My take on Jaith/Jeith week day 1 on Tumblr and my excuse to write shamelessly sappy fluff. Prompt is "confessions". Enjoy!

"I had a crush on you, you know," Keith tells him when they're lying next to each other in the dust, watching the stars above the desert. "Back when we were both students at the Garrison, I mean?"

James turns his head a little, surprised. "You did?"

"Yeah." Keith laughs quietly at the memory. "Hard to believe, huh?"

James hums in agreement. "Kind of. You always punch people you like in the face?"

"Not always. Only if they're jerks."

They're facing each other now, eyes locked. James is starting to find it a little hard to breathe, suddenly, with the way Keith's purple eyes are fixed on his, and god, he'd dreamt of those eyes for all of the past years.

"I was, wasn't I? A jerk, I mean. I'm sorry. Before you got expelled, I always meant to apologize at some point, but I never did, and then it was too late," James says quietly. It's the truth, he has many regrets in life, quite honestly, but never getting to apologize to Keith is definitely high on the list.

Keith exhales. "It's fine. We were just kids, and I think we both made mistakes. Punching someone in the face isn't the best way to confront them either, in retrospect."

"Yeah, that really hurt," James huffs. "But seriously, what I said back then… it was uncalled for, and I'm sorry. I deserved that punch."

"If you say so." Keith smiled. "I'll accept your apology if you accept mine for hitting you. Deal?"

"Deal."

They don't shake hands on it, though. In fact, they still haven't moved at all, still staring at each other, stars long forgotten. James thinks he might be imagining things, but he feels like even their breathing is in synch. What a stark difference from the way they used to be around each other, it's kind of funny.

They're being incredibly open, honest, and James feels like this is his only chance to say everything he wants to say, so he admits, "I had a crush on you too, back then."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. You were the cause of some really confusing feelings. I thought I didn't even like you, imagine what it felt like when my heart suddenly sped up when I saw you."

James snorts softly. At first, he genuinely thought he just had a very intense hatred towards Keith, to the point where his body reacted to it, but a conversation with his sister made everything look a lot different all of a sudden.

"I really didn't understand you, or myself for that matter. I think I was envious of your skills, mad because you would push everyone away, and I was kinda pissed at myself for still having a crush on you. Pretty silly now that I look back."

"No, I get that. I was... bad at letting people in," Keith says, and damn, he's really changed since before he disappeared.

If anyone told James' younger self he'd be lying here with Keith of all people, having a civilized conversation where nobody is being punched, he'd have laughed. Not that's he's complaining, though. It's nice, and he somewhat wistfully finds himself wishing they could've done that earlier. From what he knows, Keith didn't have anyone before Captain Shirogane took him under his wing, and James kind of resents himself for not having made an effort to befriend Keith.

Something must've shown on his face, because Keith whispers, "James? It's okay, really. You don't have anything to feel guilty for."

James is still mesmerized by the colour of Keith's eyes, but Keith finally breaks eye contact and turns so he's lying on his back again.

Again, James feels like he has to say everything he wants to say, it's now or never. He takes a deep breath and rolls onto his back as well. "I think I still have it."

"Have what?"

"The… crush on you. I don't think it ever fully went away."

"Huh," Keith says, and then he's silent for a while until James thinks his heart might just beat out of his chest from nervousness. "I think… I still have it, too."

"Huh," James echoes, and when Keith's hand hesitantly finds his, he closes his fingers over Keith's and squeezes gently.

Here's the link to the Tumblr post for this event for anyone who's interested: post/177174562099/james-and-keith-week-is-anyone-really-surprised