[ the suggestion had been playful and heartfelt in its own right, but not one to be taken seriously. it's easy to be possessive of each other in a place where breathing in a whiff of aphro can, and routinely, overrides their promise of exclusivity. heh. if anything, that's exactly the reason why keith adores when shiro leaves bruises and marks on the canvas of his skin because it broadcasts to the world that keith has someone.

but leaving hickeys and love marks in visible places is one thing. taking that to the next logical step of fucking each other to educate an audience is another. keith knows shiro well enough to know that his best friend is self conscious about the mutilation of his body and that being shown off in the throes of vulnerability and pleasure isn't what he'd choose for himself. at least, not on a whim.

but none of that knowledge actually comes to the surface in meaningful ways. instead, keith is mentally reeling from the suggestion and the spiral galaxy's worth of implied trust shiro must have in him and their bond to even suggest such a thing. ]

...wait, really?

[ expression owlish, keith doesn't know where to begin in schooling his shock into something more casual. it's just ... shiro means everything to him, despite knowing they have obligations to their respective realities. shiro's always been the one who'd been better able to keep that perspective grounded, leaving keith to constantly push away the loneliness that comes into sharper focus in the moments after shiro empties his balls inside him and pulls out.

his heart skips. more than skips. cartwheels, trips, free falls, sprintss. soars. surprise softens into a deeply moony smile as keith ignores the open door of shiro's cube and kisses the boy in his arms. shiro's never offered this to him before, and just that spark of suggestion for role reversal is enough to get his cock filling out in the skin tight cling of his horrible undersuit. ]

I'd be honored to claim you like that, babe.

[ honored, har and eager. with one last indulgent kiss, keith gently lowers shiro to the grass, hovering briefly to kiss his forehead and cheeks. ]

I wanna make you feel so good and treat you perfect like you deserve.

[ with obvious reluctance, keith pulls back to start loosening up the pieces of his flashy red and white paladin armor. whoever designed this clearly didn't have sex on the mind though, and keith is busy scowling as he fumbles in his impatience to get the chest plate up and over his head. throwing it aside like it's trash, keith puts his hands back on shiro, indulgently feeling out his chest and teasing nipples over fabric before yanking down the zipper of his vest. ]