spaceforged | IC Contact (Mask or Menace)

I need a drink. And to decompress. You free? First round's on me.

I take it you met our new roommate. I’m free. I have the day off tomorrow so we can stay out late.

Yeah. It's been that kind of day.

But perfect. Me too. There's a bar a few blocks away.

Yeah. See you in a few minutes.

[Shiro finishes swapping out of his work clothes and back into a plain shirt, a simple tan coat, and dark pants. He gives the living room a wide berth and raps on Keith’s bedroom door.]

Ready to go?

[Keith has traded his work clothes -- which will forever smell like coffee, but there are worse things than that -- for jeans and a t-shirt.]

Just a sec.

[Keith answers, opening the door so that they're not speaking through the barrier for that sec. He's currently trying to wrangle his hair back. It's gotten longer than he's used to between space whale travel and being in this place, so he's wrestling it back into a ponytail. He probably ought to cut it at some point. But. That done, he grabs up his jacket.]

Okay. I'm good. Let's go.

[Shiro leans against the doorframe and crosses his arms. He takes the moment to study Keith again. He keeps doing it and he knows he is doing it. But there’s something magnetic about him that keeps pulling him in.

He has always known when Keith found his balance he would become an incredible individual. Seeing it has been like brushing his fingers across the stars. He had had no idea how strong he would become. In all of his time alive he has never had an equal. It’s a new experience especially when it’s someone he knows very well. He is torn from his thoughts as Keith picks up his jacket. He nods and walks out, opening the door and locking it behind them.]

Of all the things to happen...a god. [He shakes his head and Black on top of the roof settles into guard mode. He nods to the beast and looks back at Keith.]

Remember when all we had to worry about was getting the lions to listen to us?

[It isn't entirely lost on Keith that sometimes Shiro seems to look at him. He wonders about it, really. A lot.

But he imagines it has to be strange for the other man, finding an older version of him and not really knowing that time between them. But that doesn't seem to have hurt their relationship. If anything, somehow, Keith feels like they're as close as ever. Closer maybe, given how long he'd been gone -- how long they'd both been gone really -- in the time he was taken from.

So he falls into step with Shiro and heads outside, shaking his head in agreeing bewilderment.] It makes Dick's occasional unexpected circus guests seem pretty tame by comparison too.

[He cracks a smile though.] Yeah the good old days when the greatest danger to our lives was Allura. And Coran's cooking.

[He laughs and leads the way onto the street. Street lights cast a soothing glow onto the sidewalk further easing him back from the low level of stress he'd been enduring since he got to this world.] Dick's guests aren't so bad. They just really want to be his friend.

[Traffic rumbles by as he finally stuffs his hands into his pockets. He looks as young as he is again, the smile on his face broadening as he looks at Keith.] They're great times to take pictures too. You know this will be our first time drinking together.

Legally drinking. [He'd let Keith drink once before Kerberos and it as only one beer.]

They really do. It's actually cute.

[And he has zero ground to talk when it comes to large animals following him home, given that Kosmo follows him around like a puppy at the best of times.]

Heh. [He breathes out the short laugh, nodding.] Legally, yeah. Guess it is.

[Actually, it has been a while since Keith's been drinking at all. There wasn't exactly a bar on the space whale with his mother, after all. Oh well, it'll be good to unwind.

Then he laughs.] Do you remember that though? That beer was the grossest thing I'd ever tasted, but I finished the whole thing because I wanted you to think I was tough.

[Because he's totally tough, Shiro, in case you weren't aware.]

You've always been a fighter, Keith. I didn't need to see you finish a cheap beer to prove that to me.

[He shakes his head slowly. The fight in Keith is why he chose him. Pilots have an element of recklessness and courage to them. Keith had been that. He hadn't used it well but he could see the calculation in it. James didn't have that. He didn't have what turned a good pilot into the king of the mountain.

Keith didn't just breath flying he needed it. How could he ignore that.] I know the other reason you did it.

[He'd seen him finish that beer and felt a little bit exasperated. It had eased the darkness growing in his heart where being with Adam had been.] Thank you. I never got to say that before I left. You made it easier to deal with everything. I've been honored and proud to have you as my second of command.

Now look at you, [His eyes are touched with awe as he nudges him with his elbow.] I'll keep saying it but I'm really glad I get to see how you ended up. No matter what happens in my future, your past. I know from looking at you it will be okay.

[Keith just smiles at that. Yeah, okay. Shiro knows him entirely too well, and the thought alone is a warm and welcome one. He knows that things weren't ideal for Shiro before the Kerberos mission, and after everything Shiro had been there for him through, he wanted to be there for him in turn. He always would.

He shakes his head at the thanks.]

You got me through... a lot of things. If I could return the favor even a little, then I'm glad.

[He nudges back.] You're getting sappy and we haven't even started drinking yet.

[Keith teases, but mostly it's trying to distract from the heat he can feel rising in his cheeks. But he also adds,] You never gave up on me, Shiro. I won't ever give up on you either.

[He catches snatches of music from the bar ahead of them but he isn’t paying attention to it. His eyes are wide with shock for a fraction of a moment. Then he smiles warmly, his eyes bright. He hasn’t expected to hear Keith repeat those words he said to him.

But it’s so very Keith.] I know and you don’t know how much that means to me.

[His chest feels warm to match the heat in his cheeks. Shiro claps Keith on the shoulder and grins at him.] I’m always like this. I can’t remember what I’m like when I drink a bit but probably more of this.

[Keith does not miss the color in Shiro's face, though he at least doesn't mention it. Instead he lets himself be distracted by the hand at his shoulder and offers a smile back in Shiro's direction.]

Guess we'll find out.

[And into the bar! Keith holds the door for Shiro and scouts a free table tucked mostly out of the way, gesturing and then heading in that direction.]

[The sounds of conversation drift to him from the open door. Familiar scents draw him back to times long gone. No. Just simpler times.

He steps through the door as he scans the inside with a glance. No threats. Two exits. He keeps his steps even as he follows Keith through the semi-crowded bar. The table is a little battered the way tables in bars usually are. He takes a seat so he can see the whole bar and both exists. The other seat affords the same thing.

He spots a kiosk and starts poking through the menu.] They have the usual bar food. We could go with hot wing, appetizers, burgers. I’m thinking hot wings. They’re offering large orders..

[He turns the display so Keith can see the basket stacked high with hot wings coated in sauce and a side of waffle fries. He is more than aware bar food isn’t that great usually. But it lets one drink for a while. Makes for better mornings too.]

[Keith drops into the other seat. He never really manages to look entirely casual, but it's as close to casual as he gets. Between Voltron and his training with the Blades, even in his quietest times, he's always ready, waiting for the next thing, the next battle, the next mission. It's taking some getting used to in this place, trying to live a relatively normal life in between the dangers that pop up.

Going out for drinks with Shiro is a good start though. And at the very least he looks fairly relaxed for himself, and genuinely happy for the company.] Wings sound great.

[He will eat whatever is put in front of him at this point in his life. But especially fries. He really missed fries in space.]

What're you drinking?

[Shiro brings up the order tab and adds a large basket of hot wings to it then a bourbon with no ice.] Bourbon. I haven’t had it in a while.

I’ll sin and add ice to it. I have no idea what my tolerance is right now.

[Like Keith, Shiro can never fully settle. He can be utterly still or feel into a quiet state but fully relax? It isn’t in the cards anymore. He leans back and slides the kiosk over so Keith can reach it and look.] You didn’t like the beer we had just before Kerberos. They seem to have a little description for the alcohol.

[Each one has a little summary of the taste and feel of the beverage even what it mixes best with.]

[Keith reaches to take it from Shiro, leafing through curiously. It's been years since he's been on Earth, years since he's even had a chance to have a drink. So yeah, starting from zero here.

Hmm. No, the beer was bitter. He does remember that. Hmm. He considers the list, decides on an old-fashioned and then settles back in his seat.]

So. Our new roommate is... uh. Different.

They are but, I did make it clear we're all in this together. It seems like they get that.

[He won't even touch the god part. He doesn't want to. With their order placed a waiter drops by their table to drop off their drinks and tell them if they need anything, they're their waiter for the evening.

Shiro waits until they leave to add.] They called this world a cage.

Yeah? That's good. They uh... I can't tell if it was awkward phrasing or a threat, towards my wolf. I'm really hoping the former.

[But he's not one hundred percent sure, and he doesn't particularly like that thought. He reaches for his drink once it arrives, taking an experimental sip.

Oh. Strong. But just sweet enough. All right. This will do.]

A cage. [He considers that though, turning his arm over to look at the tattoo there.] They do keep track of us.

[Shiro closes his left hand around his glasss. The ice was a good idea. As much as he frowns at watering things down it's better this way. He draws it close to his mouth and breathes in. The scent is like he remembers and as he takes a sip it brings to mind times sitting at the bar just off the Garrison base. Some part of him that hasn't eased up since he left for space settles, and his shoulders relax.

He's on Earth. Truly on Earth and an old off switch he so rarely used flips just like that. He pauses to glance at his marked arm the 'registered' barely visible in the dimmer light.] I still don't like they're keeping track of us. But from how it sounds they understand doing more than that would be...bad for all of us.

[He says it quietly, then takes another sip. He holds it in his mouth for a moment. It's like turning down a dial. Shiro sets his drink down and stares into it.] He didn't seem to mind Black. He minded me more than the Lion until I made it clear I wasn't out to control him, just make sure things were fair.

Yeah, they seem aware of that. Or at least aware that we wouldn't like it if we knew.

[Keith is a paranoid sort at the best of times, but Shiro knows that. Still Keith wonders if there is more being noted and tracked about them than the government or Porter Authority or whatever term they want to use is letting on.]

He's not human either, so it could be some sort of lost in cultural translation thing too. [Maybe? They've certainly encountered that in their travels.]

It very well could be. He's also a god and what I saw as he talked on the network...

[He swirls his drink and sighs, leaning back in his chair. As if on cue, the massive basket of hot wings is set on their table. The wings are still sizzling and the sharp scent of hot sauce forces him to breathe a little shallower.

Shiro takes a drink, nods to the waiter, then speaks after they're gone.]

He had clearly lied and anyone using illusions to sell their stories... [He doesn't need to say watch out. Keith already will.]

We're in for a time with him.

Yeah. God seems a stretch. He's an alien.

[Which yeah, Keith gets it. Aliens have the sort of powers that seem downright godlike at times. Allura did sort of resurrect Shiro a little bit. But he keeps that to himself and instead looks appreciatively at the wings as they're set down.

Yup. That's an excellent decision for food, Shiro.]

We definitely are. Never mind the next roommates they assign us. [Another sip of his drink, a pleasant warmth starting to settle through him.] ...ever think of finding a new place?

[Shiro smiles and produces a pen from his pocket. He has gotten decent at keeping a pen on him at all times thanks to working as a waiter. He calmly writes out a number on a napkin then adds another smaller number on it. He sets the pen aside and looks at his best friend seriously. He had forgotten to tell Keith about this action. He pulls the basket of hot wings a little closer and loads one of the two plates set beside the basket full of chicken wings.] Since the chat with our last new roommate I’ve been putting money aside for relocating.

She didn’t really imply we had to, but I’ve seen that look before. She wasn’t going to be comfortable around us and home is,

[He gestures with his metal hand in a wide encompassing gesture. He sets his drink down and tucks into the wings. He has no worry Keith will oppose his thoughts. Since they got here they’ve been on the same page so often he has to wonder what a disagreement will be like. Knowing them, probably about their behavior towards themselves. He puts it out of his head and continues.] Home is where people feel safe. Or should. She couldn’t entirely switch off and neither could I. Felt better to just plan an exit. It slipped my mind to tell you right away. I’ve been meaning to discuss it with you since then.

Edited 2019-09-23 16:47 (UTC)

Yeah, I think you're right about that. Definitely not comfortable. But I get that.

[Keith could understand it. Being thrown in among new people is hard, especially in close quarters. And having new people cycle in and out is a challenge of its own.

He cracks a smile and leans over to look at what Shiro has written.] Yeah. Home should feel safe. Even if it's a temporary home.

[He piles a few wings on his plate as well, another sip of his drink as the warmth in his stomach settles and a pleasantly floaty feeling starts permeating throughout the whole of him.] I've been saving too.

[What he hasn't had to spend on food or basic essentials -- and a few toys for Kosmo because he'd never had a toy before -- Keith has tucked away to save.]

To relocate. [And then. Hopefully.] Together? [Yes?]

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