After a relatively calm dinner, Keith had gotten himself ready and in Lance's bed before the others had finished dessert, which happened to be caramel ice cream. He lay his head down on the pillow, which was strangely firm and squishy at the same time. The sheets were down at the bottom of the bed because Keith was always hot during the night.
His head was warm, and his chest was bare. His hair was pulled back by a headband and a ponytail, but it did nothing to help his temperature. By the middle of the night, Keith would start feeling cold and have to pull the covers back up. The sheets would flip flop back and forth multiple times during the night.
Somewhere around nine, he heard the younger kids brushing their teeth and bouncing around on their beds. Then it was a quiet for a moment before he heard the soft noise of the TV. Keith stared at the ceiling, unable to find the peace he desperately needed. He was almost asleep, his hand clenching the fitted sheet when the door opened, and a small stream of light entered the room.
"Hey," Lance whispered as he sat down on the side of the bed. "Sorry if I pried too much earlier." He turned to Keith, who kept his eyes closed. "I-" Lance brushed against Keith's arm, "Jesus, you're hot!" He felt the raven-haired boy's forehead before leaving, proclaiming that he would "be back in a jiffy."
When Lance came back, he saw that Keith's face was contorted in discomfort and his hands were shaking as they gripped the fitted sheet. As much as Lance had hated to admit it, he had a lot of respect for Keith. That was probably the reason Katie had teased him a lot about having a "man crush." Seeing his former classmate like this, showing what most would call weakness, made him realize that even perfect untouchables like Keith Kogane were human. He gently placed the wash cloth down.
A satisfying cool spread over Keith's forehead, and his facial expression relaxed into a soft smile. His grip on the sheet loosened slightly, and the air wasn't too dense.
Lance felt himself smile and whispered softly, "You're cute when you're asleep." His gaze fell to Keith's gloved hands, "What dork wears gloves to bed?" He reached for Keith's hands, which clenched again at Lance's touch.
"Okay then," Lance laughed softly. "I can't imagine that'd you'd be very comfortable."
I'm wearing them because you're here.
Sighing, Lance took the washcloth off and felt Keith's forehead, which had cooled down. "Goodnight," Lance whispered. "Just so you know, I'm bi," he paused, "and I lied before. I really like you, as much as I hate to admit it." He lay down beside Keith, his back against the pale boy's arm.
Lance had read many books. Lots of cute, cliché love stories were included in his reading list. He should have known Keith was awake.