Ch.3: Keith might not hate this
Keith follows as Pidge leads the group into the restaurant. Lance is close behind her,arguing about something for a class they're in. He's honestly not sure what the hell it's all about, too busy lost in his own thoughts. While he was, under no circumstances, excited to come to this ghost hunting thing he has to admit that he's kind of glad he did now.
Besides, it's not like he does shit on his weekends anyways.
He thinks back to when they were leaving the apartment a few hours ago. He was beyond nervous, arguing with Pidge on their way to the car about how he's terrible at meeting new people and he'd end up being a fourth wheel while the other three hung out.
Pidge, being the oh-so delicate flower she is, told him he was a fucking dumbass if he thought no one would want to talk to him.
Reminded him he's cooler than he thinks, or she wouldn't spend time with him.
It made him smile a little.
When they had reached the little blue Ford Focus he had gone back to nervous, though, trying to hide behind Pidge and ignore that the weirdo in the car staring him down . He was terrified he'd already fucked up somehow when Hunk spoke up and started talking to him.
It was nice.
Hunk is nice.
He discovered on the ride that Hunk has this incredible ability to make you feel comfortable. At home even with a stranger.
Keith also learned that Lance had a staring problem.
It wasn't until Lance finally spoke to him that Keith started to really relax.
Which is why he was able to be more himself at the factory. Totally worth it, too, with how nervous it made Lance and Hunk.
It was a little weird when Lance clung to him that one time, though. Not awful, just weird.
After all, if you push aside the ghost shit and basically rely just on looks, Lance is actually his type.
When Pidge said Lance was easy on the eyes he had assumed the guy was gonna be muscular with a chiseled jaw.
Which, god no. Too much like Shiro.
Imagine his surprise, though, when he saw a tall, dark, lanky teen with gorgeous eyes that kept staring him down . Then his momentary joy when he saw his actual body. It was not muscular at all, all long limbs and smooth skin and as soon as the guy got out of the car and stretched Keith almost swallowed his tongue.
Those hips were amazing to Keith, which was weird because they weren't exactly anything to write home about. He doesn't have much of an ass and his hips are kind of just boney and there, but Keith found himself staring anyways.
A lot, actually. Even when they were finally inside the building looking for 'ghosts', his eyes would wander down when Lance was turned away from him.
It was weird.
"Hey, Keith!" Hunk calls, pulling Keith from his thoughts as a familiar heat spreads across his cheeks.
"Huh? What's up?" Keith asks. They are set up in a booth now, Pidge and Keith on one side and Lance and Hunk on the other. He and Hunk are on the outside, since Lance and Pidge oh-so-not subtly scrambled for the window seats.
Honestly Keith is glad. He'd rather talk to Hunk than Lance. Hot as he may be, he's kind of annoying.
"You were in a daze."
Pidge smirks next to Keith, "Whatchya thinkin' bout, buddy?"
"What I want to eat." Keith says, pointedly staring at the menu in his hands and Pidge laughs.
"Yeah, I bet. You get the same thing every time, man."
He simply shrugs, "That's because it's good every time. Also, this is the only place I've ever found that makes it."
"What's the dish?" Hunk asks, looking excited which makes Keith excited, because maybe Hunk would make this meal.
"It's eggplant rollatini." Keith explains, getting a confused look from the guy.
"It's basically eggplant parm with ricotta cheese stuffed inside." Pidge adds and Keith nods.
"Interesting…" Hunk smiles, "I've never had eggplant before, actually."
" What !?" Keith gasps, "How have you-? But aren't you in college to be a chef? How have you not had eggplant?"
"Well...I'm actually in college to be an engineer." Hunk admits, "I just really like cooking in my down time."
"Oh. Oh wow." Keith blurts out, incredibly impressed.
"Are you in college?" Hunk asks and Keith looks away awkwardly.
"No…" Keith mutters, sinking into his seat a little, "It's not like I've never thought about it, but I just...can't afford it."
"There's programs for that, you know." Lance points out, flashing him a smile that Keith was not preparedfor, "How old are you?"
"Twenty."
"Hm, I know our college has a scholarship for people wanting to come to college that covers your age."
Keith falls silent. He can't go to college. Pidge knows why, he knows why, but he's not sure he wants these guys to know why. It's personal, and it's not like he even knows what he would go for.
Thankfully, before Lance can speak up again, their waitress is there asking for their orders. Hunk orders chicken scarpariello, Pidge orders tuscan style ribs, and Lance gets shrimp fra diavolo. It all sounds delicious, honestly, but Keith's mouth waters at the thought of having his rollatini again.
It's been years.
Three, he thinks.
He misses it.
Pidge, Hunk and Lance talk about school some more as Keith quietly looks around. He doesn't socialize this much in a normal day so he kind of needs a break from talking. Instead, he observes how different the restaurant is from the last time he and Pidge came.
He was seventeen and she was fourteen, both of them had scrounged up change and chore money for weeks to afford to not only eat here but pay for the gas to drive up on their own, too. It was fun, but he felt a little guilty.
When he was still living with Shiro he always felt guilty about money, since he couldn't use his own to pay for anything and Shiro refused to let him get a job during high school.
Still, it's amazing how much the place has changed in such a short period of time. What used to be basic brown tables for couples had transformed into cute white tables with little wire patio chairs to match.
They don't look all that comfy, but who knows?
They certainly look good and that's probably all that matters to the owners.
The tight booths they used to have are now, thankfully, much more comfortable and the table can be moved more to either side if needed. The color is also white and Keith can't help but think how stupid it seems to have everything white in a place you eat.
A place where you eat spaghetti.
Then again, how stupid is it to spend your Friday night out looking for ghosts in an abandoned factory?
Very .
So to be fair he's probably lost his rights to call shit out on being stupid for a little while.
Even if he wasn't actively looking for ghosts himself, he did kinda lay down on a pentagram that was 99% likely to have been made with some kind of blood.
"Watch your hands, the plate is hot." A voice calls from over him and he looks up to see their waitress handing out their dishes. "Please enjoy!" She says once she has finished and hurries off to her next table.
"Ok, so," Hunk begins, eyeing Keith's plate, "I need to try those." He cuts off a piece of his chicken and holds it out, "Trade?"
Keith stares at him for a moment because, well, the only people he's shared food with are Shiro and Pidge, and he definitely was not expecting someone who is basically a stranger to be the third. "I…" He begins before nodding, "Sure." Cutting off a piece of his, the two trade forks to try the other's meal.
Shit this was good, too.
"Oh my god ." Hunk grins as they return the forks to each other, "That is amazing. I can't believe I've never had it before, I feel cheated."
"So did I when I first tried it." Keith admits, a small smile on his face.
"Hunk, yours looks good I wanna try some." Pidge calls out and Hunk turns his attention to her, the two splitting their meals.
"Hey, Lance," Hunk nudges the boy beside him, "Why don't you trade with Keith, too? His stuff is delicious." He's got a smirk on his face and Lance gives him an annoyed look before turning to Keith.
"Wanna?" Lance asks and Keith shrugs, cutting off a piece for his and switching forks to try his shrimp.
It's good.
Of course.
"That is actually really good." Lance smiles, "I guess you have good taste in some things. Even if you don't have the brains to believe in ghosts."
Keith smirks, "Funny, I always thought people with brains liked to have proof of something."
"Ohhh, you want proof?" Lance asks, a competitive look in his eyes, "I'll show you proof." He goes to pull out his phone and Keith rolls his eyes.
"If it's a video of a ghost you can count me out. That shit is fake."
"You say that, but I mean we had a ghost encounter today. Or did you forget?"
Keith laughs, "Oh you mean when you climbed poor Hunk like a tree because the wind blew past you? Trust me, I'm never forgetting that."
"Whatever," Lance huffs, practically sprawled out across Hunk to shove his phone in Keith's face, "There's also photos-!"
"Fake."
"Audio recor-!"
"Try again."
"Testimony-!"
Keith raises a brow, an amused smile on his face as Lance gets more and more flustered, "Are you joking?"
" Alright," Lance bites out, "What is it going to take for you to believe? A ghost coming up and slapping you in the face?"
He shrugs, "Yeah, that'd do it."
"How about if I slap you in the face?" The teen grumbles and Keith shakes his head.
"Nope, doesn't count unless you're dead."
"If I die before you believe in ghosts I'm personally coming to you and slapping you right in the fucking face ." Lance is getting frustrated, his cheeks are flushed, there's a challenging look in his eyes and there is now somehow less than four inches between his face and Keith's. A feat he achieved after crawling over a very confused-quickly turned exasperated-Hunk to sit across from him for this argument.
Keith can't help it anymore and he bursts out laughing. Not only because it's funny but also because he's a little uncomfortable with the proximity and his only real option is to laugh at the boy and hope he backs off.
Thankfully he does.
"So Keith," Hunk, now displaced to the window seat, calls when Keith and Lance awkwardly go back to their meals, "If I were to make those rollatinis...would you be my taste tester?"
Keith looks over at him, wide eyed and excited, "If you made these, Hunk, I would be your husband ."
Hunk laughs, "Taste tester is good enough. I'm actually planning on making everything we've had tonight." He says and Keith is more than a little excited at the idea of italian food that doesn't cost $15 for just a plate. "Starting next weekend. You and Pidge should come eat them with us."
"Yes!" Pidge exclaims with Keith and Hunk laughs.
"Can... neither of you cook?" Lance asks, eyeing the two with amusement.
"Keith can make some basic stuff," Pidge admits, "But...not…" She looks at him guiltily, "... Well …"
Keith winces at the words, however true they are. "I'm better than Pidge, but, the bar is pretty low when comparing yourself to someone who burned water."
"You cannot burn water, Keith ." Pidge huffs, "I burned the pot by letting the water evaporate and leaving the dish to sit too long."
Lance bursts out laughing, "Is that supposed to make it better?"
" Obviously not , but it does make it factual."
"Yes, of course, how could I mess that up?" Keith's voice is dripping with sarcasm, earning him a kick from Pidge under the table.
The rest of dinner is pretty quiet, everyone finally focusing on eating their food before they head home. On the drive Keith has a quiet conversation with Hunk as Lance and Pidge play on their phones. He lets out a small noise when Pidge's head falls on his shoulder that makes Hunk glance back.
"You guys are pretty close, huh?" Hunk asks, looking to the sleeping girl.
"She's basically my little sister, honestly." Keith answers, his voice quieter so she doesn't wake up.
"It's just cute, is all." Hunk smiles, shrugging, "Pidge isn't great with physical attention. Seeing her comfortable enough to curl up to someone is nice."
"She does it with you, too, doesn't she?" Keith asks and Hunk laughs a little as Lance begins to snore in the passenger seat.
"Yeah, kind of. She gives us high fives and will sit beside us on the couch but she doesn't lean into us. Lance also kinda just drags her around and she goes with it, but it's us seeking her out, not the other way around." Hunk explains, shrugging a little.
"That's still impressive for her." Keith points out, "She likes you guys a lot."
"I'm glad." Hunk smiles at Keith through the rearview mirror, "We love our little Pidge." They are silent for a few moments, Hunk obviously wanting to ask something, before he finally works up the courage. "So do you think you'll come next time?"
Keith looks at him surprised for a moment before leaning back in his seat, allowing Pide to curl up closer as a tired smile crosses his lips, "Yeah. Count me in."