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[earthshine]

« Shiro » TEXT ✧ AUDIO ✧ VIDEO ✧ ACTION Takashi Shirogane ✦ Voltron: Legendary Defender
RESIDENCE ✦ Emerald District Apartment #51
JOB ✦ Gembond Guardian
GEMBOND ✦ Sapphire

Hi, this is Shiro. Sorry I'm unavailable at the moment, but leave a message and I'll get back to you as soon as I can.

INFO ✧ PERMISSIONS ✧ KINKLIST ✧ EXTRA

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backdated to senpai's birthday

[marmoron]

[ There are a lot of words Keith could be using to describe how everything had seemingly found resolution at the end. Anticlimactic comes to mind, as does frustrating and ridiculous. All in all, he shouldn't be complaining because the crisis is over and everyone has reverted back to their original appearance. Sumarlok has definitely seen better days, but this is a far better outcome than the one he'd been braced for, in the end. Doesn't mean that he won't twitch with annoyance every time Malachite gets brought up though.

But today isn't about that or anything else. Today is Shiro's birthday (ish) and now that they've both added one more survived calamity to their belts, it's time to just enjoy one day. The kittens hadn't necessarily gone along with the program, but teeny scratches be damned all ten of them are wearing a little party hat in honor of the occasion. And of course, it's all worth it when he gets to see them all attempting to climb Shiro. The word for this one is much easier to find -- adorable, though nobody is going to find out who Keith is calling adorable here. AHem.

But in any event, when cake has been eaten, an inflatable kiddie pool has been offered up partly in jest, and the babies have all puttered out of energy and have fallen asleep on the couch, it's time to head to the park where Shiro's actual present (and yet another victim of dragon hoarding) is waiting. Emerald Park is quiet at night, pretty even now that the sky isn't blood red and spewing ash. Though Keith wouldn't say he's entirely relaxed, it's close enough. With just a tiny burst of mana, he starts a breeze that makes the nearby tree branches rustle. Laughing a little to himself, he turns to Shiro: ]

Alright. I stashed it in that forest everyone keeps saying is haunted. You're not too scared to go in there, are you?

idk who this senpai is

[earthshine]

[ shiro's come to expect very little of his birthday. he's been at a breakneck speed for a couple years now, all the way back to galaxy garrison when he was hellbent on proving himself worthier than his medical file suggested. so with life busy, his focus elsewhere and the actual day of his birth only appearing on a four-year cycle... it's been easy to dwindle the celebration. besides, when there's a ticking time clock on the functionality of his body, celebrating another year closer has a way of missing the mark. he has to admit though -- after today, he can begin to see the appeal.

maybe it's simply because he's died or that he's just come out of surviving a fake apocalypse. both make him appreciate the little things, like slowing down and taking that time for himself. or maybe there's no outstanding reason for his changed perception other than walking into the living-room of their shared space to find ten tiny kittens with equally tiny hats and a sweet faced keith saying happy birthday. in that single moment, he found himself going huh, maybe birthdays aren't all that terribly dull and forgettable afterall. even the unending joke of scales and fish with the kiddie pool couldn't dampen his enjoyment of cake and balls of fur.

that in itself would have been enough, more than enough, really. but keith is far more attentive and kind-hearted than anyone gives him credit for. which is why they find themselves at emerald park.

shiro's been here not all that long ago. if they take a sharp turn to the right and head down that path for four, five minutes, they'll find a lake that shiro is, unfortunately, familiar with. thankfully, they bypass the turn and continue on, only to pause at a line of trees. haunted. right. at this point, nothing would surprise him. though, if there are ghosts in there, he hopes they don't rope them into playing tag.

the branches continue to sway and shiro delays a beat longer just to eye the rustling of leaves before slowly tilting his face for a sideways glance. in lieu of a straight denial, shiro grins small an' crooked, one eyebrow cocking high on a wordless you're kidding right. as for actual words? ]

That's you, isn't it?

[ the not so subtle amethyst wind. one beat and then in the next, shiro is on him. he moves with quick efficiency, enough to get his arm around keith's neck and reel him down an' in for a headlock. his free hand finds keith's head and then there's metal fingers tangled in ebony, ruffling the hair to oblivion. ]

Quit trying to scare me. It's my birthday. You're contractually obligated to be nice to me.

a mystery for the ages....

[marmoron]

[ The dead giveaway is that the wind stops the nanosecond Shiro splits Keith's attention. Laughter comes before the squirming as he tries to shield himself from further assault. His hair doesn't need more help being an unregulated mess of haphazard curls, thank you very much! ]

I would never. [ Grinning absolutely makes mock indignation more credible, right? Right.
Giving Shiro's side a nudge with an elbow, a different exit strategy pops into mind a moment later. [ But I don't remember signing any contracts. Gonna have to show me some paperwork.

[ And with that, he gives Shiro's ribs a few finger pokes. Time to see if Shiro's impervious to some tickling. ]

[earthshine]

[ watch those fingers! luckily, shiro is made of stronger stuff, so a few well aimed prods doesn’t have him falling prey to squirmy laughter. well, not entirely. there’s certainly laughter but he stands strong against the assault, only abandoning keith’s bird’s nest -- otherwise known as hair -- to grab at that hand.

he grins wide. ]

Oral contracts are just as binding! You accepted when you took on the title of best friend.

[ he maintains the headlock, though it’s honestly just for show. it’s loose enough for keith to wriggle out if he wants to and even if it wasn’t, shiro knows keith is just as capable of turning the tables. so maybe keith is abiding by the fabricated rules by playing nice here.

either way -- shiro doesn’t cut him any further slack, instead squeezing at his fingers. ]

How do you not know this?

text; during the powder festivities

[marmoron]

hey babe 🍑🍆

[earthshine]

[ squint.

doublecheck. triplecheck. quadrupl--okay, enough. the text exists. ]

Hi?

[marmoron]

[ There's a several minute delay before Shiro gets another response. Rest assured, Keith spent much of that time willing the planet to swallow him whole. ]

sorry
didn't mean to send that to you

1/2

[earthshine]

[ oh. haha. autocorrect can be a trickster.
not that shiro can even work out what the original text was supposed to be.
but.

autocorrect must've come into play somehow because keith says he didn’t mean to send that message.

to
him


to him.


-- wait. ]

[earthshine]

[ thumbs up a tiny bit so the 🍑🍆 at center.
long stare.

surely not??? ]

I don’t understand.

[ pls explain wtf is happening here. ]

voice | un: PrincessAllura | Dated to probably closer to when she came back? fdsjlk I'm slow

[quintessent]

[It's been far too long, and not just because of the time that Allura spent back at home. Since getting back, she put off talking to her friends - Keith was a good first step but she needed to talk to Shiro. The trouble was, as these things go, the longer she put it off, the harder it was to start.

At least she was reasonably sure he knew that she was alive and okay.

Finally, gathering her courage, she sends a message:]

Hello, Shiro. Have you been... well?

[Great. That's a nice and normal way to talk to a friend after you ran out on them after manipulating them to tell you the truth of your father's death!]

voice; un: shiro // LOL you're ttly fine.

[earthshine]

[ he wonders when -- or if -- he’ll stop feeling guilt every time he talks to allura. keith’s given him the rundown. allura’s back. she’s still behind but she knows who they are. she’s concerned about him and yes, she’s sore about those months of omitted truth. that should have been his cue to message her but instead, he again let her down by waiting it out and letting her come to him.

he frowns and dismisses such thoughts, refocusing his attention. ]

Yeah. Was worried about you though. [ especially with how things were left. he felt worse about it the next day; so frustrated with himself that he’d returned back to the apartment with keith the night of the bonfire, rather than trying to find allura. he’d thought she’d appreciate some space and time to process. that added with how shiro couldn’t control any sort of filter… he’d taken the easier route of letting keith herd him home.

so yeah. he’s beginning to think he’s set himself up for always feeling some level of shame when it comes to allura. he clears his throat and tries to keep his voice void of such notes though. concerned, yet friendly. ]

How’s it feel to be back?

[quintessent]

[Was worried about you. Allura knows this conversation isn't going to be guilt-free although she didn't expect it to hit so suddenly. It's foolish, to avoid Shiro of all people. More than anyone else on the team, she trusted him to keep a level head and approach everything pragmatically. But it's that same admiration that makes it difficult to approach when she feels like she messed up.

She continues, keeping her voice steady, like they've been conversing amicably this whole time,]

It feels. Strange? I didn't have any memories of this place while I was home, but once I returned it all came back rather quickly.

[It's made time management a little bit of a challenge, dealing with several phoebes passing for her while it was only a movement or so for her friends. But it's starting to balance out more.

Sucking in a breath, she meters it out slowly.]

I feel as though I owe you an apology.

[earthshine]

[ didn’t have her memories of this place. oh. that’s… not what he wants to hear. it’s not overly common, but there’s enough of a revolving cycle that it’s a well established fact that gembonded come an’ go. at any given point, he can be sent back to their reality. he gets that. fully accepts it. but up until, well, right now, he figured he’d remember his time here. it’s a tough pill to swallow because although going back has always been a necessity in his mind, there’s fear embedded in that responsibility. he’s dead there. he will return to being nothing; just a stray soul locked in purgatory, forced to watch from the sidelines as his friends suffer.

he thought he’d at least have this to remember. but he won’t, which also means… keith won’t. keith, who swears up an’ down that he’ll save shiro somehow, some way. if he doesn’t remember where shiro is though…

doesn’t matter. it was a pipedream. he made peace with his death ages ago, he can do it again. but acxa says... -- but it's difficult to trust that too much. as long as keith escapes the clone fiasco in one piece and manages to get back in time to help the team, then that’s all that really matters. wrapping up such dismal thoughts nice an’ neat like, he saves them for another time and refocuses on the mention of apology.

a beat of misplaced amusement catches him then and he’s weary on it, finding something exasperating, yet humorous about her being the one to apologize. ]

You’re only allowed to apologize if I get to too. [ not that he’s going to let her beat him to the punch. ]

I know I dropped the ball here. [ do alteans use this idiom? excuse shiro, he’s busy sighing. ] And I’m sorry that it turned out the way it did, Princess.

backdated to may monster times

[marmoron]

[ while shiro's minding his own moose business out in the living room, he'll hear keith's sweet, dulcet voice from the bedroom. ]

HOW TO PREP FOR GAY. ANAL. SEX.

[ ... suffice to say, research is going swimmingly when you're a tengu fighting the good fight against a)handlessness, b)questionable speech-to-text functionality and c) heteronormativity in your search results. and to think keith started this earnest endeavor all discreet whispers... ]

i can't believe this is game canon

[earthshine]

[ today’s already a dumpster fire ok. shiro’s dealing with being a moos--caribou hybrid with marginal success. yelled obscenities from the bedroom do not help the headache he already has from balancing a rack of antlers. ]

-- Keith? [ of course he abandons the uncomfortable, lonely couch. fueled by curiosity and concern, his steps come quicker and… he forgets. he doesn’t shimmy sideways as he has been. he barrels straight for the doorway and then barrels straight into the doorway. or more specifically, the doorframe. the antlers pop, lock and drop wedge, ripping into the wooden frame to prevent shiro from pulling free when he tries a moment later.

another tug. another pull. a huff and his heels dig in with him trying to backtrack out the way he came and… nope. he pauses then and: ]

Uh… Keith? [ help. ]

IT WAS TOO FUNNY.

[marmoron]

[ it takes all of one tick for keith to regret letting frustration get the better of him. he just about has a heart attack when he hears shiro's concerned reply and the subsequent patter of footsteps all the while his phone starts loading one incriminating search result after another. ]

Shiro -- [ he starts, but then decides to snatch the pen that he's been using as a substitute pointer finger back up between his teeth to click out of the browser. one frantic jab at the phone screen and then comes the crack of splintering wood.

keith whirls around in a flurry of black and red feathers, making the phone fall into the narrow space between the mattress and the headboard. the pen falls out of his mouth as keith just stares at shiro caught by the antlers. one blink. he shouldn't be laughing. these new monster forms they're in are stupid and inconvenient. and yet.... this exact predicament is a little too ridiculous, even for him. ]

I -- pffft. [ Deep breath, deep breath. Getting up and hobbling towards shiro on his stupid talons!! ] Again?

[ slightly wobbly, he gives shiro a reassuring pat on the arm. ]

quality shitposts only

[earthshine]

[ keith's lucky. shiro’s a little too busy lamenting the downturn in his day to notice anything suspicious going on. in fact, he’s even less inclined to look to keith -- and by extension what he was getting up to -- when there’s a distinct ring of amusement. shiro pouts, bottom lip slightly pushed out as he reaches up to start manually tugging at one, wedged antler.

there’s some clicking but shiro doesn’t look away from his antlers until keith is standing in front of him, patting at his arm... with his fucking wing. right. one more tug and then his shoulders droop, a heavy expelled breath punctuating his defeat. ]

I hate this. [ he’s still pouting. look, it isn’t his fault that the doorways are suddenly too small. if they’re forced to change every month, shouldn’t the buildings inexplicably, magically change too? remodel to fit their new forms? that’s what shiro thinks, hmph. thanks for nothing, malachite. ] I don’t even know what I am. Why antlers?

text; 1/2

[marmoron]

[ at precisely 1425 hrs when keith is out of his afternoon studio class, shiro will be getting a ping. ]

babe i think i made an ass out of myself in class
the prof wanted us to discuss hardships we were facing in our lives that we can channel into art
he made us sit in a fucking circle and everything and

2/2

[marmoron]

[ deep breath as keith ducks around the corner to avoid a classmate. the rest of the story is delayed by a minute. ]

ok sorry. i had to get away from jeraldine
anyway it was my turn and i was daydreaming about you but obviously i couldn't say
"my biggest problem rn is that my face isn't in my fiance's chest"
so uh
kinda blurted
i'm all out of almonds.

text; 1/2

[earthshine]

[ shiro is having an uneventful afternoon at the station. specifically his office.
it’s paperwork tuesday and shiro is content with the monotony of it.
he’s making great progress on the workload too, up until his device pings and he derails right into distraction. ]

You daydream about me during class?

[ not the point here, he knows, but he’s crowded around his device, grinning silly. ]

2/2

[earthshine]

[ okay okay, attempt to comfort his fiancé round two.
tappity tap tap – send. ]

So am I almonds, then?
Was that code for I’m all out of fiancé pecs?

[marmoron]

[ okay so.
a) holy hell is that not the point
b) why does reading this make him feel a little better?
conclusion: kdigh ix hopdldxx. ]

i guess you do have a nice pair of nuts on you🤔
also? what kind of question is that?
do you not daydream about me at work? 😨<

text;

[marmoron]

[ the centerpiece of studio today is an ornate fruit bowl filled to overflowing like a modern day cornucopia. there are the usual fruits like peaches and figs, along with daintier items like blueberries and gooseberry. of course, there are also the more suggestively shaped fruits like the typical banana alongside some sumarlok native species that his classmate, jocelyn, insists is called a virgin's pearl. seeing keith's raised eyebrow, she'd stated a bit more bluntly: like a clit, keith.

which is to say, keith had genuinely been relieved when the professor walked in, shushed up the class and turned on the television for some ambient noise. why he ever allowed himself to be lulled into the satisfying routine of observing, sketching, observing, shading is a mystery to all considering the start to the day, but drawing has a way of hitting the perfect sweet spot between calming and challenging. it's nice to know that he's getting better at drawing -- at least, his more carttoonish stick figures look a little less childish.

but as the tv goes from reports on government proposals to local news, the mood shifts very abruptly. keith doesn't look up at first when the anchor speaks. ]

In local news, one of Sumarlok's fine police officers had a very eventful morning. Local favorite, Bubbly Sweet Bakeshop owners had a terrible fright when an alligator grabbed their puppy, Charlemagne, and dragged him into the lake behind their property.

[ so far, so good. keith's peach is coming along nicely. ]

As you can see from this extraordinary footage, this police officer who happened to be present, lept right into action and jumped into the lake after the alligator. There was a thirty second period of wrestling whereupon the officer was able to free Charlemagne from the gator's jaws. Incredibly, he managed to do so while keeping what appears to be an eclair clamped between his teeth the entire time.

[ eclair? keith twitches, suddenly having a strange feeling about this whole story. he looks up just in time to see shiro looking a little sheepish, but smiling wide as the reporter holds a microphone by his face. keith physically jumps to his feet, yelping: ]

Shiro!

[ earning himself confused looks from his fellow classmates. without so much as another word, keith ducks out of the class, phone in hand. as he slams the door behind him, he hears the tailend of shiro's response . ]

to lend a hand.

[ if nothing else, the fact that shiro's making horrible puns on national television is every indication that his boy is more than fine, but that bit of reassurance only sinks in when keith pulls up the broadcast on his phone in time to hear the reporter announce: ]

Thankfully, both Officer Shirogane and Charlemagne will be just fine. Officer Shirogane has returned to duty with a very full box of well deserved goodies.

[ heart thudthudthudding, keith pulls up shiro on his message list and types: ]

holy shit?????

[ yes, real specific. ]

text;

[earthshine]

[ it’s a bittersweet feeling that finds him in the aftermath. saving the pup from the jaws of death? an adrenaline high that had his heart pumping and body moving with a panic induced focus so strong that, quite honestly, most of the rescue is a blur at this point. victory tasted sweet ( literally, with the éclair he managed to keep clamped between his lips throughout the splashing water and writhing mass ) but after the outpouring of gratitude and the news spot, that sweetness tainted with bitterness.

he’s forgotten what it feels like to be a paladin.

most days he doesn’t think about it. he doesn’t even realize he isn’t thinking about it. voltron used to be at the forefront of his mind, the concept of going back a necessity to carry him through every day spent away. inevitably, he made peace with existing here but even then, he’d kept to the idea that eventually, realities would right themselves and he’d be brought back to his own. now, however…

he neither wants to go back, nor feels obligated to.

today’s felt different though. it’s coming back. the stakes were much smaller, true. not that a puppy’s life is insignificant but compared to saving planets and freeing entire civilizations from slavery or death, one pup and one alligator are significantly less daunting. still – he saved a living creature. all this time as a gembonded guardian and this is the first time he felt even remotely close to his previous calling. that’s why he chose this career to begin with. writing tickets, chasing down hotrod speeders, and playing mediator to public disturbances or domestic disputes doesn’t quite hit the same note though.

the few times that sumarlok has gone to absolute hell, shiro’s abandoned his station and invested all of his attention on keith. the babies. their family.

… and maybe that’s okay. maybe it’s okay that his focus has significantly narrowed and that he isn’t the universe’s protector any longer. he has different responsibilities and they’re good responsibilities to have.

he has to admit though, that it felt rejuvenating to throw himself into the fray, especially in an act not so foreign to him. it’s been a good while since that, too. he’d usually done it in a swimming pool and he’d been significantly smaller both in height and build, but even without a metal hand to take the brunt of snapping jaws, shiro’s alligator wrestling skills had been just as impressive at ten.

so this is how he’s spending the rest of his morning: sitting on a park bench, uniform damp and chaffing, reminiscing about the callings of his youth.

maybe keith’s right. maybe he is an old-timer.

it’s not that exact moment that his phone pings. nah. the news spot was shot sometime earlier, so when his pocket vibrates, shiro is well into his third éclair, pink box open on his lap. fishing it out with one hand and then, upon seeing it’s a notification from keith🍑, shiro gets both hands on it, leaving the éclair to dangle from his mouth.

tap, tap, tap – ]

Strange model?

[ that’s where his mind goes first: keith’s art class. ]

[marmoron]

....

[ okay, so keith has no idea what the hell shiro's talking about having catapulted anything about class to the bottom of his priorities. still, for whatever reason he'd expected shiro to just know what's on his mind, and the fact that they've started this off not remotely seeing eye to eye knocks some of the wind out of keith's sails. he fires back a text immediately. ]

what model?
mo forget it
GATOR??

[ it's hard honestly, wanting to shout this at his fiancé, but having only text to channel that into. keith looks up, actually taking in the campus surroundings to figure out where the hell he's going because that sure as hell wasn't a consciously calculated decision. with one hand on the emergency exit door, keith's eyes glance towards the little sign that reads opening this door will set off the fire alarm .... and doesn't immediately take his hand off. ]