#soulhate

“Last one,” Lance said, gesturing towards the potato pressed against the peeler’s edge. 

Her eyes fell on Keith, who was cutting up the last potato he’d been handed into cubes. When he looked up to meet her gaze he threw the neatly cut pieces into a waiting water bath.

“Great job guys,” Helen complimented them swiftly. 

“Is there anything else you need done?” Lance asked, handing off the last potato to Keith.

Helen looked around the kitchen, as if checking off everything on her prep list. Potatoes? Done. Vegetables? Seasoned and on the tray. Chicken? Marinating. Dessert? Freshly baked this morning–thank you Vinney. Lance was secretly worried that, with the coming New Year, he would no longer bake goodies for the family. And by extension, the friendly neighbor kid that helps him all the time. But, lucky for everyone he still had a few recipes committed to memory. With everything taken care of, all Helen had to do was stagger the bake times. 

“I oughta borrow you more often,” she said with a wide grin. 

Lance let the compliment roll off of him. “Anytime,” he said suavely. 

“Not even gonna hide your bias?” Keith asked flatly as he threw the last of the potatoes into the waiting bowl. 

Helen and Lance’s eyes met briefly before they started laughing. Afterwards, Helen turned towards the sink with the bowl. His eyes fell to the vegetable peeler in his hands. In truth, he was here for one reason only: his house was a verifiable nightmare. Just walking in after school was enough to turn his stomach. It was as if an oppressive energy hung in the air, thick and sticky like marshmallow fluff but it was far from sweet. Nino and Amada would play quietly in their room with Aunt Amillia Rose supervising. His father would be MIA until dinnertime. Finally, his mother would be slaving away in the kitchen on elaborate dinners that Grandma Catalina would take a few bites of and declare inedible. So instead of going home after school, he’d hang out at Keith’s. He figured wearing out his welcome here was far better than the horror show at home. 

No one talked to each other anymore. His mom was always shooing him out the door so he didn’t have to answer Grandma Catalina’s invasive questions. The brief moments he spoke to his dad were when he caught him tip-toeing to the shed. Aunt Amillia Rose was off the table too since they could only talk while gardening and it was too cold out yet for that. Even Nino and Amada were acting standoff-ish–something so foreign to Lance he still couldn’t believe it weeks later. It seemed like Tracey followed their dad’s lead as well because he hadn’t seen him since Grandma Catalina told him to junk Gretchen and get a proper vehicle.

“You’re a wonderful helper, too,” Helen reminded Keith as she drained the water bath. “We’re so blessed.”

Keith rolled his eyes at her playfully. 

“A blessing would be having Hunk here,” Lance said as he started scooping the potato peels into a waiting grocery bag. 

Helen gasped, her wet hands going to the dish cloth she kept tucked into the cabinet by her knee. “You’re right. I haven’t seen him since New Years. How is he?”

Lance and Keith glanced at one another. Honestly, they didn’t know. Recently–or maybe it had been happening for some time–Hunk had been receding into himself. Their group chat was all but dead, their last guy's night was last year, and he felt off at the Koganes New Year Celebration. Keith confirmed that he was busy with AP classes, homework from those AP classes and college prep. But what Keith didn’t know was that, even before senior year, Hunk was feeling pressure. Again, he felt guilty for not bringing up what he witnessed at Uncle Mickey’s party. 

“He’s good,” Keith lied–though to him it very well could have been the truth. “He’s got a few colleges in mind, he’s supposed to hear back any day now.”

Lance blinked at Keith’s words. “He is?”

Keith raised an eyebrow at him, like it was odd that Lance didn’t know. But of course Lance wouldn’t know. Hunk never talked about college with him. They’d avoided the subject all together for months now–even when all their teachers talked about was early application deadlines and lack of leniency. The only topics they broached these days were updates on their family, no different from news articles. The bakery was doing well, Shay was great, Hunk got a rare card on Pokemon TCGP. Lance reciprocated with his own factoids, which were thinly-veiled lies. Like when he mentioned his dad was getting really into making birdhouses. Not that his dad was avoiding being home because of Grandma Catalina. 

“You guys should be thinking about that too,” Helen commented absently as she grabbed a large skillet and heated it up on the stove. 

Lance nodded his head at the mention of college, though it was mostly to end the conversation. He absently played with the zipper at the hem of his hoodie.

“What do you think he’s doing tonight?” Keith asked Lance, turning towards him. 

Lance sat back on the stool slightly, “Not sure.”

“That froyo place is open late. We could surprise him.”

Helen walked up to the island and rested her elbows on the counter. “A surprise sounds like just what he needs. You guys can go after dinner.”

Both Keith and Lance nodded at each other, a silent conversation passing between their eyes. It was as if Keith picked up on Lance’s hesitation where Hunk was concerned. Afterall, this wasn’t the first time that he’d heard news about Hunk from Keith. Lance gave him a lopsided smile, noticing his comfort though he felt no touch or heard any reassurance spoken. 

“Is your mom okay with you going, Lance?” Helen asked as she turned towards the stove again. 

“I can text her,” he said as he pulled his phone out of his back pocket. 

He was moments away from pulling up her text chat when the three of them heard a commotion at the front door. Their heads shot over to the darkened area by the door, illuminated only by the glow of the kitchen and the blue hue of a cell phone casted on the wall. Vinney sprang up from the couch, alarmed by the sound of the door ricocheting off the back wall.

“Angella?” Vinney said as he came over to her. 

“Is Hunk here?” She asked, forgoing all politeness and passing Vinney by. Her phone was clutched to her chest as she crossed the threshold into the kitchen.

Lance hopped off his stool. “No, why?”

“Mrs. Garrett just called me,” Angella said, catching her breath. “She asked me if I could drop Hunk off at the bakery tomorrow. But I had no idea what she was talking about.”

Helen met her at the doorway and coaxed her into Lance’s stool. Vinney slid in behind everyone and started to turn off burners and the preheated oven.

“She said Lance picked Hunk up this morning for a guy’s night earlier today,” she huffed. “She hasn’t seen him since.”

“Have you two heard anything?” Helen asked, her voice alarmed. 

Lance shook his head, and when he looked over, Keith was doing the same. 

Helen put her hand to her chest, worry overcoming her. Angella eyed Lance for a second longer, which sent alarm bells off in his head. 

“Are you sure you don’t know where he is?”

Lance recognized the look she was giving. It was the same one Grandma Catalina wore when she accused him of drinking at last week’s party. When she asked him why he needed to go out all the time. When she brought up how easy it was to buy weed these days. The shock of it slammed into Lance’s chest and his concern for Hunk immediately turned to unbridled rage. 

“I don’t know where he is,” Lance vocalized, pointing his eyes at her.

Angella was shocked at his tone, his furrowed brow and his frown–startled enough to blink a few times before setting her eyes on her phone. “I have to call her back. I said I’d check over here.”

“Has his girlfriend seen him?” Helen asked Angella as she called Mrs. Garrett back. 

“She doesn’t have her number,” Angella said through the lump in her throat. 

Lance reached into his pocket and palmed his phone. If he were Hunk and he wanted to willfully disappear, the last thing he would do was answer a call. So he sent a text to him, informing him that his mom was asking about him. He wanted to scold him for pulling this stunt, but Lance knew that he was misdirecting his anger. He sighed and opened Instagram, where he found Shay’s profile. He sent her a quick message, getting her up to speed in case this was news to her. After hitting send, he watched as his mother put her phone up to her ear. 

“Tama, yeah, I’m at Helen’s. He’s not here.”

Lance’s heart broke at the sound of Hunk’s mom on the other end of the line. The worry in her voice–the anguish–made every single one of them stop and stare. 

“Cedro and I are going to drive around the neighborhood,” Angella offered. Then, she looked at Keith and Lance. “Boys, is there anywhere he might go?”

“I can think of a few places,” Keith said as he looked at Helen. “Can I borrow the car?”

Helen nodded immediately, “They’re in my purse.”

He nodded and started for the living room.

“Lance you go, too,” Angella ordered, though Lance was already following behind Keith. 

As Keith wrestled with Helen’s bag, Lance heard Angella comforting Mrs. Garrett over the phone. Vinney placed a glass of water in front of her and she sipped slowly between words of encouragement and the first steps of a plan. He distracted himself by pulling Keith’s coat off the hooks on the wall. When a familiar jingle signaled Keith’s success, he felt himself being pulled out of the house. 

Keith pulled over outside the cafe. Before he had a chance to turn the car off, Lance had already swung open the door and closed it. Keith followed a few feet behind him, scanning the crowd outside of the cafe as well as across the street. Lance went inside first, holding the door open for Keith. The cashier gave him a smile, having recognized him. He gave a tight one in return, but focused on his mission. As he looked for anyone vaguely Hunk shaped, his chest started to ache with the realization that he wasn’t at the cafe.

He wasn’t anywhere.

Lance turned towards the door, nearly tripping on Keith before they made their way outside. At the base of the stairs, Lance ran his hands over his face and through his hair, trying to calm down. But it was getting harder and harder to ignore the guilt he felt. He knew something was going on with Hunk but he didn’t step in when he should have. He should have been there for him–to ask him about even the touchier subjects. Keeping his soul bond with Keith a secret paled in comparison to keeping his best friend safe. If it would bring him back, Lance would lie all his secrets bare.

“We’ll find him,” Keith said reassuringly, putting a hand on Lance’s shoulder. 

Keith’s confidence hadn’t waned the entire time they were searching for Hunk. There was always another location they could check that kept him from throwing in the towel. When Hunk wasn’t debating buying Donkey Kong Jungle Beat, Keith drove to the frozen yogurt joint. When he wasn’t overloading his cup with every topping known to man, Keith found his way to the cafe. But now that they were here, and Hunk was still MIA, he wondered where Keith would drive next to prove himself correct. 

Lance shook his head, “He’s not at GameStop, he’s not at Froyo King–and he’s not at the cafe. Where else could he be?” 

“Let’s think about it,” Keith said as he pulled the fabric of Lance’s zip up hoodie together. In a few seconds he zipped it. 

Lance took a look at Keith, bundled in his warm jacket. “Think about it, how?” He asked, his tone reading grumpy two-year old instead of teenager.

“You said he wasn’t with Shay, and he’s definitely not with us. Is there anyone else that could have picked him up?”

Lance thought for a moment. Outside of school, he might have had a friend from Robotics camp come by. But as convenient as that would be, it was also very unlikely. Hunk had never met up with any of them before–and seeing as how he didn’t have time for Lance and Keith–he definitely didn’t have time for Micah. 

“No,” Lance answered. 

“Okay, so where could he have gone on foot?”

“He’s been gone since this morning, he could be anywhere by now.”

Keith shook his head, “But he isn’t anywhere. We’ve already knocked out three of his usual spots. There has to be another spot we haven’t checked.”

Lance walked towards Helen’s green Subaru exasperatedly. He leaned against it, taking in the chill of the night air. He looked up at the sky, seeing several stars twinkling above despite the streetlamps giving off their warm glow. He looked at Keith as he slowly made his way up to him. He tried to put himself in Hunk’s shoes for a moment. If he needed to run away, where would he go?

Lance’s first thought was hiding out at Keith’s house, but for the purpose of this exercise, he pretended like they were in the middle of a fight. So Blake and Tracey’s apartment came to mind next–but they were too loud and nosy. In fact, he knew for a fact he wouldn’t go anywhere his family might show up. That left the school, malls, theaters–

Lance’s phone rang out his mom’s ring tone and he immediately tore it out of his pocket. He was hoping for good news–that they found Hunk eating his weight in Oreo McFlurrys. He answered the call and put his phone to his ear. Inside, he prayed that his mother had good news. 

“Have you found him?” Angella asked, her voice still marred with emotion.

Lance’s heart dropped. He looked down at his feet, kicking away a stray rock that was lying on the sidewalk. “No.”

Angella sounded as dejected as he did. “We just drove past Ermine, I don’t think he’s in town. All the shops are closing.”

Lance looked down the street, “You passed us then, we were checking the cafe.”

Keith stood next to Lance, waiting patiently for his call to end. He sighed into the receiver, watching as Keith kept his eyes on the crowd of people moving to and fro on the sidewalk. As his mother rambled on about how sorry she felt for Mrs. Garrett, Lance took in the shadows cast upon the ground by the yellow streetlights. To think a few months ago he was standing in town with Keith just like this. But the jovial Christmas cheer was long gone, replaced by a terrifying emptiness.

“I'll call Mrs. Garrett back, tell her…the news,” Angella spoke softly, as if already dreading her next call. “You guys should come home soon. We'll keep looking.”

“We can keep looking,” Lance looked towards Keith, as if asking him for confirmation. When Keith nodded, he turned his attention to his feet. 

“I want you to come home.”

Lance's expression grew grim when he heard her. “You said I could stay at Keith’s tonight,” he reminded her. 

“Not right now, not with Hunk…missing.”

“What difference would it make if I was at home or fifty feet away?” Lance turned away from Keith.

As Angella gave her multitude of reasons for wanting Lance to come back, he felt his mouth droop into a frown. He knew that she would feel more comfortable having him home–and yet being forced to go back to that house made his skin crawl. Did she not know he was doing everything he could to avoid being there? Or was she too distracted to notice she'd barely seen him? 

“...and I'm your mother and I’ve decided,” Angella finished her small rant.

Lance wanted to argue, but he knew that any points he made would be glossed over or ignored. She was too in her feelings about Hunk to think rationally. As much as Lance wanted to disappear, there was no where he could go at this hour. Nowhere legally anyway. Parks were closed, shops were closing, hell–Walmart wasn't even open twenty-four hours anymore. Realistically, the only place to go was–

Lance's jaw fell open. He immediately felt stupid that it took him this long to realize where Hunk could have gone. 

“Lance?” Angella asked, her voice growing in annoyance.

“I'll call you back, I think I know where he is,” Lance said into the receiver before waving Keith over. 

When he hung up, Keith raised an eyebrow at him.

“C'mon, I've got a feeling he's at Deadhang,” Lance said as he pulled open the passenger side door. 

The trip to Deadhang didn't take long, merely a five minute drive. The way there was exactly as Lance remembered, though he'd never traveled by car. Hunk and Lance would scale the mountain once a week in middle school for a little over a year. While it wasn’t the easiest trek in the world, it got easier each time they did it. However, that didn’t mean Lance was eager to huff and puff his way up the mountain. Luckily this time, he and Keith were able to drive up to the parking lot at the top.

Lance got out of the truck first, closing the door to the Subaru quickly. Beside him Keith did the same and they met by the hood. Lance’s eyes were focused on the hiking trail that led directly from the parking lot. Once the lights of the Subaru went out behind them, they were at the mercy of the receding twilight. The sky had grown a deep purple and while there was a single streetlight illuminating the parking lot, they would not be so lucky going forward. Lance sighed as he pulled out his phone and turned on the flashlight. 

“You’re sure he’s up here?” Keith asked as he followed Lance towards the trail. 

“It’s where I would go,” Lance shrugged. 

As they started along the trail, Lance pointed his flashlight down at the ground. With his other hand, he pulled Keith in close so he wouldn’t snag his foot on a root or tree branch. Keith slid his hand into Lance’s as they walked together–whether it was out of practicality or to rid himself of unease, he didn’t know. All that he was aware of was that it was pitch black in the woods, and Keith’s presence was a welcome one.

“Next time I bring you up here, it’ll be during the day,” Lance whispered to Keith. “It’s a lot nicer during the day.”

Keith tried to laugh, but the eerie sounds of creaking tree branches and their own clunky footsteps drowned it out. 

Within a few minutes, the two of them found themselves at the top of the mountain. They were just on the edge of the treeline, looking out at the overlook. It was just as Lance remembered. Several boulders jutted out from the side of the cliff face and a small patch of grass lay there at the base. When Lance and Hunk went up here in middle school they would often see free climbers toss their crash pads in the grass before ascending the rocks above. Of course, since they weren’t there to free climb, they instead followed the man-made trail up to the actual overlook. 

Lance led Keith up the weathered trail, no grass–just dusty dirt. As they got higher up on the overlook, Lance had to drop Keith’s hand. Scaling the boulders took both hands, so moving slowly, Lance held his flashlight at his side so both he and Keith could see. Once he crested the top, Lance stopped as Keith slowly made his way beside him. They were breathing heavily as the cold winter wind whipped their jackets every which way. Lance looked skyward, thousands of stars illuminating with each passing second. Twilight had come and gone in the time it took them to walk the trail. Now, the darkness of night sank in all around them. 

Deadhang was the tallest mountain in their town and, looking over its edge Lance could see all the sparkling lights below. From streetlights to leftover Christmas lights, everything looked so small and far away up here. Still, Lance set his eyes on Hunk, who was sitting on a boulder across from the trail they’d come from. His back was to them, but Lance recognized his thick winter jacket. It looked as though he was frozen in place. How he hadn’t called it quits as soon as the sun went down, Lance would never know. But still, he was glad to have found him. 

“I’ll go,” Lance whispered behind him, to Keith. 

Lance stepped forward, his footsteps not alerting Hunk, though he definitely heard them. He wondered if he’d caught a glimpse of them making their way up from below. Either that or he just assumed that no one else would have found him so Lancce’s presence was predictable. Lance scaled the boulder quickly and stood beside Hunk, taking in his view. It was the same old landscape Lance had always seen and yet–it was only under the dark of night that their home really came alive. 

“Did you get my text?” Lance asked, keeping his eyes on the lights below them. 

“I turned my phone off,” Hunk said, his voice thick with underuse. 

Lance nodded to no one in particular as he sat down. “I didn’t think you still came here,” Lance said, his voice gentle. 

“I come here a lot nowadays,” he said to the wind. “I’d tell my mom I was at Keith’s or your place or the cafe, but I’d just be here.”

Lance wondered just how often he’d been used as an excuse so that Hunk could have some alone time. But, that wasn’t what mattered now. “I’m surprised you haven’t frozen to death up here,” he commented with a smile.

Hunk shrugged, Lance could see him from the corner of his eye. “I go home when I get cold–but tonight I wanted to stay longer.”

The two of them sat there overlooking the streets below, headlights illuminating the darker patches of road farther from town. It was peaceful up here, the only sound coming from the wind and the rustling of trees. It was the perfect place to think–or to drown out all the noise from life. He wondered what Hunk needed to think about–or what he needed to escape. But how could he even begin to bring up something like that? He stole a glance at him quickly. His eyes were fixed on their town below and from its faint lights, he could see Hunk’s expression illuminated in amber. He looked sullen and far away. He didn’t recognize him. His Hunk was always smiling, always one heartbeat away from a hug. But now it looked as though he were miles away despite being seated right next to him. 

“We haven’t talked in a while,” Lance said to the air between them. 

“We talk all the time,” Hunk corrected him. 

“Nah, like, really talk. You haven’t told me about the college you want to go to or what your plans are with Shay.”

Hunk swallowed, one or both of the topics obviously bothering him. “I didn’t want to bother you.”

Lance looked him in the eyes, “You could never bother me.”

There was a brief moment, when their eyes met, that Hunk dropped his guard, but he steeled himself once more. He looked back towards town and they sat in silence while he, presumably, gained the courage to talk more. In fact, Lance was about to ask him why he was up here when Hunk opened his mouth again. 

“I’ve been keeping secrets,” Hunk admitted to the sky. “I didn’t mean to. I know we said we wouldn’t but,” he trailed off. 

“It’s alright, I,” Lance said as he looked back at Keith, who was standing a little ways behind them with his phone in his hand, “have been keeping some, too.”

Hunk sighed, like he was giving up. “My parents wanted me to go to their old college,” he began. 

Lance nodded, recalling that his parents were proud supporters of their alma mater–his mom’s bumper was decked out in stickers. 

“I was on board, but then I met Shay,” Hunk’s eyes fell. “She planned on going out of state for a tech college. I thought…maybe we could go together.”

Lance listened quietly as he went on. 

“I was really bummed out about telling my parents–but Uncle Mickey said that they were my family and they would understand.”

Lance recalled the hug that Hunk thrusted upon Uncle Mickey last year. While he was happy to finally have the reason, he realized that this was only the beginning of Hunk’s turmoil. 

“I was so behind on prepping for Shay’s college but I thought if I tried really hard, I could make it in but,” Hunk trailed off as he pulled out something from his pocket. A folded piece of paper flapped in the wind. “I got the rejection letter today.”

Lance watched as he crumpled it up back into his pocket. The sullen look on his face returned once more. Lance opened his mouth to reassure him–but he realized that he had nothing to say. Everything started to fall into place. The AP classes, doing homework at lunch just to keep up, his lack of time to hang out over the weekend. Everything was to achieve his goal–but it still wasn’t enough. He wasn’t enough. 

Hunk sighed again, like he was trying to rid himself of the terrible feelings. “Why would we meet now just to leave each other?” He lamented. 

Lance’s eyes drifted behind them towards Keith again. Why had either of them met now? Was there really any significance?

“I wanted to tell you–but you were already so spooked about soulmates to begin with. I didn’t want to add to it,” he looked at Lance. “I’m sorry.”

Lance pressed his lips together, “You don’t have to say sorry. I should have been there for you–spooked or not.”

“Its not like you could have helped,” Hunk shrugged. 

“I could have,” Lance muttered. 

And it was true. If he had been more present in Hunk’s life this past year he could have helped him. He’d done a lot of growing these last few months. After breaking it off with Keith, he realized that their soul bond was made of more than ink. There was a tangible cord that connected them, always reminding them of one another with its heat. If he had been honest with Hunk, told him about Keith when they promised no more secrets, he could have prevented this. 

But, as he looked back at Keith once more, Lance understood that if he had told Hunk about Keith earlier, he wouldn’t be the person he was today. He would have skipped the heartache of pushing Keith away–and thus devaluing everything he learned about Keith and himself as a result. In time, he would have unearthed everything Keith told him–but would Lance really have listened? Or would he have assumed everything was going to work out because of their bond just as Keith predicted? By destroying everything they built, Lance was able to build their foundation again–stronger. Even so, there was still the regret of lying to Hunk hanging low around him. Even if Hunk hadn't known about Keith, he could have provided so much advice for him–even if he had to lie about its origin. 

“I could have told you that it was okay to be scared to tell your family something,” Lance said softly. The fear he felt about telling his family about Keith was still at the forefront of his mind.

Hunk looked towards him.

He then recalled the longing he felt towards Keith when he left for the Cline’s Cabin. “I could have told you that distance meant nothing.”

It seemed like the cold air between them got warmer as he remembered how nice it felt to shoot hoops with Keith and his family. Despite all the Cline family bullshit, there was this undeniable chemistry between them as they worked towards a common goal. When Lance spoke next, he realized that it was not the air growing warmer, but his tattoo warming him.

“I could have told you that your soulmate is your strongest ally.”

“You think?”

“Yeah, how does Shay feel about all this?”

“I don’t know, I haven’t told her.”

“She’s probably blowing up your phone,” Lance said, recalling the haunting messages he sent her when asking if she’d seen Hunk.

Hunk pulled out his phone from his jacket pocket and switched it on quickly. After it powered on, it began vibrating nonstop in his hand for a solid minute with new notifications. Lance watched as dozens of text alerts popped up on his screen. He saw several from Hunk’s mom, his dad, his grandma, one from himself and Keith, and no less than twenty from Shay. He watched as Hunk’s eyes blinked at the worried messages, reading them one by one. 

“I didn’t mean to make everyone worry,” Hunk said aloud, no doubt catching Lance’s text about how his mom rallied the troops so to speak.

Lance looked behind them, towards Keith. He waved him forward and he made his way over without question.

“I texted my mom that we found you,” Keith said as he sat down on the opposite side of Hunk. “She called yours already to smooth things over.”

“Thanks,” Hunk looped his arm around Keith’s shoulders and pulled him into a body-crushing hug.

“You still have to talk to your mom,” Lance said as he leaned against Hunk. “And Shay too.”

Hunk pulled Lance’s shoulders into the hug too, nuzzling his chin against Lance’s head. “I will,” he said with a smile, though it soon fell. “I didn’t mean to keep everything to myself.”

Lance nodded against him, letting Hunk’s body shield him from the cold for a moment. “It’s okay, a lot was going on.”

Hunk released them both, his hands falling behind them as he reclined to look at the stars. “Maybe this means I should stay local,” Hunk joked. “I didn’t like the idea of moving so far away, anyway.”

“Yeah, how could you give up this view,” Lance laughed, gesturing below them. 

“Hey wait, Keith,” Hunk said as he looked at him. “This is your first time up here, isn’t it?”

Keith nodded, “The walk up here was terrifying.”

Hunk laughed, waving his comment away. “It’s way better in the daytime.” 

Then, the three of them heard a message pop up on Hunk’s phone. Both Lance and Keith watched as he read Shay’s newest text message. 

Is this about K-Tech?

Hunk sighed at the message as the blue glow of his phone illuminated his downturned brows and tight frown. “When I got my rejection letter, I felt like she was leaving me behind.” He set his phone down and looked at his legs, crossed in the rubble. “I thought that if I told her, she’d switch up her plans to be with me. I hoped she would. But that felt even worse. Why would I ever hope for something like that?”

Lance brought his knees together and rested his chin on them, wrapping himself up tight against the onslaught of the wind. “Because you’re normal.”

Hunk shook his head bitterly. “A normal person would want her to be with someone better.”

Lance thought back to the terrible thoughts he’d entertained about Keith finding that better someone. He recalled how utterly alone he felt in realizing that not only did someone better exist, but they could have stepped into Lance’s shoes in an instant if allowed. Hunk’s someone better was still theoretical–not an actual person. Shay could meet them this fall semester, at a book club or hell, even walking down the street. But they would be perfect for Shay–and nothing feels worse than knowing your replacement’s name.

“Someone better is out there,” Lance said, with all the intensity he could muster.

Hunk’s attention snapped over to him. “Huh?”

“You think this better person will come and do everything you can’t?” Lance spoke, his eyes narrowed. “Well, you’re right.”

Hunk swallowed whatever response he had.

“So wrap up the pity party and forgive yourself,” Lance said, echoing Blake’s words. “You have to do better.”

“But how?”

“You didn’t get into her college, oh well.” Lance closed his eyes for a moment, thinking. Then, his eyes met Hunk’s again. “You get on the wait list or you transfer in later.” Lance stood up, towering over both Hunk and Keith. “She can’t leave you behind if you’re chasing her.”

Hunk smiled widely, “Yeah!”

“And if you don’t get in after all that? Skype calls, phone calls, texts, planes, trains–Gretchen if she ever gets fixed.” Lance took a breath, watching as Hunk came to life in front of him. He stretched his hand out, waiting for Hunk to take it. When he did, he pulled him up and into a hug. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there for all this.”

“You’re here now,” Hunk breathed into him. “I’m sorry I thought you couldn’t help.”

Lance gave him a soft smile, pride welling in his chest as well as quiet regret. 

“No more secrets,” Hunk laughed, checking his fake watch, “starting now.”

Lance felt the air shift between them as Hunk turned behind him to pick Keith up off the ground too. Just like before, on Keith’s front porch, he felt something aligning. Yet another opportunity revealed itself–another wrong to right. Lance opened his mouth, eyes wide with hope as he watched Hunk pull Keith into a hug as well.

“Hunk,” Lance called after him, though he was only a foot away. 

“Yeah?” He asked with a smile.

He looked through Hunk, his eyes landing on Keith as if to ask for his permission to continue. He wasn’t sure how Keith knew–but there was a sparkle of recognition on his face. Followed immediately by apprehension. Keith’s eyes widened, his mouth fell open–but after a few seconds of hesitation–Keith gave a quiet nod. His approval came with stiff shoulders and worried eyes–but it came. 

“I’m sorry that it took this long,” Lance said to Keith.

Lance took a deep breath and cleared his throat. When he met Hunk’s eyes, he did his best to blink away the wind in his eyes. He dug deep inside of himself, channeling the courage he knew he had within him. In front of him was his best friend and confidant–the person he used to tell everything. This should have been as easy as washing his hands. Coming clean to Hunk should have been nothing. But it was everything. A step in the right direction. A testament to how far Lance had come. So when Hunk looked at him with curious eyes, he didn’t falter. 

“Hunk,” Lance said with a smile. “I want you to meet Keith. He’s my soulmate.”