Don't Ask, I'll Never Tell

Sneaking Away

"Hey, Keith."

Keith snapped to attention then relaxed when he noticed Lance. "Hey. What do you want?" He rested his head on his knees once again.

Lance moved to sit beside him. "A little birdie told me that you needed someone to talk to." Lance replied. "I'm all ears. And don't worry, I'll keep my 'annoying Lance banter' to a minimum."

"So you finally admit that you're annoying."

"Wow, Keith. That hurts me right here." He held a hand over his heart with a crooked smile.

Keith couldn't help but laugh out loud. He tried to hide it behind his hand when he noticed Lance staring. "What?" He asked. Was there something in his teeth? Maybe his breath smells. What if he has something on his face? Was it getting warm in here? Keith was almost certain that it was getting unbearably warm.

"It's nothing. It's just... I haven't heard you laugh in a long time. Like a real laugh. I guess things have been kinda difficult for you lately, huh?"

Keith let out a mental sigh of relief. He was glad to know that he wasn't a complete mess. "Yeah, you could say that." Keith responded. "But things are looking up now. I mean, I expected you to hate me after what I almost did to you." He winced at the thought. "Words cannot describe how sorry I am, Lance."

"Don't worry about it. Worrying doesn't suit you. You look so much better with smile." He hesitated for a moment before adding, "I wish you would smile more." Lance shuffled where he sat. "...and besides," he continued. "I could never hate you. Never have, actually."

"But all this time--"

"--You really thought I hated you?" Lance interrupted.

"Yeah, just a little." Keith nodded.

"Keith..." He said quietly. "I... I..." He cleared his throat. "Do you like cookies?"

"Um... yeah?"

"Good, 'cause Hunk is handing out a bunch of his freshly baked cookies and I managed to snag one for you." Lance pulled a cookie out of his pocket and handed it to Keith.

Keith took the cookie but never tore his gaze away from Lance. As he chewed, he wondered what Lance was going to say before he interrupted himself. It could be nothing, but his curiosity was getting the better of him.

"Hey, Keith?"

Keith dusted off the cookie crumbs. "Yeah?"

"Do you wanna go for a flight?"

"A flight?"

"Yeah. I just need to get away for a while. There's a nice little planet not far from here. No carnivorous squirrels, I promise."

Keith nodded. "Yeah, sure. I think I need to get away too. When do you want to leave?"

"Um... maybe now?"

Keith raised an eyebrow. "I guess. Lead the way."

The two rose to their feet and  continued down the corridor to the hangar. Keith expected that they would leave and be back before anybody noticed. They were well away from any Galra ships so the idea of the Altean ship being attacked while they were away was next to impossible. Now was as good a time as any to sneak away. After all, Keith thought, maybe he could persuade Lance to tell him what he was going to say before he interrupted himself.