Wings and Beer and Karaoke, Oh My!

Keith's eyes drifted open and he sleepily blinked a few times against the morning crusties embedded in his lashes. He felt warm and a little sweat-dampened, in spite of the loud whir of the air conditioning unit wedged precariously in the window. He was a little disoriented, as he normally wasn't facing the window when he woke up. He normally wasn't on this side of his bed either. And, he realized, he'd never woken up in bed with an arm around his waist and a warm body curled up against him.

He didn't move at first, relishing this feeling of comfort and safety provided by the sleeping young man behind him. The sound of soft snores made him smile as he interlaced his fingers with Lance's, which splayed on the sheets in front of his stomach.

This was what he wanted. To wake up next to the love of his life. Feel arms around him. Feel loved in sleep. He had had a dreamless and calm sleep for once. Not that nightmares were frequent, but he was a restless sleeper normally. He felt rested, though the pair talked late into the night – murmuring sweet nothings to each other, talking of their childhoods, planning their trip to Keith's home, laughing over stupid jokes. It was probably the happiest night of Keith's life.

He at first thought he'd feel awkward when he took a chance and asked Lance to stay with him the previous evening. The boy had lost their bet and was supposed to do whatever Keith wanted the rest of the weekend. Keith thought he overstepped a boundary when he requested it. Lance had looked nervous and uncertain, until Keith assured him it wasn't for the next big step. Keith wanted it, to be sure. Every minute with Lance fueled his desire for the wild personality that was his boyfriend.

This whole thing was still a bit of surprise to Keith, who considered himself a modest and mild-mannered young man. Temperamental, in some ways, but generally went with the flow of things. Yesterday had brought out his competitive streak, which usually only manifested with Shiro. The brothers were quite competitive and pushed each other to be their best. To know Lance was like Shiro in that respect, maybe more so, made him laugh quietly to himself. As frustrating as Lance was while they played mini golf, he was also incredibly cute and endearing. Keith was torn between strangling him and kissing him senseless.

The sexual innuendo and x-rated flirting, however, was something Keith never did. Had never had anyone with whom to try it. To know he could get Lance with a hint at sex or a flash of his skin pleased Keith to no end. He loved to fluster Lance – loved to see the smooth loverboy pose falter into blushes and stammered words – and yesterday proved to him Lance wanted him as much as he wanted Lance.

Not that he doubted it. They had increasingly gotten closer, emotionally and physically, over the last couple of weeks. What surprised Keith was how easy it was. He half-expected the proverbial ax to fall and have this whole thing be a fluke. Lance would wake up to the realization Keith wasn't the perfect person for him and pull his brightness, light, laughter, and love out of Keith's life.

The slight squeeze of the arm around his waist, followed by the feeling of Lance's nose burrowing into his hair, chased away the gloomy thought. No. He was sure Lance loved him. If he didn't, would he have held Keith all night in the humid darkness of Keith's bedroom – humid in spite of the air conditioner – their skin sticky from the heat, tangling their legs together, Lance nuzzling into him like a little puppy, Keith kissing Lance's fingers as they drifted off, Red wedging himself somehow between their feet.

"I'm going to buy you new shampoo," he heard muttered behind him.

It was not what Keith expected to hear the first morning of their waking up in bed together, so he laughed, voice rough from sleep. "Why?"

"This generic crap you use doesn't smell nice."

"It works fine."

"No Keith. You could have beautiful hair if you take care of it."

"My hair's alright."

"It can be more than alright," Lance argued in a soft voice still dull with sleep. "And I'm the one who has to smell it when we sleep like this."

Keith brought Lance's hand up to his lips to press a few kisses over his knuckles. "Whatever you want, sweetheart."

"And conditioner," Lance said decidedly.

Keith hummed, then Lance pulled his arm away and Keith felt Lance move away from him, getting a slight grumble from Red, who was unceremoniously dumped from his foot cocoon. Keith followed, turning in the bed in time to catch Lance in a long stretch, arms reaching above his head and pressing against the headboard. It looked so sexy Keith felt his mouth go dry. He scooted closer to Lance and rested his head on his boyfriend's chest, cuddling against him this time. He heard a small huff of a laugh from Lance and felt Lance's arm come around him.

"I like that you're a big cuddler," Lance remarked, playing his fingers in Keith's hair.

"As skinny and bony as you are, you're nice to cuddle up to," Keith said, then yawned.

"I'd say it's too hot to be this close, but it's also really nice," Lance said. "You really need to talk to the building manager about your air conditioner. It doesn't work all that good."

"I know. I keep meaning to call him, but it always slips my mind."

"I'll remind you Monday."

"Mm thanks. Did you sleep well?"

"Never better. You were right. This was much more comfortable than your couch."

"I'm glad you stayed," Keith said softly, nuzzling his cheek against the fabric of Lance's t-shirt. He couldn't quite bring himself to look at Lance when he said it. Though he didn't feel awkward at all, he still felt a little shy about this.

"I am too," Lance said, his tone a little thoughtful. "I thought I'd feel. I don't know. Weird about it. I don't know why, but I've never done something like this. The other night? On the couch? Didn't exactly feel like I slept over, you know?" Keith nodded and Lance continued. "But I don't. This feels right. Like natural or something."

"I feel that way too," Keith agreed, angling his head so his chin rested on Lance's chest and he could look at the beautiful face in front of him. Lance's hair was sleep-tousled, of course, the little curls more evident and wild on his head. Keith knew Lance used a lot of hair product to keep them tamed, but he loved when they looked natural.

Lance smiled lazily at him. "A guy could get used to this," he said. Keith wrinkled his nose a bit at the whiff of morning breath. He was sure his own was probably not too fresh either. Lance had dashed to his apartment to get clothes to sleep in and all his beauty products. Since the plan was, after Lance lost his bet, to have Lance clean Keith's apartment, Lance stated he might as well shower and everything at Keith's as well.

"I could lay here all day," Keith murmured. Then his stomach rumbled, causing them both to laugh.

"I don't think your tummy agrees with you."

"It doesn't. I think I'll get up and make you breakfast."

"That sounds perfect."

It took every ounce of willpower Keith could muster to struggle up into a sitting position. He pushed his slightly damp bangs out of his face as Lance sat up too. They kissed, a lazy and slow kiss, tasting sour though neither cared. Keith slid to the side of the bed, poked a bit at Red until the lazy ball of fluff jumped off with a complaining meow, then motioned for Lance to get up, smiling at his boyfriend's confused expression.

"I want to make the bed."

"Make it? Why? You're just gonna sleep in it and mess it up again."

Keith stared for a moment, then shook his head. "I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that. Up, Sleeping Beauty," he commanded. "Remember, you have to do what I say today."

Lance got up, sending a grumpy look to Keith. "You're doing this all wrong, Kogane."

"What do you mean?" Keith asked as he straightened his side of the sheets. They slept on top of the blankets, but they became rumpled a bit and Keith preferred his bed neat.

Lance swiped his hands over his side of the bed, smoothing out the ripples. "You can make me do anything today. A normal guy would have me, I don't know," he said, his cheeks becoming red and decidedly not looking Keith in the eye, "on my knees or bent over or something."

Keith laughed, "Maybe I should make a bet with you on our ninth date. When I win, I'll do it for the tenth."

"What if I win?"

"Then you can bend me over."

Lance squawked, then laughed.

"Can I ask you something?" Lance said, his tone hesitant.

"Of course, sweetheart. You can ask me anything."

"It's. Well. It's a weird question."

"Weird questions are more interesting."

"True. But this is. Like. Super weird. And probably. Ugh. I don't know how to ask, but I really want to know."

"Lance, you can literally ask me anything. I won't think it weird and I won't judge you."

"It's something I think we need to discuss."

"Sure."

Lance poked at his eggs with his fork as Keith watched him, his own hands resting on each side of his plate. A flush painted Lance's face and he wouldn't meet his eye. "Our fifth date is this weekend. We're getting kind of closer to the tenth date," he muttered.

"We are."

"And that means. Well. That means."

After a long pause, Keith dropped his fork and reached across the small table to take Lance's hand. "It's ok, Lance. Ask me."

Lance sighed, "God this is embarrassing, but it shouldn't be. I don't know why I'm having trouble with this. Are you a top or bottom?"

It took a moment for the question to process in Keith's brain. When it finally did, he started laughing, his free hand clutching at his stomach as he practically bent over his breakfast overcome with hilarity. When he looked up, Lance was looking at him with a stricken expression, cheeks still flame red.

"It's not funny, Keith!" Lance cried, pulling his hand away.

"I don't-I don't mean to laugh," Keith gasped out, fighting for breath. "But your face when you asked!"

"Stop laughing!" Lance cried.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Keith wiped at his eyes. "It was so not the question I was expecting!" He did feel a little bad for laughing at Lance, but he couldn't help it. The boy had never looked so embarrassed and cute.

"It's something we should talk about," Lance said, poking his lower lip out into a pout and crossing his arms.

"You're right. I know. We do. I just," Keith shrugged, his eyes still shining with amusement, though he was able to curtail his giggles. "Sweetheart, I wish you could have seen your face. I don't think you've ever been as adorable as you were as you asked."

Lance, looking completely flustered now, looked away from Keith, letting out a little whine. "Keeeeiiiiith," he groaned. "Stop."

"I will. Sorry," he repeated.

"This wasn't easy to ask."

"I know. I'm glad you did. We shouldn't feel embarrassed talking about it."

"You're glad?"

"Well, yeah," Keith said, sitting back in his chair. "I mean, I don't want to be in bed and making it up as we go along. Not for the first time. Like, what if we both expect to top? How awkward would it be if we got to the moment and neither wanted to bottom?"

Lance turned his head back to stare at Keith, mouth dropped open a little. "Very awkward," Lance agreed, then finally laughed himself.

"To answer your question, I think I'm good with either."

"Really?"

"Yeah," Keith replied, nodding. "I mean, I've thought about it a lot, especially now with you." He suppressed the grin at the blush that returned to Lance's cheeks. "There's appeal to both. What do you want?"

Lance shrugged his shoulders, looking down and away from Keith's steady gaze. "When I've pictured us," he said in a low tone, "which is, like, all the time now, it's been you on top."

Keith smiled and his heartrate picked up a little at the thought. He honestly didn't care who did what in the bedroom. He knew he wanted Lance in every way possible, and he truly did think he'd be ok in whatever role Lance wanted him. "Are you…opposed…to mixing it up? I wouldn't mind being bottom, you know."

Lance made an indistinguishable sound Keith couldn't quite interpret, and the young man still wouldn't meet his eyes. "If you want. I'd like that."

"Good," Keith said, his tone matter-of-fact. "We'll take turns then."

"Keith!"

"Lance!"

Lance's gaze shot up. He started laughing again and shook his head. "I must sound ridiculous."

"You don't, sweetheart," Keith said, picking his fork up again. "We need to talk about it, though it's not tonight or any time soon. I'm glad you brought this up now – broke the ice, so to speak. It won't be as awkward, the closer we get." Keith pointed his fork at Lance's plate. "Now eat. You've got a busy day ahead of you."

Lance sighed, the remnants of his blush beginning to fade completely away. "Yes, sir," he said glumly.

Red finally came out of Keith's room after Lance finished running the vacuum cleaner. Keith kept his apartment clean, so making Lance 'clean' it didn't put too much a strain on the young man, Keith thought. Lance acted as if he was dying a slow death with this menial labor, but Keith would remind him he lost the bet and to be happy Keith didn't think of something dirtier to do. That prompted Lance to make innuendos to Keith, which Keith returned with stony silence. His muse was prodding at his brain, so he planted himself on the stool in front of his easel and worked on his painting.

Lance asked if he could play music while he worked, on low volume, because he claimed he couldn't clean house without it. Keith didn't mind, though watching Lance shake his hips while working on the dishes, or dance around the room with the dust rag, was quite distracting to him when all he wanted to do was finish this painting. He was still working on the painting of the stream, as his time the last few weeks were full of Lance and finals.

"Dance with me, Keithy!" Lance called to him at one point.

Keith had been staring, he realized, as Lance's laughing shout jerked him out of the trance. Those hips. They were doing things to Keith he was trying to ignore. He swore Lance put on a pair of shorts too small for him on purpose. All Keith wanted to do was get his hands on Lance and…he shook his head, bringing his focus onto his boyfriend.

"What?"

Lance laughed, his eyes narrowing enough to hide their sparkle, but his lips curled into a smirk. "Come and dance!"

Keith looked down at the palette in his hands, then up at the landscape on his easel. "I'm working, Lance."

"You can't take a teeny tiny break for a little bit of a dance? For me?"

Keith's eyes slid back to the indignant figure over by the couch, standing with hands on hips, dust rag dangling from his fingers. "I'm not much of a dancer," he admitted.

"I don't care about that, Keith," Lance said decidedly.

"I care. I don't want you watching while I flail around uncoordinated. Or fall on my face."

"But Keeeeeeeeeithy," Lance whined.

"For calling me that," Keith replied, pointing the brush in his hand at Lance, "it's a firm 'no'."

Lance put on his best pout and his best puppy dog eyes, but Keith looked back to his painting to ignore it. He knew if he were subjected to Lance's pleading eyes, he'd cave. He could see Lance out of the corner of his eye however, still in that stance, so he leaned closer to the canvas to put more detail in some of the rocks at the side of the stream.

He heard Lance sigh in defeat, mumbled something, then returned to dusting one of Keith's sculptures.

"What was that sweetheart?" Keith asked.

"Nothing," Lance said. "I just want to dance with you."

"I wouldn't want it too much," Keith said, dabbing a little purple onto a rock and blending it in. "Your feet would sadly regret it after I stepped on them a few dozen times."

"I'd take my chances if it meant I could dance in your arms."

A little shaft of guilt went through Keith. Lance did sound despondent about the dancing thing. "Tell you what," he said in his most reasonable and compromising tone, "I promise to dance with you for something special, ok? Not now when you're covered in dust and I'm covered in paint."

"Damn. I wish I could afford a special fancy place for our date next weekend."

"Any place is special with you," Keith said, though he was still hidden behind the canvas, he could tell Lance was flustered by the squeak he made.

After a few minutes, where the only sound was some Latin fusion dance music, Lance spoke up again. "I might get a dance on Saturday," he said, the cheerful tone normally present in his voice returned.

"Why?" Keith asked, his tone wary.

"Oh, there will be music involved where we're going!"

He knew Lance couldn't see him smile, but he tried to make his voice sound 'not-happy'. "One of those clubs you used to go to? No thanks. I don't want to watch you grinding on someone else."

"Then let me grind on you!" Lance insisted. "Do you want me to toss anything in the wash?"

Keith hummed as he stirred two colors together on his palette. He ignored the suggestion of club dancing. "Um, maybe my colors? If you have any, feel free to toss them in too. My laundry card is on the kitchen counter."

"Ok! I'll be back in a few!"

The rest of the week passed in a relaxed blur for Keith, who taught only two summer classes during the week. He took full advantage of it, spending every day with Lance once Lance finished his morning shift at the aquarium. On Wednesday, with no class to worry about, Keith visited Lance at his workplace, got the grand tour, and met every single person involved in the aquarium as Lance gushingly introduced him as his 'wonderful' boyfriend. He also got a behind-the-scenes look at the aquarium, which opened his eyes to the rehabilitation and conservation efforts the aquarium was involved in. The best part, however, was meeting the seals. Lance introduced him to their trainer, a young woman named Monica, who let Keith pet and interact with them. While it wasn't as amazing as the time they swam with the seals in Mendocino, being able to touch the responsive creatures was a memory Keith would carry with him forever.

Saturday came quickly, as did their Saturday night date. Number five. Once this date was complete, they were halfway to the big number ten. It kept Keith almost breathless with anticipation whenever he thought of it. It was getting to be more difficult to wait, especially after this week. Lance had spent the night each night the entire week, only returning to his own apartment to grab clothes. Those clothes were starting to make their way into Keith's closet. Lance appropriated a drawer of his dresser as well, and Keith had no objection. Lance's beauty products graced the shelves of his shower and bathroom and Keith couldn't help but smile every time he saw Lance's toothbrush in his toothbrush holder, or used Lance's shampoo like his boyfriend insisted.

Keith wasn't exactly surprised, and was actually quite pleased, when Lance said Hunk and Shay were going to meet them at their date spot for a double date. Keith thought of them as close of friends to him as he thought of Pidge. However, once they exited Lance's car and joined the already waiting Hunk and Shay, he was less than impressed.

"This. Is not what I expected."

"Awesome! I surprised you, Keithy!"

Keith shot Lance a little glare. "Stop it. A bar? Isn't this, like, a dive or something?"

"Yeah!" Hunk said cheerfully as he opened the door to go inside. "But the first Saturday night of the month is special here!"

Keith didn't budge. He looked between Hunk, Shay, and Lance, his eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Special how?"

"You'll see, Keith," Lance said, emphasizing the 'th' in Keith's name to show he didn't add the 'y'. "You trust me, don't you?" Lance asked, batting his lashes at his boyfriend and sticking out his lip.

"That's underhanded and you know it," Keith accused him, but reluctantly allowed Lance to pull at his hand and lead him into the bar.

The place was atypical of this area of the city, which was fast becoming a hipster area Keith and Lance frequented. The farmers market was down the block, as was a microbrewery, a coffee shop, and a place that made handmade pasta. However, looking around, Keith decided this was the kind of place that should be in the area. It exemplified a country dive and looked as if it were transported from Texas, down to the saddles and tractor seats that served as seating at the bar. Pictures of John Wayne and western movie posters dotted the walls, interspersed with license plates, lassos, old farm tools, and cow horns. The whole place screamed rustic.

The wait staff wore t-shirts with the bar's name on the front and "Get Your YeeHaw Here!" on the back. The place was packed, as well, though in the space before a small stage a table was available, so the group squeezed their way through the other tables, shouting apologies over the loud music. The music certainly didn't fit in the scheme of things, unless you count the Rolling Stones as country.

It was difficult to hear once they made their table and settled in. The table was in front of the cleared space and had a 'reserved' sign on it.

"It's ok!" Lance shouted in Keith's ear. "I reserved this. We used to be regulars!"

"You never told me you go to country bars!"

"Only on this day. Hunk and I missed it so much when we were in San Diego."

"What's so special about it?"

"You'll see!" Lance's shout echoed through the bar as the song ended. Apparently, the music was done for the night, which Keith thought strange. The people around them laughed and Lance hid his face behind his hands.

As the laughter died down, Keith noticed someone head up to the stage and start setting up some kind of equipment and figured there was a DJ or something for the first Saturday. No wonder Lance loved it. Maybe it was line dancing or something like that. Keith devoutly hoped not.

"The food is pretty good," Hunk supplied. "And they have a nice beer selection."

"I love their wings," Shay said. "Just the thought of them makes me drool!"

"Check out the flavors," Lance said, pulling a stained and well-used menu from the holder in the middle of the table. "Are you a hot wings person? Or a garlic parm type person?"

Keith hummed, leaning into Lance's side to peruse the selection. It was a good selection of flavors, even some creative ones. "What do you guys usually order?"

"Lance always gets hot. The hotter the better, though," Shay said, laughing, "he hasn't tried the challenge yet."

"There's a challenge?"

"The Melt Your Face challenge. You're supposed to eat six wings in two minutes, but they're doused in Carolina Reaper. The hottest pepper," Hunk explained, pointing to the part of the menu highlighting the challenge.

"There'll be no challenge tonight!" Lance said, giving a meaningful look to Hunk and Shay, who smiled in return. Keith was very suspicious now.

A waiter came over and asked if they wanted anything to drink or to put an order in. Hunk, Shay, and Lance immediately ordered different beers and wings as Keith hastily turned over the menu to glance over the beer selections. He asked for a hard cider and an order of Peanut Butter and Jelly wings. Lance made a face. "Ew!"

"Sounds interesting," Keith said with a shrug.

"They're actually a favorite," the waiter said. "I'll have your beers out in a sec."

When he delivered the beers, Keith took a test sip. "This is great!"

"You need to try their local IPA," Hunk said, holding up his glass. "You might like it."

"I will next round," Keith promised. "So," he said, looking at the three friends in turn, "what is so special about first Saturdays here?"

"Well, Keith," Lance said, emphasizing the 'th' again, "tonight is the night where you let your inner star shine!"

"Excuse me?"

"It's karaoke night!" Lance said, throwing his arms out in a wide gesture, forcing both Hunk and Keith to duck. He kept his arms spread, adding a wide and goofy grin, which didn't falter under the stare Keith now gave him.

"Karaoke?" Keith said slowly. "You didn't tell me this would be karaoke."

"Because you never want to know what I plan!" Lance said, as if he'd planned more than two dates total. "Surprise!" he said, wiggling the fingers of his still raised arms before dropping them.

"I'm not singing."

"You have to sing Keithy. Keith-uh," he corrected with another exaggerated 'th' sound.

"I don't sing."

"You don't sing. You don't dance," Lance ticked off his fingers, then waved them in front of himself. "What do I even see in you?"

"Lance," Hunk said in his disappointed Hunk tone.

"The only person willing to put up with you," Shay said.

"Nice," Lance said with a pout.

"You should have vetted me better. You never asked about my singing and dancing abilities. This is your fault."

"It's just for fun. Most of these people can't sing for anything."

"Not even Lance," Hunk said cheerfully, which raised a chuckle from Keith and a protest from Lance.

"I'll have you know, Hunk, I have a nice voice."

"You have a stage presence, I'll give you that."

"I didn't say I couldn't sing. I said I don't. I don't mind seeing Lance, but I'm still not singing," Keith said.

"We'll see what you say after a few more of those beers," Lance said.

"I don't know what I should sing," Lance said, running his finger down the list of songs.

"Do your old standby," Hunk suggested.

"What's his old standby?" Keith asked. He was now two beers and one order of wings in and felt pretty mellow. They were waiting on their second order of wings and third round of beers. The karaoke books were handed out and the other three were poring over the selections.

"'I Want it that Way'," Shay murmured without looking up from the book. Keith snorted.

"I'm great with that song, Keith!" Lance said.

"I'm sure you are," Keith agreed, downing the last of his beer.

"What do you wanna sing?"

"Nothing."

"Keeeeiiiiiiiiith," Lance let out a long whine.

Keith rolled his eyes.

"Oh my god," Shay suddenly said.

"Sweetie?" Hunk asked, glancing at her.

She angled the music book so Lance couldn't see and pointed to something. The big grin on Hunk's face got Keith curious. "We have to do this," Shay said.

"You, me, and Keith," Hunk said, nodding.

"Not me?" Lance asked, putting on his best hurt look.

"I'm not singing," Keith insisted.

"No no no, you'll like this Keith," Hunk said.

"No."

Hunk made a 'come here' gesture, so Keith scooted away from Lance closer to Shay to glance at the book in her hands and the song Hunk pointed to. He laughed because in spite of his aversion to singing on stage, the song was perfect. He glanced at Lance, who still wore a pout and now crossed his arms over his chest. "I might actually do it for this song."

"You know the moves to it?"

"There's moves?"

"Oh yeah. Just follow Shay."

"Why can't I sing it too?" Lance asked as Hunk scribbled the selection down on a piece of paper, adding it to the pile of other slips in front of Shay with the rest of their choices.

"You'll see," Hunk said, the tone of his voice too gleeful. Keith chuckled at Lance's expression.

"You'll love it, sweetheart. I promise."

"I want to know what song is actually going to get my boyfriend on stage."

"I'm moving it to the top of the pile," Shay stated, rearranging the slips. "I hope we get up there quick."

Keith wasn't a big fan of karaoke. He went to a few bars that offered the event back home. Shiro enjoyed it and, surprisingly, Pidge as well. Matt and Pidge had a couple of song choices they did, while Shiro stuck to old eighties rock ballads. Keith knew his voice was good, but he didn't like to be the center of attention. Only if he downed more beer than was good for him and he felt loose enough. Even then, it always was with a group where he could place himself in the background.

He almost forgot Hunk chose a song for them, so he was startled when he heard the karaoke host call out his name, Hunk's, and Shay's.

"Come on, Buddy!" Hunk said in an enthusiastic voice.

He had not drunk nearly enough beer for this, but the expectant and excited expression on Lance's face was enough incentive for him to follow Shay and Hunk onto the little raised stage. That, and he knew Lance would absolutely love the song Hunk picked out, and to be honest he was looking forward to how the bar patrons would react.

Hunk waved off the mic the host tried to hand him, pointing to the mic on the stand. The host nodded, then spoke into the mic. "Our friends here want to dedicate this to Lance." Lance, flushed bright red, waved from his lone spot at their table.

Keith himself felt self-conscious as he stood to the side of Shay, who was between him and Hunk. She lifted one hand, her first two fingers pressed against her thumb, so Keith and Hunk followed suit, and they waited patiently for the song to start.

It did, and Keith almost laughed at Lance's perplexed expression at the unexpected upbeat and childish tune. Then they started singing.

"Baby shark, doo doo doo doo do do,
Baby shark, doo doo doo doo do do"

While they sang, they moved their fingers in a biting gesture, first one hand, then the other in a sort of half-synchronized dance as Hunk and Keith tried to follow Shay.

For the next verse – Mommy Shark – they clapped their hands together like a shark mouth as they sang. The third – Daddy Shark – had them using their whole arms to mimic the much larger daddy shark. Keith felt like a complete fool, though it was worth it to see Lance's expression go from confused to hilarious laughter. He wrapped his arms around himself and bent over as he screeched at the spectacle on the stage.

Shay, a kindergarten teacher who probably heard this song too many times in life, performed the little dance with her careless grace while Keith and Hunk tried to keep up. The patrons at the bar all laughed. Lance had told Keith they were regulars, so Keith assumed they were used to silly songs and dances from them. They certainly didn't disappoint.

Grandma Shark, Grandpa Shark and the pantomime of them swimming away ended the short song. Keith was grateful it was short and he could retreat to the safety of their table. They left the stage to the loud applause of the crowd, waving to everyone in their gratitude. Lance jumped up and vaulted into Keith's arms, pressing his lips against Keith's cheek. "I loved it!"

"What? No love for me?" Hunk asked.

"Of course, Hunky!" Lance yelled, untangling himself from Keith to give the same treatment to Hunk. Shay got a hug too, but Lance returned to Keith, wrapping his hands around Keith's arm as they sat back down. "Babe! That was amazing! Thank you!"

"Thank Hunk," Keith said with a laugh, pleased he had helped to make Lance so happy. "It was his idea."

"I know, and I do thank Hunk," Lance said, shooting his excited glance briefly in Hunk's direction. "I can't believe you actually did it! You were adorable!"

"Lance McClain!" the host announced.

"Ooo! My turn!" Lance exclaimed. "I didn't think it'd be this fast!" He jumped up, planted another kiss on Keith's cheek, and grabbed his beer glass. "This is for you, Keithy! C'mon Hunky! I need you for this one!"

"Don't call me that!" Keith yelled after him as Lance darted to the stage with Hunk rushing to keep up.

The host handed each of them a mic which Lance held in his free hand. He kept his eyes on Keith, who settled back into his seat with his cheeks still burning from his turn. Lance made a little kissing expression at him as he and Hunk waited for the start – a catchy little guitar opening.

"When I wake up,
Well I know I'm gonna be
I'm gonna be the man who wakes up next to you.
When I go out, yeah I know I'm gonna be
I'm gonna be the man who goes along with you
If I get drunk (and Lance raises his glass) well I know I'm gonna be
I'm gonna be the man who gets drunk next to you
And if I haver up, yeah I know I'm gonna be
I'm gonna be the man who's havering to you.

But I would walk 500 miles
And I would walk 500 more
Just to be the man who walks a thousand miles
To fall down at your door"

While singing - in what Keith admitted wasn't a perfect voice, but pleasant enough - Lance swung his hips and moved his body; not crazy or anything, as he was holding his glass, but in a cute little dance that showed off his form. Hunk kept up with him and Keith surmised they often performed on stage for karaoke together. Shay laughingly told him this song was a first, but the way Hunk and Lance moved almost in sync with each other made Keith suspect they planned this and choreographed a little dance for tonight.

When the chorus kicked in – all the 'da da da da' parts - Hunk joined in with an enthusiasm that got both Keith and Shay laughing. Hunk and Lance sang each one in turn, leaning toward each other as they went back and forth.

"When I'm lonely,
Well I know I'm gonna be
I'm gonna be the man who's lonely without you
And when I'm dreaming, well I know I'm gonna dream
I'm gonna dream about the time when I'm with you"

As Lance sang, while dancing with Hunk, he kept his eyes locked on Keith. While the song was bouncy, Keith knew Lance meant every word of it and he was sure the look he returned to Lance was as lovesick as could be.

"That was amazing, baby," Keith murmured as he nuzzled against Lance's cheek when he and Hunk returned to the table amid the laughing applause of the audience.

"See, Hunky?" Lance said. "I told you I had a great voice!"

"I was more interested in watching your hips work it."

"Keithy!"

"Stop."

"Keith-uh!"

"So, I'm gonna pretend I didn't hear that and order another round," Hunk said.

Lance stopped drinking after the first few rounds, declaring he would be the responsible one for the evening. Hunk, Shay, and Keith felt no compunctions about it, though, so they kept the rounds coming and Keith felt himself loosen up a great deal. This was more fun than he thought it would be. Lance's smile and bright eyes were worth everything. The more he drank, the more he wanted to get on stage and get the smile and beautiful expression directed at him.

Lance was currently onstage with Hunk, doing his old standby, and the entire audience sang along with him. He figured many of the patrons were regulars – Lance, Hunk, and Shay knew many of their names and their usual songs – and they were supportive of his boyfriend and friends, as well as each other. It was a great atmosphere and it made Keith happy Lance had chosen to share this with him.

"Tell me why!" Lance sang.
"Ain't nothing but a heartache!" the bar sang as Lance pointed the mic at them.
"Tell me why!" Lance sang again.
"Ain't nothing but a mistake!" the bar responded.
"Tell me why
I never want to hear you say
I want it that way!" everyone sang together.

It was a beautiful thing for Keith to watch Lance and Hunk on the stage, doing a choreographed dance that looked much like the dance the Backstreet Boys do in their video, while the whole bar sang along with him. Keith and Shay belted out the chorus along with everyone. Keith's participation may or may not have something to do with the number of empty glasses sitting on their table that had not been cleared away. No mention of the ones that had been cleared.

"Are you seriously going to do a song?" Lance asked, after returning from the stage after their performance.

The selection book was in front of Keith, and a slip with Keith's neat writing sat to the side. Keith gave Lance a big smile as he covered the slip with his hand. He could feel the alcohol bubbling through his veins. "I might."

"Which one?"

"S'surprise," Keith said, feeling a little giggle escape. He was not, normally, a giggler, and he could see Lance's eyebrows raise. "Something I hope impresses you."

Lance laughed, spreading his hands. "You always impress me."

Keith didn't let Lance see his song selection as he handed it to Shay, who was taking another selection for her and Hunk up to the host.

"Keith?" the host said.

Keith downed the rest of his beer. Which one? He'd lost count. Their beer selection here was really really good. Planting a sloppy kiss on Lance's head, he jumped up on stage and accepted the mic. The words appeared on the screen in front of him, but he ignored them. He didn't need them. He could nail this without the words.

"It's been one week since you looked at me,
Cocked your head to the side
and said I'm angry.
Five days since you laughed at me saying
Get that together come back and see me
Three days since the living room,
I realized it's all my fault, but couldn't tell you
Yesterday you'd forgiven me
But it'll still be two days til I say I'm sorry"

He kept his eyes on Lance as he clutched his mic – still nervous despite the blanket of alcohol covering him. Lance watched, his mouth dropped open as Keith perfectly nailed all the words to the song without looking at the screen. It was, obviously, a fast song with complicated lyrics, but Keith loved the group and sung this song enough to know it by heart. Keith loved to learn complicated songs and sing along to them.

"Babe, that was amazing!" Lance squealed when Keith returned to the table, waving at everyone for the shouts and applause. "No one nails that song!"

"A lot of people try," Hunk agreed, his cheeks pink from his buzz. Whatever round they were on was waiting at the table and Keith took a long drink.

"Thanks guys!" he said, kissing Lance's cheek and snuggling up close to his boyfriend. His boyfriend was so nice and warm. So bright and shining.

"I love drunk Keith," Shay stated. "He's the happiest drunk I've ever seen."

"Hunk and Shay!" the host called out.

Hunk stood, a little shakily, and held out his hand to Shay. Whether it was to steady himself as they went to the stage, or help her, wasn't clear to Keith. Both of them were a little wobbly on their short walk, but they made it and took their spots, giving each other lovesick looks before the music started.

Hunk began,
"Now I've had the time of my life
No I never felt like this before
Yes I swear it's the truth
And I owe it all to you"

Then Shay picked up,
"Cause I've had the time of my life
And I owe it all to you"

They then began dancing together in a way to told Keith this was a standard of theirs. It reminded him a little of the dance from Dirty Dancing. They moved perfectly in sync and looked beautiful the way they sang back and forth to each other. Shay's voice was a lovely low alto, while Hunk's voice hovered between baritone and bass, but had a nice tone to it. This was the first song they'd done which displayed their voices, and in spite of both of them having more beers than they could count, they rocked the song.

The patrons thought so too. When they finished, the applause in the bar was deafening. "They always do this song!" Lance shouted at him over the noise, while clapping his own hands together. "And everyone always goes crazy!"

"They deserve it!" Keith shouted back, then added his loud praise to Lance's when Shay and Hunk returned to the table, both blushing and laughing at the response.

"They always act surprised too!" Lance added, laughing. "Like they don't know they're the best karaoke performers here!"

"We are not Lance!" Shay protested.

"You won the contest before we left for San Diego, Shay!" Lance said.

"There was a contest?" Keith asked.

"Yeah, and they won. Only they did 'Islands in the Stream' instead of this one. It was so beautiful, Keith! Wish you could have seen it!"

"I do too!"

Hunk waved his hand. "Oh, it was ok."

"It WON Hunk!"

An hour later, and more rounds in…

"Keith!" the host called.

"Oops! My turn!" Keith said, taking another drink and smiling at Lance before he got up. Some small, sober corner of his mind couldn't believe he was going to do what he planned to do. Normal Keith would never do this. However, the majority of his mind was drunk and thought there was no better idea in the world than to drive Lance crazy.

He could see the surprise on Lance's face when the music started. But the surprise turned to shock when Keith started moving his body. Keith knew he wasn't a great dancer, but he was fairly graceful from the martial arts training he used to do, and his workouts kept him flexible. Add an innate sense of rhythm and Keith could move. At least the moves he planned on for this song. He was usually too self-conscious to do it, however, in front of people. He could also sing and had been told before he had a good voice.

Now, with the alcohol zinging through his bloodstream, taking away every inhibition usually imposed on himself, and with the shining blue eyes of his boyfriend on him – drinking the image of him on the stage so so thirstily – Keith let out his inner 'bad boy'.

The song had a sexy melody with hard beats for the chorus and Keith took full advantage of them. Slow body rolls, hip rolling, half turns to stick his ass out towards Lance, running his free hand over his body, dragging his shirt up enough to show off his abs (which he already knew drove Lance crazy) – all things which, if he could soberly see himself, would mortify him.

"Oh it's Saturday night!
I pray for the wicked on the weekend
Mama can I get another amen?
Oh, oh it's Saturday night!
Swear to god I ain't never gonna repent
Mama can I get another amen?
Oh, oh it's Saturday night!"

By the second chorus, Keith held the bar in the palm of his hand, cheering and screaming and singing along. Lance sat at the table, stunned at the spectacle in front of him. Keith was getting off on Lance's expression alone, which just urged him to be more outrageous on the stage, mostly hip work and poses, sucking his fingers once after a line. The song lyrics themselves weren't sexy, but Keith presented it onstage as the sexiest thing he could.

And he had one more surprise for Lance. At the end, the song called for the singer to sing the word "Saturday" in an extremely high note and Keith knew he could land it. As the line approached, Keith amped up his moves, watching in drunken satisfaction as Lance leaned forward in his seat eagerly.

"It's Saturdaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!"

Oh, Lance's expression was worth everything. Mouth dropped open. Hunk and Shay were cheering so loud, as were the rest of the patrons, Keith couldn't hear the music anymore for the last few lines. The song ended with a crash and Keith almost fell over from the noise of the crowd and from Lance rushing up to him to jump in his arms.

"I still can't believe that was Keith. Like, our Keith," Hunk said sleepily.

Keith stirred, his mind completely numb, trying to focus on what Hunk said. He was wedged between Hunk and Lance. He knew that much. Everything else was a blur. He could tell he was in a moving car, but whose car, he didn't know. Something nudged at the back of his mind that it should be important who was driving.

"I can't either," Lance said in a much softer voice and Keith realized Lance's arm was around him, angled in a way to allow him to pet at Keith's hair. It felt really nice.

"Is he passed out?" Shay asked from somewhere in front of them. Was she driving?

"I think so," Lance answered and Keith heard the amusement there.

"Need help getting him upstairs?" Hunk asked.

"You and Shay are in no shape to carry anyone, Hunky. I can manage. Besides, your place is first."

"Wherever you guys need to go," a strange male voice said, with a laugh. "You're paying."

"Hunk and Shay's first," Lance said. "Then our apartment." Lance said our apartment. That sounded nice.

"You sure Lance?" Hunk sounded so sleepy. Keith felt so sleepy too.

"I'm sure. He's heavier than he looks, but I should be able to help him."

What a nice boyfriend he had, Keith thought. Protective and willing to take care of him. He shifted a little, cuddling up into the solid, warm presence next to him. He heard a little laugh that ruffled his hair. Oh, did that feel good when followed by a light press of lips. He drifted sleepily again, thinking thoughts of how much he loved Lance and how much he knew Lance loved him. 'I really should tell him soon,' was Keith's last conscious thought in the car before they got home.

Author's Note: The bar described is actually a combo of a restaurant near my house (the decor) and a country/western bar that does karaoke, line dancing, and bull riding, also near me. They have a crazy selection of wings (and yes, including the PB&J)!

Song list:

"Baby Shark" - X Factor Bitesize (Keith, Hunk, and Shay)

"I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" – The Proclaimers (Lance and Hunk)

"I Want it That Way" – Backstreet Boys (Lance)

"One Week" – Barenaked Ladies (Keith)

"(I've Had) The Time of My Life" – Jennifer Warnes and Bill Medley (Hunk and Shay)

"Say Amen (It's Saturday Night)" – Panic! At the Disco (Keith)

As always, find me on tumblr at devooshawrites