(( Can I just say that I love Hunk and Shay? Thank you, that is all.))
Lance was distant, withdrawn. It was clear as he picked at his breakfast that something was up with him. Keith slid his hand over to his boyfriend's, holding it under the table and squeezing it. Lance looked up from his plate, sending a tiny smile to Keith. As soon as he glanced back down, however, it all but disappeared.
Keith scooted closer to Lance, pressing a light kiss to his cheek.
" Babe." He said, cupping Lance's cheek.
" What's up?" Lance asked, realizing that maybe he was letting his feelings get the best of him. He didn't want Keith to worry about him, or make a fuss, or do anything of the sort. He had to pretend like he was fine, like he wasn't still torn up.
Why couldn't Keith just say it?! Lance felt like he was stepping on eggshells anytime he felt the urge to tell Keith the L word. One, because it hurt. And two... the thought of Keith not saying it back was terrifying to him.
" Is something bothering you?" Keith asked him sincerely, his eyebrows sinking in concern. Lance smiled his way, picking up a strip of bacon and biting into it.
" I'm fine. Why?" The taller boy asked. If there was anything he wasn't going to do, it was tell Keith. Then he feared Keith would say it just for the sake of saying it instead of actually meaning his words. If Keith told him that, Lance wanted it to be on his own accord.
" I don't know... lately you've been so withdrawn, and it's not like you at all." Keith said, getting even closer to Lance so that they could make a very intimate form of eye contact. He wanted to be certain that Lance wasn't evading his question.
Lance smiled after swallowing and taking a big gulp of orange juice. He brought his boyfriend's hand up to his lips, where he placed a sweet kiss atop of it.
" Baby, nothing's wrong. I've just been tired." Lance assured him, and Keith seemed to be searching his eyes for an answer. If he was being honest, that wasn't the answer Keith wanted to hear. That wasn't to say that Keith didn't want Lance to be happy, it was just that he didn't believe that to be the case.
" Alright." Keith said, still slightly suspicious.
" Your bedhead is adorable." Lance ruffled Keith's mullet and grinned.
'Nice subject change', Keith thought to himself. He didn't want to fight about it, though.
" Yeah, well-" Keith stammered, blushing a tad while looking over Lance and trying to come up with something to retort. " Your eyes are cute when you're tired."
" Is this a declaration of war?" Lance asked, narrowing his eyes while leaning by Keith's cheek and peppering a kiss there. " Because I can and will win this."
" Maybe it is." Keith chuckled, feeling Lance's hot breath tickling his ear.
Lance might've been bummed about the word he didn't want to think about right then, but he wanted to enjoy his time with Keith in spite of it. Lance wasn't about to let a single word stand in between he and Keith.
" Your fuzzy socks are precious, and so is the way you sock surf around in them." Lance whispered, wrapping his arms around the shorter boy and hugging him close to himself.
A war of compliments? Keith got flustered too easily to survive it.
" Yeah, well-" Keith looked Lance over. " That shirt makes your muscles pop~"
Lance smiled while kissing Keith's cheek again, pulling the smaller boy closer and planning on closing the gap between their lips.
He didn't quite get that far.
Shiro was coming into the kitchen, and pretty much everyone else in the mansion was following him. Maybe he'd called a conference or something?
Pidge was yawning while walking in, and Matt was being piggybacked by Adam. Clearly he wasn't able to walk, and Pidge snickered while seeing it.
" Shiro, what is this about?" Hunk asked, coming out of the pantry. Lance and Keith hadn't even noticed that the chef was there.
Shiro beamed, apparently in a superb mood.
" I have a very important announcement." He said, rounding the counter and looking at everyone.
Lance and Keith glanced at each other, and Lance pulled the smaller male onto his lap. He rested his chin on Keith's shoulder while waiting for the family leader to elaborate.
" Which is?" Pidge asked.
" Well, I've already talked to Adam and Matt about it... and they both think it's a great idea. So... I went ahead and did it early this morning." Shiro smiled brighter.
" Care to explain?" Keith raised an eyebrow.
" I booked a vacation for all of us!" Shiro happily exclaimed. " Our flight leaves around two, so you all should get packing."
" Wait, what?!" Pidge asked. " Where are we going?!"
" What Pidge said!" Hunk choked on the muffin he'd thought was safe to eat. He hadn't realized a bomb would get dropped after the first bite.
" Hawaii!" Shiro's face was covered in all the glee he felt. " We've all been really stressed lately, and I think it would be better if we all got out of the city for a while."
" Sweet!" Lance grinned.
That really came out of nowhere, but who was going to complain about a vacation? Shiro had many millions of dollars that he didn't really use for traveling. He'd never taken the family anywhere, and people weren't in a position to pass it up.
" Do I smell sex on the beach?" Lance purred in Keith's ear, making the shorter male shudder.
" What do you all say?" Shiro asked everyone. " I already have the flight for us by private jet."
" This is awesome!" Pidge yelled. " I hope Hawaii has good WiFi."
" Why are you worrying about WiFi? I'm ready to sunbathe all day." Shay sighed dreamily.
Keith smiled while seeing how joyful Shiro looked right then. It had been a long while since his brother had seemed so... content. And plus, with all the Lotor bullshit recently, it might not have been a bad idea to get the hell out of dodge for a bit.
" Come on, Keith! We have to pack!" Lance pulled Keith from the booth. " Shiro! Thank you so much!"
" Don't mention it." Shiro chuckled.
This was going to be magical.
...
Nobody had been expecting Shiro to announce this vacation, and though most of the family was shocked, they were eager for a break. Gang life was harsh and bloody, and there were constant threats to life, limb, and so much more.
They all deserved this scenic trip.
" Are you going to bring any ropes with?" Lance whispered in Keith's ear while the two finished up their last minute packing. " Or... toys?"
" I bet you'd love that, wouldn't you?" Keith chuckled, and Lance hugged him from behind. He seemed to be like a polar opposite of how he'd been acting previously. Lance wasn't moping at all. It was like he'd gotten into Hunk's secret stash of candy and decimated it from how happy and bouncing off the walls he seemed. Of course, it could also be attributed to the fact that they were going to Hawaii. Hawaii! Who wouldn't be excited about that?
" Mhm~" Lance hummed and placed a light kiss on his cheek from behind.
Little did Lance know, Keith had already packed lube and a vibrator. If the trip was ten days long, there was no telling what could go down.
" Lance, Keith! Come on! We gotta go!" Pidge yelled from outside Lance's room, where the couple currently was.
" We're coming!" Lance called back, zipping up his duffel bag and looking back at Keith. He was determined. He could've sat around in wallowed in the fact that Keith hadn't said the word... or... he could've done something about it. Lance could treat Keith like an absolute prince on this trip, and there was no way that he wouldn't love him by the end of it, right? Lance wanted to make it happen.
The truth was, he didn't even need an excuse to treat Keith like royalty. He loved him for everything that he was, and everything he did. Keith was his world, and Lance wanted to show him so much more than that now that he had the opportunity to.
Lance smiled at his boyfriend, cupping his cheek and pressing his lips to Keith's. It was deep and loving, and it transferred all of Lance's emotions right into Keith. It was like he was fusing their souls together for the few moments it lasted.
Keith blushed and sent Lance a fond look after he pulled back.
" Let's go." Lance took Keith's hand after grabbing his duffel bag.
" Wait!" Keith rushed to the closet, pulling out Lance's green jacket and shoving it inside of his bag. Lance chuckled to himself.
" Isn't it like, a gazillion degrees in Hawaii?" The taller boy asked, though watching Keith act like having his jacket was life or death was adorable.
" Yeah, and?" Keith side-eyed him. Lance shook his head, smiling and blushing down at the hardwood. Damn, he loved him so much. Lance could barely contain himself from showering Keith with praise, kisses and all sorts of hugs.
Hawaii was going to be something they'd remember forever.
...
Private jets were obviously expensive, but the luxury on board of it was totally worth it. Everyone profusely thanked Shiro for having gotten one, and not forcing them to fly commercial. That would've been a very bad idea.
For all they knew, Lotor's gang could've hijacked the plane to crash it and kill everyone. Seem crazy? Not to Shiro. He knew that Lotor was beyond the point of mentally unstable, and that his mental set was past being rehabilitated.
After the flight took off, Keith noticed that Lance was giddy. He kept his face pressed by the windows to see the clouds and witness their fluffy, cotton-like appearance.
" I'm going to be sick!" Hunk rushed back to the bathroom.
People would've thought he'd gotten over his motion sickness after riding in the car with Keith and Lance a few times, but no dice. Shay walked after him, sitting outside the door and telling her boyfriend that everything would be okay.
Matt felt his bottom prickling with tingles of pain as he stayed down in the comfy seat. Shiro sat beside him while Adam went to get himself some wine. It was complementary, and since they were stable in the air, they didn't have to stay seated any longer.
Matt gulped, and Shiro took his hand.
" Are you a nervous flyer?" He asked him. Matt nodded.
" He's never been in a plane before. Neither have I." Pidge peeked over the back of her seat and added. She wasn't half as nervous as he was about it, but then again, Matt didn't like heights.
Shiro smiled down at his boyfriend reassuringly.
" Everything will be okay. Maybe you could try to take a nap or something?" He suggested, and Matt thought that the idea was splendid as he leaned back into the leather seat. If he slept through the entire thing, it wouldn't have been bad at all.
Across the aisle, Keith was leaning on Lance's shoulder while they shared a pair of earbuds. One was in Lance's right ear, while Keith had the left one.
" Slow down, grab the wall, wiggle like you're trying to make your ass fall off-" Lance rapped along to the song that was playing, Gas Pedal.
" Hey, no." Keith chuckled. " I agreed to put up with your music, but not you trying to rap." He teased him.
" Excuse me?" Lance gasped. " I could put Eminem and all those other guys to shame."
Keith burst out laughing, and Pidge perked out of her seat to see what the commotion was. Kosmo, who was also on the jet, came running up the center and curled up by Keith's feet. He really should've been in a pet carrier, but Keith refused to subject his beloved husky to something like that.
" What's so funny over there?" Pidge wiggled her eyebrows.
" Lance thinks he can rap." Keith snorted.
Pidge cackled, Shiro stifled his laughter, and Adam nearly spit out his wine. Lance rapping? Right.
" You guys are so nice." Lance's eye twitched as his teeth grit into a smile. Keith continued leaning his head on Lance's shoulder. Though the taller boy pouted from all the teasing, he didn't reject Keith's closeness. He pulled Keith nearer.
As hours passed on the flight, people slowly began falling asleep one by one. Matt and Keith were the first ones to go, followed by Hunk, Lance, Shay, and Adam. Pidge was still up, reading a book. Then there was Shiro, who was going to stay up and oversee everything.
Pidge looked around, seeing that everyone else had passed out. She turned off the headlamp she was using and got over the seat.
" Hey, Shiro...?" She asked him quietly, and Shiro perked up to show that he'd heard her and was listening. Matt was using his lap as a pillow and was curled up on him.
" I just wanted to say... thank you." Pidge told him, somewhat grumbling. If there was one thing Pidge hated the most, it was admitting that she was wrong. However, she felt like she owed him an apology. " I'm sorry for getting so up in your face when you went to talk to Matt..."
Shiro's features lifted from surprise.
" Pidge, it's fine, really... you were just trying to protect him. I get that." He told her. " I would've done the same thing for Keith."
Pidge smiled a tiny bit, feeling so much better. She almost wondered if apologizing would trudge up old memories about it.
It was nearly black outside of the jet's windows, and there were dark grey clouds only illuminated by the moonlight.
Matt moved closer to Shiro, making a tiny noise as he slept. Shiro looked down, wanting to make sure that the smaller male wasn't stirring. Luckily for Matt, he stayed passed out and continued sleeping like a rock.
Shiro was grateful for that, being that waking up right then would've been nerve wracking. He ran a hand through Matt's hair, raking his fingers through the ginger locks.
Pidge went back to her book, happy for her brother while sinking back into the seat. She switched her light back on and smiled.
This trip was going to be their great escape, even if it was only temporary. It wasn't like they'd dropped everything and split town, but Shiro wanted it to look that way. Lotor had been playing dirty recently, even more so than usually.
He didn't know who was next or when it would happen. It was better for them to play it safe for a while, and in his mind, being thousands of miles from home was the way to do it. With Lotor in the world, no one was safe.
Shiro looked down, feeling a lot on his plate. He had so many to protect, and he hoped that somewhere so far from the city would be out of Lotor's reach.
(( I wish I was in Hawaii ;-; ))