Thread by @LionessNapping

Shiro takes a deep breath, remembering to breathe through his mouth and moves to finish undressing. He balls up his flightsuit and looks for wherever he's supposed to drop it for decontamination.

There's a receptacle in the wall. He drops his suit and Keith's armor in.

"Hey Keith? Could you kick your suit out this way?"

Keith doesn't answer verbally, but the wet suit does come sliding out from behind the partition. Shiro deposits it with their other clothes then stares at the partition separating him and Keith.

He's out of excuses to not join Keith under the shower spray.

"Keith? Is it okay if I come over there?" Shiro asks. "Or do you want me to wait until you're done?"

"You can come here," Keith says, voice barely louder than the quiet roar of water.

Keith is sitting under the spray, knees pulled to his chest again.

He looks up at Shiro, cheek resting on his knees, and smiles. "Sitting felt like a better idea after a bit."

"You're okay, though?"

"Better with you here."

Shiro can feel his cheeks heating up again at the words.

"That doesn't actually answer the question."

"I'm fine, Shiro. Just a little shaky. This room is better than out there. Feels safer. Sitting helps. You being here and smelling like that helps."

'Like what?' Shiro thinks but doesn't say.

He steps under the water and lets the lukewarm spray take the blame for his ever-deepening blush. He tries not to think too much about the fact that neither of them are clothed.

Keith looks almost blissful, sitting there with his eyes closed and soaked through. His braid is plastered to his spine.

The water is doing nothing to dampen his scent and Shiro almost feels lightheaded with the smoke and spice and petrichor curling around him.

He keeps reminding himself to breathe through his mouth, but he swears he can almost Taste it with how thick it is.

It's overwhelming after years of not being able to catch even a hint of Keith's scent. He wants to bury his face in the crook of Keith's shoulder and just inhale.

But he won't. He can't. Keith is at his most vulnerable, has had so many of his defenses stripped from him without his consent and he is /trusting/ Shiro to keep him safe.

He washes himself down quickly, no stranger to decontamination showers, then turns back towards Keith.

He's still sitting there, eyes closed, that little content smile on his face.

Shiro crouches down next to him. "Hey, we should probably rinse out your hair better."

"Mmm, probably," Keith slurs, like he's half asleep. "Have at, if you want."

Shiro's heart is hammering away as he reaches for Keith's braid and pulls of the elastic keeping it bound. He puts it around his wrist and then starts unraveling Keith's braid.

He's dreamed about this. It's featured in the soft, warm domestic fantasies and the ones he only allows himself on the loneliest nights or mid-rut.

The silk of Keith's hair is softer than he ever imagined, than what he remembers from the times he'd ruffled said hair in the past.

He wonders if the texture changed at some point, maybe around the time that Keith gained his stripes.

He fingercombs the wet hair, working the water all the way through and watching the weight of it flatten the waves leftover from the braid.

Keith leans into his touch.

He also whines, high and mildly distressed when Shiro's hands leave his hair.

"Shh, it's alright. Just getting the soap. Gotta make sure everything's clean, even if you're just going to complain about what it does to your hair."

"There's a reason I buy the fancy shit," Keith grumbles, but he visibly relaxes as Shiro starts working soap into his hair. "It's unmanageable otherwise."

"I'll help you fix it when this is over," Shiro promises before he thinks about it.

"You better. I want the best deep conditioner money can buy and you to apply it," Keith says into his knees.

"You've got a deal," Shiro says.

He finishes washing Keith's hair in silence broken only by Keith's pleased noises and the water.

"Alright, can you stand up for me?" Shiro asks. "Need to rinse the soap out and then get dressed again."

"Don't wanna."

"I know, but we have to. The doctors are waiting."

Keith makes a face but lets Shiro help him to his feet.

He immediately wraps his arms around Shiro and buries his face in the crook of his neck, apparently completely unconcerned with the fact that they're both naked.

Shiro might actually die.

He maneuvers them so the spray is coming down on Keith's hair and starts working the soap out.

Keith whines into his shoulder. "Why do you have to smell so good?"

Shiro freezes, belatedly realizing that Keith is, in fact, scenting him for real this time.

Shiro bites back a whine of his own, focusing on the task at hand instead of what Keith's doing or the expanse of wet skin pressed against his own or the fact that a single small movement would bring their hips together.

He absolutely can not get hard right now.

"You smell good too," he admits aloud, after an almost too-long silence. He wants nothing more than to drop his head and scent Keith properly, but there are people waiting on them and Keith has been affected by something and he will not take advantage.

Keith gives a happy little trill at his answer, something Shiro's never heard from him before, but no other response.

He finishes getting the soap out and shuffles them backwards to turn off the water. Keith shows no signs of letting him go.

"Think you can dry yourself off?" Shiro asks once he's gotten them out of the actual shower area and to the towels he'd laid out.

"If I say no, does that mean you'll do it for me?" Keith asks. He tilts his head to look up at Shiro and his eyes are blown wide and a little glassy.

"Dry yourself off and get dressed and I'll braid your hair," Shiro bargains. Keith had seemed to like his hands in his hair in the shower, so he feels it's a good offer.

"Dry my hair and braid it," Keith haggles.

"Deal."

Shiro towels off quickly and dresses in the scrubs left for them. Keith is a little slower, obviously reluctant to get dressed even though the scrubs are a million times looser than the armor.

As soon as he has the pants on, he looks at Shiro expectantly, holding out the towel.

Shiro quirks a smile at him and steps behind to start drying his hair as promised.

Keith's scent grows stronger as Shiro works on his hair, almost flooding the room. It's intoxicating.

"How are you feeling?" Shiro asks quietly as he sets the towel aside. He sinks his fingers into the still-wet hair and starting dividing it into sections.

"Good," Keith drawls. He pauses. "Weird. Everything is still a lot. But it feels okay now since it's just you. Feels like-" he abruptly cuts himself off, cheeks flushing.

Shiro makes an inquiring noise. Keith just shakes his head. Shiro lets it go for now, focusing on the braid.

"You know we have to go back out there," Shiro says when he's halfway done.

Keith's shoulders immediately tense and Shiro hates it. Keith should be calm, happy, content. Not tense and worried with his scent souring slightly. "I don't want to."

"I know, but they have to figure out what happened and if it's dangerous to you."

Keith looks over his shoulders, eyes wide. "You'll stay with me, right? When we go back out?"

"For as long as you want me to," Shiro promises, and means forever.

There's nothing to tie the braid off with since the old hairtie had to go in the decontamination bin, so Shiro just steps away when it's done and hopes it'll stay.

Keith takes a shaky breath and then pulls his shirt on.

"Ready?" Shiro asks.

"No. Can I-" He gestures at Shiro. "Just to calm down. You smell safe and outside isn't-"

Shiro doesn't let him finish, just pulls him into a hug and tucks Keith into the crook of his neck himself. "Whatever you need," he whispers.

The knowledge that Keith registers him as safe, maybe as /home/ is headier than the first time he said it.

It's a slow-burning fire in Shiro's blood, one that he won't allow to flare unless Keith /asks/. He has control. He'll be Keith's safe space if it kills him.

After a minute of scenting Shiro, Keith's relaxed enough to pull away from the embrace.

"Okay, let's do this before I get worked up again," Keith says.

"Do you want me to go first, figure out who's out there?"

"No!" Keith's voice is sharp. "No," he repeats softer, looking away as a blush decorates his cheeks again. "Don't leave."

"Sorry, I didn't think," Shiro soothes immediately, running a hand down Keith's arm. "I won't leave. We'll do this together."

Keith nods decisively, squares his shoulders and takes Shiro's hand like it's the easiest, most obvious thing to do.

Maybe it is. It feels right. It feels like their hands were maybe made for this.

They exit the decontamination room together to face the doctors.

To Shiro's annoyance, Doctor Paulding is still present. Keith's usual doctor, Farthi, is also there, and a quick glance at the Altean nurse from earlier reveals they have a Blade doctor on call as well. He nods to them in thanks before turning his attention back to Keith.

He's shaking again. Shiro squeezes his hand and angles himself in front of him, hoping that it will help him feel safe.

"He seems calmer," Paulding says, narrowing her eyes at the pair of them.

"He's standing right here," Shiro snaps, "and is coherent and can hear you."

"Simply making an observation," she pauses before adding on a reluctant, "sir."

"He was doing better in a space he could see was safe and where there was less stimulus," Shiro says, directing his words towards the other doctors.

"Keith, does that sound accurate?" Doctor Farthi asks gently. She's a soft-spoken, no-nonsense beta and Shiro has always liked her.

"Yeah," Keith replies. He has a death grip on Shiro's hand. "Everything feels like a lot. Like my senses are turned up to 10."

"Has this happened before?" The Blade doctor asks.

Keith hesitates before nodding. "Not exactly like this, though."

The doctor nods, like they were expecting this. "During your heats?"

Keith nods again.

"So, there's a chance you just went into an unexpected heat," Paulding says, annoyance clear.

Keith leans into Shiro, shaking harder.

"You need to leave," Shiro grits out. "You're making him uncomfortable and the other doctors here are better equipped to handle this."

"I am perfectly capa-"

"Dismissed," Shiro says coldly.

She shoots him a poisonous glare before turning on her heel and leaving.

Keith relaxes minutely, so it's worth whatever backlash Shiro may face, in his opinion.

"I'm on my regular suppressants and blockers," Keith says, voice thready. "Not due to go off of them for a scheduled heat for almost a year."

"Blockers definitely are working," Farthi comments. "We're going to need some scans to figure out what exactly is going on."

Shiro remembers that he took a scan with the tech in his arm and immediately offers it to the medical team.

They start looking it over and Shiro turns to look at Keith. "How are you doing?" he whispers, running a thumb over his knuckles.

"Same. Harder out here but it's fine."

"Tell me if that changes and we can go back into the decontamination room again for a break," Shiro tells him.

Keith leans forward to rest his forehead against Shiro's shoulder, sagging against him. "You're too good."

"Just want you to be okay," Shiro whispers.

The doctors are talking around them, ignoring the pair of them.

"Any word from the lab?" The galra doctor asks. "Some of these readings look familiar but I'm hesitant to make assumptions as Blade Kogane is the only half human I've treated."

"They have results but haven't identified the plant yet," the Altean nurse says. "Would you like the data sent to you?"

"Please."

Shiro rubs a hand up and down Keith's spine and hopes it helps relax a little.

He wishes Keith would scent him again since it seemed to help earlier, but they're both too aware of their audience now.

A ding from the tablet with the Blades doctor makes Keith flinch.

"It's as I suspected. Favitium plant," they say. As if that means something.

"What do it do?" Shiro asks. "Is Keith in danger?"

"Not mortal danger, no," the doctor says. Which is not particularly reassuring.

Shiro swallows a growl.

"What is it?" Doctor Farthi asks.

"It's a rare plant, prized for certain properties," the Blades doctor says. "For Galra, it is used to artificially induce particularly strong heats and ruts."

Silence reigns for a moment as everyone processes that.

Keith lets out a quiet "fuck" against Shiro's shoulder.

I think it's progressing slightly differently in Blade Kogane due to his human heritage, but I expect his heat to hit in full soon," the doctor continues. "I recommend getting him to suitable quarters as soon as possible."

"Is there any other danger?" Shiro asks. Keith's grip on him is tightening, like he's afraid Shiro might leave.

"No. It's just likely to be a rough heat," the doctor says.

"No chance we can hit it with emergency suppressants?" Doctor Farthi asks.

Keith perks up at that suggestion.

"Won't work. Nothing's been found to counteract the favitium effectively."

Doctor Farthi shrugs. "Worth a shot to ask." She turns toward Shiro and Keith, an appraising look on her face. "Keith?"

She waits until Keith manages to pull his face away from Shiro's shoulder and look at her.

"Do you want me to go set up a heat room for you?"

Keith's hands clench in Shiro's shirt.

"Keith, it's okay," Shiro tries to soothe. "You're doing great. Can you tell me what you want to do? Do you want a heat room?"

The heat rooms are set up to be a protection for unmated omegas, providing a safe space for them to ride out their heat in relative, soundproof comfort.

Typically, they were reserved a week in advance, minimum, so the omega could stock the room to their preference and build a nest, if they felt the urge to do so.

"No," Keith says. "No heat room. Too sterile."

"We could fill it with scented things," Shiro reminds him.

They likely don't have time to do more than lightly mask the sterile scent of those rooms, but Shiro will gladly offer everything that might carry his scent to Keith if he wants it.

"No."

"What are our other options?" Shiro asks the medical staff still hovering around them.

"He could spend the heat in his own quarters," Doctor Farthi says with a sigh. "Although I'm not sure he'll like that better if it just smells like him."

"Shiro." Keith tugs on his shirt. "Shiro, what about yours?"

"My quarters?"

Keith nods.

Shiro did say, even if only to himself, that he'd offer Keith everything if he wanted it.

"Okay. Okay, we can make that happen if that's what you want," he says.

"Yes."

"We're going to need anything you need from your quarters and let me grab a few things from mine."

"Why?"

"Why what?" Shiro asks. He runs his hand down Keith's braid.

"Why do you need to get things? You'll be there too, right?"

Shiro freezes. He can feel the eyes of the doctors on him and feels judged and seen to the core.

"Keith?"

"You said you'd stay," he says, a hint of panic threading through his voice. "You promised."

"I'm not going anywhere," Shiro rushes to say. He glances up at the other people in the room. "Do you think you could give us a minute?"

The Altean nurse nods and steps out of the room, taking the tablet with the Blades doctor with them.

Doctor Farthi doesn't move.

"All due respect, Captain, but I'm not leaving my patient alone right now until this is sorted out. Someone here has to be clear-headed."

Shiro swallows hard then turns his attention back to the man in his arms.

"Keith. Look at me? Please?"

It takes a few moments for Keith to comply. His eyes are wide and dark and Shiro can feel the way his hands have started to tremble. It feels like he's drowning in his scent.

He /will/ keep his control, regardless.

"When you say you want me to be there with you, do you mean as a guard?"

Shiro would guard Keith at his most vulnerable with the last breath in his body.

He also knows that being so close, being able to smell and hear the man he loves in heat and be unable to go to him might kill him.

At the very least, it would probably tip him over the edge of an early rut by the time it ended.

"No! Shiro, what the fuck?" Keith blurts out, haze clearing from his eyes.

"Then what?"

"I want..." Keith swallows hard. "I want you to spend my heat with me. /With me/, with me."

"Keith..."

"Please, Shiro."

"You're already being affected by this plant..." Shiro says. "You can't..."

"You're really telling me you won't fuck me because I managed to find actual literal sex pollen and get dosed?" Keith says with a bitter laugh Shiro never wants to hear again.

"Keith I-"

"I'm about to tip over into what feels like it will be a really fucking terrible heat, Shiro."

"I know! You're not thinking clearly. That's why--"

"You really think I can't consent to the thing I've wanted for practically a decade?" Keith asks incredulously. "This isn't the hormones or the sex pollen or /whatever/, Shiro. Maybe it's giving me the courage to /ask/ but..." he trails off. "You smell like home. That's not new."