Chapter Text
The Phantom hit the last note and held it for as long as he could. He smiled over at Lance. “And with that, that’s the end of our music lessons.” He said.
Lance grinned. “Heck yeah! You’ve been a huge help.”
“Don’t mention it. Just remember to stay away from anything with lactose an hour or so before the performance and remember to warm up with vocal exercises before you go on.” Said The Phantom. “You’re going to do so well.”
Lance chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck. “Aw, thanks man. You’re the real star here. If it wasn’t for you I’d still be mediocre.”
They chuckled and grinned. “You’ll do fine. I look forward to seeing you perform.”
Lance grinned. “Aw, thanks man. So you’re going to see it?”
“Yes.”
“That’s awesome.”
The Phantom smiled at him as they adjusted their mask ever so slightly. “I really want to see how all that hard work has been paid off… What are you going to do after all this?”
Lance shrugged. “Well, mama’s probably going to put me back on evening shifts at the coffee shop. She’ll probably ask if I want to get a degree in something again. I’m good with just selling coffee. Never really been too interested in anything other than musical theater… Also gotta plan a good date for my boyfriend.”
“Oh? You have a boyfriend now?” Asked The Phantom. “Anyone I know.”
“Keith.”
“The Janitor?” Asked the Phantom. He chuckled a little and started to pack up the sheet music on the piano. “You can do better than him.”
Lance rolled his eyes, instantly unimpressed. “Seriously? You’re one of those people? You don’t even know him. Sure he’s quiet, but I know he is trying and I like him a lot. Keith’s really sweet… I’m trying to get better at sign language for him. He deserves someone that can understand him without having to read his texts all the time.”
The Phantom seemed surprised. “I didn’t mean it like that… and yeah, I guess I’m not very… I don’t really know him that well… I was just wondering what the two of you have in common. The man is very introverted and you, you’re clearly not.”
Lance shrugged and sat on the edge of the stage. “I just like him. Keith is sweet… I’m just having trouble trying to figure out what he might like to do for a date. Literally the first three things that came to my mind here; themepark, going shopping, and hanging out at my house…”
“The last one doesn’t sound too bad.”
Lance chuckled a little. “Keith doesn’t seem to do well around lots of new people. I currently live with my parents and twin sister. My older sister and older brothers come on and out of the house all the time and so do my nieces and nephews… I think meeting too many people at once might upset him.”
The Phantom sat next to Lance and tapped his fingers against the side of the stage. “That’s very considerate of you… He’ll appreciate anything you do with him.”
“You think so?”
“Yeah… Someone like him… He probably would appreciate just spending time with you.” Said The Phantom. “I liked spending time with you.”
Lance smiled at him and lightly nudged his shoulder. “I liked spending time with you too. Have I earned the chance to know what your name is? Maybe see your face?”
The Phantom froze up and looked away from him. “Um… Listen, I liked listening to you sing but I… I can’t just… I’m sorry.”
Lance sighed sadly. He knew better then to try and push someone that was introverted and guarded. If the Phantom didn’t want him to tell him who he was then well… It’s not like Lance could force him to. Though he did feel like he kind of earned his trust. Lance got up and grabbed his bag that he just tossed onto one of the front row seats.
“Later Phantom… I guess I might see you around.”
“Yeah. See you around Lance.” Said The Phantom quietly. “Lance I… I know you’re going to do well. I’ll be watching you.”
Lance smiled a little and waved at him. “Later.” He left the theatre.
***
Keith groaned in annoyance. He should have taken his mask off and told Lance that he was The Phantom. That he was the one that Lance was getting singing lessons from. He wanted to tell him. Fuck he really wanted to, but he couldn’t. He was too anxious and scared.
If Lance knew that he was Keith, then he might break up with him for tricking him for so long. It was scary. No one had ever asked him to be his boyfriend before. He doubted that anyone in highschool even considered dating him even in a joking manner. He was really scared that Lance would get angry that he couldn’t talk to him without a stupid mask. That he had to pretend to be someone else to interact with him.
Keith quickly packed everything up, finished cleaning and waited outside for Shiro to come and pick him up. His brother pulled up and Keith got in. Shiro could immediately tell that something was wrong with his little brother.
“Is everything okay?” He asked.
“Lance…” Muttered Keith.
“Didn’t you say you two were dating now?” Asked Shiro. “Oh… did he have second thoughts?”
“No…” Said Keith quietly. “D-didn’t want to keep pretending I’m s-someone else… Couldn’t do it. Coward…”
“You’re not a coward.” Said Shiro calmly. “I get that you feel bad not being able to tell him you’ve been giving him singing lessons, but it could be a lot worse? Like, Lance could have asked your phantom persona out?”
“Yeah…” Keith sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. Opening night was the next day, but Lance would be performing during the first matinee performance the day after. He wanted to see Lance perform it first. He didn’t care if the leading lady was Allura or Nyma. He wanted to see Lance performing as Bert. He wanted to be a supportive boyfriend.
Speaking of being supportive, should he be getting Lance a gift for finishing his first performance? He had seen some people give flowers. But they usually gave flowers to the girls. He didn’t know what to get Lance, or if he should get him anything. Would Lance be upset if he didn’t get him anything? He didn’t want Lance to be upset with him. He wanted Lance to be happy with him.
Yeah, he knew it was a stretch asking for someone to actually like him the way Lance seemed to like him. He was pushing his luck, but he wanted Lance to stay with him and not for like a few weeks and then get tired of him because he was an anxious mess. Maybe he should consider seeing a therapist or something?
“Are you okay there Keith?” Asked Shiro.
Keith shrugged. “I.. I want to get a gift… For Lance.”
“Oh? For after his performance?” Asked Shiro. Keith nodded. “That’s a really good idea. You have no idea what to get him, do you.”
“N-not a clue.”
“Well, I’m sure you’ll think of something.” Said Shiro. “It’ll be nice. He’ll love whatever you give him.”
Keith nodded and nervously played with a thread on his shirt. He didn’t know what Lance would like. Maybe he’d like something related to the musical? An umbrella with a parrot head handle? He had no idea where to even get one of those. Maybe he could find a nice looking pin online? But that might take too long to get shipped to him. It was annoying. He had no idea what to do. Lance was… He was perfect.
***
The first evening show went off without a hitch to rave reviews. Allura and Lotor knocked it out of the park again. It made Lance feel a little nervous. It was hard to live up to those expectations. Everyone loved those two. Nyma gave him a quick pep talk and well, it kind of worked.
He psyched himself up for the stage and it surprisingly worked. Lance was acting on adrenaline the whole time. He was worried he was going to mess up, but Lance did pretty well. He loved the adrenaline that pumped through his veins when the lights were on him.
He happily sang and spun Nyma around, linked arms with the other chimney sweeps during the big “Step in time” number. It was a lot of fun. That adrenaline buzz didn’t even when it was all over and the actors were taking a bow.
Lance was still riding that high when he walked off stage and went to change out of his costume. Before he left he happened to see Keith nervously standing to the side in his janitorial clothes. He looked like he was getting ready to clean up when everyone had cleared out. His eyes lit up a little when he saw Lance and he waved slightly.
Lance grinned and happily went over to him. “Hey Keith. Did you want it?”
Keith nodded and quickly signed a few things. Lance didn’t really know what he was saying, but he caught a few words; Good, like, voice, and happy. He didn’t really know the context of everything, but he felt like he enjoyed the performance. Keith then pushed a box into Lance’s hands.
“Huh? Is this for doing a good job?” He asked. Keith nodded and Lance opened it up. It was a large mug that said; Practically Perfect in Every Way. Printed on the side. It even had a little parrot umbrella printed on it too. It was so cute. Lance grinned. “Aw Keith, I love it. Can I hug you?”
Keith went bright red at the request but nodded and opened his arms. Lance quickly went in for a hug. It was quick, but he gave Keith a quick squeeze. He felt Keith’s hands lightly touching his back too. It was nice. It was a soft and hesitant touch, but it was nice.
He quickly pulled back and grinned. “Look, I know it’s very sudden, and you can say no if you want, but my family’s gonna go out for lunch now, do you want to come with us?”
“...” Keith shook his head and gestured to the fact that he was wearing his uniform. Clearly intent on working right now instead of going with him.
Lance smiled at him. “No problem. I totally get it. Text me when you’re done with work? I wanna talk to you tonight.”
Keith smiled a little and nodded. He was too cute for his own good. Lance kind of wanted to squish his cheeks and kiss him, but he was pretty sure his boyfriend wouldn’t appreciate anymore PDA after getting hugged.
“Okay Keith. I’ll text you later.” He happily left backstage and almost dropped his mug when his niece and nephew ran into him. “Whoa, easy there!”
“Uncle Lance!” Squealed Nadia. “That was amazing! You were so good!”
“How did you do that little spinny thing?” Asked Sylvio.
His mama clapped her hands to get their attention. “Alright, leave your uncle alone. You can ask him all the questions you like at Lunch. Okay?” That seemed to placate the squealing adolescents for the moment and they started talking to their own mama about wanting to eat cake and burgers for lunch.
As that was happening, Lance’s sister, Veronica, came up behind him and looked at the mug. “What do you have there?”
“Hmm, just a present.” He said.
“From who? Nyma for not stepping on her toes? Coran for singing in tune?” She teased.
“No I got it from my…” He quickly glanced over at his family, who were distracted by the kids and whispered to her. “My boyfriend.”
Veronica raised an eyebrow but kept her voice low. “Oh? Since when did this happen?”
“A few days ago. He’s a little shy and has anxiety. I want to slowly introduce him to the family because well...” He looked over at Marco who playfully slapped Rachel’s arm. Rachel then punched him in the arm. “That.”
“... Yeah, that’s fair enough.” Muttered Veronica. “Try and introduce him to mama and papi first.”
“Planning to.” Muttered Lance. “We’re going to do more couple things after the musical is over.”
“Sounds nice… Who is he? One of the theater guys?”
“He’s the Janitor.”
“Really?” Asked Veronica. “I thought the proper term was custodian?”
“... Probably. I should probably ask him what his job title is actually called.”
“Yeah, probably.” She wrapped her arm around Lance’s shoulder and grinned. “Well, enough about that. Let’s go and get some lunch! I want to get my hands on those tasty, tasty curly fries!”