Chapter Text
Prologue
Graduation caps flung in the air, congratulating with how proud they were of each other, stealing desperate hot kisses in the boy's bathroom one last time. The horrible sight of his face wet with tears.
The memories washed past him like a fresh, blue wave while Keith waited leaned against his motorcycle outside Lance’s driveway. The beat of his heart puncturing a new wound at this decision. But it is the only way. The only way they’ll both be happy.
Regret was swelling his heart as he noticed his boyfriend of almost three years (or as he would like to say compared to a certain Cuban), spilled out of his front door, expression unreadable, but it certainly wasn’t one of happiness.
Keith’s booted feet were bolted to the pavement, backside glued to the leather seat of his cycle. He didn’t like the way Lance’s mouth was turned down, how the blue in his irises were dulling the closer he got to him, his tan arms crossed, making sure that Keith didn’t feel welcome when he came close to say his goodbye.
“What you think showing yourself on the day that you leave will fix anything?” Lance muttered when he stopped in front of Keith, keeping a yard of space between them, not daring to inch any closer to him.
They were done. And it was his decision, he deserved the space Lance was giving him, he knew that. But, it hurt like a million bee stings not to be able to kiss him at least one last time. Before everything changed between them.
“I..” Keith swallowed, trying to reach a hand out to his, hopefully at the this moment, still boyfriend.
Lance took three short steps back, cocking a brown brow at Keith’s outstretched hand almost asking, really, you think this is acceptable?
He pulled his hand back in defeat, covering it with his other hand, tasting leather on leather. Thinking about the time Lance got him these gloves more than a year ago for his seventeenth birthday.
“I needed to at least see you before I left. Make sure you’re going to be okay.” Keith was prepared for the worst. He turned his face rashly to the side when Lance clicked his tongue loudly in disgust.
“That’s low even for you, Keith. You made this decision...you turned your back on me-”
“It was last minute, Lance! I couldn’t say no to an opportunity like this. I-I didn’t know I would get in, I’ve been waitlisted for almost two months and got the call on that day, I had to say yes. It’s my dream, surely you have to understand that?”
Lance’s head fell in defeat, urging out a low, pained noise like he was stretching or trying hard to withstand punching Keith in the face.
His head whipped up again, narrowing a wave of blue at Keith. "So this is it? We're actually doing this?"
Keith’s feet finally loosened from the ground, working up the nerve to touch Lance. He caught his tan hand, the one that almost got away but he took it, grabbed it, held fast to it never wanting to let it go, except he had to because it was his choice to begin with, to let go.
"I don't see anything else we can do. I'm going to London for the next four years, and you’re going to L.A. It's for the best, Lance. Don’t you agree?" Keith brushed his thumb over Lance’s knuckles, seeing two drops fall onto the top of his hand.
The droplets pulled Keith back to a week before graduation. How he had sprung the news on Lance. That he was going to London. It was a prestigious music school he got into miraculously and he just couldn’t pass the chance of learning more about his music and develop it into his own voice, one that might be heard by so many people if he did well.
Still, the tears that were shed in the boy's bathroom after graduation, when they kissed and kissed their sorrows as Keith had to break things off with Lance knowing that they, or he, couldn’t possibly do long distance for four long years, was still with him. Lance deserved better, he thought. No, he knew he did.
But the tears falling hot on his leathered skin was telling him otherwise. “Lance…” Keith croaked, but took a deep breath in, confident in his choice, that it was the right one. "Maybe we’ll see each other again someday. I might move back here, we don’t know what the future brings.” He tried to reassure his crying boyfriend, soon ex.
"Yeah maybe." Was all Lance could muster, pulling his hand back from Keith’s grasp, wiping his tear stained eyes, but new tears were welling in the corners creating a new ocean to overflow.
"Come on Lance, please don’t cry, we talked about this. Breaking up is the right decision. We shouldn’t torture each other like this...I love you, will always love you.” He wiped Lance’s left eye, keeping his hand rested on the curve of his cheek. “Thank you for being my first love, Lance."
Leaving Lance might be the hardest thing Keith was ever going to do. Staring deeply at the face of the boy he fell in love with, it hurt, hurt more than bee stings at the moment. Hadn’t it been London or music, he would have gone to L.A. with Lance in a heartbeat, but sometimes dreams have to take over one’s first loves. Keith needed this, he needed to know if music truly was his path in life. If him and Lance were meant to be, then they’d find each other again, Keith had to believe in that.
Lance rested his own hand on top of Keith’s, forming the barest of a smile. "You too...Keith, you too. "
Hearing Lance’s voice soften finally calmed Keith’s heart, but the boy was still crying. "Seriously no more tears we decided on this ages ago. You're going to find someone a million times better than me. No fighting. No stupid rivalry. You deserve a better love than me anyways. Got it?"
They had gone through way too much throughout four years of high school that sometimes Keith wondered how they ended up falling in love. It was a wild ride, but he would do it all again if it meant he got to be with this boy.
Lance choked out a short, quiet laugh. "Yeah...okay. "
A faint smile curled on Keith’s face, his eyes twinkling under the sunlight. "Besides, maybe the universe will lead us to each other in the future and we can try again." He suggested at last. He knew he would never be done with Lance. If the universe could promise him a second chance with this beautiful brunet, then he’d take it no doubt about it. But it all depended on the boy he'd broke up with.
Lance furrowed his brows at Keith, contemplation overcoming his tan, lovely tear streaked face, blue eyes glittering as he stared hard at Keith when he said, "I don't know if I would want that, Keith…"