"Shiro! Shiro!" Keith's voice felt like it was tearing apart in his throat as he yelled, pelting across the hangar towards Black, his heart racing.
There had been no answer from Shiro over the comms, there still was nothing now, and Black had been nonresponsive when he and Pidge had brought them back in, but surely, surely Shiro was all right, he had to be.
Keith barely pulled himself up short in time, waiting for the doors into Black's cockpit to open, and the others caught up to him.
The doors slid away and revealed a silent, still cockpit. No sign of Shiro.
Keith could barely bring himself to move again, now his headlong run had been forcibly stopped at the doors and with his heart now sinking, cold and leaden, in his chest. But he had to see. He had to- He moved to the pilot's seat with heavy, painful steps, fingers curling in towards his palms.
Keith came to a rough stop behind the seat and nearly collapsed. Shiro wasn't there.
Not injured, not unconscious . . . not dead. He was just gone. Shiro's seat, where he had been only minutes ago, was empty. Though . . . the black bayard was slotted into the Lion's console.
"He's gone." Lance voiced the yawning hurt that was still wordless in Keith's mind, his voice hollow and tinged with shock.
"Shiro. . ." Keith choked on his lover's name, his legs wobbling - his whole body shaking. Lance moved closer, to Keith's side, the silent cockpit disturbed by a dull scrape as their armour brushed together. Lance braced a hand against Keith's ribs, steadying him.
"Where. . . Where is he?" Pidge asked, voice wavering.
"The bayard. . ." Hunk trailed off.
"I do not know, Pidge." Allura said softly, sorrowful. "I. . . I don't know."
Keith's throat tightened, strangling and raw, and it felt like he couldn't breathe. He clutched at Lance's shoulder for support, nearly collapsing against his teammate.
His eyes still fixed on the space where Shiro should have been.
As soon as I realised 'Stay the Night' (which is currently story #4) was going to be a series and not a one-shot, this was the next piece to be written. I probably won't write anything from Shiro and Keith's relationship prior to this tragedy, but . . . never say never, something could slip in as a sort of prequel.
