Shut Up and Dance With Me

Chapter 9: Smile

Summary:

Hunk looks up, rubbing the back of his neck. "It means you're, you know, you, and with Keith coming over tonight, I don't want it to be awkward... you know?"

"Why would it be awkward? I just told you I was gonna treat him normally!"

"He means he doesn't want to deal with your unresolved sexual tension." Pidge cuts in matter-of-factly.

"There's nothing to resolve! We're just friends!" They both give him blank stares, and he glares at them. "I'm serious! Just friends, and I'll be totally normal. You'll see. No awkwardness, no tension. I'll be chill. Cool as ice. I got this."

........................................................................

"Piiiiidge! What am I going to dooooo?" He whines, flopping his arms a little for added effect. He's lying on their living room floor, arms sprawled out on either side of him and feet propped up on the coffee table.

"You're going to man up." They say, sounding bored. He doesn't blame them. He's been whining like this for a while now. He just can't stop. It's on his mind, and so he's going to talk about it. End of story. Luckily, his friends are used to him by now. Besides, he listens to Hunk when he talks about his new recipes or inventions, and he listens to Pidge when they're excited about all their tech mumbo jumbo or ranting about their grad school classes. The least they can do it listen to Lance when his world is a confusing mess.

It's what friends are for.

"You hate that phrase..." He mumbles.

Pidge makes a sound that sounds a lot like "Huyup," as they toss a grape at him from their spot on the couch. At the sound, Lance glances up in time to see the grape and shifts his head just a little to catch it easily in his mouth. He's a grape catching champ.

"You're right, I do." They said idly, eating their own grape as they idly scroll through their phone, both legs pulled up onto the couch as they nest in the corner. "But in this case, I'm using the word 'man' in reference to its use as a short for 'mankind' and the implications of being an adult."

"What's the difference?"

"I'm not telling you to be a man. I'm telling you to grow the fuck up and don't be a child."

"I'm not a child!" He whines, limbs flopping. That earns him a raised brow and a barely contained upturn of their lips.

"Coulda fooled me."

"Surrounded by sass."

"You chose this life."

"This life chose me."

Pidge makes a noncommittal grunt and heaves another grape his way. He shifts to catch it, but this one bounces off his cheek and rolls across the floor. He snorts and grabs for it, blowing it off before popping it in his mouth.

"Your aim sucks."

"You suck."

"I knooow, Pidge! That's my problem! So can we get back to the whole what should I do thing?"

"I already told you."

"Telling me to man up isn't an answer, Pidge."

Pidge snorts. "What I mean, Lance, is that you're an adult. He's an adult. Adults kiss people. Adults at clubs kiss people. Adult friends sometimes kiss each other. It doesn't have to mean anything if you don't want it to mean anything." They pause, looking up from their phone to gaze at him owlishly, both eyebrows raised. "Do you want it to mean something?"