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Where was Veronica? A question that floated within the crowd’s murmurings, and apprehensively made its way to the headmistress of Beauxbatons’ nerves. Just when anyone thought the tournament couldn’t get even more rigorous, this challenge just had to include saving loved ones as the competitors were tested to breath underwater and travelled through the lake to find them.Beauxbatons’ representative, Veronica, was missing in action, and she was the last one the audience was anxiously waiting for. She still had to save her brother, Lance so when she emerged from the lake, panting heavily and in the verge tears, with no Lance in sight, it deepened everyone’s worries.Keith was always impulsive and trust me, he didn’t know either what the actual fuck was going on his mind when he jumped back into the lake. The mermaids began swarming around him and he thrashed against them and tried to skillfully swerve their armed attacks.He swiftly swam to Lance’s direction and hastily pulled away the seaweeds wrapped around the other’s body and stroke with his wand , flashing a blinding light against the mermaids as they scurried away and with air almost running out of his lungs, dragged Lance’s body weight with him as he attempted to reach the surface.When he did, the audience cheered, the Beauxbatons finally released the breath they were holding and gathered around the two, offering aid and help.“Lance!” Veronica ran over to his side to engulf him in a hug and turned to Keith, mouthing the words “thank you,” and it was the type of gratitude where it’s so meant that Keith could feel it himself. ————— Lance almost pulls at his hair. First, he’s kidnapped against his will, apparently tied to the bottom of a lake, and next thing he knows, his sister’s hugging him as if he was going to die. For some reason, Veronica that morning, cooks Lance breakfast as well, which Lance finds disgustingly nice and conspicuous.“I still have no idea what happened.”“You were trapped in a lake.” Allura groans, (seeing as she’s explained the story thrice that night), and continued, “and then the Durmstrang guy saved you.”“He what?”“Not repeating what I said, Lance.”“Wait, which one?”“The one running in the tournament.”“Uh.”“Oh my god, you don’t know his name, do you?”Lance shows a dumb smile, to which Allura flicks his forehead, “it’s Keith Kogane, you idiot.”“He cute?”“Can’t believe that’s all you’re thinking about, you’re seriously unbelie—“Lance cuts her off with a dramatic cry, “what? I’m boyfriend-deprived, Allura! Boyfriend-deprived!”Allura sighs but ponders for a moment, “Well I’m not one for men but it seems as though the other girls think so. I remember them swooning about him in the dining hall a few times.”Subconsciously, Lance’s smile shifts into a devious one and it’s one Allura’s all too familiar with.“Lance, no.”“Lonce, yes.”“What do you want with that poor boy?”“You talk as if I would jump him or something!”“I’m asking him out to Yule.”“You barely know him?”Lance smiles knowingly and pointed out,“that’s the point of the ball? To get to know each other?”Allura opens her mouth but shuts it again, the words caught in her throat and seemingly stuck.“I have a point that you can’t retort to, what a splendid moment, indeed.” Lance hums and Allura slaps his shoulder, “oh shut up!” ——————— Okay, to be fair, Lance has a lot of awkward moments when it came to men, despite being in a household full of men but being as it was that there barely any boys in Beauxbatons, it was inevitable. So naturally, it was absolutely horrifying to walk into a room filled with Durmstrang boys and having his heart stop when he’s met with an intimidating silence as soon as he walks in.“And you’re here because?” A boy he barely knows, approaches but Lance recognizes him as James, a known student from Durmstrang that Lance also decides at this point, he does not like him.The words Lance wishes to retort with his oh-so-defensive persona bubbles up in his throat and he suddenly feels his confidence diminish. Why did he think it was a good idea to come marching up here in a territory he wasn’t supposed to be in?“Well, you see-““If you’re lost, then I suggest you head your way back, it’s late after all.” Kinkade, he remembers, says, and it wasn’t in a way that was meant to be rude or anything, but still, do these boys have some kind of peg for cutting him off mid-sentence or what?Thankfully, the tension deflates when Takashi Shirogane, last year’s competitor, steps in, a gentle smile that contrasted greatly against the imposing robes he wore. “You’re Veronica’s brother, right? Are you looking for Keith?”He swallows, “uh sure.”“Ah he’s out in the field again, probably lounging around in one of the benches.”“Okay, uh. Thanks?” Lance gives a tight smile as he waddles out, ignoring the strange stares he received from the others.He walks for a few minutes that felt like hours, across hall after hall, staircase after another. Did Hogwarts have to be that big? Well, his school was big as well, since it was a palace, but still! Hogwarts was making it hard for him to go place to place.He finally reaches the fields and true enough, he sees a figure he hopes is Keith, because he swears if it wasn’t he was going to pass out in frustration.“Hey!” Lance calls out, keeping his fingers knit between the edge of his hat, (today was windy so if done otherwise, it would be whisked away), as he walks towards the other.Keith lightly jerks in his spot, evidently startled. He eyes Lance’s warm smile when he comes closer and closer to his direction as the breeze tousles his light brown hair. All Keith could do was dumbly point a finger at himself and ask, “me?”As you can see, Keith Kogane was a very literate boy.Lance’s eyes widens a fraction and hesitantly asked, “are you.. Keith?”Lance sure as hell considered it to be one of his lucky days because damn, was that boy fine. Soft-looking but the hint of masculinity was there; how did Lance not notice him earlier?! Did his eyes just stop working all of a sudden?“Um, yeah-““The one that saved me?” Lance tried not to sound way too eager.“I wouldn’t- it’s no problem, really, I mean I couldn’t leave you all alone in the bottom of a lake, right?” Keith chuckles like he’s funny but he remembers he’s not so he screeches internally.Lance doesn’t seem to mind Keith’s awkwardness and laughs along. “Well, I guess not. That would be quite heartless of you to do.”Lance comes even closer and slides into the empty space next to Keith (to which the latter embarrassingly blushes a little) and Lance continues, “but you didn’t, which is what I’m here for— to thank you.”“Oh well—“ Keith’s eyes travels to Lance’s own and nods, “you’re welcome.”“Why did you do it, if I may ask? Like other than leaving my ass in the bottom of a lake.”Keith’s never really thought about it until now so the question itself threw him in a loop. After a few beats of pauses, he shrugs. “Ah well, I don’t really know. I mean, maybe it’s because I’ve seen my brother help people with no hesitation so I guess it grew onto me without me knowing.”“Wow, you really wanna put it out there that you’re a nice guy, huh?”Keith’s eyes widen and he was taken back, panicked. His cheeks aflame and mouth gaping when he sputtered, “I-It’s not like that, I swear!”“I’m kidding, Kogane.” Lance hides a smile with the back of his palm (and Keith tries not to stare at the sight, so he looks away).It quiets down, beats of silence suspends in the air and just the two of them, in the crisp of cold air and strong wistful breeze, sitting beneath the gray mass of clouds, not a star to be seen.“So.” Lance began.“So?”“Wanna go together at the Yule Ball?”Keith promptly chokes.“Oh, I’m sorry, you just- you didn’t seem quite straight.” Lance chokes back a laugh, mesmerized by the way Keith’s red cheeks and how he was dumbfounded, confused, and having a gay panic all at once.“No! It’s not that-! I-“ his voice dies down a little before it raises once more, “it was just so out of nowhere! Positively out of context! And what on earth do you mean I don’t look straight?!”Lance raised a brow and Keith pouts, his eyes cast down in embarrassment. Keith had no way of looking into the other’s eyes at the moment, as his heart was rushing and his brain was having a short-circuit of taking in too much gay.“Well, you’re cute and I wanna get to know you better!”“I- uh. You too, I guess,” Keith mumbles, his cheeks now a full crimson as he indignantly persists, “but you can’t just ask things out of nowhere like that!”“Why not?!”“It was so silent and then you up and just asked! And besides-”“We barely know each other?” Lance quips.“I don’t even know your name!”“Hi I’m Lance McClain and will you or will you not go to the Ball with me?!” Lance snaps, like they’re having an argument.“Why the bloody hell are you shouting at me all of a sudden!?” Keith asks, absolutely incredulous about how brash a Beauxbaton could be.“Because you’re being an adorable idiot!”“I-““You!?!” Lance raises a brow, fuming in frustration.“This is getting out of hand, I think it’s time for me to turn in!” Keith blurted out, his heart thundering against his chest as he tried to stride off despite the shakiness he felt in his legs.“Kogane!”Forgetting the fact they were above uneven soil and on a hill, Lance reaches to tug at Keith’s coat but he misses a step and stumbles into the other, resulting to the both of them falling to the rock hard ground. For a hot moment, Keith falls on top of Lance but before even a second could pass, Keith hurriedly got off. Soon enough, both of them were groaning while both grass and dirt scattered amongst their clothes.Lance’s lips twitch at his own clumsiness and he beams sheepishly. “Oops.”“For a Beauxbaton, you really aren’t that graceful, are you?”“Eh, still hot, so it shouldn’t matter.”“You’re unbelievable.” Keith scoffs, though he couldn’t really do much to fight the smile forming in his features.“So I’ve been told.”In exasperation, they both lay against the grass, heavy pants filling the air as they stared into the sky again, the cold having Lance trembling lightly. Keith takes notice and hands him his coat without hesitation nor a word and Lance takes it, smiling in gratitude, laying the thick cloth on top of him like a blanket.After they both stopped panting, Lance props himself on one elbow to face Keith. “So, will you? Ball? Me? You?”“After this whole fiasco?” Keith raises a brow, the corner of lips tugging into a smirk. “Definitely.”