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Keith opens his eyes, blinks and thinks I know this ass . It’s a strange thought to have when the last things he remembers is falling asleep in his bed, alone. Then he coughs loudly and realizes there is black smoke all around him, and the air is hot beyond belief.

Fire, then. Well shit .

“Everything is going to be fine,” the person carrying him says and Keith wants to believe him, really, but he might be hyperventilating. “We’re almost out,” the fireman, continues, ignoring Keith’s panic, or maybe exactly because of it, “the ambulance is already here and it’s going to be all right.”

Keith can’t really talk, every time he tries he ends up coughing more, and at this point it might be a blessing in disguise. He’s not so sure that he wouldn’t just ask the stranger why he knows his ass. He moves his hands and pats the other man whenever he can reach—which is, embarrassingly, a little bit under the over mentioned ass—and hopes the fireman gets that Keith is just trying to say he’s okay.

They don’t say anything more until they reach the emergency exit of the building and burst outside. Clear air finds his way into Keith’s lungs but he only starts coughing more. The fireman puts a hand on his back, now that they are out of danger, and starts patting lightly the way you do with a child.

“The ambulance is here. They are going to take care of you, Keith.” Fireman says and Keith has a moment of clarity between coughs to wonder how the hell the man knows his name. Before he can ask, however, the fireman kneels down and, whit care, lifts him up from his shoulder and sits him down on a stretcher.

It’s at that point that Keith takes his first look at the fireman’s face. The mask obscures most of it, but Keith doesn’t need to see anything more than the eyes to know who he has in front of him.

He tries to say Shiro’s name, but it comes out more like a wheeze while paramedics flock in front of him to check him out and hold an oxygen mask to his mouth.

Shiro might have heard him anyway because he removes his mask and smiles at him. “You’re safe now, Keith,” Shiro says, with a finality and certainty that makes Keith relax immediately. Even three years later, Takashi Shirogane can still make him feel safe with just three words.

It’s over too soon, and Shiro gets called away. Keith resists the urge to tell him to stay, but only barely. A paramedic asks him how he feels, and he doesn’t know how to convey that seeing Shiro makes him feel more winded than surviving a burning building.

He says he’s fine and they call his bullshit pretty quickly, informing him they are taking him to the nearest hospital.

Keith looks around, at all his neighbors gathering together while their building burns and he sees everyone, even ears Lance say, loudly, “I just wanted some nachos!”.

The paramedics close the doors of the ambulance and Keith closes his eyes, imagining Shiro’s hand patting his back.

At the hospital, they check his head and his lungs and they tell him after hours and hours that he’s free to go, if he so wishes, but that they would want to keep him in for observations. Keith signs the release form as soon as he can.

He isn’t sure what he’s going to do, most of the people he considers friends live in his building, but he might have enough saved to pay for a shitty motel somewhere. There is always the possibility of sleeping in a park for the night, but he assumes that the doctor might frown at that idea, especially since they were so intent on saying he had to rest for a few days.

Keith is resigned to sucking it up and losing half of his savings when he spots someone just outside the hospital entrance, walking back and forth. He almost trips on air when he realizes it’s Shiro.

It’s a strange twist of fate that, after three years of no contact, he has to run into Shiro two times in a day.

The story about him and Shiro can be perfectly summarized by the only night he has talked about Shiro with his friends: he doesn’t remember much but being really drunk and Lance saying, patting his back: “That’s rough, buddy, the one that got away.” He also remembers Hunk, mostly sober, looking at them with a mixture of fondness and exasperation, “He sounds more like the one Keith let go.”

He is. Ex-boyfriend Shiro, who wanted to move away for a year for his training and who had looked confused, but had not insisted, when Keith had said he wanted to break up.

Keith had realized all on his own that he had just pushed Shiro away because he was afraid of watching someone leave again, but the knowledge hadn’t made contacting Shiro again any easier.

Two years later, Keith had convinced himself it had been for the better. They wouldn’t have survived the distance anyway. It hadn’t alleviated the pain, but it had helped with the sting of regret and wasted possibilities.

Now, Keith is paralyzed on the spot. He knows he should thank Shiro for saving his life, but the prospect of talking to the man it’s daunting.

What do they even have to say to each other after so much time? It’s possible Shiro hates him or, worse, that he thinks Keith did him a favor.

Keith has been rooted to the spot for a solid and never-ending minute when Shiro finally notices him. He sees the way Shiro almost flinches when their eyes meet and, strangely, it makes Keith feel better.

They start moving at the same time and meet in the middle of the hall, thankfully almost deserted. Keith is acutely aware of the fact that he’s wearing his pajama pants and a shirt that has seen better days, but there’s nothing to be done.

“Hi,” Shiro says with an embarrassed smile, “how are you?”

“I’m fine,” Keith says, shrugging, “the doctors tell me I have a very hard head.”
Shiro’s laugh is surprising, but not unwelcome. “I could have told them that.”

The air between them relaxes marginally, but they are still holding themselves awkwardly.

“Are you?” Keith asks, then, realizing that Shiro might be there for other reasons, and that he doesn’t exactly know how fire fighting works.

Shiro looks surprised for a second before nodding. “Yeah, our suit protect us,” he explains, “I just. I asked Matt where they took you. I wanted to make sure you were fine.”

Keith doesn’t know why the candid admission surprises him so much, one of Shiro’s best qualities has always been his straight forwardness. But Keith is still a little taken aback, flattered at the idea.

He feels twenty again, younger and more hopeful.

“I’m sorry if it’s a little creepy,” Shiro continues, “I was just worried. You were pretty out of it.”

And yet , Keith wants to tell him, I still recognized your ass without a problem .

“Who’s Matt?” he asks instead and grimaces at his own lack of manners. “I mean, it’s not a problem. It’s not… creepy. I get it.” He thinks what he would have done in Shiro’s shoes, and he’s not sure he would have been able to control himself and wait outside the hospital.

“He’s the EMT that works with us. There weren’t that many people who were hurt, thankfully, so he remembered you,” Shiro explains, but he looks almost uncomfortable. As if he’s hiding something.

Keith wonders if he can poke Shiro a little, if it’s even his place to unveil what the other is trying to hide. It isn’t, so he doesn’t ask.

“Thank you,” he says instead, “for checking in. I… appreciate it. I need to find somewhere to stay, so…” he stops then, unsure of what he can even say. So what ?

So it was nice to see you again? So thank you for saving my live? So sorry for breaking up with you?

He leaves the phrase hanging in the air, with a scent of something left undone, just like their story. It might be poetic.

Keith starts to move, then, past Shiro and towards the door. They might never seen again, or maybe they’ll see each other in another three years and Keith will still be pining like an idiot.

None of these possibilities are inviting, but Keith has resigned himself.

"Keith," Shiro calls him, and Keith looks back startled. The other man looks unsure and a little scared and for a moment Keith holds his breath, wondering what's going to happen. But the moment passes and Shiro relaxes, smiling at Keith with a strange mix of regret and acceptance. "I'm glad you're feeling okay."

Keith hesitates a moment before smiling as well, trying as best as he can to make it feel genuine, "Thank you, Shiro."

And then he walks away.

In the end he stays one day at a hostel and then caves and calls Hunk for help. He and Lance are both staying at Hunk's mom house and Keith accepts the invite with some shame, but he feels at the end of his rope.

"Don't worry about it," Hunk reassures him, "after all we know who's really to blame."
Lance scoffs, a little offended. "You know, I wish you guys would just... let it go. I was hungry."

"And you blew up the building," Hunk reminds him, with a little smirk. No one is actually angry at Lance—maybe just a little annoyed—and in the end the damages hadn't been too severe.

Keith still doesn't remember much, but he thinks the only reason why he had hit his head was because he had tried to leave the building in a rush and fell down.

"I didn't blew up the building!" Lance says, in his defence, "It's, at worse, cooked medium rare. They said we can go back in a week. That's not too bad."

Keith huffs, and Lance sends daggers in his direction before smiling. "Also, I think you should all be thankful," he says, with a cockyness that seems almost out of place.

"For what?" Keith can't help asking, incredulous, "for burning down half our stuff?"
"Again, over exaggerating. It was-- not the point. The point, my dear mullet, is that the fire wasn't the only thing that was smoking that night. Those firemen were hot."

Keith almost chokes on his own saliva at that, trying hard not to think about Shiro and his smile. He hears Hunk say something like: "How can you tell, there were completely clothed. And covered in smoke."

Keith wants to say that he had recognized Shiro's ass immediately, but it doesn't feel like something he wants to share.

"One of them removed his headset," Lance tells them with a wink, "It was after they dragged you away to check on you, Keith. You should have seen him, dreamboat material." Keith tries to shy away from the conversation, but Lance looks back at him with a smile. "Actually he was the one that dragged you out, I think. He carried you like you weighed nothing ," Lance tells him with a dreamy smile, "actually I might have to start a little fire here too. Make him show up. Have him carry us all out."
"Lance," Hunk reprimands him, with a little glare, but Lance just shrugs.

"I bet he could carry all of us at the same time," he comments with a smirk, "come on, Keith, you want to see it too, right? You could go there and thank him for saving your life. A real meet cute."

Keith knows Lance is just joking around, and any other time he would have scoffed and played along for a while, but the knowledge that it's Shiro they are talking about prickles at his skin.

Shiro who had told him over and over it would be okay, who had showed up at the hospital to make sure Keith was okay.  Shiro who hadn't said anything when Keith had wanted to break up.

"God, shut up, Lance. Don't you think you already did enough?" He hisses, before he can really control himself. He feels vulnerable and raw, as if meeting Shiro had removed all the layers he had used to protect himself.

Both Lance and Hunk look at him, shocked, and Keith wants to apologize immediately. He won't, but he wants to.

"Look, man, I'm sorry," Lance starts, looking at Hunk for help, "I was just kidding around. We know you have the whole... thing... with your ex but..."

"We think it might be time to let it go," Hunk continues, taking the reins from Lance. "We get it was important, but in the two years we've known you there hasn't been anything more than one night stands. We're worried."

Lance is nodding beside him, with a little smile.

God, Keith feels even worse now.

"It doesn't have to be hot fireman," Lance points out, "even if I do think it would be a sin not to tap that , but..."

"He was Shiro," Keith blurts out, because he can't keep it in anymore—and because hearing Lance talk about Shiro in that way makes his skin crawl with a jealousy he doesn't have any right to feel.

Lance and Hunk stop completely, it seems they might not even be breathing. Keith is glad they remember enough from that drunken night to know how much of a big deal this is for Keith.

"Hot fireman?" Hunk asks, probably because he can't believe what he's hearing. Keith nods, looking at his hands.

Hot fireman , that sums it up pretty nicely.

"Oh. Shit." Lance whispers, hoping to be ignored, but Keith glares at him to shut up. It doesn't work, obviously, but Keith wants to believe it will someday. "I didn't know, Keith. I swear. I mean I now understand why you're so hung up on hi- ouch , Hunk!" Lance stops, massaging his right side where Hunk had just hit him with his arm.

"It's time to shut up," Hunk tells him, not unkindly, and then turns to Keith, "and it's all right. You don't have to say anything else."

Keith nods and takes his bag, moving toward Hunk's room.

The next few days pass slowly, especially with all of them crowding Hunk's parents' house, and Keith can't wait for the cleaning crew to be done with the place. It seems that the fire itself hadn't done too much damage, the structure of the building had been left intact and the worst had been on Hunk's and Lance's floor.

It's going a little slower than Keith would like it to, but the knowledge that he hadn't lost all of his stuff makes him feel better.

It doesn't help that Hunk's room had never been built to be the house of three guys for so long. He generically likes Hunk and Lance just fine, but the days of forced cohabitation are making it difficult to remember why .

Especially when, one day, Lance returns home and Keith can already see that this will be the day he kills his friend. Lance can't look Keith in the eye and he keeps shuffling his feet nervously. It's so clear that Lance has done something wrong and he’s scared of Keith’s reaction, that even Hunk's mom is looking at them both with concern.

Keith doesn't know what's happening, not really, but he can guess. He hopes he's wrong, for both their sakes.

"What have you done?" he asks, his voice barely a whisper.

Lance looks at him with a nervous smile. "So. Before I say anything, I want you to know that I had very good intentions. And also that I was sure I wasn't gonna get caught."

Keith's face must make it clear what he thinks of this excuse because Lance laughs, but it's clear he's scared. Good .

"Lance," he threatens and the other nods two times, a little frantic.

"Yes. Of course. I'm..." he stops, takes a second to breathe and then admits, slowly "I saw Shiro today."

Keith blinks, not really that surprised and still a little bit shocked that he had been right. "Why?"

"I went to the station," Lance starts, with a sigh, "I admit it right now: it was stupid. I was curious. And I mean, what were the chances that someone would remember me?"

Keith listens, split between the need to scream at his friend and the need to let him finish. He realizes he wants to know what Shiro said, is almost embarrassingly excited to know if the other had talked about him. He feels like he's twelve.

He doesn't say anything in the end, and Lance continues on his own.

"He did. I mean, you- well Shiro. He recognized me immediately," Lance explains, "it was a little strange, because I don't think we even talked that night."

Keith doesn't know what compels him to talk at that time, but he does anyway. "He was at the hospital too," when he sees the look on Lance's face he hurries to explain, "he was worried about me. He came to see how I was. Maybe he saw you there."

"He was at..." Lance starts before stopping himself, "no, okay, my story. So he recognized me, and asked me how I was. And I was a little panicked so I started talking, you know how I am. And then I might have said something about the three of us living together in Hunk's room." Lance stops, and looks at his hands, ashamed.

Keith lets him stew in it for a second, hoping that Lance would say something more, but the other stays silent. "And then?" Keith concedes in the end and Lance twists his finger even more nervously.

"Then he asked me how you were. And it was obvious he was embarrassed, but he still did. I'm not a monster, so I told him you were fine and then..." Lance looks around and then says, all in one breath, "I might have invited him to drink something. Tomorrow."

Keith stops, tries to process what the other has just said, but fails completely. "You asked my ex out for drinks?" he asks, just to be clear he isn't misinterpreting something.

"Well, to be completely fair, I asked your ex out for drinks for you. I told him you and Hunk would be there too," Lance amends, a little sheepish. Keith, this time, doesn't know what to say.
Lance looks at hims for a second, a little freaked out, and then starts to talk. "I panicked! And he looked kind of lost—he has some serious puppy dog eyes—and then i felt bad for the dude! I mean you dumped him three years ago, he shouldn't be this awkward around you!"

"You had no right!" Keith almost screams. He can feel himself panicking at the mere idea of seeing Shiro again, but spending a night with him? Talking ?

He wants to kill Lance,

"You will call him immediately," Keith says, standing up, "and tell him something came up. I don't care."

"What?" Lance says, surprised, "I can't! Look, seriously you weren't there. Puppy dog-"

"I know, Lance!" Keith interrupts him. He does know, because Shiro had always been good at guilt tripping Keith into doing anything he wanted. He knows , but that doesn't mean he's ready for this.

Lance studies him for a second before he takes something out of his pocket and hands him to Keith. It's a piece of paper and Keith knows what's in it before he even looks.

"if you want to cancel," Lance tells him, "you can do it yourself."

Keith looks at the hand holding the paper and wonders how something so important can be this light.

When he looks up again, Lance is gone and Keith is alone with Shiro's number.

Keith saves it on his phone and looks at the new message screen for almost the entire night, trying to find the courage to do this.

He fails.

Not matter how many times he has tried, he hasn't sent any of the messages. He's scared, that is obvious, but he's also curious and—he can admit it—a little hopeful.

He doesn't know what he could expect from this. It's not like Shiro had been the problem in their relationship in the end.

And yet he still looks at the piece of paper and hopes.

When the day of the appointment arrives, Keith embarrassingly tries on at least ten different shirts. He just doesn't seem to find the right one, and when Lance tries to say anything, Keith not so gently reminds him whose fault it is that they are even in this situation.

In the end they arrive ten minutes late and Shiro is already waiting for them inside. The idea that he's in fact going to see Shiro in the flesh settles inside him and almost makes him run away.

What would they even talk about? Remember when we were happy and I got scared? Fun times .

But when they actually step into the little pub Shiro had chosen, the other smiles at them and motions for them to sit. There is no awkwardness, no strange silences, and Shiro talks with all of them like they are friends. It's like Keith was the only one who was nervous.

After all, he reasons, three years have passed. It would be unreasonable of Keith to think that Shiro was still hung up on him.

Still, Keith can't relax. He stays silent almost the whole night, speaking only when asked and he sees everyone sending him strange looks. He knows how it must appear, how awkward he's making everything.

By the end of the night, what had been a lively conversation had just turned into an awkward silence, with Lance and Hunk looking at each other in panic, and Shiro staring at Keith.

Keith remembers that expression, if he's honest, and he knows that nothing good will come out of it.

"I'm sorry," Shiro finally says, smiling at Keith's friend, "I know this is kind of rude, but could you leave me and Keith alone?"

Keith tries to contain his panic, while he does his best to make Hunk and Lance understand that he does not want to remain alone with his ex. Either he's not good enough at silent begging, or his friends are dicks.

"Yeah, sure," Lance says, standing up, "I think it's time we go home anyway." Hunk agrees before Keith can even say a word and he watches, helplessly, as the others leave. Abandoning him.

Why does Shiro want to talk with him? What does this even mean?

He looks down at his hands, trying to think of anything to say.

This, any of this, has never been his strong suit. Even when he and Shiro had finally decided to go out together, it had been mostly Shiro doing the heavy lifting, socially, and Keith being dragged along.

It had worked fine for them, and he now remembers exactly why. Shiro has been good the entire night, entertaining and fun, while Keith had been moping by the side. Even if Keith himself was the reason why they were in this situation.

"I want to apologize," Shiro says, in the end. Keith looks up immediately, startled, because if someone has to apologize it's him, who had behaved terribly all night. "I realize this might have been awkward, I should have said no to Lance's invite."

Keith doesn't want to say that he agrees , but he kinda does. Why had Shiro said yes? What had he hoped to accomplish?

"It's okay," he answers anyway, because he doesn't want to make Shiro feel guilty about Keith's inability to move on after three years.

"I just hoped that maybe we could... talk. Be friends," Shiro admits, with an embarrassed smile, "Matt tried to tell me it was a terrible idea."

Keith remembers that Shiro had already mentioned this Matt, and again Keith is overcome with the need to ask who is he, what does he want and why should Keith care. A hot flash of jealousy strikes him immediately, and he pushes it down as quickly as it came.

Does he really think that Shiro is still single? That maybe, just like Keith, he hadn't been able to form any real connection with anyone else? After all, Shiro hadn't said anything when Keith had said he wanted to break up.

So he just tries to imagine a world where he can be just friends with Shiro. And it's not bad , because he does like Shiro, someone would say he even loves him. And it feels terrible at the same time.

Still, how many times had he wished to talk to Shiro during this years, how many times he had wished he could have been able to call him? If friendship is what Shiro is offering... maybe he can do it.

"I wouldn't mind," Keith says, in the end, trying to force himself to face Shiro head on. "Being friends sounds good. We used to be friends before dating and I... miss it."
It's kind of the truth. It's not all he misses, but there are some things you can never get back once you let go, and he has to face it.

Shiro nods and smiles a little, but it's not as big as Keith would like. It looks a little forced—most people wouldn't been able to tell, but Keith has a degree in Shiro and he has spent way too much time examining the other's face.

He wants to ask if everything is all right, but maybe this is just how it's going to be between them from now on, strange and filled with unspoken words.

"So, you became a fireman. That's good. Your training must have paid off," Keith says, trying to break the ice. He sees the way Shiro's face morph, something a little cold slipping in his expression.

Right, great going Keith, talking about the one thing that had caused them to split up.

"I ended up staying two years. I didn't make it back to the city until a year ago," Shiro explains, shrugging. "It was always my goal to come back here, but I enjoyed doing my training somewhere quieter."

Keith nods and thinks see? this is why it wouldn't have worked out. You did the right thing, and tries to convince himself.

"I can attest you were good. I mean I'm still alive, so you can point to me when people doubt your skills," Keith jokes, and Shiro laughs in response.

They talk, and while it's awkward and a lot of times one of them stops mid-sentence to avoid saying something that they don't know how the other would react to, it can be considered a positive experience.

Keith didn't think that a night spent with his ex could actually end up being sami-enjoyable.

"So," Keith starts, when they are out of the pub, "this went... okay."

Shiro laugh is a little high pitched, almost hysterical. "That is a high review."

"You know what I mean... I thought it would be..." Keith stops, realizing there is no way to end the phrase on a high note, and he sees the way Shiro squares his shoulders. He looks ready for a fight.

Keith opens his mouth to say that maybe they can do this soon, but Shiro beats him to the punch. "I can't do this again," the other says and Keith closes his mouth shut, surprised.

It had been Shiro that had organized this thing, and Shiro who had said he wanted to be friends. What exactly was going on?
"I know this was my idea, but Matt was right. I can't do this," Shiro says, shaking his head.

And the truth is that while Keith had been nervous and scared of this night, he wants to have more. He wants to have Shiro in his life again.

Just a night, and he feels already hooked again.

"Who exactly is this Matt?" he asks in the end, feeling himself getting defensive, "and what can't you do? I didn't do anything!"

"I know you didn't," Shiro says immediately, taking a step back. "It's me. I'm sorry, okay?"

Before Keith can say anything, or even ask for clarification, the other turns and walks away quickly. He's too stunned to follow Shiro, and he watches his retreating form as he vanishes around a corner.

What the fuck?

He goes back to Hunk's home, trying to make sense of Shiro's behaviour, but he comes up blank. Nothing makes sense of the whole night, Shiro's perfectly normal behaviour up until the moment they remained alone; the awkward but honest way he had acted when they had talked just the two of them.

And then the rejection of even a friendship he himself had proposed.

Keith has never been good in social situations, but once he had been fluent in Shiro , and yet now he feels lost.

He just wants to sleep, and he hopes the others haven't waited up for him. But Keith has never been this lucky.

Lance is seated on the air mattress that has served as Keith's bed and he looks expectantly at him. "Spill," he orders, "I need to know everything."

"There's nothing to tell," Keith tells him, a little annoyed, and Lance looks at him like he's crazy.

"Yeah, and I wasn't there when the two of you kept glancing at each other lovingly. Tell him, Hunk!" Lance says, looking back towards the third member of the room. Hunk just looks at Keith with a guilty expression.

"Lance is right this time, Keith," he says, apologetic.

"What?" Keith says, looking at them like they are crazy. "Shiro never once looked at me lovingly . What are you even going on about?"
"Of course you didn't notice. It was like a dance, you two kept making googling eyes at each other the moment the other wasn't looking," Lance informs him, gagging, "it was a fucking disney movie in the making."

"Look," Keith says, a little curt, "nothing happened. I don't know what you think you saw, but Shiro freaked out. Said he couldn't be friends and just run away." His voice has risen in volume and by the last word he's almost screaming.

Keith is confused and frustrated, trying to make sense of every single emotion he's feeling and failing quite spectacularly.

Lance and Hunk look at each other again, almost as if they are trying to see what is the best way to handle Keith.

It's Hunk that speaks in the end, his tone a little calmer than Lance. "I think," he says, measuring his words, "that Shiro's objective was never to be just friends with you."

"He was the one who proposed we tried to be friends again!" Keith feels compelled to add, because it seems like they are pushing this all on to him. But he had tried .

"After you spent the night acting like his presence was the worst thing ever," Lance points out, shutting up after Hunk sends him a heated look.

"You have to admit you didn't handle the night as well as you could have," Hunk admits in the end, "maybe he thought you wouldn't be comfortable."

"I said I missed him," Keith admits, low and a little ashamed of revealing something so personal. "I said I missed him as a friend."

"Yeah, I'll take Bullshit for 500," Lance mutters under his breath, loud enough for Keith to hear.

It irks him, the easy way Lance is talking about it. Because it's raw to Keith, an exposed nerve that hurts and throbs.

"It doesn't matter. We talked, he stormed out, we will never see each other again," he says hoping to make the others understand he's done talking about this.

Lance starts to say something but Keith kicks the mattress and shuts him up. "I don't want to talk about it anymore."

The other man shuts up, but he looks angry to be doing so. Angry and disappointed.

"Fine," Lance mutters, getting up, "keep fucking running. Who cares."

Yeah, Keith wants to echo, who cares .

Two days pass, but the situation between him and Lance remains cold at best. Hunk wants to act like a mediator, but it's obvious he's on Lance's side on this, so Keith avoids them both.

It's surprisingly easy considering they live in the same room.

When they are finally allowed to return to their own houses, Lance doesn't even say goodbye.

Well, Keith doesn't need them. He doesn't need anyone.

Before being readmitted in their own home, however, he and some of the other tennants - the one who had inhaled the most smoke - are required to do another visit at the hospital for the insurance.

So Keith goes and receives a clean bill of health - which he already knew - and the whole thing would be a massive waste of time if not for the ET Keith runs into leaving the hospital.

Keith had been confused and dazed the night of the hospital, but he has a clear memory of the ET that had helped him, fueled by Shiro name dropping him a few times.

Matt, because Keith knows it's Matt, looks like an asshole.

Well, it's not true, but he looks like he's a dork. Brainy, probably. Keith doesn't care for him.

He tries to leave the hospital quickly, before the man recognizes him, before he hears a "Oh shit," and knows he has been spotted.

"Keith, right?" Matt asks, looking a little surprised and plenty uncomfortable.  Keith sighs and squares his shoulder - a habit he had picked up from Shiro.

"Yeah," he says, turning. He should probably say something else, maybe admit that he knows Matt's name, but he doesn't feel talkative today, if he has to be honest.

"Right, not very sociable, Shiro had warned me," Matt says, with a smirk, and Keith feels his hackle rise.

Why is Shiro talking about Keith with him? And in those terms?

"I had a doctor appointment. I'm going home," he admits, hoping the other would just let him go.  But Matt just smiles more.

"Right, they reopen your building today," he says, with a smile. Keith nods and starts to turn back, before Matt's voices interrupts him again.

"Look," Matt calls him again, with a strange expression, "I tried to tell him that the other night was a mistake, but he means well. I'm trying to make him move on, three years are a long time."

Keith blinks, trying to register the other words, and he comes up short. Move on ?

"I forced him to block your number and then deleted it from his phone. Yours and your friend," Matt continues, blissfully unaware of Keith's inner turmoil, "so you shouldn't hear from him ever again."

Keith doesn't have the time to tell him that it's the opposite of what he wants, because Matt gets called away by a nurse and Keith can't do anything else but stay frozen on the spot.

"Move on?" he asks out loud, in the end, but there is no one there to give him an answer.

He tries to think about it the whole night, but he can't make sense of it. Shiro's weird behaviour, and Matt saying that Shiro hasn't moved on.

Can it mean what Keith thinks it means? Does he have a shot?

He wants to call Shiro to ask, but the other has blocked his number. Also Keith doesn't really know what he would ask.

How does one ask his ex if maybe he's still interested in having a relationship? How does one ask for a second chance?

Words are not Keith's strong point, and he's painfully aware of it. He's better at taking action than anything else.

He lies awake in his bed, looking at the new smoke detectors, and he thinks .

If words aren't an option he needs to do something. Something crazy.

He knocks on Lance's and Hunk's door until a ruffled Lance comes to open it. He looks tired and angry, but considering it's four AM, Keith doesn't expect anything less.

"What do you want, you fucking lunatic?" Lance asks, grumpy beyond belief. He's dressed in a blue silk pajamas, with slippers and a sleep mask. Keith wants to make fun of him, but he's there on a mission.

"I need to use your microwave," he informs him, decide.

Lance blinks, shocked, and then his face morphs into anger. "What? And you come knocking at four am on my door because what you want a taco?"

Hunk appears behind Lance, looking as tired as his roommate, but also a little more interested. "We only have the faulty microwave. It doesn't work, just makes a lot of smoke."

Keith nods, and hopes that at least Hunk is catching on. "Yeah. I need that."

"Why would you ever--" Lance starts before he stops and looks at Keith like he thinks the other is crazy. In all fairness, Keith probably is. "Are you kidding me? Why can't you talk like a normal person?" Lance screams, looking shocked, "why must you be so emotionally stunted?"

Keith lets him rant for a second and then asks, warily, "Is that a no?" he guesses he can find something else. Most of his stuff have burned a week before, but there must be something he can use to light a small fire.

"Don't be stupid," Lance admits, moving from the door, "it's a yes. Come on, we're going to either get you laid or thrown in jail. Either way it's going to help with managing the stress in my life."

When the smoke from the microwave reaches the smoke detectors an alarm rings in the whole building, waking up everyone and forcing the tenants to exit the building.

Keith, Lance and Hunk are amongst the first out of the door, so they're there the moment the Firemen arrive.

For a moment Keith wonders what he will do if Shiro isn't with them, he can't really keep causing fake fires to attract the firemen. But then he looks at one of the firemen and he thinks Yeah, I recognize that ass .

In that moment Shiro looks back towards them, probably having heard that the smoke alarm originated from Lance's room - again . It takes a moment before Shiro advances towards them, a little hesitantly.

"I feel like I should lecture you on the importance of taking fires seriously and--" Shiro starts, but Keith doesn't even bother letting him finish.

"I need to talk to you," he says, trying to find the courage.

Shiro blinks and absorbs the information.

"You almost created a fire to talk to me?" Shiro asks, and he sounds a little winded. Keith might be imagining it, but he also sounds a little flattered.

"Oh god, he finds it charming," Lance mutters, looking at them with shock. "What have we done."

Shiro reddens a little, his cheek coloring, and Keith loves him.

"Give me another chance," he blurts out, before he can stop himself. "Not as friends. I mean, that was a terrible idea. What were you even thinking."

Shiro looks surprised, and a little taken aback by Keith's sudden request. "You were the one who dumped me."

"I know," Keith admits, with a scowl, "that was a terrible idea as well."

Shiro laughs, surprised. He looks a little hesitant, but his eyes are dancing with joy and Keith feels kind of good about his chances now.

"Well, no one has ever almost torched a building to ask me out," Shiro says, in the end, a little mischievous tone to his voice. Keith smiles, unable to resist, even while he hears Hunk mutter he's not a really good fireman, is he?

This might be a little crazy, but he thinks it might be worth it.