Everything had finally quieted down after . . . Well, everything.
Lotor turning out to be a double-crossing power-hungry maniacal madman, the destruction of the castle, finding out about Shiro's death and resurrection and now finally returning to Earth.
It was a lot the to take in.
Shiro himself felt the most . . . disjointed. Scattered almost. He had a hazy memory of most of it, as if he had watched it play out on a TV back home a long time ago.
Thankfully they all had time to come to terms with everything. The Paladins had stopped off at a resistance base in order to gain supplies for the trip and correlate with their allies. Pidge was taking the opportunity to see if Matt would be able to join them, though he had yet to hear what his former teammate had decided.
Then there was the matter of who would pilot the Black Lion. Thankfully the others had agreed to let it be until he could find a replacement for his arm, which apparently Pidge was already working on when she wasn't nagging her brother. He really wasn't sure how that was going to play out. Black had accepted Keith as her new Paladin while sheltering his soul and as far as he could tell responded to both of them with the joy of an over sized puppy.
Shiro sighed in frustration and ran a hand down his face. It seemed he was just too wired to sleep. Pushing himself out of bed he let out another sigh as he walked into the adjacent bathroom. Turning on the facet he allowed himself a moment to appreciate the sight and feel of the water that came out. Real, good old H2O, not that odd pink stuff the castle had put out. Though he was kinda starting to miss it and the way it turned their teeth weird colors.
Cupping some of the water in his hands he splashed himself in the face a few times. Feeling more refreshed he grabbed a nearby towel and wiped his face off. As he lowered the towel he inadvertently glanced in the mirror and froze.
Shiro stared at his reflection in discomfort. He . . . still was not sure how to feel about . . . this.
His hair . . .
It just looked so weird.
"Hey, Shiro!"
He started as the door slid open and Keith leaned in. The younger man paused and flicked his gaze over him, a look of concern crossing his face "You okay?"
"Yeah." Shiro assured him then glanced back at his reflection "This . . . its just . . . Its going to take some getting used to, ya know."
Keith's reflection joined his as the younger man stepped up beside him. Violet eyes narrowed as he frowned, lips twisting in thought for a minute "You kinda look like your dad."
Shiro snorted in shock at that, screwing his eyes shut and waving his hands in front of him as if to chase the mental image away "No. nope. Uh uh, no way." he jabbed his elbow out playfully, knocking Keith off balance "Don't even go there, punk."
Keith laughed breathlessly as he rubbed his side "Yeah. Yeah." He turned back towards the door "Well, dinners ready. Join us whenever you're done in here, okay?"
"I'll be there."
Keith paused in the doorway and glanced back at him as Shiro trailed off, again staring at his reflection "You know, Iverson always said I'd give you gray hair." he remarked, a clear note of humor entering his voice as it lowered to an almost shy timbre.
Shiro smiled fondly "Technically it was Allura who gave it to me. Also I don't think he meant it as a compliment. In all honesty, its not the hair that bothers me." he shot Keith a contemplative look "I just can't help but wonder if this has happened before."
"If it did . . . wouldn't that be a good thing?" Keith asked, voice small and face open.
Shiro blinked at that in surprise and frowned in thought "The things it led to certainly are." he murmured, mostly to himself then clapped a hand on Keith's shoulder "Come on," he urged, flashing the younger man a wide grin "Let's go eat. I'm starved."
