Gasolina - Klance Mechanic/Racer AU

Chapter 21

Keith and I ended up climbing back onto his bike pretty quickly, heading back to his apartment to see someone called Cosmo – someone he'd told me I would have to wait until I met. Hearing he had someone waiting at his apartment for him made me a bit jealous, but I assumed they were family, like Shiro.

We parked at the back of the tattoo studio and got off the bike, Keith shaking his mullet out again. Damn, I wanted to just run my hands through it.

"Wait, you live here?" I asked, looking around the back of the studio. "You never said."

"You never asked." Keith shrugged, unlocking the back door. I heard scratching from the door at the top of the stairwell. "Alright, Cosmo! I'm coming!" He shouted up the stairs. The scratching stopped.

"Wait..." I said as we ascended, trying to ignore my nerves about being alone with Keith in his apartment. I'd fantasised about it, but I hadn't thought it would happen so quickly. At this point, I didn't even know if Keith was gay or not. Hell, I'd barely just accepted that I was bisexual, and spotting queer guys hadn't exactly been on my radar before. "Is Cosmo a..."

Keith opened the door a crack; a dark muzzle popped through the crack in the door, followed by a blue paw. Keith laughed and slowly opened the door. An enormous, fluffy dog with blue-black fur pounced on him, planting wet kisses all over his face. I envied the dog.

"Lance, this is Cosmo." Keith laughed, putting the dog down on the floor and ruffling his neck fur. "Sorry for being out so long, buddy." He cooed, rubbing his face on the dog's forehead.

I covered my blushing cheeks. He was so cute.

"He's so fluffy." I managed to say over the pounding of my heart. I'd been jealous of a fucking dog.

Keith turned and shot me a beaming smile, his eyes creasing at the corners. I'd never seen him so happy before; I found myself turning a deeper shade of red.

"You can sit anywhere." He said, standing up. "Do you want something to drink?" The dog followed at his heels, ignoring me completely. It was obvious that Keith was the alpha in their relationship, and the dog worshipped him.

Me too, Cosmo. I thought. I wanted nothing more than to worship every part of Keith.

"Something alcoholic, preferably." I mumbled, sitting down on the couch, which was covered in dog hair. I found myself watching the dog again, confused by its blue fur. "So...why is Cosmo blue?"

Keith looked up from the drinks he was preparing and frowned.

"He's a rescue. We think his previous owner dyed his fur." He looked back down. "He was probably a bait dog."

"Shit, that's awful." I looked back at Cosmo, who was laying down on the floor, looking up at Keith with loving yellow eyes. "He looks really happy, though."

Keith smiled. "Yeah, he's really taken a liking to us." He picked up the glasses and brought them over, handing one to me before sitting down beside me. Cosmo jumped up between us, eyeing me cautiously. I sipped from the glass; it was strong.

"What's in this?" I asked, clearing my throat. He knew I was a lightweight...right?

"Whiskey and cola." He replied, drinking from his glass like it was apple juice.

"Hmm." I chirped, trying to hide my embarrassment. I couldn't exactly back out now he'd made it for me. I took another sip; once you got past the initial burn, it wasn't too bad. "You know you didn't have to invite me here." I said finally. "I could have walked home."

"Yeah, well, I wanted you to come back." He barked, then ducked his head. I couldn't see his cheeks through his hair, but I could tell from his body language that he was blushing. I turned my own face away, feeling my cheeks go red too.