#i been having some WACK ass dreams lately dude

[jax-is-rattled]

I love waking up from weird ass fucking dreams that have some of the ghouls in them.

Like. What do you MEAN dew and phantom are in my old elementary school cafeteria.

We carved little dinosaurs out of wood and got Wendy's after.

Weird fucking dream.

[butteraway]

when time runs out | ii

⋆ summary:  A young girl has fallen deeply ill with an unknown disease in her, so with all her free time spent in an empty hospital room, she spends it online playing video games. That's until she meets her cousins friends, one spiking her interest with his extremely vulgare language.

pairing: bakugou katsuki x reader

word count: 2.1k

warnings: small mentions of suicide (I’ll put a star ‘⋆’ on top and below the paragraph so you can skip over it if your uncomfortable, you won’t miss anything too important so dont worry!)

"Bro, honestly I still can't believe that you of all people made it into the elite, number one hero school in the country."

"Waahh, I'm telling you! I'm the real deal Y/N!"

"So, how's your summer been? School's gonna be starting soon, are you excited?" Denki could only smile and sigh as his character was finally killed off.

Said girl chuckled as she heard Denki's voice rise through her headphones as they continued killing zombies in front of them. She grimaced as a zombie attacked her from behind her character. Geez, I never get a break in this game.

"Well, to be honest, nothing big really happened besides me getting my acceptance letter from U.A. Just me training and hanging with the fam." He laid back in the comfort of his bed, headphones still on in order to hear his cousin.

"Aah, already training, hero boy? That's why you haven't been visiting me lately." Y/N pouted and crossed her arms as her TV screen turned black, returning her to the main page of the game.

"Man, we suck at this game!" Denki laughed out loud as he saw how long they lasted in the last round. Y/N smiled and let out a small giggle of her own as she placed down her controller.

"Yeah, how long have we had this game for? It still feels like it's our first time playing this." Denki cracked a smile, even though Y/N couldn't see him.

"Hey, sorry for not being able to come to the hospital. Getting ready for U.A. is no joke, haha." Denki rubbed the nape of his neck, eyebrows scrunching up with regret. 

"Nah nah, it's fine! I understand that you have things to do. You have big plans for the future." Y/N brushed a strand of her hair away from her face, looking down at the needles that were plunged into her arms. Her eyes were clouded with an emotion she often felt when talking with Denki. She always felt guilty whenever the feeling came around.

"Must be nice to be able to achieve your dreams." Jealousy. She hated the feeling she got every now and then, but you couldn't really blame her. She lost everything in only a couple of months. Silence passed between the two teenagers, Y/N finally realizing what she said.

"Uh s-sorry about that! I didn't mean to say that alou-" Y/N was cut off by Denki's soft voice.

"Y/N, it's... okay to feel like that. I don't understand what you have been going through, but I know that you shouldn't bring yourself down for something you can't control. You're such an amazing person and to be honest. . ." Denki paused as Y/N's eyes began to glaze over.

"I'm doing this for me and you. You always encouraged me to take any opportunity by, as you like to say, the neck. I-I wanna make you proud, y'know? I wanna make it feel like you're a part of this crazy world, even if you're not really here, walking with me through it all."

Y/N’s lips wobbled as she let out a watery laugh. She hunched over, small tears falling down her face. To someone else, this would've boosted their ego, but to Y/N, those words meant the world to her. No one had ever said that to her before. She felt like she had a purpose in this wretched life of hers. She sniffles were heard by Denki

"H-hey! It's okay, p-please don't cry!" Y/N heard shuffling coming from Denki as he reassured her to not cry.

"I mean it. I only wish you could be there though, it would be so much cooler!" Denki smiled, trying to lighten up the mood. Y/N's sniffles slowly quieted down as she let out a soft laugh that made his heart swell with joy. At least he can make her laugh.

"I'm s-sorry, but no one has ever told me t-that." Small hiccups came from the girl as she calmed down, taking deep breaths to slow her heart rate. Won't want doctors to come rushing in just to see her crying over something so small.

⋆

"I-I'm just really happy you said that." Denki's heart clenched at those words, his chin trembling every now and then. He knew that Y/N wasn't happy with where she was. She had even admitted that she had urges to rip out the needles and slowly lose her life from there. Denki spent the rest of that night talking to her after. To say he was concerned was an understatement. He was terrified when she told him.

⋆

"I think us being able to play games together is already enough!" They both laughed and talked for a couple of minutes before deciding to to hang up. 

"Y/N, I mean it when I say I want you to be happy, okay? I hope you feel better tomorrow. Buh-bye!" Y/N said her goodbye to Denki, hanging up and closing the laptop that sat on a movable table. 

Her smile slowly left her face, leaving her staring blankly at the pure white wall and mirror in front of her. When visitors were gone, her window would turn to a mirror so no one would disturb her. Y/N took a good look at herself and only sighed. Despite being as healthy as she could get, she looked a bit on the thin side, this complimenting her skin. Running a hand through her hair, she untangled the little knots that had formed there.

"Geez, what happened to you girl? You look like a zombie." Y/N looked at the zombie game and cringed.

"Literally."  Just then the door to her room opened and shut quickly, the air filter turning on when a female doctor entered. Y/N watched her carefully as she checked the IV that connected to her arm. The protective suit never made Y/N feel better about her condition.

"Are you alright, Ms. L/N?" The light, stern voice rang through her ears as she looked at the woman in front of her. Y/N gave the doctor a grin.

"Never been better."

It had been an hour since the doctors had turned the lights off, but Y/N didn't feel the slightest bit of exhaustion. She had been sitting in the pitch black room for the time being and was really debating on turning on the TV.

"Ahh, fudge it." Instinctively reaching out for the remote, she turned on the TV and winced as the bright light hit her.

Looking back to the screen, she chose the option of going online and waited for other players to join. While waiting, a new character popped up next to her and she could only smirk at their username. Tapping on her mic, she decided to make conversation with them to see if they also had a mic.

"Now, what to play. What to play..." Y/N had settled for playing OverWatch since she didn't feel like playing any story type games. No cliffhangers tonight, Y/N thought. As the game loaded, she laid back and began thinking about cheesecake. When was the last I ate strawberry cheesecake? Great, now I want some. Thinking about eating cheesecake made her excited about the next day.

"Well hello, dear ol' '​​​​​King Explosion Murder_1.' Nice name you got there." Y/N chuckled as she said the name out loud, seeing another player enter.

"Hello 'Tape Dispenser?' What's with the wack name?" The girl’s eyes crinkled as she smiled at their name, hearing the user chuckle through her headphones. '​​​​​​King Explosion Murder' still had yet to reply, but that didn't bother her. They're either using the bathroom or don't have a mic. 

"The name was inspired by my quirk. But what's up with '_DeathGirl_', huh? You good?"  Y/N could only laugh at what he said. She should really send him a friend request.

"I’m honestly great, a little tired, but great! I just gotta make up a name, y'know? But your quirk has to do with tape? I don't know if that's wicked or useless." The boy laughed while Y/N laughed as well, losing her grip on her controller. That was until a gruff voice interrupted their laughing session.

"Shut the fuck up, your annoying ass voices are giving me a damn headache." Finally, after being silent, 'King Explosion Murder_1' spoke up.

"Aah, so you do talk. I don't know why you didn't say anything sooner Mr. Explosion Murder." The other player could only sneer at what she said, hitting his desk with his fist. Another player had joined, Y/N only noticing.

"Ah, hello 'Sleep Deprived Controller!'" Said player made their character wave, making Y/N chuckle. While they had their interaction, 'King Explosion Murder' was shouting at her, now realizing that she wasn't paying attention to what he was saying.

"Hey! Listen to me when I'm fucking talking to you, emo bitch!" Y/N’s eyes widened, soon rolling her eyes, watching the game load as they were placed into a match. What's his damn problem?

"Hey man, no need to go calling people names now." 'Tape Dispenser' nervously chuckled as he heard the other player growl. Y/N sported a shocked face as she heard this. What is he, a dog??? 

"Outta this conversation, extra!" Tape dude could only deadpan at what he was just called. Who calls people extras?? I’m not an extra, in fact I think I’m- 'Sleep Deprived Controller' listened with an annoyed expression on their face, wishing they could shut their shouting teammate up. Damn, wish I actually had a mic.

The game began as all the players separated, going their own way to kill their enemies. Everyone was in the zone, getting items and yelping every now and then if they were attacked. The first to go down was 'Tape Dispenser', then 'Sleep Deprived Controller', leaving both Y/N and 'King Explosion Murder' left on their team. Y/N smirked at their winning team, only one player was left on the other team. Just as the game was going to end, the opposing player shot down 'Explosion Murder', killing him.

"FUUUUUUUUUUUUU-" His mic cut off, causing the two players with mics in a cackling mess. Y/N calmed down, remembering she was still playing, trying to hunt down the last player. Finally, after many curses by a certain player and cheering from another, she located her enemy. 

"You better fucking win this or I'll kill you." Knowing he didn't mean that last part, she only focused on the first part. You better win this. Those words echoed through her head as she stopped aiming for the player. She hated being told what to do.

"Ah, so you're one of those people." Not knowing what she meant, they only watched with wide eyes at what she did. Y/N jumped down next to the enemy, shooting them twice with her weakest gun, signaling them that she was there. Quickly, the other player shot her character down, killing her. They lost the game.

"THE FUCK WAS THAT FOR?! WE COULD'VE FUCKING WON!" Explosion Murder wasn't taking defeat easily like the other two were. Y/N could only give a grunt of disapproval towards the loud player.

"Ha, why did you just give up right there? You could've easily killed him." Tape Dispenser was just as confused as the other two players, slightly disappointed at the loss. Y/N sighed as she rubbed her forehead.

"Sorry not sorry, but this dude really thought he could get away with telling me what to do. I'll make my move when I'm ready, sorry to disappoint you guys." She sighed as she rubbed her neck, ready to hear the disapprovals of her teammate. But what she heard and saw made her smile.

"Nah, it's fine. It can get a tiny bit annoying with Murder yelling in your ear." Tape Dispenser reassured her, with Sleep Deprived's character giving her a thumbs up. Though, the annoyed sigh caught her attention back to him. Her eyebrow twitched. What is it now?

"I'm done with this fucking sappy shit scene. I'm out." Those were Murder's last words before he disconnected, leaving them in an awkward silence before Y/N stifled a giggle.

"I have a feeling that won't be the last time I'm seeing him." Tape Dispenser chuckled while Sleep Deprived's character shook their head, making Y/N softly laugh. After sending friend requests to both people, she bid them both fair well and left.

Y/N turned off her console and tv, putting the controllers on the table near her. She laid down in the comfort of her bed, thinking about her interactions with the people she met. She smiled, closing her eyes and drifting into a dreamless slumber with only one thought in mind. 

King Explosion Murder is such a weird name.

[ellohcee]

Call Me

Okay so I want to throw this little bit out into the universe of one of my favorite instances of Jasper I've written. Context: He's a host for a dinky late night radio show and he has like... 10-15 listeners max and David is one of them, a college student who Can’t Sleep even between classes and his job, so he’s up late late listening to Jasper’s show. He calls in sometimes because Jasper is always offering advice and encouraging people to call in and chat, specifically about LGBTQ topics and David finds comfort and encouragement in their chats. They’ve been talking for a while but he still goes by the name Red. 

- - - -

“Alright you night owls, this next one goes out to my long lost buddy, Red.”

David looked up at the radio in surprise, his pencil stilling on the page.

“It’s been a while since we’ve heard from ya and we miss you dude. And I’m gonna get hella gay up in here, but that’s on brand for me, I miss you.”

David’s breath caught in his throat painfully, his heart hammering.

“So I hope you catch this, give us a call, let me know how you’re doing buddy I’m dyin’ here, don’t leave me hanging. Cause I’ve got a question for you and you wont know what until you gimme a ring. Yes I’m gonna be that guy. So call. Please.”

The music picked back up, and true to Jasper’s word, Blondie’s Call Me started playing.

The pencil had slipped from his fingers without realizing as David tried to decipher all of that, especially that last, sincere please. Jasper missed his calls? Maybe he was just worried because David had dropped off so suddenly. It had just been too nerve wracking once he realized he was crushing on the radio host. But what could Jasper possibly want to ask him? Was it good or bad?

He was still nervous and the idea of calling in downright terrified him now, but… he at least owed it to Jasper to let him know he was alive. It must have looked bad, for him to be consistently calling about once a week and then suddenly stop with no warning, going on nearly two months of silence now. Jasper was always so nice and seemingly happy to talk to him, he must be worried. Gosh, now he had to call, he felt terrible.

David had to take several steadying breaths and about twenty good minutes to work up the nerve, but he managed to eventually press call, hands shaking as he listened to the phone ring.

“What’s up caller you’re live, how’s it hangin?”

“Um, hi...” he said quietly.

He heard a soft intake of air and a shuffle. “That you Red?” Jasper asked, sounding hopeful, the excited smile evident in his voice.

“Y-yes, it’s me,” David replied.

“Aw, buddy, good to hear your voice again man, I was gettin’ worried bout you.”

“I’m so sorry I- just- life, you know?” David hedged, feeling even more guilty because he couldn’t give an honest explanation.

“I feel that, it’s cool dude, it’s just good to hear from ya. I assume you heard my call out?”

David’s heart started beating faster, so, so antsy. If it weren’t for the guilt of worrying Jasper he probably wouldn’t have had the guts to call, but he could still be a wreck about it, easily. “Yes, I did. You... had a question?”

“Yeah! You don’t mind me askin’ live?”

“Um, sure, that’s fine,” David said nervously. It couldn’t be too bad if it was something Jasper could ask on air. Right?

“Sweet. So. Last we talked your rough waves from the coming out thing were settling. You found a boyfriend yet?” the radio host asked casually.

David eyebrows shot up in surprise, his face going so very red and he was so very grateful this was a phone call, not in person because that would make it ten times worse. “Um- n-no, I- I haven’t… um, no,” he stammered uselessly. Why was this the topic??

“Awesome!” Jasper said in delight, leading to an awkward pause. “Wow fuck that sounded hella mean I am so sorry, I didn’t mean it like that. Cheese and crackers, foot in mouth Jasp, good one. Anyway! I just meant because- like, stop me if this is too weird, or hang up on me, but I was wondering if I could like… take ya on a date?”

David’s heart stopped in surprise, the blush that had just started receding coming back full force. His stomach whirled in a mix of dread and excitement, trying to go one way or the other as his brain stalled for a good long moment-

“Red?”

David sucked in a breath. “Is- are you- are you serious?” he asked softly, trying to keep his voice from shaking.

“Course dude!! I wouldn’t fuck around with you like that, hell no! I’m for super serious!”

“But… we’ve- you- you don’t even know what I look like,” David stammered, trying to find reason to turn him down, but so, so desperately wanting to say yes. He felt stupid for saying it the second it left his mouth, Jasper didn’t seem at all the type to place a lot of importance on appearances.

“I don’t need to! I’m sure you’re rad as hell, but I’m not a looks guy, okay? I like your personality, and I love shootin the shit with you, and you’re super nice. That’s the kinda stuff I’m into, and if you’re hella cute, which I’m sure you are, that’s a bonus!”

David stared down at his desk for a long moment, his thoughts a mess, one hand over his mouth as he took this all in. He had to take a moment to pinch the soft skin on the inside of his arm to decide that this was really happening and he hadn’t passed out at his desk into some dream where his crush happened to reciprocate-

“Reeeddd?” Jasper teased softly after another long pause, bringing him out of his panic spiral. “No pressure my dude, you can say no.”

“Yes,” David blurted shakily.

“Yeah??” Jasper asked, his voice picking up in obvious excitement and relief, despite his apparent brace for a rejection. “For real?”

“Y-yes, I’d… I’d like to,” David said softly, his face still red.

“Aw man, awesome, shit. Okay uh- no PI on air so uh- I go off air at 3, you’re usually up pretty late, yeah? Think you’ll be around?”

“Yes, I should be.”

“Supes, call back when you hear me sign off and we’ll hash stuff out, okay? Or at least do personal numbers to talk during the day.”

“O-okay,” David stammered, his mind whirling. “I’ll do that.”

“Sweet. Okay man, you sound a little wigged out so I’ll let you get back, and I will be counting the minutes til sign off,” Jasper teased.

“Okay, um, talk to you later? Bye.”

“Ta-ta for now!” Jasper sung.

David disconnected the call, his pulse still racing as he listened to Jasper on the radio once more, turning the volume back up just in time to hear.

“Oh my god, wack, holy shit you guys he said yes- fuck he’s probably listening and I sound like a giant goober- hi Red! Okay, anymore callers before we go back to music? Holy shitballs.”

A quick, incredulous laugh escaped his mouth before David could stifle it, his chest swirling with fear and elation. Jasper- Jasper had asked him on a date- and he sounded just as rattled as David felt. That helped a little to know it wasn’t just him- Jasper had just been loads better keeping a cap on his nerves while they were talking.

“You’re up caller!”

David came back from his thoughts when he heard a familiar voice, one of Jasper’s other regular callers.

“Oooooh Jasper asked a boy on a daaatteee~” she teased in delight.

“I know oh my god dude I’m still weak from it, I didn’t wanna mess up with Red but I like… really want to meet him and take him out, especially once he stopped calling? And no offense Red if you’re still there it’s TOTALLY cool cause that woke my ass up! Holy shit I still can’t believe he said yes.”

David listened all throughout the rest of Jasper’s show, all thoughts of homework lost as he leaned his elbows on the desk, hands clasped in front of his mouth. Anticipation made his nerves spike again while sitting through Jasper’s familiar sign off, where he bid goodnight to his listeners and started the after hours playlist. David waited a minute before taking a deep, deep breath and pressing the call button.

It rang only once before the line picked up, and a hopeful voice answered. “Red?”

“H-hi Jasper,” he replied.

“Hey dude! Hey, sorry to put you on the spot like that but- y’know, I figured it would be less creepy to everyone to just be upfront and ask you, instead of being like ‘hey call me after hours hoohoo wink wink,’ ya dig?”

David stifled a giggle, smiling. “I understand. It probably would’ve made me more nervous to have to wait that long, wondering what your question was,” he admitted.

“That too! I wanted to just… put it out there, figured it’d be best. So! You’re really cool with going on a date?”

“Yes, I… I’d like that. To meet you,” he added softly, flushed.

“Rad, okay, nice. So let’s just exchange numbers for tonight? I know you might not sleep anyway but it’s friggen late and I don’t want to keep either of us up too long.”

“That sounds good, I don’t want to keep you up either,” David replied. He gave his number first when Jasper gave the go-ahead, listening to the other man hum as he typed it into his phone, and a few moments later David heard a buzz near his ear.

“I just shot you a text so you have my number and can add me.”

“Got it,” David replied, pulling the phone away briefly to see a text notification at the top of the screen, a short string of peace sign emojis that made him smile.

“Awesome sauce. Well- shit, I’m really excited but again, we can talk later. Try to get some sleep, okay dude?” he asked, sounding genuinely concerned and losing his usual casual tone. “I worry bout you.”

David smiled, touched by the thought. “I’ll try.”

“Okay, I’ll text you sometime tomorrow- today, whatever, much later. Give you a chance to snooze. Night Red, and thanks for- you know. Thanks. Night!”

“Goodnight Jasper, and thank you too,” he replied softly.

“No prob, catch ya later.”

David pulled the phone away and ended the call, his heart still hammering as he tried to comprehend everything. But he decided to pack it away for later, turning off the radio and closing the long abandoned textbook. Hopefully he could get a few hours of sleep and be a tiny bit more composed when he next spoke with Jasper.

Doubtful, but it was a nice thought.

[simblrbreezycakes]

i was tagged by @chippedcupanddustybooks sweet bb. i am tagging @irrelephantsims @magnoliidae @simplymelaninated and anyone who hasn’t been tagged i swear i feel like the last person doing this LOL. heckin long ass questionnaire under the cut.

1. What is your full name? Brianna Leigh [Redacted] 2. What is your nickname? Breezy 3. Birthday? may 4th 4. What is your favorite book series? hmmmm series? idk.... i really like every single john grisham book and they aren’t related but when you have such a niche brand of book i feel like it counts lol.  5. Do you believe in aliens or ghosts? kinda on both. 6. Who is your favorite author? oh whew. tough one right here. idk man, i have a few? but if i had to choose i guezz i would say george orwell.   7. What is your favorite radio station? who tf listens to the radio like det anymore lmfao. i don’t have one. before i listened to 107.1 in memphis in the car sometimes, but i moved so. 8. What is your favorite flavor of anything? i loveeee pineapple anything. 9. What word would you use often to describe something great or wonderful? lit 10. What is your current favorite song? currently really into pink in the night by mitski and also sicko mode by travis scott.

11. What is your favorite word? good ole fuck(in/ed/etc.) i also really like voluptuous and bubbles. 12. What was the last song you listened to? last thing i listened to was another lifetime x nao.  13. What TV show would you recommend for everybody to watch? absolutely check out the good place. also hilda, the dragon prince, she-ra princess of power, criminal minds, law and order (the original), and snapped. 14. What is your favorite movie to watch when you’re feeling down? i used to watch the notebook religiously when it rained/felt upset like shit. but lately i’ve been watching say yes to the dress to combat my depression lol. 15. Do you play video games? yah 16. What is your biggest fear? dying alone and no one finding me. like literally alone not like meta alone “oh no one loves me” like dead ass alone somewhere isolated. 17. What is your best quality, in your opinion? hmmmmm idk that i care a lot about other people? 18. What is your worst quality, in your opinion? all of them lmfao. i’m annoying, i’m physically unattractive, i talk too damn much, i can be kind of a bitch both intentionally and unintentionally, i’m a trash writer, i can be selfish, and i self depreciate a lot (lol see above response “all of them”) and i’m sure that gets on people who love and care about me’s nerves ((but like....i mean it lmfao)) 19. Do you like cats or dogs better? whew tough. prolly cats though.  20. What is your favorite season? winter followed by a tie between spring and fall.  21. Are you in a relationship? nah lmfao.  22. What is something you miss from your childhood? not being so fuckin ugly and depressed lmfao. 23. Who is your best friend? “my person” as greys anatomy stans would say is ivy lynn [redacted] [redacted] but i also wanna shout out my home girl mary (i know you follow me on here), my home girl christina (also follows me on here but she never checks her simblr anymore), my smoothie gang bitches, my NSA bitches (which includes both ivy and mary lmfao), and my memphis as fuck family. honorable mention to loml [redacted] who is skating on thin fucking ice with me right now lmfao. 24. What is your eye color? brown 25. What is your hair color? brown 26. Who is someone you love? don’t make me answer this tumblr gods. 27. Who is someone you trust? all my best friends, my parents, my brother. 28. Who is someone you think about often? fucking murder me @ this question lmfao. my friend kate (RIP) my grandmother grannypeg (RIP) and [redacted] 29. Are you currently excited about/for something? i’m excited to spend christmas in a new country! forging new traditions and all that. 30. What is your biggest obsession? currently i’m obsessed with wedding stuff and mens fashion and how mens fashion such as suits translates into womens fashion. we love a hot lady in a tailored suit amiright? 31. What was your favorite TV show as a child? spongebob squarepants RIP :”( 32. Who of the opposite gender can you tell anything to, if anyone? [redacted] 33. Are you superstitious? kinda i guess? not really about stuff like stepping on cracks breaking mamas’ backs or opening umbrellas indoors but little things about familial traditions. 34. Do you have any unusual phobias? not really a phobia but i have misophonia. i also hate eye shit. like eye violence or anything fuckin around with eyes is a big no from me dawg. 35. Do you prefer to be in front of the camera or behind it? absolutely behind the camera. i used to be a theater kid so like being on stage i don’t mind but when it comes to the spotlight and being filmed??? no no no no no. lemme be a cinnamontawgrowfur all day.  36. What is your favorite hobby? watching movies, playing skyrim (I MISS IT SO MUCH), reading, watching music videos, modern calligraphy/hand lettering, baking (ALSO MISS IT MUCH) 37. What was the last book you read? lol a textbook about developing countries.

38. What was the last movie you watched? i just rewatched the swan princess the other day but in terms of watching something brand new i think it was this tom cruise movie my friend showed us and i thought she said someone else ( i don’t remember now. maybe tom hanks?) it was pretty good he was irish or sum with nicole kidman and they came to the united states and pretended to be siblings but the sexual tension was so fucking high dawg. 

39. What musical instruments do you play, if any? nothing i’m wack and a disappointment to my musically gifted family (my dad and brother)  40. What is your favorite animal?  polar bears followed by giraffes. 41. What are your top 5 favorite Tumblr blogs that you follow? i’m gonna go with my main tumblr because ion wanna hurt nobody’s feelings but i follow a celebs of color page i really love, a fashion page i really love, and a few artists i really love. 42. What superpower do you wish you had? teleportation or shape shifting.  43. When and where do you feel most at peace?  i feel most at peace when it is raining and i’m in my room, everything is clean and tidy, candles are lit, i have nothing to do so the world is my oyster, i have a nice cup of coffee or hot cocoa or tea, and i just am v i b i n g.  44. What makes you smile? seeing my friends, my brother (when he isn’t pissing me off), funny videos of red dead people falling off their horse in cinematic mode, pretty flowers, cute art, round birds. 45. What sports do you play, if any? i don’t lmfao. 46. What is your favorite drink? honestly a frozen margarita no salt. 47. When was the last time you wrote a hand-written letter or note to somebody? a month ago.  48. Are you afraid of heights? absolutely. 49. What is your biggest pet peeve? people chewing with their mouths open and people talking to me like i’m incompetent/assuming i don’t know anything about what they’re trying to talk to me about especially if it is my area of expertise lol. 50. Have you ever been to a concert? hail yeah. many. 51. Are you vegan/vegetarian? nope! 52. When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up? honestly i don’t know but i have a distinct memory of a bunch of girls in my second grade, yours truly included, wanting to be strippers. and i don’t know why or how this came up or if we even truly knew what stripping meant but. yeah. OH i guess around the time i was in 4th/5th grade i started wanting to be a harvard law graduate and be a lawyer but i gave that up in like high school and then bounced being a lawyer back and forth in my noggin up until i applied for grad school. shout out to my mary for doing it though.  53. What fictional world would you like to live in? hmmmm idk. none of em really. 54. What is something you worry about? if i made the right decision(s) in life lol.  55. Are you scared of the dark? not really.  56. Do you like to sing? yeah i do! doesn’t mean i’m good at it though haha. 57. Have you ever skipped school? yeah lmfao. 58. What is your favorite place on the planet? i miss Rwanda a lot. but honestly my favorite place is wherever the people i love are. my family loves to travel so whenever i’m with someone i love sharing an experience? i’m in heaven. 59. Where would you like to live? idk anywhere i guess. somewhere it is mostly cold most of the time though haha. 60. Do you have any pets? my bb boi fred lives with my dad and my mom has a dog and 2 cats. we used to have 3 but one of em ran away when she moved to her house, we caught him, he ran away again. oh whale. 61. Are you more of an early bird or a night owl? oh a big time night owl. big time. 62. Do you like sunrises or sunsets better? honestly i like sunrises better but i am never awake to catch em hahah. 63. Do you know how to drive? yah and i fuckin love doing it. 64. Do you prefer earbuds or headphones? i prefer headphones. like really quality ones too. but i tend to use earbuds more often because i don’t need quality while im working out or going to class just easy grab and go. 65. Have you ever had braces? nope but i used to want some so bad. 66. What is your favorite genre of music? i love rap, dream-y pop music and dream-y rap music, i love 80s music. all 80s music really lmfao.  67. Who is your hero? mi mum and mi dad. also viola davis queen of inventing acting and every single color in the rainbow. 68. Do you read comic books? kind of. i was trying to build up a collection before i moved but i only had my BP comics. 69. What makes you the most angry? injustice and offensive ass content and behaviors. also don’t fuck with my friends. i got two dudes on my shit list right now that it is *on sight* if i ever see them again. 70. Do you prefer to read on an electronic device or with a real book? a real book all the way. idk what it is about digital reading my brain shuts the fuck down. i am super fast reader but the second i try and read something digitally it takes me maybe like 10-15 min to get through just a few sentences. 71. What is your favorite subject in school? history lol i was a history major. 72. Do you have any siblings? yeah my chicken nugget puppy brother dylan. asshole. 73. What was the last thing you bought? some historical romance i think? it’s in dutch so idrk.  74. How tall are you? 5′7 i think. 75. Can you cook? yeah i love cooking but saddly don’t do much of it. 76. What are three things that you love? my teddy bear my momma got me for valentines day, my st. agatha figurine, and my yikes tapestry mary got me. i realize now after reading the next question you probably meant like shit in general so. the smell of a fresh cup of coffee, snuggly warm sweaters, postcards and tiny gifts from friends. you know the ones “i just got this for you because i thought you’d like it” 77. What are three things that you hate? funky ass attitudes, the smell and feel of lavender oil, corn. 78. Do you have more female friends or more male friends? female 79. What is your sexual orientation? i’m a big ole heterosexual. sorry to disappoint :/  80. Where do you currently live? the netherlands. 81. Who was the last person you texted? my friend and former roommate. today is her birthday. 82. When was the last time you cried? like an hour ago lmfao. 83. Who is your favorite YouTuber? i don’t have one haha. vevo i guess. 84. Do you like to take selfies? do i like taking them? not really. it takes me too damn long to get one that looks good enough. i like sending stupid selfies to friends though. 85. What is your favorite app? i use twitter probably the most but my favorite app is my spider solitaire game haha. 86. What is your relationship with your parent(s) like? we are very close. i would say both of my parents are my biggest supporters and cheerleaders but how they do that looks a bit different. my mom and i are very similar but sometimes how we handle certain things is very different so we can be the best of friends one day and the completely butt heads the next. 87. What is your favorite foreign accent? i loovveeeee a scottish accent and an irish accent. also tbrh i love a good southern boy drawl. like idk if i could play for you all the way this one dude who works with my mom talks? i would because i wanna bottle it and listen to it whenever i feel bad. 88. What is a place that you’ve never been to, but you want to visit? i would really like to go to norway for my birthday. 89. What is your favorite number? i don’t have one. 90. Can you juggle? nope but i did try and learn i have a video of it somewhere lmfao. 91. Are you religious? kind of. i’m more spiritual than religious and lowkey hate saying that because it sounds so hoitietoitie but it’s true. 92. Do you find outer space or the deep ocean to be more interesting? the ocean. so much of it we haven’t explored. thinking about space makes me feel existential and dead inside.  93. Do you consider yourself to be a daredevil? nah haha 94. Are you allergic to anything? yeah i’m supposed to take one claritin a day but like i don’t. 95. Can you curl your tongue? yeah 96. Can you wiggle your ears? nope :(  97. How often do you admit that you were wrong about something? i’ll admit i’m wrong if i’m actually wrong but you’re gonna have to a helluva lot of convincing to get me there lmfao. though if my being “wrong” has caused harm to someone else i’ll apologize quicker than lightning because the last thing i would want is for my stubbornness to hurt someone i love. 98. Do you prefer the forest or the beach? um the mountains 99. What is your favorite piece of advice that anyone has ever given you? "never turn down a date. you never know who you might meet while you’re out” -my grandmother to my mother to me. 100. Are you a good liar? lmfaooooo i am a reformed liar. 101. What is your Hogwarts House? HUFFLEPUFF BAYBEEE 102. Do you talk to yourself? yah 103. Are you an introvert or an extrovert? an introvert. i may be loud and talkative sis but i promise you i’m over compensating because i want you to like me lmfao. 104. Do you keep a journal/diary? i have a private twitter does that count. 105. Do you believe in second chances? depends. 106. If you found a wallet full of money on the ground, what would you do?imma keep it real with you chief i would keeps the money lmfao. in the past i would’ve tried to return it to the owner but i am big broke bois with a lot of unexpected expenses coming up so like... yeah lmfao. we keepin that coint. 107. Do you believe that people are capable of change? sometimes. 108. Are you ticklish? yes lmfao 109. Have you ever been on a plane? yeah! 110. Do you have any piercings? yah i got my lobes pierced one on each ear, my nose, and a cartilage piercing. 111. What fictional character do you wish was real? my girl nancy drew. 112. Do you have any tattoos? yeah i got 2 of em. 113. What is the best decision that you’ve made in your life so far? idk lmfao. probably when i applied for cityterm and when i appled to go back to undergrad. 114. Do you believe in karma? Yeah but not in a “oh you hurt me? you’re gonna get your come uppins” way but in a every action affects your soul and your being kinda way.  115. Do you wear glasses or contacts? im supposed to wear glasses but ask me if im wearing em right now lmfao. 116. Do you want children? presently i don’t see myself wanting or having kids but i want to foster. 117. Who is the smartest person you know? my friends lol. 118. What is your most embarrassing memory? literally every single memory has a tinge of embarassment lol. but probz when i walked into the cafeteria my first day of highschool as a smol freshman and my knees locked up and i fell forward and my giant ass backpack (because i never used my locker ever in any grade) wrapped around my neck and had me stuck in a strange position in the middle of the parting of the tables in the cafeteria.  119. Have you ever pulled an all-nighter? hell yeah lmfao. 120. What color are most of you clothes? blue or black 121. Do you like adventures? yeah! 122. Have you ever been on TV? yeah but like on the news and shit. 123. How old are you? 24 124. What is your favorite quote? i carry your heart (i carry it in my heart) 125. Do you prefer sweet or savory foods? OOF TOUGH BUT UHHH probz sweet. 

[jilliancares]

It’s Not Spying if You Don’t Call it Spying

Summary: Turns out Everyone is spying on Lance and Keith’s blossoming relationship.

Word count: 5k

read on ao3

Pidge was a curious person. It was something that extended to all areas of her life, whether that meant she was taking apart a toaster at the ripe old age of six to figure out how it worked or spying on her friends in her free time. It wasn’t like it was an active decision, it was just something that happened to her. She’d see someone down the hall, maybe walking kind of like wherever they were going was a secret, and Pidge would accidentally on purpose find herself following. Nothing serious.

Anyway, it wasn’t like she would ever tell anyone what she found. The secrets she gleaned from her less-than-honorable spying sessions were for her alone—and in extreme cases could maybe be used later for blackmail. But mainly it was just to satisfy her own curiosity. Like now, for example.

It was commonplace for her to be unable to sleep. There was all the stress from defending the universe and trying to find her family with any scraps of information she could salvage, not to mention the fact that without the actual sun her circadian rhythm was a bit out of wack—meaning her body liked to think that now was never the right time for bed, even when she’d been up for 36 hours straight. Which was why she often found herself holing up in random corners of the castleship, maying secretly taking apart and putting back together a random Altean invention, or simply sitting in a dimly lit area to think.

But, being up so often as she was, she normally knew the going-ons that happened at night. She knew when Lance crept out of his bed occasionally, his face glistening with tell-tail tear tracks as he made his way to Hunk’s room. Pidge guessed that this was the doing of nightmares or possibly just the thoughts that were likely to attack at night, the ones that berated your mind with thoughts of things you missed and were scared of and might never see again. She knew when Hunk got up in the middle of the night to bake something strange. She knew when Shiro walked the halls, still asleep, enacting some dream or flashback that she couldn’t get to him through—could only lead him back to his room. She knew when Keith trained until the early hours of the morning, when Allura snuck down to the room Alfor’s AI used to inhabit, when Coran stared out the control room into the endless space beyond, looking for all the world like he was wide awake.

And because she knew all these things, had observed them enough during her waking nights to know what was normal, she knew what was decidedly not normal. Such as Keith and Lance walking into the kitchen together, their voices too quiet for her to hear. The moments that the two were quiet and kind were rare, far and few in between, and Pidge felt like she’d found something magical to have witnessed it like this. Part of her thought that they should be disagreeing more than usual in the middle of the night, the lack of sleep making them crankier than usual. But a bigger part of her knew that, regardless of what time it actually was, there was something about the late, late hours of the night that opened the heart and loosened the tongue. She’d just never have expected it to happen to these two idiots.

It wasn’t hard for her to ignore her moral code (she hardly had one anyway) and follow them down the dark halls once they left the kitchen. She’d only known they were in there anyway because of the update she’d installed into her handheld device herself—it let her know where people were in the castle at all times, which was helpful for whenever she needed to find someone. Everyone else seemed to just think she had incredible intuition, which she didn’t mind letting them believe.

Anyway, she observed them from around the corner as they sat down on opposite sides of the hall. Lance’s bedroom was on one side, Keith’s on the other, but neither boy entered their room. Lance leaned against the wall, his legs spread out all akimbo and his hands gesturing as he talked like always, though maybe a little more subdued with exhaustion. Keith sat with his legs crossed, which was just so Keith it made Pidge want to snort in amusement—she held it back, not wanting to ruin her spying purposes.

She only stayed to watch them for a couple of minutes. They were both clearly drifting, both dead on their feet—or their asses, really—and she assumed they’d be going to bed any minute now. Besides, it wasn’t like she could actually hear what they were saying, which was annoying but also gave her ideas for an invention she could maybe make…

So when Pidge went back to the lab, jotting down random ideas for an eavesdropping device (which, come on, could totally come in handy with the Galra, so like. Perfect excuse right there) it was in full confidence that Lance and Keith would be back in their beds within the hour. It was only when she was finally flagging, ready to stumble off to bed herself, when she thought to check her handheld, to see if they were still around.

They were.

Curiosity was strong. Even exhausted, even with her eyelids seeming to be weighing her down, she managed to go all the way back to their neighboring bedrooms to see what they could possibly still be talking about.

And this time she really couldn’t hold back a snort, because these idiots weren’t even talking! They were both asleep, both passed out on the floor, Lance with his head leaned back against the wall and Keith with his chin to his chest. Shaking her head, Pidge swore to have her eavesdropping invention ready the next time they decided to have a midnight chat like this one.

—

It wasn’t Hunk’s fault he was nosy. It was probably in his genetics, woven into his DNA. Some small part of him that left him bug-eyed and mouth watering when he came across something that he could put a minimum amount of effort into to gain more information on the subject. For example, reading Pidge’s diary when she left it sitting in plain sight (like her bedside table), or pestering someone bad at keeping secrets (Lance) for the gossip they had on others. And so it was only natural, woven into his very genetic makeup, for Hunk to investigate when he began to realize there was something up between Keith and Lance.

And for once, he didn’t mean up as in another fight, another dumb dispute that they had gotten into which inevitably had people picking sides and the whole thing turning into Lance-and-Hunk-and-Pidge against Keith-and-Shiro-and-Allura-and-maybe-Coran. It took longer for Hunk to realize something was up this time around, because there was nothing for him to notice. There wasn’t any bickering, no yelling across the room or taunting or teasing or challenging. Instead they were both quiet, lately, and as Hunk began observing them, he noticed that sometimes they’d catch each other’s eyes and smile.

And that’s when Hunk knew something was definitely up. Keith rarely smiled, and even more rarely at Lance. If Hunk didn’t know Lance better, he would wonder if he’d done something to poison Keith and mess with his mind or something.

Eventually, Hunk figured that since Lance was so bad at keeping secrets, he might be able to just ask him what was up. It’d certainly be easier than trying to sneak around the castleship and figure it out for himself, especially when he was already pretty bad at the sneaking part. He tended to be pretty clumsy and almost always knocked something over with a loud crash when he was trying to be silent.

“Lance,” Hunk said one night after dinner. Dinner was Lance’s favorite part of the day—he knew because Lance had told him himself. It reminds me of home, he’d admitted. You know, my family was so big, it was always so loud and crazy and great, but my mom always managed to get all of us together for dinner.

Almost since the beginning Hunk had felt like their team was a family, and he was pretty sure Lance thought so too. It was one of the reasons he put so much effort into their dinners. Instead of letting everyone drift off and eat on their own like they were wont to do for their other meals of the day, he managed to gather them all for dinner, every night. He was pretty sure they all liked it, really. Conversation always flowed, accompanied with laughter and anecdotes and smiles and food. No matter how hectic the day, dinner was always good. It was because of this that Hunk figured it’d be extra safe to confront Lance after dinner, his nerves already at ease.

“What’s up my dude?” Lance said, spinning around to snap and point at Hunk with a set of finger guns. “Is this about dinner tonight? Because I know I told you I could sing praise about it for a quintant but I actually am about to go to bed.”

“No, no, it’s not that,” Hunk said, squashing down his pride at Lance’s words. He cooked dinner for them often, though sometimes Coran insisted on making something, which they usually did their best to force down. Sometimes they outright refused, stopping by on a near planet for an alien equivalent of fast food. “It’s just—is something up between you and Keith?”

“What?” Lance’s eyes had gone wide, his face pale. Hunk wondered if something really was wrong. Maybe they weren’t speaking because their arguing was already commonplace; maybe the natural angry progression of that wasn’t to argue more but to argue less.

“It’s just… you guys have kind of mellowed out recently, haven’t you? Like, you’re not arguing a whole lot anymore.”

“Oh! Oh. Yeah, I guess. I mean… yeah. You’re totally right.”

“You didn’t notice?” Hunk asked incredulously, and Lance puffed out his cheeks with air before releasing a big breath.

“Nah. Guess not.”

Hunk stared at Lance. Lance stared back.

“That all?” Lance asked.

“I guess,” Hunk said slowly. “You know you can talk to me about anything, right?”

“Yeah, totally!” Lance said, completely over-eager. He punched Hunk on the shoulder harder than usual. “Night dude!”

Hunk stared after him. He blinked once. Twice.

Something weird was definitely up.

—

Shiro probably wouldn’t have noticed it if it hadn’t been for Pidge and Hunk. It was just that they both seemed more intense than usual. Lance was still loud and Keith was still angry at just about anything he decided to feel angry about, but Pidge seemed extra concentrated and Hunk kept making weird humming noises under his breath which was actually pretty unsettling.

He decided to ask Keith what was up with Pidge and Hunk.

It wasn’t hard to get Keith alone, he was always stalking off to sulk or look broody in some corner or other, but for some reason Shiro was having trouble. Normally it was easy to find him, checking his usual haunts like the training room and his bedroom and even the kitchen—but he was nowhere to be found.

Shiro realized that maybe it was a little strange to go to Pidge to find out where Keith was so he could ask him about Pidge, but he didn’t really have any other ideas. Plus, Pidge had some kind of crazy intuition—she could almost always figure out where everybody else was.

“Hey Pidge,” Shiro greeted as he stepped into the lab. It was the room Pidge spent most of her time in. The desks were strewn with half-abandoned projects and scrap pieces but if anyone dared to touch any of it Pidge would probably murder them. No one knew exactly what would happen if they did touch it because none of them were crazy enough to try.

“Hey Shiro!” Pidge answered, spinning around on her chair to look at him. “What’s up?”

Looking at her, Shiro was hit—as he almost always was—with just how young she was. How young they all were, really. They’d all been dragged into this war, so random, so brutal, and yet no one ever complained. They just embraced it. Pidge carried half the team sometimes with her genius ideas. Lance made light of any and every situation, just so they wouldn’t despair over whatever trouble they were actually in. Keith ran blindly into everything, as if he hadn’t a care whether he lived or died. Hunk always kept a solid head on his shoulders, always thought things through and refused to let anyone give up hope. And still they were all so young, all so undeserving of the sheer terror of a war resting on their shoulders—Shiro would take the weight of it all, if he could.

“I was just wondering,” Shiro finally said after clearing his throat, forcing himself out of his own thoughts, “if you knew where Keith was?”

To his surprise, a coy grin found its way onto Pidge’s face. It pulled her lips up almost scarily. “You’ve noticed too?”

“Noticed what?” Shiro managed, frowning in confusion. That quickly, the look on Pidge’s face was gone.

“Oh. Whatever,” she said hastily, shaking her head.

There was a pause.

“So?” Shiro prompted. “Any idea where he might be?”

Pidge closed her eyes, pursing her lips. “Lance’s room,” she finally said with a smile. Shiro frowned again, sure she was wrong, but… Well, whenever was she?

And so he made his way back through the halls, back towards Keith’s room, and instead of knocking on the familiar door, he turned to Lance’s. He’d never been in Lance’s room before, never really had any need to. Still, if Pidge thought Keith was in here… Maybe they were talking about a recent mission together or something. They had had to spy on some Galra generals not too long ago. Shiro knew sometimes he felt like discussing their missions further, even after they’d already gone over it all by the time they got back to the castleship.

Shiro knocked on Lance’s door. It was automatic, but only to the room’s owner—for everyone else it waited for permission.

“Um? Come in?” Lance’s voice called unsurely. When the doors slid open Shiro found Lance laying on his bed, one knee bent and the other leg stretched out before him. He rose his eyebrows when he saw Shiro.

“Oh! Shiro—I was expecting, um. I mean. What are you doing here? Are we training or something?”

“No, sorry,” Shiro muttered, suddenly feeling like he was intruding. “Pidge told me Keith might be in here, I don’t know.”

“Crazy how she does that,” Lance muttered, shaking his head. Shiro raised an eyebrow. “Well he was here a few minutes ago. Just, you know. Talking. He’s probably back in his own room now?”

“Okay. Thanks,” Shiro managed. “Sorry.”

“Not a problem!” Lance called after him, the automatic doors sliding shut as he left. Shiro came to a stop before Keith’s door, raising his fist to knock. But he didn’t. Because… Well, because maybe there wasn’t something up with Pidge in the first place—or Hunk.

He furrowed his eyebrows, staring down at his feet as he thought. No, they weren’t really acting that weird after all, were they? Sometimes they’d get obsessed with something and kind of ignore everything else until they’d gotten to the bottom of it, but usually not at the same time. Usually not at the same thing. But maybe this time, maybe this thing…

Well, just maybe it was another pair that was being odd. Shiro tapped his metal fingers against his thumb, from his index to his pinky and back again. It was a strange habit he’d picked up and hadn’t been able to drop for some reason, but it was comforting nonetheless. One, two, three four. One, two, three, four.

With a small shrug Shiro turned and went back down the hall, figuring he didn’t need to bother Keith. One, two, three, four, one, two, three, four. Whatever it was, the two of them could figure it out themselves.

—

Allura frowned at her bowl of breakfast goo. It wasn’t that there was anything wrong necessarily, it was just that, well… something was different. And she was sick of it.

Or, more specifically, she was sick of being left out of it. She was aware that she was constantly being excluded from the rest of the team’s shenanigans. She figured it had something to do with being the Altean princess and the one in charge. Maybe everyone else thought it was wrong to invite her to watch movies with them or to play cards, but it wasn’t. And she was bored out of her mind!

And what was a tragically bored princess supposed to do other than to secretly catch up on the affairs of everyone in her castle? Sure, that might sound like spying, but it certainly wasn’t. It was just… secretly catching up on everyone’s affairs. Privately. Without any of them knowing.

And she found out plenty of useful things this way! Surely it couldn’t be bad when she was so entertained by it?

For one thing, she realized that Hunk was a good singer. He only ever did it when he thought he was alone but hearing his voice made her wish that he did it all the time. It was deep and beautiful and made her feel like dancing again, something she hadn’t done since a few years before the war truly began. And she learned that Pidge could sleep literally anywhere—she curled up at odd hours of the day in completely random places, almost like a cat. Allura had come across her laying on top of the kitchen cabinets once, and just… how had she even gotten up there?

She’d done enough spying on Coran in her life for nothing truly interesting in that department to be revealed, though that didn’t stop her from doing so anyway. Still, nothing exciting was gleaned in her efforts besides the fact that he apparently liked to talk to himself which, really, maybe shouldn’t have been such a surprise.

What was a surprise was that after missions Shiro walked and walked and walked around the ship, following pathways completely randomly. Sometimes he would reach up and rub at his shoulder, where metal melded with skin, and Allura wondered if it was something that bothered him often, if it was painful.

She learned that Lance, apparently, spoke Spanish to himself when he was alone. She’d just pressed her ear against his door, merely curious as she hadn’t seen him all day anyway, when she’d heard— “Oh mierda! I’m… Fuck, I— Dios mierda. Dios.”

She also learned that Keith could be pretty tricky to track down. Her first place to check was always the training room. If he wasn’t there then she was sure she wasn’t going to be able to find him. She almost thought that he was doing it on purpose, stubbornly refusing to let himself be found. It only made her all the more determined to find him, to figure out what he was up to.

—

Coran paused, speechless, as he stood in the middle of the hall. Against the wall, quite a ways from him, were two paladins. Of course, on earth what they were doing might mean something different, but… Well, what else could kissing mean, really?

Lance had Keith pressed against the wall, his hands cupping his face. Keith’s hands were resting on Lance’s hips, pulling him closer, and Coran decided that it just wasn’t his business.

He turned around and left. It wasn’t like anyone else had to know.

—

Lance was in love with Keith.

Or… he was pretty sure he was, anyway. If he wasn’t then he was well on his way to getting there.

It’d only been a few weeks since they’d started getting so much closer. Sleepless nights spent in each other’s company, talking about anything and everything they could think of. Lance told Keith about his family, about his parents and his older siblings, about his nieces and nephews. He told him about visiting his grandparents in Cuba and about his favorite beach. He told him about genuinely loving the Garrison, and about how he was afraid he would amount to nothing, never truly pass, never be able to fly like he wanted to.

And Keith told him everything, too. He told him about being in the foster care system, about going from family to family, about getting his hopes up again and again only for them to be crushed brutally underfoot every time. He told him about the loneliness of it all, his inability to make friends because of it. He told him about how he aged out of the system, how he’d never even had a real family until now, until Voltron. He talked all about how the only constant in his life, really, had been the internet, where he’d browsed endless sites and learned everything he could and always got way too deep into conspiracy theories.

They talked so much, so often, that sometimes they just talked themselves to sleep. Sometimes Lance would wake up with the worst pain in his neck, only to find Keith curled into a ball, his cheek smushed against the metal floor, right across from him. Lance figured it started happening then—the flutter in his stomach, the breathless, nervous sensation in his chest. Lance had tried to shake it off; a crush on someone he spent every single day with could in no way be good for him, but it was unshakeable.

And Keith, it turned out, didn’t really have boundaries. He’d spent so long without being close to anyone, so long being on his own and in solitude, it would really make sense for him to be most comfortable that way, to think hugging and cuddling was weird. Except, no, nope, not at all. He was like a cat starved for touch—as soon as it started happening he was addicted to it.

He would stand utterly still, this odd look on his face, just waiting for Lance to hug him like he had once before. Once Lance deciphered that look, he realized that Keith gave it to him every night before bed (on the nights they actually managed to stand and stumble into their own rooms, that is). And it only progressed from there! Lance would grab his hand to drag him somewhere and show him something, and when they arrived Keith simply wouldn’t let go. And one night Lance offered for them to hang out in his room for a while, to talk on his bed, and Keith readily accepted.

It really wasn’t that surprising that they fell asleep together. And even less surprising that they woke up tangled together.

After that it just became habit. Sleeping together was better than sleeping alone—it was warmer, comfier, a hundred times less lonely.

The first time Lance kissed Keith, he seemed surprise. The second time, not at all.

Lance was just glad he kept letting him do it.

—

“When do you think we should tell them?” Keith asked. They were laying on the couch in one of the castle’s many living rooms together. Lance was under him. Keith had made good use of the little room on the couch by simply laying on top of Lance, who didn’t seem to mind at all. He was playing with his fingers, drawing them out and tracing them from palm to tip. His fingers were long, skinny and tan where Keith’s were shorter, paler.

“Dunno,” Lance said. “Whenever, really. I’m kind of surprised they haven’t noticed.”

“Me too,” Keith murmured. Normally he felt like everyone was pretty on top of things, noticing every minor detail out of place. One time at dinner Keith decided to have a second plate and Hunk had asked him if he was feeling okay. “Maybe they’ve gotten dumber.”

It didn’t matter—Keith didn’t feel in any rush to tell them. He kind of liked having Lance all to himself, anyway. Normally he was loud and obnoxious and made horrible puns that Keith didn’t understand half the time, and when they were alone together he was still all these things. But he was also sweet. He was also soft. He was also smooth, when he wanted to be, when he really tried—the things he said could make Keith blush.

Sometimes when they were in bed together, when things were fast and hot and sharp, when they were panting and gasping in tandem, sometimes Lance even spoke in Spanish. Keith was pretty sure that Lance had caught on that he liked it when he did that—it was dumb, but he couldn’t help thinking it was hot. Sometimes Lance would lean down and whisper something in his ear, something that he couldn’t even comprehend but that slid so easily from his tongue that it had Keith arching into him all the same.

“Unless they all already know,” Lance hummed thoughtfully. “And just aren’t telling us.”

“I don’t think any of them can keep a secret,” Keith pointed out, and Lance hummed in reply.

—

Pidge snorted, pulling the headphone out of her ear. It was like a hearing aid almost, letting her hear things at a certain distance, and she’d been using them to listen in on Lance and Keith. Honestly, did they really believe none of them could keep a secret? If anyone that was Lance.

She huffed and wriggled a bit, trying to get comfier. It was a tight squeeze, but… Pidge fit. Maybe it was a bit extreme to start crawling through the air vents in order to spy on her friends but she was bored, okay? Drastic times, and all that.

And anyway, this was obviously the best thing she could’ve done. Because she was witnessing this, Keith laying on Lance, the two of them talking about being together. And they were right! Nobody knew! Well, other than Pidge, of course.

Or so she thought. It was about two seconds later that her eyes zeroed in on Hunk. Across the room. He was peering from behind another couch, just his eyes poking over the edge of the sofa. Pidge narrowed her eyes at him—how dare he spy on them!? Or, erm… so blatantly, anyway?

A sudden clunking somewhere behind Pidge had her twisting her head over her shoulder, breath coming short in her chest. What was it? Had someone snuck into the castle? Were they in the vents?

“Ow,” Allura muttered as she hit her head on the ceiling as she came around the corner. Her eyes widened when she spotted Pidge.

“Pidge,” she whispered. “What are you doing here?”

“I could ask you the same thing.”

“…I asked first.”

“I don’t care.”

Allura let out a frustrated groan. “I’m just… looking around. Doing some reconnaissance. You know.”

“You’re spying on Keith and Lance, aren’t you?”

Allura just nodded and Pidge managed to scoot over. If they smushed together, there was just enough room for the two of them to look out through the vent. And so Allura shimmied up next to her, humming in surprise as she saw the position Keith and Lance were in.

“I should’ve realized!” she whispered. “Can’t believe I didn’t guess…”

At that very moment, Shiro came walking past the living room. He paused in the doorway, blinking as he spotted Keith and Lance.

“Hey guys,” he said.

“Aagh!” Keith said in surprise, tumbling to the ground. Lance hauled him back onto the couch. “Er—hey Shiro. We’re dating.” (Allura let out another gasp; across the room, Hunk’s eyes widened at the outright admittance.)

“That’s nice,” Shiro said pleasantly. “Good for you two. Have you seen… well, anyone?”

“No,” Lance said with a shrug. “Have you checked the kitchen?”

“Yep.”

“Control room?”

“Yep.”

“Er—training room?”

“Yep.”

“That’s odd,” Lance said. Pidge could see him frowning from here.

Right then, Coran came running up. He took one look at Keith and Lance, sitting very close together on the couch, then turned to Shiro.

“It’s not what it looks like!” he proclaimed.

“What?” said Shiro.

“They’re just—sitting!”

“We’re dating, Coran,” Lance piped up.

“Oh. You’re admitting it then?”

“You knew?” Keith interjected. Coran shrugged.

“I’m sure I’m the only one.”

“Not true!” Hunk suddenly exclaimed, standing up from behind the couch and pointing at Coran. “I knew! I most definitely knew!”

Keith screamed again, more from surprise than anything else. It was pretty startling to realize you were being spied on, Pidge was sure.

“Well I saw them kiss,” Coran said, seeming offended.

“I noticed that they stopped bickering!” Hunk argued. “I knew about it first!”

Pidge gasped, offended. There was no way Hunk knew before her.

She punched out the screen to the air vent, wriggling out a bit and dangling from the ceiling.

“Liar!” she shouted. “I knew first! I saw them talking in the hallways! And sleeping in the same bed!”

“Well I heard them having sex!” Allura jumped in, which made the room quiet down except for Keith’s indignant splutters—his and Lance’s faces matching colors of crimson.

“How do you—” Lance finally broke the silence.

“You speak Spanish when you’re—”

“AAHHH!” Keith interrupted.

The room exploded into more screaming, everyone sure that it had been them who knew that the two had been dating the longest.

—

Keith turned to Lance. “I guess we don’t have to break it to them then, huh?” he muttered. His face still felt hot.

Lance just looked at him miserably. “I don’t think I can ever have sex again.”