Lance woke up with his head on Keith's lap. They had fallen asleep on the couch, Keith playing with Lance's hair. Lance slowly sat up and rubbed his eyes. Keith was still sleeping, his head resting on the back of the couch.

Lance yawned and stood up. He readjusted his nasal cannula, but his nose was sore, so he yanked it off. He coughed a couple times, his throat was scratched and raw.

"Hey," Keith sounded from the couch, sleep in his voice. He stretched, then jumped up. He noticed Lance had torn off the oxygen tubes and he picked them up. "You have to wear this," he attempted to put it on Lance.

Keith couldn't figure out how it worked, so Lance took it from him and placed it back on his face. He pulled the oxygen bag with him when he moved. When Lance returned from washing his face, Keith was in the kitchen making pancakes.

He noticed Lance and nudged his shoulder to a mug on the counter, "I made you some tea. I helped myself to your kitchen, figured I would make you something to eat. You need your strength and you're like sixty pounds."

Lance smiled at him, "Thank you." He picked up the mug and took a sip. Then, he set it down and jumped up to sit on the counter, watching Keith cook.

Keith smiled back and flipped the pancake over. After finishing, he set down the spatula and stood in front of Lance. He rubbed his thighs, "How are you feeling?"

Lance wrapped his arms around Keith's neck, "Better than yesterday." He leaned down to kiss Keith, then rested their foreheads together. "You said you'd take care of me, right? Did you mean it?"

Keith smiled, "Of course I did."

"Even if I die on you?"

"I won't let that happen."

Lance took a breath, "Then you should grab a suitcase from your place."

They separated their foreheads and Keith picked up Lance to bring him back down to the floor, "Are you sure you'll accept me? That door has been closed in my face many times."

Lance chuckled, "It's open now. As long as you don't leave me."

Keith kissed Lance passionately, hands on his cheeks. "Can you come with me?"

Lance held one of his wrists gently, "Why?"

"I'm scared to leave you alone."

Lance smiled, "Let's go after breakfast."

Keith's apartment was a lot messier than Lance's. Art supplies was strewn about every surface, crushed energy drink cans lied on the living room floor, and clothes were piled on a chair at the dining table. To be fair, Lance didn't own many things anyway, so even if he tried to be messy, it wouldn't be anything near Keith's apartment. He pulled his oxygen tank along with him, being careful not to catch it on anything. As Keith gathered his things, Lance looked at his artwork on the walls. Every wall was covered in drawings and paintings. Lance's favorites included: a painting of a boy with a hand smearing blood on his face, a drawing of a child playing with two dolls, and a self-portrait of Keith sitting on the ground shirtless with his knees up and a hand running through his hair.

Keith returned to the entryway with a couple suitcases, "Alright, shall we go?"

Lance eyed the luggage, "You do know that your place is right next door, right?"

He laughed, "Well, yeah, but I don't want to leave unless I have to, and one bag is just art supplies and class materials."

Lance smiled, "Alright, let's go."

Keith held the door for Lance and then pulled his things along. They returned to Lance's apartment. "Do you want to go somewhere today? I will take you anywhere."

Lance thought about it, "I have a few places in mind."

"Let's take my car then," Keith said, rolling his suitcases into the bedroom, leaving his art supplies in the living room.

"Do we have to? We could walk."

Keith eyed Lance's oxygen bag, "I don't want you to use too much energy."

"Fine," Lance said, the two headed to the parking garage.

The first place Lance wanted to go was the bookstore. His plan was to show who he called his "friends" that he was still alive. The whole city must have heard about him already. Lance giggled happily as he entered the shop and called, "Linda! Look who's still alive!"

Linda skipped over to Lance and jumped into a hug, "Lance! I'm so glad you're okay!"

Lance let go of his bag to hug her back. When they broke apart, Linda noticed Keith and eyed him suspiciously. She leaned into Lance's ear, "Who's this?"

Lance chuckled, "This is Keith! He was the one who brought me to the hospital."

"He did?" Linda's smile dropped in disbelief.

"Yeah, he did."

Linda turned to Keith and hugged him. Keith held his hands up in confusion and looked to Lance, who just shrugged.

"Thank you for saving him," she said, then let go. "I'm Linda, Lance's friend."

"It's nice to meet you," Keith said, trying to smile.

"I guess I should leave you to your work now," Lance laughed, "I'm making my rounds."

Linda laughed and said goodbye, waving as they left the store.

The next place they went was the bakery to get Lance's favorite strawberry cake and say hello to Mike. After that, they brought the cat in the park a can of food and some water.

They returned to Keith's car and Lance sat in thought. Keith looked at him questioningly, "Where to next?"

Lance sighed and eyed Keith, "I want you to meet someone, but I'm not sure if I should."

"Is it someone important?"

"Important to me. You might have seen her at the hospital."

"Your mom?" Keith guessed.

Lance shook his head, "My aunt Julia. I think she would like to meet the one who saved her 'sons' life."

"Do you want to?"

Lance hesitated, "Might as well, I could die tomorrow."

Keith leaned over and rubbed his thigh, "Please don't talk like that. I told you that's not gonna happen."

"But it could."

Keith kissed Lance sweetly, "Where should I go?"

"It's a cafe downtown, next to the hospital."

"Alright."

Lance leaned against the window, watching all the people on the sidewalks. He was hesitant in Keith's promise. There was no way he could save him; he almost died two weeks ago.
When the doctors told him the surgery didn't work, he was stunned. What was he supposed to do? They gave him a month, prescriptions, and a pamphlet of things to make his life less stressful. He was put on several medications and a breathing machine. The first time Lance almost died, his parents were hysterical. He was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance and woke up in the ICU hooked up to a million different tubes and wires. He moved to the city to live out his days and die alone, but the end never came; and once again he came back from the verge of death. It was like god was playing a game with him. Maybe he thought it was funny.

Keith got Lance's attention and he directed him to aunt Julia's cafe. When they got there, Lance stood in front of the building, staring at the door. Keith stood behind him and took his hand, "Are you ready?"

Lance hesitated for a moment. Is this really alright?

He turned to Keith and nodded, "Let's go."