The screaming of the fire alarm was enough to have Keith rolling out of bed. As if having an alarm go off at two in the morning wasn't bad enough the frequency of the screeching was set so as soon as you heard it you were instantly pissed off.

Down he walked with the thousand other bitter college students. He stepped into the chilly night air and groaned. Of course, this couldn't have happened closer to the end of the school year. He might have actually stabbed someone if he'd had his knife with him, but it was tucked away at the bottom of one of his drawers. At least he had remembered to grab his phone.

As he flicked the electronic awake he had forgotten to prepare himself for the blinding light and his anger rose, unbidden. He huffed before finding the group chat between him and a few of his classmates was booming.

Pidge (The pyro): Sorry, Keith. This one might be my fault.

Hunk: What did you do?

Pidge (The pyro): I didn't set the fire alarms off for a video or anything.

Keith: PIDGE I swear to god I will find you and I will kill you.

Hunk: C'mon guys. It's just a fire alarm. At least they went off.

Keith: It's freezing!

Lance: I can check you in

Pidge: Check him in or check him out?

Lance: Which ever 😉

Keith rolled his eyes, ignoring the slight blush that warmed his cheeks. Damn Lance, making everything sexual.

Hunk: Not too much making out. Shay and I are here too.

Keith: I'm heading over. Forgot my jacket, too cold for this

Lace: Meet you down stairs.

As Keith pushed past the crowd of people to the Northern end of the parking lot he felt the wind biting at his bare arms and through his tank. This sucked, but at least he'd be in a warm room soon. Plus, Shay and Hunk were there which meant Lance would goa bit easier on the flirting.

Like sure, maybe just maybe Keith found Lance slightly attractive. Only slightly though. And maybe Keith was weak to those stupid pickup lines, but that didn't mean Lance had to do that. Besides, he'd only ever seen Lance flirt with girls. Chances were, he was just bothering Keith because he possibly looked a little feminine? Was it his hair? Sure, it was long in the back, but mullets are cool. And a guy hair style. No, Keith was pretty sure he was masculine enough.

He didn't have much longer to run though his thoughts because he was in the lobby of Lance's dorm. The lady at the desk was laughing at whatever Lance had said, but as soon as Lance noticed Keith he was at his side.

"Hey, you look a little blue," Lance said, slightly concerned. "Is it that cold out?"

"You have no idea," Keith muttered.

"Man, had I known that I'd have brought my jacket down for you," Lance explained. "Well," he said leading Keith toward the staircase. "Hunk's making hot cocoa and it's Friday so you don't have to worry about leaving tonight if you don't want to."

"Is Shay staying?" Keith asked. It was nice being in a warm building and he wasn't looking forward to going back out in that.

"Probably," Lance said. "She's been having roommate trouble since she moved in. Who knew the Nyma chick was gonna be that bad?"

"Hunk warned you," Keith reminded him. "You flirted anyway."

"Well, anyway. We're trying to get Shay a new roomie. I'm hoping Pidge will take her. Shay already knows about his situation and they get along. Might be nice for him. Keep him out of trouble."

"Pidge? Out of trouble?" Keith asked as Lance opened the door to 221.

The door wasn't decorated with much, but Pidge had so kindly added a B to the end of the number with a piece of lined paper and some tape.

"Our new guest has arrived," Lance presented Keith with a flourishing bow.

Shay gave him a wave and Hunk presented him with a warm cup of hot chocolate complete with two large marshmallows. Keith took a seat at Lance's desk which was covered in random papers and a cheap laptop. Lance placed the brown jacket, that usually hung from his bed, around Keith's shoulders.

"You warm up and let me know if you need any blankets, okay?" Lance asked. He looked genuinely concerned and Keith could tell his friend—that's what they were, friends—was used to taking care of his younger siblings. Keith had been an only child with parents who were always busy so he'd gotten used to dealing with things on his own. This being taken care of thing was still new. So was the weird feeling it left in his gut.

Still, it felt safe and he could get used to this. He wasn't sure what they talked about. It probably had something to do with classes, but he remembered a few things. One was the way Lance bounced when he got excited. Lance was usually bouncy, but when he was excited it was different. It was almost like he was dancing around the room while bouncing. Describing Lance was one of the many difficulties of being friends with him.

He also remembered how much sugar Lance dumped in his hot chocolate. Keith was waiting for Lance to keel over from a heart attack, but Hunk halfheartedly scolded Lance before shaking his head.

Shay even offered to make one of her grandmother's drinks, but everyone jumped in to tell her it was fine. She made one of those recipes once and Keith was convinced her grandmother was a witch. That soup moved the way no soup ever should. He shuddered every time he thought about it.

By the time they were all starting to crash Keith felt warmer. Lance, by now, was sitting cross legged on his bed looking at Keith intently.

"Can I help you?" Keith asked.

"No." Lance was silent for a few more seconds before deciding he should explain himself. "Just trying to figure out if my facemask would freak you out when you wake up."

"I'll be fine," Keith's voice lowered.

"Aww," Lance said, patting Keith's head as he walked to the sink in the corner of the room. "You're cute when you pout."

"I wasn't pouting," Keith retorted.

"Mhm," Lance responded as he began his routine.

Once he had finished Keith understood where Lance's hesitation came from. Lance stood by the light as Hunk and Shay got comfortable in Hunk's bed with mostly cuddles and the cutest giggles imaginable. Then Keith realized Lance was staring at him.

"You can get into bed," he urged politely.

Keith's brain froze for a good five seconds. "Your bed? With you?"

Lance's face wore a hurt expression for half a second before he covered it with an understanding one. "Not if you don't want. I can always sleep on the floor."

"No!" Keith said a bit too loudly. "No, it's alright. I just. I wasn't expecting it." He was climbing into Lance's bed as he mumbled to himself.

Lance smiled, detecting a light blush on Keith's cheeks, but electing to ignore it. He was already embarrassed enough. He flicked off the light, using his phone to navigate the room. Once he was settled under the covers beside Keith he was surprised to have Keith snuggle up to him.

He wrapped an arm around Keith, that way the other boy couldn't move from embarrassment. "Didn't expect you to be the cuddly type."

Just as Lance suspected, Keith tried to shift away. Upon deciding that wasn't worth the effort Keith just muttered. "The bed's too small and I'm still cold."

Lance fell asleep that night with a smile on his face. As much as he enjoyed getting under Keith's skin he was beginning to think this would be even better than only being able to get under his skin.