"Guess what!" Keith exclaimed, hands behind his back. I squinted my eyes, attempting to read his expression for any hints. His cheeks were slightly red and he was wearing a large grin but it wasn't giving me enough information to deduct much.

"I don't know..." I trailed off, eyes flicking down to his feet and back up. Still no hints.

"I got you a present!" Keith brought his hands around to his front to reveal a miniature gift bag with a bow on it. I reached for it and opened it up, hands trembling the entire time. Soon enough, my eyes laid upon a box with the Apple logo on it.

"Keith, you shouldn't have." I pulled it open and gently picked up the iPhone. It was only fifth generation (so not the newest) but it was perfect. I had only expected him to get me a Nokia brick or a crappy flip up phone. I hugged it against my chest. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" I kept repeating as he chuckled softly.

"Plug it into the charger and I will help you set it up properly. I can give you Hunk and Pidge's numbers."

Once the phone was plugged in on the living room table, I engulfed Keith into a long hug, burying my head into his shoulder. "You're the best."

"I know."

-

We were in the same position as we had been in when we kissed, laying on the bed together. The lights had been turned off and Keith was facing the wall, eyes shut as he attempted to fall asleep. I couldn't stop tossing and turning until Keith grunted beside me, mumbling, "Are you alright? You keep hogging the cover."

"I'm sorry." I shuffled out of most of the cover so he had the majority of it. He gratefully wrapped himself up but didn't turn back to the wall.

"What's wrong?"

"I think I'm ready."

"What?"

"I think I'm ready, Keith."

"What on earth are you talking about? It's like one in the morning. Go to sleep." His voice was a telltale sign he was exhausted but I didn't want to stop talking. I wanted Keith to know how I felt and I wanted him to know exactly in that moment. It couldn't wait until morning.

"I'm ready to date you." His face lit up a little but his eyebrows remained furrowed and his eyes glossy with sleep.

"You are? Are you sure?"

"Yeah..." Cautiously, I held out my hand between our bodies so he could take it. My heart skipped so many beats that I thought I was going to pass out as I waited for him to intertwine our fingers. "Keith, will you be my boyfriend?"

"Can it wait until the morning?"

"Oh," My face fell but I quickly hid it with a fake smile. "Okay."

"I'm joking. Of course I'll be your boyfriend."

-

I had my head leant on my arm that I had balanced on the counter, quietly humming a song that Keith often listened to. I didn't know what it was called but I knew it was by Muse. They were his favourite band. Keith had just gone out into the back to get some more cups since we were running low so it was just me out the front. The shop was surprisingly empty for a Thursday evening so I was on the verge of falling asleep on the job. When the bell jingled above the door, I cast my eyes over to it without thinking. As soon as I realised who it was, I was wide awake again. I could recognise that long, wispy hair and those glaring eyes from anywhere. Lotor.

Before I could even consider rushing out back to get Keith, Lotor walked up to the counter like he owned the place. He hovered his hand over mine and I tensed up, unable to do anything but stand there like a statue. "Please come home, Lance." He widened his eyes in a way that reminded me of Veronica's old 'puppy dog eyes' but I wasn't an idiot. I knew what he was trying to do and I wasn't going to have any of it.

"No. I never want to see you again, Lotor. I- I hate you. You hurt me so much and I'm actually glad you threw me out. Everything's better now that you're out of my life."

"Don't say that. You know I was helping you. Keith just thinks you're annoying and nothing but a burden. He'll kick you out as soon as he's done with you."

"No, he won't." Nervously, I glanced at the door out back, wondering what was taking Keith so long. He had been out there for a whole five minutes. Surely it didn't take that long to grab some plastic takeaway cups.

"Yes, he will. Don't you remember me telling you that I'm the only one who will ever want or love you? That's still true and I will forgive you for everything you did you come back with me right now."

"I don't want to go back. Keith treats me like an actual human being."

"You're going to regret this," Lotor leaned over the counter and grabbed me by the collar of my shirt. "You're mine, Lance. If you don't come back to me then-"

"Back off." Keith saved the day like my actual hero. I could almost imagine him dressed up with a cape flowing behind him and a large lion logo on his chest. The light above his head shone down on him like a spotlight. "He doesn't want to see you anymore. Just take the hint, man."

"You're wrong. He loves me and I love him. He needs to come home and he will if he knows what's best for him."

"You're such a manipulative jerk."

"I'm just using the truth to my advantage. Lance is a freak and no one will ever love him like I did. You'll grow sick of him like everyone else has and he'll come running back to me, begging me to take him back."

"Lance is not a freak. I actually love him a lot, even if we're still figuring things out. I will never get sick of him."

"Oh yeah? Just you wait. He's pathetic and anxious and socially inept. He gets triggered at the most ridiculous things and it's stupid. I don't see how anyone-"

I didn't stay around to hear the end of it because I knew, if I remained in the room any longer, I'd have a panic attack and just prove Lotor's points correct. I knew my way back to Keith's by heart but I didn't have the key so I wouldn't have been able to get in. I didn't have enough dignity to walk back in the coffee shop to get the keys so I just headed to the nearby park.

I was shivering the entire walk there because I had left my coat back at the shop and, by the time I sat down on one of the benches, my teeth were chattering too. I brought my legs up onto the chair and hugged them tightly against my chest. My tears were warm against my bright red, freezing cold cheeks. I buried my head into my knees and tried to remember how to breathe. Lotor's insults were echoing around my mind, reminding me just how bad a person I was.

Why did Keith even love me?

I heard loud footsteps and heavy breathing I was certain didn't belong to me before someone started to talk softly. When I glanced up, I saw Keith. His nose was bleeding and his mouth was moving at a rapid pace but everything was just so fuzzy. Static danced around my brain, rendering his words inaudible. I clasped my hands over my ears and scrunched my eyes shut.

Freak. Pathetic. Stupid. Anxious. Socially inept. Freak. Pathetic. Stupid. Anxious. I can't breathe. I want it to stop. Freak. Pathetic. Stupid. Anxious. Socially inept.

"Love, I need you to breathe with me, alright? Count your breaths." The voice was distant but it was just about coherent. I tried my hardest, clenching my hands into fists as I did so.

Breathe. Inhale. Exhale. One. Inhale. Exhale. Two. Inhale. Exhale. Three. Four. Five.

"Lance, can you open your eyes for me and tell me what you can see?"

I cracked my eyes open ever so slightly, wincing against the harsh light. "I can see you. A tree. A woman walking her dog."

"What can you smell?"

I took a moment to take in a long breath through my nose. A man was a few metres away, taking a long swig of a cigarette. "Smoke."

"Hear?"

"Your voice and- and birds. The trees rustling in the wind too."

Keith slid into the seat beside me. "Is it okay if I touch you, love?" I nodded so he cautiously wrapped an arm around my side. I learnt my head on his shoulder and stared at the tree directly in front of us. "How are you feeling?"

I didn't realise but my breathing had calmed down substantially. My hands that had once been tense had become limp at my sides. "Better." I eventually mumbled. "Thank you."

"You don't need to thank me. I just want you to be okay."

"Keith, what happened to your nose?"

Keith's eyebrows furrowed and he glanced down at his lap. "I basically told Lotor to fuck off and I don't think he appreciated it. He punched me but he did leave."

"I'm sorry. It's my fault. I'm sorry if I- I'm annoying and get triggered really easily. I'm sure what Lotor said was true and- and I'm just a burden. You can leave me if you want. I'd understand."

"Lance, shut up." Keith was so abrupt and it caught me off guard. I stiffened so Keith started to rub his hand against my arm to help me relax again. "This isn't your fault and Lotor is nothing but a liar. He manipulates you into believing the crap that comes out of his mouth. You're an amazing person and I literally can't see any faults in you. To me, you're basically perfect. You're attractive and funny and smart and-"

"Keith... I'm none of those things." Keith cupped my chin with both of his hands and turned my head so I was looking into his sparkling eyes.

"Yes, you are. I will remind you as much as I possibly can because you are those things. I started to like you for a reason, you know? I want you to understand just how awesome you really are."

"If this was a fanfiction you'd be saying Lotor's words were poison and you were the antidote right now." A smirk tugged at my lips. I watched Keith's eyes fall to look at it.

"Lotor's words were poison and I-" I cut him off because I wanted every single part of it to be real. I pressed my lips against his, our eyes falling shut as we both melted into the kiss. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him as close as possible.

"What did I do to deserve you?" I whispered, burying my head into the crook of his neck. Citrus.

"Everything. You did everything to deserve me."

"Hey... uh... who's looking after the shop?"

"I shut it for a bit. We weren't very busy anyway."