The next day was pretty awkward.

Keith wouldn't look at me in the face, and sat several seats away from me with Pidge and Hunk between us. Shiro did the dad thing where he looked up every five minutes to talk to me about things that were totally irrelevant to everything. Yeah I read that book, we all had to at Garrison. No I didn't enjoy it, it was sh- it was stupid.

Hunk and Pidge were more or less then same, though Pidge couldn't talk or look at me with a straight face for more then five minutes and get a coughing fit. Allura and Coran treated me like a bomb about to blow any minute now.

Finally, after ten dad questions, four coughing fits, and Keith just not looking at me, I broke. "What's going on? What are you guys doing?"

Pidge burst into laughter the minute I asked my question. Shiro had the oh-no-here-it-comes face, and Hunk just sighed and put down his cup.

"Because you're gay. For Keith. And some of us are having a bit of trouble handling that." Was Hunk's reply.

Shit. All aboard the instant regret train, this is your conductor speaking. I dropped my spoon halfway to my mouth, and I saw Keith put down his spoon as well and bury his face in his hands.

"I-how- What do you mean I'm gay? I'm not gay. Definitely not for Keith. What makes you think I'm gay?" I started rambling, hands waving animatedly as I felt that familiar flush on my face. Pidge started wheezing.

"It's kinda obvious Lance. You were blushing the moment Keith started talking to you, and you ran out the second you guys held hands. No offense, but you have a crush on him." Hunk explained, perfectly calm and as if my entire being wasn't being crushed under a rock. Pidge was on the ground now, rolling and gasping and cackling. I made a mental note to get back at them later.

"That doesn't mean anything! Maybe I was hot or something!"

"Me and Pidge fixed the AC a while ago, and it's been working ever since."

"Maybe I was having an allergic reaction!"

"Then you would've gone to the cryopod instead of hiding in your room."

"Maybe I was mad and uncomfortable at Keith!"

"For what? We've all taken shots at you before, and that was the first time I've seen you act like that. Admit it, you like him."

At this, Pidge finally got control and sat up, heaving breaths. Tears streamed down their face.

"Oh my god, admit it. You're worse then Matt when he sees his crush at the mall. You have a crush on Keith, and you know it."

Damn. They got me there.

I didn't even realize that I was standing up, and the whole room was silent except for Pidge's soft giggling. There was a dull roar in my ears, and I noticed that Keith's ears were redder then his jacket.

And my mind being utter shit for cute stuff, went That's the most adorable thing I've ever seen in my life.

Which is not the thing you should be thinking of when you're being publicly humiliated for someone that's supposedly your rival. Shiro finally started to talk.

"Lance. There's nothing to be ashamed of, it's perfectly fine if you're gay. You're still the same Lance to us, gay or not."

"That is-I'm not-" But Allura cut me off.

"On Altea, there is no law dictating that it is illegal to be gay. However, there is a ritual performed when admitting your love, in which you lengthen your ears and pattern them with the color that is favored by your significant other." She started staring at my ears, like she was expecting them to start growing any second now.

"I-That's- I'm not-"

"We don't carry any condoms guys, so you're gonna have to wait until we find substitutes or until we get back to earth." Giggled Pidge, looking like the evil Santa's elf that they were.

"Oh my god!"

Keith finally snapped and pushed away from the table. He ran from the room toward the training room, leaving me to stand there angry and confused. I couldn't believe what just happened, and I barely noticed when my legs carried me away from the table in Keith direction.

This is a terrible idea. This is a terrible idea. This is a terrible idea.

But you know, why not?

Sparring was Keith's specialty.

Out of all of us, he was the most accomplished at hand-to-hand sparring right next to Shiro. Now, I watched him dance through the blows of the training bot, his bayard singing through the air as he parried and struck and cut. The ending blow was a slice to the neck, and the bot burst into the holographic shards of light that it was.

I couldn't help it; I started clapping.

Of course, Keith was surprised to see me standing by the doorway, and his face flushed red again right up to his ears.

"What the hell are you doing here?" He snarls, and I flinch a little. Even after all those arguments we had, he never looked at me with this much contempt before. My resolve faltered a little.

"I'm sorry." Was all I could mumble. My speech that I had prepared in my trip here was put to waste by those eyes, those burning eyes. Bluer then heaven, and with more hate then hell.

Those eyes that were melting me.

His eyes didn't soften, but he did relax his defensive pose and deactivate his bayard, which was a relief. I pushed on.

"They're not wrong."

He jerks like he was hit by an electric shock. He glares at me, and this time I saw the promise of a death wish somewhere. But I was on a roll, and I wasn't about to lose it.

"I really do have a crush on you. And I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I'm sorry I acted like that last night, and I'm sorry for having it lead up to…that." I said lamely. Keith hasn't moved, and I felt like a mouse about to see heaven under the eyes of a cat. Suddenly I kind of understood what my neighbor's grandma said about cats being Satan's pets.

"I'm sorry that I was a dick. I should've acted better last night. And I should've done something earlier to keep you away from that scene. But...I really do like you. And I was wondering...do you like me?"

My words could've come from the mouth of my ten year old sister, but it was too late to change them. I held my breath and watched Keith's reaction carefully.

But I could've been talking to a rock for all the effort I made. No reaction followed the initial jerk, and instead he maintained that constant glare for the long time while I stood there.

Finally he turned his back on me and walked to the center of the training room. "Start training sequence five." He said aloud, and started battling the new bot. I was completely ignored.

I went to my room to curl up under the covers and register the events that had just occured. My entire brain felt numb, and the only thoughts that passed through was that the coldness Keith dealt was intentional. That that was my punishment, a bitterness worse then hell. It could be considered a miracle compared to the physical ass-whooping I had been expecting, but I partially wished that he beat me up instead of this.

The second thought was of one of the poems I read last night.

I was meant for Hell the moment I was born

You were an angel, destined for Heaven the moment you saw light

I wanted to be with you, to stay true to you

But that would mean dragging you down with me.

I wanted to see the light that you offered,

The glow that was warmth,

The peace that was joy,

But I only knew darkness and sorrow,

Planted there by people who did not care

You were someone who cared

Offered to help me to Heaven,

While playing gentle roughness

I didn't understand, and instead

I pushed you away for fear of corrupting you

I never wanted pain

I never wanted Hell

I would gladly go through it many times

If it meant seeing you to Heaven