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Chapter Five: McFreakin’ Cliché as Fuck
When Lance got back from class later that day, Matt, Shiro and Allura were already at the apartment. The textbooks from his other classes sprawled out and opened on the kitchen table. Allura sat on one chair, a leg crossed over the other with Blue resting on her lap, scrolling through her phone with a small smile as she scratched between the Korat’s flickering ears. Shiro sat on the chair across from Allura, Matt situated on his lap as Shiro rested his chin on his boyfriend’s shoulder. Matt rapidly wrote down notes in the opened notebook on his left, quickly turned pages in his textbook and making small, frustrated noises as he scratched out whatever he wrote and replaced it with new words. Shiro chuckled, his prosthetic arm moving around his boyfriend's waist as murmured something loving against his nape. Matt huffed a silent laugh, a blushed blossoming under his glasses, as he nudging his elbow against Shiro’s chest, pushing the larger man away to finish his work. Shiro only held on tighter, a rare playful smirk gracing his lips as his other hand wound around Matt’s waist before he nuzzled his nose against Matt’s neck.
Lance decided for the sake of his pure, virgin eyes that he’d slam the door shut with a very loud, “Welcome home, Lance!”
Shiro only turned his head, offering a smile and a ‘hello’, before going back to his previous hiding spot. Lance huffed, heading towards the fridge and pulling out a Sprite while the other two at the kitchen table said their welcomes. Allura and Matt got down to business while Shiro relaxed.
“We’ll be doing chapter twenty-five today,” Allura started, twisting her body towards the table while being mindful of the kitten that laid on her, “Memory, Intelligence, and State of Mind.”
“And we’ll be working on chapter twenty-three today— Shiro— uh, which is—eep!” Matt nearly fell off of Shiro’s lap, his face a scandal shade of red as he turned and lightly smacked Shiro’s bicep. “Can’t you wait till we get home?!”
Shiro laughed, grabbing onto Matt’s wrist and kissing his palm. Matt cleared his throat, averting his eyes from everyone in the room as he spoke over his shoulder, “Chapter twenty-three, Gauss’ Law. I— I’m working on a small quiz to give you after. Work with Allura for now and then… we can… do… ahm… yeah.”
“Yeah?” Lance raised a brow at the couple, watching as Matt successful sated Shiro – for the time being – with a peck on the corner of his lips. Matt turned back towards the textbook and notebook, ruffling his bangs to hide his extremely noticeable blush from the others. Shiro’s face mirrored his counterparts in color, quickly stuffing his face in the curve of his boyfriend’s neck, hiding in Matt’s hair. Lance could only assume that the lovestruck grin on Shiro’s face intensified by a thousand from Matt’s peck.
“Is it bad that I can’t even be mad at him?” Lance couldn’t help but smile, taking a seat next to Allura as he plopped his bag onto the ground between their chairs and popped open his Sprite can. Allura smiled back with her own nod, resting her chin on her knuckles as she flipped open his Psychology book. Shiro continued to hold Matt, who continued to do his work with a red face but a very, very pleased smile.
---
“So,” Allura started as she poked at her Shrimp Lo Mein, resting her elbow against the table as she looked at Lance out of the corner of her eye with an elegantly raised brow, “I heard you were working out.”
Lance slurped at his Wanton Soup, raising a brow over the edge of the container at his friend.
She hummed, picking up a shrimp with an amused glint in her sparkling blue eyes, “In the morning.”
Lance swallowed the last of the broth, setting the container down while he moved his gaze between the three others at the table.
“With Keith.” Allura turned her head to him with a wicked grin.
He could feel his face heat up as his gaze fell back on Allura; it was from the heat of the soup and only from the heat of the soup.
“You jealous, Allura?” Lance cleared his throat with a tilt his head to look at her, a shit eating grin forming on his face as he willed his blush to die. He leaned towards her, resting his arm on the back of her chair, “Gotta say, if I knew working out with Keith would get you jealous two years ago—”
“Lance.” Shiro gave him a pointed look over his bottle of water. Matt snickered next to him, typing something on his phone before taking another bite of his eggroll. Lance rolled his eyes with a snort, straightening back into his own chair with a snort.
“Okay, okay.” He raised his hands in mock-surrender before going back to his own meal with twitching lips.
“But did you enjoy working out?” Allura continued before slurping some Lo Mein into her mouth. Lance grunted, thinking back on the full hour of where all he could think about was how much of a fuck up he was. He picked his chopsticks back up, poking at his own container of food. The mood shifted quickly and he was certain everyone could tell by how all eyes were suddenly on him, even Matt whose previous attention was on his phone.
“Lance?” Allura set her utensils down, tilted her head into Lance’s line of sight. He sighed, letting his chopsticks go and leaning back against his chair. He arched his back against the chair and carded his hands through his hair, letting out a loud sigh before his hands moved to drag down his face as he bent forwards.
“It was fine. I actually loved it, but… before Keith came to the pool…” Lance sighed and shook his head, “Near the end of my workout my older brother, Luís, called me.” Lance gave in, kicking his chair out and resting his elbows against his thighs. “I… I didn’t pick up. I couldn’t… I just wanted to forget and just… I don’t know.”
Lance’s shoulder sagged.
“I feel like… like I’m dead to my family, or they’re dead to me— we’re just dead to each other and seeing his name on my screen…” Lance huffed, shaking his head while running a hand through his head. “It’s stupid, I know.”
“It… it isn’t.” Matt mumbled, setting his own fork down. Lance picked his head up, his hand resting on the back of his neck. He furrowed his brows in question, waiting for Matt to continue.
“My father once said: One of the hardest things you will ever have to do is grieve the loss of a person who is still alive.” Matt’s fingers lightly tapped the back of his phone, all eyes on him as he continued to speak. “When Pidge came out… she was a wreck. Our mother never wanted to see her again. She was already having a hard time dealing with the accident and then, with Pidge… Pidge acted like being thrown out was nothing to be sad or hurt about. It wasn’t the first time she’d been kicked out, either missing curfew or sneaking into somewhere she wasn’t meant to be…”
Matt’s hands folded under the table, shoulders relaxing as he continued speaking, “There was already a— a rift between them after our father passed. Coming out, I guess, was the things that tore them completely in half.” Matt shrugged a shoulder, leaning closer to Shiro. “She moved out here with me and she seemed fine. She acted like nothing happened, still had a smile on her face, casually asked about mom, nothing to give away how she was really feeling… She acted like she always has. Nothing to be suspicious about – at least as much as you can be suspicious about.
“But then there were those nights where I’d catch her watching home videos she’d downloaded to her laptop or pictures of our family from years ago… I’d see her battle with herself on whether or not to send a Christmas card or send a ‘Happy Birthday’ to our mother.” Matt looked over at Lance with a small, sad, understanding smile. “You’re going through a grieving process, Lance. Your dad sending you texts, your brother calling you – it messes with your ability to move on. It really does feel like they’re gone, but them continuously popping up on your phone isn’t helping you get over what they did.”
Lance nodded slowly, eyes shifting from Matt to his socked feet lightly toeing the tile under him.
It made sense. It made fucking perfect sense. How many times has he switched from denial of the events to anger at himself and his family? He’d been in a constant state of depression and bargaining, ready to give up everything for things to go back to how they were before he moved out to California.
“I’m sorry if I said anything wrong,” Matt started, worrying his lip, but Lance cut him off before he could continue, “I just—”
“N— no, man, no. Don’t worry, you didn’t.” Lance picked his head up to offer the man a smile, even if it was a forced and very obviously faked. “Everything you said is right. Honestly, it makes… it makes total sense.”
He laughed humorlessly as he ran another hand through his hair, “I just hate how fucking right that sounded. ‘Cause I do feel like I’m grieving, I just hadn’t been able to piece it together because I’m just… never able to process it. Once I finally feel, whatever it is settling, I get a text from my dad or an email from a family member and it just…”
“Reopens the wound.” Shiro mumbled, looking at Lance sympathetically while wrapping his arm around Matt’s waist. Matt shifted closer, resting the side of his head against Shiro’s shoulder.
Lance nodded with a sigh, “I get angry or depressed again; sometimes both. I want to scream, want to shout, want to… to punch something but I also just want to curl up in bed and just… disappear and cry and forget about ever having a family.”
He felt Allura reach out next to him, placing one hand on his thigh, rubbing her thumb against him soothingly, while the other went to his shoulder, holding onto him almost tightly, helping ground him in the emotions he suddenly felt like he was drowning in.
“I— I’m angry and tired and too— so fucking done with all this." He let his head fall forward again and ran his hands through his hair. No doubt his hair was sticking up every which way now. For once, he didn’t seem to care. He swallowed thickly, “I’d… I’d give anything for everything to return to the way they were three years ago… Where I was still blissfully unaware that there were more than female and male, that what I was feeling was just a lingering depression, that— that other people felt like this but just… knew how to deal with it.
“Where I really was just oblivious to the world around me.” Lance sniffled, quickly standing and rubbing his eyes. “I’m sorry… I…”
“You don’t need to apologize, Lance.” Allura stood, walking around the chair and pulling Lance into a hug. “You never need to apologize.”
It took everything in Lance not to lose himself in the comfort his friend offered him. He didn’t want anyone to see him like Keith had saw him during the night. Didn’t want anyone to think less of him by how often and easily he was able to cry. Men didn’t cry like this. He’d never seen his father or brother cry in front of him. But he did anyway, clutching onto Allura’s plaid over shirt like his life depended on it and almost wailing against her shoulder. She didn’t murmur soft words and heartfelt promises like Keith did, nor did she rub his back soothingly like Keith had, which was probably because of the sudden weight of both Shiro and Matt pressing down around them.
It was probably a good thing.
He didn’t cry for even one-fourth of the time he had the previous night, both too tired because of how much he did today and because he wasn’t ready for his three friends to see the full extent of his damage.
He didn’t know if they still saw him the same as they cleaned up their food and finished studying; didn’t know if they still saw him the same as they said their goodbyes; didn’t know if the next time they were all together if they would treat him like some fragile doll. And as much as he didn’t want them to see him any differently, he knew it was inevitable that one day they would, just like his family did.
He’d just have to come and accept that there will be people in his life that will see him as the fragile doll he doesn’t think he is, that will step on eggshells around him and see him differently after he lets down his walls and offers them a front row seat to one of his many nightmares.
Change was inevitable, even if he would do anything to keep things from changing.
---
His brother called a few more times during the week, left a voicemail after his last call that Lance was worried to listen to. He was sitting on the couch, Blue under his ankles that were kicked up on the armrest, alone after a long day of studying. Keith was at work or at school, Lance was too hyper focused on his phone to remember if Keith was wearing his weirdly flattering Subway uniform or his weird red crop top jacket that he didn’t totally hate anymore. He continued to stare at his phone, seeing the 04:52 time length on the voicemail, and doing everything in his power not to panic.
No one’s left a voicemail before.
His father never ever graced him with his voice spewing such hate filled words since when he came out, just sent them all through text; and let Lance tell you that had just as much an effect on him as hearing it would. He heard the words like it was his father reciting them into his ear in perfect clarity. It was painful how he could only remember what his father sounded like angry. He couldn’t remember the way his laugh sounded, or his voice when he’d sung his favorite songs in the car. He couldn’t remember him having a soft face unless he looked at a photograph. It sucks that the only face he could picture for his father was red, angry with a vein nearly popping out of his jugular. And his mother… he didn’t even want to remember her face. For someone who was so accepting of their child being bisexual (even though it was more “At least you’re still straight”), they couldn’t even fathom accepting a transgender son.
He didn’t want Luís to be like them. Maybe being in New York, working with such a diverse group of people, would make him see that not everything wasn’t as black and white as their parents made it. That there was a plethora of grey area’s that their parents never even touched, so much as even allowed them to see.
With that thought, Lance started the voicemail and pressed speaker before he could overthink this even more.
Lance wasn’t like his parents, and maybe – just maybe – Luís wasn’t like them either.
“Just warning you that if I don’t get a call from you by tomorrow night, I am flying to L.A., renting a car, and driving two hours to the ass-end of nowhere to kick your scrawny ass.” Lance frowned and shut his eyes, already feeling the tears start to well. “I’ve been worried sick, dude! Mama and Papa Facetimed me! They never Facetime anyone unless someone’s died— and with how they looked, I— I really thought someone did…”
Luís sucked in a sharp breath, “Then… then they said your name and I just… Lauren, I… Wait— sorry, shit! I… I don’t know what your name is, actually. B— but you could have talked to me! You should have talked to me! I will never judge you for being you!”
Lance actually laughed, rubbing at his eyes as Luís’ voicemail continued. “When they told me that you came out as transgender, I didn’t understand what the issue was? I’d think they’d be happy that you finally figured it out? Honestly, I was so… so fucking worried that something happened! Mama just kept shaking her head whenever dad glared at the ground. And, and something did happen. I… cannot believe papa did that to you!”
There was a long pause, some shuffling of papers and clothing.
“Well, I mean, I can… we both know his stance on… everything. Yeah. But I’m not like him or mom, and I love you. Doesn’t matter if you’re a dude or a dragon or an alien, you’re still the sibling I grew up with! You’re still my little asshole. Just because you cut your hair, or have a different name, go by he or them – I actually have no clue what you go by and we need to talk about that because I don’t want to embarrass myself further and make you more uncomfortable – but it doesn’t matter because you’re still the same person.
“I… I realize now I probably should have said this sooner but I’ve just been so caught up with work – and… I’m not going to lie to you, I didn’t know how to handle this. I actually talked to a few of my friends about how to handle this. They said if I kept waiting to call you that I’m only making it worse and… shit, I probably did, didn’t I?
“I mean… mama didn’t even tell me what papa did until last week… I didn’t even know you came out over a month ago until I called mama last week. And I thought that papa would just brood for a while and get over it? I thought by now you guys would be talking again and, yeah, that he’d have trouble adjusting but… I can’t believe even mama just…”
Luís cleared his throat before sighing, “Look, just know that I love you. You could be part alien and I’d still love you because your family. We’ve been through so much and something like this shouldn’t stop family from being family. Just, call me back, okay? Or at least send me a text to calm my nerves because I honestly don’t know where you are right now or if you’re even still alive. Or… or maybe this isn’t even your phone number anymore— shit. I didn’t think of that! I— if this isn’t my brother just, uh… I’m sorry? But if this is my brother, I… I don’t want to lose you, okay?”
Lance choked down a sob.
“I love you. Please call me back.”
He did. After splashing water against his face and crying some more, he called Luís back. They talked for hours, about where he was staying, talking about Keith and his friends and Blue, talked about how college was going and if he was enjoying it, the messages his father had been sending, about how Luís’ job was going, about how Lance was feeling, about his name and pronouns. Lance answering all questions his brother had. They spoke about everything and nothing and it was the best thing ever; it was exactly what Lance needed.
Keith came home around midnight, looking worn out and tired. Luís asked to speak to Keith, who was hesitant but agreed nonetheless. Lance couldn’t even imagine what his friend and brother were talking about because he’d never seen Keith’s emotions change so quickly. Shy and hesitant to red faced and stammering to calm, collected and determined. Even an emotion Lance only sees when they’re around Shiro, actual amusement. He even snorted. It was kinda cute.
Lance didn’t hear much of the conversation though, too emotionally exhausted and overstimulated to do so much as stare at Keith as he walked around the kitchen as he spoke to Luís. He did pick up on one thing before the conversation ended.
“I wish I had been there, I wouldn’t have let it get that far. I, I don’t… I— no, I’d never let that happen to him.” Keith even glanced over his shoulder at his roommate, face completely unreadable to Lance in his tired state. But he did notice how the tips of Keith’s ear reddened, the blush blossoming to his cheeks and even down his neck. He cleared his throat before answering, “I… Yeah, I— I guess you could say that. And I will… I promise.”
He went to bed that night with a really stupid grin on his face, and it was a real one. Something his face had been lacking the past couple of weeks.
---
From Luís [11:49 PM] I like the name btw. Vry u.
From Luís [11:52 PM] …
From Luís [11:52 PM] look lets not be strangers anymore. okay?
From Luís [11:53 PM] te quiero lance
From Luís [11:55 PM] ooh also !!!
From Luís [11:55 PM] tell keith i said hi
Lance rolled his eyes with a fond smile, shooting off a quick reply before setting his phone back down on the edge of the kitchen table. He turned to his laptop, which also sat close to the edge but past his 18x24 drawing pad, 9 drawing pencils, blue and red graphite pencils, 4 ballpoint gel pens, container of coloring pencils and kneaded erasers. He opened iTunes, going to his songs library and clicking any song before pressing shuffle and repeat all. His music played softly in the background as he went back to working on his 2D Animation final (at least the part he got to take home, which was just creating the storyboard).
Lance quickly sketched out the boxes, thankful that his lines were straight enough without a ruler. Hopefully Haggar won’t mark off points if a few of the lines were a little squiggly. He had 18 panels to draw something in. He had been brainstorming the past couple of days what to draw but came up empty handed every time he thought he had it. It was honestly maddening.
If only Haggar didn’t know about the project he was working on outside of class, he could have used that.
“Okay, so,” Lance started, staring down at the nearly blank sheet, “idea’s…”
The music changed in the background, the song shifting from the upbeat melody of Madeon’s Pop Culture to the energetic and blood pumping music of Marianas Trench All to Myself.
“Maybe a… romance scene?” Lance mumbled absentmindedly as he grabbed his blue graphite pencil.
He did need to work on interaction poses…
He started sketching out a few poses. He thought about the anime and rom-com’s he watched in the middle of the night instead of sleeping on school nights and during the summer; thought about how most of them start off over-dramatic and predictable, but he didn’t want to do something as cliché or overdone like that. He didn’t want it to be like every other romance he’d come across. He wanted it to be special, wanted someone who saw it to stop and have their breath taken from them from the sheer intensity of it.
“Mcfreakin’ cliché as fuck.” Lance mumbled with a snort, biting the end of his pencil while he cracked his knuckles, flexed his fingers and rolled his wrists.
The next few hours went by smoothly. Lance pulling out a notebook to write down a few idea’s, sketch out little details next to his notes before moving back to the panel. The music changed in the background seamlessly, one second he was listening to the Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Blood and Wine OST and the next he was listening to the last thirty seconds of Sleeping at Last’s Saturn. He hours blended together and he only knew what time it was when Keith stumbled into the apartment. Keith locked the door with a sigh, throwing his bag towards the couch – and missing it entirely – before making his way into the kitchen.
Lance took note of the bags under his eyes, the way his brows were knit together and how his lips were pressed together in a thin line.
“Sup, dude?” Lance spoke as Keith pulled open the fridge to grab one of his energy drinks. Keith shut the fridge with his foot as he cracked open the can, acknowledging Lance with a grunt before downing the drink. Keith was slowly leaning backwards as he drank and Lance, being the good friend he was, dashed into the kitchen to catch Keith before he fell backwards. The can clattered to the ground, thankfully empty, as Lance hauled Keith back to his feet. Keith’s arms settled over Lance’s around his waist, mumbling tiredly as he slumped back against Lance.
Lance froze, feeling Keith’s fingers glide against his exposed arms and the man mumbled something he couldn’t understand.
“당신은…당신은 부드러운.”
Was that… was that Korean? Was Keith speaking Korean?
“W— what?” Lance’s voice cracked as Keith sluggishly twisted around in his arms. Keith nuzzled against Lance’s neck, his arms falling to his side as he spoke muffled against the tall, lanky man. Lance held Keith tighter as he started to sag against him. Lance looked behind him, taking a few steps back until he was able to lean against the counter.
“그리고 꽤.”
Whatever Keith was saying was doing something to his insides. He felt his insides twist and melt, he felt his heart stutter against his chest and—
“정말 예쁜.” Keith breathed against his neck, his fingers tugging at Lance’s belt hoops. Lance’s hand quickly covered his mouth, hiding a mix between a squeak and a groan. One of Keith’s hand trailed up against Lance’s chest, gripping his shoulder as he pushed himself far enough away to look Lance in the eye and—
“Holy crow.” Lance sucked in a breath, eyes widening as he looked over Keith’s face. His eyes were lidded; pupils were blown wide enough that his indigo iris’ – that Lance marveled at more than he’d ever admit aloud – were nearly consumed by his pupils. A faint blushed dusted the bridge of his nose, fanning out against his cheeks and—
“Freckles.” Lance whispered, nearly going cross-eyed as he looked at the pale freckles that dusted below Keith’s eyes and fading over the bridge of his nose. Keith’s lips twitched into a lazy smile, eyes struggling to stay open.
“Lance…” Lance had never heard Keith say his name like that before. “예쁜…창…” Nor had he ever had Keith’s thumb swiping against his lower lip, or had his forehead pressed against his own, or had to struggle to remember to breathe because holy crow, holy crow, holy mcfreakin’ crow—
The kiss is good enough to have Lance’s heart pounding hard enough against his chest that he was afraid Keith can feel it. It’s good enough that Lance lets himself get lost in it for a few minutes, kissing soft and slow and lazy. Hands tangled in hair, fingers in belt loops and clasped behind necks. The kiss (or kisses, if we’re getting technical) is one of— no, the best ones he’s ever had. He can’t compare it to much, only kissing a whooping three other people, but he never kissed like this before. He was used to rushing, used to being in uncomfortable positions, hiding between lockers and inside janitor closets. He’d never been able to take his time with this.
Keith’s lips were warm and soft, slightly chapped but not uncomfortable. His lips still had the lingering taste of Monster on them; Lance sucked and nibbled on Keith’s lower lip, trying to drain the flavor from them. That caused his roommate to moan against his lips, fingers pulling at his hair.
The kiss decelerated from there, turning back to the soft, laziness it started out as. Keith breathed against Lance lips – swollen and reddened from kissing – before moving his head back against Lance’s shoulder and slumping against him.
“Fuck.” Lance panted, nails digging into Keith’s waist. “Ke… Keith, I…”
There was no response from him, but there was more weight slowly pressing against Lance. Lance furrowed his brows with a frown, tilting his head to try and get a look at his roommate, “Keith?” There was a soft murmur against his neck before Keith slumped entirely in Lance’s arms.
Lance tilted his head back with a huff and a frown, knowing Keith was now fast asleep in his arms.
“Let’s… let’s get you to bed.” Lance maneuvered Keith in his arms, successfully picking Keith up as he made his way to the bed across the room. Once he set Keith down, mindful of the cat who was looking at him with a small knowing glint in her dark sapphire eyes, he pulled off his shoes and threw the covers over him. Lance spared a glance at Keith’s face, blushing at how Keith’s bottom lip was slightly swollen, thoroughly reddened and had a few indents from Lance’s teeth.
Lance quickly looked over at Blue. The kitten looked besides herself, lazily making her way over to Keith’s head while never taking her eyes off of Lance. Lance could see humor in her eyes as she settled against Keith’s disheveled mullet, tail lightly flickering against Keith’s flushed ear.
“We’ll… talk. Tomorrow.” Lance said to a sleeping Keith, quickly standing and moving to the kitchen table to shut his laptop and turn off all the lights. He made his way to the hallway, stopping before the entrance and looking back towards Keith.
All he could think of was Keith’s soft lips and a consistent loop of ‘what the hell’ running through his mind.
What the hell, indeed.
---
“Lance…” Keith purred, arm wrapping around his roommate’s waist, index finger twisting into a belt loop, as the other cupped his heated cheek. His thumb brushed against Lance’s lower lip, a small hum of appreciation rumbling from his throat as Lance’s lips parted, a low whine emanating from him.
The kiss was warm and soft, and the way Keith watched Lance’s ocean blue eyes flutter closed – his fingers tilted his head up just so – made his heart stutter against his chest. Lance’s hands hesitated at his waist before gripping them tightly with a low moan when Keith nipped at him bottom lip. Lance parted from him, pressing his forehead against his as he looked at him through lidded eyes. Keith’s growing smirk was quickly wiped off his face as Lance surged forward. Noses brushed and teeth clanked; Lance suckled and nibbled on Keith’s lower lip thoroughly. Breathless moans fell from Keith, fisting a hand in Lance’s hair as he wedged a leg between the smaller man’s.
“Fuck.” Lance panted against his lips, nails digging into the small patch of Keith’s flesh exposed between his jeans and shirt. “Ke… Keith, I—”
The sound of his alarm blaring woke him with a start. His head pressed against Blue’s sleepy form that laid next to his head, unmoving from her position even with the sudden knocking against her side.
Keith cracked an eye open to look down at himself as he fumbled to pull his phone from his pocket, still dressed in his uniform from the night before. His alarm vibrated against his thigh, music bouncing off the darkened beige colored walls of his living room until he successfully shut off his alarm. He cursed softly, dimming the brightness on his phone as he rubbed his eyes with his free hand. He frowned down at his phone, reading the time with mild irritation. He didn’t want to work out today – at all – so he sent Shiro a quick text, locking his phone and pulling the covers over his head as he dived back into dream world.
Dream world, where he was happily making out with Lance. Lance, whose lips were unsurprisingly soft against his annoyingly chapped ones, whose hands were so warm and whose fingers dug into his hips in the most exciting way, whose eyes were as bright as the ocean and sky and his fucking voice—
Keith shot up in his bed, more awake with the thoughts his dream conjured than by his own alarm. The cat by his side dipped onto her back when Keith pressed his palm against his pillow, blinking curiously at the man. Keith choked on air.

What the fuck—

:) (Smile) — Description
Chapter Five: McFreakin’ Cliché as Fuck
When Lance got back from class later that day, Matt, Shiro and Allura were already at the apartment. The textbooks from his other classes sprawled out and opened on the kitchen table. Allura sat on one chair, a leg crossed over the other with Blue resting on her lap, scrolling through her phone with a small smile as she scratched between the Korat’s flickering ears. Shiro sat on the chair across from Allura, Matt situated on his lap as Shiro rested his chin on his boyfriend’s shoulder. Matt rapidly wrote down notes in the opened notebook on his left, quickly turned pages in his textbook and making small, frustrated noises as he scratched out whatever he wrote and replaced it with new words. Shiro chuckled, his prosthetic arm moving around his boyfriend's waist as murmured something loving against his nape. Matt huffed a silent laugh, a blushed blossoming under his glasses, as he nudging his elbow against Shiro’s chest, pushing the larger man away to finish his work. Shiro only held on tighter, a rare playful smirk gracing his lips as his other hand wound around Matt’s waist before he nuzzled his nose against Matt’s neck.
Lance decided for the sake of his pure, virgin eyes that he’d slam the door shut with a very loud, “Welcome home, Lance!”
Shiro only turned his head, offering a smile and a ‘hello’, before going back to his previous hiding spot. Lance huffed, heading towards the fridge and pulling out a Sprite while the other two at the kitchen table said their welcomes. Allura and Matt got down to business while Shiro relaxed.
“We’ll be doing chapter twenty-five today,” Allura started, twisting her body towards the table while being mindful of the kitten that laid on her, “Memory, Intelligence, and State of Mind.”
“And we’ll be working on chapter twenty-three today— Shiro— uh, which is—eep!” Matt nearly fell off of Shiro’s lap, his face a scandal shade of red as he turned and lightly smacked Shiro’s bicep. “Can’t you wait till we get home?!”
Shiro laughed, grabbing onto Matt’s wrist and kissing his palm. Matt cleared his throat, averting his eyes from everyone in the room as he spoke over his shoulder, “Chapter twenty-three, Gauss’ Law. I— I’m working on a small quiz to give you after. Work with Allura for now and then… we can… do… ahm… yeah.”
“Yeah?” Lance raised a brow at the couple, watching as Matt successful sated Shiro – for the time being – with a peck on the corner of his lips. Matt turned back towards the textbook and notebook, ruffling his bangs to hide his extremely noticeable blush from the others. Shiro’s face mirrored his counterparts in color, quickly stuffing his face in the curve of his boyfriend’s neck, hiding in Matt’s hair. Lance could only assume that the lovestruck grin on Shiro’s face intensified by a thousand from Matt’s peck.
“Is it bad that I can’t even be mad at him?” Lance couldn’t help but smile, taking a seat next to Allura as he plopped his bag onto the ground between their chairs and popped open his Sprite can. Allura smiled back with her own nod, resting her chin on her knuckles as she flipped open his Psychology book. Shiro continued to hold Matt, who continued to do his work with a red face but a very, very pleased smile.
---
“So,” Allura started as she poked at her Shrimp Lo Mein, resting her elbow against the table as she looked at Lance out of the corner of her eye with an elegantly raised brow, “I heard you were working out.”
Lance slurped at his Wanton Soup, raising a brow over the edge of the container at his friend.
She hummed, picking up a shrimp with an amused glint in her sparkling blue eyes, “In the morning.”
Lance swallowed the last of the broth, setting the container down while he moved his gaze between the three others at the table.
“With Keith.” Allura turned her head to him with a wicked grin.
He could feel his face heat up as his gaze fell back on Allura; it was from the heat of the soup and only from the heat of the soup.
“You jealous, Allura?” Lance cleared his throat with a tilt his head to look at her, a shit eating grin forming on his face as he willed his blush to die. He leaned towards her, resting his arm on the back of her chair, “Gotta say, if I knew working out with Keith would get you jealous two years ago—”
“Lance.” Shiro gave him a pointed look over his bottle of water. Matt snickered next to him, typing something on his phone before taking another bite of his eggroll. Lance rolled his eyes with a snort, straightening back into his own chair with a snort.
“Okay, okay.” He raised his hands in mock-surrender before going back to his own meal with twitching lips.
“But did you enjoy working out?” Allura continued before slurping some Lo Mein into her mouth. Lance grunted, thinking back on the full hour of where all he could think about was how much of a fuck up he was. He picked his chopsticks back up, poking at his own container of food. The mood shifted quickly and he was certain everyone could tell by how all eyes were suddenly on him, even Matt whose previous attention was on his phone.
“Lance?” Allura set her utensils down, tilted her head into Lance’s line of sight. He sighed, letting his chopsticks go and leaning back against his chair. He arched his back against the chair and carded his hands through his hair, letting out a loud sigh before his hands moved to drag down his face as he bent forwards.
“It was fine. I actually loved it, but… before Keith came to the pool…” Lance sighed and shook his head, “Near the end of my workout my older brother, Luís, called me.” Lance gave in, kicking his chair out and resting his elbows against his thighs. “I… I didn’t pick up. I couldn’t… I just wanted to forget and just… I don’t know.”
Lance’s shoulder sagged.
“I feel like… like I’m dead to my family, or they’re dead to me— we’re just dead to each other and seeing his name on my screen…” Lance huffed, shaking his head while running a hand through his head. “It’s stupid, I know.”
“It… it isn’t.” Matt mumbled, setting his own fork down. Lance picked his head up, his hand resting on the back of his neck. He furrowed his brows in question, waiting for Matt to continue.
“My father once said: One of the hardest things you will ever have to do is grieve the loss of a person who is still alive.” Matt’s fingers lightly tapped the back of his phone, all eyes on him as he continued to speak. “When Pidge came out… she was a wreck. Our mother never wanted to see her again. She was already having a hard time dealing with the accident and then, with Pidge… Pidge acted like being thrown out was nothing to be sad or hurt about. It wasn’t the first time she’d been kicked out, either missing curfew or sneaking into somewhere she wasn’t meant to be…”
Matt’s hands folded under the table, shoulders relaxing as he continued speaking, “There was already a— a rift between them after our father passed. Coming out, I guess, was the things that tore them completely in half.” Matt shrugged a shoulder, leaning closer to Shiro. “She moved out here with me and she seemed fine. She acted like nothing happened, still had a smile on her face, casually asked about mom, nothing to give away how she was really feeling… She acted like she always has. Nothing to be suspicious about – at least as much as you can be suspicious about.
“But then there were those nights where I’d catch her watching home videos she’d downloaded to her laptop or pictures of our family from years ago… I’d see her battle with herself on whether or not to send a Christmas card or send a ‘Happy Birthday’ to our mother.” Matt looked over at Lance with a small, sad, understanding smile. “You’re going through a grieving process, Lance. Your dad sending you texts, your brother calling you – it messes with your ability to move on. It really does feel like they’re gone, but them continuously popping up on your phone isn’t helping you get over what they did.”
Lance nodded slowly, eyes shifting from Matt to his socked feet lightly toeing the tile under him.
It made sense. It made fucking perfect sense. How many times has he switched from denial of the events to anger at himself and his family? He’d been in a constant state of depression and bargaining, ready to give up everything for things to go back to how they were before he moved out to California.
“I’m sorry if I said anything wrong,” Matt started, worrying his lip, but Lance cut him off before he could continue, “I just—”
“N— no, man, no. Don’t worry, you didn’t.” Lance picked his head up to offer the man a smile, even if it was a forced and very obviously faked. “Everything you said is right. Honestly, it makes… it makes total sense.”
He laughed humorlessly as he ran another hand through his hair, “I just hate how fucking right that sounded. ‘Cause I do feel like I’m grieving, I just hadn’t been able to piece it together because I’m just… never able to process it. Once I finally feel, whatever it is settling, I get a text from my dad or an email from a family member and it just…”
“Reopens the wound.” Shiro mumbled, looking at Lance sympathetically while wrapping his arm around Matt’s waist. Matt shifted closer, resting the side of his head against Shiro’s shoulder.
Lance nodded with a sigh, “I get angry or depressed again; sometimes both. I want to scream, want to shout, want to… to punch something but I also just want to curl up in bed and just… disappear and cry and forget about ever having a family.”
He felt Allura reach out next to him, placing one hand on his thigh, rubbing her thumb against him soothingly, while the other went to his shoulder, holding onto him almost tightly, helping ground him in the emotions he suddenly felt like he was drowning in.
“I— I’m angry and tired and too— so fucking done with all this." He let his head fall forward again and ran his hands through his hair. No doubt his hair was sticking up every which way now. For once, he didn’t seem to care. He swallowed thickly, “I’d… I’d give anything for everything to return to the way they were three years ago… Where I was still blissfully unaware that there were more than female and male, that what I was feeling was just a lingering depression, that— that other people felt like this but just… knew how to deal with it.
“Where I really was just oblivious to the world around me.” Lance sniffled, quickly standing and rubbing his eyes. “I’m sorry… I…”
“You don’t need to apologize, Lance.” Allura stood, walking around the chair and pulling Lance into a hug. “You never need to apologize.”
It took everything in Lance not to lose himself in the comfort his friend offered him. He didn’t want anyone to see him like Keith had saw him during the night. Didn’t want anyone to think less of him by how often and easily he was able to cry. Men didn’t cry like this. He’d never seen his father or brother cry in front of him. But he did anyway, clutching onto Allura’s plaid over shirt like his life depended on it and almost wailing against her shoulder. She didn’t murmur soft words and heartfelt promises like Keith did, nor did she rub his back soothingly like Keith had, which was probably because of the sudden weight of both Shiro and Matt pressing down around them.
It was probably a good thing.
He didn’t cry for even one-fourth of the time he had the previous night, both too tired because of how much he did today and because he wasn’t ready for his three friends to see the full extent of his damage.
He didn’t know if they still saw him the same as they cleaned up their food and finished studying; didn’t know if they still saw him the same as they said their goodbyes; didn’t know if the next time they were all together if they would treat him like some fragile doll. And as much as he didn’t want them to see him any differently, he knew it was inevitable that one day they would, just like his family did.
He’d just have to come and accept that there will be people in his life that will see him as the fragile doll he doesn’t think he is, that will step on eggshells around him and see him differently after he lets down his walls and offers them a front row seat to one of his many nightmares.
Change was inevitable, even if he would do anything to keep things from changing.
---
His brother called a few more times during the week, left a voicemail after his last call that Lance was worried to listen to. He was sitting on the couch, Blue under his ankles that were kicked up on the armrest, alone after a long day of studying. Keith was at work or at school, Lance was too hyper focused on his phone to remember if Keith was wearing his weirdly flattering Subway uniform or his weird red crop top jacket that he didn’t totally hate anymore. He continued to stare at his phone, seeing the 04:52 time length on the voicemail, and doing everything in his power not to panic.
No one’s left a voicemail before.
His father never ever graced him with his voice spewing such hate filled words since when he came out, just sent them all through text; and let Lance tell you that had just as much an effect on him as hearing it would. He heard the words like it was his father reciting them into his ear in perfect clarity. It was painful how he could only remember what his father sounded like angry. He couldn’t remember the way his laugh sounded, or his voice when he’d sung his favorite songs in the car. He couldn’t remember him having a soft face unless he looked at a photograph. It sucks that the only face he could picture for his father was red, angry with a vein nearly popping out of his jugular. And his mother… he didn’t even want to remember her face. For someone who was so accepting of their child being bisexual (even though it was more “At least you’re still straight”), they couldn’t even fathom accepting a transgender son.
He didn’t want Luís to be like them. Maybe being in New York, working with such a diverse group of people, would make him see that not everything wasn’t as black and white as their parents made it. That there was a plethora of grey area’s that their parents never even touched, so much as even allowed them to see.
With that thought, Lance started the voicemail and pressed speaker before he could overthink this even more.
Lance wasn’t like his parents, and maybe – just maybe – Luís wasn’t like them either.
“Just warning you that if I don’t get a call from you by tomorrow night, I am flying to L.A., renting a car, and driving two hours to the ass-end of nowhere to kick your scrawny ass.” Lance frowned and shut his eyes, already feeling the tears start to well. “I’ve been worried sick, dude! Mama and Papa Facetimed me! They never Facetime anyone unless someone’s died— and with how they looked, I— I really thought someone did…”
Luís sucked in a sharp breath, “Then… then they said your name and I just… Lauren, I… Wait— sorry, shit! I… I don’t know what your name is, actually. B— but you could have talked to me! You should have talked to me! I will never judge you for being you!”
Lance actually laughed, rubbing at his eyes as Luís’ voicemail continued. “When they told me that you came out as transgender, I didn’t understand what the issue was? I’d think they’d be happy that you finally figured it out? Honestly, I was so… so fucking worried that something happened! Mama just kept shaking her head whenever dad glared at the ground. And, and something did happen. I… cannot believe papa did that to you!”
There was a long pause, some shuffling of papers and clothing.
“Well, I mean, I can… we both know his stance on… everything. Yeah. But I’m not like him or mom, and I love you. Doesn’t matter if you’re a dude or a dragon or an alien, you’re still the sibling I grew up with! You’re still my little asshole. Just because you cut your hair, or have a different name, go by he or them – I actually have no clue what you go by and we need to talk about that because I don’t want to embarrass myself further and make you more uncomfortable – but it doesn’t matter because you’re still the same person.
“I… I realize now I probably should have said this sooner but I’ve just been so caught up with work – and… I’m not going to lie to you, I didn’t know how to handle this. I actually talked to a few of my friends about how to handle this. They said if I kept waiting to call you that I’m only making it worse and… shit, I probably did, didn’t I?
“I mean… mama didn’t even tell me what papa did until last week… I didn’t even know you came out over a month ago until I called mama last week. And I thought that papa would just brood for a while and get over it? I thought by now you guys would be talking again and, yeah, that he’d have trouble adjusting but… I can’t believe even mama just…”
Luís cleared his throat before sighing, “Look, just know that I love you. You could be part alien and I’d still love you because your family. We’ve been through so much and something like this shouldn’t stop family from being family. Just, call me back, okay? Or at least send me a text to calm my nerves because I honestly don’t know where you are right now or if you’re even still alive. Or… or maybe this isn’t even your phone number anymore— shit. I didn’t think of that! I— if this isn’t my brother just, uh… I’m sorry? But if this is my brother, I… I don’t want to lose you, okay?”
Lance choked down a sob.
“I love you. Please call me back.”
He did. After splashing water against his face and crying some more, he called Luís back. They talked for hours, about where he was staying, talking about Keith and his friends and Blue, talked about how college was going and if he was enjoying it, the messages his father had been sending, about how Luís’ job was going, about how Lance was feeling, about his name and pronouns. Lance answering all questions his brother had. They spoke about everything and nothing and it was the best thing ever; it was exactly what Lance needed.
Keith came home around midnight, looking worn out and tired. Luís asked to speak to Keith, who was hesitant but agreed nonetheless. Lance couldn’t even imagine what his friend and brother were talking about because he’d never seen Keith’s emotions change so quickly. Shy and hesitant to red faced and stammering to calm, collected and determined. Even an emotion Lance only sees when they’re around Shiro, actual amusement. He even snorted. It was kinda cute.
Lance didn’t hear much of the conversation though, too emotionally exhausted and overstimulated to do so much as stare at Keith as he walked around the kitchen as he spoke to Luís. He did pick up on one thing before the conversation ended.
“I wish I had been there, I wouldn’t have let it get that far. I, I don’t… I— no, I’d never let that happen to him.” Keith even glanced over his shoulder at his roommate, face completely unreadable to Lance in his tired state. But he did notice how the tips of Keith’s ear reddened, the blush blossoming to his cheeks and even down his neck. He cleared his throat before answering, “I… Yeah, I— I guess you could say that. And I will… I promise.”
He went to bed that night with a really stupid grin on his face, and it was a real one. Something his face had been lacking the past couple of weeks.
---
From Luís [11:49 PM] I like the name btw. Vry u.
From Luís [11:52 PM] …
From Luís [11:52 PM] look lets not be strangers anymore. okay?
From Luís [11:53 PM] te quiero lance
From Luís [11:55 PM] ooh also !!!
From Luís [11:55 PM] tell keith i said hi
Lance rolled his eyes with a fond smile, shooting off a quick reply before setting his phone back down on the edge of the kitchen table. He turned to his laptop, which also sat close to the edge but past his 18x24 drawing pad, 9 drawing pencils, blue and red graphite pencils, 4 ballpoint gel pens, container of coloring pencils and kneaded erasers. He opened iTunes, going to his songs library and clicking any song before pressing shuffle and repeat all. His music played softly in the background as he went back to working on his 2D Animation final (at least the part he got to take home, which was just creating the storyboard).
Lance quickly sketched out the boxes, thankful that his lines were straight enough without a ruler. Hopefully Haggar won’t mark off points if a few of the lines were a little squiggly. He had 18 panels to draw something in. He had been brainstorming the past couple of days what to draw but came up empty handed every time he thought he had it. It was honestly maddening.
If only Haggar didn’t know about the project he was working on outside of class, he could have used that.
“Okay, so,” Lance started, staring down at the nearly blank sheet, “idea’s…”
The music changed in the background, the song shifting from the upbeat melody of Madeon’s Pop Culture to the energetic and blood pumping music of Marianas Trench All to Myself.
“Maybe a… romance scene?” Lance mumbled absentmindedly as he grabbed his blue graphite pencil.
He did need to work on interaction poses…
He started sketching out a few poses. He thought about the anime and rom-com’s he watched in the middle of the night instead of sleeping on school nights and during the summer; thought about how most of them start off over-dramatic and predictable, but he didn’t want to do something as cliché or overdone like that. He didn’t want it to be like every other romance he’d come across. He wanted it to be special, wanted someone who saw it to stop and have their breath taken from them from the sheer intensity of it.
“Mcfreakin’ cliché as fuck.” Lance mumbled with a snort, biting the end of his pencil while he cracked his knuckles, flexed his fingers and rolled his wrists.
The next few hours went by smoothly. Lance pulling out a notebook to write down a few idea’s, sketch out little details next to his notes before moving back to the panel. The music changed in the background seamlessly, one second he was listening to the Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Blood and Wine OST and the next he was listening to the last thirty seconds of Sleeping at Last’s Saturn. He hours blended together and he only knew what time it was when Keith stumbled into the apartment. Keith locked the door with a sigh, throwing his bag towards the couch – and missing it entirely – before making his way into the kitchen.
Lance took note of the bags under his eyes, the way his brows were knit together and how his lips were pressed together in a thin line.
“Sup, dude?” Lance spoke as Keith pulled open the fridge to grab one of his energy drinks. Keith shut the fridge with his foot as he cracked open the can, acknowledging Lance with a grunt before downing the drink. Keith was slowly leaning backwards as he drank and Lance, being the good friend he was, dashed into the kitchen to catch Keith before he fell backwards. The can clattered to the ground, thankfully empty, as Lance hauled Keith back to his feet. Keith’s arms settled over Lance’s around his waist, mumbling tiredly as he slumped back against Lance.
Lance froze, feeling Keith’s fingers glide against his exposed arms and the man mumbled something he couldn’t understand.
“당신은…당신은 부드러운.”
Was that… was that Korean? Was Keith speaking Korean?
“W— what?” Lance’s voice cracked as Keith sluggishly twisted around in his arms. Keith nuzzled against Lance’s neck, his arms falling to his side as he spoke muffled against the tall, lanky man. Lance held Keith tighter as he started to sag against him. Lance looked behind him, taking a few steps back until he was able to lean against the counter.
“그리고 꽤.”
Whatever Keith was saying was doing something to his insides. He felt his insides twist and melt, he felt his heart stutter against his chest and—
“정말 예쁜.” Keith breathed against his neck, his fingers tugging at Lance’s belt hoops. Lance’s hand quickly covered his mouth, hiding a mix between a squeak and a groan. One of Keith’s hand trailed up against Lance’s chest, gripping his shoulder as he pushed himself far enough away to look Lance in the eye and—
“Holy crow.” Lance sucked in a breath, eyes widening as he looked over Keith’s face. His eyes were lidded; pupils were blown wide enough that his indigo iris’ – that Lance marveled at more than he’d ever admit aloud – were nearly consumed by his pupils. A faint blushed dusted the bridge of his nose, fanning out against his cheeks and—
“Freckles.” Lance whispered, nearly going cross-eyed as he looked at the pale freckles that dusted below Keith’s eyes and fading over the bridge of his nose. Keith’s lips twitched into a lazy smile, eyes struggling to stay open.
“Lance…” Lance had never heard Keith say his name like that before. “예쁜…창…” Nor had he ever had Keith’s thumb swiping against his lower lip, or had his forehead pressed against his own, or had to struggle to remember to breathe because holy crow, holy crow, holy mcfreakin’ crow—
The kiss is good enough to have Lance’s heart pounding hard enough against his chest that he was afraid Keith can feel it. It’s good enough that Lance lets himself get lost in it for a few minutes, kissing soft and slow and lazy. Hands tangled in hair, fingers in belt loops and clasped behind necks. The kiss (or kisses, if we’re getting technical) is one of— no, the best ones he’s ever had. He can’t compare it to much, only kissing a whooping three other people, but he never kissed like this before. He was used to rushing, used to being in uncomfortable positions, hiding between lockers and inside janitor closets. He’d never been able to take his time with this.
Keith’s lips were warm and soft, slightly chapped but not uncomfortable. His lips still had the lingering taste of Monster on them; Lance sucked and nibbled on Keith’s lower lip, trying to drain the flavor from them. That caused his roommate to moan against his lips, fingers pulling at his hair.
The kiss decelerated from there, turning back to the soft, laziness it started out as. Keith breathed against Lance lips – swollen and reddened from kissing – before moving his head back against Lance’s shoulder and slumping against him.
“Fuck.” Lance panted, nails digging into Keith’s waist. “Ke… Keith, I…”
There was no response from him, but there was more weight slowly pressing against Lance. Lance furrowed his brows with a frown, tilting his head to try and get a look at his roommate, “Keith?” There was a soft murmur against his neck before Keith slumped entirely in Lance’s arms.
Lance tilted his head back with a huff and a frown, knowing Keith was now fast asleep in his arms.
“Let’s… let’s get you to bed.” Lance maneuvered Keith in his arms, successfully picking Keith up as he made his way to the bed across the room. Once he set Keith down, mindful of the cat who was looking at him with a small knowing glint in her dark sapphire eyes, he pulled off his shoes and threw the covers over him. Lance spared a glance at Keith’s face, blushing at how Keith’s bottom lip was slightly swollen, thoroughly reddened and had a few indents from Lance’s teeth.
Lance quickly looked over at Blue. The kitten looked besides herself, lazily making her way over to Keith’s head while never taking her eyes off of Lance. Lance could see humor in her eyes as she settled against Keith’s disheveled mullet, tail lightly flickering against Keith’s flushed ear.
“We’ll… talk. Tomorrow.” Lance said to a sleeping Keith, quickly standing and moving to the kitchen table to shut his laptop and turn off all the lights. He made his way to the hallway, stopping before the entrance and looking back towards Keith.
All he could think of was Keith’s soft lips and a consistent loop of ‘what the hell’ running through his mind.
What the hell, indeed.
---
“Lance…” Keith purred, arm wrapping around his roommate’s waist, index finger twisting into a belt loop, as the other cupped his heated cheek. His thumb brushed against Lance’s lower lip, a small hum of appreciation rumbling from his throat as Lance’s lips parted, a low whine emanating from him.
The kiss was warm and soft, and the way Keith watched Lance’s ocean blue eyes flutter closed – his fingers tilted his head up just so – made his heart stutter against his chest. Lance’s hands hesitated at his waist before gripping them tightly with a low moan when Keith nipped at him bottom lip. Lance parted from him, pressing his forehead against his as he looked at him through lidded eyes. Keith’s growing smirk was quickly wiped off his face as Lance surged forward. Noses brushed and teeth clanked; Lance suckled and nibbled on Keith’s lower lip thoroughly. Breathless moans fell from Keith, fisting a hand in Lance’s hair as he wedged a leg between the smaller man’s.
“Fuck.” Lance panted against his lips, nails digging into the small patch of Keith’s flesh exposed between his jeans and shirt. “Ke… Keith, I—”
The sound of his alarm blaring woke him with a start. His head pressed against Blue’s sleepy form that laid next to his head, unmoving from her position even with the sudden knocking against her side.
Keith cracked an eye open to look down at himself as he fumbled to pull his phone from his pocket, still dressed in his uniform from the night before. His alarm vibrated against his thigh, music bouncing off the darkened beige colored walls of his living room until he successfully shut off his alarm. He cursed softly, dimming the brightness on his phone as he rubbed his eyes with his free hand. He frowned down at his phone, reading the time with mild irritation. He didn’t want to work out today – at all – so he sent Shiro a quick text, locking his phone and pulling the covers over his head as he dived back into dream world.
Dream world, where he was happily making out with Lance. Lance, whose lips were unsurprisingly soft against his annoyingly chapped ones, whose hands were so warm and whose fingers dug into his hips in the most exciting way, whose eyes were as bright as the ocean and sky and his fucking voice—
Keith shot up in his bed, more awake with the thoughts his dream conjured than by his own alarm. The cat by his side dipped onto her back when Keith pressed his palm against his pillow, blinking curiously at the man. Keith choked on air.

What the fuck—