secondnature: (meditative)
keith keith, the liger man ([personal profile] secondnature) wrote2017-08-04 08:51 pm

open post (general)




general open post. i will always be up on the most recent canon.
toebeans: (Default)

[personal profile] toebeans 2018-06-19 06:30 am (UTC)(link)
[ Shiro shouldn't take it personally, but at first, he almost does. It's such a sharp, dismissive statement that he really doesn't know what to do with it because things were always different with Keith. They understood each other and Shiro was able to weather moments like this because they were fewer and further between than with other people and Keith.

Trying to kill someone really puts a dampener on that, he supposes. ]


Alright.

[ It's not, but there's nothing else he can say; he isn't going to argue. Keith hauls himself up and Shiro waits until he settles as comfortably as he can before inching over, touching their shoulders together gingerly. His other arm aches, which is absurd because there's nothing there to hurt, but somehow with that sliced metal and wiring, it's like his body finally picked up that it wasn't there any longer and was making up for lost time.

They're certainly a pair, grunting and moving gingerly like old men. Shiro leans back against the headboard delicately and settles his hand in his lap, glancing over at the joke with a faint twist to his lips. ]


Is this a hotel on Earth, or just...one on a planet that really managed the 'weird hotel in the middle of nowhere' look?
toebeans: (Default)

[personal profile] toebeans 2018-06-19 06:48 am (UTC)(link)
[ Home.

Shiro doesn't have the same tenuous relationship with home that Keith does; he has family here, people he cares about and wants to see, wants to protect. He'll have to figure out how to deal with that and the extra issue of legally being dead for years now, but that's a problem to face later. Right now, he listens.

When it's over, Shiro's quiet a moment longer, turning over everything in his mind. There's a knee-jerk reaction to finding they're on Earth properly. It's dangerous, and they don't have the ship to navigate or house the lions which means they're sitting ducks, to a point. The Coalition is solid but they've spent so much time as Voltron trying to protect planets within it that he can't help but feel they're putting Earth at a worse risk.

It had to happen eventually though, didn't it? ]


So we're...building a new ship, on Earth? Does the Garrison know? [ He can't imagine so, but who knows how long he's been out. Days, judging by what's happened. Long enough for Keith to see a doctor, right? ] We don't have healing pods if the Castle is gone; have you seen a doctor?

[ Keith might be part Galra but Shiro's fought and killed Galra before. He's seen the mess his handiwork results in. That Keith's moving at all is a miracle. ]
toebeans: (Default)

[personal profile] toebeans 2018-06-19 07:14 am (UTC)(link)
Has anyone looked you over?

[ Shiro isn't sure if anyone's looked him over but he's long past the point of being modest when it comes to this kind of thin. Just thinking about moving makes his body twinge with regret but he knows that he's going to be more irritated with himself if he doesn't move, eventually, and Keith's stubborn. The odds of anyone looking him over - of him allowing it aren't exactly great, here. ]

Can you contact them and ask?

[ Except, now that he's thinking about it and a little more awake, he needs to move. He smells like sweat and blood and burning plastic, his teeth feel fuzzy and he really, really wants to go to the bathroom. A lack of modesty with injuries isn't a problem but he doesn't want Keith holding him upright while he takes a piss.

Scrubbing a hand over his face, Shiro gingerly starts to tug the covers back and swings his legs over the edge of the bed, regretting it instantly but not stopping. ]


Please tell me there's a bath.

[ He can sit in the shower, but he'd really, really like a bath now that he's thinking about it. ]
toebeans: (Default)

[personal profile] toebeans 2018-06-20 12:10 am (UTC)(link)
[ Yeah, he doesn't miss that he doesn't get an answer, but he also didn't provide much time to respond and he can guess what the response would be anyway. They're both decent at making sure others are taken care of but not so much at taking care of themselves. ]

Bathrooms, yes. [ But he's not sure if it's more likely to have a shower or a bath. It seems a foolish question in retrospect; Keith obviously didn't have the same kind of experiences as he did and it isn't as if he would have spent long periods of time in hotels really, so Shiro doesn't push at that. Instead, he waits for Keith to come closer and gives him a tired smile, only half forced. ] If you can help me get out of this, that would be great.

[ It's not quite as easy to do with only one arm. Hell, he's not even sure he can shower with his arm how it is, but he desperately wants to give getting clean a try no matter what. As if reminding him it isn't just cleanliness that matters, his stomach growls audibly and Shiro grimaces only to realize that they're on Earth. Earth means shitty delivery food, and he wants shitty delivery food but money might be a bit of a problem. All the GAC in the world won't help when it's not easily able to be transferred into Earth currency. ]

If you can help me with my boots, I'll see if I can remember a credit card number. Somewhere here has to deliver, right?
toebeans: (Default)

[personal profile] toebeans 2018-06-20 12:45 am (UTC)(link)
[ Not great but not dying is a bar so low they could both walk over it, but there they are all the same. ]

There has to be somewhere that will deliver to...wherever we are.

[ He hasn't looked outside, doesn't have any idea what time it is or where they are on Earth but it doesn't matter. There has to be something, somewhere. Gingerly he leans over and pulls the nightstand over, pushing aside the bible to pull out the takeout menus and then sits once more so Keith can help him get everything off. ]

We'll see what they say. I'll get a little of everything since the princess and Coran won't have had this before.

[ With the promise of food, his mood instantly is better even if his body isn't. Shiro fusses with the latches on his thigh armor and manages those leaving just the boots which feels ridiculous to let Keith do but he's also not about to try and bend only to fall off the bed. Plucking the notepad and pen from atop the nightstand he starts writing an order down, starting with his and Keith's usual only to pause. ]

Do you want the same thing you used to get?
toebeans: (Default)

EVERY RFUCKING TIME FWKKFSKF

[personal profile] toebeans 2018-06-20 01:18 am (UTC)(link)
[ Shiro's never been great at handling his own issues. Other peoples' issues, sure. He can do that easily enough but his own? It's not impossible but he's not particularly adept at it, either. Shoving it down to deal with later has always been a viable option, especially when confronted with something to distract him.

In this case, it's the simple act of ordering food, even if he hasn't done it in literal years. While Keith works at his boots, Shiro does his best not to feel ridiculously like an invalid and starts writing. First, the card number, which he remembers easily enough. He can't use his own since he assumes those are shut down but assuming his mom never had to get a new one and didn't move, it should still work.

Then, it's consolidating an order for all of them and saying a mental apology to his mom who is going to wonder how the hell a two hundred dollar order got added to her credit card. ]


I always hoped, but- [ After the arena, he'd stopped thinking about it as much as he could. Being wistful didn't help him win battles, determination did. Then, when they were all together, he hadn't let himself think about it because how could he? It was always a given he'd probably never make it out alive, yet here they were. Alive, if a few steps away from well. Once his boots are off, Shiro leans forward and hands him the notepad and the menu, squeezing Keith's shoulder. ] Thanks, Keith. I'm going to call the front desk for toiletries unless they got them already?
toebeans: (Default)

[personal profile] toebeans 2018-06-20 06:46 pm (UTC)(link)
[ He's not surprised to hear the others have taken care of it already; how many times has he gone missing and they've had to deal with it? There's no small measure of guilt with that thought, but he can't do much about it, can he? The most he can do is have himself in a presentable state when the others get back, and better still if he can get pizza.

Keith's own state doesn't go without notice; Shiro hands him the notepad and gives him a crooked smile, not quite sure where boundaries lie after everything that's happened lately. What he does know is that if Keith's been waiting for him to wake up, he could probably do with some help, too. ]


Let me help you with your armor and then we'll order?

[ He's not so far out of it that he doesn't know how to return the favor. If he thought that Keith would take first shower if offered, he'd do it but he's realistic here and knows that's not terribly likely. Keith's stubborn and a pretty good example of leading a horse to water but not being able to make him drink. This feels strangely normal in a way he wasn't expecting; they haven't spent a ton of time in motels, sure, but after everything, Keith's at his side and Shiro trusts him implicitly. ]
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[personal profile] toebeans 2018-06-20 07:52 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Enough bizarre, overwhelming things have happened to Shiro that none of this registers on his weirdness scale right now. After being kidnapped by aliens and forced to fight in an arena, everything else just kind of seems par for the course, really. That said, it's...jarring, seeing Keith standing over him, bigger and broader than Shiro is used to seeing. The last few weeks have been a blur at best, and his memory is spotty enough he knows that he should double check everything.

There's an awful, terrifying thought that he can't really trust any of his memories anyway; who is to say that Haggar couldn't manipulate those, too? Who is to say she didn't? That's a dangerous rabbit hole to go down but doesn't he owe it to all of them to make sure that he's at one hundred percent so he doesn't put them in danger? ]


It's...a lot of it is bits and pieces. I remember everything that he does. [ Shiro reaches for the first catch on his armor and starts working, tone soft as he corrects himself. ] Most of it, anyway. Some things I'm not so sure of and a lot of it is disjointed. Kind of like watching a movie half awake. You remember the plot, sort of, but...

[ Shiro undoes another latch, his hand lingering a moment too long on Keith's arm before he catches himself and continues working. Lower still, like he's not certain he wants to broach this: ]

I remember the fight.
toebeans: (Default)

[personal profile] toebeans 2018-06-21 06:22 am (UTC)(link)
I know.

[ It's not particularly convincing, though. Shiro gives him what once used to pass for a comforting smile though he knows right now that it's probably not doing its job terribly well because he's not in the right headspace to give comfort let alone know how to receive it gracefully. It wasn't him, but it was. Isn't that the problem?

Again, quieter, ]
I know.

[ He doesn't have any choice in the matter, though. It's one thing to say that it won't happen but it's something else altogether to be able to make certain that it doesn't and right now they're not at a point where that can actually be promised. He's not going to argue with Keith about it, though, not when he's trying his best and it's out of his control. If it happens, it's not your fault he wants to say but he knows that isn't going to help matters, either. Exhaling unsteadily, Shiro finishes getting the armor off of himself and helping Keith before he rises up again to go shower. ]

I'll leave the door open. If you need anything, yell.
toebeans: (Default)

[personal profile] toebeans 2018-06-21 05:48 pm (UTC)(link)
[ It's cowardly to do this and Shiro knows it, but Keith staring at him like he expects something, like he understands, like he's alright with everything that happened is too much. There's a mark on his cheek that's Shiro's fault and his hands were the ones that were used to bruise every inch of Keith's skin, trying to hurt him, to kill him. The thought alone is nauseating enough without seeing proof and much as Shiro wishes that he could deal with this right then, he needs a moment.

There is, as it turns out, a bath and shower combined. Relief hits him as he keeps the door open enough so Keith can tell everything is okay, and to warn him about pizza delivery.

It's a whole lot like running away which he's never been good at but deep, serious, heavy conversations are going to be better when he's washed up and feeling a little more like himself. While the tub fills, he dumps the questionable soap from the little hotel container into it and then starts the process of brushing his teeth, washing his face, and after scrubbing his knuckles over his jaw, giving it a shave, too.

Tending to everything else, he finally is able to slip into the bath and tugs the shower curtain closed to hide for the time being (coward, you coward) and folds up on himself, pressing his face against his knees despite how much it aches. He doesn't cry, because that's the last thing he needs, Keith bursting in because he hears it, but his breathing goes soft and unsteady as he tries to run through everything he can, sorting out what he knows and what he needs to ask questions about. The bath's a barrier, of sorts, and much as he wishes he could just stay in here alone and sort through everything he knows that isn't fair to Keith so after a moment, he tips his head back against the wall and forces himself to start talking as he soaps himself up, moving slowly because of the ache. ]


It doesn't feel real. Being...back here. Seeing you like this.
toebeans: (Default)

[personal profile] toebeans 2018-06-22 06:00 am (UTC)(link)
[ Shiro wouldn't call it 'avoiding' necessarily, even if that's exactly what it is. Allura might have fixed this, put him back inside his body (arguably, in theory, if not necessarily) but there were things that she couldn't fix. Things he had to work out on his own. For all that he urged the others to share their burdens, it didn't seem fair to do this to Keith, not when he's already done so much to him.

Glancing down at the bruising on his skin, he can almost pick out each individual strike, remembering those just as vividly as the bruising splashed across it. ]


Yeah.

[ Shiro's voice goes soft in agreement and then repeats it when he realizes he may be talking too quietly. He can't in here forever, though. Gingerly (after he's cleaned up, washing between his toes just for the novelty of it, and because he has toes again) he rises up and flicks the shower on, not minding the burst of too-hot before the pipes creak to cooler and he washes his hair hurriedly. It buys him time to think about what to say as he wraps up and steps out, dripping onto the towel on the ground, groping for one hanging. ]

I'm not certain that's luck, Keith.

[ Towel wrapped around his waist, he goes back in front of the mirror and abruptly realizes that it's not just the front of his hair white again. A turn-around, a hand through his hair and a moment of silence as he puts everything together and then he swallows back the shock and starts to towel it dry while the one around his waist does its best to stay there. ]

You know I don't...blame you for not knowing.
toebeans: (Default)

[personal profile] toebeans 2018-06-22 06:17 am (UTC)(link)
[ Maybe the earlier parts weren't due to stress at all. Fingering through it, Shiro checks the roots and finds they're white too. Stress was suggested, but now... well. It wasn't Allura's fault that he had white hair to begin with, that only happened after Haggar. Whatever magic she'd used was Altean in nature and it shifted the rest of his hair white, evidently, which left him with an even more unsettling thought. If Allura had been the one to place him back in his body and it turned his hair white, what had Haggar done to him, to turn it white? Was that...something to do with the cloning process?

He wasn't going to get answers staring at himself in the mirror; Shiro blows out an unsteady breath and focuses on Keith instead. It's a thousand times easier to do that, especially when Keith's blaming himself for something Shiro knows without a doubt isn't his fault. ]


Keith.

[ He really wants to have this conversation with pants on, but Shiro pushes the door open a bit wider, looking out at him. He doesn't need to see the map of bruises on Shiro's skin any more than Shiro wants to see Keith's own, even if he probably deserves to look at it. Just his head, peeking out from behind the door so he can give Keith a long look, serious despite his hair damp and dripping. ]

Hindsight is always going to be perfect. If I'd bonded with Black sooner, or faster, maybe I'd understand how to navigate things better. You're going to twist yourself up in knots over this when none of it - none of it is your fault.

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