[ the initial outburst makes keith flinch, his regret instant and overwhelming. he shouldn't have assumed, he should have asked -- a fact that is all the more obvious when considering how preposterous it is that shiro would ever be thinking of boyfriends in this miserable context.

before Keith can get a hasty apology out, shiro continues speaking in such self-deprecating terms that keith forgets self-preservation entirely and rolls back around. but it doesn't stop at simply turning. looking pained keith puts his hand on a broad shoulder, grip firm like that's meant to accomplish something. ]

Shiro, what are you talking about? You're not pathetic. You're -- I'd be dead right now if it weren't for you! And besides that, you're the most amazing person -- there's nobody like you, and I...

[ a beat, then keith inches a smidge closer, not quite touching chest-to-chest, but close enough that the heat from shiro's body makes him shiver. ]

.. I don't know. It feels good like this.