[ lance finishes off an entire water bottle as keith messes with the mattress, realizing only afterwards that he maybe should have probably helped. ]
Why not? Who knows what the weather's gonna be like in this place...
[ lance does his part after being completely useless and kicks at the bedframe to begin breaking down the larger pieces into smaller kindling. honestly, it doesn't take that very many sharp jabs with the heel of his boot before most of it crumbles, and then he's shoving them to make a neat pile in the corner of the room.
when he comes back, he stares at the mattress for a moment, then at keith. ]
Well? [ he offers a crooked smile, gesturing to the bed. ] Mullets first.
( yeah, this is going to be awkward no matter which way they do it. especially starting in such a strange way; a scheduled cuddling. it's weird, right?
then again, keith doesn't really have any idea how this sort of thing works. do people schedule this kind of thing? maybe. whatever. he needs to stop thinking about this so much, that isn't like him. he's just gotta do this.
it's fine.
so, he gets on the bed and lays there stiff as a board. no, jk. he does lay on his back, though, because he's not sure if they're going front to back or front to front. back to back doesn't seem reasonable for cuddling. he lifts a brow at lance, almost challenging in nature. that's closer to normal, at least. they can both understand that much. )
[ lance pauses with a knee on the mattress, blinking as he lifts a hand to curiously paw at the back of his neck. his hair has started to curl around there, as it's wont to when it gets too long. dang... somehow he never had to really worry about it in space, but now he's wondering if he can find a pair or scissors or something. ]
Yeah, well... it'll even out.
[ hmph.
he moves to take up a spot beside keith, realizing that the mattress itself appears to be either a full or queen size. definitely not a king, but space isn't really necessary for their purposes right now. in fact, it's the opposite of what's needed.
he clears his throat a little, inching a little closer. there's only about a few centimeters left between them, lance on his side and head propped up by an arm. ]
( keith just hums in response, because what does that even mean. lance is gonna have his own mini-mullet soon enough. it'll be fun. keith will finally be able to make fun of him for it.
but, okay. so. this is really happening. indeed.
indeed, indeed, indeed, indeed.
he wets his lips for a second — definitely not out of nervousness, shut up — and shakes his head. does he have a preference? not really. he's never done this kind of thing with another human before so, he has no idea what might be best or what he might like best. kosmo just lets keith flop all over him so that doesn't help all that much. he's probably staring at lance for too long without saying anything while being this close together so he just shifts on his side to turn his back to lance. )
Might be less awkward if we're not facing each other.
[ lance stares at the back of keith's head for a good, long moment, trying to psyche himself up. it's really not a big deal, in the grand scheme of things. the tamest in both their cards, and not even something lance himself hadn't unwittingly done with hunk himself before, back during long nights of studying at the garrison.
it's fine. it's fine. ]
Alrighty, uh. Here I come...
[ in retrospect, probably not the best thing to be saying in this situation, but. he's a little too focused, in the moment, on scooting closer until he has aligned his body with keith's as best as possible. he's... still not exactly touching the other man, save for the one arm that slings over his side. they've agreed to do this, but he still feels kind of weird getting too close, like he's taking liberties or something. ]
( no, it's... really not the best phrasing in this situation, but it's also kind of expected? in a way? because this is really awkward and there's not much to be done to diffuse the situation until they manage to get used to touching each other in a more intimate sort of way.
and, really, this is the most innocent of ways.
keith tries to be relaxed, but he's not. his entire body is tense as he waits for lance to tuck right on in against him... but that doesn't really happen. he can feel him there, hovering sort of, and his arm is there so they're sort of touching. but, this feels... not great? this can't be right. so, keith huffs a sigh and backs up so they're completely flush up against one another. he's pretty sure they have to do more than just lance's arm slung over him for it to count for anything. )
Pretty sure we have to actually touch for it to work, Lance.
[ no, no he was not. but the deed has been done, so to speak, and so there's nothing more he can do than just settle into it as best as he can. carefully, he shifts just so he's fitting up a little better, so the curve of their spines and their legs align. it's — weird — but he'd been expecting that. though it's less weird because of how it feels, and more weird because of why they have to do this. lance wouldn't consider himself particularly touch-starved, but the desire to be close to someone is something he's always had... so it's a shame that now that he finally has it after so long, it's because they have to do it, and not because they want to.
ah well.
carefully, he shifts his arm around so that it rests a little more comfortable around keith. his hand winds up idly and loosely wrapping around the wrist of one of keith's hands, while he keeps his other arm tucked under his head and he blinks sleepily at the dark tufts of keith's hair. the more he wills himself to relax, the heavier his body seems to feel. he thinks he could actually fall asleep like this. ]
( yeah, okay. sure he was. but, keith would agree that yes, this is really weird. although... keith's thinking it for kind of different reasons. because at least for keith, and not that he'd ever say this about himself, but he is more or less touch-starved. it's never been something easy for him to do, and for a long time shiro was the only one who would constantly reach out to him. but, he'd like to think that at least he and lance were heading in that direction? unless he was imagining the whole thing, but he's pretty sure their friendship was getting stronger — floating in space fight notwithstanding.
keith just stares out into the dark room at the opposite wall, seeing but not really seeing anything as he gets used to the weight of lance's arm around him and the press of his body behind him. maybe the weirdest thing of all is that even though this is awkward, is that it doesn't feel so strange to do this. not to keith, anyway. he doesn't mind it. )
Yeah. ( his tone is low, not a whisper or anything, but definitely something to not disturbe the stillness of the moment. ) I'm okay. What about you?
[ if keith had stayed, if lance had reached out to him sooner... who knows. maybe this wouldn't be so awkward. maybe this would be something else entirely.
but there's not a lot that speculating can do now, not when they can't ever really take back or change what's happened. right now all they have is their present, this, each other.
and honestly...? it's not as bad as lance thought it would be. there are worse people he could be stuck here with... and he'd meant every word he'd said earlier that nice. ]
Not doing too bad...
[ he shifts just a little, propping his chin on top of keith's head. saves him from staring into the darkness of the other's hair, and looking instead at the same wall keith likely is. something about it is... soothing. grounding.
( no, they can't change the things that have happened, no matter how many times keith kind of wishes he could go back and change a bunch of things throughout his life. all they can do is just pull their socks up and move forward.
keith inhales a deep breath and as he exhales it, he closes his eyes. he's tired in that way where it's down to his bones, but he knows he's not going to sleep for a while. much in the way that his mind is blank, but still he's thinking about too much. he shifts his hands a little to tuck closer beneath his chin which only draws lance's hand closer to his chest. )
Yeah.
( helpful, really. but, he kind of doesn't know what to say. should they talk about something? would that make it even weirder? unintentionally he shifts a little against him. )
[ maybe it's not really the kind of situation where you talk. admittedly, those kind of situations are the worst for lance, because silence has never been his best friend. if his mouth isn't running to try and fill it, then his mind will, and while neither tend to get him anywhere good, the former is at least a little less depressing.
which is why it's weird when keith's the one to continue the conversation. it's not even anything really substantial. it's small talk in its plainest form, and lance wonders if this is keith's way of reassuring him, or if he too can't seem to handle the silence.
either way, lance is grateful for it. he'll grab at any opportunity to keep his mind off of gloomy thoughts. ]
Man, that'd be nice. I could go for a new pair of jeans... Heck, even a new hoodie. Something real thick and comfy, you know?
[ he sighs a little, wistful, feeling some tension leave his shoulders. he hunkers down a little more, curling just a little better around the other male. idly, his thumb starts to rub circles along the back of keith's hand. even now, he can't really keep still. ]
( on the other side of things, keith's always been one for silence. he prefers it, always has and likely always will. there's something calming about it for him. he doesn't look too deeply into it or anything, especially because in doing that it'll just show him a life's montage of how utterly lonely it's been for him and the last thing keith is prone to is self-reflection.
unfortunately, in spite of how i would like for the conversation to go, keith doesn't have the proclivities to understand that kind of THAT'S WHAT SHE SAID type jokes, even though that's what the situation warrants. alas, poor yurak.
instead, he focuses on the feel of lance's thumb rubbing over his skin and sighs softly. and with that exhale comes keith finally — completely — relaxing against the bed. his eyes fall closed and at first he just hums in response, thinking about it but also not really thinking about it at all. then; )
[ with how closely they're wrapped up in each other, lance can feel the exact moment keith finally loosens up. that, in turn, has him relaxing even further. now he lets his own eyes close, tucks his face into keith's hair a little more. he's that much closer to falling asleep, but not yet, not yet. ]
Nah, don't settle. If we're dreaming, we might as well dream big, right?
( it should probably be a little strange to him for this kind of thing to happen, that he's so relaxed with lance. but, that's probably natural, isn't it? to be relaxed with your friends that this kind of touching is okay. maybe it's keith who's the weird one, unable to really know how to properly have friends.
but, he's trying. at least he's more used to it now and not freaking out and making this any weirder than it already is. )
But that's all I really wear. How would I dream bigger than that?
[ it's fine.. they've held hands before, even ~ cradled each other in their arms ~ right? sure, this isn't a life and death situation like all the other ones have been, but isn't that just the natural progression of their friendship?
then again, lance has always been naturally very touchy with his friends anyway, so maybe he's the opposite extreme here... ]
Think like... like luxury. Nice, fluffy robes. Wool socks that don't stay wet! Oh oh — pajamas! Man, I miss the set from the Castleship... I don't know what kind of fabric Alteans had, but it was definitely top-knotch.
( idk have they? according to lance, he doesn't remember 😒 so how's he supposed to know what they have or haven't done, huh?
this is just definitely different for keith.
but....
he doesn't hate it. )
I don't wear that kind of stuff, though. ( keith yawns and sort of nuzzles down a little and inadvertantly does so against their hands. ) What even are robes for?
Well, now's as good a time as any to try something new, right?
[ he... he means more in the sense that they seem to have the time, but in retrospect it definitely sounds like he could be implying something else... talking about something else. a-hem. moving on. ]
And robes are like... pre-clothes. They're when you wanna wear stuff, but you don't wanna go to the hassle of putting on real clothes. They're for, like, "I just wanna lounge around but also probably not get walked in on naked by the pizza guy" moods.
( luckily for lance, keith doesn't take it the way lance begins to think about. he's fine with maintaining a healthy dose of ignorance, thank you.
keith laughs softly, his breath fanning warm over lance's fingers. he makes a little sleepy sound before he can finally get himself together to respond. )
Dunno why you wouldn't just put clothes on in that case. But, you wore one over pajamas. On the castle. Just seems like a hassle.
( that has keith laying there for a few moments, unblinking, as he stares into the darkness. jibblies? what does that even mean? thankfully, just before keith opens his mouth to ask, he gets it.
( gross. don't do that. he even took the time to wash his hair this morning...! but, anyway. keith winds up just laughing softly to himself at lance's over the top reaction. they cuddling right now, with talks of doing the Doâ„¢ at some point. is it really that shocking to talk about whether or not underwear is being worn under pajamas? )
I dunno. It still seems kinda weird to me, wearing robes, I mean. I think I'll just stick to what I know.
[ stop... it's easy to separate those thoughts when he can focus on one instead of the other. but now he's embarrassed, and he winds up burying his face into that fluffy hair to hide the heat on his cheeks. hmph. ]
I'm gonna find you a robe, Keith Kogane. I'm gonna make you fall in love with it, too, you'll see.
( what's he hiding them for? it's not like keith can see it. not only that but it's dark in here, so even if they were facing each other he couldn't see it. so silly. besides, isn't it way more embarrassing to be burying his face in keith's hair??? )
I really doubt that. But, I also doubt that's going to stop you from trying.
[ lance's laugh is a few short puffs of warm air against keith's hair. without thinking, he hugs the other man a little tighter, drawing their bodies even closer together. he's starting to feel the pull of slumber start to drag him down... even with the suits regulating their temperature, there's a nice warmth here that he has to admit he's missed. ]
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no subject
Why not? Who knows what the weather's gonna be like in this place...
[ lance does his part after being completely useless and kicks at the bedframe to begin breaking down the larger pieces into smaller kindling. honestly, it doesn't take that very many sharp jabs with the heel of his boot before most of it crumbles, and then he's shoving them to make a neat pile in the corner of the room.
when he comes back, he stares at the mattress for a moment, then at keith. ]
Well? [ he offers a crooked smile, gesturing to the bed. ] Mullets first.
no subject
then again, keith doesn't really have any idea how this sort of thing works. do people schedule this kind of thing? maybe. whatever. he needs to stop thinking about this so much, that isn't like him. he's just gotta do this.
it's fine.
so, he gets on the bed and lays there stiff as a board. no, jk. he does lay on his back, though, because he's not sure if they're going front to back or front to front. back to back doesn't seem reasonable for cuddling. he lifts a brow at lance, almost challenging in nature. that's closer to normal, at least. they can both understand that much. )
Your hair's getting pretty long, too, you know.
no subject
Yeah, well... it'll even out.
[ hmph.
he moves to take up a spot beside keith, realizing that the mattress itself appears to be either a full or queen size. definitely not a king, but space isn't really necessary for their purposes right now. in fact, it's the opposite of what's needed.
he clears his throat a little, inching a little closer. there's only about a few centimeters left between them, lance on his side and head propped up by an arm. ]
So, uh... You have a preference?
no subject
but, okay. so. this is really happening. indeed.
indeed, indeed, indeed, indeed.
he wets his lips for a second — definitely not out of nervousness, shut up — and shakes his head. does he have a preference? not really. he's never done this kind of thing with another human before so, he has no idea what might be best or what he might like best. kosmo just lets keith flop all over him so that doesn't help all that much. he's probably staring at lance for too long without saying anything while being this close together so he just shifts on his side to turn his back to lance. )
Might be less awkward if we're not facing each other.
no subject
it's fine. it's fine. ]
Alrighty, uh. Here I come...
[ in retrospect, probably not the best thing to be saying in this situation, but. he's a little too focused, in the moment, on scooting closer until he has aligned his body with keith's as best as possible. he's... still not exactly touching the other man, save for the one arm that slings over his side. they've agreed to do this, but he still feels kind of weird getting too close, like he's taking liberties or something. ]
no subject
and, really, this is the most innocent of ways.
keith tries to be relaxed, but he's not. his entire body is tense as he waits for lance to tuck right on in against him... but that doesn't really happen. he can feel him there, hovering sort of, and his arm is there so they're sort of touching. but, this feels... not great? this can't be right. so, keith huffs a sigh and backs up so they're completely flush up against one another. he's pretty sure they have to do more than just lance's arm slung over him for it to count for anything. )
Pretty sure we have to actually touch for it to work, Lance.
no subject
[ no, no he was not. but the deed has been done, so to speak, and so there's nothing more he can do than just settle into it as best as he can. carefully, he shifts just so he's fitting up a little better, so the curve of their spines and their legs align. it's — weird — but he'd been expecting that. though it's less weird because of how it feels, and more weird because of why they have to do this. lance wouldn't consider himself particularly touch-starved, but the desire to be close to someone is something he's always had... so it's a shame that now that he finally has it after so long, it's because they have to do it, and not because they want to.
ah well.
carefully, he shifts his arm around so that it rests a little more comfortable around keith. his hand winds up idly and loosely wrapping around the wrist of one of keith's hands, while he keeps his other arm tucked under his head and he blinks sleepily at the dark tufts of keith's hair. the more he wills himself to relax, the heavier his body seems to feel. he thinks he could actually fall asleep like this. ]
...How're you doing? This okay?
no subject
keith just stares out into the dark room at the opposite wall, seeing but not really seeing anything as he gets used to the weight of lance's arm around him and the press of his body behind him. maybe the weirdest thing of all is that even though this is awkward, is that it doesn't feel so strange to do this. not to keith, anyway. he doesn't mind it. )
Yeah. ( his tone is low, not a whisper or anything, but definitely something to not disturbe the stillness of the moment. ) I'm okay. What about you?
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but there's not a lot that speculating can do now, not when they can't ever really take back or change what's happened. right now all they have is their present, this, each other.
and honestly...? it's not as bad as lance thought it would be. there are worse people he could be stuck here with... and he'd meant every word he'd said earlier that nice. ]
Not doing too bad...
[ he shifts just a little, propping his chin on top of keith's head. saves him from staring into the darkness of the other's hair, and looking instead at the same wall keith likely is. something about it is... soothing. grounding.
makes a man want to be a little more honest. ]
Actually? It's kind of nice.
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keith inhales a deep breath and as he exhales it, he closes his eyes. he's tired in that way where it's down to his bones, but he knows he's not going to sleep for a while. much in the way that his mind is blank, but still he's thinking about too much. he shifts his hands a little to tuck closer beneath his chin which only draws lance's hand closer to his chest. )
Yeah.
( helpful, really. but, he kind of doesn't know what to say. should they talk about something? would that make it even weirder? unintentionally he shifts a little against him. )
I hope we get some new clothes out of this.
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which is why it's weird when keith's the one to continue the conversation. it's not even anything really substantial. it's small talk in its plainest form, and lance wonders if this is keith's way of reassuring him, or if he too can't seem to handle the silence.
either way, lance is grateful for it. he'll grab at any opportunity to keep his mind off of gloomy thoughts. ]
Man, that'd be nice. I could go for a new pair of jeans... Heck, even a new hoodie. Something real thick and comfy, you know?
[ he sighs a little, wistful, feeling some tension leave his shoulders. he hunkers down a little more, curling just a little better around the other male. idly, his thumb starts to rub circles along the back of keith's hand. even now, he can't really keep still. ]
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unfortunately, in spite of how i would like for the conversation to go, keith doesn't have the proclivities to understand that kind of THAT'S WHAT SHE SAID type jokes, even though that's what the situation warrants. alas, poor yurak.
instead, he focuses on the feel of lance's thumb rubbing over his skin and sighs softly. and with that exhale comes keith finally — completely — relaxing against the bed. his eyes fall closed and at first he just hums in response, thinking about it but also not really thinking about it at all. then; )
I'd settle for a t-shirt and jeans at this point.
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Nah, don't settle. If we're dreaming, we might as well dream big, right?
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but, he's trying. at least he's more used to it now and not freaking out and making this any weirder than it already is. )
But that's all I really wear. How would I dream bigger than that?
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then again, lance has always been naturally very touchy with his friends anyway, so maybe he's the opposite extreme here... ]
Think like... like luxury. Nice, fluffy robes. Wool socks that don't stay wet! Oh oh — pajamas! Man, I miss the set from the Castleship... I don't know what kind of fabric Alteans had, but it was definitely top-knotch.
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this is just definitely different for keith.
but....
he doesn't hate it. )
I don't wear that kind of stuff, though. ( keith yawns and sort of nuzzles down a little and inadvertantly does so against their hands. ) What even are robes for?
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Well, now's as good a time as any to try something new, right?
[ he... he means more in the sense that they seem to have the time, but in retrospect it definitely sounds like he could be implying something else... talking about something else. a-hem. moving on. ]
And robes are like... pre-clothes. They're when you wanna wear stuff, but you don't wanna go to the hassle of putting on real clothes. They're for, like, "I just wanna lounge around but also probably not get walked in on naked by the pizza guy" moods.
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keith laughs softly, his breath fanning warm over lance's fingers. he makes a little sleepy sound before he can finally get himself together to respond. )
Dunno why you wouldn't just put clothes on in that case. But, you wore one over pajamas. On the castle. Just seems like a hassle.
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Yeah, but that was because you guys were also there. I can't just be walking around with my jibblies loose.
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kind of. )
Do you not wear underwear or something?
( sorry )
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sorry. ]
O-Of course I do...!
[ ... ]
Just. You know... if you're lounging around, enjoying a nice robe... Sometimes you don't have to.
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I dunno. It still seems kinda weird to me, wearing robes, I mean. I think I'll just stick to what I know.
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I'm gonna find you a robe, Keith Kogane. I'm gonna make you fall in love with it, too, you'll see.
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I really doubt that. But, I also doubt that's going to stop you from trying.
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[ lance's laugh is a few short puffs of warm air against keith's hair. without thinking, he hugs the other man a little tighter, drawing their bodies even closer together. he's starting to feel the pull of slumber start to drag him down... even with the suits regulating their temperature, there's a nice warmth here that he has to admit he's missed. ]
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