"Are you sure it's okay for me to be here?" Keith grumbled, eyes darting around nervously like there were cougars all around him, not people. He shoved his hands into his jacket pockets and hunched lower into his hoodie, biting his lip thoroughly enough he could taste the salt in his blood.

They had been hanging out for the past few weeks in school, their relationship easy and their trust in each other fast, but it was still hard for Keith to get used to the looks he'd get. Other people didn't trust him, especially not with their Shiro. Even people Shiro didn't know would glare at Keith like he was some sickness and not a boy, not a friend.

"Of course it's fine that you're here," Shiro said easily. "They're delighted."

They weren't. More than once, Keith found a few of Shiro's friends turning to send him confused and aggravated looks. Why is he here? their faces clearly said.

But Keith wasn't here for them, he was here for Shiro, who had smiled so brightly when Keith had agreed to come that Keith was blinded momentarily from the light. And so, there they were, walking up a hill of gravel covered in pine needles, Keith standing closely next to Shiro in case he needed him.

"I haven't gone out Christmas tree hunting in years," Shiro hummed happily, eyes bright as he walked along. It was cold and his nose was especially red like a cherry. Keith smiled at that, appreciating color anew. One more reason to happily endure the headaches. "I never wanted to hold any of them back out on these trails, but they're always nagging me and I thought it'd be a fun thing to do together. Have you ever cut down a Christmas tree, Keith?"

"Me? No. Never had a Christmas tree."

"At all?" Shiro squawked.

"Well, Lance's family did. I helped decorate it a few times. It was fun."

"I want to meet this Lance sometime," Shiro said, stumbling a bit on a rock.

"Careful," Keith murmured, hand already out.

Shiro grinned. "I'm good."

"What's up, kids?" Came a familiar voice. It was Pidge, falling in sync with them next to Keith.

"You made it," Shiro said in pleased surprise. "Matt said you were studying for your final."

"I was, but then I realized that we have two weeks left so I might be jumping the gun."

Keith snorted. "You? Study? What for?"

"I want to make sure, Kogane! I can't just rely on someone else to help me for a good score like some people, " she said, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Wow," Shiro said.

"It's not true," Keith defended.

"Katie, how is Keith in class? I never get to see that side of him."

"You know, he's not bad for a freshman ."

Shiro grinned. "Wow, really, Keith? That's high praise coming from Katie. You didn't tell me you were smart too."

"And handsome, and charming, and so so beautiful. Look at that face, it's so gorgeous," Pidge said, standing on her tiptoes to pinch Keith's cheeks.

" Pidge ," Keith groaned, reaching out to ruffle her hair, but she darted out of his reach, initiating a chase.

He caught her, effectively messing up her hair, and she growled at him like an angry cat, snatching onto his shoulder to vault up and ruin his hair.

"Ow, ow, ow! I didn't pull your hair out! Are you trying to make me go bald?"

"A few strands won't hurt you unless you're predisposed to that sort of thing, and at that point, I can't help you. No one can."

"Pidge, mercy! Mercy! I won't do it again!"

"That's right," she said, leaping off and tugging her shirt back into place again in victory.

Keith walked back to Shiro, head hung low in defeat.

"Lost to a little girl?" Shiro asked innocently, but he was wearing a shit-eating grin.

"You know she's not just any little girl. I will have my revenge on both of you one day."

"Me?" Shiro squeaked. "I did nothing!"

"I see that smile on your face."

Shiro laughed, tripping again.

Keith hissed, catching him by the arm before he could fall. Shiro was a tank. If he went down, he would crash. Hard.

Keith said, worrying his lip, "I knew this gravel was going to be a problem. You're going to get hurt."

"Don't worry so much," Pidge said, jamming her hands into her sweatshirt pouch. "He's fine."

"What if you fall? You could twist your ankle. You could sprain your wrist."

"Oh, my god," Pidge said.

"I'm fine, really," Shiro said, gently placing his hand over Keith's. "Thank you for worrying, but they're just rocks. If I fall, I'll live."

Keith's mouth pulled downward, but he backed off.

It was harder than he thought to watch. Keith didn't care for many people, but the people he did care for, he cared for a lot. Too much. Shiro was on his radar now and he wanted to make sure he made it out intact.

But he remembered Shiro mentioning Matt's hovering, and it had to drive him nuts to have his friends not trust him, and...augh. Keith's mind was going into overdrive. He forced himself to back off. It was physically painful.

"Heeey!" Matt called from a distance. "I think I found one!"

"Just one?" Pidge called back. "We're in a forest of them!"

"Did you bring a measuring pole?" One of their other roommates said. Shiro had gone through and introduced some of them to Keith and vice versa, but Keith had always been bad at maintaining names. He just knew that this guy had smiled at him widely and looked friendly enough, so he was okay in Keith's book.

"Shiro's our measuring pole. He's six foot and five inches exactly."

"Is that right?" Keith said, squinting up at him.

Shiro beamed. "How tall are you, Keith?"

"Uhh... I can't tell you. If I told you, I'd have to kill you."

"He's hardly taller than me," Pidge blatantly lied.

"Okay, first off, never trust Pidge. She tells lies for sport, I'm not even kidding."

"You're right, you're right, I'm sorry," Pidge snorted. "Keith's actually much taller than you. By like an entire foot. And that's without shoes or the height from his hair."

Keith nodded his approval. "Finally, some truth around here."

Shiro was laughing. "I like you two. I like you two a lot ."

Pidge wiggled her eyebrows at Keith suggestively and Keith flicked her nose. She jumped on Keith's back and attacked him. He wobbled around and screeched, trying to buck her off.

"What are you two doing?" Matt despaired from up ahead. They'd finally caught up. Matt was watching in disapproval.

Pidge jumped off Keith's back and saluted to her brother. "Fighting Keith and winning."

Matt sighed, "As long as you're winning, I guess."

She laughed like a villain.

"This is the tree," Matt said, holding his hands out to it like it was in the middle of a spotlight. "What do you think? Perfect, right?"

Everyone nodded their agreement, except for Pidge, who shrugged with a frown on her face.

Keith rose an eyebrow, seriously questioning the sanity of all of Shiro's friends. "But half of it's brown. I thought a Christmas tree was supposed to be green."

Dead silence.

Keith immediately sensed the tension, pulled taut. He held his breath, looking around at their expressions. They'd all dropped what they were doing - the friendly boy actually literally dropping his phone to the ground - to stare at him blankly.

Keith reflexively backed up beside Shiro. The attention was like a hand pressing over his face. Struggling to breathe, he looked up at Shiro and muttered, "What? What did I say?"

Shiro's posture was also stiff. He said with forced calm, clearing his throat roughly, "Uh...you see colors, Keith?"

Heat bled into his face. Oh. Oh . It had just come out, colors starting to assimilate with his everyday life. He clamped his lips together between his teeth, biting down hard.

Dammit.

Dammit all.

Pidge broke the silence, "It's fine. Right, guys? It's just...rare, that's all. To see color. It's not a big deal."

"You have a soulmate?" Friendly boy asked curiously. "I've never met anyone who could see colors. Besides the color decorator at school."

"I... Um. I just..." He was backing up more, heart thudding harshly against his chest. His feet crunched against the rocks as he slipped out of their ring of friends. He was about to turn and just leave when Shiro's hand caught him by the arm.

He shook his head. "It's fine, Keith. It's none of our business. We won't talk about it anymore. Right, guys? Hunk?"

"I'm sorry," Hunk, the friendly boy, piped up immediately. "I was just curious. I didn't mean anything by it. I think it's cool."

"We won't talk about it anymore," Shiro said again, pointedly.

"Right. Sorry."

"I'm sorry," Keith said faintly, allowing Shiro to pull him back into their group, but he was just an untethered balloon now. Whatever connection he had felt to the group was severed for some reason, as fragile as his trust was.

"There's nothing to apologize for," Shiro said simply. "So this tree's out, huh?" He reached his hand out for the branches and Keith helped guide him to them. "I like Douglas Firs better anyhow."

"A tree snob," Keith breathed out softly, laughing quietly between the two of them. Private. He could share this with Shiro, but he was guarded again from the others.

"Bah, the other trees have weak branches and ornaments end up falling from them and then I end up stepping on them. They hurt."

Keith chuckled under his breath, keeping his eyes down.

Pidge tossed one hesitant look at them and then thought better of it, hopping along the trail to meet up with her brother.

Keith was grateful. It was stupid, but him giving away the fact that he could see colors was more private to him than even he had known. He definitely had not wanted Shiro to know, and here he was.

Keith sucked in another breathful of air. It felt too sharp, too harsh in his lungs.

"Hey, Keith," Shiro said. "Want to rest for a second? I'm kind of tired."

Shiro didn't look tired. His posture was perfectly casual and he wasn't even breaking a sweat.

Keith bit his lip. "Um, yeah, sure."

"Hey, guys," Shiro turned to yell at the others. "Keith and I are going to sit for a bit. You can keep looking."

"What?" Matt complained. He was already far down the trail, a speck in the distance. "But we just got here!"

"You can keep looking ," Shiro said one last time before turning back to Keith and saying softly, but cheerfully, "I think I remember there's a bench over here looking over the mountains. Do you see it? To our right?"

"Mm." Keith began to walk over to it. He had noticed by now that Shiro liked to follow a few paces behind, listening, gauging where Keith had stepped, using Keith as a white cane.

He didn't mention it. Shiro seemed like the type to enjoy being independent, and Pidge was right, he seemed perfectly fine doing it.

Keith sat on the bench and scooted over, patting the empty space beside him audibly.

Shiro smiled at him and sat, a small "thanks" passing over his lips.

"How's the view?" Shiro asked. "Is it beautiful?"

Keith let his eyes fall over the mountains in the distance, dark but dusted in snow. Most of the view was the vivid blue of the sky and fluffy white of the soft clouds floating past in lazy swirls. Down the hill and filling the wide space between them and the mountains were trees. Trees, trees, trees as far as the eye could see. Lush, bountiful, and a deep green.

It would've been pretty even in varying tones of grey, but Keith had to admit that the color was breathtaking. Overwhelming in its ways, but changing somehow. This was the world untouched.

He turned his eyes back to Shiro, who had that faint smile on his lips that was always just there by default. Keith looked at the shining grey of his irises and the softness of his forelock. Keith wished that he could reach out and feel it, but he kept his hand stubbornly by his side.

The view was beautiful, but Shiro was even moreso.

"It's really nice," Keith said softly.

They were sitting so close that he could feel the warmth from Shiro's body. He wondered if Shiro could feel the warmth coming from him too.

A bird flitted past without warning, skirting just inches from their heads before twisting through the sky and into the clouds again. Keith squawked, clutching Shiro's arm in case they needed to evacuate. He turned to make sure there weren't any others following behind.

"What is it?" Shiro asked curiously.

"Did you see that bird?"

A deep laugh. "Mm...no." His tone was coyly amused.

Keith blinked as he realized what he'd asked, turning back to Shiro to make sure he hadn't offended him. Careless. "Oh, god. Sorry. Yeah."

Shiro was smiling still, shaking his head. "No worries."

Keith pulled his hands back to himself, cringing at the mistakes he'd made so far in just the past half hour alone. Silence settled around them again, starting to sour in Keith's stomach.

He had assumed that Shiro had brought him to the side to ask more about the colors, but of course, Shiro being Shiro, he did not.

Instead, he said, "Did you know I was born in Japan?"

Keith snorted, elbowing him gently. "Who would've ever guessed?"

Shiro smiled but continued, "My little brother, Ryou, used to love getting Christmas trees. That was his thing . My parents, they were busy all the time and couldn't really concentrate on the both of us. Ryou was a bit of a handful and I was so compliant, so I didn't argue when they sent me here to live with my grandfather."

Immediately, Keith's sense of protectiveness was activated. Anger boiled in his gut, burning up his chest. "They just got rid of you?"

"It wasn't really like that," Shiro said, brow pulled together tightly as he sought the right words. "They were just trying to find a balance. It was alright, I don't regret it. I loved my grandfather. But then I got into the accident, and, well, I couldn't see. My grandfather didn't care much to get a tree and I just figured, what was the point, you know? My brother wasn't there. I wouldn't know if it was there or not. So why put up all this fuss for just a tree?

"Matt and I went to highschool together. He called me the grinch for years. He managed to get me out a few years back to this very spot, but I don't know... There's just something about it that makes me feel...strange. Kind of sad. Homesick, I guess."

"Why are you telling me this?" Keith said quietly.

Shiro smiled warmly as the wind blew through, tousling their hair. "I don't feel that way with you here."

Keith inhaled sharply through his nose. "Me?"

"There's just something about you, Keith," Shiro shrugged. "I know you feel awkward in crowds, but I'm very grateful that you came. I have fun when you're around. I hope you do too."

"I do. And your friends are really nice. I'm getting used to hanging out with them."

"You and Pidge get along well together. I'm kind of surprised how well. She's always sort of stayed away from the crowd. I thought it was an age thing, but now I'm not so sure."

"We do, don't we?" Keith wondered aloud. "It just...feels right."

"Right? I feel that too."

Keith could see it. With a bit more time, only a small bit, he could envision himself fitting within their group, completely seamless, right at Shiro's side.

He said, "Lance too. I feel like you'd really like him. ...Though, I guess it's easy to say that. You seem to like everyone."

Shiro laughed, but rose a skeptical eyebrow. "What makes you say that?"

"Well. You befriended me , didn't you?"

"You say that like it's some huge feat. Keith, how many times do I need to say it until you believe me? You're amazing. I knew it from the moment I first heard your voice. I don't make friends with just anyone. I actually have very high standards."

"Hmmm," Keith's belly rumbled with his suspicious low laughter.

"Keith..." Shiro muttered fondly.

"I'm grateful too," Keith said into their comfortable silence. There was that bird again, floating overhead, effortless and peaceful this time. Keith watched as the wind guided it through the clouds. "I never thought I'd ever be so lucky as to find a friend like you."

Shiro hummed under his breath. "...Hey, Keith?"

"Yeah?"

"This... I... Um..." His face was growing pink, a color that he didn't get normally. Keith watched as it spread up his neck and over his cheeks, finally dusting his ears. His scar disappeared into its rich color. "I've never...seen you. So I... Mind if I ask you some questions about yourself? You can say no. It won't hurt my feelings."

Keith's lip curled into a smile and he narrowed his eyes with a playful crinkle of his nose. "Are you trying to find out whether I'm super ugly or something?"

Shiro choked. "No! Of course not!" There was a bright-eyed energy about him that Keith knew would be way too much fun to poke at.

"Okay, then. Imagine the best looking person you've ever seen, multiply it by ten and you've got me."

"Keith," Shiro was laughing so hard, he had to reposition himself in the seat.

"It's true, it's true," Keith laughed along with him, grinning until it hurt.

He tilted his head back and groaned into the sky. When he swung back forward, he was still laughing. He said, "How can I doubt you?"

"People just avoid me like the plague because they're stunned by the god-like level of my beauty. Totally 100% true. You heard Pidge earlier."

"Come on. I'm already dying from embarrassment here. Have some pity!"

Keith snickered, leaning over to bump their shoulders together. Was it an excuse just to touch Shiro? Yes.

He said warmly as he leaned in close to Shiro, "I'll behave. So go ahead and ask."

Shiro shook the laughter out of his shoulders and made a visible effort to center himself. He nodded softly, thinking as he bit his lip.

"U-um, alright..." Shiro's adam's apple visibly bobbed as he swallowed. "If I ask anything you're even remotely uncomfortable with answering, just...pass. That's all. I don't want to make you uncomfortable."

"Noted."

"Okay... Well. Hah." He leaned forward, fingers clenching to the edge of the bench tightly, nose wrinkling as he scrunched his eyes closed, ready to take the leap. "How long is your hair?"

Keith laughed out loud in surprise. "Here I thought you were going to ask about my six pack or something. You're basically sweating bullets."

Shiro choked. "You have a six pack?"

"It was a joke . What's your mental image of me right now, before I give it all away? What do I look like to you when I talk? Have you ever wondered?"

"Keith..." Shiro said lowly, hunching his shoulders defensively.

"Why are you so embarrassed? It's just me. Pidge makes it her mission to embarrass me in front of you every chance she gets. I imagine it can't get worse than that."

He laughed. "That's true. It's pretty bad."

"Tell me."

"I, uh... Bangs?"

"Correct," Keith smiled, leaning forward to watch Shiro's red trembling face. "They get in my eyes sometimes but I like them a little long. I think it's kind of a comfort thing. I can hide behind them if need be. Don't tell anyone I admitted that, though."

"Pfft, why would someone like you need to hide?"

"Hmm... Next guess, please."

"Uh. Long hair?"

"Yep. About shoulder length. Lance says it looks like a mullet, but it's not that bad."

Shiro flashed a small nervous smile filled with bright tension before he took in a deep breath. "Black sweatshirt."

Keith laughed. "And here I was starting to think you were good at this game. I'm a goth, is that what you were thinking? Is it the smoking?"

He shrugged sheepishly.

"I do have a black sweatshirt in my disaster of a room, but I prefer red. It's kinda my thing."

"Red," Shiro murmured in a tone that sounded like relief. "That suits you somehow."

Keith pressed his lips together self-consciously, shuffling his feet in the grass and rocks beneath his shoes. His voice dropped. "Thanks... What else?"

"Well, I already know you're almost seven foot and five inches."

"If Pidge says it, it's got to be right."

Shiro laughed and Keith joined in.

"I'm actually five foot six. I'm pretty small. It used to really bother me when I was a kid. It was like a big red target painted on my back - 'come get me'."

"Aww."

"I like to wear boots," Keith said. "Up to my knee. And just black jeans. I used to wear black gauges, but they weren't that big. I felt cooler than I looked, I think."

"Gauges," Shiro huffed out laughter. "I wish I could see that..."

"Still want to be my friend?"

"Mm...Gauges are sort of a deal breaker for me."

"Oh, yeah?" Keith snorted. "Too bad. You're stuck with me."

"I guess I'll just have to get over it."

"I guess you will."

"Eyeliner."

Keith laughed under his breath, pressing his lips together as he watched Shiro's expressions range from embarrassment to wonder right back to embarrassment again. "I did go through a phase in high school."

Shiro laughed too. "I was sort of joking, but how am I not surprised?"

"Hey. It looked good . Too much effort though."

Again, Shiro took a deep steadying breath, the apprehension rebuilding in his shoulders. "Hey...Keith?" He asked hesitantly. "What color are your eyes?"

"My eyes?" Keith echoed. A simple question, but it twisted up inside of Keith's mind like a knot. His eyes were purple. The color that had caused him much grief when he was a child because there happened to be that one asshole kid who could see colors and know that purple eyes werestrange . Everyone else just believed him. Even Keith. They weren't normal.

Shiro's heart was gold. He'd accept Keith no matter what and he knew that, but a reflex in Keith, after so many times of being laughed at and ridiculed, forced himself to blurt out, "blue. My eyes are blue."

"Blue?" Shiro asked, as if that weren't the answer he expected.

"Uh, yeah? Why? Is that the deal breaker? Not the gauges after all?"

Shiro forced out a laugh. It was still and awkward. Keith felt the wrongness in the moment.

He took a breath to try to make a joke again, to divert the feeling and talk about something else, but the silence was sharp and it pierced at him, nagging that it was something more important than to treat like that.

He geared up for battle. "Shiro...? What is it?"

"Ah, I... No, it's nothing. I was just...thinking of something else."

Keith narrowed his eyes and angled himself toward Shiro, poking his knee. "What is it?"

That same steadying breath. "...This is going to sound weird."

"Okay, shoot."

"I think maybe it's because I already feel like I've known you since forever, you're familiar to me and I feel like I should know what you look like too, you know? Like, if I get it wrong, it means I've wronged you. I was just surprised. I imagined your eyes a different color. I like blue, there's nothing wrong with blue. It's very pretty." He groaned softly. "...Ah, jeez, I'm really putting my foot in my mouth now..."

"...What color...?" Keith muttered lowly.

"I was just surprised, that's all. Being silly."

Shiro was cringing awkwardly despite the brave smile he was putting on, so Keith decided to drop it.

"Silly, huh? What's new?" Keith hummed fondly.

Shiro's smile grew, genuine. "I think you're amazing, Keith. I know I keep saying it, but I mean it."

"You are such a flatterer," Keith said, voice soft and heart fluttering warmly.

"Not at all, it's just the truth," Shiro said simply, always so simply.

Shiro's easy smile slowly melted into a distressed frown. He fidgeted. "I, uh...usually I don't ask this of people, but, um, if you don't mind - and you can say no - would you...let me touch your face? I can't see you, as you know, so this is...my way..."

It was like being stripped naked in front of your crush. Keith felt so vulnerable at the question alone that he couldn't even find the words to accept or deny. Shiro's hands...his warm, soft, gentle hands...touching Keith's face.

He let out a shaky breath.

"I'm sorry," Shiro said quickly, angling his body away. "I don't know why I asked that. I never ask that. It's weird. No one wants their faces prodded at by some blind guy."

"Yes," Keith said, winded. "Yes, I don't mind. It's...it's not weird." He cleared his throat and tried to soften the wrinkle in his brow.

"What?" Shiro whipped around toward him, eyes blinking quickly.

"I don't mind, Shiro. You're not just anyone. You're you. Go ahead."

"Are you sure?"

Keith nodded, eyes feeling wide and childish. His heart stripped bear, he shakily reached for Shiro's hands and grabbed them, guiding them slowly to his face.

He let them rest on his cheek. Shiro's touch was how he expected it - butterfly light and so gentle, like he was holding something very precious. There was a slight tremor in his fingertips, so sweetly nervous.

"T-tell me if you want me to stop."

"I will," Keith murmured, trying to be still for him.

Shiro traced Keith's face. He started with his one hand, running it down Keith's cheek and along his jawline. He felt down and along his neck, vulnerable and soft. "I can feel your heart beating," he laughed breathlessly as his fingers grazed his pulse point.

"I'm nervous," Keith admitted, unable to look Shiro in the face. He stared down at his hands in his lap, their legs pressed together.

Shiro brought his other hand up, resting it on Keith's other cheek. "Don't be nervous," he whispered.

"Can't help it."

"Hey," Shiro said, reaching down to grab Keith's hand and place it on the vulnerable pulse point at his neck. It was fluttering too, like wings against thin skin.

They laughed together in breathy silence, helpless at the other's touch.

Shiro's hands felt like an angel's. Each bit of skin that he touched was renewed and healed. The sensations were new. It was strange, being touched in a loving manner. Platonic or not, it didn't matter. It was warmth against warmth, kindness bleeding into kindness. Keith could almost cry at the tenderness.

He ran his fingers across Keith's eyebrows, along his temple, over his eyelids. He felt the hollows beneath Keith's eyes and traveled to the tip of Keith's small nose. And then, daringly, he skimmed across Keith's lips, just a faint touch, but it sent a shock throughout Keith's entire body. Like electricity reviving what had fallen asleep in neglect inside of him.

"Beautiful," Shiro whispered in awe, softly. There was so much emotion in his voice that Keith didn't know what to make of it. His own head was spinning with feelings he almost couldn't contain.

"Shiro," he began. He had to tell him. He had to admit everything. The colors. The reason he was here . It needed to be said now, when his heart was open and bleeding out: I trust you .

"Heeeeyy! What are you guys-?"

They both jumped. It was Pidge, walking up the hill toward them. She stopped the second she saw them. Shiro's hands gently holding Keith's face. Keith, leaning forward halfway into Shiro's lap.

"Oh," she said, blinking at the scene in front of her.

Shiro jerked back, shoving his hands into his lap. Keith leaned back against the bench, face flaming almost as red as Shiro's.

Pidge's surprise softened into a small warm smile. "Sorry. If I had known..."

"It's fine, Pidge," Keith said, tugging at his hoodie. "We'll be right there."

"...Matt sent me to get you. We'll be down by the pond." She turned and walked off.

Shiro cleared his throat roughly and Keith sniffed, both suddenly incredibly awkward.

"Uh, maybe we should -"

"-Yeah. Let's."

They collected their stuff and followed the trail down, neither mentioning what had just happened. Keith's heart was still beating so hard.

The trail was made of gravel still and they were going downhill. It was difficult enough for Keith to navigate his way down with sight, but Shiro walked the whole way without complaint. Keith was there, watching, holding his hand out whenever he thought Shiro might need it.

Nothing happened, though, and they found the group waiting right where Pidge said they'd be, next to a nice looking pine.

"Shiro!" Matt was grumbling. "What took you so long? We probably won't make it in time for lights now."

"I thought that was tomorrow."

Matt heaved a sigh. "I have work in the morning, but I guess if we have to."

"Don't be such a baby." Pidge threw a piece of popcorn at him from the package she was eating from. It hit him square in the face.

"Don't waste food! Anyway, Mr. Sunglasses," he pointed at Keith, "How's this tree look? Green?"

Shiro frowned. "Why is he calling you that?"

Keith groaned. "I have to wear these shitty sunglasses all the time, even inside. I look super lame. They're probably the most uncomfortable things on the face of this planet, but I get headaches otherwise, so..."

"Ahem. What do you think?" Matt gestured grandly toward the tree.

Keith tilted his head, pressing his sunglasses up his nose pointedly. He began walking around the with slow care, showing off his professional inspecting skills. He hummed thoughtfully for a long moment before nodding, short and curt. "I like it."

"He approves!" Hunk cheered.

"I don't know why you're asking me anyway," Keith said, taking his place back beside Shiro again. "If no one else can see color, then what does it matter what it looks like?"

" You can," Hunk said simply. "And you'll be hanging out with us at the dorm more often, right?"

"I...guess?"

"I mean, you two are dating."

Shiro and Keith both choked at the same time. "What?" They demanded in unison, a chorus of shock and embarrassment, sputtering more than making sense.

"Are...are you not? I mean. You kinda definitely look like you're dating."

"We're not dating, Hunk," Shiro said firmly, holding his hand out in a stop pose to solidify his point. "We're just friends."

"We just met each other like two months ago," Keith said.

Hunk stared between the both of them, lips pressed together tightly. Keith could see the woman behind him looking at them with the same arched eyebrow of disbelief. He looked away.

"Okay, whatever you say," Hunk shrugged easily, kneeling to inspect the bottom of the tree. "Someone, hand me the saw. I'll get this guy in no time."

Hunk grunted as he hacked away at the bottom of the tree. Keith turned to Shiro. "You're going to see lights tomorrow? That can't be fun for you."

Shiro shrugged. "It'll be fun if you come."

Keith smiled crookedly. "Who said I was coming?"

Shiro's smile only grew. "Are you not? Don't tell me you have something better planned."

"Damn," Keith breathed out in a puff. "You know me too well. I did have a three hour mope fest planned for the afternoon, but I guess I can put it off for another time if you really need me to ."

"That sounds fun too, though."

"I'm pretty good at it. But seriously, we could do something else that might be more interesting for you."

"Thanks, Keith. Don't you like lights?"

"Hm. I dunno. I've never gone to look at lights specifically. I mean. They're lights."

"Well, we're going then. Then you can properly decide whether you hate them or not for next year."

Keith blushed. Next year, Shiro had said. He thought they'd still be hanging out for an additional year. That was another three hundred and sixty-five days that he and Shiro still had left together. It made him giddy.

Shiro stopped, attention turning. Keith noticed as his expression changed into excitement. "Oh, hey, Allura, you made it," he said with warm familiarity as she walked past with a slight frown. She had her eyes trained on Hunk, who was handing the saw blade-first to Matt. "I thought you said you couldn't come."

She turned, cool eyes skimming over Keith before falling on Shiro's face with a look of fondness. Keith tried to steady the jump of jealousy in his heart. It was uncalled for and completely lame. "Hello, Shiro. I really should be attending to other matters, but you only get Christmas once a year and I'd hate to miss it. You know how I like hanging out with all of you. Is this your friend I've been hearing so much about?"

"This is Keith. He's an astrophysics major too."

"Is that so? How lovely," she turned her smile on Keith. It intimidated him, filling him with noxious feelings that made him unsteady. Along with her perfect posture, perfect hair, and perfect outfit, her perfect smile made it all too much. She was gorgeous, not a hair out of place. Her accent made her even more untouchable.

With a jealous twinge in his heart, Keith realized that someone as perfect as her would be an ideal fit for someone as perfect as Shiro. An astrophysics major. They were the same and yet, so very different. Two opposites, and Keith was the one on the wrong side.

But this was Shiro's friend and, regardless to how much it hurt him to do it, Keith forced himself to hold his hand out. "It's nice to meet you," he said, and cringed at the tone. It wasn't intentional, but even he could tell it changed - iced over in a way he couldn't do to Shiro even if he tried.

Her tone was very much the same. Falsely jovial for Shiro's sake. "And you. It's always nice to have someone with similar interests to talk to. I've had to live with computer and music nerds up until now and they don't make a lick of sense to me most of the time. And it's about time we fill that empty room. I always worry other creatures will find it, like spiders or rodents."

"Oh, Keith's not moving in," Shiro said.

"No? My apologies; that's too bad. Which dorm do you live in, Keith?"

It was the worst possible question. His room could barely be called that - it was more a hole in the wall, but it was all he could afford. Someone like her would never approve. She probably had never even stepped foot near rubbish like it. Chagrined, he resisted the urge to hide behind Shiro. "Oh, you know...just around."

"Hm," she narrowed her eyes, but let it drop. "I'd better help Hunk before he saws off an arm. I don't want a repeat of last year."

Keith watched her stride off, confident, beautiful, and totally in control. Keith let out a shaky breath. "You knew it was her without seeing."

Shiro smiled crookedly. "It's just a matter of paying attention. In these rocks, it's easy to hear strides. Allura's footsteps are very sharp and purposeful. Hunk's are a bit slower and he lets his feet flop a bit more. Matt shuffles his feet. Katie does the same, but she's lighter, so her footsteps aren't quite as loud. She stands on the tips of her toes a lot as she stops walking."

"Wow," Keith muttered, trying to listen as Matt walked to the other side of the tree, grabbing it by the top as it slowly toppled over. "And my gait?"

"Yours varies. You have the slight limp, of course, but it's very hard to detect if you're not paying attention. They're a bit predatory, like you're absorbing the sound into your feet to avoid detection. But sometimes they're more like Allura's. Purposeful. Pressing into the ground. I really do think the two of you would get along well together."

Keith sniffed. "Interesting how you can guess a person's personality by their footsteps."

"It's not a science," Shiro snorted. "But it seems pretty accurate some of the time and it's one of the reasons why you interested me so much the first time we met." He blushed a bit.

"My walk," Keith laughed softly. "Now I'm going to be self conscious."

"Invest in getting lessons from a ninja and you won't have to worry about it."

"Then how else will I lure you into this friendship?"

Shiro nudged Keith playfully in the arm and Keith pushed back gently. He was liking this, the familiar playfulness.

"Hey, you two," Pidge called from a distance, "stop flirting and let's go. Everyone else has left."

Even the embarrassment didn't diminish the warmth that had grown in his heart.

"Hey, Keith," Shiro said, reaching his hand out. Keith reached back without even thinking about it, lacing their hands together as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Shiro said, blushing, "You were right earlier. The ground is a little difficult to walk on. ...Mind lending me an arm?"

Blinking, Keith watched as Shiro waited for a response, looking embarrassed and nervous. Keith slid his fingers from Shiro's grip, locking their arms together instead. "Of course."

Shiro latched on, smiling, warm as the sun. They walked, arms locked, as comfortable as if they'd done it all their lives.

It felt right.