The Monster in the Sky. Klance AU

Chapter 22: Investigation

"So what, you're together now?" Lance questioned, raising his eyebrows as he waited for an answer. Keith turned his head and refused to make eye contact whilst James blushed so much that he could have been mistaken for a tomato.

"I guess..." Keith eventually ended up mumbling. He seemed more absorbed in a loose thread in his trousers than in the conversation topic. Lance's eyes dropped to where Keith's hand was lingering besides James's, too nervous to actually touch him but clearly wanting to do so.

"Oh my God," Pidge jumped up with enough power to shake the room. She stormed towards James and poked him in the middle of his chest so he stumbled backwards from the force. James looked petrified as he shakily raised his hands in defence. "You better not lay a hand on him or I will find you. I know how to get away with murder, by the way."

(Little did James know, his boyfriend knew how to get away with it too.) (This is by far the best line in the entire book.)

The colour drained from James's face and, upon noticing, Keith finally reached out and connected their hands. The subject of hurting people and abuse was still touchy for James, even though his father and long since gone. It wasn't quite as bad as Shiro's PTSD but that didn't make it any less valid and Keith wanted James to feel comfortable around his friends; not threatened. "He won't hurt me. Leave him alone, Pidge."

"Good." Pidge broke out into a grin that made the entire room question how her mood was able to change so quickly. "Now, Hunk and I have some business to attend to." With that, she grabbed Hunk's arm and tugged him out of the room so they could continue working on the technology with the Garrison's top scientists. Unsurprisingly, it was a high-demand job that took up most of their time.

Shiro let out a satisfied sigh, smiling at Keith and James who still seemed rather bashful about their relationship. He raised his human hand to pat Keith on the shoulder in a way that was full of pride before mumbling, "I'm glad you two get on so well. You suit each other."

"Thanks..." James and Keith murmured in unison. They were hanging their heads so both had a tuft of fringe hanging over their eyes, still embarrassed. If Lance was happier for them, he would have laughed and called them a pair of emos: that was exactly what they were.

"I need to go too. I promised Adam I'd take him out on enough dates to make up for my disappearance. I have a lot of dinners to make." With a little wave and a grin, Shiro walked out. That left Lance alone with the new couple.

"Congrats..." Lance muttered, though he refused to meet either of their gazes. At some point, his hands had snaked into the pockets of his jeans and his shoulders had slumped in a way that made it appear like he took the news negatively. Still, he forced a smile.

"Are you alright?" Keith could see right through his friend as if he was a transparent pane of glass. "You seem upset." Keith was the one to state the obvious: he had never been one to beat around the bush. Lance shook his head before making something up about needing to be somewhere and fleeing the conversation. James's eyes didn't leave the paladin until he was out of the door and out of sight. He couldn't help but feel like Lance was bothered but he could only hope it wasn't for the reason he thought it was.

-

"Did you hear?" Robin questioned, leaning back in her chair so she could make eye contact with Bentley. Since starting the case, the bags beneath Bentley's eyes had thickened in size and nearly everyone on the precinct had noticed. Despite constantly teasing the youngest of them, they did sympathise with him since they knew he had a young baby at home and was short on money. They saw him as the little kid in the precinct; someone they had to look after.