Beep, Bop, Bugger off! (Pico x BF/Keith)

•Chapter 13

Keith asked Pico if he was still up to meeting up at the coffee shop that morning as per usual. Not as a date, of course, all he did was kiss him. He stood patiently outside the small cafe, looking at his phone.

"...ahem..." Keith looked up, hearing the ginger clear his throat.

"Pico! Hey. Thanks for staying with me yesterday."

"I- It's no problem..." Pico looked a little tired. He mustn't have slept last night. Keith checked the time on his phone... he would admit, it was a lot earlier than usual for Pico. Usually when they met up it'd be mid afternoon, but of course, it was still morning. Granted, Keith himself forgot about Pico's sleeping habits and said they'd meet up at at least 10am, so it could partially be his own fault.

"Let's go inside before you pass out." Keith laughed, grabbing Pico's hand and walking inside. It was only a kiss, but, that surely couldn't stop him from being more touchy with Pico. Pico compliantly let Keith take his hand, walking inside with him.

They ordered their coffees and sat down. As their coffees were placed down before them, Pico yawned.
"Hey, Keith, uh... if it isn't a bad question, how long were you and Molly together?"

"Huh? Oh! Uh... maybe... 6 months? 7? I know it doesn't seem long, but it sure felt like it..." Keith sighed. "Er- I mean that in a good way."

"Cool, cool..." Pico nodded a little, before yawning again. He made an annoyed sound, before leaning on Keith.

"Ha, I thought you didn't get enough sleep."

"Shut up."

Keith laughed again, then looked back down at his coffee. His smile faded, as he remembered something he was going to ask. He glanced at Pico, who was resting his eyes, and closed his own, gulping.

"I also have... a bit of an awkward question to ask..." Keith mumbled. He didn't mumble often. Very little did he feel nervous about saying something - even if he did feel nervous, he was pretty loud.

"Hm?" Pico hummed, opening his tired eyes. "Yeah, sure. I mean, may as well."

"You uh... a while ago, didn't... didn't you say you were looking for someone? Like, you know, a partner, you said?"

"Well... that was back then. I didn't really know you back then. If I'm honest, I only wanted to get one to beat you."

"...oh. Uh... so you aren't interested anymore?" Keith didn't mean to sound sad. He only broke up with Molly yesterday, but the underlying tone in his words was painfully clear.

"Nope." And yet... Pico couldn't tell. "Well...?"
He paused a moment, thinking. It was barely a few seconds, but it felt so long.
"Mmm....maybe? Depends. Why?"

"Oh-!" Keith didn't expect the "why". The last thing he wanted was the "why". God, now he had to come up with a reason as to "why".

"Oh, nothing, it's just-" shit. He could tell the truth. Alternatively, he could lie...but...he wasn't good at lying. It was his worst skill.

God, what was he even thinking? He told himself it was only a kiss less than 20 minutes ago. There couldn't have been anything behind it. If anything, he was giving himself false hope of another relationship he could just lose interest in like the other.

"Nothing. Don't worry. It wasn't that important." he was still mumbling. Pico raised a brow.

"What?" Pico scoffed with a grin. "Were you hoping to get with me?"
He began to laugh, before noticing Keith not even cracking a smile, leading his own to fade. Instead, Keith just tensed his shoulders, facing away.

"...W- Wait... really?"

Keith gulped, glancing at Pico. "Well. It's probably too early, anyway, and even if it wasn't, you probably aren't interested and-"

"Nonono, no, shut up, it- I mean, I- uh-" Pico started panicking himself, fumbling over his own words. The situation was sudden. It was hard to pick what went where. "I mean, y- you're right, we probably shouldn't just... suddenly get together straight after a break up but... I don't mind getting, y'know, gradually  closer to you."

"I...In a friend... or..."

"Of course as more than a friend, fucking idiot! I mean, I don't really wanna call you my "boyfriend" anytime soon but, I don't mind starting to act like one."

Keith smiled a little. It quickly grew wide, as he grinned so hard his mouth started to ache. "Y- Yeah that- that's cool!"

"Well, good thing we came to a conclusion." Pico huffed, pausing a moment. Quietly, he shuffled closer to Keith, leaning against him. "...Keith."

After the coffee shop, Keith walked Pico home per usual. They stood outside the apartment block a moment.

"I'll see you tomorrow?" Keith asked, letting go of his hand.

"Uh... yeah. You're free to come over."

"Cool, cool..."

They both looked at each other with a heavy silence surrounding them. Swiftly, Pico pecked Keith's forehead, murmuring 'bye' and speed walking up to his apartment. Keith, despite being taken back by the brief moment, laughed, waving to Pico.

"Bye!" He called out before almost skipping all the way home in a much needed good mood.

( End )