Archive of Our Own

    “I really appreciate you guys coming over to help with the nursery. Shay kept on insisting she wanted to help, but I don’t know if all the paint and moving is good for her, you know?” Hunk chuckled a little, placing the can of paint in the center of the room. Looking over from where he was spreading out the plastic, Lance grinned at his best friend.

    “I think she would have been fine. She’s not due for like, what, another three months? We’re happy to help, though. It’s not like we’re doing anything better at home. We probably would have binge watched something on Netflix… again .”

    “You say that as if you’re complaining, Lance,” Keith spoke up, putting down the paint trays with his eyebrow raised in amusement. “But you’re the one who insists on marathoning shows to the point you’ll wake me up ridiculously early because there’s four seasons and each episode is 40 minutes long and you want to watch as much as possible until you fall asleep.”

    “Do you see this, Hunk?” Lance gestured to Keith with a wave of his hand, ignoring the amused look on Keith’s face. “Do you see what I have to deal with every day?”

    “Yes, I do.” Hunk shook his head, reaching for the flathead screwdriver to pop the lid off of the paint. “I was also there the night he proposed to you, and I was your best man at your wedding two years ago. I’ve known what you had to put up with.”

    “That,” Lance pointed at Hunk for emphasis before crossing his arms, his lower lip jutting out in the patented Lance McClain™ pout. “Is entirely beside the point. I have a cruel husband who likes to remind me that I have a Netflix addiction that he hasn’t tried to stop.”

    Hunk chuckled under his breath as Keith turned a blank stare in his direction. “Yes, Hunk, didn’t you know? I’m the worst husband who gets up at the ass crack of dawn to make his husband breakfast and coffee, and then watch The Walking Dead. I’m absolutely terrible, I don’t know why he doesn’t just divorce me already.”

    “Mm,” Lance hummed, and, oh, that was never a good sign when the two were passing snarky banter. “I guess I keep you around because you’re good at cooking somehow, you’re good in bed--”

    “ Lance !” Lance ignored Hunk’s cry, grinning over at Keith.

    “And I don’t know how I’d explain to Rupee and Glaceon why their other dad went missing one day.”

    “I still cannot believe you named your cats after an Eevee evolution and an item from Zelda. I can’t believe Keith agreed to it.” Lance only laughed at Hunk’s muttering as he poured the paint into the trays, a pale pink that complimented the white furniture they would move in later.

    “Hey hey! He named Rupee. I thought her name was Ruby for nearly a year until I took her to the vet and found out her name was Rupee.”

    “Yeah, you called me in a panic because you had been calling Keith’s cat Ruby for a solid 9 months before learning the truth. And every time Keith corrected you, you didn’t realize it was a ‘p’ and not a ‘b’. I remember that phone call clearly.” There was a sigh that came from Hunk as he pushed one of the trays in Lance’s direction, and one in Keith’s. “Either way, I know you’re better about it now than you used to be, but tone down the inappropriate comments. There’s still a 5 year old running around here. I don’t need her asking questions.”

    “Don’t worry, Hunk. I can play off any questions Ana might have. Totally innocent, I’m awesome with kids!” Neither Keith nor Hunk mentioned the fact that as he was talking, Lance spilled some of the paint onto his socks.

    “...Yeah, anyway. Just keep the comments on the downlow, alright? She’s already asked how Manaia ended up in Shay’s belly, and that was awkward enough to explain. I mean, Shay wanted to tell her the truth but she’s just a little girl, you know? We finally decided on magic. She believes fairies put Manaia in there to keep her healthy until she was ready to meet Ana.”

    “That’s actually pretty cute.” Lance mused, imagining how it must have gone down when Hunk and Shay told little Anahera she was going to be a big sister. Hopefully she wasn’t like Lance's older sister was when she was told she was going to be a big sister when she was four. Apparently, she had told their mother no thanks and that she should return the baby. Aka him.

    Thankfully, years later, he and his big sister had a pretty good relationship.

    Besides, Ana took after both her parents, and not her bad influence of an ‘uncle’. She was very kind and gentle, like both Shay and Hunk, and always wanted to help out. Lance adored her and couldn’t have been more honored to be an honorary uncle.

    Of course, being the child of Hunk and Shay and always wanting to help certainly meant Lance wasn’t surprised when Ana came bursting into the nursery-to-be, messy curls pulled into two high ponytails.

    Man, how Lance adored the little girl.

    “Papa! You didn’t tell me when Uncle Keith and Tío Lance got here!” Lance also held some pride that he and Keith were Ana’s favorite uncles, even more than Shay’s actual brother. Lance laughed as Hunk sighed when Ana’s little arms wrapped around his neck from behind in an oddly-tight hug for a 5 year old, before grinning as she ran over to Keith.

    Lance wasn’t bitter in the least that Ana preferred Keith over him. Maybe at first he had been, and maybe he had tried to bribe Ana with sweets behind her parents’ backs to reclaim first place, but ultimately, it was seeing his husband’s normally sharp eyes soften when it came to the little girl that made Lance give up on being number one.

    Keith made sure the paint roller wasn’t in his hand when Ana climbed into his lap. Honestly, Keith and Ana were the cutest sight together, and Lance knew just how much he adored her. Her tan skin complimented his pale skin, and her curls opposed his unruly hair.

    You could say Lance was smitten.

    “Uncle Keith, you promised me you’d tell me how you and tío met the next time you were here! It’s next time, so you’re gonna tell me now, right?” Ana’s eyes, big and brown and full of innocence, seemed to sparkle as she looked up at Keith.

    And, really, can anyone resist the bright eyes of a child? Keith, as much of a not-kids person he claimed to be, certainly couldn’t.

    “I did promise that, didn’t I?” He chuckled, crossing his legs to get comfortable, rubbing the back of his neck. “Well… I guess the short version is that someone on the internet used my picture to get Lance to go out with him, and he fell for it. Then, he saw me in the city and confronted me, and I explained what probably happened. The rest is history.”

    “Is this like that show that mommy watches?” Ana barely spared her father a glance as he made a strangled noise, understanding what Ana was referring to.

    Keith, however, laughed, “Kind of, yeah. Only Lance didn’t end up on tv, thankfully.”

    “I wanna know the whole story though! You’ll tell me, right? Tío, too! He can tell me the parts you don’t know!”

    “Okay, okay. Let’s see… Maybe Lance should start? After all, this all started with him.”

    Scoffing, Lance rolled his eyes. “This all started with me. You’re not wrong, but that’s so rude. I guess I can start the story, though. Your dad knows most of this story, too, Ana. He was there.”

    “It’s more fun to hear you guys tell it!”

    “Alright, fair enough. Well, I guess it all started when I started talking to who I thought was a man named Blake.”

    “This is so unfair, Hunk!” Lance shoved the laptop at his best friend, replacing it with a pillow to press his face into. “He’s cute and charming and kind of really perfect? Except for that hair, but he has pictures where he has it pulled back and it’s cute .”

    Hunk had to adjust the screen to better see what Lance had pulled up, and he could certainly see why Lance was so frustrated. The picture on the screen was definitely right up Lance’s alley - messy black hair, naturally pouty lips, a good build that showed that the boy kept himself in shape, and then there were those eyes . They had to be unique to this stranger, and Hunk couldn’t place the color they were. Maybe they were colored contacts. It wouldn’t be the first time Hunk had seen something like that.

    “Okay, so he’s your type, and? What’s the problem?” Honestly, Hunk couldn’t see what the actual problem was, aside from Lance just being frustrated that this boy lived in - Hunk squinted, looking at the location - Cincinnati. And they lived in Oakland. So maybe there was some distance involved. “You’ve been talking to him, haven’t you?”

    “Yes and he’s… amazing? Kind of lame but also kind of amazing.” Lance sighed, sulking further. “He goes to the University of Cincinnati, or the… College-Conservatory of Music part. I dunno. He likes music, and he’s pretty good from what he tells me.”

    “Do you even know if he’s a real person?” Hunk finally questioned, scrolling through the profile. “Like, didn’t you meet on some website chat room thing? I dunno, what was it again? You know what, it’s better if I don’t know. Do you know if he’s real though?”

    Lance scoffed, pulling the laptop back towards him, hearing the tell-tale sound of an IM popping up in one of three possible chats. “Of course Blake is real. Why wouldn’t he be?” He asked, letting his fingers dance along the keyboard as he typed out a reply to who Hunk could only assume was this Blake character.

    There was something off, though, Hunk just knew it. He didn’t know what it was, but he just knew.

    “So you talk to him, and you know what he looks like but have you ever like… Skype called him or anything? FaceTime?”

    “No, he doesn’t like video cameras. He gets all flustered and embarrassed and ends up tripping over himself and stuttering and wants to save face. He says it’s anxiety, and I get that.” Lance laughed a little under his breath, shrugging. “I don’t mind, honestly. Webcams do my face no justice, so fair is fair.”

    “I guess… I can see where he’s coming from, if that’s the case. You’re not dating him, are you?”

    “What? No! We’re just talking! Like sure I think he’s hot, and he thinks I’m gorgeous, which, not wrong might I add. But I wouldn’t try to date someone I never met in person, I don’t think. Maybe if they were really special, but I don’t just date strangers.”

    “Okay, good. I worry about you, you know? You can be pretty impulsive when you wanna be, and that goes for dating, too. Like, when you dated Nyma? That was impulsive. And I know you’re on good terms with her now but that entire relationship was a mess.” Hunk couldn’t help but point out.

    “ Thank you , Hunk, for reminding me about that brief moment in time when I dated Nyma. Dating her was a mistake but keeping her in my life wasn’t considering she gives me the best skin care products and finds them when I can’t. I owe her my life when it comes to my skin. Because of her, I have been acne and blemish free for four years.”

    “Yeah, I know, you never fail to remind me of that when she sends you something from Seoul. Isn’t she coming back from her study soon?”

    “Yeah, she’ll be back next week, and with all the skin care products I’ll ever need.” Lance sighed wistfully, looking up from the laptop as he thought about Nyma’s return. Sure, they had a rocky patch for a while post-breakup but they had turned to each other through even rougher patches and well… Nyma was one of Lance’s best friends, now.

    “You and your strict skin care routines. Enough about that, tell me more about this Blake dude. Like, I know you say he’s real and I’m sure he is, but what if he’s not?” Hunk crossed his legs before doing the same to his arms, raising a brow at Lance. “What if he’s leading you on?”

    “Again, not dating him, just friends. Or trying to be friends. All I know is he’s in the uh, what was it… Oh, right, the ensembles and conducting division. He’s doing choral studies, which doesn’t really suit his appearance, but hey, looks can be deceiving, right?” Lance laughed, shrugging. “I mean, if you looked at me, you wouldn’t think I was a marine biology major, right?”

    “No, not really. I would assume you were like… a photography student or art student if I didn’t know you.” Hunk admitted, unfolding his arms to reach for the bag of chips Lance had left on their coffee table. “So, what else?”

    “He doesn’t like spicy foods, which if I ever meet him, I’m changing immediately. Spicy food is literally the best. He also likes, very specifically, the color violet. Why not just call it purple? Like I asked him why he doesn’t call it purple, and he corrected me that the proper color was violet.”

    “Pretentious.” Hunk commented, gaining an agreeing nod from Lance.

    “He’s allergic to cats, which is terrible in itself because cats are the best thing to grace this earth, but he also prefers birds . Like parakeets are cute, but no, he has a cockatoo and I, for one, am not about that life.”

    Hunk snorted, “I thought only like. Grandparents owned birds. Not that it’s really weird or anything, but the only person I know of personally that owns a bird is my 86 year old grandmother. And her’s is a parrot.”

    “I thought she hated that parrot?” Lance questioned, raising a brow.

    “She does. She gave it to my sister for a bit, but then my sister got married and had a baby and the parrot went back to Gram. She wasn’t happy. She keeps trying to pass it off to me now, but I told her we aren’t allowed to keep birds in the apartment. You’re welcome, for that, by the way.”

    “You are a blessing.” Returning his gaze to the screen, Lance typed something out before sighing. “He also prefers to watch rugby of all things, as if soccer isn’t vastly superior.”

    “Rugby and soccer are similar, though.”

    “Yeah, but soccer is better !” Lance protested, rolling his eyes. “And I’m not just saying that because I was biased and played soccer basically all my life until college.”

    “Sure you’re not. Anyway, continue.”

    “Uhh… he prefers fall over spring but doesn’t recognize the beauty that is summer. I mean, come on! In summer, I can swim freely, don’t have to deal with classes for a while, and then there’s road trips! Summer is great! Plus, my birthday is dead in the middle of summer, making it more important than any other season, you know?”

    “My birthday is in January, dude. It’s not any less important, is it?”

    “ Which is why winter is just as important as summer! It’s the other side of the weather spectrum, making it perfect for cuddling and open fires and ice skating. Fun winter stuff, you know?”

    “Good save.”

    “Let’s see… he likes history, bleh. But I guess that’s interesting on it’s own? He’s… I think he said he’s 5’7” so he’s a little shorty compared to me.”

    “You’re 6’1”.” Hunk pointed out.

    “Six inches taller than him, which is half a foot, so that’s significant. He likes running, which cool, I like running. He hates horror movies, which is terrible because I love them. He prefers documentaries but, in my humble opinion, the only good ones are about marine life. He thinks comedies are okay, but doesn’t watch movies often.”

    “Do you have anything in common with Blake that isn’t running?” Hunk couldn’t help but ask, tilting his head.

    “I mean, kind of? He’s the same age as me, likes music, and some sports even if they're inferior. He’s kind of nerdy but hot, but he’s charming. He listens to what I have to say - not that you don’t, Hunk, but this is different - and talks to me about my day. I dunno, I think if I had the chance to meet Blake, I’d maybe try to date him? But, with that being said, I don’t have an interest in traveling to Cincinnati, so it’s never going to happen.”

    “Nothing for you there besides Blake?”

    “Exactly, and I’m not about to drag my ass to the midwest just for some boy. Nuh-uh, I can find a boy right here in Oakland. Or girl. I’m not picky, but the last six girls I went out with, nothing good came out of it. The only good one out of all of those was Petya Laksun and clearly, nothing came of that seeing as she moved out of the country .” Lance gestured lightly with one hand, attempting to emphasize his bad luck in the dating pool.

    “She moved back to be with her sick grandmother , Lance! That’s a legitimate reason to leave the country.” Hunk exclaimed, shaking his head. Sometimes, Lance could be too much.

    “I know that! I’m just saying, she was the last girl I had a good date with. It’s time to go back to boys, I think. Put my bisexuality to use and actually like, date another guy for the second time in my life?” Lance couldn’t help but shrug, taking a chip from Hunk to munch on.

    “You do you, man. Just don’t go chasing boys that you haven’t met, or I don’t trust. And honestly speaking dude? There’s something weird about this Blake guy, that’s what my gut says. Just… be careful, buddy. I don’t wanna see you hurt again.”

    “I know, Hunk. Don’t worry. If I meet someone, you’re the first person I’m introducing them to. I trust your judgement more than anyone else’s, except maybe my mom’s.” Lance reached over, patting Hunk’s arm in reassurance.

    Hunk sighed yet again. Lance was old enough to make his own decisions. He was not-so-newly turned 20, and knew his way around the dating pool. After his time with Nyma, Hunk knew Lance could make good decisions. That being said, having known Lance since practically forever, there was that worry that maybe good looks would blind Lance to a bad match.

    He hoped not.

    Lance had been talking to Blake for a little over two months. By the end of month two, Lance was convinced the only thing he could really hate about the other was his hair. Or, rather, his choice in style.

    Really, a mullet? He knew the ‘70’s through ‘90s were making a return in clothing trends, but did this guy have to take it so far and have hair that looked like it just walked out of the ‘80’s?

     Pass .

    Maybe Lance could get Blake to see the error of his ways, and fix that atrocious hairstyle. Something cool and more suited to his abnormally pretty face. He would send links to decent hairstyles from this decade later, when he got back to his and Hunk’s apartment.

    Sure, he could send him some from his phone, but he was ashamed to admit he was running out of storage space.

    Selfies, as one may have guessed, were a large and very important part of Lance’s phone. It didn’t stop him from snagging numbers and adding to his repertoire. Which, in shorter words, meant he had coaxed Blake’s number out of him and the poor soul may have been receiving multiple texts with an excessive amount of emojis.

    Blake, on the other hand, seemed to be amused with Lance’s love of emojis.

    Which, you know, wasn’t a bad thing at all.

    At the very least, Lance didn’t think it was a bad thing, considering he was managing to type one-handed to Blake while the other held a half gone fruity smoothie of some sort. Lance had a special talent for being able to text with one hand and not look where he was going without running into anyone. He called it a sixth sense, Hunk called it a problem.

    Either way, it didn’t stop Lance from doing just that. Blake mentioned something about being done with work for the day - he was some kind of tutor, helping kids learn how to play instruments. Lance was pretty sure he had mentioned something about piano. At least he thought it was piano.

    So, imagine Lance’s surprise when he looked up to find someone who looked just like Blake fixing an A-frame sign outside the local music shop. But Blake lived in Cincinnati, so it wasn’t possible he was in Oakland, right? Right ?

    A twin, maybe? But Blake said he was an only child.

    Dopplegänger? Or did those only exist in works of fiction?

    No matter what the answer was, Lance was going to find out why, and how , Blake was suddenly in Oakland.

    Best choice? Definitely shout out his name and approach him rapidly. Not weird at all, Lance, you got this.

    “Hey, Blake!” Now, that was odd. Blake didn’t look up at him from where he was placing the final touches on the sign with the chalk marker Lance noticed in his hand. “Blake! Hey, mullet!”

    Now, that got him to look up. Lance’s confusion grew tenfold seeing that yes , this was Blake. Same mullet pulled into a ponytail like in the picture he had sent Lance, same ear piercings, and same striking eyes.

    So, how come he ignored Lance when he called his name?

    “Sorry, were you talking to me?” ‘Blake’s’ eyebrow raised in confusion, standing up to his full height as Lance approached him. “Or maybe you got the wrong person. My name isn’t Blake.”

    Alright, now Lance was really fucking confused. “You’re definitely who I thought you were. What do you mean your name isn’t Blake? It totally is. You’re messing with me, right?”

    “Uh… no? My name is Keith. I’m sorry, who are you again?”

    What?

     What?

    “Whoa, whoa, hold on. Your name isn’t Blake. It’s Keith. Dude, are you sure you’re not messing with me? ‘Cause I’ve been chatting with a dude from Cincinnati who looks identical to you named Blake.” Lance didn’t understand. What was even going on here? Keith, not Blake, sighed.

    “I think I know what happened. Look, my shift ends in two hours. Come back after, and I’ll explain what I think happened. Sound good?”

    “Your shift? Here? You work here?” Lance gestured to the music shop before him and Keith, causing the other to scoff with a roll of his eyes.

    “Yeah, where else? Do you think I just set up and chalk a-frame signs for fun ? Sorry to burst any sort of bubble you may have formed in the three minutes you spent mistaking me for someone else.”

    “I- you- huh!” Lance sputtered. Smooth, McClain, real smooth. Sure, he didn’t know anything about this Keith , but on the off chance this was Blake and he was just messing with him, this was a shitty first impression. “Feh! I’ll just hang around until you get off work, then. That’s cool, right?”

    “...You’re going to sit around a music store for two hours until I get off shift? When there’s a cafe literally across the street? Especially when you won’t even tell me who you are.”

    “The name’s Lance,” Lance’s voice dropped down to a purr, wiggling his eyebrows at Keith. Even if he turned out not to be Blake, Lance had initially been drawn to Blake from his looks, not his personality.

    What could he say? He was a sucker for a pretty face. It was always appearances first, personality second for Lance. Obviously if he was into someone with a shitty personality, he wouldn’t choose to be with them for their looks. It’s looks that attract him, and personalities that keep him.

    “Was that… are you trying to be smooth ?” Keith snorted, turning his back to Lance and shaking his head. “Do what you want. I have to get back to work.”

    “You’re not getting rid of me that easily.” Keith scoffed at Lance’s statement, pulling the door to the music shop open. Lance was sure he had rolled his eyes, and seeing as this whole situation was pretty ridiculous, Lance didn’t blame him.

   “Whatever, uh, Lance. Just don’t bother me while I’m working, alright? Last thing I need is you distracting me from doing my job. You know, that actually pays me for working?”

    “Hey, no distractions here. Maybe I just wanna poke around a classic music store for a bit, you know? Just your normal, every day customer looking at music… things.”

    Once again, smooth , Lance. The more he spoke to Keith, the less tact he seemed to have. Well, whatever. Maybe he should have just gone to the cafe across the street. Wait for Keith there, like a normal human? But no, Lance just had to hang around this dude’s work .

    If Keith didn’t already think he was weird, he definitely did now.

    Why was he like this, he had to wonder.

    Surprisingly, though, the first hour passed by relatively quickly. He didn’t text Hunk about his somewhat crisis (yet), and it turned out, the store where Keith worked was actually pretty cool. Lance didn’t often venture out towards Berkeley unless it was for school, so to explore the area between Berkeley and Oakland on a nice day that he happened to have off.

    Sure, he didn’t expect to find Blake who was actually Keith, but minor details.

    But by meeting Keith, he managed to find this hole in the wall music shop with the biggest range of music he had ever seen. That went for both genre and medium. Vinyl, cassettes, CDs, you name it, this store had it.

    It was cool to dig through everything and see what the store had to offer. That was how the first hour passed, at least. The second hour was spent observing Keith, more than anything. Today, his ponytail sat up a little higher than in the pictures Lance related to Blake. Maybe it had grown a little?

    There was also a few purple and black dots on the back of Keith’s neck that Lance hadn’t noticed before. Maybe they were new? Lance couldn’t remember seeing them before in any pictures, so they had to be new.

    A tattoo, of some sort, for sure. Of what, Lance couldn’t quite pick out. A constellation, maybe? But which one?

    He’d ask later, he supposed. Lance pursed his lips as he continued to observe Keith. When he had first run into him, he was able to confirm that yeah, Keith was shorter than him, and Lance wouldn’t vocally admit that Keith had more muscle than him. At least, in his upper body.

    With the way he carried an overly full box that had to weigh a solid 50 lbs of dead weight with ease from the front counter to the storage room on the other side of the store, Lance was sure Keith worked out. Which, you know, was a bonus. Lance liked a boy that worked out on occasion.

    He found that he liked watching Keith move through the store. He was clearly comfortable in his surroundings , as demonstrated by  the way he laughed with a girl who had short teal hair and a yellow beanie on. Her badge said Swirn, which Lance could only assume was a nickname, though he couldn’t understand what kind of nickname that was.

    Before Lance really knew it, the second hour had passed by, and Keith was standing in front of Lance, his brow raised.

    “You really stayed here until the end of my shift, huh?” Keith… well, Lance couldn’t really tell if Keith was amused or annoyed by it. He turned to look at the girl at the counter, tugging his own beanie over his hair, causing the ponytail to fall out. “Don’t forget to lock up, Swirn! I’ll see you tomorrow.”

    “Yeah, yeah. See you tomorrow, Keith.” Swirn waved him off, and as Keith turned back to Lance, he  could only gesture at the hat.

    “Really? It’s like, a billion degrees outside, and you’re gonna wear a hat? A beanie , no less!” Keith shrugged. “And you’re just shrugging it off.”

    “I like my hat. And we’re just going across the street. That cafe is always cold.” He spoke like it was an obvious fact, which maybe to him and the people that frequented this part of town, it was.

    For Lance, however, it wasn't so obvious. Really, he didn’t venture out this way much.

    “Alright, fine, wear it. Can we just go ? I want coffee, and an explanation.” Lance wouldn’t admit he huffed as he turned back towards the door, barely catching Swirn wave Keith and Lance off as he pushed the door open.

    “You’re the impatient type, aren’t you?” Keith commented, following Lance out of the store. Lance looked back at Keith to watch his hand come up to shield his eyes from the sun. Sensitive eyes, maybe? Lance didn’t really have an issue with the brightness, and they had both from the same dim store. Well, whatever. That wasn’t Lance’s problem, he decided, turning forward again.

    “If you were in my shoes, wouldn’t you want answers, too?” Really, did Lance have to spell this out for Keith? At this rate, he’d have to walk Keith through his desire for answers - answers Keith said he’d provide.

    “Well, yeah, but I mean… I just got off work, and you’re dragging me across the street to demand answers. You’re practically running to the cafe.” Lance paused, looking back at Keith again and yeah, okay, maybe he was moving a little too fast. He had long legs, so sue him. It was Keith’s fault for not keeping up.

    “Okay, well, if I was the one who just got off work, I’d still be running to the cafe for a caffeine fix.” Snorting, Lance pushed open the door to the cafe, only barely managing to resist the temptation to let the door close on Keith. “I literally do that in between periods because I need to stay awake.”

    “Periods? Like, classes?” Keith couldn’t help but question, stepping into the line with Lance. Almost immediately after, Keith winced at asking such a seemingly silly question. Of course that’s what Lance meant. Lance wasn’t much older than him, if at all. “Uh, ignore that. Anyway, this is my treat, so… get whatever you want.”

    “Dude, you serious?” Lance laughed a little, brow raising in surprise. “We literally just met and you’re offering to buy my coffee?”

    “If you’re going to be a shit about it, you can buy your own damn coffee.” Never mind the fact Keith was already pulling out his wallet anyway, but the way his eyes narrowed at Lance made him shake his head.

    “Nope, nope, I never pass up a free coffee. Consider my heart won if that was your aim, Keithy. I’m easy to win over with food and caffeine.” Lance ignored the way Keith rolled his eyes as he stepped up to the counter. He also pretended he didn’t cringe hearing Keith order a black americano - seriously, how could Keith drink that stuff black ? Gross.

    Lance, personally, liked his coffee sweet. Extra sweet, to be precise, and as he placed his order, he could feel Keith’s absolutely disgusted stare .

    “Hey, can I get a medium iced latte with like, I dunno, 3 of those white mocha pumps and 2 vanilla? Oh, can I also get that with whole milk, whipped cream and caramel drizzle?” The barista behind the counter didn’t spare him a disgusted glance like Keith did - which, to be fair on her part, she probably saw drinks worse than his.

    “You already disgust me.” Keith grumbled, handing over his card to pay for the two drinks. “Is there even any coffee in that,or just sugar?”

    “ Uh , primarily sugar but it totally tastes like ice cream.” Lance gestured with his hands as he and Keith stepped off to the side, watching Keith tuck his card back into his wallet, followed by dropping a dollar into the tip jar. Keith rolled his eyes as he pocketed his wallet.

    “That’s repulsive. Why not just get ice cream at that point? Coffee should at least resemble coffee.” Keith leaned against the counter as they waited for the other barista to make their drinks. There was a ring on his thumb, Lance just noticed, that Keith fiddled with, the red center spinning around in time with his fingers.

    “If that was true, ice cream flavored coffee creamer wouldn’t exist, and neither would coffee ice cream. I’m deeming your argument, from here on out, invalid.” Lance snickered, grabbing the sugar-laced coffee of his when it was called, Keith’s americano being placed next to it.

    “Whatever, just choose a seat and I’ll answer your questions.” How Keith could drink a scalding hot americano without any cream or… anything, really, particularly to cool it down, was only slightly disturbing to Lance. Was this guy even human ?

    Probably not. After all, he was stupidly pretty, even if he wasn’t the most socially adept. Looks would only get Keith so far, but it was the mystery that was making Lance more curious. Sure, he wanted the truth as to this weird situation, but really, now Lance wanted to know Keith. Not Blake.

    Lance sat down across from Keith once he found an empty, clean table. The two sat in silence for a moment before Lance sighed, pursing his lips in mild annoyance.

    “Alright, Keith. It’s time to ‘fess up. What’s going on here?” The way he phrased the question made it seem like the two were old friends or lovers, and there was a secret between them. To anyone looking in on them, maybe that’s what they would see. The reality was, of course, very different.

    Keith sighed, “Okay, you’re right. I guess the most simple way to put it is that you were catfished by this Blake person.” Keith rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, glancing away. “You’re also not the first person I’ve had to explain this to.”

    “I was catfished.” Lance repeated, connecting the dots that yeah, okay, what Keith was saying made sense. He had never actually video chatted with Blake, so sure, he didn’t know what his face actually looked like. “Wait, this isn’t the first time?”

    “No. You’re probably the… third or fourth person who has been catfished by someone using my pictures.” Keith shrugged, placing his cup down. “After the first time it happened, I locked up my facebook and instagram, but there were still some pictures that could be found. Or I approved the wrong person on instagram, who knows.”

    “So did you like… do this,” Lance gestured at the coffee between them, raising a brow. “For the others, too? Or am I just special or something?”

    Keith chuckled at that, “I’m not going to say you’re special. I think that’ll inflate your already too-big ego if I did. But I will tell you that I haven’t done this ,” He mimicked Lance’s gesture at that, smirking. “With the others.”

    “Can I ask who else you had to explain this situation to?” Bringing his straw back up to his lips, Lance took a long sip, his eyes locked on Keith. In return, Keith shrugged.

    “Girls, weirdly enough. I mean, it’s weird in the sense that my pictures were used to catfish girls when I’m… not interested in girls.” Lance slowly raised a brow at the confession. Huh, they just met and Keith was already telling Lance things that he didn’t ask about.

    Interesting.

    “Alright, cool, cool. I guess I’d be a little weirded out if that happened to me. I mean, I like girls, but I’m not picky so.” Lance paused, playing with the lid on his cup. “Uh, I guess what I’m trying to say is that if I wasn’t interested in girls and a girl came up to me thinking I was this boy she was flirting with for months, I’d be weirded out, too. So, like, if you’re not into girls--”

    “Yes, Lance, I’m gay. I thought you would have already figured that out when  I said I wasn’t into girls.”

    “Hey, that’s cool, dude. I’m open about stuff myself. Boys, girls, nonbinary, female or male identifying, doesn’t matter.” Lance took note of the way Keith visibly relaxed at hearing Lance wasn’t exclusively straight. Huh, also interesting.

    “So, if it doesn’t matter to you, you must have a preference of some kind?” Keith questioned, fingers returning to the ring on his thumb. Lance paid no mind to the fidgeting.

    “Pretty people. I’m kind of shallow, drawn in by looks first and then personality. If someone is pretty but you know, has an ugly personality, there’s no way I’m staying for that. Ideally, I want someone good looking with a good personality.”

    Keith nodded, continuing to fidget with the ring. “That’s fair. Everyone has their own tastes. Uh… what else did you really want to know, besides the fact you were catfished?”

    Lance chuckled, humming in thought. “Well, since as far as I’m concerned, Blake isn’t a real person and I can drop him without really feeling too bad now, I wanna know about Keith . The face that drew me in to Blake in the first place.”

    “You’re lame,” Keith’s comment went muttered under his breath, though it was followed by a chuckle that gave Lance the idea that maybe Keith wasn’t being super serious about the comment. “What about me do you want to know then?”

   “How old are you? What’s your full name? What are your hobbies? What--”

    “Jeez, slow down there. I’m 20, and my full name is Keith Kogane. Uh, hobbies… I guess working on my bike? Photography? Gardening sometimes? I don’t know. What is this, an interrogation?”

    “Oh, sorry. But I’m 20, too. Well, I mean I turn 21 next week, but minor details. My full name is Lance McClain. My hobbies include  flirting, playing video games, and visiting the beach as often as possible.” Lance laughed a little, shrugging. “I guess I just… I want to know how different you are from “Blake”, you know?”

    “Try this. What did “Blake” tell you about himself? I can give you the right answers.”

    “Uhh… Obviously you don’t go to college in Cincinnati. Not a music major?”

    Keith chuckled, “Nah, I go to UCLA for Asian Languages and Linguistics. Not even remotely close to music.”

    “UCLA? Dude, I was rejected from UCLA. Somehow managed to get my ass into Berkeley, though.” Lance laughed a bit, shaking his head. “Asian Languages and Linguistics, huh? Sounds fancy.”

    “It’s nothing special. I was going to follow in Shiro’s footsteps and go into biomedical engineering, but realized I was going to be in his shadow if I did that. I had to do something for myself, you know?”

    “Yeah, that makes sense. Who is Shiro?” Lance’s brows pulled together in confusion.

    “Shiro? That’s just his nickname. His full name is Takashi Shirogane. He’s been my best friend for years, practically my brother. He grew up in the house across the street from me, and now he’s my roommate.” Keith shrugged, as if it were no big deal, even as Lance’s eyes widened.

    “Wait, wait. Takashi Shirogane, as in the soccer prodigy that led Berkeley to nationals four years in a row? That Takashi Shirogane? Dude, he’s my hero ! I didn’t know he was doing biomedical engineering during his time at Berkeley.”

    “Yeah, he’s pretty smart, and good at balancing things. He lost his arm a few years ago, something to do with poor circulation that ended up with him losing his arm from the bicep down. He ended up designing his own prosthetic thanks to his major, and his friend Matt built it for him.”

    “Dude, that’s… unfortunate he lost his arm, but ridiculously incredible he designed his own prosthetic. I didn’t know he could do stuff like that. And then to have someone build it for him?” Lance leaned back in his seat, letting out a long breath. “So cool.”

    “Yeah, Matt’s a computer engineer and computer science dual major. Or he was. He graduated from Berkeley, too. He lives a few floors above me and Shiro with his sister, until she and I go back to UCLA for the school year. Crashes in on us all the time since he’s dating Shiro now.” Keith chuckled, putting his elbow on the table to rest his chin in his hand. “What else did Blake tell you that I need to correct?”

    “Uh, let’s see… Opinion on spicy foods?”

    “Love them. I can’t handle them all the time, but I love spicy foods.” Taking another sip of his coffee, Keith shrugged. “What about you, then? I’m guessing because of the question, Blake wasn’t a fan.”

    “Hates spicy food. I dunno how, like… spicy food is amazing .” Scoffing, Lance shook his head, before thinking on his next question. “Favorite color?”

    “Red. And black, but I’m partial to red. It’s been my favorite for as long as I can remember. Even my bike is red. What about you?”

    “Blue, definitely blue. It’s the color of the ocean and the sky. Blake said violet, very specifically violet. He snapped at me when I called it purple. Weirdo, right?”

    Keith snorted, “He sounds like a dick, to snap at you for calling purple ‘purple.’”

    “Oh, no, apparently violet is a very distinct color and is not purple. I wouldn’t know the difference but, hey, whatever. Uh, next question?”

    “Yeah, go for it.”

    “Allergic to cats?”

    “If I was, that would suck for Shiro. He has a black cat that on occasion prefers me over him. I’ll find her curled up on my pillow when I get home most of the time.” Keith chuckled with a soft, short hum. “Her name is Diopside, after the gemstone black Diopside. I usually just call her Io for short.”

    “Diopside, Io. That’s cute. I love cats, so that’s good. I don’t have any myself, yet that is. Hunk and I have a bunny, but she belongs to him entirely. I just like to pet her and play with her.” Laughing, Lance twirled the straw in his cup. “What sports do you like?”

    “Well, like Shiro, I played soccer, so I’m biased. He was a striker, I was a forward. I stopped playing after I got accepted to UCLA. I didn’t want to play through college like he did. It’s one thing to play it in high school and be varsity, it’s another league in college.”

    “No way. I played soccer, too. I wanted to be a forward, but I was more suited for the right side defensive midfielder. That’s wild, that we have… kind of a lot in common, but I had almost nothing in common with Blake.”

    “Well, that’s because Blake was a person hiding behind someone else’s face. Name some other stuff, my answers will probably be way different. Or, I hope they will.” Keith made a vague gesture with his hand, followed by a chuckle.

    “Alright, alright, let me rattle a few off for you. See where we end up. Favorite season? Favorite subject? How tall are you? Opinion on horror movies?” Might as well cover all the basics, right? Then, Lance could totally find out more about Keith.

    “Jeez. Um, favorite season is probably winter. I’m always warm no matter what the season is, and I burn really easily. I have to wear sunscreen if I’m outside for more than 15 minutes. It’s kind of terrible. Favorite subject is any kind of language or linguistics. Or literature. Uh, last I knew I was 5’9”, and horror movies aren’t bad. They’re more fun to pick apart, but I like them all the same.”

    Okay, so maybe that was too many questions at once. But hey, Lance got his answers, right, so not a big deal.

    “Alright, alright. That’s cool. Personally, I like the summer best. I can go to the ocean freely and stuff. My favorite subject is biology, since I go to Berkeley for marine biology. I’m 6’1”, and horror movies are one of my absolute favorite things to watch, ever .” Laughing, Lance took another sip of his coffee. “There’s gotta be something you wanna know about me, yeah?”

    “Well, now that you’ve mentioned it, why marine biology? You go to Berkeley, you could major in anything.”

    Lance nodded, shrugging, “That’s just it. I could major in anything, but I chose marine biology for a reason. When I was about 8 or 9, I was visiting the beach with my family, nothing unusual. I had wandered off near some rocks, and happened to find a California sea lion. She was… in rough shape, looked like she had just gotten away from an orca or shark that had been hunting her, and I wanted to help her. She wasn’t in danger of dying or anything, but one of her back flippers was torn pretty badly. She wasn’t afraid of me at all as I went towards her, and I was lucky I had just read a book and watched a documentary on them, so I kind of knew how to help her. So, I did what I could, told my mom, and waited with her until rescuers showed up to take her and rehabilitate her to proper health. I knew then and there I wanted to be a marine biologist and work directly with animals in the ocean.”

    Keith let out a breath, “That’s… I thought your reason was just going to be to work in the ocean. I didn’t realize there was a story behind it. That’s actually really cool, Lance.”

    For some reason, Keith’s response made Lance’s smile grow, a small chuckle escaping him. “Yeah? Thanks, Keith. You know, you’re not so bad.”

    “What, you thought I was going to be some terrible person when you ran into me?” Keith’s eyebrow raised, though really, he didn’t seem surprised by the confession or his own accusation. “You wouldn’t be the first, I mean. I’m not exactly the most approachable person.”

    “Hm, true, but when I want something, I don’t exactly give up, and I wanted to know you. So, ta-da, here we are. And you know what? I’m glad I got to know you. Now, gimme your phone. You’re not about to get rid of me so easily.”

    Lance could have sworn he saw Keith cringe a little when he pulled out his phone, unlocking it hand handing it over to him. “I feel like I would have been better off just telling you that you were catfished and left it at that.”

    Lance snorted as he put his number in Keith’s phone, rolling his eyes. “As if that would have changed the outcome any. The result would have been the same, only I would have bugged you while you were on shift, and not after.”

    “I literally would have kicked you out of the store, and Swirn wouldn’t have stopped me. She would have helped.” Keith took his phone back after Lance sent a text to himself to gain Keith’s number, tucking it away in his pocket.

    “Dude, harsh.” Lance held a hand to his chest in mock hurt, shaking his head somewhat. “But, totally fair and probably would have been called for. So, I guess I can’t blame you.”

    “As long as you recognize the legitimacy of what would have been my reaction, we’re good.”

    There was something about Keith that made Lance feel comfortable around him. Whatever that something was, it definitely made Lance want to hang out with Keith again.

    “So, you’re here during the summers and holidays, and during the school year you’re in LA. That’s kinda far, though.” Anything to keep the conversation going. Lance didn’t want to part from Keith yet.

    “Well, depends on how you’re going. I’ll fly back for holidays, but I drive back and forth for the summer and school year. Shiro and Matt will generally drive the moving truck, and I’ll take my bike down since I don’t trust putting her on any sort of rack or in the truck. I mean, I built her.”

    “Your bike? Oh , you have a bike bike. I definitely thought you were talking about a bicycle originally and oh man, that’s even cooler. Can I see her sometime? I’ve never been on one myself, but they always seem so cool.”

    Great, now Lance was rambling. Nice. Well, Keith was chuckling, so it was fine. Totally fine, he had this under control.

    “Sure. There’s still the rest of the month and all of August before I have to go back to LA. There’s plenty of chances for you to see her.”

    Oh. Oh . Was that an invitation for Lance to invade Keith’s life even further and even visit him? Maybe meet his hero, possibly? Sure did sound like it, and Lance was all about that.

    “Yeah? If that’s your way of saying you wanna hang out again, I’m all for that.”

    “Don’t get ahead of yourself.” Still, despite his words, Keith laughed, and didn’t deny that was his intention.

    “O- kay , so uh, wanna run that by me one more time, buddy?” Hunk sat on the floor in front of the coffee table, the pizza box between him and Lance, and a carrot in his other hand that was held in front of the grey bunny in his lap.

    “Alright, alright. So, I met Blake. Well, in a sense I guess. The Blake I’ve been talking to isn’t the Blake I met. The Blake I met is actually a pretty chill dude named Keith. The Blake I’ve been talking to has been using Keith’s pictures, and totally catfished me. Jokes on him, though, because Keith is way cooler than Blake ever was.” As he spoke, Lance swung a half-eaten piece of pizza through the air, lounged across the couch.

    “You were catfished .” Hunk repeated, sighing and running a hand down his face. “Dude, didn’t I tell you something was up with Blake? And you didn’t listen, yet again.” Hunk sighed again, shaking his head. “So, what are you gonna do about Blake? You clearly are more interested in Keith, but isn’t it kind of rude to just up and stop talking to someone because they aren’t who they said they are?”

    “Is it, Hunk, is it really? Blake lied to me for months about who he was, and now I found the real person behind those pretty selfies.” Echoing Hunk’s sigh, Lance took a bite of his pizza before letting his hand drop down to hang off the edge of the couch, his hand and pizza narrowly missing the floor. “And truthfully? The real person in those pictures is… more incredible.”

    “Are you crushing on Keith? You’ve known him less than 24 hours. Isn’t that a little soon?”

    “Dude, I don’t know what I feel for him. I’m still a little weirded out by the fact I was strung along for so long but, eh. I definitely wanna spend more time with Keith before school starts again. I won’t see him much after that.”

    “Sounds like a crush to me. So, you have his number. You know where he works. He basically told you he wants to see you again. He bought you coffee. Honestly, just from the way you say this, it sounds like he might have a thing for you already. Maybe you’re his type.”

    “I don’t think he has a thing for me. It’d be cool if he did, because he’s… really easy to talk to, oddly enough. He’s kind of stand-offish at first, and if anyone else had told me the stuff about him involving soccer and UCLA, I might have declared him my rival in life but. I think him telling me himself really just. He’s real.” Lance groaned, bringing his hand back up to drop his pizza slice back into the box.

    “Sounds like you’ve got it bad for the boy, Lance.” Nyma’s voice rang through the living room, returning from the restroom. Ever since she returned from Seoul, Nyma had spent half of her time crashing at Hunk and Lance’s. Lance had offered his room to her, figuring that instead of signing for a lease for a month before returning to New York for school, it was easier for her to just crash with him. “I’ve seen this side of you before.”

    Lance groaned softly, shaking his head. “You know me, Ny. Heck, you dated me.” He sat up, making room for Nyma to sit down, her legs draping across his lap. Really, Lance was glad they were close friends still. She was always able to provide more insight to his romantic situation than he or Hunk could. “You really think so?”

    Nyma hummed, looking up in thought as she twisted her hair into a braid that draped over her shoulder. Then, her lips twisted into a smile as she looked at Lance, her purple contacts looking even more striking than usual. “I’d say you want this boy more than you ever wanted anyone before.”

    Lance’s head fell back, hitting the wall lightly. “If you say I do, then it must be true. So, what do I do? You’re the romance expert, Ny. I mean, Hunk spilled coffee on Shay while trying to talk to her before she agreed to go on a date with him. And sure, they’ve been together for like a year now, but I wouldn’t go to him for dating advice. No offense, buddy.”

    “None taken. She still brings that up from time to time when I visit her and make her coffee in the morning. Never fails to embarrass me.”

    “Well, Lance,” Nyma let go of her hair, turning back to look at Lance, shrugging a bit. “When you’re into someone you… well, you can’t stop talking about them. You remember every detail about them, and you always want to be with them. You told me and Hunk everything Keith told you today. I don’t think you could tell me five details about Petya at this point, not the way you could tell me about Keith.”

    “Uh, well--”

    “Just text him. Call him. Ask him out on a date. A date doesn’t make anything official. If he’s interested in going on a date with you, then pursue him. But remember, I have to meet him, and give him the Nyma Ahn Seal of Approval.” Lance groaned again, shaking his head.

    “You’re not gonna give him the NASA. He’s kind of a jerk at first, but I like him anyway.” Lance paused. “Oh. Oh . Damn, Ny, you’re good. You knew .”

    “Um, duh . I told you, I know you, Lance. Go on. Ask him out. Chances are, since he bought your coffee earlier, he’s curious about you, too. Or just wants to test the waters more with you.” Shoving his phone at him, Nyma smiled, picking up the tea she had left abandoned not too long ago, hiding her lips behind the mug.

    “You better be right about this, Ahn. Otherwise, I’m gonna be making the biggest fool of myself in front of one of the cutest boys I’ve had the pleasure of meeting.”

    As it turned out, Nyma had been right. It had been almost a week ago that Lance had texted Keith, the very same night that Nyma had told him to, asking him out on a date. It hadn’t even been 10 minutes later when Keith replied, but it had been the longest 10 minutes of Lance’s life.

    It had been a simple reply, but the fact that it had been a positive reply had still made Lance shout in surprise and throw his phone at Nyma.

     [20:31:15] Keith: A date? Sounds good. Just tell me when and where.

    Such a simple, nonchalant reply, and it still had Lance whining about the fact Keith had agreed. If Lance were to be honest, he hadn’t expected it.

    But, that had been about a week ago, and their first date was, well… One could say he was getting ready for it. Or, to be precise, Nyma was picking and choosing what in Lance’s closet was designer-in-training approved.

    So, here Lance was, sitting cross-legged on his bed in just his boxers while Nyma raided his closet, her pretty, dyed blond hair pulled up into a messy bun, her glasses resting on the bridge of her nose in a way Lance hadn’t seen since he dated her. Her sweatpants - an old pair of Lance’s that no longer fit him that he gave her during their time together - sat low on her hips and her loose, cropped tank top showed off the purple narcissus flower on her left shoulder.

    Sometimes, Lance wondered why he and Nyma broke up, usually when he was in situations like these. This time, though, that thought didn’t cross his mind. He noted how lucky Allura was to have snagged a catch like Nyma, for sure, but his thoughts were swirling and centered on one thing: Keith .

    “You have to wear blue, there’s no way around that. First off, it’s your favorite color. Second, it’s your color. It brings out your eyes and you look so good in blue.” Nyma mused as she pulled one of Lance’s blue button ups out of his closet before tossing it onto the floor.

    Great. Now Lance was going to have to iron that.

    “It’s too hot for a button up, as much as you rock them. Hm,” Nyma turned to look at Lance, studying him for a moment before shaking her head. “No, I can’t put you through that kind of torture in the middle of July in California. Ugh, your closet makes this so difficult, Lance.”

    “Why can’t I just wear shorts and a tank top? It’s like, 300 degrees outside.” Lance complained, already feeling himself start to melt at just the idea of wearing anything more than that. In return, Nyma scoffed, turning to face him, crossing her arms.

    “First dates are important, you of all people should know that. I’ll find something. You have a closet almost as big as mine, and some of this I picked out for you. There’s no possible way you don’t have anything to wear on your first date with a cute boy.”

    Lance stifled a groan as Nyma turned back to his closet, pulling out a pair of his cuffed jeans and tossing them in Lance’s direction. They ended above his ankles, and were one of his favorite pairs of pants to wear in the fall and winter Summer , though? Well, whatever, Nyma knew best, right?

    “So like, are these jeans a definite?” He couldn’t help but ask, holding them up. At the very least, they were lightweight. “What else do you have in store to make me melt?”

    “Hey, be happy I’m not shoving you in that little navy dress I wear when I want to make Allie sweat when we go out to nightclubs. It barely hides anything on me, and definitely won’t hide anything on you.” Nyma seemed to giggle at the idea of it, though, and Lance shivered at the thought. “White v-neck tee annnnnd to finish it off… Aha! I knew you still had this in here somewhere.”

    Really, it was just like the button up she had thrown on the floor, Lance noted. The only differences being that it was short sleeved, much lighter in material, despite being a darker blue than the first one. The tips of his t-shirt would poke out from under the button up, but Lance trusted Nyma’s judgement.

    “This is… date worthy?” He just had to be sure, despite knowing Nyma would be minorly insulted with Lance’s doubt. But he had to look perfect .

    Nyma scoffed, “Of course it is. I wouldn’t let you leave this apartment looking anything less than stunning. Now get changed, you still need accessories and honestly, I picked up some of the best ones for you in Seoul. You’re welcome, by the way.”

    “Accessories, of course, how could I forget? As if the pendant I wear all the time and my earrings aren’t enough.” Still, Lance did as he was told, slipping each piece of clothing on that Nyma had tossed at him. “So, what do you have in mind?”

    Holding up a thick, brown leather bracelet, Nyma raised a brow. “This, in addition to what you have on already, and this anklet. Trust me, alright? You’re gonna look good, especially because you can pull off practically anything.”

    Lance could only let Nyma do as she pleased, letting her fasten the bracelet around his left wrist before clipping the anklet, plain silver in color, with a small sapphire nestled in the center of the thin chain. It stood out, and Lance couldn’t even deny the fact it looked good around his left ankle.

    “Alright, I admit it. You’re good at what you do. Do I look completely irresistible to a cute gay boy I definitely want to date?”

    “Well, you look irresistible to your bisexual ex-girlfriend, so I’d say so.” Nyma laughed, shaking her head. “You’re good to go, just make sure you wear those slip on shoes and not those awful grey high tops that need to be replaced.”

    “You bought those for me!”

    “Yeah, when we were dating, and you’re wearing holes through them, I’m sure. Upgrade that shit, Lance.” Rolling her eyes, Nyma let herself fall back onto Lance’s bed, smiling. “Knock him dead. He won’t know what hit him.”

    Waiting for Keith to arrive had been the most anxiety inducing hour or so of Lance’s life. He thought waiting for Keith to text back had been bad? That was nothing compared to this. When Keith did arrive, Lance was sure he stopped breathing for a minute starting from the moment he opened the door.

    Keith had no business wearing fitted black jeans that disappeared into black boots with red accents, making his legs look longer than they were and fit him so perfectly. The black tanktop might have been a little much, but the deep red button up over it had been left open, sleeves rolled up to his elbows. The shirt, like his pants, was fitted to his form, and his hair was pulled back into a ponytail. He still wore the ring on his thumb, and his earrings were noticeably changed to red studs.

    So, Lance was a little weak. And he was supposed to knock Keith dead? Oh no, no no. Keith was the one that knocked him dead, and Lance was sure it took him a minute to realize he had just been staring at Keith’s face, until he moved aside to let him in, clearing his throat.

    “Sorry, you just… wow.” It wasn’t often Lance was at a loss for words, but somehow, Keith stole every last one from him. “Um, yeah. Nyma and Hunk… wanted to meet you, before we left. That okay?”

    “Yeah, that’s fine.” Cheese on a cracker, Keith’s smile wasn’t allowed to be so cute. It was a crime, a capital crime, even. “You look like you need a minute to collect yourself, anyway.”

    “Uh, rude , I’m perfectly fine! Mister calm, cool, and collected. That’s me.” Still, Lance led Keith into the living room, where Nyma and Hunk sat on the couch next to one another, watching some cartoon on Netflix involving robots or cats or something. He wasn’t too sure, but he was more than aware of the fact neither of his best friends turned to look at them when they entered the room. “Guys, can you tear your attention away from the tv for like, three minutes to, like, actually meet Keith? Or is your cartoon more important?”

    Nyma was the first to turn her head as Hunk paused the show, laughing at Lance’s behavior. “Dude, relax, no need to be hostile--”

    “I’m not being hostile!”

    “Hey,” Hunk ignored Lance turning to face Keith, turning on the couch a bit to hold out his hand for Keith, who took it in return to shake it. “I’m Hunk. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

    “We both have.” Nyma interjected, using Hunk as leverage to extend her hand out to Keith as well. “Only good things though, I promise. I’m Nyma.”

    Keith turned his body slightly, taking Nyma’s hand in his to shake hers as well. “I’m, well, Keith. I think you guys already knew that, though.” His chuckle was weak, but the smile on his lips was genuine. Nyma laughed a little, dropping her hand back down to Hunk’s shoulder, continuing to use him as leverage. Or, at this point, something to rest against.

    “Oh, yes we did. Lance never stops talking about you. Like I said, only good things. Well, mostly.” Nyma ignored the way Lance groaned, her attention still on Keith. “He mentioned you go to UCLA for a linguistics major? That’s pretty rad.”

    “Yeah, Asian Language and Linguistics. It’s actually a pretty cool major, and it’s keeping me fluent in two other languages.” Keith shrugged, slipping his left hand into his back pocket, keeping his right hand free. “I might use it to go on to teach a second language, or ESL. I haven’t really figured that out yet.”

    “Really? That’s way cool. Lance never mentioned you were trilingual.” At this, Nyma sent a pointed stare at Lance, who couldn’t help but scoff. Keith laughed, shaking his head.

    “In his defense, I didn’t tell him.” He admitted, causing Nyma to smile, nodding her acceptance. “It didn’t really come up, I figured I’d mention it if it came up.”

    “Fair enough. As much as I’d like to give you the full Nyma Ahn Interrogation, I’ll let you two be on your way.”

    “You just want to get back to your kids show.” Lance muttered as Nyma slid off of Hunk’s back, sitting back in her previous spot.

    “It’s not a kids show. Sven just died a very brutal death. They don’t show that on kids shows.” She retorted, waving Lance off. “Go, have fun on your date. I wanna hear all about it when you get back.”

    Hunk chuckled, shaking his head. “We’ll see you later, Lance. Have fun, seriously. Keith, dude, it was good to meet you. Hopefully you’ll come around again?”

    Keith spared a look at Lance, who didn’t notice the glance. Hunk, however, did, and the action brought another smile to his lips as Keith turned back to him. “I think you’ll find me around a lot more. It was good to meet both of you, but, now I’m going to steal this show off before we’re late.”

    (The date, thankfully, had gone better than Lance had hoped. Keith brought him to a nice restaurant, nothing over the top fancy, nothing they needed to dress up for, but nicer than where Lance and Hunk usually stopped for dinner during crunch sessions. The whole date had been spent chatting about this and that, and after Keith dropped Lance off at his apartment, before Lance disappeared for the night, Keith had kissed him, and Lance officially tacked on the boyfriend title.

    No details were left out when Lance gossiped to Hunk and Nyma, and Lance felt like he was in high school again.

    Best early birthday present ever .)

    One year and two months later found Lance and Keith in another school year, and distance between them was a thing once more. The first year with Keith back at UCLA had gone smoothly. Skype dates at least once a week, usually on Wednesday nights, and a lot of talking on the phone about their days. Snapchats and texting when they couldn’t call, and sometimes, nights were skipped when Keith had to work.

    Keith, Lance learned the year before, had a school-year job at a cafe near campus to help pay for his apartment rent with his best friend Pidge.

    But, now that they had been dating for over a year now, Lance was more than sure he could take an unexpectedly presented break to fly down to LA to surprise Keith. Besides, he wanted to meet this Pidge that Keith roomed with, because from what Keith told him, she was pretty cool.

    Which is how Lance found himself at the airport with Hunk at ass o’clock in the morning (which, in reality, was 9:30 am), barely awake and looking like he just rolled out of bed and into his closet, yet somehow ready to fly down to LA to spend the week with his boyfriend.

    And, maybe, he had acquired Pidge’s instagram through Keith’s, and maybe sent her a DM to plot this whole trip out and surprise Keith. Really, who could say but Lance?

    (He absolutely did, and Pidge was more than willing to help him out. Thank fuck for whoever made this girl Keith’s best friend, seriously.)

    Lance didn’t remember a single thing from his flight. He didn’t remember any offered complimentary drinks or snacks. He remembered sitting in his window seat, and turning on his music after putting his headphones on. He definitely remembered pulling his neck pillow off of his backpack, but anything after that? It was a mystery to him, too.

    One minute he had been awake, the next thing he knew, a stewardess was shaking him awake and the rest of the plane was empty. Well, that was embarrassing, and Lance definitely apologized to the poor girl before collecting his backpack and carry on, before rushing off of the plane.

    Pidge wasn’t going to meet Lance at the airport. She had a class to be at, but she did provide the address to the apartment she and Keith shared. She also noted their schedule for the day, so Lance might as well explore LA for a bit, seeing as Keith wouldn’t be out of classes until 11:55 am, and had a 12:30 pm shift at the cafe.

    Which meant Lance wouldn’t be able to just appear before Keith had to go to work. According to Pidge, he would leave from campus and get lunch before his shift, and walk in exactly 5 minutes before his shift began.

    Pidge, on the other hand, would be out of her classes for the day at 1:20 pm, and was more than willing to meet Lance at her apartment to let him drop his stuff off. She felt bad that he would have to go around LA with his stuff, but Lance assured her it was fine.

    So, Lance wandered LA for a bit, until 1pm rolled around. Once his 1pm alarm went off, it was catching an Uber to Pidge’s apartment. He ended up getting there before her, but she didn’t keep him waiting long. Lance knew immediately it was her, just from skimming through her instagram pictures, and Keith’s. She was shorter than Lance had expected, and her hair was pulled up into a messy ponytail, but this was definitely the same Pidge who conspired with him.

    “Hey,” Pidge greeted Lance lazily, raising a hand up in greeting before dropping it by her side again. “Lance, right? Don’t answer, I already know. Keith looks through your instagram almost daily. I’m Katie, but you can call me Pidge, just like Keith does. Well, like everyone does, really. Come on, I’ll show you to the apartment and to Keith’s room.”

    “You really think he’s gonna be okay with me just kind of… inviting myself over? And then invading his room?” Lance laughed a little, following Pidge to the elevator in their apartment complex. The wait for it to reach the ground floor wasn’t long, Pidge entering the elevator first, followed by Lance. Pressing the button to reach her floor, Pidge snorted.

    “You want me to be honest with you? He’s going to be so happy you’re here, he’s not going to know what to do with himself. He’s gonna short circuit and take about ten minutes to process you’re not a figment of his imagination, and then get super flustered. It’s going to be great.”

    “You’re kind of evil, aren’t you?” Lance’s attention was drawn away from Pidge when the elevator dinged, Pidge leading the way out while digging her key out of her pocket.

    “That’s what Keith and Matt say, at least.” She replied, and the grin she sent Lance assured him that Keith and Matt were right. This girl liked to make people squirm, he could tell. Hopefully he would be one of the few people she didn’t try  to make squirm. Lance didn’t get a chance to comment before Pidge was stopping in front of a door, the outside of it decorated with removable, space-themed window clings. “Here we are, home sweet home.”

    “So… were the space clings your idea, or Keith’s?” It was his own curiosity that made Lance curious about them. Pidge only laughed, pushing the door open and letting Lance in.

    “Honestly? Both of ours. When we first moved in, we got super confused which apartment was ours for the first few days, and always tried to enter the wrong one. So, we decided to decorate our door in a space theme, since Keith’s an astronomy and astrology nerd, even though I swear they have no relation with one another, and I’m an astrophysics major. We never lost our apartment again. Now they’re just there because we don’t feel like taking them down.”

    “That’s actually smart and adorable all at the same time.” Lance replied, nodding in approval as he entered the apartment. Really, it was so… modern and somehow felt welcoming. Maybe it was the fact Lance could see Keith’s abandoned beanie laying across the kitchen table, and the framed pictures on the walls. He paid no mind to the sound of the door closing, too curious about the apartment.

    “Man, your apartment is so clean compared to mine and Hunk’s. Like, Hunk loves cleaning, but he’s a mechanical engineering major so sometimes cleaning just… doesn’t happen.” Lance laughed, stepping closer to one of the walls to examine one of the pictures, raising a brow when it was just a high definition picture of stars. “Why are there--”

    “Framed pictures of stars? They’re actually constellations. Keith took those in April, before he went back up to the Oakland area. Apparently, April is the best time to see the Leo constellation, which this one happens to be a picture of. He can tell you the full story behind it better than I can, but… all the pictures in frames around here are all Keith’s photography.”

    “He’s… really good. I didn’t know he had this much talent with photography. Like, his selfies are amazing, but I didn’t… realize he could be a pro at this.”

    Pidge shook her head, toeing off her shoes and tossing her bag onto the couch. “There’s not enough security in being a freelance photographer, he says. So, he does it all for fun. But, I gotta admit, the guy’s got skills. Come on, I’ll give you a quick tour before we go and bother Keith at work.”

    “Yeah, yeah okay.” Lance followed Pidge’s lead, quickly discarding his shoes by the door before catching up to her. “So, I’ve seen the kitchen and living room since both are visible from the door. Guess all I need to know is Keith’s room and the bathroom, right?”

    “Yeah, pretty much. We got lucky with this apartment complex, because we have washing and drying in our unit. It’s in the closet-looking thing outside the bathroom, so if you need to do laundry while you’re here, feel free. Speaking of the bathroom,” Pidge gestured to a door with a sticker cling of Uranus on it. “There it is. You can remember it by the planet, I’m sure.”

    Lance snickered, realizing the relationship between the planet and the bathroom, getting a grin from Pidge in response. “I think I’ll remember for sure. So, no planets on the bedroom doors?”

    “Nope, constellations. The Aries constellation is on my door. Scorpio is on Keith’s. It’s helpful if you know the constellations. If you don’t, my room is on the left. His is on the right.” True to her word, when Pidge opened Keith’s door to his room, Lance could immediately tell it was his room, 100%. The walls were white, but his bedding was red, and Keith’s favorite jacket was slung across the back of the chair at the desk.

    There were various photos scattered through the room, some framed, some just tacked up, and as Lance moved into the room, putting his stuff down against the wall next to the door, one photo in particular caught his eye, prompting him to move over to it and pick it up.

    It was a photo from Lance’s 22nd birthday, when he and Keith had gone out with Hunk, Nyma, Shay and Allura for drinks. Keith’s cheeks were flushed with intoxication, and his hair pulled back into a ponytail, and the only visible clothes on his person was his black tank top. Next to him was Lance, grinning to the point his eyes had scrunched closed and his dimples were overly visible. All anyone could see on him, seeing as the photo was taken from the chest up, was his white tank top under an awful blue Hawaiian print shirt, with a blue lei around his neck and the most ridiculous pair of blue shutter shades perched on the top of his head. He had an arm around Keith’s shoulders, and Lance could clearly remember the reason for his smile was that Keith had just told Lance that he loved him. Someone, probably Nyma, had snapped a picture when Keith kissed his cheek.

    The picture sat on Keith’s nightstand, bringing a smile to Lance’s lips.

    “I don’t remember anything from after this picture was taken. Heck, I don’t even remember the picture being taken. All I remember from that night was Keith telling me he loved me.”

    Pidge made a little noise of acknowledgement from the doorway, “Well, he does. And you love him, so no big deal. You two look so happy in that picture. I remember watching Keith edit it and print it out, making it perfect and framing it. I haven’t seen him his happy in a long time, Lance. You did this to him.”

    “Yeah, well, he makes me happy, too. It’s pretty serious, isn’t it?” Laughing, Lance put the picture back down, checking the battery on his phone. Somehow, amazingly, it was still at 46%, which was plenty to last him the rest of the day. “Come on, let’s go bother my boyfriend while he’s working and can’t be mean to us.”

    Pidge grinned, nodding and pushing away from the door. “I like the way you think, Lance. The cafe isn’t too far, maybe a 12 minute walk? C’mon, I need coffee more than I need to sleep at night.”

    Three minutes into the walk to the cafe, once Pidge and Lance were on the ground floor again, Lance’s phone rang. It was Nyma’s tell-tale ring, probably calling to ask how the flight to LA was - meaning he definitely had to answer. It only took a moment to accept the call, the FaceTime application opening to reveal Nyma and what appeared to be the back of Allura’s head.

     “Hi, Lance!” Nyma’s greeting was cheerful, and Lance could tell even through the video feed she was wearing her purple contacts. “Good to see you made it to LA safely.”

    “Hello to you, too, Ny. Sorry I didn’t text you when I landed, kinda slipped my mind. I’m with Keith’s roommate, Pidge.” Lance turned the phone enough to include Pidge in the shot, gaining a wave from her.

    “Hey, I’m Pidge. I’m here to make sure Lance actually returns to Oakland. And I guess make sure they don’t make fools of themselves.”

     “Oh, no, if they make fools of themselves, I want proof. Videos, pictures, you name it. I want them.” Nyma laughed, resting her chin on her hand. “I’m Nyma, by the way. The beauty behind me is my girlfriend, Allura. Don’t mind her all too much. She’s listening to a piece for her upcoming recital.”

    “Recital?” Pidge echoed, a brow raising in confusion. “A recital for what?”

    “Allura goes to Juilliard, studying dance. Nyma goes to the New York School of Design. They share an apartment that’s almost equidistant  from both schools.” Lance explained, with Nyma nodding in agreement.

     “It’s also only like, a 15 minute ride on my bike from my school to Allie’s, so we meet up a lot for lunch. Anyway, I just called to check on you, make sure you’re not dead. I’ll talk to you later, Lance. Tell Keith I said hi!”

    “Will do. See ya, Ny.” With a wave, Nyma ended the call, causing Lance to chuckle and shake his head, putting his phone away. “Sorry about that. I think she forgets she’s three hours ahead sometimes.”

    “Nah, it’s fine. It’s nice that she’s checking up on you. Look, we’re almost at the cafe. Give me your phone. I want to record Keith’s reaction to seeing you, and I’m sure you’re gonna want the video, too. I’ll just grab it from you later.” Pidge held out her hand expectantly, prompting Lance to pull the device from his pocket, placing it in Pidge’s hand.

    “Alright, so, what’s the plan? We can’t just walk in together.” Lance pointed out, stopping a few stores down from Keith’s cafe, out of sight of the windows.

    “I’ll walk in first. Keith generally expects me to show up around this time anyway, so I can use that to my advantage. I’ll have your phone out, ready to record. Give it 30 seconds, and then come in. His attention will be on the door already, so you’ll be able to just walk in. Here, wear this hat.” Pidge rummaged around in her bag, pulling out a blue, baseball-style cap to wear. “You can hide your face so you just look like someone coming in for coffee when you walk past the window.”

    “You’ve really thought this out, haven’t you?” Lance mused, slipping the hat on, grinning at Pidge. Rolling her eyes, Pidge turned her back to Lance, after tossing him her phone in an after thought. Lance managed to catch the phone, tucking it in his pocket.

    “I like seeing Keith happy. He’s… opened up. So, since I know this will make him happy, I wanted to help. Now, let’s go. Remember, 30 seconds after I walk in. Take my phone and pretend to fiddle with it while you wait, so you don’t look suspicious. Actually, stay a few paces behind, too.”

    “Yeah, yeah, not gonna raise suspicion. Let’s go, I wanna see Keith already.”

    Another minute walk brought the two of them to the cafe, Lance lingering behind as Pidge entered the cafe, and pulling out Pidge’s phone, as if he had gotten a text - which, incidentally, Pidge had gotten one. Ironically enough, from Keith, asking about what they should do for dinner.

    Cute.

    Lance sighed, counting down the seconds until he could walk in and surprise Keith. He’d be happy, right? Of course he would be.

     3… 2… 1…

    Lance took a breath, putting Pidge’s phone away. He turned, pushing the door to the cafe open, glancing at Pidge under the brim of his hat. She had the phone held up, recording Keith, who seemed to be annoyed with the fact she was recording him.

    Ah, well. For good reason, right?

    “Pidge, seriously, stop recording me. I’m working.” Lance grinned, hearing Keith’s voice, and his heart pounded against his chest.

    “Oh, but Keith, babe,” He finally spoke up, lifting his head and knocking the brim of his hat up, watching as Keith’s expression melted from annoyance to shock before a smile of disbelief cracked his features. “She did it for me. Miss me?”

    Lance laughed as Keith slowly his his face in his hands, or rather his smile, turning his back to the counter and sliding down to the floor. Pidge snickered, Keith’s laugh of surprise clear on the recording.

    “Babe, come here and greet me properly.” Lance chuckled, watching Keith stand up, sliding his black apron off and placing it on the counter. The other girl behind the counter watched them, smiling to herself and keeping an eye on the register as Keith moved from behind the counter, meeting Lance halfway, chuckling when Lance enveloped him in a hug.

    “Yeah, I missed you. I can’t believe you’re here.”

    “Well, I’m here, so there’s no need to miss me.”

    Five years passed faster than Lance and Keith had expected. Both had graduated from their respective universities, and found jobs in their fields. They had found an apartment and moved in together shortly after graduation, and honestly?

    Lance still didn’t believe any of this that he had with Keith was real. He believed that the past five years had been an extensive dream, and a wonderful one at that. Initially, Lance hadn’t expected him and Keith to last more than two years. He had expected Keith to find someone better, someone that could be around more than Lance might be as a marine biologist, but no, Keith had stuck with his ass for five years now.

    It was a lot, really. But Lance was happy. Keith was happy, he could say that much with confidence. Keith never failed to remind him, at the most random times, too. Lance shuffles into their kitchen an hour after Keith has already gotten up, with Rupee weaving between his legs? Keith was right there to remind Lance that he made him happy.

    It was weird, initially, but Lance got used to it. He found he liked Keith’s little reminders of his feelings, and it always brought a smile to Lance’s lips.

    Today though? Today was strange. Keith was gone before Lance was even up - though Lance had woken up much later than usual, and only because Glaceon had decided to shove her tail into Lance’s mouth as Rupee draped herself across the rest of his face.

    Cat butt, as it turned out, was not the most pleasing way to wake up in the morning. Usually in the mornings, Keith locked Rupee and Glaceon out of the bedroom to let Lance sleep, though Lance supposed even Keith could forget to close a door before leaving, so long as it wasn’t their front door.

    So, after the rude awakening from his two cat daughters, Lance found that his boyfriend was mysteriously missing. He had left a note, something vague about Shiro needing him to come over and help him with something, and that he would be home later. Which, to Lance, didn’t make any sense.

    If Shiro needed help with something, he had Matt. Unless Matt was with Pidge (which, after having known Pidge for a year, he learned they were siblings), in which case, Lance always went with Keith to help Shiro.

    He supposed that it was possible Shiro only needed Keith for whatever it was he needed him for, and that Keith just wanted to let Lance sleep because it was Lance’s day off.

    So, he couldn’t really blame Keith, or accuse anyone of anything.

    But he was totally bored without Keith around. Keith was on summer vacation, seeing as he used his degree to become a teacher, which Lance was actually insanely jealous of, but at the same time, loved his own work too much to be overly  jealous.

    Plus, they had to pay rent somehow.

    Still, this was strange, and too quiet, even with Rupee’s non-stop purring in his ear after he sat down on the couch, and Glaceon’s yelling at him from the kitchen to feed her - which, Lance knew from seeing the fork in the otherwise empty sink that Keith had fed both cats before he left. Glaceon was simply a glutton.

   “Alright, girls, what’s papa up to?” As if the cats would answer him, Lance turned to the red Persian, meeting her striking yellow eyes with his own curious blue. “He’s your favorite. You’d know better than Glaceon what he’s up to. Spill the beans, mija. Where’d papa go?”

    Rupee, like the traitor she was, simply yawned at him before bumping her head against Lance’s nose.

    “I didn’t think you’d give him away. You’re a goody-goody and won’t do anything to make him upset.” Lance turned to look at his Russian blue as she entered the room, her pretty green eyes staring him down. “What about you, beautiful? You gonna tell me where my better half went?”

    Glaceon stared at Lance for another moment before stalking towards the cat tree that sat in the window, crouching down before jumping up onto one of the branches. Typical.

    “He’s up to something. I just know it.”

    Honestly, the rest of Lance’s day was… well, it was uneventful. Binging old shows on Netflix, playing with the cats, replaying games that he and Keith had finished, whatever he could really think of doing.

    Keith returned around 5pm. He seemed… well, despite Lance’s conviction that Keith was up to something, he seemed normal. Not like he was hiding anything at all, which was just as suspicious as it was normal. Lance narrowed his eyes at his boyfriend, studying him, seeing if he could get Keith to break.

    “What’d you help Shiro with?”

    “Well, aren’t you nosy?” Keith laughed, getting a glass of water from the kitchen. “It wasn’t anything big, he’s just working on some stuff for Matt that he wants to surprise him with for their anniversary in a few weeks. He had Pidge distract Matt for the day while I went over and helped him work on putting it together. I couldn’t tell you what it is, through. I pretty much just held things in place while he put them together.”

    “You didn’t wake me up before you left, though. Or lock the girls out of our room. Glaceon’s tail isn’t exactly tasty.” Yes, Lance was totally pouting. It was a good look on a 25 year old man that looks 19 still, Lance was sure.

    Keith laughed again, shaking his head, “Sorry. Shiro kind of called in a panic when he realized he couldn’t do it all by himself, and I rushed out on my bike to help him before he broke something. Either himself or whatever he’s trying to make.”

    “Hmm… Alright, apology and excuse accepted.” Sighing, Lance rolled onto his back on their couch, grunting when Rupee jumped onto his stomach. “What else did you and Shiro do today? You couldn’t have just worked on a mystery project.”

    “No, I dragged him out shopping for a bit. I needed his opinion on something.” Keith’s answer was very nonchalant, his expression unwavering, not revealing even a little bit of what Keith apparently needed Shiro’s opinion on.

    “Oh? What’s that?” Lance, always the curious one, was determined to figure out this mystery. This time, Keith smirked a little, before shrugging.

    “Nothing important. I mean, it’s something for you, but--”

    “For me?” Lance cut Keith off, repeating the statement. “What do you mean it’s both for me but nothing important? Keith!”

    Keith rolled his eyes, chuckling a little, causing Lance to sit up. Rupee jumped off of Lance’s lap, hiding under the coffee table as Keith made his way over to the piece of furniture, sitting down on it. He couldn’t help but pet Rupee lightly as she weaved between his legs, before turning back to Lance.

    “Because the actual thing I bought isn’t as important as your answer.”

    Wait. What?

    Now that was suspicious.

    “What? What are you talking about, my answer?”

    “Well,” Ah, now Keith looked nervous, glancing away from Lance briefly before seeming to steel himself, looking back at him. “I mean, we’ve been together for 5 years now. At this point, I can’t see myself with anyone but you - I don’t want to be with anyone but you. So, I thought… why not?”

    “Why not? Keith, what are you-- oh sweet cheesus.” During Lance’s question, Keith had pulled out a little blue velvet box from the pocket of his hoodie.

    “Well, I was hoping to be a bit more romantic with this, but I know you well enough to know you won’t give up in finding out what I was up to today. And, well, this fits us way better than some big thing at a fancy restaurant, so… Lance,” Despite the fact he expected it now, Lance was still caught off guard when Keith opened the box. “Will you marry me?”

    The ring itself was simple. A thick, silver band embedded with sapphires, a single ruby sitting in the center of it. However, it was gorgeous, and Keith had picked it out himself. Still, Lance couldn’t help but laugh quietly, picking the ring out of the box and slipping it onto his finger himself, making Keith pout only a little.

    “Like you even had to ask.”

    “I remember when you guys got married!” Ana chirped from Keith’s lap, causing him to chuckle. It had only been two years ago, though he highly doubted little Ana really remembered the wedding. She had only been three, and had been the flower girl with Lance’s then 6 year old nephew as the ring bearer.

    It had been cute, watching Gabriel help Ana down the aisle, and even cuter to watch Ana literally throw her flower petals at the guests.

    “Oh, do you now?” Keith teased, poking Ana in the side. “Well, I’m glad you do, and we have a lot of pictures if you ever forget.”

    Lance watched with a fond smile as Keith and Ana chattered, taking a moment to look at the engagement ring that sat on his finger. Above it, having joined it two years ago, was a similar silver band, just as thick, but plain, without any gems. Lance loved them both the same.

    “Hey, Lance?” Lance turned to Hunk, raising a brow, briefly wondering when his best friend appeared next to him. “You know, I had my doubts at first but… I’m really glad this all worked out for you. I think the whole Blake incident was exactly what you needed to find Keith. He’s totally your soulmate, dude.”

    Lance’s smile grew, bumping his shoulder against Hunk’s as he looked back at Keith, his heart swelling with affection, seeing his husband and unofficial niece laugh together.

    “I’m glad it did, too.”