[Working with the Blade did come with the "benefit" of having his ass handed to him by aliens nearly twice his size on a regular basis, in the name of "training." But it has paid off. Some of his rougher edges have been refined, technique rather than all instinct -- though Keith would likely always be driven more by the latter than anything else. He stops beside Shiro, smiling -- excited about the prospect of getting Shiro on the training deck again, and honestly just pleased to hear that laugh.]
Yeah, definitely. Sounds like fun. ...hope you haven't gone and gotten rusty on me.
[And the opportunity to be a brat wouldn't be passed up apparently, for the moment. Or ever, probably. But he's looking forward to it. It's different than training with Kolivan or the others.
...flying Black is a little more daunting. But he meant what he said. He's done running. If Shiro winds up needing it, needing him, he wants to be there. Besides, just flying should be painless, right? He's never shied away from jumping into the cockpit of anything, even if this particular cockpit comes with a lot of memories and guilt and baggage. But that's what he needs to deal with if he's ever going to pilot the Black Lion in more than just flight practice.]
That works. It's been a while, so it'll be good to get a feel for it again.
It really is. I like your Krolia a lot by the way!
And you won't be alone. [Shiro finishes for him as he starts for the elevator that will take them up to the bridge. He knows from Allura that Keith had never wanted to sit in Black for longer than necessary. He couldn't bond with the Lion because of the loss he'd been suffering through. It makes him feel guilty he ever got lost.
He follows his words up with a tease as he hits the call button, looking over his shoulder with a half-wry smile on his face.]
And you better have not gotten too jump happy. I warned you how that will cost you. [Once you're in the air you can't really change direction or alter your course. Not without a jet pack. It has always been a really fun moment in training to see where Keith takes his criticisms. Usually in some way he'll find a way to prove him wrong.]
[Keith actually freezes mid-step at those words. A brief moment before he quickens his pace to catch up with Shiro. Not alone... he thinks it'll make a difference. It's true. After the Black Lion had chosen him, despite Keith outright pleading for it not to happen, he hadn't known what to do. It still felt like giving up on Shiro, like betraying him somehow, like somehow it meant they didn't need him -- when the truth was and is, Keith has always needed him. He'd kept the lion at arm's length, like he's so good at keeping nearly everyone, really.]
Right.
[Maybe it can be different this time, without the backdrop of those circumstances as a place to start, working with Shiro instead.
Then Shiro talks again and Keith is pulled from heavier thoughts in favor of giving him a look, eyebrows lifted.]
Hey. Not jump happy, But I still say it comes in handy. Galra sentries' centers of gravity are too high not to.
[A jolt of electricity rides through him when Keith's eyebrows lift. Or that's how it feels. His grin turns just a hair wilder than he'd meant it to. He steps into the lift and turns to face him with one eyebrow lifted.]
Living opponents will take advantage of those leaps. [He's goading him and he knows it. It's like saying 'bring it'. Shiro breathes in, dialing back the thrill singing in his veins. Later. Later they'll collide like two meteors on a collision course.]
But, I'll see how you counter that. And no, I haven't been idle. The Coalition sometime ask me to help train soldiers and there's always sparring with the rest of the team. Just none of them fight as up close and personal as you do.
[He pauses and a touch embarrassed, adds hastily.] It's game over if Allura gets close to you.
[Keith rises to the challenge, to the goading, exactly as Shiro must expect him to. There's a light in violet eyes, excited at the prospect of going a few rounds in the training deck with Shiro, of course, but more than that, seeing the look on Shiro's face, the fact that they're falling back into familiar patterns, that they still have this.
Something in Keith lights up around Shiro, like it doesn't around anyone else, drawn into the magnetism of the older man. Always has been.]
Living opponents have to catch me first.
[He's cocky -- the things he's confident in, he's confident. Though he's looking at Shiro now as he continues, laughing, oddly thrilled by it.] So you really have missed me, huh?
[He keys the lift to rise and the doors slide shut. His voice turns softer, more personal.] Yes. Yes, I have.
[The thrill is still there but behind it is a warm affection for his younger friend. He reaches out and grips his shoulder again. This is truly the best he's felt in days...weeks? It's difficult to fathom time out here.
He chuckles quietly.]
Well. This living opponent will have to see if he can catch you. I'm willing to bet that's a yes. But we'll see.
[Keith had been teasing, deliberately bratty, if only because that reaction is easier than thinking too hard about Shiro's words. And then Shiro comes back with that softer tone, with that sincere and plain agreement, and Keith falls quiet. He takes a moment to wrestle with the warmth spreading out through his chest, looking back to Shiro as that hand falls to his shoulder.
A smile, an honestly rare and genuine little thing, finds its way over his lips, replaced a moment later by a cockier twist of a smirk.]
We'll definitely see. You might be surprised. [He's posturing, but he means it too. The Blade and their training have been fairly merciless, but Keith can't argue with the results. A pause and he adds, quieter.] I've really missed you too.
[He steps closer and gently tugs Keith into another hug. It’s been so long since he could that even a second hug just isn’t enough. He lets go as the lift doors open. Beyond them the scan is still running, compiling data and displaying it. The maintence checks he had been doing before were left half finished.
A datapad lays discarded by his chair. It’s a bit chaotic and a testament to how he up and left with no warning to rush to Keith’s aid. He coughs with a little embarrassment.] You didn’t seem to have enough time for me to do anything but come after you.
[He enters the bridge and picks up the pad, using it to clear the scan. He brings back up the maps of the quadrant and maitence checks he needs to complete. Yet he sets it back down in his chair and turns to Keith.]
Kolivan only ever told me about your progress as a Blade. Never about how you’re doing directly. I...tried to figure that out whenever we were discussing joint operations and you were on the screen too.
[There isn't even a scrap of hesitation. Shiro pulls him close and Keith moves to hug him back, melting into the embrace, into Shiro, and all the words he expect he'll never say out loud. Maybe it's obvious how much he's missed this, needed this, and not only because any sort of affection is something that is entirely missing from his interactions with the Blade.
He's almost disappointed when the doors open, but he straightens up and follows Shiro onto the bridge, looking at the scattered chaos. Oh. He'd scared him, hadn't he?] Guess I kind of had you drop everything, huh?
[Oops. But he's more than grateful. If Shiro hadn't arrived when he did, Keith doesn't know if he'd have made it in the end. He hesitates before looking back to the taller man as he speaks.]
Yeah. Kolivan's all shop talk, all the time. [But. Well.] I was okay. Got scolded a lot about my emotions being a liability, about not going back for the others who didn't make it out, about the mission being the first and only priority.
[Keith understands it. The Blade of Marmora stood virtually alone against the Galra empire for millennia, a small fringe barely hanging on to existence, doing whatever they could. Emotions and attachments were a luxury beyond what they could afford. But understanding it or not, he's not great at that detachment.]
Sounds like a lot to adjust to. [He says at last as he clears little bits of the chaos. Last thing any of them need is more chaos in their lives. He sets a check of the engines and what essence of Allura's life force is left in the system to run as he pads back to Keith's side. Right now he doesn't want to be far from him.]
...The way Voltron operates and the way the Blades have has always been different. We need our emotions. It's how the bond between us and in turn the Lions work.
[He looks up watching the data scroll up for a long moment and turns back to him.]
He still sent you out on solo missions. You don't do that with an operative you can't trust to succeed.
[Keith admits. He'll protest to Kolivan over and over that he won't let his emotions get in the way, but. He also knows if any of the paladins needed him, if they were in danger, if he could do anything to help them -- or his mother, for that matter, or Kolivan himself, Keith can't see himself turning his back on any of them even for the good of the mission. Look what happened at the Kral Zera. Shiro showed up and Keith immediately tossed the mission out the window.
No need to bring that up though. Instead he shifts that much closer to the other man as well; there's something comforting about his presence. That's not new, just... something he missed.]
I think Kolivan is good enough at knowing what people are capable of. It wasn't an accident he sent me to retrieve my mother. I got a particularly clear "emotions are a luxury we can't afford" talk before that mission. And then Krolia's the one who broke that rule. She should've let them kill me.
[For a second he isn't sure he heard him. Then the words register. He turns them over in his head and sets the pad down on a chair. He makes sure he set it where it won't fall off the console he left it on.
Shiro studies him with a neutral expression that's difficult to read. Like someone thinking over a question that deserves a great deal of thought. He's not surprised that Keith came to that conclusion. The Blade are about sacrifice. Too much in his opinion. Keith has always been self sacrificing. Willing to throw himself into the path of fire for the sake of others.
This is a dangerous precipice he's on and he's not sure how to guide him away from it.]
If it were the reverse, would you have let her die? Even if you didn't know who she was? [He knows the answer. But it isn't about what he knows.]
[Keith... doesn't particularly like that expression on Shiro's face. It is too hard to read, but he gets the distinct feeling the Black Paladin is reading him like a book. Because Shiro has always been able to do that, sees through the walls and defenses and everything that Keith surrounds himself with like they weren't even there to begin with.
He shifts his weight from one foot to another, hesitating at the question.]
My mission was to get her out... [That's partially true. Keeping the super weapon out of anyone's hands was first and foremost. But...] ...but no. I wouldn't have left without her, even if I didn't know who she was at the time.
[He leans against the console, one hand on it and waits until Keith is finished. This is the hardest part of guiding anyone he really cares about. Watching them work it out for themselves. But Keith needs this. But his expression softens into something a little sad. He makes sure his voice is calm and gentle.]
Teams don't work based on who is the most expendable, Keith. We all help each other and find a new path through that would have been unlikely if we'd been on our own. If she'd let you die, what would that have really accomplished?
You'd just be gone. Maybe for the Blades...that kind of reasoning is wrong. But not here. And not to you. That's never been who you were.
You always find new ways to make it through and bring everyone home.
[It is a different world from the way the Blade of Marmora operates. And half of him might have wondered if it were the difference between human and Galra, but that doesn't seem right either, not after Krolia risked so much for his sake. Whatever the reason, the difference is clear.
And there are parts of Keith that want to argue, reflexively want push back because in many ways it's easier if his life doesn't matter, but he's starting to wonder if there aren't people who need him after all, somehow.
He ducks his head.] You make it really hard to argue with you sometimes, you know. It's pretty annoying. [But he peeks up at Shiro with a smile.]
[He smiles, and spreads his hands apart. They've backed away from that potentially terrible cliff. For now. It will take time but maybe, Keith will come to see he's right.] What can I say? You're worth arguing with.
[He picks up the datapad and finishes the check, swiping to the next one with a flick of his fingers.]
And trusting with my back. Just as you trust me with yours.
[Keith falls quiet now. He wonders if Shiro really understands how much those things mean to him. How much it means to hear that someone thinks he's worth something. That Shiro trusts him. It's not something he's ever heard from anyone else, and sometimes he doesn't understand how someone like Shiro can actually think those things about him.
He meant what he'd told Shiro, what feels like such a long time ago, that his life would have been so different if he never met him. Shiro is the only one who's never given up on him. And it hits Keith hard just how much he's missed him, how much he's worried that somehow he'd lost that.
Keith doesn't answer, just walks up behind Shiro and tips forward, leaning his forehead against Shiro's back, between his shoulder blades, armor or not, arms wrapping around him from behind. Just. Give him a minute here, Shiro.]
[His hands still on the datapad. Shiro shuts his eyes and lets them both have this quiet moment. One hand drifts to touch where Keith's arms are wrapped around him. His hand drifts down until it closes over his.
He'd missed this. It had been so hard to let him go but Keith had told him what he'd needed at the time. He has a feeling that has changed for both of them. The mistakes he's made have taught him how to be better. Hopefully Keith and the team can benefit from his realizations.
It doesn't feel as insurmountable or confusing as it did when he got up that morning. He sets the pad down again, letting it automate the checks. Normally he does it manually.
Normally he does this alone. He breathes in deep.]
Remember, whenever you need me. I'm here. ...and thank you, for being there when I need you. I can't tell you how much that means to me.
[It had been what he needed at the time, even if all along Keith is pretty sure it'd been running -- from conflict, from his own inadequacies and insecurities, running towards thing he didn't know about himself but thought maybe he could somehow find out. And he doesn't regret going with the Blade, learning the things he's learned. Maybe he's grown a little, enough to actually stand and face the things he needs to.
The hand that settles over his makes something ache in his chest, something warm and unspoken, and even if his face is currently hidden (or maybe because it is) he smiles.]
You've always been there for me, Shiro, when no one else has.
[The single, stable point in his universe.]
And I-- [The words stick in his throat, and a moment later he exhales a laugh, reluctantly he unwinds his arms from around him and steps around to face him.] Thanks.
[It's like gravity the way he's caught in Keith's orbit. He could be flying unsteadily and there he is, correcting his course. It's a kind of peace he hadn't recognized on Earth when they'd been friends and not teammates and comrades.
He'd seen the potential sleeping deep inside and now...He faces him and really looks at him, smile warm and real.]
Any time. When everyone else gave up you... [He ducks his head and laughs quietly to himself.]
...no. [Shiro shakes his head and looks him in the eye. He steps forward and lets instinct guide him, setting one hand on Keith's shoulder and letting every wall down to let see what he probably already could. He's so tired, but there's hope and affection in his eyes.]
Welcome home. The circumstances aren't ideal...but, I think everything will turn out okay, somehow. For both of us.
[It isn't fair for Shiro to smile at him that way. Not even remotely fair because it catches Keith's heart in his chest and he almost has to look away. But he won't. He doesn't want to, doesn't want to waste a second.
That hand lands on his shoulder and he meets Shiro's gaze, and he sees that tiredness, he does, but he sees everything else there too. And whatever it takes, he... he wants to be here. For Shiro. He wants to be with him, wants to take some of the weight on his shoulders from him.]
It will. I think... I think I really believe that. It's good to be home.
[His smile remains and his hand shifts, brushing Keith's hair out of his face as he draws back and sits down in his chair.] It wouldn't be fair not to tell you how we've been.
[The warmth hasn't left the room and he isn't about to force it out. It seems to be helping both of them.]
I know you've been right there when we listed technical details or plans, and when we gave you locations Lotor turned over....but our work has been about the same. Flying missions, taking out targets, and assisting the rebel forces. ...except Allura found something vital.
I'm not sure just what it means yet. But, she is now an Altean Alchemist just like her father was.
[There's a moment where Keith turns into that touch through his hair without thinking, like he's drawn to it like some affection starved, well, him. And maybe he is, or maybe it's because it's Shiro and Keith has always been on the verge of chasing something more there, and maybe he knows full well that he shouldn't be. Shiro has already given him so much, is already so important in his life, that he doesn't have any right to ask for more, doesn't want to do anything to risk what's already there. And yet, for just a moment it's hard to hide that longing before Keith seems to realize it and turns his gaze pointedly to one of the displays.
It's too precious, what they have between them, and he almost broke it already, with the way things had been going. He couldn't live with himself if he drove Shiro off. Like he's done with everyone else in his life.
So Keith moves to lean a hip against a console, listening as Shiro speaks.]
That's how he was able to make the Lions in the first place, right? That's incredible... how'd she manage that?
It was...Lotor's research that started it. [Despite himself he shifts in the chair so they're not that far apart. It hadn't been there at first but over the time he's known Keith there's been something just beyond their friendship. It hadn't been noticeable at first but after seeing him face his trial and seeing himself give up on Keith.
He'd started noticing it consciously. Being away from Keith for so long makes it all too clear. His breath had caught when Keith had turned into his touch. He shouldn't chase that feeling. But he leans on the console cutting more of the distance between them, his arm resting near Keith's hip.]
There's an old Altean myst about a mystical land...and through his research and Allura finding a special stone among Haggar's research materials...we found it.
[He shifts, leaning a bit into Keith as he uses his right hand to bring up the images and video of the white hole and its guardian. He shouldn't be so affection starved. It puts a lot on Keith when he's already asking so much of him. But it's like being a moth attracted to the flames.]
It's called Oriande. Only worthy Alteans can pass the guardian. It disabled the ship and Voltron. If Allura hadn't been found worthy... [He trails off, unsure if he should finish and shakes his head.] The important part is she was able to succeed and restore both.
[Lotor's research and Haggar's research. Keith isn't sure he likes the sound of either of those, and especially finds an uneasy feeling twisting in him at the thought of the combination. But Allura knows what she's doing, right? She must. So he'll take some comfort from that thought at least.
He notices Shiro leaning closer. Of course he does. He's aware of the other in a way he's never been with anyone else, like some magnetic pull between them keeps some internal compass always aligned when they're close. Never mind when Shiro actually leans into him, and Keith is sure even that incidental touch burns.]
...if she hadn't, you wouldn't have made it. Any of you.
[It's a chilling thought, to hear they'd come that close -- which is strange. They all risk their lives every day in this war. But to know concretely that he'd almost lost them all, almost lost Shiro, and he hadn't even known, it makes his chest feel too tight, a sharp shatter of feeling.
He reaches over, fingertips moving carefully through that shock of white hair, brushing it back, touch lingering so much longer than it ought to. He can't imagine never seeing him again, never hearing his voice. Never having told him... but no. Shiro is alive. His heart refuses to even entertain the idea of Shiro being gone for good, recoils painfully from it.]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Oh! Well then you're the reason I was logged in as Krolia to begin with Haha it's a small RP world
Yeah, definitely. Sounds like fun. ...hope you haven't gone and gotten rusty on me.
[And the opportunity to be a brat wouldn't be passed up apparently, for the moment. Or ever, probably. But he's looking forward to it. It's different than training with Kolivan or the others.
...flying Black is a little more daunting. But he meant what he said. He's done running. If Shiro winds up needing it, needing him, he wants to be there. Besides, just flying should be painless, right? He's never shied away from jumping into the cockpit of anything, even if this particular cockpit comes with a lot of memories and guilt and baggage. But that's what he needs to deal with if he's ever going to pilot the Black Lion in more than just flight practice.]
That works. It's been a while, so it'll be good to get a feel for it again.
It really is. I like your Krolia a lot by the way!
He follows his words up with a tease as he hits the call button, looking over his shoulder with a half-wry smile on his face.]
And you better have not gotten too jump happy. I warned you how that will cost you. [Once you're in the air you can't really change direction or alter your course. Not without a jet pack. It has always been a really fun moment in training to see where Keith takes his criticisms. Usually in some way he'll find a way to prove him wrong.]
thank you!! your keith is also lovely btw :D
Right.
[Maybe it can be different this time, without the backdrop of those circumstances as a place to start, working with Shiro instead.
Then Shiro talks again and Keith is pulled from heavier thoughts in favor of giving him a look, eyebrows lifted.]
Hey. Not jump happy, But I still say it comes in handy. Galra sentries' centers of gravity are too high not to.
[Don't make him demonstrate on you, Mister.]
Aw thank you!
Living opponents will take advantage of those leaps. [He's goading him and he knows it. It's like saying 'bring it'. Shiro breathes in, dialing back the thrill singing in his veins. Later. Later they'll collide like two meteors on a collision course.]
But, I'll see how you counter that. And no, I haven't been idle. The Coalition sometime ask me to help train soldiers and there's always sparring with the rest of the team. Just none of them fight as up close and personal as you do.
[He pauses and a touch embarrassed, adds hastily.] It's game over if Allura gets close to you.
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Something in Keith lights up around Shiro, like it doesn't around anyone else, drawn into the magnetism of the older man. Always has been.]
Living opponents have to catch me first.
[He's cocky -- the things he's confident in, he's confident. Though he's looking at Shiro now as he continues, laughing, oddly thrilled by it.] So you really have missed me, huh?
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[The thrill is still there but behind it is a warm affection for his younger friend. He reaches out and grips his shoulder again. This is truly the best he's felt in days...weeks? It's difficult to fathom time out here.
He chuckles quietly.]
Well. This living opponent will have to see if he can catch you. I'm willing to bet that's a yes. But we'll see.
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[Keith had been teasing, deliberately bratty, if only because that reaction is easier than thinking too hard about Shiro's words. And then Shiro comes back with that softer tone, with that sincere and plain agreement, and Keith falls quiet. He takes a moment to wrestle with the warmth spreading out through his chest, looking back to Shiro as that hand falls to his shoulder.
A smile, an honestly rare and genuine little thing, finds its way over his lips, replaced a moment later by a cockier twist of a smirk.]
We'll definitely see. You might be surprised. [He's posturing, but he means it too. The Blade and their training have been fairly merciless, but Keith can't argue with the results. A pause and he adds, quieter.] I've really missed you too.
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A datapad lays discarded by his chair. It’s a bit chaotic and a testament to how he up and left with no warning to rush to Keith’s aid. He coughs with a little embarrassment.] You didn’t seem to have enough time for me to do anything but come after you.
[He enters the bridge and picks up the pad, using it to clear the scan. He brings back up the maps of the quadrant and maitence checks he needs to complete. Yet he sets it back down in his chair and turns to Keith.]
Kolivan only ever told me about your progress as a Blade. Never about how you’re doing directly. I...tried to figure that out whenever we were discussing joint operations and you were on the screen too.
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He's almost disappointed when the doors open, but he straightens up and follows Shiro onto the bridge, looking at the scattered chaos. Oh. He'd scared him, hadn't he?] Guess I kind of had you drop everything, huh?
[Oops. But he's more than grateful. If Shiro hadn't arrived when he did, Keith doesn't know if he'd have made it in the end. He hesitates before looking back to the taller man as he speaks.]
Yeah. Kolivan's all shop talk, all the time. [But. Well.] I was okay. Got scolded a lot about my emotions being a liability, about not going back for the others who didn't make it out, about the mission being the first and only priority.
[Keith understands it. The Blade of Marmora stood virtually alone against the Galra empire for millennia, a small fringe barely hanging on to existence, doing whatever they could. Emotions and attachments were a luxury beyond what they could afford. But understanding it or not, he's not great at that detachment.]
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...The way Voltron operates and the way the Blades have has always been different. We need our emotions. It's how the bond between us and in turn the Lions work.
[He looks up watching the data scroll up for a long moment and turns back to him.]
He still sent you out on solo missions. You don't do that with an operative you can't trust to succeed.
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[Keith admits. He'll protest to Kolivan over and over that he won't let his emotions get in the way, but. He also knows if any of the paladins needed him, if they were in danger, if he could do anything to help them -- or his mother, for that matter, or Kolivan himself, Keith can't see himself turning his back on any of them even for the good of the mission. Look what happened at the Kral Zera. Shiro showed up and Keith immediately tossed the mission out the window.
No need to bring that up though. Instead he shifts that much closer to the other man as well; there's something comforting about his presence. That's not new, just... something he missed.]
I think Kolivan is good enough at knowing what people are capable of. It wasn't an accident he sent me to retrieve my mother. I got a particularly clear "emotions are a luxury we can't afford" talk before that mission. And then Krolia's the one who broke that rule. She should've let them kill me.
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Shiro studies him with a neutral expression that's difficult to read. Like someone thinking over a question that deserves a great deal of thought. He's not surprised that Keith came to that conclusion. The Blade are about sacrifice. Too much in his opinion. Keith has always been self sacrificing. Willing to throw himself into the path of fire for the sake of others.
This is a dangerous precipice he's on and he's not sure how to guide him away from it.]
If it were the reverse, would you have let her die? Even if you didn't know who she was? [He knows the answer. But it isn't about what he knows.]
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He shifts his weight from one foot to another, hesitating at the question.]
My mission was to get her out... [That's partially true. Keeping the super weapon out of anyone's hands was first and foremost. But...] ...but no. I wouldn't have left without her, even if I didn't know who she was at the time.
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Teams don't work based on who is the most expendable, Keith. We all help each other and find a new path through that would have been unlikely if we'd been on our own. If she'd let you die, what would that have really accomplished?
You'd just be gone. Maybe for the Blades...that kind of reasoning is wrong. But not here. And not to you. That's never been who you were.
You always find new ways to make it through and bring everyone home.
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And there are parts of Keith that want to argue, reflexively want push back because in many ways it's easier if his life doesn't matter, but he's starting to wonder if there aren't people who need him after all, somehow.
He ducks his head.] You make it really hard to argue with you sometimes, you know. It's pretty annoying. [But he peeks up at Shiro with a smile.]
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[He picks up the datapad and finishes the check, swiping to the next one with a flick of his fingers.]
And trusting with my back. Just as you trust me with yours.
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He meant what he'd told Shiro, what feels like such a long time ago, that his life would have been so different if he never met him. Shiro is the only one who's never given up on him. And it hits Keith hard just how much he's missed him, how much he's worried that somehow he'd lost that.
Keith doesn't answer, just walks up behind Shiro and tips forward, leaning his forehead against Shiro's back, between his shoulder blades, armor or not, arms wrapping around him from behind. Just. Give him a minute here, Shiro.]
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He'd missed this. It had been so hard to let him go but Keith had told him what he'd needed at the time. He has a feeling that has changed for both of them. The mistakes he's made have taught him how to be better. Hopefully Keith and the team can benefit from his realizations.
It doesn't feel as insurmountable or confusing as it did when he got up that morning. He sets the pad down again, letting it automate the checks. Normally he does it manually.
Normally he does this alone. He breathes in deep.]
Remember, whenever you need me. I'm here. ...and thank you, for being there when I need you. I can't tell you how much that means to me.
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The hand that settles over his makes something ache in his chest, something warm and unspoken, and even if his face is currently hidden (or maybe because it is) he smiles.]
You've always been there for me, Shiro, when no one else has.
[The single, stable point in his universe.]
And I-- [The words stick in his throat, and a moment later he exhales a laugh, reluctantly he unwinds his arms from around him and steps around to face him.] Thanks.
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He'd seen the potential sleeping deep inside and now...He faces him and really looks at him, smile warm and real.]
Any time. When everyone else gave up you... [He ducks his head and laughs quietly to himself.]
...no. [Shiro shakes his head and looks him in the eye. He steps forward and lets instinct guide him, setting one hand on Keith's shoulder and letting every wall down to let see what he probably already could. He's so tired, but there's hope and affection in his eyes.]
Welcome home. The circumstances aren't ideal...but, I think everything will turn out okay, somehow. For both of us.
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That hand lands on his shoulder and he meets Shiro's gaze, and he sees that tiredness, he does, but he sees everything else there too. And whatever it takes, he... he wants to be here. For Shiro. He wants to be with him, wants to take some of the weight on his shoulders from him.]
It will. I think... I think I really believe that. It's good to be home.
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[The warmth hasn't left the room and he isn't about to force it out. It seems to be helping both of them.]
I know you've been right there when we listed technical details or plans, and when we gave you locations Lotor turned over....but our work has been about the same. Flying missions, taking out targets, and assisting the rebel forces. ...except Allura found something vital.
I'm not sure just what it means yet. But, she is now an Altean Alchemist just like her father was.
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It's too precious, what they have between them, and he almost broke it already, with the way things had been going. He couldn't live with himself if he drove Shiro off. Like he's done with everyone else in his life.
So Keith moves to lean a hip against a console, listening as Shiro speaks.]
That's how he was able to make the Lions in the first place, right? That's incredible... how'd she manage that?
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He'd started noticing it consciously. Being away from Keith for so long makes it all too clear. His breath had caught when Keith had turned into his touch. He shouldn't chase that feeling. But he leans on the console cutting more of the distance between them, his arm resting near Keith's hip.]
There's an old Altean myst about a mystical land...and through his research and Allura finding a special stone among Haggar's research materials...we found it.
[He shifts, leaning a bit into Keith as he uses his right hand to bring up the images and video of the white hole and its guardian. He shouldn't be so affection starved. It puts a lot on Keith when he's already asking so much of him. But it's like being a moth attracted to the flames.]
It's called Oriande. Only worthy Alteans can pass the guardian. It disabled the ship and Voltron. If Allura hadn't been found worthy... [He trails off, unsure if he should finish and shakes his head.] The important part is she was able to succeed and restore both.
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He notices Shiro leaning closer. Of course he does. He's aware of the other in a way he's never been with anyone else, like some magnetic pull between them keeps some internal compass always aligned when they're close. Never mind when Shiro actually leans into him, and Keith is sure even that incidental touch burns.]
...if she hadn't, you wouldn't have made it. Any of you.
[It's a chilling thought, to hear they'd come that close -- which is strange. They all risk their lives every day in this war. But to know concretely that he'd almost lost them all, almost lost Shiro, and he hadn't even known, it makes his chest feel too tight, a sharp shatter of feeling.
He reaches over, fingertips moving carefully through that shock of white hair, brushing it back, touch lingering so much longer than it ought to. He can't imagine never seeing him again, never hearing his voice. Never having told him... but no. Shiro is alive. His heart refuses to even entertain the idea of Shiro being gone for good, recoils painfully from it.]
Shiro...
*myth not myst. Alteans did not have Myst games
If it was Myst, they'd definitely be dead, and Allura would still be stuck in the rocket ship
The horrible part is I could see it.
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