Solving Keith

Happy Birthday, Bitch!

The almost kiss went entirely undiscussed, leaving Lance to wonder if it even happened in the first place. Lance back walked to Keith's house early the next morning, precisely-wrapped present in hand.

He shivers against the wind, trudging through the red, brown, and orange crunchy leaves that littered the sidewalk.

He looks up at Keith's house from the road, sighing.

After about five minutes of debating and almost turning around, he knocks on the door. He pulls downs his sweater and shifts his weight from foot to foot, anxiously waiting.

Shiro opens the door, still in his pajamas. "Hey, Lance," he says gruffly, taking a sip of his coffee. He spots the present and his eyes widen as his smile grows, "Ooh! Is that for Keith?" He whispers excitedly.

Lance nods, "is he here?"

Shiro nods back, "he's upstairs in his room. He might be working out, so he'll probably have his headphones on. Just open the door."

"Thanks," Lance says, stepping inside and taking off his shoes. "Is he back to normal?"

"Yep. Not a speck of purple in sight," Shiro chuckles. Lance smiles and nods, turning to make his way up the stairs. He takes in the wall of trophies and awards Keith has won over the years. He can't help but smile at the little pictures of a baby Keith, who still looked as angry as always.

Keith was, of course, working out, Lance could hear him grunting through the door. He turns the knob and steps in, spotting Keith on the floor doing one-handed push-ups.

Lance scoffs at him and bumps him with his foot.

Keith grunts, looking up. He sees Lance and gets to his feet, putting his headphones around his neck. "What are you doing here?"

Lance smiles playfully, holding out the box. "Happy Birthday!" He says cheerfully, shaking the box at him.

Keith scowls, looking down at the box with a frustrated sigh, "I told you, I don't celebrate my birthday."

Lance lowers the box a little, shrugging and rolling his eyes, "well, I got this for you anyway. Open it!"

Keith's brow furrows deeper, "I don't want it," he grunts, putting his headphones back on, getting back down onto his hands.

Lance rolls his eyes and thumps him again. "I came all the way here to bring you this! The least you can do is open it."

Keith growls and gets back up. He steps closer to Lance, looking down at him with a grimace. "I said, I. Don't. Want. It." He emphasizes each word with a finger to Lance's chest.

Lance scoffs, "what is with you? You're in a horrible mood."

Keith huffs and grabs Lance by his shoulders, "because, you're bothering me. You can't just decide to show up here whenever you want to! I don't want you here and I don't want your present. Now, get out."

Lance stands in the doorway in stunned silence as Keith drops his hands from his shoulders.

His face burns in embarrassment as he bites his cheek, looking up at Keith with knitted brows. "Fine. Be that way," he snaps, shoving the present at Keith. "You are so frustrating, do you know that? You're mean, then you flirt with me, then you're grumpy and then you like me, now you're mad again! You make no fucking sense!" He huffs, tears falling before he quickly turns away, slamming the door and stomping down the stairs.

He mumbles a small apology to Shiro, sniffling as he pulls his boots back on, rushing out the door.

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Shiro watches Lance leave with a worried expression, hurrying upstairs.