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[This is new for Keith. He monitors the network, of course, too paranoid not to pay attention to everything that's going on around him, but actually posting something? It's out of his comfort zone. ~~It's the vlog all over again.~~

So he looks awkward, like he can't believe he's actually doing this. But he is. He's still wearing the green apron that makes up his uniform (the Moonbucks logo just barely visible in frame), mullet tamed back into a little ponytail. He's got a coffee in his hands, and he's tucked himself at a table back in the far corner of the cafe he works in. He's on break.]

Is it really that bad if someone spells your name wrong on a coffee cup? I mean, the drink's right. I always get the drink right. Isn't that the important part?

[Someone has had a few complaints apparently.] It's loud and busy in here. How am I supposed to hear the difference between Bob and Bog? ...Bog could be a name. I know I've met a Bog.

[They were an alien, but that is not the point. He spreads his hands in a "see? a point!" gesture. And in this gesture he uncovers his own name written on his cup. Somehow he's left off the "h" and and scrawled the "t" in such a way that it looks more like a "f" and anyway, he's currently drinking a coffee that belongs to "Keif."

This problem goes deep.

Anyway.]

Sometimes I think this job isn't a great fit. Also I'm pretty sure I'm going to smell like pumpkin spice for the rest of my life. There's not even any pumpkin in it.

[Keith's having that kind of day.

Anyone who wants to catch him in person at work, feel free to find him brooding into his coffee on his break. And feel free to have been personally victimized by Keith's inability to get names right on coffee orders.]

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I'll show you the pictures, later. [There it is again, that look on Keith's face. It tugs at something inside his chest every time Keith's eyes seem to reflect the vastness of space. It can't just be for the burritos. He's seen it other times since he got here.

And...even before that.]

You should stop by sometime and see. Before we both become test pilots for the air force. [It will be in their skill level and what they both know how to do.] ...you shouldn't be so hard on yourself about this job. I know its your first paying job, but you have a specific skill set and you're extremely good at what you were trained for.

[Keith is quick to nod.] I should, yeah. I'd like that.

[It's honest enough because he would. He likes animals; they tend to make a great deal more sense than people. He likes Shiro. He likes Black. There is nothing in this scenario that he doesn't like.

He also visibly perks up at the mention of piloting. His expression eases into another smile, softening around the edges.]

Which is not getting people's names right, apparently. But... thanks, Shiro.

[He grins back at him and snags the burrito he bought for himself with 'shir' written on it. Shiro turns it so Keith can see the failure to write his name.]

Why do you think Iverson just called all of you 'cadet'? If we sponsored you, we knew your names. But it takes a bit to learn names and cadet this or that was easier.

I earned being yelled at by name when I supposedly broke a rule - and no one can ever prove it was me - but I was blamed for it.

[He absolutely did it and no one can prove that. His grin turns into a smug smile as he unwraps his well crafted steak burrito. He takes a bite and closes his eyes.] I really missed being able to recognize my food.

[Keith blinks at "Shir" and ducks his head with a laugh. Okay. It's an everywhere problem. He turns his own cup to show Shiro the "Keif" so yeah. Look. They match.

He snorts a short laugh at the mention of Iverson.]

Is that really why? Tricky. I like it. ...he learned my name pretty quick after you... [He still doesn't really like any of the words for what happened with the Kerberos mission. Even 'disappeared' makes something in his stomach twist unpleasantly.] Well. I was a terror.

[He fully deserved to get kicked out, but only because the Garrison had lied and lied and lied to him the whole way along.]

It's nice, right? I'm also pretty happy about not having to hunt everything I eat.

[It was a long two years.]

[He savors the bite he took as he visibly comes to a decision. He wants to know how he best friend changed and why. Some times he knows. Some he doesn't. The gaps seem so important. Shiro takes a second bite and after swallowing says,]

Could you tell me more about that time? You don't have to but, whenever you're ready I'd like to hear all you want to tell me about it.

[It doesn't have anything to do with his future. Or maybe it does but, he knows wants to know.] And yes, that's why. Iverson focuses most of his attention on squad leaders and those who stand out. He didn't learn Adam's name until the second term. Mine, he learned in a week.

[Keith looks genuinely surprised at the question, but he's all too happy to tell Shiro whatever he wants to know. So he finishes a bite of his own burrito and nods.]
Yeah, of course. It was... well. Different.

[He should probably start at the beginning, right?] Kolivan sent me on a solo mission to retrieve an undercover operative and destroy the secret mega-weapon she'd been gathering intel on. And that operative turned out to be my mother. Not that Kolivan told me that going in. Might've been helpful to know. [Thanks Kolivan.]

But... either way. I found her. She recognized me, told me who she was. We got out and went to track down a lead on a strange strain of Quintessence, which meant going through an area called the Quantum Abyss.

[With him so far, Shiro? Because this is where things get weird.] Know anything about neutron stars and space-time distortion?

Enough to know you don't want the two combining. [He spreads out the foil from his burrito under it and takes a larger bite this time. Mm, Earth food. Maybe he's a little too focused on that but it really is better than two years of goop.

The facts Keith has given him so sit in the back of his head like a partly drafted series of notes for study guide.

- Keith had done work with the Blades where the authority above him is only the Blades not the Paladins.
- A Blade operative had to be retrieved from their mission. The secret mega weapon might be related to the lead.
- Keith later becomes the Black Paladin.
- While he's aware he's fine in the end, something happens to him in the future.

Not all of the facts are from now, but they all fit together like interlocking magnets. He swallows and says,] The mega weapon. Is it related to your lead?

[A nod. Yup. That. You definitely do not, under most circumstances.]

Yeah. The same strange quintessence that created it was what we were trying to track down. But our ship got attacked and we had to ditch out in the middle of the Quantum Abyss. Problem is, the whole place is dangerous. Get too close to a gravity well and the space time drop offs, you can get stretched into nothingness. But there were these creatures. They looked like whales, but gigantic. Big enough that they managed to have an entire ecosystem on their backs, created their own atmosphere. So Mom -- Krolia -- and I hitched a ride on one.

We made the best of it. Built a shelter. Found Kosmo, hunted, trained. She's an incredible fighter, trained a lot of the other Blades too. But... at the same time, because of where we were, we kept experiencing all these flashes of each other's past, and sometimes future. I saw when she came to Earth, when she met Dad. When we were a family.

[And then he saw other things. Some things he saw then he couldn't fully understand, not until later. Later it was all too clear. Keith shakes those memories and adds,] It took us two years. But we made it through. And getting out we did in a much shorter time. And for everyone else, barely any time had passed at all.

[He stops eating. The universe is full of many strange things but he has never heard of time being distorted. He sets his burrito down. Awe flickers across his face. But two things take precedence over the questions swirling in his mind.

He says,] How much time passed for the rest of the universe? Did you find the source of the quintessence?

[Shiro picks his lunch up and wolfs it down. He needs the energy. And It will keep him from saying anything and getting answers he might not yet want to know.]

You know, I'm not exactly sure. A month? Maybe a little more? Things... sort of got crazy when I came back. And then I wound up here.

[But well, the second question. Keith hesitates before nodding.] Yeah, we did. It was... well. Not good. But, Shiro, that's where our stories start intersecting again.

[Anything else he says starts to get into the future that Shiro doesn't want to know, and Keith doesn't want to press that issue. That's Shiro's choice.]

[He finishes off the burrito and forces himself not to ask the burning questions hanging in the air between them. Keith is respecting his wishes as if he ever had a doubt about that. He takes a breath and looks away for a moment.

The facts are building up. Keith has left Voltron for a time. It isn’t like he didn’t suspect that. It’s on the tip of his tongue to ask if something went bad between them.

Another breath and he looks back at Keith calm and composed.] Is any of it things that could affect me now? Do you feel i need to know? Will it be a possible threat?

[His own feelings about a path charted out for him will mean little if Keith sees it as a matter he as a Paladin needs to know.]

[Keith tries not to mind the time between them. And really, he doesn't want to make things harder for Shiro. It seems unfair to burden him with the knowledge that he's about to die in the next moments waiting for him back home. That another him appears that is him and isn't him at the same time. And that he is alive again after it all. It's a lot.

So he considers the questions Shiro is asking, balling up the wrapper to his own finished burrito before wrapping his hands around his coffee cup once more. A deep breath and he looks up at Shiro.]

Your arm. [He begins. And it's not this current arm, but one that seems identical, so the concern is there. But that also makes it true the way he phrases it next, not "your arm" not "controls you" but,] We've seen Haggar use one just like it to control someone's mind entirely, turn them against their friends and allies.

[Maybe it was because the other Shiro was a created clone that it was possible. Maybe the prosthetic itself isn't enough, but they don't know for sure. It still makes Keith wary. He will not lose Shiro again. Not here, not anywhere.] She's not here, so it's probably a non-issue. But we've also got a bunch of nanites running around in our bodies alerady, and I don't know if that means someone else could gain access.

[He forgets how to breathe. The hairs on the back of his neck rise and he slowly looks down at the metal prosthetic. He doesn’t know what expression is on his face. He suspects he went blank faced like he used to when the Druids came for him.

He always knew when they were coming. Other people in other cells would go quiet. Even the criers they all knew wouldn’t last long. He sets the metal hand down on the table.

It responds to him. It seems like his. But he has never forgotten that his own arm was taken and this was put in its place.

Witch

His memories hiss. He closes his eyes.] I’ll get it checked.

[His voice comes out quieter than he meant it to. Steady as always but there is an edge of fear in it. One he doesn’t want to make known.] I’ll make sure.

[He forces the swirl of emotions down with a visible effort and raises his head to look at Keith.] Thank you for the warning.

Edited 2019-10-01 00:22 (UTC)

[Keith knows Shiro well enough to recognize that expression, to hear the fear in his voice, and oh he hates it, and hates being the one who dredged it up. But Shiro deserves to know, deserves to have the chance to do what he can to make sure there's no risk of anything of the sort happening here.

He reaches over and sets his hand atop Shiro's right, the cool metal beneath his fingers. Wherever this came from, it's still Shiro. And even if its too-close-to-literal evil twin gave him the scar on his face, he doesn't care.

A shake of his head.] Don't thank me. I think getting it checked is a good idea. But no matter what happens, no one is taking you away from -- from us -- [He amends quickly,] again.

[Despite what he said Keith still touches his metal hand. It loosens the tightness in his chest. He doesn't want to just sit here. Shiro turns his hand under Keith's. He locks their fingers together and gently squeezes.] I'm not going anywhere, Keith.

I'm just making sure we all stay safe. [Had he heard 'from me' in there? Keith had changed the wording so maybe that hadn't been what he'd intended to say. Why did he think it was?

He smiles tiredly and says,] I'm still thanking you. This hasn't been easy on you. You've shown the kind of restraint not many can, and I appreciate it. So, thank you, Keith and I'm sorry you're in this position. One day, when I'm ready, I'll ask for the full story.

Good. You'd better not.

[Keith answers, playful but somehow sincere at the same time. Shiro doesn't know how many times the universe has tried to take him away from Keith, and how many times Keith has outright refused to let it. He tightens his fingers around Shiro's in return.]

Whenever you're ready to hear it, Shiro. Even if that's never.

[That's fine. Shiro still has to live -- and die -- through the future that Keith has already experienced. He doesn't mind keeping that burden off the other man's shoulders for as long as he can.]

You know me, I’ll ask eventually. I’ve already puzzled some of it out. [Holding Keith’s hand in his is grounding. Keith’s gaze is steady and knowing he’s there ready to step in if asked but won’t until he is, that’s more than he can put into words.

It takes him a moment to realize he isn’t the only one being steadied by their actions. He smiles back, a spark of amusement in his eyes. He can keep things light.] And where would I go, Keith. Y- almost everyone is here.

[He covers his slip by ducking his head and laughing.] Where all of you are is home.

I figured.

[Keith manages a bit of a grin at that. Shiro's way too clever not to have started piecing things together from what he's heard from Keith, and from Allura and Pidge too.

But then Shiro says that -- or well, starts to say something else, doesn't he, and it sets a sudden spark of wild hope that he's quick to try to dial back -- and Keith finds himself looking at the other man wide-eyed a moment before his expression softens into a smile.]

Yeah. I feel like that too. [Home.]

So, speaking of home. When you get home tonight what are you in the mood for? I'll pick it up in route on my way home. [The burritos had been good but he does have a bit of a craving for more food he recognizes and hasn't had in a while. Being back on Earth is a lot. It's what he needed in a way.

Even if they're far from the Earth he knows...the pace of life right now is enough he can just be. It's enough.]

My treat. You're the one having a bad day today.

[Shiro is too nice to him. That's nothing new, of course, but it still has Keith wrestling with a spreading warmth in his chest. He perks up a little as he considers though, running through his options.]

Barbecue?

[His Texas is showing.]

Thanks, Shiro.

You've done it for me. [It had been a tough time just before he left for Kerberos but Keith made it a little easier to swallow. He mentally runs through the barbecue places they've tried and which was the best of the lot.]

I'll pick up dinner from that place we tried last Wednesday. Sound good?

[They'd both really liked the barbeque there and he could secretly bring home the desert Keith had enjoyed. He grins,]

I'll get enough we can have leftovers for lunch tomorrow.

Edited 2019-10-07 00:07 (UTC)

[A quick eager nod. Yup. That place was great. Keith may have just scarfed down a burrito, but that doesn't mean he can't be ready for dinner if it means delicious barbecue.

You've done it for me. He wonders sometimes. Meeting Shiro changed his life. It feels like forever ago. But. They have fallen into a pattern of helping each other, over the years they've known each other.

It's a nice feeling.]

Even better. Sounds like a plan. [A glance towards the counter.] I should probably get back. My break will be over soon. But Shiro..? Thanks again.

Anytime. Remember what I said, just do your best. That's all you can do. [Shiro nods and collects their trash, sliding it into the bag he brought the food in. He ties it shut and pushes his chair back.] Right. I need to get back too. I have just enough time to get back.

[He pauses and then he adds,] Come spend a break at the cafe sometime before we become pilots again. I bet the cats will love you.

[Keith stands up, stretching and turning to face Shiro, offering another smile in the other paladin's direction.]

Yeah, okay. Sounds fun.

[He likes cats. He likes animals in general, really. They're usually easier to deal with than people.]

[He smiles one more time and walks out, putting the trash in the trash can on his way out. He pauses at the door to say,] See you tonight.

[And off he goes back to his own job. But he accomplished what he set out to do. Maybe Keith’s day will be a little bit better because of it.]

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