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Keith had been walking with Shiro, just enjoying the last moments of peace they had before they had to leave the planet they were currently on when Cosmo had walked up to them. Caving at the sight of the wolf’s expression, he allowed Cosmo to join them, even though he knew the wolf had probably escaped Krolia’s supervision somehow. Again.
He knew that Cosmo liked to keep near him, usually walking by his side wherever he went, and it hadn’t changed as Cosmo grew older.
Keith was surprised when Cosmo sidled up to Shiro instead, but he figured he should’ve known that Cosmo would take to Shiro immediately. It was gratifying to see the look of happiness on Shiro’s face at Cosmo’s easy acceptance of him.
He remembered Shiro’s stories of having a dog when he was younger, how great it had felt to have such a loyal and affectionate companion. It made sense that he would miss it now, with so few reminders of that time left.
But he really should’ve guessed that Shiro would be a sucker for his dog, seeing him pause every now and then to give Cosmo a scratch behind his ear and more pets, to Cosmo’s delight.
A smile tugged at his mouth. Shiro was going to be spoiling Cosmo, he just knew it.
As they started to walk back to the lions, it was a surprise when Cosmo suddenly moved. A flash of light was their only warning before he appeared in front of them, blocking their way, but Keith managed to stop just in time. Shiro however hadn’t noticed, and with him still being unsteady on his feet, he fell when he walked into Cosmo.
Conscious as Keith always was of Shiro’s movements, he caught Shiro before he hit the ground.
“Shiro, are you okay?” Keith asked, checking him over.
“I’m fine,” Shiro replied with a grateful look. “Thanks for catching me.”
“No problem.”
Shiro had only fallen to his knees before Keith had caught him but with his right arm gone it would be hard for him to get up on his own.
Keith moved closer to Shiro, offering him a hand up and Shiro took it, getting to his feet slowly.
Shiro looked up at him and said, “Thanks…” before trailing off for some reason.
Even though he’d been prepared for the feeling of Shiro’s hand against his, he hadn’t counted on what it would be like to have Shiro’s face so close to him, or the fact that he could see the barely there flush on Shiro’s cheeks highlighted by the scar, or the way the light reflecting in Shiro’s eyes made them look gold for a second.
Had Shiro’s eyes always been that color?
Still caught by Shiro’s eyes, Keith didn’t notice how long he’d been staring at Shiro or how close their faces had gotten until he heard someone call for him, saying that the preparations to leave were over.
The moment was gone and he snapped out of it, jerking away from Shiro and apologizing for Cosmo making him fall, all the while avoiding Shiro’s eyes.
Shiro waved him off, telling him it was no problem and that he was fine anyway before he left quickly.
Had Shiro sensed what Keith had felt then, so close to Shiro that Keith had almost wanted to kiss him? He might have, had they not been interrupted just now.
Keith shook his head roughly, trying to get rid of the images of the kiss that hadn’t happened from his mind when he realized how odd it was that Cosmo had managed to trip Shiro, given how well behaved and controlled he was most of the time.
It was almost like Cosmo had done it on purpose, to force Shiro into closer proximity with Keith.
No. He had to be thinking too deeply into this.
As he rubbed at his face with the heel of his palm, he heard the same person before calling for him again.
Right. It was time to leave the planet.
He groaned when he realized he was going to have to spend the next few hours in the same lion as Shiro without being able to look him in the eyes lest he start imagining kissing him again.
~
Hunk and Pidge were busy discussing their plans to create Shiro’s new arm with some Olkari engineers. Lance was actually talking to Romelle and Allura without flirting for once, so apparently things had changed while he was gone. Shiro himself was talking to Ryner, looking calm and peaceful as they admired the view of a changed Olkarion.
It was good to see him out and about talking to people. Keith had hovered protectively over him for a while, but with him getting stronger, Shiro didn’t need a constant companion to watch over him.
Krolia was usually stuck taking care of Cosmo, with Keith being so busy, but with his free time now he’d decided to spend the time with his space wolf. His mother had informed him that Cosmo missed him a lot, almost like he was pining.
Honestly, he’d missed Cosmo too. He’d gotten used to Cosmo following him everywhere on the space whale they’d lived on.
He wouldn’t admit it to anyone but playing with Cosmo outside also served another purpose, allowing him to stay outside as well and keep an eye on Shiro.
It wasn’t out of any desire to stifle Shiro, or cage him, he just… worried when he couldn’t see Shiro, like Shiro could disappear again if he stopped looking for a moment. It was probably why he kept touching Shiro all the time, so that he could feel that Shiro was real and there.
At least, it was an excuse he gave himself.
Spotting Shiro still in the same place he’d been before, he got an idea that would let him have a little fun with Cosmo’s fetch training.
He held the stick ready, waving it in front of Cosmo’s face before throwing it and pointing at it as it flew through the air.
He‘d gotten pretty good at aiming the stick after all the time he’d spent trying to get Cosmo to play fetch, so when the stick flew over Shiro’s head after he threw it and Shiro squawked in surprise, he couldn’t help the laugh that escaped him.
“You did that on purpose,” Shiro called out.
He waved at Shiro cheekily, before turning to Cosmo and pointing into the distance. “Fetch, boy.”
Cosmo bounded after the stick before teleporting with a flash, only to appear near Shiro instead.
Keith didn’t even have time to warn Shiro as Cosmo jumped on him and they were both teleported back to Keith.
Keith immediately leaned down to help Shiro up. “Are you okay? I’m sorry, I didn’t know he was going to do that!”
“I’m fine, I’m fine,” Shiro said, laughing. “It was just surprising. I forgot he could teleport.”
Having ensured that Shiro was alright, he turned back to the wolf and tried to sound reproachful. "Bad boy," Keith said. “You were supposed to fetch the stick, not Shiro!”
From the way Cosmo was wagging his tail, he could tell that he’d failed.
Shiro watched them both for a moment before saying quietly, “I’m glad you have him now.”
“I’ve always wanted a pet,” Keith agreed. “Even if it would be nice if he could understand how to fetch properly,” he sent a pointed look at Cosmo.
Cosmo looked at him then, head tilted and practically projecting innocence.
Keith shook his head in exasperated fondness.
Shiro smiled at him. “I guess you’re going to have to keep working on it.”
“Guess so,” Keith said, smiling back.
They kept smiling at each other fondly until Shiro remembered that he had been in the middle of a conversation when Cosmo had interrupted him.
“I should go,” Shiro excused himself, walking backwards, still looking at Keith.
Keith nodded towards Ryner who was looking on at their antics with amusement. “Go on. I’ll still be here when you’re done.”
When Shiro finally turned away from him, Keith crouched to Cosmo’s level and said, “Good boy.”
He patted Cosmo on the head. Cosmo nudged him until he was looking at Shiro again. “You know what’s really important, huh? Me too.”
~
The first few nights after Shiro had been recovered, Keith had slept close to him the entire time. He didn’t feel any shame over it, the only thing on his mind was making sure Shiro was present and safe. If Shiro stirred, he’d be there within seconds to soothe him.
Given that Shiro had spent most of the day sleeping for a while, that meant he hadn’t left Shiro alone except when he absolutely had to, leaving Krolia to look after Shiro in his stead.
Now though, Shiro was well enough to sleep on his own. Keith still missed it though, falling asleep close to Shiro, feeling his warmth and letting the sound of Shiro’s breathing lull him to sleep.
He knew Shiro would probably welcome him if he ever said anything but he didn’t want to impose himself on Shiro even more than he already had.
At the moment, with their dwindling conversation about their future plans, Keith made to excuse himself from Shiro’s room when he was interrupted by a flash of light and Cosmo jumping on them, knocking him flat against the bed next to Shiro.
He fell to the bed with a grunt before trying to sit up without success.
“Cosmo,” he complained, and got a lick to the face for his efforts.
They were trapped.
Shiro just laughed, scratching under Cosmo’s chin and whatever parts of him he could reach.
“He really does like doing that, doesn’t he?”
“Laugh it up all you want but now that you’ve rewarded him, he’s gonna start doing it to you all the time.”
Keith tried to shove Cosmo off him but he stayed resolutely in place, only cuddling closer to Shiro for more pets and Shiro obliged with a grin.
“Come on, Keith. Let him stay.”
Faced with identical puppy-dog faces from his dog and best friend, Keith could only hold out for so long.
“Fine,” he sighed.
Shiro cheered, rubbing his face against Cosmo’s to celebrate their victory.
“Oh, shut up,” Keith says, bumping his shoulder against Shiro’s playfully. “He’s gonna walk all over you at this rate.”
“It’s cute,” Shiro protested. “It reminds me of what my dog used to do back when I was little… of course I’ve never had a 200 pound space wolf on me but it’s still cute.“
“It was a lot cuter when he was smaller but I’m resigned to the fact that he’ll never stop doing it, even though he’s bigger than me now. We’re not even sure if he’s stopped growing yet.”
“It’s hard to imagine him any bigger.”
“Even if he does get bigger, he’ll still act like a giant puppy.”
Cosmo licked Keith’s face, as if he was proving his point.
“See?”
Now that he’d given up on getting Cosmo to move, Keith just started stroking his fur, warmth filling him whenever his hand brushed against Shiro’s. The rhythmic motions are soothing in their own way, and accompanied by Shiro’s peaceful breathing, he fell asleep easily.
The last things he felt were hands brushing his hair from his forehead and the faintest brush of lips against his temple.
It was the most peaceful sleep he’s gotten since getting Shiro back.
~
Keith had been looking for his boyfriend when he found Shiro crouched down, talking to Cosmo, looking like they were having a very serious conversation.
He’d been about to back away slowly and leave them alone when he caught a snippet of what Shiro had been saying to Cosmo and he couldn’t help the smile tugging at his mouth.
His boyfriend was such a dork.
He cleared his face of any amusement before clearing his throat. "What are you doing?"
Shiro yelped, stopping his murmured conversation with the wolf abruptly. "Nothing," he said guiltily.
Keith raised an eyebrow. "Are you really asking my dog for permission to date me?" he deadpanned.
Shiro chuckled sheepishly, knowing he was caught. "Well, I don't want him to not like me..."
Keith looked at his wolf. If he didn't know any better, he could've sworn he was looking at Keith with an innocent expression. "Don't worry. I'm getting the feeling that he likes you more than he does me."
“That’s not possible. How could anyone not love you more?”
Keith was about to start extolling on Shiro’s virtues when he noticed the mischievous look on Shiro’s face.
“Ugh, you dork,” he complained. “He likes you. He knows how important you are to me. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s been pushing you to me on purpose…”
Memories of the last few incidents with Cosmo and Shiro flashed through his mind. Cosmo tripping Shiro up until he fell into Keith’s arms, Cosmo fetching Shiro instead of the stick, Cosmo forcing Keith to share a bed with Shiro…
Those were all coincidences, right?
He couldn’t have been set up with Shiro by his own dog.
“Regardless of whether or not Cosmo was setting us up on purpose,” Shiro joked– and Keith wanted to say that he had no idea– ”I’m glad he pushed me closer to you.”
“Thanks Cosmo,” Keith said sincerely, scratching at the back of Cosmo's ears until his tail was wagging fiercely.
If his crazy theory was right, he might owe Cosmo a thousand belly rubs and all the meat he could ever want for the rest of his life.