Under Suspicion

by EmberXMystery

Someone has been committing murders and Shiro and his team have evidence that points to Keith. Keith doesn't know what is happening and is forced to relive past trauma. More is going on than the team can tell. BAU/ Criminal Minds setting. Everyone is on the team except Keith who left a while ago and is now suspected of committing murders. -Lance is a new recruit and gets training

1. Unwanted Return

Note:Hello. This is my first time writing a slowburn AU. This chapter ended up being longer than I anticipated but I really wanted to make a good first chapter. Ultimately, I don't want to just write fluffy fanfiction for this story. I want to write a good story that happens to have some really fluffy and adorable parts.

I did use the Keith and Shiro are adopted brothers headcanon because it fit well with the story.

Mostly this story will be Klance but also some shatt. Pidge is shipped with sarcasm. Originally this was Shallura but I never really liked that ship and I edited all of that out of the story and replaced it with Shatt. Sorry, no Adam. :/

This isn't going to be that 'bad' of a story, in that, there is some language from Keith, Pidge, and Lance, and there might be descriptions of violence. There will also be self-harm mentioned at least and possibly more but all for the sake of making a good story with a lot of plot development and character development. It won't be super sexual though.

Oh, and all of the characters are aged up, Keith, Lance, and Pidge and Hunk are in their twenties. Allura, Shiro, and Coran are in thier thirties. (So is Matt).

I tried to keep everyone in character as best as I could and that will improve as the story progresses. This chapter alone is already 1.5 times the size of my longest complete story, so it took me a while to edit and write. If something seems really out of place, feel free to comment and I can fix it :)

Really quick, Since I don't explicitly say it, the BAU is the Behavioral Analysis Unit. (the FBI specifically for serial killers)

Unsub is an Unknown Suspect

As for jobs, Shiro is the chief.

Pidge is the tech.

Hunk, Allura, and Lance are profilers.

And Coran is a profiler but he mostly deals with publicity stuff and getting the cases. (If you have ever seen Criminal Minds, then he plays JJ's role.)

Note: I am not apart of the FBI and am just generalizing. I know that I got some facts wrong, but it fit better for the story this way.

Well, here goes nothing! I hope you enjoy!

---

Keith~

Keith was having a seriously fucked up day.

Sure, he had woken up fine. Eaten breakfast (a single protein bar), and faintly tamed his wild hair before finding some clean(ish) clothes on the ground, and heading out for work.

He had been fully ready for another boring, monotone, tedious day.

He had just started driving when he heard the annoying iPhone jingle signaling a text. He glanced at the text. It was from Shiro.

Shiro: Can we talk?

That's odd, Keith thought, why does he want to talk to me?

Shiro: Now.

Keith became extremely concerned. His brother never wanted to talk to him— or at least, he never did talk to him.

Keith decided to pull over and had just come to a stop— his old, red-ish honda rattling to a halt— when Shiro called.

Keith grumbled to himself as he picked up the phone and swiped the answering command. "Yes? What do you want, Shiro?" Keith didn't hesitate, not wanting to draw their conversation out.

"Keith?" Shiro's voice crackled through the phone. He sounded… worried. Keith's mind immediately started running through all of the things he had done recently to try to figure out if he had somehow upset Shiro in any way or if he could have made him worried for some reason. "Keith, I need you to listen to me." He paused for barely a breath before continuing in a rush, "There is no time to explain but you are going to be taken in. Please, please, go with them. I promise that I will sort everything out but that will be much easier if you just go along."

"Shiro?" Keith was highly confused. "What the hell? What the actual hell? I don't know what you're talking about and I don't know that I want to."

"Keith, you have to listen to me. Go along with them but don't say you did anything. Just… be honest."

Keith sighed and rubbed his forehead in exasperation. "Shiro, I'm really sick of this kind of shit. I don't care if this is some way to get me back on the team. I'm not coming back. I—" Suddenly, Keith looked up as he heard the faint whine of police sirens. He looked at his mirror to see a police car pulling into a park behind him. Another one swerved around and parked in front of his car boxing him in.

Keith closed his eyes focusing on breathing in and out. A million foul things swirled through his mind but he erased them with a deep breath, raised his phone back to his ear, and said very definitely, "Shiro, from the bottom of my heart, fuck you."

He locked his phone, ending the call abruptly and threw it to the passenger's seat. He was seething. He didn't know what his brother had to do with whatever was happening but there was no reason that he should be noted by the police.

He heard the knock on his door before he had fully composed himself but Keith opened his eyes and tried to force a smile, though he suspected it looked more like a grimace. "Hello, officer," he said politely. He could hear the sarcasm and annoyance dripping through his own voice. The officer in front of him wasn't in any kind of uniform and, instead, she was wearing nice and simple form-fitting blouse and slacks, both grey with white undertones. Her skin was a pleasant warm-brown that was lightened by the silver-white of her hair that could not be natural. Her eyes were steely with an air of false pleasantries. "What seems to be the matter?" Keith asked with an extremely forced smile.

"Mr. Kogane, correct?" she asked, not even bothering to answer Keith's questions. Her voice was slightly accented making him feel as though he were under even more scrutiny.

"Yes…" he said apprehensively. He glanced at his phone wondering what Shiro could have been talking about. Go along with it, eh? Keith wanted to defy the officer and start running and lying but he was also curious. Plus, Shiro cared about Keith and genuinely wanted to protect him. Keith knew that all too well.

"I'm terribly sorry, but you have to come with us," the police officer said, her eyes not looking the least bit sorry.

"What for?" Keith asked. He refused to leave if she couldn't give him a reason, no matter what Shiro had told him.

"We suspect you of having committed the recent crimes."

Keith's breath caught. He tried not to let his voice quiver as he spoke, "I don't know what crimes you are talking about."

She quirked an eyebrow at him, "The ones all over the news. I'm sure you have heard about the lives that have been taken."

Keith swallowed forcefully. He wished he had never gotten up this morning. That would have made things so much easier. He would have loved to have one more day where his life wasn't in danger.

"Now, if you will please step out of the car."

Rubbing his eyes one last time, Keith groaned as he opened the door to his car. He didn't miss her hand clenched on her gun as he slammed the door to his car closed.

Keith turned and caught sight of another officer— a man in a royal blue suit with shockingly orange hair and a stunningly odd mustache. This officer was pointing a gun at him.

Keith watched as the officer before him removed her hand reluctantly from her gun, to grab a pair of handcuffs. Keith raised his hands and she turned him around, lowering his arms and snapping the locks shut in the process.

The officer shoved him forcefully into the back of her car and Keith had to bite back all of the remarks running through his head. Especially those with choice words.

The officer got into the front and started driving. "Do you even have the authority to arrest me?"

"I am an FBI agent in the BAU and you fit our profile and suspicion."

"Oh, what?" Keith was getting more annoyed by the minute, "So now any introverted, slightly odd person who maybe, I don't know, has longer hair is accused of committing a murder?"

"Please, we just want to question you. Yes, we are suspecting you of commiting the crimes, but we have yet to convict you so, please."

Keith rolled his eyes and tried to sit back into the seat but failed because of his hands behind his back. Instead, he folded over and leaned his head against his knees. He wanted nothing more than to call Shiro and ask him what the hell was happening.

The car went dark as they passed through a tunnel. Keith inhaled sharply, knowing they were close. He grimaced remembering all of the times he had driven his car, much like the officer in front of him, through this tunnel. Almost every day he would drive through it. He remembered all of the times when he was first starting out that he had feared this tunnel— everything was too dark for too long for his liking. Plus, many of the underground lights would flicker ominously.

Mere minutes later, the car rolled to a gentle stop and the officer opened Keith's door. Keith was hauled out by a forceful grip on his shoulder. He blinked rapidly as he tried to adjust his eyes to the light. The female officer continued to hold his shoulder as she directed him inside the office, though Keith knew the building and didn't need her direction.

As soon as he walked through the front doors, it was like he was being punched by the past and it hurt. He had made it a point not to visit Shiro at the office. It had taken him long enough to even meet with Shiro for coffee. He would have thought that he would notice all of the changes, but he could only see all of the continuities. Keith closed his eyes, focusing on his breathing instead, his forehead creased in concentration. He never wanted to come back here. He couldn't. He just couldn't.

"Keith? Keith is that you?" a voice called.

Please, he begged silently, Please go away. I don't—

"It is! Pidge, get in here! Keith is back !"

He was forced to open his eyes when he felt the sharp thwack of Hunk's hand on his back. "How are you, buddy?" Hunk asked politely. Keith looked up at the big guy, trying not to see the nightmares that danced before his eyes. Hunk wore a casual yellow t-shirt with a nice, green sports-jacket that went down and wrapped around his thumbs. He noticed that a thin cloth was wrapped around his forehead. Keith focused on his bright smile that had a way of relaxing anyone lucky enough to see it. His big brown eyes sparkled with intelligence and kindness. Keith tried to shrug nonchalantly, but it was hard to do with the firm grip on his shoulder and the tension he felt, "Eh, I've been better." He nodded back behind him.

Hunk's smile fell as though he were just noticing that Keith was handcuffed. His gaze shifted to the officer behind Keith, "Allura, what is the meaning of this? Why is Keith in handcuffs?"

"Wait," the officer behind Keith— Allura— said, "You know this guy?"

"Yeah!" Hunk cried excitedly. "He used to work here and he's Shiro's little brother, y'know, the one he's always telling stories about." Keith wondered what stories Shiro told the others about him, but it wasn't his greatest concern at the moment.

Allura looked confused, "But… his name…?"

Before the conversation could progress any further, Keith and Allura, who had the misfortune of standing behind Keith, were knocked to the ground by an aggressive green ball. "KEITH!"

"Oof!" Keith said in response. It took him a moment to regain his breath after being knocked to the ground, on top of Allura, and having the life squeezed out of him. Once his vision cleared, he was able to see the round glasses that framed the amber, owlish eyes of Pidge. Their messy bedheaded hair tickled his chin as they hugged him again. "Keith!" Finally, they sat up and gave his face a foot of space. "Why the fuck haven't you visited?" Keith smiled as Pidge seemed to notice either his handcuffs, or Allura underneath him. They got off of Keith, allowing him to get off of the breathless Allura, then they immediately glared at him, pointing up accusingly, "And why the fuck are you handcuffed?"

"Well, Pidge," Keith said, letting his voice ooze with annoyed sarcasm, "I don't know. I was thinking that maybe you had just decided to say hello." It was easier to talk to Pidge's joking sarcastic attitude than Hunk's kindness. With Pidge, Keith didn't picture any violence. "And you couldn't text because Shiro took your phone again."

"Bastard," Pidge whispered with a snort. "He's never getting it a second time." Pidge's tiny yet incredibly powerful glare turned to Hunk and then to Allura, who was still breathless, "Do either of you idiots know why this idiot is chained up?"

"Beats me," Hunk said with a shrug.

"He…" Allura huffed, still trying to regain her breath, "is suspected… of committing… the recent crimes."

"Oh?" Pidge asked, quirking an eyebrow. They turned towards Keith, "Have you been bad recently?"

"Not that I know of," Keith sighed, "But who knows. Maybe I forgot about my crimes over the course of the day."

"Yeah, that must be it," Pidge agreed.

"Okay," Allura said forcefully, "It is time I took Keith away."

"Aw," Pidge and Hunk cried simultaneously, "Okay," Hunk said, "but we're talking to Shiro about this and we're gonna figure this out."

"Uh, huh," Pidge added, "and if he won't talk to me, then I'll just hack his files." Keith was caught between concern and laughter as Allura pulled him to his feet and started forcing him through the office. They passed through a couple of rooms and large doorways. Keith tried not to look too hard, not wanting to see anything else. He wanted to try to think of this as not a return but as visiting someplace new. While in handcuffs.

They entered a small room with two chairs around a table in the middle of it. A large frame of clearly one-sided glass was inlaid on one wall. Keith was shoved into sitting in one of the chairs. His hands were uncuffed only to have one of his legs cuffed to the chair leg. Keith looked up and gave Allura a menacing glare.

"We will be along to interview you after we go through your car."

"What?" Keith blanched, "That fast? Do you even have a search warrant?"

Allura pulled out a folded slip of paper from her back pocket. Of course it was a search warrant. Why wouldn't it be?

Allura had the audacity to give Keith an apologetic smile before leaving the room and locking the door. Keith knew that someone was probably watching though the one-sided mirror so he glared at it, stuck out his tongue, and flipped whoever was there off.

He hoped some one had seen. Maybe Shiro or Allura. Even Pidge would have at least gotten a kick out of it.

Instantly his heart plummeted. He couldn't get Pidge's frantic voice from the other end of the phone out of his head. He saw the blood that ran down Hunk's forehead. He saw the blood that ran down Shiro's face and dripped off of his chin. He remembered the way his friend Matt had stepped back, panicked as he was the first to see… everything. His choked sobs were all that Keith could hear as he stared out the window.

---

Shiro~

Shiro pounded his fist on the table, yelling in outrage. Allura and Coran flinched backwards. He hated that terrified expression he saw on their faces, but he couldn't stand Keith being in prison. It was driving him to his breaking point. "No! I won't just let him sit there wondering what the heck is happening."

"What is happening?" Hunk asked, walking into the room and setting his hot chocolate onto the table. "Why is Keith in our prison?"

Shiro closed his eyes, collecting his rare-to-show temper, "This morning, Allura and I were watching the surveillance tapes and we found Keith at all of the scenes just before the murders, absent during the murders, and walking quickly away from the scenes after the murders."

"So what?" Pidge, who had been behind Hunk, snorted. "He probably just didn't want a killer chasing him."

"We have to follow up on all suspects," Allura said, fumbling for words, "And when we followed up on Keith he not only wasn't going to work as regularly, but he was carrying a knife with him that can just barely see it on the tapes. And… we found the knife in his car."

"Still," Hunk asked, "Why is that enough of a reason to take him into custody?"

"Because," Allura stared but words failed her. Coran spoke up calmly, "there was a strange symbol written on the victim's bodies with their blood. We… the knife Keith has has the same symbol on the hilt."

Pidge pursed their lips, "Yeah, that does look bad."

"Please, let me talk to him!" Shiro said with as much calmness as he could, though he didn't think it was enough. "Yes, I'll interview him. I know how to read him better than all of you. I know what will make him squirm— should it come to that." Shiro felt awful for putting Keith in prison. He doubted anyone would have noticed if he hadn't have pointed Keith out and made a comment about his knife.

"No," Allura said firmly. "You are direct family, neither you, nor his friends Hunk and Pidge should be allowed to talk to him. You guys have already shown bias by not wanting to suspect him"

"Please, let me at least tell him what's happening!" Allura shook her head, her arms crossed across her chest. "I just started to built up a good relationship with Keith, Allura. Please don't make me break it by him thinking that I think that he killed someone!"

"That's why you can't talk to him," Allura said back. "You don't think he even has the possibility to have committed the crimes."

"Because there is no possibility." He looked back to Hunk and Pidge for support. They both frowned at him, clearly seeing Allura's view on the issue. How could they think Keith would just… break like that? "Please," Shiro pleaded with them, "I just want to see him. I want to talk to him."

Hunk walked towards him settling his hand heavily on Shiro's shoulder. "Chief, I think you should sit this one out. At least for now. Maybe another time, but to start, we want to get information."

"And I can get you information," Shiro said desperately. "We need him to be comfortable."

"Shiro," Pidge said, "you know that Keith is good at guarding his emotions. He is probably most trained to blocking you out. But I don't think Allura would be a good idea, either. He's pretty pissed at her for abducting him this morning."

"So, what?" Allura scoffed, "You're saying you should do the interview?"

"Oh, dear god, no!" Pidge cried. "Keith and I would get nothing done the entire time. I was thinking someone his own age though. Not you old folks," they pointed with their thumb at Coran, Allura, and Shiro. "Someone who he doesn't know and who can keep the mood lighthearted."

"You mean Lance?" Hunk asked incredulously. "He's so new though…"

"Exactly," they smiled devilishly, "he would surprise Keith so much that Keith might just let some information go. Plus, he might make Keith the most comfortable out of the three new recruits we have. And I'm dying to see his reaction to Lance."

"Or he might just annoy the snot out of Keith," Hunk said shrugging.

"True," Pidge said. "Still, I think he would be better than the people who abducted him and put him in prison."

"Okay fine," Shiro said, "I'll go tell him."

"Tell him what?" Lance asked, walking into the conference room while holding a cup of coffee. Everyone was silent. "What'd I miss?"

---

Keith~

Finally! Keith pulled his head up from the table as he heard the door open. Inside walked a tall young boy who was wearing a light grey t-shirt with a greenish brown jacket and blue jeans. He closed the door and then turned towards Keith and sat down. His hair was a short, mousy brown and his eyes were a deep ocean blue that shone like the rising sun on the horizon of the sea. He had to be in his twenties— around Keith's age.

"So," he said, cocking one eyebrow up, "You're brother asked me to talk to you. He wants you to know that he doesn't think that you committed the murders and he is doing everything he can to help you, but his hands are pretty tied."

Keith rolled his eyes. "Yeah, well, my hands were literally tied this morning so I know how he feels."

The boy stared at Keith, "Personally, I don't see how someone with such a bad haircut could be smart enough to get away with three murders for even this long. I mean, really? A mullet? I would've thought that this killer was some kind of cool badass. Especially given the way Shiro talks about you."

"Well, at least my looks don't make me guilty as well," Keith huffed. "May I ask your name O'high and mighty interviewer?"

"Lance," the boy said cooly. "The name's Lance."

Keith snorted.

"What?" Lance asked defensively.

"Nothing, can we get on with this interview?"

"Fine," Lance muttered. "What do you know about the murders?"

"Only what was on the news."

"Nothing more?"

"Nope."

"How can that be? You were at the scene of the crimes?" Lance quirked his eyebrow again.

"It's called: having a life. You should try it sometime," Keith remarked, rather proud of himself for the comment.

Lance's gaze settled into a glare. "Oh? And what would you know of having a life?"

"More than you!" Keith shouted back childishly. He knew he was acting poorly, but his day was such shit that he had stopped caring.

"YO!" they heard Pidge yelling and banging through the one-sided-mirror, "BACK TO WORK!"

"Yeah, yeah," Lance muttered, looking down at the single paper he had laid on the desk, "Why were you at the scenes of the crimes? Starting first with Moon Mall."

"I was bored," Keith shrugged, "I decided to go eat some lunch and look at a couple of stores. Then, as I was leaving as I saw a scene happening in the parking lot. I walked over to see what all the commotion was about and at my first spying of blood, I ran."

"Why?" Lance asked, his voice genuinely curious.

"Because, I don't like it. Is that abnormal?"

"Most humans have an innate sadism that comes from their curiosity."

"Well," Kieth huffed, "I'm not 'most humans.'"

"In that case," Lance continued, "Why did you run from all three crime scenes? Did you happen to think anything about how they were related? Did you happen to think about how they all happened near you?"

Just be honest. Shiro's words echoed through Keith's mind. He took a deep breath to try to still his rising anger. "Look, Lance, I ran because I wanted nothing to do with the cases. Sure I thought they were related, but that just gave me more incentive to leave. I thought 'well shit. I hope the police don't catch me.' and look where that got me."

Lance raised a suspicious eyebrow, "'I hope the police don't catch me?' Kogane, that is awfully suspicious."

"You know what, Lance," Keith said, wishing he could stand up dramatically but he knew that with the cuff, if he tried, it wouldn't go as smoothly as he wanted. Instead, he settled for leaning forward to glare at Lance as though he were about to pounce, "I've found that I don't give a shit about what you profile me as. The others will have to come in to do this all over again anyways. So if you think I'm a criminal, well, maybe you'll be too afraid of getting hurt to come back."

"Wha-What do you mean? I'm not afraid of you,," Lance asked paling and visibly retreating.

"Ah, clearly," Keith said, leaning back with a smirk, "You have never been profiled. If you had, you wouldn't have flinched backwards from me. You would have stayed stone-faced and cool minded." Keith watched as Lance forced his face to relax into easy going placidity. "You have to be new at this, or I wouldn't be getting to you. Also, your questions are pre-written— not created on the spot to intimidate me. Even if the questions are the same, your paper gives me reassurance. Plus, clearly, you are quite young and quite new because, I've never seen you before in my life. Let me guess, you're the coffee guy?" Keith took pleasure in watching the horror flick through Lance's eyes as he struggled to keep the calm facade.

"Psh! I am just… not that good with hard criminals yet!" Lance's voice cracked as he tried to defend himself.

"Uh huh. Now," Keith folded his arms across his chest, his confidence only growing, "How many cases, exactly, have you been a part of? It shouldn't take you long to count them. Unless, of course, you failed math along with… let me guess… history?"

Keith watched as the sweat grew on his brow and dripped down the side of his face. "No," Lance muttered, "I— I've done more!"

"Face it," Keith said, taking all of his malice out on Lance in that moment, "You are worthless to this team. They were fine before and they are fine now. You are just an entertaining pawn to them."

Lance backed away, standing up and almost falling backwards over his chair as he did so. Keith watched him blink rapidly to try to clear away the tears forming in his eyes. "I—" Lance tried to croak out.

Suddenly, the door banged open. Keith stood up in surprise. Shiro was inside, holding Lance by the shoulders in a moment. Keith hadn't seen his brother in weeks— almost a couple of months. The red line across his nose had faded to a dull pink though it was still clearly visible unlike Hunk's hidden scars. His hair had that noticeable white shock that Keith was consistently surprised Shiro never dyed. The most surprising thing to Keith, though— the thing that caused him to retreat, to cower like a little child— was the glare in Shiro's eyes. He turned his head from Lance to glare at Keith with more force than Keith had seen in a long while.

"Keith," Shiro bit out the name like it was poison or a weapon in itself. Keith flinched, his eyes wide in terror. "I don't know what to say to you." Shiro bit his lip, closed his eyes and shook his head with disgust. "I'm really disappointed in you."

Keith was silent. He swore he could hear the dust settling. Shiro held Lance up, Lance hiding his face in Shiro's shoulder. They walked out of the room slamming the door behind them.

Keith stood stunned as the sudden silence settled deafeningly over the room. He didn't know what to say. Keith turned around, the one cuff on his left ankle stopping him from moving.

He threw his hands through his hair furiously. "ARGH!" Keith cried out in anguish. I'm such an idiot! Keith didn't even know how to feel or what to think. He was so angry at himself because he was the idiot. He was the one who had blown up. Again.

The look on Shiro's face, the first one Keith had seen in months, had been of pure hatred— no, pure disappointment. Keith threw his hands away from his head in utter rage. He reached across the table, not even caring just needing to vent his anger on something. He knocked the chair that Lance had been sitting in to the ground. It clattered in an echo of sudden noise that surprised Keith. The sound rang in his ears as he sat down numbly, staring at it.

He wasn't mad at Lance. He was mad at himself and what he used to be. He hated the idea that there were more young, unsuspecting people out there that were eager to have a job like this. Innocent people who didn't deserve to see all of the cruelties the world had to offer. He saw the young twinkle— the naïve hope in Lance's eyes and it made Keith want to protect it. He knew that twinkle wouldn't be there forever. He knew that it would fade with each cold dead pair of eyes that would stare at him. He knew that it would fade with each uncaught criminal. With each unsolved case. With each lost victim.

Keith had already experienced all of that; he didn't want to watch someone else experience it. Same went for Allura and that mustached guy from the car. He knew they were newer to this group and he didn't want to see them fall.

It had broken his heart— shattered it— when he had seen Hunk grimacing in pain. Even this morning he recognized the subtle effort it took for him to not break down every day and to keep that easy-going smile on his face.

Keith buried his head in his hands. He wanted to pick up Lance's chair. He wanted to pick Lance up from whatever dark hole Keith had plunged him down into, but both were too far out of his reach.

"I'm sorry," Keith whispered under his breath. "I didn't mean for things to get so out of hand."

He felt the cool tears that slipped out of his eyes and spread across his fingers as he tried to shake the memories away, as he tried to forget. As he tried to shove the memories back into the vault in his mind.

---

~Shiro

Shiro was seething with rage.

He had been watching Keith and Lance's interactions and had been pleasantly pleased when they seemed to almost be getting along. Keith had his usual distance but he was opening up more than Shiro would have expected. Keith had always had strong walls around him but after that case… it had seemed like the walls were new and they only had stronger fortifications.

Shiro held Lance in the conference room. He hadn't let anyone else come in, knowing that Lance needed space. Shiro rubbed his back and whispered soothingly.

"Lance, he didn't mean it," Shiro said forcefully for the fifth time.

"But why would he say something like that? Especially when he was so right about everything else." Lance looked at shiro, his blue eyes shone with tears. "How did he read me like I'm an open book? I'm not."

Shiro sighed, "Because Keith is the best profiler we've had in a long time. He can't interact with people to save his life but he's observant and really good at reading people."

"All of what he read about me is true," Lance said, his voice cracking slightly. "So I must be an awful profiler that you guys keep around because you either have to or because you have taken pity on me and I'm a joke."

"Lance, that's not true."

Lance tore himself out of Shiro's arms and stood up, shoving his hands into his pockets, "No, Shiro. I know I'm worthless. That's why I got this job. I wanted to do something with my life. Otherwise, without this job, I'm nothing."

"Lance," Shiro said, matching Lance's forceful tone. He stood, wanting to be on Lance's level, "You got some of the highest marks in your class. You have a great eye with a gun and can shoot from 30 yards away and still hit your target. You were one of the most perceptive in your class, and you are great at talking to people."

Lance shook his head, "You know why I was in the top five. You know why I was able to do so much extra work. Having extra time and being able to do extra work doesn't mean that I'm not complete and utter shit when it comes to life!"

"Lance—" Shiro tried to say.

"No!" Lance shouted, "I don't want your fake support. I'm so fucking tired of people telling me that I'm better than I am! I'm not a good person and I don't desire to be. I just want to have people see me and tell me the truth. I'm sick and tired of being lied to."

Lance turned around, not caring to look at Shiro any more. Shiro watched sullenly as Lance stormed out of the room, slamming the door open and letting it close with a soft thump when he was already halfway down the hallway.

Shiro sat down in a chair, silent. He buried his face in his hands and tried to hold his scrambled mind together. He didn't know what he could say or do. Lance needed space. So did Keith. But he couldn't just leave either of them to their very evident self-hatred.

The door behind him clicked open softly. Shiro raised his head to see Allura walking in. "Hey," she whispered.

"Allura, I don't know what to do. I think I just hurt Lance more than if I had left him alone."

Shiro watched as Allura bit her lip nervously. "I think you should try to work on Keith. He needs to have someone."

"What happened?" Shiro asked.

"He threw Lance's chair down then buried his head in his hands. He seems really distraught. He might be crying…"

"Allura," Shiro sighed, "I can't. I can't talk to him. He won't take anything from me. He will take whatever I say, no matter how true or false, and turn it against him."

Allura nodded solemnly. "What are you going to do?"

"I don't think I can talk to them, but maybe someone else can?" Shiro sighed again, "I don't know that I can ask them but Pidge can sometimes get Keith to open up and Hunk knows Lance well enough to calm him down. Do you think I could ask them both to take my burden?"

Allura hummed pensively, "I think that Hunk would be more than willing to help Lance. The only reason he isn't is because he was giving you space to try to help him. Pidge on the other hand, they can be a bit more temperamental."

Shiro nodded. "Let me ask Hunk first, then I can see about Pidge."

---

~ Lance

I'm worthless.

I'm a burden to everyone who meets me.

No one wants to help, I'm just forcing my problems onto them.

Lance clutched his head in outrage as he sat in the privacy of his car out in the parking lot. He didn't want to hurt anyone or disturb them since he was so clearly a burden.

He had been told that Keith could be aggressive and short-tempered, but he never expected him to figure out all of Lance's doubts and worries. At least not so quickly.

Well, not all of them.

It was some consolation that his barriers had blocked some of Keith's perception. Or at least… Keith had had the sensitivity to not reveal them. It was hard enough for him to get close to people. Sure, he would be able to talk to anyone conversationally, but it was all forced. Nothing was real. He wasn't real. He hadn't been for years.

Lance started when he heard a soft tapping at his window. He turned his head to see Hunk's kind smile looking at him. A part of him wanted to tell Hunk to leave because he wasn't in the mood, but the other part of him really needed support from someone who would understand. Reluctantly, he clicked the unlock button on his car. Hunk scurried around the front of the car to get into the passenger's side. He opened the door and thumped down into the seat making the car rock a little.

Lance remained silent, his face turned away from Hunk.

"So," Hunk said quietly.

"So," Lance echoed with no intention of continuing his thought.

"Lance, I know you don't want to hear it, so I won't linger on the topic long," Hunk said placing a hand comfortingly on Lance's knee, "You are valued and you are important to the team."

Lance scoffed and rolled his eyes.

"I know you won't listen to me," Hunk continued, "So how about I tell you something instead. Hmm?" Lance caught him staring intently at Lance out of the corner of his eye which only made Lance turn his head away, wanting as much attention off of him as possible, an abnormal occurrence.

"This isn't my story to tell, but I can tell you this much," Hunk said slowly. "A couple of years ago, Keith joined this team. He got in at a rather young age because of Shiro's recommendation. Well, he was amazing. He could profile a criminal in a minute with almost no information to go on and be spot on. We never knew how he was so good at it." Hunk smiled at the old memories.

"Well, there was this one case that… went sour. Keith took some leave— heck, most of us did. But when he came back, he wasn't the same. After a week or two, he decided to quit and he hasn't been back to visit since. I don't even know how often he has seen Shiro since then.

"I don't think he was trying to hurt you, Lance. I think he is still mad at our job and he wanted to… protect you before you had to face the same horrors he did. This job is brutal."

Lance turned his head away. He was fully aware of the risks that came with this job but he wanted to make a change in the world. He wanted to do some good. He had to.

"Hunk," Lance said after he took a shaky breath, "I see what you're saying, but that doesn't excuse how he reacted. I'm apart of this team now and I am ready to at least try. I need to make a difference in this world. If I don't, then what am I supposed to do with my life?"

Hunk nodded. "I just wanted you to know, I think everyone should get a chance to try what they want. Maybe your chance will come soon. For now, how about we go get some ice cream and then come back later?"

Lance nodded concedingly and turned the key in the car, turning it on. He watched Hunk pull on his seat belt, listened to him nag about Lance wearing one until he conceded, and then pulled away to go get ice cream.

---

~ Keith.

Thankfully, Keith had managed to pull himself together by the time Pidge slammed the door open, their glasses glinting mischievously with their overly peppy smile and a brown paper bag in their hands. Keith knew that his eyes were still red and his hair was a mess, but he had stopped caring.

"'Sup," Pidge said as they plopped the bag onto the table and proceeded to pick Lance's chair up and face it backwards. They sat down, facing Keith with their arms crossed over the top of the chair and their head resting on their arms.

Keith remained silent, not wanting to see anyone and just wishing that he could hide. He knew that they had all seen his tantrum through the mirror, but he liked to think that the room was isolated and that he didn't have to worry about anything.

"So," Pidge said softly. Their voice had lost some of its vigour as though they were forcing their voice to work. "I brought some food," they paused, "The Oreo asked me to talk to you."

Keith remembered when they had called Shiro an Oreo as a joke after his white streak of hair had come in, sandwiched by the black. It wasn't a nickname Keith would have expected to stick after he left, though.

Keith opened the bag and took out a burger and fries. He started eating while Pidge talked, not realizing how hungry he had become.

"But," Pidge said, "I told him I'm not gonna do shit for him because this is his mess to clean up. So I'm going to talk to you before I make him come in here to work things out. "

Keith looked up and met Pidge's eyes. They looked at him intently, trying to lighten the mood, but fighting against Keith's cloud of darkness was near impossible.

"Nice to know he cares so much," Keith scoffed.

"Keith, he does care, but he didn't want to hurt you. But, I told him that you and I wouldn't get any work done because we would just talk about shit. So, that's my job!" A weak grin spread across their face.

Keith nodded eating a handful of fries in one bite, "Fair enough. Okay, let's cheer me up before the Oreo comes in."

"Cool. So, how's your life?"

"Mmm," Keith pursed his lips, "Let's not go there."

Pidge nodded. "'Kay. I'll start then. The other week we were against this really twisted weirdo who gouged out people's eyes and then froze them. The disturbing thing was when we found all of the masses of eye-goop in a freezer along with a victim. We saved a victim- thankfully with her eyes still in her head— and got the guy pretty quickly after that. The funny thing happened when the group came back, because, of course, I wasn't there; I was watching the computer cameras, though. So when they came back, I had put some of those gummy eyeball candies into some strawberry jello and I put it in the freezer. Coran— the guy with the orange mustache— found it first and he squealed like a freshly caught piglet! It was so funny. But… I was banned from the fridge as a result. They put a key code password on it. Not that that stops me. I just don't tell the others because then I can prank them later." Pidge froze, paled, and then turned towards the one-way mirror that showed Keith and Pidge staring at themselves. "Fuck," they whispered, "I was saving that one for something really good." Pidge raised their voice as they faced the mirror again, "Shiro, I'm not going to do anything, I swear." Pidge dropped their voice again and raised a mischievous eyebrow at Keith, "at least," they whispered, "not yet."

Keith chuckled, finally able to relax his shoulders slightly. "How's Matt doing?" he asked. He hadn't been in touch since he left the BAU. He hoped that Matt was doing better than he was. As in, not being accused of murder.

"Oh, my brother's fine. He got a job working as a simple detective tech. I think he might have stayed if I had given my job back to him but I was like 'oh, hell no. I'm not giving up this job until it kills me or someone out hacks me.' Still no one has, by the way." Pidge crossed their arms across their chest looking smug. "Anyway, it's doing wonders for his stress. He is a lot more calm usually. Though, he was working really late last night and only left a voicemail for me saying that he had to stay out late. Bastard. I had microwaved food and everything for him! Before I saw the message, that is. So, I just ate his meal too. I couldn't let it go to waste— it was perfectly good food."

"Hey," Keith said, holding his hands up in surrender, "You're talking to the guy who has eaten protein bars as a food group and meal of breakfast for the past three years. I don't judge food. Food is food." He took another large bite of the hamburger.

"Unless it's Hunk's food because his food is AWESOME!" Pidge raved.

"Oh, I miss Hunk's cooking!" Keith said reminiscing.

"He just learned a new cheesecake recipe which is so good!" Pidge closed their eyes and hummed appreciatively. "It has this drizzled strawberry sauce with chocolate bits inside of the cake and it is amazing."

"That does sound good," Keith said. He hadn't eaten something of good food quality in a few weeks. Mostly out of sheer laziness and an inability to cook food, he had only eaten canned goods or fast food.

The conversation dropped off. Keith knew he should say something but every thought he had lead to an awkward conversation. He looked at Pidge to find them staring out the window to their right. There wasn't much to see of the outdoors, mostly just trees with branches obscuring any potential view of the city. The wind rustled the branches touching the window creating an ominous knocking sound.

He had finished eating. Keith sighed, deciding to ask the question bouncing though his anxiety-ridden mind. "Pidge," he said in a voice barely above a whisper. They didn't turn towards him; they only let out a breath of acknowledgement. "How… how is Shiro?"

Pidge nodded as though they understood the weight of his question. "He's okay. The white patch never went away but… it hasn't spread either." Pidge paused for a moment, their eyes calculating. "He's worried about you. He wants you to be well-protected and safe."

Keith looked away from Pidge, unable to bear their eyes boring into him.

"His greatest concern was, and still is, that you will break and no longer care to… y'know."

Keith swallowed the thick spit that had welled up in the back of his throat.

"Look," Pidge said, all of their usual joking tone was long gone. "We all just want to make sure you are okay. After… Everything was really hard. Somehow we all made it through and Shiro wants to keep it like that. He's our dad— well, the equivalent of. We want to make you feel happy and welcome. We don't want you to suffer any more."

"Then why am I chained up and suspected of murder?"

"Keith," Pidge said sharply.

"What?" Keith snapped back

"You know what the protocol is. We couldn't have favoritism deny the abundance of evidence we found."

"What evidence?!" Keith cried in exasperating.

"I… I'm not supposed to tell you." Pidge said desperately, "You know how the protocol works."

"Yeah," Keith said, barely able to contain his flaring temper, "I know it is a fucked up system and I'm sick of it."

If Keith could, he would have gone and stormed out of the room, no matter how childish it would be.

Pidge rubbed their eyes underneath their glasses with their forefinger and thumb. "Keith," they said tiredly, "I know you want out. I know you want answers. So do we. My guess is, another victim is going to be killed while we are tangled up here trying to interrogate you about something you know nothing about. Maybe then you will be free; who knows? I'm going to try my hardest to get you out. So will Hunk and Shiro. Even Lance and Allura and Coran want you to go free because they know how much it would hurt the rest of us to convict you. I'm sorry, but we're trying."

Keith sighed, trying to vent some of his anger. The rational part of his brain saw Pidge's point of view and agreed with it. But, at the same time, the other part of him was furious. He wanted to know why he was suspected. Lance said he was at the crime scenes. Keith remembered how he had seen those deaths but he had tried to run away. He wanted nothing more to do with them.

"Yeah," he whispered after a moment. He wound his anger into a ball to be stored at the back of his mind for later. "Yeah, I know. I just… I want answers. I see how you don't believe I could have done these murders and I thank you for that. I saw how Lance was even uncertain about me. I see that you and Matt aren't doing that well which is why you didn't check your phone until after you made dinner. And his safety and overworking has probably been an afterthought."

Keith watched as Pidge withered under his words. Immediately, he backed off. He remember that promise he had made to Shiro those few years ago…

"Sorry," Keith said miserably.

"Don't be," Pidge said with a wave of their hand. Their voice was back to their usual peppy mischievous tone. "I remembered you being good at profiling but damn, Keith."

"Hey, just because I left doesn't mean I'm rusty."

"Yeah," Pidge said quietly.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Keith turned his head towards it, but of course he didn't know who was behind the door.

"Whelp," Pidge said standing up dramatically and pushing the chair away from in front of them as they did, "That'd be my cue to leave. Adios." They grabbed the now empty bag of food and took it to throw away.

"And remember," they said, stopping as they reached the door. "I will be watching. Always," they said in a gravelly demonic voice.

Keith had a moment of confusion before he remembered the one-way mirror. "Oh, ha ha," he said sarcastically.

Pidge bowed and walked out of the door, leaving the room once again in silence as the door clicked closed.

Keith stared out the window as he waited, the seconds bearing down on him. After a while, the door opened slowly, quietly.

Keith watched stone faced as Shiro stepped in. His head was downcast, as though he didn't dare meet Keith's eyes. Slowly, Shiro walked towards Keith. He turned around Pidge's chair and sat down. Keith remained quiet, wanting Shiro to start the conversation first.

As he waited, he noticed that Shiro's hair was shorter than it had been the last time he had seen him, though he had still grown out the white bangs so they looked like a tail of fluff over his forehead. His shoulders were slumped but he still looked strong and sturdy.

"Keith," Shiro breathed, finally looking up to meet Keith's eyes. His eyes were a dark, misty grey that bore into Keith. Keith wanted to shrink away but he forced himself to hold strong. "Keith," Shiro repeated, "I'm sorry."

---

Lance~

Lance took his ice cream from Hunk and licked it as he closed the door to his car.

"You're coming back?" Hunk said.

"You sound surprised," Lance said, faking being offended. "There is drama happening here. Of course I'm back." Hunk shrugged, heading out across the parking lot.

Truthfully, Lance hadn't been sure he was coming back and he still wasn't sure he wanted to be back. But, he wanted to be appreciated by the team. He had to show them that he could be of use… or at least that he was willing to be tough.

Lance spun his keyes around one finger and licked his ice cream with the other hand as he walked into the building behind Hunk.

Lance walked over to the interrogation room. Pidge sat outside of it by themself. Lance leaned against the wall across from the one-way mirror into the interrogation room. "'Sup," Lance said looking through the glass at Keith and Shiro. Both of them looked awkward and uncomfortable they were talking so quietly it was hard to hear them through the speaker set on the table Pidge was currently sitting on.

They looked back over to Lance and Hunk walking in. "Oh, what?!" they cried indignantly, "You didn't bring me any ice cream?" Pidge clutched a hand over their heart and bent over as though in pain. Then, they sat up and looked at Lance in confusion. "Lance," they said suspiciously, "What the fuck is your ice cream?"

Lance looked down at his cone of ice cream. He had gotten the special at Baskin Robbins which happened to be something about rainbow? He hadn't paid that much attention. It was a deep purple color with bright blues and greens swirled through it. It tasted vaguely fruity, vaguely chocolatey, vaguely butterscotch-y, and vaguely like the inside of a box sitting in the attic for a few years. "I'm not entirely sure. I usually just get the flavor of the month and the chocolate peanut butter so…" Lance licked it.

"I don't think I will ever understand you," Pidge whispered turning back to the speaker.

Lance watched Shiro and Keith talking quietly. It was weird to Lance, almost surreal, to see Keith so calm and open. Sure, he hadn't known him that long, but Lance had the impression that his interactions with Keith were about normal. With Shiro, however, he was talking more easily. Lance noticed the way his eyebrows were tilted over his eyes in… concern? Sympathy? Regret? Lance couldn't tell. His eyes were wide as they stared at Shiro, the same misty grey that Shiro had. With his shoulders slumped, he seemed almost… vulnerable. Lance wanted to protect him even though he had just been hurt by him. He, somehow, couldn't reconcile the angry hot-headed yet funny and a little charming person with this awkward and empathetic version.

A drop of melted ice cream landed on his hand, jarring Lance enough to realize that he was staring. He licked the drop off of the back of his hand and moved closer to Pidge so he could hear the conversation over the speakers. "What have they been talking about?" he asked quietly. Hunk leaned over his shoulder to see into the room, his weight on Lance's back was like a comforting pillow.

"A little bit about the investigation and a little bit about what happened earlier. You haven't missed much. Shiro was so quiet for a while that they have only been talking for about ten minutes." Pidge grew quiet and moved over so that Lance and Hunk could hear the speaker better.

"Shiro, I know you want to help me and I haven't been very helpful, but trust me, I haven't been killing people," Keith's voice crackled through the speaker. His voice sounded heavy, like it carried a lot of unspoken words.

"I do trust you Keith," Shiro said calmly and slowly, though there was still an edge to his voice. "But we need to make sure that you aren't in danger. I mean, you used to always carry a knife with you."

"Yes," Keith humphed, "I leave it at home or in my car now though. My boss almost got me fired when he found me carrying it. You guys can go search my car and house and find it if you want, though."

Shiro frowned and looked away from Keith. "Yeah," he whispered.

"Wait," Lance said, his voice hushed for no reason he could figure, "Shiro isn't telling Keith something. What is it?"

Pidge glanced sideways at him, "Allura and Coran are searching his apartment right now. They already found the knife in his car, though."

"Oh," Hunk said, removing himself from Lance's back to sit cross legged on the ground, "That makes sense. Shiro's probing him."

"Keith, I need you to talk to me," Shiro pleaded, his eyes still averted, "If you don't, we can never get you out of here."

"How about you ask me some questions instead of being a coward and hoping I'll magically confess to crimes I didn't commit."

"I know you didn't commit those murders!" Shiro said desperately. Lance saw fear in his eyes, a strange kind of fear that was more desperation and concern than traditional fear.

"Fine," Keith said with a sigh, "If you won't ask me questions, I'll ask you some. Why did you send Lance in instead of talking to me yourself?"

Lance leaned forward, wondering what Shiro would say. He saw his eyes widen and then shrink into a glare. Tireadly, Shiro ran a hand through his hair. "You already know the answer, don't you Keith?"

Keith's voice surprised Lance when he spoke. It was soft and kind and so unlike the angry boy he had heard, personally earlier. "You… you didn't want to hurt me by being the one to accuse me. And… neither did Pidge or Hunk. You wanted someone I might get along with, not someone I would close up to."

Shiro nodded solemnly.

"Shiro, I see your view, but try to see mine. I woke up today, perfectly ready to go to work, only to get a strange text and call from you, followed by being abducted by the police and imprisoned in the place I never wanted to return to. I don't know what is happening—"

"They found the mark," Shiro interrupted, his eyes closed.

Keith was stunned into silence. "The mark?" he whispered.

Shiro nodded.

"What mark?" Lance whispered to Pidge, his voice barely more than the air passing through his lips.

Pidge hesitated, "The one on his knife and written in blood at the crime scene."

Lance stiffened. This was new information. Before, he had just been reading some questions the others had made for him. He hadn't bothered to really question the profile himself because he had assumed Keith would tell him like the other criminals told Hunk or Pidge or Shiro, so he didn't know all that much about the case.

He wanted to ask Pidge how the symbols related, but Keith had started talking again, drawing Lance's attention back to the pair.

"Shiro, I… I don't know if you will believe me, but… but I swear I don't have ties with them anymore." Lance noted the steely glimmer in Keith's eyes as he spoke.

"Keith," Shiro rubbed the back of his head, "If you can tell us where they are, what they are doing, and how we can stop them, then you will be released."

"I would tell you if I could but, like I said, I don't have any ties to them anymore." Lance could hear the bite of anger edging in Keith's voice. "Could you give me the file of the case?"

Shiro pursed his lips, "I need to talk to everyone and, if they agree, then I will give you the file. It wouldn't be tonight. Maybe tomorrow but I have to give them a chance for processing and being able to make a logical decision."

Keith nodded, accepting the idea. "I can stay at the BAU for a night. I mean, I wouldn't choose to but I know I'm not going to get my way so I might as well just concede and take what I can get."

Both of them were quiet. Lance wondered if Shiro was going to leave, but he stayed.

Keith was the first to speak, his voice was barely a whisper so Lance, Pidge, and Hunk all leaned forward towards the speaker. "Are you sure it's them? They have a lot of enemies… someone could be framing them."

"We know," Shiro said. "This is really extreme for their normal, but we at least have to follow the leads we get. That's why you're here."

Lance wondered who the "they" that Shiro and Keith kept talking about were. Could "they" be a single friend of Keith's? Maybe… but the likelihood that Keith has another agender friend like Pidge is fairly slim. So "they" most likely refers to a group. Maybe a group of school friends?

Lance looked Keith up and down. His raven black hair was choppy and long in the back. He eyes looked hardened and hurt, like he was someone you didn't want to mess with, but the calm turn of his eyebrows showed his sympathy. Even though his arms were crossed over his chest, he seemed relaxed. Lance didn't think he was the kind of person to join some gang. He looked like he might be, but that seemed almost like a front. Like Keith had more depth than he wanted people to know he had.

"Keith," Shiro whispered, "I know you didn't want to be dragged back here."

Keith scoffed, looking away towards the wall.

"But, do you think you would be willing to cooperate with us? Even after everything…" Shiro paused then continued, "Maybe this time try to get along with our team, even the new guys. Allura is a little strict but she can be very fun and loving and Coran is super fun; he's like the crazy uncle in our family. And Lance… Lance is one of our best members. He is funny and caring, even if he doesn't show it. He is not a 'replacement' for you, he is only Lance."

Lance wondered if that was true. He told himself that Shiro was just saying that to try to improve Keith's view of him.

Keith rolled his eyes, "Yeah, I know."

"Plus," Shiro said with the hint of a smirk on his lips, "Who knows? Maybe he will even become a better profiler than you."

Keith shook his head, stuttering for words. "Not possible," he said resolutely.

"You have been out of practice for a while…" Shiro said with a girn.

Pidge picked up the speaker and pressed a button so that Keith and Shiro would be able to hear what Pidge said. "Dudes, we need to put them to a profiling test!"

Keith looked uncertain.

"Oh, yes!" Lance cried taking the speaker from Pidge. "You are so on, Mullet. I will out-profile you anyday."

Keith raised an eyebrow, a smirk spreading across his face. "Alright, I'm up to having a little competition."

"Yes!" Pidge cried looking at Hunk. "We can have the profiling Olympics!"

"The Prolympics!" Hunk cried. "Wait, no. That sounds wrong. ...The profil-athlon?"

Pidge turned off the speakers and returned it to the table. Shiro said a goodbye to Keith and then stood and headed out of the room. Once the door was closed, everyone was silent.

A part of Lance wanted to lighten the mood as he normally would, but the other part of him didn't think it was the right time. He looked at his watch— a silver faced analogue watch with a dark brown leather band. It was almost five p.m. Where did the time go? Lance wondered.

"Guys," he said, "Are we just going to leave Keith in there… or what? Doesn't he get a place to sleep?"

"I don't want to put him in the cell where the criminals go. Because right now, he is more of a witness than a criminal," Shiro sighed quietly.

The group heard a quiet opening and shutting of the door and the distant chatter of Allura and Coran. "Let's have a group meeting," Hunk suggested.

Pidge hopped off of the desk and started walking down the hallway without waiting for the others. They followed suit.

Lance wondered how Keith must be feeling. It didn't take a genius profiler to hear the uncertainty in Shiro's voice when he had been talking to him.

Lance knew that if it were him who was suspected, then he wouldn't be very welcoming, but he would feel extremely lonely.

He glanced through the one-way mirror to look at Keith. He had his head buried in his arms on the table. Lance felt so bad for him. He looked so… dejected and lonely.

Lance forced his eyes away and headed after the group, but when he got to the end of the hallway, he couldn't help but glance back through the glass.

---

~Shiro

"Look," Allura said as she paced in front of the room, "I know we all want Keith to be comfortable, but we, cannot, in good conscience, let him stay at one of our houses. If there is even a slight chance he killed someone, we have to keep that in our minds."

Everyone nodded. "Well," Hunk said, "could we at least bring him a blanket or something? Maybe a pillow?"

"I see no harm in that," Coran said, stepping up like a military general. "One always should get a good night's sleep."

"I do not, want to put him in that cell where we hold criminals, though," Shiro said firmly. If he could, he would have taken Keith back to his apartment. Even if he did die, therefore confirming Keith to be the killer, Shiro wouldn't A: know it for long or at all before he died, and B: have to keep living this heckhole of a life.

"I know," Hunk said, "None of us do."

"Why don't we just unchain him from that chair and throw a couple of pillows in the room?" Pidge suggested. "I mean, Keith already sleeps just about anywhere."

"I think that's probably the best we can do without showing too much favoritism," Shiro said. He looked at the others hoping for their approval. They all nodded.

"We need pillows and blankets," Allura commented. .

"I can get the blankets," Shiro said.

"I'll get the pillows," Hunk supplied, already standing, "Lance's bed is littered with them."

"Hey!" Lance protested, "I need those for my beauty sleep!"

Shiro watched Lance take off after Hunk who was speed-walking to the door.

Shiro stood up. "Well, I better run home and grab those blankets."

"I'll come with you," Allura said sweetly.

Shiro frowned nervously "Okay," he said softly.

Pidge raised an eyebrow and smiled maliciously, but Shiro tried to just ignore them. "OREO," they called out once Shiro and Allura were halfway down the hallway. Shiro turned around, annoyance on his face. He didn't necessarily dislike the nickname but he didn't love it. "First of all, smile a little, and second: I'm heading out. I'm tired and I want some microwave chow mein so, seeya."

Shiro, Allura, and Coran all said their own goodbyes. Pidge hopped off of the table and barreled out the door.

Allura smiled at Shiro and they headed out towards Shiro's black car and got in.

---

Lance~

"Don't take all of my pillows!" Lance cried indignantly. "Then I won't be able to sleep."

"Oh, hush," Hunk said as he shoved another pillow into the duffel bag already full to bursting with Lance's pillows. "You have plenty."

"But what if he is the killer!" Lance said. "Then I'll have to get rid of all of my pillows and buy new ones."

Hunk paused his ruining of Lance's perfectly made bed to turn back and glare at him. "Keith did not kill anyone."

Lance huffed. "We haven't proven that," he muttered.

"Look," Hunk said, all softness gone from his voice. "Keith is my friend. Same as you. Now, if you were in his place, would you want me saying that you killed those people?"

"Yes," Lance cried. "No," he amended quickly. Lance clutched his head, "I don't know. I'd want to catch the guy… but I'd want to be helping as well."

"What do you think Keith wants right now?"

"To be free. To understand," Lance whispered. He knew Hunk was right, it just… it just felt so weird to give someone he barely knew his pillows. Especially since, without any other leads, they were supposed to assume Keith was the murderer.

Hunk nodded, seeing the understanding on Lance's face. "Okay, then be quiet and let Keith get a good night sleep. Or as good as he can while chained up in a place for killers."

"Won't he not be able to sleep though?" Lance asked as Hunk fought to shove in one more pillow, having already reduced Lance's supply to three pillows, while also trying to zip the bag closed. "I thought only the guilty could sleep."

Hunk hummed pensively, "You'd be surprised where Keith can sleep."

Hunk picked up the bag with little effort and placed it on his shoulder. "We can head out now."

Lance swung himself off of the couch and bounded out of the room. "Finally," he said with an exasperated smile. "I didn't think you would ever be done."

"I wish Keith could come stay with us," Hunk said with a smile. "I remember when we would have these team sleepovers and they were always so much fun. Keith never really got into it but if you stayed up late enough, and I mean late, then he would start acting like he knew everything and would spout off random facts. A couple of times, we would try to coerce him into truth or dare, but he was pretty stubborn."

Lance watched with curiosity as Hunk's loving smile fell away into a deep frown. "It's funny," Hunk said quietly, "I never really noticed how much our group has changed. I wouldn't have thought it… it changed so much in such a short time without Keith or Matt."

Lance wanted to ask questions. He had only ever heard about this "Amazing Keith" from references but he didn't know why Keith was so loved, so accepted. Not that Lance was jealous or anything.

He hated how he was always compared to Keith. He could never be as good as Keith. He could never profile as quickly, or act as decisively.

The only thing that seemed to make Lance special was his humor, but he couldn't joke all of the time.

Stop it. He told himself. You need to let go of being compared. Just… try. That's all you have to do. Try. Lance pinched his wrist sharply. …Shit, he thought as he looked down at the raw pink of his skin.

Lance shook his head, distracting himself with opening the door for Hunk. He proceeded to pull out his keys and wander towards his car. He stared at the pointed glinting edges of the key, the shining silver lines along each of the teeth, the shadowed black of the head with the unlock and lock buttons…

"You okay?"

Hunk's voice jarred Lance out of his daze.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Lance fumbled to fit the key into the lock of the car. Hunk threw the bag in the back and got into the passenger's seat. "You sure? You kind of just zoned out for a bit there."

"Yes," Lance said decisively. "I'm fine. Let's head back to give Mullet my pillows."

---

Keith~

Keith sat quietly in his chair. He didn't think anyone was watching him anymore. The only sound he could hear was the rustling of the leaves against the one window he had. The light above him glared down as the sun set, changing the soft shadows of the trees into menacing tendrils of darkness.

He was used to being alone, but he always had things to distract himself. He always had his phone to check his messages or look up random shit.

Now, the only thing Keith had to occupy himself was his traitorous mind that wouldn't stop replaying the events of the day in his head along with his memories of… that day. He saw the text message Shiro sent followed by the hearing the work phone ring. He remembered answering Shiro, but his brother's voice was overlapped with Pidge's panicked one. As the door to the BAU opened this morning, Keith saw the door that opened in the killer's house only to reveal the ropes and chains and blood.

Keith shuddered and clutched his head. The stretching shadows, horribly reminded him of the slowly oozing blood that came from everywhere. The way Pidge had called out his name excitedly made the weak moaning of Hunk's voice even louder.

If only I had been a little faster.

Keith remembered the way Matt had opened the door first. The way he had fallen to his knees. Keith had pushed past him as Matt whimpered, "Shiro…"

Keith remembered the way their blood was slick and warm on his hands.

Keith looked down at his hands in horror. He saw that deep crimson stricken with shadows.

No! Keith shook his head and the shadows disappeared.

He closed his eyes, but that only made the scenes more vivid. Staring at the ceiling helped. He was able to calm his mind a bit. Enough to breathe easier.

"Please Shiro," Keith whispered, "Get me out of here."

---

~Shiro

Shiro sat next to Allura in the car. They had driven in near silence the whole way. Shiro was so worried about Keith and mad about his being imprisoned that he hadn't been willing to say much.

"I'm excited to see your apartment," Allura said.

Right. Shiro thought with dismay. This is the first time Allura is coming over. He hadn't had any of the team come over in a long while. Not since Keith and Matt had left.

Shiro missed them. The group was still like a family but it was different. Fractured. Instead of getting together to escape, they went home and avoided each other to forget as much of their jobs as they could. Of course, Lance and Hunk were roommates and Pidge still lived with Matt, but they didn't just get together to… hang out. Shiro didn't know how Matt was doing. He hoped that Matt was doing better.

And… he wasn't sure but he thought that Allura might have a crush on him.

But he hoped he was wrong.

Shiro pulled the car to a slow park. "I promise you, it is nothing special," Shiro said quietly, not looking at Allura.

"I'm sure it will be fine."

Shiro got out of his car and started walking towards the apartment building. It was a tall, looming structure built from brick and wood in red and navy tones. He looked up at the five flights of concrete stairs ahead of them. "Are you sure you want to come up? It is a long climb."

"Yep," Allura said, "I'm ready."

Shiro nodded and began to climb up the steps, Allura's footsteps thumping behind his own.

Out of breath, Shiro fumbled with his keys, missing the lock several times. He opened the door, turned on the light, and held it open for Allura to walk through.

Suddenly, he was very self-conscious of the dirty dishes in his sink, the shoes put in a pile by his door, the books that lay in a collapsed pile by his bed. His ears heated up as Allura looked around.

"I'm sorry for the mess," Shiro said softly.

"It's so wonderful," She whispered as she walked towards the quaint bookshelf Shiro had overflowing with books. She ran her fingers lightly over the ones at her eye level.

She turned back to him, smiling, "I wish I had enough time to read," she said.

"I tend to read to fall asleep," Shiro said.

Allura looked to the shelf of journals on a shelf on his wall that were held together with marble bookends shaped like books. "Do you write?" she asked.

Shiro shook his head, "No, but I keep track of the cases we solve. Some are for cases where we are able to save the victim. Some… are ones where we… we don't."

Allura nodded. She turned towards the framed photographs of scenery along his walls. "Any meaning to these?"

"Those are the locations for the first mission I had with each of our team members."

Allura scanned the pictures and pointed to the one that was third to last. It was a picture of a mountain overlooking lush green valleys covered in flowers and trees. "This is my first mission, isn't it?" she asked.

"Yeah, Colorado," Shiro sighed remembering the killer they had caught. It had been one of their few female unsubs which Shiro remembered Pidge and Hunk joking about unceasingly, because of Allura joining.

"So you just get postcards of the cities with each of our first missions?"

"Not postcards," Shiro said. "I usually find famous photos. I wanted a way to remember my first mission," Shiro nodded to the first picture which showed the rocky cliffside with the crashing waves of the sea below, "In a way that wasn't depressing or horrific. I wanted to remember the beauty in the world."

"Wow, Shiro," Allura whispered. "That is really moving and poetic." There was no mockery in her voice as Shiro would have expected from Pidge or Keith. Instead, Allura sounded like she genuinely liked the idea.

Her fingers gently graced the second picture, a sunset over a mesa in the desert.

"Matt was the one who suggested it, actually," Shiro said warmly. "We started at the same time but I picked the first picture and he picked the second."

Allura nodded, "I would like to meet him sometime. He sounds like a wonderful friend."

"He is," Shiro smiled with pride. "I didn't want tons of pictures cluttering my walls so I only did it for the immediate team when they were first assigned. That next one," —a picture of a rolling grassy meadow covered in soft mist— "was for Hunk when he joined."

Allura pointed to the next one which was a picture of skyscrapers at night with lots of lights and would-be flashing signal towers. "Let me guess, this one is Pidge?"

"Yep. I made them choose something at least somewhat peaceful."

Allura snorted as she looked at the next picture. It was a picture of a grey-scaled willow tree with it's leafy tendrils snaking towards a dark lake that reflected a waning gibbous moon. "Keith?"

"Of course. He would be the only one to pick a picture without color or life."

"Yet, it is still so peaceful," Allura's voice dropped away like she had lost her train of thought. She stared at the picture. Then, quietly, she whispered, "We're going to find who is really committing these crimes. I promise, Shiro."

"Thank you," Shiro said stepping closer to the pictures. It meant a lot to him that everyone seemed to want Keith to be innocent. If he wasn't, he didn't know how he would be able to… to go on. He would have to leave someone else in charge… but Keith was the person he would have picked to lead.

No, Shiro chastised himself, No need to think like that because Keith is innocent.

Still, his mind couldn't help but wonder what would happen to the group if he were to….

Allura glanced at Shiro and quickly pointed to the picture just after her own. It showed a wheat field overlooking a small village-like city with the sun still rising on the horizon, casting everything in a golden glow, "Coran," she said.

"Yeah," Shiro replied trying to shake his thoughts away.

Allura looked at the last one. It was a picture of the ocean waves crashing onto a rocky shore while the endless expanse of stars above shone and sparkled. "I remember this. Up near Seattle, Washington."

"I love how the longer you look at this picture, the more colors and stars you see," Shiro said, smiling warmly.

"It is really stunning," Allura said back, leaning towards Shiro slightly. Shiro took an uncomfortable step away from her, turning his head away.

"Um," he said awkwardly, not wanting to be rude, "I should get those blankets for Keith and then we should head back…"

"Right," Allura muttered, her head tilted down, "Of course."

Shiro rushed off and grabbed a couple of fleece blankets, a knitted one, and a plain cloth sheet, and balled them together, not bothering to fold them nicely.

"Okay," he said as he closed the bedroom door behind him, "I'm ready. Let's head out."

As they were walking out the door, Shiro felt his phone vibrate. He handed Allura the blankets, locked the door and then pulled out his phone. Confusion wrinkled his face. "Um, Pidge just texted me."

"What did they say?" Allura asked, her face peeking over the pile of blankets.

"They said that are back at the BAU and that we need to get there ASAP. Something happened, I guess." Shiro locked his phone and took half the blankets from the Allura. They began their descent down the many flights of stairs.

"Hmm," Allura hummed pensively. "I hope they are alright."

Shiro wanted to say something to reassure her but a million thoughts about what could have gone wrong were flashing though his mind. He worried that something was wrong with their dad. Or maybe even Matt. Shiro wished that he could protect Matt… and Pidge and Sam.

All he could manage to say as he placed the blankets in the back of his car was, "Me too. Me too."

---

~Lance

By the time Lance and Hunk had climbed out of the car, Lance had been more or less back to his normal self. Despite it being light, he had made Hunk lug the duffle bag of pillows inside.

"There you are!" Pidge cried furiously as they entered.

"Pidge?" Hunk asked, "I thought you had left."

"Didn't you get my texts?!" they cried, ignoring Hunk's question.

Lance pulled out his phone and noticed that Pidge had texted him numerous times, frantically asking them to get back quickly. "Sorry," Lance said, "Hunk here was too busy pillaging my pillows from my bed."

Pidge ignored Lance and peeked out the door behind him. "Are Shiro and Allura back yet?"

"We just got here," Lance said.

"That was rhetorical," Pidge said, monotonously, their eyes still scanning the cars in the parking lot.

"So, what's going on?" Hunk asked, setting the bag down.

"I have important news that is TIME sensitive," Pidge fumed, "And I've been waiting for you guys for a fucking hour!"

"I doubt that," Lance said, glancing at his watch. "We were gone for about 45 minutes so with your drive time and back, it couldn't have been more than 15 minutes."

"Well, fuck you!" Pidge cried, turning away from the door furiously. "I'm panicking and I need Shiro here, now."

As if on cue, Lance saw Shiro's car pull into an empty parking space.

"It's about time!" Pidge huffed.

Shiro and Allura got out of the car and each grabbed a pile of blankets.

Great, Lance thought, Keith gets all of our bedding so he can cover the room with it like a king.

As soon as Shiro opened the door, Pidge grabbed his arm and pulled him with them, "Conference room. Now. All of you. Coran's already there."

Shiro dropped his blankets in surprise. Allura set hers neatly next to Hunk's duffel bag.

Lance glanced at the others. He shrugged and followed after the pissed off Pidge who was already halfway down the hallway with Shiro.

When he entered the conference room, he found it eerily quiet. Pidge was staring at him with such an intensity that he worried his brain was going to disintegrate.

Immediately upon Allura, the last person, entering the room, Pidge started talking.

"Matt was kidnapped."

The room went from silent to a cacophonous uproar in a matter of seconds.

"What?!" Hunk cried worriedly.

"How do you know?" Allura said nervously.

"Your brother…" Coran said, his voice solemn.

"Who took him?" Shiro inquired. His voice held a steely protectiveness. Lance remembered that he and Matt had been good friends before Matt had left.

Lance could barely keep up with all of the questions flying out of people's mouths. Pidge sat silent, waiting for the group's initial uproar to die down.

"I got a text from him last night saying he was working late. That was the last I heard from him," Pidge started.

"But… but Matt hates working late…" Shiro muttered.

"I know," Pidge seethed. "I didn't see him this morning either. His bed wasn't messed up or anything so it doesn't look like he has been home since Tuesday morning."

"How… how do you know he was… kidnapped and not… you know…" Hunk whispered quietly.

"Because of this," Pidge pulled out their phone and opened it to a picture of a simple grey-handled dagger sticking a yellowing sheet of paper to the wall. The words FIND HIM were bolded underneath the familiar symbol that was left at every crime recently. The symbol and words were crimson and almost runny at the ends, as though trying to emphasize that it was written in blood.

"I didn't want to move it," Pidge was saying as everyone looked at the picture on their phone, "So I took a picture."

Everyone was caught in a subdued silence.

"Pidge," Allura said softly, "We'll get him back."

Pidge snorted, "Just cut the bullshit, everyone. I don't want false reassurance. I know the statistics as well as you."

Shiro looked Pidge dead in the eye, "Matt is my... friend. I will do anything to rescue him. And I mean anything."

The corner of Pidge's mouth perked up in a small smile. "Thanks," they whispered.

Lance had been quiet the whole time. One idea, one question kept surfacing in his mind. Quietly he asked: "Has no one made the connection yet? We have only a few possibilities…"

Everyone looked grimly at him, waiting for him to continue. "Either, we got the wrong guy and Keith is innocent, or… it was a group effort and we're playing a game of hostages."

"Couldn't someone be framing Keith that way?" Hunk asked.

"No," Lance said, "This takes the heat off of Keith. If they were framing him, they would want as much evidence as could be pointed at them."

"Should we tell him?" Coran asked. "Keith, I mean."

"He might be able to help on the case…" Hunk said.

"But what if this is about him?" Allura asked. "We can't bring our hostage with us in case he is captured by them."

"He could bring Matt home ten times faster than the rest of us!" Pidge shouted.

"Keith was Matt's friend too. I don't think that he would want him hurt, even at the cost of his own life," Shiro said resolutely. "I think he would be beneficial to the team, but I say we put it to a vote on whether we tell him and give him the option to join our team. With restrictions and limitations set in place, of course."

Everyone nodded.

"Those for?" Shiro asked his voice sounding loud in the empty room.

Lance didn't know… He had heard how good Keith was at solving cases and profiling criminals, but… but could he be trusted? Lance didn't know.

Hunk, Pidge, and Shiro raised their hands immediately.

Allura sighed, "I trust you Chief and I trust that you trust your brother so…" she raised her hand.

"I'll follow you, Allura," Coran said, raising his hand.

"Lance?" Shiro asked. "This isn't a majority. This must be unanimous."

Lance nodded. He smiled lopsidedly, "I suppose I don't know any better so, sure," he raised his hand. "This will at least be interesting."

Shiro and Pidge's faces were both that of relief. "I'll tell him," Shiro said.

"Bring the pillows and blankets!" Hunk called as Shiro stood to leave.

"And tell him," Pidge yelled, "That he better do a damn good job finding my brother!"

---

...

~Keith

Keith had resolutely laid his head on the table in a way to try to sleep.

He wasn't able to though.

When the door slammed open, Keith jolted himself hard, knocking his head on the back of the chair.

"Jeez," he muttered, his head throbbing. He looked up, his eyes blurry. He could make out the outline of Shiro, cloth overflowing in his arms and a bag hanging from his shoulder.

"What the hell Shiro?" Keith cried. "I thought you had left!"

"Well," Shiro said quietly, his voice subdued, "I had to get some bedding for you."

Keith's vision cleared. He saw a plethora of blankets and an oversized duffel bag in front of him. Keith opened the duffel bag causing dozens of pillows to seemingly explode from the top. "Gah!" Keith cried. "How many pillows are in here?"

"Um, a lot," Shiro said. "But, that's not important."

Shiro's tone— grave and nervous— caused Keith to look up. He met Shiro's eyes. "What is it?" he asked, all amusement gone from his tone.

"Keith, would you… would you help us on a case?"

Keith knew he looked confused. Why are you asking if you suspect me? Sure, he had wanted to see the file, but he didn't think he would be asked to join. Nor did he think the idea would be so tempting.

"The serial killer case I'm suspected for?" he asked.

"No… well, maybe," Shiro said slowly. "A kidnapping."

"Why do you need me?" Keith asked, leaning back in his chair.

"We don't necessarily need you," Shiro was twisting his hands together— a nervous habit he had picked up a few years ago. "But we would really appreciate your assistance."

"Why?" Keith asked, still trying to figure out what was happening.

"Because…" Shiro paused as if calculating his words carefully, "We know who was kidnapped."

Keith widened his eyes slightly in surprize. How long had they had this case? Were they stuck? Did they have no further leads? Or did they get a new clue?

"Who?" Keith asked cautiously.

Shiro looked downwards, as though he couldn't bare to meet Keith's eyes. "Matt… Matthew Holt was the person kidnapped."

---

Note: phew! First chapter finished ^-^'

What did you think? I have a plot in mind for the next part but it isn't set in stone so I'm open to ideas and suggestions!

Also, commenting on what you liked (or didn't like) helps me know more of what to write and improve for the coming chapters.

Thanks for reading and I hope you stick with me for the next chapter!