Work Text:
“Sure I'll give you my notes,” Lance grinned, sliding his notebook towards Keith across the library table. “If you go on a date with me.”
“Never mind, I'll just email the professor,” Keith rolled his eyes.
“Eh, suit yourself,” Lance shrugged sliding the notebook back.
Heaving a heavy sigh, Keith annoyedly opened up his laptop and began to compose an email to his Econ professor requesting the slides from the previous lesson. He gave Lance a glare over the top of his laptop, which had no impact on the half lidded, shit eating grin look that Lance was giving him. Not that Keith wasn’t used to Lance’s particular brand of humor— or in Keith’s opinion, Lance’s lack thereof.
Ever since Keith had made the mistake of getting drunk in the presence of Lance, and stupidly admitting that he’d never been on a real date, Lance had not stop offering to date him. Actually, it felt more like daily badgering him with offers of cliche romantic dates and constant smoldering looks. It drove Keith crazy.
Not a day, or even an hour, went by without Lance asking him for a date. He never missed an opportunity, and frankly Keith was almost impressed with his absolute dedication— or at least he would have been if Lance he hadn’t been dedicated to the single handedly most annoying thing in the universe. And it was annoying. Every question was met with a caveat of being answered with the promise of a date, every suggestion counteroffered with the offer of a date, and every comment undermined with a reply about a date. It was driving Keith crazy.
If it wasn't “I'll let you borrow that game if you go on a date with me,” it was “maybe you'd feel better if you went on a date with me?” Or sometimes it would be “we could study, or we could have a study date?” And on the days that Lance at his most annoying, he wouldn't even wait for a prompt, he would just ask straight out of nowhere; he would just sit in front of Keith, waiting until he felt his presence there and when Keith looked up he'd smirk and go “you wanna go on a date with me?” It drove Keith insane.
It all came to a point where Keith couldn't anymore. And he gave in.
“Whoa you look like shit,” Lance joked dropping himself on the couch in the student lounge across from Keith. “How long have you been here?”
“Um, since 11pm?” Keith said tiredly, rubbing his over-exhausted eyes with the back of his hand. Lance looked up at him with a face of mixed worry and fear.
“Dude it's 8am,” Lance said horrified. “You should get some sleep.”
“I can't, I need to finish this,” Keith mumbled hunching over the low table where his notes and laptop had been laid out for hours. “This essay needs to be completed.”
“Ok weirdo,” Lance chuckled. “Need anything? Tea? Coffee? Heroin?”
“Coffee would be fucking amazing right now, please,” Keith said hoping Lance would just go and leave him to finish his work.
“I'll get you a coffee,” Lance began in that sure of himself cocky tone he often used when he was about to piss off Keith. “If you go on a date with me.” Keith thought he was going to explode.
“Oh my god, oh my GOD FINE,” Keith shouted feeling like he was going to pull his hair out. “I’LL GO ON A DATE WITH YOU PLEASE JUST GET ME A COFFEE FOR FUCKS SAKE.”
“Really?” Lance asked surprised. “This Friday?”
“Yes, whatever, PERFECT,” Keith agreed angrily.
“Pick you up at 8?” Lance offered excitedly.
“Fine, I don't care. Get me coffee,” Keith sighed, feeling like the sleep deprivation was getting to him.
“Ok!” Lance grinned happily jumping up to go to the campus commissary.
Keith wasn't sure why he'd agreed. He probably just wanted to shut Lance up. Or perhaps it was because he was sleep deprived. Or maybe he was actually going crazy. All he knew, was he wasn't serious. And because he wasn't serious, he didn't remember it.
So he sat, in baggy gray sweatpants and a possibly dirty red tshirt playing video games on his couch with no intention of getting up, at 7:50pm that Friday. He was worn out from a long exhausting week and he was ready to veg out by himself and eat Bagel Bites until he physically couldn't anymore. Which is why he was incredibly confused when he heard a knock on his apartment door.
Pausing his game, Keith slowly got up and walked over to the door, subconsciously feeling around for his wallet in case he had ordered a pizza and forgot about it. He leaned up on his tiptoes looking through the peephole and saw something that confused him even further: Lance, wearing a crisp blue button down tucked into a pair of, slightly ripped at the knee, but albeit nice black skinny jeans. He held a small red flower in his hand, and he fidgeted from foot to foot as he waited for the door to open.
Keith took a minor step back from the door. He racked his brain trying to remember if he had in it's Lance over, or if he had something that Lance forgot last time he was there. Not remembering anything like that, Keith opened the door feeling confused.
“Lance?” Keith asked as he swung the door open. He saw Lance’s face brighten as he looked down at him.
“Hi! You ready?” Lance smiled brightly.
“Ready?...”Keith quirked his eyebrow at him. “For?...”
“Our date,” Lance said, his facing dropping as he took in Keith's appearance. “Our date tonight? That we planned a few days ago?”
“Oh, OH,” Keith said remembering his sleep deprived mind sarcastically agreeing to a date for coffee. “I— You were being serious?”
“Well,” Lance exhaled shakily, his cheeks tinting slightly as he rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand, dropping the hand with the flower to his side. “Yeah, I kind was.”
“I–I didn't know,” Keith stammered feeling suddenly guilty. “I thought...I thought you were joking.”
“Um, right, ok,” Lance swallowed embarrassed. “So uh… we can pretend this never happened. And I'm just gonna go die, bye.” He turned to leave but Keith reached out before he could walk away.
“Wait!” Keith cried out grabbing Lance’s sleeve. “Um...you don't—don't have to go…”
“Really?” Lance asked uncharacteristically unsure.
“Yeah,” Keith nodded trying to sound sure of himself. “I— I can get ready right now if you want? We can go...um...on–on that date. If you still, you know, want too?”
“I do,” Lance smiled nodding.
“Ok,” Keith said, feeling kind of dizzy by the sudden change of plans. But it felt good dizzy. “Um,” he glanced down at the flower in Lance's hand, “is that for me?”
“Uh, yeah,” Lance nodded awkwardly handing him the flower. “I thought a bouquet would be too much but I didn't want to show up with nothing so…” Keith took it and he found himself smiling at the disorientingly sweet gesture.
“It's pretty,” Keith said holding it up to his face to look at it better.
“I stole it,” Lance blurted out. Keith snorted at the look of horrified realization on Lance’s face. “I don't know why I told you that. I'm…? Nervous? You make me nervous?”
“I also apparently make you steal,” Keith chuckled.
“Yeah, I...I don't steal, um, usually,” he swallowed again looking more and more nervous. “I went to the flower shop and I picked up a flower from the display because I was gonna ask the lady behind the counter for more of them but then I chickened out and ran out of the store but I forgot that I still had the flower in my hand and I was too embarrassed to go back so I came here instead so yeah I stole it I'm sorry that's not romantic at all.”
“It's totally romantic,” Keith grinned.
“Really?” Lance asked happily. Then he smiled a big dopey smile that was worlds away from the cocky grin that he normally had. But this one sent a warm gooey feeling through Keith that he'd never felt before. He liked it.
“Come in?” Keith offered taking a step to the side to let Lance in.
“Thanks,” Lance smirked. Keith watched him take a step inside. He paused in front of Keith and bit his lip nervously before moving forward. “Um can I… uh, This is gonna sound weird but...”
“What’s gonna sound weird?” Keith asked tilting his head to the side.
“Um, I'll only ask you once I promise, but uh… before like um,” Lance swallowed, looking down at his hands. “It’s quite possible that this date can go... well um ...incase this date goes horribly bad...can I uh… kiss you?” there was a long pause. “Like now?”
“Ye–yeah,” Keith nodded, agreeing nervously. “Sure. Why not.”
“Ok,” Lance said not able to hide his smile.
He slowly bent down and pressed his lips against Keith's; it was brief and chaste and soft and warm and Keith wanted more instantly. Lance pulled up and let his eyes flutter open, their lips ghosting against each other. Keith's tongue darted out and licked his lips savoring the feeling of Lance's lips on his.
“You taste like Doritos,” Lance whispered softly.
“That's not romantic,” Keith frowned, weakly shoving Lance’s shoulder.
“Well you forgot our date,” Lance shrugged with a grin. “That's not romantic either.”
“True,” Keith agreed begrudgingly, twirling the flower in his hand. “But maybe… I can make it up to you?”
“I'd really like that,” Lance smiled, that same bright dopey smile that twisted Keith's insides. And suddenly Keith was glad he agreed to the date.