[ keith plops down next to him and shiro thinks nothing of it. knees briefly knock and thighs touch, and still, there isn’t anything amiss. but then keith tips closer and it’s only a tick into the brush of keith’s cheek that shiro realizes his hand isn’t where it’s meant to be. immediately, he halts it mid-reach, pressing his palm to the bedding. behind keith and incriminatingly close, it’s inches from its destination of cupping keith’s hip to – what, hug him into his side and encourage the lean? that’s… huh.
shiro abandons any deeper thought on the matter, but leaves his arm where it is as he goes for the easy rebuttal of rolling his eyes. so keith is intent on arguing this shiro gift idea. see, keith says this but shiro really has to wonder what his true reaction would be if shiro had plopped the bow at the crown of his floof and taped a thinly cut ring of wrapping paper around his torso, only to stand outside keith’s door. would keith have laughed? most definitely. would keith have smiled? without a doubt. would keith have thought it was enough? it’s difficult for shiro to find peace with that. deep down, he knows it’s yes but he thinks it shouldn’t be. keith should want more for himself than seeing his best friend empty-handed, waiting to be unwrapped.
– oh. unwrapped is the key word. one of them gets the innuendo. unintended innuendo. not that tacking on an adjective prevents shiro from tripping over his own thoughts. pressure at his chest works as a physical derailment; a miniscule shift with the push and his line of thinking recalibrates, shiro blinking hard at the bow sticking to him. keith’s laughter registers next and shiro gives himself a mental shake. right. yes. it’s a joke. run with the joke.
he huffs and musters a grin. ]
I guess Christmas shopping is gonna be a breeze then. [ a blatant lie, of course. he hopes to amass enough disposal money to get keith more than food and an otherwise cheap outing. for now, he’ll let it be though. he looks up from the bow and leans into his hand there in the bedding, crowding closer to keith. ]
Don’t thank me until you’ve seen it. [ after all this build-up, he can’t help one moment of irrational fear, that a box of cactus candy will be disappointing. one blink and the grin is back to full force however. ]
And then… you can show your gratitude by sharing one with me.
no subject
shiro abandons any deeper thought on the matter, but leaves his arm where it is as he goes for the easy rebuttal of rolling his eyes. so keith is intent on arguing this shiro gift idea. see, keith says this but shiro really has to wonder what his true reaction would be if shiro had plopped the bow at the crown of his floof and taped a thinly cut ring of wrapping paper around his torso, only to stand outside keith’s door. would keith have laughed? most definitely. would keith have smiled? without a doubt. would keith have thought it was enough? it’s difficult for shiro to find peace with that. deep down, he knows it’s yes but he thinks it shouldn’t be. keith should want more for himself than seeing his best friend empty-handed, waiting to be unwrapped.
– oh. unwrapped is the key word. one of them gets the innuendo. unintended innuendo. not that tacking on an adjective prevents shiro from tripping over his own thoughts. pressure at his chest works as a physical derailment; a miniscule shift with the push and his line of thinking recalibrates, shiro blinking hard at the bow sticking to him. keith’s laughter registers next and shiro gives himself a mental shake. right. yes. it’s a joke. run with the joke.
he huffs and musters a grin. ]
I guess Christmas shopping is gonna be a breeze then. [ a blatant lie, of course. he hopes to amass enough disposal money to get keith more than food and an otherwise cheap outing. for now, he’ll let it be though. he looks up from the bow and leans into his hand there in the bedding, crowding closer to keith. ]
Don’t thank me until you’ve seen it. [ after all this build-up, he can’t help one moment of irrational fear, that a box of cactus candy will be disappointing. one blink and the grin is back to full force however. ]
And then… you can show your gratitude by sharing one with me.