#iisthey

Hunk sighed. “Dude, no offense, but if you keep looking over my shoulder and pouting like a puppy, I’m going to have to drag you out of here. I mean it.”

Lance, whose gaze had definitely not been fixed just as his best friend had said, turned to Hunk with a heaving sigh. With his chin resting on his hand and his latte – which was already cold from the lack of consumption in the half hour they’d been in the coffee shop – lying inches away, he looked a bit miserable. Which he thought was reasonable enough given the situation. “I can’t help it, Hunk. Just look at him, man.”

“That’s literally the whole point of ‘not looking over my shoulder’.”

“Hunk,” Lance moaned, closing his eyes as he drew out the sound. “What’s the point of coming here if you’re not going to be supportive about it, buddy?”

“We came here to work on our essays,” Hunk reminded him, his expression exasperated despite the gentleness in his tone. “You know, the ones that are due in two days for Professor Montgomery that you still haven’t started.”

Lance huffed. “I know, I know, but that’s not the point! We came to this coffee shop, of all places. Did you really expect me not to complain about it?”

“Hoped, yes,” Hunk muttered under his breath. Lance pretended not to hear his best friend’s mutinous comments and allowed his eyes to flit across the coffee shop to find the subject of his whining.

Standing behind the counter, running the cash register and appearing bored out of his mind, was Keith, the cute guy in his Physics class. Despite the dark circles under his eyes and the glare he typically wore like second nature, Lance couldn’t help but relax as he watched the boy take orders from customers. It’d been coincidental to discover that Keith worked at this place, since he and Hunk had ventured in here not two weeks ago, but his frequent visits were certainly not coincidences. After all, he’d tried to talk to Keith after or during class, but the guy didn’t seem to want to give him the time of day. This gave him an excuse to get some caffeine and maybe – if he wasn’t nervous later on – a conversation starter.

Keith glanced away from the blonde woman whose order he’d been taking, catching sight of Lance watching him work. A frown started to cross his features and Lance ducked his head, face burning. Hunk sighed, putting down the pencil he’d been using to outline his own essay for class.

“You know, you could just go over there and talk to him.”

Lance sputtered for a moment, a nervous grin working its way onto his face. “Uh, no! Definitely not.”

“Lance.”

The boy held up a hand, as if to placate Hunk, feeling his already pink cheeks burn brighter. “Look, man – I can’t just walk over! He’s busy. I can’t bother him. That’d be a dick move. Besides, he’s never wanted to talk to me before, why would he want to now?”

“I didn’t say you had to bother him,” Hunk said. He was wearing the usual You know what I mean, stop beating around the bush look that Lance had come to anticipate every time his friend had to talk him into – or out of, for that matter – doing something. “Just make small talk and order one of their pastries or something.”

“Oh, I see. This is about you getting free food, isn’t it?”

Hunk continued as if Lance hadn’t interrupted him, though he did roll his eyes at the half-hearted teasing. “As for him talking to you, maybe he doesn’t know how to? I mean, you told me he’s pretty focused in class so maybe he just feels too busy or stressed to do so?”

Lance pursed his lips, his gaze falling to the table. He appreciated the fact that Hunk was trying to remain positive about this but he’d accepted that his pining wouldn’t go anywhere ages ago. “Yeah, maybe.”

Hunk opened his mouth, ready to continue reassuring his friend that he’d be fine, when he noticed someone coming over. His eyes widened and he got up from his seat, startling Lance as he pushed back the chair loudly. “Actually, wow! I really need to pee, look at that. See you in a bit!”

“Um, okay…?” Lance said, watching as Hunk hurried to the bathroom. He shook his head at Hunk’s antics, preparing to actually start his essay like the two of them had planned when he heard someone clear their throat next to him.

“Hi…? Do you need someth - ?” Lance’s voice failed him as he glanced up and did a double take, astonished to find none other than Keith staring down at him. “Um…” Shit, was he mad about Lance staring at him? He knew he should’ve listened to Hunk, maybe been subtler about the whole thing. His cheeks burned as he swallowed down a lump that had formed in his throat. “Hey, uh, Keith.”

“Hey.” Keith raised an eyebrow, not seeming aware of Lance’s inner turmoil or the voice screaming at him to run in the back of his head. He folded his arms over his chest. In his crisp button-down and black apron, he looked utterly adorable. “Are you okay?”

Lance let out a loud laugh, waving his hands to placate the other. “Oh, no, I’m fine! Really, I am,” he lied through his teeth. “Um, did you want something?”

It may have been wishful thinking, but Keith’s own cheeks looked a bit redder at the sound of the question. “I could ask you the same question. You – I, uh, saw you staring before.”

Shit. “I was?” Lance rubbed the back of his neck, averting his gaze even though he longed to keep staring. “Oops. My bad.”

“Well, it’s okay. I mean, I didn’t mind it.”

The words were soft, almost inaudible. Lance’s head whipped back to face Keith, eyes wide. His heart felt like it was caught in a vice grip, terrified to hear an explanation. “Wait, what?”

Keith’s mouth opened and shut quickly, looking stunned by his own words. He didn’t look like he’d meant for Lance to hear him, not to mention say them out loud. He ducked his face, black hair falling in front of his eyes as he shifted in place. “Sorry. Forget it, I didn’t – ”

“No, no!” Lance found himself standing before he realized what he was doing, nearly knocking over his cold latte onto his and Hunk’s papers. He gripped the back of his chair with one hand to keep himself from stumbling into the table. Face-to-face with Keith, he found that the other’s eyes looked purple up close, that the extra inch he had on Keith allowed for him to look slightly downward at him. “What did you mean by that?”

“It’s nothing, Lance, don’t – ”

“Keith.” Were he less scared of hearing whatever the other’s answer was, he would’ve likely thrown in a pout.

Nevertheless, the shakiness in his voice seemed to do the trick. He watched as Keith swallowed hard, still a little hunched and unable to meet his gaze head-on.

“I mean, I didn’t mind,” he said quietly, the words almost whispered between them. “That you were staring at me. I just wasn’t sure why you were.”

Lance’s heart began to pound. “Was it for the same reason I want to kiss you right now?”

Keith froze for a moment and Lance immediately wondered if he ought to play it off as a joke, backtrack from the turn in conversation. Then he felt Keith seize him by the front of his shirt and his lips were pressed against Lance’s. A small gasp left him as Keith pulled away just as quickly, a mixture of uncertainty and fear coloring his features. He stepped back, running a hand through his hair as Lance just stared.

“Shit, I shouldn’t have – was that - ?”