(( Lance, my poor bby... stop being so hard on yourself. WARNING! Mention of self harm.))
" Would you rather be... an alpha or an omega?" Hunk asked Matt. This game was getting more and more interesting with every passing question.
Matt, who was a beta, looked momentarily deep in thought.
" My my... so many choices." Pidge teased.
" Shut up." The big brother nudged her. " Did you forget that you're a beta, too?"
" Just pick one." Pidge stuck out her tongue.
" I guess... I'd be an omega?" Matt said. " A lot of alphas I've met are kind of douchebags- no offense!"
Lance clutched his chest, feigning being offended. He gasped loudly.
" That hurt, Man." Hunk wiped a fake tear from his eye.
" Sorry." Matt chuckled.
" The pain! The betrayal!" Lance exclaimed, and Keith sort of just rolled his eyes. His boyfriend could be such a drama queen.
" Look what you've done now!" Pidge accused her brother.
" Anyways..." He said. " Pidge, would you rather ... never be able to use your phone or never be able to use our laptop?" Matt wiggled his eyebrows evilly. For her, that was like choosing between her favorite children.
" That's cruel." She spoke.
" Oh! Just pick one!" He mocked, and Hunk began laughing. Pidge just narrowed her golden-ish orange colored eyes at him.
" I guess... never be able to use my phone. I can't hack into stuff without our laptop." She sulked. That was, until she realized that it was her turn. Pidge stared at Keith devilishly.
" Oh no." The omega breathed, scooting closer to Lance. He was already on his lap, but that wasn't enough.
" Keith, would you rather..." She ran through the endless possibilities, and was rather nice considering how many worse questions there were. " Not be able to have sex with Lance like ever again... or... let him fuck you in front of a bunch of people?" Pidge adjusted her glasses. And Lance perked up, that question was eerily paralleled with the note.
" I-I uh..." Keith cleared his throat awkwardly, and he shifted in his position. " probably do it in front of people? Only once though." He was really embarrassed, but not surprised that Pidge asked it.
The cheerleader was about to ask Lance something, but everybody's phones all went off simultaneously. The quarterback froze, and Keith was terrified to reach for his pocket. While none of their other friends thought twice about checking the notification.
" D-don't look at that!" The omega exclaimed, startling everyone.
" Why?" Matt raised an eyebrow, but he set down his phone. And Hunk just slid his back into his pocket. Pidge had already opened her phone.
" This is a video attachment?" She looked at the two, seeing the email was from an unfamiliar source.
" It hasn't been two hours yet!" Lance growled.
" Wait, what's happening?" Hunk asked. It'd been a long time since he'd seen his friend act like that.
" This is not happening." Keith buried his head into his alpha's shoulder, he really was expecting all of this to be a prank.
" Shut it off! NOW!" Lance raised his voice, and Pidge didn't play the video. She only did as her friend said and turned off the screen.
" Don't bite my head off. Jeez." She said. " But what is the video? And why are you flipping out??"
" Yeah. This isn't like you." Matt added. And Keith knew that Lance didn't want to be honest. But he did.
" Someone..." The cheerleader began. " recorded Lance and I in the shed. And they left a note in my locker saying that if I didn't break up with Lance in two hours, or told anyone that we'd go 'viral'." Keith said and he could hear his boyfriend seething in anger, along with guilt. " I-I thought it was a joke..."
" Someone blackmailed you?!" Hunk exclaimed.
" Who would even do that?!" Matt looked outraged.
" I really-" Pidge started to say something.
" Pidge, be honest, was this you???" Keith sat up in the beanbag, balancing so he wouldn't fall.
" What?!! Do you seriously believe that I could do something like this?!" She gasped, almost angry that her friend would even for a second think that.
" The question you asked earlier is kind of similar to this situation..." The Cuban male looked down, not knowing what to think. He really wouldn't believe she was behind this.
" That was a total coincidence." Matt defended his sister.
" I may be very good with tech, and ship you two like Fedex, but I would never do that. Ever. And plus, why would I want you two to break up?! It wouldn't make sense, and another plus, I was sitting right here when we got the notification. I couldn't have done it." Pidge said.
" He didn't mean that..." Lance rubbed circles on Keith's back, trying to calm him down. " we're both just... desperate." He tried to tone down his own feelings of anger, as not to scare everyone.
" Sorry..." Keith settled back against his alpha. " I just ... I can't stand knowing how sad this makes Lance."
" Why didn't you say something earlier?!" Hunk questioned.
" We didn't want to risk it!" Lance said louder than he'd meant to.
" I'm tracing this shit." Pidge gave an aggravated sigh, grabbing the laptop. " Whoever did this is about to have a nasty ass virus on their computer." She made a menacing face. And while she did that, Matt went over to help out.
Keith pulled his earbuds from his pocket, and after taking a while to untangle them, he plugged them into his phone.
" What're you doing??" Lance watched him; he was panicking on the inside.
" I need to see it." The omega spoke coldly. He couldn't stand the thought of remaining ignorant to what was on there. And Lance ceased in doing anything for a second, but soon he reluctantly grabbed an earbud for himself.
Keith opened up the gmail app and he felt a warm hand squeeze his own. Lance was steamed, and his anxieties were spiking as well.
The email address was something neither of them had seen before, but what really caught the boys' eyes was the caption above the video link.
Way to keep it in your pants, Lance! And wow... Keith... who knew you could be such a kinky piece of ass? We had to do this the hard way, hm? This isn't over...
The alpha actually got tears pooling in the corners of his eyes, and Keith shifted around before clicking it. He needed to be strong, it was obvious this affected Lance more than him.
As the video began playing, there were scuffing noises at first, like whoever was filming was getting settled.
There was some light flooding in from the corner of the screen-most likely coming from the entrance of the shed- but other than that it was very dim. After the camera focused, Lance and Keith's silhouettes were barely visible. But the audio was definitely clear, meaning that nobody was off the hook.
" L-Lance..." It was very audible despite Keith saying it in a whispery tone.
" Now." Lance was growling. " Be good for me... what do you want?" It sounded ridiculously less sexy when heard through earphones.
Lance let a few tears slip down his tan, freckled cheeks. But he hastily wiped them away, not wanting to show weakness. He also pulled his omega in closer, feeling instinctively protective of him.
Keith noticed that his boyfriend was lightly crying, and he knew how bad this was. Of course, it embarrassed the smaller male to have this leaked. It made him feel dirty, and like a gross kind of slut if he was being honest, but Keith wouldn't cry. It would give whoever did this the satisfaction of getting to him. He'd been through worse with Lance before; and he knew that they'd be okay.
But seeing his alpha cry made him angrier. Not that shedding tears was a bad thing to do, it was just that Keith knew how sad Lance had to get before he started to cry. It took a lot to make him lose his cool.
" How are you guys... holding up... over there?" Hunk asked hesitantly. He hadn't seen Lance this emotional since freshman year, and he didn't like it.
" Yeah, buddy... you don't look so good..." Matt furrowed his eyebrows. Not from confusion, but in empathy.
" I'm fine." Lance said sharply, and Keith jumped at his tone. It genuinely frightened him.
" We're just checking on you..." Hunk could tell how much this was escalating. This tone reminded him of 14 year old Lance, and that was anything but good.
" I don't need to be checked on." The quarterback hastily dried his cheeks, which were dampened by tears.
Pidge, though she was busy typing at light speed, was very concerned. When her friend got like this, they all had to be careful.
" Lance, please try to breathe." She turned away from the screen.
" Breathe?! This is my fault! And now the whole school is going to be talking about Keith!" Lance exclaimed.
" Dude, you need to calm yourself down. You can't be thinking like that." Hunk said, trying to use a soothing voice. And Keith could feel his alpha's hand digging against his side from how hard he held him. The video was still playing and it was only getting worse, the camera had caught practically every sound they'd made.
" People are going to bully him for this! And it's all my fault!"
" Babe, I'm fine." Keith insisted, pulling the headphone from his boyfriend's ear. " I'm okay, really. Please stop beating yourself up." He begged him.
" Lance." Matt said sternly, this was vividly familiar to how Lance acted years ago. " We are going to fix this. Pidge and I can hopefully figure something out."
" It's too late..." The quarterback laughed while crying. And Keith had never seen him like this, unlike the other people in the room. He had no idea what to say, or why everyone seemed to be walking on eggshells. " Stop looking at me like that." Lance growled to his friends, and his omega was on edge.
" Lance, we're worried... if you start... that... up again-" Hunk was cut off.
" Wait what?" Keith was confused.
" Oh shit." Pidge breathed. So Lance hadn't told him?
" I'm not going to start cutting again over one stupid thing!" Lance growled. And his boyfriend went wide eyed.
" W-what did you just say?" He asked quietly, and there was an awkward silence. " How could he keep something like that from me?" Keith asked himself. It hurt that Lance hadn't told him about it.
" I can't figure out who did this!" Pidge exclaimed with an aggravated tone. It was better than the quiet that had been filling the air.
" What?! Why?!" Hunk got up and started looking over Pidge's shoulder.
" This is a burner email account. The only thing we can do is send a response attached with a virus." Matt shook his head. " Their computer should be pretty much useless with Pidge's software."
Keith tuned out the talking in the background, and he flipped around so he could look at Lance. The taller male avoided eye contact.
" Look at me..." He pleaded in a soft voice, trying to shove away his own feelings. Keith cupped Lance's cheek, wiping away a few tears from his face.
" I'm sorry... I'm pretty useless..." The alpha's lip was quivering, and the cheerleader could've slapped him upon hearing his words. " The only thing I'm good for is making your life harder."
" What are you talking about?! Please don't say that!" Keith's eyes were beady, and he ordered himself not to cry. There were tears in the corners of his indigo orbs, but he needed to stay strong for Lance. It was so rare to see an alpha this vulnerable. " You're everything to me. I can't even imagine what I would do without you. Stop bringing yourself down." He caressed him, staring into his ocean blue eyes. " You're amazing... please don't let anyone make you feel like you're not." Keith wanted to say the most important three words in the universe, but he couldn't bring himself to with everyone else there.
" Keith..." Lance murmured, hugging him without a second thought. " we're leaving." He stood up, and everyone else turned away from the laptop for a second. Keith was wobbly as he got to his feet, shoving his phone in his pocket.
The Cuban boy was climbing out of the treehouse as soon as he found the chance, only uttering a quiet " See ya." before doing so.
" Take care of him. Please." Hunk put a hand on the omega's shoulder. " Don't let him go home alone."
Keith nodded, and got down the ladder as fast as he could without falling. He was already getting pretty sore.
Lance was waiting for him at the trunk of the tree. And the smaller male could feel how shaky his alpha's hand was as he gripped it. Keith intertwined their fingers, and tried his best not to trip over literally anything.
Neither of them said a word while walking up to Keith's front door; the quarterback was ready to leave. But his boyfriend pulled him inside the house.
" Babe... aren't you mad?" Lance asked, hanging his head. Thank god Shiro wasn't home right then. It'd be actual hell if Keith had to explain.
" Mad?" Keith asked. " No, not at you. But please please please can you talk to me? Why would you not tell me about-"
" -Because it hasn't even come up since freshman year." He sighed. " I didn't want to make you think differently of me..." Lance said. It was embarrassing to him. Alphas were supposed to be strong, protective, pillars that never fall. But he was different. Emotions really did hit him hard, and that was abnormal for alphas to say the least.
" I don't judge." Keith wrapped his arms behind his boyfriend's neck, standing on his tiptoes. " Especially not you." He kissed Lance lightly before pulling back. " Everything is going to be fine."
The taller boy sniffled, as he finally ran out of tears. God, what did he ever do to deserve someone as amazing as Keith.
" You're the best boyfriend I could ever ask for." Lance pressed his lips to his omega's forehead. He was feeling so exposed already, so open, that he didn't even worry before he spoke. " Keith... I love you." He raked his fingers through Keith's hair, knowing how much the boy adored it.
The cheerleader was stunned to hear him say it. But he knew that his alpha meant it.
" I love you too." Keith said in an assured voice, leaning his head against Lance's chest.
-----------------------------------------------
It was astonishing to most people that Keith and Lance had shown up to school. But then again, those people didn't know how stubborn they both were.
Lunch was the worst time for all the gawking, and especially the whispering about them.
Lance's emotional state had improved since yesterday, and he had his omega to thank for that. He'd really helped him get through the night.
There was a somewhat awkward silence at the table of cheerleaders, of course they'd all seen it after all. Allura was especially clumsy with her choice of words.
" Sorry I told about the text messages... that was unfair of me." She whispered to Keith, who sat on her left.
And the smaller cheerleader perked up. He wasn't expecting that, not by a long shot.
" It's not your fault. Besides... now Lance knows how I like it." Keith whispered back, cupping his hand by Allura's ear so nobody would hear.
" Jesus." She facepalmed.
" Um, Babe, what have I told you about keeping secrets?" Lance, who was to the right of his boyfriend, turned to him.
" Ooo! I know the answer to this one!" Pidge yelled, raising her hand. She and Matt had started sitting by the cheerleaders' lunch table. There was literally no room for anyone. Which was a good thing! Allura couldn't have been happier that Acxa had made the choice not to sit with them.
" I think everybody knows the answer to that one." Shannon snorted from across the table.
" Oh. Ha ha..." Keith narrowed his eyes.
" Too soon." Hunk grimaced.
" No, no... I get it." Lance chuckled. " Everybody has seen it. Yeah, nice burn." He rolled his eyes. The quarterback was doing his best to play it off at this point. Maybe even joke about it to make himself feel better.
Then there was a very familiar sound heard throughout the entire school. The beep over the PA system that signaled an incoming message from the main office. Everyone paused, waiting for what it could be.
And Keith froze upon hearing that shuffling noise, like a camera was being set into place. Lance tensed up, and they both felt the cafeteria begin to look right at them.
" L-Lance..."
" Now. Be good for me... what do you want?"
Keith rested his forehead on the cafeteria table. Seriously? Who had time for this? Was sending the video to everyone in school not enough?
" Fuck my life." He sighed.
There was squealing among some groups of girls, and a bunch of jocks started laughing as the video played through the intercom. But the main sound that could be heard was coming from the other tables, one word was whispered all across the board. Slut. Everyone was calling Keith that; apparently the verdict was unanimous. And Lance had finally lost his patience for this. He'd shed too many tears already to break down.
" That's it!" He raised his hands, getting up, and standing on the table.
" I'm not telling you! It's humiliating!"
" How about I just fuck the answer out of you then?"
" Excuse me!" Lance shouted over the loud, blaring sound of laughter.
" Lance, what are you doing?!" Allura exclaimed. He ignored her, needing to speak. But more importantly, stand up for his omega. He wouldn't even show that it phased him.
" Can I have everybody's attention?!" He projected to the cafeteria, tuning out the sound of Keith moaning in the background. People started quieting down, because after all, Lance was popular. It was only natural that most followed in line with what he said. " I know you all must think that this is pretty funny, but just remember, Keith and I are people too. This really isn't fair to us considering we were blackmailed." He narrowed his eyes at everyone. And some people's faces just sunk. " Oh! I bet you didn't know that?! Well yeah, it was either me and Keith broke up, or this got out. Guess which one we chose?" Lance had an iron clad sass in his voice. " My omega is only a slut for ME! I'm the only one who gets to call him that. So can you all start being decent human beings and knock this off?? I hate to see him in distress. I love Keith! And that's why we're not putting up with this!" If Lance would've been holding a microphone, he'd have dropped it while stepping down from the table.
And Keith was in shock as his alpha grabbed his hand, dragging him away from the table. Luckily they'd both grabbed their backpacks so they wouldn't have to walk in again.
" Babe?" Keith's face was completely red. People were clapping and wolf whistling as they left. It was humiliating since the smaller boy was still limping.
" I'm taking you home."
" But-"
" No buts." Lance said in a deep, assertive voice.
(( <3 Thank you for 14K reads and a bunch more votes, Loves! Your comments are all so funny!))