(( Here's some platonic Kidge friendship stuff to ease the angst later.))

" So... tell me again why you decided to have a sleepover at my house without asking?" Pidge raised a brow, hugging a pillow closer to herself. " And why you got Noodles without me."

Keith stared down, having not a clue in the world about what he should do. Blackmail? It wasn't like he could take James' words literally. Though he'd only instructed not to tell Lance- or sorry- his boy toy... Keith knew that if he breathed a word to anyone about it, it would be game over.

" You can have some..." He said, pushing the potstickers toward her. Pidge folded her arms.

" Not what I meant."

Kosmo was curled up beside Keith and then sat up. He licked the other's face and made a whimper-type noise. He pawed at him for attention.

" Pidge... I really wish that I could tell you... but... as my friend, can you please just drop it? I came here because I know I can trust you." Keith spoke. He would've gone to Shiro and Matt... but they were currently hot and heavy with Matt's heat. Anyone knew better than to disturb a couple during that week. Keith just didn't want to be in that house alone after James had managed to get on the property again.

" Keith. Could I really call myself a good friend if I did? Clearly something is wrong. And I'm not gonna make you go home. You can stay as long as you like, but I need to know you're okay." Pidge reached over and put a hand on his shoulder.

Keith glanced over at her and felt like an asshole. He didn't want to lie to his best friend, but if she knew... she would've called the cops. She would've done something about it and then James would've made good on the blackmail.

This was just an awful position to be in.

" I'm fine. I just... I didn't want to be alone. I should've called, I know. Sorry..." Keith said.

Pidge narrowed her eyes skeptically while eating one of Keith's potstickers. She had known him for years, long enough to see when he was lying. But what would happen if she pressed him about it? It wouldn't be good. What if he was dealing with heavy stuff, got frustrated and left? She decided that he would tell her when he was ready. Until then, she would be his best friend and offer an open home.

" It's alright. We can have a nice little sleepover, hm? It'll be just like the old days." She chuckled.

Keith tried to stop thinking about James for a moment.

" All we did in the 'old' days was play Minecraft on your PS4." Keith replied, then grabbed a potsticker. He hadn't even touched his soup yet. What? After the crazy ex he had showed up on his doorstep, he'd lost his appetite for a bit.

Pidge grabbed the controller off of the table and held it up, wiggling it by Keith and waiting for him to take it.

Keith sat there for a few seconds before he couldn't resist and took it from her.

" We can build whatever you want on there." She said, and Keith found it relaxing and nostalgic as she turned on the TV. They didn't have to worry about making videos or anything like that, just relaxing and having fun.

And with his life as stressful as it was in that moment, Keith wanted nothing more. He couldn't ask for more, apparently.

As the screen was loading, Pidge went to the kitchen and grabbed them both some drinks. She could use one and she figured Keith could too. It wasn't anything too strong, just some hard lemonades.

Keith picked up his phone, seeing plenty of notifications but not from the person he wanted to speak to. It was 8 at night, meaning Lance would've been boarding his second flight to Cuba. It went from LA to Atlanta, then to his destination.

They went ahead and got on Minecraft, being in creative mode at the start of it. Keith didn't know how he managed to multitask eating soup and playing, but he did.

Pidge made a treehouse in the jungle and Keith made a little shack in the middle of the desert.

" That's gonna suck when you go into survival mode." Pidge stuck out her tongue.

" Lance and I like our privacy." Keith turned up his nose. Yes. It was an imaginary house for he and his boyfriend. Don't judge.

After a while, Keith and Pidge managed to decimate the food.

" I'm still hungry." Pidge flopped over and continued to play.

" Wow. I wouldn't have expected that after you ate more of my food than I did." Keith remarked sarcastically. Pidge flipped him off.

" I wanna order Chinese." Pidge groaned. She had proven in her videos with Hunk and even her everyday life that she was an awful cook.

" Do it then." Keith chuckled and made cookies on screen.

" You want anything? I did kind of eat your food." Pidge awkwardly laughed.

" Crab Rangoons actually." Keith replied.

" Wait... ughhhhhh!" Pidge paused her side of the screen and rolled over. " I just remembered the last time I tried to get Chinese that they wouldn't drive out here cause it was too far."

Keith paused his as well. He knew what was coming next, but thankfully it wouldn't be as bad since he wasn't single anymore. Before he and Lance were a thing, Pidge would always take him out and try to find him dates and make him be social.

" Are you saying you want to go out and eat in the restaurant?" Keith asked, turning to her. Truthfully, he didn't want to, but he would if that's what she wanted.

" Well... if you really don't want to be alone, then yeah." Pidge said.

Keith mentally cursed himself.

" Fine. We can come back later and finish this."

...

By the time Keith and Pidge were back at her place, it was nearly midnight. Still nothing from Lance. Keith figured that Lance must've had bad service down there or something.

" Do you have any pajamas I can borrow?" Keith asked. He hoped that they would even fit him being how tiny Pidge was.

" Uhhh- yeah. In the guest room there's a closet with some of Matt's stuff in it. He keeps it here for when he stays over but I'm sure he wouldn't mind you using it." Pidge gestured up the stairs. " You know the room, right?"

" Yeah. It's the room you always have me sleep in when I stay over." Keith went toward the stairs. " Thanks."

He started up the steps, but for whatever reason, he got a bad feeling in his chest. It was only an itch at first, but as he neared the door, it was eerie.

Flipping on the lights, Keith looked over his shoulder. No one was behind him, nothing out of the ordinary. But as he entered the bedroom, he saw something. On the bed, there was a photo of Keith, laying atop some clothing.

Lingerie, high heels sitting at the foot of the bed.

Keith's breath hitched and his hand shook as he reached down to pick it up. It was him, laying in that same underwear and with the high heels on. James' collection.

He felt sick to his stomach as he flipped over the picture.

My favorite outfit I ever saw you in. Dinner at my place tomorrow at 7. Tell anyone and the world will see every inch of you and your 'alpha'

Keith choked up. His knees felt weak and it was like he was reliving the same Hell all over again. James? No! He couldn't let James win!

But... even as he debated yelling for Pidge and showing her... he thought about Lance. He thought about how Lance didn't deserve to have nude photos of him flashed all over the internet. He couldn't tell... he couldn't.

That lingerie... he would have to wear it, sit there and let James look him over, and the second Keith found the chance, he was out.

This was the kind of situation when Keith should've been calling the cops, reporting a stalker and blackmail. But if James knew Keith was at Pidge's... what else did he know? Keith couldn't risk it.

" Did you find something? Keith?!" Pidge called up the steps. Keith nearly jumped out of his skin, being jumpy after all of these recent occurrences. He panicked and went to the closet, pulling it open and figuring out that Matt's clothes would fit okay. It was all his fault that he had to use them, too. He'd rushed out of his house so fast after James that he hadn't even packed a bag.

" Ya!" Keith hollered back. He prayed Pidge wouldn't notice how shaky his voice was.

This wasn't fair to anyone, wasn't going to end well for anyone either. Keith would've been a liar if he said he didn't know that, but he wouldn't let James ruin the lives of those he loved. He couldn't.

And so... he was going to do exactly what James said until it was necessary to fight back.

In that moment, though, Keith was going to be Pidge's best friend. He was going to wear Matt's sweater and basketball shorts for the night, and he was going to pretend that everything was just fine.

...

When a Facetime call woke Keith up that day, it was at 4 in the afternoon. After having pulled a practical all nighter with Pidge, it hadn't been hard to sleep. His body had pretty much given up and shut down after the James thing. No nightmares, just numb.

Keith fumbled around on the nightstand until he got a hold of his phone. It was on a spare charger Pidge had laying around.

His eyes were tired and sleepy looking as he pulled it over and took a look at the screen. Lance?

Keith couldn't have picked up fast enough.

It connected and Keith sat up in bed. Lance was pictured on the beach, the sun in the distance behind him.

" Hey, Princess!" He exclaimed. " I just got WiFi- oh-... did I wake you up?"

Keith rubbed his eyes. Even hearing Lance's voice made him feel guilty about everything James was doing.

" Yeah... but whatever. It's time to get up anyways." Keith yawned, reaching over and turning on the bedside lamp. Once the light illuminated the wall, it was obvious Keith wasn't at home.

" Where are you?" Lance asked from the other end. There was wind blowing in the background and water splashing as well.

" Pidge's." Keith answered honestly. He didn't know what would've been worse: telling Lance the truth and having all the photos leak, or lying and seeing James in secret to avoid it. Who even knew what the other alpha wanted from him.

" Why are you there?" Lance questioned curiously.

" We just decided to hang out and I crashed here. That's all." Keith had only just woken up, but he was already in a nervous sweat. Lying to Lance hurt. It made his stomach turn and his scent gland sting.

" Did someone get lonely?" Lance asked and puffed out his lip.

" Shut up! I'm not lonely!" Keith insisted.

" You totally miss me, KitKat~" Lance smirked and laughed. Keith rolled his eyes and somehow a smile took shape on his face. Even in the middle of everything he was going through, Lance managed to make him happy for a minute.

'You have no idea how much I miss you, idiot...' Keith thought to himself.

" Maybe I do. Maybe I want you to come back right now." Keith admitted. At least then he would've felt safe and Lance would've figured things out for himself.

" I wish I could. But I swear I'll make it up to you. We can have a whole week to ourselves if you want." Lance said, and Keith's heart hurt from knowing he was keeping something from him.

" Like... a staycation?" Keith asked.

Lance smiled, looking really happy and content with just talking to him.

" Yeah."

" W-Well..." Keith stammered. " Babe, I'm gonna go get dressed. I'll call you back?" His guilt was eating him up.

Lance seemed confused and disappointed, but only for a moment. He smiled a little, more weak that time. He'd been waiting all day to call Keith, but apparently his boyfriend had other things to worry about.

" Yeah. Just... call me whenever. I'm a few hours ahead of you and the sun is setting soon but I'll wake up if it means I can see you..." Lance spoke.

Keith's heart panged and he wanted to just cry. He felt like he was protecting Lance, but at the same time... he didn't know what else he could do.

He sniffled a little, Lance clearly having heard it. Keith aimed the camera at the ceiling and rubbed his eyes.

" Keith? Hey? Are you okay?" Lance asked worriedly. He was sure he'd heard crying.

" I'm fine." Keith insisted. " I love you. Talk later." He hung up and then hid into the blankets. He trembled and knew he'd have to get ready soon. But tears made anything difficult as they streamed down his cheeks.

He didn't know what James would do, and it scared him to his core. However... Keith didn't have a choice.

...

Of course Keith knew where James lived. He made a point to never drive through that neighborhood, but that was where he parked his car that day, in the driveway.

He'd smuggled the high heels out of Pidge's house and dropped Kosmo at home. Slipping off his sweatshirt, he held it to his nose and neck. It smelled like Lance, which was the only comfort he could have in that moment.

Whether this night was going to lead to James making a move on him and Keith kicking his ass, or just a dinner to appease him, he didn't know. All he knew was that the other was up to something, playing at an angle.

Keith put on his heels and held back tears, stepping out of the car. He wore the black lingerie, it being the kind with a bodice and underwear. He felt disgusting while approaching the door, still able to walk in the way too tall shoes.

How could he forget?

Keith's hand was shaking as he rang the doorbell, gulping.

The door opened, revealing James with a smirk on the other side. He had on a nice button up shirt and slacks, having tried with his appearance for once. His hair was slicked to the side besides the one strand he always let be.

" Looks like you finally came to your senses, Baby." James looked over Keith and bit his lip. Keith folded his arms in front of his chest, paranoid about what was going to happen. " Come in, come in." James said, placing an arm behind Keith's back and guiding him.

The omega was quick to slap it away.

" Listen. I'm here for Lance. You touch me again and you won't like what happens." Keith threatened.

James chuckled to himself. Keith had changed from last time, that was for sure.

" Fine." He said.

Keith looked around, seeing the inside of James' house for the first time. After all, the alpha had only bought the house after he'd been kicked out. It was actually nice and semi-tidy. Keith had to admit... he expected to see beer bottles littering the floor and clutter everywhere.

" I set the table, so if you'd like to take a seat..." James began, and Keith found the dining room table right after. He saw that James had ordered pizza, a meat lover's for them to share. That was a first. Normally Keith would've been stuck eating cheese or veggies on his when they ordered.

Keith felt intensely uncomfortable in the lingerie, feeling like only Lance should've been able to see him so exposed like that.

" You look so beautiful..." James said, sitting across from him.

Keith cringed. He was wearing lingerie, AKA, sexy stuff. Beautiful would've been a nice sweater and pants, or even Lance's clothes. Wait- Lance would've called him beautiful no matter what he was wearing.

Was it even safe to eat the food? What would James have done if he didn't?

" Thanks I guess..." Keith said, looking to the side. Accepting any form of a compliment from him was making his stomach turn.

James pulled over a slice of pizza onto his plate, gesturing for Keith to do the same. The omega reluctantly did, but hated it the entire time.

" So... does your boy toy know you're here?" James asked, taking a bite of his pizza.

Keith scowled, almost wanting to flip the table onto James.

" I don't know why you call him that. His name is Lance." He spat.

James didn't seem phased by the tone Keith took with him. He only grabbed the beer he'd put out for himself and unscrewed the cap.

" Any guy who acts like he does isn't considered an alpha in my book. So yeah. Boy toy." James scoffed.

" He's still twice the man you'll ever be." Keith retorted.

" Easy, Sweetheart." James said. " I invited you for dinner, not an arguing session."

" More like blackmailed." Keith muttered. He was trying his best not to show how nervous he was. His legs were trembling under the table and his palms were sweaty from anxiety.

" Eat up." James told him.

Keith only stared down at his plate. He just wanted to go home, to be with Lance, to cry in the alpha's shoulder and apologize for everything. But he couldn't.

(( *jumps off cliff*))