Keith headed to Allison's office after making sure the twins ate breakfast and getting them ready for the day. Shiro and Adam wanted to take them to the park nearby the house so the twins would be in their care. Krolia was going out for the day to visit an old friend who she just found out lived in Cranston. Kolivan had some work he needed to finish so he would be staying at the house for the day and offered to start dinner for the day when it came time to.
Keith walked up to where Mrs. Simmons was sitting and the woman smiled at him.
"Hello Keith, Ms. Thorn is in a meeting right now. She'll be with you shortly."
"Right," Keith said with a nod. His phone started buzzing in his pocket and he pulled it out to see it was Shiro calling him. "Excuse me," Keith said with a smile to Mrs. Simmons and headed down the hall and answered the call.
"Oh good, you're not in a meeting right now," Shiro said with a sigh of relief.
"What's wrong? Did something happen?" Keith asked frantically. His mind was running a million thoughts a mile, hoping nothing had gone wrong.
"Huh? Nothing has gone wrong," Shiro said with a chuckle. "I was just gonna ask if it's okay for the girls to get a toy, we parked a little bit away from the park and passed a toy store, the girls are asking if we would buy them a toy."
"Oh, yeah," Keith said with a sigh of relief. "That's fine but nothing too big, something small."
"Gotcha," Shiro said with a laugh. "You really went into "dad" mode and you guys called me the worried father of the group."
"Very funny," Keith said with a roll of his eyes. "You are by the way."
"Oh whatever," Shiro replied with a snort. "Alright that's all, I'll leave you to your meeting."
"Alright, bye."
Keith shoved his phone back into his jean pocket and went to turn back down the hall but froze seeing a familiar face coming out of Allison's office, followed by Allison herself.
Lance.
"Be sure to tell your father everything is fine," Allison said with a smile. "I have the entertainment for the concert already picked and we're working with him to make sure things run smoothly."
"Thanks again Allison," Lance said with a smile. "Sorry to be coming in so much, I hate meetings as much as you do."
"Yeah," Allison said with a shrug of her shoulders. "I can put my disdain aside for my favourite cousin."
Keith's eyes widened.
Allison was Lance's cousin?
The pair shared a hug before Lance headed to the elevators and left the floor.
"Is Keith here yet?" Allison said turning to Mrs. Simmons.
"He was, he left to take a phone call," Mrs. Simmons said looking around for Keith. A smile formed on her face seeing Keith come out from down the hall and walk towards them. "There he is."
"Glad you could make it today Keith?" Allison said with a smile. "Now, let's hear those songs of yours, I'm excited to hear them."
~
Two weeks flew by faster than Keith could blink.
Keith had been in non-stop dance rehearsals and the last two days Keith had been in sound checks.
However, he couldn't shake off seeing Lance again. If Lance had been having meetings with Allison, then the event was being sponsored by Lance's father. It made sense, his father had hosted the event in the past. Keith wondered how he didn't think of it before he agreed to it.
"...eith!"
"Keith!"
Keith was brought out of his thoughts when he heard his name called and a hand waving in front of his face. He turned and found Shiro looking at him with a worried expression on his face.
"Are you okay? You zoned out for a while there."
"I'm fine," Keith said with a sigh. "Just, nervous I guess."
"But daddy, you're a great sing," Camilla protested with a pout on her face.
"You'll do great daddy," Marina chimed in with a smile.
"Are you almost ready Keith?" Allison asked as she knocked on the dressing room door and pepped in with a smile. "We're on in five minutes."
"Yeah," Keith said as he grabbed a ponytail off the counter and tied his hair back. His hair had grown longer over the years and he had gotten into the habit of tying it back into a ponytail. His outfit for the night was a pair of black pants, a red shirt, and a black jacket. Nothing too fancy, simple.
"Great, I'll see you backstage!" Allison called out with a smile as she headed off to check on a few things before the concert started.
"I'll see you both after the show okay?" Keith asked turning to his daughters. "Stay close to everyone alright?"
"We will," the twins chimed in, giving Keith a last hug before they headed off with Shiro to join the rest of the family.
~
"Thank you all for coming tonight! It is such a pleasure to be hosting this event again this year for the Cranston Children's Hospital," Allison announced with a smile. "All proceeds raised from this event will go towards the hospital and the wonderful work they do for these children."
Allison paused and the crowd cheered, the woman waiting until the cheering ceased before continuing.
"And once again sponsoring the event this year is Mr. Richard McClain and his wife Rosa McClain." The crowd cheered once more, no doubt, Richard McClain was a huge name in Cranston.
"We have a special show for you, these songs were written by an incredible singer and songwriter who I have had the pleasure of working with these past two weeks," Allison said as the lights dimmed slowly. "Please welcome to the stage, Keith Kogane!"
The crowd cheered once more as the lights darkened and Allison headed off the stage, whispering "good luck" to Keith as she passed him. Keith got into position, as did the backup dancers and singers. There were a few moments as everyone settled before the music started and Keith started to sing.
(Note: Word = Keith, Word = Backup Singers)
(Seconds Note: Yes, I am picturing Keith dancing to the actual choreography for Permission to Dance, cause that's all that would pop into my head when rewriting this scene with this song.)
"It's the thought of being young
When your heart's just like a drum
Beating louder with no way to guard it"
The light turned back on and the crowd cheered as Keith and the group started their dance.
"When it all seems like it's wrong
Just sing along to Elton John
And to that feeling, we're just getting started"
Lance's eyes widened from where he was sitting beside Nyma and his sister Rachel. He hadn't expected Keith to be the one Allison called in to perform. He definitely looked different than when Lance last saw him four years ago.
"When the nights get colder
And the rhythms got you falling behind
Just dream about that moment
When you look yourself right in the eye, eye, eye
Then you say"
Keith caught his daughters cheering for him as they sat between Shiro and his mother. They always liked watching him perform. Granted, they couldn't come into the club but Nat made sure to take videos when she could and send them to Krolia for the girls to watch while Keith worked.
"I wanna dance
The music's got me going
Ain't nothing that can stop how we move, yeah
Let's break our plans
And live just like we're golden
And roll in like we're dancing fools"
Lance watched as Keith danced with the backup dancers, a smile evident on his face. Four years ago he wouldn't have imagined Keith on a stage dancing in front of a crowd like this.
"We don't need to worry
'Cause when we fall, we know how to land
Don't need to talk the talk, just walk the walk tonight
'Cause we don't need permission to dance"
Had Keith really changed that much since he left four years ago? Since...they're breakup?
"There's always something that's standing in the way
But if you don't let it faze ya
You'll know just how to break
Just keep the right vibe, yeah
'Cause there's no looking back
There ain't no one to prove
We don't got this on lock (Yeah)"
Keith could feel eyes on him. Granted, all eyes were on him as he danced around the stage but this particular set of eyes had him searching the crowd for who it was.
"The wait is over
The time is now so let's do it right, mm
Yeah, we'll keep going
And stay up until we see the sunri-i-ise
And we'll say"
Lance. His eyes landed on Lance of all people.
"I wanna dance
The music's got me going
Ain't nothing that can stop how we move, yeah
Let's break our plans
And live just like we're golden
And roll in like we're dancing fools"
Keith's eyes met Lance's and he felt his heart stop beating for a moment. Okay, he kind of expected Lance to be here, after all his father was sponsoring the event. However, he was hopeful Lance wouldn't be here.
"We don't need to worry
'Cause when we fall, we know how to land
Don't need to talk the talk, just walk the walk tonight
'Cause we don't need permission to dance"
Guess fate wasn't on his side after all.
"I wanna dance
The music's got me going
Ain't nothing that can stop how we move, yeah
Let's break our plans
And live just like we're golden
And roll in like we're dancing fools"
Keith really wanted off this stage. He hated being near Lance. His heart was racing a million miles an hour.
"Da-na-na-na-na-na-na
Da-na-na-na-na-na-na
Da-na-na-na-na-na-na
No, we don't need permission to dance
Da-na-na-na-na-na-na
Da-na-na-na-na-na-na
Da-na-na-na-na-na-na"
But, he had two more songs to sing.
"Well, let me show ya
That we can keep the fire alive, mm
'Cause it's not over
'Til it's over, say it one more time
Say"
The end of the song approached and Keith forced himself to focus on finishing the song.
"I wanna dance
The music's got me going (Music's got me going)
Ain't nothing that can stop how we move, yeah (Hey, yeah)
Let's break our plans
And live just like we're golden (Ooh)
And roll in like we're dancing fools (Like we're dancing fools)"
Lance watched as Keith finished the song off, a forced smile on his face. Lance may not have seen Keith in years but he still remembered the smile Keith used when he was forcing one.
"We don't need to worry
'Cause when we fall, we know how to land (We know how to land)
Don't need to talk the talk, just walk the walk tonight (Ooh)
'Cause we don't need permission to dance"
The crowd cheered as the song ended. Though, Keith's head turned hearing his daughter's cheering above the crowd. He could pick them out anywhere, a smile forming on his face. He turned to the D. J. on the side of the stage to signal for the next song to start.
"I wish that this night would never be over
There's plenty of time to sleep when we die
So let's just stay awake until we grow older
If I had my way, we'd never close our eyes, our eyes, never!"
Keith took a deep breath and forced himself to avoid the area Lance was sitting in as he just forced himself to focus on the song and the dance routine that went with it.
"I don't wanna let a minute get away
'Cause we got no time to lose
None of us are promised to see tomorrow
And what we do is ours to choose"
Lance turned to his mother who was watching the performance with a smile. He could tell his mom was excited to see Keith again, she liked him and was sad when Keith disappeared.
"Forget about the sunrise, fight the sleep in your eyes
I don't wanna miss a second with you
Let's stay this way forever
It's only getting better if we want it to"
"Mama," Lance whispered to get her attention.
"What is it love?" Rosa whispered back.
"I'm gonna go find...Allison, I...need to ask her something."
"Alright but don't be too long," Rosa replied with a nod. Lance turned back to Nyma who smiled softly at him. She knew who Keith was and knew what Lance was planning. She nodded softly and Lance headed out of his seat and backstage.
"You know that I wish that this night would never be over
There's plenty of time to sleep when we die
So let's just stay awake until we grow older
If I had my way, we'd never close our eyes, our eyes, never"
Keith watched as Lance left his seat and disappeared into the crowd. He let out a mental sigh of relief and continued on with the song and dance. His concentration came back now that he wasn't distracted by Lance.
"It's so hard to think this could fade away
But what goes up must come down
Why can't we just live life with no consequence
And always live in the now?"
Keith smiled as he saw the twins up and dancing along, trying to mimic his own dancing. They never ceased to bring a smile to his face.
"Forget about the sunrise, fight the sleep in your eyes
I don't wanna miss a second with you
Let's stay this way forever
It's only getting better if we want it to"
He was also happy that the crowd seemed to be enjoying themselves. Most clapped along to the beats of the songs while others watched in amazement as he and the group danced.
"You know that I wish that this night would never be over
There's plenty of time to sleep when we die
So let's just stay awake until we grow older
If I had my way, we'd never close our eyes, our eyes, never"
Keith caught movement in the corner of his eye and his eyes widened seeing Lance climbing the stairs to head backstage. His breath hitched and he quickly caught eyes with Shiro. His brother stared at him in confusion until he saw the subtle movement Keith was making with his hand. He turned and saw the guard let Lance backstage. He caught on and turned to Krolia and the others and told them what was happening.
Shiro turned back to Keith and nodded. Keith let out a soft sigh of relief as he watched Shiro and the others head backstage, the guard recognized them from earlier and allowed them to head to the dressing room. Shiro stayed backstage with Kolivan to help Keith back to the dressing room.
They didn't know where Lance was but they knew they would not let him near Keith or the twins.
"Ooh, yeah"
Keith caught the gaze of Rosa in the crowd who smiled and gave him a small wave. Keith forced himself to smile and gave her a small wave back. His issue wasn't with her but with Lance. Keith turned and saw Allison getting ready to come back on stage as the song came to a close and the event would be ending after the song was done.
"Ooh, yeah (Yeah)"
The crowd could tell the song was ending and got out of their seats and started cheering as the song closed.
"You know that I wish that this night would never be over
There's plenty of time to sleep when we die
So let's just stay awake until we grow older
If I had my way, we'd never close our eyes, our eyes, never"
As soon as Keith was done singing and the dancing ceased, Allison came back on stage.
"Well, how was that ladies and gentlemen?" the crowd cheered once again. "I think this has been our best event thus far, not only because of the entertainment but because of the money raised this year alone. Mrs. Simmons, how much money did we raise this year?"
Mrs. Simmons stood beside Allison with a card in her hands and a smile on her face.
"This year, for the Cranston Children's Hospital, we raised $27,314.22!"
The crowd cheered once more. However, even though he was happy, Keith could feel his body shaking. He wanted off this stage and in the comfort of his dressing room where he could quickly change and go home. He wanted away.
"This concludes this evening's event," Allison said with a smile. "Please drive safe everyone and have a great evening!"
As soon as Allison finished, Keith headed off the stage where he was drawn into the safety of Shiro as his brother pulled an arm around his waist.
"Adam, the twins, and Krolia are already in the cars waiting to leave," Kolivan said as the trio started heading towards the dressing room.
"We'll wait outside until you're ready," Shiro said as they approached the dressing room. "I haven't seen Lance but I saw him head backstage."
"Right," Keith said with a nod, opening the door to the dressing room. "I won't be too long."
"We'll be ready," Kolivan said with a nod.
Keith nodded back and closed the door With shaking hands he undressed and got changed back into his black jeans, grey long-sleeved shirt, and red leather jacket. He grabbed his bag and placed the mic down on the table for the tech to grab. He headed back into the hallway and the trio moved once more.
They were almost outside before a familiar voice called his name, freezing him in place.
"Keith!"
Lance.
Keith froze but Shiro and Kolivan continued to walk him to the car. As soon as Krolia saw Keith she started the car as did Adam who started his and Shiro's truck. Keith quickly climbed into the passenger seat of the car and locked the door behind him. He knew rationally that Lance would never force the car door open. However, his thoughts weren't his own right now.
"Keith!" Lance called out again. However, he was stopped by Shiro and Kolivan.
"I suggest you back off Lance," Shiro said with a glare. "You did enough damage four years ago. Now back off."
"I-"
"I suggest you listen to Shiro," Kolivan said with a glare. "I won't back down just as much as he won't."
"Lance?" a voice called out from behind. Lance recognized the voice as his mother's, no doubt searching for him.
Before he could say anything, Krolia pulled the car out and drove away. Lance got one last glance at Keith before he was gone. Shiro and Kolivan gave him one last look before the pair headed into Adam's truck and they to were gone.
Leaving Lance in the dust with a heavy heart.
~
"Who was that daddy?" Camilla asked as Keith tried to slow his breathing and calm down. Krolia caught Camilla's gaze in the mirror.
"No one to worry about sweetie," Krolia said with a smile. "Don't worry about it okay?"
"Okay nana," Camilla said with a nod.
~
Song(s) Used:
Permission to Dance
Sung by BTS, 2021
Never Close Our Eyes
Sung by Adam Lambert, 2012