Are requests still open?? If they are can I please request Keith telling you he loves you for the first time and just being a flustered, nervous mess?
okay, keith isnât cut out for this. he doesnât understand how he ever tricked himself into believing he would be.
  six months in a relationship with someone does not prepare them for this kind of confession. in the movies, they always make it out like the easiest thing in the world; sometimes, the protagonists just kind of come out with it, and they arenât even fretting beforehand. it all seems most unrealistic to keith, who has spent the past three weeks trying to script the words âI love youâ into a conversation he doesnât even know will happen yet.
  it has to be today, though. tomorrow morning, you and hunk will be heading out on a mission for a few days, and keith will not be able to see you until you return - if you return, and of course keith doesnât want to think like that, but heâs also a very realistic man, and he has to keep himself level with reality.
  he sits in your shared bedroom, raking hands through his hair. he doesnât even look nice today, which he never notices, but itâs so glaringly obvious on this particular day that he canât help but feel a tad bit self conscious. will his messed up hair adjust your response to what he has to tell you? will his tired expression make you realise that you deserve so much better than him? oh god, what if you take one look at his trembling hands, and his bitten lower lip, and the bags under his eyes, and you suddenly decide that the man youâve been sleeping next to for the past six months is actually a revolting little-
   âkeith? you in here?â
  his eyes snap up, panic flooding his system. he stands up, decides better of it, sits back down, tries to look as casual as possible with one knee draped over the other.
  you stroll into the bedroom, tugging your gloves off your fingers. âthere you are. i was looking all over for you.â
   âwell, here i am.â he winces. what a dumb thing to say. he never says things like that. now youâre going to know something is wrong. âwhatâs up?â
  you toss your gloves onto the pillow and flop down on the mattress, spreading your arms out like a child making a snow angel. your hair falls into your face, giving keith an excuse to reach forward and brush it back. you hum at the feel of his fingertips against your skin, just as you always do. at least that is enough to put him a little more at ease.
   âi was just wondering where you were,â you reply. âi finished my duties for the day and wanted to spend some time with you before i go.â
  keith raises a brow, trailing his fingers along your collarbone absentmindedly. âtranslation: you want me to help you pack.â
  you grin. âif you would. i kind of left it to the last minute.â
  keith chuckles, glancing over at the pile of unfolded clothes building up in the corner, all of which you once said you were taking on this mission. âi can see that.â
  âitâs not that bad,â you grumble, even as you refuse to look at the pile yourself. âa few hours, max.â
  âitâs gonna have to be only a few hours - we donât have much longer than that till you leave.â
  just saying that makes keithâs heart clench, and thatâs how he knows heâs in this for good. he really has managed to fall in love with someone, for gods sake. it was an accident, of course - he would never put himself through that kind of emotion willingly.Â
   âdonât remind me,â you mumble.Â
  keith raises a brow. âi thought you were all excited to be having a mission. youâve been asking for weeks.â
  âi know.â you sigh, sitting up so your shoulder brushes against keithâs. âi know, and hunk and i are so prepared, and heâs so excited, but i donât know. . . just the thought of leaving you makes me uneasy. it was different before we were - well, you know. intimate.â
  keith cheeks heat up. âyeah, i get it.â
  âlike, iâm ninety percent sure iâm reliant on your good night kisses to chase the nightmares away now.â
  keith splutters. âreally?â
  âmhm. and iâm gonna absolutely hate waking up in a space pod rather than in our bed. do you know how embarrassing itâs going to be when i roll over in the mornings and hug hunk because i think itâs you? iâm gonna be mortified.â
   âplease donât do that.â
  âiâll try, but. . .â you shake your head, pushing your hands through your hair. keith never realised it before, but you do an awfully good job of hiding your nerves from everybody else - this entire day, you were walking around pretending like everything was perfectly fine, yet here you are, nearly in pieces as you rant to keith about how much youâre actually dreading this expedition.
  hesitantly, keith reaches over and pulls you into his side. âyouâre going to be fine, y/n.â
   âmaybe,â you mumble. âjust tell me youâll miss me.â
  keith freezes. âof course iâll miss you. why would you ever think i wouldnât?â
  you shrug, nuzzling your head in the crook of keithâs neck. âyou never say cute stuff like that. i donât mind, obviously, but itâs nice to have a reminder sometimes that you donât think iâm the biggest bitch on two legs.â
  ây/n...â keith is shocked, completely unable to process what you have just said. he knows heâs cold, and he knows he can sometimes be a bit too much, but never once in your relationship have you ever made it seem like that side of keith bothered you. you put up with him better than anyone else in the world, and heâs always been grateful to you for that.
  he swallows thickly, turning his head to press a kiss to your forehead. this time is better than any other.
   âyou know i love you, donât you?â
  and theyâre not the exact words he wanted to say. theyâre not in the script. theyâre not part of the plan, but they appear anyway, and they encompass it all. you donât even look up, even though keithâs heart beat is surely deafening you with your head against his chest, and his grip must be leaving marks in your arms with how quickly it tightened in anticipation of your rejection.
  however, you donât reject him at all. instead, you press a feather light kiss to the hollow of his throat and whisper, âi know you do. i love you too, keith.â
















