(( For anyone who doesn't remember, Coran ranks the paladins by height. That's why Keith and Lance are numbers three and four. I just thought their numbers should have some meaning from the show.))
It had been weird falling asleep that night. Keith had become so used to sleeping with Lance, being enveloped in his embrace, falling asleep in the security of his arms. He actually had to take melatonin to go to sleep, being that he'd laid there for God knows how long just staring at the ceiling.
Lance was with his family, and had been forced to be home a lot more since spring break had ended. And that was fine. Him and Keith still were together more often than not, but their seemingly endless sleepovers had been cut down to about once or twice a week.
But when Keith woke up that morning, he couldn't have been more grateful that Lance wasn't there. It had all happened so quickly.
It all started when his eyes shot open from a dead sleep, then suddenly he was sitting up, covering his mouth. Keith's first reflex was to rush to the bathroom, where he ended up spilling his guts into the toilet just in time. He honestly couldn't even remember the last time that he'd thrown up, but it was a very unpleasant sensation. Obviously, he knew that puking didn't feel the best, but this was a swift reminder. It was so acidic, and he almost wondered if his stomach had dissolved and it was overflowing into his throat.
He coughed, heaving a few times before throwing up more. What the hell was up with this? It wasn't even light out yet, and there Keith was, upchucking everything from the past however many days. It seemed like everything he'd eaten from the past week was now swimming around in the toilet bowl. And Keith felt like he could puke more just from smelling it.
His eyes were burning, watering. Keith's nose felt inflamed, and everything in the back of his throat seemed to be alive with a gross, hot and nauseating sensation. Maybe he was just coming down with something.
...
" No coffee?" Shiro asked, coming into the kitchen. He was already shocked enough to see that Keith had been up before him. He was nursing a glass of water, and it had barely been touched. The omega feared if he drank anything other than water, it would come hurling right back up.
" Shiro, I'm not feeling so hot..." Keith mumbled.
" Is everything okay?" The older brother asked, pouring himself a cup of coffee before coming and sitting across from him. " Oh no, you're not getting another heat, are you?"
" I think it might be a stomach bug or something... I've been puking my guts up for a couple hours. But I think I finally got it all up." Keith sighed, running his fingers back through his messy bangs.
" Are you sure you're not just nervous for your first soccer game today? No judgement, people can throw up from being anxious." He said before blowing on his coffee and taking a drink.
Truthfully, Keith felt like it wasn't the flu. It felt different. No fever. No nothing like that. Even the puke tasted different from that. But as Keith had the time to think about it, he wanted to convince Shiro that this was in fact just a little queasiness. Lance too.
" I don't know." Keith said. " I'm still playing in the game, though. I'm not going to flake out now. The rest of the team is finally starting to respect me after all the practices." The omega slowly took a tiny sip of the water. " I'm the only omega. I'll make us all look bad if I don't show up to the first game because I'm coincidently sick. You know how that looks?"
" Yeah, I get it. But you need to be careful, okay?" Shiro pinched the bridge of his nose. His brother was too stubborn, and he already knew that there wasn't any point in trying to talk him out of playing.
Keith felt worried. Not about playing. But about this puking thing. It didn't seem normal.
" I have to be there in an hour, so I'm going to go shower and stuff." He said, getting up.
" Is there anything I can do for you? I know this isn't fun for you..." Shiro empathetically asked him. His little brother was usually all about his morning coffee, so this was very out of character.
" Honestly? No." Keith replied.
After Keith had gotten into the shower, he felt okay for the first time that morning. As the steamy hot water rained down on him, drenching his hair and soaking the rest of his body. He sighed, squirting some shampoo in his palm, and massaging it into his scalp. The suds were popping and bubbling in a way that never failed to satisfy him. It smelled amazing, and it mixed in with the humidity of the air perfectly. He lathered, soon standing more beneath the shower head to rinse it out better.
Next, he was conditioning his hair, and while he let it work its magic, he moved to grab the mango body wash and loofa. He was rubbing it all on his arms, his torso, where he could reach on his back. But as soon as Keith scrubbed over his neck, there was an instant spark of pleasure that startled him. A sudden and uncontrollable moan escaped him, and he moved to cover his mouth. Um... the fuck was that?
He hesitantly felt over his scent gland, where the defined grooves from Lance's claim mark were... swollen. Keith got the conditioner out of his hair frantically. Once he was sure all of the body wash was off as well, he turned off the shower and grabbed his towel, drying off quickly.
Soon, he was in front of the mirror, which was completely covered with fog from his ungodly hot showers. He swiped his hand across its surface, not caring that it would leave streaks. In the area that he'd cleared, he craned his neck to get a better look. The mark didn't look all too different, just a little more raised than usually. If Keith hadn't been specifically looking for anything out of the ordinary, he wouldn't have noticed it. But as he brushed his hand over it again, Keith had to bite his lip to stifle a moan. This was about the most sensitive it had ever been.
Oh God. What was happening to him? If he was getting another heat thanks to these hormones he was actually going to punch something. Enough already.
...
" Cute uniform, Babe..." Lance said, walking up to Keith. He was sitting on the bench adjacent to the soccer field.
" Yeah, it looks better without the goalie jersey covering it." Keith said, glancing down at the number 4 on his tank top.
" Oh come on, don't be so sour about it. Coach said you get to play forward this game and try it. He'll only demote you if you can't handle it." Lance smiled, ruffling his boyfriend's hair. And Keith just looked to the side.
After Lance sat on the bench next to him, he pulled out his cleats and shin guards.
" So... you didn't call me this morning. Are you mad at me?" The alpha asked, wondering if he'd done something wrong, and if that was Keith's way of letting him know. This whole being separated thing was really starting to eat at Lance. He understood his mom's concern that he was pulling away from them, but he felt like Keith needed him more. Every night he was forced to spend away from him was gnawing at his instincts and driving him nuts.
" Oh- no. I was just really... busy... this morning." Keith said.
" Busy... how?" Lance raised an eyebrow, slipping a guard into one of his long soccer socks.
" I was having some issues with my stomach, but I'm better now." He assured. But Keith was lying right through his smile. His stomach was still turning, and he still felt nauseated to boot.
" You were throwing up?" Lance's eyes widened in concern. " Babe, are you okay? Why did you come if you're sick?" His alpha instincts were on edge already, and extra protective. If Keith was sick, that made him even more vulnerable.
" Lance, I'm fine, really. I might've just ate something bad, I don't know." Keith regretted bringing it up, knowing that Lance would react like this. " I want to play, so keep your mouth shut about it and don't tell Coran." He looked at his boyfriend seriously.
" Keith. You don't have anything to prove, you know that, right?" Lance put an arm around him, pulling the smaller boy close.
" Yes I do. Shiro will be here, your family will be here, our friends, our teammates. I'm playing." Keith leaned his head on the other's shoulder.
" My parents won't judge you." Lance already didn't like the idea of Keith playing in the first place. But playing sick? Or whatever this was? Even worse.
" Lance, I feel fine now." Keith was looking at Lance while trying to convince him. " I swear I'm okay."
The alpha seemed very skeptical at first, and his eyes were narrowed. This was one of those rare occasions when he couldn't tell if Keith was lying to him or not. He decided to give him the benefit of the doubt.
It was a while later when they were warming up. The defense had split off from the offense and they were working on separate drills.
Since Lance could play literally every position, he could take his pick. He decided to be a center midfielder for this game, that way he could be very close to Keith. Lance would always pick a very close position to his boyfriend in case of anything going wrong.
Keith was dying. Not because he was tired from the running. It was the fact that his stomach felt like it was sloshing back and forth with every stride he made. Lance hadn't noticed, mainly because he was busy trying to warm up. And Keith couldn't have been more thankful for that. He wasn't going to tell Lance anything until he had more figured out. The claim mark being weird, coupled with the puking. That was the most alarming thing to him, though he didn't even want to consider what it meant.
...
Keith wasn't a starter. So he was on the bench as everyone took their positions on the field.
The other team seemed-not to be rude- not very good. Just watching the warm ups they did was enough to tip Keith off about that, and despite Lance's joy about it, he was disappointed. Keith wanted competition, not just a victory that was free for the taking.
Then the whistle blew, and since the other team had kick off, they had an immediate advantage. They were trying to work their way past the Lion mid fielders, but it didn't work very well. Matt, who was a starter, and an outside mid, managed to get the ball from them in the first minute.
" Lance!" He called to get the alpha's attention, then kicked the ball toward the center of the field.
Lance was after it, but he was out of focus somewhat. He was a little off of his game, being that Keith was on the bench and not right next to him. Luckily the other team wasn't quick enough to use it to their benefit.
He was dribbling it down the center, weaving it through the players and cutting back and forth. Since the forwards from his team weren't able to keep up with him, and he wasn't offsides, Lance got closer, deciding to just go for it and take the shot. It was worth the risk, so he faked a shot to throw off the goalie, sending them diving in the other direction. Once it was open, he cleanly kicked it to the back of the net before the defenders could reach him.
Wow. Only a couple minutes in and he'd already put a point on the board.
Keith smiled widely. And if he wouldn't have been so nauseous, he would've stood up to cheer for him.
" Okay, Lance! I see you!" Pidge shouted from the water coolers. " Oh, and Matt too, I guess!" She added. Keith had completely forgotten that Pidge and Allura were there. He was out of it, and that much was obvious even with all with the energy he'd invested in hiding it.
" Hey, you should drink something. You'll get dehydrated." Allura came over, offering Keith a water cup. She had become concerned, knowing that Keith wouldn't bring a water bottle.
The omega hesitantly accepted the drink, hoping he'd be able to keep it down.
" You're probably right." Keith said, slowly gulping some back.
" Are you feeling alright?" Allura folded her arms, sitting on the bench beside him.
" Yeah... I'm good." Keith answered.
" You're sure?" She asked, seriously unsettled about her friend's behavior. Keith was just... off.
He nodded, and Allura carefully inspected his facial expression before deciding he was being truthful. Keith was a good liar, it was just that Lance and Shiro were able to tell most of the time. Other people were usually clueless.
It was about halfway through the first half when Coran finally strolled over to Keith.
" Keith, my boy, are you ready to play?" He asked, and though Keith's insides were screaming at him to say 'hell fucking no I'm going home', Keith nodded.
" Get up by the field and wait for the ref to call you in, you're going in on right forward." Coran put his hand on Keith's shoulder and nodded to the field. So this was the moment of truth. Keith could shoot well at practice, but could he come through when it counted?
As soon as the whistle blew, the people that had gathered to be subbed came in and switched with their people. Lance watched Keith come in, and part of him was proud, but the other part was terrified. He gave his omega a high five as Keith ran past him.
The ball was predominantly staying away from the Lion defense, so that meant more running for Lance and Keith. Yay. Just what the omega needed. Sure, they didn't have to run back down the field, but they had to run way more on their own side.
Lance did everything he could to keep the ball away from Keith's area of the field. It wasn't like he was outright doing it. His alpha instincts were forcing him to, and it was a subconscious way of keeping Keith out of the heat. As long as he could stay off of the defense's radar, he'd be fine, or so Lance tried to tell himself. He was doing anything to appease his instincts at that point.
It was the end of the half soon enough. And Keith had barely touched the ball at all.
He ended up on the bench again for the rest of the second half. Coran wasn't being discriminatory. He had noticed that Keith was... not being himself. The way he ran was slower and less urgent than usually. The hustle was there but at the same time it wasn't.
The crazy part was that Keith was only a little mad about it. Sure, he wanted to play and everything, but he was really queasy, and wasn't really looking to puke in front of everyone.
After a final score of 3-0, the Lions won. And Keith couldn't have been more happy that the game was over.
Lance was all sweaty as they walked away. They both were in their regular shoes now, and their soccer socks as well as shin guards had been stuffed down into their bags.
" So... you ready to meet my parents?" Lance asked, knowing that his parents had been absolutely dying to meet his boyfriend. There was no way they'd just let him slip away without at least saying hello.
" I'm sorry, what?!" Keith nervously exclaimed. " Now?"
" Yeah. Don't be nervous, I've told them all about you and- oh. You'll probably get a hug from one of them, just warning you now." Lance chuckled as they made their way to the bleachers, where Lance's parents, as well as siblings had been waiting for them.
" Hey..." Lance smiled, refraining from using a lot of Spanish that he otherwise would've. It wasn't that his parents didn't know English, because they were both fluent. It was more so that they liked their first language better.
" Keith, this is my mother, Camila, and my father, André." Lance smiled, and Keith was having an internal meltdown thanks to his anxiousness about this. It was shocking that him and Lance had been dating for so many months and he hadn't once found the occasion to meet the people that gave birth to, and raised him.
" It's nice to meet you." Keith smiled awkwardly, looking at them both carefully.
Lance's dad was tall. Tall, tall. If Keith hadn't known better, he would've assumed the guy was a tree. He had a full head of hair, which made Keith wonder how old he was. From the looks of it, André wasn't some late forties, balding, finally settled down sort of dude. He had stubble, but it was groomed just so, like he was careful about when and where he shaved it. He had a muscular build, and the scent he gave off just shouted that he was an alpha.
Then there was Lance's mother, who was shorter, and a little pudgy. She had the longest, most beautiful, wavy brown hair, and it was almost exactly the same color as Lance's. Camila had freckles all over her cheeks, which had minimal wrinkles on them, and she had an insanely wide smile on her face.
Lance definitely had his mom's looks, but his dad's build.
" I'm Keith..." He was feeling really self conscious, being that he was covered in sweat. Plus, Keith felt like he could just barf all over Lance's parents at the moment. Settle down, stomach, we don't need a Pitch Perfect moment to happen. He totally didn't feel like he was about to blow chunks all over them.
" We know!" Camila excitedly said. " About time Lance introduced you." She looked at her son before wrapping Keith up in a hug. Lance just nervously chuckled, scratching the back of his neck.
" I'm- I'm really sweaty, sorry." Keith apologized in a flustered way.
" Oh, honey, it's fine." Lance's mother said. She couldn't help but notice how Keith didn't wear a typical omega scent, which made her even more certain that he was right for her son, who smelled differently as well.
André seemed to be more of the strong, silent type. And Keith figured that out after Camila was done hugging him to death.
" How would you like to come over for dinner tonight, Keith? We'd really love to get to know you better." She offered. This was her one weekend a month that she didn't have the night shift.
" I'd-um... I'd love to." He stammered, wishing that he could say no. But Keith really couldn't. After all, they'd just met. The last thing he wanted was to make it seem like he was avoiding them. Lance looked like he was about to tell Keith to go home and rest, but Keith gave him a serious glance.
" I think that's a great idea." Lance smiled.
" Wonderful." Camila said, and Keith couldn't help but appreciate the accent she had. It was honestly gorgeous.
" Very good to meet you, Keith." André finally said something, holding out his hand, and Keith felt slightly intimidated while shaking it. He used a firm grip, not wanting to show it, however.
" You too, sir." Keith said, trying his best to be formal.
" Can you come by around... 6:30?" Lance asked him.
" Yeah." Keith answered, and his boyfriend fondly smiled at him to ease his anxiety. And Keith spotted Shiro coming down from the bleachers, so he took that as his cue to go. " I have to go with my brother now, but I'll see you later." He was almost shaking from nerves as him and Shiro met up, and began heading towards the parking lot.
" He's just nervous." Lance told his parents. " I'm sure he'll get better about it."
" He's adorable." Camila said. And Lance couldn't help but feel like this was a really good start, even in spite of how awkward Keith could be.
(( I am loving all the theories, I know I've said it before, but it's so fun knowing how this ends. But have no fear, everyone, like I've said, there will be a second book. I saw people freaking out in the comments last chapter, so please please pleaseeee calm down lol. I'm not going anywhere.))