Just fyi, this is very much an AU where Shiro was never a clone and the lionup never changed and they still went to Bob's game, the name of which I can never remember, and if that's a problem then… stop reading I guess idgaf.

I've had this done for 3 days now lol but my tablet was dead and I kept forgetting to charge it…

"Okay, but there are an uneven number of us. How are we gonna do teams?"

"Well, one team is going to have to be smaller, duh."

"Isn't that unfair?"

"Hah! If Hunk and I pair up you could have a hundred person team and we'd still win!"

"…Lance, we all saw you with that cosmic space guessing game. I highly doubt that."

"WELL IT'S NOT MY FAULT KEITH CAN'T DRAW! Besides, Taboo is different. Hunk and I have never lost Taboo."

"I can so-"

"Suuure Lance-"

"Guys, he's not-"

"Alright bigmouth, you're on! Me and Hunk versus you three."

"Yeah? I'll show you how it's done. Prepare to eat your words Serrano!"

"You're ON!"

"…Can we just play already?"

In retrospect, maybe they should have taken Lance a little more seriously. Shiro could only watch in stunned awe as Hunk picked up yet another card.

"Hey babe, slurp slurp," was what he said upon reading it, which at the beginning of the game would have confused Shiro – after three rounds, however, he had come to expect these sorts of ridiculous clues. Lance, of course, understood it with little problem.

"Cactus!" He exclaimed, and Hunk beamed.

"Yup, next one. Ooh okay, key part of backup plan E?" He asked, and Shiro watched as Pidge's eye twitched in annoyance. He sort of felt bad for her – she had been very excited to show off her Taboo skills, and to her credit she was actually very good at the game. The problem was that no amount of eloquence could make up for what was clearly years of inside jokes and references.

"E was…vinegar?" Lance guessed, one of the few times in the game he'd sounded uncertain. Shiro briefly wondered what on Earth this backup plan was about, but decided he probably didn't want to know.

"No that was D. E was-"

"OH, lipstick!" Yup, he definitely didn't want to know.

"Got it! Next is…the best birds."

"Lizards?"

"Yes-"

"That's not even a bird," interrupted Keith, who had been getting increasingly baffled and had finally had enough.

"You're just jealous because we're winning," retorted Lance, turning to stick out his tongue.

Keith bristled, his face going red, but before they could start an argument Hunk intervened. "We're on a time limit Lance," he reminded serenely without looking up from the card in his hand. Lance huffed, but turned away from Keith.

"Alright what is it?" He prompted.

"The villain in my first nightmare."

Lance perked up, a grin spreading across his face. "Mrs. Clause!"

"Correct," said Hunk, reaching for another card. Before he could touch it, however, a ringing chime alerted them that the timer was up. "Darn," said Hunk, sitting back down. "How many was that?"

"Seven…I think," said Lance, counting on his fingers.

"I swear, you two are like an old married couple." Pidge grumbled, gesturing for Keith to draw a card. Matching grins immediately sprouted across both boys' face.

"We are," replied Hunk seriously, at the same time as Lance said "He's my husband!" Shiro watched bemusedly as they turned their faces and leaned toward one another in unison, both clearly not expecting the other to be there given that they wound up with Hunk smashing his mouth into Lance's nose and Lance bumping his lips awkwardly on Hunk's chin.

They drew apart with a loud laugh from Hunk and an indignant screech from Lance, and Shiro couldn't keep his amused snort down. Pidge didn't even try, guffawing shamelessly, and after a moment of bemused silence Lance joined in, leaning against Hunk's shaking shoulders as he dissolved into his own giggles.

Shiro shook his head in fond exasperation before glancing down at Keith to see if he was ready to give their hint. He was met with the sight of Keith thin-lipped and silent, the taboo card crushed in his fist as he glared at the floor.

Worry immediately welled up in him – he didn't know what was wrong, but whatever it was he didn't want to let Keith fester with it. He reached over and gently took the card from Keith, putting it aside before closing his hand around his friends in a hopefully reassuring gesture.

"I think Keith and I are done for the night," he announced to the room, before drawing Keith up and leading him out of the room. He led them to his own room, only letting Keith go once the door had slid shut behind them. Then he dropped Keith's hand and moved to the bed, patting the space opposite him. He spread his arms as Keith clambered up, a silent offering of a hug that Keith accepted after a moment's hesitation.

"What's wrong buddy?" He asked quietly once Keith was settled. His friend frowned, and Shiro gave a slight squeeze, at once reassuring and coaxing. "It's just us here. You know I won't judge you Keith," he reminded.

A moment passed, and then the tension drained from Keith's body and he slumped against Shiro. "It's Lance," he grumbled, turning his face into Shiro's shoulder so that the words were almost lost into the fabric of his shirt.

"Lance?" Shiro asked, absently petting the back of Keith's head as the wheels in his mind spun. Keith and Lance had been getting along fairly decently lately – by their standards at least – and even their little spat during the Taboo game had been minor. Had they taken their fighting private?

Keith swatted his hand away and sat back, his face settling into a frown. When he spoke, his voice was low and gruff, and Shiro had to lean in to hear him. "He's just so…" He paused, searching for the right adjective, "cute." Okay, that hadn't been what Shiro was expecting. He pulled his head back, looking down at Keith in surprise.

"Cute?" He echoed.

Keith nodded, his face red. "And beautiful. And funny. And perfect," he added earnestly, as if it were important that Shiro know each of these things. Shiro looked down at him, surprised at the ease with which he acknowledged his feelings. When he had first taken him under his wing Keith had been hurt and angry, scorned by his own caring and fighting against getting close to people despite how he longed for the connection. Seeing how far he'd come, opening his heart up again and accepting his feelings without a hint of shame, warmed his heart.

But even as Keith had opened up to his feelings, something about them was causing him to be upset. Had he approached Lance and been spurned? Shiro decided to just be direct – Keith generally responded well to that approach.

"You like him," he said simply. Keith nodded again. "And he doesn't like you back?" Shiro surmised.

"He's with Hunk," Keith replied, looking down. Shiro's heart clenched at how sad he looked.

"He told you that?" He asked carefully. Lance and Hunk were very close – their game earlier being a great example – but Shiro had always assumed that the closeness could be attributed to them being best friends. Keith was not very experienced with interpersonal relationships – it was possible he had misconstrued something.

Keith shook his head. "I …saw them. Together," he said dully, his fingers picking at the scratchy, standard-issue blanket beside him. Shiro's heart ached for his best friend and he pulled him in close again.

"I'm sorry," he said helplessly. Keith didn't reply, but tightened his arms around Shiro's shoulders and sank into the embrace.

"I think Keith and I are done for the night."

Hunk looked around at Shiro in surprise, his laughter petering off as he opened his mouth to ask what was going on. He was met with the sight of the pair already leaving, hands clasped and not sparing a backward glance. As he watched, Shiro pulled Keith even closer until he was pressed against his side, all the while never letting go of his hand.

He turned and shot a concerned look at Lance, who returned a tight smile as he leaned over to straighten the pile of Taboo cards. So he had noticed. Damn. He wanted to ask how Lance was doing, but a loud sigh from his other side reminded him that they were not alone.

"Some teammates!" Pidge grumbled, tugging the cards from Lance unceremoniously and tossing them back into their box. "Leaving me high and dry to go and canoodle!"

Lance's eyebrows tightened imperceptibly, and Hunk frowned. "Pidge!" he chastised.

"What?" She complained, throwing her hands up in the air. Hunk gave her a stern look, and she huffed and dropped them, crossing them over her chest instead. "Fine, geez. You guys are booring!" Hunk shrugged, glancing at Lance again and trying to catch his gaze. Lance wasn't cooperating, and Hunk didn't know if he was avoiding the gaze or if he just hadn't noticed – either way, he was concerned.

Pidge huffed. "I guess we'll have to find something else to play since my teammates abandoned me," she complained.

Hunk glanced between her and Lance and came to a quick decision. "Actually," he interjected before she could get too far into her search, putting a hand on Lance's shoulder and shoving slightly to convey his plan to leave. Lance glanced back at him, then shrugged and pushed to his feet. Hunk followed suit, giving Pidge a rueful smile as he started steering them to the door. "Lance and I have something to do too so… we'll see you later?"

Lance called out a quick "Bye," as Hunk shoved him through the door, a loud shriek of "I CANNOT BELIEVE THIS!" following them from the common room.

"My room," he told Lance, who gave him a small, grateful smile. Hunk grinned back as his friend turned and began making his way down the hall.

The rest of the walk was silent, but not uncomfortable. Lance's shoulders had loosened and he leant slightly into Hunk's shoulder as he walked, taking the comfort that Hunk offered easily. By the time they made it back to his room, the worry that Hunk had been feeling had more or less dissipated.

As soon as they were through the door he turned to his friend and opened his arms. Lance wasted no time, falling into the hug with a grunt and letting Hunk maneuver them both over to the bed.

Hunk rubbed his back soothingly. "Do you want to talk about it?" He asked.

Lance shook his head. "I'm okay," he replied. Hunk raised a disbelieving eyebrow but before he could vocalize it, his friend huffed. "I am," he insisted. "I mean, yeah it sucks and I'm not… happy about seeing them together but…" he broke off with a sigh. "It's not like I didn't know right? So I'm okay, I just… have to get over it."

"Is there anything I can do?" Hunk asked, concerned as ever when one of his friends was struggling. Lance hummed for a moment.

"Just… want cuddles," he decided.

Hunk smiled down at him. "Anytime," he promised, kissing the top of Lance's head before pulling them both down to lie on the bed so that they could cuddle properly. It was a familiar routine whenever one of them was upset, and it wasn't long before they both dozed off, safe in the comfort of their best friend.

I honestly think that I need to write these kind of silly fics once in a while, it's definitely getting me writing more. Even tho it's not the greatest haha.