When Two Worlds Collide

Chapter 12

On the other hand though, he wasn't sure if he were able to get over his crush on Keith. Even though the realization is still relatively new, thinking about it more and more he now knows that he's liked Keith for a very, very long time. Like since second year Garrison days long time. Which was more likely than not part of the reason that he started the whole rivalry between the two of them in the first place. He wanted to get Keith's attention and prove to him that he was capable enough to be seen as more than just an equal or better. He wanted Keith to see him as a romantic option. Thinking about all of the stupid stuff that he used to do in the old days just to get Keith to glare at him all made sense. And also made Lance cringe internally. What was he thinking? It then dawned on him that the reason he tried to become "Loverboy Lance" so hard was because of Keith. If he had the chance, he would go back in time and slap some sense into his younger self. He really would, it just was way too out there.

But he couldn't help it, really. There's just always been something about Keith that's drawn him to him. When he first met Keith his first day at the Garrison he didn't know what to think. He was 12 years old, and thought that he was it. Little Lance was beyond ecstatic that he was able to get into the Garrison. Then he had met the brick wall that was Keith Kogane. At first he didn't know that much about the other boy. All that he knew was that Keith was quiet, distant, quite good in class, was either very shy or a prick, and he had the most beautiful eyes that Lance has ever seen in his life. Hunk didn't believe him at first when he told him about them. Lance has sworn on his life since he was twelve that Keith has purple eyes. Hunk told him he was crazy but Lance never let up about it. Keith had beautiful violet eyes, and they were so captivating that all Lance could do was stare at him. It didn't take long before Lance realized that if he just sat there and stared into Keith's eyes, two things would happen. The first one is that he will probably fail all of his classes, and flunk out of the Garrison, and his mother would kill him. The second one would be that Keith would view him as a creep and deck him so hard that his great-great-grandchildren would feel it. And he saw what he did to James Griffin in the early days. At the time he didn't want to be the next person on the receiving end of his right hook.

His crush only grew from there. He wanted to know anything and everything about Keith. And speaking of James Griffin, he was how Lance learned this very important fact about him. He learned that day in the simulator room while James was laying on the floor in agony and Keith was on top of him in a rage screaming his head off, that Keith was an orphan. And he also learned that James Griffin was the largest asshole, besides Zarkon he has met in his life. He couldn't fathom why a person would stoop so low to bring up the fact that someone didn't have any parents. Doing some research of his own, Lance found out that Keith's father was a firefighter and he died trying to save someone from a burning building. And that he wasn't on duty that day at all. No, he was out in town spending the day with Keith, when he saw the building erupt into flames. He went to go to try and help his fellow firefighters, but he didn't make it. And he left Keith all alone. He also knew that the mom wasn't in the picture (Now they know why), and that she had ditched them when Keith was a newborn. Lance felt sorry for Keith, Lance himself grew up in a very large and a very close family. Coming to the Garrison was the first time that Lance ever really had a moment alone to himself without some relative near him. He couldn't even begin to imagine what it would be like to lose anyone of them, regardless of how much they annoy him from time to time. But Lance's mind was put at ease when he knew that Shiro was looking after him. And that just furthered his admiration and obsession with the elder.

Looking at Keith's body, laying prone before him on that hospital bed, Lance realized how pale he was. With him being knocked out it was easier for Lance to see how horrible he looked. Keith had tell-tell signs of exhaustion marked all over his body. Besides the fact that he looked like a ghost, he had prominent dark bags underneath his eyes. And Lance finally noticed how skinny he is now, and Lance didn't like it one bit. Though when they changed him into hospital scrubs they put him in a long sleeve shirt. Lance was glad for that, he knew about the scars that mattered Keith's body and he didn't want to be the one to have to explain to the team about them and why they were there. Though Pidge and Hunk could probably guess why, but he didn't know how much Allura and Coran knew about self-harm and mental illnesses. He turned his attention back to the figure laying in the bed before him. Even though he looked like a complete and utter wreck, he was still breathtakingly beautiful in Lance's opinion. With him laying down motionless, his hair was all in his face, and he looked cute in Lance's opinion. He took his hand and began to brush back the strands of hair from his face. God, he really was in love with this man.

Lance repeated this process for a couple of minutes, he liked it, found it soothing. He also liked the feeling of running his hands through Keith's hair. It was soft and smooth like what one thinks silk would feel like. Lance was so lost in what he was doing he didn't notice all of the monitors that Keith was hooked up too began to change. He didn't realize that Keith was waking up until he heard the other boy shift and groan on the bed. Lance's head snapped to attention at the noise. "Keith.. Keith?" He called softly. Hoping that he wouldn't scare the other with loud noises. Lance reached to the side of the bed and pressed a button that he was told would alert someone that Keith was awake. So far, he seemed to be waking up, but he hadn't opened his eyes yet. Though at time that the door was opening and the doctor was coming into the room, he could finally see Keith's violet irises. They took a while to focus in on him, though, but once they did Lance swore that he saw them turn pink again. "Lance?" Keith called his name softly and reached out his hand to grasp his own. Lance met him halfway and grabbed his hand, he had a smile on his face hoping to help ease the uneasiness that Keith must be feeling at the moment. It seemed to be working until Keith asked him a question. "What happened?" Oh, boy this wasn't going to end well. It wasn't going to end well at all.