Crush Course-Long Distance

Keith had been trying to make time go by as slowly as possible while Coran drove them to the airport, but time couldn't possibly go slowly when Shiro was around. There was nothing he could have done to delay the inevitable, and now here they were, standing in front of the gate at the airport, preparing to let Shiro board a plane and fly off to college.

Keith gulped back his sadness as the call for passengers sounded. Shiro turned to him, obviously wanting to say something, but ended up just staring sadly.

Keith took a breath and spoke first. "I...guess this is it."

Shiro nodded. "Yeah."

Keith forced a smile. "Hey, don't-don't worry about me. I'll be fine here. You-you're gonna do great. I'm happy for you."

"I know, and I'm excited but...I'm going to miss you, Keith."

Keith tried not to cry. He couldn't cry. "I...I'll miss you too, but..."

Now it was Shiro's turn to put on a smile. "Hey, we'll video chat, okay? Every night, I promise."

Keith nodded. "Y-yeah, of course. You'd better not miss a night, or I'll give you hell."

Shiro chuckled. "I don't doubt it."

"Last call for flight 1680," a voice over the loudspeaker said. "Flight 1680 is boarding now. Last call for 1680."

Shiro bit his lip. Keith closed his eyes and kissed him goodbye.

"Good luck. Call me tonight when you get there."

"I will. I love you, Keith."

Despite Keith now being legally an adult and officially aged out of the system, Coran still let him stick around in his apartment until Keith could scrape together enough to live by himself. Keith was grateful for it. After work, he'd come back to the same apartment he'd lived in for over two years, and it felt like nothing had changed.

Truth was, a lot had changed. Pidge had travelled halfway across the country to go study computer science, and Lance had followed her when he's found out that the same school also had a great business and marketing program. Allura had gone to study political science at a nearby university, Hunk went into culinary arts in another, and Matt and Shay were at a community college close by. Everyone was reasonably close to the person they loved-all except for Keith, who took a year off to start working while Shiro went to study astronomy two time zones away.

But that was okay. They had a system. Shiro and Keith had promised to call each other every night, and about a week into the semester, they were keeping that promise religiously.

After dinner, Keith darted into his bedroom and flopped onto his bed, pulling out his tablet to call Shiro. He stared at his own smiling face for a moment as it rang, and then Shiro picked up. There were some shuffling noises on the other end as Shiro went back to whatever he'd been doing, but he still greeted him happily.

"Hey, Keith!"

"Hey, babe," Keith replied. "Am I interrupting something?"

"Nah, I was just cleaning my stuff up. I just finished that Econ project I told you about, finally."

"Finally," Keith agreed. "Does that mean you're finally free from Professor Hardass?"

"I wish. He'll probably have a new one ready for us by next week." Shiro appeared on the camera briefly and flashed a smile. "Lemme heat up something to eat real quick."

"More cup noodles?"

"That's college life for you."

"I'm sorry," Keith chuckled.

"Hey, don't laugh," Shiro whined. "Not all of us are lucky enough to stay home and eat our parents' cooking."

"Lucky is subjective. I'm pretty sure cup noodles would surpass Coran's food any day."

Shiro finally pooped down in front of the tablet, noodles in hand and a smile on his face. "You're so mean to him."

"It's not mean to tell the truth, Shiro." He waved it off and instead turned his attention to Shiro's warm-looking sweater. "You look snug. Is that college merch?"

Shiro nodded as he slurped his noodles. "Yeah, they had a sale on the first week. Figured I'd get one, get into the school spirit, you know?"

Keith rolled his eyes. That was so Shiro. "It looks so warm. I wish I was there so I could cuddle with you in it."

Keith relished in the way Shiro blushed through the pixelated screen. "I-well, I'll be sure to bring it with me next time I see you."

"I'll hold you to that," Keith replied softly. "I miss you around here, you know?"

Shiro poked at his noodles as his face softened. "I miss you too, Keith," he murmured. "I wish you could be here, I bet you'd love it."

Keith smiled wanly at him. "Well, maybe after this year I could...I mean, after I work for a bit I could decide what to do..."

Shiro nodded silently, then he changed the subject. "Anyway, speaking of work, how's that going for you?"

Keith groaned, and Shiro laughed. The distraction from sadness was welcome, and ranting about his annoying coworkers did feel good, especially when someone as good a listener as Shiro was on the other end. Despite their distance, Keith was glad that Shiro could still be there for him, even if he wasn't really...there.

"So have you seen your roommate around lately?" Keith asked curiously one night.

"Uh, not really?" Shiro replied. "At this point I forgot that Slav is even supposed to be here. I think he's started staying with some friends off campus, which is fine by me, he was a pain in the ass."

Keith gasped. "What? Shiro not getting along with someone? That's a first."

"You'd be saying something different if you knew him, Keith. I'm serious, he's annoying." Shiro grimaced. "I don't even like thinking about him. Quick, change the subject."

"Fine, fine. What about everyone else? College friends?"

"Oh yeah, there have been plenty. There's these four people in one of my flight classes, and we work pretty well together. I think they all knew each other from before, but I guess I'm officially part of their clique now."

"Congratulations."

"Oh, and the program also has an exclusive club where people can go train together. It's a really good time. Everyone is so nice."

Keith smiled softly at him while he spoke. "That's-amazing, Shiro. I'm glad you're having a good time." He paused, then smirked at him. "I just hope you don't end up meeting some hot college guy and forgetting about me."

"What? Never."

"You sure? Not a single one?"

"I-sure, there's hot guys, but I still like you best."

Keith flushed but continued to smile. "Good."

Shiro rolled his eyes. "Anyway, if you're done staking your claim, I-" he was interrupted by his phone buzzing at his side. "Ah, hold on." He checked his phone for a moment before his eyes widened. "Oh, shoot, I almost forgot about a group project due in two days. Sorry, Keith, we'll have to talk tomorrow."

Keith nodded. "That's fine, go finish your homework. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Thanks, babe. Love you."

Shiro hung up, and the room felt eerily silent. Keith sighed and snuggled into the covers. Nothing else to do now, so he may as well just go to sleep.

Sometime toward the end of September, Shiro answered a call without getting off of his laptop.

"Sorry, I'm swamped. Is it okay if I do homework while we talk?"

"Sure, but don't forget to pay attention to me."

"Uh, I'll do my best."

For a little while, Shiro did indeed manage to multitask. Keith rambled in about his day, the weird customers he had to deal with and Coran's Strange Recipe of the Day, and Shiro laughed along with him. At some point, however, the responses tapered off. Keith found that he was talking to the air while Shiro stared in concentration at his laptop screen.

"...Shiro, are you listening?"

No reply.

"Shiro!"

Shiro blinked and turned back to him. "Oh. Uh, sorry, I kinda got distracted by my paper. What were you saying?"

Keith pouted. "Nothing. If you're busy, we can do this some other time."

"No, I promise it's fine, it's just..." he trailed off, turning briefly back to the laptop and rubbing his eyes. He sighed. "Ok, maybe you're right, I...do need to concentrate on this right now. I want to talk to you, but...research papers are such a bitch."

"I know the feeling. I'll talk to you when you're free so I can have your full attention."

Shiro smiled apologetically. "Right. I'll be sure to make time for you. Bye, Keith."

The next night, Shiro didn't pick up. Keith tried a few times, but each time ended up staring at the screen for a few excruciating minutes until it disconnected.

Keith sighed and tossed his tablet aside. He was probably just busy. Schoolwork, college friends, whatever it was he needed to do...Shiro probably wouldn't have time for a video call every night. Keith could live with that.

He wasn't sure what to do with himself with that extra hour before bed, though. Maybe he could watch TV or find his own set of friends to hang out with.

The night after that was the same, and Keith managed to make up for it by calling Matt and Shay to hang out a little bit. It was weird not being with a group of friends after having so many in high school, but that was the way things worked, he supposed. At least he wasn't pining alone at home, but that didn't mean he wasn't getting anxious.

Keith crawled into bed later that night, satisfied, when suddenly his tablet began ringing. Keith went still with surprise for a moment, but hurried to answer.

Shiro's tired face filled the screen. His hair was messy and there looked to be bags under his eyes, but his eyes were wide when the call started, as if he was surprised that Keith even picked up.

"I am so sorry," was the first thing he said, and Keith couldn't help but smile.

"You should be. I thought you were blowing me off."

"No, don't say that, I just had a bunch of things on my plate—oh, gosh, I feel terrible."

"It's okay, Shiro, you're busy," Keith reassured him. "I don't blame you if you need to skip a night or two. Just text me or something next time, okay?"

"I know, I know, I'm so sorry. I won't do that again. I feel like a jerk."

Keith smiled. "Well, a jerk wouldn't call in a frenzy in the middle of the night just to apologize. I think you're fine."

Shiro gave a hollow laugh. "Okay. It's just—I said I'd make time for you, but apparently I haven't been keeping that promise as well as I should. I'll be there at our usual time tomorrow."

"You'd better."

Shiro smiled widely, and yawned.

"Getting bored of me already?" Keith smirked.

"No. I'm exhausted."

"College is kicking your ass, huh?"

"You have no idea. But it's nice to see you after a long day, you know? Good way to end it on a high note after all the work."

Keith flushed. "You always say the sappiest things."

"I mean every word." Shiro smiled and rested his head on his hand. "In all honesty, though, I like my classes. It's a lot of work, but it feels...satisfying, you know? Like I'm accomplishing something."

"I'm glad to hear that."

Shiro yawned again.

Keith chuckled quietly. "You look beat. Get some sleep."

"Oh. Yeah, I guess I should. I've been pulling a lot of all nighters lately."

"Seriously? Ok, you really need to sleep. I'm hanging up now."

"Wait, hold on. I have something important to say first."

"What?"

"I love you."

"Oh my God," Keith buried his face in the pillow, trying to his his smile while Shiro grinned from ear to ear on the other end. "I love you too, you dork. Now go to sleep."

"Yes, sir. Good night, Keith."

If Shiro was anything, he was definitely a man of his word. The next couple of weeks saw video calls that were always on time, only missing out on a few. And there was plenty to talk about.

"...so Nadia decided she wanted to fly right over the roof of the building with one of the new crafts that had barely been tested, and she only stopped because Ryan talked her out of it. You should have been there, the professor looked like he was about to cry."

Keith laughed. "That sounds like a blast. You're making a pretty strong case for me to join you next year."

Shiro's face lit up. "Oh God, please do. It would be even better if you were here."

Keith grinned. "I'll think about it. If I go to college, I'd probably have a part-time job, so I'd like to have at least a year of work experience under my belt first."

Shiro deflated a little, but nodded. "That makes sense, but..." he pouted. "I don't want to wait until next year to see you in person."

"You don't have to. You'll be coming home for Christmas, won't you?"

"Yeah, of course." Shiro looked happy again. "Oh man, everyone's gonna be there, huh? I can't wait to see them all again. Has Allura become the President yet?"

"Last I spoke to her, she was crying over not understanding legal documents from the 1700s."

"Pfft. Well, I give it three years before she's taken over the world." He paused while Keith nodded in agreement, then bit his lip. "Anyway, I should get going. See you soon?"

"Hopefully in a month you'll be here for real."

Shiro nodded. He looked like he wanted to say more, but settled instead for a smile and a goodbye.

"Hey Keith, can I tell you something?"

Keith cocked his head curiously. "Sure."

Shiro hesitated for a moment. "Well, it's...I'm not sure how to word this, but...thanks for calling every night. I feel like if you'd let this thing slip, I'd lose myself in my work and forget to take some time away from it. Like...it's because of this promise we made that I'm able to stop and bring myself back down to Earth, you know what I mean?"

Keith smiled. "So talking to me makes you feel grounded?"

"Pretty much, yeah. You're like my alarm clock, reminding me not to become a working robot and get some damn sleep."

Keith laughed, and Shiro joined him.

"I'm serious though. As much as I like it here, it's easy to get in over your head if you're not paying attention. These routine calls kinda...keep me sane. So, thanks."

Keith sighed softly and stroked the edge of the screen with his thumb. "No problem. And your calls give me something to look forward to at the end of the day. So consider us even."

Shiro chuckled. "I'm glad to hear it. I'm definitely going to need more of this when finals roll around and I become a walking ball of stress."

"Oh shit, when's that happening?"

"In a couple weeks. But the good news is I'll have more than a month off after that."

"Hey don't worry, I'll be here to encourage you through it."

"Thank you, love. I can't wait to see you. And everyone. But mostly you."

Keith laughed softly, heart swelling at the realization that he'd soon get to hug and kiss Shiro again after all those months apart. "Hey, I won't tell them. But they already know I'm your favorite."

Shiro rolled his eyes. "Of course. And I'm yours too, hopefully."

"Always. Good luck on finals. I'll see you soon."

On the 18th of December, Allura texted Keith to let him know that she and Matt had picked up Pidge and Lance from the airport, and they would swing by to grab Shay and Hunk before heading to Allura's place. Keith told her he'd meet them there as soon as his shift was over. He was so ready to just kick back and relax with his friends for two weeks.

Shiro was still not here, but he'd told Keith he'd arrive on the 20th, so it wasn't much longer now. He could hardly wait.

Keith drove over to Allura's house in Coran's tiny car, and upon arriving was immediately tackled as soon as he walked in.

"Keeeeeeeith!" Allura squealed, squeezing him tightly. "Oh my gosh, it's so good to see you, I've missed you so much!"

"Hey, Allura," Keith choked out, hugging her back while trying to loosen her grip on him at the same time. "I'm glad to see you too. Do you regret majoring in political science yet?"

"For your information, Keith, I passed all my classes this semester with flying colors. Don't make fun of me."

Keith pulled away from her and held his hands up defensively. "Alright, I'm sorry." He turned to everyone else in the room. "Hey everyo-"

He was immediately swept into another hug, this time by Hunk, who practically crushed every bone in his body. No sooner had he left that embrace did he get tackled by an excited Pidge. He was barely keeping his balance, but in honesty, he wouldn't have it any other way. Everyone was finally back together...almost.

Lance gave him a loose hug of his own before punching him in the shoulder. "So, how's the workforce been treating you?"

"Well, it's nothing glamorous, but at least it's cash in my pocket. How's out-of-state tuition treating you?"

Everyone snickered, then took their various places on the couches and chairs littered in Allura's first living room. They took turns sharing stories of the past semester, along with excited plans of what to do over break.

"Who wants to plan another trip?"

"Allura, no."

Keith laughed with them, feeling nostalgic.

A door somewhere in the house opened where Keith couldn't see, and Allura suddenly perked up. Out of nowhere, she turned to Keith with a huge smile and said, "Keith, we have a surprise for you."

Keith raised an eyebrow, turning to his other friends and noticing their equally excited grins aimed at him. "Uh...what surprise?"

Allura stood up and grabbed his arm. She led him to the front of the room in front of a corridor, and made him stand facing the rest of them. "Ok, just stand here and don't move. Don't turn around. You'll see in a second."

Keith narrowed his eyes at her as everyone else started to giggle. "What's going on?"

He felt like someone was behind him. He started to turn when Allura's shrill voice stopped him again- "Don't turn around!"

Keith stiffened in place and the giggling continued. Hunk let out a little squeal.

"Seriously, you guys are weirding me out, what's-?"

Before he could finish, a pair of hands, one flesh and one metal, suddenly covered Keith's eyes from behind, and Keith almost pushed them away before the realization hit him. A second later, a very familiar voice whispered in his ear, "Guess who?"

Keith gasped.

He barely even registered his friends' laughter as he turned to see Shiro, really there and smiling joyfully from ear to ear. "Surprise!"

Keith threw his arms around him and Shiro pulled him close. "You're here!" Keith gasped. "You're really-but I thought you weren't coming for a few more days!"

"Slight change of plans," Shiro replied. "Are you happy?"

"Are you kidding me?" He pulled out of the hug and pulled Shiro down for a kiss. "I'm ecstatic."

He was so warm, so tender, just as Keith remembered. It had only been a few months, but it felt like it had been so much longer...

It was Lance who finally pulled them apart. "Okay, okay, that was cute, but save the rest of the lovey-dovey stuff for when you're alone, okay?"

"Oh, leave them alone, Lance," Hunk piped up. "Can't you let them have their happy reunion?"

Shiro laughed and put his arm around Keith as he walked him back to the couch. "We'll try to save it for later, but no promises."

That night, Keith held Shiro tightly around the waist as they lay on one of the beds in a guest room. Keith still couldn't believe this was real, but the smell of Shiro's clothes and the fingers raking through his hair were enough to convince him it was.

"I missed you so much," Keith whispered, barely fighting back the tears.

"I missed you too," Shiro replied. "You have no idea how excruciating it was to wait at the airport this morning."

Keith laughed. "I can imagine." He snuggled further into Shiro's chest. "How...how long are you staying?"

"Until the 21st of January."

"Really? That's a long time."

"Yeah, semester breaks are pretty great. We've got plenty of time to be together now."

Keith smiled. "Good. Gotta make up for all that time with nothing but phone calls."

"Hey, I like the video calls," Shiro pouted.

"I know, I know. They're great, but they don't compare to actually being next to you."

Shiro paused for a moment. "Yeah." There was probably more left unsaid, but that was okay. They had over a month together to say anything they wanted.

"I'm gonna go to sleep. Good night, Shiro. I love you."

"I love you too, Keith."

As Keith snuggled into the blankets and pulled Shiro closer, he couldn't help but think this was worth the wait.