hey there pretty boy (klance)

CHAPTER 06

Keith paces around the store for the entire day, staying late with Shiro to make up for the hours missed in the morning. He can't stop worrying about Lance - partially hoping that the boy will show up before closing, and crossing his fingers that they'll never cross paths again.

He starts to feel guilty for thinking that way.

With one hour left before Voltron is officially closed for the night, Keith is struck with a realization. He stops his pacing and stands with his eyes locked on the glass door.

"Shiro?" He calls out, waiting for his brother's muffled reply from the back of the store. "I have to go. I'll see you at home." Keith takes his jacket from behind the register and practically sprints out the door, grabbing his bike and coasting onto the road with his loose clothing fluttering around him. His body runs on autopilot as Keith bypasses the beach and pedals frantically in the direction of the wharf.

It feels as if he can't get there fast enough - if he waits any longer, Lance might slip between his fingers for good.

Keith tosses his bike aside with a silent apology for Red's rough treatment and careless ownership as he runs away without even locking her up. He dodges slow-walking pedestrians on their way back from the boats, urgency overriding any politeness he might have possessed once upon a time.

He's there. Tanned skin glowing in early sunset, watching the sky from the corner of the dock, Lance doesn't quite blend in to the rest of the scenery.

Before Keith even reaches him, the young man turns around and greets him with a wide smile.

"You're back," Lance says gently.

"Yeah." He's out of breath.

"And you believe me?"

"You made it - pretty hard not - not to believe you, after what - what you did," Keith pants. He must have been holding his breath for the whole ride.

Lance's grin shrinks until his lips only contain a faint trace of the emotion. "You're okay with it?"

Struggling to get his wheezing under control, Keith gives a weak nod. He will be. Lance turns back to the sun and Keith can feel his breath running out again when he sees the beautiful, regal face outlined in golden sun. How could anyone ever doubt that this boy is anything except a god?

"Let's walk," the god says, "I can miss Allura's show for one night."

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The convenient thing about gods is that they seem to know everything already.

It saves Keith a lot of emotional stress when he tries to explain himself for running away. My parents... Lance politely lets it slide that he's already aware of the situation. He pats Keith on the shoulder. "You're handling this better than most, especially considering...that," Lance tells him.

"I think I'm still in shock," is Keith's dazed response.

In three days, he quickly learns that Lance's supernatural status changes nothing. He's still bubbly and friendly and gets a long a little bit too well with the others at Voltron. If anything, he seems more comfortable in his skin, at least around Keith.

It does bother Keith in the beginning that he's an open book to the other boy, whom Keith hardly knows anything about except for the following - 1. his name is Lance and 2. he's a god. (and 3. he's hot, but Keith doesn't dwell on that). The uneasy feeling subsides when he leans on the counter and watches Lance and Hunk bond over a brownie recipe. Turns out that Lance, however much of a know-it-all, wasn't interested in food until he met Hunk and his cookies.

Of course, now that he has developed a taste for the stuff and discovered that his stomach is an endless pit, Lance is overly eager about every meal. It doesn't take long before he drags Keith away from the store one evening after his shift. Normally he would hang around with Hunk since Shiro is out of town again, but it's not like there's only an empty apartment waiting for him now. There's Lance.

"Come on, you're walking so slow!" The boy chirps, tugging on Keith's sleeve like a child.

"Sorry we can't all be gods," he fires back. Lance gives a hearty laugh.

Although he pretends to be indifferent, Keith is just as excited as the one bouncing ahead of him. Any time they've spent together has been at the ocean or at the store, and he's happy to be away from both while still spending time with Lance.

They are seated quickly at the place that Lance chooses, leaving Keith to take in the sea-themed decor. The small restaurant isn't one that he recognizes, as usually he and Shiro stick to places that are less tourist-oriented on the rare occasions that they actually go out. It's fairly busy considering it's still early in the season.

The waitress introduces herself as Nyma, hands them each a narrow baby-blue menu and asks if they are travelling from far. Keith lets the other answer for both of them, not caring if the information is accurate, while his eyes scan the options. "Sort of," Lance says vaguely with a crooked smile. Nyma laughs lightly when he asks, "so, sweetheart, what can you tell me about your drinks?"

Keith mumbles a quiet, just water, when she directs her attention to him, not sure if the twinge of jealousy he feels is justifiable.

He stirs the ice around in his glass when Nyma places it in front of him, leaving again to give them more time with the menus.

"Not even going to explore a little bit?" Lance says, taking a sip of whatever weird alcoholic brew he had ordered. Keith isn't entirely sure how he manages to keep a smooth face while swallowing the liquid.

"I don't drink," he offers, looking back at the laminated selection even though he's already settled on something.

Lance nods, humming into his glass. "Alcohol doesn't have the same effect on gods as it does people, but we can still enjoy it."

"Yeah. Okay."

"What's wrong?" He sets the drink down and folds his arms on the table, examining Keith's face. A sly smile crosses his own. "You're jealous," Lance croons.

Keith scoffs.

"It was when I called her sweetheart, right?"

Yes. "I don't know what you're talking about," he sighs instead.

Lance laughs. "Don't worry, Keith. You're my only pretty boy."