He reached for a hair elastic, and put his mullet up in a little ponytail. Keith looked at his reflection in the mirror. He was about to go to a damn yoga class. Shiro and Allura had taken Quiznak to a vet appointment, and were going to meet him at the gym. They'd taken the car, so Keith got to ride the bus. Black sweatpants, black t shirt, red socks with black Adidas slides. Keith felt like an idiot getting onto the bus with a gym bag to go to yoga. He trusted Allura, but this was pushing it a bit. Why had he even packed a gym bag? It wasn't like he was going to sweat or anything. Yoga is mom exercise, right? But even so, a towel and a change of clothes had been brought with him.
Keith got off the bus and looked at the gym entrance. God, I hope nobody I know is here, he thought. Alas, he had promised Allura and his brother. Walking inside, it was like a blanket of body odor and heat had been thrown over him. The girl at the front desk looked like she spent the majority of her time on a treadmill, thin and lean. She looked up from the computer when Keith approached. "Um, I'm here for the, um, the yoga class?" She smiled. "You're going to love Lance's class. Are you a gym member?" He shook his head. "That'll be $10." Keith paid and looked around. "Could you tell me where the class is?" The girl pointed to a studio entrance at the back corner of the gym.
The studio was spacious, but not large. Paneled mirrors made up the wall, and the floor was dark hardwood. Keith heard his phone ring, and dug it out of his pocket. Before he could say anything, Shiro spoke, sounding uncomfortable and anxious. "Keith! Keith, hey. So um, we took Quiznak to the vet, right?" "Yeah." "Well, erm, they found worms, Keith. Like a lot of them. Dr Lang says it's critical." "Oh my god. Is he gonna.." "They aren't sure if he's going to make it. We need to be here while Dr Lang does vitals, because he might start the procedure as soon as soon as those are written down. Keith, can do you me a favor? Go to yoga. Have fun, please. Just do it for me, me and Allura. Do it for Quiznak! Look, I gotta go-" the call cut off before Keith could say anything else. He stared at his phone in disbelief for a few seconds before he realized that he had paid for a yoga class, had no yoga mat, and Shiro had made Keith's attendance to said yoga class Quiznak's dying wish.
He had no idea what was happening or what to do, so when the man came up behind him he jumped straight into the air. "Hello! You're new, aren't you? I haven't seen you before. I'm sure I would have remembered you." Keith was trying to form a sentence, but his brain wasn't working. Had the yoga teacher just flirted with him? That last line sounded kinda gay. And Keith was very well versed in things that were gay. When Keith didn't answer, the man kept talking. "Well I'm Lance, and this is my yoga class. You don't have a mat, do you? No problem, I've got some extras over here." Suddenly Keith was holding a yoga mat and being ushered to a spot in the front of the studio. Lance took his gym bag and water bottle, set those down, and then rolled the mat out next to them. People were starting to flow into the studio, chatting and unrolling mats. A woman walked in, tall, taller than Keith but not as tall as Lance. She had pale skin, long blonde hair, and violet eyes. Lance turned around just as she approached him, and immediately greeted her with a hug. When they separated, she rested an arm on his shoulder, and stood with one hip popped to the side. "Nyma! How are you? Did Paris treat you well?" Nyma smiled at Lance and then looked down to admire her long pink nails. "It was wonderful! The shopping was fantastic! I bought this top from the cutest boutique, actually." Keith looked at her shirt. It didn't look special, more like something you could find on sale at Kohl's.
Lance continued to chat with Nyma (who Keith already didn't like), until everyone else was just about settled and ready for class. He dimmed the lights and put on some music, then walked around the room handing out foam blocks. "You, yes, you!" Keith looked up at Lance. "Since it's your first time, I thought maybe you would like to use these blocks?" He was about to accept the blocks, until he noticed a small group of middle aged soccer moms who were using blocks. "I'm good, thanks." Keith was not a soccer mom. Lance nodded and walked up to the front of the studio, where he sat down on his own yoga mat. "Alright friends, let's start today's class with some stretching,"
Keith was beginning to wish he had taken the blocks. He was in plank position, except his right knee was pulled up to his chest. "Now we're going to let our hip hinge open, and let that right leg swing to the side. Bring your chest up, which will leave you in lizard pose." They held that pose for a good minute or so, and then repeated it on the left side. "Now slowly, make your way to standing."
Class was over! Finally. Keith was going to go home and binge watch The Office.
"Now we're going to begin the warrior sequence."
Dammit.
Lance walked from the front of the room to the middle, and stood in-between Charlotte and Keith. Keith had made sure his mat was a good two feet away from hers. "Lunge forward, and put your arms out like so. Good, good, breathe. Now we're going to flip the palms and go into the peaceful warrior stance."
Keith was fairly sure another few seconds in this pose and he would collapse. He was right. His knees started to wobble and just as he was about to topple over, Lance said, "Now we're going to face the left wall, straddle our legs, and then fold forwards." Keith folded forwards, and he shifted his neck to see if he had been doing it right, which he was. Then he noticed Lance, folded in front of him, with his ass in Keith's face. And Keith couldn't help but notice what a good ass it was.
After that, with every pose they did, the lights dimmed more, little by little. Keith was subjected to sphinx, puppy, and child's poses until the lights were off completely. The only glow came from the red EXIT sign above the door. "Let's make our way onto our backs," Lance began, "and get yourself comfortable for savasna. Take this time to clear your mind, and let your body process what you have just done for it."
It looked like everyone was just laying down to Keith, but he tried to focus and clear his head. They must have stayed there for five minutes, at least. "Now keeping our eyes closed, let's get into a sitting position. If you can go into lotus, feel free." Lotus? Keith had no idea what that was so he just sat with his legs crossed. "Bring your hands to prayer and bring prayer to your heart." When he heard the chime go off, Keith nearly had a heart attack. Three clear dings rang out into the room. Lance spoke. "The light in me bows to the same light in all of you. Namaste."
"Namaste," everyone mumbled. The lights lit up the slightest bit. "Thanks everyone!" Lance said. "Thanks Lance!" "See you next class, Lance!"
Keith stood up, downed half of his water, and shakily made his way to the showers. He stripped, and turned on the water. It was cold, but he didn't mind. It was like a damn sauna in that studio. The water dribbled down the drain, and Keith thought about Quiznak. Was he going to be okay? Shiro got that cat when he was a freshman in college. Now Shiro was getting married and Keith was a college sophomore.
Keith sighed and turned off the water. There was nothing he could do but hope. Ugh, he'd forgotten a second towel. It went much faster to dry off if he had a separate towel for his hair. He stepped out of the shower and directly into Lance, who had also just gotten out of the shower. "Woah! Ah, hi." "Hi there again! So tell me, did you like the class?" "It was hard," Keith admitted. "You know what?" asked Lance. "I never got your name." Keith smirked. "That's because I didn't give it to you." Lance raised an eyebrow. Keith sighed and rolled his eyes, laughing. "I'm Keith." Lance looked at him for a moment. "How about this-you can keep the mat I gave you in the studio if you promise to come back."
"You've got yourself a deal."
