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It’s months into their relationship after they’ve finally gotten their acts together and quit dancing around the undeniable attraction to one another when Shiro finally finds himself in a position to schedule his top surgery.
Keith, being the best boyfriend ever, helps him with his appointments and meds and even takes time off work to help him immediately afterward so he can heal and have someone to help him around the house.
The first few days are a haze of pain medication and restless sleep and Shiro’s forced to just put up with every little forehead kiss and offer of a sponge bath or a baby wipe or a pillow fluff or literally anything else he could possibly want.
It’s not until he gets his drains out, though, that the anxiety builds to an unbearable point.
Keith is washing dishes in the kitchen from their dinner last night and breakfast this morning — that he made – and Shiro’s posted up on the couch now, trying to cajole him into just sitting down.
“Baby, please, you don’t need to do the dishes. I’m not bedridden anymore.” Shiro protests weakly, even though just eating breakfast has stolen a good amount of energy from him and he can feel himself waning.
He can’t help it. It makes him antsy to let Keith cook and clean, like he’s doing too much in Shiro’s apartment when he is perfectly capable.
“Right, you can walk and stuff now,” Keith remarks without turning away from the task at hand, but with a lilt of humor in his voice, “but I know for a fact you’re not supposed to be lifting things yet and you just got the drains out a few days ago. It’s just a few dishes, Takashi, I can handle it.”
Shiro slumps just a little in his corner on the couch, knowing he’s lost this fight.
The discomfort he feels is minimal compared to the pain in his chest from surgery, and truthfully he knows that pushing himself will only delay his recovery, or possibly harm it.
In all honesty, Shiro warms at the ways that Keith supports him, big or small.
He never thought he’d be so lucky to have a partner who loved and accepted him so wholly, even in such a vulnerable state like this, without so much as resentment.
“Keith?”
“Yeah?” Keith stops scrubbing the pot from last night’s stew and looked back towards the couch.
“I love you, sweetheart.”
The beautiful smile Shiro gets in return is worth it.