Chapter Text
ONE YEAR LATER
“Keith.”
Keith had managed to stay still for thirty whole seconds so far. If he stayed still for thirty more, there was a high chance that Lance might leave.
“Dude, wake up.”
Keith took measured, deep breaths. It wasn’t a hard task, and he could feel himself dozing off again.
“I can see your eyelids twitching,” Lance said, as if he hadn’t also seen Keith sit up in his bed and look at him with a frown when he came down uninvited to his basement room, before flopping back down. “Get up, asshole.”
“Sleeping.” Keith grunted, scrunching his eyes shut harder and hoping that Lance got the hint. He felt something smooth and metallic slide over each side of his nose and pinch. Hard .
“What the-” his eyes snapped open and his voice came out nasally. Lance looked down at him in an unimpressed manner from where he stood at Keith’s bedside, pinching his nose with a pair of cooking tongs. “Fuck you-”
Keith grabbed at Lance’s hand and jammed his thumb into the joint of his wrist, immediately buckling it. Lance dropped the tongs and Keith tried to snatch them but he’d been awake for maybe a grand total of eight minutes and Lance managed to get to them before Keith did.
“What do you want?” Keith tried his best to glare up at Lance.
“Where’s Shiro?” Lance asked. “We were wondering if we could get his keys and start loading his car now.”
Shiro was in the washroom, brushing his teeth after having finally extracted himself from Keith’s death grip in bed. Originally, Shiro was supposed to come in the morning so that they could load his car with everyone’s camping supplies and booze. But Shiro had texted him the night before, told him his friends had to cancel their plans because one of them had pre-gamed too hard before Shiro had even made it to their apartment, and had asked Keith if it was okay to crash at his to save the drive in the morning.
Keith always found it funny that Shiro would be polite enough to ask, like he was someone Keith could say no to. Especially when he showed up at Keith’s door in dark jeans and a tight black shirt that made Keith’s mouth go a little dry. They had ended up staying up a lot later than they really should have, and Keith felt like his body weighed ten times more than it actually did. But in a good way.
“He’ll come by later,” Keith replied, looking at Lance from under his arm. “I’ll let him know then.”
“Don’t lie to me,” Lance thwacked him on the chin with the tongs, and Keith tried to yank them out of his hand. He was still sleep-slow, so Lance managed to keep it out of his reach. “He’s parked like a block down. I saw it when I went to go get coffee.”
Keith decided that the best thing to do in the moment was to yank the blankets over his head because if he didn’t see Lance, then he didn’t have to hear Lance. Unfortunately, Lance pinched the blankets between his tongs and pulled despite Keith’s best efforts. Keith stuck up both middle fingers as Lance peeled the layers back.
“Give me his keys,” Lance demanded. “I wanna start loading stuff so that I don’t have to help Hunk with the food.”
“God, fine,” Keith grunted, and reached out beside him. He slapped around on the bedside table before he felt the familiar keys in his hands, and lobbed them at Lance’s face. Lance managed to catch them right before they hit his nose, which was quite a shame. “Leave me alone.”
“Get dressed” Lance said, not waiting for Keith to respond before he plucked at the blanket with his tongs again. “I don’t want to be late because of you. You can sleep on the beach.”
He pulled it back, revealing Keith’s bare chest, and grimaced deeply before dropping the cloth on Keith’s hips. Keith didn’t have to even guess at what Lance was going to say next.
“Really Keith?” Lance jabbed Keith’s sternum and Keith rolled onto his other side, blocking Lance from prodding at him any more. “A hickey? On beach day?”
“It’s not a hickey,” Keith said sagely over his shoulder as the washroom door opened in the distance behind Lance. “We’re saving ourselves for marriage. This is my third nipple.”
Lance made an absolutely disgusted face which only deepened when Shiro walked up behind him in only his boxers. He clapped Lance on the shoulder as a greeting, and Lance looked incredibly put out.
“Is it time to go yet?” Shiro asked cheerfully as he bypassed Lance. Keith felt the dip of the mattress, and rolled back over as Shiro starfished over him like a blanket, smelling like mint and aftershave.
“You smell nice,” Keith grinned, and Shiro winked in return, leaning down to peck him on the lips. Keith decided to keep him there, pulling him into a proper kiss while he slung a lazy arm around Shiro’s hips.
“I’m right here,” Lance informed them, and Keith hummed and started plucking at the waistband of Shiro’s boxers. He lifted it up and let it go with a loud snap, and Lance made a noise. “ Ew , god, okay I get it. Just make sure you guys come up on time.”
Lance trudged away, clicking the tongs and muttering something about indecency and not being able to wait till Keith moved out. It was his own fault, Keith decided as Shiro continued to kiss him. Keith bit his lower lip and Shiro grinned into it, trying to deepen the kiss.
“He’s gone,” Keith tried, but Shiro hummed.
“We don’t know that for sure,” He said in between the kisses, and Keith rolled his eyes as the basement door slammed in the distance. He was going to be the last one to protest though; he slid his arms tighter around Shiro and pulled him down.
“We need to load up the car,” Keith tried to say as Shiro started a trail across his jaw and down his neck. He felt teeth graze over his skin, felt the peek of a tongue that kind of tickled. “Or not. Everyone always leaves an hour after we say we would.”
“Thought so,” Shiro murmured against his neck, shifting his leg between Keith’s and kicking the blanket off the bed completely.
They ended up being the last ones ready, and all three of Keith’s housemates gave them immense grief about it as if Pidge hadn’t come in a close second, having woken up ten whole minutes before Keith and Shiro finally deigned themselves fit enough to go upstairs. Unsurprisingly, Lance had made no headway in loading Shiro’s car, so Keith had to load in everyone’s tents and the two large booze coolers on his own. Shiro had decided to help Hunk with making sure everything was ready and packed for two days worth of eating for five people, and two days after that for six people when Allura joined them at the campsite.
They always filled Shiro’s car till it was brimming, part because Shiro felt no fear if he couldn’t use his rearview mirror and part because no one wanted to be stuck in a car with Keith and Shiro for longer than ten minutes. They had a shared habit of putting on a playlist that had only two songs, regardless of how long the drive is, and singing along with the song intermittently and off-key. The two songs on said playlist changed once every few weeks, and the general consensus was that no one could ride with them unless they had enough Ambien beforehand. No one needed to know that when it was just the two of them, they had a different playlist and Keith liked to rest his hand on Shiro’s thigh while he quietly dozed off.
That’s exactly what they ended up doing on the way to Bear Lake. They were taking their annual summer trip there with their friends, and their first official one since half the house had graduated. Keith’s finished the whole throwing his grad-hat into the air and hoping it didn’t come down thing, and Pidge had gotten degree printed onto a large fleece blanket. They were all using this trip to deflate before they had to go back to real life, as it were.
The drive there was uneventful, and Keith slept for most of it. He had plans to sleep on the beach for most of the trip too, under a large umbrella so that no one would place his hand on his belly for their own amusement as he toasted in the sun. Last time it happened no one had fessed up to it, and Shiro of all people hadn’t been able to make eye contact with Keith. This time, Keith had a solid plan of taping a small bell to the underside of the umbrella while no one was looking, just in case anyone tried to move it.
Everyone’s initial first action upon arriving to the beach was to dump everything onto a giant tarp and run straight into the water, leaving their clothes to collect sand. Shiro, ever the responsible one, tried to get everyone to set up their tents beforehand while they still had energy and were sober and no one paid attention to him. Keith thought about helping Shiro for a hot moment, because it would mean Shiro getting shirtless and into the water sooner, but Pidge pulled him by his elbow towards the water, determined that they immediately beat Hunk and Lance in a game of chicken.
Keith looked over his shoulder helplessly at Shiro, and Shiro waved back good-naturedly from where he was setting up the charcoal barbecue. Pidge still didn’t let him go though, no matter how much he tried to look like he was yearning, not until they were in the water and she had climbed onto Keith’s shoulders. She had forgotten to put her sunscreen on, and Keith was pretty sure if they played this again later in the afternoon, Lance was going to go straight to slapping a sunburn.
Hunk and Lance had a longstanding chicken fight rivalry with Pidge and Keith for as long as they had been doing these trips, but Keith was convinced it was all one sided because Pidge consistently and absolutely decimated Lance. It was no different this time, as Pidge grappled with Lance and they hurled insults at each other while Hunk and Keith talked about whether or not they thought it was actually going to rain over the weekend.
“Bring me closer,” Pidge barked at Keith and he complied, moving closer as she pinched Lance’s nose and he let out a nasally squeak. “Call me a leprechaun one more time.”
“How do you think I would look with a goatee?” Hunk asked, rotating a little so that Lance hds a better chance of flicking Pidge across the forehead.
“If you grow one, I’ll grow one,” Keith replied, getting interrupted by Lance managing to get in a hard shove that sent both Keith and Pidge tumbling backwards. They landed in the water with a big splash, and Pidge swore up a storm while Keith laughed and sputtered as he emerged from the water. She gave him less than five seconds to recuperate before she climbed his shoulders again, determined to seek revenge and taking no care to be gentle.
Keith moved in again and started twisting his upper body back and forth so that Pidge could windmill Lance with her tiny hands. Lance screeched and Hunk leaned forward, and they almost got the upper hand on Keith and Pidge again until Keith felt a large set of hands on his hips, slowing him down.
“Time out,” He called, even though Lance and Pidge were still trying to slap each other. He turned around to see Shiro looking on with an amused expression. He was shirtless and wearing black boardshorts with a red spiralling design on it that looked like it should have died ten years ago, and Keith had to take a moment to appreciate how good Shiro looked when he was sunkissed.
“Hey babe,” Keith grinned, and looked over Shiro’s shoulder. The barbecue and cooler were set up, as were two chairs and a single tent— Keith and Shiro’s. Keith was not surprised that Shiro’s proactivity only extended to what the two of them needed, and he leaned up to get a kiss from his boyfriend.
“I’m still up here,” Pidge said indignantly, trying to squeeze Keith’s head with her thighs as he and Shiro continued to kiss. They didn’t really need to anymore, but the more Pidge complained, the more attached Keith grew to Shiro’s mouth. “God, you guys are so gross.”
Keith didn’t have to do anything; Pidge wiggled out of his grasp and fell backwards, bemoaning the fact that Keith had turned into the worst chicken fighting partner. Keith was about to tease her in return, but found himself getting gently pushed aside as Shiro extended a hand and asked her if she wanted to partner up with someone with more skill. Keith squawked about being plenty good enough, but Shiro looked at him innocently while hoisting an extremely smug Pidge up onto his shoulders. The sting was eased by the look of terror on Lance’s face as the two of them rounded on him.
“Not fair,” Lance said, and no one listened.
Keith managed to sneak away as the day melted into a lazy afternoon and everyone’s focus shifted from splashing around in the lake and trying to dunk and hold each other underwater, to getting fed. Lance took charge of lighting the barbecue, Pidge and Shiro were unpacking the marinated steak, and Hunk was performing his pre-cooking ritual of taking a picture of himself against the dark waters of the lake in a bright yellow apron while flexing with a spatula. They forgot to assign Keith something so while everyone keeps busy, he grabbed a towel and an umbrella and quietly snuck down the beach, ultimately deciding fifty feet was far enough for no one to bother him.
He laid out a towel and planted the umbrella into the sand, and saw Shiro in the distance glance up from one of his fluorescent pink bowls. He had thrown on a bright white tank top, and if Keith wasn’t so determined to get a nap in, he’d go closer to appreciate it. Keith waved at him before he plopped down onto the towel, rolling onto his belly and propping his head up onto his arms. He could hear his friends faintly calling out his name, but Keith had no plans to move till he got wind of the steak getting finished. He was feeling extremely lazy and he knew his friends were too lazy to come over to get him, so he closed his eyes as he dozed off in the warmth.
Unsurprisingly, it took only ten minutes for someone to come bother him. Even more unsurprisingly, it was Shiro with a bottle of water and a tube of sunscreen. Keith cracked one eye open in greeting, but he felt too relaxed and too liquid to do anything more than that.
“You’re gonna burn,” Shiro toed Keith in the ribs, and Keith tried to swat his foot away.
“‘M sleeping,” He mumbled into his forearms, turning his head and closing his eyes again. “Leave me alone.”
“C’mon,” Shiro crouched down beside Keith, poking him again. “Let me put some sunscreen on you. You don’t want to burn again.”
“I’m under an umbrella,” Keith grumbled but shifted a little to the side so that Shiro could kneel down on the towel.
“I’ll leave you alone after this,” Shiro said and Keith replied with a lazy “Good,” while he felt the the cold sunscreen drop down the line of his spine.
Shiro spanned his large palms gently over Keith’s back even though his skin was already sunwarm, and spread out the sunscreen. One of the best things Keith found out about dating Shiro was that he had massage skills that were otherworldly. It’s not just that it made Keith want to climb Shiro, which is something Shiro achieved by generally just being there, but it was genuinely one of the most blessed things Keith had ever been introduced to.
Keith let out a soft moan while Shiro kneaded the heels of his palm into Keith, working out the knots in his back as he rubbed in the sunscreen. He started near his shoulders, thumbs rubbing circles into the tendons of his neck till Keith felt like he was floating on a cloud.
“I can’t wait to get this every day,” Keith groaned more than said, and Shiro snorted from above him.
“Who says you’re getting this every day?” He said, squeezing out more sunscreen onto Keith’s back. Keith felt him rub circles right under his shoulder blades, soothing the muscle, and wondered if it’d be too much for him to roll over and ask Shiro to marry him right this instant.
“You did,” Keith replied in a matter-of-fact manner, and made only a small sound when Shiro pinched his side as a reprimand. “That's the only reason why I said yes to moving in.”
Shiro had quietly asked him the question one night while they were both trapped in the library mid second semester, each frying their brains over a stack of books. He had prefaced with a speech about knowing it might be too early because they weren’t quite at their one-year yet but his roommate was moving out in the summer and both he and Keith had really good work offers in town and—
Keith had said yes before Shiro had finished his rehearsed speech, and had leaned over the table to press a kiss to the corner of his mouth before dropping back into his seat and squeezing out another can of Red Bull into his mouth. The answer to it had been clear, and Keith hadn’t doubted it since. It hadn’t taken long after they started to date for Keith to realize that this would be a man he would be more than happy to be stuck in a more permanent orbit with.
They hadn’t talked too much about it, but after the haze of their final semester had passed, Keith had asked Shiro when exactly he wanted Keith in by. Shiro had blinked, and Keith was about to ask him indignantly if he had forgotten that he asked, when Shiro told him he thought Keith had forgotten about it in general because they had never talked about it after that night. Keith had shrugged and said that he thought they’d approach it as it came closer, and that had been that.
Shiro just started the massage, but Keith already felt like he was jelly, like he was the most content he’d ever been. He let out a moan as Shiro dug in harder, working the tension out of the more difficult areas. Shiro’s hands stuttered, like they did every time that Keith did this, and Keith figured he did in fact have a legitimate chance in getting Shiro to do this to him every day so that he could be the most relaxed man on the planet. Keith planned to balance it out by making sure they never ran out of that abhorrent chocolate almond milk Shiro loved so much, and helping Shiro follow through on his desire to paint one of their bedroom walls a deep purple.
Shiro slid a hand underneath him and pushed until Keith had rolled onto his back, despite his protests on not wanting to move. Keith threw an arm over his head as dramatically as he could, only removing it when Shiro leaned down to peck him on the corner of his mouth. Before Keith could respond, Shiro pulled back and squeezed out a straight line of sunscreen down his torso.
When he touched him this time, when Shiro skimmed his hands over his chest, Keith shivered and twitched from where he was laying. Shiro laughed at him as he moved his hands up to Keith’s shoulder blades and rubs circles. He kept them there, even when Keith grabbed his wrist and tried to gently push him downwards.
“Coward,” Keith frowned, and Shiro winked at him. He leaned down, and Keith was ready to yank Shiro for a proper kiss when someone cleared their throat from beside them. They both cast a disgruntled look back, only to see Pidge giving them an equally disgruntled look back.
“We have the wrong cooler,” she said, adjusting her glasses. “Can I have your keys, Shiro? I can go grab it if you’re busy.”
“It’s okay,” Shiro said, wiping the remaining sunscreen off on Keith’s face. “I'll go get it.”
Keith tried to push his hands away and tell him to just give the keys to Pidge, but Shiro had already started to get up. Reluctantly, Keith got up as well, brushing sand off his shorts.
“I’ll come with,” he said, and Pidge snorted as the three of them started to walk back.
“Guess we aren’t getting more beer,” she said, and Keith tucked a strand of his hair back with his middle finger while she pushed up her glasses with hers. Hunk and Lance echoed the same sentiment, and Shiro cheerily told them that he’d drink all the cans in front of them. They took a pit stop before they headed to the car, where Shiro swiped Lance’s canned pina colada and Keith tested out the hot dogs, but they got shooed away by their friends.
Keith hoisted the wine cooler over his shoulder to take back to the car, ignoring Shiro’s offers to help. When they got to the car, Shiro popped open the trunk for him before saying something about wanting to see if they remembered to bring the chips. Keith pushed the wine cooler to the back of the trunk before pulling out the beer cooler, and heard no rustle of chips.
“Hey,” Shiro called out as Keith dropped the cooler onto the dirt. “Come over here.”
“Hold on,” Keith said as he slammed shut the trunk door. He rounded the car to see Shiro sitting in the back seat, legs planted outside. “What's up?”
“Just wanted a moment with you,” Shiro grinned and leaned forward. He dug a thumb in the front of Keith's waistband and tugged, shaking loose some sand. Keith ducked so that he didn't hit the frame of the car, and found himself getting pulled in for a kiss. Keith didn't object; he let Shiro guide him, let him cup Keith's head with one hand while the other slid slyly down his front.
Keith had all the intention to pull back and let Shiro know that half leaning into the car was uncomfortable, but Shiro read his mind and started to tug him in completely.
“Stop,” Keith said playfully, and kissed the fake frown Shiro gives him, “If they don’t come for us, they’ll be coming for the beer.”
“Do you think any of them will really move ten feet from the barbecue?” Shiro deadpanned, and Keith was never not going to pretend that it was frustrating how well Shiro slid into his friend group. Keith was secretly glad for it though, secretly glad Shiro so seamlessly placed himself into Keith’s life like he had always belonged there. He thought their imminent move-in was making him more of a romantic, but it seemed to be the effect Shiro had in general.
“Shiro,” Keith breathed again in between the kisses as Shiro laid down completely on the seat, pulling Keith on top of him. “They'll wonder where we are.”
“Will they though?” Shiro raised an eyebrow and— fair. Keith wouldn't put it past his friends to eventually forget he and Shiro had come on the trip altogether. Keith still rolled his eyes and leaned forward, bracketing Shiro's head with his forearms. He could see the sand dust off from his arms onto the black seats, and planned to pretend that he couldn't see any of it at all.
Keith dipped his head, and the hand on his chest slid around to circle his waist. Shiro met him eagerly and Keith sighed into the kiss, dropping down so that his bare chest pressed a firm line against Shiro's. Shiro tasted like fake pineapple and rum, and even though Keith knew that he at best tasted like a tube steak, Shiro still opened up to him, carding fingers through Keith's hair. He playfully twisted the longer strands at the nape of Keith's neck and tugged, causing Keith to laugh into the kiss.
Predictably, their friends bleated on about how long they took by the time they returned. That is until Shiro tossed them a can each, and they immediately switched topics to how he was possibly the best man they had ever met. Keith was always amused by how easy his friends were, but he found himself hard pressed to disagree.
As was standard with all their beach trips, the moment the sun started to set, Pidge started chirping about a bonfire. It took Lance less than ten minutes to throw wood into the pit and fulfill her wish while Hunk and Keith set out the chairs. Keith wanted to curl up in Shiro’s lap or have Shiro sprawl out in his, but last time they had done that, they had accidentally broken the cloth seat of a chair. It had been a worn out old lawn chair, but the mortification was enough to last a lifetime.
The entire group was pleasantly buzzed from the sun and the barbecue and booze, but it didn’t stop Hunk from passing around a few cans of beer margaritas as they settled down around the fire. They all had a little more money now, but that hadn't stopped anyone in the group from sourcing most of their alcohol from gas stations. At the most, Shiro and Keith liked to pretend to be above them by drinking whiskey, even though their actual favourite drink was any over-sugary boxed pina colada they could get their hands on.
It wasn’t fully dark yet, and Keith wanted to throw on a hoodie and walk with Shiro around the beach but their friends were insistent that they stay and hang around the bonfire.
“You can do that day after,” Lance said from beside them. “I forgot to pack an extra chair and Allura’s going to need a place to sit when she comes.”
“What he means,” Hunk interjected while Keith gave Lance a flat look. “Is that we have less than a week after this trip till you move out, so we want to spend some time with you.”
Keith was about to open his mouth to retort but he caught the look on all his friend’s faces. Even Lance hadn’t made a smart-ass comment, so Keith shut it and rolled his eyes with a fond smile.
“I’m not going to be far away,” he pointed out anyways. “We’re still going to be within driving distance.”
“Please don’t remind me,” Pidge groaned. “I can’t believe we’re all in this place for at least another year.”
“I’m never going to be free of you guys,” Keith playfully bemoaned, and Lance reached down to grab at the leg of Keith’s chair. “Hey, what—”
Lance yanked the leg and tipped his chair, sending Keith sprawling backwards in the sand. Keith sputtered as his back hit the soft ground, and he heard Hunk go “cheers,” in the background. On the other side, he saw Shiro raise his can, and Keith knew that there was no longer anyone safe in the world.
“I’m going to kill you,” Keith informed Lance, but didn’t do much more because the food and drink was still heavy in his belly and the sand actually felt a little comfortable. It took a full two minutes for Shiro to dutifully help him up, and Keith could tell he was pleasantly buzzed too because Shiro pulled Keith up by the wrist and tugged him onto Shiro’s lap instead of bringing up his chair for him.
“You’ve got sand all over you,” Shiro pointed out, but snaked an arm around Keith to keep him down when he tried to move off of him to brush off.
“If you break that one too,” Hunk threatened, but it was an empty threat. Shiro cracked open another can for them to share, and Keith thanked him with a short kiss to the corner of his mouth. He had to remind himself that all his friends were here too, and loved to clown him at any given opportunity, so he settled for getting comfortable in his boyfriend’s lap.
The summer night air was pleasant around him and he basked in the presence of his friends. The bonfire crackled and spat out little sparks that illuminated his friends as they eagerly discussed whether or not the new bar that opened three blocks away legitimately counted as a country bar or not due to it not having a mechanical bull. It was a squarely stupid topic which Shiro chimed in on as well, and Keith couldn’t help but feel the warmth from the fire sink in to his bones as Shiro got into an argument with Lance about country bars in large towns. None of them listened to country music save for Hunk on occasion, but they were all fascinated by both the rumor that the dean’s son worked the weeknight bar shifts and the cheap Triple Fishbowl Fridays.
Keith planned to admit it only once, and specifically to Lance so that he could deny it if Lance ever brought up; he was going to miss his friends when he moved out. They were a very specific brand of chaotic and intelligent idiots that would no doubt still find a way to make his life hard, and he was definitely going to miss them. At the same time, he had got an uncontainable amount of excitement knowing that he was going to be moving in with Shiro soon enough.
Keith normally moved at the speed of heavy molasses when it came to getting attached to anyone beyond surface level. He was friendly in a quiet way, but didn’t recall ever getting hooked in so fast and hard by anyone like he had by Shiro. He had thought that maybe he had been crushing on Shiro too hard before they got together, that maybe something would happen that would suddenly make Keith backtrack and panic. But none of that had ever happened— being with Shiro came to him as naturally as breathing, and even though it had only been just over a year, Keith couldn’t remember being in love like this before.
Shiro jostled both of them as he indignantly told Lance that a country bar was only a country bar if the population of the town it was in was under thirty thousand, and Keith leaned back so that he didn’t fall off the chair. The cloth underneath them creaked warningly, but Keith figured if this one broke then they would still be held up by the sheer power of Shiro’s legs. They smelled like a mix of smoked wood, lake water, and the atrocious body spray Lance decided to spray everyone down with, and even though the laundry was going to make him choke when he got home, Keith was in love with the moment.
Hunk broke out his guitar, as was standard with any sort of gathering of theirs that lasted over an hour, and he and Pidge dedicated a terribly warbly duet to Keith and Shiro. Shiro pretended to choke up while Keith remained stoic only so that he could repress the single tear that threatened to fall out of his right eye. Keith maintained that dating Shiro was the sole reason for why he had become a more emotionally expressive, and absolutely no one believed him, including Shiro.
They’re all wrong though, because Shiro was the reason that Keith had been feeling more than he ever had before. They were both headstrong and ambitious but somehow that had worked in their favour. The final year of university had hit him hard and fast like a sledgehammer, but Keith had an unyielding source of support in Shiro. He tried to return it as well, had been there for Shiro as he tore through the last year of his post-grad, and they had both made it out alive on the other end, relatively unscathed.
They were in town for another year minimum, as was everyone else around the fire. Hunk and Lance were taking an extra semester because they had taken off half of last year to grow Hunk’s business, while Pidge had gotten a contract at the same company as Keith had. Shiro wanted to teach at their alma mater, and the two of them had discussed saving up and possibly moving to a bigger city for when Keith would want to do his post-grad. But that was all for them to talk about later.
For now, Keith focused on being in the moment and singing along off-key with his friends. His words slurred into each other, voice cracking over them as Lance tried to sing louder and Shiro very vocally encouraged him on with a “ that’s my man!” . Keith’s face was long past red, matching everyone else’s, and everything felt relatively right with the world.
It got late before everyone decided that the mosquitoes were getting to be too annoying and that they should turn in for the night. After he brushed his teeth, Keith had the absolutely genius idea that he could get rid of the sand that’s still sticking to him by doing a quick in-and-out dash into the lake. Shiro raised his eyebrows when he suggested it, which Keith took as an okay. He also had a healthy amount of Guinness in him, so it didn’t register as bad idea until the cold water hit his entire body like a slap from the grim reaper. Keith yelped and did a quick one eighty, hopping back onto the beach while his teeth clattered. Lance laughed too loudly at him while Shiro was waiting for him with a towel.
“Did you expect anything else?” Shiro asked, circling Keith with the towel and his big arms. The were warm and solid around him, and made Keith feel a little less like death tried to embrace him. At least he was sober now.
“I did this for you,” Keith grumbled, sticking his tongue out. “At least you can’t complain about the sand anymore.”
“You literally could have just used a wet towel,” Hunk said, and Lance clapped him on the back.
“Leave him alone,” Lance said. “He only bathes like three times a year.”
“That’s three times more than you,” Keith spat out, and Shiro held him back before he could initiate another slap fight with Lance. He pretended to be irritated with the fact that Shiro was herding him into their tent instead of letting him go kick Lance’s ass, but Keith was secretly looking forward to finally being truly alone with Shiro in their own little space.
Keith was sure he was in for some teasing or a lecture, but Shiro unwrapped him from the towel and turned on their mini camping lamp without a word. As soon as Keith was in something dry, Shiro pushed him onto the tiny air mattress that took up most of the space in their tent, and followed by draping himself over Keith.
Keith thought Shiro was trying to warm him up as Shiro pulled one of their quilts over them. But Shiro rolled them over so that Keith was on top of him, and pulled at the back of Keith’s thighs till they were bracketing Shiro’s hips. He ran a hand over Keith’s back and tucked a finger under his chin to pull him into something sweet and languid. They both tasted like travel toothpaste and alcohol, and warmth pooled at the pit of Keith’s belly as Shiro continued to kiss him.
“What’s with you today?” Keith murmured when they broke apart, and Shiro gave half a shrug as he dipped his hand to the hem of Keith’s sweater. Shiro gave a lazy smile as he thumbed at it and pushed it up, rubbing circles into cold skin. Shiro’s hand was large and warm against him and his fingers kneaded into the muscles and there was something about the way he looked at him that made Keith’s ears turn pink.
“What?” He said again, and Shiro pushed his sweater up further. Keith got the hint and pulled it off, leaving himself in his undershirt.
Still quiet, Shiro cast an appreciative glance up and down his body. It had been over a year since they got together, but it still made Keith go a little red when Shiro wasn’t subtle about checking him out. He tried to cut Shiro off by kissing him again and Shiro complied, opening up for Keith. He circled a hand around Keith’s neck, used his other arm to press him down flush from where he was leaning.
Keith felt wanted like this, felt loved like this. He was still not quite sure how he’d managed to land someone like Shiro, but whenever he brought that up around Shiro, Shiro said that he was the one that should be saying it, like Keith was a catch.
“What do you want?” Keith’s voice came out playfully aggressive, petulant like he couldn’t stand Shiro looking at him like this even though it’s all he wanted. The answer was predictable but it still made him grin a little goofy when Shiro said “just you”, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
“Are you excited for next week?” Shiro asked, and Keith shook his head.
“Nah,” He replied, folding his arms over Shiro’s chest and propping his chin up. “I’m getting a new roommate and he looks like a pain in the ass.”
“Yeah?” Shiro pinched his brow like he was genuinely concerned. “I’m in the same boat. Some guy’s taking over my old roommate’s lease and he seems like a dick.”
“We should trade,” Keith wriggled his brows, and Shiro responded by digging his fingers into Keith’s sides. Keith let out a surprised yell and twitched but Shiro made sure he kept Keith rooted on top of him. It was torturous and Keith only lasted ten seconds before he was wrenching Shiro’s hands off of him and pinning them above his head.
“Wow,” Shiro commented and he still had snarky look on. “You’re so strong, Keith.”
“Shut up,” Keith demanded, pressing Shiro’s hands down further. The effect was diluted by the give of the air mattress. “I am strong.”
“That’s what I said,” Shiro said innocently, and Keith decided that the better option in this moment was to kiss Shiro and shut him up before he made a stupid joke. Shiro seemed to be more than happy to go along, even when Keith pressed down hard and biting. Keith could feel Shiro laugh into it and he tried to swallow that up too, easing up slightly only when Shiro was groaning instead.
When Keith was satisfied, he let go of Shiro’s hands. He didn’t even have to tell Shiro anything; Shiro automatically ran one hand through Keith’s hair and dug the thumb of the other into his waistband. They both smell like charred wood and it was perfect, it was more than Keith had ever dreamt of, even when he was daydreaming about getting with Shiro.
Over a year and a half ago, Keith was thrown into a crisis just by Shiro’s very existence. He still was, but in a way that was better than anything he could have even thought of when he was trying to be subtle about staring from the back of Slav’s class. It felt like a lifetime ago, from how well he and Shiro fell in together after they started dating, and felt like it happened just yesterday with how it found new ways to make his heart go funny.
He was going to be moving in with him in a week, and Keith’s mind still tilted at the thought that he was going to be able to live with his best friend. He was going to be able to fight with him over the hot water, was going to be able to get Shiro to make him coffee in the morning while Keith fried the eggs, was going to be able to come home to him drunk at 3 A.M and profess his utmost love and devotion till he passed out on the couch, secure in Shiro’s arms.
There was a lot Keith would be able to do and he thought that he must have been a saint in his past life for how good karma was coming around to reward him. He didn’t notice that he had slowed down, lost in thought, until Shiro pulled back to look at him with a little bit of concern.
“You okay?” He asked, looking up at Keith. “I thought you fell asleep.”
“Would serve you right,” Keith said with only half the bite he intended to use. He ran a thumb over Shiro’s lips and followed it with his own, brushing against them as he spoke.
“I love you,” Keith said against his lips. “So much.”
“Cool,” Shiro replied, and laughed as Keith shoved at his shoulder. “What?”
“I take that back,” Keith grumbled, and Shiro rumbled underneath him. Before he could register it, Keith felt Shiro shift them, heaving so that Keith was on his back again. The air mattress sunk underneath them as Shiro propped himself up above Keith, and looked down at him.
“I love you too,” Shiro said, and Keith reached up to push his bangs back. They fell over Shiro’s face as he let go, a little overgrown, and Shiro leaned into his palm when Keith cupped his face. “Like you wouldn’t even know, baby.”
Keith snorted at the way Shiro drawled out the last few words, but couldn’t deny that the words tugged at his heart.The orange glow of their lamp flickered, and Keith’s heart beat a little faster when Shiro looked down at him with a soft smile. This was his, Keith realized. It wasn’t not a new realization but it felt new, felt fresh every time he thought about it. He wanted this for now, for later, for as long as Shiro wanted him, which he was hoping was forever.
And in no uncertain terms, Shiro looked down at him like it would be.