"Shiro, honey, have you seen-" Keith looked up from the specs he was reading as he walked and fell silent. "Oh, fuck me, that's adorable."
Shiro looked up at him, eyes wide. "What are you looking for?"
Keith shook his head, putting the file down and approaching his lover. Shiro was midway through one of his Tai Chi forms, or so Keith guessed - it wasn't his thing, although Shiro seemed to find it relaxing - legs bent and arms raised in a graceful frame with his hands held flat and pressing outwards.
That was familiar enough, and while it was well worth appreciating - Keith had never tired of watching his lover move, and he didn't anticipate he ever would - it wasn't what had brought him to a stop.
Kuro was curled on one of Shiro's shoulders, head propped against his ear and tail curling around his shoulder and bicep.
"Keith?" Shiro asked, rising slowly from his crouch.
"No, it's okay." Keith said quickly, putting a hand out and gently pressing down on Shiro's unoccupied shoulder. "You're just . . . adorable. The two of you." he specified, and ran a finger down Kuro's back from the top of his head.
He purred, lifting his head and opening his eyes - still the same soft blue-grey they had been when Shiro brought him home, all kitten-fluff and smooshy, not-quite-paw-shaped paws, though they'd expected the colour to change still. Keith rubbed behind one of his tiny ears and he mewed, shifting slightly, toes flexing and unsheathing his claws briefly, before resting his head against Shiro's jaw.
"He jumped up when I was stretching and he seemed so comfortable. . ." Shiro blushed faintly. "I didn't want to push him down."
Keith stroked Shiro's cheek, dipping his head and kissing his lover lightly. "Of course you didn't." he murmured against Shiro's mouth, a smile tugging at his lips. "Does he do this often?" he asked, because he thought both Shiro and Kuro looked a little . . . too comfortable for this to be really new.
"He likes being on my shoulders." Shiro said instead of a real answer. He coughed quietly.
Keith hid a smile, brushing his fingertips over Shiro's cheek. "Mm, I knew that." he reminded as he stepped back. Kuro liked shoulders in general and often tried to perch on Keith or Shiro if he could claw his way up their bodies; he had since Shiro first brought him home, tiny and clumsy. "I didn't know you could get through your forms with him up there, though."
"Well, I have to alter some of it." Shiro admitted, meeting Keith's eyes fully again. "Or he starts to slip. It's all right, though."
Keith nodded, smiling fondly. He didn't say anything, because he wasn't sure he could hold off making an embarrassing noise over Shiro and their kitten if he did. He scritched under Kuro's chin, and the surprisingly loud kitten purr started up again.
"I'll leave you two to it." Keith said as he lowered his hand - Kuro nearly toppled off Shiro's shoulder trying to lean into it as he withdrew, and Keith hid a laugh.
"What were you looking for, baby?" Shiro asked, though he was already bringing his hands back up into the positions he'd abandoned.
"The miniature mock-up of the prototype Tim sent me." Keith supplied, collecting his file again. "Something seems off in these numbers." He frowned at them.
"Little blue hovercraft? I saw it on the dining room table, I think." Shiro offered distractedly, his eyes shifting into the odd not-focus they showed during his practise.
Keith headed that way, pausing in the doorway to appreciate Shiro's body as he bent and twisted. Kuro remained perched contentedly - without too much difficulty - on his broad shoulder through the slow, precise movements.
Keith smiled at them, absently reaching down to scritch behind Bopul's ears when he felt the hopeful nudge of a fluffy muzzle just above his knee.
Like Keith, tai chi is not my thing, so please excuse my vagueness. It's been a long time since I had a friend whose thing it was and my memory's spotty.
(My kitten outgrew her lovely blue-grey eyes - they're now two-toned gold and green, and still quite pretty, but I decided Kuro may wind up keeping his blue eyes permanently.)