His Color Is Red (Voltron Highschool AU)

The Magic Flan~ (Four)

"Hey, Lance, why don't you help Keith make something for tonight?" Pidge asked, nudging him.

The two looked at her, before looking at each other. "Have you ever baked before?" Lance asked him.

Keith shook his head, having never had the opportunity. "Alright, I'll show you a couple things. Maybe we can make the flan at your place. Hopefully Shiro and his mom have the right ingredients." He said. Keith nodded at him.

Keith did find Lance slightly annoying, but he found that trait safe. A talkative person was what Keith needed. Lance made Keith's anxious thoughts and feelings fade away. Keith didn't really know why, though. It was all so foreign to him.

The two walked into the Shirogane's house, after saying goodbye to Pidge and Hunk. The house was empty. Keith started to feel his heart rate go up as he was alone with Lance. Another weird feeling. He was anxious, but he wasn't sure why. This was different.

Lance walked into the house, making himself at home, and sat on the couch, taking off his jacket.

"I've been here a couple times before with Shiro to help me study. Not that it worked. You have a really caring older brother." Lance said.

"He's good to me. Though, I feel like he cares a bit too much..." Keith said, throwing his bag down next to Lance.

"No such thing, mullet..." Lance said.

Lance and the others were very curious as to why Shiro's mom adopted Keith. Shiro kept telling them how he begged his mom to sign the papers. Though, Shiro never told them why or even who Keith really was. Lance was curious, but he had a feeling that he shouldn't bring it up.

The two sat down on the couch together for about half an hour. Lance was explaining to Keith what a flan was. Keith didn't have much experience with sweet food. He actually hadn't really thought about it, only ate what Shiro offered him. So, he decided to make the flan. He figured that if Lance swore it was as good as he made it out to be, he would enjoy it. Even if it didn't taste good. It was something that Lance made with him.

Keith excused himself to get changed into something more comfortable and did not have blood on the sleeve. He went to his room and slipped off his black long sleeved shirt. He looked at himself in the mirror, just taking a moment to look at his scars. A lot of the bruises were starting to fade away, but it still hurt. There were multiple stab wound that had healed and scarred just on his right hip. Keith touched it. Those scars had manifested 7 years ago, and yet somehow they still hurt. Keith swallowed a couple pain killers and then slid on a red T-shirt. Long sleeves of course.

He put on some black leggings and went down to the kitchen. Lance came out from the bathroom. He smiled at Keith, and yelled, "let's get cookin', puta!" But, his smile seemed noticeably forced. Keith decided to ignore it and not ask what puta meant.

Shiro came in just as they had started putting together ingredients in a bowl. "Keith, I'm home!" He yelled.

He walked into the kitchen, where he heard noises in that direction. His eyes widened with surprise when he saw Lance. Keith and Lance were smiling and chatting about how Keith was a natural (despite having not done anything yet). Shiro smiled in the doorway, like a proud parent.

It took Keith a minute to notice. When he did, he would've dropped the bowl he was whisking in if Lance hadnt grabbed it from him. Lance laughed. "Hey, Shiro! Took you long enough. Hanging out with your boyfriend?" Lance asked.

"Uh, yeah, we went to grab a bite at Balmera's," He explained. Balmera's was a popular diner. "What are you two making?"

"Mi abuelita's flan~" Lance said, joyfully. "Keith begged me to help him bake something for tonight."

Keith playfully jabbed him in the arm. Shiro couldn't help chuckling. He was extremely happy, just watching Keith have fun with a friend. After 2 months, Keith finally had a genuine laugh.

"Need help?" Shiro asked.

Shiro ended up helping to finish the flan. Once it was in the oven, they hung around and just talked. Lance mostly told stories about Pidge and Hunk, and Shiro was mostly telling Lance to not corrupt Keith's ears.

Keith left Shiro and Lance on the couch to take care of something.

"I'm glad you two are getting along--"

"Shiro, what the fuck aren't you telling me about Keith?" Lance interrupted.

This caught Shiro off-guard. He shifted his gaze, hoping it wasn't what he thought it was. "What do you mean?" He asked, playing dumb.

"I caught a glimpse of him changing. It looks he got attacked by a fucking wild animal! And he's abnormally skinny! Shiro, what happened to him?!" Lance yelled in a whisper.

Shiro sighed. "If he hears you talking about this, he won't be happy. I'll...I'll explain to you later, but you can't mention this to Keith." He said, harshly.

Lance couldn't get the image of Keith's damaged skin out of his head. He kept quiet about it, because he didn't want to ruin the fun he was having with Keith, but he was so curious. He wanted to know what could have happened to him and why Shiro kept quiet about it. He had so many questions, but managed to push it all to the side and put on a smile when Keith came back down, wearing a jacket and ready to leave.

The other two took a deep breath before getting back into a good atmosphere. Lance took the flan and then the three headed out the door.

They headed to Olcari Heights. Known for a hill of grass perfect for looking at the clear skies. The sun was setting by the time the three started walking up. Shiro and Lance glanced at Keith, whose eyes were sparkling at the sight of the red sky. He smiled, happy that something as simple as a sun set could make his adopted brother smile now.

Pidge, Hunk, Allura, and Coran were already there, and waved them over. They had already set out a blanket and put out the food. Hunk brought the ramen in a large pot with bowls and utensils Pidge brought pigs in a blanket and plates, Allura brought brownies and the blanket, and Coran didn't get the memo.

"We bring fla~an!" Lance yelled as he held up the flan triumphantly. They all booed and the crumpled up napkins at him. "Hey, hey, hey, one bite of this and your taste buds will be turned on overdrive!"

Everyone sat down. No one touched any food. Everyone just sat and watched as the sky turned darker and darker, revealing a black sky with bright and clear stars twinkling. Keith's eyes stared up in awe.

"Isn't it beautiful? I've always wanted to get a closer look..." Pidge said.

Lance looked over to Keith, whose eyes were fixated on the gorgeous clear sky. Lance couldn't look away. "It really is beautiful..." He mumbled to himself.

Now who hurt you?

(Word count: 1218)