Ch.10: Lance DID sign up for this
They head upstairs, a very nervous Lance trailing behind Keith as Pidge records them coming up and Hunk records from the back. At least he's surrounded by people if anything happens. Hunk will no doubt protect him, even if the other two won't.
"I think you should give whatever bear is up there a hug." Pidge says as she expertly walks up the stairs backwards, "You know, in memoriam."
Hunk nods excitedly from behind, "Absolutely!"
Keith laughs a little and Lance can't see his face but he can imagine the amused expression perfectly, "What if there's more than one? Am I just supposed to spend ten minutes hugging all the teddy bears?"
"Yes." Pidge says.
"Awww that'd be so precious."Hunk practically coos and Keith shakes his head, amusement in his voice when he speaks.
"We'll see."
They arrive in the nursery and look around. As expected there's a large amount of stuffed animals, and Lance counts at least six bears. He can't help the cocky smirk he gives Keith.
"So? Gonna hug all your poor underappreciated buddies?" Lance teases and Keith smirks right back.
"Of course." He goes through the room and gathers up every single bear, it ends up being ten. Pidge is snickering and Hunk has an excited smile on his face before Keith picks them all up in his arms at once for a hug, gently placing them all back in their previous locations after. "There ya go, guys." Keith looks around the room before turning to Lance. "Hey, why don't we arrange these guys in the scenarios you mentioned earlier? We can use the footage over your voice so no one has to see how stupid you looked talking about it."
Lance glares over at Keith for a moment before flashing him a flirty smile, "Keith, if you wanted to keep my cute face to yourself, you should have said so sooner."
Keith's eyes look about ready to pop out of his head, "Wh-what are you-!?" He groans and stares at the last bear in his hands a little too intently, "Who would think your face is cute? Don't be ridiculous. When you get excited you look like an overactive hamster."
Lance smirks, "Aren't hamsters cute?"
"Keith used to have one when he was little." Pidge points out, "He named it Hyde and hamster proofed his room so it could always be out when he was home."
"Now isn't the time for useless Keith history facts." Keith grumbles, blushing a little as Hunk fawns over how cute that sounds.
Lance has to admit (to himself only), it is pretty cute, a little Keith with a little mullet hanging out with a little hamster buddy.
Shit, no, that's actually fucking adorable.
"Anyways," Keith calls, waving the bear in his hand in Lance's face, "Are we gonna set these guys up for scenarios or just leave it be?"
Lance's face goes about ten shades of red at the cuteness that is an embarrassed Keith waving a teddy bear around. "Y-yeah, let's...um...scenarios."
Keith raises a brow, "O...kay...I call the bear being tossed."
"Sweet, I'll do the cult circle." Lance grins, going about gathering a bunch of the stuffed animals up and rearranging them into a circle with their back to each other, Hunk filming it as Pidge films Keith. He glances over at them and sees Keith gently lift the bear off the chair and place it on the floor in front of it.
"Why didn't you just push it?" Pidge asks and Keith gives her a grim look.
"Enough bears have been harmed in this house." He picks the bear up and gives it a hug and pat on the back that somehow wakes up butterflies in Lance's stomach, "Sorry you had to relive that moment, buddy."
"That's probably not even-" Pidge stops herself and just rolls her eyes and records before they all huddle together where Lance and Hunk are. "Nice circle."
"Right? Isn't it terrifying?" Lance beams and Keith laughs.
"How will I ever get to sleep tonight after seeing a bunch of baby toys in a circle?"
"Shut up and sit down. It's time to try and summon someone." Lance orders and Keith plops down next to the circle of stuffed animals. "Sally, if you or any other spirit is here hanging tonight, please communicate with us." He says, ignoring Keith and Pidge's matching snickers at 'communicate'. "I have set down a flashlight at the doorway, so if you could just show us you are here by maybe turning it on…?" His voice wavers a little and he can hear Hunk muttering under his breath, 'don't do it, don't do it' next to him.
The four sit in silence, watching the flashlight from the cramped bedroom floor. Clearly it was not a room made for 4 teenagers and recording equipment. The house's lights are all off, save for the light on the camcorders. Lance's nerves are shot and he's quickly muttering with Hunk, begging the spirits not to turn the flashlight on. Pidge hushes them and it's suddenly so dark and silent, Lance instinctually moves closer to Keith since Pidge and Hunk are surrounded by equipment.
It's so quiet he can hear Keith's even breathing, and his own slightly panicked, he can hear the rustling of the equipment and Pidge's legs when she shifts them after a while, but other than that the house is silent. It's terrifying.
"Hey, look!" Keith exclaims, making Lance shriek and Keith look at him like he has five heads, "...A monkey." He finishes, pointing to a monkey in the window.
"Wha-?" Lance gapes at the toy before glaring at Keith, "What the fuck does that matter!?"
"I dunno, kinda reminds me of one of Shiro's old toy monkeys."
"We're not here to talk about your brother , Keith!"
Keith rolls his eyes, "No, we're here to sit in the dark and watch you and Hunk silently panic over literally nothing ."
"It's not nothing !" Lance huffs and Keith looks down at the miniscule distance between them mildly surprised for a second before he turns to look Lance in the face again.
"It's nothing in this room." Keith points out before standing up and stretching, his shirt riding up a little so Lance can see his pale stom-
Nope.
No.
Not going there.
"C'mon, Lance, didn't you say someone saw the demon girl in the kitchen once?" Keith asks, oblivious to Lance's interal freak out. "Let's head down there."
"Y-yeah," Lance squeaks out before clearing his throat and standing up, "Yeah." He repeats in an even tone this time, "Let's go to the kitchen, guys. But first…" Moving in front of a confused Keith, Lance uses his foot to sweep the stuffed animals out of the circle he put them in.
"Awwww kicking them, Lance? That's so mean." Keith mocks from behind him.
"I'm not risking anything with a creepy cult circle." Lance mutters before heading out of the room.
Pidge frowns and looks to Keith, "Hey, um, can you take the camera for me for a second, get some descending shots and establishing ones in the kitchen?"
"Sure...why?" He asks and she sighs.
"I gotta take a piss, man."
"Oh, well, I mean, we can wait for you." Keith offers and Pidge scrunches up her face in distaste.
"I don't know how thin these walls are and I don't need you guys hearing me pee. I'll be down in a minute."
"Um...okay…"
Pidge gives him a quick nod and bolts for the toilet.
It's only fair.
Lance is pretty sure she hasn't went to the bathroom since dinner, probably too excited about the new toys. "Alright, well, let's head down there." He calls, allowing Keith to lead the way.
"OH MY GOD, LANCE!" Keith gasps once he enters the kitchen ahead of them and Lance screams, trying to climb Hunk before Keith adds, "It's another teddy bear!" He grins, zooming in on a small stuffed bear in the kitchen window before turning to flash Lance a shit eating grin.
"Words will never be able to describe how much I hate you right now." Lance hisses, climbing off of Hunk when Pidge comes back, looking around excitedly.
"What happened? I heard Lance screaming! Did you get him?" She asks Keith, who grins.
"Of course." He says, handing her the equipment before placing a flashlight on the kitchen counter. "All set?" Keith asks and Pidge and Hunk nod before the little shit comes to stand by Lance on the other end of the room. "Alright! We are in the kitchen now, set up a nice little flashlight here for nothing to happen to. If there are any spirits in here, though, feel free to give a little tap." His voice is dripping with sarcasm and annoying the shit out of Lance, but the lights are all off and hunk and Pidge are across the room from them so he's subtly sticking as close to the asshole as possible.
"This room is even creepier…" Lance grumbles before side-eying Keith, "Or maybe I'm just more on edge because someone decided to fucking prank me."
He flashes Lance an unapologetic smirk before moving forward some, "Oh demons!" Keith calls and Lance tenses up. "Demons, come on."
"What are you doing!? Don't talk to it!" Lance shrieks, reaching out to try and pull Keith back to him, but the idiot was already over next to the counter with the flashlight, Pidge sliding in beside Lance to get a better shot. He moves much closer to her.
"We are literally here to talk to it, Lance." Keith points out, "Look, demon, I'm gonna level with you. That shit upstairs was weak. Really weak. You might not want to scare Lance and Hunk, but I assure you they are here for you to do exactly that. I don't wanna stand here in a silent room again, so let's try some stuff to make you turn it on."
"If you like us staying here, turn it on!" Pidge calls from next to Lance, ignoring his hand now on her shoulder.
Nothing happens and Lance isn't sure if that's better or worse.
Suddenly Keith crouches down next to the flashlight, "If you don't like us staying here, turn it on." He says and almost immediately the light flashes o-THE LIGHT FLASHES ON!
Lance shrieks and tries to climb on Pidge, which is a futile effort. He flails around next to her a bit, though, while Pidge and Keith laugh. "WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT!?" Lance yells as Keith turns off the flashlight and walks back over to him, grabbing his shoulders and sitting him down on a chair in the room.
Pidge doing the same to a very silent, very petrified, Hunk across the room.
"Why didn't we get holy water!?" Lance fumes, glaring at Keith, "I told you we should have met with a priest and got holy water!"
The boy just laughs beside him, "Holy water!" He snickers, like it's ridiculous. Which it is not . "Aw, man. So much better than upstairs." Keith is quiet for a minute, one hand staying on Lance's shoulder until he finally calms down some. As if on cue, Keith speaks up again, "So, demon, if you really don't want us here, turn it back on."
"Keith," Lance calls weakly, but Keith just flashes him what might be a reassuring smile if they weren't fucking with a demon .
"I don't think he has the power to turn it back on, do you Pidge?" Keith asks, crouching down beside it again.
"Doesn't look it. What a weak demon." She adds and Lance's heart is back in his throat.
"I really think they don't, Lance." Keith laughs before the light turns on again, making Lance scream and Keith's laughter get louder.
"ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS RIGHT NOW!?" Lance yells and runs over to Keith and the flashlight, looking to see if maybe he's doing something to make it happen.
He's not.
"Don't forget we get to sleep here tonight." Keith reminds him and Lance pales.
"Please turn the light off, demon." Pidge calls from next to Hunk.
"Don't do it." Lance warns but suddenly the light begins to flicker, "Oh my god." His hand instinctively reaches out and clutches Keith's shoulder as it goes completely out. "Why, why, why...Keith dios mio eres tan estupido , no puedo-" He begins speaking fast, and in spanish until a loud rolling noise comes from behind them. "Why, Keith, WHY WOULD YOU TAUNT THEM LIKE THAT?"
"Relax, it's just a car going by." Keith says and Lance glares down at him.
"No it isn't, you ass. Get up off the floor and you can see it's the flashlight rolling on the counter ." He hisses and Keith stands up, catching it rolling a bit more before finally hitting the wall.
"Oh yeah, so it is. What a wonderous act of paranormal activity. A cylindrical object, known for rolling, just rolled."
"You should have never talked to it, dude! What's wrong with you?" Lance asks, getting more panicked.
"Okay, okay," Keith reaches out and grabs his shoulders, "Let's go back to the living room and turn on some lights, alright? You and Hunk obviously need a break.
The butterflies come back for Lance, but they are quickly lost in the pit of terror currently in his stomach so he just nervously follows Keith out of the kitchen as Pidge brings Hunk. He and his best friend are both sat down on the couch before Keith and Pidge turn on some lights.
"It was odd," Keith admits when they all sit down, "But there are perfectly logical explanations for all of flashlights aren't on tight so they can turn off and on at any time, and the rolling is probably from just us moving around so close to it."
"I don't know if you are trying to make me feel better…" Lance mutters before glaring over at Keith, "Or debunk my evidence."
"Honestly? Little bit of both." Keith admits and Lance chucks a pillow at him.
"Fuck off you aren't doing either."
"It's pretty exciting, though…" Hunk admits quietly, "We actually got to see evidence."
"Yeah," Lance admits, before it really sinks in, "Yeah...Yeah! We got some evidence!"
"Don't get too excited, Lance, it's not huge if I can easily debunk it." Keith points out and Lance grumbles.
"Still impressive."
"Well, it's a lot better than your wind blowing in the factory." The boy admits, making Lance light up.
"Oh my god if you are admitting that, it must really be something!"
Keith rolls his eyes, "Anything is better than the wind you idiot."
There is a long silence between the group, Keith and Pidge dicking around on their phones as Hunk and Lance just sit there in awe of their discovery. Soon enough, though, Pidge speaks up, "Are you guys good now? Can we check out the basement?"
"The demon basement?" Hunk asks weakly and Lance gulps.
"Yeah, we're ready." He says, standing up and turning to Keith, "This is where the real shit happens."
The man just raises a brow, "So you're admitting the rest wasn't real?"
"Wha-? No! I meant serious !"
"So...the other stuff wasn't serious ? You trying to tell the demon to step up his game?" Keith teases and Lance pales.
"N-no, no. I am absolutely not saying that. No demons need to show themselves in any way."
"But then...we won't get anything." Pidge points out and Lance glares at them both. They're fucking with him, of course. Right before going somewhere terrifying they decide to-
Oh.
Oh.
Figures assholes would try to make you feel better by being bigger assholes.
"Shall I lead the way?" Pidge asks, heading towards the basement door and Keith bows to her, gesturing in the direction.
"By all means."
Lance rolls his eyes but gives them a fond smile, "Dorks."
Hunk chuckles beside him, camera out and filming as they head to the stairs and go down. "It was never proven that satanic rituals were held here, though, right?"
"Well, I mean, the landlord cleaned it all up so I guess there isn't anymore." Lance says and Keith scoffs beside him.
"Of course."
"No homeowner is gonna leave a pentagram on the floor of their fucking house, Keith."
Keith shrugs, "Maybe not."
"There is supposed to be a mark in the concrete from where it was, though." Lance admits and he can hear Hunk's footsteps slow behind him. "B-but it'll be fine! We, um…"
"We…?" Keith prompts and Lance elbows him once they all come to the basement floor and fan out around the staircase.
"I know some, um...Latin...that might help."
"You searched for ways to cast a demon out, didn't you?" Pidge asks, practically beaming with amusement.
"Oh shut up, we couldn't get holy water so I had to have some sort of backup."
"Fair enough." Keith shrugs, "Let's venture out, shall we?" He offers, holding up a flashlight before leading the way, "Oh hey, it's the hole in the back wall your demon friend is supposed to live in."
Lance and Hunk tense up, "Y-yeah...so it is…" He mutters, going closer with his own flashlight and looking in. "They say that a demon can easily infest a home if a cult performed rituals, sorta opening a portal for them to come out.
"Cool, cool." Keith says, pulling a folding chair from next to the stairs and opening it next to the hole, placing the flashlight on it. "Alright, demon. If you wanna eat my heart, turn the light on.
"Are you crazy!?" Lance gasps.
"Well, I mean he isn't responding down here in his little lair. Seems kind of like a wimp to me. Used all his juice for upstairs."
"Dude! I found the pentagram!" Pidge exclaims and Keith comes over, "You gotta lay on it, dude. It's, like, your thing now."
"That is not your thing, Keith, please don't make that your thing." Lance pleads and Hunk nods.
"Let's make hugging cute teddy bears your thing!"
"Nah, this is cooler." Keith decides, laying down on the black mark on the floor as Pidge sets the chair and flashlight up at the end of his feet, "Rock and roll, buckaroo!" He says and Lance is 900% sure it's just to drive him up the wall because he knows literally no part of Keith would ever say that otherwise.
How is he so chill!?
This guy's an idiot!
"If you want to eat my heart, as said before, turn the light on. Orrrrr, maybe you wanna eat Lance's heart? Our new pal, Lance McClain. Resident paranoid geek and apparent conspiracy theorist nerd, on top of paranormal fanboy."
Lance scowls, "Don't drag me into this! And I'm not a fanboy!"
"You are what you are, Lance. We're a packaged deal, demon, so if you want a taste, better flick that light on." Keith says and immediately the light flashes on and Lance's face drops to pure horror. "The light's on, Lance! Check it out!" He teases, lifting his torso off the ground a little to point at it, "We got him!"
"Oh god…" Lance groans, hunching over to try and calm himself.
"Please turn it off…" Hunk says quietly from beside him and the light immediately goes out. "...Oh...um...thank you…?"
" Dios mio ." Lance hisses, "Can we just go upstairs now?" He asks weakly and Keith and Pidge shrug.
"Sure thing, dude. Let's go." Pidge says, leading the way, followed by Hunk as they turn off their equipment.
"You gonna be alright?" Keith asks when it's just the two of them at the bottom of the stairs, "We, um...we can get holy water for next time." He offers and Lance would feel all fluttery, and probably will whenever he looks back on this, but right now he's too freaked out so he just nods weakly.
"I'm fine, we're definitely getting holy water next time."
The boy next to him just grins and gestures to the stairs, "Go ahead, I'll clean up down here."
Lance's eyes go wide and he grabs Keith's wrist, "Absolutely not. We're all going upstairs."
"But...the flashlight and chair are literally right-"
"Upstairs. Now ." Lance orders, making Keith laugh a little.
"Alright, let's go upstairs."
The four of them gather in the living room, setting up their sleeping bags. Hunk and Pidge are suspiciously quick to set themselves up in one spot, Pidge on the outside, then Hunk, then somehow Keith, leaving Lance on the outside with only Keith beside him.
"Hell no! We are rearranging!" Lance huffs, "I'm not being on the outside and I'm not only having Keith beside me! I know what you're trying to do, just like at the hotel! Can you quit dicking around for tonight?"
Pidge and Hunk share a look and Hunk nods.
"I would kinda like to be next to my bro after tonight…"
"I supposed you two did get pretty scared…"
Keith twitches, "So...I'm gonna be on the outside with just Lance next to me?" He groans, "He's just gonna end up spooning me again."
Lance goes bright red at the memory of this morning when he woke up to the surprisingly comfortable position of being wrapped around Keith, "I-I will not! Don't say 'again', either!"
"Why wouldn't I say again? It's happened before. Literally today, even." He grumbles as he sets his sleeping bag up next to Lance's, "Just... try to cling to Hunk."
"Of course I'm gonna cling to Hunk! Why would I cling to you when I have Hunk as an option!? Besides, I don't see me getting any sleep in this place anyways."
Keith rolls his eyes and looks over to Lance, "Don't keep me up."
"I won't!"
About an hour later, Pidge and Hunk are sound asleep, the larger teen facing Lance with an arm draped over his wide awake friend. Lance feels jipped, and terrified, before he noticed Keith still awake, on his back with his phone hovering in front of his eyes
"Keith." Lance whispers, surprising Keith and making him drop the phone right onto his face.
"Fucking-! What, Lance ?" Keith hisses, moving his phone and rubbing his nose.
"Don't get pissy with me, you weren't even sleeping." Lance huffs before smirking, "Too afraid?"
"No, Lance, I'm not you. I just can't really ever get to sleep before, like, 4 AM." Keith admits and Lance raises a brow.
"Why?"
"The longer I'm awake, the longer I'm in control."
"...Oh…?" Lance turns onto his side to face Keith, "Why do you need to feel in control?"
The man looks over at him with a blank expression, "Bad things happen to people when you aren't looking."
"So...you are afraid of ghosts?" Lance asks in awe and Keith glares.
"No, Lance, I'm afraid of real things like fires and murderers and robbers . Ghosts aren't real. A house where we aren't the only people with a key is real."
"No need to get snippy."
"There is a need." Keith grumbles, turning on his side to face Lance, "I don't believe in ghosts, Lance, but I knowreal dangers exist."
"You never seem concerned about it during the day."
"Inhibitions are lost as you get tired, Lance. My nerves spike at night, especially after Pidge falls asleep."
Lance frowns, "I'm sorry. If it would make you feel better you can go sleep next to her."
Keith sighs, surprising Lance by moving a little closer. "No, I don't need to sleep beside her. She let me sleep closest to the door so I'm fine. Besides, I'm not gonna make you attempt to sleep on the outside."
"This place is terrifying to me, Keith." Lance admits, almost missing when Keith moves even closer at those words.
"If you're so scared, why do you want to do this so badly?"
"Because it's exciting ." Lance smiles at him, "If we could be the first people to get undeniable evidence of ghosts and demons, we would go down in history. Even if we don't, the fear and adrenaline is still a rush. I'm terrified but I love it."
Keith gives him a tired smile and Lance feels the butterflies in full force. "It is fun." He admits and Lance lights up, "Watching you scream like a little girl." His lips curl into a teasing smile and Lance huffs, playfully punching his shoulder.
"Shut up, you dick." His eyes venture past Keith to see the snow falling out the window, "So do you have plans for christmas?"
"Probably...dinner with the Holts." Keith raises a brow, "Where did that come from?"
"It's snowing now." Lance gestures behind Keith, "Made me think of Christmas. Just a little over a week left."
"You have a big family, right? I bet you guys get really into christmas." Keith says and Lance nods.
"I've made everyone a gift. My sister Veronica gets a new scarf with her favorite flowers on it-camellias, my brother Marco is getting socks with little crochet images of his pitbulls in them and my brother Luis gets a new ugly christmas sweater because it sorta became a tradition for us. Mom gets a blanket and dad gets a nice sweater." Lance closes his eyes and smiles, imagining their faces when they open their gifts. "Then my little niece Luisa is getting a little purse with a Pomeranian on it and my nephew Marius is getting a blanket." He opens his eyes and sees Keith staring at him in awe.
"Jesus you must have been working on those all year," Keith mutters and Lance laughs.
"Nah, it took about five months of all my free time. Now that we are doing this, though, it might take a year next christmas."
"So...did your brother Luis seriously name his little girl after himself?"
Lance finds himself actually giggling , "Yeah, she looks like a miniature him, too. Luckily she doesn't act it."
"So...is Marius...Marco's kid?" Keith asks and Lance shakes his head.
"No, he's Veronica's. Marco and his wife don't have a kid, she doesn't want to have them and he doesn't really care either way. Their dogs are their babies."
"So he's gonna love the hell out of those socks, then."
Lance beams proudly, "Yup!" He mirrors Keith's smile, "So what about your family? What do you do for gifts?"
Keith frowns, "It's just me and Shiro...since our parents passed we've spent it with the Holts and buy them little things. Shiro and I had always bought presents for Matt and Pidge, and by the time our parents passed away Shiro had already been dating Matt for a while so he helped me pick out presents for their parents the first couple years." He smiles again, no doubt remembering something he doesn't want to share, "They're amazing parents, just like ours were."
"I'm sure." Lance mutters, finding himself staring at Keith. "B-but um...what...time is it?" He asks weakly and Keith checks his watch.
"2:55, why?"
"Um...in 5 minutes is the witching hour. You know, when ghosts get real intense."
"To mock the holy trinity." Keith adds and Lance's eyes light up.
"Yeah! How did you know?"
"I love horror movies, Lance, I know my fair share of ghost and demon lore." He explains before smirking, "However, unlike you, I have the common sense not to believe in it."
Lance huffs, "Whatever. Why don't we get the recorder and set up a camera and stay completely silent for, like, five minutes at 3 am?"
"Can you handle it?" Keith asks, already getting up to grab the bag on the chair next to him.
"Yes, Keith, I can handle it."
"Pretty ballsy when you've got Hunk holding you, huh?"
"It's probably more because you're here." Lance admits and Keith almost drops the camera, "Careful, dude! That shit isn't cheap!"
"I-I know that!" Keith stutters, his face bright red as he sets the camera on some bags at their feet to record them and then lays back down next to Lance, turning on the recorder, "Alright, we've got five seconds." He counts down and then they both go silent.
There's no sound, at all. Hunk isn't even snoring tonight, and Pidge never snores. Just drools like a goddamn waterfall. So yeah, no sound. Just laying in a demon's home, in the dark, after spending the evening with Keith pissing them off. He moves closer to Keith, almost getting into his sleeping bag until he feels just Hunk's hand on him. Keith's not going to hold him, so he definitely isn't losing that contact.
Still, the move prompts a cocky look from Keith that he tries to squash with a glare.
It doesn't work.
Five minutes is a surprisingly long time and in that time he hears every small noise in the house, his nerves starting to break when Keith finally speaks.
"Alright, five minutes is up." He crawls down his sleeping bag and shuts off the camera, placing it and the recorder back into the bag on the chair before laying down again and turning to Lance, "Another waste of time that just has you more nervous."
"Shut up. It was a good idea."
"It was a dorky idea."
The two continue to talk for a little while longer and before Lance knows it, it's morning and he's waking up,which doesn't seem right. He doesn't remember falling asleep.
Neither does he remember getting into Keith's sleeping bag with him.
So, yeah, Lance woke up holding Keith in his arms.
Again.
Second night in a row.
Except this time Keith is holding on as well, his arms wrapped tightly around Lance and it's nice . It's warm and comfortable and relaxing and for a moment he contemplates going back to sleep, but nope . The assholes behind him have to ruin everything with their hushed giggles.
"He left me for Keith. How cute is that?" He can hear Hunk whisper as Pidge tries to muffle her snickering.
"So much for being too scared to sleep, huh?"
"Everyone feels more at peace when their in a loved ones arms." Hunk points out, "Apparently Keith's are more comforting than mine."
"Pretty sure Keith was awake when Lance fell asleep, dude. Probably didn't start hugging him until he knew he was out."
"Would you shut up ?" Lance groans, wincing when he sees Keith begin to stir in his arms.
Welp, this is pretty familiar.
"Told you that you'd do it again." Keith mumbles sleepily into Lance's chest, his arms moving between them to push the boy away. "What time is it?"
"You have a watch." Lance points out as Pidge answers.
"Almost 9."
"Oh shit! We gotta get ready and go, then!" Lance exclaims making Pidge and Hunk just grin.
"We've been ready for about an hour." Hunk admits, bringing Lance to finally notice that Keith's sleeping bag is the only one left out. Everything else is packed.
"Why won't you ever just wake us? Jesus!" Keith groans, standing and stretching before heading for the bathroom, "I'm showering first, since Hunk has already informed us of your water nymph tendencies."
"Would you quit calling it that?" Lance whines to Keith's retreating back. "Well, should we go clean up our messes?" He asks once Keith's has completely left and Pidge smirks.
"Already did."
"It's really not scary downstairs during the day." Hunk admits.
"Ugh, you guys are ridiculous." Lance groans.
The ride back is pretty uneventful, Pidge finds the footage of them during 3 AM and laughs at how scared Lance looks, but admits it was a pretty good idea. Well, she said 'it was pretty good gimmick', but he chooses to believe she took the idea seriously. Even tthough it's 17 hours it seems to take a lot less time to get home and in, well, not no time , but seemingly less time they arrive at Keith and Pidge's place. They opted out of stopping for the night, everyone just rotating naps, so it's a little after 4 AM when they arrive.
Everyone is pretty well rested, but definitely eager to sleep in their own beds, and somehow Pidge and Hunk manage to leave Keith and Lance alone in the apartment, insisting they grab the last of the stuff.
"If you guys want, you can sleep here tonight." Keith offers awkwardly, and while they both know he means it, they also both know Lance and Hunk aren't gonna take it but he needs to fill the silence.
"Nah, we're right down the road. Besides, I miss my bed."
"Yeah, me too."
Pidge and Hunk come back up and they all say goodbye to each other.
"Have a good christmas, you guys! I'll be sure to bring you lots of sweets!" Hunk promises and Lance sees Keith and Pidge's eyes light up.
"You, too!" Pidge says, grinning wide, "Have fun with your families."
"I hope Luis's sweater is ugly enough." Keith adds, making Lance blush for some reason.
"I-it should be, it has his face on it after all." He jokes and Keith actually bursts out laughing.
Pidge and Hunk exchange confused looks.
"Well, anyways, see you guys next year!" Lance says, giving them a wink and finger guns as he backs out of the door.
"Oh my god." Pidge groans.
"Get out of our apartment." Keith adds, his voice equally pained.
Lance follows Hunk to the car grinning, his mind full of ghosts and the image of Keith wrapped in a sleeping bag on a snowy night.
He's not sure which is scarier.
Notes:
Sorry, I've been sick. Fucking allergies this Spring are kicking my ass.
I actually fell asleep at one point while writing this in bed on my phone and deleted the entire thing, I almost lost my shit, but luckily since I didn't close the page at all I just ctrl Z'd that shit.
Still, though, it was terrifying for a second.
Fucking love ctrl Z.
This was also supposed to be MUCH shorter but I got super into Keith and Lance talking in the house and like now I'm two hours late for bed on a work night yaaay
No regrets