Treetops
“Why are we here?” Keith laughed, the tanned boy holding his hand tugging the two along towards the tree up upon the hill, it’s autumn coat shining in the sun’s rays.
“I just thought we should climb it, for old times,” Lance mumbled to himself, his gaze shifting from his shuffling feet to Keith’s eyes, a flutter of butterflies erupting inside of him.
“Oh,” Keith sighed, biting his lip as Lance continued to drag him along to their childhood hideout.
The tree’s branches hung low. Roots breaking through the surface surround the trunk, creating platforms perfect to climb.
Lance instantly leapt onto the first root in sight, following the familiar pattern they use to take when they were young.
With college around the corner, everything to Keith seems to be happening so fast. Graduation, prom, SATs. All come and gone.
At the beginning of Senior Year, he was a loner. The one that just sat in class, did the work and left as soon as he could.
But now?
He’s made friends with a group of people he never expected he could. The family he never had. He got accepted into the college of his dreams, and his brother his home safe and sound. He couldn't have wished for more.
Yet as time at school comes to a close he could help but reminisce, his mind taking him back to the times when it was just two. The one thing that has been by his side through all of this.
Lance.
Keith and Lance have been best friends since they were in diapers. They learnt to walk together, ride bikes together. They went to their first parties together. Had an endless amount of sleepovers it was impossible to count.
Lance was the rock in his world that kept him from falling apart. He was the shoulder he cried on when Shiro went missing in the war. When his mother left his family. When his dad died.
He was the one who played space warriors in the McClain Backyard, using Ronnie and Rachal’s fairy wands as swords as they pretended to fight off imaginary monsters. Lance was his whole world.
And it was only this year he realised how these feelings turned into something more than a friendship.
“You coming?” Lance asked, his smile just as bright as it was when they were 6 years old. Heat rushed to Keith’s cheeks as he was brought back to the present, staring up at those ocean blue eyes, strands of his dusty brown hair drooping down in front of them.
“Um- yeah,” Keith let out, a chuckle leaving Lance’s lips as Keith gripped onto part of the trunk, following in Lance’s footsteps. The two climbed, just like they use to, pulling themselves up onto the highest branch.
The two sat there, their feet dangling down, the branches around them glowing in the sunlight. Keith smiled, a swell of nostalgia rushing through him.
“You feel it too?” Lance asked as though he could feel his every emotion, a soft smile on his lips as he shuffled closer.
“Yeah,” Keith sighed, looking up at the beauty around him.
“I remember when we first found this place,” Lance smiled, leaning back on his palms.
“Yeah, you made a bet who could climb to this branch the fast,” Keith added, the memory slowly coming back to him.
“I can still say I won that bet,” Lance smirked.
“Yeah, but let's not forget you also being the first to fall off this branch,” Keith laughed, a spark igniting in Lance’s eyes.
“No way! You fell first, not me,” Lance argued, jumping forward.
“Really? I think your mum could testify with the three weeks in a cast that followed that fall,” Keith cocked his eyebrow, watching as Lance mind thought back, his tongue poking out slightly as he concentrated.
“Nope, don’t remember,” Lance teased, a smirk on his lips. Keith scoffed, playfully shoving him back, Lance retaliating with a little more force, setting Keith off balance. Keith wobbled slightly, his arms waving until a hand grabbed his shirt, pulling him closer.
“Be careful there, don’t want to repeat history,” Lance joked, a smile on his lips as Keith scoffed.
“A repeat of your history.”
“Same, same.”
The two looked at each other before falling into a fit of laughter, giggles erupting from their lungs as the memory began to fade. Lance rested his forehead against Keith’s, his eyes watering with the amount of laughter escaping them. The smile on his lips shined as bright as the sun setting behind them, small dipples emerging on his cheeks that made Keith swoon.
A couple minutes past before they control themselves, the laughter fading into something new, the tone slipping from friendly and fun to a swell of anticipation and desire.
Keith was aware of everything. The puff of warm air on his lips, the small freckles that coated Lance’s tanned skin, his soft lips parted slightly. He only realised then that Lance hadn’t let go of his shirt, his hand loosely holding the fabric underneath his fingertips.
He looked up, those ocean blue eyes staring right back at him. He felt his stomach swirl, his hands becoming hot and sweaty.
“Lance,” Keith sighed, biting his lip as he felt Lance’s hand make its way up to the side of his face, the other resting by his thigh.
“Can I- can I kiss you?” Lance asked, barely a whisper, Keith’s face flushed at the thought. All he could do was nod, a smile tugging at his lips as Lance leaned in.
No amount of words could describe the feelings Keith felt. Passion, desire, love. A rush of emotions filled inside as their lips met, Keith sighing at the touch. His lips were soft and gentle as though he was savouring every second of it. Keith’s hand managed to find it’s way towards the leather necklace around Lance’s neck, hooking one of his fingers underneath.
It wasn’t long before they had to take a breath, their lips parting as the two rest their heads on one another, Lance’s hand intertwined with Keith’s.
“That was…that was...” Lance exclaimed, taking a breath between each phrase.
“It was incredible,” Keith smiled, biting his lip as he stared up at his best friend.
“Yeah,” Lance sighed, a soft chuckle leaving Keith’s lips.
“Wanna do it again?” Keith asked timidly, his cheeks heating up at the thought.
Lance smile glowed, his hand moving towards the back of Keith’s neck, twirling the small strands of raven hair with his fingers.
“Absolutely.”