*tbh this chapter was boring to write*

(1756 words)

August 2

Keith carried the last box into their new apartment before flopping down on the couch next to Lance, "I really like this place, what about you?"

Lance smiled at him, "I love it. Thank you for picking it out while I was visiting Danny in the city."

Keith held his hand, raising it to his mouth to kiss it, "I'm just glad you got to spend a couple days with your brother since he couldn't come to your birthday party."

Lance sighed, "Yeah, Danny stays pretty busy with work. Speaking of work. Isn't tomorrow your first day?" Keith had finally decided he wasn't going to college. He went straight into the work force, becoming a mechanic. He already had the skills, he had built his motorcycle from spare parts by himself.

Keith shook his head, "Nope, that's Monday. Tomorrow I'm all yours," He leaned over and started kissing Lance's neck.

Lance laughed and pushed at him, "Keith, that tickles!"

Keith pulled away, "Oh you think that tickles?" He started tickling Lance's stomach, "What about this?"

Lance tried to push away, laughing happily, "Stop it! Don't make me kick you!"

Keith chuckled and stopped, then he grabbed Lance's head and pulled him into a kiss, "You're so perfect, you know that right?"

Lance blushed, "Shut up..."

Keith kissed his cheek, then his other cheek, then his forehead, then his mouth, "So perfect."

Lance smiled, wrapping his arms around Keith's neck, "I think that's you."

"Yeah? Agree to disagree then," Keith pulled Lance closer, kissing him again. He pulled him even closer and Lance climbed into his lap, still kissing him. This time neither of them pulled away.

Not at first at least. After a couple minutes, Lance pulled away just enough to look at him, "We should start unpacking our room so we have a bed to sleep on tonight and clothes to wear tomorrow."

"Yeah, you're probably right," Keith sighed, "I was thinking tomorrow we can go explore the town a bit. See what's around here."

Lance smiled, "That sounds great. We should invite Matt and Jake. If I'm going to be at Matt and Jake's apartment whenever you're not home, I should probably meet Jake."

Keith nodded, "That's probably a good idea. You text Matt and invite them, I'll start unpacking."

Lance got off his lap, plopping down next to him on the couch, "I'll be there in a few minutes."

Keith kissed the top of his head before going to their bedroom.

Lance pulled out his phone, texting Matt.

leggylance: hey faglord. buy any new jeans lately?

matttheew: lance i'm not afraid to kick your ass

leggylance: you love me and you know it. do you and jake want to hang out with me and keith tomorrow? we're going to explore the town and i figured we might as well invite you guys so we can finally meet jake.

matttheew: that sounds fun. i'm down. i'll ask jake when he gets home

leggylance: yay! text me after you talk to him. i've got to help keith unpack

matttheew: ttyl

Lance put his phone back in his pocket before going to the bedroom. Keith was making the bed and Lance walked over to help him, "Matt says he's cool but he still has to ask Jake. He's going to text me after they talk."

Keith nodded, putting the pillows on the bed, "Sounds good," He grabbed a couple boxes and put them on the bed, "Time to unpack the closet."

August 3

"There they are!" Lance held on to Keith's arm with one hand while pointing to Matt and Jake with the other.

Matt and Jake were crossing the street. Matt smiled as he walked up to them, "Hey guys! Meet Jake."

Jake waved to them, "Lance" he pointed to Lance, then to Keith, "And Keith, right?"

Lance nodded, "Yep! Nice to meet you!"

Keith chuckled, "He's a bit hyper today, he tricked me into buying him coffee this morning. I thought I learned my lesson last time, apparently not."

Lance let his arm go and hit it, "Mean."

Jake laughed a bit, "I don't mind it."

Matt ruffled Lance's hair, "Where do you want to go, you dork."

Lance thought for a moment, "I don't really know. Why don't you guys give us a tour?"

Matt smiled, "Okay, sounds good. Let's start with the strip mall. They have some stores I think you would like."

"Okay!" Lance smiled as they started walking. He grabbed onto Keith's arm again.

5:23 pm

Matt plopped down on the couch with a laugh, they were back in their apartment for the night, "Lance isn't always like that, I swear."

Jake shrugged and sat down next to him, "I didn't mind, and he calmed down as the day went on."

"When we have to watch him he's going to seem like a completely different person."

"How so?"

Matt sighed, "Well, he's very anxious and on edge the whole time. And if Keith doesn't text him back, he'll lose his shit if we don't distract him."

Jake frowned, "I still can't believe all that happened to him... And your sister got wrapped up in it."

"Yeah, I had no idea it was happening until we got a call from Hunk telling us Pidge had been kidnapped the night before and they had just found her. She still has scars from getting herself free. Lance has them too, but he keeps them covered up with makeup or bracelets. Today it was bracelets."

"That's just so horrible. You hear about that stuff in the news but it never feels real. There's actually people out there capable of doing that. I forget that it's not just something you see on TV."

Matt nodded, "Yeah, Lance and Keith's lives are something out of a suspense movie."

"And what kind of movie is your life out of?"

Matt chuckled, "My life isn't interesting enough to be on the screen."

Jake leaned in, "I've got to disagree. I think your life would be a teen romcom."

"And are you my charming love interest?"

"Damn straight," He leaned in and kissed Matt, putting his hand on his hip to pull him closer.

Matt didn't object, scooting closer of his own volition, "You're the first person I've ever kissed, you know"

Jake chuckled, "And ever fucked."

Matt rolled his eyes, "I'm serious. I had 2 girlfriends in high school but we never got past hand holding. I was too awkward for all of that."

"And too gay."

"Well, I didn't know that at the time." Matt crossed his arms.

Jake kissed Matt's neck softly, "At least I know all it takes is a couple shots to get you to loosen up." He chuckled, only joking.

Matt blushed as he uncrossed his arms, not pushing him away and letting him continue to kiss his neck, "I'm not that uptight."

"Then how come this is the most you've let me touch you since the party?" Jake pulled away to look at him.

Matt looked down, "I... I don't know. I've never been in a relationship like this before."

"Gay?"

"Intimate."

Jake nodded, pulling away a bit more and letting Matt go, "Well, we don't have to get more intimate than you're comfortable with. I'm not doing that to you again."

Matt looked up with a frown, "How many times do I have to tell you to stop blaming yourself for that. What happened at the party was completely consensual."

"Only because you were drunk off your ass."

Matt grabbed Jake's shirt and pulled him into a kiss, "That doesn't mean I didn't want it. All the alcohol did was make me not think about it as much. I just went with what I was feeling. And I was feeling amazing when you touched me."

"Then let me touch you... Do I scare you?"

"Of course you don't! I know you would never hurt me or force me into something I didn't want to do. I know that if I would've said no that night that you would've stopped. But that's the thing, Jake. I never said no. That's what you need to remember. I never said no because I wanted you to keep doing everything you were doing." Matt grabbed Jake's hand and put it back on his hip, "I trust you completely. I'm just new to this and don't really know how to handle these things. I think too much and psych myself out."

Jake sighed, "Matt... I-"

Matt kissed him again, cutting him off, "No more thinking," he put his hands on Jake's chest, he bit his lip before starting to unbutton his shirt.

Jake grabbed Matt's wrists to stop him and looked him in the eye, "Are you sure?"

"Not at all. But if I think about it then I'll never be. I'm just going with how I feel."

"And how do you feel?"

"Like I want you to let my wrists go so I can finish taking your shirt off."

Jake smirked a bit and let him go, watching as he finished unbuttoning the shirt and pulled it off. Then Jake pulled Matt's shirt off, lifting it over his head, "Let's take this to the bedroom."

Matt smiled, "Happily."

August 4
10:29 am

matttheew: so me and jake had sex again and this time i wasn't drunk

katiehatesyou: how was that? please don't get into detail

matttheew: lol wasn't planning on it. we were talking on the couch yesterday and he was kissing me. he asked me if i was scared of him because i didn't really let him touch me much before. and i was trying to reassure that it wasn't him, that i was just too awkward in those situations. and i guess i was so focused on reassuring him that i was able to stop overthinking it. i just started unbuttoning his shirt. he stopped me to ask me if i was sure. he's so careful not to hurt me, i love it. he let me keep unbuttoning his shirt. and we continued and obviously you know what comes next.

katiehatesyou: i'm proud of you. i know that's something that's been weighing on you. how does it feel to have your first time sober out of the way?

matttheew: amazing. i couldn't be happier. and i can tell he's happy too. this morning he woke me up by wrapping his arms around my waist and kissing my neck. i didn't push him away like i would've done before. i could tell that was a big deal to him. he looked so happy

katiehatesyou: i'm happy for you. and thank you for not being an asshole and actually telling me when it happens this time!

matttheew: i've learned my lesson. no more pillow attacks necessary

*I think this is the end of Matt's arc. If he comes back up in the story it'll be because he's part of someone else's arc. I might end up deciding to do an update on him and Jake later on but as of right now that's not in my plan*