Chapter Text
"Keith!" Lance had shouted from across the entrance of the school, hoping to get the attention of his friend.
It worked.
Keith stared, watching as Lance waved to him, Hunk and Pidge standing next to him like nothing was going on. A normal Monday for the pair of four. Keith walked over, sighing as he did so. Lance was a good friend, but his extrovert attitude made Keith shrink when Lance yelled for him. Lance, dressed in his usual jacket and jeans, also wore a smile on his face. Something that was foreign to Keith.
Despite the hatred Keith had for loud noises and happy people, he walked over to Lance anyway, greeting Pidge and Hunk on his way. "Hey Lance, why the fuck are you so happy at 8 am, huh?" Lance let out a laugh, "Keith, my buddy, my pal, my friend, if you think this is my happy face then we clearly have not hung out enough." Lance slung an arm around Keith’s shoulder, giving him a sly smile. "He's right. Look at his face when he sees Allura walk by and now. Complete difference." Hunk stated, making Pidge giggle and Lance to turn dark red.
Keith almost smirked.
Almost.
Lance began his usual banter with Hunk, making Pidge laugh as the two fought. Keith just stared at the pair, gripping his backpack with one hand. Eventually, Lance stopped yelling at Hunk, claiming that he "didn't have a thing for Allura" to which Hunk responded "Yeah, and I don't have a thing for Shay... Okay Lance, whatever."
"Anyway, we should all be heading to class sooner than later. We've got some new kids coming, I've heard. Gonna be super cool to have kids from the private school downtown here." Lance stated. Keith’s ears perked up. "We have new kids coming?" Great, another thing to trigger his anxiety is more people to make fun of his long hair and all black outfits. Fantastic.
"Yeah, my brother and his friend Takashi are both some of the ones to transfer!" Pidge said with a twinkle in her eye, "You guys are gonna love him, I promise!" Hunk put a finger to his chin, "Pidge if he's your brother, shouldn't he already be here with the other students?" Pidge fixed her glasses. "You're right, he's in the office right now. Probably settling the last bit of paperwork, getting assigned a tour guide, a schedule, etcetera." Lance, Hunk, and Pidge all began to talk amongst themselves. Keith stared off again.
Until something caught his nose. A flowery scent, one that reminded Keith of a forbidden place that he was never supposed to go. But oh god, was this place so enticing. The scent was no different. Thinking about how much someone's scent had affected him made him blush. Keith’s eyes were wide, his cheeks a rosy pink. "Uh... Keith? You alright?" Lance asked, clearly concerned for his friend. "Do you guys smell that?" Keith asked, "Smell what?" Pidge had asked.
Keith looked at them. Hunk, Lance, and Pidge all stared back confused. "I... Uh... Nothing. Forget about it."
Keith couldn’t forget, though. The scent of a home just out of his reach. That’s what he finally figured out, the scent smelled like home. Like a cozy night by the fire. A candlelit that smelt like roses. The scent reminded him of a home.
A home that he never had.
Keith tried to ignore the scent for the most part. As the group wandered through the halls until the first class, Keith tried his best to interact with his friends while the intoxication of being so close to something was driving him crazy.
Eventually, the group departed to their classes. Lance had first period with Keith, and off they went.
“Dude, you okay?” Lance had asked. Keith was still struck. He had almost missed Lance’s question. “There’s something off. I can’t tell what’s going on, but my nose has been going crazy since I got here.” Lance perked up. “Woah, you sound like you actually want to get help this time. You never say this much to me so early in the morning.”
“Don’t push it.”
“Ah, there’s the Keith I know and love.”
“I’m serious, Lance. I need to know what the hell is going on. There’s a specific smell and it’s so… intoxicating.” Lance looked back at his paper. The teacher had given them an assignment to do as partners, but there’s no way to work with Keith so distracted. “Do you want my honest opinion?” Lance asked quietly. Keith looked a bit shocked. Since when does Lance ask a question like that? What’s even crazier is that Lance actually looks concerned. That has seriously never happened before.
Keith gave him a shocked stare. It was a wonder that his jaw wasn’t on the floor. “Uh… Yes?” Keith had responded. Lance stuck the end of his pencil on his lip, almost biting it, and spoke softly. “I think your mate is close by,” Lance said. He then began to write some answers on the worksheet they had been given earlier.
Keith almost screamed. There was no way that could have happened. He’s been here too long. Too many opportunities have gone by. It’s not anyone at the school or he would have smelled them already. What the hell is that about?
“Who the hell could that be? There’s no one here that has such an enticing smell. Lance don’t play me like this.”
“I’m not. I’m deadly serious.” Keith stared. Lance shrugged. “The scent of a mate is supposed to be the strongest to smell and the hardest to resist. That’s what we’ve always been taught. It hasn’t changed since we’ve been here. There’s only one thing that’s changed today. And that’s-” Lance trailed off.
“Let’s stop talking about this, please.” Keith intervened. They began to finish their classwork when the realization of what Lance was saying hit him. Hard.
The only thing that’s changed is the new students that had just transferred. The only scents that Keith doesn’t know.
Keith made it through the next 2 classes just fine. The scent was still there, but it was distant and not as distracting as it had been in his first class.
Then lunch rolls around and that’s when things get interesting.
Lance, Hunk, and Pidge had all met up with Keith after their 3rd period had ended. “So, what’s the lunch plan? We leaving? Staying?” Pidge, who was glued to the screen of her phone, piped in. “We gotta stay for a few more minutes. Matt wants to get a brief view of the cafeteria and the outdoor areas. And I’m assuming Takashi will be there as well since he’s my brothers best friend.” Keith almost audibly groaned. “After we meet up and give them a mini-tour, can we please go to that sweet diner downtown? I’m going to starve soon.” Hunk said. Lance agreed.
“Fine. I know Matt likes that place so we’re gonna be good to go.” Pidge sighed. “We should probably find out seating stuff since we know Matt and …Tak..Taki? are gonna come.” Lance said. Keith looked at him. “Taki? Really?” Lance looked offended. “Is there a different name we can call him? Taki isn’t gonna fit and I can’t remember his full name, so it’s either Taki or something else he likes being called.”
Pidge groaned. “I don’t know what his name is. I guess we’ll ask when he gets over here.”
Keith perked up. That scent was back. And it was getting strong.
“How do you not know the name of your brothers best friend?” Hunk asked. “He’s never mentioned another name around me. I’ve always called him Takashi. He’s never bothered to correct anyone on it, my whole family calls him Takashi.” Lance looked at Pidge. “Either way, I feel like he’s not going to take well to Taki.”
“Okay, so, what do we call Takashi other than… Takashi?” Keith asked. Right when the scent was right behind him.
“How about Shiro?”