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[The agreement to go back to Earth had been quickly decided without any argument. Krolia had agreed to ride with Pidge, leaving Shiro and Keith alone in Black with his cosmic wolf.

It's quiet. They're all still recovering from the long fight with Lotor, the exhaustion of the quintessence field, the everything about Shiro once Keith had the time to tell them. He left out a lot (Krolia and Coran's eyes let him know they could tell he left a lot out), but it wasn't their business really.

Keith takes a slow breath, trying not to disturb the wolf lazing next to his seat but he needs to move around. He's ready to be cooped up here for weeks going back to Earth, but after just a couple of days? He's getting cabin fever.

He doesn't get up yet, but squeezes the controls.]

You doing okay back there?

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Mm. Maybe.

[Keith still isn't sure what his place is. He's still working with the Blades while also still being able to pilot Black. Does he even have a place on the Castle with them at this point? He moves with the tug, watching Shiro's face, then pointedly straddling his lap facing him.]

Talk to Coran and Sam about it when we see them.

[If they brought up wanting a fountain and garden, knowing it came from Keith would probably cause a lot of looks and some laughter he's sure. It's unexpected from him.]

All right. I will.

[He exhales - it's obviously a sigh of something like relief, the sound someone makes when they've come home after a long day - and leans into Keith, resting his forehead just under his clavicle and wrapping his arm around him.]

I think we can probably recreate it exactly.

[Keith makes a noise in his throat at Shiro shifting into him, smiles a little and hugs him close with both arms.]

...If we're going to, let's make it something special to us. [He's unfamiliar with the flowers used on this fountain, but he knows there's bound to be something sentimental between the two of them and no one else. Something besides Auntie's pancakes.]

This is beautiful, but... Would you want this exactly?

[He laughs a little, leans back to look at Keith directly.]

You mean, would I change anything?

Yeah. If you had to pick something as a fountain display that was for just us, what would you pick?

I'd pick this one.

[He doesn't think he'd change a thing. He just reaches up, brushes Keith's hair back from his face. It really is long enough for him to put it up, he realizes.]

So I could remember the look on your face the first time you saw how beautiful it was here.

Oh.

[That catches him off guard. Poignant and romantic, this really is a side he'd not gotten to see before. But it makes sense. Keith turns to kiss Shiro's palm.]

Then the same one when we ask Coran about it.

Agreed.

[He resumes his earlier position, head tucked down beneath Keith's chin, pressed into his chest. He can feel his heartbeat, strong and sure. He curls his arm back around Keith, low on his hips and lets his fingers catch at the fabric of his flight suit.]

I'm gonna miss this place when we leave. Even with the creepy basement.

I will too. 's why I'm going to make sure it's marked on Black's memory. Find it again in the future if we want.

[He rests his head against Shiro's, kissing the crown of his head and nosing against his hair some.]

Did we decide how much we want to tell the others?

[He's almost boneless against Keith, just letting himself be held and slightly spoiled. He'd be purring, if he wasn't-- you know, an adult human male.]

I figured I'd leave that one up to you. I'm comfortable with whatever you decide.

[With Shiro being so comfortable, he'll take advantage of it. For now, he strokes through Shiro's hair, admiring the white.]

Maybe work up to it?

Mm. All right.

[Okay but just keep doing that thing, please. Keith's not the only one starved for a soft touch. So many times over the last few years, physical contact has meant violence, near-death, suffering or pain. It's nice to just-- give in. Relax. He'd almost forgotten how.]

[He will. Keith settles his weight there on Shiro's thighs and draws aimless circles into Shiro's scalp. This is, without a doubt, the most at peace he's ever felt.]

They'll find out eventually anyway. Gonna be hard covering up us being in each other's rooms.

[That's okay to joke about, right?]

[It gets a soft, appreciative little groan.

He thinks they might have been holding a conversation, but it's hard to say. It feels so good sitting here like this. At length:]

I don't want to lie to them.

[But he doesn't want to tell them more than they have to, either. It's not that he objects to their knowing, or thinks that they'd make a big deal out of it, it's just-- Shiro's always been private. He doesn't like airing out the details of his personal life for anyone and he knows Keith's the same way.]

But I'm happy to leave out the details unless they ask.

Works for me.

[He kisses his hair again, sort of curling around him and hugging Shiro close. After all this time, he can't help but be a little possessive. He doesn't want to share this, and like Shiro, also likes his privacy.

The longer they sit, the easier it is to let silence settle between them. He mouths I love you into Shiro's hair, still afraid to actually say it out loud. But he needs Shiro to know.]

Mm.

[Whether he says it or not, it's always been understood. Shiro pulls back a little bit, just enough to lean up into Keith's space properly and kiss him. It's a quiet, intense thing, a glut of emotion poured into a singular point of contact and he doesn't break away until he's breathless.]

[The kiss is sweet, and Keith eats it up. He drags his fingers up Shiro's back when he pulls away, keeping their foreheads together. A few breaths pass before he shifts his hips against him, trying to get comfortable and ends up just rubbing against him. Not the worst thing he could do right now.]

Still a little weird not having a schedule to keep while we're here.

[No, not the worst thing. Although Shiro sort of... shifts surreptitiously himself. If Keith isn't careful, he's going to be very interested in some further downtime.]

Tell me about it. I don't remember the last time I wasn't on a regimented itinerary.

[The Garrison was all about protocols. The flight to Kerberos had all manner of things that needed doing at precise times. And in prison... well, meal deliveries were timed, the guard routines were timed. Being dragged up and out into a fight could have happened at any moment but in a way, the unpredictability of it all was predictable. He got used to it. This, though. Knowing they can do whatever they want, whenever they want. Sleep while the sun's up (metaphorically speaking) eat whenever they're hungry, have six showers in a day if they want them. It's oddly liberating.]

I don't think I've ever known you when you weren't. I'm liking seeing you relax.

[Keith may enjoy the further downtime, though. His hand moves from stroking Shiro's hair to the nape of his neck, just where the hairline starts and touching at the skin just under where the flight suit hits.]

Glad you get to have this time.

It's been like that my whole life.

[He was never really carefree. There was just... less on his plate, when he was younger. But he still had duties, responsibilities. Things that needed to be done. He's either worked or been at school almost every day since he was fourteen years old.

So this is more than a welcome respite. If Keith wasn't with him, though, he thinks he'd have gone insane by now.

He tips his head forward, giving Keith more access to the skin there.]

But that goes double for you. You deserve some time off.

Mm. I had plenty of time.

[He had all that time with his mother. He scarcely deserves this with Shiro.

He shifts again, letting Shiro's head rest on his shoulder so he can stroke along the back of his neck more. He likes being able to do this.] And I'm sure we'll be out of the fight for a little bit while we're on Earth.

[He doesn't want to think too much about it, but they'll all likely be hounded once it's known they're there. The Holts having been thought dead, Shiro having been abducted from the crash site, Lance and Hunk suddenly missing from the Garrison... They'll all be pounced on for interviews and debriefing, probably.]

It's not the same thing.

[It's really not. That was two years where he was still fighting for his life every day, waking up somewhere alien. Maybe it wasn't all bad, but it still wasn't the same as being somewhere soft and quiet with all the amenities you could want laid out at your feet.

He all but melts beneath Keith's hands.]

It depends on what Sam and Matt told the Garrison. About us. About everything.

[He hasn't forgotten the fact that they tried to tie him down. He hopes that isn't how it went for them.]

Hopefully enough they won't be shocked seeing all of you when we get there.

[He still doesn't count himself in that. No one would care if Keith came back to Earth except the people he's coming back with.]

[He grimaces. He's used to Keith's casual self-deprecation, but the truth is-- he isn't wrong. There aren't many people on Earth that he made a point of getting to know. His family is a thing chosen, mostly, rather than born. Shiro is glad he got to meet Krolia, get to know her, spend time with her. But Keith had to make a family for himself before he ever met her, and that's the Paladins.

It's him. Keith chose this, chose him.

Shiro kisses at his cheek, gently. Then,]

Before we leave... Keith. I want to make love to you.

[Keith doesn't choke so much as he sort of stalls. He watches Shiro pull away from that, a sort of awed look on his face before he schools it into something a little softer.]

Yeah? [How does one just accept that? He holds Shiro's cheeks and brings him back up to kiss gently.] Then. We will.