Keith couldn't remember how old he had been.
Seven? Eight?
It was funny how little details like that faded with time. He couldn't even remember when it had been. He could faintly remember the weather being warm. Summer maybe? Course it could've been a particularly warm Spring.
He couldn't remember any of the fine details of his childhood. The days had long since melded together to the point that, what few things he did remember, were a fuzzy muddled heap in his head. And yet there was an event that stood out from Keith's other long forgotten childhood memories.
It hadn't been long after his parents had died.
He hadn't had any kind of extended family (or if he did they hadn't wanted him). So Keith had been sent to a place for kids like him. Kids without any parents or family to speak of. At least not anymore.
Really the home hadn't been that bad.
He hadn't been exactly happy there, but he hadn't been miserable either. The adults took care of him and other children without getting unduly attached. They couldn't really afford to. Kids came and went all the time, so there was no point in forming any kind of permanent attachment.
The other children hadn't been bad either. He couldn't really remember most of the clearly, but that was to be expected. They played with him when it was convenient, though Keith could remember being one of those kids who got passed around from group to group until everyone forgot he was there.
As a result he didn't really have any friends to speak of.
There had been Kit. But Kit was a stuffed cat so he didn't really count.
Where he had gotten Kit, Keith couldn't remember. He had the vaguest idea that he had had the toy when he was sent to the home. But he couldn't be sure.
What was vivid in his memory was how strongly he had clung to that toy. The home hadn't been terrible. There was a roof over his head, food in his belly, a bed to sleep in. But it was also terribly lonely. Kit was the only constant companion he had.
Even when the other children came and went, Keith was always left with Kit. Kit was the only constant in Keith's young life.
Well Kit and the bullies.
There were spats from time to time among the children. You didn't toss a mismatched bunch of kids of varying ages together and NOT get spats. But the bullies were different.
Keith wasn't sure if they were acting out because of their loneliness or because they were just assholes. Being one of their favored victims at the time, he was inclined to believe the latter.
Whether he had been seven or eight, Keith had been a completely different person back then. Small, shy, and quiet. He had been the kind of child that adults would say were well behaved before turning around and forgetting all about him.
This all made him the perfect target for the much larger and older boys at the home. He was meek enough to not fight back, he didn't stand out enough amongst the children for the adults to notice, and he didn't have any friends so there was no one to come to his defense.
Such was the life of an orphan, Keith supposed.
That was all the details he could remember. Keith couldn't say what the names of the other children were, or even the names of most of the adults. There was no way he could describe what his room in the home had looked like. It had, after all, been years since he had left the home to join the Garrison.
But then there was that warm afternoon.
He couldn't remember if it had been spring or summer. It had been warm. That was the only thing that kept him for saying it was the fall. But Keith could remember quite vividly what he had been doing.
He'd been playing outside with Kit. In the sandbox as it turned out. Odd thing to remember, but the soft white sand were one of the few clear points in Keith's memory. He'd been building up a mound of sand whilst Kit sat just outside of the sandbox waiting for his sand mountain kingdom to be built.
"Whatcha doing?" The sudden question had startled Keith.
He was sure he had been completely alone. Outside of Kit of course.
Turning around, he'd found a boy standing there. He'd worn rather plain worn out clothes and sandals. Keith didn't recognize him as one of the children from the orphanage. Of course the park was public property so local kids were free to come and go. But even then this boy was new.
Keith didn't answer the boy's question, preferring to look down at the sand shyly. Hoping the boy would get bored and just walk away.
Instead, Keith heard the sound of feet crunching across sand and in a moment found the strange boy squatting down across from him and stared at Keith's face with a pair of brown eyes.
Reeling backwards Keith landed with his bum in the sand.
The other boy blinked and leaned over the mound of sand and squinted at Keith.
"Ya don't talk a lot do ya?" The boy asked.
"I… I…" He'd dug his fingers into the sand.
Keith wasn't used to people getting so close to him. Most everyone kept their distance. He wasn't sure how to deal with someone who made a point of getting as close as possible.
Glancing down at the mound of sand Keith had gathered together he drew a conclusion.
"You makin sand castles?"
Not being able to find the right words, Keith simply nodded in response.
"Cool!" the sudden exclamation startled Keith. The boy thumped his chest proudly. "I'm a sandcastle making champ!"
"Are you?" The question came out before Keith could think.
"Aha!" the boy ejaculated, startling Keith once again. "I knew you could talk!"
Crossing his arms satisfactorily with a smug grin on his face the brown-eyed boy nodded confidently. "I go to the beach all the time, so I get plenty of practice."
"Uhm but…" Keith began quietly. "Th-there aren't any beaches around here."
"Oh I know!" the brown eyed boy looked disappointed. "I'm here visiting my uncle! But there's no beach to go to so I came here instead."
The boy was like some foreign creature. Talking to him felt… strange. Keith wasn't used to having someone focused on him for so long.
"Sooooo" the boy drawled. "What's yer name?"
"K...Keith…" he'd muttered.
"Well hiya Keith!" the boy gave him a warm grin. "I'm - nice to meetcha!"
Keith could remember the boy with a weird mix of familiarity and aloofness. The warmth of his smile, his friendly voice, and the genuine look in those gentle kind eyes. He could even remember his dirty blue shirt and ragged sandals.
But he couldn't remember his name.
For years afterwards Keith had racked his brain trying to revive the memory. But he had long forgotten it.
After a lot of talking on the brown eyed boys part, he was suddenly called away. Waving good-bye he had taken off with the same boundless energy with which he had shown in the sandbox.
Taking up Kit and heading back to the home, Keith tried to put the incident out of his mind. And yet, the very next day he found himself wandering once more to the playground and squatting down in the sandbox.
Keith didn't usually go to the park. Most of the time he would wait and see what the other children were planning on doing and then go wherever there were the fewest people. He had long since learned that that was the quickest way to avoid the bullies.
He wasn't sure what he had planned on doing. Building sand castles wasn't really something Keith enjoyed doing. But there didn't seem much else to do.
It wasn't until the brown-eyed boy showed up that Keith realized he had been waiting for him.
"Hi Keith!" the boy waved as he came rushing over.
Hugging Kit to his chest Keith managed a quiet, "Hey."
"I didn't know you were gonna be here today! Do you come here everyday?"
Keith shook his head.
"Oh." he sounded somehow disappointed. "Well, do you wanna play again today?"
After a moment, Keith slowly nodded his head.
The boy gave him an overjoyed grin. "Cool! Do you wanna build sandcastles again?"
Despite his previous apprehension Keith found himself nodding. And when the other boy gave him that warm smile, he couldn't help but smile himself.
Keith lay in bed that night with an uncharacteristic smile on his face.
As per usual he took to talking to Kit. There wasn't anyone else to talk to after all.
"We had a lot of fun today didn't we?" He began holding Kit up to his face. "I didn't know how people built those big complex sand castles with all the fancy walls and like. But that boy knew how didn't he?"
Kit didn't answer.
"He said he went to the beach all the time. I suppose that's where he learned to make cool sandcastles like that huh?"
Keith's smile faltered.
"He's gonna go home soon huh? He said he was just visiting his uncle. After tomorrow, he'll probably be going home."
Squeezing Kit tightly Keith buried his face in his pillow.
"He'll probably go back home. With his parents."
The bitterness with which he said the latter part surprised him.
Right. That boy wasn't like him. He had parents, an uncle, probably a lot of brothers and sisters.
Once he went home he would forget all about Keith. Probably never think twice about him.
An unfamiliar feeling came over the boy. He could feel his chest tightening. His sight blurred.
Sniffling, Keith pulled the blanket over his head.
Once the brown eyed boy left things would just go back to the way they were before. Nothing would change. And there'd be no one to flash him kind gentle smiles.
Keith arrived at the park earlier than usual.
Setting Kit down at the side of the sandbox, Keith took a seat on the edge and gazed forlornly at the lumps of white sand. He didn't understand why he felt so sad. It wasn't like he'd known the boy long. They had quite literally only met the day before yesterday.
And yet…
And yet it felt as though he was losing a close personal friend. Which was weird since Keith didn't have any friends.
Did that brown eyed boy think of him as a friend? He doubted it.
Keith was just a convenient playmate. Someone the other boy could pass the time with. It was the same way all the other children at the home though of him, so why not this boy?
He hugged his knees. A knot had formed in his stomach.
Would the boy even bother to come today?
Maybe he had already forgotten all about him? Or perhaps he was out with his parents and uncle? Playing and laughing with his family.
Keith stood up to leave.
There was no point in waiting any longer. The other boy was just gonna leave the next day anyway. If he showed up at the park and found no one there, he'd just head back home and promptly forget that Keith had ever existed.
He reached down to grab Kit and head back to the home. Only to grasp at empty air.
"Ugh gross. This things disgusting."
Keith's flesh crawled as he looked up and found three of the largest boys from the home standing over him with the biggest dangling Kit in the air by the tail.
His hand shooting out, Keith made a grab for Kit's orange paw.
"Whoops." the biggest boy mocked as he lifted the toy just out of reach causing Keith to fall face first into the dirt.
As he picked himself up, Keith heard the boys mocking voices.
"Aww c'mon baby. Whatsa matter?" the bully lowered Kit into Keith's reach again. "Isa wittle baby too small to wreach?"
Keith jumped up and grabbed at Kit again only for the toy to be once more pulled back. The bully used his free hand to shove Keith back sending him tripping over the wall of the sandbox and landing on his back.
Pain was immediately his his ankle and shoulder.
Pushing himself up to a sitting position Keith couldn't stop the pained tears.
"Heh, look at im he's actually crying!"
"God he's such a crybaby."
Keith hiccuped as they laughed.
The biggest boy dangled Kit in front of him once again. "What is it? Don'tcha want it back?"
Despite the pain in his ankle, Keith stood up.
"P-please…" he blubbered. "Please give im back."
"What was that?" the bully exaggeratingly put a hand to his ear.
"Please!" Keith sobbed, the tears rolling down his cheeks. "Give it back! I need it! Please!"
The oldest boy snarled at him.
"Look at this baby guys! WAA WAAA!" he mocked as Keith continued to sob. "You're a BOY. Boy's don't play with dolls!"
Keith shook as he begged, his voice cracking. "P-please…"
"You're pathetic."
Keith's shoulders fell hopelessly, his hands gripping at his shirt.
"Hey," the big one spoke up. "We should burn this thing."
Despair came over Keith instantly.
"Yeah!"
"Let's burn it!"
There was nothing he could do. They were all bigger than him. Stronger than him.
They were gonna burn Kit, and then Keith would have nothing. Nothing to cling to when he felt anxious, nothing to talk to during lonely nights. He'd be completely alone then.
There wasn't any hope.
Of course, then something unexpected happened.
"Hey assholes!"
Keith turned slowly around.
The brown eyed boy stood there. His stance aggressive, his warm smile was a snarl, and his eyes were full of anger.
The transformation honestly surprised Keith. There didn't seem to be a reason for it.
"Pick on someone your own size!"
It was with a great deal of regret that Keith looked back on that day.
That little brown eyed boy with the warm smile and the worn out clothes had taken on all three of the older boys without hesitation. He didn't have a chance of actually winning.
But as he stood there on the sidelines, it quickly became apparent that that wasn't his goal. Every chance he got he swiped at Kit, often only missing by the tips of his fingers. Eventually he succeeded in wrenching the cat from the larger boys hands by kicking him in the shin.
Naturally the older boys didn't take that lying down.
By the end of it, the brown eyed boy was covered in scratches and bruises. The bullies only backed off when Keith started calling for help.
Keith hovered next to the boy unsure of what to do.
"H-hey…" he began nervously. "A-are you… o-okay?"
Turning towards him Keith was surprised to once again see that signature smile.
"Here," he held Kit out to Keith. "It's yours right?"
Keith stared at him dumbfounded.
"I like cats too! Those jerks are just jerks!" he laughed. "Nothing wrong with liking cats!"
Taking Kit from the boys hands, Keith stared down at it before looking up at the boy with his mouth hanging open.
The other was still smiling. "There! Right back where it belongs!"
His cheerfulness grated Keith somehow.
"Wh-why did you… Why did you do that?" he asked his voice shaking.
The other looked confused. "What do you mean?"
"Why did you do that?!" Keith's voice had raised to a pitch that it never had before. "Y-You didn't n-need to do that!"
The tears were back, rolling down his cheeks.
"Th-they wouldn't have even noticed you if you hadn't said anything! S-so why, why did you… why did you have to…"
He felt arms wrapping around him in a hug.
"You're my friend." the boy explained. "That's why."
Keith devolved into a blubbering mess and hugged the other boy back.
His friend left the next day.
That was how Keith remembered him anyway. As his first, and for a long time, only friend.
He couldn't be sure if he remembered him. Chances were he didn't.
Though some part of Keith quietly hoped that he did remember him. Perhaps in much the same way that Keith did. Names and specifics long forgotten. But the feeling's still the same.
Keith had more or less given up hope on ever meeting him again. It was a chance of a million to one that they'd even be in the same part of the world. But still, things changed after that.
He learned to take care of himself after that. No longer did he just sit back and let the older children bully him. He fought back.
Oh, he got in trouble. He frequently got in trouble. But eventually the bullies learned to leave him alone. Keith wasn't going to leave things at that though.
He continued to get in trouble. Everytime he saw them turn their sights on someone new, every time they thought they could get away with picking on someone smaller and weaker than them, every time those boys thought they could get away with it Keith did what he had to and got into trouble.
By doing this Keith was sure that he'd missed out on several chances at getting adopted. But he kept his grades up. He studied hard. And eventually he managed to get into the garrison. Though he got a stern warning about his "undisciplined behavior" upon being accepted.
But Keith didn't care.
By the time he'd left, the kids at the home had come to look up to Keith. And their opinions meant more to him than anything.
Keith smiled at his reflection in the glas as he reminisced. The endless expanse of space stretching out before him.
"-ith?"
He ignored any disturbances
"-eith?"
"KEITH?!"
Yelling out in surprise, Keith grasped at his chest attempting to still the beating of his own heart. Glaring over his shoulder he found Lance standing there looking expectant.
"What?!" he demanded.
"Uhh, it's dinner time?" Lance shrugged nonchalantly.
"So that makes it okay to scream in my ear?!"
"Hey, I tried to get your attention TWICE." Lance held up two fingers to empathise the point. "And if you don't get there in time, I'm calling dibs on your share."
Keith glared at Lance.
"I'll be there in a minute."
"Yeah whatever man." Lance shrugged.
Keith turned his attention back out into space.
The blue paladins overconfident and shallow attitude rubbed Keith the wrong way. But he could overlook that if it wasn't for Lance's antagonistic attitude towards him. Why Lance disliked him so much, he didn't know.
It wasn't like Keith had done anything to him. Hell back at the Garrison he had hardly ever spoken to Lance. Half the time he wasn't even aware of his existence.
Straightening up he decided that he had better hurry back to the others before Lance greedily downed his portion of the mean.
Turning to go, Keith was surprised to see Lance standing in the same place and staring at him with a look he couldn't read.
Raising a brow Keith asked suspiciously, "What are you looking at?"
Lance broke what had been a prolonged stare and shrugged whilst muttering, "Nothing."
"Whatever."
Electing to ignore his teammates weird behavior Keith passed by him on his way to the Kitchen.
Lance caught Keith's upper arm. "W-wait."
Wrenching his arm from the others grasp Keith asked irritably, "What is it now?"
"Uh… it's just…." Lance hesitated for a moment before asking. "Do you like cats?"
"Yes, can I go now?" Keith demanded.
"S-sure." Lance stammered.
Keith marched away muttering under his breath.
Watching him go Lance stood there his mind working carefully.
Eventually he shook his head with a laugh. "Nah! Couldn't be."
And he took off after Keith, determined to get to the dining hall before his rival.