#meith

Keith typed in his Atlas program login, planning to just check on some flight plans and star maps before he went to his next Blades meeting. It was just part of his routine really, another way he kept focused and up to date with his work. 

You know what wasn’t part of his routine though? A popup of Clippy with Matt’s face on it over a rainbow background with hearts everywhere. There was a speech bubble over Matt/Clippy’s head that read ‘if you leave your meeting 20 minutes early we can make out before i get shipped off to the rebel base. b there or b square.’

Keith couldn’t help but snort. It was the little things Keith really appreciated when times got kind of tough. It was hard to be 19 and leading the universe’s only hope. Sometimes he got tunnel vision. There was so much pressure on him to succeed, to overcome, to withstand, that sometimes he felt trapped in a vortex of stress and fear. To prevent himself from having to deal with that he just blocked everything out. It was easier than having to confront it. 

But you know, Matt wasn’t going to put up with that bullshit. He constantly butted his way into Keith’s attention. At first, it had been kind of irritating. Keith didn’t need someone taking his focus away from his work, but when they started getting closer the more he began to treasure them. Matt helped him see that he could stay in tune with his job yet still relax every once in a while. Nobody had ever really shown him that before. 

Keith smiled and clicked out of the pop up, mentally filing it away before returning to his task at hand. He’d have to see how the meeting was going to go, and then he’d consider Matt’s offer. 

-

Matt waited in their usual spot, tucked away in a back hallway nobody really went down. He was laying on his back, feet up against the wall as he tossed a ball back and forth between his hands. He stopped for a moment to check his watch. Damn, he had 30 minutes before he had to be at the loading dock. He had his stuff all packed up, ready to go physically but not mentally. He was never ready to go mentally until he said goodbye to Keith. He just had to hope Keith got his message. 

He stared up at the ceiling, vaguely remembering his mother’s warning about not looking directly into bright light. Every time he closed his eyes the after image of the light would be burned there, slowly fading the longer he kept them shut. Fortunately, there was one image in his head that never faded, and that was his adorable, dorky, awkward, alien boyfriend.

Keith did not meet the bad boy type most people pinned him for. He didn’t actively try to break rules, at least not now anyways, but he certainly wasn’t afraid to if it meant doing what was right. There were so many people in the universe who didn’t have the balls to stand up for their morals and Matt adored that Keith did. Half of the time Keith didn’t even know he was breaking a rule (or the law) when he did it, and that just made that much sweeter. After all, chaos was Matt’s chariot and impulsivity was its driving horse. 

The sound of footsteps down the hall pulled him from his gay revelries. Matt sat up quickly, and grinned when he saw a familiar uniform walking towards him. Matt would’ve complained that it wasn’t fair that only the paladins got cool colors, but Keith just looked so good in red he couldn’t bring himself to do it. 

“Hey there hot stuff.” Matt greeted, placing his hands on Keith’s waist and pulling him in for a kiss. 

Keith hummed against his lips and Matt felt his body relax beneath his hands. 

“Hard meeting?” He asked when they pulled away. 

“Something like that.” Keith swept a hand through his hair. “It’s nothing too big it’s just... complicated.” 

Matt frowned a bit. That was what Keith always said about his work, that it was complicated. He never elaborated or anything. Matt knew he was more closed off than most but still, it kind of hurt? 

“How so?” He questioned when Keith returned his hand to Matt’s shoulders. 

Keith shrugged, looking at a spot to the right of Matt’s head. “I don’t know, just is.” 

His voice didn’t sound annoyed, just far off. 

“You know,” Matt bit his lip, trying to figure out how to phrase this, “I get that you’ve got a lot and you don’t want to bog me down, but I promise I can handle it, really. I mean, I survived being imprisoned by the Galra after all.” 

Keith’s lip twitched a bit, but was able to resisted flinching at that reminder of Matt’s past. “Yeah, I know. I know you can take it... I guess that sometimes there’s so much that I don’t have the words for it. I don’t have the words for a lot of things actually. Sorry...”

Keith’s face was a mixture of frustration and sadness. He’d always had trouble communicating and probably always will. It just wasn’t easy and he blamed himself for that. 

Matt placed his hand over Keith’s cheek. When he spoke, it was soft and reassuring.“Hey, it’s okay. I don’t need you to wax poetic to know you love me. We’re not in a Shakespearean romance. If you said 'It is the East, and Matt is the sun’ it would be just the same as ‘I love you’.” 

Keith rested his head on Matt’s shoulder. “M’sorry.” 

“Ah ah ah!” Matt chided, squeezing Keith closed. “That’s not allowed! Try again.” 

Keith laughed, breath warm against Matt’s neck. “I love you, nerd.” 

“I love you too, dork.” Matt sighed before turning his head and blowing a fat raspberry onto Keith’s cheek just to hear him laugh more. “No matter what, you’re gonna do just fine. Go get ‘em tiger.” 

Keith frowned, looking up at Matt in total confusion. “We fly... lions?”