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 isn’t cut out for this. he doesn’t 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 aren’t even fretting beforehand. it all seems most unrealistic to keith, who has spent the past three weeks trying to script the words “I love you” into a conversation he doesn’t 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 doesn’t want to think like that, but he’s 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 doesn’t even look nice today, which he never notices, but it’s so glaringly obvious on this particular day that he can’t 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 you’ve been sleeping next to for the past six months is actually a revolting little-
“keith? you in here?”
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. “there you are. i was looking all over for you.”
“well, here i am.” he winces. what a dumb thing to say. he never says things like that. now you’re going to know something is wrong. “what’s up?”
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.
“i was just wondering where you were,” you reply. “i finished my duties for the day and wanted to spend some time with you before i go.”
keith raises a brow, trailing his fingers along your collarbone absentmindedly. “translation: you want me to help you pack.”
you grin. “if you would. i kind of left it to the last minute.”
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. “i can see that.”
“it’s not that bad,” you grumble, even as you refuse to look at the pile yourself. “a few hours, max.”
“it’s gonna have to be only a few hours - we don’t have much longer than that till you leave.”
just saying that makes keith’s heart clench, and that’s how he knows he’s 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.
“don’t remind me,” you mumble.
keith raises a brow. “i thought you were all excited to be having a mission. you’ve been asking for weeks.”
“i know.” you sigh, sitting up so your shoulder brushes against keith’s. “i know, and hunk and i are so prepared, and he’s so excited, but i don’t know. . . just the thought of leaving you makes me uneasy. it was different before we were - well, you know. intimate.”
keith cheeks heat up. “yeah, i get it.”
“like, i’m ninety percent sure i’m reliant on your good night kisses to chase the nightmares away now.”
keith splutters. “really?”
“mhm. and i’m gonna absolutely hate waking up in a space pod rather than in our bed. do you know how embarrassing it’s going to be when i roll over in the mornings and hug hunk because i think it’s you? i’m gonna be mortified.”
“please don’t do that.”
“i’ll try, but. . .” 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 you’re actually dreading this expedition.
hesitantly, keith reaches over and pulls you into his side. “you’re going to be fine, y/n.”
“maybe,” you mumble. “just tell me you’ll miss me.”
keith freezes. “of course i’ll miss you. why would you ever think i wouldn’t?”
you shrug, nuzzling your head in the crook of keith’s neck. “you never say cute stuff like that. i don’t mind, obviously, but it’s nice to have a reminder sometimes that you don’t think i’m the biggest bitch on two legs.”
“y/n...” keith is shocked, completely unable to process what you have just said. he knows he’s 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 he’s 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.
“you know i love you, don’t you?”
and they’re not the exact words he wanted to say. they’re not in the script. they’re not part of the plan, but they appear anyway, and they encompass it all. you don’t even look up, even though keith’s 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 don’t reject him at all. instead, you press a feather light kiss to the hollow of his throat and whisper, “i know you do. i love you too, keith.”
