Archive of Our Own ^beta

     Six Months. That’s how long Keith and Lance had been texting, facetiming, and calling. Six. Whole. Months. It was filled with Lance’s endless flirting and Keith’s snarky, playful counters. Lance took them with a grain of salt because he knew Keith didn’t really know how to flirt. Which he found super adorable, mind you. Lance was head over heels for the cute boy who couldn’t take a little flirting or a simple compliment. 

     Lance wanted to meet him. So, so badly. 

     Keith lived in Nashville. He went to school at the SAE Institute and studied music. Lance found that impressive and endearing. Keith really was amazing to him. 

     Lance? He lived in L.A. The City of Angels. He lived there because number one, the name of the city is literally in Spanish. Cuba was his roots, and so was Spanish. So he lived there and studied Astronomy. Number two, he loved the sunny weather. It reminded him of home. 

     So, yeah they lived pretty far apart. Almost across the entire freaking world. 2,004 miles. Twenty-nine hours. But at this point? Lance thought it was so worth it. 

     Now, Lance is sitting at his desk in his dorm, finishing up his essay for Mr. Wimbleton’s class. Hunk was at a class right now, so it was just Lance and his work. And his mind filled with thoughts of Keith and his beautiful eyes, his soft-looking hair, and that oh-so-gorgeous smile. And speak of the devil, here he was calling Lance. 

     Lance snatched up his phone quicker than lightning and pressed accept, watching as Keith’s awaiting smile was blinding him through the screen. 

     “Well, hey there, beautiful,” Lance teased. Keith laughed and covered his face. “No-o-o, don’t cover your face! I haven’t seen you all day!” Keith lifted his head and raised a brow at him, to which Lance smiled innocently. 

     “How’s my best friend?” Keith asked excitedly. Lance felt his heart warm and sink at the same time when Keith called him his ‘best friend’. He felt honored, but he wanted to be more than that. Lance winced and picked up his essay, displaying it for Keith. 

     “Physically? I’m fan-tabulous,” he explained dully. “Mentally? I’m pretty sure my brain is completely fried, dude.” Keith let out a small chuckle and shook his head. 

     “But you’re almost done, right?” Keith asked humorously. Lance narrowed his eyes in an attempt to act angry, but his smile gave himself away. 

     “Yes, Keith, I am,” he replied. “And I’ve, uh...I’ve been thinking.” Lance places his essay neatly on his desk again and met those amethyst eyes through the screen. 

     “About?” Keith asked, his eyes sparkling in the sunlight shining through his window. 

     “I really wanna see you, dude,” Lance sighed. “I’ve known you for so long and I just want to meet you.” Keith laughed and tapped his screen playfully. 

     “You’re seeing me right now, dork,” he chuckled. “You’ve met me. We’re friends.” Lance groaned and hid his face in his hands. 

     “No, Keith, I mean,” Lance sighed and looked back up to his phone. “I mean I want to see you in real life. In person. I want to meet you at an airport and hang out with you one day.” He saw Keith’s eyes soften and his shoulders relax. 

     “You're serious?” Keith asked quietly, almost in a whisper. Lance smiled softly and nodded slowly. 

     “I wanna meet you, Keith,” Lance repeated. Keith beamed. Like, freaking beamed brighter than the damn sun . 

     “I really wanna meet you too, Lance,” Keith replied gently. “I thought I was the only one who wanted to.” Lance shook his head and felt his mouth turn down a little bit. 

     “Of course I wanna meet you, Keith,” Lance spoke. “Why would I not want to? You’re my best friend. My beautiful best friend.” Lance smiled as he said the last part, and Keith rolled his eyes playfully. 

     “Are you lost, Lance?” Keith asked with a playful glint in his eye. Lance raised a brow and laughed. 

     “No, why?” he responded with slight confusion. Keith grinned and chuckled. 

     “‘Cause heaven is a long way from here,” Keith winked. Lance gasped and clutched his heart and nearly fell out of his chair. 

     “Did you just fucking flirt ?” Lance nearly shouted as Keith laughed his ass off. “With me ?” Keith watched as Lance’s face went scarlet and smiled in victory. Then, Lance smirked. 

     “Well, I’m already in the City of Angels, Keith,” Lance replied. 

     “Makes sense,” Keith nodded. “You belong there.” Lance felt his face heat again as he laughed in his hands. Then, he looked up again and grinned. 

     “Yeah,” Lance replied in a daze, “I just gotta find a way to get you here with me.” Keith’s face beamed a bright red and Lance grinned victoriously. 

     “Okay, you win,” Keith groaned. “I don’t think I’ll ever beat you.” Lance smiled and chuckled a little. 

     “You might,” Lance laughed. “But, remember, I am the Flirt King.” Keith laughed and nodded. 

     “That you are,” Keith beamed at the camera again. Lance felt his stomach drop into his feet and his heart take over every nerve in his body. 

     “I can't wait to see you someday,” Lance breathed. Keith’s eyes glistened and his face softened as he gazed at Lance for a while. 

     “Yeah, same, Lance,” he replied softly. They sat staring at each other for a while until Lance cleared his throat. 

     “Well, I should get going, I have to finish this essay before Mr. Wimbleton actually shoots me,” he sighed. Keith nodded and swallowed, Lance tracking the movement. 

     “Alright,” Keith agreed. “I’ll call you back tonight?” Lance nodded and grinned. 

     “I’ll count on it,” he huffed out a laugh. Keith grinned back and shot Lance a thumbs-up. 

     “Bye, Lance,” he nearly whispered. 

     “Bye, cutie,” he winked. Keith groaned with a smile and hung up. Lance loved doing that. He called Keith ‘cutie,’ ‘cute boy,’ and ‘cutie patootie’. Keith hated the last one. Lance would wheeze from laughter listening to Keith ramble about how dumb it was. 

     But Keith accepted the other two. 

     Ever since Lance saw Keith in Pidge’s facetime call, he knew he was a goner. So, he talked to Keith. And talked. And talked. And talked. And talked to him. And now? He has feelings for him. 

     He knew it would happen. 

     He doesn’t regret it in the slightest, either. 

     In fact, that’s why he’s buying a plane ticket right now to fly out to Nashville and meet Keith this Saturday. It’s Thursday right now. 

     “But Lance, you’re a broke college student, aren’t you?” No, actually. His social media status gives him money, like YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok. So, he has no problem booking a flight. 

     Look out, Nashville, Lance McClain is on his way.