Chapter 5 - Everyone is Stupid at Some Point in Their Life

Keith, Lance, Hunk, Shay, Allura, and Shiro all stood in the kitchen around the breakfast bar, staring at the surface. Not that they could see the surface. Platters, bowls, dishes, and containers covered the top of it. The large pot containing Hunk's Guiso de Maiz. A charcuterie platter Keith put together and another platter with cut veggies and crackers for the assortment of dips and spreads he'd made the day before. A wrapped plate with the flan. A bowl of fruit salad Allura put together that afternoon.

It was. A lot.

"How many people are gonna be at this party?" Hunk asked.

"Us," Allura answered. "And the Holts."

"So, ten people total?"

"And Uncle. So, eleven."

"There's enough food here to feed twenty people," Lance said. "And you said Colleen is making something, too?"

"Yep," Allura said, snapping the 'p'. "And not just 'something'. Probably enough for another twenty people." She looked at him with a grin. "Bring your appetite."

"Colleen always goes overboard. They'll have leftovers for a week. So will we," Shiro said.

Hunk looked up from the pile of food, directing his gaze to Lance. "I thought Abuelita stuffed guests with too much food."

"Remind me," Lance murmured, "to never let Mama, Abuelita, and Colleen in the same kitchen."

"Dear Lord," Shay interjected. "The three of them together could feed a small country." Then, after looking at the counter again, added, "Or a medium-sized one."

"Should I get the wheelbarrow to carry this all down the street?" Shiro asked. Keith could tell he wasn't exactly joking.

"Or a flat bed truck," Lance suggested.

There wasn't much room on the large, heavy dining room table at the Holts'. Hunk, claiming expertise in the old game Tetris, maneuvered the dishes already placed beautifully on the surface in order to make room for the additions they brought. A large cake graced the sideboard, with cursive writing in green announcing "Congratulations Pidge!" and Hunk muttered under his breath as he put his little, unnecessary flan next to it.

"You weren't kidding," Lance breathed, standing at the entrance to the dining room and staring at the amount of food in awe.

"This is nothing. There were four more people here for Matt's graduation. Twice the food," Keith said.

"Twice? For four more people?"

"Colleen doesn't go by halves."

"I'm glad I didn't eat breakfast," Lance said, patting his belly.

"I think even if all of us hadn't eaten all week, we wouldn't make a dent in this today," Shay declared.

It relieved Keith to see Lance more at ease at the party. It wasn't a complete one-eighty from the night they came for dinner, where Lance hovered on the edge of the room, nervously glancing from person to person until Colleen took him in hand. He winced; he should have been the one to do that, though Lance seemed a bit happier after he returned from wherever Colleen took him.

Pidge thanked him for coming, speaking in a way which told Keith loudly that she wasn't sure why he had come. And with a gift. Yes, Keith had debated it, but Lance was the one to encourage him to go.

"Haven't you been friends with Pidge forever?" Lance had asked the day before.

And, sure, he had. However, her behavior hadn't exactly inspired him to want to go, but Lance reasoned that Pidge had apologized to him, had put some effort into making it right, and if Keith kept the rift between them open he would probably regret it.

"Of course, if she does keep treating you…" Keith began, but Lance had put a finger against his lips.

"We'll deal with that if it happens. For now, take the high road." Then, with a wicked grin, added, "It will make her feel worse."

Keith smiled, remembering the conversation. He knew Lance wasn't a vindictive or mean-spirited person and had meant it in jest, but Keith took it at face value.

He watched Lance, chatting animatedly to Shay and Colleen, gesturing wildly with his hands as he tended to do when excited. He briefly wondered what they were talking about. Whatever it was had Colleen laughing and Shay shaking her head with resigned amusement. He smiled, lifting his glass of rum punch for a sip.

In fact, the whole atmosphere of this party was much lighter and filled with less tension than dinner the other night. They were outside, bunched in groups under a tent to keep off the sun of this hazy, humid day. Except Keith, who stood off to the side watching his family and friends (old and new) interact, though his eyes were constantly drawn to the bright and shining love of his life at the far side of the tables.

"He really does make you happy."

He looked to the side at the shaky statement, into the eyes of his best friend. "More than you know."

"Well, it's pretty obvious from your expression."

"It's pretty hard to hide it when I look at him."

She shuffled awkwardly, but Keith didn't give her an opening to continue. If she were going to try, she would have to put the effort in. He knew how hard this was. His volatile friend wasn't used to dealing with emotions, but it would be one small facet in building her trust up with Keith. If she could do this, he knew she was serious, and while it wouldn't be a fix-all, it would be a start.

Pidge cleared her throat. "I-I know it doesn't seem like it, but I am happy for you."

Keith grunted. "You're right. It doesn't seem like it."

"I know. But, I am. I-I don't think I've ever seen you this happy."

"You sound like Shiro. In more ways than one. He said the same thing."

"So you're going to tell him you love him?"

"I want to. I want to do it soon, but I want it to be special. I'm not sure what to do."

Pidge looked down into her glass of rum punch. "I get the feeling it should be romantic. He seems like the type to like it." Then she looked up at him anxiously. "That's not meant in a mean way," she said in a rush.

"I'd hope not."

She winced. "But yeah, I think super romantic is the way to go with him."

"You're not wrong," he said, his voice neutral.

She took a nervous sip of her drink. "I'm sure you'll think of something."

"Should you be drinking?" he asked, nodding at her glass.

"Dad said it was okay."

"And your mom?"

"What she doesn't know…"

Keith felt a smile tug on his lips. Yes, it would take a long time for Pidge to get his trust again and for things to go back to normal, but he had to feel a small blip of familiarity at hearing Pidge sound like herself again, if even for a brief second. "Maybe I should tell her."

The look she shot him was typical Pidge, and he could see the moment her brain reminded her that things weren't good between them yet. She let out a little sigh and stared moodily into her drink again. Then, her expression brightening, she looked back up at him. "What about on the camping trip?" she said.

"The camping trip?"

"Yeah!"

"I don't want to say it in front of everybody," he said, looking away with an eye roll. "All of you will be there."

"We're gonna be there a couple of nights," she explained. "Take him out to the dock or something when the stars are out and everyone is asleep? It will be private and perfect."

He thought about it. It did seem like a romantic set up and he knew Lance would melt at anything romantic. Moonlight, stars, quiet lake? Hit a lot of romantic checks, for sure. Pidge's idea was perfect.

"I'll think about it," he said, turning his head to look down at her. He allowed a small smile, which finally brought out one of her own. "It's a good idea."

"Lance is a delight."

Keith looked up from his slice of graduation cake. He was attempting to eat it, so as not to offend Colleen, but he was so full that the sugary lump on his plate made him feel slightly nauseous. He was poking it around hoping to make it look like he'd eaten more than he had.

Colleen settled in the spot at the table across from him. Shit, now he'd have to eat the cake. Despite that, he smiled. "Yeah. He's amazing."

"I just had a bit of a talk with him. I'm glad Katie apologized. He said Shiro did too?" she asked, then gave him a grim sort of smile when he nodded. "Good. Lance also said he didn't accept them yet."

"No," Keith said, now shaking his head. He shoveled a forkful of the cake into his mouth and his stomach rolled in protest.

"Hm. That makes me happy. Neither of them deserve it yet," she said. "But, it's a relief my daughter has a conscience and does know how to do the right thing. She's a stubborn one and not someone who likes to admit she's wrong." Colleen sighed, rubbing at her temples. "Katie is so self-centered sometimes…"

"All the time," Keith countered.

Colleen chuckled. "Okay, yes, ninety-five percent of the time," she amended. "But she does love with her whole heart and I know she loves you. And misses you. It's unfortunate it clouded her judgment."

"It is. I don't want to lose her as a friend."

"But you also don't want to have a friend that doesn't support you."

"Exactly. And I could see if Lance was a bad person, or was abusive or something to me," Keith said, thinking about his conversation with Hunk.

"But, he's not."

"Not at all."

"Like I said, he's a delight. As are his friends."

Keith grinned. "Hunk and Shay are pretty much the best people in the world. I can't think of anyone nicer." He mumbled around another bite of cake, "Present company included."

"I won't argue with you there," she agreed with a laugh. After a moment, she added in a more serious tone. "I hope Katie makes this right. I couldn't bear to see your friendship break up."

The cake soured in his stomach. "Are you telling me to forgive her?"

"Good lord, no," Colleen said. "She's been a complete ass and deserves to suffer. So does your brother. No. Neither you nor Lance should let them off easy."

"We didn't plan on it."

"Good."

"And," he said, thinking he knew what she wanted him to assure her of, "I told Lance that."

"I hoped you had. I told that poor, sweet soul that I could tell he's one of those pleasing types. You know, always doing whatever he can to make everyone happy."

"He is."

"Yep," she said. "And that's a good thing, but I also told him he can't let people walk all over him. I have a feeling some people have in his past. Thank goodness he has such honest friends like Hunk and Shay. And now you. I can tell he's worried about it, but I know it will do Katie and Shiro good to be yanked up by their shorts."

Keith snickered. "True."

Colleen reached across the table and laid her hand on his, the one holding his plastic fork. "I know Katie is heart-broken and truly sorry for the way she's acted. Don't go easy on her, but don't let a wonderful friendship die because she was stupid. Everyone is stupid at some point in their life, but it doesn't mean we should hold it against them. Katie and Shiro both love you very much. They'll learn from this."

"You're right," he agreed, and he did think that. Shiro and Pidge acted like assholes for completely stupid reasons, but he'd known them both forever – Shiro his whole life and Pidge most of it. He knew, at their hearts, they were good people. Whatever this was wasn't normal for them. He'd already seen their efforts. Lance probably didn't recognize it as such, but Keith did. As long as they kept at it, Keith knew they could rebuild his trust. It would take awhile, but it would come.

He also knew Lance would eventually forgive both of them. If for no other reason than his own peace of mind. Lance wasn't one to hold grudges. At least, that's the impression Keith had of him. He'd gleaned the knowledge from his own observation of the object of his love, but also from conversations with Hunk and Shay and, surprisingly, Lance's mother. Sophia McClain was a no-nonsense woman who talked plain and blunt, in a way Keith found refreshing and honest. He'd only had a handful of conversations with her, but he liked her a great deal.

She had called one night two weeks ago, when Lance had already gone to bed, and grumbled about time zones when Keith had answered the FaceTime app on Lance's laptop, which was left open on Keith's desk. Keith admitted he had trouble wrapping his mind around time zones himself and had immediately endeared himself into Sophia's heart (to be fair, he'd already done that weeks before) and they had a nice talk. He found out a lot more about Lance and opened up about himself to the kind-hearted woman smiling at him from Miami.

A slight smile appeared on his face now as he thought about the talk. He hadn't told Lance about it. He told Lance his mother had called, but not that they had talked for over an hour. He kept that tidbit for himself. There were a few things he told Lance's mother that he hadn't yet told Lance.

Specifically that he loved Lance.

His slight smile grew as he thought about it. He was ready to say it, especially now that Hunk had reassured him the day before. He knew he shouldn't have worried about what Lance felt – the boy made it obvious he loved Keith, and Keith couldn't wait to hear the words. But first, he would have to say the words himself and he'd have to make it special.

Lance deserved that and more.

Colleen patted his hand, breaking him out of his thoughts. "Don't force the cake, Keith," she advised, looking at him with an amused smile. "I don't need any of you puking all over the yard."

He laughed. "Okay, I won't," he said as she drew her hand away and he deliberately put his fork on his plate and shoved it to the side.

Both of them turned to look toward the table where the spiked punch bowls sat. Lance was listening to Pidge and Hunk talk. He noticed that Pidge included Lance and he could see her vibrating with stress, but she was doing it. Lance responded – not with his usual enthusiasm, but he did. Keith let out a long breath.

"See. She's trying," Colleen said. "Come on. Let's see if we can destroy these fragile, new friendships with a game of Pictionary."

Keith turned his head back to her. "Seriously?"

"Pictionary will either make us all friends, or make us all want to kill each other. Either way, it'll be fun!"

"Oh gods, why did I decide to come?"

"I'd rather play Cards Against Humanity," Pidge grumbled as they all gathered at one of the tables. Sam was busy setting up two easels to hold white boards. Matt was unpacking the game from its box.

"We can play that later," Colleen decided. "Right now you're all buzzed enough to make this interesting."

"Lovely idea, my dear Colleen," Coran said enthusiastically. "Lance, my boy, you must be on my team!"

"I think you'd rather have Keith, dearest Uncle," Lance replied. "He's the artist here."

Coran chuckled, pinching his fingers at the end of his mustache. "Oh no, dear boy," Coran said. "When Keith has to draw under pressure, it's quite awful."

"I can't believe that!" Lance exclaimed. "Not Keithy!"

"Believe it," Shiro said, sending a teasing look at Keith. "His Pictionary skills, or lack of them, are legend in Garrison City."

"But he's such a beautiful artist!" Shay protested.

"Unfortunately, they're telling the truth," Allura said. "Keith is a beautiful artist when he can take his time. But I've seen children do better on Pictionary than him."

"Fuck all of you. I'm sitting right here."

"Oh, don't pout, babycakes," Lance consoled. "Oh shit, I'm not supposed to call you that," he said when Keith shot him a betrayed look. Shiro and Matt burst into laughter. "I bet you'll do a great job and be the best drawer on your team."

Keith crossed his arms and rested them on the table, not bothering to respond.

"We'll draw lots for teams," Colleen announced. "There's eleven of us, so I'll be the host and we can have teams of five."

"The Holts take game time seriously," Allura explained as Hunk, Shay, and Lance looked on at the organization of the game.

"They host game nights all the time. It's pretty blood-thirsty to be honest," Coran added.

"There's only been bloodshed once," Matt said calmly. "Oh wait, twice."

"Twice!" Lance yelped.

"A particularly vicious Monopoly game," Coran said in a grim tone.

"The doctor said removing the thimble wasn't that much of a problem," Shiro said.

"True. And it cleaned up pretty good," Matt agreed.

Lance turned his head to Keith and mouthed, 'What the fuck?'

Lance, Keith, Coran, Pidge, and Allura ended up on one team (Lance named it "Team the Best") and Matt, Sam, Shiro, Shay, and Hunk were on the other team (Matt named it "Team Better than the Best"). Colleen stood between both easels with a stack of the cards in her hand and made a grand gesture to begin the game. "Players, make your first dice roll to see who goes first," she commanded.

Team the Best rolled a two while Team Better than the Best rolled a five, so they won the right to start. Matt stood up and went to the easel where Colleen handed him a card. He looked at it for a minute, then sighed. "Shit."

"You have one minute," Colleen said, setting her phone to countdown mode. "And…go!"

Matt began drawing and his team shouted their guesses. Shiro guessed 'ditch' and got it right.

"How did you know that!?" Lance demanded, gesturing to the white board, where Matt was doing a victory dance. "It's just a couple of lines."

"What can I say?" Matt said, taking a bow. "I'm just that good. Shiro! Roll the dice and move our piece forward!"

Lance scoffed as Colleen drew another card and glanced at it. "It's an all play," she announced. "Team the Best, send up your first contender."

Keith elbowed Lance in his side. "You're up first."

Lance hopped up, but leant down to press his forehead against Keith's. "Now's the perfect time to read my mind, babycakes." With a little laugh, he skipped away before Keith could grab him.

Lance put on a little pout when he read the card, gave Colleen a sharp nod, and grabbed the dry erase marker. Colleen shouted "Go!" and started the timer.

Both teams started yelling out guesses the second both markers touched the board. Both drew furiously, stick figures at first. Keith kept glancing between Matt's and Lance's board, trying to guess what they were drawing, but had no idea what the stick figures were supposed to be doing. Halfway through their time, Sam yelled "Dancing!" and got it right for Team Better than the Best.

"Crap!" Lance explained, slamming the cap on his marker. "That's an unfair word! Keith doesn't even know what dancing is!"

Everyone laughed. "Yeah, Keith's not much of a dancer," Shiro said, shooting his brother a sly grin.

"Tell me about it," Lance bemoaned as he wiped the board clean. "He's never danced with me."

A silence fell over the group as all eyes went to Keith.

"What?" he asked, shrinking in upon himself.

"You've never taken this poor boy dancing?" Colleen asked.

"N-no. I mean, you know I can't dance!"

"Just because you can't doesn't mean you shouldn't!" Allura said, shooting Keith a frown.

They fell into a confused babble of protests, all defending Lance and criticizing Keith, who held up his hands in defense. At least Hunk and Shay refrained, though they both watched, pressing fists against their mouths to hold back their laughter.

"Why are you all ganging up on me!?" Keith cried, raising his voice over their angry ones.

"Lance," Allura said, "do you like to dance?"

Lance, who was also trying very hard not to laugh, nodded. "I do."

"He doesn't just like it," Hunk put in. "He loves it. He lives for it."

"Keith…" and here Shiro used his disappointed voice that grated on Keith's nerves like a wire brush.

"Shut up! I can't dance!"

"I beg to differ, Keith," Hunk said, holding up his hand with his pointer finger raised. Then, in a move of utter betrayal, held up his phone in his other hand. "I seem to have video of a karaoke performance that negates your statement."

"Oh, fuck no!"

"Oh my god, we have to see this!" Allura shouted.

"No!" Keith protested, but it fell on seven pairs of deaf ears.

"Is this proof that Keith dances?" Pidge asked eagerly.

"It is. The most epic rendition of a Panic at the Disco song you've ever seen," Shay assured them.

"Text it to me! I have my tablet here and the screen's bigger. That way everyone can see."

Keith folded his arms on the table and hid his face on them. He didn't need to see this again. He didn't want anyone to see this again. He thought only Lance had the copy of the video, but he should have known Lance would share it with Hunk and Shay. And everyone else now. Gods, the humiliation.

A few seconds after the ping from Pidge's tablet – a Pidge who seemed to forget she was trying to get back into Keith's good graces – he heard the opening music from his drunken performance and he groaned. His voice, a little tinny through the cell phone recording, still sounded nice, but it was so embarrassing because he knew what kind of moves he did during the song.

Everyone was laughing, exclaiming "Oh my God!"'s and "Are you kidding me?"'s throughout the whole thing. He felt a hand on his back, rubbing small, consoling circles, but he didn't respond to Lance's loving touch. He was thinking how much he wanted to bury himself somewhere in the yard and stay there for a few years.

He cringed more when the high note at the end of the song hit. He could hear the cheering of the karaoke crowd underneath the cheering of his former friends and family. He almost lifted his head to get up and strangle Matt when he said, "And I thought the 'babycakes' name was the perfect embarrassing thing to torture Keith with. But, this…" and he trailed off into a laugh.

"Aw, don't pick on Keithy," Lance protested. "He did an awesome job singing that song!"

"The important thing," Shiro said, "is you can dance, Keith, so you'd better take Lance out sometime soon."

Finally lifting his head, Keith glared at all the laughing people surrounding him. "Fine. Okay. I'll take him dancing somewhere. Can we stop the humiliation train and get back to the game?"

Team the Best won.

Cards Against Humanity followed Pictionary. The sun had sunk below the tree line. Sam turned on lights he and Matt strung up under the tent. The overwarm day settled into an overwarm night as they all settled around the largest table. A slight buzz still resonated in most of their minds – the rum punch wasn't strong, but on a hot day, everyone had indulged themselves more than normal and everyone had a sweaty, red Solo cup of punch at their elbow as Colleen dealt out the cards.

To no one's surprise, Colleen won the game. They didn't follow the rules; they played until they went through all the cards and counted who had the most black cards. It was late by then, and Coran went home because he had to open the restaurant early Sunday morning. They'd broken off into little groups, chatting and laughing over the muted music Matt had rigged up.

Keith found himself half-asleep on the wooden, two-seater swing under the large oak tree he used to climb with Pidge when they were kids. He looked up into the dark canopy above him, wondering if he would remember the foot-and-handholds he'd used to climb. Should he attempt it with a slight buzz in the dark?

No, he had Lance's head on his shoulder and a red Solo cup sweating in his hand, making a damp ring on his shorts. He felt sticky and gross – he definitely needed a shower – but he didn't feel like moving. Lance, with his toes pressed into the small, worn patch in the lawn in front of them, kept the swing swaying slightly forward and backward. Keith let out a little sigh and tilted his head enough to rest it on Lance's.

"This was fun," Lance said.

"It looked like you had a good time," Keith responded, a sort of non-committal and neutral response.

"I did. Colleen and Sam are such good people. And Uncle is a riot!"

Keith chuckled. "Coran is a unique individual, for sure," he agreed.

"But he's so nice, too. Like, I like that he's a little odd and over-the-top. He's quirky. But his heart has to be at least as big as Hunk's."

Keith hummed. "I don't think anyone has a heart as big as Hunk."

"True," Lance agreed. "Maybe my Abuelita. Mama's mama. I can't wait for you to meet her."

"I have met her."

"I know, I know. I mean in person. She is going to stuff you full of food," Lance declared, poking lightly at Keith's stomach.

"I don't think she'll have to put in much effort. I have a feeling I'll be by her side the whole time begging for more food."

He heard Lance huff out a laugh. "You'll have to get in line. The rest of us do the same. You may have to fight someone."

"I could probably take on your niece and nephew."

They were quiet for a bit, watching Allura, Shay, and Matt laughing over something on Matt's phone. Shiro and Sam sipped at whiskey that Sam must have broken into from their liquor cabinet. Hunk, Pidge, and Colleen were at one of the tables, arguing friendly-like over something. It was nice and everyone seemed to be in a good mood. The tension had almost disappeared – the tendrils of it hovered over the group, but for the most part, things felt almost back to normal.

"Shiro talked to me earlier. After the Pictionary game," Lance said, his voice breaking Keith out of his reverie.

Keith lifted the glass to his lips, frowning slightly at the warm and watery rum punch. His ice had melted. "I saw you guys at the punch bowl."

"Mhm." Lance reached to intertwine his fingers with Keith's free ones. "He thanked me."

"For what?"

"Bringing you out of your shell."

Keith snorted. Shiro would say something like that. "My shell?"

The damp warmth of Lance's body shifted away a little, though he kept hold of Keith's hand. Instead, Lance straightened in order to be able to look at Keith. "Yeah. He said when you were here, you were kind of an introvert."

"Well, he's not wrong," Keith said, nodding slightly. "I didn't have many friends, really. Just Pidge. A couple from college who I hung out with a few times, but no one I'd consider a good friend or anything."

"Aw, Keithy…"

"I didn't hate it, though. I mean, I was happy? I had Pidge and Shiro. Matt, too, though he was already away at college. The Holts. So, I guess I never felt like I was missing out on anything?"

"Shiro said you've changed, though."

"I have?"

Lance nodded. He twisted his body so he could reach Keith's hair to tuck back a lock. "You should have put your hair up," he murmured. "Yeah, he said old Keith would never have gotten up and sang in front of anyone like that."

"I was drunk."

"That's what I told him, but he said even drunk you were always really shy about putting yourself forward." He smiled. "But it's more than just drunken karaoke. He said you have a confidence now you never had before. You have friends. Not just a boyfriend, but new friends. You're going out and doing things…"

"I dated all the time," Keith protested.

"A shitty dinner out with a shitty guy, right?" Lance asked, then continued when Keith nodded. "You weren't really dating. At least not real dating. It's more than dinner and a movie." He pursed his lips. "I don't think we've done the dinner-and-a-movie thing yet, ourselves."

"We did dinner-and-a-show," Keith said.

"Well, yeah. Close."

"I see what you mean. I think. You're giving me new experiences. Or, some new experiences. Some stuff I've done with either Shiro or Pidge, but a lot of it's new."

"I think that's what Shiro meant." Lance resettled back down, slouching so his head could rest back on Keith's shoulder. "Maybe he realizes I'm a good influence on you."

"S'about time," Keith muttered, turning his head to plant a kiss on Lance's. "You're the best influence on me."