Musically Declined

Description:

Stuck in a university Program Keith would rather not be in, Keith tries his best to please his half-brother Shiro while also forgetting the past that brought him to where he is. All the while handling his inability to hear out of his left ear, and the pained headache attacks that come with it—the only cure Keith managing to find for his pain coming in the lulling sound of classical music. So when Keith offers up his apartment to help the piano prodigy Lance, who's struggling when it comes to money, Keith can't help but realize this may be his opportunity to help his condition while also discovering the kindness another can bring.

HEY GUYS

Okay so been wanting to upload a Voltron fic for a while now, as I just got into the fandom a month ago and honestly I can not stop reading Voltron fics, so thought I'd write my own!

I've taken a lot of my own real life as inspiration for this story, so this fic is more personal for me, and even though I've never written a story quite like this, I'm really excited to share it with everyone.

(And also write about my darling Keith!)

So I hope everyone enjoys! Because this fic is going to be a lonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnng ride!


Chapter 1

Sound had never been something Keith had been quite affectionate toward. In fact he found sound more of irritation than a pleasure like most. He wasn't deaf exactly, but he'd been unable to hear out of his left ear since early childhood. Doctors said that nothing was actually wrong with his ear medically, but that didn't change the fact Keith couldn't hear out of one ear.

"I'm sure it'll heal with time," his half-brother Shiro had been telling him year after year. Keith would have believed Shiro if he didn't take Keith to a doctor every four months for a checkup and examination.

Still a slight disability wasn't anything horrible for Keith, he'd gotten used to only hearing out of one ear most of his life. It was the fact that Keith was unhappy with his life choices was what really made Keith irritated with the world.

He'd recently graduated High School, and when asked about what he was supposed to study in university, Keith had stuttered and mumbled something about liking film. Next thing he knows was he'd applied for Motion Picture Arts at a local university in Vancouver. Keith wasn't sure exactly why he'd chosen film, mostly because it was the only thing he really did on weekends—but that was watching film, not actually making them. Still he'd managed to pass first year and was now starting second year, completely and utterly miserable with his life choices.

"I'm thinking of quitting," Keith told Shrio when they met up for coffee after his third week back.

"Well it's a bit too late for that," Shiro said sipping his Macchiato. "You know if you're not going to school I'm not going to help pay for your living expenses, so I suggest you keep at it for another year."

Keith had actually really wanted to study creative writing, but according to his brother that wasn't a logical choice for a major, as it wouldn't lead to any sort of career afterwards. Keith often found it irritating the way his brother tried to make up for the parents he didn't have. Unlike Keith who'd grown up the majority of his life in foster care, Shiro had grown up with his mother and had had a reasonably happy childhood, now working as a corporate lawyer for a major firm in the city.

Though that wasn't to say Shiro hadn't had his fair share of hardship as well, his mother passing away when Shiro was in first year university. That's when Keith came to light though, as expenses revealed that Shrio's mother had been paying for Keith's medical bills since he was eight.

After his mother's death Shiro had hunted down Keith, swooped him from his foster family, and adopted him at the sober age of fourteen, saving him from ever having to move to another foster family again.

Keith was grateful for Shiro's hospitality, but it had been a little too late for Keith. The damage from his adolescents had already been done.

"Look Keith, I know you don't enjoy school, and if you want to study something else you're free to do that, but you can't just not be in school—without a degree you can't get any sort of valuable career."

Shiro took another sip of his drink; Keith just stared at his black coffee. He reached for the sugar and added a packet stirring it with the popsicle stick. "Yeah I know, so I'll finish this year and get the diploma."

"Keith you need to look at things more seriously, like what do you want to do when you're older?"

Be a writer of sorts was what Keith had wanted to say, but he kept his mouth shut stirring his sugar into the bitter coffee. "I'll figure it out," he mumbled, putting the stick back on the counter.

"Well it's near the end of September, so if you're going to start applying to new schools you should start sooner rather than later." Shiro tapped the table with his thumb, focusing on Keith. "Simon Frasers where I got my degree, so maybe you can go there next year. Or maybe if you want to travel to a different province?"

Keith almost wanted to start laughing, leaving the province, even Canada seemed like a stupid idea. As if Shiro would actually let him go either, a forty minute bus ride away was the furthest distance Keith was allowed to be, he doubted he'd be moving alone if he were to go to a different school.

A noise pierced Keith's left ear, and he grabbed at it, the ringing and vibration a dull white noise after a few seconds. Shrio looked at Keith with concern. "I thought you said you'd stop getting attacks?"

"I have," Keith mumbled, bringing his hand down. Despite not being able to hear sound out of his left ear, he could still ear vibrations and an occasional white noise ping that often gave Keith a rather bad headache. Normally they weren't that bad, though sometimes the white noise got to a level it droned out his other ear and he wouldn't be able to hear anything but the white noise. It was irritating to Keith and when that happened he was left in a very vulnerable state. The only way he was usually able to drone out the noise was by listening to classical music.

The hums and the beats of the music somehow droned out the white noise in a calming effect, creating a nice tension for Keith. He had given up on listening to any lyrical or high upbeat pop songs; usually those types of songs just upsetting his hearing.

"Listen Keith, I know you just saw a doctor a couple of months ago—"

"Shiro," Keith interrupted, knowing where this was going.

"No listen Keith, my colleague Matt told me his dad would be willing to take a look at you. His father is a doctor and he usually takes on a lot of bizarre cases."

"Bizarre," Keith repeated with a touch of bitterness.

"Keith you know what I mean, I'm just saying it might help to have a Doctor take a look at you. I scheduled an appointment for next week."

The table rocked as Keith slammed his hands on it. "Shiro what's the point, they just tell me the same thing every time, that it's all in my head that there's nothing wrong with my ear." A few stares passed by Keith and his brother when Keith raised his voice, but Keith right now could clearly care less. Shiro on the other hand.

"Settle down Keith," Shiro said motioning his hands for Keith to sit down—when had he stood up?

"Keith I know you've seen a lot of doctors, but this time it might be different."

Keith frowned, grabbing his backpack off the chair. "No, it won't be," he mumbled pushing in his seat and heading for the door.

"Keith! Where are you going?" Keith didn't respond to Shiro's cry, heading outside of the coffee shop and into the rainy streets.

Keith put his hood on and walked down the sidewalk. He didn't think Shiro would chase after him, but he'd been wrong before. Keith looked over his shoulder, seeing Shiro exit the coffee shop and just stare after Keith. He wasn't going to follow him.

A raindrop hit Keith's nose and he pulled his hood further up, turning down a street he wasn't familiar with.

He was so done with everything in his life; Shiro, his program, the people that pretended to be his friends. None of it mattered, it was all so stupid, everything in his life just seemed that way. He knew that Shiro cared about him, but it always felt so false. Like Shiro was only looking after him out of self-pity. Sometimes Keith wondered why Shiro even did it? Keith thought it was most likely because of guilt. After all they did share the same father, or at least's that's what it look liked judging by old records they'd found. But even then Keith wasn't 100% sure on the whole thing, after all the two of them didn't necessarily look that alike, and in terms of personality they were complete opposites.

Keith knew that if it was ever tested there was a very big chance the tests might come back negative, and then Shiro would have no reason to look after Keith in the slightest. Just because Shiro's mother had been paying for Keith's medical bills, and sending bits of money for a few years didn't mean there had been any connection.

A car drove by, splashing Keith's pants entirely with puddles of rain water. The driver didn't even care as he kept on driving past, leaving Keith and his soaking clothes by the side of the road. "Great, just great," Keith mumbled, standing back undercover and assessing the damage.

He bent down and took off one of his shoes, letting some of the water pour out. Standing back Keith leaned against the glass of the pane behind him. Letting his head lie back he felt the edges of the white noise drone into his left ear. Keith frowned, realizing this attack might be a bad one.

Searching the area Keith watched as someone exited out of the door a few steps away from him, putting his foot in the door to stop it from closing, Keith ducked in after the man who had left was a safe distance away.

He'd found shelter into a concrete hallway, the area looking like the back of some type of concert hall.

Keith fell to the ground and curled into a ball, covering his ears and wondering if that would drone out the noise, but it just came back in another wave. He let out a moan, trying to rub away the coming headache.

He wanted to scream for help, but he knew it'd be pointless as once the attack had passed and he'd arrived at the hospital the doctors would just tell him nothing was wrong with his ear and everything was fine. Keith couldn't handle being told he was lying, that he was doing this for attention. His ear hurt, his brain hurt, his whole head felt like it might fall off if someone slightly tapped it. Nothing could save him from this coming pain.

Then, Keith heard it. It was a soft lull, a good distance away from here. It probably was closer than he thought, but to Keith's right ear the noise was pleasant and warm. Keith took his hand off his left ear, the white noise dissipating with the beautiful sound waves.

It was entrancing the way the music flowed, Keith recognized the piano sound instantly, the sound like magic to him.

He stood up, and used the wall to walk down the hallway, following the noise of the music. His headache began to dissipate the closer he got, and after a few minutes Keith found the strength to walk normally again.

Exiting through a door, Keith came outside into what looked like a lobby type area for an auditorium of sorts. No one was around or standing at the front desk, but the music was present throughout the room, the raindrops mixing with the tune from inside.

Keith made his way around the room, following the tune of the music. It seemed to be coming from the central large double doors. Opening one of the doors slightly, Keith brushed his way into a concert hall, filled with only about a dozen or so people.

Three sat down at the front and Keith presumed they were judges. Behind them were a bunch of kids Keith's age, all holding what looked like music sheets in their hands as well as different instruments.

On stage Keith saw him. He had nice tan skin, and combed back brown hair. He was sitting in the middle, wearing a sweater-vest that looked kind of like a hand me down. He seemed a bit nervous on stage, but despite the nerves he was facing his hands were stroking the keyboard wonderfully and with stupendous precision.

Keith watched the young boy, his hands moving over every key perfectly fine and with wonderful enthusiasm. He was in love; the boy on stage was in love with the music he was preforming.

Before the boy had even stopped playing Keith had forgotten all about his headache.

When the boy was done, he pushed back from the keyboard and bowed his head. A judge from the front aisle spoke into her microphone. "Excellent Lance, your program has helped you improve immensely."

So his name was Lance.

"Thank you," Lance said scratching the back of his head. He looked more awkward now away from his piano.

"You'll know the results by next Friday on whether you're preforming at the festival."

Lance walked off stage, pulling at the sides of his tiny sweater vest. Keith was kind of memorized by the boy, the way he spoke the way he played. Keith had heard classical music before, but the way this guy played was something different.

The sound of another tone played a buzzing beep that echoed throughout the hall. "Hey, I thought I told you all cellphones were to be turned off," the judge from earlier said.

Keith scrambled to get his phone off, but before he could the whole auditorium was staring his way. "Hey you, this is a private event." Keith got out of his seat, muttering an apology no one heard and heading back out into the empty lobby, the embarrassment already having set in.

Keith massaged his temples, the next classical song coming through the auditorium not as lulling as the previous.

His phone rang again, and this time Keith answered it, annoyed his half-brother had gotten him in trouble. "What," Keith answered.

"Woah Keith, are you alright! You never gave me a chance to catch up with you earlier, did you catch a bus back to your apartment, and did your headache come back?"

Keith wanted to yell at Shiro to stop worrying about the stupidest things, but he thought bringing his voice up just outside the concert hall might not be the best idea.

"I'm fine," Keith muttered into the speaker. "I'm just got home now, so no need to worry."

"Keith we never finished our discussion today about the doctor, I hope you realize you're not getting out of this appointment."

Keith leaned back his head, almost utterly annoyed with the way Shiro was babying him. "Yeah whatever, doctor next week I got it, now stop worrying about me and worry about your own problems." Before Shiro had a chance to reply Keith was hanging up the phone, his headache from earlier coming back—though not as prominent.

"Wow, sure must be nice having this as a home." Keith turned, the new voice coming completely out of nowhere behind him.

The boy Lance was standing just by the door, giving off a sheepish smile that looked more or less cheeky compared to his awkwardness from the stage.

"What?" was all Keith could say in his surprise.

"You told whoever you were talking to on the phone that this was your home, and I was just thinking how cool would it be to have this whole concert hall to yourself, just to live in! You must have really great parties here."

Keith didn't answer; only staring at the individual he'd been admiring only a few minutes earlier. He was probably scowling; he seemed to do that a lot when he met new people.

"Hey, relax man I'm just messing with you, so who were you lying to just now. Mom, dad, girlfriend—boyfriend?" Lance peeked his eyebrows up, like he was attempting to get Keith to admit something.

Keith blushed, the guy's forwardness too much for him.

"Well either way, lying isn't the best way to handle your problems. My Abuela—my grandmother—always says 'A man is never more truthful than when he acknowledges himself a liar.' Or something along that anyway. I think it's supposed to tell you about how bad lying is, and how you should acknowledge it but really I'm not sure, sounds too much like a Kingdom Hearts quote for me."

Keith stared, his headache stumbling away as he listened to this guy ramble in complete idiocy. "Dude, who are you?" Keith finally said, this conversation going way over his head.

"Oh the name's Lance, hotstuff."

Keith blushed again, was this guy flirting with him? He couldn't tell if he was fooling around or just joking.

A shiver goes down Keith's back, he knows he had to go home and dry off, and right now Keith can't handle the situation he's gotten himself into. Keith turns around to leave, ready for this day to end already.

"Hey wait, you can't just interrupt my audition and just leave without giving me your name!" he called after. Keith didn't respond though, he was done with all this falseness. This guy's music may have been the best thing Keith had ever heard but the guy behind it wasn't worth his time.

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