It's the ache in his head that wakes Shiro. He blinks and it takes a moment for his vision to clear, a few heartbeats to bring the room into focus.
Beside him, Keith's dark mop of hair is spread over his pillow like a thundercloud, the sheets low on his hips as he slumbers on his side with his hands tucked under one cheek. Shiro can see the angry scar from the trials of Marmora on his shoulder, healing well but still standing out in dark relief against his pale skin. Shiro's about to roll over and slide a hand over Keith's bare stomach when there's a quiet two-toned beep and the light on the panel by the door blinks orange.
He glances once more at Keith's sleeping form before slipping regretfully from the bed. He pulls on his clothes and pads over to the door.
On the other side, Matt is waiting with bright eyes and a wide smile.
"Hey man, Katie just told me – congratulations!"
Shiro takes Matt's outstretched hand and they shake.
"Thank you," he says. "It's something I should have done a long time ago."
Matt's smile slips and something like sorrow comes into his eyes. "Come on, Shiro. You did what you thought was best at the time. You couldn't expect things to unfold like they have. Not one of us could have predicted we would get taken by a hostile race of big purple furry aliens when we lifted off from Earth."
"No, I suppose not," Shiro says, folding his arms and leaning against the now closed door. "When did you get in?"
Matt shrugs. "A few vargas ago. Would have made Pidge come get us in the green lion if I knew there was a party to plan."
Shiro laughs at that. "It will be good to have you there. Allura said she's trying to reach a few others too. I wasn't sure if it was a good idea considering the losses we've had to endure to achieve what we did but-" he trails off. His head starts to throb again and his thoughts seem a little fuzzy. He figures he just needs some of that Altean equivalent of coffee to kick start things.
"You okay, Shiro?" Matt asks after a slight pause.
"Huh? Oh, yeah. Just woke up. Come on, lets go see what's happening on the bridge."
It's seriously impressive how quickly the team manages to pull what they need together for an Earth style wedding. Shiro gave Allura as much information as he could, trying to remember back to a Shinto wedding he attended as a child with his Grandpa. He must have been only five or six or so at the time and it was one of his much older cousins. He vividly remembered thinking how serene she looked in her white and red kimono as she looked up at the face of her new husband. Even as a small child, Shiro had seen what love was, and he had hoped he would have it for himself one day.
And now he did.
He smiles to himself at the thought, just the knowledge that there was no more hiding or holding back enough to change everything. He steadfastly refuses to let his mind wander too far into the future. There would be time enough for that later. Now is all that matters.
They're standing on the bridge when Allura broaches the subject of Keith and any special family traditions he might choose to incorporate but Keith just shrugs. He has none, at least not from his human side.
"Perhaps there's a Galra tradition worth including?" Allura manages to say. Her voice is a little strangled and Shiro can see the effort it takes her to say it.
Keith thinks about it for a moment but then shakes his head. "No," he says. "I don't need that. I just want to do whatever Shiro wants to do."
Allura tries to hide her relief… and fails but they all pretend they don't notice. There's more discussions, more ideas thrown backwards and forth. Matt is hovering over Pidge's shoulder talking to some of the other rebel leaders and Hunk is talking to himself and making notes, mumbling as he taps his chin and flicks through holos before suddenly jumping up and grabbing Coran, herding him out the door with a wave at the others.
Shiro isn't sure what to make of that but he's long since realised that he and Keith are merely passengers on this particular ride, and he's okay with that. It actually feels good to let go.
"So, I'm going to talk to Lance," Keith says after a moment. Shiro glances down at him in surprise. The blue glow from the bridge lights reflect on his dark hair and in his eyes. Shiro thinks he's beautiful.
"Everything okay?" he asks quietly.
"Yeah… I just- Something I gotta do. Wish me luck, okay."
Shiro looks amused then. "Ah, good luck?"
Keith disappears with a grin over his shoulder.
It's not long after and Keith is standing outside of Lance's door, his hand raised to knock even as he sends a prayer up to the heavens that what he's about to do isn't going to come back to bite him on the ass later.
He sucks in a deep breath and mutters some obscenity to himself just as he raps on the door with his knuckles.
There's a loud crash from the other side, a yelp and then the door slides open and Lance is blinking at him, eyes bleary and his clothes dishevelled. Keith narrows his gaze.
"What are you doing in there? No. No, wait on second thoughts I don't want to know."
Lance rubs his face, then his hair. It sticks out at odd angles despite its short length. "What do you want, Mullet? This better not be about Red, it wasn't my fault, I swear she jumped into that asteroid belt all by herself-"
"No, I'm not here about that, you can relax."
Lance pauses then manages to pull himself up a bit taller. He takes a step back and ushers Keith inside. His room is a mess but somehow that doesn't surprise Keith in the least. He glances around quickly, wondering if there is a spare surface to sit but quickly dismisses the idea when he sees none. He decides to do this quickly.
A bit like ripping off a band aid.
He watches as Lance shuffles over to his bed, his fuzzy blue lion slippers making a scraping noise along the floor. He doesn't sit though, he just turns around to face Keith, one eyebrow lifted expectantly. Keith clears his throat.
"So, ah… I'm going to need a best man since… ah… since I'm getting married."
He feels like he's about to choke on his own tongue. It's the first time he's said it out loud and it almost makes him dizzy. Is this really happening? Is Shiro really going to marry him? He's not dreaming all this, is he?
Marriage. Holy shit.
He somehow manages to resist the urge to panic. Not that he doesn't want to commit to Shiro, he's never wanted anything more. In fact, he's wanted it since the day Shiro first kissed him all those years ago, before Kerberos, before Voltron and the Galra. It's just that he would just rather… skip the formalities and settle straight into being one half of a whole.
But the team is too excited about making it an Event and even though Shiro hasn't said as much, Keith knows in his gut how much it would mean to Shiro too. He could be traditional like that in some ways.
He's not sure how many ticks pass before he realises Lance is staring at him.
"Yeah…?" Lance says expectantly, as though it's the most obvious thing in the world. Lance looks at Keith as though he's concerned Keith's had too many knocks to the head. His mind wanders back to the Voltron cheer then Keith makes an exasperated noise at the back of his throat. He reminds himself he needs Lance for this so he sucks in a deep breath.
Patience yields focus.
He rubs the back of his neck then sighs. He's resigned. There's no way he's going to come out of this moment with his pride intact. He struggles with the urge to squirm.
"So… do you want the job?"
Lance pauses for a heartbeat then his eyes narrow. Oh no, Keith doesn't like the look of that. Lance straightens up and in that instant, Keith knows Lance is going to make him work for this and he's tastes the bitter tang of regret on this tongue.
"I want to hear you say it," Lance announces. He folds his arms across his chest and lifts his chin. He's not being smug about it, just… determined. Keith groans.
"Lance-"
"Uh, nuh nuh nuh, you want the goods, you gotta pay the price."
Keith glares at him then. Really? They're really doing this? He grits his teeth. "Fine!" he snaps.
There's a few ticks of pregnant silence. Lance eventually taps his wrist with one finger. "Tick tock!"
Keith can't help the growl that comes with the words. "Will. You. Be. My. Best. Man?"
Lance looks at him and taps his chin. He makes Keith sweat. Actually has the nerve to make him wait for an answer and Keith is incensed. He can feel the blood staring to boil in his veins and a roaring in his ears as his temper flares. He's about to give up on the whole thing and storm out of the room when Lance finally speaks.
"Best man, you say?" he says, tapping his chin. "Well yes, since I am the best man after all… Don't worry, buddy, I've got your back."
Keith can't help but feel mildly alarmed by that.
Somewhere in her hanger, Red purrs.