Unmasked - Klance, Young Justice AU

Yakgwa and Masks

Keith hadn't been lying when he told the others that big parties weren't his thing. If he had it his way he'd be training in the Batcave, practicing his fencing, or in his room reading, alone. 'I hate people...' he thought as he maneuvered through the seemingly endless crowd. He let out a sigh of relief as he finally reached the speedster; just in time to hear him mumble, "Are these cakes or cookies or... some fancy... something I don't know."

Keith couldn't suppress the small smile that now graced his face. He stealthily peeked around the Cuban teen to the food he was questioning. The other boy's gaze was on a triple tiered display stand filled with orangish brown, flower shaped desserts. They didn't quite look like cake but they were thicker than cookies usually were.

"Those are Yakgwa." the boy wonder explained, causing the brunette to jump and turn around.

"Wha What?"

The older teen couldn't keep his chuckle from escaping his lips as he grabbed two of the cookies from the stand and handed one to his surprised friend, "They're called Yakgwa. They're Korean honey cookies," he took a bite from his before adding, "Sorry for surprising you by the way."

"Oh! No! I mean... It's ok. No problem. No harm done," Lance shook his head and hands back and forth. His gaze dropped to the sweet still in his hand, "Soooo, Korean?"

The shorter teen nodded, "Shiro likes having a lot of verities of food at these things. There's always at least one Korean food," he took another bite as the speedster just kept staring in confusion, "I'm Korean," he informed the confused hero before lowering his voice, "I just hope Shiro knows that these honey cookies are the only Korean food I actually recognize from before I met him."

Lance blinked a few times before bursting into laughter, "It's the thought that counts right? And these do look delicious." he took a bite of his own cookie; and then promptly started scarfing down the rest of it.

Keith laughed at the speedsters antics, "I take it they taste as good as you thought they would?"

"Dios mio, yes!" the Cuban answered, "Better even!" he swiped another cookie from the stand.

The Korean couldn't help but smile at the other teens enthusiasm, "You seem to really like food. You've been here every time I looked over." he commented with a curious tone. He finished his first sweet at the same time the speedster finished off his second and grabbed a third. Robin already knew why of course, but Keith didn't.

"Oh, well," Kid Flash paused. Keith also knew that the Cuban could be pretty self-conscious about it too, "Super speed comes with a super metabolism. I have to eat, like, way more than non-speedsters." he shrugged and took another bite. Most likely feeling embarrassed, he made sure to eat at a normal pace.

"That's cool. Less chance of gaining too much weight, no matter how much you eat." Keith tried to encourage him, "Well, anyways, I haven't introduced myself. I'm Keith Kogane." he held out his hand and smiled warmly.

Lance quickly finished the rest of his cookie and shook his hand, "Oh, I know. Kid Flash... but I'm sure you already figured that out." he smiled sheepishly.

Keith's smile turned into a smirk, "Yeah, I kinda gathered that from your mask."

"And I completely forgot that I was wearing it," his hand automaticly reaching up to said mask, "I figured it would be better to have my friction proof suit in case something happens and I need to move faster than this suit can withstand. Don't think it would be appreciated if I had to run around in my underwear; not that I have anything to be ashamed of," he winked and grinned as the older teen's face turned pink, "Don't worry bout a thing, Mr. Kogane. My teams got everything covered and I swear I won't let even your unbelievable beauty distract me," his grin turned to a soft smile, "I'm here to keep you safe, after all." It took all his courage, but the speedster gave his crush another wink. His heart skipped a beat as Keith went from pink to red, looking both flattered and flustered as a giggle escaped his lips.

"That, that does make sense,"Keith stammered, definitely not prepared enough for Lance's flirting, "And I'm not worried in the slightest. I have complete faith in your team," he hesitated, and stepped a bit closer. He met the other's ocean blue eyes and in a hushed tone he said, "I have complete faith in you, lover boy." smiling softly, he sent Lance a wink of his own and watched the flirtatious teen blush at the taste of his own medicine.

Kid Flash swallowed hard, unable to believe that Keith Kogane was flirting with him. To distract himself he took in the Korean's appearance. He had on a black suit with a red button up underneath, the top two buttons left undone, black dress shoes, and the speedster spotted a black chain around his neck. 'Most likely the pendent he wears all the time.' Lance thought to himself, 'I've always thought that it must be important to him if he takes it everywhere he goes. I wonder why?' His midnight black hair was tied up in it's usual ponytail. Lance's gaze returned to his face and for the first time noticed something off.

"You're not wearing a mask." he phrased it like a statement but his tone was filled with surprise and curiosity.

Keith rubbed the back of his neck, "Yeah," he chuckled nervously, "I know you're supposed to at a masquerade, but I don't them," he put his hands in his pockets and shrugged, "Shiro told me that it was fine if I didn't wear one if it made me more comfortable. So, I don't." It was a partial lie that he hed told dozens of times before, but he still hated it. He hated lying, and though normally he could push away his misgivings; he also wasn't normally lying to his best friend/crush.

Lance's eyes narrowed in concern and his voice was softer as he gently asked, "Why do they make you uncomfortable?"

The boy wonder hesitated as he thought about how to answer. Typically he would just say it was for personal reasons he preferred not to talk about, but this was Lance. The same Lance that had comforted him and looked out for him when he was once temporarily blinded on a mission. Lance was the only reason he hadn't gone into a panic attack that day. He had asked Robin why being blinded had affected him so bad, but Keith couldn't tell him without revealing his real identity.

Keith made a decision right then that by the end of the night Lance would know everything. Whether he figured it out from the hints he'd planned to drop, or if Keith had to out right tell him. Shiro would have to deal with it, and Keith would have to just pray for the best.

This turned out longer than I thought it would be. lol.

Dios mios - My God

Thanks for reading!