(( Fuck slow burns, I'm not about that life. By the way... I know the beginning of this book seems sort of lighthearted, but be prepared for the truckload of angst later. It'll hit hard and fast eventually.))
" Look, I don't like this, you don't like me, but the least you can do is be civil." Lance said, trying to keep up with Keith. Whenever he'd speed up the pace of his walking, Keith would go faster. It would keep on happening over and over, so Lance had given up on walking side by side with him.
" Whatever." Keith rolled his eyes, arriving at his room. He put his hand on the handle, but then turned behind himself once he saw that Lance wasn't going away.
Great. The hot douchebag was actually listening to Shiro. Correction, the obedient hot douchebag.
" So..." Lance began. " Are you going to be mad at me forever?"
Keith took his hand off of the handle.
" Just don't touch my stuff." He reiterated.
" Is there something special about that knife?" Lance asked curiously. And Kosmo, who was by Keith, growled at him more. The husky's back, which was covered with a lighter grayish blue fur, arched somewhat.
" Why would I tell you?" Keith pursed his lips.
" There you go with the attitude again." Lance folded his arms. " And I want to get to know you. You're Shiro's brother. That guy has done so much for me."
" I won't even be here for long. It doesn't matter." Keith was looking Lance over while he spoke, appreciating his suit. He was definitely muscular, and tall, and fit, and... his type. Aside from the whole douchebag thing. Lance just looked like a player.
" Why do you want to leave so badly? Lotor and his people will literally murder you." Lance's eyebrows furrowed in concern.
" Whatever, just-" Keith cut himself off. " Goodnight." He went into the room, and Lance found the door being slammed in his face.
So.
Keith was... complicated. There had to have been more to him than a bitchy attitude, right? He had a nice ass going for him, and Lance had definitely noticed that.
But who was he? He and Shiro were like night and day.
...
Keith had finally slipped away from Lance after being followed around by him for most of the day.
The basement of the mansion was a really nice place to clear his mind. There was a pool table, some old arcade games, a dart board, a jukebox, a flat screen, a couch, and probably the most relaxing thing, a bar. It was sort of like a miniature pub down there, and Keith was already feeling better. Maybe the booze helped.
Vodka was honestly a saint.
Keith took a sip from his drink and sighed.
So much for going to work, so much for going home. He'd been sucked back into this life despite his desperate attempts to leave. It was like a black hole. Nothing could escape.
Gang life had perks. Like the giant mansion for example. But it didn't make up for all the bloodshed.
When Shiro started his family, things had gone great at first. It wasn't meant to be a violent thing at all. He, being the CEO of a massive pharmaceutical company, and also a millionaire, chose to take troubled people under his wing. Shiro was just lonely, and wanted to help the less fortunate.
But, man. He could've never imagined it would turn into something like this, and that an all out gang war would ensue. He never thought that he'd have to train his family in combat and weapons.
And that was why Keith hated it. Deep down, he knew he could never truly get out, but it didn't stop him from dreaming.
" Found you." Lance said, coming around the counter. " Seriously, how am I supposed to watch you if you keep hiding from me?" He asked.
" I don't need a babysitter." Keith scoffed, taking another drink.
" Shiro thinks you do." Lance pulled out a stool and sat next to him. " And wait, how old are you? Should you even be drinking?"
" I'm 20." Keith rolled his eyes. " And if underage drinking is the worst thing you've ever seen a person do, you're more innocent than I thought." He turned and eyed Lance. He was now wearing casual clothes that allowed him to move more freely. And Keith wasn't complaining, because holy hell did Lance look good in a form fitting shirt.
Lance furrowed his brows at Keith. Was he genuinely damaged? Had he seen the same things? Or was this just a front? The taller boy couldn't tell.
" Fuck it." Lance grabbed a glass and poured some vodka for himself.
" How old are you?" Keith mocked, chuckling a little.
" Same as you." Lance responded, smiling once he heard the sound of the other's laugh. Keith might've been bitchy, but that didn't make his chuckle any less heartwarming.
Keith's eyes kept wandering over Lance's body, tracing his muscles through the fabric of his shirt. He might've been... interested. But it wasn't completely obvious.
" So... what's your story?" Keith asked.
" What do you mean?" Lance sipped some of his drink. It burned the back of his throat on its way down.
" You know... how'd you get here? This place is sort of like the Island of Misfit Toys." He snorted.
It was true. Pretty much every member had the sob story as to why they'd ended up there, how Shiro had found them.
Lance looked down. He squeezed his eyes shut as the screams came flooding back, the blood, the bullets, the everything he shouldn't have been spared from.
" What do you care?" Lance asked, somewhat cold. " If you hate me so much why should I tell you?"
Keith realized he might've overstepped.
" Sorry." He mumbled. " I'll shut up."
Lance wished that he would've been killed on that day. Why did he have to be the only one to make it out? What made him special? He felt like he'd been condemned. He was still alive, and that was ten times worse than any wound he could've suffered.
That hole in his heart couldn't really be filled. It kept on beating, but it wasn't quite right.
So, as immature as it might've seemed, Lance crammed anything in to fill the gap. He was a hopeless romantic, a desperate fuckboi, a Loverboy, whatever people wanted to call it. But as long as he was still breathing, he needed something to distract himself.
" Actually, don't." Lance looked up.
Keith hummed in confusion.
" Shiro wants us to get along, right?" He said. " That can only happen if we get to know each other."
" What are you trying to say?" Keith impatiently inquired.
" Wanna play Twenty Questions?" Lance smirked a little, shoving his thoughts away and staring Keith down. Specifically, his gaze was fixated on the other boy's lips.
Keith really couldn't have cared less.
" Sure." He shrugged.
" You can't lie. No matter what." Lance's smirk got even wider. This was what he did, how he operated. If those pesky thoughts kept coming back, he found something to take his mind off of it. Or in this case, someone.
Wait! What the hell was he thinking?! Shiro's brother? He should've been off limits.
" Are these just yes or no questions?" Keith wasn't phased. Okay. Maybe a little bit. But who wouldn't get a little flustered from that look on Lance's face?
" You can do it however you want. I'm not too good at sticking to the rules." Lance tried to be cool.
" Right." Keith sarcastically responded. " You're such a rebel."
" I know." Lance pridefully spoke. " Now... first question... are you a virgin?"
Keith turned bright red, not having expected that. Was Lance... flirting? He wasn't really sure.
" No. Are you?" The smaller boy cleared his throat awkwardly.
Lance burst out laughing.
" Me? Hell no." He smiled dashingly. " I can't keep the chicks off me. Or the guys, for that matter~"
Keith deadpanned. He couldn't help but feel like Lance was exaggerating.
" Mhm, sure." Keith said, slowly nursing his drink by taking a tiny sip.
" Fine, don't believe me." Lance chuckled. " Next question, do you have a boyfriend?"
" I love how you just automatically assume I'm gay." Keith rolled his eyes.
" But am I right?" Lance smugly asked.
" Yes, you are, but-"
" About the boyfriend? Don't dodge the question, Mullet." Lance walked his fingers up Keith's arm, cooing flirtatiously.
" No, I don't. But why should that matter to you?" Keith side-eyed Lance. And he felt his face heat up even more when he found that the taller boy was already looking his way.
" I'm just trying to figure you out." Lance laughed a little, raising his hands in surrender when Keith brushed him off.
" Good luck with that." Keith said.
Nobody had ever cracked his code. Only Shiro was able to predict him, figure out how Keith worked.
" Have you ever had a boyfriend before?" Lance questioned. Someone had beaten him to stealing Keith's virginity, and it was tragic.
" Nope." Keith popped the 'P' sound especially while he spoke.
" How?!" Lance exclaimed.
" Not your turn to ask stuff, dumb dumb." Keith snickered.
Not ever having a boyfriend?! Lance couldn't believe that. He'd dated plenty of people while he was in high school.
" So..." Keith began, unconsciously checking Lance out. His eyes dipped and caught a glimpse of Lance's crotch momentarily. He wasn't hard, but Keith could tell that he was packing. " Top or bottom?"
Lance found his face fading red. Had Keith seriously just asked him that? God, he couldn't be sure what to expect from him.
" Um... depends." He responded, trying not to let it throw him off his game. " I like topping better, though."
Keith bit his lip. Damn, that was what he wanted to hear.
Cue the record scratch. Keith wanted to roll up a newspaper and scold himself for thinking that. Lance was the jerk who kidnapped him.
Almost with perfect timing, there were footsteps coming down the stairs, and Keith immediately broke his staring session. Lance turned his head the other way, realizing that he'd been getting progressively closer to Keith.
Pidge and Hunk could be heard discussing video games while they came down the stairs together. Once they saw Keith and Lance both sitting there, the perplexed face was a mutual reaction from them.
" Hey, guys." Hunk greeted.
Pidge inspected both of their faces, noticing that they were unusually crimson in color. It didn't take her long to figure out what must've been going on. It was Lance. Enough said.
" Hey..." Lance smiled, though he was kind of annoyed. His plans had been foiled.
Keith wasn't sure how he felt, about whether he was glad about being interrupted or not. He felt like something might've... happened... if they hadn't been.
" Whatcha doing down here?" Pidge asked, wiggling her eyebrows a little while doing so.
" Um-nothing." Keith stood up, chuckling to himself uncomfortably as he began walking. " I have to do uh- something." He stammered, swiftly cutting around the counter and escaping up the stairs.
Lance was left in a very awkward situation, though nothing inherently embarrassing had happened.
" Did I miss something?" Hunk asked, glancing at the steps and then back at Lance with a single eyebrow arched slightly higher than the other.
" Lance, really? Keith?" Pidge got closer and asked.
" Shut up." Lance blushed and looked to the side.
" Wait. Don't you two hate each other?" Hunk was clearly confused.
" He's thinking with his dick again." Pidge turned to him for a second. " Since when do you have a thing for bad boys?" She glanced back to Lance.
" I don't have a thing for bad boys." Lance denied.
" But Keith is a- nevermind." Hunk said. " I think it's fine as long as you two stop fighting all the time. Bad vibes really aren't something I like being around."
" You're literally in a gang." Lance deadpanned.
" One, not officially, I'm just the head cook in this place. And two, we're a family." Hunk pointed out.
" That just makes Lance fucking Keith seem weird." Pidge shuddered.
" Ew!" Hunk exclaimed. " Not like that!"
" Well, I'm just gonna..." Lance hopped down from the stool. He slammed back the rest of his drink and tried to ignore the strong sting of the alcohol.
" You better hope Shiro doesn't find out." Pidge cautioned.
" Shiro won't." Lance smirked, shoving his hands in his pockets while walking to the stairs.
But the real question was what if Shiro was mad? Keith was his little brother, and it was clear that he viewed him as his responsibility.
Lance figured if he got in Keith's pants he wouldn't have went around and shouted it from the rooftops. Hopefully not. He wanted to fuck him dizzy on the downlow.
But first, he had to charm his way into Keith's leggings. For someone like Lance, that should've been a piece of cake.
...
Keith had decided he was going to take a shower. He shut his bedroom door, walking in to have Kosmo greet him spontaneously.
" Hey, buddy." He smiled, petting the soft fur atop the husky's head.
Keith was blushing everywhere, still not sure what had just happened. Lance, as far as he knew, was a douche. He'd broken into his apartment, kidnapped he and his dog, and touched the knife that he valued so much.
Yet... he was still hot. His eyes were still a seemingly unreal blue, and his skin was still sunkissed and gorgeous. Keith would've been lying if he said he didn't at least want to kiss him and give it a go.
Did that make him a hoe? Maybe, maybe not. But did he really care? Meh. It wasn't like Keith was a stickler about sex or anything like that. He'd had sex with someone from the tattoo parlor before, and he definitely hadn't hated it.
Keith slipped off his t-shirt, tossing it to the hamper across the room and actually making the shot.
His bedroom door swung open, and Keith realized he'd forgotten to lock it.
" Oh, uh-" Lance stammered, blushing instantly. " Sorry."
Keith didn't really show how flustered he was. He was confident with his body for the most part, so it wasn't like he was scrambling to cover himself. He only folded his arms in front of his chest.
" Something you needed?" He asked, trying to stay casual. Though a part of Keith wanted to tell Lance to come in and lock the door.
Lance covered his mouth at first, and his cheeks were pretty much steaming with red pigment. Keith wasn't as muscular as he himself was, but he was still toned and had a barely visible six pack. It was there, but not overwhelmingly so. And his skin, it was a beautiful milky white. Lance wanted to trash it with bite marks, but he didn't come out and tell him that.
" Um." Lance fumbled, revealing a black notebook from behind the door. " I heard you say that you didn't have your sketchbook... and since you can't really go home... I found you one." He pulled his hand away from his face, gaining back his composure enough to flirtatiously smile at him.
That was enough to make Keith's lips curl up in a tiny smile.
" Really?" He asked, sending Lance an unusually fond look.
" Mhm." Lance hummed, coming in more. He extended his hand, offering the book to him. " Here."
Keith came forward a little more, taking the sketchbook and staring down at it appreciatively. Maybe Lance wasn't as much of an asshole as he thought.
" Thanks." The smaller boy said, turning an even darker shade of red.
Lance really wanted to pull Keith forward and crash their lips together. He looked like his lips would've been baby soft, and Lance wanted to find out for himself.
But in that moment, he decided he might wait a day or two to make his move.
After all, Keith wasn't going anywhere. Their hookup didn't have to happen right that very second.
(( Why is fuck buddy Klance everything?))