"This is the part where you kill me, right?" Lance asked as he followed Keith out of his jeep. They had just pulled up to a patch of public forest not far out of the city. Lance had been there a few times with his family, when he was younger and his parents were on an 'outdoors kick'.
"Yup, you've caught on. The whole reason I've gotten closer to was so I could lure you out into the woods on a fake date and off you." Keith said with a lazy grin aimed at the slightly taller boy.
Lance stopped in his tracks for a second, "Wait, seriously?" He asked in disbelief.
Keith doubled over in laughter, although he was slightly offended Lance thought that little of him. "Jesus no, I was messing with you. Trust me, I would not have put in all that effort to help you out if I was just planning on kill you now." Keith said with a shrug.
"You say that like you've contemplated homicide before." Lance piped up, following after Keith as he led him through the wide path in the woods. The sun had already started to go down, but seeing as it was a public forest, the path was lined with lights to help guide them.
Keith shot him a look, one brow raised, "And you haven't?" He asked.
Lance grunted while they walked, "No Keith, I'm a normal human."
Keith shot him a wicked smile. "Oh really? So you've never wanted to kill me before? Not even after I put glue in your shampoo?"
Crossing his arms and turning his nose up, Lance retaliated. "Ok so I've thought about it, but not seriously!" He argued.
Keith laughed again. "And you think I have? I'm not crazy, hot headed- maybe, but completely sane."
Lance huffed in irritation. "You scared me there for a second Kogane. Not cool dude."
"You know, I'm a little hurt that you'd actually believe that." Keith admitted, but his tone was still light and joking.
"I was playing along, don't be a baby." Lance said, nudging Keith's shoulder with his own, earning a small smile in return. Keith's small, sincere smiles never failed to make Lance's heart beat pick up speed.
'I'm to gay for this.' Lance thought to himself.
"So where exactly are we going?" Lance asked after clearing his throat and pulling himself out of his own thoughts.
His eyes shot wide as Keith gripped his hand and pulled him off the trail. The other boy seemed overly excited for a second, before he willed himself to calm down and but his calm and collected mask back on.
"This is where we're going." Keith said, seeming proud of himself for his 'memorable' first date location.
The "where" he was referring to, was a small clearing in the woods. The grass wasn't so long that it got in the way, but it wasn't patchy and scarce. There were trees lining the entire area, their branches falling over most of the clearing, except for the very center, where there was a clear view of the night sky. Under that perfect view, sat a blanket with lanterns surrounding it. A picnic basket was placed on it, containing what Lance could only guess was food.
"Wow mullet, you weren't kidding when you said memorable." Lance breathed out, taking in the entire sight.
Keith gently tugged him forward, seeing as he was a bit preoccupied with looking around. "Did you think I was bluffing or something?" Keith asked with a cocky smirk.
They reached the blanket and each took a seat. Lance finally turned his full attention to the boy who had dragged him all the way out there. "Not in the slightest, you're not a big bluffing type of guy. I just didn't think you'd..." Lance trailed off, glancing away in slight embarrassment.
Keith was leaning back on his hands, so he shifted his foot so he could nudge Lance's crossed legs. "You didn't think I'd what?" He asked, curiosity eating at him.
With a sigh, Lance picked at the blanket under him. "I didn't think you'd care this much." He admitted, feeling more than just insecure with the raven haired boy.
"Whoa, are you serious?" Keith asked, not disguising the shock in his voice.
Lance threw his hands in the air. "Can you blame me? A week ago we were at each other's throats and now we're... here." He said, wrapping his arms around himself, all of his self confidence gone at that moment.
"Hm, if I remember correctly, a week ago we were sitting on the floor of my bedroom playing twenty one questions and eating peace cookies." Keith said. Like mentioned earlier, he wasn't the best at comforting someone. The nightmares and panic attacks he could handle because he'd been through the same thing, but Lance's self doubt was new to him. Not because he was always confident in himself, but he just generally didn't care what other people thought of him, he didn't have the time or energy for their opinions.
A light laugh was heard at the mention of the peace cookies. "You know, we still haven't made those friendship bracelets." Lance pointed out, remembering something Keith had said that day.
Keith snapped his fingers, "You're right! We have to get on that or there's no way Shiro will buy this." He said, gesturing between Lance and himself.
"Really? Making out at lazar tag wasn't enough for him?" Lance asked, placing a hand on his chin while pretending to think it through.
Keith threw his head back with a groan. "You really love bringing that up, don't you?" He asked, his eyes still closed as he talked.
Lance smiled and hummed a small, "Mhm." In reply.
"Just can't stop reliving it, can you?" Keith asked, lifting his head and smirking as Lance blushed a deep shade of red.
"That's not what I said-"
"It wasn't, but it's true, right?" Keith teased. He just wanted to get back at Lance for what he had said in front of Shiro and Adam.
"No-"
"Oh, so if I never push you up against a wall and kiss you until you see stars, again, you'll be happy about?" Keith pressed, enjoying Lance's reaction.
He had his arms crossed over his chest, his face was as red as a fire truck, and he wouldn't look at Keith. Wouldn't even spare him a glance. "That's not what-"
"Then just admit it, enjoyed every second of it." Keith said, raising a brow in Lance's direction.
"Okay fine! I liked the stupid kiss. Would I really be here if I hadn't?" Lance said, shooting a glare at Keith, ready for the ground to swallow him up due to his embarrassment.
A wide grin spread across Keith's face. "See, that wasn't so hard, was it?"
Lance said nothing, but continued to pout. "Awe c'mon, don't be a baby." Keith said, quoting Lance from earlier.
"You're a jerk." Lance mumbled.
"Ah yes, but a jerk who's an excellent kisser." Keith said back.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The next hour or so flew by. Both boys were enjoying each other's company and the light banter that they could keep up for days if need be. They hadn't eaten, simply sandwiches and some of Hunk's peace cookies that Keith had sneakily asked him to make earlier while Lance was hanging out with Allura.
Keith was laying back, his head resting on one of his arms, while the other was tightly wrapped around Lance's waist while the other boy was tucked into his side, using his chest as a pillow. They both had their eyes trained up at the night sky, gazing at the stars that dusted the black abyss.
"Memorable?" Keith asked, his voice soft as to not disturb the peace that had settled over clearing as it got later in the night.
"Definitely." Lance whispered back.
"I'm not the only one that thinks this is completely crazy, right?" Keith asked, feeling the need to talk about what was happening between them in such a short amount of time.
"Nope, this is definitely insane." Lance agreed, knowing that there was no denying the oddity of their situation.
"Are you cool with crazy?" Keith asked skeptically. He wasn't sure if this was something Lance was actually going to be okay with. They had both done some pretty terrible things to each other over the years, and to public property in the cross fire, so it would be totally reasonable for him to not want to pursue whatever the hell they were doing.
Lance shifted so he was on his side, being supported by one of his elbows, looking at Keith. "I am as long as you are." He breathed out, the realization of how real the situation suddenly was, hitting him full force.
"I know I said I was sane earlier, but maybe I'm just a little bit crazy." He said, grabbing the front of Lance's shirt and pulling him down and letting their lips connect for the first time since lazar tag. But this time it wasn't a distraction ruse or in the heat of the moment.
This kiss was soft and vulnerable, each boy letting the other know just how scared they were to dive into this. But still willing to try.
When they pulled away, both were lightly panting. "Hey McClain?" Keith said softly.
"Yeah?"
"Be my boyfriend?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"You two realize you have school in the morning, right?" Shiro asked them.
When Lance and Keith had gotten back to the house, Shiro and Adam were both in the kitchen, clad in pajamas, and waiting for them. Adam seemed thrilled that their hands were intertwined, but Shiro was in full protective dad mode, and he wasn't mad, just disappointed.
"You two do realize we don't sleep much anyway, right?" Keith shot back, but immediately regretting it.
Adam and Lance's laughs boomed through the kitchen while Keith hung his head in embarrassment and Shiro just looked at his boyfriend, wondering how he fell in love with the immature man. "That's not what I meant." Keith mumbled.
"We all know what you meant Keith, but that still doesn't mean you two can just stay out until midnight on a school night." Shiro said, crossing his arms.
"Oh shush Takashi. I know you have this whole 'stern dad' thing going on, but cut them some slack, okay? Do you remember us in high school? Even before we were dating, we'd cause all sorts of havoc with Matt. At least they told us where they were going and didn't sneak out." Adam interjected, trying to help the two teens. Rules and discipline were an important part of parenting, sure, but so was trust and freedom. Sometimes Shiro just needed to be reminded what it was like being a teenager.
With a heavy sigh, Shiro set a glare to his smiling boyfriend before waving Keith and Lance off. "Next, text me if you're going to be late. Now go to bed." He said.
The two boys scurried up the stairs as Shiro leaned into Adam's arms, who was sitting on a stool at the counter. "Should they really be staying in the same room?" Adam asked jokingly.
"If they don't, Lance would probably have a panic attack and Keith would rage out until we just let them." Shiro said, resting his head in the crook of Adam's neck while Adam tried to work out some of the tension in his shoulders.
"You need to relax more Kashi." He mumbled.
"With Keith around? Never." Shiro said with a light tone, causing Adam to giggle.