Chapter Text
It was a full day later and he still hadn't seen Shiro. The evening of the incident Shiro wasn’t in the Great Hall for dinner, and neither was he the morning after.
Keith had sunk into a deep slumber immediately upon returning to his dorm. In his dreams though, a tall figure had been staring at him, hungry, purple glowing eyes raking all over Keith’s body, and he woke up feeling simultaneously anxious and aroused.
For once he was alone in his dorm room, so he took the chance to find release. What he couldn’t shake though, was the feeling of shame as a certain face kept popping into his mind, translucent shirt and everything.
But there he was, jerking off to the memory of his best friend’s nipples, not feeling guilty enough to stop. The sounds echoing slightly from the stone walls made him feel more self aware and even after Keith had cleaned himself up he still felt dirty somehow. And unsatisfied.
His caffeine demanding brain urging him towards the Great Hall made it easier to push away what he had just done, and while some uneasiness remained, the first sip of coffee provided enough Dopamine to forget about it for the time being. He skimmed over the Daily Prophet’s headlines while inhaling the glorious steam rising from his cup.
It was the same as always. Conspiracy theories, questionable tips about how to bewitch your wardrobe for a magical New Year's Eve and the Quidditch section. Which was hands down the only part with substance. With a wistful sigh Keith read over the advertisement for the international Junior League tryouts, lamenting the fact that Hogwarts wasn't even considering putting together a team for it. Maybe he should talk about it to Kolivan or Shiro.
Speaking of. Out of the corner of his eyes he saw someone with silvery hair walk through the doors of the great hall, and his pulse quickened. On second glance, and to his disappointment, it was just Shiro’s Bright-Hair-Club; sans Shiro. Lotor walked through the hall as if he owned it, and it filled Keith with both repulsion and envy. Allura on Lotor’s arm looked almost regal, as if they weren’t two 18-year-olds in a public school full of hormones and teenage angst.
Keith redirected his attention back to his coffee and went over his locate-Shiro strategy. It would be helpful to ask the Bright-Hair-Club, but he’d rather not. Quidditch pitch and Astronomy tower, the Greenhouses, the library. If he circled around those he might be able to run into Shiro by chance and hopefully clear up their situation. Which might have gotten even more complicated after the lake incident.
Remembering the prefect's bathroom made heat rise in Keith’s cheeks. The image of Shiro’s shirt, wet and translucent against hard muscle, brought back the memory of what he had done in the morning. Objectively, the knowledge of what color Shiro’s nipples were shouldn’t leave him that agitated but yet… and then there was the mysterious tattoo, swirling down Shiro’s bicep and part of his forearm that his horn dog brain had initially ignored. Keith was dying to find out more about it.
He had to find Shiro.
As if on command someone plopped down next to him onto the bench, and it was probably the only other person he was happy talking to apart from his favorite Slytherin.
It was his favorite Hufflepuff. Her long blonde hair was tied up into pigtails and her cheeks matched the color of her strawberry sweater.
‘Merry Christmas!’ she said happily.
‘To you too.’ Keith answered, making a toasting gesture with his coffee.
‘Soooo how was it?’ Romelle asked, reaching for a chocolate croissant. Keith raised an eyebrow.
‘Don’t play dumb, did you confess?’
Keith felt his cheeks get hot. He shook his head. Romelle bit into her croissant, dissatisfied with his reaction.
‘Nothing? I thought the evening was going so well, and you went to that secret dungeon afterparty, didn’t you?’
‘Yeah, well…’ Keith shrugged. ‘Didn’t really play out as planned.’
He took a sip from his coffee to stall, but when he looked back Romelle was still looking at him with squinted eyes.
‘Something happened. You look like a tomato. Did you snog?’ That made Keith spit out his coffee.
‘That’s a yes in my book.’ Romelle grinned, satisfied with herself as Keith tried to stop his coughing fit.
‘It wasn’t like that.’ he huffed. ‘There was a mistletoe jinx floating around. It was an accident.’ Romelle tilted her head.
‘And looking at your face, I’d say a lucky one.’ She giggled.
‘Well, considering he snogged another guy the moment I looked away, we’re obviously soulmates.’ Keith grumbled as his mug refilled magically. He tried to push away the memory of Curtain’s stupid face agains’t Shiro’s way too handsome one. The spilled coffee on the table evaporated with a sizzle after a frustrated swing of Keith’s wand. Romelle’s eyebrows were still raised when he turned towards her.
Five minutes later she had gone through about twenty more facial expressions while went going over the events of the party and the lake incident. Her croissant was forgotten and cold on her plate.
‘Sounds to me like he wants you but for some reason he is holding back.’ she concluded.
‘Great, that solved all my problems.’ Keith snorted.
‘Anything for you!’ She grinned, elbowing his side lovingly. ‘Come on, he obviously cares for you more than a friend. Also I’d be devastated if my crush slut-shamed me, so give him some time to be pissed.’
Keith groaned. He should never have judged Shiro so quickly. His jealousy has gotten the better of him, self pity wasn't the way to go though if he wanted to fix this.
‘He is probably just insecure.’ At that Keith raised his brow.
‘I mean, think about it! You didn’t want to risk your friendship through confessing, he probably feels the same. You get jealous when he is close with other guys, why wouldn’t he be jealous too? After all you took me to the Yule Ball, for all he knew you could be straight!’
The topic of his sexuality made Keith’s stomach turn so he just resorted to sipping his coffee while contemplating his friend’s advice. Shiro jealous? Keith hadn’t even considered the possibility.
‘He is but a measly mortal.’ Romelle said melodramatically, then smiled. ‘He’s like you and me.’
‘Mh…’
Keith’s mind was still circling around the words Shiro and jealous . He couldn’t really think Keith was into girls? Then again he had asked to bring Lance to the party; oh god, hopefully Shiro didn’t think he was into Lance. Or worse, Pidge? Had Shiro made out with that guy Curdball because he felt rejected? Impossible… or not?
‘In any case,’ Romelle said suddenly, startling Keith. ‘You need to have the talk. Find out where you guys stand. It could just be a big misunderstanding.’
‘The talk. Sounds lovely.’ Keith hummed. She was probably right though. But how to approach the topic, he couldn't really walk up to Shiro and just ask if he was jealous. How did people even find out someone liked them? Shiro had looked like he wanted to devour Keith back in the prefect’s bathroom, pupils dilated and breath quick. The reminder made his heart speed up, and that suddenly gave him an idea. He downed the rest of his lukewarm coffee and stood up.
‘I’m just gonna…’ he gestured towards the door, leaving his sentence unfinished.
‘Go get your man.’ Romelle grinned. It made Keith roll his eyes. It felt nice though to have someone root for him, someone who knew. With his spirit renewed he made his way towards the Quidditch pitch, not without a last wave back to the strawberry colored Hufflepuff at the Gryffindor table.
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Keith sunk into the plush pillows of the library’s reading corner. After circling around the Hogwarts grounds and all of Shiro’s and his favorite spots twice he was freezing and tired, and still very shiroless. Madame Holt, the librarian, was eyeing him suspiciously since Keith had entered her safe haven of silence for the second time that day already, and not too quietly at that. Tired and a little disappointed he taxed his brain if he had missed any of their hangout spots.
Quidditch Pitch, Astronomy Tower, Greenhouses, he had even gone to the Owlery.
It had started to snow again, and the flakes were dancing down merrily in front of the window. As Keith watched them, the sensation of piercing cold lakewater against his skin still a little too vivid in his memory, he noticed something move at the lower edge of the window. When he went closer it looked almost like an invisible hand was drawing a message onto the glass. The writing was elegant and he recognized it immediately.
Midnight, astronomy tower. Bring Flubberworms.
Finally Keith thought. His heart was fluttering with excitement and a bit of dread. What he had planned was among the bolder things he had done, but it felt almost foolproof. He barely heard Madame Holt’s shush! as he sprinted towards the door. It was still a few hours until midnight, but he was determined to get it right this time around.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When he stepped onto the highest floor of the Astronomy tower, hair still a little shower-damp and in his cleanest crimson hoodie, Shiro was already there, back towards him. The Slytherin’s silhouette against the night sky made Keith swallow nervously. His heart was going fast despite having gone over all the possible ways this conversation could go. While he didn't expect their friendship to end, a bitter part of him was weary of being too hopeful. Anything is possible Keith reminded himself, remembering Shiro’s kiss as vividly as the translucent shirt that just wouldn't leave his mind.
Shiro turned around when Keith was a few steps away. He had switched his school uniform with a comfy looking sweater and jeans. Despite the casual attire he looked almost radiant with the moonlight illuminating him from behind, and it would have felt awfully corny had it been anyone else.
‘Hey.’ Keith said sheepishly, all of his determination suddenly gone with the wind.
‘Hey.’ Shiro said, bracing himself against the rail. ‘I see you thawed up nicely.’ His dorky smile felt like absolution.
‘Yeah, thanks to you.’ Keith answered, completely serious. ‘You saved me.’ Shiro’s smile wavered. Then he sighed.
‘Keith, I wanted to apologize. I was in a bad state that day, but that doesn't excuse the way I treated you. I just… I needed a day to recover. I’m fine now!’ he exclaimed after Keith’s expression turned concerned. ‘What I’m trying to say is, I’m really sorry. That's not how I treat the people that are important to me. Also the lake, it must have been painful.’
Keith looked at the Slytherin for a moment. Shiro looked like a new person, gone was every trace of tiredness from his face or posture. He looked unfairly beautiful, and the way his eyes met Keith’s, full of remorse and hope, made Keith’s heart speed up.
‘It was so fucking cold, man. The Vikings were right, hell is frozen.’ Keith grinned and held out his hand. On it wriggled the gummy candy Shiro had demanded, cherry flavor this time. Humor and sugar was a good start, and making Shiro chuckle allowed his stomach to finally relax as the Slytherin took the offered Flubberworm.
‘I wanted to apologize too… again.’ Keith said, leaning backwards against the railing next to Shiro. The stone was pleasantly warm despite the snow still falling right next to them, and even the wind was slightly cool at worst. He silently thanked Professor Holt, who must have been investing a lot of spell power to make this tower comfortable.
‘I said some pretty shitty things at the party that I didn’t mean.’ Keith continued, more to the floor than Shiro. Facing the Slytherin would probably have made that statement seem more sincere but shame and nerves wouldn't let him. Keith had judged Shiro just because he had kissed the wrong person.
Wrong. Was Keith the right one?
‘Let’s call it even.’ Shiro said, reaching out his hand. ‘You behave slightly irritated towards me after I force a kiss on you. I try to drown you in a frozen lake as retaliation. Sounds fair?’
How could a grin be so goofy yet so endearing. Shiro’s hand was warm and a little rough as Keith took it, faking an amused expression. His heart had started racing though, and his grin must have betrayed the nerves he was feeling, because Shiro's expression turned serious again.
Saying I love you was a little too dramatic, but he needed Shiro to know that he was more than a friend. He needed to say something. He needed to find out. The moment he spoke, so did Shiro though.
‘I wanted that kiss.’
‘I’m dating Curtis.’
Stunned, both stared at each other, eyes as wide as the full moon looming over them. Something froze within Keith, despite the cursed lake being so far below them. Shiro’s face looked as he felt, stunned and as if had hoped he heard wrong.
Something crept over Keith’s face and made it feel numb. It was like watching Shiro through another person’s eyes, somehow farther away than just that careful little bit of space between their elbows.
‘You’re dating…?’ Keith repeated. His voice sounded almost alien to him. Why was it so hard to take a breath? Shiro answered awfully slowly, as if processing something.
‘Yeah.’ Shiro spoke hesitantly. ‘After you left… at the Christmas party. He confessed and…he has always been so sweet…’
Keith drowned out the rest. He didn’t want to know. Too late, too slow, too much of a coward. It was his own fault, and now that fucking laundry sack of a Ravenclaw had bested him. Shiro was looking at the stone floor, awkward posture and cheeks flushed faintly. When he looked at Keith expectantly, the Gryffindor realized that he was probably supposed to reply something.
‘That’s great.’ someone said. It couldn’t have been himself, Keith thought, it didn’t sound like him and this evening was anything but great. Shiro kept looking.
‘You said, you wanted that kiss?’ he asked, tentatively. Another wave of ice rushed through Keith, not because Shiro had heard, but because of the look in his eyes. Dread. Keith knew the feeling, it was mirroring his own.
‘I said I didn’t mind the kiss.’ he heard himself answer. ‘That’s what friends do, they help each other out.’ He thought of Romelle’s advice from that morning. It sounded so silly now. Shiro’s face attempted a smile, but it seemed as fake as Keith’s congratulatory words.
‘I see.’ Shiro said, expression turning soft. ‘I know Curtis is not your favorite person, but he is very nice. It would mean a lot to me if you gave him a chance.’ The Slytherin’s eyes were pleading and he tentatively moved his hand closer to Keith’s on the warm stone.
Shiro cared what Keith thought, that much was clear.
And he wanted to keep Keith beside him, despite everything. Shiro’s affection returned him into his body, feeling raw and vulnerable, yet a little consoled. And then Shiro’s eyes flicked down, to Keith’s lips. It was a fleeting movement, as if it almost hadn't happened at all.
It was at that moment Keith remembered his initial plan; if there was even the smallest possibility Shiro wanted him too, now was his chance to test it. The Gryffindor reached out for Shiro’s hand and squeezed it, feeling more emboldened than ever before in his life. Feeling the Slytherin’s skin against his own made his heart flutter and his determination grim. Shiro’s eyes grew wide.
‘For you, Shiro. You are my closest friend. If he hurts you though, I’ll hang him from the Ravenclaw tower’s flagpole.’ Keith said, eye contact unwavering, and for the first time in his life he felt in control when Shiro blushed. His friend smiled, genuinely this time. The color on his cheeks made him unbearably adorable.
‘Thank you, Keith.’ Shiro said, turning his hand in Keith's to squeeze back.
And as they stood at the rail of the Astronomy tower, holding hands, Keith’s thoughts revolved around one thing and one thing only. Shiro’s reaction had cemented his suspicion. Shiro liked him. Despite Citrus, despite Keith being a shithead to Shiro, the Slytherin liked him.
Keith would support Shiro, even more than he had ever done. He would stay by his side as much as Shiro would allow him, would lift him up when he was down and laugh with him when he was excited. He would prove his worth and loyalty. And he would subtly use chances to flirt with the Slytherin until he realized Keith’s true feelings for him, until he realized how much better Keith was for him.
He stepped closer to Shiro, tentatively touching his flank, whispering in his ear.
‘I’m going to sleep, still tired from getting frozen and defrosted by my best friend.’
It could have come across as cocky and teasing, but Shiro sucked in a breath as Keith's words ghosted his skin. Romelle had been right. Keith slipped his hand out of Shiro’s, not without dragging his fingers over the Slytherin’s palm. Before he stepped down the stairs of the Astronomy tower he turned around for a see you tomorrow to find Shiro staring after him, still stunned and pink cheeked. Keith waved with an innocent smile, and left. That night he went to sleep with grim satisfaction.
Stupid Curtain wouldn’t stand a chance.