#antisvldexchange

Lazy mornings were always a bore to someone like Lance. Someone who bounced from each exciting moment to the next, restless with anticipation in between. His gaze shifted towards Keith sitting on their couch. He was holding his Nintendo DS way too close to his face and had a scrunched up look, showing his concentration. His lips were pursed slightly and his eyes narrowed, attention fully dedicated to whatever he was playing on the ruby red console.

The corners of Lance’s lips tugged upwards slightly as he watched him. He stayed leaning against the wall observing for a few moments before moving to slide onto the couch next to Keith, who barely budged. Lance tucked into Keith’s side, resting his head on his boyfriend’s shoulder. “Whatcha playin’?”

“Animal Crossing.” Keith’s answer made Lance laugh softly. “What?” He asked with a slightly offended tone.

“You look so concentrated and invested. It’s Animal Crossing, Keith.” Lance shook his head, stifling another laugh.

“Hey, if I’m gonna be spending my time pulling weeds, I’m going to do it right.” Keith shrugged, making his character pull another plant out of the ground. Lance watched the screen for a while, commenting on Keith’s town and the huge loan he still had yet to pay off, before remembering why he’d sat next to him in the first place.

“I’m bored, Mullet. Let’s do something.” He twirled a few strands of Keith’s dark hair between his fingers, sighing slightly.

Keith closed the console, setting it down on the table and shifting his gaze towards Lance. “Like what?”

“I don’t know. I wanted to see if you had any ideas,” Lance grumbled.

“Animal Crossing?”

Lance hit Keith’s shoulder gently. “No, you dork. Let’s do something together.” He gazed out the window at the falling white snowflakes that gently hit the ground. There wasn’t enough snow to do anything outside yet, but the temperature was just as chilling. His eyes flickered over to Keith again, who was adorned in a large, dark red sweater with the sleeves too long for his arms. His hair was uncombed and messy, sitting in a black mop atop his head. Lance didn’t realize he was smiling slightly as he stared until Keith caught his eyes and raised his brows up. Lance felt a furious blush as red as Keith’s jumper spread across his hot cheeks. Keith just laughed.

“Okay, how about we make some hot chocolate?” He offered, still stifling his snickers. “I think we have some marshmallows in the cabinet.”

Lance nodded vigorously. “Yeah, that's good.” He shot upwards, rushing towards the kitchen. “I'm making it though, you'll mess it up again!”  

Keith rolled his eyes as he stood to follow Lance. “Oh, come on. I can't fuck up hot chocolate that bad.”

“You can't hide from the truth, Mullet!” He stopped short once he reached the kitchen, his socks sliding against the tile floor. His eyes widened and he smiled bright. “I have the best idea.”

“Oh, no,” Keith droned as he walked into the kitchen, arms crossed over his chest. “That's never a good sign.”

“Hush, this is good. We’ll make the hot chocolate after. Now, we’re gonna build a blanket fort.” Lance’s eyes shone with anticipation and childlike glee. He remembered the games he’d play with his older siblings, stacking blankets and pillows atop one another and laughing as they fell. Holding contests to see which fort would be the best and their mom scolding them for making a huge mess. He turned towards Keith with a smile planted on his face.

Keith looked unsure. “A blanket fort? I've never made one.”

Lance couldn't help gaping slightly when the words tumbled out. “Really? That's like...textbook childhood.” He bit his lip as he remembered that Keith didn’t have a normal childhood with siblings, games, and blanket forts.

Keith merely shrugged, desensitized to topics like that over the years. “Guess I didn't have one of those. But...you could teach me?”

Lance felt himself grin again. “Course, Red. Come on!” He grabbed Keith’s hand, racing off towards the living room again as Keith yelled something about Lance having too many nicknames for him. He disregarded that and stopped once they reached the living room, thinking for a moment. “This needs to be perfectly planned. Luckily for you, I have immense amounts of experience as the Blanket Fort Champion of the McClain Household.”

“Really?” Keith questioned, traces of sarcasm laced through the word. “Lead the way, Sharpshooter.”

Lance beamed. “Told you that nickname would catch on.” He started to pull off any blankets they had around the house, laying them down across the floorboards.

“You say that every time I call you that.” Keith laughed as he assisted Lance.

“Because it's music to my ears, babe.” They searched the apartment for all spare blankets and pillows until they laid in a large pile in front of the couch. Lance studied the different blankets and their surroundings. He went to grab a piece of paper and a pencil, setting it down on a table once he returned. The two began to plan together.

Lance gave Keith the pencil, since he was more skilled at drawing, and began to describe what he envisioned, his chin resting on Keith’s shoulder and his arms around his back. “Okay, so we should definitely use the stuff around us. The chair, the table, the couch. And there should be an opening in the front so we can see the TV. Yeah, yeah that looks good.” He continued to describe their future fort as Keith scribbled.

He held the paper up for Lance to see once it was finished. “Done.”

Lance scanned the paper, the corners of his lips tugging upwards. It was messy and disorganized but still exactly what Lance had wanted. “Perfect, let’s start.”

Keith grinned in response and stood, grabbing a few blankets. Lance followed him as they began to build their fort. It was challenging at first, choosing which ones to use for certain parts and balancing each item so it would stay upright. Lance decided to put some music on for entertainment, humming and swaying to the sound. He caught Keith’s eyes on him, a blush adorning his cheeks. Lance couldn't help but laugh a little at the sight and throw in a cheesy, “Like what you see?”

“Guess so.” Keith shrugged before nodding, obviously attempting to cover up the heat that had spread across his face. Lance winked before getting back to work, singing along.

Keith had left the room for a few minutes before bringing in a box filled with fairy lights. They strung them across the assembled fort and plugged them in, the lights twinkling brightly. The two added the finishing touches, which consisted of extra pillows, both of their DS consoles, and a winter candle off to the side.

They stepped back to admire their handiwork. Lance nodded, satisfied. “Not too bad, I’ll say.”

“Yeah?” Keith’s eyes were wide with joy, as if his inner child had been released. “I thought as the Blanket Fort Champion of the McClain Household you'd have seen some better ones.”

Lance couldn't help but smirk. “You know, this is probably the best blanket fort I've ever made. Now, let's get the hot chocolate.”

Keith looked pleased as they headed towards the kitchen again, making the drink. Lance made sure to add an abundance of marshmallows and whipped cream. He watched as Keith picked his mug up, taking a small sip and wincing when it burned his tongue.

“You have to wait for it to cool down.” Lance shook his head, grabbing his drink. Keith only shrugged as they made their way back to the fort. Lance set his mug down to put a movie on the TV and picked it up again as the two entered the fort.

Keith immediately grabbed one of the pillows, placing it in his lap. Lance took a blanket instead and sat down next to Keith, draping it across the both of them. He blew on his drink before taking a tentative sip. He tasted a warm, blissful chocolate, mixed with chewy marshmallows and cream. He sighed with content, turning towards Keith. “It won't burn now.”

Keith nodded, picking up his cup and taking a drink. He closed his eyes. “That’s good.”

“I know.” Lance curled up closer to Keith, tucking into his side. He was taller, but he curled up on himself a bit so he could rest his head on Keith’s shoulder. Keith didn’t seem to mind as he wrapped an arm around his boyfriend, turning to kiss the top of his head. Lance glanced up at Keith, his lips slightly upturned. He examined the grey eyes with hints of purple woven throughout them and his stupidly long hair that Lance had grown to absolutely adore. He wondered how even just a small glimpse of Keith managed to tug on his heartstrings and make him absolutely crazy. Leaning up slightly, Lance cupped Keith’s cheek and pulled him close until they kissed. He felt himself grow warmer, his heart beating a mile a minute just like it did the first time, and the second, and so on. He would never grow tired of Keith, always infatuated by the sensation of being with him.

When they leaned back, both of them smiled brightly. Keith tucked a strand of hair behind his ear, which was inadvertently adorable. “Good idea. The blanket fort, I mean.”

Lance seemed to shine. “Thanks. But, what would it be without one of your ideas, too?” He reached over to grab the two DS consoles, holding them up. “Animal Crossing?”