Chapter Text
There are a few things Matthew Holt has learned over the past few years of being launched into space, kidnapped, thrust into an intergalactic war, and hailed as a hero of the universe.
Firstly, space is as huge and beautiful as he always knew it was – just twice as terrifying as he could ever have imagined.
Second, his little sister is in fact the smartest human that will ever exist and nothing will ever convince him otherwise.
And lastly, Shiro and Keith will never, ever get their shit together without him.
It's not that literally everyone aware of their existence can't tell from one single glance that they're secretly hopelessly in love – because it's basically the inside joke of the coalition at this point.
No, the problem is that the two of them have been in such a high intensity bromance with sexual tension as thick as tapioca for so long that they don't even know what it feels like to have normal feelings anymore.
They eat, sleep, and breathe each other – minus the eating and sleeping in all the ways that matter – and yet, when pressed on the issue they still both lament drunkenly to Matt that they'll go to their graves loving their best bro from afar.
And it's their own goddamn faults.
Even before the war had ended things had been tense between the two. Keith had been pushed away by an unfortunate case of brain puppetry and ended up with the Blades. Fortunately for Matt's libido they ended up working together fairly often, and those suits did his boy some favors.
But then Keith had disappeared and Matt had to deal with the uncanny valley copy of his best friend begging him for updates on his search and quietly crying over the acts that had pushed Keith into the dangerous situation in the first place.
At the time Matt had felt terrible, barely able to muster sympathy for a heartbroken Shiro over the bubbling bitterness spawned from the knowledge that it was all true. That he had pushed Keith away, until he took more and more dangerous missions, desperate to prove his worth... until he felt that his life was expendable for someone who didn't want him around anymore, that he'd be dead with no one to mourn him anyway.
Several agonizing months of radio silence later, Keith shows back up - with the biggest glow up Matt has ever had the pleasure of getting his mouth on. He comes, he fucks shit up, saves the day, confesses his love and no homo's himself in the same breath, saves the day again, and... nothing.
And goddamn nothing. Because apparently the bravest guy in the universe is too chicken shit to take a chance on the only sure thing that's ever existed in his life and would rather occupy Matt's bed and shoulder with his grubby ass than maybe try to have one single human conversation with the walking wall of beef that's been stuttering over him for longer than Matt can handle.
Not that he's complaining. Keith came back bigger everywhere. Matt spends at least two days a week walking like a cowboy and sitting gingerly enough that Pidge asked if he needed a donut to sit on – jokes on her, he's into that kind of pain.
But the pain he's not into is the giant headache in the form of one Takashi Shirogane, Admiral and Professional Coward, who has reverted to his pre-launch level of dicklessness when it comes to the only person who has literally tried to die for him twice – once while spilling his guts and trying not to get his guts spilled.
The fucking moron had even mentioned maybe trying to date again in Keith's hearing, not that he was actually going to find other men judging by the disgusting puppydog eyes aimed Keith's way. Unfortunately, neither of them have enough social skills to properly deliver or pick up that level of hint.
So of course, idiot number two had taken the opportunity to stomp his own heart to death at the thought of Shiro re-entering the Garrison dating pool and had promptly cried all over Matt's room, ate several pints of ice cream, and scheduled himself on the first shuttle to New Olkarion to help with the relief efforts.
Naturally, Shiro had been equally heartbroken, utterly convinced Keith was over their bond and him, and had eaten through three trays of mac and cheese - weeping in the Paladins' common room while wearing Keith's black lion slippers and blubbering his love to his mildly horrified team.
Keith didn't bother to answer the deluge of pings to his comm after that episode.
Matt's getting tired of pestering Allura for a wormhole out to the ass end of the galaxy every time he gets a message for a booty call from his favorite feral cat.
Something has got to give.