hey there pretty boy (klance)

CHAPTER 03

Shiro sleeps through his alarm again that morning, though Keith hears it loud and clear all the way from his bedroom. He gets dressed although he hadn't been planning to and leaves his brother a note on the door where Keith knows he will find it, amidst a panicked rush in a few hours.

don't freak out. i'll cover your shift.

It's not like he has anything better to do, anyways.

Three hours later, and Keith is wiping down their collection of old records and CDs, humming quietly to himself, when he feels a tap on the shoulder. He jumps, nearly dropping his copy of Revolver. Keith carefully sets it down in its proper spot and straightens up to address the customer.

"Hi - oh, Lance, right?" Keith chokes out. As if he didn't remember the boy's name.

Lance nods, eyes sparkling. "And you're Keith. So, uh, I came back to thank you for that ring. She really liked it." He turns before Keith can say anything, sweeping the store in his cold blue gaze. "Also, I wanted to check this place out. I didn't get to look enough yesterday." Practically gliding on his long legs, Lance wanders over towards a shelf with a haphazard collection of metal bits. He picks up a glossy black candle stand.

Keith watches him explore, as Lance examines each item with a childlike admiration. He tries to focus on his job but finds that his eyes continue drifting to the other boy.

"So, are you the only one who works here?" Lance says, peering at Keith around a coloured glass orb.

"There's a few others. It's my brother's store, actually."

"You have a brother? What's he like?" The questions come rapid-fire as Lance sets down his newest find and walks back towards Keith. He leans against a sturdy old dresser, and with a lithe smile he asks, "is he as handsome as you?"

Keith blushes furiously. "Are you...flirting with me?"

"What would you say if I was?"

"I thought - aren't you...with someone? The girl you bought the ring for," he adds, noting the puzzled expression that Lance wears.

The confusion quickly contorts into something else as his face screws up like he tasted something sour. "Oh, no no no no. You thought - I was - Allura? Definitely not. I just owed her, that's all," he shakes his head. Keith can't help by give a soft sigh of relief. The words go over his head as Lance continues to ramble, "wow, she's like, a cousin. Or something. I can't believe..."

"You must have done something pretty bad to owe her that much," Keith said, moving to dust off their array of glass pieces.

Lance gives a crooked grin. "It's more like insurance. I may be...breaking some rules, that she doesn't know about yet," his words die off and Keith looks over to see that Lance is looking at one of the few crafty mirrors they had hanging around the store. The way he stares intensely at his reflection, seeming deep in thought, stirs something strange in Keith. He opens his mouth to speak when the bell over the door rings abruptly in the otherwise quiet shop.

"Hey Keith, sorry I'm late, I almost forgot to bring these," his co-worker Hunk lets the door swing closed behind him, balancing a small box in his arms. Keith glances at the clock. 12:08 - barely late. Hunk looks between the two of them, "am I interrupting something?"

"What? No," Keith says, feeling his face get warm as he backs away from Lance, who seems oddly silent for once. He moves to the counter and directs the conversation towards the box in Hunk's arms. "What'd you bring?"

"Oh! Cookies," Hunk grins, setting them down on the counter and opening the lid. He looks towards Lance. "Hey, do you want one?"

"Uh, sure," the tall boy shuffles towards them. He gingerly takes a cookie from the top of the pile, while Keith quickly snatches one and sticks it in his mouth. Lance follows suits, with more respect for the food. "They're good!" Lance seems to cheer up, smiling around his mouthful.

"Of course they are. This is Hunk. He's like, chef extraordinaire," Keith gives the big man a friendly elbow to the shoulder.

Lance introduces himself, and then starts to wander towards the door. "I should be going, before 'Lura comes looking for me." He waves at the both of them as he leaves.

Hunk turns around immediately once Lance is out of the store. "Okay, okay. Tell me the whole story. How'd you guys meet?"

"Hunk, it's not like that."

"Oh, okay. But you want it to be?"

Keith's cheeks burn. "Maybe," he mumbles, knowing it's not worth it to say otherwise. Hunk's friendliness made it difficult to argue with him.

The guy grins, patting Keith on the shoulder. Hunk had been working at the store since he was fifteen; it was his first job. Technically he has been an employee longer than Keith and Shiro themselves. Anyways, the three of them had known each other for years. Keith knew that he could confide in Hunk.

"He's just a boy...who happens to be cute, okay? I don't really know him, but there's something weird about him," Keith says, looking thoughtfully out the window. There is no rain yet, but the clouds warn otherwise. "I can't explain it."

"Yeah, okay, Romeo," Hunk laughs, "have you seen Shiro today?"

Keith shakes his head. His brother can probably sleep for weeks at a time if nothing disturbs him. Shiro has always loved his sleep, but it has only gotten progressively worse as he outgrew his teen years, always tired and late getting out of bed. Especially with the added stress of running Voltron, which - although they both avoid speaking about it - is starting to struggle for profit. People just weren't as interested in buying junk as they used to be.

Hunk avoids the topic, too. Keith knows he's a sensitive guy and will probably be devastated when Voltron finally reaches its end. Already on what are likely its last legs, Keith can only hope that the store will hold out long enough for Hunk to find steady work somewhere else. Shiro would be heartbroken if he left any of his employees without an income while closing the doors for good.

"How are you guys holding up?" Hunk asks, carefully poking into Keith's personal life. He already knows the whole story, basically as well as Keith and Shiro do, but it doesn't make it any easier to share.

"We're okay," Keith says. He takes another cookie and his rag, and heads over to wipe down some wicker furniture.