A, You're Adorable (Klance) [DISCONTINUED]

Seven: G is for Great

You think my hands would look great with a wedding ring? No way; if I had a ring on I'd break my hand at the same time as I broke your nose.

"Buenas noches, Maria," Lance soothed, brushing her hair out of her face.

"Tell me a story, Lancey Lance," she peeped. "Tell me a story before I go to sleep."

He chuckled. "Okay. What do you want me to tell you?"

"Tell me about your boyfriend."

"I don't have a boyfriend, silly."

Maria opened her eyes to look at him. "Really? Miguel says you do."

"Miguel is a liar."

"Then tell me about him anyway. Tell me about Keith, por favor."

"Ah, alright. You've seen him before, though. Keith is Korean. He's shorter than me, but taller than Ricardo. He has black hair and indigo eyes. His hair is really fluffy and naturally makes a mullet. Do you believe that? Trust me. I've touched his hair before. He usually wears all black, but his favorite color is red. He wears fingerless gloves to sleep sometimes. He's so silly. And he always dresses and looks really edgy, but he's not an edgelord on the inside. On the inside, I think he's nice. Oh, stop laughing, chica, I won't continue if you're like this.

"His birthday is October 23rd. He likes listening to emo music and K-pop. His taste in memes is outdated, but he likes everything I show him. And his eyes sparkle like Keith's in Voltron: Defenders of the Universe, but they're different. He leads in a different way. And his smile is pretty. He almost never smiles, but when you get through his edge he laughs a lot. Sometimes he giggles just like you are right now. He's pretty cute, isn't he?

"He doesn't have any siblings or friends but us. His favorite subject is Physics. He wants to be a space pilot when he grows up, or maybe a fighter pilot. But his mom always tells him he should get married. I don't know if he really wants to. Maybe he just wants a cat. He's not really good with kids, but at least he tries, right? But he's definitely not good at sharing sleeping space.

"He thinks my puns are stupid, but he still smiles at me when I flirt with him. I think he's... ah, that's enough. It's bedtime, Maria," Lance breathed.

Maria smiled. "What do you think about him?"

"Keith's great. He's my friend. Sweet dreams, now." There was no shame in a white half-lie, was there?

"Good night."

Lance's parents were understanding. They didn't mind if Lance brought a chick or a dude home; he just had to be polite and a good boyfriend. As his father had joked, Lance had enough siblings to supply the biological grandchildren. The best thing was that Lancey Lance, the middle child, was happy.

To be honest, Lance was already happy. He had a lit friend group who didn't mind his silly pick up lines and accepted him for the dork he was. His siblings were genuinely interested in his opinions. The school year was looking up, sometimes girls flirted back at him, and he knew what he wanted to do with his life. Maybe he wasn't ready for a relationship just yet, and that was fine with him.

Lance was jolted out of his beauty rest by a text notification that read, "We need to talk. Skype me."

It was six in the morning. The Internet was on, so his father was awake, but it was too early for him to complain about Lance's sleep schedule. In twelve minutes, Lance sent a call request. Less than thirty seconds later, the call was accepted.

"What is it, man? It's so early. Did you sleep at all?"

Keith shrugged. "I slept enough."

"Two hours?"

"Six."

"Six isn't enough. You need eight."

"The posters outside the gym don't tell me what to do."

"They don't," Lance sighed, "but I know you. What are we talking about?"

"After you left, my mom asked me about you. We have to draw a line somewhere."

"Maria asked about you too. It's Miguel's fault."

"It's your fault for dropping hints."

"Don't act like you didn't flirt back."

"There wasn't a better response. Now we have to fix this mess."

Lance propped his pillow against the headboard. "Sure. So, where are we?"

"In our bedrooms."

"I meant where we are relationship-wise. I thought I was the idiot."

Keith pursed his lips. "Shut up. Where do you think we are?"

What was Lance supposed to say? He took a breath. "Uhh, I dunno. I guess it depends on what we think of each other."

"Let's say it at the same time. One, two-"

"No way are you counting. One, two, three-"

"I-" Silence.

Keith scowled. "What do you think of me that you're so reluctant to say?"

"What about you?" Lance poked a finger at the camera, obscuring his face for that split second.

"If you don't like me, you can just say so."

"I do like you! You're my friend!"

"Same here!"

"Then why didn't you say so?"

"Why didn't you?"

"Don't make this about me."

"You were flirting with me first."

Lance huffed. "Fine. Let's try again. One, two-"

"I, I...," Keith stared at his blankets, "I don't mind your pickup lines..."

"Me neither," Lance grinned. "I don't mind you very much, either."

"I'm glad that's settled." The call ended with a lovely view of the fluffy top of Keith's head.

Lance closed his laptop and leaned back with a sigh. That had been close. It would be stupider than usual to rush into descriptions before he fully understood what he was feeling. The emotion could be platonic, after all. Maybe he subconsciously wanted to form a strong bond with a future copilot. (No way would he copilot for Keith.)

Lance would just have to consult Space Dad for reassurance, and maybe an added explanation. Hopefully Keith's mother wouldn't pester her son into meeting with the teacher on Monday.

Down the hall, Alejandra left her room to get ready for her part-time job. Lance gave up on pretending to sleep and followed her into the kitchen.

//

Image: Maria McClain; drawn 2 October 2017