I was halfway through writing the next chapter of anomalous point when this idea hit me like a freight train and refused to let go. So I went ahead and wrote it! This is as much an age swap between Keith and Shiro as it is a partial roleswap- Keith is the one who goes on the Kerberos mission, but they keep their canon lions, so Shiro is still black paladin and Keith is still the red paladin. Champion Keith!

But this isn't what *this* fic's about- this one is about before all that. I wanted to write how they would meet in this AU, while hinting at backstory for Keith. I'll probably revisit this verse at some point in the future, though I doubt I'll ever write a proper multi-chapter fic for it. Just oneshots probably!

leo, of first meetings

The first time he saw him, Shiro thought he was seeing things.

There was no other reason for someone to be perched on the edge of one of the tall guard towers that flanked the Garrison's perimeter. Especially not someone who wasn't in a guard uniform, or any discernible uniform at all. He was pretty sure those were off limits to anyone who wasn't a guard, or at least someone very important.

He looked away for exactly a second to tell his dad, but when he looked back, the person was gone. He blinked, squinted, but looking closer didn't cause the mysterious figure to resurface, so after a moment's thought, he put it out of his mind. He'd barely had any sleep on the flight over, so the jetlag was starting to get to him.

He didn't know it then, but that would become his first encounter with Keith Kogane.

It wouldn't be his last.

Life at the Garrison was an adjustment.

He'd never lived in a dormitory setting before, and he'd never been this far away from home before either. His parents had wanted him to train at a Garrison campus a bit closer to where they lived- close being a relative term, seeing as the base closest to his home wasn't even located in the same country. He'd insisted on this one, though- and for good reason.

This was the Galaxy Garrison's premier base. It was the central hub of all Garrison activities, where the best pilots went to train, and where the newest ships were designed, built, and tested. And since he had the scholarship and all, he wasn't about to put it to waste.

Legends came out of this base- and Shiro wanted to be one of those legends.

That said, the adjustment was... difficult at first. More difficult than he had expected. It wasn't the military setting he had a problem with- he was used to getting up early, and generally didn't have a problem following orders. Honestly, he didn't even know what it was. He just felt out of place, awkward. He struggled to make any real friends- outside of his roommate, that was.

He'd been nervous about having one initially, worried that they wouldn't get along. But Adam Warner had dashed all of those fears, and the two of them became fast friends almost before either of them realized it. Adam had arrived on campus a month prior to Shiro- something about family circumstances, circumstances that he hadn't quite built up the courage to ask about just yet.

That one month had not been wasted. Adam was deeply familiar with the base- or at least, the parts first year cadets were allowed in- and a few they weren't. He wasted no time in showing Shiro around, helping him get the lay of the place. He wasn't exactly terrible with directions, but he definitely would have gotten lost at least once or twice without Adam's help.

It wasn't just places Adam knew, it was also people. There were their flight instructors, Lieutenants Kinkade and Leifsdottir, and the two more advanced flight instructors, James Griffin and Nadia Rizavi, both of whom were also lieutenants. He was surprised by how young they all were- only twenty-two. According to Adam, it wasn't exactly uncommon for recently graduated cadets to help instruct the new generation of cadets.

Not that they weren't talented. Griffin in particular had already broken a few records, and was just shy of being the best pilot at the Garrison.

"So if he's the Garrison's second best pilot," Shiro began, innocently enough, "-who's the best?"

"That's Keith." Adam told him.

"Keith?" Shiro repeated. No rank, no title- just his first name. It struck him as being a little odd. "Is he one of the fighter pilots?"

"Not exactly." Adam said. "Technically he's not with the Garrison at all. He's a mercenary that Commander Holt hired to test his experimental prototypes. Came on a few months ago."

Shiro frowned a bit at that. He knew that the Garrison sometimes brought civilian pilots into its ranks, but a mercenary? He'd never heard of the Garrison bringing in a mercenary before.

"Which one is Commander Holt again?" Shiro asked.

"The one with the gray hair and the glasses." Adam told him.

Shiro's frown deepened. "Adam, I don't know if you've noticed, but there's more than one officer here with gray hair and glasses."

"He's the nice one." Adam supplied.

"Ah." Shiro said, suddenly understanding exactly who he meant- or at least, which one he didn't. "That one."

"That one." Adam echoed. "It was a pretty unpopular decision. Apparently the commander found the guy while he was touring war zones as a part of the Garrison's relief efforts."

Shiro grimaced a bit at that. "You'd think after three world wars, people would be kind of tired of them."

"You'd think." Adam agreed. "Anyways, long story short, Commander Holt saw him fly and was so impressed he invited him to the Garrison. All without consulting Admiral Sanda or anyone else in the upper chain of command, of course. I don't know if he just didn't expect the guy to take him up on the offer or if he just didn't care about the consequences."

"He's good though, right?" Shiro asked. "I mean, he kind of has to be if he's a test pilot."

Maybe it worked differently in other places, but at the Galaxy Garrison, only the best of the best got to be test pilots. It was also an extremely dangerous job, one that held none of the other glamours that were usually associated with being a pilot, so most people turned such offers down. But then he guessed compared to being a mercenary pilot, being a test pilot had to be like a walk in the park.

"Oh, he's better than just good." Adam said, arching his brows. "And get this- he's the same age as Lieutenant Griffin and the others. Word is that he even used to go to the same middle school as him back in the day."

"The same- he's twenty two!?" Shiro asked.

How did someone even end up as a mercenary at twenty two? And a pilot, no less! Whoever this guy was, he'd either been born in the cockpit of a plane, or he was just some kind of natural.

Adam shrugged. "I wouldn't mention him around Lieutenant Griffin though. It's kind of a sore subject for him."

"Duly noted." Shiro said. "So how did Commander Holt even convince the admiral to employ him? She doesn't exactly seem like the kind of person I want to cross."

He'd only really seen the Admiral once, during initiation, but she'd given off a very stern, no-nonsense impression. Her frown lines alone made it look like she hadn't smiled in years, if ever.

"Apparently, he's just good enough that she accepted him through gritted teeth." Adam said. "It helps that he basically only shows up when there's actually work for him."

"Huh," Shiro tilted his head, suddenly struck with curiosity, "-so what does he do the rest of the time?"

"Beats me." Adam shook his head. "Guy's an enigma. Even Commander Holt doesn't know where he lives. Just contacts him by phone."

"Do you know when he might be coming to the base next?" Shiro asked.

"No clue." Adam said, then paused, studying him. "Why do you ask?"

"I just thought it might be interesting to see him fly." Shiro said, somewhat unsure himself why he'd asked. "Know what I was up against."

Adam chuckled, ducking his head in a vain attempt to hide his laughter. "Already determined to make your mark, huh? Maybe worry about me first, Shirogane."

Shiro grinned at that. "Only if you give me something to worry about, Warner."

"Oh," Adam grinned right back, "-it's on now."

"Race you to the simulators?" Shiro asked.

"Only if you're ready to eat my dust." Adam taunted.

"Sorry," Shiro's grin grew, "-I'm on a strict dust free diet."

It wasn't until he first saw Keith that he realized that he had been the person he'd seen sitting outside of the guard tower- and that it hadn't just been some kind of jetlag induced mirage.

All of the cadets had been gathered outside, a safe distance away from the testing site. They were testing a new propulsion system, one that was supposedly vital for ensuring the success of an upcoming deep space mission, the destination of which the Garrison had yet to reveal. The system was supposed to ensure even faster travel than before, but with all such things, they had to test it first.

If it worked, it would be a massive breakthrough- one that could change space travel as they knew it.

Someone had the foresight to bring along binoculars, which were being passed from cadet to cadet. He took them eagerly when it was his turn, but it wasn't the ship he was looking at, but rather, the person who was supposed to fly it.

He was wearing a standard Garrison issue pressure suit, but that ponytail of his was definitely anything but standard issue. It hung over one shoulder, the stark black color of his hair offsetting the white and gray of his pressure suit. His skin was pale, and he briefly reminded Shiro of a vampire- except for the part that he was out under the bright light of the sun, and that vampires weren't real.

He was also wasn't tall as he'd been expecting. He wasn't short- more on the taller side of average, taller than him, at least. His build was lean, in a way that wouldn't have suggested muscle were he in anything other than a pressure suit.

Just then, he looked up, turning away from Commander Holt and towards the viewing platform. Shiro felt his heart stop, because it felt like he was looking directly at him. Jerking the binoculars away, he tried- and failed- to pass them nonchalantly over to the next cadet. Thankfully said cadet was Hunk Garrett, so he didn't make too much of a fuss about it.

Keith looked away again, turning back to the commander. He didn't look towards them again, just nodded along to everything Commander Holt said. After a few minutes, the commander gave him a pat on the shoulder, saluted, and was on his way- presumably to somewhere a bit safer than standing right next to a ship that was about to take off.

Keith watched him go, before pulling on his helmet, and boarding the plane. Shiro watched with great interest as he prepped for launch, still more interested in the ship's pilot, than he was in the ship itself. He'd never met a mercenary before- he wondered just how skilled he really was, to attract the attention of one of the Galaxy Garrison's foremost engineers.

He got his answer soon enough.

He still remembered the first time he realized he wanted to be a pilot- and the reason why he wanted to join the Garrison, above any other space program. Reading about the Calypso mission had lit a fire under him, and before he knew it, he was consuming everything he could find about it- and then later, the Galaxy Garrison as a whole. Right then and there, he knew that was what he wanted to do with his life, and that nothing else could possibly ever compare.

He felt that spark again now.

He watched as Keith's plane vanished out of sight, his heart beating loudly in his ears. Someday- someday he'd be able to do that too. He'd be able to fly ships he could never even dream of, go deeper into space than anyone else had, explore the unknown... the possibilities were endless, and suddenly the future felt so bright.

While space itself was still out of his reach, he was a cadet now. Which meant someday, that really would be him up there.

Someday couldn't come soon enough.

"The most important thing to keep in mind is- Kogane, what are you doing here?"

Shiro blinked, lifting his head. It wasn't like Lieutenant Griffin to pause mid-lecture. He also wasn't used to hearing him sound so annoyed. He understood a little better once he saw what- or rather, who- the source of his annoyance was.

"Thought I would come watch." Keith said. "Got a problem, Griffin?"

A hushed murmur went through the crowd- all of the first year cadets were now five months into their training, which was more than enough time to become familiar with who Keith was. Still, for the most part they only ever saw him from a distance- he had only limited clearance around the base, and was usually in the company of at least someone from upper command, most commonly Commander Holt, but occasionally the job was passed to Iverson.

Today he was alone, leaning against the wall of the simulator room. His arms were crossed in front of him, and he was watching the proceedings with keen interest. He stuck out like a sore thumb, being the only person in the room not in some kind of uniform. His dark red aviator's jacket looked like it would be massively uncomfortable out in the desert heat, but he'd caught glimpses of him out there before, and it never seemed to bother him much. His combat boots were made out of the same type of leather, and his black jeans looked like the kind that had naturally worn themselves down, rather than the kind that were just made to look that way.

The chain of what looked to be dog tags were tucked underneath his black shirt. It wasn't hard to guess that they weren't Garrison issue, but probably belonged to whatever mercenary unit he'd used to work for before this.

His eyes, in this light, looked nearly purple.

"That's Lieutenant Griffin to you, Kogane." James said shortly. "Does Admiral Sanda know you're here?"

"Commander Holt does." Keith shrugged. "He's the one who gave me permission."

"Yeah?" James challenged. "Maybe I should go ask him."

Keith looked unperturbed, sticking his hands- clad in red, fingerless gloves- into his jacket. "Fine by me."

James glared at him for a second longer, before he heaved a frustrated sigh. Since he hadn't even flinched, he must have been telling the truth. "Fine. But just stay out of the way."

"Had no plans to get in the way." Keith said. "It's the big promotion test, right? Wouldn't want to blow someone's chances."

James frowned, clearly still unhappy about this, but apparently not willing to go up against Commander Holt. "Good. As long as you know."

"Carry on, cadets." Keith lifted a hand, giving them an obviously mock salute. He sensed that it was meant to irritate the lieutenant more than it was meant to mock them, though.

It certainly seemed to work, though. James grumbled, clenching his fists before he composed himself, drawing in a deep breath. Straightening his collar, the lieutenant looked back towards them, and then proceeded to continue as if he had never been interrupted. "As I was saying, the most important thing to keep in mind about this test is-"

Shiro's gaze lingered on Keith for a second longer, before he turned back towards the lieutenant. As curious as he was about the ex-mercenary, this was an important test for him. If he made a good score, he'd be promoted into the fighter class- anyone who didn't make good marks would be left behind as a cargo pilot. He wanted to avoid that at all costs, and though he had confidence in his own skills, there were only so many slots available, and there were an awful lot of talented pilots here.

He had to be sure he was one of the ones to get in.

He didn't notice that Keith had caught his earlier gaze, and was now looking in his direction. He just anxiously waited for his name to be called, trying to both calm himself down and hype himself up at the same time. He could do this- he had the talent, and he'd worked just as hard as anyone else to get here. His scholarship was proof of the blood, sweat, and tears he'd put into it all.

"Patience yields focus." He mumbled underneath his breath.

Adam, who was standing next to him, frowned, tilting his head. "What's that?"

Looking over towards him, Shiro gave him a small smile. "Some advice my grandfather gave me."

"What, you nervous, Shirogane?" Adam asked.

Shiro just snorted, the edges of his lips quirking upwards in a grin. "And you're not?"

"Okay, point taken." Adam admitted. "Doesn't help that my name's dead last on the list of people to go. I wish they were doing this by first name."

Shiro snorted, looking up towards James. He had just called for another cadet to come up- Lance McClain, who was normally one of the louder, more boastful kids in the class. He was dead quiet now, almost grim as he made his way into the simulator- testament to just how nerve racking this whole exam process was.

Everyone who was here wanted in the fighter class. Everyone. That was the kind of competition he was up against.

"Hey," Adam said, nudging him in the shoulder, "-you'll be fine. You're the best pilot here."

He opened his mouth to thank Adam, but he pressed on, not giving Shiro a chance to speak. "You know, aside from me. Think I'll be taking that number one spot."

Shiro felt his grin grow, and his nerves lessen as a competitive spark flared to life in his chest. "We'll just see about that."

"So you're number one, huh?"

Shiro yelped, pivoting on his heel to try and find who it was that had just spoken. He'd thought he was alone on the roof, but a quick glance upwards told him that wasn't true. Someone had gotten here before him. He just didn't expect it to be Keith Kogane.

"I," Shiro said slowly, trying to recover his broken composure, "-yeah. That's me."

Keith hummed, peering down at him from his perch atop the raised area where the entrance to the roof was located. He was drinking something out of a can, though he set it down next to him, next to a data pad that he had presumably been going over before he'd arrived. He briefly debated quickly excusing himself, not wanting to interrupt, but something compelled Shiro to stay.

Curiosity, maybe.

He'd never seen Keith this close before. Or spoken with him directly, for that matter. Ever since testing day, he'd been seeing him around more often, usually in the company of Commander Holt. They seemed to be discussing something, though nobody knew what. Rumor was that the commander wanted Keith to fly a mission of some kind, though the details about it were shaky.

"You're a scholarship kid, right?" Keith asked.

Shiro blinked, more than a little surprised Keith knew that about him- or knew anything about him at all, for that matter. "Yeah. How did you know?"

"Staff talks about you sometimes." Keith shrugged. "Don't worry. It's mostly good stuff."

Shiro arched a brow. "Mostly?"

"They do talk an awful lot about that mandatory food prep course you failed." Keith said.

Shiro flushed. He'd been trying to forget about that. Cooking had never exactly been his forte, and while the food prep course wasn't so much cooking per say, it was still close enough to it that his usual jinx had applied. He just considered himself lucky that they had put the fire out before it had spread to any of the other stations.

"Right." Shiro said. "That."

Keith picked his can up again, taking a long drink from it. Shiro bit his lip, wondering if he was going to say something else, but it didn't seem like it.

"You're Keith Kogane, right?" Shiro asked, deciding to take a chance.

Maybe he just should have taken his silence as a cue to get out of here. But ex-mercenary or not, Keith... didn't exactly seem dangerous. At least, he didn't give off that vibe. The knife that he wore sheathed at his back challenged that assumption, but he was pretty sure that the Garrison command wouldn't have allowed him to bring it on base if they thought he was actually going to stab someone with it.

"Last I checked." Keith said, in a tone that made it impossible for Shiro to discern if it was meant as a joke or not. "You've heard of me?"

"Everyone has." Shiro said, feeling a bit dumb.

"Mm," Keith frowned, "-guess it's too much to hope that it's all good things."

"They say you're a good pilot." Shiro hastily said. "The best, actually."

Keith snorted, hanging his head. "I don't know about the best, but I am pretty good. You're not so bad yourself. I saw your sim run during that test. You've got a lot of potential."

Shiro beamed at the unexpected praise. "I- thanks. That means a lot."

"Coming from me?" Keith asked, arching a brow.

"Well... yeah." Shiro said. "I've seen you fly before, back during that propulsion test."

Keith frowned, seeming to consider it, before he shrugged his shoulders. Reaching behind him, he picked up another can, giving it a small shake. "Want one?"

Shiro blinked, the sudden offer taking him by surprise. "I'm not old enough to drink."

Keith lightly snorted, throwing the can at him anyways. "It's not beer."

He had to scramble to catch it, and just barely avoided dropping it. Glancing down at the can, he realized Keith was right. It wasn't beer, like he'd assumed it was- it was coffee. The sweet kind at that.

Huh. He hadn't expected that.

"Guess I will, then." Shiro said. "Thanks."

Keith grinned, the expression fainter on him than he was used to on other people. There was a hard set to his eyes that didn't quite go away, even when he smiled. He couldn't help but wonder exactly what kind of life he'd lived up until this point. It had clearly been a hard one, if the wary way he tracked every move he made was any indication.

"You could come up." Keith offered. "View's pretty great."

Shiro arched a brow, turning on his heel to look behind him. The view was good, but he couldn't help but wonder how much better it could possibly be from just a few extra feet. After a moment's thought, he shrugged- who knew? Maybe it was worth checking out.

Tucking the can into the pocket of his cadet uniform, he climbed up the ladder that lead to the small landing. Pulling himself up the rest of the way, he stood up, staring out across the desert. Looking out across the horizon, he suddenly understood what Keith had meant.

If the view from below had been good, then the view from up here was breathtaking.

"You wouldn't think it would make much of a difference, but it does." Keith said, as if he were reading his mind. "Weird, huh?"

"How did you even find this place?" Shiro asked, not pulling his eyes away just yet.

Keith shrugged again. "I just like high places."

Shiro frowned, taking a seat next to him. He cast a glance towards the data pad, but it had been turned off, so he had no way of knowing what was on it. "Is that why you became a pilot?"

"No," Keith said, pausing to take a sip of his coffee, "-I became a pilot because someone thought I had talent. Good reflexes."

"Oh." Shiro frowned, staring at his feet. It dawned on him that he knew next to nothing about Keith, other than rumor and hearsay. "I just thought-"

"I did want to be one though." Keith abruptly cut him off, possibly without even realizing it. "Back in middle school. Just never got the chance."

"What happened?" Shiro asked.

"It's a long story." Keith told him, a finality to his reply that suggested it wasn't a subject he wanted to talk about. "Probably not very interesting either. What about you? What made you want to be a pilot?"

Considering it, Shiro stared down at the can of coffee in his hands. "I read about the Calypso mission in school."

"That's the one where they went to the moons of Jupiter, right?" Keith asked. "They still have the shuttle they used for it tucked away somewhere on the base."

"Yeah, I've seen it." Shiro told him. "It was pretty impressive."

He decided not to mention how he'd been struck speechless at the sight of it. Being that close to something he'd only read about for so long had taken his breath away.

"That your goal?" Keith asked. "Deep space?"

"Yes." Shiro said, resolutely. "I'm getting there, no matter what."

Keith tilted his head, almost seeming to study him for a moment. His eyes looked more blue-gray than purple- he had to wonder if what he'd seen before had just been a trick of the light. He didn't think people could even have purple eyes.

"What about you?" Shiro asked. "You're a test pilot, right? For Commander Holt? That's a pretty dangerous job."

"Better than what I was doing before." Keith looked away from him as he said that, his eyes seeming to vanish behind his bangs. "It's honest work."

Sensing he'd touched on a sore subject, Shiro quickly decided to change it. "So... what are you doing up here?"

"Came to get away from the noise." Keith said. "They'll probably notice I'm missing after awhile, but it takes a lot longer than you'd think."

He didn't question who they was- odds were, it was probably Admiral Sanda and Commander Holt. He bit his lip, tempted to ask about the rumors, but decided against it. He didn't want to make it sound like he was just fishing for information, even if he was curious.

He didn't get the chance, anyways. Keith picked up the data pad and his can of coffee, balancing on the rim of the landing in a way that somehow reminded Shiro of a cat. He finished off the can, tilting his head back to catch the last drop, before he crushed it with one hand, tucking it into his jacket pocket.

"I should probably get going." He said. "Nice talking to you, cadet."

"Nice talking to you, Mister-"

"Keith." Keith cut him off. "You can just call me Keith."

Shiro blinked. "Keith, then. You can call me Shiro."

Keith smiled a bit at that, before he leapt down from the landing, not even bothering to use the ladder. He made it look effortless. He looked back up at him, offering him another mock salute. "Maybe I'll see you around again, Shiro. Good luck with your confession."

Shiro made a strangled sound, his cheeks heating up even as Keith vanished back inside. He'd completely forgotten that the reason he had retreated up to the roof in the first place was to rehearse just that. Keith had heard that!?

Drawing his knees up to his chest, Shiro buried his face in them. Well- at least confessing to Adam couldn't possibly be more embarrassing than this.

God. What a first impression to make.