Thread by @sheithcuddles

Keith has always had someone or something around him in his life. No matter how abusive or harmful they were to him, at least he had someone around.

Sometimes they were kind, like Shiro and his mom. Sometimes they were pets, like the tabby cat he had in one of his foster homes or Kosmo who was fiercely loyal. But everyone leaves him eventually. He will always end back up alone.

So after the war, he’s lonely. His mom leaves to go help run New Daibazaal and takes Kosmo with her, figuring he could act as a symbol of joy and love for the newly peaceful planet.

Then Shiro stops talking to him. It’s sudden, like ripping off a bandaid. Like their friendship means nothing, like they didn’t cross the universe for each other. Shiro only makes eye contact with him in meetings and even then, it’s fleeting.

Keith pretends that it doesn’t hurt. He acts strong and passes by Shiro in hallways without touching his shoulder. It takes all of his willpower to not turn around every time, hoping that maybe Shiro will to. Neither of them ever do.

He loses touch with the Paladins after that. Turns out that they don’t have anything in common when they aren’t fighting for their lives and the universe. Hunk stops to talk to him sometimes, but Keith thinks it’s only out of sympathy when Hunk sees him sitting alone.

He was never close with Lance or Pidge, so it doesn’t take much to lose contact with them. And he doesn’t talk about what happened with Allura, can’t make himself remember what happened after they got her back from the clutches of infinity.

So he roams the hallways of the Garrison, alone except for when he’s needed as the Ambassador for New Daibazaal.

I think I’m gonna continue this. If I do, here are some warning tags: #abusiverelationship #abuse #depression #mentalhealthissues #domesticabuse and it will, if I ever get there, be endgame #sheith

Just thought of a couple more possible tws if I decide to put them in: #druguse #drugs #addiction

It’s only a year after the war ends when he meets Charlie. The man walks up to Keith sitting alone in the Garrison courtyard and sits down next to him on the bench. He’s big and strong, at least two heads taller than Keith with biceps the size of Keith’s thighs.

He’s objectively Keith’s type, with close cropped hair and earthy green eyes that bore into the side of Keith’s head. “Hey,” his voice drips with a southern drawl and something in Keith shakes loose.
“Hey, yourself,” he says back. Smooth.

“Name’s Charlie. What’s yours, handsome?” It’s so simple, so new and normal that it shocks Keith to his core. It’s been a while since someone has asked for his name and hasn’t told it to him like he doesn’t know.

He can’t help but finally meet Charlie’s gaze. “It’s Keith.”
“Keith. Nice name for a nice boy.”
“Call me a boy again and your balls are ground meat.” Charlie laughs in a way that makes Keith proud of himself. It’s been a while since he made someone laugh. Even unintentionally.

It makes him feel a little lighter inside. He likes the feeling, he decides. So he tries to make Charlie laugh more for an hour or two before someone eventually comes to collect him for a meeting. He goes to stand up and is stopped by Charlie’s hand grabbing his own.

“Wait,” he says and stands up beside Keith, “I really liked talking to you, Keith. You’re so funny and fierce and sweet. Would you want to go out some time?”

Keith smiles for the first time in almost a year and it feels foreign on his face. He hopes that maybe he’ll start to smile more as he says, “I would really like that, Charlie.” It’s the worst decision he’s ever made, but he won’t know that until much later.

For now, he gives his phone over to Charlie to put his number in and is too lost in staring at this stranger’s face to notice the tiny device stuck onto his phone. He’s happy, for the first time in ages. He walks away with a small grin on his face, excited to see Charlie again.

Two weeks later, he’s gone on multiple dates with Charlie. They click immediately on date number one at an ice cream shop in the city next to the Garrison. Date number three is when they have their first kiss in a park under a blossoming tree.

Date number six has Keith inviting Charlie back to his place, he can’t get enough of this hunk of a man and he can’t wait any longer god it’s been so long since someone touched him-
“Ahhh!” He moans into Charlie’s mouth as fingers creep around to massage at his ass.

“Like that, baby?” The brunette bites down on his lip /hard/ and Keith shivers to his core.
“Yes! Charlie fuck yes- keep- ahhhh- keep doing that”
“You mean this?” Two big hands spread him and a knee comes between his thighs, keeping them apart. “This what you want, slut?”

Keith almost startled at the sudden use of the name but then Charlie grinds his leg up, interrupting his thoughts about anything else but that incredible feeling. He moves to chase the feeling but the hands on his hips squeeze and he’s stopped. He whines, “Charlieee!”

“Yes, baby?”
“Please I want it so bad just-“ he moans around the tongue shoved into his mouth.
“I know what you want. But I also know what you need, so shut up and go to your room. Be ready for me in two minutes.” He pauses as Keith looks at him with want. “Now, Keith. Go.”

Sorry I should have tagged #nsfw + small #kallura ref
Keith scurries to his bedroom and flings all of his clothes off when he gets there. He messes around with his cotton sheets, some part of him inside wanting to impress the man he’s about to bring to bed.

He settles his heavy breathing. Okay. He’s doing this. He’s gonna fuck Charlie, and it won’t change their relationship. Not like it did with Allura, not like it did with Shi-
He falls back to sit on the bed when the door creaks open.

“Well damn, baby. You look so good, is that all for me?”
Keith nods and falls back further when Charlie leans over him, still fully clothed. It makes Keith feel vulnerable, but he thinks he likes that.
“All for you, Charlie.”
“Ah, ah. In here, you’ll call me Sir.”

Keith goes to voice his concern with that, not really liking the idea when he’s lifted up and tossed farther up on the bed. He watches as Charlie removes his button up slowly.
“Do you understand?”
Keith is quiet for a second too long. Charlie’s on him quickly.

“Do you understand, Keith?” It’s been so long since he’s felt special to someone, that he’s willing to do whatever Charlie wants. He just wants to please. He wants to be good for Charlie.
“Yes sir.”
The man above him grins wildly, “that’s my good boy.”

Keith wakes in the morning to an empty bed. He whines and spreads his hand across the sheets, jolting up when he touches what feels like a wrinkled piece of paper. He rubs the sleep out of his eyes, “Charlie? Where’d you go?”

When his eyes focus he sees a creased paper. He grabs it between his fingers and unfolds it to read ‘Had an early meeting, sorry babe. See you at lunch? Text me -xx Charlie’

He’s disappointed that Charlie hadn’t told him about it earlier. He even texts him such after they exchange their now-daily good morning messages.
‘I’m so sorry about that’ he receives, ‘didn’t know about it until I got a call this morning. Glad it didn’t wake you.’

Keith forgives the man shortly after that, he knows the pain of last minute meetings. It would be hypocritical of him if he didn’t. So he texts, ‘lunch same time/place?’
-

“Hey, Keith.”
He’s in the cafeteria with Charlie, mid-bite when he hears it. He turns slowly to face Takashi Shirogane in the flesh, it’s the first time he’s spoken to Keith outside of a meeting in months.
He gulps, “uhhhh, hey Shiro.”

“Mind if I sit?” The white haired man looks between him and his boyfriend for permission.
“Of course not,” Charlie says quickly, moving his things to make room for Shiro. Keith doesn’t even have a chance to think otherwise. Not like he would, anyway. “What do you need, Captain?”

“At ease,” Shiro sits down next to Keith, opposite of where Charlie had made room for him. “I actually wanted to talk to the both of you. I uh- this is very awkward for me. But I’d like to remind you both that my husband and I live next door to Keith.”

Oh god. Oh no- “We would really appreciate it if you kept it down a bit, we weren’t really able to sleep last night.” Keith’s heart drops into his stomach. Fuck.
“Shiro I’m so sorry-“
“He’s loud, ain’t he?” Charlie interrupts.

“Couldn’t get him to shut up, though it’s not like I wanted to. It was flattering.” The brunette winks at Keith, who’s lost for words. /What/ is Charlie doing? “He just kept begging for more, who was I to tell him to stop?”

“Charlie!” He exclaims, drawing the attention of a few others in the cafeteria. “Stop talking, please.”
“Sorry babe, didn’t know you were that private. Can’t help talking about you.” He winks again and brushes his foot against Keith’s ankle.

Part of him is furious while the other melts at the attention. He already knows he’ll forgive Charlie for this, how can he not when he’s being looked at like that? When was the last time someone looked at him with attraction? He bites his lip and looks away shyly.

Shiro coughs, “Glad you two had fun. Didn’t need to know details, however. Just please try to be quieter.”
“No problem, Cap. We’ll go over to my place.”
Shiro nods, standing up. “Thank you. I’ll see you both at the meeting later.” He doesn’t look Keith in the eye as he leaves.

He doesn’t look Keith in the eye later during their meeting either. Through whatever change their friendship has gone through (or lack there of) Shiro has always looked Keith in the eye while talking to him. He doesn’t even glance in his direction now.

Keith wonders if Shiro really was bothered by all the noise or if this is just the nail in the coffin of their relationship. When he goes to reach out to Shiro at the end of the meeting, Charlie grabs his hand.
“Come on, babe, let’s go.”
“Ah, wait Charlie.” He pulls away.

“I wanna talk to Shiro first. Do you mind meeting me on the bench in a little bit instead?”
“O’ course not,” Charlie’s eye twitches. Keith hopes he didn’t get anything in it. He reaches to wipe at the dark lashes and lets his hand linger on that tanned face.

“I’ll be quick, kay?”
“Y’all need to talk, take as long as you need. I’ll be waiting for you,” Charlie says with a kiss to his cheek and a slap to his ass as he walks by. Keith yelps and goes to scold him but he’s too charmed by that boyish grin.
He just laughs instead, waving.

Now to the scary part, he thinks as he turns around to face Shiro who he knows is still there. He always stays behind after meetings to finish up his notes. “Hey,” Keith says. It’s the bravest he’s been since he saved the universe.

Shiro doesn’t look up. “Hi, Keith. You have a question?”
“No- well yes- well,” he groans. “Not exactly. I just wanted to talk to you, see if you’re okay.”
“I’m fine, why do you ask?” He’s still jotting down words on his tablet.

“Because you won’t look at me and this is the first time we’ve talked one on one for months.”
Shiro’s eyes flick up to him and then back down. “We’ve both been busy, Keith. You know how it is.”

“I know how it is when we’re fighting for our lives and the universe. I know how it is when we’re in space and always onto the next mission. I /don’t/ know how it is when we live right next to each other and have a significant amount of free time now.”

Shiro’s looking at him now, with his mouth slightly agape. He goes to speak and he’s cut off.Because now that Keith’s gotten started, he can’t stop.

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