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“Hey! Y/n!” Hunk ran down the hall trying to catch up to you.You stopped and Lance did too, the rest of the team continued on to their own break-time activities. You could see Hunk was positively glowing with excitement as he got closer. “What’s up?” you smiled, already infected by his good mood.“I finished it!!” Hunk stopped in front of you, but he was vibrating with joy.“No way!! Hunk, are you serious!?” Now you were vibrating with him, anticipation soaking into all of your cells.He nodded his head vigorously and the only response you could manage was pleased peep.“Uh, does anyone want to explain what ‘it’ is?” Lance was baffled.“Nope!” You yelled before Hunk could say anything. Hunk grabbed your hand and pulled you towards his room. He didn’t have to pull hard because you were just as excited as he was. The two of you left a very confused Lance standing in the hallway as the door closed.Hunk had covered it with a bed sheet for dramatic effect. He whipped the covering off and there it was!“Wow Hunk! This is amazing! I didn’t doubt you for a second but if I’m being honest, I didn't think you would actually be able to do it, given we’re in space and all…” you picked it up and handled the instrument gently as you turned it over in your hands.“That doesn’t even make sense, y/n. Either you believed in me or you didn’t,” Hunk teased.“No, I believed in you! Trust me. It’s just, I didn’t want to get my hopes up in case… you know? It was an almost impossible request, even I knew that.” You placed the makeshift guitar in your lap as you ghosted your hands over the strings on the neck.“The almost impossible part was finding material that acted like wood since you wanted it to be like an acoustic guitar. We haven’t been to Olkarion in a long time and it’s not like we had the time to go either. On the day to day, we are really only surrounded by metal,” Hunk looked around the room to emphasize the tech surrounding you even now.You gently placed the guitar back on its stand before jumping into Hunk’s arms, “Thank you Hunk! This is great!”He laughed as he hugged you back, “You haven’t even played it yet. I’m no musician but isn’t the test of a good instrument how good it sounds?”You looked away shyly, confession time, “I, uh, yeah, well, um,” you stammered, “I’m no musician either, I don’t know how to play it.” You tried to hide a smile as Hunk’s mouth opened, he was stupefied.“Well why did I make it then? It took three weeks of solid work! And you can’t even play it? Come on y/n, that was a huge waste of time if no one is going to play it!” Hunk's words started flying at you, half ranting and half scolding you. He seemed really disappointed and taken advantage of and you could see that.“I’m sorry Hunk! I should have told you sooner!” Your apologies didn’t have the affect you had hoped in cheering Hunk up. You continued, “But! You and I both know someone who can play this guitar.”“Lance…” Hunk knew immediately who you were talking about. “So you asked me to make this for him? Why though? I would have made it if he asked too, he’s my best friend.”“That’s the thing, he wouldn’t have asked. Like you said, it was a huge time commitment that required you sacrificing your very little free time, which I greatly appreciate by the way! Lance wouldn’t have asked you to do that for him.”“Well I didn’t do it for free remember,” Hunk smiled mischievously at you.“I know, I know!” You defended, “You said three weeks, right?”“Yeah.”“Alright. As promised, I will take over your chores around the castle so you can catch up on the time you missed out on while making the guitar.” You offered your hand and Hunk took it. You shook on your promise and the deal was set.The next three weeks were grueling. You hadn’t realized that Hunk did very different chores than you. You had originally thought it was just going to be double the number of dishes and double the amount of cleaning and maintenance. Nope. You were being pulled all around the castle by Coran, who was aware of the deal that was made. It was exhausting. Whenever you felt tired you gained your second and third winds by thinking about the guitar you had stuffed in the back of your closet. You wanted to wait until the end of the three weeks to give it to Lance so that way you would actually have time to hear him play it.Your first week had been the hardest. You found out Hunk, like yourself, did many things around the castle. Although you couldn’t take over the engineering jobs, you were still very busy balancing your own chores and his. Hunk’s tasks were usually physically demanding. You could manage but it just took longer because you moved slower under the strain. The other paladins definitely took notice when you didn’t come by to check on them. Some of the paladins had actually gone to find you at different times to make sure everything was ok. You welcomed the company but wouldn’t let them help you.~During the second day:“But, y/n, that thing is as big as you!” Lance argued.“I got this! Don’t worry about it!” You grunted as you dropped your shoulder and dug your feet into the ground slowly moving the metal container towards the wall.“Let me help, it’ll go faster,” Lance put his hands on the metal container and you stopped.“Lance, really, I got this.” You shooed him away and he would be lying if he said it didn’t hurt. With you taking on all these chores you had little time to relax and even less time to play around with the team. You seemed to be all business all the time and it had to be exhausting. Lance was just worried about you. To be fair, either you were up doing chores, attending meetings and team training or you were sleeping. You even took your meals with you so you could work and eat at the same time.~Later during the first week:“Pidge, I’m fine! I’m just busy is all,” you wiped your nose and didn’t realize you smudged grease on it.“But you’re tired. I can see that, why can’t you?” Pidge asked pointedly.“No I’m not!” Your body betrayed you and you tried your damnedest to stifle a yawn. You had decided that getting up early was better so you would be able to fit everything into the day. You didn’t want to shirk your own duties to the team so getting up two hours earlier really helped give you the time in the day you were looking for.“Well I’m telling Hunk, this bet is ridiculous and if you aren’t going to listen to me then maybe he will.” The “bet” was your cover story for why you were taking on Hunk’s chores. You and him both told everyone that asked that you lost a bet with him and this was the punishment. You made Hunk promise not to speak a word of the guitar.“No! Stop!” You yelled after Pidge, they stopped and turned, “Really Pidge, I am fine! But I promise to get more sleep!” That seemed to work and they smiled before leaving.“That’s all I needed to hear!” Pidge yelled back to you before exiting.~Early in the second week:“You know if this is too much, you don’t have to do it. I didn’t mind building the guitar for you, or for Lance, I guess.” Hunk had walked in on you cleaning Yellow after a particularly gooey battle. You were covered in the stuff after only ten minutes.“Hunk, a promise is a promise! Take it easy, I’ll take care of it.” You looked back up at Yellow still three quarters covered in the stinky sticky goo.“All right…” Hunk was still unsure, he didn’t want you to push yourself too hard but he had to take you at your word. “Don’t forget to clean behind the ears!” He declared.“Huh, I thought I did…” you said to yourself. You had started with the head because that’s were you would want cleaned first if you were in Yellow’s position.“I meant yours!” Hunk laughed merrily at the horror on your face as you wiped behind your ear and there was a huge glob in your hair.“Ugh, yuck!” You wiped it on your pants as you sighed. “I’m going to need a three-hour shower after this, aren’t I Yellow?” You looked up at the lion half expecting it to laugh alongside Hunk.“Oh whoa,” Hunk said astonished, you looked over concerned. “It’s Yellow! I felt her in my head, she was definitely amused!”Now it was you turn to be astonished as you looked back up at the lion. “Wow… Alright enough messing around, time to get you clean!” You walked over and put a hand on her paw, “I know from personal experience that it doesn’t feel good to be covered in this stuff.”You looked back over at Hunk watching both of you, he quickly turned and left.~Late during the second week: “You know you can always ask for help if you’re being stretched too thin,” Shiro reminded you. He had walked in on you cleaning their armor, one of Hunk’s duties. You had told him about the lost bet but somehow you didn’t think he believed you.“This is nothing Shiro, it’s all good, don’t worry!” You smiled at him from your spot on the floor in front of the container that held Pidge’s armor. You had just finished and you were inspecting all the pieces to make sure you didn’t miss a spot as you put it back together.“Hm,” Shiro clearly wasn’t satisfied with that, “you know what? I think the paladins should be responsible for their own armor.”“Well it’s too late, this was the last one,” you laughed, “But I’ll be happy to tell Hunk that he won’t have to do it for everyone anymore.”“Wait, you cleaned them all already? I saw you come here only like 30 minutes ago?” Shiro’s face depicted something between skepticism and amazement. He went over to check his own suit, it was even cleaner then he had left it. “How?”“Hunk taught me a very fast but very effective method,” You shrugged giving Hunk all of the credit.“Huh… I’ll have to ask him about that sometime.” Still a little amazed Shiro turned to leave but before crossing the threshold of the door he turned back and said, “Thank you for cleaning my and all the paladins’ armor, I really appreciate it.”You blushed slightly at the gratitude, “It’s nothing! I’d gladly do it if you asked!” Ok that was too much, you reprimanded yourself.But Shiro laughed and said, “Be careful who you say that to, I know a couple of lazy paladins who might try to abuse that offer. But seriously, thanks.” Then he left.~During a team training session during the third week:“Ow!” Keith yelled after you had gotten a punch off on him with the mitt. “That... really hurt?” He seemed more confused than hurt now.“Oh shit, sorry!” You relaxed from your fighting pose and took a step towards him. “I didn’t mean for it to hit you! We were just supposed to practice dodging, I don’t know what happened.”“It’s fine,” Keith rubbed his cheek, that was definitely not your usual punch, “I have a different idea, why don’t we work on form.”Alright you deserved that, maybe a corrected form would help you not punch your friends.“I’ll hold this here,” Keith held the focus mitt in the middle of his chest, “Just punch it with all you got and we’ll go from there.”“Alright, I can do that.” You bent your knees and squared up to Keith. Your chin down and hands raised to the sides of your face, you pivoted your hips as you jabbed at the mitt. You were not expecting what happened next.Keith stumbled back. You looked down at your hand in shock, then back up at Keith, both of you were stunned.“Keith, I don’t know what happened! I did what you said, I swear! But it was different…” You looked back down at your hand.“You’re just getting stronger and I didn’t expect that much power from you,” Keith chuckled a bit. You looked back down at you hand for the third time so Keith reassured you, “It’s good!”“Oh, I guess that is good,” you laughed at yourself for even thinking you had developed some kind of super power.“I think the last time we sparred was maybe a month ago, did you change any of your training since then?” Keith asked genuinely curious where this strength was coming from all of a sudden.You thought for a second but knew what had changed so drastically, “Actually yes, kind of, I’ve been doing Hunk’s chores around the castle for the last two and a half weeks!” You smiled, who knew something so mundane could have actually helped you.“Why?” Keith was appalled.“Oh, no one told you? I would have thought Hunk or Lance would have told you by now, or I guess I should have told you myself…”“So what is it?” Keith cut your rambling short.“Because I lost a bet.” You answered quickly, sensing Keith getting impatient. “The loser had to do the other’s chores for three weeks, so I’m almost done!” You added the last part to sound hopeful for Keith’s sake.“Damn, what was the bet that it had such a harsh punishment?”“It wasn’t that bad! Hunk’s just a big strong person so a lot of his chores were labor intensive, that’s how I got so strong!”“Yeah, that makes sense but what was the bet?”With nothing coming to mind you said, “It’s a secret?”“Fine, but I guess you learned your lesson?” Keith went to put the mitt away since your training for the day was almost over.“Ugh, you could say that,” It was like the two weeks of work caught up to you. Just thinking about it made you slouch your shoulders like they were under the weight of that huge rock Coran had made you move and hold your arms that had been so sore after that first week. Keith saw the mock exhaustion and felt bad for you but then you added while springing back up, “But I would do it again.”“But you lost?” Keith questioned, starting to think that there was something you weren’t saying.“Uh, yeah…haha,” you sheepishly scratched the back of your neck and looked at the time projected on the wall, “Whoops I gotta go, don’t want to be late for a meeting with… Shiro, yep, and Allura! Me, Shiro and Allura, meeting now. Thanks for your time Keith, bye!” You ran out the room.“Yeah, that wasn’t suspicious at all,” Keith rolled his eyes as he continued cleaning up.
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The last day!You ran over to Hunk’s room and knocked rapidly. After a few seconds he opened up, still in his pajamas. “Hi y/n.” he yawned as he moved to the side to let you in.“It’s ok Hunk! I’m gonna make this quick, I finished all your chores for the day, I just wanted to let you know!” You were smiling and wide awake.Hunk scratched at his own sleep encrusted eyes as he looked at the clock near his bed. “It’s only 9:30 in the morning though?”“I know. I knew today was the last day so I got up early to do everything.”“Wait, isn’t today Thursday? Thursdays are the long days?” Hunk was trying to add up everything but sleep was still on his mind.“Yeah, well I might have lied just now. I couldn’t sleep. So… I just got up and started on the chores.” You laughed but Hunk didn’t find it funny.“Y/n, you shouldn’t have done that. You need to sleep too! Did you even eat anything?” The worry was starting to fully wake up Hunk.“I had some food goo for a late dinner yesterday…” You tried to think back.“No, no, no, I’m making you breakfast then you’re going to sleep for the day.” Hunk was already pushing you towards the kitchen.“But Hunk!” You whined, “Today is the day I give Lance the…” You then whispered, “gift!”“You mean you haven’t given it to him yet??” No wonder Hunk hadn’t seen him playing it, surely if Lance had a guitar he would be playing it constantly.“Nope, I was waiting to be done with all your chores so I would have time to listen to him play,” you said, “besides it wouldn’t be fair if I gave it to him without earning it! You worked really hard on it!” You couldn’t help a small yawn from escaping, you hoped Hunk hadn’t seen.He did. “Well you worked hard on those chores, that’s for sure.” Hunk sat you at the island as he went to the cabinet.“So, I’m done?” You smiled at him.“Yeah. But I would have let you off early if you asked, just so you know.” Maybe now you wouldn’t be so stubborn about asking for help, Hunk hoped.“It’s ok!” You answered cheerily.Well a guy can hope, Hunk thought.“Besides, now I can start selling tickets,” you snickered to yourself.“Tickets?” Hunk asked over his shoulder as he started frying some things.“Yeah, tickets to the gun show.” Hunk turned around very confused and you took the opportunity. “Boom,” You shot up your left arm. “Boom,” You flexed your right arm the same. “The guns,” You introduced your arms.You couldn’t hold the pose for long before laughing at the silly joke before Hunk could even recover. Hunk joined in shortly with his own hearty laugh.“But seriously, I didn’t think you were doing such tough work almost daily, if you ever need help, please come ask me, I won’t mind in the slightest.” You got up to start the space coffee-equivalent machine.“Um, did you ever ask for help?” Hunk asked before seeing you out the corner of his eye, “Stop, you’re going to bed after this.”At the sound of Hunk’s stern voice, you jumped back a little.“But for just like a nap though.” You walked back over to the seat you left.“No. Eight hours, at least.”“What?! But I told you, I have to give Lance the guit-gift!” you corrected yourself quickly in case anyone was listening.“You waited six weeks, I think you can wait a few more hours.” Hunk placed the plate of hot food in front of you.You were pouting but the smell of the food drew you in. “Fine, mom.” You teased as you took the first bite. You couldn’t help the small moan that escaped you, this was always so much better than food goo.Hunk had shrugged, he didn’t mind being the mom friend if it meant you were healthy and happy.After pushing you to your room, Hunk made his way back to his room to get dressed for the day.Now that you thought about it, you were pretty tired after completing the chores and some rest didn’t sound terrible. As soon as your head hit your pillow, you were out.There was a sign on your door that read, “Do Not Disturb, Sleep in Progress” courtesy of Hunk.Everyone obeyed without asking questions. They had seen you working hard the last few weeks and you deserved the rest.~In the common room:"No way!" Lance practically fell to his knees as you presented the gift. "Y/n..." He didn't know what else to say, was this a dream? Reality? Speaking felt like it might ruin the moment so it was a good thing he was speechless."I know!" You had thought it just as impossible only a few weeks ago. "It took a lot of work on Hunk's part, I still can't believe he did it and I'm holding it right here!" You caressed the instrument as if you would play it, watching the lights play off of the shiny surface and metal accents."Can I?" Lance stumbled over with his hands outstretched clearly asking to hold the guitar. "Of course! It's yours!" You happily turned the guitar around and held it out to him.Lance delicately took it as if it would shatter in his grip yet protectively as if some unknown source would come to try to rip it from his arms. Holding the guitar felt like he was transported back to Earth, back to Cuba, back to the shack on the beach that was always hot but breezy and smelled like citrus. It felt like the sun was warming his skin and he could swear he heard waves crashing."Well are you going to play something?" You asked, tearing him from his daydream. Lance came back to reality. The memory was nice but so was the present, aside from fighting a war, you are here, in the present. Lance smiled as he thumbed the guitar.“It's been a while but I know just the song,” Lance began strumming a few chords. It sounded bad and you winced. Lance chuckled at your gesture as he tightened the strings a bit until he found that they sounded just how he wanted.You sat on the edge of your seat, the happiest you have been in a long time. Finally, he began playing slowly and softly.“Say that I'm crazy or call me a fool,” Lance looked up from the guitar and smiled as he picked a few notes. You snickered, recognizing the song was from Pixar’s Coco, this nerd.“But last night it seemed that I dreamed about you,” Lance bashfully looked back at the make-shift guitar to play a few more notes.Just then, Hunk and Pidge entered the room. They had been talking about something but stopped abruptly after hearing the music. You waved them over and Lance nodded along as he continued.“When I opened my mouth, what came out was a song,” Lance sang.Hunk was now smiling too because he recognized the song for himself.“And you knew every word and we all sang alo~ong,” Lance beamed. You elbowed Hunk and he knew exactly what you meant.Lance stood up and picked up the tempo, “To a melody played on the strings of our souls,”Hunk started tapping away on the table and you stood to join Lance in singing, “And a rhythm that rattled us down to the bone.” Lance had stopped singing half way through the line but kept strumming.So, you continued singing alone although less sure about it, “Our love for each other will live on forever.” Lance slightly slowed down and you though he might even stop.But he didn’t and sang the next line to you, “In every beat of my proud corazón.”Together in the next breath you both continued, “Our love for each other will live on forever,” You looked over at Hunk and Pidge happily, “in every beat of my proud corazó~on!”Lance began playing his own tune for a little bit and you took advantage of the moment it gave you to dance. You promptly whisked Pidge into a twirl and started joyfully turning round and round with the rhythm of the music. Pidge laughed out loud and confessed, “I don’t even know this song!”“You don’t have to, that’s the beauty of it!” You stopped turning Pidge around, not wanting to make them sick. They wobbled but went to join Hunk with the percussion.You attempted to dance around Lance as he kept playing. You made elegant strides around him and his head swiveled to try to keep you in his line of sight. His eyes locked with yours and he tried to give you a sexy smolder. When you giggled, his smolder melted into a goofy grin he couldn’t get rid of.After a few minutes, though, you went to steal Hunk away to dance. He tried to decline but you wouldn’t have it, and Pidge basically pushed him to you. He was really nervous and stiff at first but once you had smiled up at him and taken a few steps together, his tension melted away. You squealed as Hunk picked you up and had you going around in the same circles you had just swung Pidge around. You both laughed while Pidge whooped and drummed on the table.Keith and Shiro just happened to enter much like Pidge and Hunk did and stopped in their tracks. The four of you were all smiles and laughter and clearly in the middle of a dance party. Shiro was the first to accept what was happening, he grinned and took a few steps towards you guys, interested in what was going on. Keith was still frozen when Lance noticed the new spectators.Lance shifted the notes he was playing back into the melody of the original song and stepped up onto the table as he belted, “Ay mi familia! Oiga mi gente!”You noticed the two men standing near the corner and beckoned them to join as Lance carried on, “Canten al coro, let it be known, our love for each other will live on forever in every beat of my proud corazón.”Everyone was now standing near Lance, smiling and swaying along, truly happy.You stepped up onto the table, Hunk followed and you both joined Lance as the three of you finished the song together and proud, “Ay mi familia! Oiga mi gente! Canten al coro, let it be known, our love for each other will live on forever in every beat of my proud corazó~~on!”It was only quiet for a second before Pidge was cheering in between their claps, Shiro finger whistled his appreciation, and Keith was dumbfounded but clapping all the same.
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You shared a smile with Lance and Hunk before jumping off the table.“Wow!” Shiro interjected, “I didn’t know you all could sing, and Lance!” Shiro turned to better face the boy, “I didn’t know you could play the guitar? Wait… Where did you find a guitar?” Suddenly remembering they were in the middle of space.“That was all Hunk! He made it!” You bragged like a proud parent.Pidge replied first, “Nice!” Patting Hunk on the back while he sheepishly smiled under the praise.Lance hummed happily, still admiring the instrument’s sound with a few soft strokes of the strings. He was on another planet with how joyful he was feeling.Shiro’s question brought him back to the castleship, “Do you mind if I try?”Lance hesitated for only a second, worried that the second the guitar would leave his hand would be the second that it broke and was lost to him forever more. Pushing his dramatic thoughts back he handed the guitar over, this was Shiro he would surely be careful. “I didn’t know you played?” Lance asked.“Well it has been a while and I haven’t played since losing an arm but it’s like riding a bike, right?” After a few strums, testing his knowledge, Shiro hummed in tune with the chords. He was relaxed and smiling, it was a sight you all rarely saw.“Will you play us something?” You asked eagerly.Shiro looked up to see Hunk, Pidge and you looking up at him with stars in your eyes. He looked past you all to see Keith settling onto the sofa and Lance smiling. “Um, I’m not that good,” he tried to move towards Lance to give the guitar back.The three of you formed an immovable wall. “Please?” Pidge asked, everyone knew Shiro couldn’t say no to Pidge, Pidge included.“Uh…” Shiro still hesitated, when had been the last time he had sang? And now in front of these people that looked up to him? “Ok but-”“Yay!” You high-fived Hunk.“But!” Shiro interrupted your celebration, “Like I said I’m not that good and it’s been a while.”“Yeah, yeah, we get it, you’re not good” Keith teased, he was eager to hear Shiro sing since he knew, for a fact, that Shiro was a good singer despite his protests to the contrary.“You’re next,” Shiro threatened.Everyone whipped their heads around to look at Keith. Before anyone could say anything though, Shiro started playing.You took a seat as you realized it was a slower song. You and the paladins were sitting on the couch and Shiro was leaning on the table.“Do you feel the same when I'm away from you? ” Shiro began, “Do you know the line that I'd walk for you? ”“Oh, I know this song!” Lance whispered.Shiro smiled as he continued on, “We could turn around, or we could give it up," He took a breath, "But we'll take what comes, take what comes.”Keith also smiled in recognition. You hadn’t heard of it but you were glad the first time you were hearing it was now with Shiro singing it. The tempo picked up slightly.“Oh, the storm is raging against us now,” “Oo-oo Oo-oo ,” Lance added.“If you're afraid of falling, then don't look down .”“Oo-oo Oo-oo ,” Lance chimed.“But we took the step, and we took the leap, And we'll take what comes, take what comes .”Shiro looked up and closed his eyes as if he was remembering something, “Feel the wind in your hair, Feel the rush way up here .”At the same time Shiro started singing, Lance started some percussion by banging on the table, “We're walking the wire, love. We're walking the wire, love. We're gonna be higher, up. We're walking the wire, wire, wire .”Lance paused his drumming, “There's nights we had that just walk away, And there's tears we'll cry, but those tears will fade. It's the price we pay when it comes to love, And we'll take what comes, take what comes .”“Feel the wind in your hair, Feel the rush way up here~ ” For a second with your eyes closed, you swear you could.Lance joined for the chorus, “We're walking the wire, love. We're walking the wire, love. We're gonna be higher, up. We're walking the wire, wire, wire .”“So look out down belo~w, Look out down belo~w, Look out down belo~w. Walking the wire, wire, wire. So look out down below.”Shiro suddenly got self-conscious of getting too into the song and didn’t want to embarrass himself so he decided to end it with a slow, "Oh I'll take your hand when thunder roars, And I hold you close I'll stay the course. I promise you from up above, that we'll take what comes, take what comes." As Shiro exhaled, you all started clapping wildly.“That was amazing!” You encouraged.“Yeah! I don’t think you can say you’re not good Shiro,” Hunk laughed.Pidge added, “And your song choice is,” they put up ok symbol with their fingers and closed their eyes in approval.“I’m no professional,” Shiro offered humbly, “I taught myself how to play and I’ve been singing with my mom since I was little. What about you Lance?” Shiro asked, “How did you learn to play the guitar?”“I learned in school as an elective,” Lance replied, “but I have been singing and dancing with my family since before I can remember, music was just a part of life for me growing up.”“I wish,” Pidge sighed. “Sure we listened to music, but I’m pretty sure I have two left feet when it comes to dancing, also I might be tone deaf.”“Same,” Keith said off-handedly agreeing with Pidge’s sentiment.“But you can sing, Keith,” Shiro said, knowing full well this was payback for being a smart-ass before.Again, everyone snapped their faces around to look at Keith. He gulped.“It’s true,” Shiro continued, “I even tried to teach you how to play the guitar too, do you remember?”“Well it’s been a while,” Keith looked anywhere but the eager faces next to him while scratching the back of his neck. Keith knew, somehow, that if he made eye contact with any one of you, he’d be roped into singing. He had never, EVER sang in front of people except for Shiro when he was learning the guitar.“Keith, you have to play,” Hunk urged.“I barely remember how to play the guitar!” Keith tried to argue.“But you do remember,” Lance suggested with an evil smile.“I only know how to play one song,” quieter he added, “and it’s embarrassing.”“Are you saying my music taste is embarrassing?” Shiro asked kind of hurt.“No.” Keith quickly defended, “It’s just not what I would have picked.”“Can we hear it?” You asked leaning towards him. It amazed you that this group of people you had fought life and death battles next to were even more talented than you originally thought.Keith shot a worried glance at Shiro as the man handed Keith the guitar. Gingerly, Keith settled it on his lap trying to remember everything Shiro had taught him years ago. He practiced a few notes, adjusting his hand position to get a better grip and moved the guitar into a more comfortable position to strum.“Today Mullet,” Lance heckled.Keith shot him a look like daggers at the same time you and Shiro reprimanded, “Lance!”“Sorry,” Lance looked defeated. That boosted Keith’s ego enough to start the song.Quietly he began, “I just want you close, Where you can stay forever .”“A little bit louder, please,” asked in a whisper.Keith nodded a bit embarrassed already but continued a little louder, “You can be sure, That it will only get better .” Keith looked up and you nodded your confirmation.He looked back down at the guitar to move his fingers to the next position as he continued, “You and me together, Through the days and nights, I don't worry 'cause everything's going to be alright .”There was a pause for Keith the find the next position for his fingers on the neck of the guitar, “People keep talking they can say what they like, but all I know is everything's going to be alright .”Shiro jumped in to sing with Keith who was losing steam, “ No one, no one, no o~ne .” Keith looked up grateful for a tiny break.Shiro continued the chorus while Keith focused desperately on getting the music right, “Can get in the way of what I'm feeling. No one, no one, no o~ne, Can get in the way of what I feel for you, for you, for you, Can get in the way of what I feel for you .”Keith jumped back in more confident, “When the rain is pouring do~wn, and my heart is hurting, you will always be aro~und. This I know for certain .”“ You and me together, Through the days and nights, I don't worry 'cause everything's going to be alright ,” Keith started to slow down. “People keep talking they can say what they like ,” With a final note, he sang, “But all I know is everything's going to be alright .”