Work Text:
Keith turned around, wanting to cradle into the others’ arms, but instead found the mattress next to him cold. Searching, he tapped next to him but Shiro was no where to be found. That was odd. Shiro often had to get up earlier than Keith and being the annoying morning person that he was, he was always awake before Keith. But he never left the bed without waking Keith. They like spending their mornings together – besides, it always throws Keith off to wake up alone. A remnant from their time in the middle of a war. Now there was peace, but Keith couldn’t just stop worrying about Shiro. Especially after all that has happened.
So, when he found the bedside next to his cold and abandoned, Keith heart started racing. He knew there were hundreds of explanations to why he was alone, but he couldn’t shake his fear. Shiro would have wake him. He also said he had the day off today, so Keith didn’t just fall asleep again after Shiro woke him and simply don’t remember it.
All of these thoughts happened in mere seconds. The moment Keith opened his eyes and sat up – to go search for Shiro – he suddenly felt something wet across his face.
“What the-?!”, Keith reached out with one arm and found soft fur under his fingers. The space wolf howled happy and jumped around the bed. When Keith turned, he was faced with a tray full of food.
“Good morning~”, a voice warbled cheerfully.
“Shiro”, Keith breathed relieved, earning a surprised look on the others face. “I woke up without you”, he clarified.
“Oh…I’m sorry, I hoped to get done before you wake”, Shiro apologized and sat down the breakfast tablet before Keith. The white haired leaned forward and kissed Keith, which calmed his heart right away.
War does things with you. You change, everything changes. Waking up to an empty bed shouldn’t give you anxiety because you fear the worst. Keith felt dumb for overreacting, but fortunately he had the most understanding person as a boyfriend.
“I’m here”, Shiro whispered, leaning his forehead against Keith. “And I won’t ever leave, promise.”
Shiro always understood him, without Keith saying much. That’s one of the many things Keith always loved most about Shiro, about their relationship. Keith wasn’t a person of many words and Shiro didn’t need them to know exactly what was going on in the younger. He just knew. He understood Keith on another level. It was a mutual understanding, one which many people envied them.
They stayed silent for a moment, just enjoying the closeness to each other. Keith had closed his eyes, concentrating on the warmth that Shiro emitted, on his steady breath, the way he smells like home. Shiro pulled away slowly, smiling his gorgeous smile and stroke softly over Keith cheek, who nodded in return, showing that it’s alright again.
Keith eyes fell on the tray in front of him. Pancakes with syrup, scrambled eggs, bacon, a hot coffee – this was a storybook breakfast. “…did you make that?”, Keith asked suspicious. It could’ve been taken offensively but knowing Shiro’s skill in the kitchen, it was just normal to ask.
“Yup~”, the older said proud, grinning at him.
Keith eyes suddenly got big, acting like he was shocked and alarmed. “Wait – is the kitchen still standing?? Did you call the fireman already??”
It earned Keith a playful shove against his shoulder and a puppy pout. “Nothing is burning! Everything is fine!”
Keith rose his eyebrows, searching for the lie in the grey eyes. It took only a moment before Shiro slumped a little, turning his head to the side.
“It may have taken some tries…”, he admitted quietly.
Keith still looked at him in the same doubtful manner. “How many are some?”
“…”, Shiro didn’t answer, instead he turned back at Keith, pointing to the food. “Well, not enough to run out of ingredients. Now eat, before its cold!”, he ordered, taking the fork to feed Keith some of the eggs.
He tried it and even though it was a little overcooked, he smiled at the other. “Tastes good.”
Shiro gleamed right away with his big, puppy smile. Keith could spend hours and hours just looking at it. He was still blown away to think that this man was his. What did he do to deserve such a nice, thoughtful human being?
“What’s wrong?”, Shiro asked smiling and tilted his head slightly. Somedays it seemed like he actually tried to act like a puppy.
“Nothing. I’m just…happy”, Keith said slow, still bathing in Shiro’s bright appearance.
“Glad you are”, Shiro said, gifting him with another kiss.
“But why the breakfast?”
Shiro shrugged, stealing a piece of pancake. “Just felt like it.”
It was a weird answer, one that let Keith furrow his brows. Then again, this was Shiro. He very well might just have woken up with the need to almost burn down the kitchen, the whole house with them in it just for the chance of giving Keith a breakfast in bed.
Whatever the case, Keith wanted to enjoy this. The food was good – some of it a bit overdone, but you could taste the devotion Shiro put into it.
Or, maybe Keith was just in love. Everything Shiro made would taste good to him. He’d love it, no matter what.
That was cheesy and normally Keith wouldn’t like it on himself, but he made an exception for Shiro. Shiro was always his exception. He cared for Keith when no one else did, he believed in it after everybody threw Keith away, he stood by him when he was lonest.
Keith could never repay what Shiro has done for him. But he sure as hell would try every day.
They continued their breakfast, Shiro even crawled back into the bed to sit next to Keith while eating. It was a great morning already. Space wolf lied to their feet, they had – not perfect, but lovely – food, ate and laughed together. When they were done, Keith put the tray on the ground, turning around to Shiro and kissed him with purpose. To a great, lazy morning belonged something more. Some more Shiro.
Keith eager hands quickly vanished under Shiro’s shirt and while the other kissed him back and seemed to like it just as much, he stopped, pushing down Keith hands again.
“Let’s get dressed and go for a walk. Kosmo needs it as well”, Shiro suggested but Keith felt like this was a bad excuse and pouted. He just got a kiss as a compensation before Shiro was already on his feet. With a loud growl, Keith let himself fall back into the pillows, threatening to stay here all day.
“Come on, Keith! The sun is out already!”, Shiro said from the bathroom, which was a blunt lie as the sun was barely visible yet. How early was it anyway?
“Liar!”, Keith shouted. “You’d have to pry me from this warm bed!”
From the bathroom, he could hear Shiro talking to Space-wolf, something about going for this walk. Keith huffed again. He wouldn’t move just like this. Why couldn’t they stay in bed all day?
The younger laid splayed out on the mattress, sure to win this fight and getting Shiro back here. But instead, he suddenly saw a big shadow.
“Uff!” The air left his lungs in one go as Space-wolf just jumped onto him with full force. He looked at Keith, panting with his tongue out and Keith could swear to see a smile. “Wha- No! No, no, no, Spac-“
The world around him vanished for a second before the interior of the bathroom appeared. Keith butt hit the tiles with a thud.
Shiro grinning triumphantly while brushing his teeth, Space-wolf licked Keith’ face but he just pouted, crossing his arms in front of his chest, eying his wolf. “You used to be on my side”, he huffed. “You’re way to easy bribable. I hate both of you.”
Shiro just hummed cheerful, leaning down to kiss Keith before handing him his toothbrush, kissing the top of his head. “Come on~”
Keith grumbled, but got up and made himself presentable to leave the house. Shiro wouldn’t leave him alone anyway. He planned something, Keith could tell. It was so obvious. But he wouldn’t tell him, that was just as obvious.
After getting ready, Keith peeked inside their kitchen before leaving. It was nothing short of a warzone and Keith was suddenly surprised he didn’t hear any of it. He remembered staying up late because Shiro wanted to watch this one movie and then he kept Keith from sleeping. Was that part of the plan…?
There was no time to think about this further as Shiro practically shoved him out the door. Instead of the sidewalk, however, he pushed him into the car.
“Wha-? I thought you said ‘walk’ ?”, Keith asked perturbed. The wolf teleported himself into the trunk while Shiro sat on the driver seat.
“Later. I got some more things planned today.”
“Oh…”, Keith missed the cheerful undertone and mistook Shiro’s words, his shoulders sinking, as well as his gaze. He wouldn’t ask Shiro to stay, very well knowing how important Shiro’s work was and how much he loved it. However, he looked forward to a day off with him. No work, no responsibilities. Just the two of them. And space wolf.
Shiro blinked confused, touching Keith shoulder. “N-no! Nothing work-related! Things with you. Especially for today.”
“For today? Why today?”
The motor started but before he hit the pedals, Shiro looked at Keith surprised, then chuckled. “You really don’t know what day is today?”
Immediately Keith tried to remember. It was February. “Shit! Is it your birthday?? Do we have the 29th already? I swear I didn’t forget it!”
More laughing from Shiro while he drove out of the driveway. “Nope. We don’t even have a 29th this year.” He gave Keith a side look. “It’s the 14th.”
“So…what?”
A sigh and rolling eyes, still Shiro sounded more amused than annoyed. “It’s Valentine’s Day, Keith.”
“Oh…”
Keith had forgotten about that stupid holiday. It was cheesy and only good for florists and chocolate retail. Nothing more. That’s all it was about. As a kid he always hated this day. It was so ridiculous. Why would he want to gift someone with chocolate? If he wanted to gift someone something, he could just do it any other day. There was no need. But at this ‘holiday’ everybody got cheerful and lovely and show off just how many chocolates they got which absolutely correlated with how loved they were.
Keith didn’t want that. No chocolate or big romantic gestures.
A hand suddenly laid on top of Keith’ and squeezed softly. “I got something nice planned. Nothing big, promised.”
Shiro must have felt his distress. Of course, he did. He was perfect like this. Another reason Keith didn’t understand how he deserved Shiro.
“I trust you”, Keith promised, smiling and turning his hand so he could squeeze Shiro’s.
“Thanks, now close your eyes. No peeking~”
“I never got anything for Valentine’s Day.”
Shiro could still hear those words very clearly. They shocked him enough to get burned inside his head. Keith was never the popular guy in the garrison – at least not with a good reputation. Besides him being a great pilot, most students just knew he got in fights often and disliked him. But even though Shiro knew that, he never thought that Keith didn’t get a present or at least some chocolate to Valentine’s Day. Admittedly, he never gave Keith some himself. Mostly because he had a boyfriend back then – and after Kerberos the whole Defender of the Universe thing started.
So now, after the war has ended and they finally got their deserved peace, Shiro had made it his personal duty to give Keith the best Valentine’s Day he would ever get. It was their first as a couple and Shiro wanted to do something special. Which wasn’t as easy with Keith, who’s not really into romance, but Shiro was confident in knowing the other good enough.
The rest of the team helped him with preparations. Hunk had trained with him to make a decent breakfast, Pidge helped with the music they’re hearing right now in the car as the drive was long and Shiro didn’t want to torture Keith with romantic ballads that sure be all over the radio right now. So, Pidge helped to compose a CD for the road. Allura and Lance tried to give Shiro the best dating advices and Shiro – as the nice guy he was – listened to them blather even though he knew he couldn’t use these ‘tips’. Keith wouldn’t want such big gestures, or romantic tropes, but Shiro still appreciated the helping spirit.
They drove some hours and Keith luckily fell asleep at some point. Which was Shiro’s fault as well. He kept him awake last night and had Lance annoy him further when he himself slept. It was mean, but he had to make sure Keith wouldn’t get up too early while he made the breakfast. Also, now that he slept inside the car, he wouldn’t know where they are going, and the drive wouldn’t feel as long.
When they arrived, Kosmo just teleported out of the car before Shiro could even park completely. He shook his head but smiled and let the wolf have his fun. It was only natural for him to be as excited. The weather was awesome, the sun stood high and bright, yet it wasn’t too hot. A little breeze rounded it up perfectly.
“Hey sunshine, time to wake up”, Shiro sad softly upon opening Keith’s door and stroking over his cheek before kissing it. “We’re here.”
Keith growled and tried to shove Shiro away. Why was he waking him? He just slept so well. Sleepily he opened his eyes, rubbing them slightly. “Where is ‘here’?”, he asked confused. He saw Shiro’s smile before he turned away so Keith could see past him.
There was water. A lot of it. And sand; and seagulls.
“…are we…at the beach?”, Keith couldn’t believe his eyes as he stood up slowly, taking in the view. It was magical. The water had this cyan shade, you could see through it. The sand looked soft and white. The wind had a salty taste. The space wolf was already jumping around, teleporting from one point to another, trying to catch waves and birds.
Shiro’s arms slung around his hip as he stood behind him and placed his chin on Keith’s shoulder. “You like it?”, he asked, nuzzling slightly against his throat.
“It’s…I…I’ve never been to the beach before…”, Keith said awestruck, unable to process.
“I know. You told me once”, Shiro sounded pleased with the result of Keith’s amazement. They stood like this for a while, just admiring the scenery.
“Wait – the beach is super far out! How late is it? How long did you drive?” Keith suddenly asked, turning in Shiro’s arms so he could face him. The other only chuckled, kissing him softly.
“Don’t worry about that. No way is too far to make you happy.”
The way Shiro said this, the sincerity in his words. It contained so much love. And it was directed towards Keith. He couldn’t other than smile, no words would be able to show his love for this man. How he would die again and again just so Shiro could live.
And still, there was no way Keith could ever repay Shiro for what he has done for him.
“I love you”, Keith said in a whisper, knowing that this didn’t convey his feelings in the slightest but hoping Shiro would understand, nonetheless. Based on the bright smile he got, Shiro understood – like he always did.
“I love you, too”, he replied, leaning in to kiss Keith once more.
They walked along the beach, right at the shore. They got rid of their shoes which they hold onto one hand, while holding hands with the other. Occasionally, they threw a limb for the wolf who was more than happy to play fetch now. He ran into the water, came back and shook his fur right in front of them, resulting them all in being slightly wet. Keith cursed, but laughed with Shiro.
It was a lovely day; one Keith didn’t know he needed but now didn’t want to end.
It must be around early noon when they arrived at a restaurant. It sat directly at the beach, spanning over the water. It got Keith curious. What kind of food would they serve there? Surely some seafood. Growing up in the middle of a desert, Keith barely had contact to the ocean and seafood other than some fish.
Obviously, Shiro had more planned for today, because they went straight to the restaurant. Keith didn’t even notice how Shiro lead them to it before they stood in front of the entrance already. It looked lovely, but Keith was unsure. A glance down at himself let him sigh.
“I’m not really dressed for a restaurant, Shiro…”, he said, looking away slightly. He didn’t want to ruin it for Shiro, he knew the older liked such stuff more than he himself and also placed value in the right outfit for the right occasion.
“I told you, don’t worry. I got you covered, buddy. It’s not a fancy restaurant”, Shiro assured him and squeezed his hand softly before they entered.
“A table for two, reserved for Shirogane.”
Keith followed the waiter and Shiro through the restaurant to a table outside, right above the water. A bit shy, he looked around. There really weren’t much people here, and the ones that were, didn’t wear fancy cloth. It was more of a relaxed atmosphere. Keith breathed out relieved, realizing he shouldn’t have doubted Shiro.
“You can try what you want – but they also have pizza.”
Keith looked at this gorgeous man in front of him, falling in love all over again. He clearly didn’t deserve Shiro – but he would never let go again.
They ate, talked and laughed till the sun slowly sunk. From where they were seated, they could watch the sunset perfectly.
“It’s so different from the one in the desert”, Keith noticed, while delighted by the view.
“Yeah. It’s fascinating, isn’t it?”, Shiro’s voice was low, as if he didn’t want to disturb the moment.
After they left, Keith felt full. Full of food, love and happiness. They collected Space wolf from outside, who apparently caught himself some fish to eat. They used his teleportation for part of the way back to the car.
“Thank you, Shiro. This was by far the best Valentine’s Day.”
“It’s your first real one, so that wasn’t as hard”, Shiro chuckled, whereas Keith just rolled his eyes.
“I would say it no matter the amount I spend already. You made it perfect”, Keith said sincere.
Even in the coming dark, Keith could see Shiro’s grey eyes starting to glow from happiness. “I’m glad. But it’s not over yet.”
“What...? More? But you did so much already!”, Keith protested. He already didn’t know how to repay Shiro ever for this day alone. He knew Shiro wouldn’t want him to, but he would still try.
Shiro hummed joyful and sat down in the car. “Come on~”
They drove, but Keith didn’t have to close his eyes this time. Shiro had told him he could if he wanted, however Keith liked to watch out the window and talk to Shiro instead of falling asleep again.
He did recognize where they were headed after some time and looked puzzled at Shiro. For a second, he thought Shiro did have some work to do after all, but threw that thought away fast.
“Why the desert?”, he asked when Shiro didn’t give an explanation.
Shiro grinned and drove up a hill. “Because you can see the stars here best”, he finally said, when he parked and looked at Keith. “Also, this is where we met.” He glanced out the windshield. “It’s still somewhat home, don’t you think so?”
They didn’t live in the desert anymore. Shiro did work for the Garrison still, as did Keith to some extent, but they lived farther out. It was bittersweet to come back where everything began. This desert holds many memories for Keith – good as well as bad.
After getting out of the car, Shiro produced a blanket and spread it out. It took Keith a moment to realize this was the hill they used to star gaze back in the Garrison days. When they took the hoverbikes and raced each other. He turned to Shiro, who sat on the blanket already, and grinned at him. “You drove to the hill we used to be.”
“Mhm~ We can’t race today, though. I thought about it, but I decided the beach was better. You always said you liked nature and quietness, so I thought it’s the right idea. But we can make up for it another day if you’d like”, he said as Keith sat down next to him, Space wolf used the free space after the long drive to run around again.
“I’d love to. I’m sure I’ll beat you, old timer.”
Shiro chuckled. “I don’t doubt it.”
They lied down, looking at the stars. Shiro pointed out many constellations despite Keith knowing them all as well. He still listened, cuddled up at Shiro’s side, watching him more than the stars. Shiro noticed somewhen, turning his head to Keith and blushed.
“Is it this boring?”, he asked shy.
“No, I just love looking at you”, Keith said plain as it was the truth. “I used to look at the sky and the stars so long – I still love them. But I love you more.”
You could see how this touched Shiro’s heart.
“Thank you for this day, Shiro. It meant a lot to me. You made it perfect. You brought me to the beach for the first time ever and didn’t do anything big. Yet you did everything I wanted. Quiet nature, time spend with you, nice food, stars. I seriously loved it”, Keith said, pouring all his love into his voice. He wasn’t good with words; Shiro was the one who could hold great speeches.
Shiro stroke over his cheeks, through his hair, smiling brightly at him. “I’m so glad you like it. I was so nervous to overdo it”, he said, then he suddenly bit is lips, looking unsure after all. Or was it just nervousness? Or maybe, anticipation? Keith couldn’t tell in the dark and it confused him.
He didn’t have long to think about it, though, because Shiro stood up suddenly, holding out his hand to help Keith up as well.
“Oh, do we have to leave already? I didn’t know how late it is”, Keith said, turning around to call for their wolf. But before he could, he heard movement and a cough from Shiro.
When he turned again, he saw the other on one knee – and froze. “S-Shiro...”, he breathed, unable to say anything else. Luckily, he didn’t have to.
“Keith”, Shiro began, smiling, but as he took Keith hand, he could feel him tremble – or maybe it was himself shaking. “You mean the world to me. More. You are everything. You’re my guiding light. Without you, I wouldn’t be here. Not only because you literally saved my life countless of times in space. You also saved me back here on earth. I will never be able to repay you, but I want to promise you I will try everyday for the rest of my life.”
Keith just stared at him, his eyes slowly filling with tears.
Shiro took out a ring box and opened it. Inside was a simple golden band, with a fine ornament that was barely visible. Keith loved it, he never saw a more beautiful ring.
“Keith Yorak Kogane, will you marry me?”
Keith had to gulp down the big lump inside his throat before answering. Tears fell down to his cheeks.
“Yes.”