...from their ever-demanding lives between their positions and families. Keith had taken up a position as a coalition officer between the Garrison and the Blades, which allowed him to spend most of his time on Earth, only called away for missions of utmost importance.

And he trained the cadets and new Blade members in combat. Even though he preferred not to ever fight for his life again. He had seen enough to last him several lifetimes. Nah. Now, a day at the beach with Shiro and the rest of their friends was the much-preferred option.

He had brought one of his battered copies of the Monsters & Mana series he had started to reread, carefully turning the pages as he followed the group of misfit heroes on their journey. It was still a very intriguing read, and just perfect for the day.

Shiro lay next to him, on his stomach and watching the children of their friends running around and having fun in the water, with Lance shouting after them and Hunk providing them with treats. He let out a content hum when one of Keith’s hands found its way onto his back, ...

..., trailing the contours of his muscles and following the outline of some scars. “That’s nice.” Keith smiled at the murmured words, and he continued to run his fingers over Shiro’s beautiful back as he finished the chapter of the novel in his lap.

“Want me to reapply your sunscreen?” “Should be good for another hour or so… I let the kids apply it, and they used like half the bottle.” With a soft smile on his lips, Shiro rolled on his side and then sat up. “This is such a nice spot…”

“Hunk said that it belonged to someone in his family, I think?” Keith continued to trace his fingers across Shiro’s back with the lightest of touches and watched him close his eyes briefly in content.

It was rare enough to see Shiro this relaxed, not worrying about his position and the responsibilities that came with it. The Garrison had rewarded him with the admiralty to honour his achievements, even though he still preferred to be at the helm of the Atlas.

“Wanna go for a swim later?” Keith asked after a few more quiet seconds. “I feel like I need to stretch my legs soon.” “Sure. First one to the buoy and back wins?” Shiro’s previously soft smile had turned into a daring quirk of his lips, cocky as hell.

Then he demonstratively stretched his shoulders, especially the one holding his new Altean prosthetic that looked so smooth, almost as if he was only wearing a grey and black glove. “You think you can do it, old-timer?”

That made Shiro laugh, and shove Keith in jest. “I’m gonna show you how it’s done, punk.” “Uncle Keith! Uncle Keith!” A little girl with silvery blond hair came running towards them. “Kosmo is in the water but doesn’t want to come back out… Uncle Keith!”

Keith shared a glance with Shiro before he rolled his eyes. “Sometimes I think that dog forgets that he can literally just ‘poof’ away… I’m coming, Iris.” Just as the girl arrived, both men made it to their feet, Keith could already see the others gather around the spot...

...where the children had been playing, with Lance taking pictures of everything. And of course, just shy of the deep water, Kosmo swam around. He didn’t look the least bit distressed but rather had fun with all the attention of the people trying to get him to come back. Idiot.

“So, whoever gets Kosmo back on land wins?” Keith asked with a devious glance to Shiro as they stepped out of the shade of their umbrella. “Sure.” Moments later, they were in the water, swimming towards Kosmo who was greeting them with excited woofs but didn’t make...

...any efforts to come closer to the beach. “Hey, buddy!” Keith panted as he reached the dog. He had to laugh, even though he probably should scold him for being such a bad boy. But who could really be mad at such a big baby having fun.

Kosmo paddled towards Shiro who had arrived just behind Keith to greet him with licks, his tail splashing wildly. Laughing, Shiro tried to push him away but mostly failed. “Someone sure is having fun!”

“Come on, let’s go back,” Keith said, trying to get a hold on Kosmo. “You’ll get a treat if you come back with us.” Kosmo didn’t need to be told twice. He definitely loved his treats.

So as soon as both men had a hold on him, he teleported back to their spot before they could even protest. “Kosmo! No!” Disoriented for half a second after the surprise jump, Keith tried to stop his dog from shaking his fur and thus getting everything wet. He failed gloriously.

However, Keith’s scowl at Kosmo was short-lived when he heard Shiro cackle beside him, a sound he loved. So, with a grin on his face himself, he fished for the treats in the now wet bag. “You little devil…”

Shiro was still chuckling and snickering when the others arrived. “Little devil indeed.” Kosmo showed the biggest and most innocent puppy eyes he could muster, knowing exactly that they were talking about him. He welcomed the treat with a happy woof, and then another one.

After one last given by Shiro, the dog fished for the Frisbee they had brought along. “Good idea, buddy.” Keith put away the treats, just as Shiro got up to follow Kosmo for a few rounds of fetch. He followed them moments later.

And soon, the whole group was playing fetch, and to the delight of the children, Kosmo teleported back and forth between catches. It was a good day. And Keith looked forward to many more to follow with his family and friends. ~Fin~

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