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⊚ noctium ic contact.

« 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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[ 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 ❤️

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⊚ noctium ic contact.

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.