Chapter Text
It turned out he wasn’t free.
Matt stared at his calendar in despair and wanted to cry. There was no way he would be able to make it to the shelter on Saturday between the lab shift he had to cover and his midterm on Monday which he still needed to study for. He couldn’t do it without affecting his grades, and he wasn’t that far gone over Shiro. The man was just a crush, and unfortunately school came first.
He moped all day about it, though. Finally after dinner Katie appeared in his bedroom doorway, her hands on her hips.
“What the heck has gotten into you today,” she cried, exasperated, walking into his room to flop on his bed and glare at him. She was puffed up, ready for a fight. “You’ve been all doom and gloom since this morning! I thought after getting to hang out with kittens and Shiro, you’d be on cloud nine for the rest of the month!”
“I told Shiro I’d be back next week, but I didn’t realize I had too much going on,” Matt told her sadly. He pulled his glasses off so he could tiredly rub at his eyes. “I feel bad because they’ll be expecting me and I can’t go.”
“Oh,” she said, deflating a little. “Wow, yeah, that kind of sucks. Can’t you call him and let him know?”
“I guess,” Matt considered it. “But I think that would be too weird, don’t you agree? I’ve only been once.”
“Maybe.” The two fell silent as Katie pondered his predicament and Matt turned back to his study notes. He’d almost made it through the chapter when he heard Katie sigh and climb off of his bed.
She walked over to his desk and rested a hand heavily on his shoulder. “Matt, you know I love you. And because I do, I’m going to help you out,” she told him seriously.
“Oh? How,” he asked, suspicious. She didn’t sound too evil at the moment, but he could never be sure when it came to his sister.
“I will go in your place,” she declared, making the statement as dramatic as a line from a movie where one character sacrificed themself for another. “I’ll cut my hair and dress up in your clothes, and – ”
“No,” Matt shot her down immediately.
“What? Come on, everyone always says we look so much alike! He won’t even notice!”
“No,” he repeated, actually turning his chair to look at her. “One, because I’m not letting you near my clothes; I’ll never get them back. Two, life is not like the movies. And three, I have no idea what kinds of stuff you might say to him while I’m not there, but I know you well enough to know it wouldn’t end well.”
She ducked her head and grinned, caught. “Oh come on. I’d only hit on him for you a little.”
“No. Also, hell no. Also also, how would you even get there? You can’t drive, I’m not driving you, and mom and dad are away this weekend for dad’s conference.” He gave her a hard stare.
“Oh yeah,” she wilted.
“It’s okay, thanks for offering, though,” Matt tried to soften the blow. “I mean, it’s really kind of cool that you’d be willing to cut your hair and pretend to be a boy for me.”
“Of course I would,” Katie said with a roll of her eyes. She leaned down and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. “You’re my brother.”
“Yeah, I love you too,” Matt laughed, returning her hug.
+++
Matt may have missed out on the next week’s shelter session, but he was determined to go the week after. Better yet, the last of his midterms would be finished that Thursday, the professor had just given the entire class an extension on their lab reports, and his usual tutorial session had been cancelled because the room wasn’t available. He had no reason not to go. It was like the universe was telling him to go.
This time he decided to wear sweatpants instead of his ratty old jeans. They weren’t exactly the most fashionable, and they were still too big, but at least these ones had a drawstring and were more comfortable. Katie vetoed the NASA shirt, instead pulling an old muscle shirt out of the bottom of his closet. He winced when he saw it. He’d bought it years ago, back when he’d first started school and was labouring under the delusion that he’d actually have time to go to the gym between classes. It had ‘Training to be Batman’ across it in bold yellow letters, and the Batman logo beneath. He still thought it was cute.
“Really, Katie?” he groaned. “Come on, he’ll think I’m a nerd.”
“You are a nerd,” she pointed out, and he couldn’t exactly deny it. “Besides, if you’re wearing sweatpants, you kinda have to wear workout gear. Otherwise you just look like a slob.”
“I wore stained jeans and an old t-shirt last time,” he argued.
“Exactly. It’s not too late to fix this.” She shoved the shirt into his hands. “Just trust me. It shows off your arms better, anyways.”
“What arms?” Matt grumbled, but he still put on the shirt.
When he got to the shelter and pulled into the parking lot, a nervous feeling started gurgling in his stomach. What if Shiro was mad at him for not coming last time, even though he said he would? What if Shiro decided he’d done a really bad job last time and didn’t want him around? What if Shiro took one look at his outfit and burst out laughing?
Ugh, this was getting him nowhere. Annoyed with himself, Matt forced himself out of the car, locking it behind him and striding up through the shelter doors. He faltered momentarily once he was inside, his memory of where to go fuzzy, but then the lady at the info counter waved at him. He walked over.
“You’re here for the volunteering, right?” she asked him kindly. He was a little bit intimidated by her - she was bulky and easily twice his size and looked like she worked out a lot - but she had such a sweet voice and such a nice smile that it was hard to be too scared of her. She actually reminded him a bit of Hunk.
“Uh, yes I am. It’s still going on, right?” He suddenly felt panicked; what if it wasn’t happening today? Damn it, he should have checked!
But she smiled at him and nodded. “Yep! You’re just in time. You can head on back through those doors, and then it’ll be on the left.”
“Thank you,” he told her sincerely, already turning and heading for the door she’d pointed to.
“Oh, and welcome back, by the way! We missed you!” She waved him on with a big wink. Matt couldn’t help blushing a little bit. That was awfully kind of her, though a bit strange. He didn’t think they’d even spoken to each other last time.
Thankfully her directions were easy to follow, and he reached the exam room with no trouble. But when he looked inside, no one was there. Confused, he glanced around.
“Um, hello?” he called out, starting to walk down the hallway, looking for someone who could direct him. “Helloooo?”
“Matt?” Shiro’s voice came from nearby, and then the man himself popped out from one of the doorways up ahead. He spotted Matt, and a warm smile bloomed on his face. “Hey, Matt! Welcome back!”
“Hi, Shiro!” Matt greeted the vet happily, his heart tripping in his chest. He was proud to hear that his voice didn’t shake at all.
“Wow, it’s good to see you,” Shiro said as Matt approached him. He was dressed casually again today, although this time his shirt was a soft grey instead of black, and looked vaguely like a workout shirt. It made Matt feel a little bit better about his own attire. They shook hands, Matt basking in the feeling of Shiro’s hand in his own again. “I…kind of wasn’t expecting you today.”
“Oh?” Matt felt his heart plummet into his shoes. Shiro didn’t want him here?
Shiro must have realized he said something wrong, because he quickly backpedalled. “Sorry, I didn’t mean it like that! Sorry, that must have sounded so rude. I mean, I just wasn’t sure if you were coming back after last week. We thought maybe we’d scared you off or something.” He scratched the bridge of his nose, looking away from Matt.
“I’m sorry about that,” Matt quickly apologized, though his guilt was tempered by a giddy feeling when he realized Shiro didn’t actually want him gone. And it helped that a flustered Shiro was a really cute Shiro. “I know I said I’d be here. I just had a lot of stuff going on between midterms and projects, and I couldn’t make it. But, I checked my schedule twice this time, and I can definitely come back next week for sure.”
“Really? I’m glad to hear it,” Shiro said, that beautiful smile coming back. “Well, if you’re ready, why don’t we get started? I think Hunk and Keith might be coming by today to help, and there’s a high school student that contacted me about volunteer hours, but they won’t be in until later. So it’s just you and me for now.”
Matt swallowed thickly. Him and Shiro alone, huh? Somehow he had to make the best of this.
He was expecting Shiro to take him back to the exam room, but instead Shiro started heading down the hall in the opposite direction.
“Um, what exactly are we doing today?” Matt asked, glancing around at the doors they passed as Shiro led him through the halls. Some of them had glass windows, revealing they led to rooms full of animals up for adoption, but others were solid. He assumed those were offices.
“Hope you’re up for getting wet,” Shiro laughed as he pushed through a door and walked out into the kennels. Matt’s eyes fell on the hose hanging from the wall, the giant kiddy pool full of water and soap suds, and the rows of bottles of doggy shampoo lined up and waiting. “It’s bath day.”
“Oh boy,” Matt said weakly.
“We can start with my buddy Champion,” Shiro explained as he opened one of the kennel pens and brought out a large dog with a dark coat and bright eyes. Matt bit back a gasp when he noticed the dog was missing one of his front legs, but the dog walked with confidence over to the kiddy pool, as if his missing leg hardly affected it.
“He’s…” Matt started to say, but trailed off. Gathering his thoughts, he tried again. “What kind of dog is he?”
“Not sure,” Shiro admitted. “I keep meaning to get him tested for his genealogy, but I keep forgetting. I think there’s some German Shepherd, some Boxer, and some Rottweiler in there, though.”
“What…happened?” Matt reluctantly asked.
“He was a fighting dog,” Shiro explained sadly, watching Champion climb into the kiddy pool. “I assume he lost his leg in a fight, though his previous owner wasn’t exactly forthcoming for some reason.” Shiro’s expression darkened for a second, before clearing. “I managed to rescue him, though, back when I was still in school, and honestly he’s been the sweetest, gentlest thing ever since.”
Matt looked at Champion, who was sitting pleasantly in the middle of the pool with his tongue lolling and his tail waving lazily, looking like there was nowhere else he’d rather be, and he believed it.
“He’s beautiful,” Matt told Shiro sincerely. Shiro absolutely beamed at him.
Champion was marvellously patient with them as Shiro led Matt through the process of how to wash the dogs. Matt had given Rover baths before, but Rover didn’t need a special medicated shampoo that helped prevent pests from getting into his fur, so there was a bit more to it than he was used to. Rover also happened to be a much older dog, so he tended to just sit and let Matt bathe him without trouble. Matt quickly found out that not all of the shelter dogs were so accommodating.
But he was pleasantly surprised to find himself having a blast. The dogs were all so happy to be let out of their cages that they would jump straight up into his arms, even as he led them over to the kiddy pool. Shiro wasn’t kidding about getting wet; after only two dogs Matt was absolutely soaked through. His only consolation was that Shiro got just as soaked, leaving his shirt clinging to his chest and abs in a way that made Matt want to jump into the pool with the dogs just to cool off. But he might get an odd look if he did that, so he just very carefully didn’t look at Shiro’s chest if he could help it.
After the third dog, he started getting frustrated with his glasses getting constantly splattered. After the fourth dog, he decided to abandon them by the door. All they were doing was getting splashed, making it harder for him to see. Besides, they were mostly for reading. He didn’t need them right now.
Shiro looked up from wrestling a particularly energetic mutt into the pool for a good scrubbing and blinked at Matt in surprise. “Where are your glasses?” he asked.
“Took ‘em off,” Matt grumbled, pushing his dripping bangs out of his face. “I don’t really need them right now, they’re just getting in the way.”
“I see,” Shiro said slowly. His attention went back to the dog, pouring shampoo along its wriggling back to soak into its fur, but Matt could still see Shiro watching from the corner of his eyes. Matt tried not to squirm, confused. Did Shiro think he looked strange without his glasses? Most people usually complimented him when he took them off.
He was saved from getting too worked up about it when Hunk and a young man wearing a hoodie and a bored expression walked into the room.
“Hey Shiro!” Hunk said loudly to be heard over the happy barks of the dog in the pool. “Sorry I’m late! I ran into Jamie, here, at the door.”
“Awesome, come on in guys!” Shiro finished shampooing the dog and stepped back so Matt could hose it down. The dog hopped around in the spray, trying to snap it up in its jaws. “Hunk, not sure if you remember Matt?”
Hunk gave Matt an odd little grin. “Oh yeah, hey Matt! You came in with Rover, right?”
“Yeah, that’s me,” Matt waved, before he was suddenly tackled by a happy pooch, looking to spread its love of all things water. Considering the dog was not exactly a small animal, and he wasn’t expecting it, he stumbled and tipped over with a small yelp.
“Oof!” he grunted as he landed against something solid, momentarily stunned.
“Careful!” Shiro said from right next to Matt’s ear. Matt went abruptly still as he realized that he’d fallen into Shiro, and Shiro had caught him. That warmth across his front was Shiro’s arms wrapped around him. His back was pressing against Shiro’s broad chest. He was wrapped up in Shiro’s arms.
Oh god, even dripping wet and covered in dog hair, it felt amazing.
The room had gone oddly quiet, even the dogs holding back on their usual chorus of barks. Matt was frozen, not sure what to do. Should he struggle away? Should he lean back more? Should he play dead? He was completely trapped in indecision. And it didn’t help that Shiro wasn’t letting go. If anything, it almost felt like Shiro was holding him tighter.
“Uh, you guys okay?” Hunk piped up, and suddenly Matt was on his feet again. He wasn’t sure if he’d moved or Shiro had, but they were somehow standing a few feet apart now, even though he’d been in Shiro’s arms just moments ago.
“Fine!” Shiro said quickly, his voice strangely hoarse. “I’m fine. Matt, are you okay?”
“Y-yeah,” Matt stuttered. He swallowed, cleared his throat, and tried again. This time his voice came out more naturally. “Yeah, I’m okay. Thanks for the save, Shiro.”
“Anytime,” Shiro said, but he wasn’t looking at Matt. He was very pointedly not looking at Matt. He was staring down at the kiddy pool like the murky waters had all of the answers to the universe, his face creased with a frown.
“Um, should we get the next dog?” Matt prompted when Shiro didn’t start moving.
“Sure,” Shiro agreed softly, but he still didn’t look at Matt. And when he headed for the kennels to grab the next dog, he went around the far side of the pool from Matt, even though it was the longer path.
Matt drooped a little. What had happened? Why was Shiro suddenly acting so strangely, avoiding him? He looked to Hunk, feeling helpless and lost.
But Hunk was glancing between him and Shiro, a torn expression on his face. “Uh, listen Matt,” he began to say. “Shiro is…hang on a sec. I just need to talk to him about something. Can you show Jamie what we’re doing here?” And before Matt could answer him, he dashed off after Shiro.
The highschooler raised his eyebrow at Matt. “You guys are weird,” he drawled out, shoving his hands into his pockets.
Matt just sighed and held out the hose. “Here, we’ll start with this.”
By the time he’d finished running Jamie through the process, Shiro and Hunk still hadn’t come back. Feeling very put-out, Matt glanced at the time. Technically he should stay for another ten minutes to make up the full hour, but suddenly he wasn’t feeling up to it. He quickly glanced towards the back of the kennel where Shiro and Hunk had disappeared, hoping they’d suddenly come back with big smiles and promises that everything would be back to normal, but they didn’t. With a sigh, Matt turned to Jamie.
“Hey, listen,” he said. “Can you do me a favour?”
Jamie raised his eyebrow again.
Assuming that meant yes, Matt continued. “I’ve got to get going, can you tell the others that I had to go home when they come back? I don’t want them to think I just ran off or something.”
“Yeah, sure, whatever,” Jamie sighed. Matt hoped that he’d actually do it, otherwise he’d be bailing on Shiro twice now without explaining himself. Though, based on how Shiro had been acting before, maybe he wouldn’t actually care that much.
“Thanks,” Matt said softly, and then he grabbed his glasses by the door and walked out. He made it to the car without incident, and only when he got there and opened the door did he realize he had no change of clothes and his pants were soaked through.
“Damn it,” he muttered. It was going to be a long, uncomfortable car ride home.
+++
“You just left?!” Katie roared at him. “Matt! What the hell is wrong with you?”
“Katie, can we not do this right now?” he groaned, struggling to peel the soaked tank top off of his chest. “I’m tired, I’m wet, I’m sore. I’m not in the mood, okay?”
She looked like she wanted to press the issue, but when Matt actually started shucking his pants, heedless of her presence, she took the hint.
“Fine, but don’t come crying to me,” she snarled, before spinning on her heel and storming out of the room. Matt listened for the slam of her bedroom door before sighing, letting his dirty clothes drop to the floor to be dealt with later. For now he just wanted a shower, a warm cup of tea, and a nap.
+++
Even though he really didn’t want to go back to face Shiro again, he had promised he’d be there this week. And he didn’t want to bail again. So the next weekend he threw on whatever clothes he found on his floor, uncaring of what he was wearing, and hopped in the car. He walked in, feeling a strange mix of dread and hope. Maybe he’d just imagined it? Maybe things would be back to normal today, and they could pretend that little hiccup last week had never happened.
He waved at the info desk lady, already heading for the back rooms to find Shiro. He faintly thought he heard her calling after him, but he brushed it off as his imagination. She had no reason to call him back, he knew where he was going. Sure enough he found the door, and when he glanced inside he spotted Shiro leaning against the table. Squaring his shoulders, he pushed open the door.
“Hi, Shiro! Sorry I left in such a hurry last time, I just – ” He stopped short, his eyes going wide in shock.
“M-Matt!” Shiro gasped. “I – ”
“Who’s this, Takashi?” the older woman pinning Shiro to the table drawled. Her face was shadowed by a large sunhat, long hair that was so blonde it looked almost white spilling over her shoulders. Her long painted nails were like claws clutching at Shiro’s chest possessively.
“I, uh…” Matt couldn’t speak, the words becoming ash in his mouth. Her cruel eyes narrowed.
“No one important, then,” she sniffed dismissively, turning her attention back to Shiro. “Now, where were we?” she purred, nails catching on Shiro’s shirt.
Matt had seen enough. He turned and left, his heart pounding in his chest and the pulse in his ears drowning out all sound. He walked back through the halls on autopilot, barely acknowledging the info desk woman as he passed her. She gave him a helpless stare, as if she knew what had happened. She might have tried to call him back but he couldn’t hear her. He just kept walking.
He was so stupid. Of course Shiro was already taken. No wonder he had been acting so strangely last week; he’d probably found out about Matt’s stupid crush and was trying to figure out how to get the creepy clueless guy to back off. Matt was such an idiot.
He was across the parking lot and almost into his car when a hand on his arm stopped him. He froze, and suddenly realized he was breathing hard like he’d been running, his chest heaving. Thankfully he didn’t seem to be crying at least, but it felt like a close thing.
His vision had been tunnelling, but now it returned and he realized he was staring at Keith, who was hanging onto his arm with a death grip. Behind him were Lance and Hunk, both watching him with concern.
“Matt!” Keith called with the air of someone who had been doing it for a while.
“What?” Matt asked blankly. He felt numb.
“What happened?” Keith pressed, still holding Matt’s arm. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” Matt said quickly, faintly. He felt a lump forming in his throat and he struggled to swallow it down. “Nothing’s wrong. I just have to go.”
Keith, Hunk, and Lance all shared a look. “Matt, seriously,” Hunk stepped forward, resting a hand much more gently than Keith on Matt’s shoulder. “What happened?”
“I just…accidentally walked in on something I shouldn’t have.” Matt looked away from them, embarrassed to admit it. But they didn’t seem like they’d let him go until he explained, so better to just get it over with. “I guess Shiro’s girlfriend came for a visit, and – ”
“What? Shiro doesn’t have a girlfriend,” Lance interrupted. He looked to the others, suddenly looking frantic. “You don’t think…”
“Matt,” Keith turned back to Matt, looking very serious. “The woman you saw with Shiro, was she blonde? Pale eyes? Looked really nasty?”
“U-um, yeah? I guess?” Matt stumbled to say. “Actually, that’s a pretty spot-on description.”
“Shit,” Lance spat. Keith’s hand on Matt’s arm became impossibly tighter, and Hunk’s face turned thunderous. “It’s the witch.”
They started charging across the parking lot, Keith dragging Matt along by the arm. “Hey! Wait, what? Who’s the witch?” Matt shouted after them.
“Haggar. That’s not her real name, but that’s what we call her. She’s Shiro’s ex,” Keith explained tersely, his voice almost a growl. “And she’s abusive as hell. She had her claws in Shiro for a year before we finally got him out of there. She’s really fond of mind games, and she treated Shiro like he was her playtoy. He was really messed up for a while after, but he was just starting to get better, ever since he met…it doesn’t matter. God damn that woman!”
“I thought she was gone for good,” Hunk snarled, and it was particularly jarring to hear the normally cheerful and gentle Hunk sound so furious.
“You gonna be okay bud?” Lance asked, glancing back at Hunk. “I know she messed you up pretty bad last time, freaked you out.”
“I’m fine,” Hunk insisted. “Besides, Shiro needs us. I’m not leaving him alone with her.”
That was all the time they had to discuss, because then they were marching through the doors, on the warpath headed towards the exam room. Matt was more just along for the ride; he didn’t know if he and Shiro were really close enough for him to get involved in something so personal. But if this Haggar person was as bad as they suggested, he wanted to help in any way he could.
Lance led the way, shoving the exam door open so forcefully it slammed into the opposite wall with a loud bang. “Hello, Haggar! Looking as ugly as ever,” he greeted with false cheer.
Haggar glared at them as they filed into the room, but Shiro caught sight of them and practically sagged in relief. He’d managed to escape from her pinning him down, and had moved to the far side of the table so that it acted as a barrier between them.
“Lance, Hunk, Keith,” Haggar acknowledged the group with false sweetness. “There’s no need to be like that. Shiro and I were just having a conversation and – ”
“And now you’re leaving,” Lance commanded, actually reaching towards her as if he would physically drag her out. She stepped back, giving him a dirty glare, but then her eyes darted to the rest of the people in the room. She could clearly see she was outnumbered.
“Fine,” she spat, barely giving Shiro a second look. “He’s useless to me anyways.” And then she strode out of the room with her nose in the air, her stiletto heels clacking on the tile. They waited until they sound faded down the hallway before any of them dared to relax.
“Bitch,” Keith grunted into the quiet. It was like a bubble bursting. Suddenly Shiro was collapsing into a chair, Hunk rushing to his side to check on him, while Keith and Lance put their heads together and started muttering about what they would do about Haggar in case she came back. Matt found himself in the odd position of being completely forgotten, left standing against the wall with no idea what to do.
He felt oddly drained. Too many things had happened in too short a time period, he had emotional whiplash with all of these developments. Hope, disappointment, anger, confusion, fear, and finally relief, all within minutes? It left him feeling kind of dizzy.
He thought about leaving – why should he stay? They clearly were all distracted. But then he looked up to see Shiro watching him. There was something haunted about his expression, his eyes dim and his shoulders slumped, but he still gave Matt a weak smile. And that was the moment Matt knew he had to stay.
He couldn’t walk out on Shiro again. He refused to do that. He refused to keep leaving without explaining, or without letting Shiro explain himself. Because that’s all he’d done so far, just leave. No wonder Katie had gotten so angry at him. He had to stop running away whenever he felt uncomfortable. He had to face this head on, if he wanted to have any hope of ever getting past this. Of ever earning Shiro’s attention. Taking a deep breath, he pushed off of the wall and walked over to Shiro’s side.
“Hey,” Shiro greeted him hoarsely. He sounded exhausted.
“Hey,” Matt said in return. Hunk took that as his cue to head over to the others. The three of them glanced back at Shiro, as if making sure he was okay, and then stepped out into the hallway to finish their plotting.
“Sorry you had to see that,” Shiro whispered. His shoulders hunched down like he was a dog waiting to be hit. “Are you okay?”
“I should be asking you that, shouldn’t I?” Matt, shocked at his own daring, reached out and rested a hand on the nape of Shiro’s neck and started rubbing his thumb in soothing circles over Shiro’s skin.
“I’m fine,” Shiro said, even though Matt could feel the faint trembling under his hand. “She honestly didn’t do much. Just got kind of aggressive. It was a good thing you came in when you did, it gave me a chance to back away.”
“What did she want?” Matt murmured, rubbing at the short hairs on the back of Shiro’s head now. They felt soft and fuzzy against his palm.
Shiro grimaced. “Nothing big. She thought she left some papers by accident at my apartment after we…when we broke up. But I didn’t have them, so she left.”
“That’s good. And I’m pretty sure your friends are going to make sure she doesn’t come back.” Matt glanced up at the doorway, but it looked like the group had moved further along the hallway, and he couldn’t see them anymore. “And, um, if you want, I can stay with you as long as you need. I-in case she decides to try anything. I wish I had stopped her when I first showed up, I should have noticed how uncomfortable you were. I’m so, so sorry, Shiro. I hope I can make it up to you.”
“Um,” Shiro suddenly went still under Matt’s hand, and he paused as well. Had he said something wrong?
“Yes?” Matt prompted when Shiro didn’t speak.
“Uh, this is probably really sudden, and maybe it’s not the best time, considering what just happened…” Shiro’s hands were folded in his lap, but he was clenching and unclenching them into fists, a nervous gesture. The back of his neck was flushed under Matt’s hand, and as he watched the redness spread all the way up to the tips of Shiro’s ears, Matt’s pulse increased, the tiniest flicker of hope growing in his chest. “But, uh…”
“Yes?” Matt licked his lips in anticipation.
“I was wondering.” Shiro peeked up at him, looking very shy for the first time since Matt first met him. “If you wanted to go for coffee sometime?”
“L-like a date?” Matt asked, his heart pounding, struggling to keep his voice even. “Because I want to be absolutely 100% clear about this. Like, no misunderstandings or confusion. You mean a date, right?”
“Yes, I mean a date,” Shiro ducked his head back down, embarrassed. But Matt didn’t let him hide for long. He dropped to his knees in front of Shiro so that he could look up at the other man and grin.
“Yes. Yes absolutely I would love to go for date-coffee with you,” he said.
Shiro instantly perked up. “Really? Seriously?”
“Are you kidding me? Yes! I’ve been crushing on you since the beginning! Of course I want to go out with you!”
“Oh my god, you’re joking,” Shiro moaned, burying his face in his hands. “I could have asked you out back then?”
“Wait, you wanted to ask me out? Back then? When I came in with Rover?” Matt boggled. “I barely said two words to you! And I just proved I was a completely irresponsible pet owner by not visiting the vet for years!”
“You were adorable, and you looked so guilty about it I knew you didn’t do it on purpose,” Shiro laughed. He sounded shaky still, but much happier.
“Seriously, how did you not notice I liked you?” Matt couldn’t help but groan. “I’m pretty sure my crush was visible from space.”
“Excuse me.” Shiro actually reached out and shoved lightly at Matt’s shoulder. “I think you mean my crush was obvious, not yours. Every single member of the staff at the vet clinic and half the people at the shelter were teasing me about it. And I kept giving you discounts on your vet bill! I was the obvious one. But you? You start showing up to the shelter and helping out, and then you suddenly vanish for a week even though you said you’d be back, and then you come back again but leave without saying goodbye; I didn’t know what to think! You kept giving me such mixed signals.”
“Oh yeah,” Matt winced. It was his turn to duck his head. When Shiro put it like that, it did seem pretty bad. God, it was a miracle Katie hadn’t kicked his ass by now for being such an idiot. “You’re right, that wasn’t fair of me. But that’s why I’m going to be completely honest with you now when I say this. I really, really like you. I definitely want to date you, if you’re still interested.”
He dared to look up, and his breath caught in his throat. Shiro was staring at him so warmly, looking so happy and beautiful, he couldn’t look away. His hands came up and rested on Matt’s shoulders.
“Is it okay if I kiss you now?” Shiro asked softly. When Matt gave him a shaky nod, he shifted his grip from Matt’s shoulders to his jaw, tilting his head up gently. Matt’s eyes fluttered closed as Shiro leaned forward, and then their lips came together in a soft kiss.
When they pulled apart, Matt’s heart was pounding in his chest, and he felt like he was floating. “Wow,” he murmured.
“Yeah,” Shiro whispered back. “Want to get out of here?”
Matt frowned. “Don’t we have stuff to do here?” Surely there was something that needed to be done around the shelter today. There was always something that needed to be done.
“I’ll talk to Shay, I’m sure she’ll understand when I tell her that my ex was here. She’s heard the story before.” Shakily Shiro got to his feet, and Matt rushed up to support him when he swayed slightly. “I’m not really feeling up to doing anything technical anymore, anyways.”
“That’s okay,” Matt quickly reassured him. “Coffee isn’t technical at all. Do you need to change? Should I change?” He glanced down at his outfit. Once again he had dressed for a messy day of caring for animals; he didn’t exactly look like he was ready for a date.
“Why? You look absolutely perfect to me,” Shiro informed him with a grin. “Although, at least today your pants actually fit. Good lord I thought you were trying to kill me with all those low-hanging hip huggers. And then you got wet and I thought your pants were actually going to fall off, and I seriously thought I was going to die.”
Matt had the grace to blush.
After Shiro stopped off to speak to the friendly info desk lady – and formally introduced her as Shay – they walked out of the shelter hand-in-hand. They paused just outside the door, squinting while they adjusted to the bright sunlight. That’s when the hooting and hollering started. Matt looked over across the parking lot to see Keith, Lance, and Hunk all standing by his car, grinning and catcalling.
“About time!” Lance crowed. “He’s been pining after that ass for weeks, man!”
“Lance!” Shiro squawked.
“Sorry, Shiro,” Lance said, not sounding sorry at all. “But you know it’s true. Pining. Yearning. Longing. I could go on.”
“I was not that bad,” Shiro insisted indignantly, but he was so flustered that they just laughed harder. "Besides, you weren't much better before Keith finally took pity on you and asked you out."
"Hey!" Lance griped. They all ignored him.
“Where are you two off to now?” Hunk asked, taking pity on them.
“Just coffee,” Matt said, smiling. It was nice to see that Shiro’s friends approved. Even if they made their opinions known quite... enthusiastically. “After that…who knows?”
“Well, uh. Shall we go?” Shiro asked, giving Matt’s hand a little squeeze.
Matt squeezed his hand back. He was so happy he thought he could fly. “Yeah. Let’s go.”
+++
“This one,” Matt said firmly, picking up the kitten and holding it up to his face. “Yeah, definitely this one.”
“You sure? I know you seemed particularly attached to that cream one,” Shiro’s eyebrow went up questioningly. But Matt had made up his mind.
“Nope, this one for sure. She’s feisty, so I think she’ll keep Rover entertained. And her coat kind of reminds me of Allura.”
“Okay. So you just need to fill out this paperwork,” Shiro explained, handing over a clipboard. Matt handed the kitten off to Shay to put into a carrier for now. “And once you’re done, you just have to pay the adoption fee and then she’s yours! Congrats, Matt.”
Matt grinned as Shiro leaned over and gave him a peck on the lips. “Thanks. I’ve always wanted a cat. And I think Rover will like the company.” He started filling out the paperwork, scribbling in his details.
“What are you going to name her?” Shiro asked, wrapping himself around Matt from behind and resting his chin on Matt’s head. Matt loved it when he did that – it felt so cozy – so Shiro tried to do it as often as possible.
“I’m not,” Matt said simply. “I’m gonna let Katie do it. As a thank you for being an awesome sister and helping me out with…stuff.”
“Oh?” Shiro sounded amused, as if he knew exactly what kind of ‘stuff’ Matt was referring to. “Well that’s awfully kind of you.”
“Maybe to her,” Matt stuck his tongue out. “Not to this poor thing. She’s gonna get stuck with the weirdest name ever, just wait and see.”
“Well, whatever her name is, don’t forget to bring her in for her first visit,” Shiro said sternly.
“Like you’d let me forget,” Matt laughed. “Every time I go out with you, you ask about Rover. I’m starting to think you’re dating me for my dog, mister.”
Shiro pulled away from Matt to clutch at his chest dramatically in fake hurt. “You insult me. You know I just love animals.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Matt leaned up and kissed Shiro deeply, clutching his hips, grinning when Shiro moaned in surprise against his mouth. “And you know I just love you.”
Shiro melted against him. “I love you too,” he said. And then, a bit more nervously. “So, uh. You’re um, still coming over tonight, right?”
Matt flushed, but nodded eagerly. They’d been working their way up to this for months now, after countless dates and visit and just hanging out. Matt hadn’t slept with anyone before, he’d never really felt comfortable enough with any of his past relationships, and Shiro had still been recovering from what Haggar had done to him, but they’d talked and they both agreed that they felt ready. Matt felt anticipation curl pleasantly in his stomach. “I can’t wait.”
“Good. Good, me neither.”
They stood there a moment, grinning stupidly at each other, and then Shiro suddenly cleared his throat with a cough, stepping away. “Anyways, you better finish with that paperwork. I’ll just, ah. See you tonight?”
“Yeah. See you tonight,” Matt waved as Shiro backed out of the room, wincing when he managed to back into the doorframe and smack his head. He giggled while Shiro blushed and grumbled in embarrassment. But Shiro left without incident after that, leaving Matt to finish filling out the paperwork.
“Man, I’m in love with a dork,” Matt told the kitten in its carrier seriously. The kitten just meowed, pawing at the carrier door. “I couldn’t agree more my friend.”
If someone had told him a few months ago that today he’d be dating an absolutely gorgeous man and be hours away from having sex with him, have his life and school work all together and under control, and be in the process of adopting a cat, he wouldn’t believe them. And yet here he was.
He started humming to himself, happy as could be, eagerly anticipating the night to come.