lonered | IC Inbox - MaskorMenace

[The days pass a little quicker than he thought they would. Then again, they have a lot to do so he shouldn't be that surprised. This reality is unstable and they're racing against a clock none of them can see. How long do they really have?

On the morning of the 23rd, he gets donuts from the bakery not too far from their place for breakfast. They can wolf the leftovers down other days or leave them out for Dick and Tim. Just like on the 18th he sets Keith's coffee down in front of him.] Morning, Keith.

You want to eat these on the way? We got a bit of a way to drive to go pick up the bikes. [They'd ride out beyond town from there. He's eager to get going but today goes at Keith's pace.]

[Coffee and donuts. Keith looks up with a smile, taking the coffee with a thanks.]

Morning.

[He echoes, but he's also quick to nod.] Eating on the way works for me. Ready when you are.

[So Keith is a little excited about the day, and it's showing, just at the edges of his tone and the eagerness in his own expression.]

[It has been a while since he got to race without a care. Darin has said he wants him to enjoy himself again. And he had, but this is different. This is taking back a small piece of the past from when life was simpler.

Keith has wanted this and he realizes so did him. Shiro grabs his keys from the table and downs the rest of his coffee.] Then grab the box and lets go.

[He had seen fit to get a rental car for the long trip out there. They’d drive it back once they got the need for speed out of their system. He heads for the front door with Black moving to settle on a chair by a window. Hidden from the street level, Black is decent security.]

[Keith drinks half his coffee in one go before nodding.]

On it.

[He's on his feet and grabbing up the box. A quick detour to pet the wolf and slip him one of the plain donuts (which Kosmo gobbles up eagerly) before following Shiro out to the rented car.]

It's been a long time since we raced. Think you can still keep up?

[He locks the front door behind Keith and laughs softly. It’s like They’re peeling back the events that led them to where they are now. No war. No arena. Just the open road and the military they need to obey when they return to work.

He checks the hidden key spot then finally looks to Keith with a wide grin on his face.] I think we need to be prepared to shake off your rust and adjust to something that isn’t Black or Red.

Or a hoverbike. [He is still grinning as he walks down the staircase and over to the truck parked in their designated parking spot. He unlocks the doors and slides into the driver seat. Once Keith is belted in he fires up the car and pulls out of the parking spot.] We’ll see who is keeping up with who when we shake that off.

[Keith settles into the passenger seat, donuts in his lap, looking over at Shiro as the other man drives. He puts the window down enough that the brisk autumn air outside rushes in and makes an even more unruly mess of his usual messy hair.]

We'll definitely see.

[For now, he settles back, looking surprisingly content. This is like slipping back to a time before everything got complicated, so very complicated. But complicated or not, they are who they are, and Keith is grateful for that much.]

Thanks, by the way. [He adds, a quiet smile playing over his lips.] For doing this.

[Shiro claims a donut and takes a bite as he steers the truck into early morning traffic. It's still warm and he savors it. He grins at Keith. He just can't seem to stop. Maybe it's the cool autumn morning but more likely it's getting back to activities they love.

Instead of war, planning for fights, and trying to peel apart the weirdness trapping them here.] Of course. I wanted you to have a good birthday and getting to race you?

That's a good day for me too.

Good.

[Keith nods before leaning his head back against the headrest and for just a moment shutting his eyes, enjoying the slight breeze, the motion of the car, Shiro's presence. It's... it's just a good, quiet moment.

By now he's learned how precious and rare those can be. He won't take it for granted. His eyes are open again a moment later and he's grabbing a donut for himself.

He reaches out for the radio then, turning it on and seeking to a station until he hears some music. The first notes are familiar, and Keith is about to leave the dial there until it registers just what song it is. Sweater Weather. Shiro should probably recognize it too, given they wound up compelled to duet with it in the very recent past.

Keith had looked up the rest of the song after that, and it's that knowledge that has him flushing and spinning the dial hard, radio landing on on static.]

[He almost chokes on the rest of his donut as the song flows through the cabin. Like Keith, he'd looked the song up. The lyrics had burned into his mind and he'd sat and wondered if maybe he needed to do a lot of thinking about what Keith means to him. It doesn't seem like something that he should put off.

Not when he has time to mull it over and figure out where he stands. In space he hadn't had any time to think about anything except making sure they made it out alive. No, he internally corrects himself as he reaches over and slides the dial over to a classic rock station.

He hadn't wanted to think about anything. He hadn't thought he would make it back to Earth. And thoughts of home would turn yet again to wondering Adam waited or followed through and found someone else.

Shiro turns onto the highway and speeds up to match the vehicles around him.] Recognize it? This is the same station they play at the gym.

It's this or traffic news in the morning when I'm heading to work.

[Oh thank god they're both just going to pretend that song didn't just happen. That's the much safer option. Keith relaxes back into his eat, trying to rein his thoughts back in before they go running down paths that are well-worn and well-known but ultimately end in the same conclusion: he can't.

Keith knows his own feelings, and he knows his friendship with Shiro is too important to risk. He's lost the other man one too many times already. So it's fine. It'll be fine. He tells himself this again and again. If no more musical performances try to sabotage him anyway.

He only looks back over at Shiro when he speaks again, nodding.]

Yeah. I do. This is great. [He relaxes again.] Way better than traffic reports.

You listen to anything on the way to work? [Shiro checks his speedometer at a glance. They’re one fourth of the way there. He keeps their speed steady and relaxes his shoulders. Keith won’t talk about the song but he clearly knows the lyrics.

Curious. It adds to the puzzle he’s been building of small things Keith does that are different from his own memories of him. It’s not that different when he looks at it objectively. It’s more like Keith is slipping and he can see through the cracks.]

And I thought you might like this one. All they do is play music. No commentary or anything like that. [He claims another donut.] I asked the fitness trainers at the gym. They gave me a list of radio stations like that.

Not really. I guess I got used to being in my own head, all that time in the Quantum Abyss.

[He grew very accustomed to the silence, since it was only him and his mother and the wolf.]

Might be nice to start listening to music though. I could pick up some head phones.

[Something to take him out of his head, even just a bit. Sometimes, after all, he spends too much time in it.]

Try it and see. I got in the habit as a cadet. It made it easier to focus on morning runs.

[He could think or just lose himself in the task. He tended to prefer the later and let his own awareness of himself judge when to stop.

After a moment he adds,] Once we drive back we can stop by an electronic store and I’ll show you which headphones I use.

[He turns into the exit to take them into the small section of town that is their destination.] ...I did notice you’re in your head a lot. Your stance shifts, you kind of curl in on yourself a bit.

Okay. [A nod. That sounds like a plan.] I'll give it a try.

[It really might be nice, and at the very least it can't hurt. His eyebrows lift when Shiro continues though, wondering a little at the way his heart goes and stutters at the thought of Shiro actually paying that much attention.

It's a dumb thought and he brushes it aside.]

Yeah? Well... my head's a dangerous place. I need to be on the defensive. [It's an understated joke, self-deprecating, but also entirely true in its own way.]

[He gives Keith a side long look as he turns into the parking lot. There is too many things to name in his expression but only thing is obvious, his concern. Soon he’ll ask Keith about the future. Not today. Another day when nothing is too pressing.]

Or you could come talk about it with me or someone else. [He parks the car and looks fully at him, smiling just a little bit as he says,] Perspective leads to clarity. And inside your head is a bit like a fog bank.

[He slips out of the car before anything else can be said. Shiro retrieves a folded over slip from his wallet.]

[Keith finds himself staring after Shiro as he gets out of the car, trying and failing to fight off a small ghost of a smile at the concern. Shiro cares about him. He's lucky, to have that sort of a friend.

Which is why he only sighs to himself and unbuckles, setting the donuts still left safely in the back seat as he murmurs quietly, entirely to himself,] Some things are way too clear already.

[Shaking that off, he climbs out and shuts his door, catching up to Shiro and falling into step at his side.]

[It’s a decent place to rent cars and bikes or whatever else kind of vehicle you need. Shiro holds the door open for Keith and slips inside. Getting the bikes and the helmets is simple. The process is smooth and efficient just the way he likes things to be.

Shiro secures the black and violet edged helmet on then tosses a map to Keith.] See the route outlined in green? That’s where we’re going.

[He had marked it as clearly as he could and Keith is good enough to translate that Into mental instructions. Shiro slips onto the bike and fires it up. The rumble of the engine coming to life is the best thing he’s heard all week. He grins back at Keith.] Ready?

[A glance at the map, and Keith nods, folding it up and tucking it in an inside pocket of his jacket. He pops his own helmet on and starts up his bike.

Amazing. He can't pretend he hasn't been looking forward to this since he and Shiro first talked about it. The helmet hides most of his grin in return, even more so as he flips his visor down.]

Always.

[Ready and willing.] Let's go.

[He'll let Shiro take the lead and follow close behind.]

[He gives one last glance behind him then he takes off. A motorcycle is just enough like a hoverbike that he can feel the ghost of the future hanging over it. He calculates the speed and ability to maneuver as he cuts across town and out beyond it.

He can tell exactly how to use this bike to its upmost performance. It isn’t his so he’ll have to be careful. But maybe in time they can build hoverbikes and do this again. He comes to a stop before a wide open stretch of ground and far into the distance a flag flies. He lifts his visor up.] Planted that a few days ago.

I’m going to count on my fingers and then we’re off. Got it? [He pushes his visor back down and holds up his hand with three fingers up.]

[Keith takes the chance to familiarize himself, a little, with how the bike handles. It's not quiet a hoverbike, but it's close in a lot of ways, the handling not quite as sensitive, and given that it's in contact with the ground, the terrain is far more tangible. He pulls up beside Shiro, bracing a leg against the ground and flipping his visor up.]

So you planned ahead.

[How very like Shiro. Keith grins, excited, just this side of wild.] Got it.

[Back down goes his visor, and he watches, waiting for those fingers to tick off, and then he's launching back into motion, no hesitation, no holding back.]

[He puts his hand on the handle bar and takes off on one. The bike rockets forward and he steers it around the first turn. The sheer speed is exactly what he needed. He glances up at the flag as he guns the engine and leans forward, letting himself really feel the wind.

As much as he loves flying and flying Black, this is something that can't be replicated. The only thing that compares is flying as a bird.]

[There is something exhilarating and freeing about this, about being out in the air and moving in sync with the small but powerful vehicle beneath him. Piloting Red and Black are like nothing else, but this is unique and wonderful in its way. Simpler. Barer.

Keith's eyes are fixed on the flag, though he allows a brief glance at Shiro. Well. It's a race, after all. And with that he revs the engine into a burst of speed, a thrilled grin stretching over his features, hidden though it is within his helmet. The flag looms closer.]

[Shiro loses himself in the familiar and unfamiliar handling of the motorbike. He takes turns and leans into them with a little more caution than Keith. He is shaking off the rust.

And to some degree freeing himself from old ghosts. Enough of a lead opens up that he is following Keith through the terrain and that is a freedom of its own. He doesn’t have to lead the charge or guide Keith.

He glances at the flag but he’s leaning into the turns and speeding up in a bid to catch him. He’ll either catch him or not. But there will be fun in trying.]

[Keith hears himself laughing before he realizes he's even doing it, but he can't help it if he tried. There's an unbridled joy in the freedom of the moment, in knowing that Shiro is nearby.

And in the fact that he thinks he may actually be winning this race, though he isn't taking that for granted. Nope. No counting Takashi Shirogane out at any point in time. So Keith keeps his attention on the road in front of him, until he passes the flag and pulls the motorcycle around into a sharp curve, turning back and finally slowing to stop by the flag, already pulling his helmet off.]

[His laughter melds with Keith’s as he pours on the speed. The wind of their passage and the scent of dry earth is perfect. He has forgotten everything but the race and Keith.

He keeps his focus on the path but he can’t make up the difference. Keith passes the flag but he’s right behind him. He pulls the bike to a stop with a grin on his face. He pulls off his helmet and drops it as he walks the small distance between him and Keith’s bike.

He grins wider.] You did it! I knew you could.

[Hia chest feels warm and Keith looks- He moves before he even realizes he’s doing it. He steps closer, his hands cupping the sides of Keith’s face. On some level he’s aware they both moved forward and were caught in a dance as old as time. Then he leans down the short distance and kisses Keith.]

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