earthshine | ⊚ noctium ic contact.

[ 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. ]

....

[ 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. ]

Edited (html, my arch nemesis >c) 2022-09-28 01:10 (UTC)

[ oh.

OH.

keith saw that? how did he see that? or did he feel that? even all this time later, synchrony is a bit of a mystery to shiro in frequency and potency. sometimes, across far distances even, a bond so strong can sense emotions or thoughts, but uh…

surely not? surely keith wasn’t following shiro wrestle by roll by pin of that alligator, while comfortably sitting in his art class.

right?

true or not, the thought is humorous nonetheless and shiro chortles around his mouthful, éclair still dangling as he types. ]

Oh that.
Are you impressed?
😉

[ keith blinks, then stares at the words on his screen. there's not a whole lot of alternative meaning to the question and emoji combination other than "shiro is flirting with me" and yet his brain refuses to cooperate with that interpretation.

this can't be all shiro has to say for himself.
but then where are the follow up text messages?

don't worry, he'll wait. and wait.
with his hand still planted on the emergency exit.

a full minute later, curiosity wins out over patience and so: ]

you just
jumped into a lake to save a puppy from an alligator
and now you're winking at me
am i dreaming

[ keith’s waiting. shiro’s waiting. they’re all waiting… which is okay, really, because shiro has an eclair hanging from his mouth when he’d much rather be munching on it.

so he does.

he’s down to a fourth of it when the notification comes up and being the eager boy that he is, he stuffs the whole of it into his mouth, cheeks puffing out. chocolate frosting catches at the corner of his lip and smudges a few finger tips that dirty his phone as he types. ]

It's not that strange!
And not a big deal, either.
The pup needed help. I was there. And I know how to wrestle gators.
Easy.
This one was relatively small, too.

[ strange is relative. relative to the absolute clown show of bizarre magic and cosmological phenomenon that have saturated every facet of their lives since finding the blue lion? yeah, sure. no need to bat an eyelash over someone wrestling a gator.

it's just... ]

you never told me about gator wrestling????

[ WHO. WHAT. WHEN. WHERE. WHY!!!! with the initial shock of seeing his boy on the news fading, keith is suddenly all too keenly aware of this whole past to shiro's life that he was never privy to. calling this betrayal is far too much of an exaggeration, but there's definitely a pout starting to take shape on his face as keith finally takes his hand off the emergency door and grumps at his phone. ]

i wanna hear about this!

[ who: shiro
what: gator wrestling.
when: two decades minus a few years ago.
where: florida.
why: be… cause…? see: florida.

shiro manges to swallow without choking in his greed, tongue poking out to rub at the smudge of chocolate on his lip. ]

You knew I grew up in Florida.

[ in other words? wrestling gators should have occurred to keith…? it’s a known pastime, c’mon babe. ]

I used to help clear out swimming pools.
Especially for the old folks.

[ ... oh.

that is such an unbelievably wholesome image that keith is a pinch embarrassed about ever having conjured up some worldwide wrestling federation style rings with campy outfits and snappy gators. just.. gosh. even as a kid, shiro was always looking out for others, helping out the elderly.

it's hard to imagine shiro as a child because of his large presence and stature now, but keith is damn sure he must've been everyone's favorite even back then. it's comical, really, how quickly the pouting turns into a soft smile, and even more ridiculous that keith hasn't noticed other folks giving him strange looks for just loitering by the fire escape, but in many ways, he really only does have eyes for shiro. ]

heh. you fucking boy scout 😛
i can't believe this never came up!
you know you're gonna have to show me your gator wrestling moves up close later, right?

[ despite his adamant text earlier, shiro can admit it is odd. with space travel, as well as life as a gembonded, keith's experienced an array of situations, creatures and acts that are, for the most part, best described as weird; still, keith's foundation is built on and by earth standards. gators aren't commonplace in arizona.

to keith, wrestling gators is akin to shiro's perception of eating rattlers.

so he appreciates the ease in which keith's acceptance takes. between one text to the next, the read tone changes and shiro, ever taken by keith's ability to roll with the unexpected, dimples on a smile that spreads wide. ]

So you wanna watch.
😉😉😉
The secrets of my technique aren't free, y'know.
But I guess with you being my fiancé, I can let you see.
All you gotta do is point me in the direction of a gator and I'll wrestle it for you, baby.

[ annnnd back to the flirting. ]

[ it's precisely because this is bizarre that keith HAS to see this with his own eyes -- though yes, he will indeed be downloading shiro's filmed heroics to watch whenever he needs a pick me up. what can he say? shiro is amazing and apparently a bottomless well of intrigue.

in truth, keith thinks it might have been his own fault that they haven't talked so much about their childhoods. his was horrible past his dad's passing and shiro's couldn't have been easy, though perhaps less dramatic considering group homes and the threat of juvie likely weren't looming over his young head.

but with a few things shiro, however, it's hard to know just how well the probing will be received. home after all, is a risky subject and if the future is an implicitly banned topic, then who's to say the past will fare any better? keith forwns slightly, not quite taking his eyes off the phone screen as he walks towards the exit.

sure, he's basically cutting class and most of his stuff is still in studio, but "sorry my fiance wrestled a gator and i wanted to check up on him" sounds like a legitimate excuse for an absence.
it takes him a couple of extra seconds to reply, but shiro will see why in a tick.

right. can't go revealing house shirogane's fabled gator techniques
i promise my lips will be sealed.
dunno about pointing you at a gator in a lake but
you should show me on one of these ones
yknow. if you're brave enough.

[ VariantGaytor]

Edited 2022-09-28 15:04 (UTC)

[ he’s three minus a baker’s dozen, meaning he’s got ten to go and a job that he really isn’t supposed to be on break for. saving jizzus and josephine’s puppy from an alligator is admirable, but not exactly grounds for him to take the rest of the morning off. since the television spot, he’s been on this park bench, whittling away time. so, really, maybe he should pack up and get back to the station, see if he has to file some sort of report for acting while in uniform. that would be the responsible thi–

ping.

and all goes out the window once the notification sounds. it takes so very little for him to get lost in the conversation again, mouth once more spread on a smile that beams and holds, even as he picks up his fourth eclair to give it a bite. at least this time, he has enough manners to drop it back into the box as he chews and clicks.

oh, what in the ever-loving fuck?

he laughs, spraying a few pieces of éclair to hit the open lid of his pastry box. it isn’t news that he loves this boy, but… gosh, he loves this boy. ]

You'll be part of the House of Shirogane soon. Best you learn.
I don't know how much you will learn if you're trapped inside that gator though.
Just know, that if that gator has taken you, I will wrestle it to the ground and pry it open.
I’ll pull you free, baby.
Nothing, not even a behemoth gator like that one, can keep me from you.

[ his flirting game is simply embarrassing at this point. ]

[ soon. shiro says it like they've had any meaningful discussion about their engagement, and once again keith wonders if this is all a bizarre dream. the engagement itself is referenced often enough that keith is sure shiro doesn't actually intend on walking it back this time, but plans for a wedding are about as existent as a full bag of snacks anywhere near bitchface's vicinity.

still, soon is a thought that makes keith smile to himself as he starts walking off campus. after all, it looks like he has a gator kigu to obtain before coming home tonight. ]

uh huh. and how soon is soon, exactly?
if you're volunteering to show me a gator wrestle AND extraction procedure, i don't think i can turn that down
i love watching my hero in action 🥰

[ how soon is soon? good question. it’s remarkable how easily time can get away from him. frustrating, too, of course. shiro likes to blame it on the ring. he never got keith an engagement ring. he still hasn’t, truthfully. all that time delaying, to walk back an importune proposal on a beach months ago, because the wording hadn’t been rehearsed enough and the ring not worthy enough, only to blubber his way through a second, sudden proposal in the middle of keith’s art class. shiro was never going to do this proposal right, was he? maybe he’s destined to botch every engagement.

afterall, he and adam had an extended engagement as well, with shiro wanting to wait until after the kerberos mission to tie the knot. look how well waiting went for them.

shiro doesn’t intend to keep keith waiting like that. or much longer in general. he’s blaming the ring, remember? between deciding on it, finding a talented craftsman, and then subsequently waiting for the order to be finished, it’s taken a good chunk of time. he should have the ring by the start of next week, however.

he cheated a little when it came to choosing. he’d emptied his shoebox of treasures to take the source of their penguin engagement and given that up to the craftsman to make a ring from it. just a band. simple, yet solid, he thinks that suits keith better than anything more extravagant.

he’ll be seeing soon, but until then: ]

I get your ring next week. Any time after that.
Maybe we can look into destinations tonight.
After the lesson on gator wrestling of course.

[ the mention of a ring shouldn't actually be a surprise. they're a a part of a traditional engagement and all, but considering the unorthodox nature of their relationship, keith hadn't exactly come to expect one either. or maybe it's less favorable than that. the truth is, keith doesn't like revisiting the morning after shiro's seaweed ring proposal and has blocked out the concept of engagement rings entirely.

besides, that had been fitting in its own right. his dad and krolia had never done anything like exchange rings or get legally married. of course, there were quite the few obstacles in the way of trying to get a marriage license to a literal space alien, but they hadn't done any exchanging of trinkets or gifts.

you were the best gift i could have asked for anyway is what krolia had said about it, which had effectively embarrassed keith into awkward silence. he was only starting to get to know his mother and the idea that a perfect stranger could ever think so fondly of him due to a biological connection had been something he struggled a little to accept . thinking back on her words now, it makes keith laugh a little. wasn't she more or less saying he'd been an unplanned ~~roo~~ mistake?

his vision blurs a little and keith quickly blinks away the mist in his eyes. fuck. just because they don't talk about home doesn't mean he's immune to sudden pangs of homesickness, he breathes out, giving himself a mental shake. he wishes he could tell koolia about this next big step in his life or at least share it with the wolf, but for obvious reasons ... he can't.

or wait, can't he?

the summoning horn is still sitting there unused in his room. but is it even fair to bring the space wolf here? what if the wolf and bitchface and huey and mach five and speed racer don't get along? what if the wolf and shiro don't get along?

or what if he's just overthinking this whole fucking thing? ]

oh....i didn't know you were getting one.
i think i'd like that.
but also ... if it's okay, i also want to talk to you about maybe bringing a friend from home here. you know. the wolf i met in the quantum abyss?
i just ... i want him to be part of our family too.

[ it started with bitchface. within the first month, they’d taken in a kitten ( a couple, actually, though bitchface is the one who bitched her way into adoption ). even then, however, there’d been no expectation for longevity. they were going to go back to their reality; they were merely biding time until they figured out a pathway. but then there was huey. then the twins. an engagement was somewhere in the midst of all that, as well as a move to their own house, rather than the temporary arrangement of a government issued apartment. now, there will be a marriage in a couple weeks, as well as a new addition to their family and…

they’re putting down roots.

they’ve been putting down roots for eons.

he doesn’t know why it catches him flat-footed, struck dumb on how deep they are into this. it’s not like he didn’t know, but making due with what they have here and making it work is different than actively taking something from their original reality. a something that is very much alive and quite possibly doesn’t want to be here.

is this a good idea…?

it’s just that extra step of commitment to this world. just one more indication that they are willingly abandoning their posts as paladins and more or less, turning away from the desire of ever seeing their friends again, as well as the universe they knew. when he breaks it down like that and thinks about it in those terms, is he actually okay with this?

his response time has slowed down considerably. he fills that time by closing the lid of his pastry box and setting it down on the bench space to his right. leg coming up, he hooks the ankle over his opposite knee and hunches over the straight line of his leg, arms resting against himself as he stares at the blank writing box.

what’s more important to him? to him; to takashi shirogane, not to the once famed black paladin. he sighs out slow and once he starts typing, it isn’t all that difficult to finish. ]

If you think being here is the best thing for him and that he’ll get along with the others, then okay.
He can be part of our family.

[ he stares at the sent messages, frowning faintly. It feels incomplete. After another delay, albeit a much shorter one, he tacks on: ]

This is our home now.
I want you to be happy in it.

[ the longer wait is slightly nerve wracking. keith never wavers on his walk towards the shopping district of sumarlok, but he worries all the same. it's approaching two years now since they've been in noctium, and they've seen more than a handful of people come and go. it's something that can still happen to either one of them any day, but over time they've settled into life here and have built up entirely different lives.

neither of them are paladins, neither of them have so much as operated a spacecraft in years. it's a stretch to say that keith's traded in his knife for charcoal and paint, but there's still a flash of validity to that. they're civilians and dads and soon-to-be husbands, all things keith had lost sight of ever being one day back in their own universe.

as difficult as some of that transition had initially been, the more that he's settled into a predominantly peaceful life with shiro, the more he's gotten attached to it.... as well as felt guilty about having this happiness while knowing others back home don't have that at all -- but even that guilt has shifted over time. see, he never asked for noctium, but he's here all the same.

that being the case, he can't help thinking maybe all along he's been selfish in not giving the wolf a chance to experience peace. ever since the wolf was a tiny thing that needed to be saved from predator aliens, the pup's been fighting a life or death battle with only pockets of reprieve and affection to keep him going. doesn't the wolf deserve to meet other wolves? go off into the wild to make new friends? play?

the pings distract from his current train of thought and keith reads eagerly, not quite knowing what to expect. presumably it won't be a set of harsh words -- and they aren't. not by a long stretch. but they aren't enthusiastic either. still unsure what to make of that, keith worries at his lower lip until another message comes in.

this is our home now.

leith can't help staring, coming to a literal pause and earning himself a dirty look from smeone who walks into him on the street. keith barely even notices. he doesn't have words, not really. but he's flooded with the sudden overwhelming need to be with shiro and hold him. keith couldn't even say if it's happy or melancholy, but the idea of shiro calling this place home had felt like an impossibility with shiro's natural orientation towards duty and service.

it's a big step and keith needs to see if shiro is feeling okay, if he's happy because the text sure as fuck isn't providing any clarity. ]

can you sneak away from the station for a bit?
i think i want to talk to you face to face

[ ... and in after thought. ]

and check you over
you know for gator injuries.
😏

[ he loves texting keith. it allows them to stay in contact when they really shouldn’t be. keith obviously taps out replies while in class and shiro has occasionally texted underneath his desk, even as a coworker has been in his office, chattering away. those texts are done blind and usually result in a number of typos that autocorrect either doesn’t catch or does, only to incorrectly pick another word.

keith is pretty good at shiro speak, though. shiro on the other hand? he’s having a hard time deciphering keith speak.

staring at the text won’t manifest an audio clip of keith’s voice. shiro tells himself this, even as he continues to scrutinize those texted lines. he wonders what it is keith is thinking right now. what his mood is. ping, ping; the following texts give off the impression that keith is feeling playful and mischievous, perhaps even wound up for some midday fun, but aside from pulling shiro’s lips into a lopsided smile, shiro doesn’t feel entirely convinced that it’s so straightforward.

doesn’t matter, honestly, that he doesn’t have an in depth read on where keith’s head is at. the fact that keith even asks for this, is reason enough that shiro ought to provide. besides, it’s not like he isn’t already playing hooky with an extended break. ]
.
We’ll need somewhere private if you plan to be thorough.
😜

[ stellar flirting successfully executed, onto the more practical: ]

I’m at the park actually. Not the station. I was digging into my pastry reward of éclairs.

[ it’s only after he presses send that he thinks, maybe he didn’t need to outline it that extensively. ah well. ]

You’re in class, aren’t you?
I can come to you.

[ you know, so keith doesn’t miss too much class. ]

[ despite everything, the message gets keith to laugh. wasn't he just thinking shiro has a natural inclination towards service and responsibility? here his boy is, apparently taking an unauthorized break to stuff some goddamn eclairs into his mouth.

it's always slightly disconcerting to be wrong about shiro, but in this particular case? keith can't help being a little fond. even if the guy's passion for eclairs is... truly out of this world. ]

i left class early actually.
figured "my fianxé wrestled a gator" was a valid enough reason
can you pick me up from the kigu store in 15? gonna get a gator outfit and then we can go somewhere private

[ but if shiro thought he might've gotten off easy on the eclair teasing.... he'll be getting a rude awakening in the next minute. ]

btw
is the rurmor that you were eating eclairs WHILE wrestling the gator true?
i'm guessing it must not be if you're still hungry for those things

[ … shiro doesn’t exactly approve of cutting class. it might not seem so, though, considering that they met with keith ditching school to steal his jeep. funny to think that every time keith plays hooky with class time, he gets a reward from shiro. shiro’s not entirely sure what this reward is panning out to be but if keith is getting a kigu…

wait.

he’s actually getting that gator kigu?

amused but also horrified that he isn’t going to turn down the opportunity to get keith somewhere private, even dressed like that, shiro delays on the reply back to compose himself. mistake on his part it seems, because there’s a btw and then a few lines that have shiro groaning aloud, ]

I was in the middle of eating it!

[ there are so many layers to peel back here. keith knows about the soggy eclair. meaning it had to have been reported? which also means, so many other people know about it. what did the news feature showcase him as? the hero cop who loves to save defenseless puppies almost as much as he loves dining on pastries?

he shoots a glare at the closed box beside him, feeling betrayed. ]

The pup yelped and I moved!
When a gator is involved, you can’t waste a second, not even to put food down.

[ this time at least, keith has no questions whatsoever about shiro's tone of voice. the indignation comes through loud and clear and it makes keith grin wide and toothy at his phone. a passer by forced to walk around him on thr street takes one look at his face and mutters a disgruntled keep moving romeo-- which, just as before, gets wholly ignored.

what does get keith to move again is that unspoken agreement to meet in 15 at the kigu store which means time is ticking. ]

babe have i told you today that i love you?
you're a wonderful hero.
i feel safe knowing you'll never put a fresh eclair first
🥰😚

[ ..yeah, the phrasing is a bit facetious, but teasing aside it's heartfelt. keith really does love this boy, even when he gets into gator wrestling matches with eclairs for assists. ]

[ any and all indignation here is shallow in feeling. he isn’t actually bothered. he isn’t actually betrayed. he’s laughing in soft, quiet puffs of breath, lips twitching into a smile even as he types out those unnecessary explanations. keith’s teasing, of course. there is no real judgment here. so while nothing is required to keep shiro’s mood afloat, he’s more than happy to gobble up those few, sweet lines, heartbeat fluttering despite the cheese and the cringe.

afterall, shiro is a big, big fan of the double-c.

he hums, soft and contented, everything lulling in the moment as he rereads the words. before waking in this world, shiro never would have pinned keith as the type to dabble in sappy texts and ridiculous emojis, but here he is all the same, showcasing a sweetness so sugary that he’d laugh if he wasn’t also so helplessly moony. ]

I love you too, Keith.
I’ll even let you have some of my fresh éclairs.
That’s how much you mean to me.

[ wow. how meaningful. he laughs, this time at himself, and shakes it off to tap out a few more texts. ]

That requires me not dropping this box on the way back to my bike, though.
So I’ll see you in fifteen.
Bye ❤️

⊚ noctium ic contact.

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i can't believe this.

as i always say, you brought this upon yourself

:////

now it is YOU who is making this shitpost sad

2/2

you started us off on this path!!

yeah well. you weren't supposed to follow my example.

i dont like this double standard!!

2/2

annnnnnd we're back to stupid. you pulled us out of the sad.

FOR NOW. i don't doubt they'll be emo in a few more tags

... you're right. i need to prepare myself.