Summary:

Lance couldn't believe Keith hadn't watched the new Space Buds movie yet. A movie marathon ensues to correct the issue.

Notes:

Hey. I'm back. Finally!
So, I don't think I can keep updating the different stories every week. So I plan to finish one and then move on. I chose this one because it isn't going to go one for too much longer. So expect this to update until it's finished before I move on. Sorry if you are reading my other stories. But just imagine when I finally get to those stories and console yourself with this fic in the meantime.
I love you all! See you next chapter.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter 8: Movie Marathon

There was a baby crying, children fighting and screaming over a toy, a television that was turned up loud enough to be heard over all the noise, and a mother trying to calm every one of them down to a tolerable volume. Keith wasn't scared to admit that he was feeling a bit overwhelmed with all of the noise in the relatively small space of the house.

He followed Lance further inside hesitantly. As soon as André saw him, he perked up and yelled at Keith as he patted the seat next to him. "Keith! Come watch this with me! It's my favorite show!"

Keith had the chance to open his mouth before Lance stepped in front of him, blocking his view of André.

"No, André. He's my friend and I invited him over to spend time with me."

André scoffed before he muttered something under his breath. Lance sighed and continued to his room. Keith offered a wave and a small smile to André, which was returned, as he followed Lance.

"Ah, Lancito! You came home and didn't even say 'hello'?"

Lance winced before he turned to his mother with a bright smile. "Hello, my beautiful, sweet, mother."

His mother sighed, "Such a charmer. Just like your father."

Lance chuckled before giving his mother and baby sister a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek. Keith felt envious of the close relationship Lance had with his family. He longed to be able to just reach out and hold his mother's hand, one more time, as Lance so easily could.

"And Keith, you're not going to say hello either?"

Keith felt himself break out of his thoughts. "What?" He looked between Lance, his sister, and his mother before her words registered in his mind. "Oh! Yes, of course. Hello, Mrs. McClain. Sorry, didn't mean to be rude."

Lance's mother cooed. "Don't worry about it. Just don't forget next time. Alright?" She asked as she used he free arm to give Keith a hug.

Keith froze for a moment before he melted into the hug and gave her an awkward pat on her arm after a moment. "Thank you for letting me come over."

"Not a problem. I have hoped for a while for Lance to get a friend his own age."

"Mom! Do you have to bring that up every time you get the chance?"

Lance's mother chuckled at her son's complaint. "Of course I do. What kind of mother would I be if I didn't embarrass my son in front of his friend every chance I could get?"

"A nice one." Lance muttered under his breath.

Katherine giggled when their mother pinched her brother's cheek playfully and caused his features to stretch comically. Keith couldn't stop the smile that crept onto his face at the scene.

"Can we go now?" Lance asked. His voice distorted from his cheek being pulled.

His mother released him and patted his slightly reddened cheek gently. "Of course you can, Lancito."

Lance rubbed his cheek as he thanked his mom, grabbed Keith's hand, and fled to the sanctity of his room.

When they got inside, Lance shut the door and sighed dramatically. "Alright. Let's get this movie marathon going."

"Marathon?" Keith asked. "I thought we were just going to watched 'Space Buds 3: So Pluto Is a Planet Again?'"

"Well yeah, but I am pretty sure you haven't seen the first two in a while."

"Well…yeah, but."

"But nothing. I'm running this show, and I say we watch the first two movies and then the third one you haven't seen yet."

Keith sighed in defeat. "Fine."

Lance smirked. "I knew you'd see things my way." He grabbed 'Space Buds?', and 'Space Buds 2: Who Knew There Was So Much Space?' from the small stack of movies in his desk drawer.

"You want popcorn or something?"

Keith shook his head, but his stomach gurgled at the thought of food. He looked down in betrayal at his stomach as he heard Lance laugh.

"Let me see what I can gather. Just water is okay, right?"

Keith nodded, and Lance ducked out the door. The younger boy took the time to appreciate Lance's room. The walls were a dark and vibrant blue. There was a single window that was covered with blinds and thick black curtains. The desk was a simple design and was apparently sturdy enough to house a laptop and a small desk lamp without too much stress. The floor next to the bed was covered by a rug but other than that, the floors were bare wood. The bed was covered by a thick plush comforter that complimented the color scheme. He grabbed the pillow just to see if it was as fluffy as it looked and found it to be incredibly soft. In amazement, Keith pulled the pillow closer and grabbed both ends before tested the softness of the pillow just as the door opened. He froze.

Lance stopped in the doorway, arms full of snacks and a couple water bottles. Blue used the moment to dash into the room. "Uhhh."

"I wasn't…I was just…"

There was a beat before Lance laughed and broke the awkward atmosphere

. "Pretty soft, huh? Don't be jealous. I have two of them, so I'll let you borrow one. Alright?"

Keith just nodded. Too embarrassed to deny anymore than he already had tried.

Lance had brought back a bag of chips, a bag of popcorn, two bowls, and split the water bottles evenly among them. The bed was against the wall and the television was on the opposite side of the room so the two sat sideways on the bed with a fluffy pillow supporting their backs. It was a few moments before Blue hopped up onto the bed and padded between the two of them before settling down. Her purring was clearly audible when Lance ran a hand down her back a few times.

The movies were just as amazing as the first time Keith had watched them. Lance would interject his opinion on something every once in awhile making the movie even funnier than he remembered. They watched the first one before Lance's mother called them for dinner. Which, of course, Keith was welcomed with open arms.

They were almost finished with their meal when Lance's mother asked Keith if he was planning on spending the night. Keith shared a quick look with Lance before nodding his head cautiously. She smiled brightly before returning to eating the rest of her food.

"Are you going to spend time with me now?" André asked from across the table. He'd been watching Keith carefully and trying to copy the way he moved when he ate. Fran and Lisa giggled to each other at André's actions.

"No way, André."

"Laaaaaance!" André whined. "I hate it when you do that!"

"Just imagine if your name was José?" Lance teased.

The younger boy puffed up his cheeks as he pouted. "Mooooom!"

"Don't tease your brother, Lance." She replied in a bored tone as she fed the baby in between bites of her own food.

Lance's dad sat at the head of the table next to Lance's mom and while he was looking down at his food as he ate, it was clear he was still listening to the conversations around the table.

After they finished, Lance and Keith did the dishes, Keith washed while Lance dried and put away, since he knew where everything was. Then they went back to Lance's room to finish their marathon. Since Keith was going to spend the night, Lance offered him some comfier clothes. They were a little big, but they were the softest things Keith had ever felt caress his skin. Err… touch his skin.

Lance offered him a shower, but Keith didn't feel like putting on an already worn pair of briefs. Besides, as soon as he was warm, clean, with soft clothes, and the plushest pillow he'd ever experienced Keith knew he would inevitably fall asleep. No need to take the chance.

When he returned, Lance already had everything set up for the second movie. Keith turned the lights off and ventured cautiously into the room while his eyes adjusted. He bumped into the bed before climbing back into his spot next to Lance, who was chuckling at Keith's temporary blindness.

"It's not funny, Lance. I can't see." Keith turned to give Lance a dirty look, his face was too dark to see without his eyes having adjusted.

The laughing stopped, and Keith squinted as his eyes finally adjusted enough to see the small smile Lance had on his face.

"What?"

"Huh? Nothing." Lance turned back to the television, but he didn't play the movie. Keith was just about to ask what the issue was, but Lance turned back to him before he could. "Keith?" he whispered.

"Yeah?" Keith answered just as quietly.

"Remember when we first met?"

Keith figured he was talking about how he found him lingering outside of his fence. He nodded.

"Well…I thought you were a major creep." Lance confessed.

Keith laughed, he'd suspected that was how Lance felt, but he never expected to be confronted with those feelings.

"Let me finish." Lance whined, and Keith settled down. "Thank you. I thought you were a major creep and the only reason I didn't make too much of a fuss was because Blue seemed to think you were okay." He continued as he rubbed Blue's back fondly.

Keith watched the action patiently. Waiting for Lance to find his words. Which was odd because he seemed to always have something to say.

"Look. I just wanted to say. I'm glad we became friends." Lance finally finished as he focused his attention of petting Blue.

Keith felt his heart skip a beat. He'd never heard such a heartfelt statement, and while it was incredibly awkward, he was in awe of his friend, that he could say something so difficult with so little effort. He didn't know how red Lance's face was as he couldn't bring himself to look up from petting Blue.

"Thanks, Lance. I'm glad you gave me the chance." There, just as honest and heartfelt. Keith looked down at his hands as he picked at the hem of the shirt he was wearing.

There was a moment of silence before Lance cleared his throat and announced in a chipper voice. "Well we better get this marathon started if we plan on finishing it tonight!"

Keith looked at the clock next to Lance's bed. "Lance…it's nine."

"Yeah?"

"These movies are like….two hours long."

"…and?"

"And?" Keith sputtered. "That's a long ass time, Lance!"

"It'll only be…like….hang on." He counted on his fingers to determine the correct time it would be four hours from nine. "One? Yeah. One."

Keith gave him a skeptical look. "You sure you can stay awake that long?"

"Easily."

The third movie was halfway over, and Lance was slumped against the wall snoring lightly. Keith smirked at him before returning his gaze to the movie. He was smiling at one of the main character's jokes when he felt Lance's head lean against his shoulder. He tensed for a moment, expecting Lance to wake up and blame him, but when he didn't stir Keith allowed himself to relax.

He continued to watch the movie with bleary eyes as Lance's warmth and constant deep breaths lulled him further and he struggled to finish the movie.

Blue took that opportunity to curl closer between them to soak in their combined body heat in some kind of human heater.

"This is going to be my last mission." The television continued playing the movie quietly. The older main character spoke through a screen to the younger.

"You can't do that! I thought we were in this together?"

A chuckle. "We are. And we always will be. Space Buds for life. But I want to settle down. I don't want to fight anymore. I want to go on a new adventure. One where I can leave something other than destruction behind."

A sniffle. "Then let me come too! The universe isn't worth saving if I can't save it with you!"

"Come now." The older sighed. "I'm sure you don't mean that."

There was silence as the younger pouted.

"Hekite." The older paused until he had the younger's attention. "They need a hero."

"Then why are you leaving?"

"They don't need me. In fact, they don't even need you. They just need someone to look up to. We just happened to fill the position."

"Ungrateful fools."

"I'm tired, Hekite. I almost got you killed last mission. I'm slowing down. In this profession? That is as good as dead."

"That was my fault, Jooule! I should have let you handle it. I just got cocky is all."

"It's all right, Hekite. I reached this decision on my own. I figured I owed you an explanation before I left. You mean too much to me for me to just leave you without an explanation."

"It's not fair!"

"It is what it is."

There was a long silence full of Hekite's sniffling. "I'm gonna miss you, buddy."

"Me too…me too."

"How am I gonna do this alone?"

"You won't have to. I found someone to replace me."

"Who?"

Jooule leaned back out of frame and beckoned someone over. With a smile, Jooule introduced a muscular young man with a shock of white hair and a large scar running across his face. "This is Uhla."

Startled by the familiar face, Keith stiffened before whispering hoarsely. "Shiro?"

Notes:

So... I know I shouldn't be bringing this up. But I had an original work idea (if you couldn't already guess, it is the Space Buds trilogy). It won't be anything other than an idea until I finish my other works. But I wondered if anyone was interested in it or if I should just write it for me? The opportunity presented itself in this chapter. (I originally was going to have them watch the Lord of the Rings series. But I remembered my thing and thought of a plot development) [Shiro's fate was going to be wrongfully imprisoned and then getting out, but I decided to go a different route]
Thoughts?