A Funeral For Our Butterflies

Something Sweet, Something Rotten

Shiro shivered in the cold November air, the wind hitting his cheeks as he sat on the edge of the dock, his legs hanging over the edge.

"Is there any reason you brought me here at five in the morning instead of our usual jog?" He asked through chattering teeth, rubbing his hands over his arms in an attempt to heat himself up.

Keith shook his head rapidly, kicking his legs back and forth over the water as he let out a small sigh.

Shiro let out a small huff upon receiving no response. "You know, if you dragged me all the way out here and won't tell me why, I'll have no choice but to dunk you in the lake."

Keith snorted, sending his brother a small smirk. "You wouldn't."

"You ruined my beauty sleep by an hour, Keith. Also, I'm your older brother. I have more rights than you."

"Whatever you say, old timer," Keith teased, his lips curling up into a grin. "Mom won't believe you, anyways."

Shiro rolled his eyes. "You're literally only five years younger than me. Also, at least I was married by your age. My white hairs have a reason for growing, you know."

Keith's smile slipped and he shifted his gaze away uncomfortably, kicking his legs over the water more quickly.

"Marriage...yeah..."

Shiro narrower his eyes suspiciously. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Keith shrugged. "I don't know. Is marriage worth getting old for? Like, look at you and Allura. You guys are getting grey hairs, and you've been getting them since before you got married. You just got more stressed with kids after you got married, and you're getting old really fast!"

Shiro blinked. "And?"

Keith frowned. "Don't you worry sometimes? Like, you're getting old really fast, and one day your kids will be grown up and you're just going to be with Allura and annoying the crap out of each other because that's what old married people do."

"Keith, what are you talking about?"

"Do you ever regret getting married?" Keith blurted out, meeting Shiro's eyes with his own.

Shiro gaped at him. "Why...why in the world would you ever think that?"

Keith frowned. "I don't know. I just...well, I don't know."

Shiro raised a brow. "Did you really come out here to ask me if I regret being married to the most wonderful woman in the world? Because I have to say, I don't think–"

"I'm thinking about proposing to Katie," Keith said quickly.

Shiro stopped talking mid sentence, turning to look at Keith with comically wide eyes. He just stared at his younger brother, Keith growing more unnerved by the second.

"H...hello? Earth to Shiro? Fuck. This is exactly why I didn't want to–"

"Holy shit!" Shiro yelled, startling poor Keith.

Keith jumped in the air, gasping as he started falling face forward into the lake. He was saved by Shiro, who grabbed onto Keith's jacket and pulled him back up into a sitting position.

Keith clutched his chest, glaring at his older brother with slit eyes. "Don't...fucking scare me like that!"

"Can you blame me?!" Shiro yelled, eyes filled with excitement. "You just admitted that you're going to propose!"

Keith's cheeks flushed a shade of pink and he let out a hesitant smile. "I did?"

Shiro grabbed the boy by his shoulders, sticking his face in Keith's. "This is so...so surprising! It's a good surprising!" He quickly reassured, watching Keith pout.