Accidental Intentions

34 • Bed

What. Was. That.

Lance couldn't take it any more. He sat upright, his back to Keith.

"I'm taking a shower," he announced. "Now."

Keith didn't respond, nor did Lance expect him to. Not after that. Lance was able to maintain a composed posture until he shut the bathroom door behind him. He crumpled instantly, cradling his head.

Whatwasthatwhatwasthatwhatwasthat!? Lance mentally screamed at himself over and over again.

Somehow he found the will power to drag himself up and turn the shower on cold. Stripping, he walked into the freezing stream with a shaky inhale as the cold seeped its way into his core. It was uncomfortable and he hated it, but he desperately needed it right now.

He was mad at Pidge for barging in and inviting Keith to stay the night. He was mad at Hunk for messing up on the patch job and making the door sticky. Actually, Pidge had broken in earlier so that was probably her fault too. But most of all, Lance was angry with himself.

Sure, he was into guys just as much as he was into girls. Sure, Keith was cute. But, come on, he was Keith. Lance didn't hate the guy, not really. But he sure didn't like him either. Was he so desperate for love and attention that he was willing to share that with Keith? No. Share was not the correct word. He had Keith pinned, the Red Paladin had been completely under his control. Keith had struggled against his grip. What the fuck was wrong with him?

The water was doing wonders for his clarity of thought, but the clearer things got, the less Lance was able to handle it.

Compelling himself not to collapse again, he instead focused on the problem at hand. He was naked in the shower, trying to get his body under control. Keith was on the other side of the bathroom door, in Lance's bed, no doubt freaking out since the person he hated most had just tried to force a kiss on him. And it's not like he could leave, Keith was trapped in with him since the bedroom door refused to open. Lance toyed with the idea of just spending the night in the bathroom, hard edges and all.

When he had calmed down he turned off the water. He realized he had left his socks on. Donning his watermelon atrocity, he steeled himself as he placed hand on the doorknob. In the best circumstances, Keith would be asleep and Lance could make a nest out of the clothing on the floor and deal with it tomorrow. But of course, when he opened the door Keith was wide awake, arms crossed and staring, a complicated look plastered on his face. Lance figured he should be used to facing his rival in embarrassing circumstances by now. But he was not.

"I'll sleep on the fl--"

"Can I ask you a question?" Keith interrupted his rushed declaration.

This was it.

Lance nodded his head and looked at the floor. He supposed this conversation would happen sometime. The conversation where Keith would ask him outright if he was bi. Lance had tried hard to hide the truth, but he didn't think he could lie to a question fired at point blank. He was almost sure that Keith already knew, but there was something in admitting it to another person. Yeah, Pidge knew. But Pidge was different. She knew herself so completely and accepted herself proudly. Of course she would accept him. But this was Keith. Keith who looked down on him. Keith with the stupid hair. Keith with the fire to his ice, the Scorpion to his Sub-Zero.

"Where in the universe did you get that awful thing?"

It took Lance a moment to realize that Keith was asking after his pajamas.

"What? These?" Lance pulled at the flannel material on his chest.

Keith nodded.

"Allura made them for me," Lance recovered enough to announce proudly.

"Liar."

Lance tried his best to look wounded. Given his current state of mind, it took barely any effort.

Keith stared at him keenly until his false face broken and morphed into what he was really feeling. Which wasn't much different. But Keith noticed.

Keith considered a moment before he said, "You can sleep here. That won't happen again."

He said it with a confidence that could only come from a surety of knowing. Lance didn't understand how Keith could trust him. Lance knew that he wouldn't do anything, not after that. But his actions forfeited any trust Keith had in him. And he could never take that back.

"But--"

"You're not sleeping on the floor, Lance," Keith interrupted as he moved to make room for Lance.

"I really don't think that's a good idea."

"You won't even know I'm here."

Lance wasn't sure how, given that then bed was intended for one person. Didn't know how he felt about sharing with someone else. Especially since that someone else was Keith.

"Okay, but can you turn the other way? My cousins and I use to do this when there was more people than beds."

Keith moved so his head was at the good of the bed and his head rested on the pillow.

"No. Sideways. Like this," Lance directed nervously as he climbed into the bed and curled into a ball so that his feet and head didn't fall off the sides.

Keith motioned to do the same and looked to Lance for approval when he had finished shifting.

Lance's heart was pounding so loud that he was sure Keith could hear it. Not from desire, no. Whatever that was, the moment had passed. It was more from embarrassment of what he had almost done. What he had wanted to do. What kind of person did that make him?

Turning his back to Keith, Lance sat with himself and reevaluated his sense of self. Eventually he tried to clear his thoughts and get some sleep.