Pidge was relieved when the last bell of the day finally rang, releasing her from class. She allowed herself to breathe and start heading out to where she and Matt usually met to walk home together. The past couple days had been...weird, to say the least. Even after making up with Lance and having a good time with her friends afterwards, something still felt...weird. She wasn't sure what it was, but it gave her an uneasy feeling and she was in a hurry to get home.

Pidge stared down at her phone as she walked, scrolling through her uninteresting social media feed, when suddenly she heard someone shouting in her direction.

"Hey, you! Short girl with the glasses!"

Pidge blinked, and looked up to see a few taller girls walking in her direction, looking somewhat annoyed. She raised an eyebrow at them. "Can I help you?"

The three girls paused for a moment, staring down at her as if not sure what to make of her. Then one of them, a tall one with blonde pigtails, spoke. "So, like...there's some rumors. Going around. About you and Lance."

That didn't sound good. Pigtails continued, "A lot of people said they saw him ask you out to the Spring Formal or something? Are you guys, like, dating?"

Pidge needed a few moments to process what they were saying. Something told her that these girls wouldn't take so nicely to an answer of "yes" (not that...that was the answer anyway). She thought she'd seen them hanging out with Lance at some point, and they still looked very annoyed. "No...we're not dating...we're just friends," she said carefully. "We're going to the dance, but with the rest of our friend group. Platonically."

The girls blinked, but seemed relieved. "Oh! I see, that makes much more sense!"

"I told you Lance wouldn't date someone like her," said the second, brunette girl to the third.

"But Brittany said they were hugging," number 3 whispered back.

Pidge could feel the annoyance building up inside her and decided it was best to leave now. "Ok well, if that's all, I think I'll be heading home."

"Wait hold on," Pigtails called, a sickeningly sweet smile on her face. "Since we've got you here, do you mind if I ask you a favor?"

"...what?"

"Tell Lance to save a dance for me?"

The other two looked scandalized, and immediately started asking Pidge to do the same for them. Pidge decided that she now officially hated these chicks.

"I-why would I do that?" Pidge snapped. "I don't even know you people, I'm not going to tell my friend to go dance with someone I don't know."

"Oh don't worry," Pigtails countered. "Lance knows us just fine."

"Then you go ask him yourself." Pidge pushed her glasses up her nose and then turned to leave. "I need to get going, if you don't mind."

Pigtails was fuming now. "What is your problem?" she yelled at Pidge's back. "You can't even do one favor for someone? What a bitch!"

"You know, I bet she actually likes him," Brunette sneered. "He's going with her out of pity and now she wants him all to herself."

"What a joke."

Pidge knew she should just walk away. She knew she should ignore them, but instead she turned her head to snap at them one more time. "Yeah, cry harder, ladies! Platonic or not, he still decided to ditch all of you and hang out with me! Fucking suck on it!"

They continued shouting insults at her, and Pidge just booked it, still too hyped up on anger to regret a damn thing.

Shiro adjusted his gray tie for the zillion the time, trying to calm his jitters while he stared at himself in the mirror. Keith would be knocking on his door any second now, all dressed up and ready with his car to drive them both off to the dance of his life. Shiro just wanted to make sure he didn't spontaneously combust. Sure, he and Keith had been hanging out for a while, but this was different. He probably had no reason to be nervous, but,really, who wouldn't be?

Matt was currently talking at him through his phone on speaker. Shiro had called him for reassurance and as a distraction, which was working...kind of.

"Bro, come on, I can literally hear you freaking out from here," Matt said. "Just take a deep breath, okay? You're gonna be fine."

"I'm trying, Matt," Shiro replied. "But I'm nervous, okay? You know how much I like Keith. What if it doesn't work out?"

"Why wouldn't it work out? He's the one who asked you, he obviously likes you just as much. I don't think there's anything you could do that would make him change his mind in one night."

"I guess..."

"Look, you guys have been friends for like a month. You two have been talking to each other like you're in your own little bubble. You don't need to do anything different."

Shiro nodded, mulling over Matt's words for a moment. "Okay. You've got a point. Did you get the picture I sent you? Do I look okay?"

"You look incredibly sexy, Shiro. Be sure to catch Keith when he swoons."

Shiro snorted.

"Hang on, I'm gonna send you a picture too, so you're not alone."

"Uh, ok. Are you worried that Allura will think you look too nerdy in a suit?"

"Allura likes that I'm nerdy, that you very much," Matt retorted as he sent a selfie Shiro's way. "I just wanted you to see how hot I look."

"Stunning," Shiro responded as he gave the picture a mere glance. He looked at the clock, preparing himself once again for whatever that doorbell rang, then turned back to the phone. "What about Pidge? Is she going?"

"Oh, uh. Yeah, she is. She's upstairs getting ready right now." He paused. "She seemed awfully excited about it a couple days ago. Dragged me with her to go buy a new dress and everything. Yesterday she came him grumbling so I thought she'd changed her mind, but apparently she still wants to go."

"Awww," Shiro smiled. "I've never seen her get so excited over a dance before. Does she have a date?"

Matt paused. "Sort of? She said that she was going as a just friends thing with-" Shiro could tell he was frowning here "-Lance."

Shiro scoffed. "Ah. Pidge and Lance. I thought I saw...something going on there."

"I'm so fucking confused, Shiro. She keeps saying it's just platonic, but she sure is treating it like a date. What is Lance even doing? My sister deserves way better than a womanizer like him."

"Hey Matt, it's going to be fine," Shiro reassured him. "Lance is a friend, he can't be that bad. We're all going to be there with them anyway. And if you're worried, you can talk to Allura about it, she knows him better than we do."

"That is a good point and I will do that," Matt replied. "My point is, if he tries anything weird with Pidge, you can expect to find his dead body in the river tomorrow."

Shiro couldn't help but laugh at that one. And then, just as he was feeling relaxed, the doorbell rang and sent him jumping several feet into the air. "Shit," he muttered under his breath. "I think he's here."

"Awww, yeah, go get him, tiger! Just relax and be yourself, okay? I'll see you there."

"Okay. Thanks, Matt. Bye."

Shiro pressed the button to end their call and took a deep, long breath. He straightened out his suit again, stood up as confidently as he could, and strode to the door so as to not keep Keith waiting. When he got there, Shiro took a moment to look through the peephole. Keith was shifting back and forth on his front porch, fighting with the sleeves of his jacket and...was he holding a rose? Matt was wrong, it was definitely going to be Shiro who would swoon into Keith's arms tonight.

He took one more deep breath to calm down, then opened the door.

Keith seemed to straighten up when the door opened, a tiny smile forming on his face. He looked so different with the formal clothing and slicked back hair, it was obviously different for him. Also, adorable. "Hey," he greeted softly.

"Hi," Shiro smiled back, already breathless.

"I hope I didn't keep you waiting for too long," Keith said hurriedly. "You...you look good. Um. Here." He handed the rose to Shiro, arm straight out like a soldier and probably mentally slapping himself in the process.

But Shiro was just overjoyed. "Thank you," he replied as he gently took the flower (God, he hoped Keith couldn't feel his hands trembling). "You look great too-hang on, let me just put this inside. You can coke in for a second I feel you'd like."

Keith obliged, stepping inside and staying close to the door as Shiro hurried to fill a cup of water for the flower. "Nice place," Keith mumbled, looking around the walls of the house that was only a little bigger than his own tiny apartment.

Shiro put the rose in the cup of water and gently set it on a table. "That should be good enough for now." He turned to Keith with a smile. "So, shall we get going?"

"Yeah, let's go."

They were quiet as Keith led him outside and they both climbed into his small but comfortable car. Keith started the car and headed off, still quiet until they were on the road.

"Hey, so," Keith began. "I feel like I should tell you that...people are probably going to stare." He paused, staring straight at the road. "Everyone's always curious to see who I'm taking to these things-I don't know, for gossiping purposes I guess-and, up till now, I've only ever gone with girls."

Shiro nodded slowly, thinking this over.

Keith continued. "I mean if we just walked in together normally, they'll probably figure I'm not with anyone. But we're going in as dates, so...my point is, we're basically coming out to the whole school." He haphazardly stopped the car at a red light and kept speaking. "I'm sorry, I probably should have talked to you about this sooner. I don't really mind it that much, but if you don't want to do that, we could go have dinner somewhere instead, it's okay with me."

Shiro chuckled at Keith's rambling. "Hey, don't worry about it," he responded gently. "I feel like a lot of people already know that I'm not exactly straight. And besides," he smiled at him. "I'm happy to be here with you, so I don't really care if people are talking."

Keith blinked, motionless until the driver behind them honked loudly for them to move it. Keith cursed at the driver under his breath and started moving again. "Ok, that's good to hear," he said to Shiro. "I'm glad you're not upset that I only just brought it up now."

"Of course I'm not upset."

"Good." He paused. "Anyway...music?"

"You're the driver."

"I don't think you're ready for my music yet."

"Is that a challenge, Kogane?"

Keith laughed. "Fine. But don't say I didn't warn you."

After complimenting Allura a million times on her hard work organizing the dance and trying way too hard to show off for her on the dance floor, Matt decided it was time for a snack break. He and Allura were leaning on a wall next to the refreshments table, watching the other students have fun. Matt was looking for two people in particular, but it seemed that for the moment, they had been lost in the crowd.

"You're still worried about Pidge and Lance?" Allura asked him knowingly.

Matt sighed. "Yeah."

Allura placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Hey, I told you: you've got nothing to worry about. Lance is a nice person even though he pretends he's a hotshot. He wouldn't do anything to hurt Pidge-at least, not on purpose. If anything goes wrong, I will gladly assist you in murdering him."

Matt blinked in surprise, then started laughing. "Awwww, thanks, Allura, that's so sweet of you." He smiled at her, then coughed. "Uhh, speaking of murder, though...don't look now, but I think some of your admirers might be plotting mine."

Allura frowned, and despite what Matt told her she turned around to look. A few bigger guys were standing nearby, giving the two of them jealous glances and looking like they wanted to pound Matt into the ground.

She flipped them off. Snapped a few words at them that Matt was too stunned to hear. They slunk away like scolded puppies and Allura turned to an awestruck Matt with a proud smile. "They're gone now."

"You are so fucking amazing."

People finally started taking their attention off of them (which was fine by Matt because he didn't want everyone to see how flustered he was when Allura held on to his arm), but they soon had something else to focus on when the doors opened and everyone's favorite emo boy finally walked in with his date.

Both Shiro and Keith looked like a pair of deer in the headlights while people nearby quickly realized that they were holding hands. Then they exchanged a glance and their expressions melted into the most embarrassingly lovestruck smiles Matt had ever seen. Everyone was turning to stare at them as they made their way to the table, and the whispers had already made their way to where Matt and Allura were standing.

"Did Keith Kogane bring a boy to the dance? Is he gay?"

"Isn't that Shiro? That student council guy? Holy shit."

"Oh my gosh, since when? I'm so confused!"

"I think they're kinda cute together..."

But it seemed that Keith and Shiro had already stopped caring. Keith grasped Shiro's hand tightly and led him to the back of the room.

"Well, well, well," Matt began as the two of them walked up to him. "Looks like the star couple is finally here. Just wanted to be fashionably late, I guess?"

"Keith decided to take the scenic route," Shiro replied with a grin. "Or maybe he just got lost, I don't know."

Keith scoffed. "Consider it payback for the camping trip fiasco."

Shiro gave him a nudge.

"Alright, okay," Matt piped up. "Cool it with the PDA, you guys. Geez."

The current song ended, and the music changed to a slower, romantic dance song. This DJ must have had the best sense of timing in the world.

Allura smiled and started tugging on Matt's arm. "Hey, Matt, you wanna go for another dance?"

Matt perked up and grinned. "Sure! Sorry for cutting the conversation short, boys. You two behave, now."

Allura giggled and dragged him away, leaving Keith and Shiro by themselves.

Shiro watched them go with a roll of his eyes before turning to Keith, who was staring up at him bashfully. They both looked shyly down at their shoes for a moment, before Keith cleared his throat. "So, uh. You wanna dance?" He held out his hand to Shiro.

Shiro felt like his smile was going to split his face in two as he eagerly took the other boy's hand. They hadn't even danced yet and he already felt like this was the best night of his life. "Yeah, of course."

The crowd seemed to part for them as they made their way over, and the boys stood face to face as soon as they got there.

"Apologies in advance..." Shiro said. "I'm not much of a dancer."

Keith grinned. "Me neither. I usually just get by on vaguely swaying back and forth." He gingerly placed a hand on Shiro's waist and pulled him slightly closer, before looking up at him. "Heh, I'm...used to being the taller one, so this feels a little...different."

Shiro laughed happily and complied, placing his hand on Keith's shoulder and letting Keith hold his prosthetic hand.

When Shiro had imagined dancing with Keith before, he'd pictured himself leading, as the suave confident guy who would sweep Keith off his feet and woo him with the fantastic dance moves that he would definitely learn sometime. Now the real thing was actually happening, and he wasn't leading, he could barely dance,and instead of being confident he was nothing but a woozy, smiling mess who wasn't actually sure if he was awake or not.

Somehow, this was better.

Keith wasn't joking about the vague swaying, but it didn't really matter. Anything he did right now seemed perfect. Keith was looking up at Shiro with the same goofy expression, looking absolutely gorgeous with his bangs framing those purple eyes. Shiro could kiss him right now. He actually could. He...actually would do it. Right now.

The crowd around them suddenly started cheering, snapping both of them out of their daze. Shiro blinked, wondering what all the fuss was about, and it turned out that the song had just been switched to something faster, and apparently just a very popular song.

Shiro was slightly disappointed that that hadn't gone on longer. But, they had the whole rest of the night to go, and Keith was now holding both his hands with a soft smile.

"You wanna go out to the balcony?" Keith asked.

Shiro, still breathless, just nodded, and let Keith lead him away.

Lance stretched out his arms and gave a loud sigh. Hunk and Shay we're still on the dance floor for the third song in a row and it didn't look like they'd be stopping soon.

"Well, I'm having a great time standing here and all," Lance said. "But don't you wanna go, you know, dance a bit?"

Pidge shrugged, arms crossed tightly around her chest. "I mean, maybe. On a fast song."

"This is a fast song..."

"Look, I'm just...not good at dancing, okay?"

"Who said you had to be good? What's the point of coming to the dance if you won't dance?"

Pidge bit her lip. "Aren't you worried that people would see us dancing together and think we're dating?"

Lance raised an eyebrow. He spoke quietly. "Since when do you care what people think?"

Pidge didn't respond, and Lance leaned down until he was at her eye level. "Hey," he began. "Talk to me, Pidgeon. What's your deal? I can't read your mind, okay? Communicate with me."

Pidge gave a tiny laugh, then huffed. "Okay, well. Yesterday a couple of your fangirls were giving me a hard time because they thought you and me were dating."

Lance paused for a moment, as if he hadn't heard, then spoke. "I-what? What did they do?"

Pidge shrugged. "Well first they were mad and trying to interrogate me or whatever, but then I said we were just friends so they started asking me to deliver messages and they got pissy and called me a bitch when I said no." She stopped to take a breath, hoping Lance had made sense of that word dump.

Lance's expression had turned into a disgusted scowl. "Unbelievable. I mean, I knew the ladies would go to extreme measures to get my attention-"

Pidge's smile faded.

"-but not to the point of harassing my friends. This is unacceptable. Tell me who did this to you, I'll kick their ass right here at the dance."

Pidge looked at the floor, trying not to flush but failing to hide her smile. "Aww. You'd do that for me?"

Lance flashed a grin to match her cheekiness. "Sure! And besides, Keith got to drag a bitch in front of everyone at a dance, I want to do that too."

Pidge started giggling. She was completely not used to this, she'd usually be embarrassed to giggle over what someone said. But it somehow felt fine with Lance.

Lance seemed proud of himself for making her laugh and leaned in closer to her with a grin. "So, then, dearest Pidge, tell me the name of our...victims."

Pidge rolled her eyes affectionately at him and shrugged. "Unfortunately I didn't get their names-but I know one of them had those stupid blonde pigtails."

It didn't take long for Lance to locate the girls in question. Pigtails was apparently named Nyma, and her two friends were easy for Pidge to point out. They were gathered with a bigger crowd of kids, taking up an entire corner of the gym to just stand around and look cool, apparently.

"Look at her, surrounded by her group of friends," Lance cackled as he and Pidge looked on. "Ok. We need a plan. How can I completely ruin her night without looking like an ass and still get across the message of 'if you fuck with my friends you're on my shit list.'?"

Pidge scoffed. "Why don't you just walk over there and just say it? It will be in front of all her friends, that would ruin her night."

Lance pouted. "But that's not big enouuuuugh."

"It doesn't have to be big to be effective. Maybe you could walk over there like you're happy to see her but then say something passive aggressive."

"Like what?"

"I don't know. Just casually tell all her friends that she's a terrible person or something."

"How can I say that casually?"

"Lance?" Nyma's voice interrupted their argument and made both of them flinch. "Lancey Lance, there you are!"

Lance was already turning to her with a huge smile and widespread arms before Pidge could even react. "Nyma! Girl! Where have you been, I haven't seen you in days!"

Nyma giggled and gave him a quick hug, smiling at him sweetly. "I know, I'm sorry, I've been busy. How have you been, sweetie?"

"Oh, it's been fine, the usual." He gestured to Pidge, who was gaping up at the both of them. "You've met my friend Pidge, right?"

Nyma's grin faltered at the sight of the other girl. She kept up her ruse, but the annoyance in her eyes was obvious. "Oh yeah, we're...acquainted."

Pidge scoffed.

Nyma turned her attention back to Lance. "Anyway, where's everyone else? Keith? Allura? Hunk?"

"They've all got their own hot dates that they're busy with," Lance snickered. "So I'm just hanging out with Pidge here."

"Aww. Well, why don't you come hang out with us? Better company, more girls, better time."

"Uh, what about me?" Pidge piped up.

Nyma blinked, obviously trying not to snap at her to get lost. "Oh. Well. Isn't your brother here somewhere? Maybe you could go chaperone his date or-hack the sound system or something. That sounds fun."

Pidge scowled. "I want to hang out with Lance."

"Yeah, Nyma, what's your deal?" Lance piped up. "She can come hang out with us too."

"I just-don't know if that crowd is really her speed, you know? I'm worried they might not be welcoming to her."

Pidge glanced up at Lance. Lance turned to her with a frown.

Then he sighed. "Sorry Nyma. I'm not going anywhere without Pidge." He pulled away from Nyma and tapped Pidge on the shoulder before leading her away. "Come on, let's go."

Pidge was a little surprised, she had to admit. But she gladly followed Lance quietly. Nyma was still glaring at her as they left, and Pidge could almost feel the anger emanating from that girl.

"Lance, hold on," Pidge whispered, grabbing him by the arm to stop him.

Lance raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"I have an idea about how you can expose her in front of her friends. Pretend you're going to get us some drinks, and then hide somewhere where you can see us."

"Wait, what? How's that supposed to help?"

"Just trust me, okay?" She raised her voice so that the crowd of older teens behind her could hear. "Gee, Lance, I'm pretty thirsty!" She shouted. "We should go get something to drink!"

Lance was still confused but played along. "Aw, no worries, Pidgeon! You stay right here, I'll go grab some drinks for both of us!"

"Wow, that's so gentlemanly of you! Thanks!"

Lance darted off and disappeared somewhere. Pidge took a deep breath and stretched out her arms, trying to look as nonchalant as possible. She snuck some more glances at Nyma, who was still glaring daggers at her. Pidge decided to poke her.

"Isn't he sweet? I get why you wanted to be his date, him going to get drinks and all."

Nyma rolled her eyes and stepped away from her group to face Pidge properly. "He does that with every girl. Don't feel like you're special."

"Really?" Pidge asked thoughtfully. "Because, usually when we hang out-and we hang out a lot-he's always happy to mooch off of people for food. Last time I saw him at a dance, he only ever picked up drinks for himself and let the girl do the same." She grinned sweetly. "Maybe he just changed his attitude! What a great guy."

Nyma seemed even more annoyed. A couple of her friends were asking why she was even still talking to Pidge. Nyma ignored them to walk right over to where Pidge was standing and stare down at her coldly. Good, this was exactly what Pidge wanted.

"Listen up, sweetie." Nyma snapped. "You have absolutely no right to brag. You're not the first girl he's pampered and you won't be the last. Chances are he's just hanging out with you to make himself look better, or because he feels bad for you."

"But it's the last dance before we graduate," Pidge pointed out innocently. "That's gotta count for something, right? Why else did you want him to yourself so badly?"

Nyma fumed. "It doesn't mean a damn thing!" She yelled. Then she crossed her arms again. "He doesn't care about you as much as he says he does, okay? He could never see anything in someone like you. Don't let it get to your head. You're. Not. Special. To him."

Pidge tiled her head. "Neither are you."

Nyma's face slowly turned red, probably less by the insult and more because she couldn't seem to have an effect on Pidge. Without thinking, she grabbed Pidge's wrist tightly, pulling her closer and digging her nails into Pidge's skin.

"Ow! Hey, that hurts-!"

"I don't care!" Nyma snapped. "Keep your fucking mouth shut and stop acting like you're all that! Nobody here likes you, you're just the freaky nerdy kid trying too hard to look cute in a dress and getting a big ego when someone starts feeling sorry for you! Fuck off! You'd make everyone's life so much better if you just-!"

"Nyma."

Nyma stopped, still holding Pidge by the wrists but turning to face the voice. Lance, along with most of Nyma's crowd from earlier, were all staring at her in shock and disappointment. All of them had just seen her bullying a small, helpless girl and despite how much her wrists hurt, Pidge felt so satisfied.

Lance was glaring now, more serious than Pidge had ever seen him. "Let her go, Nyma."

Nyma hesitated, but did as he told her to. The rest of the dance room seemed unaware of what was going on, but this crowd of people on the corner seemed like enough.

Lance continued, this time addressing Nyma's group of friends. "Well, there she is! Your friend Nyma! The girl I was dumb enough to trust. Picking on girls half her size because they make her feel insecure!" He dramatically placed a hand over his heart. "For shame, Nyma, for shame." He paused. "Oh, and also you, Alisha and Tessa. I know what you did."

Brunette and Number three froze for a second before trying to slink away from the judging eyes of their friends.

"Lance, I didn't do anything!" Nyma cried, desperately trying to fix things. "She provoked me! She was pissing me off on purpose and trying to act like she's-like, the greatest thing ever!"

Lance laughed loudly. "Uh, yeah? She is the greatest thing ever! Honestly, you should be jealous, Pidge is better than all of you! She's smarter, cooler, prettier-I'd rather hang out with her than with ten groups this size! You can cry and scream about it for all I care, but don't! Don't you dare touch her!" He stood up straight again and strode toward Pidge, gently taking her arm. "Anybody who fucks with my friends is on my shit list, got it? Don't ever speak to me again, thanks."

He tugged on Pidge's shoulder, before turning to walk away dramatically. Pidge followed. She glanced behind her once more time, as Nyma's friends were also turning their backs on her.

Pidge breathed a sigh of relief as they got further away. "Nice timing," she said to Lance.

"Are you insane?" Lance snapped at her. "That was your plan? Make her attack you?"

"She didn't hurt me that much," Pidge retorted. "Instead of just telling people what she did, I figured we could make her get caught red-handed. And besides, didn't you enjoy playing the knight in shining armor?"

Lance scoffed. "Jesus, Pidge, you're a madwoman. I don't know whether to admire you or be disappointed."

"Admire, apparently." Pidge looked at the floor again with a smile. "Judging by what you said. That...wasn't part of the plan. Did you mean it?"

Lance blinked, blushing slowly and looking at the ceiling. "What? The stuff about you being smart and cool and pretty? I-sure, yeah. Why not?"

Pidge laughed softly. "Well. Thanks." A pause, and then. "I don't mind going for that dance now."

Lance raised an eyebrow. "But they're on a slow song now."

"Do you wanna dance at this dance or not?"

Lance blinked, but then smiled and offered her hand. "Lead the way, Pidgeon."

The balcony was a lot quieter than the inside of the building, and fairly empty despite being warm out. Shiro and Keith had both taken off their jackets and were leaning on the railing, staring up at the sky. The stars looked gorgeous, but then again it was impossible for anything to look ugly right now.

They were quiet, but it wasn't awkward. Shiro didn't feel the need to fill the silence with words when Keith's shoulder was comfortably pressed against his own. He still couldn't believe this was real.

Nevertheless, Keith ended up breaking the silence with a content sigh. "I kinda like it better out here," he told him. "Being surrounded by people is exhausting."

Shiro smiled. "That doesn't include me, right?"

"Of course not," Keith nudged him lightly. "But, I mean, if you wanna go back inside, I don't mind."

"Nah." He turned to Keith with the happiest smile. "This is perfect."

Keith looked surprised for a second, but then laughed softly. Shiro's heart soared. Keith was...beautiful. He'd always know that, of course, but now, standing he so close to him, under the stars, Keith smiling at him like that...how was it possible for anyone to make him this happy just by existing?

He wanted to kiss him. It was the perfect opportunity. Shiro's eyes darted from the eyes, to the lips, back again. It would be so easy to just lean forward and kiss him. What was he waiting for? What did he have to lose?

Keith was silent, watching him closely. But just as Shiro was still psyching himself up, Keith looked away.

Shiro blinked, a little disappointed, but Keith didn't move away from him. He looked thoughtful now, as if he had something to say but didn't know how to put it.

"You know," Keith finally began. "I'm...glad you're here, Shiro. You have no idea how scared I was to ask you to this."

Shiro laughed. "I think I know the feeling. If you hadn't asked me, I probably would have just pined over you forever. Thanks for taking the plunge. I owe you big time."

Keith seemed surprised. "Oh. Uh, yeah. I was scared of rejection. That's it." He composed himself again before Shiro could ask, and sent that dazzling smile his way again. He reached over with his hand to take Shiro's metal one, intertwining their fingers together on the railing. "But I'm...glad it worked out."

Shiro squeezed his hand, not taking his eyes off him for a second. "Me too." And he couldn't be happier.

Next: Keith finally talks about his past