The crowded hallway had stampeding groups of people, almost like fish swimming in schools. But Keith just shut his locker, practically slamming it. And Lance leaned against the one right next to his, watching him and making sure that Lotor was nowhere in sight.

" Lance... how much do you like me?" He questioned, almost bluntly. The other made a confused face, wondering why Keith would even feel the need to ask that.

" So, so much. Keith, why are you even asking?" The alpha held him from behind, with his arms wrapped around the omega's waist. He wasn't shy about getting touchy in front of people, not by a long shot.

" Well... will you come suffer with me tonight, then?" The smaller male awkwardly smiled, with a single eyebrow raised.

" Um...? What do you mean?" Lance felt his heart skip a beat from fear. " Should I be scared?"

" Very... Shiro wants to have dinner tonight... with the both of us." Keith looked up, his head was pretty much in the crook of the taller male's neck. " He wants me to prove that you're not an awful person, apparently."

The quarterback's body tensed, obviously a little unsettled at the idea.

" I'll go..." He said with a loud sigh. " but how do I know he won't poison the food?" Lance joked, as if to distract himself from how serious this was.

" Lance, please. I need you to be mature about it." Keith gave an eye roll, but he was still somewhat smiling.

" I promise I will... but I think he's pretty dead set on how he feels about me, anyhow." The alpha placed a couple small kisses on the omega's neck. And the boy was honestly anxious for Lance, being that he wasn't sure how hostile Shiro would act.

-------------------------------------------

Keith had fancied himself up, mainly because he knew how important tonight was. It could signal the turning of a new leaf, and Lance finally being fully comfortable with their relationship.

He wore a very form fitting, jet black t-shirt, and a bright red, faux leather vest over top of it. There were a bunch of unnecessary zippers, that had really no purpose except for show. And the leggings he had on were extremely tight, he had planned that on purpose. Keith knew that Lance could handle a provocative outfit, now he just needed to show Shiro he could.

The omega walked down the wooden steps, taking a seat on the bottom one. He had learned his lesson last time, so he'd definitely be there to let him in before Shiro could. Which would probably be very soon, considering Lance was coming at six, and it was about five fifty five right then.

Keith sat there for what seemed like an eternity, but in reality, it was only a couple minutes at most. When the doorbell chimed, he sprang up, making sure to get there first. He took a deep breath, straightening his shirt and such, before swinging the door open.

" W-woah..." Keith stammered, reddening just at the sight in front of him. Lance really did look just... wow. With a light blue button up, the sleeves rolled up on his forearms, and a nice pair of khakis, he definitely had tried to look nice. His shirt was even tucked in for once!

Lance was holding a small bouquet of cherry colored flowers, and he was blushing at seeing what Keith was wearing. The leggings clenched onto the boy's wide thighs, and the alpha licked his lips, trying not to stare. " Hey..." Keith said awkwardly. " Come in?" He'd never really been in a situation like this before, mainly because they rarely had anyone over for supper. And if they did, it was Shiro's boss, meaning Keith was out of the house.

" Gladly." The football player stepped in, though he was intimidated to no end with the older alpha there. " These reminded me of you..." Lance smiled, handing the carnation-like flowers to his omega.

" Cliché... but I like them." Keith smiled, until he heard another set of footsteps on the hardwood floor. They both stiffened, but Lance was practically a statue.

" Shiro, obviously this is Lance, and Lance, this is my brother, Shiro." The cheerleader introduced them awkwardly, and the quarterback only leaned in, speaking a little above the volume of a whisper.

" I'm not supposed to call him that." He talked from the side of his mouth, trying to act natural in front of Shiro. Keith just rolled his eyes out of habit.

The older brother narrowed his eyes at the two, and they gulped pretty much in unison. " Takashi, it's nice to formally meet you." Lance tried to be his usual, confident, self. But he couldn't get over the look Shiro was giving him, it made the Cuban boy feel extremely anxious and self conscious on top of that. But he knew that he had to be genuinely tough. No way Shiro would let him go anywhere alone with Keith anymore if he thought he was weak. He needed to prove that he was strong enough to protect his omega, and gain Shiro's trust.

He extended an arm, and waited for the other alpha to shake his hand. Which he did, extra hard, almost with enough pressure to snap Lance's fingers in half. But he acted as though it didn't phase him.

Keith could see the red marks on the football player's hand, knowing Shiro was probably just trying to scare him off.

" Okay, Babe," The omega whacked the bundle of flowers against his brother's chest, so that he could go put them in some water. " we should head upstairs, hm?" He grabbed Lance's hand and started pulling him toward the steps.

" I want that door open! WIDE OPEN!" Shiro called up the stairs as he began walking into the kitchen. And Keith only chuckled to himself, making sure not to grip his alpha too hard.

He slammed the door shut on 'accident' as they got to his room -which he'd cleaned earlier that afternoon- and Lance jumped at the sound.

" Keith! What are you doing?!" He exclaimed, and the boy could only shrug sassily. " Shiro told you leave it open!"

" Whatever." Keith went and sat on the bed, he may have been an omega, but he was also stubborn as all hell. Lance cringed, hoping Shiro wouldn't think it was him who'd done that.

" If he blames me for that I'll so-"

" Oh you'll so what?" The smaller male mocked him. And the quarterback only got closer to the bed, with his face about an inch or two from Keith's face.

" What's with your attitude today? Are you going through a rebellious phase?" Lance teased him, but he was being serious about the boy's mood, which seemed to be fluctuating.

" Sorry... it's just that I saw him pretty much crush your hand. I told him to be nice..." Keith looked down, trying to avoid eye contact.

" Oh... that. Yeah, I'm fine." The alpha scratched the back of his neck nervously.

" I know you'll be fine... but I still feel bad." He spoke quietly, and the bed shifted next to him, meaning Lance had sat down. He reached for the alpha's hand, bringing it up so that he could place a small kiss there, and he smiled a bit upon doing so.

" Come here." Lance pulled Keith back so that they were both laying on the bed, atop a mountain of pillows near the headboard. He was thinking about how his siblings got cuts and scrapes all the time, and how he'd always help by kissing it better. It was adorable to him that Keith had done the same thing.

The omega only rested his head against the taller male's chest, as his arm wrapped around his much smaller shoulder. And their legs tangled together at the foot of the bed.

Lance enjoyed cuddling, despite him being a perv and having a very dirty mind, it was almost therapeutic for him. And Keith didn't really have much experience with this sort of thing, but he loved being close to his alpha. He was absorbing his body heat, and was already feeling way safer and more comfortable in his arms. Until that stupid pesky fear floated back into his general realm of thought. Keith tensed up suddenly. " Babe...? What's wrong?" Lance asked, noticing the way his boyfriend shifted.

" It's nothing really... it's just I'm kind of scared." The omega got in nearer to him, pressing their bodies together. " I can't shake the bad vibes that Lotor guy gives me..."

Lance felt his blood beginning to boil at just the mention of that name.

" Bad vibes? What do you mean?" Concern flashed in his ocean colored orbs. Keith buried his face into the alpha's neck, finding some comfort in his scent.

" I mean... I can't help but feel like he's going to try t-to like... t-touch me or something..." He mumbled into the fabric of Lance's collar.

" First of all, touching you is my job. And secondly, he's not even going to get close to you, he's all bark and no bite." Lance embraced his omega, getting protective because of his instincts.

" But-"

" But nothing... I promise you that you're safe as long as I'm around." He said in a deep voice that made Keith shiver. And though the boy wanted to say what if this, and what if that, he just settled into the comfy spot in the crook of his boyfriend's neck.

He raked his fingers through Keith's hair, while the boy laid on his side, suddenly drowsy for some reason. But Lance didn't mind, he only continued combing through the midnight black mullet that had really grown on him after a while.

After a few minutes, Lance thought Keith might've gone to sleep, so he stopped. They were so wrapped up in each other that neither of the boy's had even heard the footsteps coming upstairs.

" No, Lance!" The omega whined, " keep going! It feels good..." He nuzzled more into the alpha's neck.

That's when Shiro threw the door open, and scared the crap out of them. He'd heard Keith from the hall, and was honestly expecting the two boys to be ... in the middle of something.

" Just what is going on in h-" He exclaimed, before realizing that he'd misread the situation.

Lance could of jumped through he ceiling, given how startled he was. But Keith just got rather annoyed.

" We're just cuddling, Shiro. Calm down." The omega just adjusted his position against Lance, who'd moved somewhat.

" Oh- I'm... just- dinner is ready, so could you two please come down before it gets cold?" Shiro stammered, feeling slightly guilty for scaring them.

" Yeah..." Keith said and his brother started going back down the steps. He could see the nervousness practically weighing down Lance's face. " Let's do this?"

" You're sure he didn't poison the food, then?" The alpha joked, though there were tiny anxious lines beneath his eyes.

" Let's hope not."

(( Hello, Loves! This next chapter is going to be hella awkward, but I hope you all think it's cute. Oh jeez I'm already nervous for my boys lol. See you later!))