Archive of Our Own

Keith sighs, half-heartedly trying to make it through the assigned reading for his English class. He’s meant to be analyzing an excerpt from a “classic,” a story that his teacher swears was “groundbreaking in its time.” Whether or not that’s true, at its core it’s still a plodding romance between a big, strong alpha and the pretty, waifish omega who bats her eyelashes and hangs on his every word, giggling and flipping her hair to waft her scent his way every time he so much as looks at her. It’s so obviously written by an alpha, hackneyed and nearly offensively stereotypical, that it almost makes Keith ashamed of his entire designation.

The knock on his open door is a welcome distraction.

It’s Shiro of course, fresh from a shower after a long drive followed by a greasy dinner, dressed in pajama bottoms and a thin cotton tee shirt.

“Oh, hey, come in. What’s up?”

“Just seeing what you were up to.” His eyebrows raise at the open book on Keith’s lap and the notebook on the bed beside him. “Hasn’t anyone told you it’s illegal to do homework on a Friday night?”

Keith shrugs, smiling as his step-brother takes a seat beside him, close enough that the dip of the mattress under his weight has Keith listing into his space. “Honestly, this book is so awful I’m just trying to get it done now so I don’t have it looming over me all weekend.”

Shiro chuckles, shaking his damp hair out of his face. The action doesn’t dramatically waft any scent in Keith’s direction, but it does make him… aware. Mostly it’s just the neutrally pleasant fragrances of soap and shampoo—what any clean human smells like regardless of designation. But the close proximity means that he can make out other scents that curl beneath it, that twist knots of heat low in his belly.

Unrelated omega, unmated, healthy.

Fertile.

Utterly inappropriate.

“Fair enough,” Shiro concedes, blissfully unaware of the non-consensual scenting he was nearly subject to. “So what have they got you guys reading these days?”

Keith uses the question as an excuse to put some space between them, backing away to hold up his book to show Shiro the cover.

Shiro blanches and makes a theatrical retching noise. “They’re still teaching that garbage?”

“Guess so. It fucking sucks.”

“I’ll say. I actually wrote a paper for one of my American Lit classes on the multitude of ways that book is damaging to all designations and sets unrealistic and unhealthy expectations for all secondary genders. I don’t know if it’ll help with your homework, but I can email you the paper later if you want to reference it.”

“Oh my god,” Keith snorts. “My teacher will hate that. Fuck yes, please send it to me.”

Shiro grins at him. “Consider it done.”

An easy silence falls while Keith puts his homework aside, happy for any excuse to do so.

“So,” Shiro says casually after a few moments, “how’s school?”

“Is that really all you’ve got?” Keith teases. “You already asked me that during dinner, school is fine.”

Shiro narrows his eyes. “Yeah, nope, not buying it. I asked you how school was during dinner with Dad and Krolia, and you said ‘fine’ and then kept your mouth full for the next ten minutes until you were sure the conversation had moved on. I’m not even sure you breathed between bites. So. What’s going on for real?”

Ugh. Shiro’s too observant for his own damn good. Especially when it comes to Keith.

Keith shakes his head. “It’s stupid.”

Shiro frowns. “It’s not stupid to me.” He leans in, reaching out to tuck Keith’s hair behind his ear from where it’s fallen into his face. A friendly, tender, brotherly gesture. Familial, like something his mom would do. 

Keith’s heart hiccups in his chest anyway. 

It’s not until Shiro sits back again that Keith realizes he’d been holding his breath. 

Keith isn’t at all sure he’s not just imagining the odd tension in the air between them, broken almost immediately when Shiro says, “Do I need to bash some heads together? Because I’ll do it. I’m not afraid to beat up a high-schooler.”

“Please don’t,” Keith laughs. “I don’t need you going to jail for assault.”

“Ah, they’d never catch me,” Shiro dismisses with a wink and a wave of his hand. “Now dish.”

Keith flushes. Even if part of him does want to talk about it, he’s not sure he knows how. “Seriously, it’s stupid. It’s nothing.”

Shiro frowns at him. “If it’s stupid, then it’s not nothing. And we’ve already established that I don’t think it’s stupid.”

“Fine. It’s… ” Keith glances at his open bedroom door. “It’s embarrassing.”

Shiro rises and closes the door with a soft click, then after hesitating for a moment, locks it as well.

He waits for Keith’s nod of approval then sits back on the bed, knees touching Keith’s as they shift to sit cross-legged, facing each other.

Shiro doesn’t say anything this time, just waits patiently for Keith to get his thoughts together.

“Ugh,” Keith groans after a few long moments. “It really is so stupid though. I mean, it’s not like I’m being bullied. There’s just this group of stupid alphas at school who think they’re hot shit because they’re bigger than everyone else and they act like they’ve got all the betas and omegas drooling over their knots or whatever.” Keith mutters the last part, heat rising in his cheeks.

“I see,” Shiro says. “And they’re messing with you?”

Keith groans again, trying to figure out how to explain it. “Kind of? I don’t know. It started maybe a month ago when those chucklefucks were cornering an omega in the hall when there wasn’t anyone else around. And like, I don’t think they would’ve actually, y’know done anything, they’re morons on a power trip, not… you know. But he was a lot smaller than them—I’m pretty sure he’s a ninth grader, like he couldn’t have been older than fifteen, and he was clearly nervous and getting more scared the closer they got to him until they were fully surrounding him. And like, I’m not a monster, I couldn’t just leave and act like I hadn’t seen anything. So I told them to beat it and obviously they didn’t because, again, they’re morons on a power trip. So I gave the biggest one a black eye and bloody nose and they scattered. I got suspended for a week, and the kid’s mom sent me a gift basket.” Keith gestures to his desk, and sure enough, there’s a wicker basket surrounded with empty candy wrappers.

Shiro drops a hand to Keith’s knee, squeezing once. “I know you know this, but you did the right thing and I’m really proud of you. The world needs more alphas like you. I hope your mom didn’t give you too much grief?”

“It was nothing,” Keith deflects weakly. A confusing mix of pride and bashfulness pinks his cheeks while he stares at the hand on his leg, surprised for some reason at how warm it feels even through his jeans. “I- I mean, anyone- any decent person would’ve done the same thing.” 

Shiro makes a face but lets Keith continue without comment.

“I honestly thought my mom was going to be livid and so did your dad. He was totally ready to go to bat for me and then mom was just… cool with it. She said ‘you get one for free, and you picked a good one.’ Considering she’s an anger management coach, I don’t think she could exactly pat me on the back and say ‘good job,’ but I think she was pleased. Your dad did, though, he asked if I wanted to go give the rest of them black eyes too, so I think maybe I know where you got your enthusiasm for beating up high schoolers.”

Shiro’s laugh bubbles out of him, warm and full. Keith could listen to Shiro laugh for hours. “That sounds exactly like something he would say,” Shiro shakes his head fondly. “I take it that’s not the end of the story, though?”

“Yeah, unfortunately not. Most of them are seniors like me, which means we share a lot of the same classes, and I just happen to have gym class with most of them. So ever since I got back after my suspension, locker room talk has been brutal but like, nothing actually reportable, you know? Just ‘alphas will be alphas’ bullshit, even though they’ve gotten some of the betas to join in too. And I know, I know I shouldn’t let them get to me, but… a lot of what they’re saying—Shiro, they’re not wrong. Like they say that- that— ugh...”

Keith shakes his head, a frustrated breath hissing between his teeth. Before he realizes he’s doing it, he’s lifted his wrist up to the side of his neck to rub the two scent glands together, a self-soothing behavior like thumb-sucking that most kids grow out of. It supposedly simulates how a parent would snuggle an infant, holding them close and rubbing their neck glands together to encourage a strong family bond, and to help them learn how to give and receive affection later in life. 

Keith’s dad had died when he was a pup, and with his mother out of the country and unreachable, he had spent years in the foster care system, bonding with no one until his mother finally found him, so it’s hardly a surprise he picked up the habit. He’s mostly healed from that and has since formed a strong bond with his mother that he’s grateful to have, but… he still hasn’t been able to fully shake the habit.

Still, it’s rare that he does it anymore, and never in front of anyone.  

And now he’s done it in front of Shiro. He’s fucking mortified. And he can’t even stop now that he’s started, the sudden distress making the compulsion even stronger. It’s a small mercy that he’s at least able to swallow the whine crawling up his throat to avoid utterly humiliating himself.

Keith ducks his head. He can’t bear to look at Shiro’s face.

“Keith, hey,” Shiro murmurs, reaching out to lay his hand on Keith’s bare ankle, his thumb drawing circles around the knobby bone. It’s surprisingly intimate. “Will you look at me?”

Keith shakes his head, watching Shiro’s thumb go round and round.

“Please?”

Keith grumbles about it but it’s impossible to outright refuse him.

“It’s ok, Keith,” Shiro says when Keith finally meets his eyes. “It’s ok.” He sounds so earnest that it’s hard not to believe him. “Ok?”

Keith swallows, then nods. “Ok,” he whispers.

Shiro’s hand stills but it stays curled around Keith’s ankle, a soothing, grounding weight.

“I’m sorry about the kids at school, that sounds really hard. Do you want to keep talking about it? You don’t have to.”

After a few deep breaths, Keith lets his arm drop, twisting his fingers together in his lap.  “No I do, I’m- I think I’ll feel better if I talk it through, can you just… give me a minute? To… gather my thoughts and stuff?”

“Of course,” Shiro says immediately. “Do you want me to leave? Give you a moment to yourself?”

“No! No. Nothing like that. I’m ok, really, I just need a sec to… get up the nerve, I think. It’s not really stuff I normally, y’know, talk about.”

“I see,” Shiro says, in a way that makes Keith feel like he really does. “In that case, would you like a hug?”

“I- yeah. That would be good.”

“Come here, then.”

Keith shuffles forward into Shiro’s open arms, expecting a quick squeeze and release. Instead, Shiro draws him in and crushes Keith to his chest, arms like iron bands circling his middle to hold him tight. Keith loops his arms around Shiro’s neck, tucking his chin over his shoulder and holding just as tight. He’s going to hold on until the very second Shiro lets go.

Rich and sweet, Shiro’s scent envelops Keith just as surely as his arms. This close it’s impossible not to scent the omega, not when his scent invites him in like this, wordlessly coaxing him to accept the comfort being offered, to allow himself to be soothed. Tension that Keith didn’t even realize he was holding onto eases, and Shiro hums, pleased, as Keith lets him take more of his weight.

“That’s it,” Shiro says softly.

A broad hand cradles Keith’s head at the base of his skull, strong fingers curling around the back of his neck. It rests there, heavy and warm, and Keith only vaguely notices it guiding him in closer, closer, until his neck is brushing against Shiro’s.

Keith goes rigid. Surely Shiro didn’t mean to—then Shiro’s leaning in and the change of angle has their glands brushing, gliding over each other as Shiro nuzzles in.

“Oh.” Keith lets out a strained whimper, 

“Shh, it’s ok,” Shiro hushes him. “Just relax.”

Like a switch has been flipped, Keith lets out a shuddering breath and goes boneless, held up only by Shiro’s arms around him, steady and sure like he was expecting it.

“That’s right,” Shiro whispers, still nuzzling. “That’s so good, Keith.”

Keith has never felt so serene, his tension all melted away, leaving him feeling peaceful and grounded. It feels so nice that he’s too late to stop the trill that tumbles out of his mouth.

His eyes fly wide and he surges back, at least as far as Shiro lets him get in the unbudging circle of his arms. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean—”

“Hey, shh, it’s fine,” Shiro assures him.

It is not fine, that’s a sound for—

“It just means you’re feeling safe and taken care of, and that’s exactly what I want, ok? It’s fine, I promise. Trust me?”

Slowly, Keith nods. Shiro isn’t mad at him. He’s not disgusted.

“Good.” Shiro smiles at him, just as warm and golden as his scent. “You think you’re ready to talk about it now?”

Keith takes a deep breath. “Yeah,” he decides. “Yeah, I’m ready.”

Shiro tugs him back in so that Keith isn’t awkwardly half-pulled from his arms, maneuvering them until Keith is situated comfortably in his lap, sideways with his head leaning against Shiro’s chest. Shiro’s left arm curls around him, anchoring him in place. The hand of his prosthetic rests near Keith’s foot, the cool fingers drawing aimless patterns on the top of it and the sensitive skin behind his ankle.

“Ok.” Keith takes a deep, cleansing breath. With Shiro’s chin tucked over his head and his heartbeat in his ear, Keith finds that it’s easier to talk. “Well a lot of the teasing is just because of my size. Like, they have this really dumb joke where every time I walk into the alpha showers they act all shocked and scandalized like they thought I was an omega and I’m in the wrong showers, har-dee-fuckin-har. And I know I’m really small for an alpha, and I know that doesn’t actually matter but when you have people telling you day after day that you’ll never find a mate because no one wants an alpha who’s smaller than them, it’s hard not to take some of it to heart. And I know I shouldn’t worry about my size because I’ll probably have another growth spurt and even if I don’t it doesn’t matter , but it just- sometimes it kind of feels… like it, y’know. Matters.”

Keith sighs, turning his face into Shiro’s chest to breathe in more of his soothing scent.

“Do you think less of me because I’m big for an omega?”

... What? Of all the absurd—

Keith leans away to glare indignantly. “Of course not!” 

“Of course not,” Shiro agrees. “Because you’re a normal, decent person. And there’s actually more of those out there than you might think. Keith, you’re fantastic—you’re smart, you’re funny, you’re kind and brave and handsome—” stomach swooping, Keith bashfully buries his face back into Shiro’s chest “and anyone who thinks people have to look or act a certain way because of their designation isn’t worth a single second of your time. Plus,” Shiro murmurs into his hair like he’s hiding a secret there, “I kinda like you this size.”

Keith scolds himself to stop imagining that Shiro’s words are anything beyond brotherly kindness and support, but his face heats anyway. Shiro saves him from having to come up with a response by continuing, “Was there more? I had kind of gotten the impression that it wasn’t exactly all going to be PG-13.”

Keith bites his lip. Right. “Well, um… god, this is so embarrassing,” he mutters into Shiro’s chest, lips catching on the soft cotton. “I haven’t, um. I haven’t had my first… um… ”

Keith’s mouth refuses to form the word.

“Knot?” Shiro offers mercifully after a few horrible seconds.

Of course Shiro will be able to talk about this stuff like a fucking adult. Keith must still seem like such a kid to him, curled up in his lap and unable to talk about basic biology. “Um. Yeah. Not since I presented. And before you say it, I know that’s perfectly normal, it just seems like I’m the only alpha in my year who hasn’t yet. It’s like all they fucking talk about, I swear. And I mean, it’s not like I don’t—” fuck, let Shiro think he’s a child, he can’t say it, “I mean, there have been plenty of… opportunities for it to happen, ok?” Keith’s face is on fire. “It just keeps on… not happening.”

By some miracle, Shiro doesn’t laugh at him, or worse, ask for clarification. He just hums, waiting for Keith to be ready to continue, shifting him on his lap to run a broad palm up and down his back. It helps loosen the next words.

“I guess this is related to what I’ve already said, but the other main thing is… they don’t just say that I’ll never get a mate, but that I’ll never see an omega’s—god, it sounds so fucking stupid when I say it loud—they say I’ll never see a naked omega anywhere except a computer screen because no omega in their right mind would let a scrawny alpha like me anywhere near them.”

There. He slumps, heart pounding like he just ran a marathon not just said a few broken, halting sentences about his high school bully problems.

“And that’s pretty much it.”

Shiro is quiet long enough for Keith to start getting nervous, but the hand on his back never stops its course up and down his back and Shiro’s scent is still that soothing honeyed warmth.

Silences have never felt weird between the two of them, and even if Keith regularly doubts himself, his faith in Shiro is unshakeable. And Shiro isn’t the kind of person who would think less of Keith for what he’s shared. Whatever Shiro is thinking, Keith is sure that when he’s ready, he’ll share the kind and helpful parts and Keith will feel better for it. He’ll only ache a little bit and tell himself he doesn’t know why.

When Shiro finally breaks the thoughtful silence, it’s not with advice or sympathy, but a question.

What he says is, “Do you want to?”

Keith waits for clarification that doesn’t come.

“Want to… what?”

Shiro nudges his hip and Keith takes the hint, scooting back until they can see each other again.

Shiro lifts an eyebrow, a small smile curling at the corners of his lips. “Want to see a naked omega.”

Keith’s brow furrows. “But... I don’t know any—”

Shiro blinks patiently.

“Oh. Oh. Um.”

Keith’s brain is short-circuiting. He thinks his mouth is still moving, but his voice has left him.

“It’s fine if not,” Shiro says, hands folded neatly in his lap. “Just an offer. That way you could say you have seen a naked omega, and it might be less nerve-wracking for it to be someone you’re already comfortable around. It’s entirely your choice, Keith. And it’s totally fine either way.”

Shiro seems totally relaxed, like he’s really not bothered whatever Keith decides. And he’s probably not, Keith supposes. To a college student who’s probably had tons—or at least plenty—of sex, being naked is probably no big deal. And it’s not like a tit-for-tat thing—Shiro isn’t asking him to undress ( and why would he even want to, Keith thinks darkly before squashing the thought). It’s just a genuine offer from someone who cares about Keith and wants to help.

Keith wonders if Shiro has any idea how badly he wants to see now that he’s allowed to think about it, and if he knew, would he rescind the offer? That even with the very purest of intentions, Keith isn’t sure how long he would be able to keep the experience in the ‘research purposes only’ box in his brain before it inevitably got itself into ‘recreational activities.’

Keith must sit there staring with his mouth open for too long because Shiro smiles and tucks Keith’s hair back out of his face again. “You can take some time to think about it. You don’t have to decide—”

“Yes,” Keith blurts before he gives himself a chance to think about it any further. If Shiro leaves, Keith doesn’t think he’ll ever get up the nerve to ask for this, even if the offer still stands.

“Yes?” Shiro's hands are already drifting to the hem of his shirt but that’s where he pauses, waiting for Keith’s final go-ahead. Keith gives him a jerky nod, certain that his voice would do some horrible like crack or whine.

“Ok then.” Shiro’s shirt goes over his head and his pajama bottoms go down his legs without fanfare, leaving him just in soft gray boxer-briefs that cling to his thighs. 

His thick, muscular thighs. Fuck, this was a bad idea.

Then, before Keith can back out, those are gone too and Shiro’s stretching out like a lazy cat, laying on his back with his head on Keith’s pillow and his arms tucked beneath his head. The position makes his biceps bulge, the stretch pulling the muscles in his chest taut, and that is where Keith’s eyes stay firmly fixed.

“Hey,” Shiro says after a long moment of Keith staring at his collarbone. “You know the whole point of the exercise was for you to actually look.” It’s a gentle tease, and the warm smile he gives Keith softens it further. He’s not laughing at Keith, just giving him a little nudge.

“Right,” Keith croaks, and then his eyes are skittering down Shiro’s impressive form to land between his legs. Keith learns that Shiro trims but doesn’t shave like a lot of omegas do and finds that he has a sudden, marked preference for it when he hadn’t much cared one way or the other before.

He can’t see everything from this angle, but he can see the little omega cock, pink and soft, peeking out from the folds.

“Here,” Shiro says easily, letting his legs splay open wider. “Move so you can actually see.”

“O-ok.” Keith is swiftly losing the higher brain function required for anything much beyond ‘do what the pretty omega says.’ He shuffles over awkwardly, trying to keep his oversized tee shirt draped over his crotch.

Then Shiro brings one knee up, pulling himself open further and Keith can see everything, the soft plump lips parted by that sweet little cock, soft and unaroused like he’s only ever seen in textbook diagrams. It’s nothing like what they show in porn, where omega dicks are swollen and flushed dark with blood. No, this is real, and Keith is more turned on now than he has ever been by any wailing omega on a screen.

“So?” Shiro nudges him with his bare foot. His toes catch on Keith’s shirt, lifting it just long enough to reveal the obvious tent in his leggings. He scrambles to pull it back down as quickly and casually as he can, the heat of shame clawing up his throat and into his face. He scans Shiro’s face for some kind of reaction, some hint of disgust or derision, but Shiro is looking at his face, and by some miracle doesn’t seem to have caught the slip. “What do you think?”

How do you even answer a question like that? “I-it’s, it’s um,” Keith stammers. “It’s… nice?”

“Nice,” Shiro repeats. His tone is neutral, but a tiny smile tugs at his lips.

“Really nice,” Keith tries. He wants to seem properly appreciative without being sleazy—like how you’d look at a nude portrait in a museum. The last thing he wants is for Shiro to think he doesn’t like it.

“Glad you think so,” Shiro murmurs. “You can touch… if you want.”

Keith goes stock-still, gaping. He can’t have heard right.

“Wh- what?” Keith’s voice grates against his windpipe as he struggles to form the single syllable.

He’s got to be giving himself away, there’s no way Shiro can look at him and think that Keith can- can do that and remain unaffected—not that he’s currently doing a great job of that anyway.

“It’s up to you. If you want to know what it feels like.” Shiro’s teeth dent the smiling plush of his lower lip. “Do you?”

Transfixed as Shiro’s flesh hand trails down his chest and the ripple of his abs, Keith nods, dazed.

“Tell me.”

Keith swallows, mouth like sandpaper. “I want to touch you.”

“Come here, then.”

Keith scoots closer, feeling like he’s going to wake up any moment. It wouldn’t be the first dream of its kind.

“Keep your touch light at first,” Shiro instructs quietly. “You won’t hurt me, but it can be a little uncomfortable if you push straight in or touch my cock too much before I’m ready. And that’s good advice for being with any omega.”

“Ok,” Keith breathes. He wonders if Shiro has been with others who didn’t treat him with care, didn’t make sure that he was comfortable and ready. The thought is distressing; how could anyone have Shiro naked and willing and not put his needs and pleasure above absolutely everything? 

Even though this isn’t real, even though Shiro obviously doesn’t want to actually be with him and is just doing him a favor like a good- a good,—he cringes away from the word brother even as he thinks it—Keith swears to be the best alpha he can be, for as long as Shiro permits him.

Keith reaches out, determined to be careful and gentle with the omega splayed out and trusting before him. He hopes Shiro doesn’t notice the way his hand trembles.

He gathers his nerve and lightly draws a single finger up just inside the crease of Shiro’s thigh.

Shiro flinches with a hiss and Keith snatches his hand back, horrified. “I’m sorry—!” He should’ve been gentler, fuck, he had just sworn that he would—

“It’s fine, it’s fine! It just tickled,” Shiro reassures him. “I’m sorry if I scared you. You don’t have to be quite that gentle.”

He holds his hand out to Keith, who’s got his hand cradled to his chest like it might strike again with no warning.

“Here. Give me your hand.”

True to his word, Shiro does seem to be fine. He’s still smiling at Keith, waiting for him to reach out again. When Keith extends a tentative hand, Shiro’s fingers wrap gently around Keith’s wrist, drawing his hand between his legs.

“Like this.”

Keith’s hand first lands on his pubic bone, the mound where the coarse hair grows thickest but still soft under his fingertips. Then with a light grip on his wrist he guides Keith’s hand lower—gently but not too gently—until Keith is fully cupping him in his hand, fingers pointing down so that the heel of his palm rests against Shiro’s cock, and if Keith were to crook his middle fingers just a little bit he’d be able to sink a fingertip into—

“Oh,” Shiro sighs, releasing Keith’s wrist. “Your hand is so warm.”

Is it? Keith wonders distantly. He feels like his hands are clammy and sweaty, and Shiro is so hot in his hand that it’s a wonder that Shiro feels any warmth from him at all.

“You can- you can kind of squeeze a bit—yeah, mmh, just like that. A bit more of that and I’ll be ready if you want to feel inside.”

Oh fuck.

Keith isn’t certain he’s not going to spontaneously combust before he ever gets the chance.

He squeezes again, using a rocking motion to nudge the heel of his palm against Shiro’s cock.

“More,” Shiro breathes, and Keith is helpless to obey.

Then Shiro’s cock twitches against Keith’s palm like- like Keith is actually making him feel good. Keith is already so hard, harder than he’s ever been before in his life, probably, that the thought that he’s able to bring Shiro pleasure is almost too much to bear. Then the scent hits him and Keith has to breathe through his mouth for a few moments for fear he might lose it in his leggings without so much as a gentle breeze to push him over.

Keith has never smelled omega slick before, but he knows instinctively what this new scent is. He knows just as surely that never in his life will he smell anything as devastatingly tempting if he lives to be a thousand.

Shiro’s cock pulses and he gasps, and this time Keith can feel how it’s swelling, taking up more space in his hand. He accommodates, altering the angle of his hand so he doesn’t press too hard but still making sure that he’s rubbing the full length of it to give Shiro the stimulation he needs. He’s desperate to make Shiro even half as hard as Shiro is making him.

“God,” Shiro grunts, the muscles in his stomach jumping. “Should’ve known you’d be good at this.”

Keith’s own cock twitches at the praise, so hard he’s aching in a way he’s never felt before. He breathes deep, basking in the scent that leaves no question that he’s making Shiro feel good.

If Shiro was trying to seem unaffected, his body would betray him—the scent of aroused omega is so thick it’s hard to think. Keith can’t focus on anything beyond the burning desire to keep bringing Shiro pleasure, satisfy him, show him that Keith can tend to his needs. Even the needs of his own body fade into background noise compared to the all-consuming imperative to care for the beautiful omega laid out on his bed.

With the change of angle, the motion of Keith’s hand has the tip of his middle finger brushing right up against Shiro’s hole and holy shit he’s gotten so fucking wet that Keith’s head spins. He shouldn’t be surprised—the whole point was to get Shiro ready to let Keith feel him, and the scent is unmistakable, but knowing it is so much different than feeling it. 

God, it’s fucking revelation.

He plays his fingertip just at Shiro’s entrance, swirling through the slick. He wants to nudge inside, thinks Shiro must be ready, but Keith is certainly no expert and Shiro hasn’t given him permission.

Keith is a good alpha. He can wait.

It’s not until Shiro starts shifting restlessly, his fingers clawing at the bedsheets, a choked-off whine spilling through his clenched teeth, that Keith looks up to Shiro’s face to see it pinched in discomfort, brows drawn and eyes clenched shut.

Keith goes cold. How could he not have noticed? And he was so busy congratulating himself—

“Shiro?” he whispers, trying to sound soothing, like Shiro had done for him. “Are you ok? Are you… hurt?”

Shiro blinks his eyes open to look hazily at Keith. They’re darker than he’s ever seen them.

“I- I’m fine, I promise. You’re doing great. You can keep doing what you were doing.” He meets Keith’s eyes, but there’s still something cagey about the way he says it.

“Are you sure? You looked… really uncomfortable just now.”

Shiro chuckles but Keith fails to see what’s funny. “I am,” Shiro agrees, his grip unbreakable when it circles Keith’s wrist to hold his hand in place before Keith can yank it back. “But if I ask you to stop what you’re doing then you’ll stop.”

Well, of course he would! “I don’t understand,” Keith says helplessly.

“I know, I’m sorry. It’s hard to explain. What you were doing just now, with your finger right there but not pushing in, is the absolute worst kind of tease—”

Keith’s heart drops through his stomach. “Shiro, I’m sor—”

“Hush. I love it. It sounds crazy when you say it aloud, but it’s like... I want to beg you to either stop or give me more, but I don’t actually want that. I mean, it’s not that I don’t—I do want more, badly, but...”

“But you want someone else to be in charge of when you get it. You want them to tease you until they decide you’ve had enough. Is that right?”

Shiro blinks at him in flushed surprise. “That’s- no, yeah that’s exactly it. This didn’t seem like the right time to bring it up, I just wanted to let you explore on your own terms, which—to be clear—is still what I want, but. Well, now you know what gets me going, and you were doing it without even trying. I’m sorry if I made you worry.”

God. Keith hadn’t even considered that Shiro might have kinks, and the reality of it is scorching. Shiro likes to be teased, likes to beg for more and then be told no. Shiro likes it when someone else controls his pleasure.

God.

“It’s ok,” Keith says. He uses the hand that’s not otherwise occupied to push Shiro’s damp bangs off his forehead. Feeling bold, he draws his thumb across Shiro’s lips, licking his own at the same time, pleased when Shiro tracks the movement with his eyes. “Thank you for telling me.”

Keith leans in, knocking his nose against Shiro’s with their lips hardly an inch apart. It feels forbidden—dangerous—and Keith doesn’t think he’s the only one feeling the current that sparks between them. “Does that mean you’re ready for more?” Keith asks, breath puffing against Shiro’s lips.

“Yes,” Shiro whines, “fuck, yes, please.” He surges up, eyes hooded and lips parted, but Keith is ready for him and leans out of kissing range.

With two fingers on Shiro’s lips, Keith bears him back down to the bed. A flash of hurt crosses Shiro’s eyes, but Keith leans back in before it can find a home there. “Patience,” he whispers into Shiro’s ear. “If you can wait, I’ll make it worth it. Yeah?”

Keith has no way to back the claim up—he’s never kissed anyone—but the scent of slick and arousal drenches everything and Keith thinks that it’s probably going to be fine.

Shiro nods, breath hot against Keith’s fingertips.

“Good.”

Shiro’s unexpected vulnerability gives Keith a confidence he didn’t know he was capable of. His omega trusts him. His omega needs to be taken care of and no amount of nerves or inexperience is going to hold him back. 

Feeling more sure-footed than he has all evening, Keith slides back down Shiro’s body.

He taps Shiro’s hand still wrapped around his wrist and it falls away.

“Good boy,” Keith murmurs unthinkingly.

Shiro goes tense and Keith looks up, ready to apologize, only to find Shiro staring down at him with a look that definitely does not require an apology. He’s pink from the tips of his ears all the way down his chest, and lets out the softest whine.

“Huh,” Keith says, staring directly into Shiro’s eyes, feeling a slow, sly smile pull at his mouth. “Good to know.”

Keith’s fingers are covered in slick now, and there’s more leaking out. It’s going to get all over Keith’s bed sheets and he couldn’t be more thrilled about it. 

He teases two fingers at Shiro’s entrance, gathering more slick and smearing it over Shiro’s chubby little cock. Stiff and jutting, it’s a few inches long and much more closely resembles the ones he’s seen, now darkened to a flushed red and looking like a perfectly delicious mouthful. 

Before he can think or stop himself, Keith leans in and draws a flat tongue up the underside. The taste explodes on his tongue and he’s instantly addicted.

Shiro makes a strangled noise and buries a hand in Keith’s hair, gripping but not pulling. “Please,” he whimpers. “Please, Keith.”

Keith laps at him, teasing kitten licks that make the hand in his hair clench in a sparkling flash of pain that goes straight to his cock. 

“Oh fuck,” Keith moans. “God that’s so fucking good, you taste amazing. Say- say my name again.”

“Ke- eeith!”

Keith chooses that moment to take Shiro’s cock fully into his mouth and plunges two fingers into him, the tight, sucking heat like nothing he’s ever felt. He thinks he’s having a religious experience.

“Mmmf!” Keith glances up briefly to find Shiro’s prosthetic clapped hard over his mouth, leaving little indents in his cheeks.

Keith hums around his mouthful and starts to thrust his fingers. He may not have done this before, but he hasn’t been living under a rock. As he thrusts, he crooks his fingers up, searching for that spot that will supposedly drive an omega crazy. After a short period of trial and error, Shiro goes rigid, clamping down and fluttering around Keith’s fingers with muffled sounds of pleasure.

“Fuck, good boy,” Keith pants, pulling off Shiro’s cock to kiss and lick along its length. He feeds a third finger into him, and Keith’s cock throbs in jealousy. Shiro takes it beautifully, and Keith tells him so, pulsing his fingers upward against that same spot. “Are you getting close? Are you gonna let me see how you look when you come?”

“Not much longer,” Shiro gasps, both hands falling to his sides to clutch at the sheets. “Fuck, just don’t stop.”

“I think I can do that,” Keith purrs. Without stopping the movement of his fingers, he crawls up Shiro’s body until they’re face to face. He leans forward, rubbing their noses together for the second time.

Keith licks his lips. “Is this what you wanted?”

Shiro nods slowly, watching Keith’s mouth and mirroring him, leaving his own lips red-bitten and shiny.

“Tell me.”

“I want to kiss you,” Shiro rasps.

“Come here, then.”

Immediately Shiro leans in, and Keith is there to meet him.

Keith’s first kiss ever is electric, a burning, scorching thing that carves a path of destruction through him, leaving nothing but Shiro. He doesn’t need to have done this before to know that this is different, this isn’t what most kisses feel like.

Shiro pulls back with a heaving gasp, eyes round and awed. Keith’s not the only one who feels it.

“Keith.”  

“I know. We can—later. For now just let me make you feel good.”

“I- yeah, ok. Kiss me again.”

Keith’s second kiss is no less electric than the first, but now he can pay more attention to how Shiro tightens on his fingers when their tongues twine together, how Shiro starts to rock down onto his hand when Keith sucks on his tongue, grinding his cock into Keith’s hand. 

“Good, that’s so good,” Keith groans into Shiro’s mouth. “Ride my hand, take what you need, just like that. That’s right. Good boy.”

Shiro whines, thready and gorgeous as his movements begin to grow frantic. His kisses grow sloppy and uncoordinated until Keith finally takes pity on him and breaks the kiss. “Go on,” he encourages. “Just let go whenever you’re ready. You’re doing so good, you look so beautiful like this.” Keith doesn’t know where the words come from—or the self-assurance to say them—but it feels right, feels necessary, to lavish his gorgeous omega with praise and encouragement.

“Keith,” Shiro moans, and Keith personally thinks his name has never sounded better. “Keith, fuck, I’m- I’m-”

“Yeah,” he agrees breathlessly. “That’s it.”

“Oh…” Shiro’s body draws up tight, every muscle tensing. “Oh… oh fuckfuckfuck… ahh!”

Keith can’t help his own low moan as Shiro starts to come, pulsing and clutching around his fingers, so exquisitely hot and tight that Keith’s cock throbs, dangerously close to ruining his underwear.

Shiro captures Keith’s lips again while he shudders through the aftershocks, licking into his mouth and chirruping softly. It’s another thing Keith finds he knows by instinct: his omega is pleased with him, happy and content, the subtle uptick at the end asking for reassurance that he is pleased with his omega as well. He rumbles into the kiss, full of pleasure and pride in his perfect omega.

Shiro hums back to him, smiling against his lips.

When they break apart, Keith gingerly pulls his fingers out. They’re dripping with omega slick, and before he can bring them to his mouth to clean himself off, Shiro has grabbed him and is bringing them to his own mouth instead. Lips close around his index finger and Shiro begins to suck, swirling his tongue and watching Keith with knowing eyes.

“Sh- Shiro,” Keith groans. “If you keep doing that—and I am not kidding—I will come in my pants right here.”

Shiro cocks his head, looking down Keith’s body. In this position, there’s no hiding how his erection distends his leggings or how he’s leaked so much pre-come that there’s a noticeably darker wet patch on the front. 

Shiro lets Keith’s finger slip from his mouth.

Then, softly, “Can I see you?”

Keith must hesitate for too long, because Shiro adds, “Only if you want to. It’s fine if you don’t, there’s no pressure.”

Keith does want to, he wants to give Shiro whatever he wants. It’s just… “No, it’s ok, I do want to. I just… y’know. Don’t expect to be wowed.”

“Oh. Well, it’s too late for that,” Shiro says regretfully.

“What do you mean?”

“I’m already wowed.” Shiro gives him a sweet, lopsided grin. “And there’s absolutely nothing you can do to un-wow me.” His voice drops and he presses his forehead to Keith’s. “I know what body type you have, Keith. I’ve watched you grow from a gawky middle schooler into the lithe, graceful young man that you are. I know there’s not a big, burly alpha hiding under those clothes. There’s you, and that’s so much better. Ok? You couldn’t possibly disappoint me because it’s you. Trust me?”

Shiro’s eyes are so earnest and beseeching that Keith couldn’t possibly say no.

“Ok. I do. I trust you.” Keith leans in and briefly catches Shiro’s lips, reveling in the intimacy—that he can do this now—while he takes the moment to gather his nerve.

He breaks the kiss to roll onto his back, pulling his shirt over his head before he can think too hard about it. His thumbs hook under the waistband of both his leggings and underwear.

Better to just rip off the band-aid.

He shoves them down without ceremony, aiming for the carelessly sexy way Shiro had shed his clothes earlier. His cock springs up as soon as they’re past his hips to slap wetly against his belly, smeared shiny with a mortifying amount of precome, and his leggings catch around his ankles, tangling further in his clumsy attempts to kick them off until he’s finally naked and wholly embarrassed.

So much for sexy.

But Shiro is still looking at him with that same sweet smile. Keith feels Shiro’s eyes on his skin like a caress.

“Look at you,” Shiro breathes. “I always knew you’d grow up to be gorgeous but… fuck.”

Keith ducks his head shyly, pleased despite himself. “Glad you like it. Me.”

Shiro gently tilts his chink back up to give him a soft peck on the lips. “Oh, I more than like it,” he whispers against Keith’s lips, then kisses him again. “You.”

Keith’s heart flips so hard it could compete in the Olympics. 

“Shiro.”

“Later,” Shiro promises. “We’ll- we’ll figure it out. Just… later. Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“For now… ” Shiro bites his lip, and draws a single finger from the hollow of Keith’s throat, down the center of his chest to his belly button, just above where his cock lays leaking onto his belly, then back up. “If you want… I can show you how it feels inside an omega.”

“But I already—”

“Not,” Shiro cuts him off, “with your fingers.”

He rolls on top of Keith in a fluid motion, bracing his hands on his chest—one warm, one cool—covering the entire breadth of his chest and then some. His thighs spread over Keith’s hips, and Keith watches, stupefied, as a fat drop of slick drools from Shiro’s hole and lands on Keith’s cock.

Shiro reaches for Keith’s still-sticky hand and brings it to his lips. “Only if you want to,” he murmurs into Keith fingertips, tasting them between each word, then finally licking them clean while he watches with knowing eyes as Keith processes his offer.

Keith’s toes curl at feeling of Shiro’s tongue, more bearable than when he was actively sucking on Keith’s fingers but only just, and with the thought that Shiro is offering to let Keith fuck him… 

His cock throbs at the thought, and he realizes his stamina is already shot to hell. God he wants to accept, but… 

“I- I don’t think I can last long enough to make it good for you,” he admits.

Shiro lets Keith’s hand fall lightly back to his side. He cradles Keith’s jaw in one broad palm.

“Keith, I don’t care about that. You’ve already made it good for me. I’ll teach you what I like another time, but for now—if you want to—I just want to make you feel good and give you a good experience. You just have to tell me if that’s what you want, too.”

As if there’s really any question at this point.

“I do. I want to. I want to feel you.”

“Ok.” Shiro smiles and ducks forward to give Keith a sweet kiss. “Are you ready?”

Keith nods.

“Tell me, Keith.”

Keith takes a deep breath. “I- I’m ready. I’m just… nervous.”

Shiro smiles and takes his hand, pressing a kiss to his palm. “It’s ok to be nervous. But it’s just me. And I’m going to take care of you, ok?”

Keith nods again, biting his lip as he’s overcome with a wave of fierce affection, and Shiro thankfully doesn’t press him to verbalize again.

There’s some brief shuffling and situating followed by a moment of breathless anticipation, the head of his cock pressed against Shiro’s dripping hole, and then Shiro begins to lower himself down.

Keith had known how this was supposed to feel. 

Tight. Hot. Wet.

But he couldn’t have possibly imagined the reality of it. It’s all of those things but more, more than he can describe, nearly more than he can even comprehend.

Shiro’s body engulfs him, inch by inch of impossible pleasure sinking down around him.

It’s more than Keith can handle.

Shiro’s barely halfway down and Keith is already throbbing, close, too close, aching with pleasure that radiates from the base of his cock.

He should tell Shiro to wait, give Keith a chance to walk himself back from the edge; Shiro said he doesn’t care if Keith lasts but fuck, Keith thought he’d at least make it further than this.

Then Shiro’s taken him all the way, ass flush to Keith’s thighs, breathing hard and pausing there like he has to get used to the size of it and Keith realizes it doesn’t matter because no amount of time or preparation was ever going to be enough to give him a chance against this feeling.

“Shiro you have to—” Keith gasps urgently. “I can’t- I’m sorry, please, you need to—”

He tugs futilely at Shiro’s hips, trying to lift him off so Keith doesn’t… doesn’t—

Shiro rolls his hips, staying deep and ignoring Keith’s warnings. “Go on, baby,” he coos, “you don’t have to hold back. Just let go when you’re ready.” 

He keeps that same exquisite rolling motion that massages the full length of Keith’s cock all at once; Keith withstands it for a matter of seconds before the ache begins to swell, a pressure that radiates from the base of his cock, throbbing with his heartbeat.

He’s never felt anything like it. He’s trying to hold back, trying to last, to drag this exquisite pleasure out just a little bit longer.

“Oh fuck, is that,” Shiro grunts, hips stuttering before they find their rhythm again, his hole clenching around Keith’s cock. “Oh baby, are you gonna let me have your first knot?”

Is that what’s happening? Keith whines for his omega, back arching and hands scrabbling at the covers as his body tries to figure out how to process this new sensation, the pleasure and sheer intensity of it seemingly too big to fit in his body.

Shiro takes Keith’s hands and places them on his hips.

“Hold onto me, sweetheart,” he murmurs. “I’ve got you, ok? Just let go for me.”

Keith’s hands clutch at Shiro’s hips, grateful to have something to hold onto. “Shiro,” he whines.

“I know, baby,” Shiro coos. “Does it hurt?”

Kieth nods, then shakes his head. It doesn’t hurt, it’s just… “It’s so much,” he whimpers.

“It’ll feel good soon, I promise, it’ll feel so good. You just have to relax and let it happen, ok?”

“O-ok,” Keith says shakily. Shiro’s hips work beneath his hands, the motion of them dragging him closer and closer towards the crumbling edge. “Omega… ”

A low trill, and Shiro tightens around him. “That’s right,” he croons. “Are you going to be a good alpha for me and let me have your knot? I can feel it swelling, are you going to plug me up tight so I can keep your come in my belly where it belongs?”

The words are Keith’s final undoing.

“Shiro!” Keith sobs.

His ears roar and his mind fills with static, the pressure in his cock—in his knot —building and building and building until he can hardly breathe and then he starts to come, harder than he ever has in his life, right into the belly of the most perfect omega in the world who is clenching and fluttering around him, groaning long and low as he’s filled.

Keith moans as Shiro continues to squeeze him, his cock twitching with aftershocks that pulse just that much more come into his omega. Unthinking, Keith lays the flat of his palm on Shiro’s belly just above where his little cock pokes up stiff and chubby, and imagines that he can feel his belly just the slightest bit swollen with how much come is locked inside of him.

“Yeah,” Shiro sighs, his hand covering Keith’s. “You did so well, baby. How do you feel?”

Keith groans. “So good. How about you?”

Shiro smiles. “Good. Really good.” He shifts his hips. “I’m… really full.”

Keith groans again, rubbing circles on Shiro’s belly. “Does it- do you like it? Being full?”

Shiro bites his lip as he looks down at Keith, and brushes his damp bangs from his eyes. “Yeah, baby. Yeah it feels… ” he lets out a shaky breath, “really fucking good.”

Keith smiles, relieved that his omega is pleased, even if it didn’t last very long.

“Did you, um, come? Again?”

“Not this time, baby, but you don’t need to worry about me. This time was about you. Plus you already got me earlier so I promise I’m satisfied.”

Something about that doesn’t ring quite true—everything Keith has heard says that omegas generally need a couple orgasms before they feel truly sated, and Keith certainly doesn’t know everything, but Shiro cock is still flushed and straining.

“If you’re sure…” Keith says dubiously.

“I am.” Shiro laces their fingers together, then brings Keith’s hand up to lay a kiss on each knuckle. “I just want you to feel good. This will go away by itself once your knot goes down, and then we can… talk. But let’s just enjoy the moment for now, yeah?”

“Yeah,” Keith sighs. Enjoying the moment isn’t difficult, not with Shiro molded around him tight and hot, his weight pressing Keith into the mattress making him feel both protected and protective. “I like when you call me baby,” he blurts. 

He thinks maybe he shouldn’t—it’s not a very ‘alpha’ thing to be called, after all—but Shiro obviously doesn’t seem to think so, and from Shiro’s relieved smile, he knows it was the right thing to say.

“Yeah? I- it felt right, but I was worried you might think it was… too much.”

Keith brings their linked hands to his own mouth. “You could never be too much,” he confesses with a kiss to the heel of Shiro’s palm, then trails lower to mouth at the delicate skin of his inner wrist and over the gland there.

“Oh,” Shiro sighs, then sharply, “oh,” as Keith’s tongue darts out to taste the slightly swollen nodule. The taste tells Keith even more than Shiro’s scent, and belies his assurance that he’s satisfied: the spicy tang of arousal bursts over Keith’s taste buds, unmistakable and unignorable. 

Keith moans and seals his lips around the gland, licking and sucking in earnest, eager for more of the intoxicating flavor.

Shiro’s breath hitches hard. He quivers around Keith’s cock, which hasn’t even begun to soften—not with an omega yet to be satisfied still split open on his knot.

Keith pulls off regretfully, and only because he has to to speak. “I don’t know if I believe that you’re done,” he asserts lightly. “Do you really not want more, or were you just trying not to be selfish? Because I’ll be honest, you taste like you still need it, gorgeous.”

The pet name feels unfamiliar and clunky, but Shiro doesn’t seem to think so, not if the way he sucks in a startled breath or the way he goes tight again are any indication.

“I… wanted this to be about you,” Shiro pouts, which is both not an answer and all the answer that Keith needs.

“Shiro, trust me,” Keith half laughs, “making you feel good is not a hardship. And I’m really not sure if my knot is ever going to go down with you still smelling and tasting like this. If that’s really what you want, I’ll try, but… if you want to show me what you like, I would absolutely love to feel you come on my knot.”

Shiro bites his lip, his already-flushed cheeks going a lovely scarlet.

“If- if you’re sure. That would be… really nice. I don’t think it’ll take that long, honestly. Being with you like this is… a lot. In a good way!” He hurriedly promises. “Everything is just so intense.”

“Yeah, I think I know exactly what you mean.” Keith smiles, and runs a hand up and down Shiro’s flank in what he hopes is a soothing manner while he takes another moment to lap the addictive ambrosia from Shiro’s wrist before releasing him. “Will you show me how to make you come, beautiful?”

Shiro groans. “Fuck. Everything is already so heightened with already being knotted and yours is…” He clenches down around Keith’s knot. “Thick.” 

Keith tries not to feel too smug at the strain in Shiro’s voice and mostly fails. 

“Yeah?” He says mildly.

“Mhm.” Shiro manages to smirk at Keith through his arousal, like he knows exactly what the admission is doing to him. “So just… ” Shiro shifts, mouth going satisfyingly slack when he rolls his hips in little pulses. “I don’t need much, just a little friction inside and- here.”

He takes Keith’s hand and spits into his palm.

“Now make a loose fist and wrap it around me—gently, good, ok, just a little tighter, now kinda stroke and squeeze at the same time— unh, yeah just like that, fuck.”

Shiro’s cock is the perfect handful, just big enough for the tip to peek out from the channel of Keith’s fist. It’s hot against Keith’s palm, chubby and wet with slick; the combination of spit and slick makes the glide obscenely smooth, and the lewd wet sound of it accompanies Shiro’s grunts of effort as he grinds on Keith’s knot.

“You’re doing so good,” Keith croons. “Are you feeling good, beautiful?”

Shiro whimpers. “Fuck, ah, yes,” he pants. “Just need a little— ohh fuck, like that like that, again—!”

Keith corkscrews his hand while he strokes and squeezes, and Shiro ripples around him, massaging the full length of his cock. Keith groans, hips jerking up, as if he could possibly bury himself any deeper into the sucking heat. It seems too soon, but there’s no mistaking the feeling of another orgasm stirring between his hips.

Shiro clenches again and the feeling grows, pulsing at the edges with the promise that this one is going to hit him like a freight train.

“Close,” Shiro gasps.

It’s too soon.

If he can just time it right… he could coax Shiro into orgasm just in time to milk his own.

And if that means his omega has to wait for it, well, that’s just icing on the cake.

He lets go of Shiro’s cock, settles both hands heavy on Shiro’s hips, forcing him to still.

Shiro whines in protest, fights Keith’s grip.

Keith digs his fingertips into soft flesh, letting out a low, warning growl. 

“Be good.” His voice rumbles from his chest, and the effect is instant. Shiro stills with a sharp breath, going sweet and pliant at once.

“Good boy,” Keith praises, petting up his sides. Shiro lets out a shaky sigh, nuzzles into Keith’s palm when he reaches up to stroke his cheek. “My sweet omega.”

Shiro trills lowly, going tight then relaxing.

Keith palms Shiro’s hips again, guiding them in slow, deep circles.

Shiro’s breath catches when Keith curls his hand around his straining cock once more. His hips rabbit forward, chasing the sensation, and Keith immediately lets go.

“No. You take what I give you, understand?”

Shiro whimpers. “Yes, alpha.” The meek apology in his voice is far overshadowed by the way he clamps down tight, only letting up when Keith eases him back into rhythm.

This time when Keith strokes him, Shiro doesn’t fight him, lets the hand on his hip continue to guide him.

“That’s it,” Keith coos. “You’re being so good.”

It’s not long before Shiro begins to ripple around him again, Shiro’s shaky admission of “close,” confirming what he already suspected.

Again Keith stops him to Shiro’s mounting frustration. While his whiny growl of protest is wholly ineffective at getting his way, it is really fucking cute. 

Shiro glowers when Keith tells him so, and blushes up to his ears.

The third time, Shiro doesn’t warn him. The telling sensation shudders through him, dragging Keith ever closer to his own end, but Shiro bites his lip and stays quiet like he thinks Keith hasn’t got his number by now.

When Keith stops him again, Shiro lets out a truly piteous whine. “Alpha, please.”

Keith grins up at him, sharp and a little mean. “No.”

Shiro makes a wounded noise and slumps forward over Keith like all the fight has left him at once. His bulk crushes Keith into the mattress, smothering him with the scent of desperate omega, making Keith’s head swim. Shiro is even tighter with the change of angle; each breath has Keith’s knot tugging at his rim.

Keith groans, circles one arm around Shiro’s waist to hold him tight, the other worming between their bodies to get a hand back on Shiro’s cock. 

Shiro shudders, burying his face in Keith’s throat, breathing heavily into the humid space between their skin, licking and nuzzling at the scent gland there.

“Move for me, beautiful,” Keith says into the hollow behind Shiro’s ear. “Fuck my hand, just like that.”

Shiro doesn’t need to be told twice. He bursts into motion, rocking forward into Keith’s hand and back to squeeze and clutch at Keith’s knot. Everything is so hot and wet and tight, he just needs Shiro to hold on for a little longer. 

“Feel good?” Keith asks.

“Yes,” Shiro gasps. “Wanna come. Need it.”

Keith rubs his hand up and down Shiro’s back, soothing, and also just enjoying holding him close. “I know you do, just a little longer. If you can be good and wait, I’ll pump you full with another load to keep nice and safe in your belly, wouldn’t you like that?”

Shiro’s breath hitches and he goes so tight that Keith’s afraid he sent him over the edge anyway, but after a few long moments he manages to relax—marginally—and sinks his hips back with renewed vigor.

“Want it, want it, want it,” he chants into Keith’s neck, then seals his lips around the gland and sucks.

“Ahh, Shiro—” Keith’s knot throbs. The hand on Shiro’s back moves to sink into his hair instead, threading tight through the soft strands to keep Shiro exactly where he is. “Fuck, don’t stop.”

Shiro moans and sucks harder, joined by the teasing threat of sharp omega teeth on the delicate skin. Keith worries for a moment that Shiro will pierce the skin, but awash in pheromones and surrounded by his omega in every way, the thought of Shiro being so desperate to claim Keith for his own is nothing but scorching hot.

This time, when Keith feels Shiro start to get close, he doesn’t stop him.

“That’s right,” Keith grunts when Shiro starts to keen against his neck, the clench-throb on Keith’s cock getting faster and tighter. “I’m- fuck, I’m close. Go on, take it how you need it, wanna feel you come on my knot, want you to- ahh , milk my cock until I come, fuck you’re so beautiful—”

Shiro breaks. With a wail that Keith is distantly aware is too loud—but can’t possibly remember why that matters—Shiro starts to come, spasming tight tight tight, and then Shiro bites him, not around his gland but oh-so-close, the ache and sting of it immediate as sharp teeth puncture the skin and cling there.

“Shiro—!” Keith manages and then he’s coming, his knot throbbing as his omega drags his orgasm from him, spilling more than it seems should be possible after coming so recently. His blood roars—his omega will be dripping with him for days after this.

Gradually, together, they come down, chests heaving as they draw aftershocks from each other in a continuous feedback loop until they’re both utterly spent. Shiro’s teeth ease free from Keith’s neck, lapping over the wound to close it. “Sorry,” Shiro whispers, expression sheepish.

“No you’re not,” Keith whispers back with a smirk.

Shiro rests his forehead against Keith’s, the scent of satisfaction pouring off of him. “No. I’m not.”

Their lips meet, slow and deep and indescribable. It lacks the urgency from before, but the same electricity is there, that same sparking current of rightness. It’s no less consuming and something tells Keith that no matter how many times he’s allowed to kiss Shiro—and hopefully it will be many, many more times—each time will feel just as new, just as exciting and novel as the first time.

It’s almost enough to distract him from the imminent conversation they have to have, the one where Keith will learn if he actually will be able to kiss Shiro those many, many times.

“Shiro… ” Keith murmurs against his lips.

“I know,” Shiro answers softly. “Just a little longer?”

And how can Keith deny Shiro anything?

They kiss until Keith’s knot finally goes down. Keith shifts to pull out, but Shiro is both on top of him and much heavier, so when Shiro grumbles, “stay,” and doesn’t budge, it’s very easy to stay happily buried in his omega, even as Keith’s cock softens and his come begins to leak out around him.

Shiro takes a deep breath and finally shifts, lifting just enough to look into Keith’s eyes. 

He’s so beautiful, Keith thinks.

Shiro smiles down at him, bright and warm. “You’re so beautiful,” Shiro says.

Keith nudges his nose against Shiro’s chin. “No fair. That’s what I was gonna say.”

Shiro’s smile gets even brighter. “Be my alpha,” he says.

Keith chokes. “W-what?”

“Be my alpha,” Shiro repeats serenely. “I’m not saying we bond-bite or do the ceremony or anything yet, but I know when something feels right. I’m certain that I want to be yours, the only question is if you want to be mine.”

There’s a flicker of doubt then, that Keith wants eradicated fully and immediately. There’s never been an easier question in his life.

“Of course, Shiro. Of course I want to be yours. More than anything.” Keith hesitates. “But won’t people think it’s weird that we’re…?”

“Brothers?” Shiro snorts. “Keith, I’ve cared about you for a long time, but I haven’t seen you as a brother since you presented and started smelling like a lovesick puppy every time I was around. And I don’t give a fuck what other people think.”

“You- I didn’t- You couldn’t have- what?” Keith splutters.

Shiro smirks. “I love you, sweetheart, but you’re not subtle. I—”

“You love me?” Keith stares.

“Wh- don’t look so shocked, of course I love you! And not only that—” Shiro drops a kiss on his nose, “I am in love with you,” a kiss on his cheek, “and if that’s a surprise to you,” his other cheek, “then I’ll just have to keep telling you until you’re sick of hearing it.” He attacks Keith with kisses then, anywhere his lips can reach without jostling them too much, an “I love you,” between each one.

“Ok, ok!” Keith giggles, eventually grabbing Shiro’s face and forcibly stopping him by occupying Shiro’s lips with his own. “I could never get sick of hearing it,” he says. “And I love you too.”

“I know.” Shiro grins at him. “But you could say it again, just in case.”

Keith laughs, and launches a more controlled but just as enthusiastic assault to Shiro’s cheeks and chin.

“I can’t believe you’ve known how I felt about you,” Keith says when their laughter has died down. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

“Baby, I think everyone knew. You were still basically a kid when I first started noticing, and then as we got older and grew closer I was always sort of aware of it but I wasn’t sure how I felt and you were too young anyway. And then last year, all the time we spent together over summer break really solidified my feelings but the timing still didn’t feel right. And then today, I dunno, it just… did.”

“Oh.” Keith takes a few moments to process this new, axis-tilting information. “You say everyone knew, but not like, my mom or anything.”

Shiro gives him such a look of pity when he says, “Keith, sweetheart… especially your mom.”

Keith’s groan of horror is cut off when his phone chooses that moment to chirp loudly from where it got distractedly shoved under his pillow. He intends to ignore it, then it chirps again, and then a third time.

Shiro chuckles. “Just check it, maybe it’s important.”

Keith fishes it out, then blinks at the text notifications. “It’s… my mom. She said… oh my god… ”

Keith’s face goes red and his mouth goes dry.

“What?” Shiro prods. “What did she say?”

“‘Congrats. Party face emoji.’” Keith reads tonelessly. “‘We’re outside at the fire pit, feel free to join us when you two are done’… oh my goddd,” Keith moans.

“Oh no...” Shiro says, though he seems far too amused for how mortified Keith feels.

“And she says that your dad asked us to spray some scent diffuser in the house before we come out. Then she says… Jesus, mom.” Keith groans before reading on. “She says, ‘then when you’ve sprayed, spray more, and when you’ve sprayed too much, spray just a little bit more. And since Takashi is visiting for the whole weekend, please make sure you use some scent blocking soap before you go back to school. I don’t want them to think I let you live in a den of iniquity.’ Den of iniquity , Mom, seriously? Shiro, stop laughing!”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Shiro wheezes through his laughter. Keith looks around for a pillow to hit him with and is about to forfeit the one beneath his head for a greater cause, when Shiro’s laughter tapers off and his expression goes thoughtful, then mischievous.

Keith’s eyes narrow. “What?”

“Well,” Shiro starts. “You could get some blocking soap like your mom said… ”

“Or…?”

Shiro smirks, and it swells in Keith’s heart again just how painfully handsome he really is. And he’s Keith’s.

“Or. You could… not do that.”

Keith blinks uncertainly. “Uh-huh...”

Shiro gives him a meaningful look. “And go back to school smelling very obviously like you spent your weekend fucking an omega.” He winks. “I’ll even keep the bite marks fresh for you.”

Keith bursts out laughing, even as the thought of it sends a little frisson of heat down his spine. “I love you so fucking much.”

Shiro grins. “I love you too, baby. I also just want to reiterate that along with the fucking and biting, I will still totally kick your classmates’ asses for you.”

“My hero,” Keith deadpans with a poorly concealed giggle.

“What can I say?” Shiro winks, eyes glittering. “I’m a romantic.”