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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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[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.

[He kisses the bridge of Keith's nose.]

But let's stay here a while longer first.

[He nods, thumbing along Shiro's cheekbones.]

Agreed.

[The sound of the fountain behind them is so comforting, in its own way. Maybe, if nothing else, he could get a small fountain to put in his room, if he ever gets one again.

He shifts a little so he can still sit on Shiro's lap and see the fountain.]

[He accommodates the shift, content to just lean against him so they can both just relax and watch the flow of the water. The fountain is soothing. Between it and Keith's presence, he's actually calm for the first time in forever.

He rests his cheek on Keith's shoulder and just. Lets his mind drift. For once, it doesn't go to the sundry horrors he's seen (the ones he's done), it just-- rests.]

[He strokes along Shiro's spine watching the fountain. This, more than anything, is the moment he wishes he could capture and frame. This quiet peacefulness for them. He hopes he can recreate this when they settle elsewhere.]

...We've really come a long way since the Garrison.

[He snorts a little.]

Literally and figuratively, huh?

[He smirks, ruffling his hair some.]

Yeah, guess we can say both.

Edited 2018-07-02 01:48 (UTC)

[Shiro is really a fucking slave to that hair petting. Take notes for future reference, Keith.]

But you're right. We have. We've survived a lot.

[Oh, he is. He'll find something Shiro likes and run miles with it.]

Think they'll believe us when we tell the Garrison?

[Having the Lions will probably help the validity of their story. But it doesn't mean Keith doesn't expect them to not trust him. He did set a bunch of their stuff to explode the last night he was there saving Shiro.]

I don't know.

[He's gone quiet now. Pensive. He always has been duty-minded.]

If they don't, we're going to have to make them listen however we can.

[He hums an agreement at that. He doesn't know what they'll do, but he'll follow Shiro's lead. He rakes his fingers through the shorter hair on the back of Shiro's head before he moves to get up. It's getting a little too warm to sit here for his liking, not when they could be doing something else.]

You know, I never did clean up after looking at the speeder.

[He needs to shower and there's. The Keith equivalent of a silent offer there.]

[He hears it. Of course he does. He speaks Keith like a native tongue. And then he just laughs, and in one smooth motion he stands as well and--

Well. He can't carry Keith in any romantic way, not missing an arm the way he is. But he sure as hell can stoop, pick him up and toss him over his shoulder.]

Shower it is.

Ha! [He's laughing when Shiro gets him over his shoulder. Normally, he'd be moving around like an unhappy cat. With Shiro? It's perfect. The whole way back inside, he keeps his head resting against Shiro, ready to get back on his own feet if Shiro gets tired of balancing him like that one-armed.

He can't remember being this happy before.]

Put me down if it's too much.