Chapter 1

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Keith wouldn't say living here was the worst  thing in his life.
After all, Shiro was here.
His favorite restaraunt was here.
The beach, of course, was here.

There were too many good things about living in California for Keith to say it was the worst.

But it certainly wasn't the best.
After all, his mother was from here, and he couldn't say he was on the best terms with her.
How could she call herself a mother after disappearing like that?
Then again, he didn't exactly have a wonderful relationship with his father, either.

But the raven tried not to think about it, wanting to worry about just two things.
Graduating highschool and cute boys. That was all he needed, right?

" Keith...Keith, you gotta get up, buddy"

Said male just groaned, before finally sitting up and stretching a bit.

" wh- it's not even six yet, what the hell do you need me for now?" He muttered, yawning.
Shiro was always waking him early for those damned stupid stunts of his. He likes to call them 'brotherly bonding', but Keith thought they had bonded enough over their shitty family lives.

Oh.

That wasn't exactly a great thing to bond over, now was it?

Shiro just chuckled, " come on, the weather is gonna be amazing today. You promised you'd go swimming with me once it was overcast".

The younger male just sighed, plopping back down on the bed, " I said I would if the sun died. Overcast doesn't quite cut it"

" just quit your whining and get up. Allura's coming any minute " Shiro warned, running a hand through his hair as he left the room.

Goddamnit, he shouldn't have done that.
Now Keith was pining again.

The raven had taken a while to realize it, but he was pretty damn gay.
Combine that with someone with a body like a Shiro's and you've got the ultimate gaylord.

Shiro wasn't his brother, of course.
The two of them had met at group therapy. Shiro for some kind of trauma, and Keith for being a little too violent in all the foster homes he'd beñen to.
Shiro had yet to disclose what the hell had gotten him all messed up like he was, but Keith honestly didn't want to know.
Not that he didn't care, of course. He just didn't know if he was ready for anything that heavy.

The two had become quick friends ( at the time, Keith had been hoping for something more ) and had eventually done enough shitty part-time jobs and saving up to buy a house together.

Of course, Shiro turned out to be straight as a pin, and even got a girlfriend. Not to mention he was just a few years too old for Keith.

Just cause a man finds someone he likes doesn't mean you just stop liking him, though.

It was another fifteen minutes before the raven finally rolled out of bed and slipped on his wetsuit. He used to have swim trunks, but decided he was tired of rubbing aloe vera all over himself and shedding like some kind of snake. Turns out, pale skin doesn't exactly do well with the blazing hot sun. 

He did a quick check to make sure he looked a little less shitty than usual before heading into the kitchen, attempting to tie his hair into a low ponytail. There was just barely enough to keep it from absolutely falling apart.

" morning, Keith. You look a wreck, as usual"

Keith sighed, smiling a bit at the teasing, " at least I don't dye my hair , Allura ".

Said female scoffed at that,  and the two's playful banter went on for a bit before they finally just laughed.

This, to put it simply, was their relationship.

Keith had been a bit rude towards her at first, but eventually the two decides to stop 'fighting over Shiro'  to admire his ass together.
In harmony.

The two talked for a bit while they waited for Shiro, both grinning when he finally came in wearing only his swim trunks. He didn't seem to get the memo that pale people sunburn easily, and still complained when he had to lie on his stomach for a week and suffer through a few thick coats of aloe vera.

After a few compliments on Shiro's appearance and a double-check that they had everything they needed, the three piled into Allura's convertible and headed out.

The beach wasn't as crowded with tourists as usual. Then again, Shiro usually picked a certain part of the beach because of that very trait, and it would be even less populated with the threat of a storm.

It was a bit of a drive, considering they lived right in the center of Bombay Beach, and that was prime tourist country.

Not quite as tourist-driven as Salton City, but still a scary place in the summer months.

After nearly half an hour, they were parked, lathered up with sunscreen, and ready to swim. Of course, with Keith's luck, the sun came out right when he felt the first chill of the water hit his feet.

" Shit, Shiro, you said it was a nice day. The sun and I aren't exactly friends, you know " he shouted after the male, who was already swimming further and further out. He ignored Keith's rant, thought the raven wasn't sure he'd heard him.

" how would you know, you don't have any friends!" Allura retorted, though she was definitely joking.

He hoped, anyway.

It turned out, despite being unable to hear Keith moments before, Shiro was still in hearing distance.

Such a thing was apparent because of his sudden shout of, " NICE BURN ALLURA " before diving underwater as if to avoid the circumstances of his sudden and inevitable betrayal.

Allura, being the good sport she is, apologized almost immediately, but Keith shrugged her off, knowing a damn good burn when he heard one. Besides, she never meant it.

The male finally gave in, swimming after Shiro in an attempt to capture him and mostly likely attempt to drown him.

Who's he kidding, Keith doesn't have enough muscle to take down a guy like Shiro.

****

They swam for most of the day, though Keith opted to simply lie under the umbrella with Allura after lunch.

The trio eventually packed everything up, but decided to a quick bite to eat before heading home. So, Shiro and Allura simply drove a short distance to Calipatria and sent Keith into a gas station for some food.

The two were usually quite the health freaks, but all three of them were too exhausted to even bother cooking that evening. Not to mention they were getting low on gas, so why not kill two birds with one stone?

So, Keith begrudgingly headed into the first gas station they came to, getting some cash from Shiro pay for the gas as well as find them something to eat.

He didn't take long to get them all something to eat and pay for the gas, though he did end up admiring the little keychains and things that sat round the register. This didn't exactly please the teenage cashier; she practically begged him to leave.

The bell jingled when he walked out, just as it had when he walked in, though Keith was surprised to hear it again when a boy about his age ran out behind him.

The raven only got a glimpse of him for a few seconds, but he'd be lying if he said  it wasn't the best few seconds of his whole goddamn life.

Even from those few seconds, Keith could see how wonderfully tan, lean and....beautiful the other was.

He was staring so intently, he even noticed how said male was crying.

Even his tears were lovely.
They shared a second between them when their eyes met, but when Keith blinked it was gone.

The male was running again, and Keith knew he wouldn't be able to catch up. Especially because he stood there for several minutes after the encounter, simply staring after this...this angel in absolute awe.

The raven sighed, heading back to where Allura and Shiro were parked, knowing he'd never see a lovely face like that again.

Even Shiro's wonderful jawline and almost perfect body couldn't hold contest to someone like the crying angel he'd seen before.

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