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It was hard going back to the surface after all the days Lance had spent in the village, recovering from Keith and his fallout. He was definitely feeling a bit better, and he decided he was just being overdramatic when he thought about moving out. He loved his new friends. He wasn't going to let Keith ruin that, no matter what.

Shiro was waiting at the cove of rocks on the beach when Lance and Allura surfaced, and looked away as they changed into clothes from their satchels. Allura immediately tackled Shiro from behind once she'd changed, giggling. Lance still couldn't get over that.

"How are you, handsome man?" Allura cooed, and Shiro turned around and smiled, hugging Allura gently. He grinned at Lance over Allura's cocoa shoulder.

"I'm good," he replied, letting Allura go to hold her at arms-length, looking over her. He pushed her wild hair behind her ears and sighed. "Well, as much as I want to stay, I have to get Lance to work, and myself as well. I'll come down tonight, though, as usual," he told Allura, then gestured Lance towards the parking lot. Shiro quietly confided in Allura that she shouldn't have come all this way just to see him for a minute or two, but she said that she was doing it gladly.

Allura bit her lip, wringing her hands as she watched the two boys walk up the sand to the lot. She worried for Lance. Would he be okay with the messy Keith situation? She hoped so.

For everyone's sake, Lance needed to be okay.

...

Keith was in a mood. A shitty mood. It was his last day with his parents, as he'd be leaving the next morning, and he really didn't want to go. Whenever he was at home he felt relaxed and almost dissociative. It was nice, being disconnected, and he was able to do a lot of sketching, which he knew his art professor would be happy about.

Keith had tried to ignore the ache in his chest which he knew was caused by Lance, but he found himself sketching a mermaid on the rocks of a harbor in the latest hours of the night. He missed the ocean. He missed what- no, who was in the ocean, even if he didn't want to admit it.

Lance had always been an incessant texter, and it was mainly the reason why Keith had his number memorized. Keith rarely put contact names to numbers in his phone, so he had to recognize the digits when he got texts. Lance had always been texting him something stupid or weird or questions about basic "human things".

The texts had annoyed Keith before, but now he kind of missed them. He tried not to think about it. Just like everything else about Lance.

Keith knew that Krolia knew that something was up. Mother's sense or something. He didn't expect her to do anything about it, so he was surprised when she brought it up that night.

Keith was sitting on his bed, reading a book, when he heard a knock at his door. "Come in," he called out, bookmarking his spot. He was reading a murder mystery novel by Dana Chambers. He was into that stuff, thriller books and conspiracy theories. He liked having to think about it.

Krolia peeked her head into the room, then slipped in and close the door gently behind her. "Scooch over," she said, clambering up onto Keith's bed. She was in sweatpants and a tank top with her gym's name across the chest.

Keith stared at her as she fidgeted, patiently waiting for her to say what she needed to (she obviously wanted to say something).

"Look, Keith," she started, "I couldn't help but notice something the other day."

Keith racked his brain for something he'd said. Did his mother somehow find out about Lance's secret? He started to panic, and of course Krolia noticed.

"Oh, honey, calm down. It's not that bad, I promise. Please. Seriously." She smiled at him reassuringly, patting his knee. "When your father mentioned how you've never brought home a girlfriend before, I couldn't help but think, maybe..."

Keith froze. Stiffened. Krolia was bringing up the one thing he'd been trying to avoid thinking about for the past week, and she was talking about it like it was the most natural thing in the world.

"It almost feels like you're shielding something. I'm right, right?"

He wanted to shake his head and deny it. But would that really help?

"His name's Lance." Krolia nodded, and slung her arm around Keith's shoulders, tucking him into the crook of her arm, and suddenly, he was telling her everything, all except The Secret. Lance's mer secret.

He told her about how good Lance looked in heels. How he had stupid humor that contradicted Keith's dry jokes, and how he pretty much laughed at everything anyways. How Keith was pretty sure Lance was deeper and smarter than he let on, but he'd never show it. How Lance's freckles were cute and he was more beautiful than hot, and how Keith got a shock up his arm when he first touched Lance. How Lance loved his friends and how easily he fit in but had some sort of insecurity Keith hadn't figured out yet.

"So what's keeping you from him, sweetpea? Why don't you just tell him how you feel?" Krolia knew it wasn't that simple, especially for her son, but she asked anyways.

Keith raked a hand through his hair (which was about an inch shorter thanks to Krolia's odd expertise in hair-cutting). "It's not that easy, mom. Something like that has always had that kind of stigma. It's always been..."

"Bad? Keith, honey, not at all. I dated girls when I was your age, plenty of them."

Keith looked at his mom in shock. "What?" He asked, incredulous.

Krolia laughed quietly, "Yep, believe it or not. It's not that different from dating the opposite gender, Keith. We could do each other's hair and we got our periods in sync so we could buy ice cream at the same time."

Keith cringed, "Ew, Mom. Gross."

"What? It's true. Look Keith, it doesn't matter what you think you've been taught. The truth is, your perception isn't true. It doesn't matter what people say, what people have said. None of that matters. You matter and your happiness matters. And if boys-"

"Just Lance."

"And if Lance makes you happy then you should forget the bullshit and judgement and preconceived ideas and just be happy." Krolia only swore when she was serious.

Keith swallowed, hard, staring at his duvet, biting his lip. Krolia was telling the whole-ass truth, he knew. And he knew she was right about telling Lance how he felt.

"How do I know if he'd even reconsider me after the shit I pulled on him?" Keith mumbled.

Krolia laughed. "That's when you learn to grovel, sweetie. Sounds like Lance is the kind of guy who'll take you back if you put in the effort. I think if you really show him what you're made of, he'll see it. Just don't try too hard. That's annoying."

Keith snorted, "Mom, it's Lance. He's more high-maintenance than Shiro, and Shiro has probably tried every single eyeliner that's come out this year. Speaking of which, he and Lance get along well- Lance is into makeup too."

"Get him the Urban Decay Naked eyeshadow palette, then." Oddly specific. "All the high-strung soccer mommies who go to the gym to power walk love that palette. Maybe even offer to let him give you a makeover," Krolia suggested, twirling a piece of Keith's hair between her fingers.

Keith knew how much Krolia hated those preppy women, and she'd said she'd gladly roundhouse kick their asses right back home if they ever gave her a single shit about being a kickboxer.

Krolia was beautiful in her own strong, independent way, and the only man she'd ever let herself depend on was Nate, and even he was a bit of a lightweight. Krolia was the most hardcore, inspiring woman Keith had ever known.

And if she was giving him advice, he sure as hell was gonna take it.

Keith sat up, "Well then, Mom, I guess I have something I need to tell you." He tried to look as serious as possible.

"I'm Lancesexual. I sexually identify as someone who's attracted to Lance."

Krolia was only able to keep her face straight for a millisecond before she and Keith broke out into laughter, collapsing onto the bed in fits of giggles.

And Keith felt a weight lift off his chest, and the tug of his heart towards Lance.

...
Matt

Shiro and I have been friends for years. I don't know quite when we started getting along so well, but I know it was seamless. I feel like maybe we were supposed to be friends in the grand scheme of things, like two of our atoms were close together in the Big Bang. I'm not sure, that sounds crazy now that I think about it.

Shiro has this feeling- an aura, even- of leadership. He always knows what he's doing, and even if he doesn't, he's so good at faking it that you'd never know.

True, I'm not Keith, so I don't know if Shiro would think of me in "best friend territory", but that's the thing. I don't think of Shiro in a best friend way, either. I don't know if I ever have.

In my life, there's mostly controlled variables- things, places, people, who stay the same.

Shiro is my dependent variable- what I observe. What changes. He's always been like that. I've always wanted it. He's the key to my concept, the whole point. I don't think I'd know what to do without him.

When I found his makeup and he told me he was androgynous. When we went to Pride and he told me he was Pan. When we met Allura and he told me he thought he liked her. Through all of those, I've supported him. I haven't wavered. The same old controlled variable in his life, regardless of my own feelings.

It never mattered to me. I was Shiro's Matt. Just his friend. A shoulder to lean on- as long as I could be near him, my emotions were obsolete.

It wasn't like he didn't care, of course he did, but there was something deeper than that, for me.

Because lately, I've been wanting to tell him. Break the tension. Tell my secret.

Tell my dependent variable that the independent variable- the thing that's changed- is that I'm in love with him.

...

Guys can you believe that this is technically chapter 21? Holy shit. Time flies. I love you guys more than you know, thank you for all you support :))

As for your 20k surprise, @MERCY_ISH_ME suggested a Q&A! (Thank you!!) so basically, ask me any question, concerning anything, and I'll answer everything in the next chapter at the end (please ask me as many as you want to- I love answering your questions ahhh) :)) thank you again!