Written by request for Mad-Madam-M on Tumblr, who asked for Sheith, reunion & cuddling.
Keith jerked awake to the tune of a rumbling roar echoing through his head. His room was silent, though - as silent as it ever got, at least, with the ever-present low hum of the Castle surrounding him. It had taken him weeks to get used to, after the quiet and stillness of the desert, especially at night.
The rumble, though . . . the tail end of the roar, it was still there.
Demanding.
Keith frowned, but he hesitantly sat up - the lights began to brighten automatically - and turned, slowly sliding his feet to the floor as he listened. The rumbles grew stronger. It wasn't Red, he knew Red's voice, and she was stunningly silent while this . . . something else, whatever it was, made itself known.
Keith stood, and Red grumbled, giving a low snarl that was answered by a louder one, deeper though no more fierce, and Keith shook his head. "What is it?" he asked, reaching under his pillow for his knife.
Red gave a soft, urging growl, and the louder voice echoed again, almost pleading now. Keith shook his head but slid his knife into its sheath on his belt, pulled on his boots, and rose, grabbing his jacket as he headed for the door.
He didn't run, but he didn't tarry, either, making his way through the silent Castle and . . . where. He paused by Red's hangar, slipping inside and up to see her, but it wasn't where the call was leading him.
Red lowered her head, rumbling aloud as well as in his mind, a gentle, possessive and protective declaration almost like a purr. She gently rested her muzzle beside him, the barest of nudges, and the demanding roar returned in his mind just as Red began to lift her head away.
Keith rested a hand on her muzzle, the metal warm and thrumming with life. Red's eyes shone, and she looked up, towards-
Towards the main spire of the Castle.
Keith bared his teeth in frustration, and he hesitated leaving. But he made his way, not quite dragging his feet, up to the peak that held the Black Lion's hangar. He swallowed, pausing at the door, but Black was moving, towards him, great head lowering, eyes gleaming but softly, softly. . .
Red gave an encouraging rumble that reinforced the firm current of mine he felt from her almost all the time, and Keith frowned, confused. He inched into the hangar and towards Black. He lowered himself even more, opening his jaws. Waiting.
Keith was not at all sure why. . .
He took a deep breath and walked across the hangar, stepping up into Black's mouth - he rose, quickly - and inside. The cockpit was quiet, but as Keith entered it lit up in shades of deep purple - so unlike Red's, bigger with more space and the panels not quite in the same places, and the colour of the energy changing the way everything looked. It was cooler, in here, too, than it was in Red's cockpit; a chill ran up Keith's spine that had nothing to do with the memory of the last time he had stood in this space.
"What do you want from me?" Keith asked, and the pilot's seat - the seat Shiro should have been in, where he should have been after the battle when he had disappeared - shot forwards, scooping him up and pushing him into place. "Oh no, no, we aren't-"
Red growled, not a threat but a reminder, and Keith found his gaze drawn to the black bayard, still pressed into the socket in the console. Allura had reached for it, intending to pull it and bring it away, but Keith had stayed her hand, and she hadn't argued.
Black's screens flickered, Shiro's figure playing across them, in his armour, fighting. Then Keith, fighting hard at his side, Red a huge but somehow shadowy shape behind-above-through Keith.
Impressions and growls and the flickering image that had just as quickly faded away tumbled together in Keith's mind, and he brushed a hand over Black's console. "You want him back." he said softly, and Black let out a mournful, angry sound that echoed off walls of the huge hangar. "Almost as much as I do."
Black snarled, but Red roared, countering him. Black made a soft not-quite-conciliatory sound and the consoles flickered around Keith again, some of them going dim.
"And you need a Paladin - you need me - to find him?" Keith asked softly, reeling at the idea. Black fairly quivered at the question. "And Red is letting you borrow me. . . Because I need him to come back too."
Red purred, a warm, gentle sensation in his head, and Keith smiled slightly at her. "Love you too, girl." he said faintly - easy, with her. "All right." he said more firmly, setting his feet against the floor and wrapping his hands around the controls. "Let's do this."
Black roared, loud and long, and Keith could hear the faint echo of Red's roar in harmony, and he thought . . . perhaps, yet more faintly, the other Lions as well?
Then he had no more time to think on it as Black was launching himself up and out, soaring out of the Castle and into the quiet blackness of the near-deserted quadrant where they had hidden themselves. Keith looked at the Castle behind them and tightened his grip on Black's controls. "Well?" he demanded, and Black looped once, head twisting - like he was searching, not in fun and not for show; he was so much less graceful than Red, Keith thought distractedly - and then chose a direction.
Keith hoped it was sensing Shiro that was drawing Black on, though he wondered quietly, even as he tried not to, in what sort of condition Shiro might be if he was- Where could he be, he had been . . . in Black, he had been safe, even after Haggar's attack had drained them all. . .
Keith bit his lip, focusing on helping Black to fly, keeping an eye on the readouts around him to make sure nothing snuck up on them. Something huge, purple-pink and scattered with scaly black-brown . . . rocks, maybe? skimmed past, not a ship but what looked like something alive.
Keith watched it warily, remembering the Weblum, but Black ignored it and it, apparently, ignored them. Keith thought with faint amusement of the classes he had been shuffled through at the Garrison, preparing them for the vastness of space. Not hardly.
Keith didn't know how long they flew; passing planets and a few times other ships, soaring around stars and never really stopping. He drifted, for a while, watching the screens but not really thinking. His mind was filled with Shiro, memories and hopes and feelings.
Red's soft rumble slid through his mind, comforting and warm, and Keith's hands tightened on Black's controls. "We'll get him," he said, giving words to the low, moaning growl from Black, "we will." He set his jaw.
A bright flash across one of the screens brought Keith to full attention, and he automatically shifted to be prepared for an attack. Black was so much slower than Red, so much bigger, but Keith got him out of the way before the beam could hit them.
Black roared and cut around an asteroid field, taking the Galra vessel by surprise. Keith thought it was amazingly tiny for a moment, and then realised it was only so much smaller compared to Black. Still, easy enough for them to deal with if it stayed in its scramble to evade.
Keith returned fire and deployed the jaw blades, and Black pounced on the ship, shredding it as Keith fired. Pieces of torn metal floated away from the ship, and no one was firing back any more. Keith sent a last shot at it as Black paused, looking at the wreckage for any threats, and then they resumed flight.
It was hours later when a ping popped up on the console and Keith didn't even get a chance to see it before it was shut down. Another followed, and another, and then the screen itself went black, and Black snarled with irritation, quivering around Keith.
No more came after that, and Keith guessed that it was those back on the Castle trying to contact him, but . . . Black must not want the distraction. Disturbance. Keith didn't care either, though he was aware, now, as he hadn't really been the last time he had left them behind, that . . . they would be worried for him.
He'd known Shiro would want him back, but he hadn't expected the reaction he'd gotten from the others, then. Keith swallowed. Shiro would want him back, always, he was used to that - Shiro had managed to pound it into his head before leaving for the Kerberos mission and it had stayed even when Shiro was lost - but Keith needed Shiro back every bit as much.
And once he got his lover back on the Castle, back in his arms, again. . .
Keith growled a little, and Red let out a smooth, low rumble herself. Support or amusement or simply understanding, Keith didn't know, but he closed his eyes for a moment and just thought of her, warmth flowing into his mind from hers. Keith was never letting Shiro out of his sight again, if this was what fucking happened when he went off on his own.
Keith was not going to suffer through a third time of Shiro disappearing on him.
He refused to entertain the though that he wouldn't - they wouldn't - get Shiro back now, either. Keith could go after him, could fight for Shiro now as he couldn't before, and he would if it killed him.
It was then that Black snarled again, moving abruptly into a dive - Keith rode it easily, though it was much less smooth than Red would move, and shifted to stabilise the Lion automatically, hands twisting on the controls. The planet beneath, where they were evidently heading, was dull grey all over, or at least for as far as Keith could see.
Dull and dead, and not really encouraging to look at, from this distance.
Keith frowned, wishing Black could give him something more than these vague feelings to go by. He watched the planet approaching, detail resolving from the dead grey uniformity, through the viewscreen, and trusted Black not to slam into the ground - it looked more like some kind of metal than anything else, and tough as the Lions were, Keith would rather not dive directly into it.
Black pulled up short, barely, his claws biting into the top of a slope or possibly a building as he settled onto the planet. Black roared, and the sound as it reflected back at them made Keith think this planet was metal - or sheathed in it, at least.
The sound also brought out a swarm of people, aliens, running into view and Keith prepared himself, alert. There was mostly what looked like a lot of freaking out, and then someone started firing at him and Black, and he growled and brought up the tail laser only for Black to rumble at him and refuse.
Keith's eyebrows twitched. They weren't doing any damage - not yet, anyway - but they were shooting at Black. Whatever. "I can't exactly go down there until they stop, or if we land somewhere else!" Keith snapped, Red's irritation a hot point in the back of his mind shadowing his own.
Black growled but reluctantly moved with Keith's next direction, twisting and lashing out, throwing the soldiers away with flicks of his tail and paws. Then he took control back and sank his claws into the metal he had been standing on, taking harsh, huge swipes like the determined digging of a real cat's paws.
Keith watched and listened - it was an ugly sound, both the ripping of metal and the weaker material grating against the harder metal of the Lion's claws - and waited for a sign that he could do anything else. The threats had mainly fled, but Black wasn't letting his head down so that Keith could exit yet, either.
It occurred to Keith now, looking down at the alien planet, that he probably should have stopped long enough to get his armour on before leaving the Castle. His lips quirked. He hadn't exactly thought of it then, and he hadn't been planning to leave with Black when he rose, only finding out what the strange call of the echoing roar was encouraging him on to do.
"Are you not letting me out because it's not safe?" Keith asked, leaning forwards a little and tapping the console, trying to bring up an air scan. He wasn't Hunk by any means, but he could read a basic element scan and find if the results were within a human-safe range to breathe.
. . .assuming Keith was restrained to a human range of breathable air. He'd thought it before, but only briefly, in battles or other tight spots where it couldn't keep his focus for long, and the question had never returned when he could dwell on it.
It didn't matter now, though - Keith didn't know what he could take, didn't know if it was more than human, and he didn't know what the limits were for . . . for Galra, either.
And the scans turned up something he shouldn't breathe for long, if he could help it, but it wouldn't kill him. If he needed to go down there to get Shiro, he would.
And hopefully Shiro hadn't been breathing in the semi-toxic air without his helmet, or at least some other protection, for however long he'd been here. Keith scowled, urging Black to lower his head, though he had to fight a little to get the Lion to agree.
Black finally did, opening his huge jaws and depositing Keith right on the edge of the ragged, shredded hole he'd made through into the dark space under the thick metal. "He's in here?" Keith asked, eyeing the shadowy space warily and drawing his blade.
Black growled and swatted away an approaching possible-threat, and Keith shrugged, took a deep breath - he wrinkled his nose - and jumped in. Black lay down, blocking the gaping hole from anyone who might come close, though he also, unfortunately, blocked out a lot of Keith's light.
He frowned, narrowing his eyes and holding up his blade as he tried to make out the room around him. He swept his sword around himself as he heard someone approaching, keeping the blade tight to his body as he moved. He wasn't sure who was coming, and there was a chance it was not an enemy.
He backed away from the approaching footsteps, finding a path out of the room and marking his route in his head as he left it behind. It wouldn't do him much good if he couldn't find his way back to the room with the gaping hole of an exit back to where Black waited.
Although Keith might have to find another way out, he wasn't completely sure he could get back up to the roof. Red would have forced her way inside, he thought fondly, to the low sound of a rumbling agreement from the back of his mind. He smiled. Red would have forced her way inside or simply plucked him out herself when he returned.
Keith paused as multiple paths opened up, listening closely, and Red quieted in his mind.
He spared a fond thought for her, and then chose the quietest way ahead of him. Quietest, he soon found, because it wasn't far before there was a solid metal door blocking the corridor.
It fell to pieces with a few quick swipes of his knife, and Keith snorted, bounding over the collapsing rubble and pausing as he landed in a hallway bounded on either side by rows of alcoves walled off with bars that glowed faintly, sickly green. He swallowed, alarmed, and slowed down a little as he walked between them.
As he had guessed, there were people - aliens - on the other side of every set of bars. Some were on their feet, looking at him, some were crumpled in corners, and some were bound to beds or mostly-upright supports.
One was chained and dangling from the ceiling.
Keith wanted to speed up, but he swallowed and forced himself to keep to a reasonable pace. He didn't call out, but he looked for Shiro, eyes searching every dark corner past the sickly green light. It was eerily silent, for so many living creatures packed into the cells - trapped and surely angry, upset, scared, but . . . none of them spoke or cried out, even the ones that met Keith's eyes as he walked.
Then he found Shiro, one of those bound and angled nearly upright, his head tipped away. It was so like when Keith had found him in the hands of Garrison scientists - strapped down and bound to a table as he yelled, frightened and-
Keith growled as he braced himself and swung his blade, vaguely hearing someone, finally, shout at him from the other side of the hall, a warning perhaps. He felt a painful jolt as his blade connected with the bars but-
They gave, the door falling outwards - Keith jumped out of the way - from the single crossways cut. "Shiro!" he said urgently, moving into the tiny cell and towards his lover, his hand hesitating of its own accord as he reached for Shiro.
He clasped Shiro's jaw and turned his head gently, and Shiro stirred at the touch. Keith's heart leapt as deep grey eyes met his own gaze. Shiro moved with a little more strength, and Keith found a smile for his lover, kissing his brow and slicing through his restraints.
Shiro let out a quiet, rough sob as he stumbled a little, stepping away from the support he had been bound to. Keith's heart wrenched. Shiro looked back at the dangling restraints and the solid support and shuddered powerfully, looking slightly sick.
Keith pushed him out of the little cell, sheathing his knife and cupping Shiro's face, forcing his lover to look just at him. "Keith. . ." Shiro's eyes filled with tears, and Keith let his lover fall into his arms, holding Shiro tight and nuzzling in against his shoulder.
Shiro's bare skin was cool, and Keith hugged him tighter instinctively. The shredded remains of his undersuit were likely not doing much more to keep him comfortable or warm. Shiro's breathing was ragged and wet in his ear, and Keith closed his eyes - just for a moment - against the burning ache of tears as his lover's arms clung to his waist. "I'm here." he murmured, clasping the nape of Shiro's neck and squeezing firmly.
"You followed me?" Shiro asked, a little wobbly, as Keith pulled back, spotting the door at the other end of the hall, behind his lover, beginning to open.
"Listen to me, I am never letting you get lost again, all right?" Keith said sharply. "If I have to find a pair of fucking alien handcuffs, I swear I can't so much as let you out of arm's reach before you-" He stopped himself, taking a deep breath.
Shiro looked surprised, but it melted into laughter, soft and slightly cracked but real. Keith smiled and leaned up, giving Shiro a soft kiss. "We need to get out of here, love." he murmured, watching the aliens burst through the door. "Now."
He looked around, narrowing his eyes at the nearest barred wall, and grinned sharply, drawing his blade and slashing at the bars the same way he had for Shiro's. The creature inside bolted to its feet, its five sunshine-yellow and lime-green eyes widening before he lunged to get out of its cell.
Yes, that would do nicely. Keith glanced at the approaching handful of aliens, seeing them slow warily. "We are going to go, but I'm-" Keith stopped as Shiro raised his right hand, if a little stiffly, and the glow of energy suffused it. "Shiro, you're-"
"I'll be all right." Shiro said, though he looked a little wan and his shoulders and back were bowed weakly. "I take it we're getting out of here alone?" he asked as he swiped his hand at the cell doors on the opposite side of the corridor.
"Ah, sorry, Allura and the Castle aren't waiting for us up there, no." Keith said as he quickly switched his blade to his left hand, and caught Shiro's with his right, pulling his lover down the corridor. They moved quickly - as quickly as Shiro could - the energised bars falling in their wake and the previously trapped prisoners spilling out.
"I should probably be upset that you put yourself in danger, that you ran off alone. . ."
"I am never letting you go." Keith said sharply, pulling Shiro to a stop at the corner and kissing him hard. "No matter what happens. And you can be mad when we're safe, if you must." he added, tone gentling. "Come on."
Shiro followed willingly, though he was slowing. Keith fretted a bit as he led them back to the one room he knew had an exit to Shiro's waiting Lion. He pushed Shiro behind him as one of the bulky, grey and blue aliens who seemed to be in charge here leapt out at them, and took a blow to the ribs for his concern - he'd left himself open to get Shiro out of harm's way.
The alien made a wretched screeching sound and possibly said something. Keith didn't understand, of course, but he bared his teeth and snarled as he circled away from the sloppy blows of his single opponent. They needed to leave before any more found them.
Keith ducked low and swiped out with his blade, narrowly avoiding catching another blow - to his shoulder this time - but bringing his opponent down with only a few more quick, darting strikes. When he backed away from the crumpled form, he found Shiro slumped against the wall, looking wide-eyed and terrified.
Keith frowned, crooning apologetically as he helped his lover back to his feet and got Shiro moving again. He leaned into Keith in return, half-strangling a distressed sound, and Keith felt a flare of rage at every creature on this planet but forced it back, keeping his touch and his expression gentle. He had Shiro, they were getting out of here and going home, that was what was important.
It was only another couple of turns of the hallway before they were back to the room Black had turned into his entry point, and it was thankfully empty.
Keith was relieved beyond measure when it seemed Black had been fighting still above, and another shredded hunk of metal from his struggle had tumbled down and into the room at an angle. It was makeshift, but especially as Shiro powered his arm up again, allowing him to sink his fingers into the metal, they could use it to climb up and out.
Shiro nearly collapsed at the top, though, and Keith had to push him over the edge and onto the support of the roof. Or ground. Whatever it was. Shiro's strength was fading, but they were out now, and Black was in sight, and no one was on their tail immediately, at least. Shiro shouldn't need to do anything but get into his Lion and rest as Keith flew.
"So you did." Shiro said, leaning on Keith more heavily as he regained his feet, with help. "Black. You did take over for me." He smiled. "Thank you. I knew you could."
"Fuck no." Keith said, scowling, wrapping his arm more snugly around his lover's ribs and grateful, actually, now, that he was not wearing his armour, even with the dull throb of his bruised ribs. Shiro could rest against him and not the unforgiving planes of his armour. "Red sent me out with him to find you. You are taking your stupid Lion back as soon as we get home." Keith told him firmly.
Shiro blinked, then giggled, resting his head against Keith's. "Stubborn. I should have known." He coughed a little, breathlessly.
"You really should have." Keith agreed, unable to hold back a grin, nudging his cheek against Shiro's.
Black, fortunately, came to them, and Keith didn't have to drag Shiro into walking much further. He helped his lover up into the huge jaw, and through it into the safety of the cockpit. He relaxed a little once they were there, and Shiro clearly did too, smiling softly and resting a hand against the wall as the cockpit lit up, bright and welcoming.
"See? He's your Lion." Keith said to a low and pointed purr of agreement from Red in his mind. Keith pushed Shiro to sit down only to topple along with him as Black suddenly shot off into the air. "Oh! Shiro, are you all-"
Keith fell silent as Shiro gripped him tight, dragging him closer. He'd collapsed across his lover's legs as they both tumbled to the floor, but evidently he hadn't hurt Shiro in the process - he grumbled silently at Black - or at least not much.
"Apparently I won't be needed to fly?" Keith said, eying the screens at the front of the cockpit and wrapping one arms around Shiro's shoulders, drawing him in closer and stroking his jaw lightly. He trailed his knuckles down Shiro's throat, and he shivered, closing his eyes and bowing into Keith's embrace.
Black rumbled, and Keith glared. Shiro nuzzled against his shoulder and he couldn't quite hold the expression, softening into a relieved smile as he pulled away to sit beside Shiro, keeping him close.
"I'm sorry it took so long to find you." Keith said softly, guiding Shiro into leaning against him and trailing his hands over his lover's arms and back, wincing at the occasional scrape or scab he felt. They were blessedly few, though Keith wondered what else might have happened to Shiro in the time he was gone, or how he had come to be here. He hugged Shiro tighter, swallowing against the lump in his throat. "I'm sorry."
"You came after me." Shiro said faintly, lifting his head and cupping Keith's jaw. "I- Don't be sorry." He blinked, eyes glossy with tears, and Keith hugged him tight again. "I can't- You- Baby, I. . ."
"Don't think," Keith said thickly, "that you're ever allowed to do this again," he paused, swallowing painfully, "but I will always come after you, Shiro."
Shiro let out a broken little laugh and tipped his head, kissing Keith again, hands holding him a little too tight, as though he was desperate to be sure Keith was there. Keith didn't begrudge him, rubbing his back and holding him just as tightly in return as Black rumbled his own reassurances at them.
Keith knew Black would likely need him in the pilot's seat again at some point - Shiro was in no state to be flying if there was any alternative - but for now, he could stay there in the floor with his lover, keeping him comfortable and promising safety. He ruffled Shiro's short hair, stroked one hand down his neck and back, then followed his spine back up, slow and steady.
It occurred to Keith after a while that they - he - should call the Castle and tell them he had Shiro, that they were both fine, that they were flying back now. But the thought didn't come until after Shiro had fallen asleep curled into him, heavy over his legs and breathing warm and deep against his collarbone, and Keith wouldn't disturb him for anything, not until he had to.
Black gave a low hum that assured Keith he wasn't needed just yet, and he took a deep breath, running a hand comfortingly over Shiro's shoulders and back. "You're safe, love. And I meant it. I am never letting you go, even if it means I have to chase all the way across every galaxy there is to keep hold of you."
Shiro stirred in his sleep, leaning close and giving a soft sigh, breathing easy for now.
Keith kissed the top of his head and hugged him tightly, glad that Shiro was not only sleeping but seemed untroubled. "Rest easy, love." Keith murmured.
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