"Lance!"

Lance jerked his head up, doodles forgotten in the face of Iverson's snarl. The whole class snickered at him and he felt his neck flush. "Yes, sir?"

"I asked what the sun's radius is."

"Oh, uh, six point nine six times ten to the power of eight meters." Iverson stared at him for a long moment, the curl in his lip prominent in his disgust.

"That is correct, however instead of wasting my time to ask again, I suggest you pay attention. Or your dreams of being on the Kerberos mission will be just that: dreams." Lance's neck flushed again as some students tittered at him. Keith, bless his soul, just quirked his mouth in a parody of a smile. Lance grimaced back at him and watched as Keith turned away to laugh into his fist.

"Dude," Keith exclaimed twenty minutes later, walking down the hall, "You really need to start paying attention. People are starting to ask questions -"

"I know, I know, pay attention so that if I get a super complicated question right, I can pay it off as extra studying… it's just so boring!" Lance threw his hands into the air, sighing through his nose with so much force he thought he'd faint for a moment. Keith knocked shoulders with him.

"Just pretend like you're paying attention at least," he snorted. "We can't all be geniuses like you, so maybe seeing you suffer throughout the day will help everyone get motivated."

"Yeah, but they don't know I'm a genius, so really it'd just be you getting motivated, and you're my rival, so nope, not trying to motivate you!"

Keith moved to dodge Lance's flailing arms, but Lance followed and managed to smack him in the shoulder. He grinned at Keith and started walking faster. "Oi!" Keith hollered, giving chase. Lance weaved in and out of students, giggling manically inside of his head. It was so fun to provoke Keith into losing his cool - the guy needed it sometimes. He was always so wound up, like a demented toy soldier, focused on making Shiro proud and being the best pilot. Lance mused that if he wasn't as smart, he'd likely find Keith's unrelenting focus a threat to his standing. Because while Lance didn't want the others to know he was a genius, he still wanted to be seen as smart and capable. Keith, if he wasn't such a good friend, would have been his first enemy.

Lance counted himself fortunate to recognize how lonely Keith was. It enabled him to make an effort to know the boy, to get under his skin and see all of the potential just hidden and waiting to strike.

And strike it did -

Lance yelped as Keith came around the corner and smacked into him, grabbing his shoulders and pinning him to the wall, smirk wide and smug. "Okay, okay, laugh it up. Now take me to food," Lance grunted, swatting Keith's hands away. Keith whistled and walked next to him with his hands behind his head. Lance resisted the urge to trip him. It was hard, but he was a genius, nothing was impossible.

"So when is the test for the mission?"

Lance hummed in response, hands above his butt, arching his back to hear that relieving pop. "Tomorrow," he answered, pleased to hear Keith choke on air.

"Dude, will you be ready?" he asked, grabbing Lance's shoulder.

Lance allowed the contact for a few seconds then smoothly slid away. "You do know who you're talking to, right?"

Keith snorted. "Right. It's just hard to remember, y'know, since you don't pay attention in class."

Lance, for lack of a better word, pouted. Keith pretended to shield his eyes and Lance snorted. "Yeah, yeah, laugh it up. I'll ace that exam."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Keith asked, suddenly serious. Lance stilled.

"No," he admitted. "I know that I can't afford it. I'll just score a ninety percent."

"Maybe that's still -"

"Keith, I know that you're worried, but buddy, c'mon. I know what I'm doing." Keith watched him with his unusual violet eyes, as still as a lion before their prey. Lance still couldn't get used to how focused Keith could get; his eyes burned, like twin dragon flames before a forest fire. Lance was almost intimidated, but he'd never been afraid of fire, so he wouldn't start now. "I know you're worried, but I've planned it all out. What do you think I was doing in class?"

The fire dimmed. "Yeah, I know, but this late in the game - I just don't want them to figure it out," Keith admitted, looking away. Lance preened at him.

"Aw, you are worried about me! Who knew how much you cared!"

Keith started walking faster, but Lance had long legs and kept up easily. He continued to tease until they hit the mess hall, sure Keith would snap at any second. Before he could, a hand grasped his shoulder. Keith watched as Lance's pupils became pinpricks and how he stiffened up -

"You're Lance, right?"

then how he visibly shook himself to swat the hand away.

"Yeah," he answered easily, turning around to see kind brown eyes and a perfect cupid's bow curved into an uncertain smile, large hand falling to his side. "At your service, Mr…"

"Oh, right, I'm Takashi Shirogane, but you can call me Shiro." Like Lance didn't know who the Takashi Shirogane was. He still had the dude's poster hung up by his bed. Keith teased him relentlessly when he found out, but he couldn't bring himself to remove it. "I've wanted to meet you for a long time," Shiro admitted, raising a hand to clasp the back of his neck, the very picture of bashful. "Keith told me a lot about you, so the curiosity was starting to eat me alive. I didn't mean to startle you," he added, glancing into Lance's eyes. "Sorry."

Lance smirked at him. "It's all good, Super Soldier. It's good to meet you, too, Keith always turns into a puppy every time he talks about you -"

"I do not!" Keith protested vehemently.

Lance grinned at him, "Methinks doth protest too much."

Keith literally growled at him, the fire in his eyes back to blazing at full force. Shiro laughed beside him, eyes glowing similarly to Keith's, except there was a certain lightness to Shiro that made Lance want to stare. "Methinks so, too," Shiro said, grinning at Keith's red ears.

"Oh, this is just adorable," Lance cackled, yelping and ducking as Keith took a swing at him. "Hey, Keithmeister, watch the face, it's a money maker!"

"Like anyone would pay to look at your ugly mug!" Keith snarled.

"You're hot when you're riled up -"

"Lance!"

The only thing Shiro could do was laugh.

/

Shiro waited with Keith while Lance took the test. While it was never calming to hang around his pseudo little brother, it was always soothing. Keith was such a firecracker, and the silence between them crackled with unbridled tension. Shiro's soul basked in the unnamed energy Keith always exuded. "Are you worried?" he asked when the silence when from comforting to stifling.

"Nah," Keith answered, stretching and settling back against the wall. "Lance has this in the bag. You should get used to his presence now because he's for sure going to be the one to go with you all."

"That sure, are you?" Shiro asked with amusement.

"You've seen his record, right?"

"Yeah," he admitted, recalling his bemusement at how all of Lance's grades were the same number in every class. He'd just assumed that it was a coincidence, but there was no way a coincidence could get a ninety in every. Single. Class. "He's done that on purpose, hasn't he?"

Keith let the question hang in the air, staring at the door. Shiro turned to Keith. "He's really smart, isn't he?" Keith didn't answer. "You promised not to tell, didn't you?"

Keith nodded once, short. Shiro huffed a laugh. "Yeah, I'm not worried anymore. Guess I'll just have to hang around him from now on."

"You'll regret saying those words," Keith snarked.

"I thought you liked him?"

Keith snorted, waving away strands of hair from his face. "It's not a question of like, but of tolerance. There's only so much Lance in one day that a person can take."

Beside himself, Shiro threw his head back and laughed. "I am so happy you found him," he chuckled. "It's good to see you have a friend."

Watching as Keith's ears turned red, Shiro pinched one. "Hey," Keith reprimanded, knocking him away. "I didn't find him, he found me and stuck to me like an octopus. Stop laughing, it's not funny!"

It was so funny, Shiro thought. Imagining Lance with four arms and four legs, attaching himself to Keith and not letting go despite Keith jumping around and smacking him - he peeled into laughter again. "I haven't seen you so lively since -" he cut himself off, chuckles diminishing. "It's just good to see you connecting with someone other than me," he finished lamely, hand behind his head.

Keith managed a brief smile at him, tight and uncomfortable, but still as warm as the sun lighting up the night. The tightness around Shiro's heart that came with mentioning anything to do with Keith's past unraveled. "I get it," Keith said. "I guess I just got used to having him around."

"I'm glad you did," Shiro said. He made it a personal quest to get to know Lance at that moment, seeing a light in Keith's eyes that wasn't there before. He also wanted to explore Lance's unquestionable mind, if his records really indicated what he thought they did. "So did you find a girlfriend yet?"

The choking noise Keith made was music to his ears.

/

"Dude, ninety percent!" Lance crowed, waving his score in Keith's face. It took all of Keith's willpower to not grab the paper and rip it into shreds. Sometimes he couldn't wait until Lance was gone. "Hey man, you okay?"

Sometimes Keith really wanted Lance to stay, he amended when the exuberance dimmed and concern leaked out. "Nothing's wrong, Dork," he snorted. Seriously, when Lance wasn't being all super smart, he really was such a dork. The guy was a super nerd about space - which was a good thing, considering space was his profession - and he hit on anything with two legs. "I just don't know how you're going to handle all of your fangirling over Shiro." He had to smirk after that, just waiting for the inevitable blow up.

"I am not fangirling over Shiro!" Lance shrieked, then paused, eyes unfocused and head cocked. "Is fangirling really a word?"

Total dork, Keith mused.

"Why wouldn't you?" a voice interrupted. They both looked over the hall to see a large guy eyeing them curiously, black hair framing the orange headband on his forehead. "He's literally the best pilot to grace these halls. I don't think I could even speak if I was in his presence," the guy continued, fingers rubbing his chin. Lance started walking over to him and Keith almost smacked himself in the face. Sure, Lance could see things about people most couldn't, but the guy really could be too trusting.

"Who are you?" Lance asked, stopping about a foot away from the big guy. Lance was tall (shut up, Keith was only three inches shorter) and even his nose fell below the guy's lips.

"Hunk," the guy said, starting to lean back but thinking better of it and putting his hand out to shake. Lance paused for a moment, and Keith was about to step in, but he stood straighter and grasped Hunk's hand, dropping it quickly.

"Lance," he said, grinning unabashedly to ease the crease between Hunk's brows at the fast display. Hunk's eyes turned to Keith curiously.

"Keith," he said shortly, frowning.

Hunk's eyes widened and he stuttered, finally able to shoot out a quick sentence once Lance started to really get into the guy's face. "You're Keith Kogane!" Lance stepped back quickly, as if he saw a snake right under his foot. Keith smirked at him when he turned to glare.

"Oi, and I'm Lance McClain!" he shouted, arms cross. Your butthurt is showing, Keith snickered to himself. It was always good to get one up on Lance sometimes. The guy was too prideful in his genius. Taking him down a notch was one of Keith's favorite pastimes.

"Sorry, man," Hunk offered, "I've never heard of you."

"This is blasphemy!" Lance cried, back of hand shooting to his forehead so fast he smacked himself. "Ow," he muttered, before pretend swooning. Keith laughed at him. "You don't laugh, betrayer," he growled, pointing a manicured finger in Keith's general direction, face still tilted towards the ceiling. Hunk increasingly looked like he wanted to be anywhere but there.

"So, well, I'm going to -"

"Hey, Hunk, we're headed to the mess hall," Lance interrupted, straightening up from his downward tilting pose. "You wanna come?"

"And eat those MREs?" Hunk scoffed. "I can cook up something so much better."

"Great!" Lance exclaimed, grasping Keith by his jacket sleeve. "You don't mind cooking something for Keith and I, yeah?"

Hunk looked into the full force of Lance's grin and faltered, glancing to Keith for help only to see Keith giving him a miniature Lance Grin. One of Hunk's idols was smiling at him and he was helpless but to obey. "Yeah, sure. If you want to come with me out of the Garrison - unless you have something else to do."

"Nope!" Lance chirped, grinning. Keith almost felt guilty for using the guy's obvious idol crush against him, but man, something other than MREs? Keith felt all of his guilt disappear.

"Man," Lance sighed happily a little while later. "I wonder what I would do if I wasn't in the fighter class with you."

Keith snorted, leaning backward onto his bed. Lance plopped down in front of him, long legs stretching into Keith's space, like a kid that exclaimed to his mom that I didn't touch him! but came that close. "Probably suffer for MREs the entire time you're here and not get to go to Kerberos."

Lance stopped patting his stomach for a moment, grin falling away. "Yeah," he said quietly. Keith nudged him with a foot, ignoring how Lance stifled a flinch.

"Hey, man, you're in the fighter pilot class and you're going to Kerberos," Keith scolded. "Don't start thinking about what-ifs right now, it'll just make you barf up your food baby."

Lance snorted. "Sorry, sorry, I'll start thinking of something else."
"Should be easy to do," Keith grinned. Lance grinned back.

"Super easy. I am a genius, after all."