Bloody Texas

Maybe You'll See a Rainbow if You Stare Long Enough

Lance and Keith hit the road again the next day. Lance stretched his legs out with a strained yawn and turned down the radio, "Hey Keith?"

Keith took a drink of his Redbull, "Yeah?"

He leaned over the console to rest his head on Keith's shoulder, "Talk to me, I'm bored." The green landscape out the window got old the first few times he saw it. He was ready for a new adventure.

Keith wrapped an arm around his neck, "You're bored?" He took an exit off the highway, "Then how about we do something?"

Lance sat up and inspected the town as they entered. It was small and tucked away. The kind where everyone knew everything about everyone. Keith stopped at a petite ice cream shop and Lance picked out a birthday cake waffle cone; Keith got a cup of butter pecan. They brought the treats out to a little field in the country- which wasn't far from the shop. They sat on the hood of the car and admired the landscape.

The tall grass swayed back and forth with the wind. Sunlight cast a glittering shine onto them, adding to the summer ambience. A few cows stared at them from a distant fence and mooed occasionally. The car was parked in a small gravel area off a thin dirt road. Behind them were trees and brush. Lance found it pretty, but not as pretty as the places Keith took him.

A hand squeezed his thigh, "How's the ice cream?"

Lance smirked and leaned toward him, "I was actually curious how yours tastes."

"Wow," Keith brought a hand up to Lance's neck, "that was smooth."

They laughed as they leaned into a kiss. The mixture of distinct sugars was almost as sweet as the kiss itself. Lance's mouth curved into a wide smile and he giggled against Keith's mouth. They pulled away and looked into each other's eyes for a moment before Lance looked down to blush. Keith leaned back onto the windshield with his hands behind his head and stared up at the sky.

After a finishing bite of the crunchy waffle cone, Lance joined him. "See any cool pictures?"

Keith pointed up to a cloud, "Well, that kinda looks like a lion."

He squinted at it, "No it doesn't, it looks like a castle."

"Either one," he chuckled.

Lance closed his eyes to soak up the heat and fill his lungs with the scent of the countryside. The air was laced with the smell of cows, cigarettes, and dirt. Typical. He kept his eyes closed as he spoke, "Hey Keith?"

"Hmm?"

"What do you want to do with your life?"

He could feel Keith look down at him, "What do you mean?"

Lance sighed, "Like your purpose. What do you wanna do while you're alive?"

Keith took a long, deep breath. "Just live. Like this. With you."

Lance's chest ached and he flinched with it. He finally opened his eyes to watch the wispy clouds float across the sky. He gulped, "What about after I'm dead?"

Keith didn't answer. He just let the question fly away with the wind and burrow into the dirt. Lance was thankful he did. In all actuality, he didn't want to hear the answer. "Keith?"

"Hmm?"

His chunky, pastel pink shoes tapped the front bumper as he kicked them. "Do you think somewhere out there, there's a world where we are together and happy? Where I'm not dying and you have everything you ever wanted?"

"Maybe we have a cozy house and some kids?" He joined the fantasy.

"Two kids," Lance corrected. "What would we even name them?"

"Two boys. One would be something cool- like 'Caspian.'"

Lance laughed at the silly idea, "And the other would be something cute- like 'Ellis.'"

"You're not naming our son 'Ellis.'"

"Then you're not naming our son 'Caspian.'"

"Touché."

Keith brought his arm under Lance's head and wrapped it around his shoulders. "Maybe there's a universe where we're fighting off zombies by day and making love by night." His voice was over-exaggerated and dramatic.

Lance laughed so hard he lost his breath. "You're so cheesy." He turned to gaze into his eyes, "I'll never get used to it."

Keith kissed his head sweetly, "Do you want to go to the next place?"

The signature item of the stop: hiking boots. Lance held Keith's hand as they walked down the forest trail. It wasn't long before he felt a little tired, so he slowed to a stop. "Keith, how much further? I'm not feeling too well."

Keith immediately jumped up to him and put his hands on his cheeks. "How bad? Is it serious? Do you need to-"

Lance lightly shoved his arms off, "No, nothing like that. I'm just tired."

"Oh," he turned his back to Lance and held out his arms, "hop on."

"A doctor?" His face lit up, "Come with me." He took a step toward the stairs, but stopped and turned back to Lance. "Here," he held his arms out with his back to him, "hop on."

Lance smiled at the memory and jumped onto his back, "You've done this before."

Keith adjusted his hands to hold Lance's thighs up, "Done what?"

"Carry me on your back when I was hurt." He nuzzled his head into Keith's neck, "When we met."

"Oh, that." Keith's chest jerked as he laughed, "You know, you were the first person that I thought was beautiful. I noticed it when you looked up at me."

"Is that your cheesy speech for the day?"

"Yes, that's all," he joked. They walked for a couple minutes in comfortable silence, then Keith perked up, "There it is."

The sound of rushing water caught Lance's attention and he looked up to inspect his surroundings. Falling off the rocks in a gentle yet powerful fashion was a river of sparkling water. Lance jumped down from Keith's back to trot up to it.

"Come with me," Keith took his hand and led him to the base of it. That's when Lance finally understood what he wanted to show him. Behind the waterfall was a small path to walk behind it. Keith drug him behind the water and let him go to watch his reaction.

Lance was amazed, "How did you know I wanted to see this?"

Keith smirked, "I just know a few things."

Lance admired the water and breathed in the cool mist, "I'm ready."

"For what?"

"The speech."

He shook his head, "There isn't one."

Lance turned to raise an unconvinced eyebrow at him.

"I just wanted to admire you behind a waterfall- a place you wanted to see." He shrugged, "Just to fulfill your wish."

Lance turned back to the small waterfall, "Why would you do that?"

Keith wrapped his arms around Lance's waist and kissed the nape of his neck, "Just 'cuz I love you."