Klance College AU

Chapter 6~ Tension

Lance's POV—

"Should I even go in there?!" Lance asked while pacing in Hunk and Matt's dorm. "He's gonna hate me! I can't even believe I enjoyed it! Man, he's gonna be so mad."

"Don't be so hard on yourself. He's probably just as flustered as you are," Hunk tried to reassure him.

"Yeah. If he kissed you at all on his own he's gotta have some kind of feelings for you, however complicated." Matt added.

It was late after dinner and Lance had been in dorm 411 for an hour now. He hadn't eaten any food and his mind was overwhelmed. He was unsure if he should go back to Keith and he was losing his mind over the passionate kiss they shared before dinner.

"What do I do?!" Lance pulled on his short hair and continued pacing in the living room.

"Well, he never finished his dinner... maybe you could bring him some?" Hunk's solutions always seemed to include food. "People are easier to reason with when they're full."

"Right!" Lance stopped pacing as if a lightbulb flicked on in his head. "I'll get some food from the grocer on the first floor and I cook him something!" He took a sharp breath in. "Also pick up his jacket. It's been in the laundry room dryer for, like, days. Hopefully the stain came out." He mumbled at the end.

"What stain?" Matt asked, now too curious.

"Uhh, if Hunk didn't tell you already, I smashed Keith into the stairs on the first day and he got a bad nosebleed. He got blood all over the white cuff of his jacket, so I took it and washed it."

"Ohh, okay." Matt smiled and leaned back into the couch. "He'll probably be happy to have his jacket back then." Matt couldn't help but smirk knowing Lance had done that for Keith. He was almost as giddy as his sister.

"Yeah!" Lance immediately left their dorm and headed for the laundry room to get Keith's jacket. He got it first and went downstairs to the store. He may or may not have wanted to wear the red, white and yellow coat if he wasn't already wearing plated armour.

Keith's POV—

It was getting late and Shiro had left after ensuring Keith was safe and stable. He had changed into his pyjamas and huddled with Shiro for over an hour just talking. Keith had told him everything, excluding the fact that the kiss he shared with Lance was passionate- too passionate for him to admit as his first.

He spread himself out on the couch with Lance's blanket over him which they had left from the previous night. His stomach rumbled loudly and all Keith did was groan and turn onto his side. He hadn't eaten dinner, and no matter how much he hated the food goo or said he didn't need to eat it because he was full, he was starving from not eating nearly enough.

Keith could feel his heart beating, slow and repetitive. His breathing was steady and strong. He was over aware at that moment and jumped out of it when the door slid open without so much as a knock.

His heart beat faster. Is it Lance? Is it another student who shouldn't be in here? Why didn't they knock? Lance would've knocked, right? He was nervous to no end until he heard the door close and a light turn on in the kitchen. The light barely lit any of the living room and Keith heard plastic bags being rustled as they were placed on the counter.

Cupboards opened and pans clashed. It was rather noisy, but evened our after a small click from what Keith assumed to be the dials on the stove. Soon enough, packages were opened and something was sizzling in a pan. Keith didn't move, but he listened intently for a voice or something else. He figured it was probably Lance, and he didn't dare look, especially if it was Lance.

Suddenly, the room filled with the scent of cooked meat. Seasonings filled the air and Keith took it all in. It had been years since he'd smelled something so delicious.

"S- sorry," a voice emanated from the other side of the room. "I didn't ask what you liked, I just bought a bunch of groceries."

Phew, it's just Lance. It's Lance. It's Lance. Oh, quiznack. Is he gonna bring up earlier? Oh no, please say he won't!

Keith tensed up underneath the fluffy blue blanket as his stomach lurched and made a terribly loud grumble. Ugh, how embarrassing!

"Heh, someone's hungry." There was more sizzling and Lance was opening a few more packages before getting out plates. "I figured, since you didn't have any dinner, and you haven't been eating nearly enough."

That's exactly what I said. Or thought, rather.

Keith sat up and shivered. He got so used to the warmth of the blanket that when it fell off him, the room was freezing. He hobbled over to the island chairs and saw nothing less than a dozen or so bags of assorted foods. He also noticed his bright red jacket laying neatly out in front of him.

"Hmm," he made a small noise as he picked it up and slid it on. It was cold, but soon absorbed his minimal body heat and warmed up his torso.

Lance looked over his shoulder. "Did the stain come out? I forgot to check. I just kinda grabbed it and left."

Keith examined the cuff and it looked as good as new. "Mhmm."

"Look," Lance started, collecting some items from opened packages. "Earlier."

Keith tensed up and blushed uncontrollably. Shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot! No...

"I'm sorry. I... didn't think you'd actually do it, and I sincerely apologize for..."

"Hmm?"

"I dunno. I was going to say giving you false indications, but..." Lance's voice trailed off again and he started cutting something and setting up plates with food Keith couldn't see. "It wasn't fake, really."

"Fake?" Keith's voice was hoarse from crying earlier and then not speaking for a while. He cleared his throat and looked up at the tall boy in front of him.

"Matt tried to convince me that if you kissed me by your own will, then you must have some kind of feelings towards me."

Keith choked. Is he going to ask? Is that what this is? He's trying to make me fess up?

"Sorry, I..." Lance sighed. "I'll stop. Sorry."

"I can't!" Keith shouted suddenly. With a burst of energy and flustered adrenaline, he ran into his room and shut the door immediately, trying to escape the inevitable.

Oh, quiznack, why does this have to be so complicated?

Lance's POV—

Keith had slammed his door shut and Lance couldn't help but feel like he made it worse. Something had to make this better.

He was fixing up his family's special, tacos, specifically for that reason. He fried the meat and had taco shells set up for the two boys. Lance had assumed, by how picky Keith was at the caf, that he wouldn't want anything too... flavourful in his meal. He kept Keith's tacos to meat, cheese and lettuce. Lance's tacos, on the other hand, were piled to the brim with meat, cheese, tomatoes, salsa, lettuce, and beans.

Lance grabbed the two plates and gathered the courage to knock on Keith's door. "Keith...?"

He heard a muffled noise of acknowledgment from the other side.

"Can I come in...?"

"S- Sure..."

Lance slowly opened the door to Keith's black and red decorated room. He held the two plates of tacos and hesitantly held one out to Keith as the door closed behind him. "I... I made tacos..."