Thread by @LionessNapping

After the war (s8 didnt happen but haggar has been defeated), it takes exactly two years, three months, and nine days for Shiro to be bullied into taking an actual vacation. Two weeks of forced relaxation somewhere he can't easily access the Atlas or paperwork. (a #sheith thread)

Veronica and Pidge both call Keith with the news to enlist his help in making this actually happen.
(No one trusts Shiro to actually take a break if left to his own devices and rightly so. He has a contraband work data pad stashed in his halfpacked bag)

Keith agrees immediately and tells them he'll fly Shiro to the resort on Flurian III that Pidge booked him a stay at himself to make sure he actually goes.
Krolia and Kolivan all but order him to take the same two weeks himself since he's bad at vacations too.

(They don't tell him that until he's already en route to the resort with Shiro and he can't argue with them effectively.)

Shiro is thrilled to find Keith leaning up against the wall outside of his office when he walks out after finishing up the days paperwork. He's in tight, darkwash jeans and a new leather jacket and his hair is falling in a braid over his shoulder. His smile is a lightning strike.

It's been too long since Shiro's seen him, especially in casual clothes and his heart starts doing backflips.
"Good timing," he says with a grin after greeting him. "As of now, I'm officially on vacation."
Keith raises an eyebrow. "As of an hour ago, actually."

Shiro sputters, caught out. He manages to ask how Keith even knows.
His grin turns to a smirk and he gestures at the bag - Shiro's bag - at his feet. "I'm your ride."
Shiro tries very hard to not turn red, to read that as an innuendo, and generally fails.

"Pidge and Veronica are taking your time off very seriously," Keith continues. "Taking you to Flurian III where I'm sure Pidge has a full schedule of relaxation set up for you."
"This is literally kidnapping or mutiny, not taking leave," Shiro protests.

He follows Keith down the hallway anyways, trying to give excuses when Keith tells him he found and confiscated the data pad he'd planned on taking on his barely planned beach trip.
They board Keith's ship, sleek and fast and gorgeous, and off they go.

They're half an hour out of Flurian III when the message from Krolia comes through, telling Keith of his unplanned vacation.
Shiro just laughs when Keith scowls at his communicator and makes three calls in a row to both Krolia and Kolivan. None of them are answered.

Keith looks over at him. "Mind me crashing your vacation? Mom says she packed me a bag."
"Glad I'm not the only one who has to be forced into vacation," Shiro admits. "And of course I don't mind. I've missed spending time with you."

He sees Keith's cheeks flush slightly before he turns away to start entry procedures. Shiro's smile is tinged with hope as he takes care of his co-pilot duties.

They speculate about what Pidge booked for Shiro and if Pidge actually knows what vacations are outside of scientific retreats as they walk through the sunsoaked streets towards the resort, bumping shoulders and drinking in each other's presence after so long apart.

The resort lobby is opulent without being overwhelming - a quiet brand of luxury - and buzzes with quiet conversation. Shiro and Keith make a beeline for the reception desk. Shiro is quickly checked into his room but when Keith asks if there are rooms available, the light blue

alien receptionist makes what Shiro thinks is an apologetic expression before explaining that it is close to a major festival and most of the rooms in the whole city are booked.

Keith turns to Shiro and he can already read the apology on his face. Shiro panics, not wanting to lose out on the time with Keith before it can even really get started. He refuses to let this dream of having a vacation with the man he loves slip through his fingers.

"You can stay with me," he blurts out. "It'll be fine."

The receptionist nods before Keith breaks out of his shock. "Mr. Shirogane's room is quite large," they say.
Keith locks eyes with Shiro, searching his face for /something/ there.

Shiro is not above using the puppy dog eyes Keith has been weak for since he was a truculent teenager.

"You sure you don't mind?"

"Of course not," Shiro assures. "Just means we get to spend more time together."

"Might get tired of me," Keith says, elbowing him in the ribs.

"Never," Shiro breathes out, the single word too honest here in public, here in the space life has put between the two of them.

"That's settled then," the receptionist chirps, breaking the moment and making them jump. "Please put your palm here for room access."

Keith does.

It's not until they walk into the room- large and luxurious and obviously designed for comfort- that Shiro realizes exactly what he's signed them up for.

This is two weeks of being in Keith's orbit at all times. Two weeks with the man he's been secretly in love with for ages now

Two weeks that, for all he was forced into this, he knows he is going to spend dreaming that this is a romantic getaway they planned together. Two weeks of innocent glances and touches that will set him on fire.

And there's only one bed.

Shiro's not going to survive.

Keith barely pauses. He drops his bag in one of the armchairs off to the side and flops facedown on the bed. He doesn't even bounce with how soft the bed is. Keith lets out a groan. Shiro twitches.
"I haven't seen a real bed in like... a month," he says, voice muffled.

"Went to Earth to get you straight after my last mission debrief. Been sleeping on the foldaway cot in my ship. This is incredible."
Shiro takes a deep breath and moves towards the bed, depositing his own bag along the way. "Guess you're claiming that side of the bed?"

Keith lifts his head to look at Shiro as he perches on the edge of the bed. "Not picky. This one was just closest."

"Yours now," Shiro says. He kicks off his shoes and stretches out on his side. Calm. He's totally calm. Keith does not need to know that his heart is pounding.

"Fine by me." Keith shifts to rest his cheek on the pillow, keeping his eyes on Shiro, small smile on his face. He looks content. "I like being closest to the door, anyways."

"Thought you weren't picky," Shiro teases.

Keith halfheartedly tries to swat him. "Shut up."

Shiro laughs and settles into the bed, feeling exhaustion start to weigh down his limbs. "Is it bad that I'm already ready for a nap? I think it's the middle of the day here."

"Shiro. You literally just worked a full day plus overtime and then stayed awake with me for the four

hours it took us to get here," Keith says flatly. "Plus you've been working hard enough that you were literally forced to come on this vacation."

"You're one to talk," Shiro mutters. "You're literally in the same situation."

"Yeah," Keith agrees easily. "But I'm not the one

questioning if it's cool to go to sleep right now. We're on vacation, Shiro. I'm pretty sure midday naps are almost a requirement."

"Stop making sense."

"Go get out of your damn uniform so we can start working on our sleep debt."

"That requires moving," Shiro whines.

"Big baby."

"Don't see you getting up to change." He sounds petulant but it's Keith and he can be whatever he wants around him without fear of judgment.

"I'm not in uniform."

"You're in /jeans/. That's just as bad."

Keith makes a face at him. "Fine. We both get up and change clothes then sleep for like... twelve vargas."

"Ambitious," Shiro says. "I like it."

"I don't want to move."

Shiro hauls himself back into a seated position. "Come on. Sooner we get changed, sooner we can sleep."

"Ugh, fine." Keith peels himself off the bed and pads over to his bag, shedding his jacket as he walks.

Shiro watches him for a moment before grabbing a few things from his own bag and heading to the bathroom. He contemplates taking a quick shower, but the desire to sleep

as soon as possible wins out.

He strips out of his uniform and quickly folds it, leaving it on the counter to deal with later. He pulls on a pair of flannel pajama pants and a white tank top and heads back out into the main room.

His breath catches when he sees Keith. He's settling his communicator on a charging port and dressed only in a pair of sweatpants that hang low on his hips. Shiro's mouth goes dry as he drags his eyes across the muscled planes of Keith's back, lingering on the braid that hits

right in the middle of it.

Shiro wants to sink his fingers into it and tug. He REALLY wants to slowly unravel the braid and see the waves of silky black hang around Keith's shoulders. He swallows hard and considers walking straight back into the bathroom for a cold shower.

Keith spots him before he can make up his mind, aiming a soft smile at him. It's devastating, this gentleness juxtaposed with the sculpted lines of his chest.

Nevermind making it two weeks, Shiro is pretty sure he's going to expire in the next five minutes.

"Ready for bed?" Keith asks. His cheeks are pink and he carefully closes his bag.

Shiro just nods, not trusting his voice at the moment, and follows Keith to the piece of furniture he suspects will be his undoing.

He takes a moment to pull the heavy curtains closed, plunging the room into darkness. When he turns, Keith has already slipped under the covers.

Shiro takes a deep breath and does the same on his side of the bed.

"Did you turn off any alarms you have on your comm?" Keith asks, voice already starting to slur, sleep racing up on him now that he's horizontal.

"Turned off the whole thing," Shiro assures him. He settles on his side, facing Keith.

Keith smiles. "Good. Twelve vargas. We deserve it."

"Damn right."

They trade soft good nights, despite it being afternoon local time, and Shiro listens to Keith's breath go even and slow as he drifts off.

The easy cadence and comforting warmth radiating from him pulls Shiro under in record time.

His sleep is dreamless for what feels like the first time in years.

Shiro wakes up slow. He's warm and everything feels hazy and safe and easy. It's nice, he thinks, waking up of his own accord without an alarm. He could stay here, sleep more if he wanted.

It takes a full minute for his sleep-soaked brain to register that the nice warmth he's

been basking in isn't coming from the heavy and soft blankets he'd fallen asleep under.

No, he's half on top of the covers and plastered against Keith's back, their legs hopelessly tangled.

Shiro's heart trips over itself when he realizes that his prosthetic fingers are entwined with Keith's, their joined hands right over Keith's heart.

He's too awake to mistake this for a dream. Besides, his dreams are never this kind to him.

Almost certain Keith is still sleeping, Shiro nuzzles into his hair, the braid already mussed from sleep. He takes a deep breath, inhaling the fading scent of Keith's shampoo.

Shiro lingers, wanting nothing more than to steal a few more precious seconds of Keith in his arms.

He leaves soft kiss nestled in Keith's hair before pulling away and starting to try and disentangle himself without waking Keith.

He tries not to think too much of what it would be like to wake like this all the time, of being able to wake Keith with kisses and caresses instead

of trying to slip away unnoticed like a thief in the night. (He feels like a thief alright, his haul of priceless, blissful moments of holding him increasing by the second.)

Keith makes a sleepy noise of dissent when Shiro tries to take his hand back.

Shiro freezes entirely.

"Keith?" He whispers, not wanting to wake him if he's actually still asleep.

Keith tightens his grip on Shiro's hand pulling it tighter against his chest, unaware of how he was completely melting Shiro's heart. "Not ready to get up," he mumbles.

"You don't have to."

"No fun staying in bed if you're not here."

Keith's voice is low and raspy and that combined with him saying he wants to stay cuddled up in bed with Shiro is a little life-ruining. Maybe more than a little.

"Guess I can stay a little longer," Shiro says. If Keith is fine with this, then he honestly has no objections to staying exactly where he is.

"Good." He's quiet for a minute and Shiro thinks he's fallen back asleep before his voice breaks the silence. "I've missed you, Shiro."

Shiro presses his forehead to the crown of Keith's head. "Missed you too. Feels like we never get to see each other these days."

"Got two weeks now," Keith says, "thanks to everyone's meddling."

"I'll send them a few fruit baskets."

"Don't you dare, it'll just encourage them."

Shiro knocked his head lightly against Keith's. "I didn't say they would be good fruit baskets."

Keith snorts.

After a few more moments, Keith sighs. "I'm not going to be able to get back to sleep."

"Sorry."

"Not your fault." He squeezes Shiro's hand and then lets go to flip over and face Shiro. "Just not used to getting to sleep for so long."

His eyes are still slightly soft with sleep, violet irises almost black in the darkened room.

"Think we managed our twelve vargas?" Shiro asks, mostly to keep himself from kissing him.

"Mmm, probably not. Feels like a solid ten though. Not ready to move and check."

"Receptionist said there was a festival of some sort about to start. We could go check that out when we get up," Shiro says. His prosthetic fingers stray to the end of Keith's braid, playing with it.

He thinks it should be awkward, cuddling in bed with his best friend, absently playing with his hair and planning what to do first on their joint vacation. It would be with anyone else.

But Keith props his head up on his hand and smiles down at him and it's /easy/.

"Sounds like a plan," Keith says. "Alien fair food should be interesting."

"As long as there are weird fried things for me to try, I'll be happy." He tugs on Keith's braid. "Almost anything's good fried."

"You say that but you haven't been forced to eat on Brolt. Fried dirt, Shiro."

Shiro laughs at the offended look on Keith's face. "I'd probably still eat it."

"Human garbage can," Keith teases.

"Had to be to survive the Garrison mess."

They linger in bed for another few minutes before they reach their limit of staying still and idle. A quick check behind the curtains tells them that the sun is just starting its descent. Shiro can see what looks like a market set up within walking distance.

Once they're both showered and dressed, they head out, dodging people in the now crowded lobby.

"Festival must start soon," Keith mutters close to Shiro's ear, hand resting on his bicep as he tries to stay close.

He doesn't really move away when they're out in open air, their shoulders almost pressed together as they walk, hands brushing against each other.

Shiro feels like he's walking on air. Keith is smiling and teasing him and it feels right.

It feels like a date.

They find the market Shiro spotted with ease, following the noise and the stream of people. They wander through the stalls, occasionally stopping to sample food and eye the goods for sale.

Keith keeps trying to find the worst fried things for Shiro to try, presenting each one with a shiteating grin.

So far he's eaten and at least marginally enjoyed everything, more because it makes Keith laugh than because of the actual food.

"Hunk would actually cry if he saw you eating this shit," Keith teases.

"Hey, if Hunk's cooking was an option, I would pick that every time," Shiro protests. "And I know he likes weird fair food, too."

"The good kind of weird fair food, not the garbage you're eating."

Shiro gasps as dramatically as he can. "Keith! Are you saying you've been buying me garbage? The betrayal!"

Keith laughs, full-bellied and loud, and elbows Shiro in the ribs. "You knew that, idiot. You're the one who ate it anyways!"

Shiro's grin is entirely unapologetic.

Here with Keith on a new-to-them alien planet and on what is both of theirs first vacation since the war, Shiro's shoulders are tension-free for the first time in what feels like actual years.

It still feels like a date. Shiro really hopes Keith feels it too.

They start to think about heading back to their room as darkness settles over the market, a couple hours into their wandering.

"It's weird not having anywhere to be," Shiro admits as they stroll past some stalls selling jewelry. "Not sure what to do with all this time."

"I'm still betting that Pidge has set up a suggested schedule of events for you," Keith says. "Probably made you spa reservations."

Shiro laughs. "I would use them! You have to come with me. Spa day! That's a vacation-y thing to do."

"You sound like you've solved a riddle," Keith teases. "~What do normal people do on vacation?~"

"Literally neither of us know the answer."

"True."

"We're finding a spa and making this happen. I haven't been since... sometime before Kerberos."

Keith shrugs. "I've never been. Lance keeps trying to set something up but our schedules haven't lined up for it." He rolls his eyes. "You'd think it was a personal insult the way he goes on about it."

"We're making it happen," Shiro says. "You deserve to be pampered."

Keith ducks his head and mumbles his agreement. Shiro grins and tugs him over to a stall selling little candies.

"You two here for the festival?" The shopkeeper asks, folding her hands in her lap, pink skin clashing with her lime green tunic.

"Didn't even know we were going to be here before today," Shiro replies, looking up from the sweets to give her a smile. "Happy accident."

She laughs. "You two will fit right in, don't worry."

"What's the festival for?" Keith asks. "Haven't had a chance to look it up yet."

"Technically, the first blooming of the yinian trees," she explains, smirk going a bit mischievous. "But in practice, it's a lovers festival."

Shiro feels his cheeks catch fire and his Altean fist closes around one of the candies, crushing it to dust.

Shiro apologizes profusely and buys two bags of candy with burning cheeks. He keeps stealing glances at Keith out of the corner of his eye. His cheeks are pink too and he's fiddling with the end of his braid like he needs something to do with his hands.

Purchase complete, the vendor waggles her eyebrows at them and tells them to have fun.

They walk away with more candy than even Shiro's sweet tooth needs and a tension between them that wasn't there before.

"So," Shiro says after a minute, "guess we know why there was a whole row of vendors selling sex toys now."

Keith snorts. "And why that row was the most crowded in the market. People stocking up before the festival starts."

Shiro agrees and the tension eases into something more familiar as he thinks of what it would be like to be eagerly browsing with Keith in preparation for this lovers festival, whatever that entails.

"You know our friends absolutely planned this, right?" Keith asks, hands jammed in his pockets. He's looking anywhere but at Shiro, cheeks edging towards red now. "There's no way Pidge didn't know about the festival."

"Veronica probably is the one who found it," Shiro guesses.

He swallows hard. They orchestrated him ending up on this vacation, at this festival, specifically with Keith. Has he been so obvious about his feelings, he wonders.

He knows they probably mean well but a sick feeling rises as he considers that this whole thing might make Keith

uncomfortable. Keith may have been ordered to take leave, but he definitely hadn't signed up to attend a lovers festival with Shiro. No matter how much Shiro wishes otherwise, Keith doesn't see him like that.

"You still okay staying here with me?" Shiro asks quietly.

Keith finally looks at him again, unhunching his shoulders. "Of course, Shiro." He puts on a smile and it's barely strained. "Where else would I want to be?"

Shiro can think of a dozen options immediately but bites his tongue before any of them escape or he does something like remind Keith he has a ship and can go spend his vacation anywhere. He selfishly wants Keith here with him and won't remind him of how easily he could leave.

"Besides," Keith continues, grin easy now, "you're not getting out of our spa plans that easy."

"We'll make the reservations when we get back to our room," Shiro promises. He knows the warmth in his heart is spilling out onto his face and he lets it, smile soft and smitten.