earthshine | ⊚ noctium ic contact.

[ one puffed breath and now shiro’s the one shivering. keith can be smug all he likes; he’s earned it. because shiro? he’s soft-eyed and lax-mouthed, breathing heavier to steady the way rational thought has gone dizzy an’ slow.

they’re at the park. it’s midday and bright, far too public for them to be doing this. shiro isn’t exactly opposed to a healthy dose of pda in a relationship, although he does think there’s a time and a place and a limit to what should be put on display for other people to see. this is not pda though. this is… messy. suggestive. even with keith’s makeshift shielding in their otherwise secluded spot, they’re not completely free of prying eyes if anyone cares to look their way.

so they should rein it in. should being the key word here. does he though? again, keith reminds him of the dripping and this time, shiro looks. he blinks slow, feeling lazy and disconnected in the moment. he stares then and it takes him a long time to acknowledge the muddled mix of colored syrup sticking to his knuckles an’ dripping further, to roll into the clasped curve of his palm. ]

Oh. [ a beat. a blink. ] Huh. I am.

[ he should do something about that, shouldn’t he? he catches the corner of his bottom lip between his teeth, worrying it back an’ forth and only stops when he thinks maybe. he likes the idea better of someone else doing something about it. in public sounds off somewhere in his brain but he’s quick to dismiss it as he looks back to keith an’ his stained mouth.

he extends his hand, offering up both the untouched popsicle and his syrup-ruined hand. ] Clean me up? [ because see, his own mouth is busy. he makes sure of it by tipping keith’s popsicle back toward himself, flicking his tongue once at the tip. ]

[ fucking incredible. keith's gaze shifts from the extended popsicle and the one shiro's busy licking (his) before he laughs and shakes his head. ]

Oh yeah? But I'm thinking I might have to report a crime first.

[ popsicle larceny. the most unforgivable crime of all. sumarlok's finest are just itching to take on that case, surely. keith licks his lower lip, incidentally cleaning off about half the syrup., then feigns looking around this way and that for one of shiro's coworkers. ]

Wher'es a good cop when you need one, huh?

[ so it’s gonna be like that, eh? he watches keith look about and huffs indignantly, which doesn’t quite hit the mark when he’s smiling. ]

Hey now. There’s no crime here.

[ and excuse you, shiro is a good cop. a very good cop. there’s even murmurings around the station of him being among the candidates being considered for a promotion. comes with a snazzy, private office. wouldn’t that be nice? then he could fully conceal the files of actual crimes by someone. ]

We’re boyfriends. [ he flicks his tongue at the popsicle again, starting at orange and ending on red. and yes, it’s still “keith’s” popsicle. ]

What’s yours is mine and what’s mine is yours.

[ the continued defiance is such a tempting catalyst for some wrestling over control over popsicle ownership. several factor such as keith's continued handslessness, shiro's moose antlers and the fact that they're in the public eye would make this a particularly stupid idea, but he's considering it anyway. if he gets a quick sneak lunge in......

smile turning sly, keith pointedly ignores the untouched popsicle and leans in close enough to lick a hot stripe on the other side of the popsicle held to shiro's lips. ]

That means I won't hear one peep of discontent if I eat up all your cereal tonight right, big guy?

[ don't mind him calling shiro out here, keith's just having a good time. perhaps too much of a good time seeing as they've attracted the attention of one silvery haired unicorn. he comes up behind keith, shaking his head. ]

Pardon me.

[ practically catapulting himself away from shiro and the popsicle, keith winds up about two feet in the air behind shiro, and peering down red faced at their unihorned intruder. ]

I don't mean to be rude, but there are young ones by the lake who needn't see such behavior.

[ then with a pleasant smile for shiro and a wink up at keith: ]

You'll resist the corrupting influence of impurity, won't you?

[ did shiro fail to mention that there’s one, tiny exception to relationship, combined ownership? yeah, cereal isn’t included. shiro supposes that he loves keith enough that he can allow one fistful of his lucky charms. shiro’s stalling on a retort though. not purposefully. keith’s remarkably efficient in rendering him stupid and right now, shiro’s lips are still resting at the tip, slowly recovering from that… whatever the hell that move was.

it will forever be a mystery to him how enjoying some popsicles ( or one, really ) has become so debased. yet, aware as he is that this is entirely inappropriate, he’s tempted to slide his tongue around, down, to retrace the same line keith licked. or maybe wrap his lips around all red and suck, and keep sucking until he’s bleached the color. he doesn’t even know why, just… this has become something and competitive as he is, he feels compelled to keep escalating until he… wins? not that he knows what winning involves. and he’ll continue to not know because they have a visitor.

keith’s up and gone before shiro can fully comprehend what is happening. still sitting there with two popsicles in his hands -- one now smaller, more undefinable in its shape and the other melting all over his fist -- shiro blinks up at the unicorn and then slowly turns his head, glancing up at keith. back to the unicorn, shiro has the decency to look regretful, although he doesn’t dare look in the direction of the lake and said children.

he’s with the unicorn. he agrees… up until he winks at keith. that, coupled with what comes after rubs shiro the wrong way. it’s difficult to maneuver when he has no free hands, but he has enough ab strength and balance, to get his feet under himself and stand up. it puts him in front of keith like a blockade, partly shielding him from the scrutiny -- or appreciation?? -- of this… what? propriety police? ]

No one’s corrupting anyone here. [ they got carried away, sure, shiro’ll give him that. but the way this dude is saying it, makes it sound raunchy. like a throwaway moment of hormones… which is somewhat true. but they love each other? he huffs. ]

But we’ll scale it back. For the kids.

[ between the frown and the dismissive tone, there’s a clear you can leave now implied. ]

[ from behind the safety of shiro's shoulders, keith has gone very quiet all of a sudden. the wink alone would've been annoying if only because keith's inclined to think that was meant for shiro, but the talk of impurity has managed to blindside him. what the actual fuck is that about and why is it unicorns in particular that keep bringing up purity? is this a monster transformation thing? a campaign of targeted harassment? keith schools his perplexed expression into more of a scowl, halfway tempted to demand to know if the guy knows the other unicorn in their apartment complex.

fortunately for the unicorn, shiro beats him to the punch in saying something. not that the unicorn particularly seems to pay shiro much mind. his eyes are still on keith. smile sweet as he cants his head and long silvery locks cascade elegantly over one shoulder. now vaguely reminded of lotor, keith's frowning only intensifies. met with hostility from both boys, the unicorn holds up both hands with a laugh. ]

But of course. I do not wish to agitate. [ and once again, directed at keith: ] Least of all, one such as yourself.

[ this time, keith does snap right back. ]

The hell is that supposed to mean?

[ but the unicorn merely titters in an oh you know sort of fashion, bows politely at the pair and canters off. ]

[ shiro’s seen many odd things in his life. a unicorn on this planet isn’t newsworthy or even strange, but what the hell, this whole exchange gives off the wrong kind of vibes. he opens his mouth, sucks in a sharp breath and he’s about to yell for the unicorn to come back and to explain. however, he hesitates at the last moment and exhales heavy instead. all in all, he’s glad to see the unicorn go. means he won’t have to endure any more of those cryptic threats or that ominous interest.

doesn’t make him much of a fan for emerald park though. part of him suddenly wants to head home. even if he’s at major risk of wedging himself in a doorway again, at least their apartment is unicorn free and keith is safe there from judgment and unwanted attention. seriously, what the fuck was that?

he frowns -- no, straight up glares at the unicorn’s retreating form, echoing a low: ]

Oh you know…?

[ does keith actually know? the unicorn spoke with confidence and maybe even a hint of familiarity, like he knew something about keith. have they met before? was this not a random chance meeting? these questions fire off in his head, each one building off the other until shiro’s stuck on assumption and full of suspicion. he still doesn’t turn to face keith, he’s too busy keeping the unicorn in his sight, even as he canters further an’ further away. ]

What was that about?

[ oh if only keith had hands to clench and throw punches with. not that it'd be a bright idea to start a brawl out in the open, but the thought is cathartic as the unicorn runs off like some prize winning dressage pony. keith doesn't know if he wants to yell or be sick. sucking in a deep breath, he closes his eyes and gently lowers himself back down to the ground. ]

I don't know. [ he exhales grumpily, mussing up his fringe. ] Never seen that weirdo before so I don't know what his problem is.

[ with a huff, he starts to fold his arms, though the position isn't nearly as comfortable when it means he ends up with feathers poking his thighs. le sigh. ]

What's with everyone flirting with you today anyway. [ no, that is not a pout. shut up. ]

[ apparently, the weirdo’s problem is them scarring children. shiro doesn’t fully buy that explanation anymore though. he’s beginning to think the interruption was more a result of envy. or at the very least, the unicorn wanted to get closer to keith specifically. the whole time he was here, the dude could barely look away from keith. annoyed at the reminder and from the fact that he can’t fully figure this out, shiro bids the unicorn one last glance, who is now far, far away, and drops his gaze to his handfuls.

he really needs to do something about these popsicles. however, before he get too far into finding a solution to that, keith throws out that last comment and… hold up, what? his head snaps up and then he pivots his weight, quarter turning to get a look at keith. ]

Flirting with me? [ brow furrows, confusion filling his face. ] He was flirting with you.

[ another short-stop, one that has his frown deepening, almost to the point of him being comically distressed. ] He winked at you!

[ the lil turn in his direction makes the dire state of drooping popsicles hard to miss, but shiro's indignation redirects keith's attention pretty quickly. ]

Was he? [ keith gives shiro a doubtful sort of look. what even are the odds of two unicorns being into him anyway? seems low. especially when there are a plethora of better explanations for this. exhibit a: ] You sure that wasn't just a twitch from the sun being in his eye?

[ assuming that shiro's right about who the winking was even directed at in the first place which doesn't seem likely because... ]

I'm pretty sure the guy was threatening me somehow. [ ... ] Are some people into that?

[ … okay. shiro is no stranger to keith’s lack of social awareness. there’s a gap; no, a gaping hole in keith’s understanding. shiro loves the boy but he has to admit, keith is borderline oblivious, at least in terms of people being interested in him. shiro was there at the garrison too. he saw a little of it firsthand. to this day, shiro is still fairly certain that griffin boy was playing too hard at the if-he’s-mean-to-you-he-likes-you. keith, apparently, only read it as he’s-mean-so-he’s-an-asshole-and-should-be-punched. shiro can’t fault keith for that.

for now, keith will earn himself a flat look for the sun comment. and as for the rest? ]

Probably. [ fucking griffin. he frowns, pursing his lips in thought and then huffing as he tosses a glance the other way, double-checking that the unicorn is very much keeping his distance. ]

Some people have trouble verbalizing their interest. So they tease you… or in this case, threaten you for allowing yourself to be corrupted? [ it sounds so preposterous that he can’t even prevent his voice from pitching higher as a question. still: ] I think he wasn’t a fan of you having a boyfriend.

[ okay. the perplexed expression ain't budging, but shiro obviously has way more experience with the whole flirting and dating scene so keith isn't about to dismiss that offhand. except shiro doesn't even sound all that sure about it either? keith loooks from shiro to the unicorn off in the distance then back to shiro. ]

..and they think making me mad will make me like them more?

[ as crap as he may be at reading people, keith is pretty fucking sure that's not how things work at all, even if the part about difficulty verbalizing feelings is at least relatable. brow furrowed and looking contemplative, keith sprawls out onto the grass.

maybe there's half a kernel of sense somewhere in that. after all, keith was pretty pissed off at shiro when they kissed the first time. unsure what to think about this, he frowns up at the sun,
raising one arm to partly shield his face. ]

I dunno. Maybe it's just a unicorn thing.

[ that's obvioously the safe conclusion to draw here. ]

[ listen. shiro never said it made sense. it is a thing though. supposedly. more so a pubescent thing, he would think, but well, some people never mature beyond fourteen. ]

… Yeah?

[ goddammit. he can’t seem to get rid of that questioning tilt to his answers. frowning at his own inability, shiro swings his gaze back around to keith, just in time to see him flop onto the grass. it almost has him smiling but not quite. his frown does relax slightly, so there is that. soon enough, his attention drifts and he’s back to the popsicles, contemplating what to do with them.

trashcan? shiro doesn’t remember seeing one close by. drop on the ground? probably not. pawn one off on keith? he’s comfortably laid out now. eat them? guess so. ]

Why would it be a unicorn thing? [ it comes out mildly distracted. still, the statement doesn’t make sense to him. why base shitty behavior on one bad experience? in the meantime, shiro will start working on his popsicle, the licking significantly less suggestive, especially when he bites off a portion of red. ]

Uhh....

[ ah fuck, maybe he shouldn't have said that. not that his prior encounter with the apartment unicorn is a secret, but he'd rather have a nice day outside with his boyfriend rather than dwell oon people who think he's into pony play. ]

... no reason?

[ if keith doesn't sound remotely convincing, well... let's just say his bad acting is probably a feature and not a bug. before shiro can ask questions, keith hurriedly tacks on: ]

Do you intentionally piss people off to make them like you?

[ yeah okay. that’s not suspicious at all. shiro narrows his gaze and finishes crunching away at the red portion, however, before he can swallow and get in a counter, keith tries to pivot the conversation. right. that’s really not suspicious.

shiro doesn’t buy it for a second. ]

You know I don’t. [ and he’ll just be padding over now, coming to stand near keith’s hip. stares down at the bird-boy, frown still firmly in place. ]

But I’m not a unicorn and apparently, this is a unicorn thing for reasons that have yet to be explained.

[ in other words: spill. ]

[ keith bites the inside of his lip, trying not to look guilty.... which invariably means he isn't succeeding. gaze shifts lower at the frown on shiro's face before flitting back up to an oddly shaped cloud, chokes on surprise then has to sit up until the coughing subsides. ]

I don't ... [ one sec, he holds up his hand and clears his throat. ] Okay. I don't know if it's actually a unicorn thing, but uh... you haven't noticed that they're kinda hoorny? [ .... ] ...And I don't mean literally.

[ oblivious to the cloud -- and how he’s been dwarfed yet again -- shiro’s features slack on shock, momentarily going stock still before his brain catches up. help him comes quickly but not quickly enough. he’s half a second from dropping down to a knee when there’s an i don’t and then a hand being held up in the equivalent of a dismissal. frowning again, he watches keith closely and…

okay. horny? that was a good one.

he laughs despite the concern; first as an amused huff and then a more fully formed chuckle. ]

Can’t say that I have… [ a smile overtakes the urge to frown and he looks considerably less suspicious as he finally gets around to sitting down on the grass beside keith, still facing toward him. however, it’s all a guise because of course evading shiro isn’t that easy. nice try with the unintentional pun though. ]

… How many horny unicorns have you run into?

[ with shiro no longer scowling from above, this at least feels less like an inquisition? keith sighs, bringing his knees up to rest his chin on. shifting his gaze from shiro's face down to his melting, unbitten popsicle first: ]

Hold that up for me?

[ which isn't an answer to the question, but seeing the way rainbow syrup is dribbling down shiro's hand that matter seemed slightly more pressing. in any case, shiro only has to wait a moment later for an actual answer. ]

But uh... this is the second one. I don't really get it. [ a beat, then frowning: ] Could just be this month, I guess. Can't seem to go anywhere without being reminded of dick.

[ once again, keith is not pouting. so not sulking, in fact, that he leans across, head dipped to lick the top of his popsicle. ]

[ ask and he shall receive: shiro holds the popsicle up, the rest of him useless as he waits out an answer. it doesn’t take long. what takes long is for shiro to come to a decision on how he feels about it. first it’s a pique in annoyance, a feeling only derived from protectiveness, because what? second one? what happened with the first? when, where? all of which only blends into the second: confusion. and then right onto the third: concern.

annoyance, confusion, concern and a dash of uneasiness -- yeah, that’s where he is after all that. he’s just beginning to wonder if this dick on the brain problem has something to do with his inability to satisfy when keith licks the popsicle.

… okay. maybe shiro has dick playing in his mind too much too. that’s not his fault though! keith just said he can’t get away from being reminded of dick and then he licks a very phallic looking popsicle. did he do that on purpose? forcing his attention away, he pulls his own popsicle close and nibbles some off of orange, just to show that he’s not thinking of these things as anything other than a snack. ]

Is this about what we talked about the other night?

[ shiro knows the transformations put a swift end to any plans of addressing the -- more or less -- sexual frustration that’s built between them. but is it bothering keith that much? ]

[ keith straightens up slightly, licking the cherry syrup off his lips. expression sheepish, he doesn’t quite make eye contact. ]

I was thinking more that it’s on everyone’s mind because … [ he raises his arm skyward. he doesn’t have fingers to pinpoint a precise locale, but just generally getting shiro’s attention up towards the great phallus in the sky is probably good enough. you could even call it hard to miss. ]

And you know.

[ the dick popsicle is what he means, but can’t bring himself to actually voice right as he’s trying to eat one. still not making eye contact, he leans in and bites off what remains of the red about half way into the orange.

all that said, yes, of course that talk with shiro hadn’t exactly helped. not like it’d finally spurred keith onto doing some uh.. research. keeping his head bowed, keith hopes shiro misses the light dusting of pink over his cheeks — with any luck maybe shiro’s forgotten all about what had gotten him stuck in the doorway in the first place…. ]

[ oh gee, thanks for pointing that out. head tipped back, shiro stares up at the great dick in the sky and… squints. hard. he supposes they can’t exactly fault weather patterns for dick advertising, unless malachite is fucking with them for the fun of it. as for and you know -- shiro glances back to keith, only to then regard the popsicle. well then, if keith is stuck picturing this as a rainbow, frozen dick ( too ), then shiro is just going to have to put some effort into disassociating the image of keith chomping off a good inch of it.

… on second thought. ]

Wait.

[ he eyes keith, taking note of his bowed head and how he’s been shying his gaze away even before that. was that a barely veiled confession of sorts? sadly, shiro isn’t backtracking far enough to delve into keith’s suspicious yelling earlier this afternoon, but for the last couple of minutes… ]

Were you picturing it as, uh -- not a popsicle when you downed it earlier?

[ afterall, keith is a bit of a show-off with certain things or at the very least, competitive. shiro doesn’t even know what to think of that possibility. ]

....

[ mouth full of bitten off popsicle, keith keeps his head bowed. does he really have to answer this? probably. if only because "no comment" seems like an incriminating answer all onto itself. ]

I mean.... not at first? I thought they were partly melted or something. But then licking it made me feel weird cuz it's all y'know... curved. [ like a dick will go unsaid. ] So I thought sucking on it would look less weird in public?

[ said aloud, it sommehow manages to sound even more ridiculous. flushed, keith speaks a little faster. ]T

hen you started looking at me funny -- [ ah yes. "funny." excellent euphemism for the way shiro'd turned wanting. ] ...And I liked it. So.

[ SO. he concludes the story with another nom of popsicle. ]

[ okay. reaction pending. shiro still doesn’t know what to think of that possibility turned fact. keith more or less blaming shiro for his deepthroating stunt though -- huh, that’s an interesting spin. ]

Oh.

[ dumbly, that’s how it sounds. he’s staring again, but he’s fairly certain he doesn’t look funny, or at the very least, this funny has nothing to do with risqué thoughts. why’d keith dub it that anyway? did shiro actually look funny? weird? sure, becoming flushed an’ bothered over a rainbow popsicle is pathetic in some sense -- in many ways, let’s be real -- but now shiro is wondering what kind of expression he was making.

which is why he turns self-conscious enough to try to explain it. good grief. ]

… It was kinda impressive, is all. [ keith’s nomming away now. it does nothing to tarnish shiro’s snap-shot memory of keith bent over, every color swallowed down to purple. ] You made it seem so effortless. That’s why I looked… funny.

[ okay, keith definitely didn't ask for an explanation, but getting one makes him laugh. sure,, there's a healthy dose of self consciousness sprinkled in, but mostly he's tickled. ]

Wouldn't have called it effortless. Started giving me brain freeze and all.....

[ though now that he's thinking about it removed from the experinece of having basically having a chunk of ice in his throat, maybe it is kinda off that he didn't exactly choke? hm. putting a pin in that thought. ]

Worth it though. [ here he bites the tip of the popsicle stick to reposition shiro's hand so that it's held parallel to the ground. he releases with a teasing smile. ] So if you've got something less cold in mind next time....

[ then, sinking his teeth into the green and blue ice, he bites off the bottom half of the popsicle. ]

[ shiro’s listening, of course he is, but while he registers everything keith is saying, his attention is split. it’s just -- it’s kind of fascinating to watch keith fiddle around with the popsicle. being without hands calls for some hefty improvising; shiro gets that. but, uh, okay? keith’s pretty good with his mouth. shiro’s hopeless and takes the directional hints to reposition the popsicle. by the end of it, a good portion of the popsicle is missing and well… is it weird that he’s somewhat disappointed by that?

of course, with keith’s promise for next time hanging between them… that disappointment is a barely felt thing. his face warms and that’s what has him remembering the melting popsicle in his other hand. he licks at it, just needing something to cool the flush heating from his cheeks to his ears. it doesn’t help much at all. ]

I might have something in mind… [ and judging by the way keith took the popsicle earlier, he can probably handle this certain something. with that thought, he licks again at his popsicle, soon chewing at orange -- getting most of it, but a small portion of it falling to the grass. oops? ]

⊚ noctium ic contact.

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The griffin hate is now game canon. I'm so proud.

j can't believe this

i await the day a griffin player joins, so i have to properly deal w this terrible idea

crushing a young man's hero worship. tut tut.

that's what he gets for being the worst.

he's trying his best ok

his best is shit l:

does he get an A for effort...

no. he gets a F for being a fker. l:

so harsh, so unforgiving..!

can't coddle him forever. he must learn.

he KINDA learns. eventually.

until shiro gets back to earth + sees it w his own eyes... griffin is >|

i love how this implies shiro does more thinking about griffin than keith does

maybe shiro's the one mistaking hate with thirst :/

shiffin... the one ship keith did not see coming.

i just can't take shiffin seriously w a name like that.

it sounds like a hobbit name

.... omfg it really does. silbo shiffins. i'm leaving.

i think you should make an oc.

watch it, i just might.

does shilbo shiffins have a best friend named holdo shattins

.......... i think i said i was leaving.

wait no come back :c

i keep being suckered back by how cute penguin keith is.

as yoou should