A/N: This was inspired by a post I saw on Tumblr about the lack of fanfics of Keith having braces and Shiro teasing him. Hope you like it!

Keith is fuming.

It wasn't bad enough that he was getting braces, no, he still had to deal with his brother doubled over laughing at his predicament.

"Oh my god, it's gonna look so funny", Shiro manages to gasp amidst laughter.

Overall, it hasn't been a good day for Keith. He doesn't need braces for too long, it should only be a year, but he can't bring himself to feel lucky. He's fifteen, and the idea of having braces until he's almost seventeen makes him want to pull his hair out.

Shiro seems to be calm enough now, but his shit-eating grin tells Keith the worst has just begun.

"I'm gonna have to start calling you Brace Face," he says, playfully punching Keith's arm.

"Don't call me that!" Keith complains, crossing his arms against his chest. "You're not one to talk - you had braces too."

Shiro grins, almost as if to rub his perfect smile on Keith's face. "Oh, I did. I know everything there is to know about having braces." He looks Keith directly in the eyes. "You're gonna suffer soo much."

Keith rolls his eyes. "Oh, shut up. It can't be that bad."

Shiro chuckles. "Oh, but it is." He gets closer to Keith, and speaks in a low, serious tone, like a teenager telling horror stories to kids around a bonfire. "It's gonna hurt so bad the first few weeks you won't be able to eat. So bad," he says, "you're gonna wish you didn't have teeth."

It goes on for the whole week before Keith gets his braces. Shiro has the brilliant idea of making a countdown to the big day - this means Keith wakes up everydaywith a "nice" message on his dry eraser board.

TWO DAYS FOR BRACE FACE :)

He groans, and cleans it up, before making his way to the kitchen, where Shiro is already having breakfast.

"Morning, future brace face," he greets, "only two days left."

Keith glares in response, and takes an apple from the basket.

"Oh, better enjoy those while you can," Shiro points to the apple, "in two days, you'll be eating it in sauce."

"Fuck you."

On one hand, Keith knew his brother was trying to get to him, and he was almost sure he was exaggerating. But on the other hand... it was working. So when Keith wakes up two days later and looks at the dry eraser board, he feels immediately sick with nerves, dread pooling in his stomach.

GOOD MORNING BRACE FACE :)

Fortunately, Shiro left early for work today. Fortunately. Keith thinks he would explode if he was here to say anything else.

He grabs an apple, remembering Shiro's words. His tongue runs through the smooth surface of his teeth, and he thinks of how different it will feel in a few hours. Keith puts down the apple, suddenly too nervous to eat. He goes back to his room and gets dressed, before heading out.

At the waiting room, his legs bounce up and down nervously. He was going in any minute now, and couldn't stop thinking about the things Shiro had said. Was it all just an exaggeration? Or was Shiro actually telling the truth? Come to think of it, Keith does remember his brother a few years ago, miserably feeding himself on jello and pudding right after getting braces. And he certainly remembers Shiro's terrible mood after each adjustment.

Well. That would be him in a few hours.

A/N: I'll post the second part in a few days :)