"How could you be so reckless!? Your image is everything Keith. There's rumors going around that you got in a fight at a bar. Is that the kind of rumor you want getting out? These pictures are pretty damming." His agent threw some of the photos on her desk so that Keith could see. One was Keith standing in front of Lance protectively looking quite furious with the douche canoe on his ass. And another was of Lance dragging him off. "Keith? Are you even listening to me?"

His eyes snapped up to meet her boiling ones. If he looked close enough, he was sure he could see the reflection of her wringing his neck. "I'm listening."

"I know all you young artists go through rebellious phases where you want to go crazy and ignore everything your agent has to say. But we're the ones looking out for you, we have your best interest at heart. Do you think these fuckers who posted these pictures care about you? They don't give a shit about your image." She stood in front of Keith and leaned on her desk folding her arms. "Who's the boy in the picture Keith?"

"No one. I barely know him." Keith mumbled.

"Listen to me. You signed a contract with me. We agreed the best move was to keep your... queerness under the rug or in the closet for a while." She spoke slow and sharp.

"But, we agreed for a while. You said it would be impossible to get my music out there as an openly gay man. You said once my music was out there I could come out and live how I want." Keith couldn't keep the whine out of his voice.

"And you will! Eventually! But you're hitting top charts! The people love you! You're still young, you'll have plenty of time to live later. But right now you're making bank, why can't you see that?" She sighed.

"Who gives a fuck. I made a shit ton. I've made more than I know what to do with really. It's cool. It's great. Really. But who fucking cares? What's the point if I'm miserable?" Keith raised his voice unintentionally.

"I can't believe you're really spouting that shit off to me. I'm working hard to make these opportunities for you. And you're not miserable, don't be dramatic." She rolled her eyes and stood up to move to her office chair.

"I see. You just like getting rich off me. I was fine with it. You do work hard and you deserve to make good money for it. But I can't believe I let you turn into a leech and suck the life out of me." Keith stood up from his seat and looked down at her.

"Did you just call me a fucking leech?"

Keith ignored her. "There was a time when you had my respect. You were a powerful and successful businesswoman dominating a workplace overrun with men. But my respect for you is gone now. You really got lost in all this. You aren't the same woman who saw a young teen with a lucky talent and took to making me something better. You just make me look like something better."

"Are you finished?" She asked sharply raising an eyebrow. Keith said nothing. "I don't give a shit whether I have your respect or not. You can loathe me for all I care! But you have a contract, so for the next 15 years, I own you. Do you understand? That means you do as I fucking say. I don't ask a lot Keith. But if I told you to dress like a damn monkey and do the hula in front of live television, you say yes ma'am."

"I want out of the contract." Keith said through clenched teeth.

"And that's not how that works. Besides," a cruel grin spread across her face, "you're nothing without me Keith Kogane. I make you. If you were truly yourself do you think you'd be a star loved by millions? No. You want your music to be on the radio, to reach people? Do as I say."

Keith felt himself collapse. What could he do? She was right. The next fifteen years of his life didn't belong to him anymore. People like Lance think they want someone like Keith until they realize he's human just like everyone else. That illusion will break and Lance will dump him. And if he doesn't, he's likely just a leech—there for the money and the fame.

"I'm glad we reached an understanding." She grinned. "Furthermore, I don't want you seeing Lance McClain again."

Keith startled. This felt like threat. He should have known she already did her research. Keith stood to leave.

"And how'd that commercial go?" She asked resuming business on her computer.

"It sucked." Keith said blandly.

"That's good." She responded distractedly. "I want you to go to the studio and practice, you have a live performance soon on a talk show and I need you to sound perfect because some very important people will be watching."

"Fine." Keith started out.

"One more thing." Her eyes flicked up from her computer screen. "Just in case people get any ideas about you and this McClain boy, Serena Marie, the actor, her agent and I have arranged a whole secret relationship scandal for the two of you. It should really boost popularity for you both."

"No." Keith deadpanned.

"That's not up to you. Let this be a reminder that actions have consequences." She pushed up her glasses and went back to work.

Keith left feeling angry and out of control. When he made it to the studio he could barely control his angry breathing to sing. He felt like screaming and crying and exploding and imploding all at the same time. But he did none of that. Instead he took deep breaths and resumed his practice.

Ding

Keith blinked, he must've forgot to turn off his ringer. It must be Shiro he assumed.

Unknown sent a message.

All day in between helping students, Lance and Shiro plotted the perfect text. And they came up with nothing.

"It has to be attention grabbing so he isn't bored, but cool. And it has to show interest without explicitly showing interest. But it also has to spark a whole conversation." Shiro instructed.

"I can't do this." Lance sighed. They had a whiteboard out with several text ideas with precise calculations at their success probability. But the pressure was getting to be too much. "I just want him to like me." Lance crossed out the last text idea.

Shiro sighed and gave a pitiful look. "I'm sorry, we made this kind of complicated huh?"

"We're scientists, that's what we do." Lance sat down and let his head thump against the table.

"Yeah but it doesn't make it any easier." Shiro patted his shoulder. The tutoring session was finally up and the last of the students had left. The two men cleaned up the library and cleared out, the younger obviously discouraged.

Lance sat in his car in the parking lot of the school and pulled out his phone again. Why is he overthinking this? Keith will either like him for him or he won't. And he shouldn't have to go crazy trying to be who he thinks Keith wants. He typed out a text and sent it. He dropped his phone and took a deep breath to still his rapid heartbeat.

Hey, how'd the commercial go? The one that had nothing to do with music.

He put his keys in the ignition and drove home trying not to think about it too much. He didn't let himself look at his phone until he was back in his apartment cuddled up in the blankets on his couch. He pulled out his latest assignment and then promptly checked his phone.

Incredibly boring :/ they had me promote this cologne that smells like ass

Lance felt himself grin and the screen and excitedly typed out a response.

Please tell me it was one of those super dramatic cologne commercials that's in black and white

Lance dropped his phone and found himself unable to stop smiling. He was giddy and excited just from a simple text to the guy. He worked on calculations for a while before checking his phone again.

Oh definitely
They had me burst out of water like some kind of fucking whale

Lance laughed aloud.

I must see this for myself
I'm scouting this commercial out

Pidge ended up coming over to hang out and study while Lance worked on his assignments. Her, being an engineering student and all, she had different work from Hunk and Lance.

"What's with you?" Pidge asked watching Lance pick up his phone and grin from ear to ear before enthusiastically texting back for the hundredth time. "You look smitten. Are you texting Keith?"

"W-what? What makes you think I'm talking to Keith?" Lance blushed.

"I saw the way you were looking at him last night, I'm not blind Lance. And you look like a love struck puppy dog." She pushed up her glasses.

Lance sighed. "He's just so great."

"But?"

"But... I just don't want to get my hopes up." Lance gave a weak smile.

"I wouldn't worry about it so much Lance. I'm not blind, I saw the way he was looking at you too." Pidge encouraged him.

The two boys continued to text each other late into the night, falling asleep phones in clutch.

Keith woke up that morning with a text from Lance the night before.

I can't believe you've never watched Sunshine it's such a good movie
Goodnight Keithy

Lance woke up that morning with a response from Keith to last nights text.

Sorry totally passed out last night
And I guess you'll have to show it to me

Lance nearly fell out of bed. Holy shit, if he was reading this right, Keith was suggesting they watch the movie together.

You bet your ass give me a time

Lance jumped up and did circles around his room waiting for a reply.

Tomorrow night

Lance screeched

You're on

Keith sat in the studio and read the words over and over again. You're on. He's going over for a movie tomorrow. Just him and Lance. Alone. Like a movie night. Like a date. And he was excited.

They continued to text back and forth and Keith sat working out a tune for a new song. Some hours later, his agent walked in talking aggressively over the phone. When she hung up, her eyes darted to Keith.

"Well if it isn't our star! How's the music coming along?" She grinned.

"Fine." Keith answered shortly. "Also, I'm taking tomorrow night off."

"Last time you said you wanted to take the night off you went to the bar and caused a lot of trouble for me. Besides, your performance on the talk show is a few days after, wouldn't you rather practice."

"I don't want to wear out my vocals right before a performance. I just need the night to work on music and feel creative." Keith used an excuse.

"Well, I guess if it's for your music. Sure." She patted his head.

Keith wanted to recoil under her touch. He loathed the women in front of him, someone he once looked up to.

"Look at me." She cooed and Keith obeyed. "I know it's hard. But you'll thank me one day for keeping you on the right track. You'll be rich and you can surround yourself with all the gay men you desire. Or whatever you're into."

Keith dug his nails into the palm of his hand.

"You'll see that Lance and others like him are just obstacles. They'll latch onto you like a leech and use you for your money and fame." She gave a condescending look.

She left and Keith found himself spiraling. Anger, frustration, embarrassment, hopelessness—it all hit him at once. And he found himself bursting out of the studio and onto the street feeling suffocated. His shaky hand pulled out his phone and he pressed the call button for his most recent contact, habit for Shiro. So when he saw Lance McClain pull up and the phone began to ring, he considered hanging up. But then the ringing stopped.

"Hello? ...Keith?" Lance's voice came through the device and Keith all at once felt like he was collapsing in on himself.

"I'm sorry, I don't know what I'm doing," Keith let out a shallow and shaky breath. "God I'm sorry,"

"You apologize too much." Lance recounted what Keith said to him at the bar. "Walk me through it, what happened? Are you okay?"

"I-I'm fine." Keith stumbled out. "I'm sorry, I meant to call Shiro. I'm just a little out of it."

"Well, I'm pretty sure Shiro is lecturing a freshman physics class right now. So he's busy. I know because I'm his TA and I'm switching the labels in his office to piss him off." Lance's calm voice spoke and Keith felt himself cooling down.

Keith let out a breathy chuckle. "I didn't mean to disturb you at school..."

"I'm terrorizing your brother out of sheer boredom, you didn't disturb anything." Lance sounded soft and soothing through the speaker.

"Right. Shiro owes me one for temporarily putting an end to your chaos." Keith's earlier panic subsided and he forgot about the fight with his agent for a moment.

He heard Lance chuckle. "Now that you've calmed down, do you want to talk about what happened?"

"It was nothing really. My agent and I just haven't been seeing eye to eye lately and we had an argument just now. Yesterday too. But I just... it's so irritating." Keith huffed.

"What about?"

"I... I can't talk about it." Keith said slowly.

"That's okay- oh hey Shiro! Done so soon?" He could hear a bit of muffled chatter and it sounded like Lance was moving.

"With Keith?" He heard his brother quietly from the other line. Then a bunch of excited noises and finally silence.

"Oof, sorry about that. Takashi came back and I had to move to the hall." Lance came through again.

"He's done?" Keith asked.

"Yeah," Lance confirmed.

"Thanks!" And then Keith hung up. And Lance stood there a little butthurt. He pursed his lips and shifted to his other foot trying not to be insulted. Of course Keith wouldn't confide in him or talk to him about his life problems, it's not like he's his boyfriend. And Keith did tell him in the first place that he didn't mean to call him.

Lance walked back into Shiro's office and saw the man on the phone with he could only assume to be Keith. Lance grabbed his bag quickly and left not wanting to eavesdrop.

Their steady stream of texts didn't end and Lance decided to forget the call. He went to bed that night thinking of their movie night tomorrow. As buddies. As friends. He reminded himself.

The next morning, he took extra time getting ready and attempted to tidy his apartment. Organizing his papers and moving them to the extra bedroom he turned into an office. He cleaned and made sure everything was spotless and ready for tonight.

Keith woke up that morning and the first thing he thought about was Lance and how he was going to see him again tonight. And as he received his schedule for the day, he told himself he wasn't allowed to think about it, so that his day could go by faster. He worked on his newest song that was coming together better than expected and later he was doing a meet and greet at a convention. Meet and greets usually exhausted him. People exhausted him.

After the meet and greet, Keith collapsed into the car and mumbled to his driver, "please take me home."

"Sorry, but we have an alternate destination." The man spoke stoic like. It wasn't his usual driver. The passenger door opened and a woman hopped in with a large container of makeup and hair products.

"No, what now?" Keith groaned sitting up.

"Just hold still," she brushed and dusted at his face gently making small adjustments. No one was telling him anything and when they pulled up in front of a coffee shop, his confusion deepened.

That's when another dark vehicle pulled up and the beautiful actress Serena Marie stepped out. Everything about her was elegant and perfect, even the slight frown she was sporting.

Keith huffed and stepped out too.

They looked at each other for a moment and he could see she was just as excited about this as he was. "Ready to make a scandal?" She asked.

"Ready as I'll ever be." He took her hand in his and walked inside. They smiled nice and gave each other fond looks as they sat up to a table by the window so that the photographer could get better pictures.

"So what did you do?" She asked.

"I was seen in public with a guy, my agent is trying to hide the fact I'm gay." Keith said taking a sip of his coffee.

"Really? Same. My agent is trying to cover up the fact I'm a lesbian. Some reporters saw me go into a hotel and think I was meeting someone, which I was, my girlfriend. So we needed a scandal about who was in the hotel room." She spoke sadly through a fake smile.

"This is so fucked."

When Keith arrived at Lance's apartment, it felt like this was what he was working for all day. He knocked on the door and it opened immediately.

"Hey," Lance smiled.

"Hey." Keith came inside and was touched to see a bowl of already popped popcorn, his favorite candy and drink waiting for him. Blankets littered the couch and the movie was already on and paused.

"Sorry, I might have got a little carried away. I was just pretty excited." Lance rubbed the back of his neck bashfully.

"This is awesome Lance," Keith beamed. He kicked off his shoes and quickly made himself comfortable on the couch. Lance joined him and sat about an arms length away. To Keith's dismay.

"How was work?" Lance asked trying to find the remote.

Keith grimaced, "Not... great."

"I won't make you talk about it." Lance smiled. "Shiro wanted me to come in and tutor again today. I went in for a few hours."

"I noticed you switch back and forth between Shiro and Takashi."

"At school we really should use Takashi out of respect, but Shiro and I are cool." Lance smiled. "It should actually be Dr. Takashi. But he doesn't really mind."

"You and Shiro seem kind of close." Keith fiddled with his fingers.

"You think so? I guess I kind of see him as like a father figure sometimes. My family is several states away and living here without anyone but Hunk and Pidge has been kind of difficult. I confide in Shiro about a lot of things. He usually gives some crazy good advice or puts things in a new perspective for me." Lance held the remote in his hand but didn't move to play the movie.

"Yeah, he's really good at that." Keith nodded. "I never knew my mom, and my dad died in a fire when I was ten. Being in all those foster homes, it wasn't until I was sixteen I met Shiro. He's always looked out for me, and he was the one who supported me when I decided I wanted to be a musician." Keith faltered under the word musician, puppet felt more like it.

"You don't sound all that excited about that." Lance noticed.

"It's nothing." Keith shrugged.

"Is this about the fight with your agent?" Lance asked.

"I just hate how fake everything is and how I can't live the way I want to. I just want some freedom." Keith huffed feeling himself getting worked up all over again. "I know she's worried about my image but I don't know that I care anymore."

It was silent for just a beat. "When I was in high school, I was pretty popular. I know, me, Lancey Lance. And I know this doesn't really compare to the scale of your situation but..." Lance took a glance to Keith to see him intrigued. "Anyway, I was pretty popular. But I came to realize, that no one actually knew me. The only reason people liked me was because of the assumptions they had about me. I was on the football team and I got good grades, kept my nose of trouble. I eventually got so tired of keeping up that appearance. My girlfriend dumped me because she found out I was really just a physics nerd. And people stopped talking to me really when I came out as bisexual." Lance took a breath. "But after a while, I noticed that the people who still talked to me and didn't treat me any different were the best people. I met Hunk and Pidge then. And having a handful of real and genuine people around versus a sea of fake people is much better.

"Keith, you're an amazing artist. And underneath that appearance you put out before the public, you're so unique and funny and... I like the real Keith better. I think sometimes society forgets we're human." Lance smiled at Keith and Keith felt like the grinch when his heart grew. He suddenly felt like his heart was too large for his body, just looking at Lance.

"Sorry," Lance laughed awkwardly, "I'm starting to sound a bit like Shiro."

"No thank you, I feel... a lot better actually." Keith said which was only half true. Half because he felt even more encouragement to break away from his contract and act on his impulse to pull Lance closer to him and never let go. But his reasonable half reminded him about the legal contract.

"My family would love you!" Lance crackled. "I can already picture it, my little nieces and nephews would be begging to braid your hair, my mom would be invasive as ever and ask you all sorts of weird questions about your life as a star. She'd probably ask if you met the President and all her favorite celebrities." Lance couldn't help but laugh. The movie was still waiting to be started as they boys talked and chatted. Keith listened with a smile as Lance described his family.

"My sister would ask you a bunch of legal type questions surely. Veronica, my twin, she's in law school."

"You have a twin?" Keith marveled.

"Yeah, I know what you're thinking. A woman who has all my good looks and charming personality, but over my dead body." Lance gave Keith a nudge.

"Wait so, you're a physics major, she's in law school, what kind of fucking genius family do you come from?" Keith laughed.

"My mom and dad are immigrants from Cuba, and they're farmers. Smart farmers." Lance chuckled. "Honestly, going from living in a full house to all by myself in an apartment was the most difficult adjustment. Sometimes I fall asleep to the TV just to have sound. I usually invite over Hunk and Pidge too."

The two boys continued to chat until finally they started the movie. Keith glanced at the distance between them and felt his heart sink a little. He leaned forward to grab the popcorn and when he leaned back, he made sure he was closer than before. To share the popcorn of course. Halfway through the movie, the treats had been eaten and he was out of excuses to sit closer. Keith moved his arm to the back of the couch so it was behind Lance.

Towards the end of the movie, Lances head was resting on Keith's shoulder and Keith's arm was around his shoulders. Once the credits began to roll Keith noticed Lance's eyes were closed and he let his own exhaustion overtake him.

Keith woke up very comfortable. Too comfortable. He sat up quickly recognizing he wasn't in his own bed. He was in Lance's. He searched for the boy, but the area next to him was empty. He looked down at his fully clothed body and sighed in relief. He fell back into the bed and reveled in the smell. So genuinely Lance.

Eventually he got up to get to the bottom of what exactly happened. He walked into the living room to see Lance passed out on the couch. The couch was too small for him to lay stretched out, so his feet were elevated and his arm was slung off the side of the couch.

Keith walked over to the sleeping Lance and crouched down so that their faces were level. He admired the peaceful way the boy slept, long eyelashes fanning over his smooth tan skin. If he looked close enough he saw a dust of small freckles on his cheek bones and across his nose. And his soft pretty lips, calling out for Keith to lean down and kiss him.

But in his admiring, he must've been too loud, or his presence was sensed by Lance, because those pretty blue eyes fluttered open. Lance squealed and sat up quickly, startling Keith and making the celebrity fall back on his butt.

"S-sorry!" Keith stood quickly and rushed to grab his things. "I just wanted to tell you I have to get going." He said slipping on his shoes.

"Oh, so soon?" Lance asked, his cheeks a light pink.

"Uh yeah, my agent will be furious if I'm late." Keith averted eye contact.

Lance stood up and walked to the door, standing impossibly close. He reached his hands up and started to fix Keith's hair. "You probably shouldn't leave looking like you got lucky."

Keith visibly reddened at the insinuation. Lance chuckled and smiled at Keith. "All done." Keith stared at Lance a moment longer and headed out. "Keith?"

The celebrity froze popping his head back into the apartment. "Yeah?"

Lance hesitated before taking a leap of faith and leaning forward planting a kiss on Keith's cheek. "I'll see you later."

Keith let go of the door stepped into the apartment and pulled Lance into him, kissing him long and sweet. "I'll see you later." And just like that he was gone.

Lance was happy and giddy all day. Him and Keith continued to text, including a video Keith sent him of a chubby raccoon that made his day—well, made his day besides the kiss of course. Everything felt better and brighter and happier because Keith, Keith Kogane kissed him. The guy who sends him videos of chubby raccoons, the guy who can't dance, the guy who wears fingerless gloves, and Lance was practically skipping. He felt like he was buzzing all through his morning class and he could hardly sit still.

"What is with you?" Hunk chuckled at how in a good mood Lance was—being even more extra than normal.

"Keith and I..." Lance grinned at just the thought of getting to say it out loud. But then he thought about it, what if Keith wouldn't want him telling others. After all, Keith isn't openly gay. Does Keith even know he's gay? Is he gay? Lance wasn't too pushy was he? What if he's confused or questioning? "Watched a really good movie last night! The best! And then he went home. That's it! Really great movie."

"O-okay?" Hunk awkwardly laughed at his goofball of a friend.

After class, Lance fast walked to his professor. "I need to talk to you."

Shiro looked at him concerned, putting a pause on erasing the whiteboard.

"Privately." Lance added.

They stepped into Shiro's office and Lance broke out in excitement. "Keith and I kissed!"

Shiro smiled widely, "That's great! I'm so proud of you guys!" He got Lance in a hold and ruffled his head with his knuckles.

"We watched a movie last night and we ended up talking forever. And then he fell asleep at my apartment, but before he left this morning he kissed me!" Lance was overjoyed. "It was so perfect, and so Keith."

"I want you to tell me everything, start over from the beginning." Shiro sat down. "We can grade papers in the meantime."

"I will, but how about I grab us coffee first?" Lance offered.

"Deal!" Shiro moved back to the lecture hall to finish cleaning the board and grab his things.

Lance was waiting in line at the coffee shop, practically bouncing on his heels. He turned his head and caught sight of a paper with Keith Kogane in large font. He smiled and picked it up only for his heart to sink.

Pictures of Keith and Serena Marie, the actor, both on a date. They were drinking coffee and smiling fondly at each other. Before Lance could debunk it as a misunderstanding, there was a picture of them kissing.

"Aren't they a cute couple?" The girl behind the counter asked when she noticed the paper in his hand. "It's all anyone is talking about. It's all over social media." She smiled not realizing she was driving a dagger right through Lance's heart.

"Yeah, I think I'll buy one," Lance set it on the counter and ordered his and Shiro's coffee. Lance was no longer bouncing on his heels, or waving to everyone he passed by. Now he walked with his head down and shouldered past. The sky was gray and a few drops fell threatening the idea of rain. When he got the coffee, he snatched up the paper and walked back to the campus. The rain had moved onto a heavy drizzle and Lance found the weather rather fitting to his mood. He walked into Shiro's office a little wet and a lot upset.

Tears started down his cheeks and Shiro immediately stood and pulled him into an embrace. "What's wrong?"

"He didn't want me." Lance shrugged Shiro off him and shoved the paper in his hands. "He's seeing Serena Marie. I'm such a fucking idiot."

Shiro's eyes flicked back and forth across the page and he stared at the photos. "Maybe it's a misunderstanding."

"Does that look like a misunderstanding?" Lance pointed at the two kissing.

"You should call him and ask-" Shiro started, his face full of sympathy and pity.

"No, Shiro." Lance shook his head cutting him off. "I'm not going to embarrass myself any more than I have. I took a chance and it didn't work."

"But maybe-!" Shiro tried to offer a bit of hope.

"I don't want to talk about it anymore. He isn't like Adam. To Keith, I'm just a physics nerd from Cuba who was in the right place at the right time." Lance sat down and grabbed a stack of papers to correct.

Shiro looked at the boy with pity but said nothing. There was no way for him to know what was going on on Keith's end, but the evidence was there.

Lance's phone dinged a few times but he never once reached for it. Instead he just continued to correct the assignments in front of him. "Did Iverson get my application yet?"

"Yeah, he said he was really impressed. Look forward to a call soon." Shiro said hopefully, wanting to cheer Lance up.

Lance nodded and when he finished his stack of papers, he handed them to Shiro and picked up another stack. "I'm going to take these home, I'm not really busy tonight."

"Lance?" Shiro called to Lance before he could leave, "Take it easy tonight. Please."

Lance nodded and left, and when he made it to his car, he opened his phone to read the texts.

Want to hang out Thursday afternoon after your class? I don't have anything going on that night

Hey, is everything okay?

Lance let his head thump against the steering wheel. He blocked Keith's number and dropped the phone in the passenger seat. He made a mistake, but that doesn't mean he can't learn from it. Lance has always been careful about who he lets into his life and who he depends on. He was reckless just this once and he paid for it.

Lance drove home and walked into his dark empty apartment. He flicked on a lamp, cuddled into the blankets on his couch and resumed correcting papers. A few hours passed and there was a knock at the door.

Lance stood up and opened the door against his better judgement and found himself face to face with Keith. "Oh..."

"What happened? What-you blocked me?" Keith looked a little unhinged. his hair was out of place, he seemed to have bags under his eyes, and the way he was looking at Lance almost made him think he cared.

"You should probably go. I have a lot of papers to grade." Lance looked away.

"What did I do?" Keith took a step forward and Lance reacted by taking a step back.

"Look, it's fine. I understand. But I wish you hadn't kissed me and got my hopes up." Lance looked up to meet Keith's gaze. "That was a really shitty thing to do."

"What are you talking about?" Keith shook his head at a loss. "Lance I like you."

"Yeah, and I like you too. Liked." He corrected. "But I'm not going to share you." And with that he closed the door on Keith.

Keith went home that night to work on his music and prepare for his performance tomorrow. But he could barely focus on anything. That hurt look in Lance's eyes kept popping into his head no matter how hard he tried to push it away. He felt rotten and wrong inside.

I'm not going to share you.

What the fuck was that supposed to mean? Keith knew all too well that having a fan base could be tough at times. Was that what Lance could be referring to?

His phone rang in his pocket and he answered it quickly, a fragment of him hoping it was Lance. His agent's voice came through the phone and Keith sighed.

"Keith, my star, are you practicing for tomorrow? Everyone will be watching I need you to be perfect." She spoke happily but he could hear the quiet bite to her words.

Everyone will be watching. Keith had an idea.

"Also, the scandal between you and Serena went over better than I predicted. You're all over the place! Serena's fans are also your fans now and your popularity is soaring. Social media is covered head to toe with that picture of you two kissing. If I didn't know you were gay, even I would think you were a happy couple." She laughed.

Keith's heart froze in his chest. Holy shit, Lance saw the pictures. He thought Keith was in a relationship. He had to fix this, there was no way his agent was going to ruin one of the best things to walk into his life. Him and Lance complimented one another, to a degree that left him feeling like they were made for each other. He wasn't ready to give up on that so easily.

"I gotta go." Keith hung up. He pulled up his contacts and continued to scroll until he found Pidge.

The next day Lance came home from his lab with every intention of laying on the couch and moping. Maybe he could watch Dirty Dancing again. Though, he did watch it twice last night and once this morning, and maybe it wasn't the best for his mental health to lay around depressed and heartbroken watching the same romance over and over again. But to hell with it, he thought.

Except, just as he got cuddled up on the couch with ice cream and tissues, there was a knock at the door. "Who is it?!" Lance yelled out annoyed.

"Open the fucking door you dumbass! Are you watching Dirty Dancing on repeat?" Pidge yelled from the other side.

Lance glared from the door to the screen of his TV which was very obviously doing so. "No..."

"Oh my god Lance, whatever, just let me in." Pidge grumbled.

Lance stood up and unlocked the door letting the gremlin in. "I just want to wallow in self pity, is that too much to ask for?"

But Pidge ignored him and brushed past. She sad on his couch, picked up the remote and turned off Dirty Dancing changing it to something else.

"Hey! Stop that! What are you doing?!" Lance plopped next to her and tried to take back the remote.

"Just shut up and watch." Pidge smushed her hand into his face pushing him away.

Lance grumpily turned to look at the screen which showed a live audience all clapping. "A talk show?"

"Just watch."

And then he saw him. Keith, walking out waving at his fans, and shaking hands with the host. "Thank you for coming!"

"Thank you for having me," Keith smiled.

Upon hearing his voice, Lances chest went tight and he suppressed the urge to wrap himself up in the safety of his blankets. "Pidge, I really don't want to watch this." Lance turned to her pleading.

"Just do it please. Please." She gave him a pleading look, and because it was so rare to see such an emotional look from Pidge, he knew it was serious so he obeyed.

"Keith, it's so great to see you. Really. We have so many questions for you today and we're just so excited to see you perform. The audience has been on the edge of their seat all night, isn't that right?" The host smiled at a Keith like an old friend. The audience howled in response and Keith chuckled.

"Well, ask away." Keith leaned back in his plush chair.

Questions upon questions were asked about Keith's career and how he felt about his recent win of a Grammy. Keith answered calmly cracking jokes here and there, and with each moment Lance watched he could feel himself sinking. After a while Lance turned to Pidge, "I can't take it anymore, please turn it off."

"No, I'm sorry Lance, but you have to keep watching." Pidge shook her head but she took his hand in hers for support. He couldn't understand why she was being so insistent. But after a few more questions, the host mustered a devious smile.

"Now, here's the question the audience has been dying for me to ask. What's the new romance between you and Selena Marie?"

Lance blinked at the TV.

Keith sighed, "Honestly, the answer is going to be quite disappointing for most of you. The truth is, the whole scandal was created by mine and Serena's agent in order to stir up some drama. Serena and I are not together, nor will we ever be. In fact, I'm in love with someone else, and the scandal created a lot of problems for me."

The host beamed at the new juicy reveal, "How so?" He urged.

"The person I love saw the paper and also thought just like everyone else, that I was in a relationship with Selena. So just as we were finally getting somewhere and I thought we could possibly start dating, this came and ruined it all." Keith leaned forward.

"And who's the lucky woman?" The producer asked impatiently.

"Not a she, a he, and his name is Lance."  Keith dropped the bombshell live on television for the whole world. Lance's mouth hung open as he struggled to form words.

"Keith just came out on national television." Lance didn't tear his eyes from the screen.

"Yes." Pidge confirmed.

"And he said he's in love with me on national television." Lance was too in shock to have a reaction, eyes wide and looking much like he'd seen a ghost.

"Also yes." She smiled widely at him.

"Oh my god. Oh my god! OH MY GOD!" Lance dropped the blanket and began to dance on his couch. He jumped down and slid closer to his TV to continue watching. The surprise from both the audience and the host was priceless. "Please tell me you're recording this."

"Of course I am." Pidge smiled and rolled her eyes. "What do you take me for?"

When the shock subsided, the host remembered his job and cleared his throat. "Wow, none of us were expecting that. Thank you for sharing this with us, we are so grateful. Please tell us more about Lance, the name doesn't ring a bell. Is he an actor, fellow musician...?"

Keith beamed, "He's a scientist. Well, he's about to be. Lance is a physics major and he's almost finished with college. He's this adorable nerd, and he's a total mess, and a major goofball, and I've never met someone so amazing in my entire life."

"He's talking about me, oh my god he's talking about me! Pidge!" Lance was smiling ear to ear unable to tear away from the screen.

"He sounds fantastic." The host's head fell back with laughter.

"He is," Keith nodded.

"But do you think he'll take you back?" The host asked.

Keith turned and looked at the camera. "I honestly don't know. He'd have to be crazy to, but god I hope so."

The host smiled at Keith happily, "As much as I'm dying to ask you more, we've gone over our Q&A time and you still have yet to perform. Tonight, Keith will be performing his hit song 'I Guess I Have Some Walls Up' from his album Cosmos."

"Actually, there's been a change of plans. I talked to the band before the show. Instead I'm going to perform a new song—finished it last night actually." Keith laughed nervously. "It's called 'Sharpshooter'.

Keith picked up his guitar and walked to the band, giving a small nod.

"He wrote a song for me. PIDGE." Lance jumped up grabbing her by the shoulders and shaking her. I told him the other day that I was a sharpshooter at laser tag and- OH MY GOD." Lance listened, eyes tearing up only slightly.

"Y'all are so cheesy." Pidge rolled her eyes but she was smiling too.

As soon as the song ended, Lance fumbled to grab his phone. He found Keith's contact, unblocked it, and quickly called him. He obviously wouldn't pick up but at least he'd see the call later. But on screen, Keith pulled out his phone checked it and grinned widely.

"Is that Lance?" The host asked excited he was getting the biggest scoop of the decade.

"Yeah, yeah it is," Keith answered it and when Lance could hear the cheers of audience from both the TV and his phone, his stomach twisted in knots. What should he say? So many people were watching and too many eyes were on Keith in such a vulnerable moment. So naturally, he blurted the first thing to come to mind.

"Did you call me a nerd on national television?"

"Uh, yeah, I guess-yeah I did." Keith rubbed the back of his neck smiling awkwardly.

"That was romantic as fuck Keith." Lance followed up.

"You liked it? You liked the song?" Keith was positively glowing, and it wasn't just the stage lights.

"I loved it. I love you." Lance spoke a little quieter. "A little weird saying this in front of everyone." Lance chuckled.

"Oh, fuck, sorry," Keith cussed forgetting he was live and rushing off frame.

"Keith! You just cussed on live television," Lance laughed as the man attempted to get away from the public.

"Shit, sorry, oh-I'm just going to shut my mouth."

"I can't believe you just came out as gay. That's so wild." Lance spoke wistfully.

"I know. I've been waiting to do that for years." Keith sounded like he just ran a marathon.

"Years? Why haven't you earlier?" Lance questioned.

"Well, I'm actually about to be in some seriously deep shit for the stunt I just pulled." Keith trailed off.

"Is this what you meant by you and your agent not seeing eye to eye?"

"Yeah, I've been rejecting her calls since I've been on the phone with you. I'm actually in a contract with her, and legally... I wasn't really supposed to come out of the closet."

"Keith. Run that by me again."

"What?"

"I said, run that by me again."

"I signed a contract with my agent when I first started working with her saying that I'm not allowed to come out as gay." Keith explained.

"Keith, what the fuck?! You should've said something sooner! That's illegal!" Lance was losing his shit.

"Huh?"

"Look. I've helped my sister study more times that I can count. Trust me on this—you gotta lawyer up." Lance started rambling. "That's illegal. There are laws against that, it's considered discrimination."

"Are you serious?"

"Yes I'm fucking serious!" Lance ran a hand through his hair. "Considering her position, she should know better than anyone what she was doing was wrong and could get her in a lot of trouble."

"How much trouble?" Keith swallowed hard.

"Think mega suing, her getting fired, and likely struggling to find another job within her profession. Companies wouldn't trust her with their clients with that on her record." Lance rubbed the back of his neck.

"Holy shit." Keith blinked. "I think I need to take care of a few things."

"Hey, if you need legal representation, female Lance can hook you up. I'm sure she has connections." Keith made a noise of acknowledgement. "And Keith...,"

"Yeah?"

"How about a movie night?"

Keith walked into his agent's office calm and collected.

"Keith, boy do you have some balls. I like you, you're my star. But this? Oh you've really done it." She was practically tearing her hair out. "Because you're... well, you. I won't attack you with the legal repercussions this would normally cost you. But I assure you, I'm about to make your life a living hell. You're going to be working extra hard from here on out."

"That so?"

"Keith I mean it. Do not test me right now."

"Well, I was just curious you see. Lance's twin sister is in law school. And it's funny, it was brought to my attention that you're not allowed to do that. In fact, if this company finds out, not only would they risk being sued, you would be fired. And good luck finding another job."

His agent's eyes blinked owlishly at him.

"But I won't attack you with legal repercussions this would normal cost you. But I assure you, I'm about to make your life a living hell."

"What do you want?" She swallowed trying to keep a stone face.

"You were a great agent when you weren't playing by the rules. So let's see how you do playing fair. From here on out, I'll be keeping a watchful eye on you. If I see any dishonesty or activity from you that isn't by the book, I will follow through with this. Or you could quit your job and make a living elsewhere. So what's it gonna be?"