A/N: Apologies for the late update again! I've been sick for the past five days so it's been a struggle to keep up with my homework. I wasn't able to update on time, but here it is! I hope you all enjoy this chapter, and please stick around! The end is much closer than you may think :)

"How long are you two going to be painfully obvious while refusing to admit anything?"

Matt jumped in his seat at his desk, then swore under his breath when his knee smacked the underside of the desk. He whirled around in his seat, holding his knee, and shot a glare at the figure who had sneaked unnoticed into his room.

Pidge leaned against the doorframe with her arms crossed over her chest and a satisfied smirk on her face. "Nice," she said, nodding toward Matt's sore knee.

"You suck," Matt growled, turning back to the pile of homework splayed across his desk.

"At least I'm not stupid."

"Neither am I."

"And yet Shiro just left here a flushed mess but still not your boyfriend."

"He's my friend, Pidge."

"Your friend who you like, obviously, and who also obviously likes you."

Matt groaned and turned around in his seat to face his sibling. "It's not your job to tell me who I should date," he said with a glare. "Shiro is my friend. That's all I want him to be. End of story."

Pidge sighed and stepped further into the room. She jumped back on his bed, bouncing lightly on the mattress before she settled. "Except that isn't all you want him to be."

Matt clenched his jaw. "Shut up and get out of my room."

"Not until you stop making yourself miserable."

"I'm not miserable," Matt hissed. He grabbed the back of his chair so tightly that his knuckles went white as he glared at Pidge. "I'm fine. Do I like Shiro? Yes. We've been over that. But it doesn't mean I need to do anything about it."

Pidge fixed Matt with a look that said 'I don't buy it' as she crossed her arms over her chest again. "And why is that?"

Matt pinched the bridge of his nose, seething as he clamped down at the anger building up in his chest. No one pushed a guy's buttons like a younger sibling prodding their personal life. "I know you're like, twelve, so you don't understand how relationships work outside of fiction, but one can't just go up to their best friend and confess their undying love for them."

"Because they might not feel the same way? Except, I'm aroace, not blind, and Shiro is just as obvious as you," Pidge countered.

"But, even if they do feel same way, that doesn't mean they want a relationship, or that the relationship is gonna work out."

Pidge sighed. "You're worried it won't work out, you'll break up, and Shiro will never want to talk to you again."

Matt gave Pidge a look of mock surprise. "Woah. Unbelievable. The gremlin child understands."

"I'm not a child. I'm almost sixteen."

"Which is a child."

"As if you didn't take every chance to say the same when you were my age."

"Doesn't mean I was right, child."

"Fine, grandpa."

Matt snorted as the tension between them eased. "Seriously, though, I'm not gonna say anything to Shiro. I like being his friend, and I hope to think he likes being my friend, too. I'm not messing that up over some dumb crush."

"If it was a dumb crush, you'd be too drunk on love to try to rationalize your relationship with him the way you are. You like him. You're into him. But you also care so much about his well being that you're trying to make yourself let him go to protect him from heartbreak. Except you're too caught up in trying to do what you think is the right thing when it's actually hurting you both."

"What?" Matt shook his head. "Wait. How the hell is this hurting us? We're still friends. We get to stay in each other's lives. It's a win-win situation. And yeah, I do want to protect Shiro. I don't want to hurt him like Ad—" Matt cut himself off abruptly. A bud of guilt blossomed cold and sharp in his chest as he hurried to backpedal. "I-he just-ugh…" He ran tense hand through his hair and tugged at the locks in frustration. "Shiro's been through a lot, okay? He's given so much to the world and gotten so little back. Even before he told me about his life, I would've given the world to keep him from getting hurt, but now? I'd change my name and move to Antarctica if it would keep him from getting hurt again."

"Even though the last thing you want for yourself is to lose him?" Pidge asked.

"Yeah, but that isn't a problem for us. All I have to do is keep my mouth shut, and I won't have to worry about losing him, and he won't get hurt again."

"And what if he doesn't keep his mouth shut?"

Matt's head snapped up. He stared at Pidge with wide eyes. "What?"

"You can choose to keep up the shit charade, yes, but that doesn't mean Shiro's gonna do the same," Pidge reminded. "You're so hellbent on repressing everything to avoid the mere potential of future heartbreak, but what're you gonna do if Shiro asks you out? Say no? I mean, you could. You have every right to turn him down no matter how either of you feel, but getting rejected sucks. That's why the dumb Hallmark movies dad likes to watch never end with a rejection. So, whether you clam up or not, there's no way to guarantee he'll never get upset."

"Fuck.." Matt muttered.

Pidge hummed. "Yeah, you wish." She pretended not to notice when her brother shot her a flushed glare. "Didn't think about that, did ya bud?"

"Why the fuck are you talking like a midwestern dad?"

"Because I am one. To my Tamagotchi. I am but a humble single father of three."

"Then stop neglecting your children and leave me to wallow in my own misery."

Pidge quirked an eyebrow. "You literally just admitted to being miserable. My children will never forgive me if I abandon their uncle in such a poor state." When Matt only groaned again in reply, Pidge sighed. "Look. As much as I love giving you shit, I haven't been all pushy because I want to tease you about your boy-toy. I mean, I want to, but not until after you sort through all this…whatever you're currently dealing with."

Matt snorted. "Have fun waiting forever, I guess."

"Matt." Pidge slid off her brother's mattress to the floor, which Matt had yet to cover with junk again since Shiro's departure. "Seriously. I've never seen you as happy as you are around Shiro, and you keep telling me you're fine with the way things are, but I don't think that's true. I swear, if Shiro goes more than a few hours without texting you, I start expecting to hear MCR blasting from your room. You're constantly torturing yourself over everything that could go wrong, and you can't even properly say goodbye to Shiro because you want to kiss him, but you can't because you're just friends. I swear I heard your jaw pop from my room when Shiro left." Pidge laid down on the floor and stared at Matt, this time with a concerned frown. Her voice shrank. "That's not what happiness looks like. Not on you."

The pair lapsed into silence. Matt contemplated Pidge's words while she watched the gears in his brain turn.

After two minutes of unbroken silence, Pidge rolled to her feet and walked out. However, she paused for a moment in the doorway and looked back over her shoulder, her face still fitted with a small frown. "If Shiro also likes you, then don't you think he might be unhappy too?"

By the time Matt remembered how to speak, Pidge was long gone, leaving him staring at the empty doorframe with her words ringing in his ears.

-000-

When he returned to the school, the first thing Shiro did was stop by the main office for his new key. The secretary on duty handed it over with a glance at his ID, a smile, and an apology for the inconvenience. Shiro gave a nod of thanks, then headed straight for his dorm.

Shiro heard Eurus the moment he closed the front door. She wasn't usually a very vocal cat, but he didn't doubt that she might be a bit upset about having been locked in the spare room the weekend. Shiro dropped his backpack on the floor and made a beeline for the door to the spare room. The moment he twisted the handle and pushed, Eurus was winding around his ankles and meowing loudly.

"I'm sorry," Shiro said as he leaned down to scratch her chin and run his fingers down her back. The leaned into his hand and arched her back when he pulled away, screaming for more attention. Shiro had a lot of lost time to make up to her. "I know, I'm sorry! The door was broken!" he told her as he walked further into the room. Her food bowl, which he'd left filled to the brim with kibble, wasn't quite empty, but he still dumped in another cup of food. He also refreshed her water bowl, then picked up a can of wet food and the extra bowl he set aside just for that. Shiro shook the entire can into the bowl and topped it off with a sprinkle of treats as a peace offering that Eurus greedily accepted, raising up on her hind legs to dig in before Shiro could get the bowl all the way to the floor.

With Eurus distracted, Shiro took the chance to get started on cleaning. The dirty laundry in his hamper went in the washer along with what he was currently wearing, and the clothes in his backpack. Dressed in a comfortable pair of shorts and a long-sleeve, Shiro took a moment to debate before setting his gloves aside. They needed to be cleaned, and the only other living thing in the dorm was Eurus. Shiro was feeling pretty good and decided he could tolerate being able to see his hand, so he forwent another pair of gloves. Instead, he returned to the spare room to change Eurus' litter box.

Did Shiro have some homework that he needed to get done? Yes. Was he going to do it? Not yet. His dirty laundry was in the washer and Eurus was taken care of, so the only mess that required his immediate attention was the sawdust and splinters near the front door left over from the repairs. However, cleaning was a good distraction. It required him to keep moving and pay attention. If he sat down and stared at a textbook, his mind would wander back to the events of the past weekend and reduce him to a blushing, awkward, embarrassed mess. He shoved the thought down before it could antagonize him any further.

Shiro swept up the mess by the door, only somewhat bothered that the maintenance staff had only bothered to clean up outside, but part of him was glad they hadn't stayed any longer than they did. He'd never been a fan of strangers being around his things, especially when he wasn't there to keep them away from what was important. He knew it wasn't as if they'd gone poking around in his dorm while he was gone, and it wasn't like he had anything in there that was illegal or went against the university's housing policy. His living space was just…personal, just like the people he allowed into it.

Hours passed as Shiro wiped down the sink and counters in the small kitchen, moved his clothes into the dryer, threw his bedding into the washer to freshen it up, scrubbed down the entire bathroom, and swept the rest of his dorm. He finished his work with a quick shower while his bedding tumbled in the dryer.

It was late in the evening by the time Shiro was done. His towel-dried hair stuck up in every direction on his head, having grown out a little from his usual buzzcut. He made a note to get it trimmed soon. He let himself fall flat on his back in bed, his muscles relaxing against the sheets which were still warm from the dryer. The weekend had been an enjoyable one, but it also had left Shiro exhausted. He sighed and let his eyes slip shut, seeking the peace of sleep.

The peace of sleep didn't come.

Shiro groaned and smothered himself with his pillow as those stubborn feelings he'd been running away from all day came back to haunt him once more. When he'd left the Holt's, what was he thinking?! His last interaction with Matt had ben awkward enough as he tried and failed to keep his stupid heart in check, and the way he'd fumbled the exchange about 'definitely liking friends because everyone should like the people they are friends with' that totally had nothing to do with any other definition of 'liking' one's friends because that would be awkward because they were very much just friends and of course Shiro would rather sit on a hot grill than admit to anything beyond that. And the way his face had still felt hot when he was leaving the house and talked to Sam and Colleen oh god. He hoped he hadn't been blushing as much as he felt like he was.

With another sigh, Shiro shoved his pillow away and pulled out his phone. There was a call he'd been meaning to make over the last few days, and it would be the perfect way to keep his mind off of his own embarrassment.

Shiro clicked one of his few contacts, pressed the call button, then held his phone to his ear. The line picked up after two rings.

"What."

"'What?' Really? That's all I get? No songs of praise and sadness for your awesome older brother who you haven't seen in ages?" Shiro teased with mock hurt. Even though Keith couldn't see it, Shiro covered his 'wounded' heart with his free hand.

"Not when he calls while I'm doing homework," Keith replied flatly.

Shiro hummed. "Homework? Really?"

"Yes."

"What kind of homework?"

"Environmental science."

"Mhm. So you're definitely doing homework, and not sitting at your desk with a blank worksheet in front of you while watching YouTube and flirting with Lance over text."

"I'm not flirting with anyone!"

"Oh, but you aren't gonna deny the YouTube part?" Shiro questioned. When Keith didn't respond with anything more than a growl, Shiro chuckled. "Seriously, though, how're you doing?"

Keith's shrug was almost audible. "Not bad. Work's been pretty slow and there isn't a ton of extra homework since it's the middle of the semester."

"And?"

"And what?"

"Anything else you want to tell me?"

"Anything else about what?"

"About a certain friend of yours."

Keith snorted. "Hah. Look who's talking. Have you asked out Matt yet, or are you still trying to pretend you're definitely not into him at all and only love him in a friendship way that is completely platonic?"

Shiro was glad Keith couldn't see the blood that flooded his cheeks. "I asked you first."

"So?"

"So, Matt is my friend and that's all you need to worry about, so you should tell me how things have been going with Lance."

"It's fine."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

Shiro dared to let a small smirk creep across his face as his eyes lit up with an idea. "So, if I call Hunk later and ask him how hard he's been third-wheeling recently, he'll say the same as ever."

No response.

"It's fine if you don't want to say anything, I could just call Hunk and as—"

"Lance is an idiot and I love him." Keith interrupted.

Shiro's smirk slid into a wide grin. "You told him?" he asked excitedly. He could hear it in Keith's voice. Keith always tended to pitch his voice slightly higher when he was withholding something, and while he had figured it out ages ago, if he ever tried to purposely pitch his voice down to hide it, it only became more obvious that he was hiding something.

"Um…" Keith hesitated. "Not really? Like, I didn't say anything."

"You didn't punch him in the face, did you?" Shiro deadpanned.

"No!" Keith insisted. His voice quieted the next time he spoke. "It was his stomach…"

Shiro couldn't help but laugh as he ran a hand through his tangled bangs. "Of course you did, but you do that a lot, so I'm not sure if you really got the point across."

"Hey, he's the one who decided to fall down the stairs."

"Wait." Shiro paused. "Is he okay? You didn't punch him in the stomach because his neck was broken, right?"

"Again, no!" Keith hissed. "He was fine. I was all worried he got hurt because he's a complete idiot an wasn't watching where he was going so he fell, but apparently he's a human slinky, because he managed to almost land on his feet and literally didn't even have a single bruise on him!"

Shiro let out a low whistle. "Impressive."

"Not impressive! He could've died!"

"But he didn't, and now you've professed your undying love to him. Though, I'm still lost on how you managed that with the punch?"

Keith growled in frustration. Shiro could almost see how flustered his brother was on the other end of the line. "He fell, I got worried, he said he was fine, then I called him a stupid fucking idiot and punched him. Once he could breathe again, he yelled at me, then…"

"Then…?"

There was silence, and for a moment, Shiro wondered if Keith would actually fill it. As much as he loved teasing his brother, if Keith was truly too uncomfortable, Shiro wouldn't push him to keep talking. Though, when Keith finally responded, Shiro was glad he hadn't changed the subject.

"Then, I, um, might have uh….kissed him?"

Shiro had to clap a hand over his mouth to muffle the loud squawk of laughter that erupted from him. It bubbled up in his chest and flew out of his mouth into the open air, filing the room with hearty chuckles. It took him a moment to regain his composure, at least enough to speak again. "Oh my god, Keith, my dear little brother who I love so much, what the fuck," he wheezed. "You… Of course you literally had to admit your crush by punching Lance in the gut and kissing him!" A fresh wave of laughter washed over Shiro as Keith groaned loudly on the other end of the line.

"You suck. Immensely. I'm hanging up," Keith threatened. Despite his words, his tone lacked any heat besides that of the embarrassed blush that must've been burning his face alive.

"Tell Hunk I said hi! And your boy toy~!" Shiro teased just before the line went dead. He erupted in yet another wave of giggles as he dropped the phone next to him. He expected nothing less of his fiery little brother. It was a good thing Lance had known him for a few years already, and was well-equipped to handle Keith's flames.

As his laughter finally died off, Shiro was left with aching cheeks and a small smile. He couldn't help but glance over at the window and peered into the darkness through the cracks in the blinds. So, everything had worked out for Keith and Lance after all these years of their 'rivalry' and borderline-sad pining. Shiro was glad. He'd been hoping the pair would finally own up to their feelings soon. After all, the pair had the perfect balance, both able to light a fire under one another when needed, but also serving as a steady hand to calm each other when the flames burned too bright for their own good. They brought out the best in each other.

Shiro rolled over on his side when he heard the soft sound of claws tapping the floor. Eurus padded up to his bed, and after a moment of contemplation, leapt up to join him. She immediately flopped down on his chest, drawing out a warm chuckle. His hands automatically began to stroke her fur. Her loud purrs filled the room. "I guess things really can work out sometimes, huh, Eurus?"