Chapter Text
Lance blinks open his eyes to his cat sitting right next to him, her face so close to his that if he so much as twitched, his nose would collide with her little pink one. He raised a brow and her eyes narrowed at him, a little huff tickling the tip of his nose before she leaned back on her haunches to sit. He wrinkles his nose in a touchless scratch before yawning, pushing himself to sit up. He does a few stretches that wring out the kinks in his muscles, rewarding himself by reaching over and dragging his phone off the bedside table, snapping the charger off as he does so.
His brow furrows as he browses through the variety of notifications that usually fill up, swiping the meaningless ones off the screen. A pout twists his lips when he finds that he doesn’t have more than a good morning text message from Hunk, followed by one asking about the movie night they usually do once a month. But none from a particular barista from the Red Lion Bar & Grill. He huffs as he unlocks his phone and opens his messaging app, only to find that a conversation to the pretty dark-haired boy doesn’t exist. He blinks in confusion before pinching his mouth in a bit of a pout.
He types a quick “hey ;)” before locking his phone and heading for the bathroom, giving the other time to respond while he does his morning skincare routine. He flicks the light on and lays the device on the bathroom counter, sliding to his left to pick out a bottle from the cluttered mess on the side of the sink.
He’s halfway through applying a facemask when his phone vibrates softly on the ceramic countertop, the screen lighting up to reveal a new text message. Lance leans over a bit to get a better look, fingers of one hand till spreading cream over his face as he unlocks his phone with his pinkie finger. Another tap and his message threads bubble up, the top one unread and from Keith.
(9:13AM) Keith
Who is this?
Lance chuckles under his breath, and pulls out one of his many witty responses as he types a response idly with a dry finger.
(9:14AM) Lance
ur motivation
He laughs to himself softly before going back to applying his facemask, and he just finishes it when his phone receives another reply.
(9:18AM) Keith
Finally, you’ve come back from the war
Lance actually barks out a laugh at the response, and makes quick work of washing his hands. He pats them dry on his pants and picks up his phone, typing as he walks, consequently smacking his shoulder into the doorway to his room for his lack of attention.
(9:19AM) Lance
OMG keith that was perfect!! im cackling XD
(9:20AM) Keith
Awesome
So…. who is this?
Lance makes his way back over to his bed, sitting down as he taps a response with one hand, while the other reaches over and scratches his cat’s cheek.
(9:20AM) Lance
Wait… srsly?
(9:21AM) Keith
Well, you’re not in my phone, sooo… yeah.
(9:21AM) Lance
uh the names lance?
super hot musician from last night?
asked for ur number when u wanted my order?
helped u clean up dog food when u spilled it in the store?
(9:22 AM) Keith
….Oh, right!
The brunet rolls his eyes at his phone, abandoning his cat petting in favor of flopping back against the wall, legs haphazardly half-propped in front of himself.
(9:22AM) Lance
i love how thats what gets u to remember
u wound me
(9:23AM) Keith
Well you didn’t text me after you left last night
So I didn’t know if you were going to at all.
(9:23AM) Lance
ah ye srry bout that
i may have
like
accidentally forgotten to txt u
(9:24AM) Keith
Yeah, I figured that much out for myself
(9:25AM) Lance
alright hey no listenn
i was super nervous ok
n excited bc i just got this SUPER hawt baristas number
Lance paused with his thumbs hovering over the keyboard, eyes widening as he realized exactly what he’d just said. That was way more forward than he usually was, but he’d gotten caught up in texting the other that he’d typed and sent the message without really thinking it over. He must have weirded the other out and his mouth pinched into a tighter line of worry when Keith responded a few seconds later.
(9:25AM) Keith
...Is that so?
Lance closed his eyes, bumping the back of his head against the wall with a soft whine. He knew he’d messed up, and so early on, too. Though he didn’t have too much time to reflect on it when another message made his phone vibrate against his skin, and he pulled it back enough to look at the next text Keith had sent.
(9:26AM) Keith
Then I guess you can imagine my disappointment when the super hot musician from last night didn’t text me right away.
There’s a moment of silence and then Lance lets out a chuckle that’s threaded with relief. He gets another text from Hunk, asking him about the movie night again, and suddenly he gets an idea. He smirks as he switches back to Keith’s message thread and rapidly starts typing back.
(9:27AM) Lance
well then allow me to redeem myself
how would u like to go see a movie with me hunk and pidge 2maro?
He waits for a reply, licking his lips absently. He hears Violet meow by the door, and wonders when she hopped off the bed, but then the other’s reply comes in.
(9:27AM) Keith
Tomorrow?
(9:27AM) Lance
yeee
unless thats too last second for you?
(9:28AM) Keith
Not at all, I only work Monday nights at the bar at 8:30
… Would they be okay with me coming?
(9:27AM) Lance
Are you saying you’ll go if they’re okay with it?
(9:27AM) Keith
...maybe
(9:28AM) Lance
i see
playin hard to get r we?
(9:28AM) Keith
Guess you’ll just have to join the game to find out.
This boy wasn’t just pretty, he was smooth. Lance needed to step up his game, especially with the blush that he could feel circling the sides of his neck and reaching for his cheeks, tugging at the corners of his lips to smile.
(9:28AM) Lance
challenge accepted
so whats ur opinion on animated movies
(9:29AM) Keith
Very high.
What did you have in mind?
(9:29AM) Lance
moana
(9:29AM) Keith
The new Disney movie about the ocean princess?
(9:29AM) Lance
ye ye
(9:30AM) Keith
Can I revoke my vague decision to go?
(9:30AM) Lance
nope! ur stuck with us >:P
(9:31AM) Keith
-insert annoyed groan here-
Lance laughs under his breath, fingers dancing over the keyboard. He quickly messages Hunk and, when he gives a very excited okay, Keith openly agrees to go.
(9:34AM) Keith
Alright so, one problem
(9:34AM) Lance
yo
(9:35AM) Keith
I don’t have a car
(9:35AM) Lance
dont have a-
dude
how do u even get around???
(9:36AM) Keith
I walk?
You know, that thing you do with your legs to get from one place to another
(9:36AM) Lance
i know what walking is sherlock
(9:37AM) Keith
Amazing
But back to that issue
Isn’t the closest movie theater in the next town over?
(9:38AM) Lance
yup
(9:39AM) Keith
So it’s not exactly within walking distance…
(9:39AM) Lance
keith
buddy
pal
friend
amigo
compadre
i already planned on picking u up
(9:40AM) Keith
Wait, really?
(9:40AM) Lance
rme
YES keith
what kind of friend would i be if i let you walk all the way to the movie theater when i got a perfectly good car to drive us there?
(9:42AM) Keith
Ok fair
Wait, we’re friends?
(9:43AM) Lance
uh yeah obvi
wut kind of question is that?
(9:43AM) Keith
I just mean, like...
We JUST started talking and you already think of me as your friend?
(9:43 AM) Lance
yep!
(9:44AM) Keith
… Alright then.
Lance was in the middle of typing a reply when a particularly loud yowl sounds from the doorway, and he pushes himself up enough to look at his cat. She’s standing by the door with her head at shoulder level, glaring at him as her tail whips behind her in irritation. She meows again, low this time, almost a growl. His eyes flicker back down to the time in the corner of his phone screen and they widen a bit when they see that he’s been texting Keith for over half an hour and completely forgotten to take care of both his and his cat’s morning grooming. He can still feel the facemask on his skin starting to dry and sighs when he realizes he should go wash it off.
Violet calls for his attention again, and he mockingly imitates the sound back at her as he pushes himself all the way up and on his feet. Her meows turn into a quick succession of chirps, and she prances beside his strides on the way back to the bathroom.
(9:46AM) Lance
alright well the princess is demanding her morning grooming so i g2g
ill msg u for more details about the movie l8r
(9:46AM) Keith
Sounds like a plan.
Later
(9:47AM) Lance
byeeee
♡ ♡ ♡
Lance is a little nervous as he flicks on his turn signal and comes to a stop at the light, waiting to turn onto the street Keith gave him yesterday. His pointer finger taps rhythmically on his steering wheel, both hands wrapped around the smooth leather as his eyes flick from the red light to the street a few cars ahead of him to his left.
He can see some of the apartment buildings from here, and while they don’t look bad, they do all look rather plain. The light turns to a green arrow, and the brunet follows the rest of his lane onto the designated road. He slows his speed just so, scanning the buildings for the right number. To him, they’re all rather identical in terms of composition, with varying shades of red, brown, and beige. He finally spots the one Keith mentioned, and pulls into an empty parking spot by it.
He picks up his phone to text Keith that he thinks he’s here, and sees a message from Pidge. She’s warning him that she’s bailing because she’s got a huge project due that she procrastinated till the last second, yet again. He huffs under his breath, but types a response saying not to worry about it, before he messages Keith that he’s there. The other messages him that he sees him and he’ll be right down, so Lance locks his phone and sighs, trying to settle his nerves.
It’s just Keith. And even without Pidge there, Hunk is a really good buffer if things get awkward or stiff between them. He doesn’t really have a reason to be nervous, except that he is because this is Keith. The cute barista who drew him a cute note and made a mess in the pet store because he was too distracted by Lance. The guy Lance had taken a chance with and actually succeeded in befriending and getting his number. The guy he was currently going to have in his car, alone, for the next twenty-seven minutes while they drove to the movie theater.
His train of thoughts is interrupted when he sees one of the front doors to the apartment open and Keith step out, his finger stuttering mid-air in its rhythmic tapping on the steering wheel.
The other was wearing black and white sneakers with grey harem pants, and a black shirt with a red, crop top jacket over it that showed off his slight hour-glass waist. His hair is up in his usual ponytail. Lance couldn’t make out the words on his shirt from where the other was, but when he opened his car door to step out and wave him over, he saw the words “Kick butt, go to space, represent the human race” in bold white letters on the front with a few simple drawings of stars and planets around them. It made him chuckle and Keith raised a brow at him when he came over.
“Nice shirt,” Lance said with a grin, reaching down to hit the unlock button on the inside of his door, hearing each of the door’s locks unlock with a little click.
Keith looks down at his shirt before glancing back up again, “Is it weird?”
Lance shrugs, but offers the other a more reassuring smile, “Nah man, I like it.” He nods to the door on the other side before ducking back into the car. A moment later, Keith slides into the passenger seat beside him and buckles his seatbelt, as Lance does the same.
“So,” Keith starts, and Lance hums for him to continue as he turns in his seat and carefully backs out of the parking spot. “Hunk and Pidge are going to be there, right? I don’t think I’ve met Pidge.”
“Well, you won’t meet her today either, because she bailed to work on another project she procrastinated until the last second.” Lance rolls his eyes as he changes gears once fully out on the road again, “Again.”
“Oh,” Keith replied softly.
“Yeah, so it’s just us and Hunk.”
The brunet can see Keith raise a brow at him, “So then why isn’t Hunk with you?”
Lance turns on his signal again when he reaches the end of the road, pausing at the stop light just long enough to make sure no cars are coming before he turns right, “He said he had some errands to run this morning or something, so he’d meet us there.” Keith hums in acknowledgement, and an awkward silence settles between them. It persists for the beginning of the ride, and Keith starts to get fidgety until Lance flicks on the radio. He flips through the stations he has set without taking his eyes off the road, eventually settling on one that plays popular pop songs.
A couple songs go by with nothing more than Lance tapping to the beat on the steering wheel, but by the third, he started humming softly, and when the lyrics played out, so did his voice.
“Stop me on the corner. I swear you hit me like a vision,” he hummed, tapping to the beat all the while, braking lightly as they came to another light. “I- I- I wasn’t expecting, but who am I to tell fate where it’s s’posed to go with it?” His smile pulled wider as the tapping escalated while they were stopped, and he could see Keith watching him from the corner of his eye. “Don’t you blink, you might miss it. See, we got a right to just love it or leave it. You find it and keep it, ‘cause it ain’t every day you get a chance to say-”
The light turned green and they were off again, Lance singing to the music and watching the small smile on Keith’s face slowly get bigger and bigger as they went along. The awkward air that was between them earlier seemed to be pushed to the backburner, still there but nowhere near as present as it had been. Lance sees Keith lean over and look out the window, occasionally stealing glances as Lance while he drove. Lance stole them back, and more than once their eyes met, making Lance’s eyes look back to the road while Keith’s eyes flitted back to the window, a light blush coating both their cheeks that neither commented on.
When they got to the theater, they found the parking lot relatively empty, so Lance was able to park closer to the entrance. He was kind of grateful since it made the walk of awkward silence to the building shorter. Lance hopped up the few steps to the front doors, opening one and dramatically bowing as Keith approached more carefully.
“After you, my good sir!” The brunet teased, and Keith rolled his eyes but he was smiling as he walked past Lance into the theater. The taller male slid in after him, putting his hands on his hips and deeply breathing the heavy scent of chemical butter syrup and warm pretzels. “Dang, it always smells so good in here.”
“Kinda nauseating, in my opinion,” Keith mumbled, wrinkling his nose as he followed Lance to the side. Lance looked around, scanning the slim pickings of groups that dotted the floor and found Hunk not among any of them, or even on his own. He pulled his phone from his pocket and tapped the home button to check the time. A tiny pout pulled at his lips as he huffed at his empty lock screen, no text notification to be found.
“Jeez, where is he?” Lance muttered while unlocking his phone.
“Hunk?” Keith inquired, blinking over at him.
“Yup. He’s not here yet, so I’m gunna give him a call to see where he is,” Lance looked back briefly, thumb dancing over the screen on muscle memory as he pulled up the call app and tapped on Hunk’s phone number. Holding the phone to his ear, he stole a glance at Keith as he listened to it ring. The other was standing idly next to him, hands loosely slung into the pockets of his pants. The red jacket was a brilliant contrast that would have drawn Lance’s eye to him if he were on the other side of the long building, yet somehow, it fit. The sleeves fit tenderly on his arm, but he could see the gentle roll of hidden muscles under the fabric.
His thoughts were interrupted as the call was picked up, his best friend’s voice slicing into his senses in a chipper voice, “Hey, Lance!”
“Hey, Hunk, where are you?” Lance asked, tilting his head into the phone a bit as he spoke.
“Uh, out doing errands?” The other responded, as if the answer were obvious, but there was something else in his voice. It almost sounded like an underlying layer of amusement.
“I thought you said you’d be done by like, eleven?”
“It’s busy out, so I probably won’t be done till one.”
“Hunk!” Lance groaned into the phone, “We’re supposed to be seeing a movie at eleven-thirty, remember?”
“Yeah dude, I’m like, super sorry, but I’m gunna have to take a raincheck.”
Funny, Lance thought as he pouted against the phone, he doesn’t sound sorry at all.
Still, he sighed and put a hand on his hip again, “It’s fine, dude. But you totally owe me next time. I’m talking a 3D movie and extra popcorn!”
Hunk laughs on the other end of the line, and Lance can’t even be mad at him when he hears the sound, “Alright, deal. Is Keith with you?”
“Yeah, why?”
“Tell him I said hi! Oh, and sorry I couldn’t go.”
Lance snorts softly, before turning to Keith, “Hunk says hi.”
The dakr-haired boy blinks in surprise before smiling a little, “Tell him I said hi back.”
“He says hi!” Lance laughs into the phone, and Hunk laughs with him before they say their goodbyes and hang up. He’s a little suspicious that Hunk and Pidge may have planned to duck out on purpose to get Keith and Lance to talk to each other explicitly. He tries not to sigh again as he pockets his phone.
“So I take it he’s not coming?” Keith asks, though it almost sounds more like a statement than a question.
“Yeah, but that just means we don’t have to share the snacks with him,” Lance replies with a crooked grin. There’s a bit of an awkward silence before Lance gives a little cough to break it, “So uh, what do you want to do?”
Keith gives him a look that’s a mix of wary and confused, “What do you mean?”
Lance shrugs, one hand coming up to rub the side of his neck, “I mean, Hunk and I were gunna split the fees. Like one buys snacks and the other buys the tickets, since they’re like equally grossly overpriced. So, do you want to do that?”
“Oh, sure. I was gunna buy my own ticket anyways.”
“Great! Then you can buy tickets and I’ll buy snacks,” the brunet chimes. Keith nods in acceptance and they split to go to their respective counters. It isn’t until he’s standing in line for the snack counter that he realizes...he has no idea what kind of foods Keith likes. He could be a salty-sweet kind of guy, or go straight for sour. Maybe he just wanted popcorn? Or maybe real food instead of candy? Their theater was pretty popular, so the food choices were kind of extensive, which didn’t really help him pick something.
There were three sets of people in front of him, so he at least tried to pick out what he wanted. His eyes glanced over the massive food island to the rows of ticket booths where cashiers stood waiting, noting Keith one person behind the next in line. He breathed a sigh of relief when Keith got both tickets and trotted over, sliding into line beside Lance, with one set of people to go before them.
“Hey, uh, I wasn’t sure what you’d want,” Lance started, sliding his hands out of his jacket pockets and laying them over his hips. “I usually go for the mozzarella sticks, because they’re super hella, but ugh, their pretzel bites are so good, man.”
Keith chuckled, “Yeah?”
“Uh, yeah! They’re like, all warm and soft with just the right amount of salt.” The brunet sighed dreamily before turning to grin at the dark-haired male, “So? What’cha want? It’s all on me and you can buy snacks next time, so don’t feel bad about the price.”
“I’m good with just popcorn,” the other replied, smiling lightly.
“Just popcorn?”
“Mhm.”
Lance blew a soft raspberry at him, “That’s boring, but to each their own, I guess.”
Keith huffed a little at him, “I usually eat before movies so I don’t waste a fortune on the overpriced food. The tickets are bad enough.”
“Alright, fair.”
The cashier calls them up, and Lance orders a large popcorn and two small soft drinks, along with an order of mozzarella sticks for himself. They’re handed their cups and shuffle over to the large variety of soda machines. Lance fills his entirely with Sprite, before turning to watch in horror as Keith spritzes a variety of flavors and soda brands into his cup before capping it.
He raises a brow at Lance when he finishes, “What, you’ve never mixed before?”
“Uh, not like that. Usually just half and half on two sodas.” The slightly taller boy crinkles his nose a little bit, “What even is that concoction?”
“I like to call it skittles pop,” the other laughed, moving to pluck a straw from the container and sticking it through the lid after shedding it of its wrapper.
“Skittles pop,” Lance deadpans, scrunching his lips up a bit when Keith offers him the drink.
“C’mon Lance, it won’t bite,” Keith says, smiling coyly. “Or are ya’ scared?”
“You wish!” The brunet huffs back, before grabbing the cup enough to guide it towards himself, leaning forwards to take the straw into his lips and giving it a sharp suck. Fizzy flavor crashes over his tongue, but instead of sickly sweet and gross it’s… light, and still got that kind of candy taste from the variety of flavors. He swallowed and blinks, “Holy shit, it taste like a handful of skittles.”
“Told you so!” Keith smirked, and Lance rolled his eyes. There was a moment of silence when they both looked down to Keith’s cup to find Lance’s fingers overlapping his own, and Lance quickly pulled his hand back and coughed a bit.
“Uh, the movie is gunna start soon,” Lance says, glancing at Keith before he looks off to the side again, staring at a stain on the floor a few yards away. “And I know it’s gunna be pretty popular, so we should get good seats before the hordes of small children take them all.”
Keith laughed, a bit of nervousness tingeing the sound, “Yeah, good point.” Lance grabbed his drink and they headed over to the delivery counter for his mozzarella sticks and the bucket of popcorn, which he hands to Keith in exchange for the tickets. The ticket master tears off the expendable part of their tickets and lets them pass with an obligatory “enjoy the movie”, and they’re walking down the long, heavily decorated carpet to their theater.
“And now, Monsieur, it is with greatest pride and deepest pleasure, that we welcome you tonight!” Lance smirks as he pulls open the door for Keith, whose arms are full of popcorn and soda. The dark-haired male raises a brow at him as he slips past, and Lance follows, continuing his monologue as they wander into the small hallway that leads into the theater, “And now, we invite you to relax, pull up a chair, as AMC proudly presents-” He hopped past him just enough to gesture broadly to the room, which only had a few families in it so far, surprisingly. “Your theater!”
Keith chuckled and hushed him, and then they made their way to the top row by the projector, settling down in the middle and tucking their drinks into the holders on their respective sides. They talked amongst themselves for a bit, commenting on the trailers and what movies they wanted to see. There was a trailer out for the new Star Wars movie, and Lance turned to Keith just as the other did and said in unison, “We have to see that!”. They blinked at each other, surprised, and then Keith snorted, which made Lance grin.
When the movie started, the opening music immediately caught their attention, the narrator silencing all the conversations in the room as she spoke of the ocean and its history. The story flowed like water over rocks as it explained the backstory and how Maui was involved, before softly transitioning to an old woman, who appeared to be the narrator the entire time, telling this story to a group of small island children. Lance could easily pick out little Moana by the flower in her hair, and her happily engrossed look that stood out against the horrified faces of the other children behind her.
The whole movie had him entranced and eating almost subconsciously, and when he’d finished his mozzarella sticks and pouted a bit, he found the half-eaten tub of popcorn plopped in his lap. He turned to look at Keith, who smiled at him before turning back to the movie. His heart fluttered, and he took a long sip of his soda to quell some of the sudden dryness in his mouth. Before long, he was happily stuffing his face with handfuls of popcorn as his eyes were heavily fixed on the screen and its flashing images. Though, he didn’t miss the side glances paired with a smile that Keith threw him from time to time.
“Alright, I’ll admit,” Keith says when the credits are over and the secret end scene is done. He stands and stretches, before picking up the empty popcorn bucket and soda cup. Lance does the same. “That was pretty good.”
“‘Pretty good’?” Lance parrots incredulously. “Dude, it was amazing! The animation was hella and smooth, the colors were pretty and aesthetic and always fit the mood, and the music!” He inhaled into the side of his fist, before letting his hand fan out, eyes closed in pleasure, “Perfection.”
Keith laughs as they make their way down the steps, “True, true.”
Lance’s eyes lit up as he got an idea, dumping his empty mozzarella stick box in the trash nearby, tossing his soda cup in the recycle bin, “Oh my god, I bet it’s on Spotify already! We should totally listen to it on the ride home!”
Keith’s eyebrows piqued in interest, dropping the empty popcorn bucket in the trash as he followed Lance down the narrow hallway to the main theater, “I’m down if it is.”
“Yes!” Lance fistpumped and offered a high five to Keith, who smacked his hand with a smirk. The sound echoed sharply around them with the smarting in his hand. Lance’s grin grew wider, anyways. They chatter more about the movie as they make their way to the front doors, words passing easily between them and whatever awkwardness that had been between them before was gone. When they got into Lance’s car, he plugged his phone in, found a full Moana OST playlist on Spotify, and cranked up the volume after he hit play.
“Alright, what should we listen to first?” Lance asks, scrolling through the songs.
“What was that one where Moana first meets the ocean?” Keith inquires, buckling his seatbelt and leaning over to look at the screen.
“Uh, I wanna say… this one!” The brunet taps a song, and dramatic music starts blasting through the car, causing them both to jump. He quickly pauses it and turns the volume down, “Okay, so not that one.”
Keith holds out his palm, arching a brow in question, “May I?”
Lance blinks at him, before handing him his phone, “Uh, yeah sure, dude.” He watches Keith take the device delicately in his hands, cradling it in his palm as a finger from the other hand slowly browses through the songs. His brow furrows a bit, lips puckering just enough to create a thoughtful pout, his eyes shadowed from the bright sun by his thick swath of bangs, which contrast perfectly against his pale skin. The light runs its warm fingers over Keith’s hair, and Lance could swear he could see deep, purple and blue highlights in the inky strands.
“Maybe it’s this one,” Keith says, more to himself than to Lance, before he taps a song on the list. A deep hum filled the car, rising and falling like the tide. A soft voice started singing in a gentle way, like the waves rolling over the rocks. Keith smiled softly and handed Lance back his phone, who put it in the phone holder for when he played his music. He smiled back at him, put his car in reverse, and backed out of his parking spot. I Am Moana started playing when they reached the end of the parking lot, and Lance hummed along to it. He saw Keith settle into his seat, leaning on his hand as he watched the scenery go by. When Moana started singing, Lance gently sang along, the words already embedded in his brain.
“I am a girl who loves my island, I’m the girl who loves the sea,” he sang softly, perfectly in tune with the melody, matching Moana’s words note for note like he’d wrote it himself. “It calls me.” He tapped against the steering wheel as the foreign language was hummed in between, before gripping the wheel and spinning it as he turned. “ I am the daughter of the village chief. We are descended from voyagers, who found their way across the world, they call me!”
Keith listened with a soft smile, looking over to watch Lance pseudo-dance to the music as he sang, loving how his voice sounded with the music, even if he really shouldn’t try to reach those ending high notes. Still, hearing Lance sing without inhibition, watching him shimmying his shoulders at red lights and stop signs, was kind of endearing. He felt heat scratch at his neck and the back of his ears, but he ignored it when Lance reached the second chorus of How Far I’ll Go.
He still doesn’t think Lance should try to hit those ridiculous high notes. He’s lucky he likes him.
When they finally reach Keith’s apartment, Keith unbuckles himself but his hand pauses halfway through opening the door. He turns to Lance, grinning, “I had a lot of fun. Shame the others had to miss out on such a good movie.”
“Ugh, I know,” Lance replies with a roll of his eyes. “I’m totally gunna blast the soundtrack around them like, all the time now, just to rub it in.” He smirks, then twists to lean an arm on the back of his seat, “But hey, listen, we should all meet up next week when Hunk and Pidge are free.”
Keith looks surprised, but pleasantly so, “Uh, sure. I mean, I work, obviously, but if I’m free then I’m down.”
Lance’s face lights up and his grin broadens and reaches for his ears, “Awesome! I’ll text you about it later when I talk to Hunk and Pidge.”
Keith nudged the door open the rest of the way, sliding out as he replied, “Cool. Uh, I’m usually free Tuesday and Thursday mornings and afternoons, if that helps with planning at all. Sometimes Sundays.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Lance laughed back.
They both seemed a little reluctant to depart, but after a moment Keith slid all the way out the door with a little “see you later” and shut the door. He gave a half-wave, which Lance returned, before he turned and headed for the apartment doors. Lance sighed softly, watching to make sure Keith stepped into his apartment before he backed out of his parking spot and started the journey home. Somehow, even with the music blasting Moana, it felt a whole lot quieter than before.