(no subject)

[whatsacactus]

[It's been almost a year since Shiro got him out of the ring he'd found Keith in, bought him and brought him with the Alteans. There were some unsavory remarks at first, but they've since gotten used to this half-Galra former-prostitute being here, even found him useful when he showed he could hold his own in fights.

But even Allura could tell Keith had fallen hard for Shiro. And there wasn't anything happening there. While it's some good gossip to be sure, it's also irritating watching them go around each other so much without anything. So, she told Keith she needed him to take care of something for her, it may take a week or so at a specific location. Even when he protested, she explained Shiro was on a much needed vacation.

So he gets to the planet and realizes it's....... An alien hot springs.

He thinks he knows what's happening. And only seeing the guest sign in confirms it: Shiro's name, a line or two above his own now. He finds out pretty quickly they don't share a room, but they are next to each other; Allura had requested it arranged that way. Great.

He decides this doesn't have to mean anything. Go with it. Dresses down to the boxers and robe provided and moves to stand out on his room's balcony and look over the small resort.]

Comments

[toebeans]

[ The issue with being such close friends with Allura is that he still maintains a level of separation and respect. Where possible, he doesn't try to interfere with personal things that are her own business, because she's still his princess. Altea may not exist in its old form, but it's hard to beat years of respect out of him and he doesn't particularly want to, either. It works out, most of the time.

He does diplomacy for her and the Coalition she's coaxing up, and plays bodyguard at other times. Enough has changed all these years that it's still a little new to him and things are...different, than they were ten thousand years ago. The situation with Keith wasn't one he saw coming but has been prepared on how to handle, now and they take steps to mitigate it. There's specific terminology in the papers they send back and forth with regards to diplomatic meetings that detail out none of that ever again.

Keith's still here, though. He's grown with leaps and bounds and Shiro doesn't regret any of what lead them there.

He does, however, recognize Allura's meddling, the moment that he comes back from his run and they tell him that his friend is in the room next to him, and they've already started preparing dinner for the both of them. Friend, he mouths uncertainly, going to knock lightly on the door to figure out who the hell they mean. Seeing the name only solidifies his suspicions. Allura. Of course. Gently, he knocks on the door and waits, sweeping sweatdamp hair back behind the points of his ears. May as well say hi, shouldn't he? ]

[whatsacactus]

[At the knock, Keith figures it's either room service checking in or the more obvious. He tries not to think too much or he'll get too anxious. It's probably just Shiro. Just Shiro that technically bought and owns him. Shiro that doesn't want to do what owners usually do. Shiro that respects him. Has faith in him. Wants him to be his own person.

Shiro that he fell head over heels for and is probably standing just on the other side of that door.

Taking a deep breath, Keith steps to it and slowly cracks it open. His heart skips a beat and he can feel his breath stopping in his throat when he does see it's Shiro.

Shit open the door.

He opens it wider, tries to smile.]

Uh... Hey.

[toebeans]

[ The waiting never sits well with him but soon enough Keith opens up and Shiro smiles at him, hoping he doesn't look too messy right now. Maybe he could have waited until after he'd taken a bath and gone down to the springs, but he's an idiot and didn't. Besides, Keith's seen him in a worse state. ]

Hey. The Princess mentioned a surprise of some kind but I kind of thought it was going to be a bottle of liquor, not a person.

[ He smiles a little wider and shifts, nodding to his door. ]

I'm going to go shower and then I was going to head down to the springs if you'd like to come. I hear they've already got dinner prepped so by the time we're done there it should be ready?

[whatsacactus]

Oh, uh.

[Shiro asking him down to the springs. Shiro wanting to sit in the springs with him and then dinner...........

Shiro who... Looks really good right now. Holy crap. Keith is trying not to let his eyes wander to how loose strands cling to the line of Shiro's neck. He nods before he finds his words again.]

Yeah. Yeah, sure, I haven't looked around much yet.

[toebeans]

If you want to do that, don't feel obligated.

[ He's always careful about this - always careful to give Keith an out if he doesn't agree to something that Shiro suggests right away, or if the decision is one that he thinks Keith may not like. As far as he can tell, Keith's had enough of not being able to make decisions for himself. Now, Shiro wants to make sure he has as much control as is possible. ]

If you do want to come down, I'll be there in about ten until dinner.

[ The door doesn't open wide to let him in so he doesn't push, wiggling his fingers at Keith in a casual goodbye before heading to his room. The shower takes less than ten minutes but it's almost ten on the dot by the time he's sliding his foot into the steaming hot pool. Beside him, there's a tray with an assortment of alcohols, plus warm and cold tea to choose from. He hopes Keith comes by at some point (not right now, he's not a child with a crush, he can last a few hours, right?) and appreciates this; he's not sure when the last time he could relax was. ]

[whatsacactus]

[His only hesitation to going down is that Shiro felt obligated to offer. After all, Allura set this up. Shiro may not have wanted him here to start with. But he decides it's a public resort. It'd be weird if he didn't use the facilities offered after Allura went through the trouble. And he'd be lying if he didn't want to see Shiro shirtless.

So he heads down not long after Shiro's settled. A quick lay of the land and Keith carefully steps in and settles not far from Shiro.]

They really like to provide a lot.[He's been through similar scenarios like this with customers, but never with everything at once in one place.]

[toebeans]

[ His ears twitch at the sound of footsteps; Shiro cracks his eyes open enough to confirm who it is and lets himself smile a little wider this time. The hot water does a great deal of good to his back, shoulders, and his mood in general. Better still, is that it's Keith here. Even if it's Allura meddling just because she can, it's not like he dislikes the company. ]

The Princess and I weren't even sure this place still existed after we woke up, but back...before, we used to come here sometimes. I tried to tell her I didn't need a break, but you probably saw - she reassigned all of my tasks and no one would give me anything to do. Apparently ten thousand years isn't quite long enough of a break.

[ More like ten thousand years of sleep isn't a break at all. Shiro pushes his hair back out of his face and reaches for the tray, glancing to Keith. ]

Drink? There's alcohol - Altean and Themilian, I think. And then Themilian tea; the hostess told me they gather it up on the mountains just north of here.

[toebeans]

[ The salon he remembers is no longer open but that's not shocking after so many years. They find another one, though, glowing brightly under the clouds hiding most of the dual suns from view. They're instantly ushered inside and settled next to each other, Shiro taking his time to look over the list of options before deciding it's far too complicated and settling for having his nails painted again, hands and feet, and a massage to go with it.

The soak they do beforehand is nice enough, but the scrubbing tickles and he flinches a little bit. The translators pick up the quiet teasing - a warrior this touchy? and his cheeks heat, smiling despite himself. ] It's not as if I have people touching my feet that often.

[ Ears twitching as he tries to suppress any other reaction, he glances over to Keith, relieved at how relaxed he seems. ]

What all did you choose?

[whatsacactus]

[Keith is a little sad a salon Shiro had liked and remembered so well was gone. But once they're ushered inside the new one, Keith is taken aback. While the salon at his job had a lot of options, it definitely didn't look very nice; it was more a behind-the-scenes sort of place to get them ready for clients and out the door. Not a place to relax longer than it took to prep them.

Keith is handed a portscreen of options. His eyes go a little big because he realizes now he clearly doesn't know the proper names for a lot of the things he's had done. Hand paints, hand working. The same for his feet, a face mask with lotions. They suggested a few things for his hair and since he definitely didn't know enough about it, he agreed to whatever they suggested, as long as it didn't include cutting the length. It was the one thing he did for himself, grow it out and be adamant his boss not cut it.

But the fact is, once they start? Keith relaxes. Fully, completely. He closes his eyes and lets them work.]

Hand and foot paints. And ... something with my hair, deep considering [conditioning] or something.

[toebeans]

[ He'd been half worried that this would ring too similar to what Keith had escaped from, but thankfully, the longer this goes on the more content he seems. They take to Keith easily, and while Shiro doesn't know the extent of what they're doing, the fact that he seems so relaxed is something he's endlessly grateful for. For as much time as Keith had to spend pampering others - as far as Shiro could tell, most who deserved none of it, that it's able to be switched is a relief.

Keith deserves this. ]

Deep considering, mm.

[ He's teasing gently, letting the alien dig into a spot of tension on his hand that he wasn't even aware of, shivering out a little noise in response as it pinches and then the tension goes away. ]

You look relaxed. It's nice.

[whatsacactus]

[Once his hands are soaking for a few minutes, the attendant lowers his chair back to start washing his hair. They make a comment or two about not seeing hair like this outside the Alteans, but Keith clearly isn't; he doesn't respond past a quiet affirmation in his throat. He knows half-Galra aren't welcome anywhere, and human is... weird this far out. But thank the heavens for Shiro even with his teasing.]

Well. This place is nice. And they're good at this. It helps. But it's nice to see you let someone else take care of you too.

[toebeans]

Mmn. I see why the Princess was so adamant that we check it out again.

[ They start working on his feet again, putting wax into little tubs and then putting his feet in them. This raw and sensitive from the scrubbing, it's almost too hot but cools quickly and then they start peeling it off, leaving them even softer. It feels ridiculous when they do it on his hand, too; he's always had rough palms and fingers from working with swords and glaives and everything under the sun that the Alteans used, but it's...nice. All of this is. ]

I used to braid the Princess' hair, back when things were...quieter. Easier. Eventually, I started learning how to do the more and more complicated ones for fun.

[whatsacactus]

Mm. But did you ever let anyone do yours?

[The more he hears about Shiro and Allura, the better picture he thinks he's getting of them. And that arranged marriage Allura had mentioned to him, the one Shiro didn't take. It's making a little more sense now.

They rinse his hair and towel pat-dry it so they can sit him up straight again and work some sort of mixture into his hands' skin. It isn't one he's familiar with and he almost jerks away before he remembers he's supposed to let them. The cream is probably safe, and definitely not as questionable as others.]

Your hair could be really pretty. [Keith that's gay as hell to say to another guy.]

[toebeans]

[ He never thought that they'd get to the point of scheduling sex, but here they are. A whole day without interruptions, short of an emergency. Privacy. A room where the walls are solid and there's no way sound will escape. And underneath him, warm and solid and squirming under the hand on his dick, Keith.

Shiro squeezes lightly, just because he's feeling benevolent and then slides back down Keith's body where he's laid out like a buffet and noses at the thick line of his cock, mouthing wetly at the fabric covering it. It's absurd how much time it took to get here, but they're there and he's got Keith's cock almost in his mouth and he's so relieved he could can't handle it. ]

Remember, I want you to tell me what you want or like.

[ He doesn't want to make assumptions, but he can guess that there weren't a lot of clients that were exactly concerned with the idea of getting Keith off when they were trying to. ]

[whatsacactus]

[There were so, so many attempts, so many times they had to stop early because of obligations popping up. Keith had actually started to lose patience when Shiro did something that got him an entire day away. Even now, he's sure something will come knocking on the door looking for him. But until then he's squirming under Shiro's hand, lifting his hips up against his mouth.

He nods.] Yep-- I, I will. [It's hard to verbalize sometimes but he's ready - past ready - to try this. There had only ever been the couple of one-off clients that cared if he felt good. It's always a weird experience. He tries not to think about his skin, or how his tick is twitching. It's all anxious energy.]

[toebeans]

Alright.

[ He uses both hands to peel his underwear down, letting it get lost over the edge of the bed when he manages to get them off. Once that's out of the way, he settles back on his knees between Keith's thighs and reaches for the lube, slicking two of his fingers. Ideally, Keith'd be on his belly for this, because Shiro finds it a little bit easier, but he can't blow him as easily when they do it that way, so this is what works.

There's no need to speed through any of this, though part of him wants to, like he's afraid that if he doesn't go fast, they'll get interrupted again. It's a valid fear, given all the other times that things came up, but there's no beeping console so Shiro lets himself focus. He guides Keith's cock between his lips and rubs one slick finger against his hole, working him open with slow, easy pushes of his wrist, eyes sliding shut as he savors this. ]

[whatsacactus]

[It's almost sweet, how slowly Shiro is taking this. Keith lets out a low groan and stretches underneath him, a hand carefully resting on Shiro's head. This is good. This is a good start, of Keith being allowed to enjoy this. He lifts his hips up, rolling against Shiro's mouth and back down onto his finger.]

Still-- Still not sure we won't get interrupted. [Saying what Shiro's thinking, to be honest. But he's got one eye watching the door. Just in case.]

[toebeans]

I reserve [ It's not exactly easy talking with his mouth full, but slides down Keith's cock until his nose brushes his belly and eases two fingers into him, curving them up, searching while he swallows. When he rises back up, it's to lick his lips and continue. ] -the right to tell them that we need time. I'm busy.

[ They're both busy. Thankfully it hasn't ever gotten this far where they were interrupted, but that just means that interruption at this point is going to be massively inconvenient. No sense worrying about it right now, though; he noses at Keith's cock and presses a kiss to the tip, smiling stupidly up at him and then goes back to work. ]

[whatsacactus]

[His groan is high pitched when Shiro goes down that first time. There were only ever a few out of a hundred that ever wanted to suck him off so it's never been anything he got used to. But holy shit, Shiro's mouth. Keith's hips arch up off the mattress for a moment, then down again onto his fingers.]

M-maybe. [He swallows, grips at Shiro's hair when he goes down again.] Doesn't mean they all li-isten.

[whatsacactus]

[They trained him for a few months in his new role - escorting and trying to protect Shiro when he goes to meetings, peace talks, negotiations. Anything that has him away from the castle. Keith doesn't think he's that well prepared, but Allura and the Blades do. He's with him now, dressed in the best Allura could find for someone as small as he is. But he has his eyes and ears open, ready for anything. This is an important dinner, a peace talk that could do a lot to tip the scales of the fight against the Galra. Keith can practically feel the tension in the air as they walk to the large, open room with an extravagant meal prepared for them.]

Shiro. [He's walking alongside him, keeping his voice low so he doesn't insult anyone or anything.] Do you think it was a good idea for Allura not to come to this?

[toebeans]

[ Allura had been the one to suggest that they add Keith into their group. It wasn't as if they were very large to begin with, and they could always use the help. Furthermore, she'd suggested that he may as well use all that training he's getting with them and the Blade. It didn't matter that he'd survived the Arena, that he'd survived attempt after attempt on his life - she wasn't going to budge and Shiro didn't want to die on that hill. Besides, Keith learning more and making connections wasn't a bad thing and Shiro was certain that whatever they put him up to, he'd do with the same single-minded competence that he'd addressed everything else with. He might not like it, necessarily, but he understands it and Keith seems happy, so he doesn't fight.

Besides, Keith is good at it. Maybe it's due to his prior job or maybe something else. Shiro doesn't know, but it doesn't matter. He does know that this is supposed to be an easy meeting and then they'll be back and he can rest his aching feet. ]

What, you think we can't handle it?

[whatsacactus]

No, I just-- [He flounders a bit, gestures with his hands while they keep walking.] She's the princess. I thought...

I don't know.

[He still isn't the most well-versed on procedures and who goes to which meeting. But this one felt like one she might have wanted to be at. Sure, she'll get the notes later, but he can tell it isn't the same sometimes.] How are you feeling?

[toebeans]

If she had to attend every diplomatic meeting that we were scheduled for, she'd never have a chance to breathe, let alone do anything else.

[ Gently, he places a hand at the small of Keith's back. It's just high enough to be guiding, decent, rather than intimate but he likes these little moments between them, like shared secrets. ]

Me?

[ One shoulder lifts and falls as they walk past massive tables set up with an assortment of foods. ]

I'm just fine. Don't worry, alright? You look good, the Princess trusts you and this will be easy. I promise.

[whatsacactus]

[Keith takes a look around the room to catalog it - a full open area, alcoves up high, a second floor with a railing overlooking their table. "The princess trusts you". No pressure.

Shit. Their host is talking and he should probably pay attention. But there's just something he can't put a finger on that has the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end.]

What does me looking good have to do with if you're okay?

[toebeans]

[ He's been through the schematics of the room that were provided in advance and knows the entrances, exits. He's met the staff acting as security, and recognizes them. He's familiar with the planet they're negotiating with, and Allura was confident this would be in and out, easy as you please.

Still.

Even Keith seems distracted and Shiro doesn't quite know what it is, but when they arrive at their seats and he pulls Keith's out for him, there's....something. He's quieter, speaking from the corner of his lips, low and inaudible to the people around them as they settle. ]

You seem...worried. That's all.