takashi shirogane (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
earthshine) wrote2023-02-05 05:32 am
earthshine) wrote2023-02-05 05:32 am
⊚ noctium ic contact.
« Shiro »
TEXT ✧ AUDIO ✧ VIDEO ✧ ACTION
Takashi Shirogane ✦ Voltron: Legendary DefenderRESIDENCE ✦ 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
no subject
Oh sure -- just keep making stuff up as you go. I can do that, too.
[ Untangling himself from Shiro's headlock, he straightens up and immediately reaches up to muss up that white forelock. ]
I'm pretty sure there's a clause in there about harassment. I'm trying to lead you to your birthday present and you attack me like that. That's low. Maybe you owe me something.
no subject
C’mon, don’t be so dramatic. I barely touched you.
[ he’s not even going to get into the whole he owes keith something. birthday boy shelling out a ( retribution ) gift? blasphemy. he rolls back his shoulders to regain some of his dignity and runs metal fingers through his floof, tugging out the small, barely there knots. here, he turns back to the line of trees and tilts his chin up on some feigned sense of superiority. ]
Besides, it’s not like I can make your hair look worse.
no subject
Don't you dare start getting on my case about mullets.
[ Gosh, if there was one silver lining to having left Voltron, it's leaving behind all the unnecessary commentary from Lance about his goddamn hair. It's not Keith's fault that it likes to grow out in a particular way, ok!! ]
I'll have to seriously reconsider this whole thing if you start.
[ He says ... but starts heading down a dirt path leading into the forest proper. At least it's a toothless lil barb. ]
no subject
it was such an unapologetic i do what i want and to this day, shiro is still amused that no one was successful in hassling keith into using a comb. honestly, shiro isn’t sure he owns one even now. ]
Okay, okay. Nothing about the hair, got it.
[ the path is wide enough to walk side by side so it only takes a short jog to catch up and fall into step. he turns his head for a glance and he grins anew, swaying in his stride to gently bump their shoulders. ]
So seeing as we can’t talk about that… can we talk about my present? Like hints, maybe?
no subject
I'll never take anything you ever say about patience seriously again.
[ He gives his head a little shake, though there's a warm smile on his lips as they start heading down the trail. Though... given that he'd had an aerial view of the forest when he'd gone on this particular misadventure, his eyes are on the sky above, rather than on the path ahead. It's been a while since he's had to navigate the desert using the stars like this, but it comes intuitively enough. ... Even if admittedly more cumbersome when also trying to avoid getting smacked in the face by vines and tree branches. ]
No hints. [ A beat. ] But if you wanna guess, I'm curious as to what you think it is.
no subject
Okay. Let me think…
[ but his focus is split. partly, he mulls over the kind of shops he’s seen around sumarlok and tries to picture what keith would go shopping for. for the rest of his attention? he watches keith out of the corner of his eye, taking note of the slightly tilted head. huh, well, the stars are pretty. ]
It has to be something that can withstand the elements.
[ not that he even knows how long ago keith stashed the present away. for all he knows, it could be a few hours. musing aloud, he returns his gaze to the path. the stretch of it is shrouded in shadow, but with the combination of stars and four moons illuminating from above, shapes easily take on recognizable forms in the dark. ]
Something nothing or no one would think to steal.
[ there’s a fallen branch up a ways. it’s small, something that would take only mild effort to step over but keith’s star-ward and shiro acts without much thought. he touches his hand to the small of keith’s back and slides it to the furthest hip, sidestepping himself to the edge of the path and steers keith along with him. stride never pauses and he continues on, all the while still thinking: noctium astrology book ( not out here ), home gym equipment ( no too big ), sparring gloves ( maybe?? ).
branch bypassed, his hand swings back to his side and without looking to keith, grins through a: ]
If you got me a hideous jacket to match yours, we should turn around now.
no subject
Woah-- [ As Keith's attention snaps back down to the forest. They've safely walked past the offending branch, but Keith gives it a lingering displeased look over his shoulder. Would have been kinda embarrassing to faceplant here like that, but the 'thanks' on the tip of his tongue becomes something else entirely as Shiro keeps talking. ]
Hey! [ First the hair and now the jacket. What is this, who made this unwarranted criticism hour anyway. ...Not that he cares if Shiro thinks his hair and jacket are awful. Of course not. ] Just for that --
[ Twisting behind Shiro, he hops up onto his best friend's back, arms looped around his neck. How convenient that this serves as both punishment and clears the way for him to keep staring up hazard free. ]
We're walking like this now.
no subject
Bossy. [ the grin keeps. ] It’s almost like it’s your birthday, not mine.
[ not that it matters. shiro’s enjoying himself just fine. it’s been over a month now and shiro’s come to expect the changes; keith’s slighter, shorter build is a thing of the past. the tussle on filia had been a big wake-up call, but -- maybe shiro still has some things to rationalize in his mind actually, because he’s still the slightest bit surprised by the weight of keith’s body. it’s nothing shiro can’t handle. it’s merely… interesting.
that growth spurt sure came on fast, huh? on that thought, he hooks his palms at the base of keith’s thighs and hefts him marginally higher on his hips as he weaves back toward the middle of the path. ]
no subject
Because there's a lot to appreciate here. Getting to relax with his best friend and mess around has been a scarcity in the last couple of years so naturally, Keith cherishes these moments of closeness all the more. ... And that's not touching the untouchable subject of the powerful body he's pressed up to. All the same, it's hard not to have an opinion on it, even if those opinions can't possibly amount to anything good. ]
Just helping you work off the cake, Shiro. As per the contract.
[ Funny how convenient that thing is proving to be, huh? But while bantering, he looks back up at the sky to properly orient them and points about ten degrees to the left. ]
Down that way. [ Or so he thinks? ] Just gotta follow that star up there for a bit.
no subject
A bit from you could mean a hundred yards to thirty city blocks.
[ shiro’s chock-full of endurance, so he doesn’t worry too much about hauling keith over every square-foot of this park if it comes down to it. though -- in the next moment, when the path deviates and shiro steps into the cluster of leaves piled on the edge, he thinks he might end up burning off more than just the cake if keith’s a bit is the latter.
he adjusts his grip and again, heaves keith up slightly, holding him tighter to him as he steps over some sticks an’ then begins tromping through the undergrowth. ]
How well do you know these stars?
[ because all these weeks, shiro’s been meaning to track down an astronomy book or something similar and yet, has always left it on the backburner. so his own celestial navigation is useless here, when he doesn’t understand the constants and their relations to each other. ]
no subject
It shouldn't be far. Didn't want to stray too far from the lake.
[ There'd probably been some misplaced sentimental reason for that, now that he's thinking about it. Keith will keep that thought to himself though and give himself a mental shake. ]
I know 'em decently enough, I guess? Spent a little while in the Nova Station trying to figure out where in the universe we were. [ It hadn't helped -- not for that anyway. But at the time, pouring over star charts had been an excellent distraction from the trickier existential questions he'd been dealing with. Keith huffs a laugh, tentatively resting his chin on Shiro's shoulder. It's only after he settles that way that he realizes they're almost pressed cheek to cheek. He wonders for a beat if that's awkward, but the closeness here pales in comparison to what happened on Filia so the thought gets promptly dropped. ]
Can't say I know all of the names the natives have for any of the constellations, but... [ Again, he points skyward. ] See that one there? That's the brightest one. So naturally, it's called Shiro now.
no subject
he stares up at that bright light. of course keith thinks shiro would be the brightest one. he can just about feel the ache in the next beat of his heart, but he shoves off that reflexive pull of guilt and chooses to smile instead. it still feels unearned though and he hides it by tucking his chin and pressing his mouth to keith’s forearm criss-crossed just below. one, two, the longer he keeps, the easier it is to smile wider and he doesn’t know if keith can feel it growing, but shiro hopes he can at least hear it when he tilts his head back up. ]
Is that so…
[ a laugh never fully forms but there’s hints of amusement in those three words. he puncuates it next by moving his head to the side, butting his cheek up against keith’s. again, he holds the position for one, two, and then he tilts his head up toward the sky, brushing the side of his face against keith’s in that one motion. ]
Well, if that’s Shiro up there, then its Keith can’t be too far.
[ personally, shiro thinks keith burns brighter. shiro’s been all around the universe and yet, he knows keith is an unmatched, special something, and any namesake star should live up to that kind of rarity. ]
How about that one? Up, to the right -- a little hazy but the color fits. [ he grins. yeah. red. it’s faint, but there is an unmistakable reddish tint to the outer circle. ] Kinda looks like it's watching Shiro Star’s back. Y’know, keeping it safe.
[ seems accurate. ]
no subject
But if Keith had been on the verge of laughing before, what gets said next makes him go quiet. It's more of their usual playful bantering really, so he shouldn't be reading anything into it and yet.... it's funny how sometimes the way things sound don't properly register until you've heard them echoed back. His focus is on the star with its faint red halo, but his thoughts are decidedly all tied up closer to the ground.
The silence stretches on for another few ticks. Keith should really be saying something, but he doesn't actually have any words for this. He's happy -- speechlessly happy, just to bask in the idea that Shiro would talk about this like it's a given when they're both aware that togetherness isn't a given at all. The bittersweet note of the thought is sobering, but only enough that Keith bumps his cheek against Shiro's one more time in an unspoken I love you. ]
Better do a good job of it.
[ Better than the one Keith had done at home. ]
no subject
so maybe shiro does hear that unspoken afterall. ]
It will. [ he sounds so confident. the smile holds and really, at this rate it might become a permanent fixture. weaving around a small bush in the next beat, the straightaway clears out again and shiro turns his head, barely, just enough to get a peek out of the corner of his eye. ]
Its namesake does.
[ did before too. back home, keith did the best he could and that means something. a lot more than something. but shiro was always a lost cause. that’s not the focus here though and shiro doesn’t want to dwell on his nonexistent future. so he squeezes at those thighs and half-hops on his next step, jostling keith once again, with far more enthusiasm this time. ]
Though he does torture him with gifts he won’t talk about.
[ back to that -- shiro hasn’t forgotten. now can he have hints? ]
no subject
rather than risk ruining the mood of the evening, he instead gives shiro's upper bicep a squeeze back and lets out a soft huff of amusement. ]
You're gonna see it soon enough anyway.
[ "Soon enough" meaning about 300 yards further down. Not a long walk, but the forest is a little dense and picking through the foliage on unpaved terrain while wearing a friend backpack isn't necessarily a picnic either. As they get further into the woods, Keith shifts his gaze lower from the stars to the larger trees. Then, when he spots a glimpse of a sturdy metal frame hidden up in a branch, he grabs Shiro's shoulder, giving it a quick jostle. ]
There!
[ He points a large oak tree with large twisting branches. Supported between two branches on the lower third of the oak close to the trunk is a hoverbike that definitely does not belong there. But lest Shiro think he's seeing things, Keith is already climbing off his back with a grin. ]
We're gonna have to get it down, but happy birthday? [ He laughs and takes a running jump to swing up onto the lowest branch. ]
Would be easier if I had the wolf here, but I think we can manage this.
no subject
special? does this warrant that descriptor? it’s certainly obtuse and weird. that last one echoes through his head, distracting him further and rendering him absolutely useless as keith squirms off his back. he watches keith run off with a sort of idle fascination, which only compounds after that smooth, very smooth jump-swing onto a branch. it’s not like he ever forgets how agile keith is but no matter how often he sees the other in action, shiro never quite loses that impressed feeling.
anyway -- back to the hoverbike. the hoverbike in a tree.
he gives himself a mental shake and lets himself be drawn closer by the sound of keith’s delighted voice. his steps are much slower than keith’s had been. ]
Okay. [ a beat and a wrinkled knot forms between his brows. wolf? what. ] I don’t even know what that’s supposed to mean but that may be because I’m still processing… that.
[ distance closed, he pauses there at the base of the tree, standing slightly offset of keith’s chosen branch. he tilts his head back further and stares at the hoverbike again, hands coming to rest on his hips. ]
Just -- Keith. [ his voice breaks on exasperation but it’s alight and happy and so very amused as laughter weaves into that one, punctuated syllable. ] Why is it even up there?
[ don’t get him wrong, he wants that hoverbike. badly. the hands on his waist are already itching to get on the handles and squeezing now to offset the impatience. but why. or better yet, how are questions that shiro needs answers for. ]
no subject
For safekeeping.
[ obviously -- goes unsaid. keith glances up to the next branch up, looking for a solid hand hold. not that the reason for the question is going over his head, but the playful teasing comes easier than trying to make sense of chaotic dragon hoarding. ]
The wolf's a friend I made while I was stuck in the Quantum Abyss for two years. He can teleport. [ hence why this would come in handy!! once keith's got a solid grip on the next branch up, he gives it an experimental tug to test that it'll hold his weight, then pulls himself up higher. ]
You think you could make a tall ice block for me to slide the hoverbike onto? Then you could melt the ice slowly to get it down on the ground.
no subject
a wolf that can teleport and something about two years in the quantum abyss… that deserves more than a five second explanation. but for some reason keith breezes onward with a request for ice. first off, what. and second, what? ]
… Uh.
[ he’s still just standing there. though, the confusion onslaught has his hands dropping and hanging uselessly at his sides once more. one, two, and then he gives himself a swift mental punch, his head giving a shake before he stills to refocus on keith. ]
Hold on. Keith -- come back here. [ stop climbing! forget the hoverbike for one second; shiro needs to mentally catch up. ]
One thing at a time. [ he steps closer to the tree and braces himself against the trunk as he peers up, trying to catch keith’s face up through the leaves. ] What’s this about two years?
no subject
[ keith pauses, glancing down towards shiro. it's hard to shift gears when he's focused on operation hoverbike, but seeing the confusion, keith does let go of the next branch up. honestly, it'd thrown him off just as much to learn that the paladins thought he'd only been gone a few months, but between lotor, the clone and then suddenly being at noctium, he hasn't unpacked that any further. space-time dilations are, of course, something he's had plenty of personal experience dealing with thanks to the quantum abyss being what it was, but that doesn't make it any more normal for anyone else. hell, keith's not even convinced that any part of the last two years of his life had been "normal" even if he's apparently gotten a little desensitized. ]
It's ... [ keith shifts his weight from one foot to another, looking a little sheepish. it's not a secret, that's for certain, though his brow furrows as he picks his words a little more carefully. ] ...hard to explain, I guess? Time flows differently in the Quantum Abyss. Krolia -- [ ah fuck, krolia. yet another non secret, keith's gonna have to explain to shiro, huh? ] thinks it has to do with the way the cluster of dense neutron stars, dark stars and black holes interact in that area. I was stuck there for two years with Krolia and the wolf, but only a few months had passed for everyone else.
no subject
he stares up at keith for a long hanging moment and then cocks his head to the side, the beginning hints of understanding softening his expression. ]
So that’s where you were.
[ it’s said more to himself than keith. shiro’s concept of time had been severely compromised while in black. keith disappeared from black’s pilot chair a good while back, he knows that much, but even if keith wasn’t actively part of the paladin team, he was still on the frontlines, a fact that shiro kept tabs on any time the clone opened a video channel with him. but somewhere after the fiasco on feyiv, keith seemed to go radio silent. shiro didn’t think much of it then considering the blades an’ all but, well, guess he has an explanation all the same. ]
Two years though -- wow. I can only imagine what it must’ve been like to be stuck in a place… hm.
[ he cuts himself off with a hum. right. he doesn’t have to imagine; he’s been stuck in places he never dreamed of being stuck in for insufferable amounts of time too. he refuses to let that tone take over though and he shakes it off, forcing on a smile, his eyebrows high an’ knitted together. ]
Hopefully this Krolia person and your wolf friend made good company.
no subject
of course he wants to know about shiro's experience in the black lion's consciousness, but a part of him's also afraid to ask. either way, it's definitely not an appropriate conversation to have on shiro's birthday. celebrating his life is what they're meant to do and all. ]
It wasn't as bad as it could've been, I guess. Krolia and I had a lot to catch up on. [ to put it mildly. but he doesn't leave shiro guessing for long. there's a beat, and then: ] Finally met my mom.
[ it's faint, but the fondness is audible in keith's tone. he's never said much about it to anyone, convinced as he had been for most of his life that he doesn't need a mother anyway, but of course her absence had left a void filled with questions. of course, he'd told himself those didn't matter either -- I know who I am and all, but it's settled him more than he thought it would to know more about his own history. why is mother had abandoned him before he could even talk.
why it'd seemed like his entire family had died with his dad when everyone else had hoards of grandparents and aunts and uncles and cousins seemingly just to spite him. hell, understanding krolia had even helped him understand his dad better, too. like why he'd sometimes looked melancholy while looking up at the stars at night.
....but that's not the point. keith clears his throat to ensure his voice comes out steady. ]
We talked about you a lot.
no subject
Keith… that’s great.
[ hushed in his happiness, his voice doesn’t carry beyond this closed space of theirs. it’s just -- he doesn’t pretend to know what it must’ve been like to never know one’s own mother or how difficult it had to be growing into your own person without some understanding of one’s own history. he doesn’t even rightly know much of keith’s take on it either: did keith want to know his mother? did he blame her? did he forgive her?
they didn’t talk about it much at all at the garrison. shiro was busy trying to get into keith’s good graces in the beginning and even when he managed to weasel under keith’s defenses, it never seemed right to corner keith into dredging up his past. outright asking hadn’t been shiro’s style back then. he’d focused more on simply assuring keith that he was there to listen and talk any time he wanted, about anything he wanted.
keith never took him up on the offer, at least not about this.
but now they’re here and the fondness is hard to miss, even when keith’s voice changes slightly with a clearing of his throat. makes sense is the immediate justification. shiro came into keith’s life at a critical point and in recent times, he became the catalyst that led to keith in the desert, in the blue lion, and then in space. of course shiro would come up. ]
Yeah? [ he tips his face up a little more, making sure the whole of his grin is on display. ] I hope you told her all about the records of mine that you beat. [ it’s too easy to twist the subject around, to bring the focus back on keith. ] She ought to know her son is a special kind of amazing.
[ the grin keeps for a moment longer and then it weakens in its wide stretch, his expression turning sweetly endeared all over again. ]
But I bet she figured that out pretty quick.
no subject
...heh.
[ just a softly huffed laugh is all keith can manage in the face of that. his throat's gone tight again, some mixture of confusion and heaviness making words harder to come by. his mother's absence hadn't bothered him much when his dad was still around and family felt complete with just the two of them, but after.... after it'd fucking ached every time he opened his eyes and his reality had crashed and burned around a group home of unwanted kids. years of talking to social workers and doctors trying to get demographics and family history had only carved a sore spot deeper and deeper with every "I don't know anything about her!" that'd been forced out of him. made it seem all but obvious that she'd never wanted to know him either. just up and left without a trace.
this really is the first time keith can actually talk about his mother and feel something other than shame in doing so, huh? no need to put on a show of apathy, no flying off the handle to deck unsuspecting cadets across the face just... a faint buzz of ... pride? yeah. yeah, his parents are incredible people. keith stumbles on the thought, holding his breath for an extended beat for the choked up feeling to pass. this is shiro's birthday and the focus should stay on shiro. ]
Yeah, we talked a bit about those records. [ he swallows, smile soft around the edges. ] But mostly, she wanted to know more about what happened after my dad passed away. Who helped me out and all that stuff. [ there's another laugh, this one heavy with fondness. ] ...naturally, I had to tell her you're the best part of my life.
[ honestly, he'd been really excited for krolia to finally meet shiro, but that'd gone beyond abysmally with the clone going rogue minutes afterwards. but he supposes that doesn't matter now. ]
....so thanks for that.
no subject
suddenly, he wishes keith were closer. he wants to ruffle his hair or grip his shoulder or -- actually, mostly, he just wants to pull him into a hug. tuck him in and squeeze while saying he’s happy for him. that’s he’s proud of him too, not only for finding his mom, but for accepting her back into his life despite the piles of uncertain years. that couldn’t have been easy.
but just as shiro likes tilting the conversation toward keith, keith volleys it back with the spotlight on shiro. oh. so that’s how it’s going to be then. back an’ forth, back an’ forth… it’s almost comical and shiro huffs a laugh. the amusement doesn’t overrule though. the ease of keith’s statement isn’t lost on him and he gentles under the weight of it. you’re the best part of my life. you are. currently? still?
he ducks his head and looks to the trunk in front of him. what is he supposed to do with something like that? every time keith speaks freely about shiro’s importance, shiro has that split second hesitation, half-wanting to downplay himself and gently nudge keith away from any sort of dependence on him. but the other part of him… he thinks he likes it. he certainly likes hearing it here. in fact, he never loses his smile and it keeps as he looks up again. ]
Thanks for letting me be a part of it. [ earnest and sweet in its simplicity, his voice is saturated in gratitude. shiro’s fought more than his fair share of battles and while earning keith’s friendship wasn’t nearly the most difficult, its reward has paid out tenfold. so maybe he shouldn’t fault keith for putting so much emphasis on shiro’s significance in his life, because if the focus is reversed, shiro isn’t certain he can argue against feeling the same. before, maybe, when duty to the cause and his role as a paladin took centerstage. but that was a different life. this life is a chance at something else, he supposes, and when it comes down to it, keith is the best part of his every day here.
even if -- ]
You’ve sure made mine interesting. [ -- and he gives a pointed stare at the hoverbike acting as a tree ornament. ]
no subject
Wouldn't have it any other way.
[ he laughs then, glancing up at the hoverbike still waiting above. ]
And hey, don't tone down your amazement with words like interesting. I put some real effort into this. [ he gets back up onto his feet, dusting off his hands to grab onto that next branch up. ] So how about that ice?
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)