Work Text:
I am sitting in the morning
Keith likes the mornings here. They're all quiet but also rushed, everybody either is too tired or too much of in a hurry to even start conversation.
At the diner on the corner
The Altean was a cozy diner, everything was made to be comfortable and yet functional. Due to its placement, two walls were made out of glass and let in sunlight. The window seats were the most favoured, even in winter or with bad weather.
The tables were clean and the floor was wiped, stools and booths showing signs of usage and nervous customers and the entire room smelt like coffee and molten chocolate. It was a good smell.
I am waiting at the counter
The counter was long and wooden and showed so many signs of usage, they outnumbered the stars. When Keith was bored, he would try to see constellations within them.
The wood polish savoured all the little markings for other generations and allowed new ones to join them in the eternal fight against time.
A man on a window seat was sipping on his still steaming coffee while reading a book. Keith tried to read the title unobtrusively, but was too far away. The man looked intrigued though.
For the man to pour the coffee
Another reason why Keith likes this place so much is Shiro.
The guy is taller than him and about five years older, but he treats Keith like a brother, like an equal, and not like a child. He also makes the best coffee in town.
They've met at the diner actually, it was raining heavily and Keith was looking for his cat when he saw her in here, being fed a piece of meat by Shiro. The man had provided both of them with towels and a meal and sat with the boy until the rain stopped. Since then, Keith visited every day, and when the weather was good, Red would join him.
Today was no such day.
And he fills it only halfway
Keith needs his coffee or he becomes a zombie. Everybody who knows him for about a few hours knows that. And today, Keith hasn't had any coffee before came here. It's an emergency for him. And so, when Shiro lowers his mug, which is not even close to being full enough, the boy is enraged.
And before I even argue
Keith sucks in a breath, ready to question him, but he sees a glimmer in Shiro's eyes. That can only mean one thing.
He is looking out the window
Keith follows Shiro's eyes to the window front. As the reason for Shiro's joyful eyes lifts one hand to the doorknob of the diner, the man's whole face lightens up, a grin scrunching up that scar right across his face and making him seem like a puppy that sees a treat.
Keith hopes someone would look at him like that one day.
At somebody coming in
Shiro hurries to finish Keith's coffee (thankfully he hasn't dropped it) and quickly swipes the counter clean, putting cups and mugs in order and leans elegantly on the counter, right in time for them to close the door and turn around.
"It is always nice to see you"
"Hey. The usual?"
Before they can answer, Shiro is already picking up a mug and turns on one of the machines. He works fast and precisely and Keith starts to wonder if he practiced making that particular drink so elegantly like a dancer would practice until their muscles memorize the step.
Says the man behind the counter
Shiro seems to control the coffee machine telepathically because, just as he reaches out for the handle, the machine finishes the drink.
That man knows what he is doing.
To the woman who has come in
Shiro places the mug on the counter, along with a pink donut. "It's on me"
"Shiro, you're going poor if you continue to give me food for free!"
"Matt, for you, I'd even sell Keith to your cousin. I'm serious."
Keith would have protested if Shiro hadn't used his 'big brother in need' look on him.
She is shaking her umbrella
Matt only sighs, followed by an often-repeated sentence. "You need an umbrella stand."
And so, because there is no umbrella stand, he reopens the door and shakes his umbrella outside, which is not helping much, because, well, it's raining.
Shiro chuckles and adds a small cookie to the donut.
And I look the other way
Matt gives up and leans the now even wetter umbrella against the glass next to the door.
As he frees himself of his coat, Keith already suspects what is coming and directs his eyes back to the counter, back to his coffee and back to the constellations.
As they are kissing their hellos
Matt gives Shiro not more than a quick peck on the lips before he picks up his donut and guides it towards his mouth.
Shiro however has other plans, he takes his face into his hands and indulges the other's mouth in a kiss, one that says 'I missed you', one that says 'How was your day', one that says 'You are so beautiful', but most importantly, one that says 'I love you'. It was one that would make other people blush and wish they could kiss someone this way.
I'm pretending not to see them
Keith is one of those people who blushes at that kiss.
He is one to wish that they can kiss each other like that forever.
He is one to wish that they kiss like that at their wedding.
He is one to wish that he could kiss someone like that.
He is one to wish that someone will choose him to kiss like that.
And he is not one to call "Get a room!".
And he is not one to stare at them full of jealousy.
And he is not one to destroy their happiness due to his own discomfort.
Instead I pour the milk
A droplet of milk falls on the counter as Keith makes his coffee brown instead of black. The droplet splashes and paints white dots on the wood.
A constellation just became the Milky Way.
I open up the paper
After cleaning up the milk with a handkerchief, Keith is beginning to ask Shiro for a new as he sees that he could as well talk to wall. Shiro is completely engulfed in a conversation with Matt.
So Keith sighs and picks up one of the newspapers that lay at the end of the counter.
There's a story of an actor
Keith turns the pages around without really paying attention to what they say.
Who had died while he was drinking
Alcohol makes people weird. Some people are nicer than usual. Some are more talkative. Some cry and stop for minor things. And some become violent.
Keith's father was one of the latter, so when he wanted to drive while being drunk, Keith hadn't stopped him. Sure, it was morally quizzing for him but the sight of freedom was bigger than the guilt of a dead father who didn't even remember to come to his graduation. He hadn't even apologized.
And so Keith wondered, how had the actor been under the influence of alcohol?
It was no one I had heard of
Keith huffed and turned this page too. Why did he care? He neither has known the man nor was he part of the police of some sort of hobby detective.
But the newspaper had to do its services a bit longer, a quick glance told the boy that Shiro was currently making puppy eyes to make Matt do something Keith didn't even want to know.
And I'm turning to the horoscope
Keith believes in horoscopes as much as he believes in Santa Clause or world peace.
But they're funny to analyze. The most generic shit is thrown together, and somehow, virgo was portrayed very annoying. Whoever wrote these, the despised a certain virgo. They were probably a gemini, they had the best day out of the signs. Stupid bastards.
And looking for the funnies
The comic strip next to the horoscopes is even worse. Some generic stuff with a grimace and no pointe. Virgo's horoscope was better.
And just as Keith lays the paper back to the others, his neck's nerves begin to prickle.
When I'm feeling someone watching me
The feeling strengthens, so the boy removes the hair hanging over his neck, but that doesn't do any better. The feeling wouldn't vanish making him look around frantically, hoping to see what's causing his distress.
And so I raise my head
His inconspicuous 'yo, what's up' gaze tells him nothing, so Keith straightens his back [lmao the only straight thing here] and turns around. This gives him a better look at his surroundings and even the people on the street.
There's a woman on the outside
And as Keith gazes towards the window, he sees a boy, presumably his age.
This boy makes the prickle in Keith's neck go away.
This boy makes laughing seem like the easiest thing on earth.
This boy makes the heaviest storm seem like a slight drizzle.
This boy makes Keith's heart skip a beat.
This boy makes Shiro and Matt's kisses irrelevant.
Looking inside does she see me?
And this magnificent boy is looking right into the diner.
Keith forgets to breath.
No, she does not really see me
The boy raises his hand.
Keith's hand twitches, as if it wants to respond to a gesture yet to come.
Cause she sees her own reflection
The boy's hand lands in his chocolate brown hair to fix it. A few strands have left their place and refuse to go back.
And Keith's hand feels numb.
And I'm trying not to notice
And while Shiro is rambling to him about how clever Matt is, Keith can't help but to check Window Boy out. Up and down, from the hair that is just the perfect shade to align the probably south-american skin colour over the wide baseball shirt and cargos to the worn down, but still fully-functional boots.
Keith is at awe.
That she's hitching up her skirt
The boy now throws both of his arms over his head in frustration.
Which reveals his tummy, or to be precise, a slim, yet muscular form previously hidden by the wide shirt.
A blush becomes visible on Keith's cheeks.
And while she's straightening her stockings
Window Boy tries again and regains control of his hair. By pulling up his jacket's hood.
Her hair has gotten wet
Now two other kids join Window Boy, both with umbrellas and shouting at him. One his huge and just as tanned, but his hair is a warm shade of black. He could as well be an oversized teddy bear. The other figure is smaller than both of them, slim and constantly pushing their glasses up.
Most Beautiful Person In Existence smiles at them and rushes under the big guy's umbrella. Together, they continue walking down the street.
And just as Keith makes his move to turn around, Window Boy flashes him a smile.
And Keith smiles back.
Oh, this rain, it will continue
Keith couldn't stop thinking about that boy. He must be living in this town but Keith hadn't seen him before. No wonder when barely goes to new places.
Shiro becomes overwhelmed when the number of customers grows drastically thanks to the rain and asks Keith to help him. He has watched the man work long enough to know what to do and what not to do, and even more important, how to take no shit from impatient people and just do his work. And both friends are grateful for it.
Through the morning as I'm listening
Keith works next to Shiro for a few hours and even alone for about twenty minutes so Shiro can eat a sandwich Matt has brought him earlier. The mass of people is now subdued so the boy glazes through the window without much interruption.
Suddenly, Window Boy and his friends come in.
Keith stands up straight, ruffles through his hair and pulls on his shirt collar.
"Hi! What can I get for you guys?"
Teddy Bear mumbles something unintelligible and Glasses waves their hands dismissively, but Window Boy steps up and leans on the counter.
"I want, err, a big latte macchiato with extra sugar and cream, a chocolate donut, and, lemme see, oh, your number."
The smile on his lips is infecting and Keith just has to smile back.
While he's making the coffee, he retorts a simple "Is that all?"
The tan boy looks surprised.
"You are really giving me your number? You don't even know my name!"
"Hey, you asked for it! If you don't want it, not my problem."
"Whoa sorry, I'm just surprised it worked! I thought that maybe you already are with someone or something."
Keith just has to laugh at that. "It's okay, jeez, calm down. Here's your food. It's on me. And now hush, before I get fired or something!"
To the bells of the cathedral
Just after about ten minutes, Keith's phone vibrates.
He unlocks it and sees the text from an unknown number.
Hello diner guy heres lat macc with extra cream n sugar guy! actually the names lance, wanna meet up l8r? im free at 3pm+ <3
Lance. That's a nice name. A nice name for him. And before he changes his mind, Keith types a response.
Hey this is diner guy, better known as Keith. Sure, how about at 4:30, in the park near the uni? There's this ice cream shop that's supposed to be really good. xo
Sure thing fam meet me in ther, gonna find u b4 u kno <3
Keith couldn't stop smiling for hours, even as Shiro questions his sanity and complains about the younger one's humming and non-broodiness, which is very unlike Keith.
Keith doesn't care.
I am thinking of your voice...
After lunchbreak rush, Shiro gives Keith some time to eat something too, but Keith's too anxious to do so. This is his first date in a long time and something just doesn't feel right. It didn't end up good the last time he dated. Or the time before that. Or before that (even though that was in middle school and with a girl). No relationship with Keith, romantic or not, ended up good. He was just waiting for his cat to leave him for good and for Shiro to get annoyed and kick him out of the diner, though their friendship is one of the longest Keith ever had.
And so, driven by doubt and bad experiences, he does what every sane and mature human being would do, he straight up calls Lance to cancel the date.
Every beep feels like someone is kicking his ribs.
And the first sound as Lance picks up the call feels like punch in the face.
Keith hangs up.
He takes a deep breath in.
He raises his phone to smash it on the floor like it's the source of his inner struggle.
And just as he is about to smash it on the floor, the phone rings.
Keith drops it like a hot stone.
But as he sees who is calling, he fiddles it up and presses 'answer' like his life depends on it.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Keith, it's me, Lance. You called me? Already missing me, eh?"
"No no no, no wait, I mean yes, no, I mean I'm... I'm sorry Lance, I can't do that. I can't meet up with you."
"What man, why? D'you have to work? I mean, another time is fine.."
"No, it's just that I, I, I'm not made for dating and stuff and you shouldn't bother with me, I mean, you could date anyone, you got the looks for it and you're nice and kind and just plain beautiful, fuck did I say that aloud? And honestly, if this was a dare or something just break it off, tell them you got a date with me, whohoo. Like, I don't want to steal your time and..."
"Keith?"
"Yeah?"
"Stop rambling. It's okay if you don't wanna date. Can we still meet up? As friends? I mean, you seemed like a cool guy, a guy I would be happy to call my friend."
"Yeah, ok. Friends. Seems cool. Thank you. I'll see you later."
"Yeah, see ya!"
Keith hangs up with a smile on his lips and tears in his eyes.
Friends.
He's friends with Lance.
That's good.
And of the midnight picnic
Keith spends the rest of his break drying his eyes and thinking about what could've been if he wouldn't have acted so selfish.
Lance seemed so pumped about it. About them.
Once upon a time before the rain began...
And Keith imagines what they could've been doing if he wouldn't be so selfish.
He imagines meeting Lance's friends.
He imagines Lance meeting his cat.
He imagines Lance and him visiting Shiro and Matt at the diner.
He imagines being as beautiful as them.
He imagines Lance finding out about his parents and not treating him like he's fragile.
He imagines what he and Lance could be doing.
And feeling like Lance deserves better than him being selfish, he calls Lance.
I finish up my coffee
"Keith?"
"Yeah, hi Lance. Look, I'm sorry about earlier, I was overthinking it and it's definitely not right to dismiss your offer without even meeting properly. I'm sorry."
"Oh thank god, I was feeling rather awkward. But Keith, can we sort out the details later, I'm in the middle of a lecture and my prof is probably getting suspicious why I need so long on the toilet. See you later, 'kay buddy?"
"Yeah, see you, have fun in your lecture!"
And before Keith hangs up, he can hear Lance snort and a door opening.
And this feels even better than when Lance asked for his number.
It's time to catch the train
At 4:15, Keith packs up his stuff, well his phone and jacket, and leaves the diner. Shiro, Matt and Allura, one of the diner's owners, who had joined not two hours ago, wish him fun on his date, hoping he would 'use protection, just as a good employee would', even though he's not really employed by a contract and gets payed with free coffee.
He arrives at sharp 4:30, and as he lifts one hand to open the shop's door, a tan, warm one slides into his other. He looks sideways to the owner of said hand and recognizes one of the best smiles in the whole wide world.
"Hi." It comes out almost inaudible, but Lance is close enough to hear what he means.
"Hello pretty boy. Just one thing first, are you from outer space? 'Cause your body is from outta this world."
"Aaand I'm gone. Sorry, but that line just destroyed any trust I had in you as a human being."
Lance just snickers.
"Would free ice cream change your mind? Or maybe a romantic picnic? Or kittens?"
"You had me at ice cream, but I'm always up for kittens."
They both laugh and enter the ice cream shop, still holding hands and feeling as content in each other's presence as if they hadn't just met, as if they were a couple for years, as if nobody could hurt them as long as they were together.
Pidge gags as the two chatter along and giggle to nonsense.
"Hunk, look at that, Lance is quiet for longer than a minute, quick, gimme the camera!"
The bushes don't give the perfect angle, but that's better than nothing.
And as Keith is distracted by a swan, Lance quickly turns around, shows Pidge and Hunk his middle finger.
And when Lance is showing his middle finger to someone, they certainly know that they should leave immediately.