Keith looked down at his phone, waiting for Shiro to show up at Keith's favorite space theme cafe. It was his 19th birthday. As he checked his phone, replying back to all the birthday comments, a cat had hopped onto his lap. Keith put his phone aside, giving his attention to the white cat. He hated having to reply to so many people at a time.
Outside the space cafe, a taxi pulled up. Keith watched as the door opened and a man with black hair and a white spot on the front stepped out with a suitcase. When he turned around, he recognizes him to be Shiro. He’s Shiro. Keith waved to him. Shiro smiled before waving back, heading into the building.
Keith brushed his raven hair out of his eyes, and slipped his phone from the table and into his pocket. The bell above the door rang as he entered; announcing Shiro had finally entered, startling the cat on Keith's lap. The golden hair feline jumped down, running off to another one of its friends.
Shiro took the seat across from his friend, taking notice of his long hair. It had grown a few inches in the past three months since they had last seen each other in person. Today, Keith had braided a small braid into his hair, making it look like a crown, leaving the rest of his hair down. It was no doubt a gorgeous look on him.
"Happy birthday, Keith."
"Thanks," Keith smiled. Oh, those smile. Shiro loved Keith's smile. "What took you so long?" Keith asked curiously.
"I had problem finding my bags. Then my ride was late." The taller man explains while looking through the café menu.
The place was by far the most elegant yet simply and peaceful place around town. The tables were black and the chairs were leather with beautiful galaxy theme pillows.
"Ah, that makes sense" Keith mutter in understanding. Just then his phone began to vibrate. He picked up to see who was calling. "Oh god."
"Who is it?" Shiro asked glancing up from the menu.
Keith answered the call, not bothering to tell Shiro. Before Keith could say hello, the person on the other line had begun screaming. Keith snapped back an insult. Keith never had tolerance like Shiro did. Shiro smiled regardless, how can anyone be mad at such an adorable smoll bean like Keith? It only took a few seconds to figure out he was speaking to Lance. After a short conversation, Keith hung up, explained that he was hanging out with Shiro.
"Sorry," Keith apologized. "You know Lance, he just wouldn't shut up."
"Its fine," Shiro told him. A woman came back, placing a glass of water on the table for the black haired man who had come in not even ten minutes ago. Once she had walked off, Shiro thanked her before reached under the table for the gift he bought Keith.
"You didn't have to get me anything." Keith said sipping from his overly sugar mocha.
"I did. It's what people do for others on their birthday."
Keith blushed a little, taking the bag from his friend's hand. Before reached in, he glanced up at Shiro to make sure he was watching. And, just as he thought, Shiro was staring at him with those brown eyes that Keith had come to love. Keith sighs smiling, shaking his head in the process. Shiro smile grew bigger.
Moving aside the tissue paper, Keith revealed a piece of black fabric. He reached in, pulling it out and unfolding it. It was a new leather jacket with many NASA patches and pins. Keith flipped it around and held it to his chest to see if it was the right size. He looked up, smiling at Shiro.
"I love it," Keith told him. "I'll put it on when I when I get home."
"Kay," Shiro grinned. He took notice of Yuri's cheeks. They were a light blush dusting his cheeks.
Keith sighed happily, placing the jacket in the bag. Then he picked up the menu, suggesting they order something. They both had something picked out in minutes, so they called the waitress over to place their orders. While she went to the kitchens, Keith and Shiro decided to catch up.
They had talked plenty of times over the phone, but it wasn't the same. They had also Skyped each other into the late hours of the night before his roommate, Hunk or Pidge, would tell him to go to bed, but it was different now that they were in front of one another. Both of them were laughing when their food came, and they had to calm themselves before eating.
It wasn't till the food was right in front of him did Shiro realize how hungry he had been. After being rushed to the airport and put on a plane for three hours, he had an appetite. Keith chuckled as he watched him stuff his face. ‘Cute~’ he thought. Noticed his friend laughing at him, and glared at him. Keith only laughed harder. His laughter started to subside and he took a bite of his own food.
A few minutes later, once they had both finished their meals, another cat came up behind Keith. He didn't see it, but Shiro did, but acted like there was behind him. Suddenly, the cat pounced, latching into the back of Keith's red jacket. He yelped, feeling the cat's claws poking his back and his hair being pulled. Shiro laughed, finding the situation amusing.
"RED!!" someone from the kitchen shouted. "Get down!"
The cat did as it was told, running off from its scolding. Someone rushed over to make sure Keith was all right. Meanwhile, Shiro was in tears, nearly falling out of the chair he was in.
"Stop laughing at me, you moron!"
Shiro laughed harder at Keith's insult. It looks another two minutes for him to stop laughing completely, and when he looked at Keith, all he saw was an angry kitten. He almost started laughing again; he didn't due to the glare he was receiving.
"I'm sorry," he chuckled. "It was just so... funny." Wiping some tears from his eyes.
"Tch," Keith mumbled, looking out the window.
They discussed few space and work related things. Shiro asked what Lance and even Matt had been up to. He hadn't heard much about them since they moved out of the states a few years after they all had come back to earth. Apparently they ended up working at some NASA place, Lance as a fighter pilot and Matt as a science engineer and were teaching new recruiters and internships. Personally, Shiro couldn't see them doing anything better than that.
"Guess we should go visit sometime."
"Maybe."
Shiro paid for their meal, insisting he should as another birthday gift. When he did, Keith's face turned pink yet again, and Shiro had the urge to kiss him when he did. He didn't, of course, but he wanted to.
They exited the cafe, walking down a few blocks to Keith's apartment. They stopped by to drop off Shiro luggage and to grab their skates. Keith was going to greet Hunk and ask him how his day had been, but found him taking a nap in his bedroom. He shut the door, informing Shiro to keep his voice down.
Keith led him to the guest room where he'd be stay for the next two weeks. Keith dismissed himself to go change into a better shirt that could match his new leather jacket, leaving Shiro to unpack. While he was unpacking, he looked around the room. It was simple and plain. The walls were bare and colorless. The dresser was old, with countless scratches on it, but still looked nice. The carpet beneath his feet was old and stained in some areas, but it doesn't bother Shiro in the slightest. Pushed against the corner, was a twin-sized bed, perfectly made with clean sheets. There was also a small stuffed black cat, which he assumed one of Keith's. Shiro smiled, thinking it was adorable that Keith was letting him borrow one of his many plushies. Clearly they all still missed Voltron very dearly. It had been many years already but it still felt as if yesterday they were all still fighting and defending space against the Galra and all evil.
He exited the room and entered the kitchen where he found Keith with his back toward the door. As he moved his hands and back, his long raven hair moved as well making it a lot messier than this morning.
Keith had been growing his hair out for years. He had always wanted long hair and now he had it. Though, to many of his admirers, it was a million times better than Matt’s messy golden curls. Shiro agreed with that group of people, though he also loved many other parts of Shiro.
The way he elegantly moved like an angel.
The way he'd try to scold taller people, but never be able to get in their face because of his height.
The way he smiled when he was happy, and the way he blushed when he received a compliment.
But, most of all, he loved Keith's purple-gold eyes. Whenever Keith looked at him, they shone with joy and happiness. Two emotions that Shiro was proud of giving to the younger male.
"Eh, Shiro, why are you staring at me?" Keith asked. Shiro snapped out of his daze, realizing that Keith had turned around with two to-go cups.
"Oh, sorry," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I must have zoned out."
"It's alright," Keith said, flipping his hair over his shoulder, and handing one of the coffees to him. "Let's get going."
Shiro followed Keith out of the apartment, allowing him to lead them toward the way to the club. Along the way, Keith started talking about how Pidge was going to be there. He started to complain about how fast she had grown up, but this was nothing new to Shiro. He was used to his rant, so, naturally, he had learned ignore it since it was just another part of life that Keith just was not used too.
While they walked and Keith droned on, Shiro watched him move again. He was moving his hands quite a lot while he spoke. Every few seconds, he'd move a hand to push the hair out of his face of tug at his sleeve down to keep him warm. He'd turn his head every so often to Shiro, and he'd catch a good look at Keith's flawless smile. Shiro was also glad that Keith hadn’t noticed him staring at his hips.
They turned a corner, seeing Keith's favorite club. They entered, waving at the owners who knew them, a few people who had seen Keith many times and hurried over to one of the tables. Once they were done reserving one of the tables in the back, they headed down to the bar where a few other people were talking. As soon as they stepped onto the bar area, a certain person Keith had been complaining about rushed over.
"Happy birthday, Grumpy Cat!" she threw his arms round him, pulling him into a hug. Keith immediately pushed her away slightly, but since that was normal response, she wasn't offended.
"Shut the hell up, Pidge!"
"Keith," Shiro warned, giving him the looked. Keith rolled his eyes, grumbling an apology under his breath. "What was that? I didn't hear."
"I'm sorry and I won't yell at you again today."
"And?"
"And thank you for wishing me happy birthday."
"Good," Shiro noted, ruffling his hair as he sat in one of the stools. Beside him, Keith sat next him, cursing him out.
"It took me all morning to get my hair like this. Don't you are screw it up!"
Keith chased the hand away until Shiro lowered down his hand for the short-tempered raven-haired catch him. After he did, they spent the rest of the night talking to Pidge and catching up on things like peaceful civilians. Well, more the most part anyway. Keith commented every so often about how more and more people were beginning to show up. They danced a bit then back to the bar.
After hours of drinking, dancing and talking, they decided to call it a night and head back to Keith's place. The sun had just begun to rise as they left the club, making the sky explode with colors. As they made their journey home, Keith was quite, probably from all the dancing and drinking.
"Hey, Shiro?" Keith asked to make sure he had his attention. Shiro hummed in response. "Can I braid your hair when we get home?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"Cause I said."
"But it's my birthday," Keith whined.
Shiro sighed, fighting back a smile. "Fine. But only cause it's your birthday."
"Yay!"
They continued walking till they reached a small bridge. Keith suggested they stop there and take a break to watch the sun rise, so they did. Keith was observing the sun, while Shiro stared at the river below them, thinking. He had come here not only for Keith's birthday, but also to tell him something that he'd wanted to tell him for a while now.
Shiro sighed. It was now or never.
"Hey, Keith," he said, gaining his full attention. "I like you."
"I like you too," Keith said, smiling over at him.
Shiro shook his head, turning toward him. "No, I mean I like like you.”
Keith's face turned from bashful to something Shiro couldn't quite pinpoint. He watched Keith's mouth drop open and an "Oh" sound come out. It didn't sound like a bad "Oh" but it didn't sound like a good one either. Shiro gulped, waiting for Keith's reaction.
Keith turned his head back to the sunset, processing the words. He could feel a blush on his checks, but he didn't try to hide it. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw his friend look down and sigh in defeat.
"It's okay if you don't feel the same. I completely understand. I just felt like you should know."
Keith nodded, still a little dazed. Shiro started rambling again, a nervous habit Keith had come to find out, but stopped suddenly.
He looked down to see Keith had placed a hand on his, and the other on his shoulder. Then, with the speed of lion, kissed his cheek. Both their face flamed red at Keith's bold actions.
"It- its okay," Keith stutter, a big smile on his face. "I've kind of liked you for a while too."
They stood there, not making eye contact for a while. Shiro looked at their hands, which Keith were only touching, and intertwined their fingers. He looked to the side at Keith, seeing his face an even deeper shade of red how.
"How long have you, uh, liked me?" Shiro asked, still extremely flustered.
"Not quite too sure. I kind of figured out my feels when we were still paladins of Voltron," Keith paused, biting his lip and looked up, meeting Shiro's brown eyes. "You?"
Shiro looked away, embarrassed yet again. "The moment you moved away after we came back to Earth."
Keith smiled. He remembered how he had asked Shiro to come and say they farewells, and he did as Keith had wished. He remembered looking out from the window of the airport, spotting his friend who was walking away from him once again. When Keith left, Shiro once again felt anxious and like a lost puppy. Nothing was the same. Nothing felt right. But even so life goes on.
"I remember that," Keith said, recalling every detail. "I left to catch my flight, and you handed me my red jacket and a rose that matched my outfit."
"Yep," Shiro confirmed, meeting Keith purple-gold eyes. They both laughed, happy beyond belief. "Keith, will you be my boyfriend?" he asked with a smile. The sun rise was beautiful in the background. Different shades of orange and pink and yellow made every part of Shiro face, hair and even shoulders more stunning.
If it were possible, Keith's smile widened. "Yes!" He leaned forward again, kissing his smile, pulling away with a chuckle. "This is by far the best birthday present ever."
Shiro laughed along. There was no denying that fact.
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