It should've been plain to Lance as to why Keith had wanted to come to his room. First and foremost, he wished to escape the never-ending pestering about asking out Allura; and second, to finally catch up with his friend. After all, the mess they'd been through with the Galra fleets had come in between good leisure time. Keith can't even seem to recall the last time he sat down with Lance and engaged in a healthy conversation.
He runs a hand through his long hair and lets out a long sigh. "I never did tell you about my life before the Garrison, did I?"
Lance simply grins. "Let me guess… You were a pain in the ass?"
"No comment." Keith chuckles, a soft glow coming to life in his eyes. "This one time… it was my dad and I." His gaze remains on the picture frame sitting on Lance's desk. "He loved to garden, even though he didn't look the type."
Next to him, Lance gives a silly smirk, his eyes quickly dodging Keith's. His arms stretch out behind him more comfortably, whereas Keith remains resting his arms on his legs, crouched forward. "And how's that?" Lance asks.
"His build was suitable for something else, like constructing." He gently smiles to himself. "Mum didn't mind that he spent his time gardening. Especially since he brought me along."
Considering how secret Keith's personal life had always been, this was a great way to spark Lance back up after all the jealousy. Besides, if there even was anything with Allura and Keith, would he have told her about his past so soon? Bet money on it that he wouldn't.
Lance gets up from his slouch, eyeing his friend on the way up. "Heck, then maybe you could show me a thing or two sometime. I've always wanted to try it out."
Keith frowns, confused. "What, gardening? You?"
The Paladin sighs. "Don't sound too excited."
All of a sudden, a knock is heard at Lance's bedroom door. The eyes of the two boys quickly dart to each other before the one shoves the other into his closet. Nervously, Lance calls back to the stranger at the door. "Hello?"
The handle moves as the door is pushed open. Lance is shocked to see Allura holding a cup of hot chocolate. She looks a little tired, but apparently still up for a chat. "Mind if I join you?"
He shakes his head, even though he wasn't all that keen on her coming in at the time. She softly smiles before placing the mug into Lance's hands. "I thought you might want some."
"Thanks." he replies.
The girl gets comfortable beside Lance, right where Keith was just sitting for a while. Lance can't help but prefer the latter: the goof currently trapped in his closet.
Apart from the warm wafts of hot cocoa, Lance could easily pick out the nice peach scent coming from Allura's clothes. He wouldn't be surprised if someone wanted to date her solely for that.
"I've noticed that you've been acting a little different these past couple of days… Maybe longer." Allura's body language is much more straightforward than Keith's; instead of avoiding the other's gaze, she dives right into his quiet hazel eyes. "Is there something you want to talk about? You know I'm always here for you."
Lance gives her a small grin to hopefully convince her it's alright. "Just been tired."
She doesn't buy that shit so easily.
Her hand rests on Lance's as she gazes at his face. "Please, Lance…"
The young man quickly pulls his hand out from under Allura. Staring at his motionless feet, he mumbles, "It's… personal."
To be honest, Allura looks quite hurt at hearing this. Besides, why would he react so harshly? It's not like him. She decides against pressing on and stands up, heading towards the door. Soon, Allura stops in her tracks. "Lance?" she quietly mutters.
He glances up to briefly look her in the face. "Hm?"
"You should at least try to open up to someone. It doesn't have to be me." With that, she then grabs the door handle to leave the room.
Creeakk…
...What the heck was that?
Instinctively, Allura frowns and slowly glances over at her friend sitting on the bed. "Where'd that sound come from?" It certainly wasn't the door.
The sudden heavy pounding of his head makes it hard for poor Lance to focus. "No idea!"
Suddenly she gasps. "What if we have a critter infestation?!"
Lance decides to immediately turn that down. "Oh, it must've been my closet! It's been doing that creaking on its own recently." Keith, for shit's sake…!
The girl seems to be very relieved. "Alright," she pulls the door back open. "Let me know if it keeps doing that. We could always get it fixed or replaced."
Lance nods. "Okay. Thanks, Allura."
She smiles before shutting the bedroom door behind herself.
Lance waits a couple of seconds just to be safe… then he gloriously leaps toward the closet and yanks it open. Keith looks like he's about to burst; he's laughing so much. A pink flush comes onto Lance's embarrassed face as Keith goes on about it: "'It's been doing that creaking recently'!"
"Listen, you're the one who made that freaking noise!" Lance repels, jabbing a frustrated finger at Keith.
"Come on, it was an accident," he answers, giving a little shrug.
Lance sarcastically smiles. "Yeah, sure. 'Accident' my ass."
The grin on Keith's face slowly disappears as the atmosphere becomes more serious. "Hey, Lance?"
"Yeah?"
His night-blue eyes meet hazel ones after adjusting Lance's sweater. "You can open up whenever you feel it's right."
The sudden change of heartbeat throws off the poor flustered boy. He can't help but unintentionally spurt out: "T...Tomorrow?"
"Huh?"
Lance doesn't dare look up, so he keeps his eyes on the floor. "You and me. Dinner tomorrow night?" His clammy hands hold each other as he waits for a response. "We could… talk."
It takes a moment or two, but soon Lance gets an answer. "Sure. I'll see you tomorrow night at seven." There's a bright smile painted across Keith's face by the time Lance looks up. He receives a pat on the shoulder before Keith leaves the room. A shy grin easily comes onto each of their faces once the other is gone.
Shit is really going to go down tomorrow night. The two of them both know it. Not only that, but they're looking forward to it.