"You're so boring," Lance took a sip from his blue Slurpee. Keith had surprised him when he came to pick him up, the drink was waiting for him in the cupholder. It wasn't lost on him that the other male picked up one of his favorite treats. He didn't mention it and Keith didn't say anything about it. That even though it wasn't a date—or they said it wasn't a date—Keith was still trying to impress him.

"Did you honestly think I was going to buy pink paint?" The radio was playing a slow song but the volume allowed pleasant conversation to flow over it. It was only every once in a while that Lance caught any lyrics coming from the speakers. It was soft and pretty and paired well with whatever he was currently feeling. Lance decided it was his favorite song. He wasn't even sure what the song was called but the stereo was connected to Keith's phone so it must have been something he listened to, all he had to do was ask.

"I'm not talking hot pink I'm saying a nice cherry blossom or even a pretty blush would look great in your bathroom!" Lance laughed. "I thought you were romanticizing pink the last time we talked," he teased.

"Actually," Keith began. "I told you I wanted to have a nice cream color the last time we talked." The statement made Lance roll his eyes. "And you've never seen my bathroom so you wouldn't know," he pointed out. Although it was a good argument Lance was sure that he could have convinced Keith to do anything at that point. Rip out his lung, commit a felony. It would be easy to make Keith buy pink paint. Maybe that scared him a little.

"Then what was the whole point in taking me shopping? You could have just bought the paint yourself." They stopped at a red light which allowed Keith to gaze at him. Lance rose an eyebrow at him expecting an answer but Keith just laughed. "What?"

"Nothing." There was an amused gleam in Keith's eyes. "I thought you would totally see through it and know that it was just an excuse to spend more time with you." Lance felt a familiar heat flare up in his cheeks and he had to look out the window to avoid further embarrassing himself. This was something that wasn't supposed to be romantic but now that he knew how Keith felt everything felt different. Was a simple look all it took to get his heart racing? Apparently, with Keith it was.

"I did not," he took a deep breath. "I guess I should thank you again for letting me help."

"Letting you help? It's like you said, I'm only interested in the free labor," Keith teased.

"That's not what you just said," Lance put his drink down to lean closer to Keith. "I thought it was all about spending time with me," he teased.

Keith let out a breath of air but kept his eyes focused on the road, "Don't distract that driver." Lance laughed at that. Flustering Keith made him feel better about being flustered himself.

"So I'm distracting," Lance leaned away and picked up his drink to take an exaggerated sip. "Not sure if you should let me help if I'm so distracting," the doctor to be rolled his eyes playfully.

"Well, I don't want to paint alone and it's gonna take forever to cover that bright green. So I could really use the help." Keith glanced at him as he turned and Lance felt something inside his chest flutter. He couldn't explain it—he was sure Keith could—but the words were lost on Lance. He just knew that he had never felt that way about anyone in his life before. Not Shiro. Not James. Keith just made Lance feel something unearthly. There was simply no combination of syllables that could be strung together to properly convey what exactly what he felt.

"I guess I'll help," he settled when his thoughts finally came to him. They seemed to be doing that lately. Running so fast that it took almost all his concentration to understand them himself. Lance would just get lost in his head and forget about the people around him. He felt awful. Romelle told him that was okay and would let him catch up with himself without getting frustrated. He really did adore her. "But only because I want to see this awful bathroom of yours." Keith laughed at that and it made Lance feel better.

"Or because you just find me that attractive," Keith nodded to himself and Lance wanted to deny it but he couldn't. A weird silence filled the car, it only allowed Lance to imagine holding his hand. Keith would look so good driving while holding Lance's hand.

By the time they reached Keith's apartment, they were talking again as if it never happened. It scared Lance that they could pretend it didn't. If they decided to not move past friends would they act like their kiss never happened? Was it weird to be thinking about their kiss when they were just supposed to be friends? Lance almost began to scold himself but he saw Keith's eyes flicker to his lips. It was something so small that he almost didn't realize it happened. That warm feeling returned and Lance didn't fight it back down.

"Do you want anything before we start?" Keith asked but Lance shook his head. His eyes traveled around the space, noticing all the small nuances that made Keith who he was. The sink was empty except for an unwashed coffee cup. A stack of books on the coffee table. A cat bed near the couch. His apartment was neat but it felt homey, felt lived in. Keith broke whatever train of the thought that had captured Lance with a question, "Want to see Cosmo?" 

"Yes," Lance looked at him like it was the most obvious thing in the whole world. Keith had sent him a picture of the cat once or twice but Lance just really wanted to pet him. "Where is he?" Lance asked when he didn't see the kitty on the sofa or table.

"That little punk likes to sleep on my bed despite having his own," Keith nodded toward an open door. Lance realized it was Keith's bedroom and certain thoughts captured the doctor to be in a never-ending spiral. Namely, Keith kissing him so hard that he forgot how to breathe. He was willing to bet that Keith was a good kisser, that his kiss wouldn't taste like alcohol. Lance really needed to get a grip. Keith motioned for him to follow so Lance did as he tried to silence the thoughts that were plaguing him.

His room was not how he imagined. It was orderly and clean. The only thing that looked out of place was the grayish cat that was sleeping in the middle of Keith's bed. Everything looked like it had a place. Lance took a moment to just admire the space that Keith had created. There was a floor-length bookcase filled with books that looked well-read, broken spines and curled cover corners on the paperbacks. A notebook laid open on the desk, though the pages were blank. A coffeecup filled with different colored pens. There seemed to be a theme of black, white, and red found within the four walls. Though Lance detected some blue tones being introduced. Lance noticed little constellation's on his ceiling. His attention was drawn away from the artificial stars when Keith cleared his throat. "This is my Cosmo. He could probably murder me in my sleep and I would still love him" the writer nodded toward his pet.

Lance carefully stroke the cat's side. Cosmo woke up and yawned. He made a little noise that made Lance's heart melt. "He's so cute," Lance cooed at the animal but directed the statement at Keith.

"He's alright." There was a smile in the other male's voice. "You ready to start?" Keith asked him. Lance looked at him and nodded. Keith led him to the bathroom and turned on the light. Just like the rest of his apartment, everything was neat and had a place. The colors of the walls clashed together and Lance couldn't help but laugh. "Get it out now," Keith chuckled with him as he moved further into the bathroom.

"It's really," Lance struggled to find the correct words. "Really great, actually." He patted the walls closest to him. "It has a lot of character."

"Oh yeah?" Keith began setting up the supplies that he had bought.

"Yeah," Lance watched as Keith poured the paint. "How many people can say they have a bathroom like this?" He got out the painter's tape and began to carefully tape around the counter and door frame.

"You're not convincing me to keep the walls like this," Keith laughed. "I hate them. I want them to change so I'm going to change them myself." He said it with such conviction that it made Lance believe him. Maybe it was the other way around. Maybe Lace would commit a felony, tear out his heart if only Keith asked. It was just about paint, but there was something about it that Lance wanted to cling to. If he wanted things to change then that was on him. Change would only happen if he changed.

"Read anything good lately?" Lance asked to fill the silence that followed. He was interested in whatever Keith read or did but he mostly didn't want the quiet to fill the space between them.

"I'm re-reading Contact by Carl Sagan," Keith motioned for the tape and Lance gave it to him. "It's something I read when I first got interested in science fiction. It's really good if you want to borrow it sometime." Lance picked up the small brush and dipped it into the paint. Maybe cream was nice.

"I'm gonna start doing some harder spots so you don't have to worry about trying to get them with the roller," the doctor to be put the brush on the wall and painted a stripe on the obnoxious coral. There was a moment where the pair just stared at the new color.

"I'm so glad that I went with cream," Keith breathed out with a small chuckle.

Lance felt himself smile a small smile. "Still think that pink would have looked good in here."

"And what about me? What do you think about me?" Keith asked quietly. He was still lining where the shower tile met the wall. He was being a bit too meticulous with it. Lance knew he was nervous about what the answer might be.

"It's not the end of whatever this is, I think you're being unfair," Lance teased but god was his heart beating fast. It seemed like the organ was determined to escape its skeletal prison.

"You're never fair and that doesn't answer my question," Keith stated and Lance looked over and saw that his eyebrows were pinched in worry. It was a cute look on him. Lance had to bite his lip so he wasn't tempted to go over and try to soothe away the slight furrow.

"I want to be something more... with you. If you'll have me." His voice broke at the end like not even his vocal cords accepted his decision of telling Keith how he felt. How could they be when he was such a trainwreck? He focused on painting because that was what he was there to do.

"Of course I'll have you." Lance's heart seemed to beat with the words. It was like Keith was the melody and Lance became the sounds that filled the background. They just blended, created a sort of melody that was uniquely them. It breathed life into his lungs, caused a sort of nervous he never felt before. "I'll always want you."

Lance turned to look at Keith but found that the other male was already facing him, gazing at him, taking him in like he was the only thing in the world that mattered. He was tempted to throw down the brush but found some semblance of control. "Kiss me," he begged. "Keith, please kiss me." He sounded pathetic. Lance was practically whining but god he didn't care. There was this need for Keith that empty space and phone calls and compromises couldn't contain.

Keith didn't need to be told twice. He crossed the small space in two strides, held Lance's face and kissed him hard. Lance kissed Keith back with just as much enthusiasm. Until his lungs felt like they were going to give out—until he was seeing stars.