Chapter 4 - I'll Eat Your Something

A soft brush of lips against his forehead stirred Lance from his sleep. Lazily, he brushed his hand upwards, his eyes still closed.

"Come on, sleepy-head," Keith called teasingly, having dodged Lance's hand. "Time to get up."

Lance squeezed his eyes tighter with a little grunt. The soft laugh above his head echoed no remorse, however. "I just took a shower, so it's free. I let you sleep in long enough." With that, a couple of fingers dug lightly into his side, under his ribs.

Lance squealed, awake now as he tried to roll away. "Nooooooo," he whined between gasps and giggles.

Laughing, Keith crawled on top of him, straddling his hips and, oh yes, that was nice and now he was wide awake. "Hunk and Shay are already eating the breakfast I made," Keith said, planting his hands on Lance's chest as he leaned down, wearing a little smirk. "It's almost ten."

'Keith really should, um, move,' Lance thought to himself. Being straddled like this was not helping him, or his normal morning wood problems. And this devil above him knew. Lance could tell by the way that Keith squeezed his own thighs against his hips.

Keith leaned closer and Lance took the opportunity to palm him in the face and shove Keith away. "Ugh, get your morning breath off me. I swear, it's the worst."

Keith relented, rolling off to Lance's side, the fragile futon creaking with every movement. "Like you smell like a bed of roses, darling."

Lance lifted himself enough so he was leaning back on his elbows, and turned his head to look down at his grinning boyfriend. "Better than yours."

"I beg to differ, sweetheart," Keith argued. "You could kill a full grown elephant with your breath."

Lance scoffed, putting on an offended expression. "And yet, here you've chosen to wake up to me every morning."

"Sacrifices," Keith said with a little shrug.

With a roll of his eyes, Lance turned to curl into the warmth of Keith's body, tucking his head under Keith's chin ("to avoid that breath, Keithy"). He breathed in, instead, the damp sandalwood smell of Keith's body wash (thanks to Lance changing his body products, thank you very much). He let out a little sigh of contentment as Keith's arms tightened around him and he lay sinking into a half-drowsy, half-awake state.

The last couple of days had been heavenly, almost. After his talk with Colleen, he felt a momentary surge of confidence. If it wasn't him, maybe he could just be himself. Maybe tone his personality down a bit. He knew he was charming and fun. If Shiro or Pidge could let themselves see it, maybe it would help things. Not that they had much of a chance since Sunday.

To his relief, Shiro and Allura both worked full days, leaving Lance, Keith, Hunk, and Shay to their own amusements. They used this time to explore Garrison City more, and Keith played the role of tour director, taking Lance and the other two on adventures and visits to all Garrison City and the surrounding area had to offer. It was a nice place and Lance liked it very much. There was a lot to do, but nothing overwhelming. A museum of Native Americans at Garrison University, a surprisingly wonderful Art Gallery, a lovely hike through a redwood forest, and a swim in a little, hidden swimming hole a few miles from the city.

Shay and Allura struck up a deep friendship right away. By the end of the first night, Saturday, they were tucked away onto the couch together with wine glasses, talking in the way two women can do, wrapped up in their own conversation and thoroughly enjoying it. The friendship only grew from there.

On Monday, Lance and Hunk had a long talk which did much to revive his confidence further. Hunk once again offered to say something to Pidge, but Lance once again begged him not to. If it continued, he assured Hunk, he would tell Keith to either take care of it or take them home. He wasn't about to let two people bully him away from Keith, and he was confident enough to know…to believe…Keith now. Keith was his, heart and soul. He knew it. He believed it. Hunk, he could tell, was proud of him.

Monday and Tuesday were a little tense in the evening when Shiro and Allura were home. Allura was short and terse with Shiro, though she wouldn't let her irritation show to her guests. She was the quintessential and poised hostess, and concentrated on making them happy – though it was Hunk and Keith who had settled into the kitchen to concoct delicious meals both nights. The pair competed in a friendly way in the kitchen to amaze their family and friends, a great preview to what the Great Lasagna-Off would be.

Colleen, Sam, and Pidge stopped by on Tuesday night for a 'quick' drink and to deliver a few quarts of raspberries from Colleen's garden. Hunk and Keith immediately started making plans for the berries while Shiro and Sam talked. Shay, Allura, and Colleen opened a bottle of wine, and Pidge parked herself at the breakfast bar. Lance decided to try once more with her and sat down to ask her about school. She shot him a slight glare, said she had graduated and wasn't in school anymore, then ignored him to focus back on Keith and Hunk. His heart sank, but he tried again and asked if she planned on graduate school. Hunk answered for her after a moment, replying that Pidge had asked him about Altea University and the program he was in.

Lance gave up and went to join the women.

He also tried a few times to start conversations with Shiro. Shiro wasn't as bad as Pidge. He'd actually answer Lance, but it was in a vague way that told Lance the man had no interest in talking with him. Shiro wouldn't meet his eyes, answered in mostly one-word answers, and didn't engage in the conversation. Lance, stubborn as he sometimes was, kept on.

He could see Shiro was an affectionate man, which explained why Keith was so affectionate with him. He was positive he learned it from his father and from Shiro. Thanks to Colleen, Lance knew Shiro had a deep relationship with someone named Adam in high school, who went through with the plans they made to go to UCLA together. Their relationship fell apart and Shiro eventually took up with Allura near the end of his time at school.

Shiro expressed his affection openly and happily. He was always touching Allura in a loving way and giving her sweet smiles, compliments, and kisses. His arm was constantly around Keith and he wasn't averse to giving hugs to any of his friends, even to hugs for Shay and an occasional arm slung around Hunk when telling a particularly bad joke.

Yet, Shiro's obvious affectionate ways with everyone else, painted in huge letters that he didn't like Lance. Aside from their first handshake, Shiro hadn't touched him at all – not even a friendly grasp of the shoulder. With a man obviously comfortable with physically showing his affection for every single person he came across, the fact he wouldn't show it to Lance spoke volumes about his thoughts.

Lance couldn't believe they had another week and a half. He knew if he said the word, Keith would pack their things and leave in a heartbeat, but Lance didn't want to do that. He wanted to fix this, but he didn't know how. Allura and Shiro were off the next week, and Matt would be home as well. The group made plans for a bunch of things to do together, including a camping trip for two nights, and he couldn't see himself handling the silence and hostility from Shiro and Pidge.

He made an effort to clear the dark thoughts from his head and stop his brooding mind. He reminded himself how awesome he was and that people did love him. Allura was completely wonderful to him. And, he thought, burying his face further into Keith's chest, Coran adored him. Colleen and Sam adored him, too. He wasn't some usurper trying to steal Keith away. If Shiro and Pidge couldn't see it, too bad for them. He'd have Keith in the end, he was sure. They were in love, after all.

Keith just needed to say it.

The thought made him clutch at Keith's t-shirt a little tighter. Keith chuckled lightly and kissed the top of his head. It soothed him, of course, but he couldn't help but wonder what held Keith back. What was he waiting for? Lance thought he made it abundantly clear he loved Keith, just as Keith made it clear he loved him back. Was he waiting for the right time? True, saying it now might be a bad idea, with how things were. Maybe Keith didn't want to say it where it would look like he did it only to make Lance feel better?

Either way, he loved Keith. Keith hadn't said it yet, but he could tell Keith loved him. Could tell Keith desired him. And Keith was perfection. And perfection thought he – Lance McClain – was worth something.

And nothing would come between them. Nothing.

"So, you're not planning on Lance finding a ring in this escape room are you, Keith?" Allura teasingly asked as Shiro navigated out of Garrison City that afternoon, looking over her shoulder to the pair behind her.

Keith laughed and shrugged, giving Lance a little smirk. Lance felt his heart stop. "No, I won't copy Hunk when I do it."

Ok, there was no chance his heart would start again anytime soon. Especially when he caught Shiro's eye in the rear-view mirror of the mini-van and felt Pidge's snort next to him. The elation he felt at Keith's hinting about marriage died a tragic death at their reactions. Even the merry laughs of Hunk and Shay did little to soothe his hurt.

But, Keith did say when. That meant. A lot.

And it killed him inside that he couldn't feel excited about it.

He did manage to muster up a smile, hoping Keith couldn't see the pain in his eyes. "Yes, Keithy. Try to be a little original," he directed.

"Unless you ask me," Keith teased.

"There is that," he agreed.

"Fair warning, Keith," Hunk spoke up. "Lance has been planning one of those flash mob dance proposals, so you might want to go first."

"Hunk!" Lance protested while Allura laughed, bent over in the front seat.

"I think the choreography is complete," Shay mused, pressing a finger against her chin. "He just needs to find a good place to rent the fog machine and horses."

"Shay!"

Keith laughed. "Maybe I'll let him, then. This could be interesting."

"I'll have you know, Keith," Lance said, "you will be blown away when I do it."

"I'm sure I wil be, sweetheart."

Shiro cleared his throat and Lance's smile faltered a little, though Shiro didn't say anything. He could feel Shiro's disapproval, though. He could see Pidge's arms crossed as she stared out the window at the trees whipping by.

It was silent for a few miles, until Lance asked, "So, which town are we going to again?" He knew, but the silence in the van unsettled him, and he hoped to spark some sort of conversation.

After a moment, Allura shot a strange look at Shiro, then answered, "Crescent City. Matt loves it there!"

"He's an elementary school teacher, right? That's what Keith told me," he said, directing the question toward Pidge.

"Yeah," she actually answered him, though with just the one word.

When she didn't expand, Allura did, chattering on about Matt and his life in Crescent City. It wasn't too close to Garrison City, but close enough that they often saw their friend. Matt came home many of the weekends during the school year. He would spend time at his parent's house during the summer, but this year he volunteered to run a youth program through the school for kids whose parents worked.

They were lucky he was able to get this Wednesday afternoon off so they could do the escape room and catch dinner with him. Matt was also able to get the following week off to come home to Garrison City to visit and go camping with them. Lance looked forward to meeting him, though he was a little nervous Matt would act toward him as Pidge did.

He felt Keith's arm slip around his shoulders and it took everything in him not to flinch away. He'd never shrunk from Keith's touch. If anything, he craved it and reveled in it when he had it. He didn't want a 'look' from Shiro in the rear-view mirror, or annoyed grumbling from Pidge.

Nevertheless, he snuggled closer to Keith, which helped in keeping his distance from Pidge next to him.

"Ouch!" Pidge exclaimed, lifting a finger to cover her ear. She leaned forward to glare around Lance at Keith. "You fuck!"

"Such language, Pigeon," Keith drawled, smirking back at her.

"Keep your hands to yourself and don't flick me in the ear again!"

Keith chuckled while Lance's anxiety increased. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"You put your arm around this dweeb just to attack me!" Lance's anxiety went up another tick. Dweeb?

"That's not nice, Pidge," Keith responded.

"Keep poking at me and you'll really see not nice!" she threatened. Keith laughed, but Lance fought to keep his panic down.

"Children, don't make me pull the car over," Shiro said.

"Okay, grandpa!" Pidge countered.

Pidge, Shiro, and Keith continued to poke fun at each other - that teasing type of friendly insulting he, Keith, Hunk, and Shay would give each other. He wished he felt comfortable enough to join in. Instead, he snuggled up to Keith for the feeling of safety he got from being in the circle of his arm. He felt Shay pat him on the head and he smiled, though it wasn't until Allura shut the three arguing up by turning up the volume of the radio high enough to drown them out.

Matt lived in a modest townhouse a few blocks from his school at the edge of the small city. It was nice and neat, though Pidge informed Hunk and Shay (she didn't look at Lance as she said it) that Matt was definitely not this neat when he lived at home. Matt laughed and ruffled her hair. He was a fresh-faced young man, looked almost as if he and Pidge could be twins except for the fact that he didn't wear glasses. His hair was also longer than his sister's.

Lance was relieved when Matt greeted him as warmly as he did Hunk and Shay. Within minutes, he was joking around with Lance and Keith, teasing them, but in a way that didn't offend Lance. He could tell it was in fun and because of his affection for Keith. Matt taught first graders, so he and Shay had an immediate connection, and he was soon babbling to Hunk about a show Pidge told Hunk Matt liked. He listened to Lance, Keith, Hunk, and Shay describe the escape room proposal, excited as they were to hear how Hunk managed to set it up and laughing at the right spots. Lance immediately liked him.

And Matt seemed to like him in return. While Matt was technically Shiro's best friend, he was close to Keith and, by association now, Lance. By the time they got to the escape room place, Matt was comfortable enough to loop his arm around Lance's shoulders and declare Lance would be on his team. He reminded Lance of Matt and Pidge's parents – the same open and accepting friendliness that apparently Pidge didn't possess or care to show to him.

Matt also didn't seem to pick up on the underlying tension in the car ride over, wedged next to Hunk and Shay in the back of the van. He was thrilled at the planned lasagna-off, laughed a huge belly laugh that his own mother was banned from competing, insisted they wait at least until he came home on Saturday, and added the rule that neither Keith nor Hunk could seek out Colleen's recipe or advice.

The escape room place was similar to the place Hunk proposed to Shay. However, this one had two challenge rooms – the rooms and puzzles were the same. You could reserve both and compete in teams. Four to a team. Keith declared it wouldn't be fair to have Hunk and Pidge on the same team. They drew straws and Matt and Shiro got to pick teams. Matt chose Pidge first, then Lance, then Allura. Shiro ended up with Hunk, Shay, and Keith.

Lance was not thrilled to be on the team with Pidge or to play against Keith, Hunk, and Shay. He knew how smart they were, and he was stuck on a team of strangers, one of whom couldn't stand him. Keith gave him an encouraging smile as the teenage guy explained the rules to them. Lance tried to return the smile, but he knew it didn't quite come out with his usual sparkle. Keith slipped his arm around his waist.

"It'll be okay," he whispered, nuzzling his ear a little.

He shivered in spite of himself, and nodded. "I just like working with you, Keithy," he said.

"I know. And I know it won't be fun losing to me," Keith said, laughing at Lance's quiet squawk. "But I'll make it up to you."

"I'll make it up to you, mister!" he exclaimed, poking Keith in the side with his finger, getting his boyfriend to laugh. "You'll eat my dust!"

"I'll eat your something," Keith promised with a whisper in his ear. Lance knew the others didn't hear what he said, but he couldn't help the flush that washed over him as Shiro glanced at them. Fuck.

"Alright guys! Let's get this race started!" Matt half-shouted. Keith gave Lance a kiss on his cheek (and a pat on his butt) before the teams separated to stand at opposite ends of the room in front of their escape room doors. Lance glanced longingly at his boyfriend and friends, who all smiled back at him. Matt, who seemed to be very into this whole escape room/team idea tried to encourage his team. "Hands in!" he said, thrusting his right hand in between them.

Allura put her hand on top of his and Lance put his on top of Allura's. The three looked expectantly at Pidge, who erased the scowl on her face and finally put her hand on top of Lance's. With a huge grin, Matt yelled "GO TEAM!" and the bored teenager in charge of the place blew his whistle signaling them to enter their rooms and start.

This escape room ended up being not quite as complicated as the one for Hunk's proposal. Everything was in one room, instead of two. It didn't mean the puzzles weren't as hard. They were. Lance considered himself intelligent, but puzzles were never his thing. At least logic ones, which this place relied on heavily. He did have a good head for spatial patterns and thinking outside the box, so he was able to help solve a few of the riddles.

His memory was also good, so he kept track of all the puzzles they were working on and the ones they'd already solved, as well as the combinations for the some of the locks. The time on the clock ticked away, but Lance thought they were solving things at a good pace. Pidge dominated the puzzle solving, her mathematical and logical brain figured things out at a rapid pace that left him dizzy. Allura was good at seeing beyond the obvious, and Matt possessed a practical mind. He thought they made a pretty decent team.

Until.

They had ten minutes left and one combination to solve. It involved a puzzle they unearthed from a hidden cupboard. Lance felt excitement rise in him. It was similar enough to a puzzle they solved in the other escape room. Not exactly, but it looked the same. He thought he knew how to solve it, but Pidge was bent over it with Matt and Allura on either side of her. Lance stood across the table. She was muttering to herself, occasionally asking Matt and Allura what they thought of her ideas.

Lance chewed on his lower lip, hesitating to open his mouth. He thought he knew, but what if he was wrong? He feared her sarcasm and potentially nasty comments if he were, but he also wanted to show he wasn't a complete moron.

"Um. Pidge?" he spoke hesitantly.

Her head tilted up with a sharp jerk. "What?"

He glanced up at Allura and Matt, then back down. "Maybe if you look at the puzzle another way?"

She looked back down, ignoring his suggestion. He bit his lip again. He could see Matt give Allura a confused look.

"Five minutes escapers," the bored voice of the attendant came over a speaker in the room.

"I mean," Lance said, trying a diffident sort of approach. "If you reverse all of the images and put them together-"

"I know what I'm doing," Pidge snapped.

"Pidge…" Matt said.

"I've got this, Matt," she said, her tone turning a little more patient.

"Maybe Lance is right. You can at least try it."

"I know he's wrong," she said, waving her hand dismissively.

"Pidge…" Now Allura sounded disappointed.

Lance glanced at the clock and it showed three minutes left. "I really think…" he said.

Pidge cut him off again with a snort. "Right," she muttered.

Lance stepped back then, giving up. Matt and Allura both complained to Pidge to listen to Lance, but she refused, pushing the pieces of the puzzle around in frustration and ignoring them too.

The seconds ticked away the time to zero. The door opened and the attendant came in, calling, "Time's up!"

"Ugh! I almost had it!" Pidge grouched.

"This was the last combination, too. You guys got close!" The attendant tried to sound encouraging. "Want to see the solution?"

"Of course I do!"

The kid moved over to the table and manipulated the pieces in the way Lance suggested Pidge try. There was the solution as plain as day. Lance felt a sense of satisfaction, a small sense, but was overwhelmed by humiliation on how she so readily dismissed him.

"Why the hell didn't you listen to Lance?" Matt demanded of his sister.

"He couldn't possibly have gotten it right!"

"What the fuck does that mean?"

Talking over their arguing, Allura asked, "Did the other team solve it?"

The kid shrugged, gesturing to the door. "Yeah, they've been out for fifteen minutes."

Dinner at a local burger restaurant was uncomfortable. Lance couldn't even put up the front of enjoying himself. Allura and Matt froze out Pidge, and Allura tried to comfort Lance, but he brushed her off. He poked at his salad, the blandest thing on the menu he found because he had no appetite. Keith watched him with a worried expression. Lance knew they'd probably have another talk this evening. He was done talking, though.

The whole table felt tense as they all ate and conversation was stilted and scattered. Lance didn't lift his eyes from his salad, and only half-heartedly returned the squeezes when Keith reached over for his hand. He knew Keith was confused, as were Hunk and Shay. He didn't look at Shiro, so he didn't know if he wore the same puzzled expression as the others. Lance hadn't told them what happened, yet.

Matt and Allura hadn't said anything, either, and Lance was sure they were waiting for him to bring it up.

"You're not eating anything," Keith commented in a low enough voice for Lance's ears only.

"Not hungry," he said.

"You're never not hungry," and while Keith's tone was light, Lance detected the concern.

"There's a first time for everything."

"What happened?" Keith was now leaned close to him, head turned away from everyone else and elbow leaned on the table. Lance had placed himself at the end. It was as private a way to talk as Keith could manage at a crowded table in a crowded restaurant. "Do you want to go outside?"

Lance shook his head and felt his anxiety rise in his throat. The atmosphere soured and he had the bizarre notion for a moment everything was his fault. He knew, logically, it wasn't. The emotions in him shifted from one to the other so rapidly he couldn't process one before the next shoved its way into his heart. Anger. Fear. Embarrassment. Inadequacy. He knew he wasn't worthless, but his mind seemed to enjoy suggesting it.

"Lance…"

"I'm fine," he snapped, immediately regretting his tone. Though, part of him thought it necessary. Keith wasn't doing anything to stop this. He wasn't standing up to either his brother, or his best friend. If it weren't for his talk with Colleen, Lance would have asked to go home Monday. Now, three days later, Lance had hoped that things would improve.

He'd given them the benefit of the doubt as he now felt he at least understood their distrust of him. He'd just have to prove he was the one for Keith, though Lance was annoyed to think he had to prove anything.

Keith let it drop, but Lance knew this wasn't the end of it.

"So, what happened?"

Lance sighed, rolling away from Keith onto his back, his arm falling back above his head. "It's not a big deal."

"Allura looked ready to kill. Or at least maim," Keith pointed out, also rolling over until he faced Lance. "Matt never looks that mad. What happened?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"If you don't tell me, I'll ask Allura or call Matt."

Lance rolled his eyes, then moved his arm to drape over them. He couldn't look at Keith. In a few short words, he explained what happened at the escape room. "She made me feel stupid," he concluded.

"You're not…"

"I know I'm not, Keith…" Lance snapped, lifting his arm to look at his boyfriend. "But it's not really great to have people think I am. I put up with that shit enough in high school." Fuck, he did not want to fight with Keith. It was the last thing he wanted, but he had no idea what to say.

"Lance…"

But Lance rolled away again, his back to Keith. "I don't want to talk about it anymore," he said. He hated leaving it like this, but he was frustrated and hurt. "I want to sleep."

Keith was silent for a long time, neither moving nor saying anything. Lance lay, staring at the closet across from them, his body tense with arms tucked close to his chest and legs drawn up. Then Keith sighed and Lance could feel him settle down behind him. "Alright," he murmured. "We'll talk about this tomorrow."

The warm weight of Keith's hand pressed the side of his waist, but Keith let him have his space. Keith didn't crowd him or make him talk. The hand was enough to let Lance know Keith was there and it helped a little. Lance may not want to discuss this issue, but he did need to know Keith was there for him. His mother always told him to never, ever, go to bed angry, but he had no energy right now to deal with anything. He needed a calmer mind, a clearer head, to talk to Keith rationally about it. He was glad Keith let him postpone it.

Keith's fingers flexed slightly, an almost ticklish squeeze above his hip. "Night, sweetheart," Keith said in a voice so full of love it put a lump into his throat.

"Night," he mumbled.