"Why can't they understand I'm a boy?" Lance sobbed, leaning forward to bury his head into Keith's chest. Keith furrowed his eyebrows briefly before melting into the touch and wrapping his arms around Lance's lanky body. He seemed smaller than ever within the embrace, hardly resembling the popular kid he had once been.

“I’m sorry…” Keith mumbled, rubbing circles onto Lance’s back. He wasn’t sure how you were supposed to comfort somebody but he was going to give it his best shot.

"Every time she calls me the wrong name or uses the wrong pronouns… it hurts. It hurts so much. I can't take it anymore."

"You can get through this, I know you can."

"No, I won't though! I can't even look in a mirror without wanting to throw up. I hate myself so much."

"One day you will learn to love yourself, I promise."

Lance pulled back from the hug, leaving a lingering heat in Keith's chest behind. "Don't make empty promises. Please."

"They're not empty. One day everyone around you will accept you and you'll get surgery- if that's what you want."

"I want it so bad you don't understand. I've looked into binders but I can't buy them online because mama will ask questions. I hate my chest and my hips and my face and- and just everything about myself. It would be so much easier if I give up."

"Lance," Keith placed his hand on top of Lance's, offering him a hopeful smile. Lance's face remained stoic. "If you give up now, you won't be able to experience the future where people love you for who you are. You won't get to experience loving yourself either." 

"But it hurts…" Lance wiped a hand across his cheek, clearing it of any tears. His voice was higher and much more wobbly than usual- resembling more of a young child than a 17 year old boy.

"I know but you'll get through this and, you know what?" They met eyes for a brief second. "I'll be with you every step of the way." Keith had never cared for someone as much as Lance which was… weird, to say the least. He found himself wanting to help Lance through his problems and, most importantly, he craved the sight of one of Lance's beautifully genuine smiles.

The next moment was fuzzy, a rainbow of emotions encapsulating Keith and Lance until their lips were making contact. Keith raised his hands to cup Lance's cheeks whilst Lance's touch dropped down his back. Their surroundings fell silent as their mouths moved in sync, sparks flying everywhere in attempts to start a fire. Once they pulled back, they stared deep into each other's eyes for a moment. Despite only lasting a few seconds, it felt like it dragged on forever.

Lance's jaw dropped open to speak, eliciting an abundance of questions from Keith. The main one consisted of whether he wanted to kiss Lance's simultaneously soft and chapped lips again. (He kind of did.) "Uh… I'm kind of hungry. Do you want to order pizza or something?"

"Sure?" Keith's response sounded more like a question as he wondered whether Lance regretted the previous moment. Why else would he ignore the elephant in the room?