earthshine | ⊚ noctium ic contact.

[ 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?

[ 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.

[ 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. ]

[ 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?

[ Well fine then. Be resistant to tickles, see if Keith cares. While making a grab at the wrist draped around his neck, he lets out an amused huff. ]

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.

Edited 2021-03-08 02:47 (UTC)

[ not the hair! reflex has shiro squeezing his eyes shut and ducking out, sidestepping to scramble away from those fingers. eyes snap open and he’s grinning wide an’ toothy, his breath caught on a seemingly endless stream of laughter. ]

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.

[ ET TU, SHIRO. Keith makes a face, groaning as he gives his hair a quick rake through with fingers and shakes his head to make the bangs fall into place correctly. ]

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. ]

[ shiro’s actually on keith’s side with the whole hair debate. honestly, he’s had a secret fondness for keith’s hair for a good while now. does that sound weird? probably. he only means… it’s funny. not the style itself, no no, nothing like that. the amusement is due to keith getting away with it. galaxy garrison doesn’t have a strict rule on uniform haircuts. cadets an’ officers alike can style their hair as they see fit, within reason of course. however, there is a general consensus of professionalism. keith with his long, wispy strands and blocky bangs that had been more often than not tangled from bed, from racing…

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?

[ The nudge and question easily get a huffed laugh out of Keith,. ]

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.

Edited 2021-03-10 23:09 (UTC)

[ he’s been patient! he’s waited a good half hour before prodding for a hint. credit where credit is due, okay? still, shiro takes the tease in stride, only rolling his eyes at the following refusal. fine. ]

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.

[ The grab and side-step gets a quick: ]

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.

hey babe 🍑🍆

[ squint.

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

Hi?

[ shiro’s fairly certain birthday boys aren’t supposed to be used as mules. the thought carries no ill-will though. there’s only amusement, even as his step wavers immediately following the collide. the hitch levels out in the next beat and he regains his footing easily enough, falling back into his stride as his hands find the underside of each knee. ]

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. ]

[ 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

[ 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. ]

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

surely not??? ]

I don’t understand.

[ pls explain wtf is happening here. ]

[ Jesus why is there a follow up anything.... ]

what do you need to understand exactly?

[ article four, subsection c of best friend forever contract:
”as the designated bff, must ensure 🍑 and 🍆 emoticons are not used loosely or frivolously”

that’s why. ]

Was that meant for someone else then?

[ Where's Malachite to end the world when you actually want them to do it, huh? What even is the correct answer to this? Surely, it's not the one that makes things awkward, right? ]

does that really matter?

[ Just buying himself a few more seconds to think this over. ]

[ no
yes?
no.

huffs, pausing right there on the sidewalk, inattentive to the way some natives are forced to sidestep around him. ]

I guess not.

[ RELIEF. Keith huffs out a sigh, now that the inquisition is seemingly over. ]

alright

[ Though, reading over the message again.... ]

you're not mad, are you?

Why would I be mad?

[ lookie, shiro’s turn for an evasive question. ]

[ The lack of any kind of tone on text messages is actual murder. Was the weird "I guess not" only weird in his head then?? Slowly but surely, Keith is starting to feel like he's slipping into some bizarro reality. ]

i don't know?
i think i'm just making it weird now
sorry. didn't mean to

[ ping. this is spiraling. it doesn’t take a genius to piece it together. that text was a misfire; meant for someone else. and keith doesn’t want to tell him.

which is fine.
ping.
keith can do whatever he wants. whoever he wants.

ugh.
the thought has him looking up. up ahead, there’s a cloud of -- rainbow? kids are laughing, running amongst a crowd and shiro thinks, huh, so that’s the rag'nbogi hub-bub he’s been hearing about?

ping.

ah, well, attention drops back to the phone on the third text. ]

You didn’t do anything wrong. It’s not my business.

⊚ noctium ic contact.

backdated to senpai's birthday

idk who this senpai is

a mystery for the ages....

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text; during the powder festivities

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1/2

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