I'm back! It did take a little longer than I planned to get this chapter out. I just haven't had much energy lately, so I will go ahead and apologize if this chapter feels emotionally dead in some places. I just have barely been functioning. Not to mention I struggled with this chapter in general. Not because I had writers block, but because I couldn't decide directions I wanted to take the chapter in certain places. But I do think it should be a fairly entertaining chapter. I might have had to remind myself what the rating for this fic was. That being said, I do hope you guys enjoy the update.
Chapter 7
"Tell me again," Keith sighed as he watched several hired men wheel his belongings out of his dorm room, "how exactly is moving me into an expensive hotel a compromise for getting an extension on my work?"
Thace, who stood beside Keith in the middle of the dorm hall, seemed very bored as he typed away on his phone. Luckily—or maybe unluckily in some cases—they were doing this fairly early in the day, and most of the guys in his hall seemed to be gone, or at least too occupied in their rooms. An energy drink rested in each of their hands, as neither of them had really slept last night. And then, finally, Keith had cracked around five that morning and demanded something be sorted out. Thace had gone to Kolivan, who had made the demand that Keith move into a hotel for the time being, at least until they could find a more permanent place for him.
As he took a long drink, Thace produced two cards from his pocket. One he handed to Keith, while he put the other back in his pocket. "We can always drop by and make sure you are working this way."
Of course. Keith let out a sigh. They would probably get or demand a key to Keith's new place whenever they got him one. The best part about the dorm was that Thace didn't want to look like a creeper entering the dorm at weird hours of the day. Still, Keith supposed it wasn't so bad. He already knew the hotel he would be staying at. Thace had taken him by there earlier and let Keith drop off a few things. It was very spacious, something his dorm had been majorly lacking. Now he would have plenty of space to work from his own place. It wasn't like he went around naked even when he was alone, so it wasn't like Keith would majorly suffer from this. It might get slightly annoying, though.
It was just one less part of a normal life that Keith could feel slipping through his fingers.
But who was he kidding, right? Keith gave up normal years ago, he had just been fighting it really slipping away this whole time. And it wasn't like Kolivan had asked for Keith to get on stage at the upcoming convention and talk. He at least respected Keith enough not to do that.
Where the money for this was coming from was beyond Keith, though. Because it didn't seem to be coming out of his pay, and he wasn't sure the publishing company would actually pay for all this.
At least they weren't making Keith move by himself. Kolivan had been nice enough to hire movers for him. Honestly, though, Keith mainly wanted this to hurry up and be over with, so he could take a nap. He had that party to go to tonight, but Keith had found maybe an hour to sleep so far. If it weren't for all the coffee and energy drinks, Keith probably would have been crashed on the floor by now.
Keith's phone vibrated in his pocket and he pulled it out. He coughed once and could feel himself gag. It happened sometimes when his body didn't get even remotely close to enough sleep. The text was from Lance and Keith did smile at that, taking a long drink to try and push down the gagging sensation he felt.
Leaning closer, Thace mumbled, "Not to pry in your private affairs..." He was going to anyways. "But if you are getting serious with this guy, you should probably tell him what you do."
"We aren't dating."
"No good relationship was built on lies."
As he typed a response back to Lance asking if he was excited for the party, Keith felt his eye twitch. Why couldn't people accept that there was nothing going on between him and Lance? They were just friends. Lance was a very cute friend, but that was besides the point.
Thace did have a point, though, as much as Keith hated to admit it. Not the relationship part. Well, maybe a little bit of that. Not just with Lance, but with Hunk and Pidge. How could Keith be considered their friend when he was lying to them? But if something did happen with Lance, Keith couldn't just keep going this way. Thace was right, Keith couldn't keep this from them forever.
His phone buzzed again. This time it was just a stupid smiley face from Lance. Keith rolled his eyes and pocketed his phone. Well, maybe a little longer he could. At least until he could think of a way to tell them. If he could think of a way. He was a liar. There was no way around that truth.
Once the last of his things were loaded up, Keith bid farewell to his dorm room and dropped his key off before leaving with Thace. They had already dropped Keith's car off at the hotel, so Keith rode in silence with his agent. Thankfully, Thace let Keith sit in silence during the drive, probably sensing he had a lot on his mind. He did. The new hotel was nice and all, but at least he was within walking distance of Lance, Pidge, and Hunk's place in the dorms. Now he was halfway across the city.
They arrived at the hotel and Keith went up to his new suite with Thace. He stood by the giant window and stared out at the city, while Thace did his best to direct the movers where things probably needed to go. It did have two bedrooms, which the second was going to be used for most of his work. He could also sit in the main room, on the couch, and draw, but having a place to lock all of his things up would be nice.
Not that it really mattered. What was he going to do, bring his friends by this place? Yeah, because an expensive place like this wouldn't be suspicious. Especially to Pidge.
The movers left and Keith was left with Thace and a bunch of boxes that he would have to unpack at some point. Not today, though. Thace shook his head as he watched Keith move from the window. He could already tell what Keith was about to do.
"Well then," he began, "I'll talk with Kolivan and see about that extension. It'll probably be moved to two weeks from now." That was fine. "Get some rest, you're starting to look like a zombie."
With a final dry look, Keith turned towards his bedroom. He didn't even bother to get under the covers, just plopped down on the mattress and closed his eyes. His mind instantly went blank and Keith conked out the next second.
Tight jeans that showed off his ass? Check. Hair? Flawless as always. Smile? Blinding. Phone and keys? Check. Nerves? Down the drain in the shower that Lance had taken not long ago. This was going to end in a disaster. Surely Lance would manage to put his foot in his mouth and ruin the evening, along with whatever hope he had of getting Keith to like him.
When he emerged from the bathroom, Lance found Hunk and Pidge already on the couch, both wearing matching bored expressions. "You took longer than me," Pidge decreed. "In fact, you took longer than any girl I have ever known."
Lance just snorted and put on his shoes. "Yeah, well, you don't spend a lot of time in the bathroom to begin with."
Hunk got up and pocketed his phone. He took Lance by the shoulders and said, "I've got to go pick up Shay. Are you good? You got this, man."
"Or at least we hope," Pidge mumbled. Both guys shot her dirty looks.
Choosing to ignore that comment, Hunk pressed on. "I'm fairly certain you stand a good chance with Keith."
"Bless his poor soul."
"Pidge!" Hunk finally shouted. "Not helping." Hunk just patted Lance on the back and headed for the door. "Make sure Lance makes it there on time and doesn't bail."
"I'm not a child," Lance whined. Both of his friends gave him looks that said otherwise. He just pouted and crossed his arms, sulking.
Tonight was the party and Lance already felt nauseous. He was fairly certain that Pidge could tell, because she didn't try to mock him anymore after Hunk left. It didn't help that he had not heard from Keith since noon. Maybe he had passed out. Hopefully Keith wouldn't miss the party. That would kind of defeat the purpose of tonight.
"So," Pidge finally broke the silence, "have you been brushing up on your Voltron trivia for that contest at the convention?"
Lance sighed as he collapsed on the couch and let his arms rest across the back. "I was born ready for Voltron trivia, Pidge."
"You should ask some questions at the panel." She was busy now, tinkering from something from one of her tech classes. "I hear the creator might be there, though nobody will probably know him, even if they looked right at him." Her eyes were down, and the light reflected on her glasses.
Lance's expression dulled. He leaned his head back and pondered at the ceiling for a moment. What if the creator had been to conventions before? What if Lance had met him and didn't even know it? Hopefully he hadn't said anything rude. He just mumbled, "Those are always just rumors."
Pidge paused briefly and then went back to work. She had a pile of wires and other computer bits that Lance couldn't be bothered to name beside her. "It doesn't have to be. As we all know, nobody knows what he looks like." She looked up at him then, though her eyes were hidden behind the reflective light from the ceiling in her glasses. "What would you say to him if you did... meet him that is?"
"I..." Lance shut his mouth for a moment. There was a lot he wanted to say to the creator, but surely the author hid his identity so he wouldn't get all that fame and attention. Maybe he hated his fans. That would suck. "I don't know. Not like I'll ever meet him anyways."
"Never know. Maybe you already have."
Lance frowned down at his friend, but she paid him no mind. Why was Pidge being so weird tonight? Didn't she know that Lance already had enough on his mind? "Do you think I should try and kiss Keith tonight?"
"I think you should have tried that when your mother was here and interrupted you."
Shooting up in his seat, Lance focused his wide eyes on Pidge. "How could you possibly have known that?"
Pidge just sighed and placed her project in the middle of her crossed legs. "You looked like a kicked puppy the rest of the night, and it was after Keith left."
Why did Pidge have to be so observant? Lance still was not sure she still had her soul, or if she made some crossroads deal for her inhuman powers of observation. The only time it got worse was when Pidge pretended to be oblivious and come to find out she was just biding her time, waiting for the perfect opportunity to cash in on things.
The doorbell saved Lance from having to think up a good excuse to that accusation. It was Keith, who was busy typing away on his phone when Lance opened the door. Lance smiled and leaned against the frame, waiting for Keith to actually pay attention. He really needed to find out what Keith did to keep him so busy. They had been friends for a few months now, and Keith still had not said what he did for a job.
"Sorry," Keith exhaled as he finished and slipped his phone into his pocket. "Are you sure it's cool I leave my car parked here all night?"
Usually when asked a question, an answer was meant to be provided. However, Lance felt a little tongue tied ever since he opened the door. Keith looked nice. Not in a going to a nice restaurant kind of nice, but like he actually put some effort into looking good. Normally Keith seemed too tired to even care what he put on. Lance had seen the guy wear the same shirt two days in a row before. Lance would have wrinkled his nose those times, but he would have been too much of a dick then to do so. Whenever that happened, Keith literally looked like a walking corpse.
Finally, words came to him. "You didn't just walk?" Lance asked.
"Uh," Keith glanced at his car, "no."
"All right, cool. Yeah. It's totally fine." The smile that Keith gave Lance made his heart pound against his chest, demanding to be let out and be able to scream on the highest building nearby that Keith's smile was the most adorable thing. "And you're totally welcome to stay the night. I am curious to see what drunk Keith is like."
Keith chuckled and stepped around Lance to enter the residence. "We'll see. I might not fight you on that. It's been a pretty long week, after all."
"Yeah, but at least you saw a great movie last night. And now you're going to a party." Lance closed the door and walked with Keith back towards the living room. "And the best part was that you spent time with me both occasions."
"Excuse Lance," Pidge immediately piped up, "he has a poor understanding of the word 'best.'"
The jab would have hurt more if it hadn't made Keith laugh. Keith did have a bag with him, so it did seem the chances of him staying over were pretty good. "When do we need to leave?"
Pidge checked the phone beside her on the floor and shrugged before standing to her feet. "Whenever. I'm pretty much ready to go, just need to get some shoes."
With Pidge briefly back in her room, Lance took the opportunity to admire Keith. And it was pretty easy, considering Keith seemed oblivious. Now Lance could even excuse that mullet, after he had seen Keith tie his hair back. Sadly, he did not have it tied back tonight. He did have on some nice fitting jeans and a red and black button up that Lance found very tempting to undo.
He could only imagine undoing each of those buttons and then parting the fabric of the shirt, and then slowly sliding the shirt off Keith's shoulders. Too bad Keith never came out of the bathroom shirtless when they were at the hotel. And the time at the pool had been too short to really admire. And, well, maybe Lance had been a little too stupid and distracted back then to properly look. After the shirt came off, though, Lance could always move on to the jeans and stick his hand down-
"Ready!" Pidge stood in the doorway again, looking far too pleased with herself.
Thankfully, the party wasn't that far away and they could walk. It made it easier for them when the party was over and alcohol might be consumed. Well, Pidge might not. Then again, she might, and she probably would still beat any of them in a drinking contest.
During the walk, Pidge did get some more information out of Keith that Lance wasn't fully aware of. He had known that Keith was an art major, but apparently he also took a lot of English and writing classes. His father had married Shiro's father when Keith was in high school. Lance had tried to ask what Keith did for a job after Pidge asked about his courses, but Pidge just elbowed him in the ribs for some reason. He was just trying to learn more about Keith!
They arrived at the party and went inside the house, where they were nearly blasted backwards from the insanely loud music. Out back was a pool, which Lance did not think was probably the best idea with all the alcohol. But several of the guests didn't seem to agree, as they went swinging into it with a bottle of beer in hand.
Pidge managed to find her brother early on and ran over to him. Lance and Keith had stepped outside and stood on the porch, watching as several people dove into the pool and another group of people did shots nearby. "So," Lance yelled, leaning into Keith's ear so that he could hear, "how do you feel about dancing?" He grinned as he watched Keith's face contort into discomfort. Well there was an answer. Still, Lance began to slowly move his body in a dance, which Keith rolled his eyes at.
"I'm not much of a dancer!" Keith yelled back. He had to lean so close for Lance to hear that Lance was actually able to smell the body wash that Keith had used. "But I'm sure there are plenty of drunk people here that would suffice for that desire."
Rolling his eyes, Lance grabbed Keith by the wrist and led him into the kitchen. He grabbed some spare drinks and moved to a different room. Smirking, he offered one of the drinks to Keith. "Maybe these will help."
He stared at it for several long seconds, but Keith downed it after watching Lance do the same. Both of their faces twisted as the alcohol hit them. Way too strong.
"Not as strong as your mom's drinks," Keith said.
Lance chuckled and said, "Wow, you already have a sense of humor. Maybe you need to drink more."
"I'm sure you'd like that."
There was such a grin on Lance's face. Keith made this too easy. He leaned into Keith's ear and said, "Depends on what type of drunk you are." The flush that followed was exactly the response that Lance had been hoping for.
As some time passed, Keith and Lance shared one more drink before going to find the others. Hunk arrived with Shay, and Shiro and Allura even stopped by. Keith gave his brother a dull look and said, "I could have just came with you if you were going to drop in."
Allura nudged Shiro with a smile on her face. "Yes," Shiro said slowly, eyeing his girlfriend, "but there's no telling how long we are going to be here. Besides, you already made plans to come with Lance, Pidge, and Hunk."
They ended up sitting in one of the rooms on an L-shaped couch, sipping on some drinks. Well, Lance had been, but he needed a refill. He might have ended up a little too close to Keith while they were all talking, because he realized their shoulders and legs were touching when he got up.
Two girls were running the keg when Lance got back to the kitchen. They were both cute and they both smiled at Lance as he held out his drink for them to refill. Sorority girls, most likely. One of them even had her sorority logo on her shirt.
"You're cute," one bluntly said.
Her friend's eyes went wide and she quickly said, "Ignore her."
"Or don't."
Lance chuckled and took a sip. "It's fine. You two aren't bored in here with that? Seems kind of dull to do at a party."
"Well," the second one offered, "it does have some perks. You did drop by. So we get to meet cute boys."
The other one was downing her drink, watching Lance as she did. Well it was very obvious that they wanted him. Or, at the very least, just wanted a guy tonight. Possibly together. Either way, Lance wasn't about to make the same mistake as he did with the pool.
"I'm flattered." He took the nozzle from the second girl and topped his drink back off. "But I'm with all my friends tonight, and I would rather not be rude."
The second girl was on him. By that, Lance meant her hand was up his shirt and feeling his stomach. She bit down on her lip and said, "You and I can always make it quick. Or tell them you found someone from one of your classes."
"Uh, well, one of the people with me... I'm kind of interested in."
"Well she doesn't have to know," the second girl breathed into Lance's ear and then nibbled on his lobe.
Lance slowly took a step back and straightened his shirt back out. "Actually, it's kind of a he. I'm bi."
The first girl just shrugged and poured herself another drink. "Shouldn't that mean that you'd just want it more?"
Oh hell no. Even if he wasn't trying to get with Keith, Lance would have lost any interest in these two and the conversation immediately. Lance didn't even bother dignifying them with a response. He just took his drink and turned around to walk away. Why did everyone have to be so stupid when it came to bisexuality. Lance was a flirt, but he was a flirt that wanted a committed relationship. Which Keith seemed like a great choice for that role. Keith did not seem like the cheating type at all.
On the way back, Lance found Keith leaned against the wall with a guy talking to him. Seemed more like a jock, and did not give off anything other than a straight vibe at all to Lance. Yet he clearly seemed to be interested in Keith, judging by the way he was leaning into Keith and had his hand pressed to the wall by Keith's shoulder.
It did not seem like Keith minded, or at least he seemed oblivious to this guy's interest in him. Lance came up beside Keith and leaned on the guy's shoulder, taking a sip of his beer. "What's up?" he asked.
"Oh," Keith quickly glanced at Lance, stopping in their conversation, "I was just on the way to the bathroom, and Sendak here stopped me. We have the same art professor."
The guy, Sendak, did not seem that thrilled with Lance's arrival. Then again, his face just seemed to have a natural stern look to it. It was not like Lance did not understand that the guy was trying to get in Keith's pants. It did not mean that Lance was just gonna ignore it happening. Well, he couldn't stop Keith if Keith wanted it to happen, but tonight probably was not the best night. Not when alcohol was involved.
"So do you think you could give me some tutoring lessons on my art history stuff. I'm not very good with it." Sendak scratched the back of his head, trying to keep his attention on Keith, and not on the guy that was leaned against Keith. "I thought this would be an easy class, but I'm not very good with art stuff, and I really don't want to fail. And Professor Coran speaks very highly of you."
"Uh..." Keith trailed off for a moment, eyeing the door behind Sendak. Lance's lips tilted up as he could only assume that was the bathroom, and he just noticed the constant shifting of Keith's weight. "Well, I really don't have a lot of free time."
"I wouldn't be any trouble at all."
"I barely have time for a project I'm having to work on in another class. Sorry, I just don't have time to tutor."
To try and help matters along, Lance slung an arm around Keith's shoulder. Keith, who seemed too focused on getting to the bathroom, did not notice. Sendak did. He narrowed his eyes at Lance, but said nothing. It managed to do the trick and Sendak just nodded, swiping a thumb across his lips as he walked off.
"Hold this," Keith quickly mumbled and handed Lance his drink. He opened the bathroom door for only a split second before he slammed it shut and put his back to it, face now instantly red. "I might need to find a different bathroom."
Lance chuckled and said, "Come on, I'm sure there's one upstairs."
They did find another bathroom upstairs. This one only had two people making out in it, which Lance quickly shooed away. Lance stood outside the door and waited for Keith. He could not decide the best course of action for making a move tonight. If he waited for Keith to get too drunk, it kind of defeated the purpose of asking anything.
When Keith emerged, he let out a long breath and took his drink back from Lance. As they walked back to their friends, Lance decided to just finish off the rest of his drink in one chug. He might have felt a little light headed for a few seconds, nearly stumbling down the stairs and Keith had to steady him.
They found Shay and Allura in a political discussion when they returned, and both seemed to be in fiery agreement on whatever they were frantically discussing. Shiro and Hunk were also talking, but quieted down when Keith and Lance sat back down. They got a long look from Shiro, but if he was trying to conduct a silent conversation with his brother, it went unnoticed by Keith.
Matt and Pidge arrived with shots for everyone. It was exactly what Lance needed. And by that, he meant that he didn't need it at all. He wound up propped up against Keith's shoulder. Keith smelled really good, and the little skin contact they made told Lance that Keith's skin was very soft. He wanted to feel more of it.
The affectionate nuzzling finally caught Keith's attention and he chuckled. "I think you reached your limit."
"M'fine," was all Lance could manage to get out.
He didn't move Lance, though, and that was all that really mattered. Lance tapped his fingers across Keith's arm as the owner of said armed watched him out of the corner of his eye. When he reached Keith's hand, he ran traced a finger across the skin there and smiled. Keith did have soft skin. Why had he never noticed this before? He squinted his eyes and lifted a small part of Keith's shirt up and poked at his side, causing the other boy to jump a little. He was soft there. Lance smiled and began tracing circles in the palm of Keith's hand.
He wrote the same thing he had been writing on the bottom of Keith's coffee cups for months now. Yet, for some reason, Keith had yet to look on the bottom of any of those coffee cups. It would have saved a lot of time if he had.
Keith moved his fingers and then Lance blinked. Their fingers were intertwined. They were holding hands. Lance's face suddenly felt hot. Why was nobody freaking out about this? Keith was holding his hand! Yet everyone carried on with the conversation, which Lance had totally not paid attention to, as the two of them held hands in the small space between their bodies.
"So, Lance," Allura said, pulling Lance out of his haze. He sat up more, but didn't let go of Keith's hand. It did not go unnoticed by him that Allura's eyes did dip down to look at them holding hands. The corner of her mouth tilted up, but she stayed on topic. "Your mother was quite interesting. I do hope you'll have her come up and visit more. We would love to play paintball with her again. Maybe this time Keith will decided to join."
"Uh..." Keith trailed off, "will I be on Shiro's team, or the winning team?"
"Hey!" Shiro glared at his brother, who just shrugged.
Allura kept her focus on Lance. "And what about the rest of your family?"
Taking a deep breath, Lance tapped his index finger against Keith's knuckle as he listed off his family. "Well there's my mom and dad. Then I have an older sister, a younger sister, and a younger brother. My oldest sister is married and has a son, who turned two back over the summer."
Allura clasped her hands together and smiled at him. "Aw! That sounds wonderful. Holidays must be marvelous." Her hand was placed against her chest, while her other reached out for Shiro's. "My mother died when I was little, and my father passed away shortly before I met Shiro. Keith, Shiro, and his mom are always nice enough to let me come stay with them during the holidays."
Wait... Lance's brain was turning a little slow after the drinks. That family seemed like an odd number. He squinted and his eyes darted from side to side several times. Math was not his friend tonight. Pidge and Hunk both seemed to catch on, because they both gave Keith a concerned look, who said nothing. Maybe it would hit Lance after the alcohol wore off.
"Keith!" Shay decided to exclaim, startling Lance out of his concentration. "I hear you are going to the Voltron convention. That's wonderful news! I will be off that whole weekend, so I can spend more time with you guys at this one." She seemed very pleased with herself as she announced, "I even touched up my Princess Farla costume."
Keith instantly flushed at the look that Allura gave him, but then glared at her. He cleared his throat and turned back to Shay. "That's great. I'm sure you'll look amazing."
Pidge stared at Keith very strangely, but she always had that look when she was analyzing things. Shay just flushed and waved off the compliment. "Please, you are too kind. I also made Hunk a paladin outfit!"
This made both Pidge and Lance startle and yell, "What?"
"No fair," Pidge continued. "I want a cosplay!"
Shay just smiled and leaned against Hunk. "I made him the black paladin, because I think Farla and Ryou would be such a cute couple."
Shiro went into a coughing fit and Allura had to hit him on the back. "I'm sure they would make such a great couple," she agreed. Shiro shot his brother a dead look.
Unfortunately, Lance could feel the alcohol catching up to him. He squeezed Keith's hand and leaned up, whispering, "Can you help me go find some water and food? I think I had too much to drink."
Keith's eyes darted across to Shiro and Allura and then quickly nodded. He got up and helped Lance do the same. Wobbling, Lance had a dopey smile on his face. Pidge finally caught sight of their hands and mouthed to Lance that they would talk later, then shot him a thumbs up. He flipped her off as Keith helped him out of the room.
Keith sat down his drink when they entered the kitchen and helped Lance pick out some food on a plate. Lance might have been thinking with an alcohol-filled brain, because everything sounded amazing. Thankfully, Keith did not get everything Lance asked for. He kept it light and to things that would help combat the alcohol better. He also handed Lance a glass of water, which Lance instantly downed and then refilled.
Instead of going back, the two sat in the kitchen for a while and let Lance eat. Keith watched him with his cheek propped up by his hand. This was not exactly how Lance had envisioned the night. He had expected Keith to drink and loosen up, and Lance could find out what kind of drunk Keith was. But Keith seemed to hold his alcohol much better than Lance did. It sucked.
It was about halfway through the plate that Lance spotted something just in the peripherals of his vision. A hand dropped something into Keith's drink, while Keith was sat facing Lance. Lance dropped the food he as about to eat and sat up straight, eyes locking on to the person that had just put something in Keith's drink.
Sendak stood there behind Keith, talking to some girl. There wasn't even a moment of hesitation. His hearing dulled and his mind went blank. And the next thing that Lance knew, his hand hurt and Sendak had stumbled into the nearby wall. As he wiped blood from his split lip, Sendak glared at Lance.
"Don't fucking spike my friend's drink!" Lance screamed in anger.
The unfortunate thing was that the alcohol was still in Lance's system. And what had seemed like an amazing idea at the time, came right back to hit Lance in the face. And so did Sendak's fist. Lance hit the floor, taking a tray of food with him as he went. As Sendak lunged for him, though, Lance brought his foot up and brought it straight to Sendak's balls. The jock gasped for breath and toppled over. The girl quickly rushed to Sendak's side and Keith quickly got Lance to his feet.
"You're dead, asshole!" Sendak yelled as Keith dragged Lance out of the room.
They didn't even go back to their friends. Keith just quickly asked, "Do you have your keys on you?" And Lance just stared blankly at him for a long time, then nodded. Keith sighed. "Great. We are getting out of here then. I don't need you getting yourself killed because you want to play a white knight."
"H'was tryin' to ruvefee you."
Keith chuckled as he slung Lance's arm around his shoulder and got him out of the house. They scurried down the sidewalk until they were a good enough distance away. It really did not make Lance's tummy feel good. He groaned and massaged his jaw. That hit might have done more to sober him up than the food or water.
"Thank you," Keith whispered as they slowed down. He pulled out his phone and Lance watched as he typed out a message to Pidge, letting her know that they headed back to their place for the night. It was not two seconds before Pidge sent him a winky face back. Keith just shook his head and slipped the phone back in his pocket. "Like I'm going to take advantage of the drunk guy."
"Hey!" Lance whined. "M'perfectly willing." His face instantly flushed when Keith arched a brow at him.
Chuckling, Keith just shook his head and said, "Let's just get you home and see if we need to doctor that up."
He did need a little doctoring as it turned out. Lance let out a hiss as Keith dabbed an alcohol soaked cotton ball against his lip. Keith was crouched down between Lance's legs, while the latter sat on the couch. Lance pouted as Keith pulled away.
"You'll be fine," Keith said. He was still very close. "You really didn't have to do that. You could have just told me that it was spiked."
"He didn't need to get away with it."
"Yeah, and you don't need your face broken."
Lance just sighed as he stared at Keith's close face, already having forgotten what they were talking about. He had mostly sobered up now. The alcohol-dipped cotton ball was the source of that. Lance wanted to say something, but he kept his mouth tightly shut. If he opened his mouth, he knew that whatever he said would ruin this moment. And the look that was going on between them right now, clearly told Lance that his chances were fairly high tonight.
Unfortunately, Keith slowly stood up and rubbed the back of his neck. "I don't suppose you have a spare pillow I could borrow? Maybe a blanket?" He frowned as he stared off at nothing. "I might have forgotten to grab that stuff. It was a busy day today."
Come on, Lance. This was it. Just play the cards right, it was that easy. This was his window. All he had to do was reach out and seize it. And he should probably do that before Pidge got home and shattered whatever this was between Keith and Lance.
As he got up and led Keith back to his room, Lance ran over what he might could say. He was just scared. Lance picked up a pillow and turned to face Keith. "You know, you don't have to sleep on the couch. My bed is much more comfy. Plus, it's not like we haven't shared a bed already."
Lance mentally winced as soon as the words left his mouth. He had probably screwed that up. But he kept the lazy smirk on his face and waited for Keith to respond.
Keith eyed the pillow for a moment and then took it. Lance's heart plummeted. He had screwed up! Why couldn't Lance say the right thing. Why did he have to be so stupid? Why couldn't-
Keith put the pillow down on the bed and then sat down. "I guess that's fair." He narrowed his gaze and poked Lance's chest. "We're not having sex."
Lance held his hands up innocently. Keith eyed him for a moment longer and then left the room to retrieve his bag. Lance let out a long sigh of relief when he did, followed by a victory fist pump. Keith went straight for the bathroom, which gave Lance more time to think. He also went ahead and got more undressed. He did leave himself in a shirt and underwear. The last one he thought over for a bit, unsure of if he should put more on. Would Keith be okay with sleeping with him like this? Maybe it wasn't enough.
He froze when he found Keith in the doorway. Keith silently dropped his bag by the door and then plopped down on the bed. A very weird and embarrassing noise came out of Lance's throat, because Keith was in even less clothing than he was. He only wished that he had paid more attention to Keith's ass when he walked by in those boxer-briefs.
"I-I'm going to go brush my... uh, t-teeth," Lance squeaked. He got to the bathroom and cleared his throat.
He had not planned this far in advance. What was he supposed to do? What was allowed? Obviously Keith had said no sex? But did all of this mean that maybe there was hope for something to happen between them? Since Keith had decided he was only going to sleep in his underwear, Lance removed his shirt.
There was absolutely no alcohol left in his system by the time that Lance left the bathroom. Seeing Keith nearly naked was a very sobering experience. The unfortunate part was that Keith was already under the covers when Lance got back. Not that it technically mattered, since he was about to be under those covers as well. Alone. With Keith. In the bed.
Lance quickly locked the door behind him to make sure that Pidge didn't come home and ruin anything.
As Lance climbed in next to Keith—since Keith decided he would rather leave Lance with the outside of the bed and probably try to push Lance off in the middle of the night—Keith handed Lance the remote to the TV and the controller of his PS4. "Find something to watch," Keith mumbled. "I'm not ready to sleep."
Who said they had to sleep? Nope. Lance was perfectly content with being awake. In bed. Here. With Keith. Nearly naked Keith. Nope. Awake sounded great. Very great. In fact, it was the best thing ever.
"Do you like anime?"
Keith snorted and rested his chin on Lance's bare shoulder. "Of course I like anime. I mean that's kind of where I got-" Lance frowned at Keith when he suddenly got very quiet. "Never mind. I'm cool with whatever you think is good. I just might judge you for it."
"Ha. Like your taste could possibly be better than mine."
They actually took a few minutes to agree on one to watch. But, when they did, Lance was happy. Partly because it was a good anime, and partly because it meant he could actually move on to cuddling with Keith. Which no time was wasted in doing.
He slid under the covers more and Keith actually wrapped arms around Lance. With his back to Keith's chest, Lance sighed with how warm Keith actually was. He would be great to have during the winter. Lance's head was angled so that Keith could see better, tucked partially under Keith's cheek.
It was around the fourth episode that both of them started to drift off. Lance felt Keith's body go lax against him. Lance let out a groan and rolled his body to face Keith. He whispered, "Keith," and poked the boy in the stomach. Keith actually had a nice body. He seemed like such a recluse, though. Lance wondered when he found time to exercise with his constantly busy schedule.
Then again, maybe that busy schedule and not feeding himself properly might also contribute to this. Lance might have pulled back the covers a little to get a better look. He might have trailed his fingers down Keith's side. He was indeed soft. That also caused Keith to jerk in his sleep. A lopsided smile formed on Lance's face.
Reaching out, Lance pulled Keith closer, so that their bodies were touching. Keith groaned in his sleep and blinked his eyes open. "Wh-what?" he asked groggily.
"Sorry," Lance whispered.
Keith rubbed his eyes and yawned. "S'okay." Fucking hell, Keith was too cute sometimes.
What if Keith went to sleep and then things were different tomorrow? Tonight was nice. Things seemed to be going well. Maybe he could take one more risk. Lance reached out and moved some of the hair from Keith's face.
"Keith," he whispered again. Keith blinked his eyes open again and took a second to focus on Lance's face. There noses were basically touching. "Can I kiss you?"
The response wasn't vocal. Instead, Keith reached behind Lance, put his hand on the back of Lance's head, and pulled Lance closer to him. Lance tilted his head as he was pulled forward. Lance's hand came to rest in the center of Keith's chest as their lips met.
Fireworks exploded behind Lance's eyes. Keith moved his hands down to Lance's waist and pulled Lance on top of him. Lance rested his hands on each side of Keith and slid his tongue into Keith's mouth. Definitely worth the risk. One of Keith's hands rubbed at Lance's back, the other slipped just barely into the elastic band of Lance's underwear.
When they separated, Lance stayed on top of Keith. Keith blinked and whispered, "We shouldn't have done that?"
Shit. Maybe not a good idea. "Do you... Do you want me to stop?"
Keith shook his head and kissed Lance again. "I said we shouldn't, not that I don't want to."
This time, Lance moved to kiss Keith. He rolled over and pulled Keith with him. Once he had Keith in his lap, he sat up and wrapped his arms around Keith, moving down to kiss his neck. He got a little venturous and squeezed Keith's very, very nice ass, which Keith moaned at. Well, maybe not as good as his, but Keith sure did have a nice one.
Keith's words from earlier did raise the alarm in Lance's mind. No sex. He really didn't want to overstep things. So, per Keith's request, Lance pulled back. He kissed along Keith's neck and then to his shoulder before placing a final kiss back on his lips.
"We should get some sleep," he whispered. Keith nodded, but stayed in Lance's lap. Lance wanted very badly to take a firm grip on the underwear that Keith had on and yank them down. But he didn't.
Keith's hands on Lance's torso were like fire to the touch. And Keith's ass pressed right against Lance's... Well, Keith probably could tell what he was doing to Lance. And Lance didn't mind at all.
"You're right," Keith finally whispered. He leaned in and got one more long kiss before climbing off Lance. They repositioned themselves to cuddle again, this time with two erections. Because, as Keith had felt Lance's a moment ago, Lance now felt Keith's. "Maybe next time. But we can talk about that in the morning."
Lance beamed at that. At least Keith wanted to discuss things, and he said next time. Which meant that whatever this was that was going on between them, Keith had some interest in making sure it continued. And that was okay with Lance.
Humming in response, Lance turned his head and got one more kiss from Keith. "Goodnight," he mumbled. Keith kissed the tip of his ear in response. Lance smiled as he closed his eyes. Tonight definitely turned out far better than Lance had expected. Hopefully the morning would be just as good.
I was actually surprised by how much I let Lance narrate. Honestly, it just kind of happened. The party didn't feel right coming from Keith's perspective. Although, the parts where they were talking at the party were a little strange to write from the unknowing Lance's perspective. Like I said, I did have to remind myself the rating, because I almost got carried away with a smut scene without meaning to. They were going to have sex. And I was just like noooooooooo. Next chapter will probably pick up in the morning and then do a small time jump. I'm still shooting for 10 chapters for this, but I might make it 11 or 12 depending on how the next few chapters go. And I will be away from this fic for a bit. I have another fic I haven't written in like 2 months, so that needs my attention. But if any of you want to follow me on tumblr, my name is xsonofhadesx on there. I reblog a lot of klance art. And I'm so thankful for the new season coming out Friday. Hopefully they will bless us. I will refrain the best I can from using that stuff in Keith's graphic novel on here, or at least keep it vague. So I don't spoil it for anyone that might not have seen it whenever I post again. I mean, that might be a month from now, so I expect you all to have watched. I am going to go, though. I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. Feel free to leave me a review.
