Chapter 12: Neighbors
Notes:
Finally, a decent sized update! Big thank you to Seele_Esser_Deutsch on AO3 for proofreading this!
We are so close to the end, guys.
Lance dragged the last box into their new apartment. His mom had brought along the whole family to help load. Keith had driven his motorcycle with Lance sitting behind him all the way there.
The unloading was relatively quick thanks to Keith not having much, and Lance deciding to only bring the essentials.
Blue had safely arrived within her cat carrier in the backseat with Lance's family.
Keith had learned that apartments were rented or leased. He and Lance had talked with the renter and had signed various paperwork before Keith paid the agreed amount.
Luckily, the apartment didn't have too many issues, and the ones it did were simple fixes.
"Take care, you two! And don't be strangers!" Lance's mother ordered. "I expect you to call me every once in a while, at least!"
"Yes, ma'am!" Keith answered dutifully as Lance laughed and hugged his mother close.
"Love you, mama ."
"I love you too, Lancito ." She squeezed him tightly before she did the same to Keith and turned to her children. "Tell them goodbye!"
"Bye, Lance! Bye, Keith!" Fran called as Lisa gave the two boys a hug before her little sister could.
"Bu-bye!" Katherine called as she toddled over and followed her older sisters' example and hugged Lance and Keith around their legs.
André stepped up next and he folded his arms grumpily.
"How come you get to hog him all?" He complained to Lance, and their mother cleared her throat. "Fine! Bye, Lance." He turned to Keith and wrapped his arms around his waist. "Bye, Keith."
"You should hug your brother too." Keith suggested softly. "You never know when you might see someone again."
André gave him a look of surprise before he seemed to make a decision. He nodded and hugged Lance fiercely.
"I love you." Lance confessed quietly as he kneeled down to give his little brother a better hug.
André seemed to melt into his brother's embrace, and Keith felt himself get a little choked up at the scene. So, this was familial love. He'd been so long without it, it seemed too strong to ever forget, and yet, he had somehow forgotten his parents' warmth in his loneliness.
After Lance's family departed, Lance and Keith were left to unpack. Blue hid in her carrier for an hour before she ventured out and began to cautiously explore her new domain. Lance seemed particularly tickled when she began to scratch at the boxes they had.
Once they had unpacked the last box of Lance's things they decided to get fast food for dinner. Grocery shopping could wait just one more day.
They left Blue a fresh bowl of water and her food before heading out.
They stopped by a local burger joint and ordered value meals. As they were eating, Lance sighed.
Keith swallowed the food in his mouth. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing. Just sucks that we live so far from my work. I got to wake up early to make the walk there. Ah, well. It'll be good exercise."
"I could…take you?" Keith offered.
Lance seemed to choke on his fries and the shorter boy lunged across the table to pat his back with concern.
"I'm fine!" Lance coughed.
"You sure?" Keith asked.
"Yeah." Lance sucked down a few gulps of his drink. "Anyways. That would be amazing! I was trying to gasp dramatically." Lance coughed as he explained why he'd choked. "But it backfired."
Keith laughed nervously, satisfied that Lance was alright. "Good. Then we should get you a helmet and a jacket."
"Isn't my hoodie enough?"
"I don't know…weren't you cold on our journey to the apartment?"
"Well…not really. Not when I was clinging to my man's nice, warm back."
Keith sputtered and almost inhaled his drink. "Lance!"
"What?" The taller boy asked coyly. "Your back is nice and warm."
Keith blushed furiously, and Lance playfully nudged the shorter boy's foot under the table.
"Relax. No one's gonna say anything."
"It's not that!" Keith whispered furiously. "It's embarrassing!" His cheeks seemed to redden further.
"What…that I called you my man?"
"Yes!" Keith hissed, his blush reaching his ears. Lance thought it was unbearably cute. "How would you like it if I called you…uh," Keith looked around searchingly before he gave up with a glare. "…I can't think of anything right now! But I will!"
"I'd love anything you could come up with, puddin' pop." Lance was having entirely too much fun.
Keith didn't reply, but he remained deep in thought the remainder of dinner.
It was as they were paying that Keith seemed to reach a decision. When the server left, he turned to Lance with a victorious smirk.
"I've got it! How would you feel if I started calling you honey?"
Lance's eyes widened impossibly, and his brows lifted towards his hairline before his cheeks darkened a bit and he looked down and away from Keith.
"See? It's embarrassing."
Lance mumbled his response and Keith leaned forward to hear him better as he asked Lance to repeat himself.
" I said, I like it." Lance admitted.
Before Keith could kickstart his brain to come up with a response, Lance stood from the table and strutted out the door. It was as the door closed behind him that Keith managed to get his legs under him to follow.
"Lance, I-" Keith tried, but he was interrupted by his boyfriend.
"So, are we going to get me a helmet? Or what?"
Keith paused before he smiled and shook his head. He seated himself and, before he turned on the ignition, he turned back to Lance. "Don't forget, we need to get you a jacket too, honey."
He felt Lance smack his shoulder and Keith laughed as he finally started the engine.
The store trip wasn't that eventful. Lance was still quietly reeling from how much he liked Keith calling him honey to fill the silence like he normally did.
They got him a helmet similar to Keith's, since Lance had grown fond of it, although, Keith did notice Lance eyeing a helmet that appeared to have cat ears on the top, but it was ridiculously expensive. Keith also bought Lance a jacket that would help keep him warm and was big enough he could put it on over the hoodie he always seemed to wear.
They were going back up to their apartment when they noticed a familiar face. The large, yellow tom cat that had first greeted Keith so long ago was digging at their door.
"Hey, buddy. What's going on?" Keith asked as he scooped the cat up. It struggled a bit in his arms before going lax.
Keith smiled as he scratched the cat's chin and Lance ran a hand down the cat's back affectionately before a large man charged at them.
"Hey! What do you think you're doing to my cat?"
The couple looked up questioningly before Keith's eyes widened. "Oh! No! We weren't trying to do anything to him. He's just sort've become a friend of mine."
He gently set the cat down, and it looked at the newcomer for a moment before it meowed and went back to pawing at the door.
Blue's purrs could be heard through the wood.
The stranger released a gusty sigh. "Oh, thank goodness !" He sagged with relief. "I thought you guys were trying to steal Fluffy."
The man walked over and picked his cat up, who began to purr instantly in his arms and butt his head under his chin.
He smiled at the cat and pet its head before looking up with warm, brown eyes. "Name's Hunk. I live in the apartment just to the left of this one. You guys must be my new neighbors."
"Lance, and this is my man, Keith."
"Is that like a…like, 'aww my dude' or like 'this is my partner' kinda man?" Hunk asked a little flustered, it was clear he was afraid he'd offended them.
Keith had half a mind to tell this Hunk it was none of his business, but Lance stepped in again.
He placed a tan hand on Keith's far shoulder and tugged him close to his side. "We're partners. Yes. Is that going to be a problem?" Keith heard Lance dip into a warning tone he'd only ever heard from his mother.
Hunk's eyes widened, and he waved his free hand wildly in defense, the couple were in awe that Fluffy didn't budge at all. "Of course not! I was just curious and sometimes I spaz and don't know what to say and I end up saying things that are not right and oh no I'm rambling so I'm going to stop now."
Keith could tell that Hunk had to physically force himself to stop and he was glad that when he panicked it was quietly.
Lance laughed as he squeezed Keith's shoulder affectionately. "It's fine. I ramble a lot too when I'm nervous. No harm done."
Hunk bowed his head a bit with a grateful smile before he straightened and offered a hand. "At any rate, it's a pleasure to meet you."
"Likewise." Lance answered as he took Hunk's hand. Lance nudged the shoulder he was holding to indicate Keith should also shake their new neighbor's hand.
Keith gave Lance a dirty look. He was going to shake Hunk's hand anyways . He rolled his eyes before he returned Hunk's gesture with a nod.
When they were done with the exchange, Hunk straightened and returned to petting the cat in his arms. "So, have you met anyone else?"
Lance shook his head and Hunk looked up contemplatively.
"Well, you met me. on the other side of you guys is the Holts. Fair warning, if you make too much noise during quiet hours, Pidge will not hesitate to knock down your door."
Keith's brow furrowed. "Quiet hours?"
Hunk nodded with a grave look on his face. "Yes, the Holts work from out of their apartment so they've asked everyone to keep it down between eleven at night until five in the morning. The landlord agreed that was reasonable… especially because they're willing to fix anything that breaks, free of charge, for the trouble."
"Who are these Holts?" Keith was already starting to not like them. Not that he and Lance were loud, well…Keith wasn't, and Lance wasn't too bad, but something didn't sit right with him about it.
Hunk looked to his right at the window of the apartment he was standing in front of.
"You can ask them yourself?" He answered with a chuckle.
The couple turned towards the window and found people their age squeezed into the window together as they looked outside. They glared at Hunk before the girl slid the window open and talked through the screen.
"Hunk, that was bullshit and you know it! What do you think of us? Tell them! I wanna know too!"
"Nope! Sorry, Pidge. I gotta bring Fluffy back inside anyways." He shuffled past Keith and Lance with a laugh as Pidge yelled after him and Matt tried to stop her from rushing outside in her pajamas.
Pajamas? At this hour? Keith wondered. Then again. It was five in the afternoon.
Hunk paused at his door and turned back to them. "I'm going to grab as many people as I can, and we can have a cookout sometime. Or a potluck! Ohh, that would be so good!" Hunk waved at them once more with his free hand. "I'll get everything ready and report back."
Before they could reply, Hunk shut the door to his apartment.
Pidge fixed them with a glare. Her brother pushed his glasses up his nose. "So, you guys are the new neighbors."
Keith stiffened and shifted in front of Lance. "Yes. You guys are the Holts."
The girl smirked. "Pidge."
"Matt." The boy answered before reaching out to them, only to be stopped by the window screen.
"Nice to meet you, we're-"
"Lance and Keith. We saw. We also know you know about the quiet hours thing. We hope to continue the trend of having respectful neighbors." Pidge warned.
Keith narrowed his eyes and stepped forward challengingly before Lance pulled him back and smiled.
"Of course! We'll be the best neighbors ever! You won't hear a peep from us during quiet hours." He was opening the door as he said this and was pulling a reluctant Keith inside. Careful to make sure Blue didn't run out. "It was nice meeting you!"
He shut the door and sighed before smiling down at Keith.
"Why did you let her talk to us that way?"
Lance shrugged. "We're not going to be making too much noise at that time anyways. I do have work, and you can barely stay up past ten."
"That's not true!" Keith argued petulantly and crossed his arms with a scowl. "I stay up late a lot!"
"Oh…and what do you do, Mr. Night Owl."
Keith paused a long moment as his cheeks reddened. "Why does it matter what I'm doing!"
He stomped off into the bedroom and flicked on the light. He got rid of his jeans and grabbed a pair of sweatpants. He heard the door frame creak and turned to find Lance leaned against it watching him.
"Hunk seemed nice. I love his cat."
Keith raised a brow. "Really?"
Lance shrugged as he stepped inside and changed his clothes to something comfier as well. "What am I supposed to talk about? We've spent all day together!"
Keith sat on the bed. "I don't know. What do you think about the new place?"
"I think I like it as much as I knew I would when we agreed to live here." Lance playfully.
Keith watched as Lance headed for their door and locked it before heading to the small living area. He heard the television running quietly before he got up and shuffled into the living room.
He found Lance leaned back on the couch, Blue kneading his thighs as she prepared to lay down. Keith felt his heart swell with affection before he grabbed a folded blanket off their bed and sat down next to Lance.
"Aww, you brought me a blanket."
"Correction. I brought us a blanket."
Lance raised a brow as he turned his head to look down at Keith snuggled up beside him. "Blue's not going to like it." He warned.
Keith shrugged before he covered both of their laps with the blanket, and Blue in the process. She paused in her kneading before she crawled out of the blanket and back onto Lance's lap to resume her ritual.
"Looks like she doesn't mind it too much." Keith pointed out.
He felt Lance slip an arm around his shoulders before he felt a kiss pressed into his hair. "You're lucky she loves me so much."
Keith snorted. "I think you're forgetting who she came checking up on in the woods all those days."
Lance laughed, and it jostled Keith a bit, but it served to only bring a smile to his lips.
"This is nice." Lance sighed happily.
Keith wasn't sure if he was talking about their relationship, their new apartment, or both, but he found himself agreeing either way.
Keith woke up when Lance did and made them both coffee while Lance got ready. They still didn't have any groceries yet, so Keith had promised last night before bed to stop somewhere and get Lance some breakfast. He scooped the litter, made sure Blue had food and water, before he allowed himself to sit down and enjoy his warm beverage.
Lance exited their room ready for work and Keith pushed his mug towards him.
"Thanks." Lance's voice was still a little hoarse from sleep and not having woken up his vocal chords.
Keith nodded tiredly.
They pulled on their shoes and headed outside. The sun was barely over the horizon.
They heard the jingle of keys and turned to find Hunk locking his apartment with a cheery hum, when he faced them he smiled brightly.
"Lance, Keith! I didn't know you guys would be up this early. I made sure to be extra quiet when I got ready." He laughed.
The couple smiled at him and Lance managed to muster some energy to be friendly in return. "You get up like this all the time?"
"Yeah, I work at a bakery down the road. I'm in charge of prep, so I go in way before opening to get baking."
Keith thought Hunk was way too chipper in the mornings for any normal human. He barely felt he was awake enough to drive safely.
Hunk's phone chimed, and his eyes widened. "Sorry guys. Gotta get going! See you later!"
"Don't worry. We gotta go too. Later, Hunk!"
Keith waved politely, he wasn't completely devoid of manners, as they allowed Hunk to speed walk ahead of them and down the stairs.
They piled onto Keith's motorcycle and headed for the first place open. They ordered something quick and scarfed it down.
"I can't wait to get some real food. All this grease is killing me."
Keith didn't comment because during much of his search for Lance he hadn't had the best diet. Skipping quite a few meals and only ever stopping to eat diner food when he felt he was going to faint.
He chose to nod instead.
They finished in record time before going down the road again. Keith dropped Lance off. After he'd tucked Lance's helmet in the compartment, he pulled his off.
"You want me to bring you lunch?"
Lance looked up before shaking his head. "I'll probably just eat at a café or something. You going to the store today? Or wait until after my shift?"
Keith shook his head. "I can go by myself. Was there anything in particular you wanted me to get?"
Lance looked up as he thought. He hummed before he smiled. "There is one thing."
"What?" Keith asked as he readied his brain to remember what Lance wanted.
He felt Lance kiss his cheek and he smiled fondly before he gave him one in return.
"See you later, honey."
Lance sputtered, and Keith laughed as he put his helmet back on.
He drove off before Lance recovered.
He lugged the groceries up the stairs in one trip. It was only the essentials, nothing too fancy. Eggs, milk, potatoes, rice, and a few spices he knew Lance liked and that he thought tasted good. He bought the largest container of garlic powder he could find, knowing that was a favorite.
He was straightening up their kitchen for more organization when he came across the letter from Shiro again. His eyes widened as he found some stationary to write a response so Shiro would have their current address. Keith would have to ask Lance when he got home if Shiro had contacted him through his email yet.
When Lance came home, they checked and found an email in the Spam folder. Lance was particularly offended it had treated his favorite actor's email with such disrespect.
It was mostly just Shiro informing them that the address used to email the one they were reading was his preferred email.
"I think we should give him our new address."
Lance nodded and sent the information. Angrily removing the Spam status from Shiro's email after he was done.
After a half hour, they received a response.
Hey,
Thanks for the address, that would have been awkward to show up at your old place and bother strangers. I actually just got word yesterday that I have a month to myself. I can't tell you the details, but let's just say someone took the saying "break a leg" to a literal degree (they're okay, in case you were wondering).
So, I will be able to show up between 3/1 to 3/21. I only intend to stay a few days, of course. I would hate to impose. Especially since my manager is coming and the security team.
Please send me a preferred window and I will try my best to be there.
-Kuro
Keith and Lance sat in front of the computer, slack-jawed. They had been excited to see the man, for different reasons, but to have it even more solidly in place was such a foreign feeling.
"W-when do you think Shiro should come over?" Keith asked when he'd finally managed to function again.
Lance gave him a scandalized look. "Well obviously when I don't have work! I want to spend time with Kuro, I mean Shiro, too!"
Keith laughed and nodded. "Okay, okay."
"Let me check my schedule." Lance opened up his calendar and scrolled through March to find the longest break in his schedule. "Okay, I have these three days off. The last day is the twenty-first so it might be pushing it, but at least I will get to see him off."
Lance sent an email answering Shiro's question and when he was done, he leaned back with a smile.
Keith was going to meet Shiro again.