" Come on, Keith..." Lance teased, poking his cheek. " Wear it."
Keith looked over his shirt with disgust. Across the light blue front of the shirt, the words 'Warning: Choking Hazard' had been printed. There was an arrow stemming straight down from the letters, pointing to his crotch.
" No fucking way." Keith hadn't realized that it wasn't a plain blue shirt when he'd put it on. He couldn't have gotten out of it faster. Lance licked his lips while seeing his bare chest.
Keith snapped his fingers in front of him.
" Hey, fuckhead, my eyes are up here." He huffed.
Lance rolled his eyes playfully, digging back into his closet. He handed Keith a plain black t-shirt that might've fit him okay. All of his clothes were at least baggy on him, but it was worth a shot.
" It's way too cold to wear just a t-shirt." Keith examined the shirt, deciding he didn't have any grievances with it as he got inside of it.
" Yeah, yeah, I'm on it." Lance reached in, pulling out one of his favorite jackets. It was olive green with a white hood in the back. It looked a little big for Keith, but Lance didn't care. He wanted to see him wearing it for whatever reason. " Here." He handed it to Keith.
Finally they were done getting him dressed. That had been an ordeal.
Keith blushed while looking down at the jacket. It definitely felt like what a boyfriend hoodie was supposed to feel like.
Despite the way he'd been trying to pretend that his and Lance's little... encounter... hadn't happened, he couldn't stop thinking about it.
" Thanks..." The smaller boy murmured, sliding his arms into the baggy sleeves and instantly falling in love with the fabric. It was ten times softer and more comfy than it appeared to be at first glance.
Lance could feel the heat in his cheeks come to an almost boiling point while seeing Keith in his jacket. He didn't know what made him feel so proud about it, or why he wished Keith would never take it off.
" You can make anything look good." Lance complimented, chuckling while shutting the closet door.
Keith blinked a couple times, unable to stop himself while he grabbed the front of Lance's shirt. He didn't just yank on it, it was only a tiny tug forward.
Lance found himself tripping more in front of Keith, but he steadied himself by letting his hands fall around the other's hips.
Keith stood on his tip toes, not thinking while meeting their lips together. His arms met behind Lance's neck while he savored the taste of him.
It wasn't intimate, nor was it rough. The kiss housed a great deal of complicated feelings, none of which either of them could even begin to explain.
Keith pulled back, letting his eyes slowly open.
Lance didn't know what to say as they stood there like that. What was Keith's deal?! Fuck buddies didn't just randomly kiss like that did they?!
" Holy fuck." Matt said from the doorway.
Lance and Keith both whipped their heads in his direction, and Lance hated himself for not shutting the door.
Well, that was one way to see someone for the first time in years. Keith noted that Matt had a new scar on his cheek, but that was about the last thing he was focusing on at the moment.
" Hi, Matt." The smaller boy coughed, frozen in place. One would've thought that they would've jumped back from one another, but the embrace was pretty much cemented in place.
" Hi..." Matt said, stepping back and tripping somewhat. " Sorry... Pidge said to find you-um-" He stammered. " Just- sorry to interrupt!" He couldn't have gotten out of there fast enough.
" Look what you did now." Lance slyly smirked at Keith.
" He won't tell." Keith said, clearly nervous.
" What would he even say if he did?" Lance purred. Now that Keith had shown him that he was actually still interested, he figured he could do more than just flirt. Fucking someone as hot as Keith on a regular basis sounded like heaven to Lance. " It wasn't like he saw me do this-"
Keith felt his eyes widen as Lance shoved him against the closet door and began kissing him more roughly. It had been sudden and abrupt, and he barely had time to kiss back before Lance's lips were parting from his own.
" Or this." Lance whispered while giving one of Keith's asscheeks a firm squeeze.
" If you get me hard right now, I'll kill you." Keith scolded, though he was shuddering and failing at not letting Lance's actions affect him.
Lance knew that Keith had bitten off more than he could chew, so he barely brushed their lips together for a moment, nipping at Keith slightly before pulling back. He had the most smug facial expression ever.
" Later." Was all Lance could say before turning tail and leaving the room. Keith was left in a daze, unsure what had just happened.
Yeah, if they even lived to see later. This was a simple assignment, but also a dangerous one. Keith knew that they'd be in deep shit if a shootout ensued.
...
The car ride was extremely awkward as Lance drove and Keith sat in the passenger seat. Pidge was in the backseat, smirking widely at the two boys. Matt just looked shocked, like he couldn't stop seeing Keith and Lance differently.
" So... when's the wedding?" Pidge asked with a snicker. Normally she wasn't into all of the flings Lance had, but this one seemed different.
Keith kept his handgun in his lap though he was tempted to raise it and fire a warning shot to shut his best friend up.
" I don't know, ask Keith." Lance had a very devilish smile colonizing his face while turning.
" We're just fuckbuddies, Pidge. Jeez." Keith told her with a small eyeroll following his words.
" Yeah, Keith loves himself some thick, tan, long, McClain co-" Lance was in the middle of taunting Keith when the smaller boy shot him a cold look, practically daring him to finish the sentence. He went with the option that didn't involve certain death, and cut himself off.
" How do I delete myself from existence?" Matt shuddered. He already knew too much. Lance was his buddy, his pal. To know that he was fucking around with Keith just put a weird image in his head, and he wanted so badly for it to get the fuck out. He knew them both too well, and it was uncomfortable to picture it. If they were happy, Matt was happy, but he didn't need to hear the dirty shit.
Pidge cackled while seeing her brother's reaction.
" The video games you play are literally ten times worse than anything I just said." Lance snorted.
" I don't wanna think about you guys fucking." Matt insisted. " Speaking of which, what does Shiro know?"
" Shiro doesn't have to know anything." Keith responded. " Who I let fuck me isn't his business."
" I mean..." Pidge began. " It kind of is. Lance is sort of his right hand man, and you're his brother."
" If he asks, I'll tell him. But I don't think it's that big of a deal." Keith shrugged.
" It's your funeral." Matt sighed.
" Shiro should understand. Sometimes people... do stuff... and he can't really be mad about it." Lance added.
What the hell would he tell Shiro if he was the one asked about it? 'Oh yeah, your little brother is hot and I thought I'd fuck him sometimes.' Yeah, no. Shiro would've thought that it was raunchy and in poor taste. People who weren't in a committed relationship shouldn't have been having sex, or so he thought.
But whatever.
Lance would cross that bridge if he ever came to it. Until then, he could fuck Keith to his heart's content.
The lights on the road slowly became lesser and lesser as they neared Keith's apartment building. It was by the edge of the city, and there weren't many people over there. It was late at night, meaning that the darkness would provide at least some cover. The lack of streetlamps was also to their advantage as the Cadillac crept up on the side of the road.
" Okay, Matt, you come with us. You can stand guard in the apartment and cover us." Lance said. " Pidge, you stay here and monitor the apartment's cameras. You hacked into those, right?"
" Yeah." Pidge answered, turning her laptop screen to show the video feed.
" That must be who Shiro's talking about." Keith looked to the other side of the road, seeing a Bentley parked there. He cocked his gun, ready to shoot if need be.
It had been so long since he'd felt this mix of emotions. Being on assignment was exciting yet awful. Keith knew it was too late to back out, though.
Pidge handed all three of them their radios. They hooked up to their ears, made sure that she could tell them anything at anytime.
" I'll tell you if I see anything change." She said.
There was a brief silence filled with nods and adrenaline rushes.
" You good?" Lance asked Keith, and he nodded, taking a deep breath while opening his car door.
Matt crawled over Pidge to reach the car door on the other side.
Lance kept his gun at his side while stepping out, not wanting to show that he had one unless one of Lotor's people started shooting. Until then, they could maintain a low profile.
" Just be casual." Keith whispered to Lance once they all made it to the sidewalk. They walked in a huddled formation, not wanting to show their faces. Keith's hood was up, and he made sure it stayed that way even in the autumn wind. Those people must've had a picture of him, must've known exactly who Lotor was targeting. But that didn't mean any of them were safe.
Remarkably, they made it inside of Keith's apartment building without being shot at or confronted.
" So... Keith, where's your key?" Lance asked once they were in front of Keith's door.
" Pff... 69." Matt chuckled while seeing the apartment number.
" What do you mean? Lance, I was knocked out. How the hell would I have my key? I thought you had it." Keith looked at Lance with wide eyes.
" Fuck!" Lance growled to himself, smacking his forehead and feeling like an idiot.
" Step aside, amateurs." Matt pulled a couple metal pieces from his pocket. They were used for picking locks, and he rarely left the mansion without them.
" Nice." Keith said.
" Classic. You're a lifesaver." Lance patted Matt's shoulder while he maneuvered the picks in the key hole. It wasn't long after that when the door swung open. Keith drew his gun, holding it out in front of himself as he took a step in. He could never be too careful.
Matt and Lance weren't far behind while coming into the apartment. Lance kicked the door shut and Matt waited behind him to guard the door.
" Pidge, we're in. What's going on outside?" Keith spoke, pressing the button on his radio.
" Nothing so far." Pidge responded from the other side. " I'll tell you if I see anything suspicious."
" Let's just hurry up." Lance decided he could help Keith pack, so he followed him to the hallway.
Keith still had his gun drawn while pushing open doors and clearing the rooms. Once he was sure that nobody else was in the apartment, he went to his bedroom.
Under normal and non life threatening circumstances, Lance would've taken being in Keith's bedroom with him like that as an opportunity. But they didn't have time to be fucking around right then.
Keith reached to the top of his closet, barely letting his fingers graze the shelf up there.
" Here." Lance got in the smaller boy's place, grabbing the suitcase he was trying to take down.
Keith didn't have the time to blush, but that didn't stop it from happening. He quickly snapped out of it, however. Lance set the abnormally large luggage on the bed.
Keith went around his room, grabbing armfuls of clothes from varying drawers without even looking through them. He stuffed them inside the case with minimal organization. Someone as organized as him would've typically been unimpressed with the pack job. But time was something they were lacking, and he didn't want to ration what little amounts of it were left into tidying it up.
Lance stood by awkwardly, not sure what to do with himself.
" Go find Kosmo's bed and toy bin. It's in the living room." Keith told him while rushing to the adjacent bathroom.
Lance would've liked to say that Keith wasn't the boss of him, but such juvenile antics weren't an option when time was of such essence. He only did as the smaller male said and left the room to find the stuff.
Keith was busy packing all the hygiene items that he viewed as essential. Sure, Shiro had provided him with pretty much everything he could ever need when he arrived at the mansion, but Keith was specific; he liked things a certain way.
He dumped his armful of stuff onto the bed while swiftly making his way to the closet and pulling out a decent sized backpack. After filling it about halfway with toiletries and other items, Keith knew that there were a couple other essential things. He'd grabbed his phone, charger, earbuds, and his set of colored pencils along with his favorite sketchbook.
There was still something missing, something that most gay guys couldn't live without.
Keith got down by his nightstand, seeing the array of things that resided in the shameful drawer. He sighed, grabbing a bottle of lube and a vibrator.
What?
Shiro wasn't about to just give him that kind of stuff unless Keith outright asked for it. And there was no way in hell that was happening. The only other person who he knew had lube was Lance, but Keith couldn't just borrow it whenever he decided he was horny. That would've been humiliating.
" Keith-"
Keith shoved everything in frantically, not sure if Lance had seen it.
" Yeah?" He turned, hiding the backpack behind himself somewhat and slamming the nightstand shut.
Lance had wide eyes while seeing his reaction, but he wasn't going to waste time on his own curiosities. They had to get in and out before whoever was out there could figure them out.
" You ready?" Lance asked him.
" Yeah." Keith chuckled nervously, zipping the backpack shut and standing up. He flung it to be on his back, then moved to take the suitcase from the bed. He wished that he would've had a duffel bag; suitcases were so bulky, but he was stuck with it at that point.
" Here." Lance took the suitcase. It wasn't that he was being a gentleman or whatever, it was just that they couldn't risk Keith lagging behind from carrying everything by himself.
" You all good?" Matt asked, ready to open the door to the apartment. Keith scooped his keys out of the dish by the door, then nodded. He wished he could've taken his knife collection with, but it was too late.
" Pidge, we're coming out." Lance talked to his radio.
" Of the closet? Or the building?" Pidge snickered from the other end.
" I hate you." Keith refused to let himself laugh.
" Just hurry up."
They all snuck from Keith's apartment, locking the door on their way out. Keith made sure his face was shaded by the shadow of the green jacket's hood. Once the three of them were at the bottom of the stairs and going out the building's main doors, their radios were activated with Pidge's voice.
" I have movement! Someone is opening the car door!" She exclaimed.
" Run!" Lance said, and it wasn't long after that when shots rang out. Keith sprinted while drawing his gun and keeping it low to his side. Lance took cover behind the body of the car, popping the back open and chucking everything in. He closed the back by slamming it, and Keith saw that Lance wasn't in the car yet.
The smaller boy took the car keys from Pidge and climbed in the driver's seat, and Lance got in the passenger side.
Matt flew in the back with his sister and ducked under the window.
" Step on it before they get our tires!" Lance yelled, and Keith started the ignition before brashly zooming down the street. He was really close to the steering wheel thanks to his backpack, which he hadn't had time to take off.
There were bullets that could be heard hitting the side of the car, but the shots eventually got more distant as they sped away. Keith took a sharp right turn, screeching the tires while leaving black marks on the pavement.
Everyone in the car shifted, and Lance was thrown against the middle divider since he wasn't wearing a seatbelt.
Aside from the roar of the engine, there was only heavy breathing that could be heard. Keith took turn after turn, weaving so nobody could find them.
" That was close." Matt panted. " What do they even want with you anyways?"
Keith sighed.
" Lotor wants revenge on Shiro." He answered bluntly.
" Well duh. Anyone in the family could've told me that." Matt said. " Why is he after you?"
" Keith is Shiro's brother, and he has a soft spot for him." Pidge cut in.
Lance looked over at Keith, who had a heavy expression weighing on his face. The smaller boy was evidently guilty.
He put a hand on his shoulder, sending him a reassuring look without saying anything at all. Keith only had a tiny smile while continuing to speed down the road.
(( Matt seems so innocent in these chapters. Lmao he's not... and you'll see.))