driftfleet | [Video]

Who: Shiro and you
Broadcast: Fleet-wide
Action: SS Blameless
When: Saturday morning

[For the general public and the Blameless crew, this isn't going to be a surprise, but Shiro is awake pretty damn early. Well, at least for whatever counts as "early" in space. The feed starts at crazy o'clock with Shiro in the seating area, a warm cup of tea in his hands, an open crate next to him and a soft smile on his lips.

What is he smiling at? The plushies on the table. Five lions of different colors and sizes, standing in a very specific order, even if most people probably won't get it and will think the line should be organized by size. And next to the lions, two small plushies: the cutest mice.]

I kept hearing horror stories about these "drops", but this isn't so bad. I like them. Thanks to whoever send them. [Being nice to the public for the sake of his crew's ratings? You betcha. He takes a sip of his tea before asking to the camera.] Hey, Keith, how many red ones do you want?

[Yeah, it's not a matter of if, bro is getting at least one. An idea hits Shiro then and he puts his cup down to start moving the lions around to make a pile, and it will look even weirder this time, because the big black one doesn't go to the bottom. No, he puts the blue and the yellow ones next to each other, then the red one on top of the blue one, green goes on yellow, and on top goes black...

But Shiro pauses, frowning, when he notices a post-it note stuck to the lion's belly. He doesn't read it aloud, but text appears on the screen as his eyes skim it.]

Shiro gets nightmares if he doesn't sleep with his lion.

[Shiro tenses, obviously not liking the note at all, because yeah, half of it is true. And it's hitting him right now that some strangers out there know. Just like that, the feed is turned off - well, the video feed at least. Because Shiro keeps reading the messages afterwards, so of course they keep appearing on the screen, one for each plushie.]

Shiro isn't his real name.
Shiro burns water.
Shiro and Keith haven't reached third base.
Shiro sinks even in small lakes.
Shiro can't grow a worthy mustache.
Shiro's white bangs are a clip-in.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Yeah. None of us know what happened. We just know that Voltron broke apart. The Black Lion was drifting and you weren't responding, so Pidge and I went back and towed the Lion in before we made the jump out of there.

[Keith did look really upset now.]

I don't know if that's when you were brought here, but I thought we left you behind. [His hands tightened around the little plush lion. He lowered his head, closing his eyes.] When I saw you here, I thought maybe you'd be freaked out because of it.

I don't want them to have you again like that.

[Oh, of course. Shiro's been here, safe, all this time, but he's starting to understand now how this looked for the people on the other side of it. Especially for Keith, who had to watch Shiro disappear once already.]

Hey. I'm fine. Yeah, I did freak out a bit at first. But this is nothing like being with the Galra again. It didn't last long. [He puts an arm around Keith, making their shoulders bump.] Sorry for scaring you like that. But I know you'd never leave me behind. Whatever happened after the battle, it wasn't your fault, and we'll deal with it when the time comes. [Hopefully. It HAD to be Atroma, right? That's what happened. Please don't make it more complicated than that, universe.] Right now, we're reunited again, aren't we?

[Keith wasn't so sure, but he looked up at Shiro when the other put his arm around him.]

If we go back, and it's true that things here don't affect back home, we will find you. I promise.

[Keith wasn't going to give up on getting him back. No way.]

[There's a pause before Shiro squeezes Keith's shoulder. He appreciates the sentiment, he really does, it's good to know his found family cares so much about him. But...]

We took Zarkon down, didn't we? You have to make good use of that, Keith, it's the perfect chance to end their empire. Concentrate on what it's important.

[Not him, apparently.]

[Keith gave Shiro that look.]

I know that. I'm not saying we won't. But that doesn't mean we're not going to look for you in the meantime.

[Keith could balance it like they were balancing looking for Pidge's family. It would be okay, Shiro.]

[He meets Keith's look with one of his own. They both can be quite stubborn when it comes to these matters - it's surprising, really, that they don't argue more often.]

Good. That's all I needed to hear. You remember what you told Pidge, right? [Everyone in the universe has families.] Never forget that.

I won't. But you're still important. And I don't even know if we can find another Paladin, whether we want to or not.

[Which was a major part of their problem. It wasn't just about Keith leading the team or Shiro being missing. It was about having five Paladins to form Voltron. Replacing each of them wasn't like replacing a shuttle pilot. If Keith moved to the Black Lion, Red wasn't an easy Lion to impress.]

[That's a good point. Even if Keith does accept to get in Black, there's still the matter of a fifth pilot. Maybe Allura can do it, if the castle can be left in Coran's hands.]

I'm sure you'll figure it out. If we truly took Zarkon down, maybe just four lions will be enough.

Maybe. I don't know.

[Keith looked uncertain and rather upset at the idea that Shiro was just telling him to walk away. He didn't want to do that. He wasn't going to do that, no matter what.]

We'll think of something in the meantime, but...

[His voice trailed off. He couldn't lose Shiro again.]

But?

[He can tell Keith is upset, and his hands moves from the boy's shoulder to his back to rub it, trying to offer comfort and sympathy. To be honest, he's needing the closeness too. It's been a weird couple of weeks.]

Talk to me, buddy.

[Keith resisted at first, not sure he even wanted to get into this right now, but it was really bubbling strongly just below the surface. Not really caring at this point if it added fuel to the rumor fire about them reaching third base (which was technically true since they hadn't even tried to go for first), he finally just blurted it out.]

I just don't want to keep losing you. You're the closest thing I have to family anymore.

[...oh. Shiro's eyes widen for a second, and you can almost hear his heart breaking. It's not like he choose to disappear but... he still feels bad for it. Are they fueling? He doesn't care. Rumor can go fucked themselves, right now Shiro cares about Keith.

And that means a second hug.

Yeah, they did that just a moment ago, but Shiro has been stuck here, and Keith lost him back home. They can do with another.]

I'm sorry, Keith. You know I wouldn't leave you if I had a choice. But remember, you have a family now.

[Don't forget the castleship people! ~~That you'll have to lead.~~]

[Keith pressed his face into Shiro's shoulder, holding on to him again. He just nodded at the statement, not pulling back right away.]

I know... but you were there for me when I needed it most. I'd be in a very different place if it wasn't for you.

[And no... he didn't mean the Drift Fleet, or the Lions, or any of that. No corny jokes about getting pulled into a different universe this time, Shiro.]

[That's fine, they can stay like this for as long as needed. Shiro squeezes a bit when he hears those words, knowing how important they are and everything that hides behind them.]

I know- and I'll always be, for as long as you want me. But you need to learn to rely on the others too, Keith. They can be there for you too.

[Hey, Shiro, you have a call, it's the hypocrisy police.]

Yeah.

[Though, that wasn't really all of it. He'd been learning, getting along with the others, working with them. He could deal with that part. He was just tired of losing people, getting left behind. But, he didn't voice it this time. Instead, after a moment, he sat back up, pulling away from Shiro now. He reached over and picked up that red lion plushie again.]

I'll just have to make do with what I can get here.

[Video]

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