Archive of Our Own

❀

It was another beautiful day on the planet of New Altea. Shiro woke up in his home that was placed just at the border of the city, to clear lilac sky and the warmth of the white sun that rose from the west.

It's been a long time since he had moved there from Earth. Previously a pilot that had lost his arm at war, resulting in him being honorably discharged from the human army forces, Shiro had turned to the Altean army instead, and was hired as a spaceship engineer. After that, and ever since the war had ended, there was no need for armed spacecrafts or weaponed pods, yet his work was so extraordinary that he had found himself a job at a private company that was sponsored by Empress Allura herself, mostly helping with teludavs and spaceships meant for long distance traveling. 

It was amazing to work with Altean technology. Shiro was good at his work, and was warmly accepted by the people, which helped him get used to it all rather easily. He had nothing to look for back on his home-planet, and being able to help around in a place that was so welcoming was better than what he knew in his previously tough life. 

He put on his Altean suit, and after a quick breakfast, headed to his private parking lot, where his hover-car floated just beside his garden. Looking down at the small, pinkish-purple flowers that grew nicely, Shiro smiled. The meadow lychnis were his grandmother's favorite, and they were a memory from her. He had planted the seeds in the alien garden. To his surprise, the flowers grew high and healthy, and in the Altean environment, they stayed that way for the entire deca-phoeb. 

The ride to his work was smooth and fast. He parked in his usual spot and went into a tall, glassy building. On his way upstairs, he was greeted by his coworkers, both in his language and in theirs. 

"Did you hear, Shiro?" one of them asked after beginning a quick conversation. 

"What?" 

"There's a new employee today, to replace Romelle."

It was in the meeting room at the end of the second floor that Shiro immediately noticed him. 

The man standing at the end of the room was a face he had never seen before. He looked handsome and lean, and was shorter than most. His dark brown hair was tied in a ponytail behind him, yet thick strands of hair fell on his forehead and before his ears. His bright blue eyes - or were they purple? Shiro couldn't tell from that distance - seemed a bit darker underneath the set of eyebrows that met in a frown. 

“Everyone,” the head of their team said as she came in and stood by the new employee, “good morning. This is the first movement we’ll start without Romelle, who has been promoted to serve directly under the Empress. We wish her all the best. Now, without further ado, I'd like to introduce our new teammate, Keith; just like Shiro, he came to New Altea from Earth. Keith served with the Blade of Marmora for several deca-phoebs and was trained by Kolivan himself. His knowledge in flight is remarkable and his skills will surely be essential to our company. Please welcome him pleasantly.”

“Excuse me, ma'am,” one of the Altean engineers raised his hand to speak, “but if he had served along with Kolivan and the Blades, doesn't it mean he is at least half Galra?”

“Why do you care?” Keith said before he could be stopped. 

“It matters not. The Blade of Marmora had fought alongside our Empress and aided her in the fight against the Empire. Moreover, we have entered an era of peace. We welcome anyone who wishes to help. Am I clear?” 

Everyone's response was in perfect unison. “Yes ma'am.”

“Very well. You are all free to go. Shiro, a word.”

The human waited for all the others to leave, and slowly made his way to his boss with his hands behind his back. He looked at the new guy - his unkempt hair, his definitely deep purple eyes, the clothes that were very similar to leather, his posture that screamed attitude . It was clear that he wasn't the shy kind, but he didn't look very talkative either. 

Something in him was making Shiro want to stare, but he stopped himself. He didn't want to be rude, no matter how handsome the new man was. 

“Keith, this is Shiro,” the head of the team introduced. “He is the best engineer in our team. His perspective is so good that he supervises all of our workers - not only engineers, but designers, astrophysicists and so forth." 

Shiro, red and embarrassed, wanted to stop her from the rain of compliments, but she continued regardless, conveniently ignoring his obvious distress. "Since the two of you came from the same planet, and will most likely find more in common between you two than others, I would like you to work directly under his order. Shiro will be your personal mentor for the first phoeb, until you prove you can work on your own under his general supervision.”

All Keith did was nod. His arms were crossed over his chest, his eyes piercing through Shiro's very skull. It made the taller man gulp.

“Shiro. I trust you to show Keith around, explain to him the work that needs to be done and guide him through it.”

“O-of course, ma'am,” Shiro smiled sheepishly, and did his best to keep his posture authoritative. “I'll do my very best. It's nice to meet you.” He raised his prosthetic arm for the other to shake. 

The purple irises moved to the metallic arm, but Keith said nothing of it. “You too.”

❀

The first quintant went rather smoothly. Shiro showed Keith around the different departments, explained the work and its purpose. Keith was quiet, yet nodded in understanding and asked questions if he had any. It was quite impressive and rather surprising how quickly he seemed to wrap his head around it all, and how eager he was to learn. 

Unfortunately, his relationship with the rest of his teammates was a far cry from how smoothly things were with Shiro. It was as if Keith’s very aura rubbed them the wrong way, too witty for his own good. He was smart but distant, almost seemed unfriendly. Shiro was around him the entire time, and that made them keep their distance, but he could see it in their eyes - they were wary. He could only guess it was because he was half-Galra, but just like their boss said earlier, they would have to treat him as their equal, regardless his origin. 

Shiro decided to give it a few more quintants. Not everyone got along from the first moment. 

❀

The training period was something Shiro had never expected to be so fun. 

Every day with his new subordinate, he learned something new; if it was about Keith himself (as much as he was willing to tell, anyways), about the Blade of Marmora, or even some aspects of their work. Keith's ideas were original, creative, in a way Shiro had never seen before. Despite being the mentor, he found himself gaining quite a lot of knowledge from the other, as well. 

What Shiro noticed the most was that any subject that rose up in a conversation with Keith was fascinating . Others were hilarious - Shiro loved his sense of humor, and it felt good to be able to make Keith laugh, too.

Other times, they talked about the war. It was a touchy subject for Shiro to open up about, but now that he had someone to talk to who actually understood what it meant to be an active part in that war, to be a soldier that risked his life for the greater good, it felt easier to say things he didn't even think he would in front of anyone.

He didn't tell Keith how he lost his arm, not yet, and Keith seemed to respect that. He didn't stare like others did, didn't give any pitiful gazes or randomly ask about it. Shiro found that relieving, to the point where he was less self-conscious around him than with any other. 

They spent more time together than with anyone else in the entire facility, and the slightly older man found that he was waiting for those shared moments, if it was before work or after. 

Maybe I should invite him over, Shiro found himself wondering - but shook his head immediately as he felt his cheeks burn at the idea. No, no. It would be too awkward. Right? Working together is one thing… having him over is… yeah. No. He'll hate it.

❀

Quintants turned into movements. Keith seemed to do well with the work itself, but still not with the people around him. They seemed to disregard him, and Keith himself didn't try to mix amongst them. 

Shiro could see it and did whatever he could to keep the peace when they were around each other. Even after the training period, he mainly sat with Keith in the corner of the office - unless someone else needed his attention - and he already noticed that he was the only one who ever did. Others rarely approached, and even if they did, it was either for a sentence-short conversation to let him know his boss wants a word, or they made their way to his direction only to ignore him completely and ask for Shiro's help. 

Shiro didn’t hear them talk behind his back, but he did see their stares, their expressions. He found that annoying . 

He did his best to make Keith feel like he belongs, and he would continue to do so, to the best of his abilities. 

❀

Things turned south a few quintants into the new phoeb, when Keith punched a coworker in the face. In the talk Shiro had with the two, neither of them spoke of why exactly it happened, but both were sent home for the rest of the movement as soon as the quintant was over. 

On his way home, Shiro spotted Keith walking slowly on the side of the road, with his hands in the pockets of his dark jacket and a frown on his face. Deciding to keep him company, he approached with his hover-car and waved at the other as soon as he noticed him. 

"Hey. Do you live nearby?" he smiled. 

"Not really," Keith replied dryly - he obviously wasn't in the mood to be around anyone, but Shiro wasn't about to let him wander alone when he was clearly still upset.

"How about I give you a ride?" 

"... Why?" 

Shiro shrugged. "You didn't treat that hand of yours yet. Vellar took the hit much worse than you, but I'm sure your knuckles still hurt. I don’t live that far away from here. I can help."

"... I'm fine."

"Please?" he smiled sweetly as he watched Keith bite his lip and finally decide to join him. 

Shiro gulped and couldn’t help but send a glance towards Keith’s direction from time to time. In his silence, there was something almost tender about Keith. He was funny, clever, charming, and even made way to a magnificent smile every now and again, when Shiro told a silly joke. He had so much more in him than anyone gave him credit for.

Why couldn't they see what Shiro saw? 

He licked his lips and did his best not to let his excitement show. Yet how could he keep his calm when the very person that occupied his mind so much sat right next to him in his car? 

They were quiet for a while, and during that time, Shiro decided to ask about the event that caused all this. He had a feeling Keith wouldn't want to answer - just like he didn't in the talk back at work - but he had to try, as his friend.  

"Do you want to tell me what happened in there?" he asked softly. "You looked angrier than usual."

Keith looked out of the window, and didn't seem like he was going to reply. 

"If you don't talk to me, I can't help you, Keith. I want to make this job a good place for you, that you'll be happy to go to - because otherwise, it's not worth it. And the management really wants you there. You're doing a terrific job. But the work environment is just as impo-"

"They talked about you," Keith finally said, cutting Shiro's words completely. "They said things… lies. I couldn't listen to them anymore." 

Shiro didn't know what to say. One side of him was rather in shock - what could Valler say about him? They were never on bad terms. He blinked repeatedly as tried to wrap his mind around it; it’s probably something that was misunderstood. Right? 

The other side, however, was… flattered. He had never had anyone standing up for him, not in his absence and definitely not in his presence. 

But no, no - he shouldn’t be flattered. This is serious. 

“About me? What did he say?" Somewhat taken aback, he decided to risk it and ask.

Keith bit his lip. “You don’t want to know.”

“Keith… you can tell me. I can handle it.”

“It’s just a bunch of lies. They only said those things because they knew I was listening.”

Shiro’s heart skipped a beat. Keith’s protectiveness was more than he could take.

“So, you think they said… whatever they said about me, because of you?”

“I mean - what other reason do they have? They see us together all the time.”

Shiro bit his lip at that, his hands tightening on the electric wheel. He looked away to hide his darkening blush. 

This time, Keith seemed to notice, and immediately turned red. “N-no, I didn’t - I mean -” he began, but didn’t seem to find his words. It made Shiro smile uncontrollably, and Keith cursed. 

“It’s alright, don’t worry. I understand.”

“Whatever!”

When they finally reached the parking spot beside Shiro’s garden, the hover-car stopped at the press of a button. Shiro still needed to cool himself - he stared at the wheel with a goofy smile and a throbbing heartbeat. Keith seemed to be silent, as well, but he didn’t dare to look. It would only make his heart beat even faster.

But he needed to gather himself. Keith had a hand he needed to take care of. 

"Come on,” he cleared his throat, “I'll treat your hand inside and then get you home. You must be hungry too, right?"

Shiro kept on watching until Keith began to follow, and led the way to the door. 

"I have a special Altean cream that will help you with the bruises. It's much more efficient than the medicine on earth." Shiro talked as he unlocked his house with his fingerprint key, but when he turned around, he saw that Keith was kneeling by the garden. The face he made when he looked at the small pinkish-purple flowers was full of wonder, to the point it made him look almost emotional . 

"Meadow lychnis," the name escaped the younger man's lips softly. He raised his hand to touch the thin petals with his fingertips, his gaze fixed. 

"Do you know this type of flower?" Shiro smiled, impressed. "My grandmother used to love them, so I brought them here with me."

"My dad used to love them, too," he said quietly. "He always said they reminded him of my mom, because of the color and the meaning."

"The meaning?" 

"Yeah. You know, the language of flowers - every flower has a meaning of its own."

"Oh! You mean - hanakotoba. Yes. I think my grandparents had a book about that somewhere…"

"Mm. Nice. My dad knew some of it, but… this one stuck with him the most. Meadow lychnis. It means wit."

"I think it suits you , too," Shiro grinned, and finally the other's gaze met his own. For some reason, sitting by those flowers made Keith's handsome features stand out; its color didn't exactly match his eyes, but it did bring it out, and they looked bigger and somewhat softer.

Shiro cleared his throat again, hoping his blush wasn't as obvious as he felt it. "... Come on. Let's get your hand treated."

Inside the house, he led Keith into the living room. "You can sit there on the couch. I'll be right back."

He walked to the bathroom and took the equipment he needed.

He took a deep breath, as well, before waking back to the living room. 

Sitting beside Keith, he put the equipment on the table and reached prosthetic arm out. "Show me your hand."

As the bruised hand was gently put on his own, Shiro observed it thoroughly. The knuckles were covered with reds and blues. With his human hand, Shiro pressed on the boney areas, and was glad to see there was no further damage other than the bruises. 

The cushion of his prosthetic thumb stroked against the skin softly, without him even thinking about it. 

"Mm… doesn't look too bad," he nodded. "Nothing's broken, so that's good."

He moved his hands so Keith's rested on his human palm. With his prosthetic, he opened a small glassy container that had the medical cream in it. 

Looking up, Shiro met Keith's purplish eyes with his grey ones. He wanted to say something, anything, but those huge eyes captivated him and took away his ability to speak. Blushing lightly, he looked back down at the cream and dipped his metal finger in it. 

"It's gonna be a bit stingy at first, but then it'll be really cold," he said, and as gently as he could, he spread the cream on the bruises. 

The tiny noise Keith made sent a chill down Shiro's spine. 

He treated Keith as carefully as he could, his mind trailed to the very fact that he held that hand in his own. It was smaller, but the fingers were still elegantly long, and it was soft and a bit rough and - 

He really needed to keep his mind in line. 

"Does it feel better?" 

"Yeah… The cold is really helping."

"That's good. As I said, the Altean medicine is much more efficient than what we had on Earth. In the next ten minutes the pain should stop completely, and tomorrow all of the bruises will be gone."

"Mm."

Even after Shiro was done, his hand didn't leave Keith's. 

"May I be honest with you?" Shiro asked eventually. 

"Sure."

"On the first few days I worked with you, I was… well, not scared. Scared isn't the right word. But you were - somewhat distancing everyone around you. You know what I'm trying to say?" 

"Um… Yeah, I mean… it's not like I'm everybody's buddy now - "

"Let me finish," Shiro stopped him with a smile. "You were the kind of guy that really seems tough and unapproachable, even though you were hard-working from the very start. However, during the time I trained you, I noticed other things about you. You're funny, you're smart, incredibly kind. You always ask questions and get curious about work. You're undoubtedly talented in anything you do. You're remarkable."

Keith seemed to be frozen at that moment, and stared at Shiro with wide eyes and parted lips. A blush flourished all over his face. It seemed he didn't expect such compliments. 

Shiro found that adorable. 

"My point is, you have such positive sides in you… why do you hide them when you're around others?" 

The younger man bit his lip and looked down at his bruised hand, as Shiro applied a bandage around it. He worked delicately, minding every single movement so it wouldn't hurt his friend. 

"I'm…" Keith mumbled, then cleared his throat. "It's just… hard… to be around everyone else. I don't care what they think or say about me, but I also don't really… I'm not really interested in the company of those that look down on me."

At that point, Shiro wanted to comment, but Keith looked up at him with his amethyst eyes, wide and determined. 

"But it's not like that with you."

Now it was Shiro's turn to blush. 

"K-Keith, I -" 

"You said all those nice things about me. No one's ever done that before. W-why should I believe you if you're the only one?" 

Shiro blinked, a bit shook. However, his gaze turned softer within a few ticks, and he put his free hand on the other's wrist. I have to make him understand, he thought. 

"One thing you should have already learned about me is that I never lie. I really do think you’re one of the most extraordinary people I’ve ever met. No one can change my mind about that. Not even you.” 

He watched as Keith’s gaze fell on their hands, raising his free hand to put on top of Shiro’s. His eyes looked so wide, with his face completely red. 

“Y-you are too,” Keith whispered. 

Shiro stared at him in a daze; completely at a loss for words. Those three little words shot straight into his heart, that he struggled to let a comment out of his mouth. 

"I'm - I'm not -" 

“I - I mean it. You’re - really amazing.” Keith cut in and continued, his words bursting fast out of his lips. “I… I've learnt so much from you at work, a-and it's fun to hang out with you… and…” 

Shiro's heart beat so fast, it might as well just burst through his ribcage. After he gulped, he licked his lips and leaned just a bit closer. 

"Y-you like… Being with me…?" he mumbled. 

Keith nodded firmly. 

"I… I look forward to seeing you every day," Shiro confessed in a whisper. "I haven't felt this way in such a long time… and I… it's like…" 

He looked down Keith's hands, stroking his skin with his thumbs, trying to sort his words in his mind. But he couldn't; his ability to speak properly seemed to vanish and turn into scrambled words and unintelligible sentences. 

He was certain he was making a complete fool out of himself, and that in a moment, Keith would pull away or slap his face or - - 

Yet the touch that was pressed to his lips cut his running thoughts immediately, and his eyes opened in shock. It took him a moment to realize that the touch was made by warm, full lips; a hasty kiss that captivated his whole being. Before he could even think, he kissed back, as a chill ran down his spine and his breath stopped in his nose. 

Butterflies filled up his chest and stomach. His eyes shut at some point without him noticing, and he wanted this moment to never end - 

The lips that kissed were gone, and he blinked his eyes open, as if waking up from a dream. 

In front of him, Keith bit his lip, his face burning red. 

"I'm sor-" 

"No," Shiro cut him off, his voice as soft as a feather. "Don't be." 

They looked into each other's eyes, and warmth replaced Shiro's giddiness. A moment later, each of them looked down, gazing upon their still intertwined fingers, as they were this entire time.

It seemed like Keith didn't know what to say, so Shiro did, instead. "You never told me if you're hungry or not."

Keith chuckled. "I'm fine."

"Tea, then. Please? I have some great Altean tea. You should really try it."

"... Okay." Keith chuckled. 

Shiro smiled from ear to ear and brought Keith's hands up to kiss. He couldn't really believe he was going to spend the evening with him. "I - I mean you don't have to, I just -"

"I already said yes, Shiro," Keith laughed, "besides, I'm not going to see you at work for the rest of the movement, and that's like next week, right?"

"Yeah, sadly," Shiro sighed, shaking his head. As he kept his regular hand holding Keith's, he led him to the kitchen and began preparing their tea. "And... If I may be bold... please, don't get into situations like these, okay? No matter what anyone says about me... I'm not really worth the trouble, especially if it causes you any."

"What are you talking about? You're worth every trouble," Keith replied, folding his arms over his chest. Shiro's heart skipped a beat.

"S-still-"

"No. I won't let someone say something nasty about you just because it's impolite to reply with a fist."

"Then what did he say that made you so mad?"

"He talked about -" Keith hesitated, but eventually, as the two looked into each other's eyes, it seemed he decided to finally say it. "... About the way you got this work. About the way you... Climbed in rank." 

Shiro bit his lip. He gulped visibly as he looked down, frozen for a moment, and then sighed. 

"Thank you for telling me, Keith..." He said. His smile was sad - sad that someone would make something up like that just for... What? Keith said before it was in order to annoy him, but the management will look into that.

He raised his gaze at Keith again, and his smile turned brighter. "... And thank you for protecting me. It really means a lot... especially when it's you."

He chuckled as he saw the other's face turning bright red, mumbling "yeah" under his breath.

The tea was ready, and the two went to the living room, to talk about happier things.

Shiro enjoyed every single moment.

❀

The time came for Keith to go home and Shiro found that it was the last thing he wanted. If he could gather the courage, he would have asked Keith to stay the night; yet he was certain, such a suggestion would be declined immediately. 

They had their fun, their late-night talk and share of laughter. It had been so long since he had so much fun with someone outside of work. Someone that he liked, no less.

Sitting so close to Keith this entire time, with their knees touching from time to time and their hands brushing on each other's shoulders, was something Shiro gave his full attention to; for each and every single one of those touches sent a spark straight into his heart. 

He wanted more of those. He wanted those long fingers to run their tips on his cheek; that sweet laughter to ring in his ears; to sink into those big eyes and swim in their purple depths. 

He wanted this night to last for much longer than the rest of it had to provide. 

"Shiro?" he heard the soft voice calling him, and blinked a few times. "You spaced out." 

He cleared his throat and hoped he didn't blush too much. "Sorry…" 

"No, don't be sorry. It's alright," Keith's smile was so sweet and full of light, that Shiro wished he could see it every single day. 

As Keith's slim fingers slipped into his hands again, Shiro looked at his beautiful flustered expression and smiled as well. He kissed the bandaged hand lightly, and got up before Keith could say anything about it.

They walked to Shiro's door, and he put his hand on the knob with a slight hesitation. Licking his lips, he finally opened it and led Keith back to the hover-car near his garden. Under the Altean night sky, the flowers' color seemed almost unnaturally deep, as if Shiro could stare endlessly into the delicately curled slope of the petals. 

Smiling to himself, he picked one of the flowers and put it in Keith's hair. The flustered face he made as a result made Shiro chuckle. 

"Your eyes are so special. In the night light, their color fits the flowers almost perfectly. Only yours are much more beautiful." 

It was clear Keith was at a loss of words, but his expression said everything he couldn't. With his fingertips, he touched the tiny flower that now decorated his hair, and kept it there, with a quiet "thank you" escaping in a whisper. 

As they rode together, Shiro was afraid that an awkward silence would arise, but he found that despite the fluster they both seemed to have from the previous events of the night, they were still rather comfortable.

That is, until Keith snuck his hand on his again, and he felt the butterflies go crazy in his stomach.

Smiling, he stroked Keith's hand with his thumb. 

They arrived at Keith's place not long after, yet they both stayed still. 

It was Shiro who opened his mouth first. "So, I'll, uh... See you next week, then?"

"Oh - yeah. Um. I'm sorry if I messed things up for you."

"No, no, you didn't. Really. You really don't need to worry about it."

"Alright... Thanks. I, uh, I'll go then -"

"No, wait," Shiro stopped him and bit his lip. "Uh. Well. Um. The fact - the fact that you're not coming to work doesn't mean, um, that you can't come over more. After work, I mean. To... My apartment."

Keith seemed to think about it for a moment, and then nodded. "I'd like that."

"Really?" Shiro beamed.

"Sure. I can bring food from somewhere too."

Shiro laughed. "Yeah. That sounds great. I'm not that good at cooking, so... Um. So, do you wanna - come over tomorrow?"

"Sounds good to me."

"Great!"

"Yeah. It's a date, then."

The word struck Shiro's heart like lightning. "Yeah!"

A kiss was pressed to his cheek, short but so sweet, that it sent vibrations through Shiro's entire body.

"Goodnight," Keith said, in a tone far softer than he had ever heard him using. "And thank you for the flower. And treating my hand."

Shiro nodded and smiled. "Sure thing. Goodnight... Keith." 

It was when Keith left his sight and disappeared into his home that Shiro finally let out the breath he didn't realize he was holding. His excited smile spread and he giggled like a teenager that finally had a date with their crush. 

He still couldn't quite believe it. Tonight was real. Keith's touch, his kisses - they were all real.

The thought was rolling over and over in his mind as he made his way back home. 

As he got out of his car, Shiro lingered by his garden and stared at the flowers. 

Wit , he thought. That was their meaning. The perfect word to describe Keith's way of thinking - not just in humor, but in intelligence as well. 

He guessed that from now on, the color would remind him of Keith every time he looks at his garden. 

It made him smile, as he took the last steps into his home.