i love you.

[gonerouge]

[when pidge suggested that they go back to earth, he wasn't as ecstatic as the others were? he doesn't have any particular attachments to earth anymore. he's found a new home here in space, and as far as his family goes?? well they're currently with him too. but, he is relieved to know that they'll be able to give shiro the help he needs. and the best thing is he doesn't have to worry over that prick iverson or the rest of the garrison putting shiro in a tube and poking him like they did the last time. samuel holt should have gotten back to earth by now to help fill things in.

speaking of, he looks down at the other fondly as he continues to run his hands through shiro's hair.] Everything's going to finally be okay, Shiro.

Comments

[galraesque]

[ For a while Shiro has been drifting in and out of consciousness, vaguely aware of his surroundings each time. It's not the first time he's woken up by the sound of Keith's voice, as if it stirred him to live, but he was always too tired to do more than fidget or flutter his eyes at him. Sometimes he would smile and whisper a thank you. Signs that he was conscious, but not fit for much right now.

It's only now that he finally finds a little extra strength to stay awake for a longer period of time. His head leans into the stroke before his eyes open plainly, looking around first before his eyes focus in on Keith. He smiles faintly. ] Hey....
Long time no see......

[gonerouge]

[keith looks down at shiro with a fond smile as he moves the white tuft of his bangs out of the way so he can see the other clearly.] Hey there yourself. [he pauses as he moves to adjust himself slightly.] Did you sleep well? We're going to be going back to Earth soon, think you can handle that?

[galraesque]

Yeah, sounds cool..... [ His voice trails off, eyes closing again, as if falling back asleep.

And then they open again, blearily, and he stares at Keith with wide eyes, as if trying to wake up at last. He sits up uneasily, fumbling when he goes for the wrong arm (or, well, lack there of.) ] Ugh, man, I haven't felt this crappy since I escaped the Galra.

[gonerouge]

[and keith is there to help steady him every time he wobbles over. he would be making more of an effort to help him sit up, but he gets the feeling that shiro really wants to do this by himself. his hand slides down to the small square of his back and rubs at it soothingly. despite everything that's happened thus far, he lets out a small chuckle.] Well, you've been without a human form for a while now right?

[he'd say a couple of years, but has it been a couple of years? he's not sure what year it is after his stint of living on a space whale. but... oh man now he's sad again.]

[galraesque]

You mean corporeal, yeah? [ He frowns a little as he looks at his hand, flexing it to prove to himself it was, in fact, his own. Could it really be called human?

For a time he's wordless, a lot rushing through his mind at once. It exhausts him trying to piece together all the memories. At last he touches his head, rubbing his brows ] I'm still pretty tired but.... it's getting better.

What about you? And the others? What happened since..... [ he hesitates, frowning a moment as he eyes the new scar. The memories are a mess, but he knows what he did. Does he really want to let Keith know he remembers? ] Since I blacked out?

[gonerouge]

[keith taps his chin in thought, a lot has happened since then...] Well, I'm sure you know we had to find a replacement pilot for the black lion. I uh.... guess you know that was me. [he flushes a little. god does that mean shiro witnessed his mental breakdown in black after the robot space alien cat reacted to him? he's... he's so not touching that topic yet. lol] Not too long after that was when I found you... well, you're clone?

And then after that I kind of joined up with the blades, so I... don't actually know what the others were up to? Other than the few times we collaborated on joint missions. I know they were trying to rally the other beings in the universe to joint the coalition though. That's something I remember them really trying to focus on before I left them to join the blades. There were show performances too, if I remember correctly. [he's totally not going to let on that he saw a couple of live feeds when he had down time with the blades.]

Lotor defeated Zarkon and then joined up with the others I'm assuming? But he's just as crazy, if not crazier, than Zarkon was. He was trying to use-- oh! [he pounds his fist onto an open palm.] That reminds me, apparently there are more Altean survivors than we originally thought? Lotor managed to help save a bunch of them and brought them to this remote planet. But he was vetting them and using their quintessence. So that was a thing. We all had to fight him before he got too power hungry. He even has his own... voltron? He called it his Altean Defender?

I... I got to meet my mother.

[galraesque]

[ That much, huh?

The mixing of memories made it hard to digest everything, seeing the same things from two perspectives, but Keith's retelling helps enough to put the pieces in order. He nods as Keith speaks, eyes drifting around his aged face. He was careful not to be obvious about it and eyes the scar on his cheek. A scar he himself had put there. He rubs his own hair, still unaware of the change in color. ]

Things are... pretty hazy, but I think I remember that much. Krolia...... you look just like her. [ He smiles a bit and laughs. ] I've seen her go by a few times now.... I'm glad you found her, Keith.

[gonerouge]

[shiro... 8( he would never blame you for this scar. this was the galra's doing. he does notice shiro's gaze lingering on him every now and then, but it's something he's not too bothered by. in fact, he thinks its because of his sudden growth? he gets the feeling time on the whale passed by a lot differently than time here since everyone else looks the same.

at the mention of his mother's name he gives one of the softest smiles ever.]

I do? [but not a pressing matter] Yeah, I'm... I'm glad to know that she didn't... just up and leave me for stupid reasons I held on to before when I was younger? She was sent on a mission to infiltrate the Galran's looking for one of the lions. She was the one who found Blue. And... met my dad as well. I... She wanted to stay here with us, to be a family Shiro. But, the Galra came back to Earth, so she had to leave.

[he frowns and looks down.] I feel... I feel so bad thinking she left because she just... didn't want to deal with me, or my dad anymore? Or thinking other, more negative things about her...

[galraesque]

[ Shiro smiles wearily as he listens to Keith. Some how, it's nice to hear his voice. He supposes in both timelines, it's been quite some time since he'd heard it unaltered. ]

You couldn't have known. I'm happy things are cleared up now. [ He pauses, thinking, and as he does so his eyes drift close. He's still exhausted. Opening them again, he shakes his head. ] Sorry, I... I'm trying to listen. Is everyone else okay?

[gonerouge]

[keith ducks his head uncomfortably. the question strikes something within him that makes him shuffle around awkwardly. he's... he hasn't been with the team in a long while. the first time he joined back up with them was after the whole lotor thing coming to light. he looks to the side and rubs his arm.]

I... I think so? I hate admitting this, but... I'm not sure? After I found you-- your clone... I kind of grew distant with the others? [he sighs] It was more so because I didn't want anyone else to feel like they had to give up their spot on the team? I... you probably saw how much I didn't want to pilot Black anyways. It felt like I was replacing you? And everyone on the team was doing so good, so I only saw it fit that I would be the one who took the cut... I was also getting more invitations to help the Blades, so... I kind of... ran with it? We collaborated here and there, whenever you-- you're clone and the others needed our help. But other than that I kind of stuck with the Blades.

They had a couple of close calls- but they managed. I also did what I could to help them out too. Like almost ramming my ship into Haggar's spaceship.

[GUESS WHO THOUGHT THEY WERE THINKING THAT IN THEIR HEAD???]

But... to my knowledge everyone seems fine? It was all kind of a blur joining up with them after we ran into Romelle... and then the fight with Lotor.