Outer space | klance au |

17: mass casualty

A hand came down on his shoulder and Lance nearly jumped out of his skin. "Hey Lance!" Romelle choked on her sandwich as Shiro settled beside him. Lance could feel Shiro's warm and lingering touch, he shivered. A smile etching its way into his features as he met eyes with the older male. Shiro grinned at him before glancing over at his friend. "Pollux right?" The blonde girl nodded as she coughed, her pigtails moved with the movement.

"You can just call me Romelle. It's nice to finally meet you when I'm sober." The girl smiled and took a sip of her water. Her smile didn't quite meet her eyes. Lance never thought about what Romelle must think of the older doctor. He began to wonder what she actually thought of Shiro.

"Same to you. Sorry we had such an unfortunate first meeting." Shiro scratched the back of his neck uncomfortably. Lance felt the need to change the subject so the older male was more comfortable. He cleared his throat which got the attention of his company.

"What's up?" He smiled through his heartbreak. Things were supposed to be better between them so he had to act like things were better. Lance didn't want to show his true feelings or how tore up he still really was over it. Despite everything part of Lance still liked Shiro. Even if he knew his crush was in love with someone else Lance couldn't help but like him.

His question seemed to make the older male remember something. His eyes brightened and he patted his full coat pocket. The book barely fit in the deep pocket."I actually have something for you from Keith?" Lance felt himself brighten at the mention of the other man's names. "It's his favorite book." He reached into his lab coat pocket and produced the orange copy of the book. Lance took it gingerly in his hands, feeling the worn cover and the broken spine of the book. It showed how often the other man read it.

"Isn't that book linked with a bunch of killers?" Romelle broke the silence as she tore into a pack of fruit snacks. Lance gave her a look and the woman just shrugged. She offered some gummies to Lance who took some. It was something they did everyday, a sort of ritual.

"I actually think you're right." Shiro mused and smiled at the pair. "I think I remember reading that book in middle school or something." He laughed and Lance's chest tightened painfully.

"Am I seriously the only one who hasn't read it? I know I can't be the only one." Lance set down his cup of ramen on the tabletop and Shiro seemed to frown at it. He became self conscious of his lunch. The other man didn't say anything about even though Lance thought he would. It was a pleasant and sad surprise.

Romelle noticed though. "Yeah Lance is cool with the lunch ladies and they'll heat up just about anything he asks." She forced a laugh and Shiro smiled at her. It was awkward.

"So I can't believe Keith is letting you borrow the book. He won't even let me borrow a book." There was something pained about his expression and Lance loathed it.

"I'm sure it's because he wants to educate me in good literature." Lance played with the remaining noodles in the cup. He actually wasn't sure why Keith was letting him borrow it. Shiro made another face and before Lance could ask him what was wrong he changed the subject.

"So I heard that you're Kaltenecker's favorite students." Shiro smiled and Lance felt himself nodding.

"I wouldn't say favorite but he definitely tolerates us over some of our classmates." Romelle said offhandedly. She began gathering her trash into a neat pile.

"He hates me." Shiro leaned back in his chair and the other two doctors in training laughed. "The feelings were pretty mutual between us but I can I always rely on him for a good consult in the ER." Shiro nodded.

"How do you like your residency?" Lance asked. "I mean have the hours gotten better?" Romelle seemed generally curious as well since she leaned her elbows on the table.