rcdlions:
( @blackpaladism ) | closed starter.
keith hisses through clenched teeth as he brushes the tip of his fingers along the gash on his cheek. just a little lower, on the side of his jaw, there’s a bruise blooming that he knows will be sore come later tonight. the knuckles on his right hand, which drops from prodding at the injury on his cheek pitifully, are scraped and slightly swollen. there’s no doubt about it: keith’s obviously been in a fight, and fairly recently at that; he’s got a short temper, but it’s been worse lately, reminiscent of the weeks culminating in his expulsion from the garrison. of course, shiro had been missing then too.
the thought of his most trusted companion only serves to leave keith feeling worse. being stuck here means he’s not up there looking for shiro. he feels utterly hopeless and bitterly lonely, though he’d never admit it aloud; at least, this time around, he has some of the other paladins to blanket the loss, but there’s some weird tension between lance and pidge that he doesn’t want to deal with and it’s just not the same anyway. either way, he feels pretty pathetic right now, lost in his thoughts and looking like a street rat who’d gotten into it with a schoolyard bully.
so entranced in his own cynicism, keith doesn’t hear anyone approaching, only drawn from his reverie by a strong tug at his shoulder. before he can dwell on the familiarity of it, instinct leads him to immediately jerk back, a scowl on his face as his the collar of his cropped jacket drags along his wounded cheek. ‘ what the HELL are you — ’ when he turns, dark eyes finally registering the solid, familiar form, anything he has to say immediately dies in his throat. keith gapes, furrowed brows indicating he’s trying to determine whether or not he really believes what he’s seeing right now. when he speaks, it’s so much unlike his steady, quiet monotone; rather, it’s timid, almost uncomfortably hesitant.
‘ – SHIRO?? ’
» Since waking up here, Shiro felt lost, and he couldn’t ever shake that feeling, not without the other Paladins. They were his family, the only place he was truly supposed to be, they were the reason he was fighting, not revenge, not earth; but the Paladins. He could feel his memories slipping further away from him, the ones he lost were so far gone he was beginning to think it was hopeless, that he’d never remember everything. He wasn’t even sure who was to blame, he could blame the Galra Empire, but perhaps deep down he didn’t want to remember. Shiro closed his eyes tightly, his hand lifted to cradle the strange metal of his mechanical arm.
Shiro hopelessly rounded a corner in the street, eyes laid upon a familiar red jacket. His hand reached out, but his heart refused to grow hopeful, he’d been lost for so long, maybe his mind was playing tricks on him. His eyes clench shut, his heart urging him to take the leap, risk it; and that is when his hand comes into contact with the red fabric. The initial reaction causes Shiro’s hand to recoil, it dropped slowly down by his side. The dark grey eyes looked upon Keith’s face, immediately the Paladin’s lips curled into a warm smile; he suddenly felt a wash of pure joy when he connected eyes.
❝ Keith!! ❞ Shiro laughed, though it wasn’t his usual chuckle, it was breathy, more cautious. His gaze soon flittered down to the wound upon the boy’s cheek, Shiro’s expression changed, his eyebrows scowling and his lips pursed unimpressed. ❝ Keith, what happened, are you alright? ❞ Shiro had so many questions. However, what was more important was the safety of Keith, if he had to; Shiro would fight to protect him, he’d fight to protect any of Team Voltron.