Can't guarantee all updates will be this fast, but I had time and I was excited.

Scream about klance to me on my tumbler, the-noble-idiot.

Chapter 2

Keith hates morning. Hates the unpredictability of them. Hates clunking down the stairs at 8am on a Saturday in sweats for his daily kendo practice and being interrupted by Shiro on the way down.

"Keith…"

Keith glares his best too-early-for-this expression at his older brother and is about to groan out a good morning when he sees Shiro's expression. It's the kind of expression he wore when he had to tell Keith that mom and dad wouldn't be coming home. Keith immediately understands. "What's wrong?" he asks. "Did you get fired?"

"Lance is missing," Shiro says, and Keith's blood runs cold. "He didn't come home last night. The police just asked if we know anything."

Lance's words ring in Keith's ears. We used to be best friends! Lance had run off into the storm, and now he was regretted saying such harsh things to Lance; as much as he disliked Lance, he didn't want him dead.

"His phone is still at his house, so the police can't track him. Keith, if you know anything…"

"I'll call you later," Keith interrupts and leans his kendo stick against the wall before running for the door.

It only takes him a few minutes at his top running speed to reach the bus stop from the night before. He pants heavily, turning in circles, scanning the area as if Lance would pop out from an alley and try to tease Keith for being so worried. When that didn't work, Keith jogged in the direction Lance had run, keeping his eyes peeled for stupid teenagers.

At some point he realizes he's near the old abandoned park that he and Lance had discovered as children. Over time, Lance would go there whenever he was sad, and only Keith knew where to find him.

It's a long shot, Keith figures, but better than nothing.

It doesn't take him long to reach the edge of the park. Keith stops. An initial scan of the area reveals that Lance is not there. He decides to make a few rounds anyway, and begins to walk around the perimeter.

"Lance!" Keith cups his hands around his mouth for better volume. "Lance!"

"-eith!"

Keith stops at the faint sound of his name. He was positive it was Lance's voice, but it was so faint he couldn't discern from which direction it was coming from. "Lance!?"

"Keith! O-er –ere!"

Keith turns, the voice coming from behind him. But Lance is nowhere to be seen. He feels stupid, calling Lance's name over and over again like some kind of Marco Polo game, but he continues anyway.

"Lance!"

"Keith!"

Keith rounds the small outcrop near the back of the park, and a flash of blue catches his eye. He comes around completely to find a small cave, perfect size for a brooding teenager. On the ground lie Lance's clothes, the same bright blue sweatshirt and black shorts he had been wearing last night. In a bout of panic, Keith kneels and scoops up the sweatshirt, the cloth still damp from yesterday's rain.

Could Lance be in trouble? Why would he take off all his clothes?

"Keith! I'm down here!"

"Lance? Lance, where are you!?"

"Over here!"

Keith does his best to follow the sound of the tiny voice, so jarringly opposite from Lance's usual loud and obnoxious tone. He scans the tiny outcropping of rock, looking for his (ex) childhood friend's ugly mug.

"Down here!"

Down? Keith glances down, and almost trips on a rock.

A tiny Lance, no taller than an inch and wearing nothing but a leaf wrapped around his hips, is jumping up and down and waving his arms frantically to get Keith's attention. Keith blinks once, and blinks again.

"Wha…? Lance!?"

Satisfied that Keith could see him, Lance crosses his arms and taps his foot impatiently. "Took you long enough."

Keith squats so he can be on a somewhat closer eye level with Lance. He can't believe his eyes… he reaches out a finger as if to poke Lance, and then thinks better of it and instead pinches himself hard.

"Ow!"

"What'd you do that for?"

"Making sure this isn't a dream…"

"Weren't you the one who was always into cryptids and supernatural stuff?" Lance points out, one tiny eyebrow raised. He gestures to himself, "Exhibit A."

Keith slowly lowers a hand to Lance's level, and the shrunken boy takes the hint. He steps delicately into Keith's palm, holding onto one of his fingers for support as Keith raises his cupped hands to his own face. "I can't believe this."

"Neither can I," Lance remarks, and uses a hand to adjust his leaf. "And I really hate to be a nuisance because I know you can't stand me…" Keith winces at that. "But I haven't eaten since yesterday and in case you haven't seen it yet, I'm wearing a leaf."

"Oh, oh right."

Keith straightens and sets Lance on his shoulder. The tiny boy grips onto Keith's hair for support and Keith leaves the park and makes his way into town. He stops by a small convenience store for food, as Lance whispers into his ear like some kind of demon on Keith's shoulder.

"Are there any Mars Bars? Damn I could go for a Mars Bars right now. Oh, and can I get some Twinkies? Those would be – hey!"

Keith had pulled Lance from his shoulder and transferred him to his sweatshirt pocket with a growled "Shut up."

Keith pays for the snacks with the little pocket change he had when he'd run out of the house to look for Lance, and watches Lance eat barely a fourth of a single Twinkie before he can't eat anymore.

Keith would admit that watching a one-inch-tall person eat was fascinating. Strictly speaking it wasn't any different than how normal sized people eat, but the portions were so small…

"Quit staring at me," Lance barks once he's declared himself full.

"Sorry."

'No you're not."

Keith sighs and scoops Lance up again, depositing him in his pocket once again and making his way back to their neighborhood.

Lance's family is a-flurry outside, his parents speaking frantically to a police officer and a few extended family members that didn't live too far. Chloe is sitting on a bench, swinging her legs and looking a little bored.

"Please officer, find our son," Lance's mother pleads.

"We're doing our best, ma'am," says he officer. "I can't officially declare him missing until twenty-four hours have passed…"

"This is bad," Keith says, observing the scene outside Lance's house. He can feel Lance leaning slightly so he can see the commotion, and is unusually quiet. "Come on, we have to let them know you're okay."

At that, Lance starts. "What? No!"

"Why not!?"

"I don't want them to see me like this!" Lance gestures to himself again for good measure. "I'd be sent away to be experimented on! Dissected, then maybe sent to a traveling circus freak show!"

"They're your parents, Lance," Keith tries. "They'll understand."

"No…" Lance's voice is so quiet Keith has to strain to hear it. "They'll be in shock. We just had a big fight, Keith, and seeing me like this will only make it worse."

"But don't you think them not knowing you're okay will make it even more worse?"

Lance contemplates that, and grips the hem of the pocket tighter. "Let's leave."

Keith still doesn't like it, but concedes anyway. "Fine. But this conversation isn't over."

They go back into Keith's house next door, past Shiro who asks Keith if he had found Lance. A soft kick in Keith's side prompts him to answer, "No. Nothing."

Up in Keith's room, Keith sets Lance down on his bed. Lance watches as Keith digs into the very back of his closet to find a small box full of old action figures. "This will have to do for now," Keith says, and sets the box on his desk to rifle through old GI Joes and Captain Americas. He pulls out a pair of tiny camo pants and throws them at Lance.

Lance lets out an Oof! as the pants hit his tiny body at a speed thrown by normal sized arm muscles. "Watch it!"

"Sorry not sorry," Keith mutters, and slides the box under the bed in case he needs it… wow. That was a sentence he never thought he'd think.

While Lance uses a pillow as a divider to change clothes, Keith kneels on the floor and rests his arms on the mattress. "So while you're doing that, if you're going to hide here, we need to establish some ground rules."

"Like what?"

"Rule number one: don't touch any of my stuff," Keith demands. "Rule number two: don't let Shiro find you."

Lance comes out from behind the pillow, dragging his leaf behind him and wearing only the camo pants. They seem to fit well enough, though Keith can tell he's going to need something more substantial… and a shirt. Lance waves his hand dismissively. "Yeah, yeah, I got it."

"Also, no – !"

"Um, Keith."

"What now?"

Lance seems to struggle with how to mention it, and eventually decides to play charades. He crosses his legs and wiggles his butt, bottom lip sucked in between his teeth.

"What… the hell?" Keith mutters. "I'm not playing charades with you Lance, what do you want?"

Lance just wiggles harder, using his hands this time to mime… oh. Ooooh.

Keith averts his eyes and glances around his room, for some kind of… something for Lance to use. Eventually he spots the dead plant outside his windowsill that he never bothered to throw away. Keith stands and slides the window open so Lance can access it.

"I don't need this plant, so you can use it as a bathroom, I guess," Keith mumbles.

Lance looks almost horrified at the thought of using a plant, and Keith almost laughs at the scandalized look on the tiny boy's face.

"Keith, you're going to be late," Shiro calls from downstairs.

"Be right down!" Keith turns to Lance once again. "I have to go to school, so just remember the first two rules and we'll discuss more about this after I get home."

Lance looks conflicted for a moment, and finally nods quietly. Keith starts to head downstairs when Lance says, "Keith."

Keith turns, one hand on the doorknob. "Hm?"

Lance twists his hands together. "Thanks."

Keith allows himself to smile a little before he goes downstairs and closes the door behind him.

.o0o.

Keith can't believe what he's hearing.

"Lance isn't here!"

"He's never missed a day of school… I wonder what happened?"

"Maybe he was abducted by aliens!"

Keith shakes his head and continues fooling around on his phone. People can believe what they want to believe, but aliens is a more convincing story than shrinking to barely taller than Keith's thumb.

Lance's friends, Hunk and Pidge, sit with their heads worriedly together, whispering. Keith feels a little bad for them, being left out of the loop, but Keith could tell that Lance didn't want anyone to know what had happened to him. And that included his friends. So Keith holds his tongue and remains seated.

After Ms. Allura's class, Hunk catches her right outside of the classroom. Pidge rounds the corner from her own class and they bombard her with questions. Keith hangs back a little to listen.

"Lance hasn't missed a day of school since kindergarten," Hunk is saying. "And for him to suddenly skip isn't like Lance at all."

"Do you know anything?" Pidge asks, trying and failing to keep the fear out of her voice.

Ms. Allura sadly shakes her head. "I don't know anything," she says. "But I'm sure Lance knows what he's doing…"

"Ms. Allura! Ms. Allura!"

They all turn to see Coach Coran barreling down the hallway. He stops at their side and says breathlessly, "Is it true that Lance Sanchez ran away!?"

Keith buries his face in his hand. Coach Coran couldn't have said it any louder, could he? All the students in the hallway hear and turn simultaneously, hungry for latest gossip. Keith slides down in his chair and tries not to be noticed.

This proves futile when he sees someone stop by his desk, and see that it's the new girl, Nyma. She smiles at him, hands clasped behind her back innocently. "Hey, Keith."

Keith doesn't give her much attention; he has a bad feeling about her. But he can't be rude, so he mutters a quiet, "Hey."

"I was just thinking about yesterday," Nyma is saying as she pulls up a chair to sit next to him. "With what's his name?"

"Lance."

Nyma grins. "Right! It's just I heard he's missing."

Keith does his best to keep a neutral face. "I've heard that, too."

"Do you know anything about it?"

Keith chokes and covers it up with a cough. "Wh-what would give you that idea?"

Nyma shrugs, eyes Keith with a calm air. "It seems like you guys have some kind of history."

"That's all it is," Keith mutters. "History."

"Hmm…" Nyma murmurs to herself. "Then I guess you really can't tell what's going on with some people," she muses. "You think he has a sugar momma somewhere…?"

Hunk and Pidge reenter the room just in time to hear Nyma. Hunk has to physically wrap an arm around Pidge to keep her from strangling the other girl. Keith, too, feels a strange emotion bloom in his chest, and stands roughly from his desk. "Lance and I may not be friends," he says, angrily to a surprised looking Nyma. "But he is not that kind of person."

"I didn't mean to imply – "

Keith doesn't want to be there any longer. He is still not one hundred percent sure he's conscious, and hasn't been able to pay attention in class due to recalling every possible cryptid or conspiracy theory that could cause or explain the shrinking of a human being. It was no use. Keith begins to pack his bag, slinging it over his shoulder and running from the room. Hunk and Pidge call after him, but he ignores them.

Shiro isn't home when Keith arrives, which he is silently thankful for. Keith barges into his room and dumps his bag on the floor. Lance is nowhere to be seen.

"Lance?" Keith asks quietly.

No response. Oh, good. Maybe this entire morning had been a dream and he had been agonizing over nothing.

"Keeeeeeeeith!"

Keith closes his eyes and sighs. His life is never that simple, is it? He scans the room, and finally spots Lance trapped outside on the windowsill, banging his tiny fists against the glass to get Keith's attention. Keith rolls his eyes and goes to open the window. "I leave you for three hours and you get stuck outside?"

Lance hops back into the room and leans against the wall. "Rich, coming from the guy whose brother cleans his room!"

Keith narrows his eyes in confusion. "Shiro doesn't clean my room."

Lance laughs out loud. It's a cute sound when it's so tiny. "Right, you weren't here, dude. I had to hide in your pencil case while he was fussing around. And then I went to hide behind my bathroom plant and he closed the window on me!" Lance rubbed his hands across his arms. "I don't have a shirt, Keith, and it's cold outside!"

"Sorry, I think my shirts are a little big for you," Keith snaps sarcastically, and then sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. "Anyway, we have a big problem. Everyone at school knows you're missing. Either you've died or run away with someone you met online."

Lance bursts out laughing, and actually has to wipe miniscule tears from his eyes. "Oh my god that's amazing."

"It's not amazing," Keith snaps. "Your friends, Hunk and Pidge, are really worried about you, man. "

That sobers Lance up. "Yeah," he says to himself. "I guess I should call them… Keith did you happen to pick up my phone at the park?"

Keith shakes his head. "According to Shiro you left it at your house."

Lance's eyes suddenly widen. "Oh, shit, Keith. You didn't bring any of my stuff back from the park."

"No…?

"Dude!? What if they form a search party and find my clothes! They're gonna think I was kidnapped and murdered and dismembered and scattered all around the city and they'll dig up the entire place and -!"

"Alright, alright, I get it!" Keith sighs.

An hour later sees Keith back at the park, dressed as inconspicuous as he can as he stuffs Lance's mostly dry clothes into a spare gym bag. "Why the hell am I doing this?" he asks himself with every thrust of cloth or shoe. "He owes me big time."

Being inconspicuous with a gym bag full of clothes during school hours is a chore, to say the least. Luckily Keith makes it back to his house with no trouble, but Keith is not in a good mood when he returns. Lance is leaning a ruler he'd found lying around against a book when Keith opens the door, apparently in the process of measuring his newfound height.

"Hey, Keith, good news!" Lance cheers. "Turns out I'm two inches tall."

Keith groans. "Congratulations. Now can you please just go home?"

Lance's smile drops. "I thought I told you I don't want them to see me like this."

"But why me?" Keith's frustration is finally emerging. "Why do you have to stay with me!?"

"Hey, I didn't get to pick who found me!" Lance yells back. "I was almost eaten by a bird, and insects are not so harmless when they're as big as you. Look, I'm not happy about this situation either, but it looks like we're just stuck with each other for now." Lance stops yelling and takes on a more pleading tone. "Can I please stay here? Until I grow back to normal? You know, for all I know this could just be a twenty-four hour thing and I'll be back to normal by tomorrow."

Keith weighs his options. He could just dump Lance into his parents' hands and be done with it; not much Lance can do about that when he's only one inch – pardon, two inches – tall. That would get Lance out of his hair for good, and Keith wouldn't have to deal with him ever again. Or, Keith could let Lance stay in his room and they can figure out how to get Lance back to normal.

As much as Keith would love the first option, the second is much more intriguing. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't curious about how such a phenomenon like Lance's predicament could occur, and some excitement in his dull, monotonous life would be a nice change of pace. The only thing holding him back was that it was Lance of all people, his estranged best friend turned… what? Enemies?

Keith finally gave in to the pleading look Lance was giving him, hands clasped under his chin and lower lip jutted out in a tiny pout. "Alright, fine," Keith says. "You can stay here."

The smile on Lance's face looks good on him. Whoa, what.

"Thank you so much! I'll be so quiet it's like I'm not even here!"

"Too late for that," Keith teases, and Lance looks ecstatic that he and Keith are on a somewhat easy rapport, and maybe, possibly, toeing the line to the rekindling of their friendship.

"Hey, uhm, Keith? Do you have anything else to eat…?"

Keith groans.