Tie Me Down

by themightypookums

Everyone has a secret. Whether it's big or small, everyone has something they're hiding. Keith's life is run by his secrets which will inevitably catch up to him. They are his oldest friend. They've left him cold and cynical about life but his perspective starts to change when new faces come into his life and show him that secrets can be so much more than something to fear.

1. Chapter 1: Yield

"So Keith, how did it all start?"

"Do you want the short version or the long version?"

"The long version, of course."

"Then you better get ready, because we're going to be here a while."

---

Chapter One: Yield

Loud screeching overlapping roaring engines pierced the quiet midnight air through the streets of the city. Revving motors bounced off the tall buildings and long factories to echo through the downtown district of the city. The three racing cars riding bumper to bumper whipped dangerously around the corner through the red light to dodge around the cruising Toyota. Tires squealed against the pavement as the vehicles weaved back and forth, battling each other to get ahead as they ducked between lanes before disappearing around another corner. The red Honda stuck in second place drifted around the corner, sliding into the front position with utmost precision to get ahead of the black BMW before speeding down the road. The Honda dodged around the cruising sedan, using the oncoming traffic lane to barely get by without scratching up the sides of the crimson paintjob. Horns blared angrily from the oncoming pickup truck that was so narrowly missed from a head-on collision.

The BMW was catching up to the front spot again with the purple Ford close behind it along the long stretch of road. The Honda was speeding up to a dangerous speed as it approached the next corner. It whipped in front of the regular hatchback that slammed on its brakes to avoid colliding with the reckless driver. The Honda hit the corner. Speed and velocity had it leaning dangerously but it couldn't keep a grip on the pavement. Its tires lifted and it was in an uncontrolled spin across the blacktop. It was unavoidable to slam into the side of a moving van, sending it spinning across the lanes to finally stop when it came crashing against the solid lamppost. Pieces of metal scattered across the pavement as the car wrapped around the solid post, smoke bellowed out of the crumpled up nose.

"What the hell were you thinking?" the pacing man shouted in the hospital room. A nurse with a patient both paused just outside the open door before quickly moving on to avoid whatever was going on. Shiro slid his hand through his dark hair with the front a pure white. It was an unusual look that reminded everyone who saw him of a skunk, but only those close to him ever actually told him that. "You are lucky things ended up the way it did. You could have hurt someone else, or you could have ended up leaving the scene in a body bag!" he continued to shout loudly. His harsh voice bounced off the walls of the small room that seemed even smaller with the heavy tension that loomed like a dark cloud along the ceiling.

"Shiro," Adam dragged on from his seat in the armchair in the corner of the room. He was flipping lazily through a thin magazine as if he was completely uninterested in any of the contents inside but he had to keep his hands busy with something. He paused briefly to push his glasses up his nose before continuing with the mindless page flipping.

"Do you want that? Do you want me to have to show up one of these days and instead of you being cuffed in the back seat of a police cruiser, you're being shoved into the back of a hearse?" Shiro snapped. The words were like knives that made Adam stop and his eyes shot up over the top of the thin pages. Shiro had stopped pacing to face the bed next to the large window that let in the streaky yellow sunlight. His face was twisted in anger and frustration that reflected the emotion that burst through his voice. "Keith! Answer me!"

The younger man sitting on the edge of the bed didn't look up even though his body visibly twitched at the harsh tone used against him. His dark, ebony hair was long and tousled in a heaping mess from being bedridden for so long. A small bandage was stuck to his forehead over the wound just above his right eyebrow. His left arm was wrapped in a bandage from above his elbow to his wrist to cover the burns and deep stitched up gouges that ran all along his forearm.

"Alright," Adam spoke up in a low tone. He was trying to keep it flat as he dropped the magazine on the small table next to him. "Shiro. Honey," he said losing a bit of control over his tone as he stood to walk over. His hands found their way on the darker haired man's cheeks to force his attention over. Intense grey irises met with pleading brown desperately trying to communicate silently so that he didn't have to say the words out loud. "I think you need to take a break. Why don't you get some coffee?"

"Adam, I don't want coffee," Shiro snapped with a slight hiss to his voice that he immediately regretted when he was met with a high arched eyebrow. He cleared his throat loudly as he relaxed his tense expression.

Adam let his eyebrow drop a bit. "For me. Go get a coffee for me," he said with a small, tight grin. Shiro inhaled with his mouth open as if he were going to speak but quickly snapped his lips shut as he exhaled sharply. Adam gently patted his cheek before he turned to leave the room in a huff of soft muttering words. "Well, you can feel accomplished knowing that no one else on this planet sends him into that kind of a spiral except you," Adam explained, his arms crossed tightly over his chest as he turned to face Keith who was still staring at the floor. "That man has done whatever he can to keep you out of trouble. He has lied and put his job on the line for you but you know he can't save you this time."

"I know," Keith finally said. The response was quick and short. His hands were gripping tightly onto the fabric of the baggy white pants he was wearing so his knuckles dug into his knees. His entire body was one tense bundle of nerves.

Adam lifted his hand to push his glasses back up his nose again like if he had them in the right spot then he'd be able to see inside Keith to whatever was rattling around inside his head. "You know he could have turned a blind eye, but you could have hurt someone. Hell, you did hurt someone. Look at yourself, Keith," he explained and gestured all of the bandages that covered Keith on his face, arms, and torso. "Maybe now you'll finally learn a lesson."

Keith scoffed loudly. "What lesson?" He finally lifted his head to ask. His thick eyebrows were shifted together quizzically to form an expression that was less than amusing and made Adam frown deeply.

"Oh, I don't know," Adam replied sarcastically with a sharp shrug of his shoulders. "Maybe the lesson that your life is worth more than some cheap thrills and a quick buck. Let's start with that, shall we?"

Keith made a sound that was somewhere crossed between another scoff and tutting. His eyes were back on the floor as he lifted his hand that had two of his fingers taped together to rub the back of his neck. "You know, you're not really very helpful when it comes to the whole helping people get their lives on the right track," he explained flatly.

"I am aware. You've told me, Shiro's told me, I'm pretty sure a few other people in my life have told me," Adam replied with a small grin that was oddly unsettling but also soft and caring. "But here's the thing, me being sensitive to your feelings doesn't change the fact that nothing is going to get better if you continue doing what you're doing," he explained and the harsh truth made Keith shift uncomfortably. "What do you get out of it? Nothing. I'm not going to baby you and hold your hands here, Keith. You screwed up and now you have to deal with it. So, take the yelling, take the punishment, do it gracefully, and then move on."

The judge slammed his gavel a few times against the wooden block to catch everyone's attention from their scattered conversations. Everyone in the room stood, except for Keith who was staring off in a daze. His leg was bouncing rapidly as his only way to control his nerves that needed to go somewhere or else he might explode. Shiro was standing behind the wooden railing in the audience with Adam. He noticed Keith and opened his mouth slightly to call out but stopped himself when Adam suddenly grabbed his arm as the man next to Keith gently nudged his shoulder to snap him out of his blank stare.

"I have come to a decision," the judge started to say to the room. He scratched at his short, wiry beard as he stared down at his desk. Keith quickly pushed himself up to his feet and almost knocked over his chair but quickly caught it before it disrupted the pause the judge was allowing to fill the room with tense silence. Keith's legs were like jello underneath him. He had to keep his hands pressed against the table to brace himself. "Under the circumstances of a first time offender, I have decided to wave jailtime and instead invoke parole with mandatory counselling sessions. The defendant will meet with his counsellor once a week and any illegal offense he partakes in will result in immediate jailtime with no possibility of bail." The sound of a heavy, relieved sigh behind Keith made his shoulders loosen instantly. His foggy mind was struggling to understand what the hell was going on, but a relieved sigh meant good. "For the time being, the defendant's vehicle will remain impounded by the city until the assigned parole counsellor deems the defendant fit to finish their parole," the judge added and finally looked up. He removed his small glasses and turned his attention directly to Keith whose body straightened with his heavy tension. "Do you understand these terms, Mr. Kogane?"

Keith wish he had been paying attention more but he wouldn't admit that he was too worried to really focus on the man's words instead of resorting to distorting his voice like the adults from the Charlie Brown cartoons. He nodded slowly. "I understand, sir," he said in a low, grim voice.

"Good, your first appointment with your parole counsellor is scheduled in three days at four pm. Is that suitable to your schedule, Mr. Kogane?" the judge asked.

Keith nodded again. "Yes sir," he answered.

"Excellent. Further details will be given to you at the end of this court meeting in the form of a written document issued by the state and signed by myself." The judge let the silence return as he was writing something quickly before he leaned forward in his seat to cross his arms in front of him. "There is just one last thing I want to say, Mr. Kogane, and I want you to listen to me very carefully," the man started and set down his shiny metal pen. "I want you to think of this as a second chance. Everyone gets one. Sometimes second chances come in obscure forms that make it easy to miss but your second chance is as plain as it can come. So, it's up to you to decide what to do with it. I am going to advise that you do something good with it. Take this chance and make things right."

The ringing in Keith's ears hit hard with the smack of the gavel against its wooden block partner. All of the stress and anxiety that had piled in his chest suddenly sank to his feet to completely obliterate any muscle on the way. He had to sit or else he would have ended up on the floor a pitiful mess. A second chance, he thought to himself as he sat back in the leather chair to let his fingers tap anxiously against the arm. A second chance for what?

Shiro stood at the end of the hallway staring down at the closed door. He had been standing there for far too long with his arms crossed stiffly over his chest as he tapped his fingers impatiently against his bicep. The second hand on the clock behind him ticked loudly over the sound of the television where a narrator with a British accent talked about Emperor Penguins from the documentary. "Shiro," Adam said from the couch where he was watching the television, "you're stewing."

Shiro exhaled sharply but didn't move from his spot. He was shifting his weight frequently from one leg to the other but he couldn't seem to move his feet that likely had left an indent in the carpet from how much time had passed. "I don't know what to do," he said quietly. "He hasn't come out of his room once all day. He's been in there since we got home from the courthouse yesterday," he explained without taking his eyes off the door with the poster of five meteors raining down on the Earth's horizon with the sun setting far in the distance. "He hasn't eaten anything. He's barely said a word to us. He's just...moping. I've never seen him mope like this before."

Adam sighed loudly. He tilted his head back to lean it against the head of the couch as said, "Can you blame him?" He grunted as he paused to shift on the couch so he was leaning against the head with his chin resting on his arm. "It's not like he's had a very easy going week. He lost his one true love, pretty much was sentenced with house arrest, and broke his favourite middle finger all within a week."

Shiro sighed and rolled his eyes, ignoring the obvious joke that Adam made that he couldn't help but grin at. "I know, okay Adam. But he just can't sit in there all day. He can't dwell over what happened."

"Says the one lurking in the hallway," Adam muttered quietly which earned a questionable sideways glare from Shiro. Adam rolled his eyes and lifted his head. "Look, you just have to give him a little time. He'll come out when he's ready. The last thing he needs right now is you being all controlling and possessive."

"I don't act controlling and possessive," Shiro replied with an offended tone as his eyebrows shifted together. Adam's flat expression was everything Shiro needed. "Alright, fine, whatever." He sighed loudly through his nose. "I know, I get that, and I'm not saying that he has to come out here and spill all his guts to us or anything."

"Shiro," Adam dragged out the man's name with a soft tone. He was shifting on the couch again to reach out so he could grab Shiro's hand.

"I'm just saying that he can't sit in there and mope. He can't self-destruct just because things are a little rough right now. I'm just saying that he—," Shiro was explaining but stopped when Adam pulled him forward to press his hands against the dark-haired man's cheeks to make his lips purse.

"Shiro, stop," Adam said with a wide grin. He was insanely entertained with how well his plan worked. "I know you have no other choice but to worry about him, but you're going to blow a blood vessel and I really don't want to have to deal with that," he explained. Shiro rolled his dark eyes, it was the only thing he could do. "You have to give him time though. Time to work through what he's going through. Time to get a hold of what to do next. Once he figures out what to do, he'll come to us. So, the best thing for you to do right now is to go to work. I'll keep an eye on him."

"But-," Shiro struggled to start to say but stopped again when Adam leaned forward to kiss him softly.

"Stop being such a mom and go to work," Adam said and patted pouting Shiro's cheeks. "Go save lives and stop bad guys and be the big, strong hero that I fell in love with."

"Don't lie," Shiro said with a quizzically lifted eyebrow.

"You're right," Adam replied with a small shake of his head. "I fell in love with your butt."

Shiro let out a loud laugh that rumbled in his chest before he leaned forward to kiss Adam on the forehead. He left and Adam was standing in the kitchen of the apartment cutting vegetables. The television was muffled through the wall as he fixed the small snack for himself and overlapped the soft footsteps that trotted into the room. The soft nose that nuzzled against Adam's leg startled him. "Oh, hey Cosmo. Nice of you to finally emerge from your cave," Adam said down to the black German Shepherd standing next to him as he adjusted his glasses on his nose and the canine rubbed against his sweatpants. Adam grinned and then turned his head to see Keith standing in the doorway of the kitchen. His black hair was messy and his eyes were heavy with dark circles underneath. He was rubbing his eye as he tried to stifle a long yawn. "Wow, you look rough. Did you sleep at all last night?"

"That depends. Does blinking for long periods of time count as sleeping?" Keith asked bitterly in a tired grumbling voice as he stepped into the room to stand next to Cosmo.

Adam chuckled and rolled his eyes. "You sound like Shiro, and no, that does not count," he answered and sliced the sharp knife through the small pile of celery. "You need to sleep. Lack of sleep will lead to all sorts of health complications and it can be extremely hard to get back on a normal sleeping schedule if your body is too adapted to sporadic times."

Keith reached down to scratch his black canine's head as he let out a small grunt. Adam's knife sliced through the carrot with expert ease. "Oh it's fine, I'll just sleep when I'm dead," Keith explained quietly.

Adam stopped cutting for a moment to let out a heavy sigh. Keith reached up to open the cupboard in front of him, ignoring the blatant noise of annoyance the other man made. He pulled out the jar of peanut butter, set it on the counter, swiped a cut up piece of celery to pinch it between his teeth, and then slid down the cabinet to the floor with the jar of peanut butter in his hand. Cosmo curled up next to him with his long muzzle on Keith's leg as he used the inside of his thighs to open the jar. Adam looked down at the young man who was haphazardly dipping the piece of celery inside the peanut butter. It wasn't the strangest thing Adam had seen him do. The brunet man let out a soft, sharp sigh that was different from the last one. His expression had shifted from pinched eyebrows to solemn eyes with lips pinched in a thin line. "Keith, Shiro's worried about you."

Keith let out a sarcastic chuckle in response as he chewed on the peanut butter covered chunk of celery he bit off. "I think that's putting it mildly," he replied softly through the food in his mouth. He dipped the celery back into the jar to drag it through the thick substance in a wide circle.

"He tried his best to keep you out of trouble even though you refused to listen to him. Now, he can't do anything except sit back and watch you struggle with all of this," Adam explained. Keith swallowed so he could crunch into the celery stick again. Adam put down the sharp knife and wiped off his hands as he crouched down next to Keith and his shepherd. "Keith—"

"I didn't want this to happen. It's not like I thought, oh, slamming into that lamppost seems like a good idea," Keith said sarcastically with a dramatic roll of his eyes and scooped up more peanut butter. "But it's not like I can magically go back and stop myself from doing it, so I have to live with that. This all has nothing to do with you guys. It was my decision, my mistake, my responsibility."

"Alright, look, I get it, but I still want you to promise me something, Keith," Adam said and carefully lowered himself to sit as he ran his hand over Cosmo's soft fur. Keith looked over at him with narrowed eyes as he munched lazily on his peanut butter covered veggie. "Promise me you'll do as the judge said. Take this chance and make it right."

Keith exhaled slowly. Easier said than done, he thought to himself as he buried his hand in the dark fur of his canine companion. He could hear the worry and care in the other man's voice. He knew that Shiro and Adam worried about him, almost to the point of intense anxiety, and he never could wrap his head around why.

"Yeah," Keith replied in a low voice. It wasn't exactly the most believable tone, but he had to say something under the intense gaze of Adam's almost gold coloured eyes. "I promise I'll try."

~/~

Keith let out a sharp sigh as he sat at his desk. His sleeping companion was curled on his bed as he scrolled through the social media page for the tenth time in the last hour. Nothing was updating. Nothing was new. Nothing. His life had been a steaming pile of nothing for the past two weeks. He was going stir crazy. He even resorted to cleaning just so he wouldn't lose his mind. Daytime television was a repetitive mess and he could only take Cosmo for so many walks before even the canine was bored with him.

Keith leaned back in his chair with a loud groan aimed towards the ceiling. He had been stuck in his room all day. It was spacious with pieces of clothing scattered haphazardly across the carpeted floor and the walls were covered in random posters, most of them car related but it was all starting to become all too familiar to him with how much time he spent staring at each wall. He was noticing small cracks he never noticed before and there was an odd dot in the far corner of the room near the ceiling that he swore moved anytime he started to look away. He couldn't erase the boredom. No matter what he did, he couldn't get away from it, and so he found himself constantly going back to the one thing he shouldn't have been going to because he had to keep it hidden from everyone. He was an addict and he needed a fix. He desperately needed to feel the rumbling of the engine and the force of him being thrown back against the driver's seat as he narrowly made it around obstacles.

His phone chimed from his bed, snapping him out of the deep thoughts that occupied the deep spaces of his mind. Cosmo's ears perked at the sound as his eyes slowly popped open. Keith quickly spun around his chair to launch himself up and onto the bed. The sudden jostling made Cosmo's ears lay straight back against his head as he let out a sharp sigh.

"Sorry buddy. Go back to sleep," Keith said as he quickly tapped his thumb against the screen on his phone. The shepherd didn't hesitate to listen and close his eyes again.

The message was part of a group conversation that sent a tingling sensation up and down his spine anytime there was a notification from it. His fingers moved quickly across the screen to open the app but the excited look was suddenly gone when Keith's lips instantly turned down into a frown as he scrolled through the text.

BoMb
V: So what the hell's happened to the perfect prodigy?
I: Ya. Heard the little punk wrecked his car!
V: #redwreck
V: #pwned
A: Grow the hell up!
A: Don't you two have better things to do than talk shit?
V: Oh, don't get so testy. We're just teasing.
T: If only you could drive faster than you could run your mouths.
I: Damn T. Harsh.
V: Is Red too good to say anything to us?
V: He's been a ghost for weeks now.
A: He's resting. He'll be back.
I: We wouldn't want the Prince to miss too much action.

Keith dropped his phone beside him as he groaned loudly in the back of his throat. He flopped onto his back with his fingers pinching the bridge of his nose before he shifted them to rub roughly at his sore eyes. Sharp, stabbing pain was forming behind his eyeballs. His phone chimed again but it was different from the previous ones. He dropped his hand to stare at the ceiling. He knew he shouldn't have looked, but he couldn't help it. He sat up, his back pressed to the wall as he swiped his thumb along the screen of his phone to open the private message.

Ignoring your family, Kogane? The message read. Come on, we can tell when you've read the messages. You know Vrek and Ilun are nothing but talk. They just need an outlet for their own inferiority.

Keith scoffed. Some family. You guys left me to deal with the heat on my own.

Hey, it's not our fault you're a cocky dick who slammed into a lamppost because you were showing off, was the response after a small pause.

Bite me, Acxa. Keith rolled his eyes. He was about to set his phone back down but it chimed again.

Come to the docks tonight. Your family misses you. Keith stared at the broken heart emoji placed strategically at the end of the message. He was fidgeting when another message popped up. I know you're worried you'll get caught but that has never stopped you before. Also, I can promise that Vrek and Ilun won't be there.

I'll be there.

Loud laughter suddenly pierced through the closed door of Keith's bedroom, sparking his and Cosmo's attention. Keith carefully slid off his bed, leaving his phone on top of his pillows, to walk over and open the door. The laughter was growing louder. Cosmo quickly trotted out past Keith as he moved down the hall to stop at the end. In the middle of the living room, Shiro was holding Adam over his shoulder as the brunet laughed wildly. Shiro was in his uniform with his hair a harshly tousled mess from work. Shiro suddenly froze when he met Keith's judging stare. Shiro looked tired. His naturally narrowed eyes had heavy bags underneath them which was normal for him, but had become increasingly worst lately. Adam was still flailing, not knowing about the sudden audience yet.

"Well, I have to admit that I'm glad this is not the worst thing I've ever walked in on you two doing," Keith finally said with a flat tone as he crossed his arms over his chest. "And definitely not the most mentally scarring either."

"Keith!" Adam said loudly as he kicked his feet. He was trying to get free but Shiro had a tight hold on his hips. Keith's eyebrow lifted quizzically as he tilted his head slightly but couldn't see the brunet hanging over Shiro's back. "Can you please tell him to put me down? This is incredibly uncomfortable and embarrassing!"

Keith shook his head frantically. His dark tendrils of hair swept over his forehead in soft swaying movements. "Nope, you're on your own here. I don't want to be involved," he replied with a small dismissive wave of his hand.

"I don't know why I even entertained the fact that you'd be helpful here," Adam grumbled in a low, irritated voice.

Shiro sputtered a sharp laugh. He finally let his attention leave Keith. He had been staring a bit too hard like he had seen a deer for the first time or something. "Easy now, honey. No need to get testy," he said and reached up to smack Adam's ass. The sound was loud through the living room over the sharp yelp that Adam made.

"Hey!" Adam shouted. Keith shivered noticeably in disgust. "Alright, if you don't put me down then you won't get any dinner."

"That's a sacrifice I'm willing to make," Shiro replied and couldn't hide the massive grin on his face if he even tried.

Keith looked confusingly at the clock. "It's eight o'clock," he said more to himself than to anyone else. He hadn't even noticed the time while he was hiding away in his room. He slept until past noon, which was becoming a regular thing with having nothing to do, and then mindlessly did anything to keep his attention until his eyes were too heavy to keep open. Time was irrelevant to him since he had nothing to look forward to.

Shiro finally set Adam down. "Yeah, well—whoa," Adam said as he stumbled a bit. The sudden shift threw him off balance as all the blood rushed out of his head. "You can blame Mr. Hero here for the late dinner," he finished as he pointed a thumb over his shoulder at Shiro who was moving towards the kitchen.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Shiro responded with loud sarcasm as he stopped in the doorway to the kitchen to spin around. His muscular arms were crossed stiffly over his chest as he scowled heavily. The muscles in his biceps twitched like they were impatiently waiting to be used. "Next time I'll just let the bad guys get away. Screw the poor convenience store owners whose money was just taken from them!"

"People still steal from convenience store?" Keith asked with a low voice. "How cliché. Why doesn't anyone steal from like something no one would ever expect? No one's original anymore."

"Says the Fast and the Furious wannabe," Adam replied in a quiet voice that Keith heard but couldn't respond to quick enough before he was squeezing around Shiro to move through the kitchen doorway to disappear around the corner.

Dinner was simple spaghetti. Keith picked away at it but he couldn't help that his mind was elsewhere as Shiro chattered away about his day at work. Adam listened intently, as he always did, but Keith couldn't have been less interested if he tried. Bad guys. Intense pursuit. Guy guys catch the bad guy. Same old, same old. Keith was pushing around a meatball across his plate as he imagined the noodles as streets he had to maneuver through. His mind was one simple track that he couldn't jump off.

"Keith," Shiro's deep voice pierced through his thoughts.

"Huh?" Keith looked up to say.

Shiro's face was twisted with worry from across the table. Adam paused to look from Shiro to Keith. "Are you alright? You've been suspiciously quiet," he explained.

Keith felt like he was suddenly put on a pedestal and everything he did or said would be judged for something that he didn't know. It made him uncomfortable. He couldn't help but shift in his seat. "Oh? Yeah, I'm just tired," he explained and set his fork down as he pushed himself away from the table a bit. "I think I'm gonna go to bed," he grumbled as he stood with his plate. "Thanks for dinner, Adam." The brunet nodded slowly with a small smile but didn't speak.

Keith dropped the plate on the counter before he stepped out of the kitchen to disappear down the hall through the door with the comet poster tacked to it. He was thankful that he managed to get away without being drilled. Shiro and Adam had taken a large step back the last week. Keith was pretty sure they were tired of having to worry so they gave up. He wasn't sure why, but the thought made his chest tighten. He pressed his back against the door with a small sigh. He should have expected them to eventually give up caring. He wasn't necessarily making it easy. He waited for a moment before he moved across the room to flop backwards on his bed with a quiet grunt to close his eyes.

Even with the excitement making his body jittery, it didn't take him long to fall asleep but he also wasn't asleep for long before the alarm on his phone was beeping loudly from the pillow next to him. It was exactly midnight. The only light in the room came from outside created by the streetlights of the city that pushed through the cracks between the blinds to streak across the far wall in thin lines. When Keith cracked open his door he was met with silence and darkness. Adam must had been able to coax Shiro to bed at a reasonable time for a change. The man would have stayed up to an ungodly hour if he could have. Keith carefully stepped out of the room, pausing at the open doorway of the bedroom across the hall to listen carefully for the heavy snoring of Shiro mixed with Adam's soft breaths and occasional mumbling. The man talked in his sleep, which was amusing sometimes but when he started threatening people like a bank robber with a gun pointed to the hostages, Shiro and Keith knew that the man was not someone to screw with.

"Match made in heaven," Keith muttered quietly to himself at the two reasons he always kept his door shut at night. When he was satisfied with the familiar noises from inside the room he was moving again.

He continued down the hall to maneuver through the living room to the main door. The light from outside the window across the living room allowed him to find his shoes in the dark so he could slip before he reached for the handle of the door. His fingers wrapped around the smooth metal ready to open the door with extra care not to make any noise but he stopped when he felt a cold, wet nose press against his hand. The sudden touch made him jump as he quickly spun around to see Cosmo's form in the dark.

"You scared me," Keith hissed quietly. "I'll be back," he whispered as he gently patted the canine's head. "Don't tell them I'm gone, alright boy?"

He quietly shut the door behind him and was quickly stepping away as he lifted the hood of his sweater underneath his red jacket far over his head. The streets were busy with a different crowd at night than during the day. Drunk bar hoppers and college kids stumbled around the sidewalk with reckless abandon. Keith kept his head down as he weaved through the messy crowds, his hands shoved into the pockets of his jacket. He just had to move further from the main streets where the crowds became thinner and the air turned quieter. He was heading in the direction of where the smell of fresh saltwater swept from between the large buildings. The sounds of soft lapping water grew with each block he passed by. It took him just over a half an hour to reach the wharf that stretched for blocks along the shore of the lake. He headed towards a large warehouse built to house boats that was blocked off by a tall chain-link fence with barbed wire at the top but a large pile of skids with a sheet of plywood next to them hid a cut out hole that Keith slipped through with ease having done it hundreds of times before.

From a distance, the warehouse looked completely abandoned but as he drew closer Keith could hear the heavy bass from the music inside the warehouse that rattled what was remaining of the windows that were boarded up from the inside by plywood and 2 by 4s where dim light peaked between small cracks. Keith approached the side door and carefully pushed it open. The broken chain rattled from the movement as he stepped inside. The warehouse was cluttered with three cars parked in the middle of it all and indistinct voices came from the metal balcony above. Keith climbed the creaky metal steps to the balcony where a makeshift lounge area of old, tattered furniture was being used by the four people trying to talk over the loud music.

"Hey! It's Crash!" the man across the space facing the top of the stairs said loudly when Keith came into view. It was amazing how quickly all of his anxiety and stress washed away the moment he was planted firmly on the balcony that was so familiar to him it was practically like a second home. "Long time no see there, buddy."

Everyone's attention was on Keith. He was on display but he didn't mind it. He laughed sarcastically as he rocked his head back and forth. "Very funny, Thace," he replied dryly to earn small laughter from the group.

"Oh, come on, don't be bitter," Thace replied with a sing songy voice. "We all missed you. Even bitter beans over there," he explained and pointed to his left to the man sitting in a makeshift bench of milk crates and lawn chair padding.

The man rolled his eyes dramatically before he spoke. "Is it such a good idea for you to be here?" he asked as he shifted slightly on his homemade bench.

"You worried he has a tracker up his ass or something, Regris?" Thace asked.

"I wouldn't put it past his den mothers," the man replied with a low grumble.

Keith scoffed softly. "My den mothers are fast asleep. They have no idea I'm even gone," he explained and walked over to sit in the empty questionable looking chair that may or may not have been able to hold his weight at a cursory glance but merely let out a strained groan underneath him.

"Where have you been the last two weeks?" Thace leaned forward to ask.

"House arrest. I'm on parole so I've got to stay as far away from trouble as possible," Keith explained with a sharp scoff. "It's ridiculous. Immediate jailtime if I'm caught doing anything illegal and they even impounded my car."

"They impounded Red? Well, when do you get her back?" the only female in the group, Acxa, asked from the long couch across the space from Keith. She seemed anxious and would pinch her bottom lip between her teeth when Keith met her gaze.

"Not until my assigned counsellor says so. She's this British chick with a really bubbly personality. I'm not worried though, I basically just need to make her think that I'm a changed man and that I have no intention of being a danger to society and she'll hand me back the keys," Keith explained smugly.

"And just how the hell do you intend on doing that?" Thace asked suspiciously.

"I just have to do what she says long enough. I'll agree with her nagging and pretend I'm living a better, crimefree life until she's satisfied enough to deem me no longer a menace to society. So I'll do whatever she wants until I get the keys to Red back and finally get the hell away from this city," Keith explained with a bitter tone.

"What do you have against this city?" Thace asked. "You've got your family here. Unless there's trouble at home with the den mothers."

Keith scoffed. "I've always been the outcast. The orphan who Shiro took pity on and has to take care of out of obligation more than anything else," he explained. "Trust me, he'll be glad when I'm finally gone from his life. No more living with the delinquent out to ruin his life."

"Wow, that's so sad," Thace said with a low tone. "In a pathetic sort of way, of course."

"As sympathetic as always," Keith replied sarcastically.

"Alright, enough," the man sitting next to Acxa finally spoke up. He had been quiet throughout the conversation and when he spoke he instantly had everyone's undivided attention. He was a larger man than everyone else and spoke with a fierce intensity that could make anyone show instant respect. "Do whatever the hell you need to in order to get back here to us. I need my best driver back. Do you understand?"

Keith pinched his lips together tightly as he nodded. "Yes, Kolivan," he replied in a flat tone.

"Good," the man growled and stood to leave the group. His heavy footsteps thumped down the metal stairs away from sight. Keith was tense in his seat. He felt an overwhelming guilt like he had let the monotone speaking man down.

"Hey," Acxa spoke up. Keith's attention slowly moved to her and she smiled half-heartedly like she was afraid he'd snap at the smallest bit of comfort. "We're all glad you're okay. Even him."

Thace hummed lightly as he rocked is head back and forth. "Well, as alright as you're capable of," he added in a low voice that made Keith shift his attention to glare at him.

"Screw off, Thace."

~/~

"So, Keith," the woman with unusual white hair tied up in a tight bun said as she shifted in her seat. She closed her notebook to rest it on her lap as she twisted her pen between her nimble fingers. The clock behind her head was ticking slowly. An hour was far too long but it was almost over. Just a bit longer. "We are coming to the end of our fifth session," she finished, each word highlighted by the accent she had.

"Only fifth?" Keith replied sternly from the middle of the loveseat. It was firm and uncomfortable but Keith didn't mind it since it was nothing compared to how uncomfortable he felt talking to the prying woman across the coffee table from him.

"Yep," she replied with a wide smile. "How do you feel?"

Keith was nodding slowly. "I'm feeling good. My arm doesn't hurt as much anymore." He explained as he lifted his hand to wiggle his fingers briefly before allowing his arms to return to being crossed tightly over his chest. "Plus, I've been spending a lot of time thinking about myself and what I want and I think I'm finally at a place where I'm happy with myself and the path I'm going down. I really feel like I'm getting my life together, you know? It's not easy, just like you said Dr. Allura, but I'm getting there. Step by step, day by day."

What absolute horseshit, he thought to himself and even the voice in his head had a smug tone that made him proud of himself.

The woman was smiling from across the space where only the coffee table and Keith's skepticism sat between them. There was something off about the counsellor's smile as she stared at Keith. She didn't move for a moment which made him incredibly anxious until he almost spoke but stopped when she suddenly sat forward to drop her notebook on the coffee table with a dull thud. "That has got to be the biggest pile of bullshit I've been fed in quite some time," she said bluntly, catching Keith completely off guard. It was almost as if she read it straight from his mind.

"I—I'm sorry?" he responded confusingly. The stutter was unexpected and made him silently curse himself.

"Keith, did you really think that you could tell me a couple of lies and get your car back so you could go back out and be street menace by the end of the week?" Dr. Allura asked bluntly. There was a shift in her usually sunshiny voice that made Keith nervous. She had never sounded so serious in the time he had known her.

"I—I don't—um—," he stammered. He was done for.

"You're on parole, Keith. That means your life is under a microscope. I have access to everyone you know. Shiro, Adam, and any friends you may have, even your racing buddies if I really want to get creative," the woman explained and sat back in her seat with her arms laid over the arms of the chair. "Shiro speaks very highly of your intelligence but says you lack discipline. Adam believes you have a very caring heart but you are too afraid to show it. Both observations fall very close with my own observations I've made over the last five sessions. You're a good person, you have an intelligent mind, and you have lots of potential to do great things. I can see you could be destined to do those great things with just a bit of hard work and determination. Overall, I can assess that you are a genuinely good human being but you lack reason. You lack the will to go out there and do anything with your life. Even now with your—we'll call it a hobby—taken away from you, you refuse to do anything. You sit at home boring yourself to death as if you think I'll miraculously give in to your quick wit and charm."

Keith rolled his eyes. He tightened his crossed arms over his chest as he sunk down further in the sofa. "What I lack is a shit to give about all of this," he muttered bitterly.

Dr. Allura's smile shifted along with her head that tilted the opposite way. "Good. I think that's actually the most genuine emotion I've managed to get out of you since the start of all this," she explained. Her smile grew on her face when Keith's dark eyes met hers which only annoyed him more. He scoffed and let his eyes roll again. "Alright. I see that the soft, easy-going nature is starting to wear away so let's try something else." There was a harshness to the woman's tone even though she was still smiling which made Keith even more nervous. "How about you tell me about your parents, Keith," Dr. Allura said bluntly.

It came completely out of left field and slammed into Keith like a freight train. His body tensed and his breath hitched in his throat. He was completely caught off guard. He immediately looked away from the bright blue eyes that actually had rings of unusual violet around the pupils. Anger formed on Keith's face when he finally managed to catch his breath. "That's none of your business," he growled bitterly.

"You're right, it's not, but I know that if you learned to open up a bit then you wouldn't feel the need to distance yourself from everyone around you like you do," she explained. Keith's shoulders shrugged up high as if he was thinking it would hide him. "I want to see real change in you, Keith. I want to see the walls you have built up torn down. I want to see you understand that you're not alone here. I want to see you care about yourself and your future. This is your new start in life and I'm not about to sit around and watch you let it go to waste."

"Why the hell is everyone so caught up on this second chance, new life crap?" Keith muttered quietly under his breath.

"What was that?" Dr. Allura asked pryingly.

Keith finally shifted his eyes back to look at her. Her eyes were wide and full of curiosity. Keith forced down the bundle of nerves that sat in his throat as he sat up, finding just a bit of bravery dug down deep in his chest. "Look, Doc, the thing is, you need to have a past in order to have a future. So, you're wasting your time here with me," he retaliated coldly but Dr. Allura didn't flinch. "I have no past which means I also have no chance of a future."

The white-haired woman sat forward again to rest her elbows on her knees as she threaded her fingers together. Her thin eyebrows were knitted together curiously as her head tilted forward slightly. The angling gave her a darkened expression as she stared up through her eyelashes at Keith. "Do you truly believe that?" she asked softly.

"I do," Keith snapped and was suddenly on his feet. "Just like I believe that this is all a big waste of time. You might as well just throw me in jail and leave me there because there's nothing else you're going to get from me."

Heavy footsteps thumped across the floor towards the door. "Are you afraid that if you show you care that you'll be abandoned again?" Another freight train blew through Keith. He stopped with his shaky hand on the handle of the door. He turned his head slightly but didn't meet the woman's gaze. "It's better to feel nothing than to feel excruciating pain, correct?"

Keith's heart was hammering in his chest. "You don't know anything," he managed to say quietly under his breath through the anger that was bellowing up in his throat.

"Of course I don't. I don't know exactly what your life has been like with two men in your life who so obviously care about you and want to see you have a long, happy life. I don't know you, Keith, but I do know that you are worth more than a dead end road before your life has even begun," Dr. Allura explained.

There was nothing else said. Keith knew that if he even tried that he wouldn't be able to keep his voice steady. He lost. Dr. Allura leaned back in her seat to allow Keith to leave, slamming the door shut behind him. The tension immediately broke away when there was something put between them, but that didn't stop the words from rattling around inside his mind as he tried to put as much distance between him and the woman.

"Where do you think you're going?" Adam asked from the doorway into the kitchen. Keith was putting on his shoes with his back facing the other man. He didn't say anything. He had raced home as quickly as he could to pack up whatever he could in a bag. He hadn't expected Adam to be home but it didn't matter. He couldn't stay. He couldn't deal with the tiptoeing and pity filled stares. He had to get away. "Keith, answer me."

"Enough, Adam," Keith growled quietly.

"Keith," Adam snapped. Keith ignored the obvious worried tone. He reached down for his bag sitting on the floor but was suddenly grabbed by the arm to be spun around. Adam's hands grabbed onto his shoulders to hold him firmly as fingers dug into his flesh. "Keith, stop! What are you doing? Why won't you talk to me? Tell me what's going on and I'll—"

"Don't," Keith snapped back and gave Adam a small shove against his chest as he took a small step back. His expression was stiff with frustration. "What do you think you're doing, Adam? Do you think you're my dad? Do you think you're my brother? Well, you're not. We're not family, so stop acting like you care."

Adam's eyebrow furrowed behind his glasses. "It doesn't matter what I am. It doesn't matter if we're family or not. What matters is that I care about you and I don't want to see you get hurt again."

"Well, you won't have to worry about that anymore," Keith said as he reached down to grab his bag and then threw open the door. A phone started to ring from behind Adam. His eyes shifted behind his glasses and he was visibly torn. "Tell Shiro he can finally sleep knowing he doesn't have to worry about me anymore."

"Wh—What? Keith, what are you—?" Adam stuttered. His phone continued to ring loudly from the other room.

"You better get that. It's probably work," Keith replied dryly and stepped out of the apartment to let the door shut loudly behind him. He felt a wave of anxiety rush over him but he pushed it aside to start down the hall. With each step his heart slammed itself painfully against his ribcage. His hands tightened around the straps of his bag to the point his knuckles turned white. He couldn't get his head wrapped around his thoughts. There was a storm inside his brain that only calmed when he heard the familiar voice shout from back down the narrow hall.

"Keith!" Adam shouted. Keith stopped in his tracks. He wasn't sure why. His body reacted before he could. He spun around expecting anger or frustration or maybe even some confusion, but instead he was met with utter panic on the other man's face as he stood holding onto his phone with a shaking hand. His eyes were wide and watery. He was on the edge of crying. "Keith, it's Shiro."

Three words filled with so much angst and worry that completely flipped Keith upside down. He was suddenly racing through the streets in Adam's sedan as the brunet was trying desperately to reach anyone through his phone. It wasn't until they were standing in the middle of the hospital hallway facing a group of police officers that it all suddenly hit Keith. The officer that Keith recognized instantly carefully pushed through the small group and was moving towards him and Adam.

"Officer Iverson, what—what's—?" Keith was trying to say but his shaking voice made him stop. He couldn't push through it, no matter how hard he tried.

"He was pursuing some criminals who had broken into a jewellery store. A car racing through a red light clipped the back of his cruiser. He rolled. There was a lot of bleeding and the doctor is worried there may be some internal bleeding as well," the man explained calmly. It was the only way to keep Adam from bursting into hysterical sobbing that he had been holding back since the moment he got the call. "At this point in time, we don't know much more than that. But I want you both to know, we are here for you."

"Thank you, Iverson," Adam replied in a low voice as he slowly nodded.

They all waited in the small waiting room full of chairs and a television mounted in the corner playing an old cartoon. One of the officers was fast asleep in one of the chairs, Adam was holding onto a Styrofoam cup staring into its empty contents having finished it long before, Officer Iverson was pacing enough to leave a rut in the old carpet, and Keith couldn't take his eyes off the brunet in front of him who looked like he was struggling to keep himself together. They hadn't said anything since they left the apartment in a panicked rush even though there was so much to say. It was past one o'clock and everyone was getting antsy. Keith finally pushed himself up to his feet to step towards the brunet man.

"Adam," he said in a low voice. He reached out to touch his fingers against the Styrofoam cup as large hazel eyes looked up at him. "I'll get you some more water." The man nodded slowly and let go of the cup so Keith could take it away. The younger man took a step back but didn't move before he added, "He'll be alright." That earned a wide eyed look from Adam. "It's Shiro, he always pulls through."

Adam's eyes weren't as wide as he smiled from the one corner of his mouth. It was soft and he was still full of worry and angst, but there was a flicker of hope that made Keith's heart finally settle in his chest. The fountain was out in the hallway and poured out slightly chilled water into the Styrofoam cup. Keith rubbed his tired eyes with the knuckles of his hand. His eyes were heavy but he couldn't bring himself to sleep no matter how much Iverson ordered him to. He pulled the cup out from under the running water and was about to turn back to the room but stopped himself when he heard soft whispering from nearby.

"Keith," the voice hissed. His eyebrows narrowed together at the sound of the familiar voice calling out his name. He quickly turned his head to see Acxa standing at the end of the hall peaking around the corner.

"Acxa, what are you doing here?" Keith asked, his voice wasn't quite as quiet as hers as he moved down the hall towards her. "Why are you whispering?"

Acxa shook her head rapidly. "How's Shiro?" she whispered when he was only a few steps away.

Keith sighed softly. "I don't know. He's in surgery still. The doctor's been too busy to—," he was explaining but stopped himself abruptly. His face contorted into heavy confusion. "Wait, Acxa, how did you know Shiro was here?" The young woman visibly bit her bottom lip as she looked away. Keith's confusion quickly shifted to anger. "Acxa, why are you here?" Keith had taken a step forward. The sudden movement made Acxa's body tense.

"It was an accident," she blurted out and wrapped her arms around herself as if she was cold. "It was an accident, Keith."

"What was an accident?" Keith's hand twitched as he tried to hold back crushing the cup in his grip. "Acxa, what are you talking about?" he snapped and the girl's face darkened as she frowned heavily. Keith's entire body shivered. "Who hit him?" he asked bitterly.

"Keith—," Acxa said with a heavy sigh as she looked away. Her hair hid the solemn expression on her face.

Keith's free hand was suddenly grabbing tightly onto her arm. Her head quickly whipped around to stare up at him with wide eyes. "Who hit him?" he asked again, spacing out his words as he stressed each of them.

"Thace," she finally answered. "It was Thace, but he didn't mean to. It was an accident."

Keith's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Did he stay?" he asked bitterly. The sharp hiss to his tone was full of venom. Acxa stammered incoherently over her words. "Did he stay or did he leave Shiro bleeding in the street? Answer the damn question, Acxa!"

"They would have arrested him! It would have been the third time, you know that. He couldn't stay," she explained all in one breath that left her panting heavily.

Keith scoffed as he slowly shook his head. He let go of Acxa's arm and took a large step back. "Get out of here, Acxa," he ordered quietly.

"No, I want to stay here. I want to make sure he's—," she started to say.

"Go away," Keith snapped, cutting her off. "I don't want you here and there are cops all over who are looking for someone to blame for this. Leave before I give you up as the scapegoat."

Tears formed before she could quickly turn away. She was a few quick steps away before she stopped. The sudden silence of her footsteps caught Keith's attention but he didn't look up. "We miss you, Keith. Please, come back to us soon," Acxa turned to say down the hall.

Keith scoffed loudly. He slowly shook his head and disappeared around the corner to press his back against the wall. His hand was up to cover his mouth. He couldn't move. His body was shaking. He had to try to catch his breath before he could return to the room of anxious police officers who would be able to see through his lying in a split second. He couldn't think about it. He had to go back, to wait for Shiro. He pushed the thoughts out of his mind with a small shake of his head.

"Here you go," he said as he handed the cup to Adam.

The man took it with a small nod but didn't take a drink out of it. Keith swallowed down the bundle of nerves that had suddenly formed in his throat. He was ready to speak. Not about Acxa or Thace, but about everything else. He wanted to spill it all, but stopped when the door suddenly opened. Iverson smacked the knee of the sleeping officer who woke with a loud snort. Everyone in the room turned their attention to the doctor standing in the doorway looking just as tired as them all. Keith was pretty sure there wasn't a single breath to fill the room as everyone waited patiently for the one thing they all wanted to hear.

Keith and Adam sat in the armchairs next to the bed. Soft rhythmic beeping filled the room from the monitor. Keith felt strange being in the room that looked identical to the one he was in for days after his accident. Adam was holding onto Shiro's hand as he laid his head on the bed to close his eyes. Keith could have done the same but he refused to do it. There was no way he was going to close his eyes for a second more than a blink.

Keith was watching closely as the clock was ticking closer to eight o'clock. It had been hours since the doctor came to the waiting room. The man was exhausted but optimistic which was never good to Keith. Optimism led to disappointment. He heard the soft shuffling and a small groan as he was lost in the scrambled thoughts in his mind. His head quickly whipped around and he was on his feet. "Shiro?" he said louder than he had anticipated. Adam's eyes fluttered opened as Shiro swallowed and licked his dry lips. "Shiro!"

"Ugh, don't yell," the bruised man replied hoarsely. "My head is—," he started to explain as his shoulder shifted but stopped. His eyes suddenly widened as much as they possibly could. Adam was holding tightly on to his hand as he tried to hold back the tears. Keith was amazed the man had held on as long as he did. Shiro slowly lifted his head to turn to look to his right at the empty space beside his torso.

"Shiro, the doctor said they did everything they could but your arm was too badly damaged in the crash to save," Keith found himself explaining. He couldn't quite wrap his head around the words as they came out of the doctor's mouth, but standing there looking at the shocked look on Shiro's face it all too real and believable to him. Shiro slowly let his head rest back against the pillow. His eyes were still wide and unblinking. "They fixed your internal bleeding and the wound on the back of your head was nothing more than a laceration that didn't hit your skull, but they couldn't save your arm."

Adam finally sobbed. He stifled it quickly with his hand but he couldn't hide the tears that rolled down his cheeks. Shiro was surprisingly quiet. He didn't say anything for a long time until the doctor finally came back to the room. He only asked questions and the doctor patiently answered each and every one with a calm tone that blanketed the room. Keith listened for as long as he could before he had to leave. He needed air. He needed space. He needed to breathe.

"Keith," Adam called out down the hall. Keith's heart threw itself against his ribcage. He couldn't bring himself to turn around. "I didn't feel like I had a place to say this before, but now I can," Adam said with a slightly shaky voice. He had calmed his crying but he was still in the aftereffects of the quiet sobbing he did as he clutched on to Shiro's only hand. "Stay," he demanded sternly. Keith's shoulders tensed. "Stay with us. Not for me. Not for yourself. Stay for Shiro. He's going to need both of us now more than ever. So please, don't leave."

Keith slowly turned so he was facing the man struggling to keep himself standing upright with his exhaustion. His eyes were painfully red and his hair was a tangled mess. Guilt filled Keith's chest and in a quick flash he was suddenly blurting out words that was nowhere near what he was thinking. "I'm not going anywhere, Adam. I promise."

~/~

"Morning, Lazybones!" Keith groaned as the curtains on his window were opened to let in the harsh morning light across his face. He rolled over, pulling his comforter over his head to shield out the light. "Jeez, I'm the one with one less limb and yet you're the one moping around the house day in and out."

Keith scoffed. "That's because you're not human," he muttered from under the warm covers of his bed. The cold had hit early and Shiro hated when the apartment was too warm so the room would drop to an insanely cold temperature in the middle of the night, hence the pile of blankets that formed a mountain over Keith.

"Of course I'm not. How else would I put up with you?" Shiro replied and the bed shifted next to Keith. "Come on, I want to talk to you about something." Keith groaned long and loud. A hand smacked his thigh which would have hurt if not for the extra padding on top of him.

"Alright, already!" Keith snapped loudly. The comforter fell from him as he sat up. His long hair was a tangled mess on his head as it blocked the majority of his tired, half-awake face.

Shiro tried to stifled the laugh that tried to force its way from his chest. "Wow, that's sexy."

"What do you want?" Keith snapped impatiently. It was the first time in a while that he had been awake before noon and he was already feeling the affects.

"Well, I know you've been feeling kind of down with nothing to do lately but I think I've come up with a way for you to spend your time," Shiro explained. He could barely contain the excitement that made his lips stretch wide across his face. Keith was suspicious of that smile. His eyes narrowed and he could see the older man was holding onto something beside him but couldn't make out exactly what it was.

"I'm enjoying sitting at home taking care of you," Keith explained sarcastically as he ruffled his hair roughly and let the tips of his fingers rub against his scalp.

Shiro scoffed exceptionally loud. "More like you enjoy sitting around while I take care of you," he explained bitterly.

"You have to get used to your prosthesis and the best way to get used to it is to use it as much as possible," the younger man explained with a crooked grin that made Shiro rolled his eyes. It wasn't entirely wrong. The metal arm was a prototype made with high range mobility but a few bugs. Shiro struggled at first but his scary optimism and positive attitude made him quickly adapt to the new situation. Shiro lifted his hand suddenly to shove the piece of paper against Keith's chest before he stood. "What is this?" Keith asked quizzically as he flattened the crumpled paper. His eyes widened as he let them scan over the paper.

"Matt says it's a difficult program. There's no room to slack off but I know you can do it, Keith," Shiro explained.

Keith's throat was instantly dry. He felt like he had a mouth full of sand that was quickly filling up his lungs. "I—I don't know," he replied in a low voice as he set the paper down on his lap. "Shiro, I don't—I'm not—"

"You know the finances aren't an issue. The fund is sitting there waiting for you to use. There is nothing holding you back from making this decision except yourself," Shiro explained, his hands perched on his hips. "Look, Keith, I've been quiet up until now—"

"You have?" Keith retaliated sarcastically and couldn't help the tiny grin that formed on his face.

"—but I think it's time to invoke tough love," the older man continued without skipping a beat. "I have let you get away with whatever you wanted, which was illegal so I get double points for being an awesome guardian for letting that happen." Keith rolled his eyes dramatically. "Now you have to focus on the future. You need to do something that you'll enjoy and that you'll be proud of and I think this could be it."

"Shiro, all I've done is screw things up. I don't exactly have the best track record for being someone to rely on," Keith explained bluntly. Shiro stepped forward and he started to reach up with his prosthetic arm but stopped himself. It was a habit and one he was trying to break daily. He let his other hand press heavily on the younger man's shoulder. The physical contact magnified the desperation Shiro was trying to do emotionally.

"No one is relying on you. This is for you, Keith," he replied caringly. "This was your dream as a kid. You spent all day with your mind in the clouds, why not do something about it?"

Keith frowned as his eyes moved over the artificial metal of Shiro's right arm. No one was arrested even though Iverson was bound and determined to find whoever had Shiro in the hospital for almost three weeks. Shiro refused though. He said he didn't want the hassle but in reality a small part of him did it for Keith. He knew there was something the dark-haired young man was hiding in his cold silence. For Keith, that only made everything worst. He was living with a secret that kept him awake at night and he had no one to tell.

"Can you at least try?" Shiro asked. The tone in his voice was small, like he was begging Keith. The way his dark eyes stared at Keith with such fierce intensity made the younger man groan in the back of his throat. The small grin on Shiro's face was instant. He had won. It wasn't surprising. If there was one thing he was good at, it was wearing down Keith. Keith would never win, no matter how hard he tried. There was no stopping the inevitable.

Little did he know, the wrinkled piece of paper on his lap was the marker for is beginning of a completely new path. Nothing was ever going to be the same again as he muttered, "Yeah, I'll try."