment was suddenly too quiet.

Keith was nothing short of surprised when he received a text from Lance, at exactly seven Friday morning, telling him to move his ass because Lance was waiting outside for him.

Keith was a morning person. A naturally early riser. Mornings were his favorite time to go running. It started out a little dark but got lighter the longer he moved. He'd seen some amazing sunrises. And it was a blessed quiet that let him choose between losing himself in his own thoughts or just focusing on the sound of his feet hitting the ground.

He'd tried to explain that to Lance one night when they'd all been hanging out. Another movie night where the two of them had ended up smooshed next to each other in the middle of the couch, Hunk snoring on one end and Pidge curled into a tiny Pidge-shaped ball on the other. Seeing that most of the group was asleep, Keith had said he should leave and go to bed himself because he wanted to get up early to run. Lance had asked him how on earth he could get up so damn early to exercise. And maybe it was because he was feeling so warm squished into the couch surrounded by actual friends that made him respond with the truth to Lance's softly asked question.

He'd expected Lance to scoff at him, but instead, Lance had just tilted his head as Keith spoke, his own eyes suddenly out of focus. Then he'd just nodded simply and said, "Yeah, I get that."

For some reason, Lance's simple answer had made him feel even warmer. And as he had stood that night and stretched slowly in front of the couch, and tried to ignore how cold his sides suddenly were now that he was on his own, he realized that Lance probably had the same experience when he swam laps.

It just felt nice to be understood.

Maybe that was why he'd been waiting in his running clothes that morning, even though he still wasn't completely sure Lance had been serious about picking him up so early. But if Lance did show up, he was going to be ready for his friend.

He slid into Lance's car and was immediately handed a travel coffee mug. He sent Lance a questioning look.

"Don't worry. It's black, like your soul."

"Did you make it?"

Lance scoffed. He looked a little sleepy which was doing funny things to Keith's chest.

"I'll have you know, Keithy boy, that I make excellent coffee." Lance picked up his own coffee travel mug and took a drink as he pulled out of the parking lot.

Keith looked doubtfully down at his mug.

"Hunk made it," Lance finally offered.

Keith took a long, fulfilling drink.

Lance rolled his eyes. "He made us lunches too." He nodded towards the backseat where two brown paper bags, both of which had been covered with sharpie sketches of lions and aliens, a strange combination, sat buckled into a seat.

"Exactly how long is this favor going to last?" Keith asked, suddenly aware that he had no idea how long Lance intended to keep him out today. Not that he was complaining.

"You like kids, right?"

Keith's head whipped in Lance's direction. "Kids?"

"Don't worry, it'll be great. Prepare to have the best day ever, Mullet."

Since Lance was clearly not going to answer him, he settled himself back in his seat and relaxed as he listened to Lance sing along with the radio. At least, he was relaxed until Lance pulled into an elementary school parking lot and quickly parked his car. Keith stayed in his seat as he watched small kids jump out of their parents' cars and head into the school, sure by now that Lance was definitely messing with him.

Lance had hopped out, grabbed their lunches from the back, and even made it around to open Keith's door while Keith continued to sit very very still. He turned his head slowly and peered up at Lance and Lance's crooked grin.

"Come on, they're not going to bite."

"What are we doing here?"

"Well, to be honest, some may bite, cause they're little kids, right? But I'm sure they'll think you and your grumpy face are much too scary to bite."

"Lance."

Lance's grin only grew wider. He leaned over Keith, giving Keith a quick whiff of sunblock and something else that was inexplicitly just Lance, and unbuckled Keith's seat belt. Then he grabbed one of Keith's hands and pulled him from the car, demonstrating to Keith that he was much stronger than those skinny arms would lead anyone to believe, which automatically led to Keith pulling up the images he had stored of Lance gliding quickly through the lap pool at the gym.

Lance wrapped an arm around his shoulders and began pulling him towards the school, and perhaps it was the look on his face that finally led Lance to take pity on him, because Lance finally began to explain why they were there.

"So my sister started this booster club program to help local schools raise money. And not by selling wrapping paper or anything, but by having the kids actually run around and exercise and they just ask people to pledge money. So they could like, pledge a dollar a lap and if the kid runs 35 laps, that's 35 dollars for the school."

"That's a great idea," Keith said as he told himself he was not at all affected by the warm arm still wrapped around his shoulders or the way Lance's face was leaning in close to his as he told the story.

"Yeah, I thought you'd like the exercise part."

Keith turned his face towards Lance's and decided to test something out. "I do appreciate physical activity," he murmured in response towards Lance's ear. Then he turned his face forward again, but not before he'd watched a shade of pink cover the beautiful brown skin on Lance's face, or felt Lance's arm tighten ever so slightly around his shoulders.

When it was clear that Lance had actually been stunned into an odd silence, Keith decided to give him a break.

"So what are we doing here?"

Lance cleared his throat. "Right. Well, uh, my older sister, Gabby, needed a few extra hands for today's event. Hey, there she is."

And suddenly Lance's arm was gone as he ran ahead to another car in the parking lot and pulled a girl with matching soft brown hair and bright blue eyes into a hug. Then he turned back to Keith and waved him over.

"Gabby this is my pal, Keith. And Keith, this is my favorite big sister, Gabby."

"His only big sister," Gabby said as she extended a hand to Keith. "I can't tell you how much I appreciate you coming to help today, Keith."

"Uh, sure," Keith said. "Just let me know what I can do."

"You two need to start by putting these on," Gabby pulled booster club t-shirts from the trunk of her car. "That way the office will know you're with the program and you'll have access to the gym." Then she handed both of them boxes to carry into the school, letting Lance lead the way since he'd helped her during these events in the past.

When Lance had said the kids ran laps, Keith had pictured them just running circles around the school gym. What he got instead was a gym with its lights turned off, allowing the rope lights that outlined what would be the track in the room to stand out. There was an inflatable tunnel for the kids to run through on one of the curves. Strobe lights. There was a small stage where a DJ was already playing fast-paced music. There was even a bull pen area, because, as Lance explained, the kids came in by grade, so they'd run through the entire event about six times that day, and due to the large size of each grade, they split the kids up into two groups to run, leaving the kids who were not running a space to cheer and do crafts. In the center of the track was an open area for parents to stand and cheer as well.

"How early does she get here to set up?" Keith asked, still wide-eyed at the prospect of everything Lance's sister had thrown into an event like this to make it fun for the kids. He glanced back at Lance, the boy who did most things with dramatic hand gestures and big smiles, and couldn't be surprised that it ran in the family.

"Oh, I came in with her last night. She likes to set up the night before in case there's like a string of rope lights or something that's not working. Gives her time to fix it."

"You didn't want to rope me into helping with the set-up?"

Lance's mouth dropped open. "Oh my god, Keith. Keeeeith, did you just pun me?"

Keith allowed half his mouth to quirk up in a small grin.

"I'm just -" one of Lance's hands squeezed his shoulder, "I'm just so proud, Keith. I think I need a moment."

Keith rolled his eyes and waited patiently for Lance to get himself under control.

"I want you to know I'm going to remember that forever." Lance pulled his hand off Keith's shoulder and pretended to wipe a tear from his eye.

"I'm betting you could come up with better things to keep locked up in those brain cells of yours."

"Nah, Keith, there'll always be plenty of space for you."

Keith ducked his eyes and cursed the skin on his face that was surely turning pink.

"Plus, I know you work Thursday nights," Lance continued. "And if I was going to have you help, this is the fun part, my friend."

Keith tucked away the knowledge that Lance knew his work schedule and focused on the bustling around him. "So, what can I do?"

"My sister is going to have me on the mic, but you can hang with the kids on the track, just encourage them to keep moving."

"I don't, uh, I don't really know what do with kids?"

"You don't have to worry, they're gonna think you're the coolest mullet man they've ever seen."

Keith didn't have long to glare back at him since Gabby approached them then and handed Lance a microphone. Lance was pulled away to the stage and Keith joined some of Gabby's other employees on the track. Third grade classes were lining up outside, and Keith could practically feel the excitement from the kids as Lance excitedly introduced each class into the gym. The kids got to run through the inflatable tunnel to the start line and Keith watched as Lance jumped up on the stage to explain the rules.

"Everybody say safety!" Lance announced into the microphone with a voice, that while unfamiliar, was also incredibly endearing as he was clearly putting on a show for the kids.

Keith watched in awe as the kids jumped up and down and cheered along with Lance as he ran through the rules.

"And the final rule is water. Everybody say H-2-okay!"

"H-2-OKAY!" the kids cheered back.

Lance then split the kids into two groups, instructing the boys to be little gentleman and head into the bullpen and allow the girls to run first. Then the music was turned up, loud enough that Keith had to wonder if anyone else in the school was going to get any work done today, and the girls were let loose.

For the first few laps, the kids didn't need much encouragement at all. They were hyped up and ready to run, squealing loudly as they ran under the tunnel. It wasn't until they were several laps in that they started to slow down, and Keith found it pretty easy to jump onto the track and encourage them to keep going by instigating a game of tag.

It was fun, but what was even more fun was watching Lance. Lance was in his element. He danced along to the music. He announced that one lap was a trampoline lap and had the kids hop their way through it. There was also a thriller lap, which was funny if only because Keith was pretty sure none of the kids knew the choreography to that classic Michael Jackson song, but they watched Lance closely and were soon throwing up zombie arms as they ran the lap.

"Just a friend, huh?" Gabby asked when she came up behind Lance while the second grade boys were halfway through their allotted time.

"What?" Lance asked, thankfully lowering the microphone before answering her.

"You've been staring at him."

"Have not," Lance answered back without asking Gabby to elaborate on who exactly he'd been staring at.

Because he already knew. His eyes roamed the course again until they landed on Keith once more. Because holy hell, Keith had pulled his hair up into a tiny ponytail about an hour ago and it just wasn't fair what that was doing to certain parts of Lance's body. Plus, he'd tried not to stare in the car earlier, but Keith's legs were nice, okay? Like just so so nice and toned and fully on display in his running shorts. Plus, he was pulling out genuine half smiles for the kids as he encouraged them around the track, sometimes even running backwards to get them moving, and if that wasn't the most adorable thing ever, Lance wasn't sure what could top it.

"If you say so," Gabby said with a familiar McClain family smirk.

His response was to make a scoffing noise before he lifted the mic again and encouraged the new group of boys to do their best air guitars on the next lap. And thankfully Gabby moved on to do something that he hoped was more useful than watch her little brother pine over his friend.

With her gone, Lance's eyes sought out Keith again and he finally spotted him as he was being dragged over to one of the craft tables in the bull pen area by a gaggle of little girls. Lance thought about rescuing him, but Keith was openly blushing. And there was just no way he was going to ruin anything that pretty. Plus, the girls looked pretty formidable.

When they'd finally run through the event for each grade, they all breathed a happy, but exhausted sigh of relief. Lance took a moment to catch Keith's eye and grin at him before they were both pulled into the routine of removing traces of the event from the gym. There wasn't a huge rush, since they'd be crazy to try to leave while buses were pulling out and the parent car line was clogging up the parking lot's exit.

With the lights that had outlined the track finally pulled from the floor, Lance headed towards the inflatable tunnel, mainly because it was known to be tricky to fold correctly once it was deflated and Lance happened to be a master deflated tunnel folder. And maybe he was headed that way because that's where Keith was currently working. But whatever.

Keith and another worker, Jack, if Lance remembered correctly, were on one side of the tunnel, putting their weight into it so that the air would escape quicker. Lance grinned as he ducked inside of it, unseen. He was about to lean his own weight back in the opposite direction just to mess with them but froze when he heard Jack and Keith actually talking to each other.

"So you're friends with Lance?"

Lance waited, and then let a smile spread across his face as he heard Keith respond with, "Uh, yeah, I guess you could say that."

"You have a nice smile."

Okay, so, on the one hand, he knew Keith's smiles appeared as frequently as full moons. Or alien crop sightings. Which meant that while Keith had been talking about being friends with him, Keith had been smiling. And that made Lance feel warm. And happy. And kind of like pulling Keith into a hug.

But on the other quiznacking hand, Jack's friendly small talk had just transitioned to Jack flirting with Keith. The warmth from before was being replaced by dread, because Lance had no idea what to do in this situation. Did he storm around the tunnel wall and tell Jack to back off? Drag Keith out of there? Or leave him to possibly enjoy meeting someone new? It wasn't like he and Keith were together. Or like Keith would ever think of Lance in such a way, right? Maybe being a good friend – something he realized he desperately wanted to be for Keith, especially knowing Keith didn't trust many people in the first place – meant not standing in the way of Keith making new friends.

"Lance, awesome, there you are. I need your help." Gabby pulled him out of the tunnel and over towards the stage. "You're one of two people I trust to pack up the DJ equipment."

Lance glared back towards the tunnel as he was pulled away. He still couldn't see Keith or Jack on the other side of it. But he began to busy himself with pulling the cords and organizing them the way Gabby liked – Gabby being the only other person she trusted to help put this stuff away. His sister had worked hard to save up to buy this special equipment and he tried not to take his frustration out on it.

He'd been working for several minutes before Gabby's voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Lance?" Gabby peered at her little brother's scowly face. It was a rare sight and immediately had her concerned.

"You should tell your employees it's inappropriate to hit on volunteers," he said, unable to keep the irritation out of his voice as he finished packing up the last of the equipment.

Gabby's previous worry slid away as she did her best not to smirk at her little brother's clear jealousy. Just friends her ass. "Did someone hit on your friend, Keith?"

"What?" Lance straightened and shoved the box he'd been holding into Gabby's arms.

"Oh, so someone hit on you?"

"You don't have to sound so surprised when you say that." Lance glared at her before his arms began to flail. "Stop laughing, Gabby! I'm a total magnet for people hitting on me. Happens all the time!"

Gabby turned away from him, unable to keep her laughter under control. She was halfway across the gym when she passed Keith and thanked him again for his help. She got a shy smile from the other boy in return and silently hoped her brother didn't screw this up. She could already picture their mother fussing all over Keith at holidays.

Lance glanced up as Keith jogged over to him. "You ready to go?" It came out harsher than Lance had intended and he flinched internally as he watched Keith stop short as a flash of uncertainty crossed his dumb face. Lance sighed at himself. Okay, so Keith's face wasn't dumb. It was unfairly pretty, possibly even more so right now since he was still flushed from spending the whole day running around with the kids.

"Uh, yeah," Keith said. "We managed to get that inflatable tunnel down finally."

Lance cringed at the we in Keith's sentence. He and Keith were the good team. He and Keith were the we around here. Stupid Jack.

"Great, let's get out of here." Lance began to dig around in his pockets for his car keys and was stopped by Keith grabbing his wrist and pulling it forward.

"Hold still," Keith instructed, "I made you something."

Lance stared at the mischievous look in Keith's eyes before he glanced down and saw that Keith was tying a bracelet made of red and blue threads around his wrist. Keith's fingers barely brushed his skin as he tied the two ends of the thing together, but it was enough for Lance to feel an electric spark down his arm.

"You made this?" He asked when Keith finally finished securing it and looked up at him in triumph.

"Well, the girls thought it was a crime that I didn't know how to make a friendship bracelet, so they helped."

Lance stared down at it. It was only two threads, which meant without three it wasn't a true braid, and they were mainly just spun together. But there were knots on either end, which meant there was no danger of it coming undone any time soon. Unlike Lance, who had been slowly coming undone ever since this amazing boy had entered his world.

"It's -" Beautiful. Perfect. I'm never taking it off, "nice."

Keith laughed, but it sounded unsure. "You don't have to wear it, Lance. It was -"

"No," Lance cut him off and met those purple eyes directly. "Thank you, Keith."

And now, holy fuck, because Keith's face was turning redder. A new flush that was in no way due to the exercise of the day.

The sight made him happy in a way that was becoming a frequent occurrence around Keith Kogane.

And later that night, the text messages his sister sent only added to it.

Gabby: Asked Jack about Keith after the fun run.

Gabby: He said he tried to get his number

Lance stared hard at his phone as he watched the frustrating little message at the bottom that said Gabby was typing…

Gabby: But Keith didn't give it to him

Gabby: Because….

A solid three minutes went by without another text. Lance did his best not to throw his phone. He wasn't sure what Gabby was getting out of teasing him when she couldn't even see his impatient face.

Lance: GABBY

Gabby: You're fun

Lance: Finish the story or I'm never helping you again

Lance: Plus, I'll sneak into your place and tangle all the wires on your equipment

Lance: You'll never get them untangled

Gabby: You wouldn't dare. Cause that would hurt the kids.

Lance huffed out a breath. She had him there.

Lance: Gabs? Out with it already.

Gabby: Jack told me Keith wouldn't give him his number because he said he's already interested in someone else

Lance's breaths began coming fast as he bit the inside of his lip.

Lance: And? Did he say who?

Gabby: No, he didn't say who

Gabby: But who do you think dumbass?

The four of them flopped themselves down onto Hunk, Pidge, and Lance's main room furniture. They'd just finished a midterm exam and the only good thing any of them could say about it was that it was over. And, being Thursday, they had the next three days to ignore anything related to school to recover from it.

Keith heaved out his own deep sigh as he tried to shift where he'd landed on the couch. His back was against the armrest, but his legs had ended up sprawled across Lance's lap where he sat in the middle, while Hunk took up the other end of the couch, and Pidge had curled into a nearby overstuffed chair. Keith tried not to think too hard about being half-sprawled across Lance right now, especially when Lance landed a hand on one of his shins.

"My brain is mush," Hunk said. "What was that exam on again?"

Pidge snorted from her chair before she began repeating the word "mush" over and over again.

Lance had let his head fall against the back of the couch so he could stare up at the ceiling. He listened to Pidge and then mumbled, "Like you're leading a – a dog sled team, Pidgey."

Hunk suddenly began laughing as if mush was the punch line to a funny joke, and it didn't matter that it didn't make sense, because soon everyone else joined in until Hunk had literal tears streaming down his face and Pidge was gasping for breath. Lance laughed as well, although not as loud as he might've normally, mainly because he was trying not to drown out Keith's laughter, which still remained one of the nicest sounds he'd ever heard.

"Ugh, I have to get going." Keith began to sit up and didn't miss the way Lance's hand tightened around his leg as if to keep him there.

Lance lifted his head and turned to him. "Call out."

"What?"

"Just today – just call out sick. You can't tell me you don't need a break?"

Keith stared back at Lance for a moment. He'd seen Hunk's puppy dog eyes before, and while Lance wasn't pulling anything as dramatic as that on him, Lance's face was still definitely pleading.

"Let me step out and see what I can do."

Lance let go of Keith's leg then, releasing the tight pressure that had been trying to keep Keith pinned there with him. He watched as Keith rose from the couch and headed out their door with his phone in his hand.

"I'm making Hurricanes," Hunk announced as he stood as well to head to the kitchen to make his famous rum drink for everyone.

"I call first dibs on game one," Pidge said, pulling a controller out of the chair's cushions and switching on one of their game systems.

Lance sat still and stared at the door, wondering how long was long enough to wait until he could check on Keith. He was pretty sure two minutes was a polite enough length of time, and when it was up, he headed towards the door and swung it open, allowing him a view of Keith with his back to the door, hello Keith's ass in tight black pants, and to overhear part of the phone conversation.

"Right. No, it should just be tonight. Yeah, I'll be there Saturday afternoon. Okay. Thanks. See you then."

"So you're staying?" The hopeful words were out of Lance's mouth before Keith even had a chance to hang up.

Keith swung around, found Lance poking his head out the door, and then nodded. He felt a little strange, since he'd never called out of work before. And he was trying not to feel too guilty about his clients, since there were subs the gym could call in for the rare times a regular trainer couldn't make it.

But then Lance smiled at him and he knew he'd made the right decision.

Lance held the apartment door open wider and as Keith began to enter Lance swung an arm around his shoulders and walked in the rest of the way practically wrapped around him.

"Let the games begin!" Lance announced.

He practically pushed Keith down on the couch and tossed him a game controller, letting him get started against Pidge while he joined Hunk in the kitchen to grab snacks and watch Hunk mix drinks.

Several hours later, with enough brownies and Hurricanes in their system to make them not only forget everything about the day's midterm, but also to think everything in the world was hysterical, they slowly began to wind down as Lance threw in a movie for them to watch. He was still situated in the middle of the couch between Keith and Hunk and was currently feeling very warm and happy. He kind of hoped they could all stay right there forever. But the exhaustion of staying up late to study the night before mixed in with the alcohol from tonight finally began to take its toll and he watched as first Pidge and then Hunk slowly got up and wandered into their rooms to sleep.

"Can I sleep on your couch?" Keith murmured a moment later.

Lance glanced over at him and smiled as he watched Keith struggle to keep his eyes open. Hell, he had to admit that no matter how comfortable he was, he was tired too. But Keith currently had his legs tucked up towards the arm of the couch, which meant that Keith's hip was currently pressed against his own hip. And he really, really didn't want this to end.

"This couch isn't that comfortable," Lance murmured as he stretched his arms above his head.

"Well, I can't drive home," Keith said through a yawn. "Maybe I could walk?"

Lance huffed. "You're not walking home from here, Mullet."

Keith narrowed his eyes at him. "You like my hair," he accused.

Without thinking, Lance let a hand drift over to Keith's face where he pushed some of his bangs out of his eyes before reaching around to tuck some other strands behind one of Keith's ears.

"Yeah, I do," he admitted.

Keith smiled then, which involved flashing his rarely seen dimples at Lance, and Lance grinned back, all the while thinking that Keith's smiles should have some sort of warning before they just appear like that.

"This couch is uncomfortable to sleep on," Lance said, trying to continue his earlier thought process as he finally found his voice again. "But I could share my bed if you want." He shrugged, trying not to look as nervous as he felt. "Just so you get a good night's sleep?"

Keith swore his heartbeat skipped at that. He took a moment to stare back at Lance's face, thinking how adorable it was in these rare instances that he got to see Lance McClain actually look nervous.

"I think that'd be alright," he answered finally.

Lance heaved out a relieved breath and then nodded quickly as he stood and led Keith into his bedroom. He tossed Keith a pair of his sweatpants and only laughed a little when Keith returned from the bathroom and he saw how they pooled a bit around his ankles. Keith scowled at him, but Lance could see past that grumpy face now, and he just grinned when he saw the amused glint in Keith's pretty purple eyes.

He hit the lights and climbed into bed, especially since it seemed like Keith was waiting for him to pick a side. Keith followed him under the blanket and they both shifted onto their backs and did their best to make the whole thing seem not at all awkward.

"This is more comfortable," Keith murmured after a few minutes.

Lance nodded in the dark. "Told ya."

"I like your stars," Keith said, his voice even softer than before as he stared up at the glow in the dark stars Lance had on his ceiling.

I like you, Lance thought and then kicked himself for being a coward and not saying it out loud. Keith had to like him too right? He knew from Gabby's nosiness that Keith was interested in someone, and if it wasn't him, Lance had no idea who it could be. And, plus, if it wasn't him, would Keith really climb into his bed like this? Keith wouldn't even give Jack his number because he had his eye on someone else, but sleeping in Lance's bed with Lance was no big deal? Lance didn't think so.

He turned to face Keith, ready to say something to him. But ended up keeping his mouth shut once again. Because Keith's eyes were shut and his breathing was even. Keith was asleep.

When Keith woke up the next morning, he found his nose buried into the skin of Lance's neck, allowing his inhales to bring him the scent of sunblock and Lance. His chest was draped halfway across Lance's chest. One of his hands was wrapped around Lance's bicep. And one of his legs was tangled in between Lance's legs.

But as he tried to roll himself off his friend, not at all sure how Lance would react to finding Keith halfway sprawled across him when he woke up, he realized Lance was already awake. And not only that, but Lance was rolling with him so that they were suddenly both on their sides facing each other. Keith kept his hand wrapped around Lance's upper arm only because he felt one of Lance's hands not only land on his lower back, but also pull him closer.

Keith huffed out a quick breath as he felt their stomachs brush against each other. His eyes rose, focusing briefly on the freckles that danced across Lance's nose before lifting to meet Lance's sleepy blue eyes.

"I wish you were mine."

Keith shivered at the mere sound of Lance's ridiculously husky morning voice and then nodded slowly as he thought back to the friendship he'd managed to build up with this ridiculous, loud, brilliant, beautiful, thoughtful boy.

"I think I already am."

Lance's eyes lit up and he wasted no time leaning forward to kiss the smile that had appeared on Keith's face. Keith responded quickly, not only pressing his lips eagerly back against Lance's, but by shifting forward, brushing his hips against Lance's hips and drawing a small grunt from Lance's throat.

Then Keith let his fingers slide up under Lance's shirt and finally, finally got a chance to brush his fingertips over the ripples that made up Lance's amazing abs, the act of which not only drew another noise from Lance's throat, but a pleased noise from Keith as well.

Keith pulled his mouth from Lance's and let his lips move down to suck at the skin at Lance's neck, a move that pulled not only a soft whimper from Lance, Keith could really get used to being the cause of these noises Lance was making, but also leading to Lance bucking his hips forward. The friction between the two of them was almost too much and Keith shuddered out a breath at the same time that Lance let a curse fall out of his mouth.

Keith pulled his face out of Lance's neck just to catch his breath for a moment and Lance leaned forward so he could rest their foreheads together. He reached a hand up to trace his fingers along Keith's jawline and Keith knew he'd never been so gone over anyone before this.

"I've wanted to do that for a while now," Lance murmured.

"Stop talking," Keith said, breathlessly. "Do it again."

Lance chuckled at that, which pulled a laugh out of Keith. And then one of his hands tangled itself in Keith's hair before he pulled him forward to kiss him again.

Pidge slowly made her way to the kitchen that morning and gratefully held up her mug as Hunk filled it with the coffee he'd brewed. They stood sipping their necessary morning caffeine for a few moments before they heard Lance's laughter from behind his closed bedroom door.

And then they heard laughter that did not belong to Lance.

They grinned as they clinked their mugs together in a silent cheers.

"Finally."

Keith didn't startle when he felt Lance's arms wrap around his waist or feel Lance's chin drop down on his shoulder. And maybe it was because it reflected the position they'd found themselves in when they'd woken up that morning, but Keith felt a shiver run through him as Lance's hands tightened their grip and pulled Keith in closer so that his back was pressed tight against Lance's front. Keith was beginning to think that Lance's thoughts were mirroring his current ones when he experienced another shiver as some of Lance's fingers snuck up under the front of his shirt in order to brush against the skin of his stomach.

Still, Keith was currently at work. So despite his current smile due to Lance's attention, he turned his head and asked his boyfriend what on earth he thought he was doing in the middle of the gym lobby.

Lance responded first by pressing his lips to Keith's neck for a quick kiss before full on nipping at the skin there.

"Lance," Keith growled.

Lance chuckled, knowing full well that the scolding wasn't because Keith didn't like it, because he had many Keith noises memorized by now that assured him that Keith loved this, but because it was probably unprofessional to head off to see his next client with tented shorts.

"I'm just making sure that muscle man knows you're mine," Lance murmured in reference to the client he knew Keith was about to meet with before he finally released Keith and turned to head off in another direction.

At the corner that would take him out of sight, he turned and glanced back towards Keith. Keith with his pretty face and his crazy soft hair that was currently pulled into an unfair advantage ponytail. He smiled softly at the fond look Keith had pinned on him and waited till he got a dimpled-filled smile in return before shooting Keith ridiculous finger guns and laughing as he headed towards the pool.

A/N: My apologies to actual personal trainers as I know there are classes and certification and I have Keith just sort of part-timing it after he fell into the job. Just – just let me have this, please.

Also, I know someone who doesn't react to any of the "caine" numbing meds. It's a sad (and painful) situation, but, hey, it led to brotherly bonding over the years between Keith and Shiro.

And I actually had a back story partially written out to explain why Keith and Shiro would have different last names as brothers, but in the end I didn't think it was necessary for this particular story, so it was removed. Other than that unexplained detail, I hope you enjoyed the story!

Update: I recently commissioned suitboxers for some art for this story! Its the new image for this story on this site, but if you'd like to see a larger, clearer version of t, you can check it out via either my Tumblr or my Archives of our Own profile - its contained within the story on the AO3 site (Reader115 username on both sites), or by checking out suitboxers' Tumblr.