(( Loves. This story has only been up for about a week, and it already has 3K reads. I'm flabbergasted. Thank you all so much for your continued reading and support of my work, and helping me continue my confidence as a writer. Means the world.

PS

Slight angst warning? Not as bad as Bullets, so I'm sure you all will live lmao.))

Morning haze. Groggy, tired eyes. That was what a morning in LA began as. Keith's eyes were just struggling open, and he began to sit up from bed. That was... until he felt arms around him.

He looked down, seeing James and pretty much engulfed him over the course of the night. A light chuckle exited the omega's throat while he tried to scoot away.

It was always his job to cook breakfast, of course. James threw a fit if he ever had to cook himself, and Keith had learned that one the hard way.

He untangled the alpha's arms from himself, only wearing a pair of thin underwear while making his way to the dresser. Sleeping with clothes on? Never... not when James was next to him. If there was anything blocking the alpha from feeling his body figure, caressing it during the night, it was a no go.

Keith was used to it as he pulled on one of James' sweatshirts, also slipping into some shorts. He put on some fuzzy socks as well, ones that had a hippo pattern on them.

He walked out to the kitchen, starting the coffee and listening to the familiar sound of it brewing into the pot. Yawns came from him here and there as he pulled out the waffle maker. They'd always been one of the alpha's favorites, paired with crispy bacon.

Keith knew James would get up soon, since the smell of bacon was a practical alarm clock for him. He was expecting the other's appearance once he got a skillet hot enough and began to fry it.

Arms.

Arms were around him again, causing Keith to jump slightly. He felt himself being pulled back and embraced. He had to step back from the bacon for a moment.

" Morning, Baby..." James murmured and held him closer. Keith could already tell that he wasn't wearing a shirt. He settled back against him and closed his eyes.

" Morning."

" What's on the menu today?" He asked, and Keith felt himself blushing lightly. He could smell the other's scent, strong in his nose and making his hair stand on end.

" Waffles and bacon..." The omega said, turning around and looking up at the other with a perplexed face. And then it hit him. " You smell like rut."

James let his gaze sink to the bottom corner of his vision.

" Yeah... I'm due for it sometime today or tomorrow." He answered honestly. Keith's eyes were beading around. Did that mean he'd have to take a few days off? " You'll help me... right?"

Keith gulped, staring down at his feet. James had a way of... getting rough. He figured most alphas were like that, especially during sex... but still.

" Keith?" James asked again. He let his hands run down the shorter male's sides, backing him against the fridge and leaning their faces together. " You wouldn't make me go through it alone, would you?"

" N-no..." Keith stammered and squeezed his eyes shut. He felt trapped on the fridge. It was a subtle kind of prison, not like he was being pinned there, but he knew he couldn't move.

" Good." James said, backing up. " Would you mind fixing me some coffee?"

Keith felt the air return to his lungs while going to do that. He didn't know what else to do besides listen.

...

Keith snapped back to reality, looking down at his morning coffee. It sat atop the countertop, just waiting for cream and sugar. He took a deep breath and rubbed his eyes, looking toward the fridge.

It was hard to forget, move past it. All the little things he should've seen before... they haunted him in slumber and in essence.

He was safe now, safe. Safe didn't mean that he had an alpha sleeping next to him every night, or that he had a dog that would protect him without a second thought. No. Safe was his willpower that grew out of the mess, and stemmed up from the pain.

He finished fixing his coffee before walking out to the living room, kicking his feet up on the table and resting them there. He and Lance had agreed to upload the video on Keith's channel the night before, and the omega was curious about the view count thus far. He hadn't been ballzy enough to check Twitter yet, but it would be his next stop.

The smart TV, after he went to his channel, flashed up the video. The thumbnail had Keith and Lance, both of them with their makeup done. 'Lance McLame Answers' was the title they'd chosen.

20 million views.

Keith nearly spit out his coffee just as he took his first sip.

20 MILLION VIEWS?! That couldn't be right... in the span of less than 16 hours?! They were #1 on the trending page as well.

" Holy shit..." Keith murmured to himself, and Kosmo jumped up beside him on the couch. It was almost 11 in the morning already, and he knew that views typically spiked in the late afternoon. This wasn't over? How desperate were people to know about the tea? Apparently very.

Keith went to Twitter on his phone, and just as he was opening it, he got a text from his brother.

Shiro: Not to worry you, but Allura came out with a video. I think you should probably go and watch it...

Keith rolled his eyes. She was sticking her nose into this?

Keith: Okay. Is it bad?

He got an immediate reply.

Shiro: It's definitely not good. Lance has already been flipping out about it to Pidge, and she told us this morning

Keith: Why wouldn't he call me?

Shiro: He said he didn't want to wake you up. Just... get back to me after you watch it so we can have a discussion

Keith opened Twitter and looked at some of his mentions, tags, etc. People were going on about all sorts of things. To his surprise, it was mostly shows of support from his fan base. 'UWU' was a frequent thing that kept popping up.

He decided to go check out the video.

It was the first thing on Allura's page, having a little over 5M views. 'About Keith's Video' was her title, and Keith felt himself tense while clicking it. It was only five minutes long, and it looked like she had taken off her makeup to film. It was like... she looked hurt. He couldn't help but wonder if she'd done it on purpose for pity.

There were about 20 seconds of dramatic silence with her sitting there, before she took a deep breath.

" A lot of people have been asking me if I'm okay. Regarding the video that Keith and Lance have put out a few hours ago." She began, tying back her hair into a bun and rubbing her eyes.

Keith sipped his coffee and narrowed his eyes.

" I'm not... angry. I'm not sad, or whatever people would like to think. I'm just... disappointed and scared. Keith, I have nothing against you... so I will tell you this here and now. If you watch this, please, please do yourself a favor and get out of your situation while you can. Believe me, I've been there. Lance was... great. At first. He'll make you feel like the most important girl or- guy in the world. And-" She seemed to stiffen up, and Keith saw her struggling. It seemed like she was straining herself while trying to cry. " He'll turn on you. If you don't give him his way, be ready for bruises and whatever else he feels is okay to give you." She sniffled.

Keith could hardly stand to watch anymore. She was lying. He saw right through it.

" Keith, get out now while you still can. And Lance... if you ever hurt another omega again, don't expect me to lay back and deal with it. I don't care what it takes if it means you're not a danger to society anymore."

Keith sat there for a moment. He tried to let it sink in, but all he felt was anger.

" To everyone who keeps trying to make sure I'm alright, and who keep sending messages of support, thank you. I appreciate all of your concerns wholeheartedly, however, I am fine. I just need to focus on anything but him at the moment. Lance finding another omega to progress his agenda on is a stressor for me, and if I allow myself to think about it too much, my work and self esteem will suffer-"

A door opened to the side of her, and Allura turned her head on screen.

" Oh, Lotor." She eased and smiled.

" Are you filming? I can come back late-"

" N-no, well, yes- but you can stay. I'm just talking about the... Lance thing." She stammered, and Keith felt his eyebrow twitch from how bothered he was. Lotor came into frame and sat beside her. There was a cotton candy pink backdrop behind them.

Allura hugged him, and Lotor just wrapped an arm around her gently.

" Was there anything you wanted to say about it, honey?" Allura asked him quietly.

Lotor swallowed, clearly uncomfortable. He didn't much like talking about the situation, and that much was evident.

" Well... I just hope that Lance can find peace. If he and Keith are happy together, then I have no ill will against them. So long as Lance never touches Allura again, I wish him the best." Lotor said, looking down to his omega to see if he'd said the right thing.

Allura seemed to think it was good enough, and their video wrapped up soon after. That left Keith so pissed that he clenched his fists. He picked up the phone, going to Lance's contact. Keith pressed the call button, wondering if the alpha was okay after that.

" Keith." Lance picked up. It was obvious he'd been crying.

" Hey... are you okay? I just-... heard." The omega said hesitantly. He was trying to be sensitive to the situation.

" N-no... not really." Lance sniffled. " Keith... I never touched her! She j-just didn't want her fans to know she cheated, and-and she made it all up!"

" I know..." Keith quietly said. " I don't believe a word she said."

" People have been tweeting me all morning and- I... I hate all this drama." Lance whimpered. " All I want is to be happy with you... and she won't let me."

Keith was thinking for a moment, his chest tightening and contorting just from the other being in that much pain. It was awful to witness, even if he was only hearing it.

" Do you want me to come over?" The omega spoke, not really believing he'd offered. " I... I don't think you should be alone right now."

" I'm at Pidge's. Hunk is here, too." Lance explained. " But... I do want to see you."

" I'll be over soon, then. Hang in there."

" Alright. And Keith-" Lance cut in.

" Yeah?"

" Thank you..."

Keith blushed to himself, pinching the bridge of his nose. He wasn't sure how that of all things would make him flustered.

" Don't mention it."

...

" Lance, we can sue her for slander!" Pidge exclaimed. " It's not like she ever filed a police report for you allegedly beating her. She has no proof, no anything. All she is doing is spreading lies about your name, and that's a crime."

Lance was flopped over on Pidge's couch, groaning to himself.

" What good will it do? A lawsuit will only be another scandal. And now we got Keith involved, too..." He sighed.

" Uhh- clearing your name? The public can't hold it against you if we prove she's lying." Pidge elaborated. " Right, Hunk?"

" Pidge, I get what you're saying 100%, but... this is painful, you know? He was with her for a long time, even thought he was going to marry her someday. This has gotta be trudging up memories and-"

" I'm right here." Lance huffed and sat up, folding his arms.

" Sorry, buddy." Hunk said, scratching the back of his neck.

" I just want Keith." Lance put his face in his hands.

" You two are already really close." Hunk commented and sat on the couch beside him. Pidge was sitting on the armrest, her arms folded. She was so angry for Lance that she couldn't even think straight.

" I know." Lance uttered. " He makes me feel better."

There was a knock on the door, and the three friends perked up.

Pidge went to the door, standing on her toes to look through the peephole.

" It's Keith."

She opened the door, and Lance stood up from the couch.

" Hey..." Keith stepped in. He was wearing a long sleeve shirt, long enough to drape over his backside. His shorts showed off his legs, but he wasn't worried about it since he wasn't in public.

Lance wiped any leftover tears from his face while walking over. He wrapped his arms around the omega, not giving it a second thought.

Keith's eyes widened at first, and he could feel the other scenting him. He was buried in his scent gland, and that spelled out just how much comfort Lance needed in that moment.

The omega's arms were stiff and frozen at first, but he eventually settled and let them go around Lance as well. It was harmless, and actually... it felt really nice.

Pidge and Hunk glanced at each other before both walking to the kitchen. Those two needed a minute to themselves.

" Thank you..." Lance mumbled. His eyes were closed, and he found that Keith's sweet scent was calming him. It reminded him of a crackling campfire, along with s'mores and everything else from a hot summer night.

" For what?" Keith asked gently.

" For coming."

" Why wouldn't I?" Keith wondered aloud. " We can get through this." He wouldn't give up just like that, not when Lance made him feel something he hadn't for such a long time.

" You're the most loyal person... it's... nice. Some LA people are so shallow." Lance slowly pulled back, not having realized that he'd just went for it. Keith wasn't used to hugs.

" I'm not some people." Keith smiled in a shy way.

Lance wanted so badly to embrace him right then, but he was trying to respect the omega's boundaries. He instead grabbed both of Keith's hands, smiling back.

" So you've shown." Lance teased, chuckling. He just wanted to drop the topic of the video, enjoy his time with Keith. Funny how having the other's hands in his own could change his mood.

Keith blushed to himself and squeezed Lance's hands back. Only a real alpha would cry like that. Not once had Keith ever seen James cry. Not in all the time they'd lived together.

Lance was more... in touch with his sensitive side. That was reassuring.

" What do you say we just hang out and have some fun?" Lance asked, and he couldn't help himself while raking a hand back through Keith's bangs.

" Sounds good to me. Phones away." Keith replied, a crimson shade taking over him as Lance's large hand touched him.

" Perfect."

They would have a nice day to themselves, hanging with friends and enjoying the simple things.

" Sorry to interrupt, but Hunk was wondering if you all wanted some lunch?" Pidge poked her head out from the kitchen. She smirked while seeing their position, but knew it wasn't the time to tease them.

" What's he making?" Lance asked, turning over his shoulder.

" Grilled cheese and chicken noodle soup." Pidge shrugged.

" Yeah, sure." Lance answered, and Keith nodded.

" I guess."

The day would get better. It had to.

(( Yes. I based the drama off of James and Tati's beef a while back. Oops. Allura just hadddd to come in and make things difficult smh. I'm the one writing this and even I wanna expose herrrr >_< ))