FWB|| Klance HS AU✓

Chapter 53: 'It's okay, Keith'

TW: mentions of sexual assault and trauma
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"You can do this," Keith spoke to himself, staring at his reflection in the mirror. "You can do this."

Keith had been standing in the mirror for the past ten minutes giving himself a pep talk. Today was the day, the day Keith was going to tell Shiro about the sexual assault. So yeah, this was kind of a huge deal. This would be a huge deal to anyone, not just Keith. Telling people that you were sexually assaulted wasn't exactly the easiest thing to do. There was no way of sugarcoating a conversation like that, let alone skipping over the explicit parts. It's not like Keith wanted to sugarcoat anything anyway. He wasn't going spare Shiro of the sad details just because it was something hard to hear. No, if he was going to tell Shiro then he was going to tell Shiro everything. Sure, it would be difficult, far more difficult than having to tell Lance, but it needed to be done. Shiro deserved to know what happened to Keith and why he acted the way he did for the past few months.

Indigo eyes filled to the brim with worry and nervousness. He didn't know how he was supposed to do this. Keith wasn't sure how he'd be able to look in his brother's eyes and break his heart. Keith says that because he knows that this won't be easy for Shiro to hear. It'll hurt him worse than he's ever been hurt before to know that Keith had to go through such a horrible thing. As crazy as it seems, Shiro loves Keith more than anything in the world. Keith is Shiro's only family and he'd give his life for his little brother. That alone makes it ten times more difficult than telling Lance. Telling Lance was hard because the wounds were still fresh and Lance feels obligated to protect Keith. Shiro will be much different because this would be Keith's first time explaining what happened after he got better. Shiro acts on emotion most times just as Lance does, but he barely has a filter. Whatever Shiro says will come from love, but it will also be a bad mix of everything else he's feeling in that moment. Keith doesn't want to have to put his brother through the pain of knowing what happened to him. He already dragged Shiro through hell and back, which is why Keith felt horrible that he had to do this.

Keith inhaled deeply, taking one last good look at himself. He nodded his head, convincing himself he could do this. Keith walked out of the bathroom, brushing his hands through his bangs. He made his way down the hallway and dashed for the staircase. Keith nearly flew down the stairs, walking into the living room. There he found Adam curled up on the couch with Kosmo at his feet. Adam hadn't been feeling too good lately so he was bundled up in blankets with a cup of broth in his hands. He peered up at Keith with a weak smile, making the younger bit his lip in sympathy.

"Do you know where Shiro is?" Keith asked in a hushed tone.

"He's in his office... he's kind of in a mood so I'd suggest leaving him alone. Is there something I can help you with though?" Adam asked. Shiro got really testy when he had to work from home because he hated getting distracted. He kind of lashed out at Adam for bothering him earlier. Adam was mad and sick so he told Shiro to fix his attitude before speaking to him again. He didn't want Keith to get yelled at too.

"No, thank you. I just have to talk to him about something," Keith spoke, smiling down at Adam. He approached the older, pressing the back of his hand to Adam's forehead. Keith could feel him burn up against his hand, making his eyes widen. "You're still hot, are you feeling any better?"

Adam shook his head before saying, "No. I feel like I got hit by a truck. I'll be fine though, it's just a little fever."

"Yeah, but a fever means a lot more with your lupus-"

"I'm going to be okay, don't worry. I'm the one who's supposed to be worrying about you," Adam mentioned, another weak smile pulling at his lips. "Besides, I've got Keith Junior over here to watch me," he said, referring to Kosmo at his feet.