Chapter 5 - In Front of Our Mousse

"I've actually always thought it'd be nice to take a date here," Keith said softly.

'Here' turned out to be almost at the top of a mountain. It was remote, but not too remote. Keith was able to drive close to the outcropping and they hiked the rest of the way, Keith carrying the basket he packed earlier. The small parking area was deserted, getting a remark from Keith that they should be alone. A short hike on a steep-ish trail led them to what resembled a shelf on the side of the mountain.

The mountain, about a half hour drive from Keith's home, was part of the national forest Keith and Shiro liked to hike. The shelf they stood on was a flat area about the size of a tennis court. A concrete and weathered barrier, broken in places, staked out the edge of the cliff – a barrier that didn't provide Lance with much faith it kept anyone safe.

The weather was warm, but not as warm as it would be on the coast. They were in long sleeve t-shirts, at least, and he knew Keith had hoodies in his backpack for when the sun went down. Along with a few blankets. Keith said it could get chilly this high up and he wanted nothing to cut their date too short.

Lance still couldn't believe they managed to escape for a date. Just the two of them. He blessed Hunk and Shay in his heart again for allowing them the space. The pair were here with people they didn't know, and were perfectly happy to stay behind. Possibly go out on their own. But, he thought bitterly, the others liked Hunk and Shay. Hunk and Shay weren't him.

His two closest friends spent time alone with him today, without Keith, who had disappeared for a while (Lance now knew it was to put together food for this date), and had cheered him up in the way only they knew how. They both offered again to speak to at least Pidge, but he declined. Keith should be the one to do it, and he was going to tell Keith so today. Both Hunk and Shay agreed and promised not to say anything if he didn't want them to, but with a long three-way hug, they let him know they loved him and would do anything he wanted.

He hugged himself now, rubbing his hands up and down his upper arms against a cold that had nothing to do with the weather. Keith busied himself near the edge of the cliff, setting out a picnic blanket and unpacking their meal. Lance smiled as he watched, heart skipping a beat for the amazing man working hard to make a romantic date for him.

Keith glanced at him as he stood up straight. "Ready to eat?"

Lance nodded and joined him on the blanket, both of them dropping into a seated position next to all the food. "Ready to have our official date number eight," he commented, making Keith smile. Keith made all the food himself, of course, except for the dessert cups. Hunk had made those that morning. Hunk packed these in small plastic containers for them convenient for the picnic.

They busied themselves for a few minutes, getting their plates readied from the other plastic containers – chicken salad, a pasta dish loaded with vegetables ("So healthy, Keithy!"), toasted bread with a hummus spread.

"So you never brought a date here?" Lance asked.

Keith shook his head as he spread the spicy hummus on a slice of toast. "No. I didn't date much anyway, in school."

"Oh come on. You're too good looking to not have any dates," Lance objected.

Keith smiled, "Well, I had dates. No one ever clicked, though." He looked out toward the valley spreading below them, which only led to another mountain. Lance followed his gaze. The view was spectacular. "I wanted to save this for someone special."

Lance warmed inside, which was welcome in the crisp cool air. "I'm glad I made the cut."

Keith chuckled, turning his gaze on Lance. He gave a little shrug. "I mean," he said in a teasing tone, "I guess, I thought I'd bring you. Not many other options. Hunk's engaged."

"And hopelessly straight," Lance sighed, though his tone was also teasing.

"There's that."

The sun continued to sink slowly toward the ocean. Or, at least, Lance knew it was where the sun was headed. They couldn't quite see the water from where they were – this mountain was further east than Garrison City. It felt good, though, to sit and relax alone with Keith, away from the stress of the situation.

Lance let the tension leave him. It was only him and Keith, making small talk and little inside jokes to each other. Lance knew Keith wanted to talk about what happened the day before, but Keith was letting it wait until they were both in a good state of mind. It made Lance love him more, to understand that Lance needed space and to give it to him. And while Lance did dread what he planned to demand of Keith, he knew Keith would do as he wanted. That's why he was so wonderful.

"So…" Keith said, then paused.

They had packed up their basket and moved to the concrete barrier. Though crumbled and falling apart in places, it was the perfect height and width to settle on comfortably, wrapped now in another blanket Keith brought. The wind whipped at them, tangling strands of their hair and teasing a flush on their cheeks. The sun was kissing the top of the mountain across the valley, which the scenic spot overlooked. Lance could almost hear the sizzle as the heat touched the treetops far in the distance. Keith's arm around him, his head on Keith's shoulder and his own arms wrapped around his drawn up legs. A full belly, a contented feeling for the first time since Saturday. All interrupted by Keith's voice.

"So?"

"Are you okay?"

Lance squeezed his arms a little tighter, feeling his emotions withdraw – an automatic response. He wasn't used to a boyfriend who actually cared how he felt. Past relationships…well, they weren't Keith. Keith, who did care. Wanted to make sure Lance was okay. It was strange, but good. It took a little getting used to, to be honest. As open and emotional as Lance appeared, he actually kept a lot bottled up inside, afraid to chase away his partners with his insecurities and issues.

"Lance?"

"Do you want me to be honest?"

"Of course I do, sweetheart."

Lance could hear the sincerity and he winced. "Then no, I'm not."

"Are you ready to talk about what happened yesterday?"

"You won't get mad?"

He felt Keith turn his head to drop a kiss on the top of his. "Unless you tell me you're breaking up with me, I won't get mad at anything."

"But this is your best friend. Your brother."

"And you're my life, now, sweetheart. What happened?"

In broken sentences, he related in more detail what had happened with Pidge at the Escape Room. Keith didn't respond as he stumbled through the words; he simply let Lance talk it out. Lance did, watching the sky slowly turn dark as the sun sunk further behind the mountain. It was easier to direct his words at the uncaring sun than it was to say these things looking into Keith's eyes. He hated how he felt that.

"I don't know why they don't like me," he finished with, fighting the urge to cry. "I don't think I did anything…"

Keith finally spoke, breaking into his watery sentence. "Lance, sweetheart, you didn't do anything wrong."

"Then why?" he asked. "I mean, Colleen clued me in on some things. And, I guess, after talking to her and hearing what she said, I could forgive. Or, at least, understand. Maybe not be besties with Shiro or Pidge. But Pidge yesterday…"

Keith shifted a little, prompting Lance to sit up. He reached up a hand to Lance's face, turning his head so they were looking at each other. Lance hadn't cried, but he saw his own anguished eyes mirrored in Keith's. Keith looked both pissed and apologetic. The warmth of Keith's palm, however, felt welcome, and the absent brush of Keith's thumb over the apple of his cheek soothed his anguish away.

"I hoped that after a few days they'd come around," Keith said with a grimace. "But neither of them have even tried."

"I have, Keith. I really have."

"I know, baby. I know you have. I'm so, so sorry this little vacation is going so bad."

"It's not your fault," Lance tried to say.

Keith shook his head. "It is. I shouldn't have let it get this bad. I put more faith in my brother and my friend than I should have, apparently. That's what upsets me." He stared into Lance's eyes for a long moment, his fingers still lingering on his cheek. "It's just. You're such a good person. I hoped they would see it and lighten up. Let you in."

"Maybe I'm not."

Keith's brows furrowed. "Don't say that. You're amazing."

"But they…"

"No." He said the word harshly, though Keith smoothed out his expression. "No," he said in a softer tone. "Look. Coran and Allura adore you. The Holts adore you. Matt went on and on to me about how perfect you are and asked if you had a single sister exactly like you."

Lance had to chuckle. It eased a little more of the tension leftover in his chest.

Keith continued. "Do you honestly think someone as pure and wonderful as Hunk or Shay would love you so much if you weren't amazing yourself?"

Well that obviously stumped Lance. Hunk and Shay were the models of perfect human beings. They did love him. Would they if Lance was defective? Would Keith (also a model of at least a near perfect being) love him? Granted, he hadn't said it yet, but Lance knew. The way Keith looked at him at this moment it was obvious and Lance felt the words slip to the edge of his tongue. He bit them back, sternly reminding himself of his resolution to have Keith say it first.

The side of Keith's mouth quirked up into a fond smile. "It appears I stumped you, huh? You know I'm right?"

Lance wrinkled his nose, giving Keith a mock-angry look. "Okay. I have to admit you're right," he admitted grudgingly.

Keith kissed the tip of his nose, making Lance wrinkle it further. Then, his face shifting into a more serious look, he said, "What Pidge did yesterday…it went too far. I get why she's jealous, or scared. But there's really no excuse." Lance opened his mouth to say something, but Keith slid his hand enough to press his thumb now against his lips. "No. I think she's supposed to come over tomorrow. I'll talk to her. And to Shiro as well."

Lance whimpered. He hated to think Keith might fight with them, even though he planned on asking Keith to talk to them anyway. Hated to cause any kind of strife between brothers or best friends. "But…"

"Lance. This isn't about you. Not really," he said. "It's not the first time I've fought with either of them. The difference is I'm hours away from them now. This went on too long and that's on me. I thought meeting you would get them to see that I trust my heart with someone who deserves it."

To say Lance's own heart melted would be an understatement. He leaned forward into an awkward hug. Their legs were in the wrong position to make it comfortable, but Keith still moved his arms around him. Lance marveled again at how safe these arms made him feel. How the feel of Keith's cheek resting against his head eased his thoughts into tranquility. How Keith's warmth and smell filled him with a champagne bubbly feeling that burbled through his veins.

"I'll fix this," Keith promised, his voice steady. Lance heard a determination in his tone. "And if not, we leave. It's as simple as that. You're my everything, sweetheart, and no amount of asshole brothers or jerkoff friends is going to change that."

"Hunk made chocolate mousse," Lance mentioned. He loved the way Keith's eyebrows raised at that. He knew Keith had a sweet tooth, especially when it came to Hunk-made desserts.

"That's right. I thought he said we couldn't have it til tomorrow though."

Lance wriggled his toes against Keith's feet. They were facing each other on Keith's bed after their date, exchanging kisses before they fell asleep. Neither of them were tired – or they were, but Lance was too keyed up with anxiety, though the talk with Keith helped to reassure him. He was distracting himself by loving on Keith. He could tell Keith wanted to keep going; explore a little more of their growing intimacy the way his hand wandered down around Lance's hip. When it did, Lance firmly moved the hand back up more on his waist, ignoring the little whine Keith made.

"None of that, Keithy," he murmured in a low tone. "Shiro's right across the hall."

"I can be quiet."

"But I can't," Lance said.

Keith's response was to snuggle forward against Lance and kiss him on the side of his neck.

"ANYway," Lance managed after suppressing a little moan. "What I'm saying is we can probably sneak a little mousse right now. Hunk made a ton," he added, pushing against Keith's upper arm a little to separate them. "And I'm sure he won't notice if we sneak a few spoonfuls."

Keith, who couldn't be pushed away easily, mumbled against Lance's skin, "Hunk…*kiss*…notices…*kiss*…everything…*kiss*…especially…*kiss*…his food…*kiss kiss kiss*"

"Yeah," Lance said, now single-mindedly focused on the sweet treat hiding innocently in the kitchen fridge. "But mousse, Keithy. Mousse." Anything to distract his boyfriend from this mission to mortify him within Shiro's hearing.

"Ok, ok," Keith said, pulling back and relenting, though the smile he gave Lance was anything but reassuring. "Let's go sneak some if you want to so much."

Why did this suddenly sound like a bad idea?

They quietly made their way down the narrow hall from the bedrooms into the kitchen. Keith didn't bother to turn on the kitchen light – the table lamp, left on in the living room, provided enough illumination of the room to dig out spoons from the silverware drawer. The fridge light, when Lance opened it, shone brightly in their faces. Keith pushed around a few containers of various foods to get to the large bowl containing the mousse Hunk had whipped up while Lance and Keith were out on their date. With a little victorious grunt, he pulled out the bowl and let the fridge shut, throwing the room into the semi-dark once again.

"Just so you know," Keith said as he placed the bowl on the kitchen island, "if Hunk says anything, I'm throwing you under the bus."

Lance smiled, "Hunk won't get too mad at me."

"Which is why I'm totally blaming you." Keith peeled off the foil from the bowl, revealing the treat within. Lance handed him one of the spoons.

"Hunk is a god," Lance mumbled through his first bite. "Like honest to fuck."

Keith merely agreed with a slight moan, which caught Lance's attention, of course. He dug his spoon into the mousse again and waved it teasingly under Keith's nose. "Want more?"

Keith chuckled and opened his mouth for Lance to feed him. He closed his lips firmly around the spoon and Lance pulled it slowly out. Shit, that shouldn't look as hot as it did.

"My turn," Keith said, prepping another scoop of his own spoon to feed to Lance. They did this back and forth a few times, Keith making sure to make Lance have to pull hard to get the spoon out of his mouth.

"Keithy," Lance whined after the fourth time of Keith doing this. Keith merely laughed and offered Lance another bite, only to pull it away when Lance tried to get it in his mouth. Keith brought his spoon to his own mouth and made a show of licking the spoon clean. Slowly.

"Fuck, you're killing me, Keithy."

"I'm just eating mousse," Keith said, batting his eyelashes at Lance in what Lance interpreted as his 'I'm-an-innocent-boy' look.

"Mmm…" Lance said, then poked his spoonful of mousse at Keith's nose, leaving a big dollop there. "Looks like there's something on your face," he said, leaning down slightly to lick it off.

Keith's nose scrunched. "Ew gross!" he hissed, reaching up to wipe at his nose. Then an impish gleam came into his eyes and he smeared some mousse on Lance's cheek. He returned the favor of licking it off.

They dissolved into a messy fit of giggles and dotting each other's faces with mousse to lick off each other.

"Too bad Shiro's across from our room," Keith said between giggles and a lick along the column of Lance's neck (and yes, he shivered from that!). "I wouldn't mind bringing this bowl into the bedroom."

"And here I thought you'd be more into a can of whip cream!"

"Well, that too…"

"If Hunk only knew what nefarious hijinks his poor chocolate mousse could lead us too."

"I'd rub this all over you and lick every inch of it off."

Lance detected the slight change of tone to Keith's voice. The humorousness was still there, but there was a level of serious too. Especially the way his eyes looked in the barely-there light. Lance felt the laughs drain away from him and he leaned in to kiss Keith – a kiss that wasn't as playful as the previous ones. "You would, huh?" Lance asked thickly.

Keith pulled Lance closer, wrapping his arms around his neck. Lance was almost positive Keith's spoon pressed into his hair, probably leaving mousse there, but he forgot about it quickly as Keith licked into his mouth, as if searching for more chocolate. Keith's tongue tasted like the mint from his toothpaste and the mousse they'd eaten. It was an interesting mix, and Lance pressed his body forward until Keith was firm against the breakfast bar.

Keith hummed then, and that did things to both Lance's brain and his body. His spoon clattered as it fell to the floor – he had let go to get his hands on Keith's waist and hoist him up onto the counter. Their kiss broke as he did; the movement startled Keith, but only for a moment before their lips found each other again, though Keith had to bend down slightly to reach Lance now.

The quiet kitchen now filled with soft noises – the smacks of their lips, soft moans and whines and sighs. The hum of the fridge was their background music, except for the second clatter of Keith's spoon as it fell to the floor.

Lance was in a good position to attack Keith's neck, collarbone, and shoulders now. Keith wore a tank top, so much of his skin was exposed and begging for attention from Lance's lips and tongue – attention he was happy to pay. Keith leaned back on the breakfast bar, his hands slightly behind him to prop himself up, though his head tilted back as he passively enjoyed what Lance was doing.

Lance's hand found their way to the outside of Keith's thighs, sliding up towards Keith's hips and dipping under the hem of his tank top, eagerly caressing over Keith's sides. Keith let out a small laugh – Lance's fingers were dancing on his skin – and as his hands moved up the hem did too.

Lance pulled his lips away from the spot on Keith's collarbone to gaze at Keith's stomach. It was tensed; the abs defined and Lance gasped out a small sigh. It wasn't the first time he'd seen Keith like that, but every time he did, he couldn't help but gaze in amazement. Keith worked out and it showed. His boyfriend was beautiful – had such a great body – and Lance still couldn't believe he was allowed to touch it if he wanted to.

He pushed the shirt all the way up, exposing Keith's chest as well. Should he keep going? Keith seemed to think so. He leaned forward and lifted his arms so Lance could maneuver the shirt off. It landed on the floor near the spoons. Keith leaned back on his hands again, a slight smirk gracing his features as he watched Lance with hooded eyes.

Lance licked his lips, thinking. He was now wedged between Keith's thighs with Keith's entire abdomen in front of him looking delectable. Without a word, he let his fingers slide over Keith's skin, watching the muscles tense and relax as he did, or spasm with a slight amused sigh from Keith. They brushed over the bit of hair on Keith's chest, reveling in the soft texture that was different from the smoother skin at his sides. They trailed down, circling Keith's belly button and one pointer finger traced the happy trail that led to the waistband of Keith's shorts, then stopped. Keith's breath hitched, though he didn't say a word. He just watched Lance quietly.

Lance poked a finger into the mousse and smeared a little blob right in the middle of Keith's chest, and then leaned forward to lick it off. Keith's head tilted back again as he closed his eyes with a contented sigh. It encouraged Lance, who put more mousse onto his finger. Should he? He did. Right on Keith's left nipple. They hadn't done anything like this yet, and it seemed more intimate than jerking Keith off as he had done a few times last week. He licked slow and, once clean, remained there nibbling with his lips and sucking.

Keith drew in a breath, held it a moment, then released it with a little moan. Lance could tell he was striving to be quiet and he chuckled. He would not deliberately try to make Keith be louder, but the thought he could amused him.

He didn't bother with the mousse this time when he moved to Keith's other nipple. His boyfriend was apparently sensitive there. His back arched. "Fuck, Lance," he breathed out.

Lance was excited, of course, and could see Keith was too. He thought briefly about touching Keith, bringing his boyfriend to climax here in the kitchen. They'd only done that to each other once, face-to-face, and it was dark enough in the room that he knew Keith wouldn't see his blushing face – because he still blushed at the thought of touching Keith.

"Baby," Lance murmured. "God you're so fucking hot. How did I get such a hot boyfriend?" he asked between love bites.

"Same way I did," Keith hissed. "Fuck, Lance. Touch me. Please."

Lance loved hearing Keith beg, but touching him as he thought Keith wanted him to meant Lance was going to be able to see Keith's dick for the first time. The first time Lance got Keith off, they were spooning and Lance couldn't see with his face buried in Keith's hair. The second time they got each other off. They were facing each other, but had reached between themselves to stroke each other at the same time.

Was it hot? Absolutely, but Lance still hadn't seen it. Seeing it brought this whole fooling around thing to another level and while he thought he shouldn't be nervous about it, he was nervous about it.

But he was also weak for Keith, especially that pleading hint in his tone, and it's not as if Lance didn't want to see his boyfriend in all his glory. He just expected it a little later. Not here before their tenth date and in the kitchen of Keith's childhood home.

"Lance…" Keith whispered. His head had tilted back down, chin resting on his chest. The soft light coming from the living room highlighted Keith's right side with a dim glow and his eyes glittered.

Lance nodded, though he wasn't sure why he did. The fingers of his right hand trailed down Keith's stomach again to his waistband and hesitated a moment. He looked up into Keith's eyes again as his fingers deftly dipped behind the shorts and boxers, contacting the hot and hard cock inside. Without breaking eye contact, he gently withdrew Keith and stroked his hand down, watching how Keith's expression changed.

Lance, however, wasn't going to let the opportunity to look get away from him. He turned his gaze down between them. Keith was beautiful in every aspect. Fuck, that wasn't fair. Shorter than Lance himself was, but thicker, the base in a nest of thick black curls. His mouth was both dry and thirsty as he stared, watching almost in detachment as his own hand stroked up with a little twist, then back down.

"Like what you see?"

Keith's voice startled him. It sounded strained, but Lance couldn't look away from the perfect cock in his hand. "You're beautiful…" he said.

Keith laughed softly, a laugh that ended in a little moan as Lance stroked up again.

The fridge hummed away, as did Keith as Lance worked on him. The more Lance watched himself the more his mind moved to other things he could do with that cock. Could he do it? He wanted to. Wanted to feel how it felt in his mouth – how heavy it would be on his tongue – how Keith tasted. It was tempting, but they weren't exactly in a private spot. But fuck did he want to see if he could blow Keith.

"Do you? I mean. Do you want? Uh. Like…" Lance stumbled, unsure how to ask.

As Lance's hand had stopped with his stuttered question, Keith's eyes opened again. "What do you want Lance?"

"I think. Um. I think. Ugh. I kind of want to suck you off."

Keith laughed again, softly, but Lance could tell the question tickled him. "So blunt, sweetheart," he said, propping his weight on his left hand so he could reach up and caress Lance's face with his right. He rested his palm against Lance's cheek, who tilted his head into the touch. "Only if you want to."

"But, do you want me to?"

Keith watched him for a moment. "I won't object if you do. But, I only want you to if you want to. I never want you to do anything you'd be uncomfortable with."

"I think I'd be comfortable with this," Lance replied with a little squeeze that got a squeak out of Keith, "in my mouth."

Keith smiled then, and leaned forward to kiss Lance, a gentle but sure kiss, and Lance felt how much Keith loved him with it. "Go for it, then."

Lance drew in a deep breath as the warmth of Keith's hand disappeared so Keith could brace himself again. He licked his lips and looked down. "I'm sorry if I don't do a good job this first time," he apologized, getting another laugh, but no comment, from Keith. He stroked his hand to the base of Keith's cock and started to bend over.

The kitchen light turned on, flooding the kitchen with a brightness that blinded Lance for a moment. Half-bent over, he glanced up at Keith's face, his mouth dropped open into an 'o' shape. Keith's eyes had popped open and he sat up straighter as Lance stood up. Peering over Keith's naked shoulder, he saw Shiro standing in the entrance to the kitchen, staring wide-eyed at the two of them.

"Keith!"

Fuck fuck fuck, Lance chanted in his head. He was already on Shiro's bad side and getting caught like this – almost blowing his brother in his kitchen – was not going to endear him to the older man.

Keith, whose back was to Shiro, turned his head to look over his shoulder. "Shiro." Lance couldn't believe how calm his voice sounded.

Shiro took in the scene, mouth slightly open. Lance quickly tucked Keith back into his shorts and tried to step back, but Keith grabbed one of his arms to hold him still. Lance knew Shiro couldn't see anything, but he knew his face was bright red and the guilty look he knew he wore would inform Shiro what he walked into.

"What are you doing?"

"Something you interrupted," Keith said, turning back to Lance with a shrug. Keith smiled at him, though it did nothing to reassure him.

"On the kitchen island? In front of our mousse?"

"We got caught up in the moment."

"Can you take your moment somewhere private? God, what if Allura had walked in."

Keith lifted his other hand and waved it over his shoulder in a dismissive gesture. "Yeah yeah, we will. Good night."

Lance could see Shiro's expression change from disbelief, to annoyance, to slight anger at his younger brother's attitude. He opened his mouth a couple of times to say something, then decided against it. "Night," he said shortly and turned around to head back to his room, leaving the light on.

Keith's sigh brought Lance's gaze from Shiro's disappearing form back to him. "Sorry that he kind of killed the mood."

"Um. It's ok. I mean. I should have known something like this would happen. I can't believe this." Lance covered his face with his hands.

"Baby," Keith said gently, reaching up to press his palms against Lance's hands. "Don't. Don't, baby. It's ok."

"No, it's not!" Lance sobbed out. Inside he was completely freaked out. "I don't know what to do, Keith. I keep screwing things up. Now Shiro is gonna hate me more than he already does. I don't think I did anything, but be myself. Hunk always says to be myself, but when I am, I just chase people away. Or they don't like me. I wanted so much for your family to like me, but I've messed everything up and you'll end up hating me too…"

"Lance…"

"God I'm such a screw up."

"Wait a minute," Keith said, his tone angry as he grasped Lance's hands to pull them away from his face. Lance hadn't cried. Yet. But large tears stood in his eyes, gleaming in the now-bright kitchen. Keith was looking at him in a way he never had. Angrily. "Wait one fucking minute." Lance tried to pull back, but Keith kept a tight hold on him. "You are not a screw up."

"We just got caught almost…doing stuff in here."

"We're not fifteen, Lance. It's not like what we were doing is wrong."

"But Shiro saw us. He knows."

"Lance, I'm twenty-four. I'm allowed to get blow jobs." Lance winced at the harshness in Keith's voice. "I don't give a fuck what Shiro knows or doesn't know about our relationship. It's none of his business. Christ, he was fucking around with Adam in the basement when he was sixteen. He's got nothing to say about what I do."

"But…"

"I'll agree it probably wasn't the best idea to do this out here, but don't think you did anything wrong. You haven't done one thing wrong."

"But…"

"No. I'm not putting up with them treating you like this. I'm not going to let them make you think less of yourself. You have to understand one thing, baby," he said, pulling Lance closer to him again, hooking his heels around Lance's calves and securing him tightly between his thighs. "Nothing either of them do will ever make me leave you. You have to believe me."

Lance looked down where Keith still had hold of his wrists between them. He noticed the details of Keith's hands. The smooth skin, the scar across the back of his left hand from an art knife accident, the slightly crooked pinky finger Keith broke as a child. He couldn't answer because his throat was squeezed shut. Squeezed at the very thought that lurked in the back, the front, the middle of his mind. Keith would leave him if he wasn't good enough. Like the others.

"Keith…"

"Lance," and now Keith's voice was so soft. So gentle. So caressing it made Lance clear his throat. "Tell me you believe me."

"Y-You'd stay with me even if your family wouldn't talk to you again?" God did his voice sound pathetic.

"In a heartbeat. I told you this earlier, you are my everything now."

He still hadn't said it, but Lance knew what he meant. He felt his heart smooth out, the erratic beat slowing into something closer to normal. His anxieties didn't exactly ease, but they pulled out their claws. The piercing wasn't so sharp. Keith was honesty personified, and if he said he wouldn't leave Lance, he wouldn't. To think he was important enough to someone that he would cut off his family for him was overwhelming, though. Family was important to Lance. As were his friends.

No one had ever said that before. Willingly devote themselves to him. His love for Keith swelled in his heart, further soothing his nerves. He looked up into Keith's eyes and almost gasped at the expression on Keith's face. The words 'I love you' tugged at his lips, wanting to come out and stammer out his confession to the beautiful, shirtless man in front of him. He didn't want to say it first though. He wanted – no – needed Keith to be the one to say it first. He wasn't going to make that mistake again.

He vowed to not make that mistake with Keith. He actually loved Keith. He knew to most people it wouldn't make sense, but because he loved Keith, he couldn't say it. Not until Keith said it first.

"I believe you," he stammered instead.

Keith leaned forward and pressed his lips against Lance's forehead. "Don't ever forget it," he said. "C'mon. Let's put this mousse back in the fridge and get to bed. I need to feel your arms around me."

Lance knew his smile didn't quite reach his eyes, but he smiled anyway and bobbed his head in a little nod. "Alright."

"I'll talk to Shiro and Pidge tomorrow," Keith promised again as he let go of Lance's wrists, allowing Lance to step back. Keith hopped off the counter and leaned down to pick up his shirt and the discarded spoons. Lance wrapped the foil back on the bowl so Keith could put it away.

"Thank you," Lance said.

Keith pulled him down for a kiss after he shut the fridge door. "Anything for you."

A/N: Did I put Lance through the ringer or what? I hate doing that...especially as I like Shiro and Pidge. I felt their story needed some conflict. Everything was too perfect. And what's a good story without a little drama? I will fix it...things will get better. Thank you for sticking with this story!