Baskadia

forest. where we go and what we do. that's where all the romance happens, you see? i thought it was cute so here goes.

He had been walking for what seemed like hours, trying to find something to take his mind off things. He couldn't stop thinking about last night and how he felt about him.

Last night had been amazing; they had spent hours talking, laughing, kissing. The way he held him in his arms made him feel special and happy. He knew he had never met someone as perfect as this one. He could only hope to make him happy as well. He wanted nothing more than to be with him, to be loved by him. He wanted their lives to work out like his and Shiro's. It just felt right.

The only thing missing from this morning was the ring. He didn't want to ruin it because of his stupid, little, teenage feelings but he also didn't want to leave without it either.

After a while, he heard a rustling coming from behind him. He whipped around, prepared to defend himself if it was an animal but saw no one there. His heart sank when he realized that there was no one there at all. He shook his head, clearing it. He hadn't gone mad and hallucinated some random person into his life or whatever. There really wasn't anyone there. It must have just been his imagination.

It was then that his eyes finally caught sight of the forest and the small town not too far away. He let out a sigh of relief knowing that his journey was over; he wouldn't have to go home alone tonight and maybe...maybe he'd get to meet someone else.

Chapter 2

He walked through the small village until he found his house again. As he entered the room, he looked down at his phone. He was expecting a text from Keith asking where he was and why he wasn't picking up his phone. But instead he got a message from his dad telling him he would call later. It wasn't like Lance to ignore his calls so something must be wrong. He sighed, throwing his bag next to the door before getting changed into sweatpants and a t-shirt.

Once he finished, he sat on his bed staring at the door waiting for something to happen. Nothing.

Nothing at all.

"Shit."

Lance jumped off his bed and ran downstairs, hoping to see Hunk or Pidge. He needed to talk to someone right now.

As he approached his parents room, he saw his mom sitting on the couch, watching television. His dad was nowhere to be seen which meant that he probably left work early.

"Where is he?" Lance asked. His mom looked up at him and said, "Your father went out to buy something. He should be back soon." Lance nodded and sat on the couch, waiting.

Five minutes passed when he heard his dad's car pulling in the driveway. Before he could even say anything, his dad was already saying, "I'm sorry I'm late."

"It's okay. We were just waiting for you," Lance said quietly.

His dad sat down on the other end of the couch and put a hand on Lance's knee, squeezing gently. "What happened?"

Lance took a deep breath, preparing to tell his father everything. "We're having a problem...and I don't know what to do."

His dad gave him a sad smile, rubbing soothing circles on his son's knee. "Okay. What is it?"

"Well, my friends and I went out for ice cream last night...and..." Lance trailed off, trying to form the words in his head, but they were jumbled together in a mess.

"And?"

"And, we kissed. And then we talked and everything was fine...until..."

His dad squeezed his knee once more, letting him know that he needed a break. He turned to face his wife and began telling her the same thing Lance was telling him. "So then, we decided that we'd give us a try." She smiled softly, wrapping her arm around her husband's shoulder and pulling him closer.

They watched the TV for another few minutes until Lance spoke up again. "But...he has a girlfriend! And she doesn't like boys!"

"That won't be a problem, sweetie," his mother said calmly. "Just tell him. No need to hide your feelings." Lance bit his lip, unsure what to think. He did want to confess to him but he worried that Keith wouldn't accept him.

"Maybe it won't be so bad after all," his dad added, looking at him reassuringly. "You'll see, it'll all work out."

Lance smiled slightly at both of them but knew he couldn't just tell Keith. This could ruin everything between them and besides, they barely knew each other. He just hoped his feelings weren't going to affect their friendship.

Keith woke up feeling sick to his stomach. He rolled out of bed slowly, taking deep breaths, trying to get rid of the sour taste in his mouth. When he reached for his glasses, he noticed that his hand was shaking. He clenched his jaw tightly, attempting to hold back tears of frustration.

Keith hated being like this. He hated that he had problems in relationships. Most of his friends had gotten married or divorced or were dating already and everyone knew what to do. He wished he was like that. Instead of panicking every time he accidentally touched someone he liked, he was able to relax and enjoy a nice conversation with them. Now that he knew who Lance actually was, he was scared he would hate the idea of being with him. He just hoped that everything worked out with Lance.

When Keith arrived at school that day, Lance was already waiting for him outside the classroom. They shared a quick hug before heading inside together. They walked to their classes together, chatting animatedly. Lance was glad that everything went smoothly and they could continue their relationship. It was a good change of pace after the awkward beginning of the semester.

Class started quickly after and Keith found himself paying less attention to the teacher and more attention to his boyfriend.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Lance asked after a couple of moments of silence. Keith blinked and focused back in, realizing that the whole class had gone silent, waiting for him to answer.

"Yeah! Why wouldn't I be?" He said, trying to sound convincing. Lance furrowed his brows, looking slightly skeptical.

"Well, you've been spacing out pretty much all period since yesterday," he replied.

Keith looked up at the ceiling, praying for patience for a second. "Sorry," he whispered under his breath, looking back down at his notes.

"No big deal!" Lance replied, giving him a wide grin. "We can go sit somewhere else."

"Nah," Keith responded. He wasn't ready yet for Lance to leave. He didn't really know exactly how he felt but seeing Lance like that hurt him. He didn't want Lance to think that he didn't care, that he didn't want him. He was just tired of hiding it. It was becoming a hassle, honestly, especially considering they spent almost every waking moment together.

Luckily, the bell rang and Lance gathered his things before standing up. He grabbed Keith's hands with his own, interlocking their fingers together.

"See you after school, babe?" Lance said sweetly.

Keith smiled back at him and wrapped his arms around his boyfriend's neck, leaning up against him. Lance chuckled, pressing his lips against Keith's forehead, loving the way his body shuddered underneath his touch. After a few seconds, he broke the kiss, smiling shyly up at Keith. Lance leaned forward, resting their foreheads together, closing his eyes as he tried to get used to Keith's presence.

"I love you," Keith whispered after a while.

Lance smiled brightly and leaned up to plant a kiss on Keith's cheek, whispering into his ear, "I love you too, baby."

He pulled away just as the teacher entered the room. Keith took that chance to walk out before he ended up losing it completely.

He stood outside of class, holding onto his books close to his chest, staring blankly ahead of him. He didn't notice the looks people were sending his way, too lost in thought about the previous week. He didn't realize how fast his heart was beating or the way his palms began to grow sweaty.

Why had he done such a thing? Was he actually attracted to Lance? That wasn't even possible...right?

He glanced up at the clock, wondering if he'd ever made it to the lunchroom. He still hadn't figured anything out. All he knew was that he loved him so damn much.

He suddenly felt somebody bump into him, snapping him out of his trance. He turned, glaring at whoever it was when he saw it was one of those idiots from his class, who were all too eager to start teasing and calling him names.

"Hey!" One yelled. "Aren't you forgetting something, loser?"

"Who cares? Just shut up!" He shouted, his voice cracking. Suddenly, the asshole stepped closer, causing Keith to back up against the wall behind him, panic beginning to set in. He wanted nothing more than to run and never look back.

"Oh yeah? Who are you gonna tell?" The guy sneered, reaching to grab the collar of his jacket. Keith tried to scream but all he managed was a choked off gasp. He couldn't fight him alone because everyone who walked by would hear him.

Instead of running away like he planned, however, Keith slammed his fist into the kid's nose. It didn't cause much of an effect, thankfully, as most kids only had one broken nose before highschool and none of them lasted more than a year.

Still, it caused a lot of pain.

The kid stumbled backwards, clutching his bloody nose. "You fucking bitch!" he screamed, pointing a finger at Keith. Keith pushed himself off the wall, making it his mission to punch the kid again.

All of a sudden, there was a large crowd surrounding the two fighting. He heard several people yelling at the two, trying to pull them apart but they seemed more concerned with themselves than helping. A girl with short brown hair shoved her way through the mass of teenagers.

She pulled Keith away by his shirt, dragging him out the front doors of the building before he even realized he was moving. Once they were far enough from the crowd, she let go of him, looking him over for any injuries. "Are you okay? Did he hit you anywhere important?"

Keith looked around, noticing how many people were staring in their direction. He nodded, avoiding eye contact, hoping nobody got the wrong idea.

"Thank God. Do you have a first aid kit with you? Or should I bring you home?" Her eyes scanned over him for any signs of injury but she saw nothing to worry about. His nose looked relatively normal, the blood staining the side of his mouth a faint red, no blood leaking out. She looked him over, searching his face for some sign of discomfort but found nothing.

"I think my mom packed me some ibuprofen."

She nodded, putting a hand on his shoulder. "C'mon. I'll drive you."

Keith followed her to her car and sat quietly next to her while she drove. After a couple of minutes, she turned to face him. "So, what happened?"

He sighed. "It's stupid…"

"It's not dumb, Keith. You might wanna talk about it."

"It's just…I was at our usual spot when this guy came up to me and told me to drop my shit so he could take it. Then, later on when I was talking to Lance, this guy showed up and started asking some questions about us, like what we do at the cinema and stuff like that..." He explained as best as he could. At least this part of the story at least made sense.

Her grip tightened on the steering wheel. "Okay. We can figure this out together."

They were finally parked outside Keith's house when Lance called.

"Lance? What's up?"

"Nothing. Are you free tonight?"

He smiled. "Sure."

"Awesome. Well, don't forget you promised to show me your favourite food from the café," Lance reminded.

"Of course I won't!"

Lance giggled softly, amused. "Cool. See ya then!"

"Bye."

After they hung up the call, Lance continued to smile widely at the phone before slipping it back in his pocket. He then opened the door of his jeep and climbed out, making his way towards Keith's front door. As he knocked on the door, he could feel his heart beat pick up rapidly and he wondered if maybe he should have come earlier.

"Come in."

Lance turned, startled by the sound of his father's voice. "Dad?"

"What are you doing here so early?" Hunk asked, coming into view. He eyed Lance suspiciously. "Is everything okay?"

Lance sighed and ran a hand through his hair, trying to find the right words to say. "I uh, I need to borrow money."

Hunk frowned, confused. "From where?"

Lance hesitated, feeling slightly guilty for having to ask. "My mother left her wallet lying on the kitchen table last night. And I have about forty dollars in cash. Can you-"

His sentence was interrupted by Hunk, pulling him into a tight embrace. Lance froze at the action, shocked. "Of course, sweetie," Hunk said soothingly. "Of course I will lend you the money. Is everything okay? Should I call your mom?"

Lance shook his head, slowly starting to relax once he realized it wasn't going to turn into a full blown panic attack any minute now. He hugged his dad tightly, relishing the moment.

"Thanks."

"Anything for you, kiddo." Hunk pulled away, placing a reassuring pat on his son's arm. "I love you, sweetheart."

Lance smiled, taking deep breaths in order to calm himself down. He gave his dad another hug before grabbing his keys to make his escape. Once he locked the door, he made his way towards the driver's seat, opening the door.

He noticed his reflection in the mirror, seeing how dishevelled he looked. It wouldn't be long until people noticed. Lance bit his lip, shaking his head as he backed out of the driveway.

The drive to work went smoothly as always, which made Lance a little sad. Sure, he enjoyed working there and getting paid well but sometimes, it was nice to be treated better than a dog by other people. It was probably why his family had been in business for so long, he figured. There was certainly no shortage of employees. People had to be desperate to work for the McClain's.

It wasn't until Lance reached his workplace that he realised the events from the previous day weren't exactly what he intended to talk to Keith about, and yet, here he was.

As soon as he stepped inside, he saw Pidge, Matt, Keith, Shiro, Adam and Allura all sitting near their desks. They waved at him when they saw him enter. He gave each of them a quick nod before walking straight to Shiro's desk, ignoring the way their heads turned in curiosity.

"What are you looking at?" He snapped. Pidge and Matt immediately averted their gaze, pretending as though they hadn't been staring at him the entire time. Allura and Keith exchanged glances before turning away as well. "Shiro, I want the truth, right now."

Shiro stared at him curiously for a moment before saying, "Alright fine. Why is Lance in such a bad mood today?"

Keith furrowed his eyebrows, clearly confused by the question. "That doesn't really matter," he stated.

"Of course it does! You're obviously upset about something, but you won't tell us anything. So tell us what's wrong," Shiro demanded. "And remember that we're your friends. No matter what happens, we always get it right the second time."

"Yeah, Keith. If you're unhappy, tell us. Please, tell us. I hate knowing that someone's hurting," Pidge added.

Keith sighed, rubbing a hand across his face. "I…uh…was kind of thinking about what I did and I sorta…well…got scared that it may happen again. That's all. I'll tell you guys later, okay?"

A smirk crossed Shiro's face, knowing Keith was lying. "If you say so."

"You've already lost your job, dude," Lance stated. "How are you going to afford food for yourself? How are you going to feed yourself and pay the bills?"

"Don't worry. It'll be fine. Besides, I'll get another job soon."

"Why wait? The sooner the better," Pidge insisted.

"No. I mean it'll be fine. I swear. Look, Lance, I really appreciate you worrying about me but I'm okay. Just…not used to being around people yet."

Lance stared at Keith for a moment before shrugging his shoulders. "Whatever, man." Turning on his heels, Lance left the office, heading back to where his dad and sister worked behind the counter. He couldn't help but notice how awkward everyone was acting around him.

Did they know something he didn't?

Chapter 14

"So, what exactly happened?" Allura asked, looking at Lance curiously.

He shrugged, playing with the edge of his jacket sleeve. “Just some weirdos bothering him. He tried to fight them off, though.”

“Do you think they were planning on doing something to him?”

“Maybe? He was lucky, that’s for sure. I doubt he’d be able to fend off three guys and a woman alone.”

“Three? How big was the group?”

“Big,” he mumbled, suddenly finding interest in his shoes. “They were like…four or five guys or something. They looked pretty tough too…it was only me who got beaten up.” His voice started wavering again. “One of them was bigger than me. Bigger than you. And he hit me first. He broke one of my ribs, too. Then he grabbed me and tried to drag me down to the ground. My dad managed to kick him away before I got taken away. But then they came back…” His eyes widened in fear. “And I guess they were gonna kill me too, but…” He shook his head violently, trying to shake those awful thoughts from his mind.

Allura placed her hand gently on top of his hand, hoping to comfort him. “Hey…it’s alright, Lance. Don’t blame yourself, okay? None of this is your fault.”

But it’s my fault that I even let myself be cornered into this situation… Lance thought miserably.

Lance took a shaky breath and calmed down a little, allowing a small smile to appear on his lips. “Sorry, I’m just feeling a little tense. I’ll be better soon, promise.”

Allura smiled warmly back at him. “Good, because that was quite an ordeal you just went through. I’m glad that you got help. Especially after what happened yesterday. I can’t imagine what would have happened to you if it hadn’t been for Keith.”

Lance glanced over at Keith, his heart swelling at the sight of his boyfriend smiling happily while chatting casually with Adam, who seemed completely engrossed in his conversation. He felt relief flood his body; the fact that he didn’t end up having to fight three guys by himself made his insides flutter. He was still terrified about what might have happened to him yesterday morning, but he was starting to trust Keith more.

Although he still didn’t like that he had let Keith walk right into danger on his own, he knew that it was because Keith knew the risks involved. He was prepared for it, after all. Lance knew that Keith would protect him from anything and anyone if it meant keeping Lance safe from harm.

However, Lance also remembered what the other boy had told him during lunch time. He knew that it was dangerous. He knew how easily something could go wrong if Keith was not careful.

Lance hated the idea of letting Keith get hurt ever again, and that knowledge filled him with dread.

I’m sorry, Keith…for getting you into this mess…

***

“Are you ready?” Keith murmured.

Lance nodded eagerly, smiling broadly. “Yep, I’m ready. Let’s go.”

He followed Keith outside, closing the doors of Keith’s jeep quietly. It wasn’t a very nice day for a trip out of town, especially since it was December in Texas, but neither of them minded. They needed some fresh air to clear their heads, anyway.

The two of them sat down in the passenger seat of Keith’s car, staring out the window. They didn’t speak much during their ride. They just stared out the window together, admiring the scenery they passed along the way.

Finally, once they arrived, Keith helped Lance step out of the jeep, holding onto his elbow in case he stumbled due to his dizziness.

“Ready?” he asked softly.

Lance nodded once, leaning against Keith to steady himself. The two walked together through the parking lot to reach the main entrance of the restaurant. As Lance approached the front door, he paused momentarily, glancing at his boyfriend nervously.

“Are you sure you wanna do this, babe? I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable. We don’t have to go if you don’t want to.”

“Let’s just do it,” Keith replied, squeezing Lance’s arm reassuringly.

Reluctantly, Lance pulled the handle open.

He found himself staring at an older couple standing in front of the counter, chatting to one another, when Keith tugged on the back of his jacket, pulling him forward.

Lance cleared his throat and attempted to act natural—which was hard to accomplish, considering he was practically dragging his feet.

The old couple looked towards him when the bell above the door alerted them that someone else had entered the restaurant, but otherwise paid no attention. Instead, they focused solely on one another, continuing their chaste conversation.

Keith led Lance towards a quiet corner in the kitchen that served only themselves, the elderly couple, and, of course, their employees. Once he and Lance were seated, Keith sat down beside him. Lance watched him intently as he fidgeted with the hem of his shirt nervously, unsure of whether or not he should start the conversation.

Eventually, however, Keith spoke up. “You remember my mom and dad?”

Lance nodded.

“Well…they’re…they’re alive, you know,” Keith explained hesitantly. “My mom’s still working