DISCLAIMER: I do not own nor wish to appear to be the owner of Voltron: Legendary Defender or any merchandise related thereof.

AN: This story is set after season 8 but before the epilogue. So it's canon compliant until it's not. I hope you enjoy!

"So, what you think about that guy Shiro is talking to?" Lance was grinning.

"Who?" Keith frowned a bit but continued to iron his suit jacket.

"Curtis."

"Who?" Keith looked up at that, eyebrows furrowed.

Lance chuckled, "The guy that works on the bridge. Communications I think."

Keith shrugged and ignored the flash of jealousy he felt.

They were in his room on the Atlas. It was small and temporary, Keith had every intention to leave and do humanitarian work with the Blades, so he opted not to get a permanent space. He was ironing his newly issued dress uniform. The Blades didn't have one, didn't need one before this, but the Earth Alliance had insisted on throwing a grand celebration to see them and the Atlas off. Kolivan wasn't excited, neither was Keith, but they both understood the importance what making an appearance would have on relations from here on out. Krolia and Hunk had hastily designed and commissioned dress uniforms for the Blades and literally at the last minute delivered them to their teammates. Keith had to admit they did a good job; they were the same midnight navy of their fighting gear and had violet piping along the high necked collar and cuffs. Hidden buttons closed the chest wide flap in the front. In short, Keith liked it.

"Why are you still here?" Keith looked up at his friend, "Shouldn't you be getting ready?"

Lance wagged his finger, "Nah uh?" He still had that goofy grin on his face, "You're not gonna change the subject that easily!"

"What subject?"

"Curtis."

"I don't even know the man," Keith cocked a brow and placed the steamer back on its hook, "what can I possibly say about him?"

"No not him," Lance wiggled on his bottom until he was in the center of the desk then sat cross-legged, "what are you gonna do about it?"

"Do about what?" Keith sighed, "I need to get ready for tonight…"

"Aren't you gonna fight for Shiro?"

Keith blinked, taken aback, "I'm sorry…" his arms fell limp at his sides, "wha…what?"

Lance smirked, "Seriously? Like, everybody knows you have it bad for Shiro. Why do you think Allura backed off?"

Keith could see the slight pain that glimmered in Lance's eyes briefly at saying her name. Her death still hurt. It had felt so senseless. All that magic and there wasn't another way to restore the universe? Keith felt angry still so he couldn't imagine what Lance must be feeling. Especially with those Altean markings on his cheeks now as a constant reminder.

But if Lance was going to speak of her in such a casual manner Keith would too. He would do whatever he could to help ease his friend's heart. He shook his head, "I don't think she ever liked him like that. They were just both used to being leaders. They bonded."

Lance rolled his eyes, "Anyways," he drew out the word, "what's your game plan."

"I have no game plan," Keith huffed, "if Shiro's happy, who am I to interfere?"

" 'If'," Lance lifted a finger.

There was a chime and a mechanical voice announced Pidge was at the door. Keith called for it to open, but before he could say hello Pidge pointed at Lance.

"There you are!" She placed her hands on her hips, "I've been looking everywhere for you! You need to get fitted for your dress uniform now! The celebration is tonight!"

Lance looked down, "Yeah yeah…"

Pidge took a deep breath and her tone softened, "You have to make a decision…the Atlas launches in three days."

Keith glanced at Lance and saw that his friend was looking at him. He gave him a soft smile, "What's the game plan?" He tossed his words right back at him.

Lance chuckled then started to crack his neck, "I don't know…I mean…" he threw his arms behind him and leaned back. He looked up at the ceiling, "being out there, in space, is thrilling you know…but…"

"That's where she's from," Keith spoke gently.

Lance dropped his head and gave him a sad smile, "Yeah."

There was a moment of silence as the three of them remembered the Princess. Pidge was the first to speak, "You don't have to commit to staying as a crewmember you know," she walked over and nudged his shoe, "just come and hang out, eat some free food that's not green sludge and try to have a good time. I mean, whadya gonna do if you don't come?"

Lance nodded, "Okay okay, I see your point," then his eyes slid over and his mouth took on that wide silly grin again, "Besides, if I'm not there Keith is gonna foul up everything."

Pidge looked at Keith, "What's he talking about? What thing?"

"Nothing," Keith snapped, glaring at Lance.
That just made Lance laugh, "He didn't know about Curtis."

Pidge whistled.

Keith threw up his hands, "What?!"

"You were so vocal about going with the Blades," she shrugged, "I assumed you had given up."

He knew he would regret it, but he asked anyway, "Given up what?"

"Pursuing Shiro," Pidge said it in a 'no duh' sort of tone.

So, both of them knew how he felt about his teammate. He thought he had hidden it well. It wasn't that Keith didn't think he had a chance with Shiro, he was sure if he pushed it he could make something happen. Hell, a few late nights giddy with tiredness had the two of them cuddling on sofas and beds while they laughed and reminisced more than a few times. No, it wasn't that he thought he would be refused. It was…

"I don't think either of us are in the mindset to date right now," Keith turned his back on his friends and gathered up his gear. Too embarrassed by his near confession to look at them.

Pidge and Lance exchanged glances but it was Lance who spoke, "Well he clearly doesn't think that," he suddenly jumped down off the desk, "tonight he's gonna be the well-dressed Captain of the Atlas. A few sips of champagne and he'll be clappin' Curtis' cheeks before the night is through."

Keith looked back over his shoulder with a scoff at Lance's language, but his friend was already walking towards the door.

"Come on Pidge, let's go get my suit," Lance pushed the keypad and the door slid open. He finally looked back at Keith. His eyes were sad again and he said softly, sweetly, "Time is precious."

Keith swallowed hard, understanding the implication clearly. He watched as his friends left and after he was sure they were well down the hall he grunted then punched the wall.

Keith was glad their dress uniform required black gloves. His knuckles were still throbbing as he walked into the large hall of the auditorium and had begun to scab over. The Garrison along with the Earth Alliance and Coran had borrowed the local university's stadium and decked it out in all the decadent finery expected of a lavish multicultural multi-universal formal gala. Once inside it was easy to forget the stadium was used for basketball games and gun and knife shows.

"You clean up well," Krolia walked up to her son with a little smirk.

Keith pointed at her loosely, "As do you."

She stood next to him and they looked out into the crowd silently.

Keith found himself scanning for Shiro and every time he realized he had been doing it he would mentally kick himself then force his eyes to roam elsewhere. He was grateful when Pidge and Lance walked up. They both said hi to Krolia with kind smiles.

Lance punched Keith in the shoulder, before making a show of looking him over, "Nice!" Then he looked over at Krolia, "you and Hunk did a great job!"

"Thank you," Krolia nodded her head, "I'm going to mingle," she looked at Keith, "have fun with your friends."

Keith watched his mother go then he looked over at Lance and, "Look at you," it was his turn to make a show of checking him out, "I don't know Lance…you look awfully comfortable in your dress whites."

Lance looked down at himself and gave Keith a cocky grin, "I don't look comfortable, I look good!"

Keith shook his head with a chuckle then turned his attention to Pidge, "Matt coming?"

"Not sure," Pidge shrugged, "I thought he would. I figured he'd love the opportunity to flirt with alien girls but," she swiveled at the hips and looked all around, "I don't see him."

Just then Hunk walked up with Shay on his arm. He was in the Atlas dress whites and Shay had opted to wear a silky white pantsuit to match. They made a cute couple.

"Here you guys are!" Hunk bellowed as he made his way to each of his friends and gave them full bodied bear hugs.

Shay was smiling, "You all look so handsome," she looked at Pidge, "Is Matt coming? A friend of mine wants to meet him."

Pidge lifted her brows, "Really? Do people actually find him charming?" She made a face like she had eaten a lemon.

The expression had the desired effect and Shay laughed cutely, "You can't know, he's your brother."

"Ah," Lance nudged with his chin, "there he is."

They all looked towards the direction Lance had indicated with his face and saw him walking through the crowd. He opted not to wear the Atlas dress whites, but still looked nice in a brown form fitting typical Earth suit. He had his hair pulled back and was already engaging with a pink eyed alien female. Whatever he was saying must have been the right thing because she laughed and leaned in.

"Any closer and he's gonna have to carry her," Keith grumbled.

Hunk chuckled at both Keith's statement and Pidge's answering 'ew'.

"Hey hey," Lance stage whispered, "look to his right, see that guy?" He glanced at Keith, "That's Curtis."

"Oh ho ho!" Hunk's grin was wide, "Is Keith gonna challenge him to a duel?!"

"Stop that!" Keith hissed, "What's wrong with you!"

Hunk dropped his smile and looked over confused, "I was just joking…Curtis doesn't stand a chance. You got this in the bag!"

"What are you-"

"Stop!" Pidge held up her hand, cutting off his words, "We have," she made a show of counting her friends, "three people who's said something now. You still gonna act like you aren't madly in love with Shiro?"

Keith opened his mouth to speak but Shay beat him to it. Her eyes opened wide and she said, "Oh is that what we're talking about? Well then that's four."

Keith closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead, "Guys…ya'll," he sighed. He liked that his friends were trying to look out for him. But he had had a difficult time admitting his feelings to himself, how was he expected to approach Shiro with them? He looked back up and said, "Okay so four of you know how I feel," he ignored Hunk's proud grin at his voiced admittance, "but you all know about Curtis as well. Which, to me, means he's been seriously talking to this dude. Enough that you all noticed it. Which also means, he's probably happy."

"Don't go buying them a set of towels," Lance rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, nothing is set in stone," Pidge smacked Keith's upper arm, "you got this."

Hunk walked up closer to Keith and said, "Hey man…" he looked sincere, and it made Keith pay attention to him, "he just needs to know there's a chance."

"Yes," Shay piped up, "you don't have to confess everything tonight."

Keith took a deep breath and looked between all of them. They all looked so pure hearted and anxious on his behalf. He really did have great friends. He nodded, "I'll…I guess I'll think of something."

Just then there was a soft chime then a voice spoke from the stage side of the stadium. Everyone stopped their chatter and all turned to give the speaker their full attention. The speaker was the Dean of the Garrison, Keith tuned him out as he welcomed the guests and made a joke about the food. The man went on to explain the mission of the Garrison and Keith yawned. However, when the Dean started to recite the Prayer of the Fallen Keith began to listen, feeling the weight of countless soldiers, human and aliens, who had sacrificed so much for a worthy cause. There was a shift of movement to his right and he turned his head slightly and saw Curtis. The man was paying his respects too, taking deep swallows to push down his emotion and frowning slightly. Apparently, he had lost someone he was close to. Soon the Dean was seamlessly segued into a speech about bravery and new alliances.

Keith looked over at Lance and saw that his friend was using his military issued datapad to play a game. Confused, it wasn't until he heard a grunt of annoyance beside him that he realized Pidge was also playing a game and realized his tech savvy friend must have hacked the system. He leaned over and whispered, "You were holding out on me?"

"You're leaving with the Blades," she looked up just quick enough to catch his eye before she went back to the game, "why would I waste time on your datapad."

Keith sighed, "What are you playing?"

"Oldie, but a classic," Pidge grinned then handed her pad over.

Looking down Keith recognized the colorful blocks that were jerking down from the top of the screen. He was on his way to making four in a row when Shiro's booming voice could be heard over the loudspeaker. His heart stuttered in his chest and his belly seemed to drop out, he fumbled the pad and Pidge had to scramble to catch it, almost going to her knees as she juggled it to safety. She gave him a frustrated look, but noticed he wasn't paying attention.

Keith had looked up at the voice, but instead of looking at Shiro he looked at Curtis. The man was grinning from ear to ear. His eyes gleamed and Keith felt like walking the few feet over to him and decking him in his perfect jaw. He pursed his lips, he had to admit the man was handsome in an innocent 'golly gee mister' sort of way. His dark hair was parted on the side and smoothed down. Keith found his smooth cocoa colored skin to be beautiful and he filled out his dress uniform quite nicely.

Communications Lance had said. Which meant he was part of the bridge crew. Spending entire shifts with the Captain, no doubt cracking jokes, building rapport and apparently something else that was wholly unprofessional. Keith wondered how long had they been talking. How he had missed it. How far they have gotten. Was this just the beginning? A bit of flirtation here, maybe soft touches on the bridge when the rest of the crew wasn't looking. Had they held hands? Kissed? Were they talking because they had a fantastic one night stand and now wanted to see if they could make something work? Keith realized he was torturing himself conjuring all of these scenarios, but he couldn't seem to stop himself.

He forced his head to turn around and focus on Shiro. His best friend was still speaking, looking utterly gorgeous in his dress whites. He was decorated with ribbons and a golden braid looped over his left shoulder. He was wearing his new arm. He had never liked the one Allura had made for him. Shiro had told him once that the gap made him feel a phantom limb at times. It was disconcerting so he commissioned a new one, a sold piece, glossy white with slightly glowing blue seams. It was still a mix of Altean and Earth science and technology but performed better than his last two. Keith knew that if Allura was still alive Shiro would have never changed the arm. He was considerate like that.

Keith missed everything he said, too busy taking in the wonder of Shiro's body. The coat of the uniform was perfectly tailored to accommodate his broad chest and muscular arms. His torso tapered down to a trim waist, then to his thick thighs and delectable ass. Keith felt his cheeks warm a bit, thinking about just how great that toned bottom looked in his gym shorts. As a joke Lance had gotten Shiro some grey sweatpants a few months ago, so now Keith was fairly sure the Captain of the Atlas was well endowed and proportionate all over. He idly wondered if Curtis thought about Shiro like this too and he found himself praying that they didn't, in fact, have a one night stand.

Shiro's speech ended so he gave the floor over to the Director of the Earth Alliance, the new, more government neutral name given to the Voltron Coalition. Instead of stepping back to stand next to the Dean though, Shiro walked off the stage and disappeared into the back. Keith frowned, unsure of what that meant. He wanted to follow him, make sure he was okay, but was also aware that maybe that had been the plan all along. Maybe Shiro wasn't supposed to stay on stage. He worried his bottom lip with his teeth, but then forced himself to lower his head and watch Pidge play her game. She had switched to a new classic, one she could play with Lance, but this one had sunflowers and oddly adorable zombies.

When he looked back up he saw Curtis making his way through the crowd, looking worriedly at the place were Shiro had exited. Keith wasn't about to let him go alone and since he had been wondering too, he whispered something unintelligibly to his friends and took a few steps forward. However, before he got too far he saw Curtis smile and he looked over and saw Shiro making his way through the crowd. He walked right over to Curtis.

Keith lowered his gaze and walked towards the table with the champagne. He rolled his neck and closed his eyes. He felt foolish. Shiro had left the stage to seek out Curtis. He wanted to be at his side tonight, unashamed to show him off to his crew and allies. There were rules about dating within the ranks, but those regulations were hard to enforce when people had months, sometimes years long missions in outer space. No one would begrudge anyone companionship in situations like those.

The music started up again, soft instrumental, and the guests started up their conversations once more. Keith picked up a flute and sipped at the champagne. He would focus on what else he needed to do to get ready for his mission with the Blades. He would push all this nonsense aside. He had let his friends sidetrack him, but they weren't watching, they didn't see Curtis' smile or Shiro's easy stride towards him. Keith turned his back to the festivities and suddenly just wanted to go to his room and sleep. He started to walk towards the back wall, which was lined with glass doors and once he arrived he pushed them open and stepped out into the night air.

He blinked, disoriented for a moment. It was so opulent inside he had genuinely forgotten where he was for a moment. The cracked cement parking lot that spread before him looked so odd full of a variety of vehicles, most not of Earth. He turned right and started down the side of the stadium, slowly sipping his drink. He took his time, letting the cool air calm his nerves. He hadn't even realized they had ratcheted up with just the idea of speaking to Shiro. He wondered why he hadn't approached his friend. He knew for some time that he had feelings deeper than one would have for a 'brother', but he constantly pushed them down, trying to hide them away. Was he afraid of rejection? He scoffed to himself; of course, what person wasn't. That wasn't it though. Did he think Shiro didn't feel the same way? He hadn't lied to Lance when he told him he didn't think they were in the mindset to date. They were coming off the heels of a massive war and none of them had a chance to catch their breath, especially Shiro. His best friend had been kidnapped, forced to fight to the death multiple times in an alien arena, lost an arm, died, was cloned and reanimated in that clone's body, came back to earth to learn his fiancé had died in the invasion, was immediately tasked to pilot a brand new ship and then had to say goodbye to Allura. Keith also knew his friend had undiagnosed PTSD, hell, they all probably did. How on earth could he be selfish enough to ask him to put the euphoria and stress of a new relationship on top of all of that? Keith wasn't sure he felt right about it, but he remembered Lance pointing out that Shiro was apparently ready to take that step.

Keith sighed deeply and thought that maybe he should stop trying to make the decision for Shiro. Maybe he should just talk to him, like he said he would. He drank the rest of his champagne then tapped the flute against his palm lightly and continued to walk.

Pidge and Lance had moved to the edge of the crowd, leaning against the wall to continue to play their games knowing the guests mostly wanted to speak to the Black and Red paladins. For some reason most saw the other paladins as "sidekicks" even though they worked as a team and all combined to form Voltron. It used to get on Lance's nerves, but after he lost Allura he realized just how trivial it was to worry about if people recognized his contributions to the war or not. They would pause the game anytime anyone approached to thank them. They both would say "it was an honor" or "thank you as well" if it was another solider speaking to them. Lance planned to stay long enough to get full off the hors de oeuvers before he left to hang in his room for the rest of the night. He was still grieving, and this jolly event was grating on his nerves.

"Hey you two," Shiro walked up to Lance and Pidge with a smile on his lips but not in his eyes.

Pidge looked up, "Exhausted already?" She gave him a sympathetic smirk.

He shrugged, "You got me. Is it that noticeable?"

"Nah, just to us," Lance pushed off the wall and gave him a kind smile, "did you at least get a chance to eat?"

"I made two circuits, grabbed bites between meeting everyone," Shiro shook his head, "I'm surprised I'm so popular though. I'm just a Captain. There are Presidents, Prime Ministers and royalty here, who the hell am I?"

Lance laughed then threw his arm over his shoulder, "You're always so modest," he quirked a brow at him and said flatly, "It's annoying."

Shiro smiled and this time it reached his eyes, "What about you two? Having fun?"

Pidge held up her datapad and showed him the game, "Yep."

"You know you can't hack government equipment," Shiro pursed his lips.

She pushed up her glasses, "Well no…I can," she gave him a devilish grin, "I shouldn't."

Shiro just shook his head, amused, "So, hey, I've spoken to Hunk and now you. Where's Keith?"

"I thought he was with you," Lance stepped away and went back to leaning against the wall, "when you left the stage he was worried."

"Oh," Shiro lifted his hand and rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed, "well…I had to use the bathroom…"

Pidge laughed out loud at that, "You didn't pee before you got on stage!?"

"I didn't have too before!"

"You sound like a kid!" She was still giggling.

"Well, what? He's only like seven years old or something," Lance teased, referring to Shiro's leap year baby status.

"Oh har har," Shiro rolled his eyes good naturedly, "anyway, I'll go look for him since apparently he had been looking for me. Thanks," he turned and left his friends.

Shiro wasn't sure where to look, the stadium was huge and while some of it was blocked off so people couldn't go wondering through the tunnels, it would still be a near impossible task. He walked around scanning the room, even when people stopped him to talk he would look over their heads. At one point he was approached by an exceptionally tall and thin alien and had to look around the body. He was about to give up, he could always meet up with him tomorrow, when he saw Matt. He was about to call out to him when the young man turned his head and noticed him. They both waved then gave each other hugs when they met.

"Look at you boss!" Matt grinned big, "Working the room like a pro!"

"Trying to," he looked modest again, "are you having a good time?"

Matt looked over his shoulder and smirked at a female alien just slightly to the right of him. She was beautiful, with pale pink skin and wide navy eyes. Her "hair" was made of thin writhing tentacles that were a darker shade of pink. When Matt turned back around he said, "Going on a walk with her later, maybe get her contact ID."

The alien turned and placed her hand on his shoulder. She was smiling, her teeth were oddly human-like, "Don't worry, you'll get it," she winked at him then said, "I'm going to go get some more th'quec. You want some?"

Matt frowned, "No no…I like my food cooked."

She let out trilling laughter then strode away.

"She's cute," Shiro smiled at him.

"Cuter than Curtis?" Matt nudged him with his elbow and waggled his brows.

"Wh-what?" Shiro looked confused.

"Look man, I know you're Captain and all, but no body cares," Matt was looking at Shiro like he was impressed, "you're allowed to date who you want!"

Shiro's forehead furrowed almost comically, he was thoroughly confused now, "I'm not dating Curtis."

"No?" Matt shrugged, "Oh well…no one's gonna believe that."

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah. Rumor's been going around for a while now. Curtis isn't squashing it."

Shiro rubbed his hand over his face, "I'm just trying to get to know the bridge crew. We were just sort of thrown together. I've been hanging out with all of my subordinates when I can."

"Okay okay," Matt held up his hands like he was surrendering, "just saying…if there's something you like about him, no one's gonna object. Well…" his eyes cut to the side.

"Well what?" Shiro narrowed his eyes, concerned.

"I mean," Matt's eyes slid back over slowly to look at Shiro again, "aside from the obvious."

"Obvious? Who?"

"Really?" Matt looked incredulous, "You pullin' my leg here?"

"No," Shiro held out the word slowly as he tried to think about who Matt could be referring to.

Matt's eyebrows shot up suddenly, "Speak of the devil!"

Shiro turned, following Matt's line of sight and saw Keith walking back into the stadium. His hair was tousled, there must be a breeze outside. Shiro's eyes grew wider as he watched his friend walk over to the cleaning station and place his empty champagne flute into the bin. Surely Matt wasn't talking about Keith. They were best friends. In fact the only time Keith had told him he loved him he paired it with "as a brother". They rarely even flirted. Shiro frowned. Rarely? His mind turned that over realizing that apparently they had flirted on more than a few occasions. But Keith was handsome, anyone with working eyes could see how aesthetically pleasing he was so of course one could fall into flirtation. That didn't mean Keith was actually attracted to him. Flirting was fun, tension killing and stress relieving especially during a dangerous war. He watched as Keith, now with a new full glass of bubbly walked back towards the doors. He was ignoring the festivities as much as Pidge and Lance were.

He looked back over at Matt, but his long stretch of not talking made the other think their conversation was over. He was laughing with the pink alien, who had returned and was trying to get her dainty fingers, holding a squirming beetle looking thing, closer to Matt's lips. Shiro reached out and patted Matt's shoulder and nodded to him in a silent goodbye before he left to go join Keith outside.

His long legs had him across the way in no time and he pushed open the doors, hoping he wasn't too far behind to follow Keith's trail. He heard a gasp when one of the doors with a very well lubricated hinge flew out if his hands and slammed into the wall causing Keith to jump to the side.

"Jesus," Keith was gripping his drink with white knuckled force.

Shiro was chuckling a bit, "Shit, sorry. Glad it didn't hit you."

"Me too," Keith smirked. He looked over at his friend as the doors slowly closed, "Getting away from the crowd?"
"No, I was looking for you."

"Oh?" Keith tilted his head, "Is something wrong?"

"No no, just…" he didn't know why he was feeling nervous all of a sudden, "hadn't seen you all night."

Keith leaned closer and grinned. His voice dropped to a deeper tone, his eyes sparkled, "You miss me?"

There it was, the flirting. Shiro decided to engage. He wasn't a stranger to flirting with cute guys. He lowered his lids and licked his lips, just a little, not too much to look like a creep. Then he stepped closer, looking down at Keith with a soft smirk and spoke gently, "Yeah…I did." He watched as Keith took in a stuttering breath. He blinked a bit rapidly then let out a strained laugh on a huff of air. Maybe he had laid it on too thick. If he knew Keith as well as he thought he did, his friend would rally and throw something out to prove Shiro hadn't 'won'.

"Well here I am Captain," Keith lived up to Shiro's expectations, "what can I do for you?" Even though he asked he turned and started walking along the building.

Shiro followed and admired the toned ass in those fitted navy slacks. He lifted his eyes and pursed his lips. Well shit he thought Matt just had to go and say something. Now hyper aware of all of his actions he quickly lengthened his strides until he was shoulder to shoulder with Keith.

"I just wanted to talk. There's so much…performing involved with mingling with dignitaries," Shiro sighed, "I'm just over it for the moment. I wanted to be with you. I can just be myself here."

"Always," Keith smiled but didn't look at his friend.

"Hey, just wanted to say you look good," Shiro blinked when Keith looked over at him slightly wide eyed. He tried to salvage it, "I mean, the uniform looks good on your body," he blanched and Keith stopped walking, "Just…no. No. The uniform looks good. Period," he could feel the warmth in his cheeks from his embarrassment.

Keith's expression was one of amusement, "Oh," he nodded, "so my body doesn't look good?"

"Yeah. What? I mean…of course it does," Shiro was rubbing the back of his neck, "I've seen you in the gym."

With a chuckle Keith put him out of his misery, "Good," he started walking again, "I was afraid for a moment there the uniform was doing all the work for me!"

Shiro let out a little nervous laugh, "No, you don't need help…" he bit his lower lip, "I'm just gonna stop talking."

Keith placed his hands behind his head and turned to look at his best friend as he stopped walking once more. He had a mischievous grin on his face, "It's okay if you find me attractive," even though he said the words to mess with his friend he felt his heartbeat kick up, eager to hear the response.

Shiro looked at Keith, he had always found his purple eyes beautiful. He spoke seriously, "Well I do."

Keith felt his breath catch, but when he felt his cheeks flush he turned his head away and dropped his arms, "Better not let Curtis hear you say that…"

He had spoken it in a whisper, but Shiro heard him. He sighed, "We're not dating," he saw Keith peek over at him through the fall of his dark bangs, "I just found out that was going around."

"Oh, you're not?" Keith's head was swimming but he decided this was the perfect place to open that door and let Shiro know he's considering a dramatic shift in their relationship. So he turned around, pushed away all his earlier thoughts about just how ready they were to do any of this and gazed into his best friend's eyes. He smiled, lowering any remaining walls and said firmly, but sweetly, "That's very good to hear," then he took a deep breath because he felt like he was going to pass out.

Shiro cocked a brow and considered Keith's words and expression. He was open, fully revealing some new part of himself. He felt his breathing quicken and he knew instinctively that this moment was critical. Delicate. His reaction would change the trajectory of their lives and their place within each others. He had a split second to decide if he was ready for that. If he had the mental and emotional capacity to handle a new dynamic. He wasn't sure, but he did know without a shadow of a doubt that Keith was the most important person in his life. He knew if he was faltering Keith would have patience. He knew if he needed to take things incredibly slow he wouldn't hold it against him. But most importantly he knew that Keith was taking a risk because he felt it was worth it. That he was worth it.

Shiro stepped forward and placed his hand on Keith's hip, "Yeah…I thought it was important that you knew that," he squeezed him there and smiled when the younger man shivered in reaction.

Keith nodded, the change between them was almost tangible, but he knew it wasn't a love declaration or anything like that. Just an acknowledgement that they were on the same page and it was okay to proceed.

Keith started walking again, thrilled that Shiro just moved his hand to his lower back and not away. He did want to test the waters a bit so he said, "I don't know what you said in your speech. I was too busy admiring your body in your uniform," he glanced at him with a playful smirk.

Shiro was blushing at the compliment but he countered, "I'm glad I couldn't see you in the crowd, I wouldn't have been able to give that speech if I saw you looking like this."

Keith ducked his head but his smile was wide. They walked silently for a long time, Keith had made his way over to press against Shiro's side and Shiro's arm had wrapped around Keith's waist to keep him there. Eventually they began to talk about mundane things: foods they tried at the gala this evening, the impressive decorations, the gentle music. They were both impressed by the choice to forgo customs so everyone could mingle and be on equal footing; no government or monarchy propped above another. Talking about trivial topics became boring so they talked about the future. The made guesses about whether or not Lance would go back to Cuba (Shiro thought he loved space too much to leave, but Keith knew just how much he missed his family). Shiro told Keith that Hunk had told him he wanted to go on a culinary tour, traveling to various planets to try out their local cuisine. Pidge had told Keith that she and Matt were working on renovating and updating the science labs and computer tech at the Garrison. The more they spoke the more it became apparent they were dancing around the issue of Keith's future plans. They had admitting to wanting more with each other, but Keith had been planning to go on humanitarian missions with the Blades. They needed to establish what that meant for them, but neither of them had the will to bring it up.

They were halfway around the stadium when Keith sighed and finally addressed the situation, "I'm committed to going with the Blades. I want to help them rebuild communities we destroyed during the war. I want to clean up the mess I made."

Shiro nodded with a hum then said, "I understand. I think…I think if we keep in touch everything will be fine," he looked over, "right?"

"I'm assuming so," Keith looked up at him, "all I wanted to do when I was on that space whale with my mom was talk to you," he grinned with a slight blush that was hard to see where they were between streetlights, "there might be a few gazillion miles between us, but I can't imagine not hearing your voice…" he looked away, "I'll call. I'll write during times I can't."

"Okay, yeah me too," Shiro grinned, "So…were you just going to leave me here all alone with Curtis?"

Keith scoffed, "Don't you dare. I just heard about him tonight. Lance was concerned."

"Lance?"

"Yeah, apparently he's rooting for us," Keith tried to speak nonchalantly but there was still a nervous undertone, "they all were."

"Huh," Shiro didn't know what to say to that, but he knew the sentiment made his cheeks warm.

Keith bit his lip then said, "We should…um…probably be getting back. They are probably looking for you Captain."

Shiro shrugged, "They'll survive. Besides, we've made it this far, we might as well finish the circuit."
So they did. It was a nice walk around, companionable as always. Once back inside Keith's fingertips started to tingle, he hadn't realized just how cold it had been outside until the warmth of the stadium hit his skin. Immediately Shiro was bombarded by dignitaries. At some point while they were walking some humans had decided to start slow dancing. Many people came up to Shiro now to try to drag him onto the dance floor. Many women, human and alien, openly flirted with him and Keith laughed at Shiro's betrayed expression as he waved and walked away.

"You two look cozy," Lance whispered into Keith's ear.

Keith jumped, his heart thumping, "Shit Lance! You scared the fuck outta me!"

Lance laughed, "Wow! Such language!"

Keith just punched him in the shoulder.

"Look, Pidge and I are about to head out, wanna come?"

"It's not over yet," Keith gave him a disapproving look.

"So?" Lance pointed over at Shiro, "People wanna talk to him not us. Let's go."

Keith looked back over at his friend. Shiro caught his eye and gave him a smile. Keith smiled back then pointed to Lance and used his fingers to mimic walking away. Shiro frowned but nodded, knowing he would be leaving too if he could.

"Alright, let's go," Keith followed Lance. As they passed Pidge Lance tugged on her sleeve and she stuffed three mini quiches into her mouth before catching up.

Just before they left the hall Keith heard a voice.

"I saw him over there. He's declining dance invitations."

"I bet he won't say no to me."

Keith looked over and had just a split second to see Curtis grinning wildly as he made his way through the crowd. Keith scowled, hoping Shiro's and his talk had sewn the seeds deep enough that Curtis couldn't shake them. Because now that Keith thought about it, as he was being dragged from the arena, Shiro just said he and Curtis weren't dating…not that he was averse to it.