"You were in a band?" Lance exclaimed loudly, nearly knocking over his chai latte.

"Wait, what?" Adam laughed, leaning back in his chair and balling up his napkin relaxedly. Lance hid a smile- Adam had totally opened up from his normally cool-as-a-cucumber attitude- was he getting a first-hand experience of what Adam's flirting skills were like? If so, Lance decided he was definitely impressed.

"Yeah, it was back when we were in high school. We were on the road to stardom," Shiro said mysteriously, a glint in his eye. 

Keith slapped his friend's arm lightly. "As if- We were trash, Shiro," he corrected matter-of-factly.

Lance and Adam were sitting across from Keith and Shiro at hugs 'n mugs, sipping lattes and teas and enjoying the comfortable environment. In the early evening light, everything was golden in the cafe due to the giant windows up by the front entrance. Keith was having a hard time keeping his eyes off Lance, whose rich honey complexion was practically glowing.

"I doubt that," Lance said, crossing his arms. "What was its name?"

Shiro and Keith tensed, staring at each other awkwardly. Shiro cringed.

"Voltron..." Keith mumbled, barely audible over the din of the cafe. The tips of his ears burned.

Lance sat back in his chair, "Badass," he admitted. Keith wanted to melt into the floor. Just the name of the band brought back memories of eyeliner, Hot Topic, and the heavy musk of Nag Champa and weed. 

"Voltron?" Hunk asked as he approached their table to check for dishes to take, "Now there's a story." He gazed knowingly at Shiro and Keith, a thin layer of flour coating his hair and clothes.

"Wait, wait, don't tell me- the infamous Hunk was part of this Voltron?" Adam asked with increasing interest.

Hunk gave the dancer a praising look, "I'm flattered, Adam. But yeah, I was. Those were some of the best years of my life."

"What'd you guys play?" 

"I was on drums, Shiro had bass, Keith had lead guitar, and Pidge had synth. They all did vocals too."

Lance's eyes sparkled as he gazed deeply into Keith's eyes, effectively making Keith squirm. "Oh, that's just too good, Keith. A guitarist and a singer? I'll have to see it to believe it." Lance's words were so saturated with flirtatious appeal that it threw Keith off momentarily before blood rushed to his cheeks. 

Adam didn't seem to be surprised by how forward Lance was being and laughed it off before asking for stories from the group's band days. 

Shiro laughed nervously, "We were all really cringy and we only really did covers, except for the songs that Keith wrote." Lance glanced back at Keith. That boy was... something else. And, of course, it was a plus that he was absolutely gorgeous. 

"Fine, I'll leave it for now, but I expect to hear more about this whole band thing in the future, okay?" Lance relented, throwing his hands up in surrender. "What do you do for work?" Oh, here comes the small talk. Keith tried not to stare at Lance's lips as the brunette spoke, "I already know Keith works at the cute little flower shop and you guys know that I'm a dance student."

"I'm a physical trainer," Shiro replied. Keith bowed his head over his tea and their conversation droned out, offering feedback when expected but not elaborating (he was only an introvert after all, and the three other boys had enough personality to take up the table). 

It was only when the words "Yeah, I've been single for way too long" left Lance's pretty, peachy lips that Keith's ears perked up. He barely remembered to suppress his surprise when Lance cast him a sidelong glance, mouth pulled into a small smirk. Keith stared hard at the table, but he could feel the back of his neck prickling with sweat. The small talk carried on. 

Single, single, single. The word floated in his head.

Single, mingle, Pringles. Keith's stomach gurgled and he sipped his tea.

Single, mingle... Singles mingle... A date! 

Keith wondered if this coffee gathering thing counted as a double date. It certainly felt like one, but Lance had also said that Keith could pay him back for his coffee with a date, so was he the one expected to make the move? He felt that it was fairly certain that Lance wouldn't reject him but at the same time, a date...just the two of them...alone together...alone... That was a scary thought in and of itself. Keith didn't know if he could manage to not embarrass himself for that long. 

What the fuck?! Why was he so nervous about this boy? This wasn't like him. Keith tried to sneak a glance at Lance, but it didn't work because Lance was already looking at him. Keith pretended to look at something beyond Lance's shoulder. Come on. Why was he so obsessed with Lance now?

I mean, seriously. He isn't even that cute. With his... navy sweatpants... and that tight shirt that showed off... abs... and the way he flicked his hair to the side... Stupid, you're gonna get whiplash... He's so pretty.

"Keith?" Shiro's voice. Keith snapped up and blinked.

"What?"

"I was just saying that, after we brought Voltron back up again, I think it would be fun to do a jam sesh this weekend. It'd be nice to get the band back together, even if it's just for us."

Keith nodded slowly, "Yeah, okay."

Adam grinned. "This is so cool. I have band friends now." Keith tried his best not to laugh. 

"Hunk's basement, Saturday?" Shiro asked, scrolling through the calendar on his phone.

"Works for me."

Adam glanced at his own phone. "I should go," he smiled apologetically, "but this was nice. Let's do it again." 

"Yeah, I should probably get going too," Keith said, getting up and pulling on his beanie. "I've got a paper for psych I need to finish by midnight and I haven't started it yet." 

"You're so studious!" Lance teased him happily and Keith rolled his eyes. 

"I'll walk you to your car," Shiro readily volunteered to Adam, who sent Lance a wink. The two older boys walked out and Lance and Keith trailed behind, coffee and tea breath lingering on their tongues. They watched Shiro nearly trip over himself to open the door for Adam and shared a look of concern.

"They're cute," Keith commented, and Lance nodded.

"You're not just straight, right?" The brunette asked suddenly. He looked straight ahead.

Keith startled. "What?"

"You wear beanies. You cuff your jeans. You talk to your friends about boys you've met..." Lance trailed off and grinned, tapping his head, "My gaydar went off."

Keith shoved his hands in his pockets and shrugged.

"Yeah," he said, "I mean, I guess. I don't really know." Lance tipped his head.

"Well, I'm bi, just so you know."

"Oh." Keith really didn't know what to say. What an intellectual. "That's cool," he said lamely, and immediately regretted it, flicking his eyes to Lance, who seemed unbothered.

"Well, I've got class, so I'll see you around, Flower Boy." Lance began to walk to his car, but Keith called out.

"Hey, Lance?" He licked his dry lips nervously. "I can still take you up on that dinner offer, right?"

Lance smiled so brightly that, for a moment, Keith forgot the sun was in the sky. No, it was on Lance's lips. His sunshine smile. "Absolutely." 

And then, just like that, Lance finger-gunned, got into his car, and drove off. 

Keith stood on the sidewalk, dumbfounded.

Fuck.

...

i hoped u like it!! i love u! pls read the update before this! <33