#fireman!shiro

It would be nice, to have an extra day off, to spend it wrapped in his blanket on the couch, with Red purring beside him, or if she was feeling affectionate, in his lap. The day was full of opportunity—binge-watching TV, gaming, reading, eating—there was literally nothing to complain about.

Except, there was.

There was no one to snuggle up to. Keith had, until recently, been comfortable with that fact. He’d never really felt the need to seek out a relationship, and the thing with Shiro had been…an accident, really, in all sense of the word. Keith had expected maybe a quick hook-up, some mutual satisfaction before they parted ways, but then, he hadn’t counted on Shiro. Shiro, who was as silly and sweet as he was sexy. Shiro, who slipped under Keith’s defenses without Keith realizing it, until sitting on the couch alone felt strange, when he was beginning to get used to having Shiro warm next to him.

Unfortunately, Shiro was at work.

Fortunately, Shiro’s work was the fire station only a few blocks down, and the thought spurred Keith up, an idea already forming in his mind as he made a beeline to his kitchen.

Behind the coffees was Keith’s stash of hot chocolate supplies—real hot chocolate—and a half-used bag of marshmallows held closed with a chip clip. Because maybe Shiro had access to a full range of hot beverages at the station, but he didn’t have Keith’s hot chocolate, which was a necessity for a day like this. Snow, hot chocolate—they went hand-in hand. Especially when it was supposed to be spring.

Keith bent over the stove with the hot chocolate, his face heating up as he imagined Shiro’s reaction when he brought it over, topped off with a thick layer of marshmallows just the way he liked it. It was a little terrifying, how quickly Shiro had become a fixture in his life, how much Keith wanted to see his smile—but Shiro was just as earnest to do the same. It was a consolation. No, not a consolation, because that would imply he’d lost something. It was more like…a revelation. Something like that.

In any case, Keith wasn’t used to feeling quite so giddy over anything, not without a modicum of apprehension. And Shiro was so good at easing Keith’s apprehension, without even trying, so…that was that. Keith figured he at least deserved a surprise visit with hot chocolate for it.

Keith’s only travel mug probably should’ve been embarrassing. But Kolivan had been straight-faced when he’d given Keith the Hello Kitty mug, and really, it was cute, and reminded him a little bit of Red. And it was practical, so he had no second thoughts about pouring Shiro’s hot chocolate into it before topping it off with marshmallows, before bundling up and heading out, holding the mug protectively against his chest.

Despite the late snow, it wasn’t terribly cold out when Keith closed his door behind him. It was, however, snowy enough that he had to pick his way across un-shoveled walks, and by the time he was within sight of Shiro’s station, he was already covered in a fine layer of white, wet and cold where it found bare skin. But the mug was mostly unaccosted, and that was the important part.

Keith realized, abruptly, that there was a flaw to his plan. Although he knew Shiro worked at the station, he hadn’t visited him there before, and didn’t know the protocol for said visits. Or even if he would be allowed in, or where to find Shiro. Just as he was starting to worry over that fact, he caught sight of movement in from of the building, a dark shape, low to the ground, moving against the backdrop of white. And, a moment later, the familiar timbre of Shiro’s voice, and Keith paused, taking in the scene before him.

Shiro was bent low, packing snow into a sizable ball, presumably the base of a snowman. Much like Keith’s first meeting with Shiro, he wasn’t dressed for the weather, the light ATFD jacket hardly more protection than a sweatshirt, and Keith couldn’t help the smile that was tugging at his lips at that alone. And—it was so like Shiro to be building a snowman in front of the fire station, and Keith just stood and took the sight in, for a long moment. Shiro was so wrapped up in his project, calling back to the tall woman hovering closer to the door who had an even larger snowball, that he didn’t notice Keith.

The woman did, though, and called out to him. “Did you want to help? We still need to form the head.”

“I said I’d do that,” Shiro protested, tone petulant, but then his gaze swung to Keith, and his face lit up with a wide grin. “Keith!” He straightened, and before Keith could do anything stupid, he thrust the travel mug in Shiro’s direction.

“I brought you something.” Keith felt his face heating up, which was a feat considering the chill in the air, but at least he could pretend his flush was due to the weather. He managed to meet Shiro halfway, and elaborated, “It’s hot chocolate.”

Shiro beamed and leaned down to kiss him on the cheek, one arm wrapping around Keith in a hug as he accepted the mug. “Thank you.” His voice was warm, enough to chase off some of the cold seeping into Keith’s skin, and Keith muttered a You’re welcome into his scarf. He started when Shiro pulled out of the hug, just enough to bring his hand up to tilt Keith’s chin for a proper kiss, stealing his breath.

It was brief, and when they parted, Keith complained, “Your hand is cold.”

Shiro chuckled, lifting his shoulders in a shrug. “Well, if my hands were warm, Snowtron would melt!”

Keith sputtered. “Snowtron?”

“Yes!” Shiro gestured at the half-finished snowman, eyes bright. “Snowtron the snowman.”

The woman who had been in the background stepped forward now, something like a smirk on her face. “Yes, and Shiro insists he be the one to make the head.”

“It’s an important duty,” Shiro said, mock-serious. “But if it was Keith, I wouldn’t mind as much. By the way, Keith, this is Allura. Allura, Keith.”

Allura raised one perfectly-shaped eyebrow. “I never would’ve guessed,” she deadpanned, she and Shiro exchanged a look. Her face softened after a moment, and she turned a smile onto Keith. “It’s lovely to meet you, Keith. Shiro has spoken very highly of you.” She glanced at the Hello Kitty mug in Shiro’s hand. “What an interesting choice of design.”

Keith shrugged. “It reminds me of my cat.”

Shiro’s smiles were going to be the death of him, Keith decided an instant later. “Red is pretty cute.” Or the winks, because it was devastating, being on the receiving end of that, and just like the first time, Keith didn’t think Shiro meant his cat.

“So are you,” Keith blurted, and then immediately burrowed deeper into his scarf to hide his mortification. And then straightened, thinking better of it, because it was true. Who the fuck builds a snowman and named it Snowtron? Freakishly cute firemen who acted like earnest schoolboys, apparently.

Allura’s gaze darted between them. “You know,” she said slowly, “I think I’m going back inside to warm up some.” She rolled the large snowball over and stopped it next to Shiro’s smaller one. “Why don’t you guys finish this up without me?”

Shiro waved absently to her retreating form. He was still smiling at Keith, and Keith wondered what he’d ever done to earn such an adoring look from Shiro. Maybe the hot chocolate helped, but Shiro had barely taken a sip of it.

“Come on, Keith,” he said at last. “Why don’t you do the honors and make Snowtron’s head?” He set the mug one a clear patch of sidewalk long enough assemble the two parts of the snowman already set out, and Keith admired his strength as he lifted up the middle section. He figured, the sooner they finished Snowtron, the sooner he could have Shiro’s undivided attention, so he did so without complaint.

And, in truth, it was a little fun, a little silly, enough to have him laughing with Shiro. Enough to make him forget about the cold making his fingers stiff and clumsy—and that made it all the better, a few minutes later, when Shiro shared the hot chocolate with him to warm up (despite Keith’s protests).

Shiro dragged him inside, saying, “Why don’t I give you a tour? I’ll introduce you to everyone,” and Keith didn’t have any reason to protest. Didn’t even want to, but Shiro still added, “It’ll give you a chance to warm up before you go back out.”