Shiro stared at his own reflection in his coffee, a daze holding him captive. His thoughts were both steady and all over the place it felt, like someone was jabbering endlessly in his mind in a language he didn't understand. He didn't realize the tapping of his own foot, and the murmuring sound in his ears was something he'd grown used to; it having been present non-stop day and night.
"Absolutely delicious!" Henry's voice made Shiro blink, and he looked up to his father; barely having actually heard what he said.
"What?" He asked at a loss. Henry gestured to his plate.
"Delicious meal! I'm surprised you didn't order anything. Big breakfast already?" Henry asked brightly, looking to his son.
"Oh, not really." Shiro answered in a melancholy tone, unaware of his own expression as his eyes went back to their daze. His father however, quickly caught on, not just to the expression, but also the tone.
"What's wrong? You look tired." Henry leaned forward a little, examining his son's mood more thoroughly. "Have you been eating enough?"
"I haven't been getting the best sleep lately." Shiro answered as he rubbed his face with his hand, "But everything's fine. Its probably just the stress of what's been going on at work lately."
"Ah yes, I hear you're an admiral now, correct?" Henry questioned, unable to keep himself from glancing to the men in uniform sitting at a table a few feet behind Shiro, casual but there for a reason.
"How did you hear that?" Shiro wondered, his brow furrowing in his surprise.
"Well, after we talked on the phone, I was able to find those voicemails from the Atlas people, and I heard our family name when the admiral was mentioned. That and looking up the news concerning the new admiral for the Atlas ship, I soon discovered how high you had risen in the ranks." Henry shrugged, leaning back in his chair with a full stomach.
Shiro nodded in agreement. "I guess you have a point there."
"I do have one question for you, Takashi." Henry admitted after a quiet moment, "Why didn't you call sooner? You've been back for a decent while, long enough to become admiral of a ship, and you've already saved the world once."
Shiro sighed, having known this would come up at some point, but still feeling slightly unprepared to answer. "Well, in all honesty, my memory hasn't been very faithful the past few months, or, I guess it's been a year or two. I remember some things, but, coming back to Earth after so much had happened out there... My head's kinda, scrambled; nothing has been very clear in years. It's just been, blank, with pieces coming up here and there sometimes. I, didn't remember anything about you until recently."
Henry blinked. "How much do you not remember? Your life? Family? Do you remember what happened to..." Henry stopped himself, his eyes falling slightly. Shiro noticed his change in mood, and his brow furrowed.
"Happened to what?" Shiro asked. Henry shook his head.
"It's nothing that refers to the matter at hand." He told his son, avoiding his eyes for a moment. "Besides, it's probably for the better that some things, remain buried..." Shiro was only further confused, and as he looked at his father, he noticed the older man touch a silver ring on his left ring finger, his gaze staring at nothing in particular. More questions only rose at seeing how absent his father looked as he touched the ring, a kind of softness in his aged face as well as an old hurt. While Shiro was suddenly curious, he knew he had to move on, but a new question came to his mind in the silence between them.
"If you knew I was here, why didn't you call, or make some kind of effort to contact me?" Shiro wondered, truly curious. Henry was brought out of the wandering gaze he had fallen into, looking to his son, and soon sighing.
"I was, having my first breakthrough in weeks and…. It's, always had a bit of a tighter grip on me, my work….." Henry admitted, a kind of ashamed tone oddly making it into his voice. After a moment of thought, Shiro slowly began to recall his father's deep ambitions concerning his work as a scientist. Remembering how often his father had been absent growing up, was like remembering an old dark spot in his life, and that feeling of separation returned like a brick wall along with the memories.
Their table was filled with a sudden silence that felt familiar. Shiro recalled many dinners at the table where it was just him and his father. While much had likely happened in their day, and dinner was the only time they were together for a moment, conversation was either formal, or absent completely. School grades, important events of the day, house duties and homework. It had made Shiro feel like he had an endless checklist with barely any room for friends or his own time. It made childhood a grim topic for Shiro to remember, and he soon found the silence uncomfortable. He took a few sips of his lukewarm coffee, feeling compelled to do something which would give him a reason to be silent.
"So," Henry broke the silence, as he had often done years before, "what do you need my help with, Takashi?"
Shiro was eager to be back to a comfortable topic, and all too happy to speak, "Oh yeah, the Atlas, suffered a big hit recently, and we haven't been able to lock down on how we can fix it. There was an energy blast that erupted a few days ago, and it took out all of our altean based equipment, including the lions of Voltron. We can't figure out how to reverse the process, since we barely even know what kind of energy it was that erupted, and where it comes from. We were at rock bottom when I suddenly remembered you, and then I wondered if-"
"I'll do it." Henry interrupted, sounding quite decided already. Shiro blinked, completely thrown off what he had been saying as he tried to register what his father said as if it were a riddle.
"Wait, you will?" He asked in clear surprise.
"Well of course I'm going to at least try." Henry replied as if it were obvious.
"But, I thought you said you had gotten a breakthrough on one of your, other projects." Shiro mentioned.
"That was weeks ago, and I rather knew deep down it wouldn't lead to anything. But this? The chance to learn about actual alien technology from beyond Earth; I wouldn't miss it for the world!" Henry adapted a big, ambitious smile, leaning forward in his seat in anticipation and making Shiro chuckle a little. Convincing his father to hop aboard was easier than he thought, but had he really expected it to be hard?
"Well, I guess you'll be coming back with me then, unless you need to grab anything from your lab?" Shiro wondered. Henry, rather straight-faced, reached to the seat beside him and lifted a briefcase.
"Never leave home without the essentials." Henry commented, adjusting his glasses professionally. "I would enjoy some dessert though before we go. Would you mind?"
The brightness and eagerness in Shiro's face dimmed a little, the dread of urgent matters being put on hold rising inside, but he sighed to let it all roll off his shoulders. "Sure."
IXXXXXXXXI
The path had risen and fallen, wound and turned, constantly leading to nothing different. The group trudged on at a pace that was waning of strength, but luckily Acxa's limp had improved to the point where she was no longer slowed by her leg. Keith walked at her side, Violet on his shoulders and Kosmo up ahead. The wolf sniffed the path and kept an eye on further up the trail, but other than the bird scare they had around noon, they hadn't seen anything else on the trail or in the sky throughout the day. Not seeing anything made Keith more anxious however; like they were escaping the eye of their enemy far too easily. Despite his suspicions, he kept his demeanor light and calm, knowing his group would be encouraged to do the same.
Being too tired now to walk, Violet remained on Keith's shoulders, fighting sleep and as her head bobbed down and back up constantly. She had been a little ball of energy the entire day, adoring her little lizard pet, whom she had soon named Lizzy, and offering him food every other minute. Now officially having been given a name, Keith had forced himself to accept that the lizard wouldn't be getting out of his hair anytime soon; literally. The movement atop his head made Keith want to freeze and shrink up by the shoulders, Lizzy readjusting his position in his new, and very temporary, bed. Keith made a bit of a sigh through his nose in distaste, trying to exhale the balled up urge he had to flick the wriggling thing off his head. His feelings towards the lizard weren't at all helped when it hissed and tried to bite him every time he reached too close to scratch his own head. For now, however, and knowing Violet loved the little thing far too much, Keith allowed it to remain on his head so long as it didn't do anything other than sleep. While Keith tensed to feel the lizard's small and clawed toes on his scalp, making his spine tingle, he didn't at all mind Violet playing with his hair as a means to keep herself busy and awake.
The shadows were becoming longer as the sun fell in the sky to the horizon behind them, visibility slowly fading for Keith's eyes. He saw Kosmo making his way up to the top of the hill they were traveling up, and he waited for them to catch up. As Keith and Acxa finally crested the hilltop, they saw what looked like a settlement waiting for them down below. They were fairly close, but even so, they could see no light from any of the structures. Keith gently lifted Violet up and off from his shoulders and knelt down close to the ground with Acxa to be less obvious, eyeing the small village wearily as he set Violet down on the ground.
"Think anyone is going to be down there waiting for us?" Acxa wondered, "It looks nearly deserted but, that's just what they'd want us to think."
"That's why I'm going down there to scout while you two stay here." Keith decided, reaching up and grabbing a hissing Lizzy by the tail and dropped him all too happily a few inches in mid air into Violet's open palms. Acxa gave Keith an unsure look, and in expecting her response, Keith gave Kosmo beside him a pat on the head.
"I've got backup." he told Acxa confidently in response to her unspoken words.
"They took both of you down last time." Acxa reminded, her brow furrowing a little in her concern.
"Way to rub it in." Keith mildly jested sarcastically, glancing to Acxa and seeing it didn't help her feelings about the plan, "I'll be fine. It'll just be me and Kosmo. If I'm not back in thirty minutes-"
"I'm not going to leave you behind." Acxa firmly cut him off, and Keith took a patient breath, her reaction not coming as too much of a surprise.
"I was going to say," he continued in the same tone, "that if I'm not back in around that time, do your best to go around the village border and wait for me on the other side. If it's safe, I'll send Kosmo with something of mine to tell you it's all clear."
Acxa blinked, her mood completely changing upon his explanation. "Oh, alright, let's do it." Her tone was much more affable than before, her once narrowed eyes softening.
Keith nodded, a slightly amused look hidden in his eye at Acxa's flip of responses. He saw Violet looking up at him from the ground with her deep, tired, purple eyes, and he rubbed her head in in a form of reassurance and growing fondness.
"I'll be back." He told her and Acxa, activating his helmet and pulling up his hood. With Kosmo at his side, and his helmet enabling him to see in the growing darkness, Keith began to make his way down the other side of the hill towards the town. Acxa remained with Violet, watching in slight anxiousness as Keith diverted from the path to enter the village in a less predictable route.
"Awca?" Violet's small voice and hearing her own name brought Acxa's eyes back to the little laiveth. Violet glancing from Keith and Kosmo to Acxa. "Keef and Kosmo, go?" She seemed confused, and a little concerned as to Keith's leaving and not turning around to come back. Acxa gave her a comforting smile.
"They'll be back. Don't worry." Acxa told her, her tone soft. Her eyes went back to the village, Keith having disappeared into the shadows by now. She forced herself to stay calm and not fret. He was a paladin of Voltron, as well as a fine warrior. He'd faced worse things than this. He'd be fine. She wasn't so sure why she was so anxious, but she couldn't brush the feeling aside. She forced herself to sit still and patient, scanning the village for any sign of a struggle or hidden enemies. Violet, soon loosing the battle with sleep, crawled into Acxa lap for warmth and comfort after a while. Acxa didn't know how to respond at first, not wanting to disturb her rest, but also feeling the act was rather sweet. She soon found herself stroking Violet's deep blue hair as they sat together in the growing darkness, finding a strangely calming sensation in it. Violet entertained herself by offering more food to Lizzy in her own lap, who couldn't eat any more if he tried. She soon cuddled him like a toy as she became more and more sleepy, the lizard tolerating the act upon being too stuffed to try and resist, and her warmth eased him from the growing cold of the night.
A few minutes passed, Acxa counting them out in her head along with the timer on her gauntlet. She glanced at her device several times, trying to not let herself get more restless the longer she waited. Fifteen minutes hit, and the sun was out of sight long before that, nearly all of its light gone from the land. The cold night made Acxa shiver a little, but luckily Violet was rather comfy and kept safe from the cold. She was fast asleep before the sun had fully set, snuggled up against Acxa and unaware of even the thought of danger.
Even with her Dark Vision laying out the land clearly before her, Acxa's mind loved to play tricks with her eyes, making her see things which weren't there. Shadows which moved but never got anywhere. Figures which were really just the shapes of objects or shadows. After a moment, Acxa found herself wanting to fall asleep herself, until her eyes caught actual movement within the town. A low figure trotted into her view, heading on a direct path towards them.
She recognized Kosmo's familiar shape, hearing his clawed paws in the dirt, and Acxa was relieved to see a familiar sheath in his jaws as he came closer. Kosmo came to her and purposefully sat down in front of her, giving direct eye contact. Acxa patted the wolf's head like she had seen Keith do many times, and picking Violet up so her head rested on her shoulder, she stood up and followed Kosmo as he led the way down into the village.
The village had been abandoned for some time, the wood doors worn down and birds nests settled in corners and empty window frames. Wild flowers grew everywhere, and in different lighting, it would have probably looked far more pretty. At night, however, with the darkness forming shadows behind the windows and in the spaces between houses, it felt more empty. Depressed and overpowered by the land around it, nature itself grinding it down slowly to eventually become one with the ground. Erasing the trace of civilization as if it didn't at all belong.
Kosmo led Acxa to a house with a door more or less intact somewhere around the middle of the ruined structures, looking old and overgrown. Keith was waiting for them inside at the door, leaning against the wall near a window that let him see the street. He was quiet upon seeing Violet fast asleep on Acxa's shoulder as she entered, Lizzy curled up on the girl's shoulder for warmth. Acxa set Violet down on the blankets Keith had already laid out in the near center of the room. She tucked Violet in, soon giving a small sigh in relief to know rest was now attainable and the day was done. She settled down with her back leaning against the wall closest to Keith, where much of the slowly rising moonlight was beginning to fall.
The walls of the home looked to be made out of hardened mud, and long, dry husks of grass formed a well crafted-roof above them. The window still had a makeshift blind attached, and for the moment, it was pulled down to prevent the cold night air from getting inside. Acxa had to smile a little as she looked around the fine, temporary shelter, noting that there was no evidence of a campfire or firewood.
"No fire tonight?" She wondered quietly as she looked at Keith.
"After that bird almost found us, and with us being in an obvious place of shelter, I didn't want to risk drawing further attention to our location. We could be asking for enough risk already." Keith admitted heavily, remaining by the window for a moment.
"I suppose your right." Acxa agreed, "Luckily we have what we need to stay warm enough. How's the rest of the village look? Are all of the houses as empty as this one?"
"Pretty much. I found a narrow gorge just outside the village border, and it would have been out of your line of sight even from the hill we were on. Other than that, no supplies, tools, or anything. It's like they just packed up and left."
"Makes you wonder why." Acxa thought aloud.
"Maybe we can ask them once we find them." Keith replied with a shrug, moving from the window and to his pack near the blankets in the center of the room.
"You're that confident we'll find someone?" Acxa was slightly surprised by his tone.
"To be honest," Keith paused what he was doing for a moment, his tone rather changing as his gaze dropped a little, "no. I just want to find something that will get all of us home safely. I'm tired of running." He retrieved some food and offered some to Acxa as he came to her. She accepted a small portion, taking in his words as Keith sat down heavily next to her.
"Could there be any explanation of why your Lion hasn't responded to you?" Acxa wondered, looking to the Paladin as he took a bite of some bread.
"Something might have happened back on Earth which was powerful enough to compromise my Lion's ability to connect with me. Everything was fine before I left, but then of course something had to happen the moment I left." Keith replied with a heavy sigh, a touch of aggravation in his tone. "I just hope everyone's alright. I don't want to lose any more friends. If something happens to them because I wasn't there to help…." He drifted off, his tone dropping lower in his concern.
"Well, you're partly in this situation because of me." Acxa reminded, intending to take some of the guilt and responsibility off his shoulders.
"It's not just that." Keith admitted, in a tone which almost held a secret meaning, gaining Acxa's full attention and questioning gaze, "I, wanted to leave. I felt like I was just doing stuff to pass the time. The "extra help". I felt like there were more important things for me to do, but, I also knew the smaller problems needed my attention. As a paladin, I know I have a lot of responsibilities, but I just felt like the work I was doing could be done by someone else. Like I could be doing something to help the bigger picture. I knew it was my job, but when I saw my chance to leave, to do something new, I still took it in a heartbeat. Now here I am, and my team could be needing me…. If I abandoned them because I was feeling bored and restless, then what kind of a leader does that make me?"
Acxa blinked, now at a loss of what to say. In the past time she had gotten to know him, she had never seen him open up so much, especially with her. Were his fears as a leader always constant, or did they bob up to the surface only once in a while. She didn't know how to respond. She saw him sigh and run a hand through his hair, a lost kind of look overtaking his normal and composed self. He was tired of the running, the hiding, and feeling like he was doing something wrong, and she could at least understand that. Seeing the doubt piling up in his eyes and expression made her want to speak, pushing past the clamped up feeling she had around her throat.
"I've seen, even in the few days we've been here, how hard you'll fight for someone you barely know, Keith." Acxa decided to say, choosing to look him in the eye, "That's who you are; a fighter. You'll fight for those around you, and despite everything else, that's what I've come to realize and deeply respect about you. You're a good leader, and you've proven to be just as loyal as your lion. We've made it this far because of you, so you can't go doubting yourself now."
She earned Keith's gaze at her words, and his expression changed slightly with the hint of a smile that came to his lips. Acxa looked at him with a sincere look, but suddenly found that staring into his softened, navi blue eyes made her feel almost, weak and uncertain. She had more on her mind however, and forced herself to speak.
"And, in all honesty, regardless of why you came," Acxa said, now summoning a little more nerve as she looked back into his eyes, finding courage as he met her with a soft look, "I'm just glad you're here, Keith."
The smile on Keith's lips only broadened as he now looked away for a moment. Acxa's sincere look broke past every barrier within himself, and he felt she'd see the deepest parts of him if he didn't break away. He didn't know if he was afraid, or insecure about someone seeing that far into him, as he himself hadn't gone that deep either. What did he have to hide? Why did he suddenly feel weak and parched after she looked at him like that? Her words held a different weight no one else could carry to him, and that fact had suddenly become very clear in the moments their eyes had locked.
"Yeah," he managed to say with a voice that wasn't cracked, "I'm glad to have you here too, Acxa." He returned the sincere look for a moment, his soft smile surfacing once again with an added sense of endearing. Acxa gave a soft smile of her own, a smile Keith had only seen glimpses of until now. Every other time, it had been a smile of gratitude or comfort, but this one was somehow different. Deeper, and touched with a kind of endearing that made him gaze longer. They remained quite for a moment, unable to break away from the other's gaze for a moment. When finally they did break away, a playful smile crept to Acxa's face.
"Sure did take your time scouting, though." Acxa had to add after a moment, adding a bit of a tease in her tone. Keith chuckled at her sentence.
"You weren't nervous, were you?" he asked with the cocky raise of an eyebrow, teasing back as he looked at her.
"I don't get nervous." Acxa's suddenly serious tone just made Keith chuckle further.
"Right." Was all he said for a minute in a humored tone, their light conversation leaving traces of a smile on both of their lips. A moment passed, allowing them to finish eating, and Keith soon gave a light sigh.
"Well, we have another long day tomorrow, you should get some rest. I'll take the first watch." He told Acxa beside him.
"You've been taking up that mantle since we landed." Acxa replied, looking at him now with more of an insightful look, seeing the exhaustion hidden deep in his gaze, "You rest. I'll wake you when it's your turn." This time, Acxa made no room in her own tone for him to argue, kind as it was. Keith sighed, and gave in with a bit of a nod.
"Alright. Wake me after five hours." He told her. Acxa nodded, and sat more upright as Keith got up and moved towards the center of the room. He settled down and covered up a little with a blanket as he lay on his side. Kosmo soon scootched over to cuddle at Acxa's side, and she stroked the wolf's soft fur as she remained awake and alert. After about twenty minutes or so, Violet woke from her sleep, looking around to see where they now were. She noticed Keith sleeping nearby, and Acxa saw a sweet smile spread on her face in delight to see him. Violet gathered up her blanket and wobbled over to where Keith lay. She looked over to Acxa.
"Awca, Keef, seeping." She said quietly, in a sweet tone Acxa couldn't help but smile at as she nodded in response. Acxa only smiled further as Violet adjusted Keith's blanket so it covered him up to his chin, waking him a little from his sleep as she soon crawled into his arms. Seeing it was Violet, Keith gave a small smile and purposefully wrapped her up further in her own blanket, letting her head rest on his arm as he cradled his head with his hand. Content in his arms, Violet was perfectly still, stoking Lizzy in her palm a minute before covering him up in a portion of her blanket. The lizard was fast asleep in the warmth of the blanket, nowhere near Keith to both of their relief.
Keith could feel Violet gently holding and examining the fingers and palm of his free hand, tracing the lines of his gloved palm like she had traced the lights on his suit. He knew she was asleep when he no longer felt her move or shift, holding his thumb in a grip he didn't want to loosen as she slept. Keith had never thought he'd know what that felt like; to have a little child hold his finger in their small hand. To have them cuddle up against him. For them to rely on him for protection, and comfort even.
He found himself drifting off to sleep with a feeling deep inside him which he couldn't immediately name, but it made him hold Violet a little closer; want to shield her, and even Acxa, from any danger that would reach for them. Sleep greeted him in silent darkness, dreamless yet peaceful. When Keith felt a hand urge him awake, he assumed it had already been five hours. Seeing Acxa's alert, concerned expression through barely open eyes made him think differently however. Whatever she had just woken him up for, it was most likely due to urgent matters.
*note to readers* And there's another chapter for you guys! I'm hoping to get the next one proofread and posted soon so you don't have to wait for too long. Hopefully, it wasn't too slow or boring and the tender moments helped! I'm currently working on the BTS shorts, or one-shots, but I'd still love to hear what ideas you guys might have for behind the scene, scenes XD maybe once I finish the shorts for chapter one it'll grab some traction and give an idea for what I'm aiming for, and I'm hoping to do a few shorts for every chapter. But anyway, thank you so much for keeping up with this story, and feel free to let me know what you have in mind (if anything) for a one-shot idea for any of the current chapters! Love ya and hope you have a fantastic week!