Chapter Text
“So, this is it…”
Keith presents his little desert home with a subdued wave of his arm. He knows it doesn’t look like much, especially after being abandoned again. But the sight of it evokes an emotion in him, and he struggles to keep a neutral expression.
Krolia steps forward first. Her eyes have that same sad, wistful expression his dad had, whenever he looked at the night sky. After spending two years learning the woman that is his mother, Keith finally understands that expression.
“The house really is gone.”
It’s not a question, just a confirmation. Keith hums. The fire that took down the main house… that took dad… it had been one of their shared visions in the quantum abyss.
It had been hard for Krolia to see. Harder still for Keith. He hadn’t realized at the time, how many childhood memories he kept so securely tucked away.
“Wanna go inside?” Keith asks. Krolia nods.
They move forward, shadows long in the light of the setting sun. The rest of the team is still back at the Garrison. Making plans for a new castle ship, arguing about space wars, making phone calls to family.
Keith is lucky, in that sense. That all his family is already here.
Krolia opens the door and steps inside. Keith lingers by the porch for a bit. His space wolf pauses, staring up at him questioning. Keith smiles down at her. Clever girl.
“Go ahead Xitlaly. Go with her.”
Xitlaly tilts her head then disappears, probably rematerializing by Krolia. Keith steps up on the porch and turns around. The red sand of the desert is washed in the softest glow. Warmth radiates still from the heated earth, but not enough to be stifling.
His eyes trail over to a figure, still standing a distance away.
“Shiro, do you want to come inside?”
The man turns around, distant eyes focusing on the present. He gives Keith a soft smile, one he works hard to return. The months it had taken them to reach earth allowed them time. To heal, to talk. But still, so many things left unsaid.
But this? This Keith understands. He knows the answer before Shiro even opens his mouth.
“I think I’ll stay out here. It’s nice to feel the sunlight.”
Keith smiles and nods. But then he hesitates. He wants to stay outside with Shiro, offer the silent support he needs. But there’s something else he wants… no, needs to do.
“I’ll be back in a bit,” Keith smiles, walking into the house, “don’t disappear on me again.”
Shiro’s chuckle is soft yet genuine. Keith takes comfort in that and slips into the house.
His mom is sitting on the couch, staring at the bookshelf. Now and then, she traces her fingers over a book, wiping away dust. Keith knows every book she touches belonged to Dad. He did the same thing. With dad’s books… with Shiro’s books.
But her sadness is different. Keith got Shiro back. He tore apart time and space itself, but Keith got him back. There was no getting dad back.
Krolia looks up from the books. They share a quiet glance. She nods and he leaves her be.
Keith walks into his bedroom. Everything is still as he left it. Bed slightly unmade, from when Shiro last slept in it. His closet opened and emptied, from when he dug out his dad's old clothes for Shiro to wear.
He walks over to the night stand and opens the drawer. Takes out all the scraps of papers and maps and pictures. Digs out his old notebook, the one with Shiro’s note.
Keith never asked Shiro about it. It didn’t feel right. Never the right place or time, in space, in a war. How could he? He’d just been so happy to have his friend back. But now…
He tucks the notebook into his satchel along with a few other things. When Keith peeks out the window, he’s pleased to see the last rays of sun fading behind the mountains. Soon, the air will cool and the spring night will bring a slight chill.
Perfect.
When Keith passes through the living room again, Krolia has a book open on her lap. Xitlaly is curled up on her side, though she looks up curiously as Keith walks by.
“I’m going out for a bit. Will you be alright here?”
Krolia’s an adult, a warrior, his mother, but Keith still feels the need to ask. It can be heavy sometimes, the weight of loneliness. Keith is still learning to carry it.
Keith is learning that, maybe, one never does get used to carrying it.
“I’ll be fine Keith. Thank you,” Krolia answers with a kind smile and Keith knows she appreciates the gesture.
Out on the porch, Keith sees that Shiro is still right where he left him. Not that he really thought Shiro would disappear again, but the sight brings him a sense of relief.
He doesn’t approach the man just yet. Instead, he goes to the storage garage, happy to see the lock still intact. Nobody raided his shack, which means…
“Hello cherry bomb.”
Keith smiles wide at the sight of his red hoverbike. Still in pristine condition, if not covered in just a bit too much dust. Nothing that a fast ride through the desert couldn’t fix.
He starts her up, engine purring under him like a dream. Well, almost. A few sputters here and there getting started. He’ll need to do some maintenance work on her when he gets back. But for now, Keith knows she’ll make the trip he wants.
Shiro looks up in surprise when Keith drives by, but it’s quickly replaced by a giddy smile.
“Hop on. I wanna show you something.”
Shiro climbs up with some help. He’s had to relearn how to do a lot of things, with only one arm. Despite offers from Pidge and the Olkarion, Shiro decided to remain cybernetics free for a while. No matter what he decided, Keith would support him, wholeheartedly.
Once sure Shiro’s grip is secure, Keith revs the engine and takes off.
The air feels good, whipping around them, through them. Keith drives the way he always has: fast. Shiro loves it, by the way he’s laughing in Keith’s ear. Shiro’s always loved when Keith drove, like he was born to do it.
“Hang on!”
Keith sets up for a cliff dive. He doesn’t hold back just because Shiro’s one arm short. The one that curls around his waist is firm, strong; Keith knows Shiro can handle it.
They fly, together. Off the edge of a cliff. Down to the canyons below. Keith fires the thrusters seconds before they crash, and they zoom through the desert.
“Can I open my eyes yet?”
“No,” Keith laughs, carefully guiding Shiro through the canyons. “You just gotta trust me.”
“I’ll always trust you, Keith.”
Shiro’s reply is soft, genuine. Keith lets out a huff, glad Shiro’s eyes are closed so he can’t see the red on his cheeks.
They walk in silence for several minutes. The quiet is comfortable between them, but Keith can’t help but feel the weight of things to come. He pushes the thought back, focuses on the now.
He takes a final turn around a boulder and stops.
“Okay, open your eyes.”
Before them lies the natural hot springs, steam rising and swirling in the cool night air. Keith watches as Shiro takes in the sight, a bright smile slowly overtaking his features.
“It’s like an onsen, but desert style.”
Shiro’s got a delighted glimmer in his eye. Keith’s heart swells, and he smiles back.
“Yeah, I guess it is.”
“How did you find this place?”
Keith shrugs. “I found lots of cool stuff while following the blue lion’s energy.”
Shiro turns to him with a soft smile. “You’ll show them to me, right?”
“Of course I will.”
They stare each other a bit too long, the moment a bit too intimate, but it’s not the first time they have. Keith looks away first, determined not to let things linger, unresolved. He walks to the nearest pool and takes off his satchel.
“Well, what’re you waiting for? Let’s get in.”
Shiro makes a strange sound as Keith takes off his shirt. Keith turns, staring at him curiously. Shiro pointedly looks away. Keith bites back a smile and continues stripping.
“I brought towels, if that’s what you’re worried about,” Keith adds, once he’s in the water and Shiro is still standing, fully clothed.
Shiro finally looks in Keith’s direction and sighs.
“Okay, give me a minute.”
Keith smiles at the way Shiro turns around, bashful about undressing. As if they haven’t done so dozens of times, at the Garrison, in the castle. But still, as Shiro reaches for his pants, Keith looks away.
Suddenly, he’s finding a certain rock formation very, very interesting.
He doesn’t look back until he hears the sound of water sloshing, and Shiro’s satisfied sigh. Keith lets himself relax in the warm water and Shiro does the same.
Up above them, thousands of stars glitter. Shiro is fixated on them, and Keith is fixated on Shiro.
Guess some things never change.
But Keith wants them to. That’s why he reaches into his satchel, digging out the notebook he’d stashed between the towels. Shiro looks away from the sky, distracted from his stargazing by Keith wading closer.
His eyes trail down, lock onto the notebook curiously, then he freezes.
Keith’s heart feels lodged in his throat as he sits down, close enough to feel Shiro’s warmth. To feel all the places they’re not touching.
Ever so slowly, he opens the notebook and flips to a page in the back. A page he’s read too many times during his year in the desert.
Shiro’s eyes don’t leave him the entire time.
“Shiro… what was it you wanted to tell me?”
Keith holds out the notebook, flipped open to the message in Shiro’s scrawl. Shiro reaches out to it, but doesn’t touch it. Just stares, storm gray eyes blown wide. Keith struggles to breathe normally.
“You kept this?”
Shiro’s voice is small in the heavy quiet. Keith nearly misses it. But he can’t miss the look of sadness, of longing in Shiro’s eyes.
Those Garrison days feel like a lifetime ago.
“Of course I did. But it never felt like the right time to ask.”
Shiro stares at him with a strange intensity. Keith doesn’t flinch and stares right back. There’s an energy around them, between them, drawing him closer. It’s always been drawing him closer.
“Keith, I…” Shiro breaks off with a rueful smile. “It’s so weird, being knocked back into the headspace when I wrote that. Before all this happened.”
This, meaning the war. This, meaning the disappearance, the captivity, the fighting, the loss. Keith knows exactly what he means. He scoots closer.
“What I’d wanted to say,” Shiro pauses, eyes steeled with resolve, “What I still want to say, is that I’m pretty sure that somewhere along the way, I’ve fallen in love with you.”
And Keith knows. He knows that this is what Shiro would say. That doesn’t mean the confession doesn’t still rob the breath from his lungs. Keith can feel his heart crawling up his throat again. He fights it down, so he can respond.
“I told you once, and I’ll tell you again. I love you, Shiro. I always have.”
And Shiro looks at him, awestruck, as if he never expected this scene to play out. As if he couldn’t imagine Keith would respond in like. Shiro stares at him and Keith lets him, smiling as the man processes the words.
“Keith, I… are you sure? I mean, I know you said, but I thought you meant—”
Keith presses forward, until their lips are only a breath apart. He looks up at Shiro, how his eyes widen, how his hair glows in the moon. Like starlight. Keith smiles as he speaks.
“Is this okay?”
Shiro nods and Keith closes the gap.
They walk back towards the shack, hand in hand. Shiro has the dopiest smile on his face, and Keith is sure he looks the same. But they can’t help it. This has been a long time coming.
Xitlaly must hear their approach, because she materializes right on top of him. Keith topples under her weight, dragging Shiro down with him. He laughs as the cosmic wolf licks his face, then Shiro’s.
Krolia watches from the porch with a fond smile. Keith knows that she knows everything. She’s wearing casual clothes now. The old red tank top he remembers from their visions. He smiles at her.
A howl in the distance catches their attention. Keith stands up with a start, looking at the hills in the distance. There’s no way…
“Metztli!”
The gray coyote comes racing down the hill. Keith sprints to meet her. He lets her knock him down, lets her lick his face. She’s making these pitiful whining noises the whole time and he feels close to tears.
“I missed you too, I know, I’m sorry,” Keith croons at her, scratching her neck, her ears, anything he can reach.
Shiro walks up to him, helping him up. He looks a cross between fond and scandalized.
“Keith, do you seriously have a pet coyote?”
Keith laughs, nodding. Shiro joins him, the mirth contagious. They laugh and laugh, surely looking a bit crazed. But it feels good to laugh. To have joy. To have love.
In a desert where Keith felt the deepest of loneliness, he’ll now feel the heights of happiness.