fourstrings | (no subject)

[ Shiro loves Keith. It's a bone-deep thing by now, all tied up with pride and admiration, something that sparks from the warmth of a hearth fire into a blaze with very little provocation – and increasingly at very inconvenient times.

Shiro loves Keith, loves all that passion and forward motion. The problem is when forward isn't something the world doesn't immediately provide. Getting Keith to stay in the hospital wing until the doctors were satisfied with his recovery had been hard enough. Now that he's fully recovered and active, he's... well. A handful. The immediate threat to Earth has been contained, the people who'd been in Galra camps have been collected and brought to safety, and all the work that needs doing now is planning and organizing. Pidge has thrown herself into working on new designs with the rest of the Holts, Hunk and his family are eyes-deep in helping the freed prisoners, and Lance is introducing aliens to the way things work on earth in an effort that Shiro is pretty sure started out as an attempt to take Allura on a date. Shiro himself is still learning his way around Atlas, who despite being the size of a small moon had started reacting to his thoughts with all the enthusiasm of a new puppy until he had to get a “casual” prosthetic that doesn't amplify the connection. Keith, though – Keith seems to chafe against the new setting, fighting against the borders of this new way of doing things until he's sharp and snappish in a way that he'd left behind some time ago. Shiro's pretty sure Griffin was cruising for another beating at their last meeting, and there's not really much they can do short of letting Keith off the leash to get back into space and burn some of it off – which is something Shiro isn't willing to consider, not after they've spent so long apart and in danger.

So he does the only thing he can think to do. After the next outburst, he asks Keith for a moment of his time, leads him into an empty office, and slams him up against the door to kiss him with bruising force. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ It's an honor to see Keith like this, really. He can be kind and supportive with others, as Hunk is more than willing to testify, but Shiro is aware he's one of three people (yes, Kosmo counts as a person) who gets to see him like this, gentle and sweet.

And the only person who gets to see him gentle, sweet, and naked, which makes Shiro about the luckiest guy in the universe. ]

Maybe not the whole weekend. They're still testing some non-essentials from the garrison, checking what works and what should just be repurposed.

There's a hoverbike or two that really need to be put through their paces.

[ it's about what he expected, and keith isn't really going to complain --

but then shiro says that, and the hazy smile on keith's face sharpens itself into a grin. ]

As long as you don't complain when I leave your ass in the dust.

I'm counting on it.

[ Really, it was only ever experience that made the difference for Shiro before. now that Keith's had his time flying Red? It'll be a miracle if Shiro manages to keep him in sight. ]

We could make a day of it. Take a picnic. You think Kosmo could meet us out there?

Meet us?

[ with a nose wrinkle that suggests he's offended by the suggestion. ]

We can just use one of the hoverbikes with a sidecar. [ if he can find an extra pair of goggles and pull the strap tight, that'd be enough to keep the dust out of his eyes... ]

Cute.

[ It's a whispered thing, almost involuntary, because the image of Komso in a sidecar, leaning into the wind, tongue hanging out - it's irresistible. ]

If he gets excited and teleports your bike ahead, that's a forfeit.

[ he snorts, elbowing his boyfriend playfully in the gut. ]

We don't need to cheat just to beat you.

Oof! Somebody report this guy for elder abuse.

[ And because Shiro is very clever about certain things and exceedingly stupid about others, it's only now - years and galaxies later - that it occurs to him all Keith's old timer remarks were probably his attempt at baby gay flirting. The thought makes him smile even wider, and he presses a kiss to Keith's forehead. ]

Okay, okay. Let's try and get you dressed and head somewhere more comfortable.

[ Dressing Keith according to regulations is probably a lost cause, but if they use his belt to secure the torn waistband of his pants, Shiro's jacket should be long enough to hide the damage.

And if not? Well, the sight of them's probably enough to forestall any questions, anyway. ]