At Dawn - Klance

3 - Free Falling

So throw on the black dress, mix in with the lot
You might wake up and notice you're someone you're not
If you look in the mirror and don't like what you see
You can find out firsthand what it's like to be me  

~

Keith felt awkward. He knew that he didn't know much about Lance, but the scars hit Keith hard. How much did he not know about Lance? He pondered this thought as he picked up a small branch. He tested the sturdiness by slightly bending it. The wood snapped, spraying small pieces outwards. Sighing, Keith moved further into the forest. 

I mean, something really bad would've been revealed in the bonding exercises. Right? Keith picked up another stick, though this one was much larger. He tested it. The wood seemed a lot sturdier, though it had a rough texture. One piece down. He continued searching for more pieces.

Keith gathered a few more sticks that qualified and sat on the soggy ground to think a bit. He thought he at least knew who Lance was. Cocky Lance. Lance who was flirtatious and was attracted to hot girls. The blue paladin who loved to make terrible jokes and push everyone of Keith's buttons. Lance who made everyone happy and content in any dark situation. Lance who was perfect. He got along with anybody from anywhere. With anyone but...

Keith caught himself from going down that train of thought. Was he really about to go there? He quickly stood and began to look for a rope type material. 

...But maybe that wasn't all to him. There was more than what met the eye. Honestly, it kinda scared Keith. He thought back to all the times he saw Lance at the Garrison. He rarely ever saw him since he had been a cargo pilot at the time. The only thing he did remember vividly was the time he first saw Lance fly the simulator. 

-

He had left the commander's office to confirm his departure from the Garrison, but he decided to look around a bit before heading to the dorms to begin packing. Though, it wasn't allowed to roam, he decided to take the risk. He carefully walked down a corridor and saw a rather large crowd gathered around the flying simulator. Though he was no longer a cadet, he was still wearing the uniform so he blended in nicely with the crowd. He glanced around for the supervisor anxiously. He sighed with relief when he noticed it was the old man who was always napping.

Keith looked at the screens to observe and was horrified. This was his replacement and he couldn't even fly! To be fair, it wasn't the worst he had seen, but it was definitely not the best. He had already lost one engine and another one was failing. It all ended quickly as the engineer thew up on the control board, causing the software to malfunction. Of course, the simulation was a failure, but it was miracle they had lasted for as long as they did. 

The pilot sauntered out and revealed no one other than Lance McClain. He had a lopsided smirk plastered to his face. It didn't make any sense. He had failed, yet he seemed ecstatic. After the simulator was failed and the supervisor didn't appear to wake up, the cadets began to leave to take advantage of the free time.

"That was amazing, Hunk! I am so pumped to do it again," Lance said, placing a hand out to help his green-faced friend. 

"We crashed," said an unfamiliar cadet. They had glasses and short, light-brown hair. Frankly, Keith couldn't tell the gender so he stuck with gender neutral terms. 

"But we flew," Lance said with a dreamy look in his eyes and a gentle smile. Keith couldn't help, but smile too. He had remembered what it felt like to start out as a fighter pilot. Unfortunately, the happy moments faded as he got used to the position. 

"I wouldn't call that flying," Someone snickered in the now small and dissipating crowd. Lance jolted out of his daydream and suddenly, his tan face appeared to pale. It made Keith mad and he instantly began to look around for the rude cadet, but Hunk ended things quickly.