Chapter 12
The car ride to Shiro’s was fairly quick but Lance could not get the thought of Keith out of his head. What if Shiro was wrong? What if Keith wasn't asleep? He wouldn’t lie though. Would he? No, he reminded himself, there is NO way that Shiro, his boyfriend would lie to him or hide any secrets from him. He trusts him with his life. His brain was buzzing with anxiety just at the thought of betrayal.
Although Lance could feel his panic rising as he got closer and closer to Shiro’s, he knew that he couldn’t keep avoiding Keith and the others. It's time to face his fears.
He quietly tapped the steering wheel in order to try to relax. He sang along to the beat of the blinkers at every turn. I can do this. I CAN DO THIS. He pushed himself forward and onward to Shiro’s.
He just has to figure out how to handle the situation. Shiro could give him some advice, and besides, he was really looking forward to hanging out with his friends again. He misses them so much.
Quicker than he realized, he was soon pulling up into the driveway of Shiro’s house. He took the key out of the ignition and got out of the car, as he locked the door and slung the keys into the back pocket of his P’J’s.
He silently prayed he wouldn’t lose them again like last time when he was at Shiro’s. He had left his keys on the dresser when he went to pick up Shiro, and Cosmo, Keith's dog had pulled them off of the counter. Long story short they ended up on the roof of the house to everyone's surprise. Cosmo, he thought, what a weird name for a husky.
He was quickly greeted by Shiro as they met each other on the porch of the house.
“Hey? Are you ok?” Shiro questioned, “You seemed to have a lot on your mind, want to tell me what's going on?”
“Yeah, I’ve been dying to talk to someone about this” he replied as they both sat down on the deck of the porch.
“I just don’t know what to do Shiro,” Lance brokedown, desperately trying to regain his composure. He just wanted to be happy go lucky Lance again, not friendless lance who everyone hated, ignored and made fun of.
“I’m just so stressed out! I don’t know what to do, I don’t know what to say to the others, How do I handle this I just can’t…..”
In one swift motion Shiro wrapped his arms around Lance, as he noticed that he began to hyperventilate. He pulled him into a warm embrace. Shiro had never been much of a hugger, and to Lance’s surprise, he melted warmly into it.
“Thanks. I really needed that.”
“No problem Lance, now, just calm down and explain the situation to me.”
He slowed his breathing, and began to tell shiro how he feels. “I should forgive them. I mean, I hate that they ignored me, and I still don’t understand why they did it, but they regret it. They knew how insecure I was, how insecure I still am, and still they made me feel like trash. They must be sorry, because they’ve gone out of their way to apologize, but I just don’t know what to do. I miss hanging out with all of them. Especially Hunk and Pidge, and besides it’s really awkward when I’m here with you and Keith's around.
“Why? Keith? He’s harmless. All bark and no bite…….. Mostly” Shiro replied second guessing himself.
“He gives me this death stare, and it sends shivers up my spine! C’mon! Doesn’t he do it to you? He’s just so intimidating!”
“Honestly, my little brother should not be a problem, and besides I would never ever let him get in the way of our relationship.”
“Promise?” Lance questioned,
“I promise.” Shiro said.
“Ok. Then, what should I do about the others?”
“Just tell them how you feel, exactly like you just told me. Forgive them, and then everything will go back tomorrow, and nothing will change between all of us. We’ll still all be friends, bug you while you’re working at the diner…”
Lance laughed at the thought.
“...It will be back to old times again. Don’t worry, everything will work itself out in the end.” Shiro said to him.
“Thank you so much, for everything Shiro.” He yawned as he laid down on his boyfriends lap.
They stared up at the sky, watching the moon and all of the twinkling stars up above them.
“I didn’t do anything. I think you knew this all along.” He smiled at Lance as he began drifting asleep.
...
Soon enough, Lance was asleep, laying on top of Shiro. Shiro carefully picked him up, and took him to his room. He put him in his bed and tucked him under the covers.
He could not help but feel guilty about the situation himself. There was a lot he was hiding from Lance, and even though it was unintentional, he knew that it would wreck him. He contemplated what to do as he paced up and down the hallway. He needed to come clean, and tell Lance that he went along with the others plan of ignoring him, even though he knew how it would make Lance feel. But first, he had to forgive himself.
Little did he know that in his panic, he woke up Keith.
And yet a sleep deprived, angry, yelling, arguing Keith wasn’t even the worst of his problems to come. Or was it?
