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a small, choked noise makes its way from the back of eugene's throat. he almost lets himself give in to the feeling of keith's lips and hands, but he frowns and pulls away.

"what the—no, you can't do this," he says, unable to meet the taller man's eyes. the tears he shed earlier threaten to make a reappearance, and he's disgusted at how weak he must seem. "you don't have to feel sorry for me," he adds, voice barely a whisper.

one of keith's hands comes back up to hold the side of his face. the fingers are gentle and have no harshness in their movements. "eugene," keith whispers. "look at me."

eugene slowly meets his eyes, tears welling up for real now. he chides himself for the spark of hope he feels when hearing keith say his name like that—quiet and caring and almost... loving. 

"that wasn't a pity kiss," keith continues.

"it—wasn't?" eugene asks, struggling to understand, grasping for some sort of meaning. his chest hurts and he just wants everything to make sense.

"no, you idiot. i kissed you because i love you."

with those words, eugene's head spins into a nosedive, and he breaks away from keith's hands and lips and breath and words to prop himself against the island for support. he stares at the taller man, completely unbelieving. "you—what?" he manages to gasp out.

"i love you, stupid," keith says, as a stupid grin crosses his face. "i love you." the words hit eugene's ears again, but they make no less of an impact.

before he can help it, eugene counters with "well, you're not being very nice about it."

"i can change that," keith says, smile growing as he sidles up to eugene again.

"don't get cocky," eugene tries to retaliate, but his retort comes out weakly. can this really be happening? he thinks. is he for real? how—

"you don't believe me, huh?" keith asks.

"not quite, i just—" eugene's face burns as his chest twists with equal parts confusion, joy, and lovesickness. keith's eyes soften, and he cups eugene's face again, kissing him sweetly with so much love—love that eugene has never dreamed of inspiring.

keith tilts his head down after a few soft seconds, bumping their foreheads together. "does that convince you?"

"yeah," eugene whispers, unable to form a good comeback with his currently scrambled mind. "are we—"

"if you want."

"how're we gonna tell everyone?"

"we'll work that out when we get there, yeah?"

"okay."

the space in the kitchen not occupied by them is filled with a half-blurred silence broken only by kisses and the occasional awestruck giggle. it's quiet, simple, and all that's needed.

and for the first time in his life, eugene feels truly happy.

✖❇✖

that was p gross huh yikes

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