part 3 of my random klance blurb. (keith’s pov)
after returning his truck to work and explaining to his boss the events that transpired, keith was able to get 3 days off from work to recover from the accident. although he didn’t really see it as an accident. he did get a pretty boy’s number and a kiss on his cheek. compared to any other boring day, it was great day for him.
but just like lance having to tell his parents about the accident, keith had to tell his older brother. he wasn’t ready for all the lectures about being safe and careful.. so he told his brother-in-law, adam, instead. who ended up telling his brother. and about half an hour later, keith was getting picked up by shiro, who was worried sick.
“i can’t believe you got hit!” he exclaimed. keith wasn’t even halfway in the car yet before shiro had his big hands all over his face and body.
“ow! shiro, stop!” keith pushed him away, sending him a deadpanned look. “this is exactly why i contacted adam and not you!”
shiro scoffed, driving away from keith’s job in disbelief at his little brother’s sentence. “adam and i don’t keep secrets from each other. that’s how marriage works.”
keith fake gagged and stared out the window as shiro gave him his famous lecture on marriage and how to be in a successful relationship blah, blah, fucking blah. keith only pretended to listen as he thought about his day. it was barely night now as the stars began peeking out from the clouds and he couldn’t help but be mesmerized by them. he loved the stars ever since he was a little boy. he always dreamed of being up there one day, just like shiro. but reality became too real for him and that dream faded into the background.
a tap to the leg and keith is reeling back in from his thoughts.
“huh?” he looks over at shiro who’s got his eyes on the road and one hand on keith’s knee.
“i said are you sure you’re okay?” shiro repeats. “did you go to the hospital?”
“yeah,” keith nods. “i got a few stitches in my forehead-”
“what-!?” shiro damn near swerves the car trying to whip keith’s head around so he can see.
“-but im fine!” keith pushes his hand away. “fucking hell, focus on the road.”
it’s a long drive back to keith’s apartment. he explains to shiro the subtle details of the accident and leaves it at that. he doesn’t say much about lance or how amazing he is, just that he was a kind stranger who took care of him. shiro said something along the lines of how keith could’ve been killed talking to strangers like that and keith had to remind shiro that he was a twenty-eight year old man who can take care of himself. if lance tried anything at all, keith would have been ready to slice him up.
after being dropped off at his apartment, and reassuring shiro that he didn’t need a babysitter, keith settled into his home immediately. he showered, changed into his pajamas, and even ate a tv dinner while watching some gameshow marathon. he doesn’t get too many channels on his old tv so he takes what he can get.
after dinner, keith settles into his bed. he had a long day. he didn’t have a concussion or whiplash, surprisingly. just a gash. and stitches..
stitches that are really fucking itchy.
keith reaches up to scratch at them and suddenly feels someone slap his hand away. he jumps when he realizes it’s lance’s hand.
the memory of lance’s hand, anyway.
keith sits up in his bed and reaches into the pocket of his black pajama pants, grabbing his phone to unlock it. he takes a breath and goes to his contact list, finding lance’s name.
it’s weird how keith really thought that of lance just after a few hours of being in his presence. there was something so.. good about him. something that was right on the surface that made keith want to drop everything just to be near him again. it was unusual..
he made keith feel unusual. but not in a bad way. just in a way that had keith’s stomach twisting in knots and feeling like he needed to puke the tv dinner digesting inside of his stomach out onto his bed.
what’s that feeling called..?
what he did know is that his palms were getting sweaty. he was staring down at his phone, at the contact he pulled up, wishing for some sort of miracle to happen. he wasn’t the best at initiating things and didn’t have a plan in sight on what to do.
should he call? do people still call others and talk on the phone? what do they even talk about?
maybe he should text? texting isn’t his strong suite either.. he can’t even remember to text shiro back until three days later cause he replied in his brain, just not in his phone.
fuck, why is this so hard???
because he doesn’t want to seem needy. or desperate. or like.. some stalker or something.
taking a deep breath and holding it, keith bites his lower lip and clicks on the name. lance’s picture is the first thing to catch his eyes.. god, he’s so hot. the option to text or call comes up. keith opts for the text option and promises that he won’t be lazy or forgetful. how can he be when it’s someone like.. lance.
letting out his breath, keith’s thumbs move across the keyboard rapidly. he doesn’t know what he’s doing, just letting his body take control, and before he knows it, he’s pressing send.
his phone makes the sound of the message being sent and he instantly panics. it’s a simple ‘hi’ but it’s enough to have him freaking out.
“oh… o-oh, my god!??” he yells, throwing his phone across the room. literally. it hits the navy blue painted wall just next to his bedroom door. he freezes, staring at it. like finding a bug on the wall. like maybe if he doesn’t move, his phone can’t see him. and that message will unsend.
one minute turns to two..
keith hasn’t moved. he can’t. he’s precisely frozen with fear. and he feels.. stupid for it.
his body grows hot. he can feel the warmth travel up his neck and to his face, filling out his cheeks. then up to his ears. his heart is throbbing against his ribcage over, and over, and fucking over. he sits up in his bed and tucks his knees to his chest, feeling the thrumming against his thighs. he wraps his arms around himself and frowns. it’s been four minutes..
what if lance doesn’t.. care anymore..? what if lance forgot all about him?
it wouldn’t be the first time someone’s forgotten all about him. it’s pretty easy.
this whole thing was a big fucking mistake.
keith hops out of his bed like a madman and rushes over to his most likely cracked phone. he dives to the ground, landing on his stomach and chest, and picks up his phone. he waits two seconds, agitation filling his veins, then flips the phone over.
keith’s heart was beating into fucking next week!!
okay okay! chill out!? just!! CHILL!
keith closes his eyes and holds his breath. he taps on the screen and unlocks it with his four digit password, going straight into messages. lance’s message.
From: Guardian Angel Lance 💙
hey! thought you'd never text me :) how's your head?
keith’s chest is heaving up and down. he bites his lip. he doesn’t think. he can’t really think. he texts back.
To: Guardian Angel Lance 💙
Good. My head is good. Itchy.
From: Guardian Angel Lance 💙
i bet. >_< but no more scratching!
keith smiles, touching his head. it’s tender. he stands from the floor and types back, sitting back onto his bed.
To: Guardian Angel Lance 💙
From: Guardian Angel Lance 💙
wow. it’s only been a few hours and you’re already willing to break promises. that hurts keith.
the corner of keith’s mouth lifts up. it wasn’t as scary as he thought..
so they continue to talk through text and get to know each other a little better. they talk about their hectic day. about cars. lance drives a bmw in the color ‘long beach metallic blue.’ a gift from his parents, keith remembers. keith has a motorcycle but it’s sitting in shiro’s garage waiting for keith to fix her up. so for now, he either takes ubers or walks. or has people he knows drive him places. he always offers to drive, but he doesn’t really do well with others in the car watching him. with trucks, it’s different. they talk about their jobs. keith is a certified truck driver but after today, who knows. he’s been a driver for four years and loves it. he hopes to ‘retire’ and find something else soon. lance states he’s in between jobs right now but is trying to save up his money to get his own apartment as soon as he can.
they talk about pets. keith mentions his dog, kosmo, who’s half german shepard and half wolf. or something. keith doesn’t know, he found him as a pup (or a cub?) one day 2 years ago, outside in the rain, all alone. so he scooped him up and took him home and he’s been keith’s trusty companion ever since. they go everywhere together and he’s the greatest guard dog ever. he enjoys sleeping outside of keith’s door, guarding him just in case. and although his apartment doesn’t really allow dogs of kosmo’s size, keith’s landlord is terrified of him and doesn’t say anything. kosmo is perfectly harmless. when he likes you. lance mentions his cat. an orange cat who hates everyone, including him. her name is red because she was born with red-orange fur. he actually sends a picture of her, which prompts keith to send one of kosmo..
lance goes on a rant about how kosmo is nothing close to a dog whatsoever and that his landlord has every reason to be afraid.
they talk about food. lance has a very strong love for italian food and says that if he were to die, his last meal would be a big bowl of pasta with the butteriest garlic knots and a giant pop. he says his best friend’s family is italian and that her mom makes a special meal for lance’s birthday every year. every year. keith feels dumb after hearing that but answers that fast food is his go to. growing up with a dad who was always busy and not very good at cooking will do that. Lance sympathizes. and promises to teach keith to cook, stating that cooking is in his blood and that in cuba, where’s he’s from, everyone can cook. everyone.
keith holds him to that promise. lance hearts his message.
they talk about video games. lance explains how retro video games are his all time favorite and how he used to play the killbot phantasm series with his siblings growing up. keith didn’t really have time for video games throughout his life so he doesn’t know much. he’s been to the arcade a few times but it was mostly to beat shiro at air hockey. which he always did.
they talk about friends. lance has three best friends named hunk, pidge, and allura. hunk is his age, twenty-six, and is a chef at a restaurant with his wife, shay. pidge is twenty-three, and works for nasa. yep, that nasa. she’s always away so lance barely gets to see her, but she’s the coolest friend in their group for sure. and allura. she’s a twenty-eight year old florist with her uncle coran and her best friend, romelle. keith talks about shiro. his half brother. he used to be an astronaut and even went to mars. yep, that mars. unfortunately, he lost his arm in the process on a mission gone rouge. after his recovery, he went back out in the field for a few more years before he retired. and since the accident, he could retire. very well. he talks about matthew, who’s shiro’s best friend, college and astronaut buddy. he gave up the astronaut gig and is an astrophysics teacher up at some college. and how could he forget his best friend, acxa. she’s twenty-nine and in the military. fighting for the country as a major. but she’s basically the lieutenant commander.
after five hours and almost a hundred text messages, keith dozes off, but not before saying good night to the only person he could talk to for a hundred more hours.
To: Guardian Angel Lance 💙
From: Guardian Angel Lance 💙
night keith. talk to you later?
To: Guardian Angel Lance 💙
From: Guardian Angel Lance 💙
and keith can’t help but smile, a light pigmentation of pink dusting his cheeks and the tips of his ears.
To: Guardian Angel Lance 💙
lance hearts the message.
something wet and cold touching keith’s face causes him to stir awake, reaching for the knife underneath his pillow. he opens his eyes to see kosmo there, sitting ever so politely, dark eyes focused on his owner.
a deep breath and keith can relax.
“hey boy,” he greets his dog with a deep, raspy voice. he reaches out and smooths kosmo’s soft black fur back, scratching behind his ears and underneath his chin. “what time is it?”
kosmo only whines, opening his big mouth to clamp down on keith’s wrist and drag him out of bed.
“oh!” keith lets himself be pulled, out of his room and to his kitchen. kosmo stops at the pantry, scratching the door with his claws. keith yawns and stretches his arms over his head. “alright. let’s eat.”
he opens the pantry door and grabs kosmo’s bag of kibble food, setting it on the counter. he pours a little of it inside as the base for the raw food. then he walks over to the fridge to grab some other things to put inside kosmo’s food. he grabs three quail eggs and crushes them up, shells included. he then grabs a container full of cooked cod and grabs a fork, cutting up a slice of that and dropping it into the massive, ceramic dog bowl. rabbit heart and two frozen duck feet are next and keith is surprised he never gags from any of this. he throws in some chicken hearts, a few sardines, a scoop of fermented veggies, some pineapple chunks, and two homemade frozen dog treats, shaped like cute little paws, made from raspberries, beets and parsley. a few drizzles of coconut oil and keith is done. the contents in the bowl could look gross to anyone else.. but keith is used to it. and kosmo loves it. he is a growing boy after all.
walking over to kosmo’s designated eating area, keith places the dog bowl onto a small, propped up dog table. kosmo sits down next to the bowl and waits for keith’s command. keith pets kosmo’s head once more, scratching behind his fluffy ears and underneath his chin before he gives the command.
“eat.” he says. and kosmo digs right in.
it’s ten o’clock, keith discovers, and he’s extremely tired. but he does have the rest of the week off, technically giving him a five day weekend from the accident so he could sleep in all day and watch some crappy tv. or he could go to the gym with shiro and adam.
you could text lance the voice in the back of his brain says.
keith gets a pang of butterflies so hard in his stomach he has to stop the cringe and the second hand embarrassment from preventing himself from doing it.
he could text lance. if lance was awake. yeah.
keith walks to his room and plops down on his bed, grabbing his phone from behind his pillow. he checks the screen. one message from shiro. one from matt. a notification about the weather today. the highest will be 70 degrees and the lowest will be 50. gotta appreciate this spring weather.
keith opens shiro’s message about meeting up at the gym at 11 and how his head was doing. he opens matt’s message asking if keith would like one of his famous protein smoothies before their workout. keith replies to both.
Yes just woke up. Getting ready now. My head is fine. Itchy.
Thank you. No banana. And if you’re going to do banana, a small slice please.
keith sighs when he doesn’t see a message from lance. he’s probably still asleep. but that’s okay. keith has no problem texting first. it’s not bad to text first right? it shows he’s interes-.. cares. it shows he cares..
but.. he should take a shower and get ready to go first. yeah. he can do that.
“how’s your head, wet hair?” shiro asks, reaching over to touch keith’s head. keith is quick and slaps his hand.
“im fine.” he grumbles, reaching up to touch his exposed stitches. “matt said he’d patch me up at the gym..”
shiro gives a hum of approval. keith sighs and stares out the window, biting his lower lip. he swirls his mouth around, playing with his tongue ring. it’s sore from keith taking it out for a few hours so he could have a break from it. it doesn’t bother him too much but some days he could do without it. it’s a stupid piercing for him. he was a dumb, angry teenager and knew for sure shiro would be furious if he came home with it. he was right and the result was satisfying. but now he has to live with the hole in his tongue. all because of a little angst.
what a fucking punk, he thinks about his teenage self.
he thinks about lance’s septum piercing and how it had diamonds on it. he considered them to be fake, just a decoration, but when he mentioned the whole rich parents fiasco and seeing the rich neighborhood with his own eyes, keith would not be surprised if they were real diamonds. he wonders if lance got the piercing to piss his parents off, too.
keith smiles to himself, rolling his eyes. he fiddles with the cinnamon lip balm tucked away in the pocket of his sweats.
at the gym, keith, shiro, and matt sit in the men’s locker room. matt is patching up keith’s forehead by applying some soothing ointment and a fresh bandage that’ll stick to his skin for a few hours.
“thanks.” keith mumbles, trying not to squirm. it hurts a bit and he’s itching like crazy.
matt smiles down at him, trying his best to be gentle. “this wouldn’t be the first time i had to patch up a kogane, hm?” he eyes shiro, who is sitting beside them wrapping his hands and knuckles with gauze and tape. he’s going to be boxing today.
“won’t be the last,” shiro answers, now side-eyeing keith. keith sends a smirk his way, looking up to meet eyes with matt. but matt is smiling down at him, stifling a giggle.
an hour and a half in and keith is covered in sweat, drenched in it. he did his regularly scheduled workout but decided to push himself a little more. so he got in the ring with matt. they spared for a little while before matt switched places with shiro to take a phone call. keith visibly tensed at the switch and when shiro noticed, he scoffed.
“what’s with the face?” he asked, putting on the huge punching mitts. keith raised his eyebrow, squinting his eyes.
“i think you know,” he answered, crossing his arms. shiro stands there, staring hard.
“i won’t go easy on you,” he holds his right gloved hand up, “honest.”
keith cracks his neck, rolling his head and shoulders around. just before he can charge at shiro, matt is coming back quite frantically.
“guys!” he yells, pointing to his phone. “m-my sister is back in town!! she’s at my parents house, we gotta go!!” shiro and keith share a look before they look back at matt.
“you have a sister?” keith says, now earning crazy looks from matt and shiro.
“seriously!?” matt sighs, “my baby sister, who i’ve only mentioned a hundred times since we’ve known each other? shiro’s met her.”
“okay, i haven’t,” keith shrugs, twisting his tongue ring around in his mouth. shiro and matt look at one another and share a look that reads ‘oh, maybe he’s right’ and it has keith rolling his eyes. of fucking course he’s right.
“well, do you want to?” matt offers. “my parents are getting her from the airport as we speak and should be arriving in an hour.”
keith shrugs again, removing his red boxing gloves and sweeping his sweat ridden hair back. “i need to shower bad. plus kosmo is waiting for me. rain check?”
matt nods happily as keith and shiro step out of the ring and make their way to the men’s locker room.
keith has to wait outside for matt and shiro to finish their showers. he doesn’t trust gym showers or any shower that’s not at his apartment since his juvie days and that’s that. the car ride back to his apartment is filled with matt telling stories about his sister and what she does. her name is katie and she works for a big space company, just like he did. she’s been gone for two years and will be back for six months to take a small vacation. keith hasn’t met matt’s family, but they’re all really into space and stuff like shiro. keith’s only known matt the same amount of time that he’s know shiro, i.e. 4-ish years, and he’s never really been interested in knowing any of the other holt’s.
because keith didn’t have a family. his dad died when he was nine and his mother abandoned them. he went though the remainder of his teen years in and out of foster homes and when he was thirteen, in and out of juvie. he barely finished high school and college was never an option. he went straight to finding a job and landed three of them at three different mechanic shops around the city. that’s how he afforded his motorcycle parts and his old apartment. he eventually moved to the apartment he is in now and has been living in for four years, along with the trucker job he has now.
that was also around the time when shiro tracked him down, almost beating down his door, to tell him that he’s his half brother and that they have the same father. keith was so in shock that he punched shiro in the face. and then fainted. and then gave himself a stomach virus from all the stress and shiro had to take care of him. literally. add in matt stopping by to meet him and being very much in shock at how much they look alike, and the rest is history.
so yeah, keith’s never really heard of this katie. but her job must be quite the catch if it’s kept her away for two years.
stopping in the parking lot at keith’s apartment, keith grabs his duffle bag and hops out the car.
“thanks for the ride, shiro,” he nods to his brother. “and matthew, for repairing my head.”
matt rolls his eyes as shiro lets out a chuckle, covering his mouth.
“it’s matt and fuck you.” is all he says before he’s flipping keith off. keith smirks and gives him the finger back.
“see ya, keith,” shiro smiles. “take it easy. text if you need anything.”
“sure.” keith nods before they’re driving off and onto the road.
after his much needed shower, keith plops down on the couch in his living room and lets out a loud sigh. he pulls his phone from his pocket and checks the screen.
keith is sitting up so fast, he almost breaks his neck from the speed.
“oh, shit,” he whispers to himself. he opens the messages, tucking his long, washed and wet hair behind his ear.
From: Guardian Angel Lance 💙
From: Guardian Angel Lance 💙
busy day for me.. sleep good?
keith smiles. his stomach does that weird drop thing again.
To: Guardian Angel Lance 💙
Hi. I’m good just got back from the gym. And yes I slept okay. How are you?
lance doesn’t waste any time replying and keith revels in the attention.
From: Guardian Angel Lance 💙
exhausted. i forgot that i had to plan a bbq party thing for my friend pidge and had to wake up early.
From: Guardian Angel Lance 💙
2 hours of sleep in my veins. im tired keith. im dying
To: Guardian Angel Lance 💙
Gross. To lack of sleep and planning bbq party things. Are you resting now?
From: Guardian Angel Lance 💙
:) fortunately yes! the party is done and the decorations are amazing thanks to me. but im sleepy. currently hiding in my car to take a quick nap
To: Guardian Angel Lance 💙
Smart. Don’t let me keep you up though. You should sleep. I’ll be here when you wake up
From: Guardian Angel Lance 💙
To: Guardian Angel Lance 💙
From: Guardian Angel Lance 💙
keith lets out a content sigh, a small blush making its way to his cheeks and the tips of his porcelain white ears. there is something so pure about making and keeping promises with lance. it’s like they’re little kids on the playground swapping secrets and promising not to tell anyone, something that’s just theirs. keith can’t recall a single time in his life that someone has ever made him promise anything. it feels.. special.
To: Guardian Angel Lance 💙
From: Guardian Angel Lance 💙
okay. but before i do, you should come by! be my guest. there’s free Italian food, free homemade cake, a BIG swimming pool
From: Guardian Angel Lance 💙
and it’ll be nice to see you again.. yknow.. and i could check on your stitches for you too man
keith is standing up now in the middle of his living room with kosmo laying by his feet, staring up at him.
the room is suddenly very hot.
lance wants him to be his guest. like.. a friend?? or a date??
keith ejects the idea out of his brain and throws it out the fucking window! he didn’t say date! he said guest!
but.. it is a party. and don’t people usually bring dates to parties???
wait, how would he even get there!? and how many people are going to be there?? what does he even wear!? it’s springtime but is everyone going to be in their bathing suits or bbq attire??
and what about matt’s offer to meet his family?? his sister? keith can’t blow that off. he’d feel too bad. but maybe he can do both! he can quick swing by lance’s party for a few hours and then ask shiro to pick him up and go and meet matt’s family and sister.
yeah! he can do that. but what does he wear????
and of course keith is replying before his brain has a chance to finish exploding.
To: Guardian Angel Lance 💙
Sure! Do you think you pick me up in about an hour?
From: Guardian Angel Lance 💙
hell yes dude!! send me your address and i’ll be there!
and keith does just that..
he types in his address to his apartment and actually sends it to lance.
he’s going to a bbq party thingy with lance.
lance, this stranger he literally just met a little over 24 hours ago.
to a second location. all alone in his car. with him.
to a party with tons of people.
what the fuck could possibly go wrong..?
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