When Lance arrives at the coffee shop where they all agreed to meet, Keith is the only one there. Lance feels certain his cheeks must be coloring as he walks up and says hi, and he's certain his voice must sound funny, and yet Keith just grunts a return greeting. Lance takes a seat at the table Keith has snagged and looks around. Since when has being alone with Keith been so awkward? Oh yeah, since he realized he had a crush on Keith. Actually no, it started even before that. Probably since about the time Lotor showed up and made things weird.
"You know what, I'm gonna go order a drink," Lance says, because it is morning and morning is a time for coffee, and also because it's been a solid thirty seconds and Keith has yet to say anything other than his monosyllabic acknowledgment of Lance's existence.
"Shouldn't we wait for everyone else to arrive?" Keith asks.
As if on cue, both their phones ding, and they both fish them out of their pockets.
"Hunk says he won't be able to make it. He's… indisposed," Lance informs Keith. Poor Hunk. Every now and then he has some bowel troubles, and it seems like today is one of those days. Lance wonders if Hunk will be at practice.
"Huh," Keith grunts to let Lance know he heard. "Well Matt says their dad's car got a flat tire so they're gonna have a hard time making it as well."
"I guess Mr. Holt shouldn't have gone and lost his spare tire," Lance jokes. When he gets a puzzled look from Keith, he elaborates. "Mr. Holt used to be a lot heavier, and had a really big belly. Which is sometimes called a spare tire? But then Mrs. Holt made him go on a diet and work out a bunch so he lost a lot of weight so he no longer has his spare tire stomach." Keith still doesn't laugh, and Lance is ready to give this guy up for a lost cause. It really makes him question his crush on Keith, since what exactly is attractive about a guy with no sense of humor?
"Anyway, if Matt and Pidge and Hunk all aren't coming, is there even any point in having this meeting? Maybe we should cancel," Keith sighs.
"You can go if you want, but I want me some coffee, so I'm sticking around. Just remember that if you do leave now, you'll be completely unprepared for Lotor this afternoon."
"I'm pretty sure I'll be unprepared either way," Keith grumbles, but he's still seated at the table when Lance gets back with his cappuccino five minutes later.
"Alright, I guess the meeting is on then," Lance states. He takes a sip of his drink and sighs happily. Yup, coffee. It's good.
Keith grunts as his response yet again, and Lance is getting really tempted to reach down Keith's throat in an attempt to find whatever words he actually has in him.
"So I figure the most dangerous spot for you right now is practice," Lance continues, figuring that he's probably going to have to do most of the talking here. "Especially since the senseis seem to like pairing you and Lotor up. So I guess the first step will be for the rest of us to stick close to you as much as possible so that we can partner up with you for drills. Sound good?"
"I guess. Lotor's actually not as bad during practice. He's pretty serious about judo, y'know."
"The not-so-witty banter I received during randori with him yesterday begs to differ. So, we stick close during practice. That's step one."
"Step one? What, is this going to be some multi-phase plan? Lance, you do realize Lotor's only going to be around for like another week, right?"
"I just meant that there's no one thing we can do that will magically keep Lotor away from you so we will have to be doing multiple things at once and that is the first one I thought of. Yeesh. Well, I suppose there are a couple of 'one things' we could do, but they're kinda illegal, and my parents would kill me if I broke the law."
"Okay then. Right. What's step two?"
"Step two would hinge on protecting you before and after practice. That's gonna be a bit harder to swing, since you come and go with Shiro-sensei, and he's usually the first person to arrive and the last person to leave. And since Lotor doesn't have to worry about transportation, he can stick around as long as he wants. So to deal with that, we can either split things up so the rest of us are coming early and leaving late to make sure you don't go unattended, or you could start having sleepovers with Matt. Or maybe a combination thereof."
"How about we go with the first because having a sleepover seems kinda…"
"Don't tell me you've never been to a sleepover."
Keith shakes his head.
"Then definitely both, because we have to change that."
"You really shouldn't just volunteer Matt's house like that."
"Or you could host him." Lance rolls his eyes. He almost says "or you could spend the night at my place" but no no no that is a bad idea, BAD IDEA. For one, he's ranted to his family about how much he hates Keith before, for two, his family is very nosy and his house is small and there is virtually no privacy to be found, and for three, he and Keith aren't even friends. Just uneasy allies against Lotor. That may be enough to get them to spend time together, but it is not enough to constitute having sleepovers together.
Though maybe if Keith stays at Matt's place, Lance can convince Pidge to have a movie night that night…
No. Ulterior motives are not cool, Lance McClain. This is about Keith. Not about your stupid crush. So don't even go there.
"So I guess we'll have to run that by everyone when we see them," Keith says. "Anything else?"
"Well you probably should avoid being alone in public places. Lotor could show up anywhere."
"That won't be a problem. I rarely go out anyway."
"Right, right. I forgot you're a total lame brain," Lance teases.
"Better a lame brain than a totally awkward weirdo dork," Keith drawls.
"Hey! You said you didn't think I was!" Lance protests, but then he notices the slight upward quirking of Keith's mouth.
"Oh, did I? Well then, I guess I've changed my mind," Keith replies, the corners of his mouth twitching up even more. Lance can't help but laugh.
"And I guess I'm just gonna have to prove you wrong."
"I'm looking forward to it, Lance."
x
As he's leaving the coffee shop, Keith makes it about five yards past the door before he comes to a realization that stops him in his tracks: they had a normal conversation.
THEY HAD A NORMAL CONVERSATION!
Come to think of it, it isn't even the first time. That time at the ice rink, that was pretty normal. And so was in the closet- though that one didn't happen under normal circumstances so maybe it didn't count? And did making plans to avoid Lotor count as normal? Well it did seem like something gossipy girls might talk about so maybe? Whatever. He's just gonna let himself enjoy the fact that he has had at least three whole conversations with Lance now where they weren't insulting each other with every other breath.
Part of him wants to insist that Lotor is right and maybe he can work things out with Lance. But then he remembers that a: Lotor is the one who said that, and b: Lance is a nice enough guy that even if they are total enemies, he will still stand up for someone if the need rises. Once the threat of Lotor is gone, Lance will almost definitely return to spitting insults in Keith's face and scowling the moment Keith walks into the room.
As he and Lance agreed to, Keith calls Matt to brief him on their plans. Matt readily agrees to show up early for practice, which is a relief, and promises to talk to his parents about a sleepover. Or as Matt calls it, a slumber party. Keith wonders if there's a difference between the two.
Practice that day goes smoothly. As promised, Lance, Pidge, Hunk, and Matt all stick close and keep Lotor at bay. He does partner with a few other people, and even does a couple of drills with Acxa and Zethrid, but he doesn't have to deal with Lotor and it is great.
x
The problem with looking out for Keith is that it means Lance has to take one for the team sometimes and intercept Lotor himself. He feels like gagging every time he does so. And he knows Lotor is aware of how Lance feels about it, since Lotor seems highly amused every time Lance partners up with him. Still, he promised to help out, and if it's between dealing with this slimeball himself or feeling those nasty pangs of jealousy seeing Lotor and Keith together, he'll take the slimeball. Being jealous seems a little wrong given that he's the one who has kept Keith at a distance all along, but at least Lotor is unpleasant enough that Lance feels perfectly justified being disgusted to be near him.
Saturday, day two of protecting Keith and day six of the Galra dojo's visitation rolls around with the news that Matt and Pidge's parents have approved them having friends stay overnight on Thursday. Lance and Hunk are invited as well as Keith. When Pidge gives Lance a look at his quick acceptance, he even manages to play it off pretty smoothly, insisting that even Keith can't possibly bring down the fun experience of a movie night at the Holt house. Which is true. Mrs. Holt makes the best popcorn. She can manage the perfect amount of butter, and she also whips up caramel and cheese popcorns, and has even managed to perfect the "hurricane popcorn" that Hunk loves. Plus they've got super comfy bean bags and loads of blankets to make a nest in and a pretty sweet TV setup and you really couldn't ask for more.
The day ends, however, with a slight disaster. Lance is on duty to stay late with Keith, and they're emptying out the water jugs for Shiro when Lotor approaches unseen. Neither of them is really sure how it happened, but one minute they're pouring the excess water down a drain and the next Lotor is leaning on Keith and Keith has this stricken expression on his face and Lance is sure his face looks about the same.
"Sooooo. What do you say we spend some quality time tomorrow, you and me?" Lotor says to Keith. "I was thinking maybe I could stop by your place and we could hang out. Maybe watch some movies and chill."
Lotor's voice is way too suggestive. This is not okay. Lance needs to do something now, for Keith's sake as well as the sake of his own stupid unrequited feelings for Keith.
"Actually, Keith and I have plans tomorrow," Lance says. Keith stares at him, and Lance tries not to flinch at how obvious Keith is making his improvisation.
"Oh? Do you really?"
"Yeah, we were gonna go to the pool with Pidge and Hunk and Matt."
Crap. There he went volunteering people for things again. And why the pool? Anyone could go to the pool. It was a public pool! Danggit, Lance. But a small part of him acknowledged the desire to see Keith in swim trunks. He really did tend to think with his hormones, just like Keith had said that first day.
"What a shame. I didn't bring any swimwear, and father and mother get so stingy about spending money. It's not like we're starved for cash, and yet they always nag me about my spending. And swimming would be such a good work out," Lotor sighs. Lance can't believe it. Did his crazy half-assed spur-of-the-moment plan actually work? Good job McClain!
"That IS too bad," Lance says as sincerely as he can manage. Which is not very sincerely at all.
"Yeah. A real pity," Keith agrees in much the same tone. "Guess we'll see you Monday then, Lotor." The two of them flee, but they only just make it into the dojo before Keith hisses to Lance "I don't have swim trunks with me either!"
"You don't?" Lance asks. Keith rolls his eyes as he shakes his head.
"I don't really swim that often, plus we weren't sure how long my mom's job would keep her abroad so I thought I might be going back home soon. A lot of my stuff is in storage back home, and somehow, I don't think Shiro's parents are going to want to drive me two hours there and back so I can go to a pool.
"Relax. You can borrow my brother's. He's about your size."
"You have a brother?"
"Brothers. It's a pretty big family. We're awesome."
"They're not something super embarrassing are they? Because if you're just trying to get me to wear some ridiculous floral print board shorts-"
"Relax. They're plain red with a single white stripe on the side. I'll get my mom to wash them tonight so they'll even be all nice and clean for you."
"Alright. Thanks."
"No problem. Now I've just gotta let Pidge and Hunk know we're going swimming tomorrow."
"You know, that whole making plans for other people is something you might want to work on. It could really bite you in the butt one of these days."
"Yeah, I know."
x
It's not a date.
Lance was just trying to get him out of a bad situation. And he already texted Keith that Pidge and Hunk had both confirmed they were going, and the Holt's could give Keith a ride to the pool. There would be other people there, and it was just to avoid having Lotor invading his personal space, so it was not a date.
And yet Keith couldn't help but feel that maybe it kinda was. Maybe he was getting a ride from the Holt's, but he knew thanks to Matt that Pidge hated the sun, and Matt always looked out for his "baby sister" (as if a year's age difference was that big a deal), and maybe Hunk would have problems again and then it could be just him and Lance.
Doing… what exactly?
What did one usually do when hanging out with friends at the pool? Keith had gone to pools with his parents before, but that was ages ago, and had been mostly for the sake of teaching him to swim. There was a waterpark they sometimes went to, which was the only reason he owned a pair of swim trunks that actually fit , but that was different than going to a pool to hang out.
Knowing Lance though, it's probably going to end up being a competition of some sort. This realization causes Keith's good mood to plummet drastically. Yeah. Lance will probably want to race, and will either win and lord it over Keith until the end of time or sulk about losing and insist on trying again and again until both their muscles are jelly and Hunk physically drags Lance out of the pool to make him stop and Lance will throw a tantrum which would be kinda cute if it weren't directed at Keith. Neither option appeals to Keith.
As soon as he gets home from practice Keith goes straight to his room to pack. He needs to shower, but packing comes first. He raids his uncle's "beach bag" (he's not sure anyone in the Shirogane family has ever been to the actual beach, but that's what it's called) and grabs sunscreen, goggles, and a thick fluffy towel. He also roots around for a swim cap but doesn't find one. He'll have to figure out what to do with his hair then, since it will get in his face and blind him if his head goes underwater at all. Once he has borrowed all that, he goes and stuffs it all in his backpack, dumping out the school supplies that are still in there since he never bothered to empty it out once the school year ended. Only after getting ready does he finally take his shower.
The next morning, Keith spends a ridiculous amount of time getting dressed considering he's going to change once they get to the pool. He takes so long, in fact, that the Holt's arrive and he has to just go with what he had on right then and also ended up skipping breakfast. His aunt has a strange look in her eyes as she waves goodbye- the same look his uncle had when he dropped Keith off at the skating rink the other day. Keith may have been very careful about what he wore that day too. Maybe they're on to him. But it's not like taking care with one's appearance is a crime or anything!
Lance and Hunk are already waiting when they get to the pool. They head into the changing rooms and Lance hands over the swim trunks as promised, which thankfully are exactly as Lance described. Keith opts not to comment on the fact that Lance's are identical except that they are blue instead of red. But he kinda likes that they are matching. Just a little.
As soon as they have found a spot to put their stuff down, Lance, Matt, and Hunk are all charging towards the water, and with three explosive slashes, they plunge in. Some girls nearby scream a little, but in the sort of way that girls use to encourage rather than show actual distress. Keith is sure that as soon as Lance surfaces, he'll be all over the girls, but instead his head appears at the edge of the pool and calls out "C'mon you two chickens, get in! The water's great!"
"Probably because you warm it up by peeing in it!" Pidge retorts.
"I do not!" Lance protests angrily. "Do you have any idea how unsanitary that is! It is absolutely disgusting!"
The girls are giggling, and surely Lance must notice them by now. But he is still looking at Keith and Pidge expectantly.
"I've still gotta put some sunscreen on," Keith replies.
"Ah, the burdens of pasty people," Lance sighs dramatically, and then turns and he's going to go flirt with the girls, Keith just knows it, except wait, no, he's surging forward to jump Hunk, who calmly bats him away as if it's nothing. Which for Hunk, it probably is.
"You should have put it on before leaving," Pidge chides. "It needs time to set before you get in the water."
"I- uh- I kinda was in a hurry this morning," Keith stammers, and then quickly adds "b-because my alarm didn't go off so I got up late!" Pidge has that same look his aunt had this morning, and that his uncle had the other day. Keith turns around and starts applying sunscreen, trying not to blush.
The sound of wet footsteps interrupts Keith.
"Want me to do your back?" Lance asks. Keith looks up to see Lance standing there, dripping wet and looking way too good.
"Wet hands aren't very good for applying sunscreen," Keith tells him.
"Uh, hello? That's why we have these little things called towels?" Lance holds his out, and Keith is very glad he didn't have to borrow a towel from Lance as well as a swimsuit because the towel in Lance's hand is very… well it's the kind of thing one would typically expect to be used by a girl. Who is about six. Not a guy who is eleven years older than that.
Keith is so busy trying to burn the image of that towel from his retinas because that is just horrifying to him that he doesn't noticed that Lance has dried off until Lance is taking the sunscreen from him.
"Turn," Lance orders, and Keith complies. Unfortunately, this turns him back to face Pidge, who is grinning evilly now. She is definitely Matt's sister.
Having Lance of all people apply sunscreen to his back is like absolute death in the best kind of way. It is blissful and yet torturous at the same time. Keith lowers his head to try and mask his expression, and also to keep from having to see Pidge's smirk. It's starting to remind him more of Lotor than Matt now, and that is very disturbing to Keith.
Eventually the sunscreen is all applied. Lance tries to immediately drag Keith into the water, but Pidge protests about the sunscreen washing off, and so Keith is spared. For now. Instead he hangs out with Pidge, guarding their stuff in the shade of an umbrella. He watches as Lance and Matt and Hunk go ride the water slide a few times, and jump off the diving board, and then when they all prove to be hopeless divers, go practice diving from the side of the pool rather than further embarrass themselves. And finally Keith can get in the water as well.
He's not sure how to do it. Should he just jump in like the guys did? Go on the waterslide? Ease himself in slowly?
His decision is made for him by a pair of large wet hands grabbing him on either side and bodily throwing him into the pool. Three splashes follow, and then he is sputtering to the surface and trying to shake his mane out of his face and he hears familiar laughter and then Lance is gasping "oh god. Your hair!" like it is the funniest thing ever.
"Okay, but seriously, now that we have four people can we go ahead with the chicken fight?" Hunk asks.
"I still think if you're involved the odds are a little unfair," Matt says.
"Naw, me and Keith can take him," Lance says.
"Hold up. What's a chicken fight?" Keith asks. The other three guys all stare at him.
"Man, the things that you don't know never cease to amaze me," Lance says.
"A chicken fight is a two-vs-two battle done in a pool. Each two man team will have one person riding on the others shoulders, and the goal is to off-balance the other team," Matt explains.
"So it's like pool judo," Keith says.
"Uh… Y'know, I never really thought of it that way," Hunk says. "Sure, it's pool judo."
"Alright. Let's get them, Lance."
"You know it."
"Oh, it's on," Hunk replies.
"It is so on," Matt agrees.
In the end, they don't get to finish their chicken fight, because a lifeguard blows a whistle at them and tells them to stop, and threatens to kick them out of the pool. Keith is mortified, but the others shrug it off like it's no big deal. And as the day goes on and the lifeguards yell at them for splashing too much, for running beside the pool, for going down the waterslide two at a time, and for various other offenses, Keith realizes that maybe such things are normal for them.
As the afternoon rolls around, the sky darkens, and it starts to rain. No one seems particularly perturbed by this. The only real difference it makes is that Pidge, who had finally gotten in the water and was floating around on a pool noodle, gets back out to make sure everything is safely underneath the cover of the umbrella. But before long, they hear a low rumble of distant thunder, and that's when everyone finally does get out of the water and pack up. Matt explains that the pool closes when there's thunder for safety reasons, and that they could try waiting around to see if things cleared up but it wasn't really worth it. Keith is okay with this outcome, because his stomach is starting to whine in protest of the fact that he hasn't eaten today.
They go get lunch at a nearby fast food joint, and afterwards, they come out to find that the rain has stopped. Rather than go back to the pool itself, they go to a park by the pool, and play on the teeter-totters and the merry-go-round and the swings until they're all a little dizzy and tired, and Mr. Holt is called to come get Pidge and Matt and Keith and Mrs. Garrett is called to come get Hunk and Lance.
It wasn't a date.
But it sure was one of the best days Keith has ever had.
