Keith and the rest of the Paladins, hell, the whole Voltron Coalition, had been through a lot over the last few years. A lot of weird stuff too. So alternate universes? Keith barely batted an eyelash at the news that he was in a whole new reality. Because of course he was. That was just how his life seemed to go. When he had finally stopped fighting the Defense Team that had come to take him in and actually listened to what they had to say, he had been surprised to hear that Shiro was here in this universe as well. Not a weird alternate universe version of him either, like Sven had been. But Shiro and the thought of that calmed him down a lot more than he would like to ever admit, thanks.
So of course he demanded to see him and despite being told he wasn’t being held captive, he wouldn’t buy any of it until he had Shiro telling him that. And even though he didn’t have any weapons on him and was still injured from that final battle with that mysterious robot that had attacked them after he had killed Sendak, Keith didn’t let that stop him from glaring at everyone until someone had gone and gotten Shiro.
He looked like a mess - bruised and cut up, with a bandage still wrapped around his head. The hospital clothes didn’t inspire any kind of ‘Don’t fuck with me’ vibes, but at least he still was able to radiate that energy from his very core.
That was, until the door to the room he was in opened and Shiro walked through it. And in spite of how much his bruises were like ‘Bitch, don’t do it,’ he threw himself at Shiro in a fierce hug. “Shiro!” The relief was evident in his voice. Because the last thing he remembered was making that sacrificial play to save Earth and thinking he wouldn’t see the rest of the Paladins again.
The news that Keith was here had hit Shiro like a punch to the kidneys. It had been eight months since he's seen Keith. Eight months since Keith had been taken from Vallo and presumably sent back. Eight months felt like years some days, when Shiro's loneliness hit especially hard. On the days when he saw something he knew Keith would like and he thought, just for a split second, I can't wait to tell him about this.
On the days when he sat in Black's cockpit and thought this is where Keith belongs.
A small, cynical part of him thought the message from the DOA was some kind of cruel joke. It didn't matter that no one there would do such a thing. But Keith crashing into him dispelled that fear with shocking quickness. Shiro enveloped him in a hug right back, pressing his cheek to the side of Keith's head.
"Keith." It came out a little choked with emotion, but Shiro cleared his throat before he pulled back to look at him. "God, you look--" He reached up to barely touch the bandage on Keith's head, his expression clouding with worry. The way it sat on Keith's head poked at his memories, but his jackhammering heart wouldn't let him think straight. "Are you ok? Did this happen to you in the forest?"
The younger Paladin had no idea what he was in for. He had no idea how long Shiro had been around in this world or how another version of him had been here with him. As far as he knew, this was just another chapter from their adventures back home. He didn't quite yet realize that this was something different altogether - a world without the Galra, without Voltron, without Earth, even.
Only the very basics had been explained to him and his brain - whether it was from injuries sustained in their last fight back home or from denial - still hadn't put everything together yet. Nor had he pinpointed why this hug from Shiro felt different from all the previous ones. There was a sort of desperation to it? The amount of emotion in the way Shiro had said his name had him furrowing his eyebrows together as well.
They were still close, well within reaching distance, and Keith didn't flinch at the barely there touch to his head. This was Shiro. As long as he was there, things would be okay. "I'm fine. Hard head, you know how it is. This is from the fight with that mysterious robot after we defeated Sendak." He started to frown a bit, hoping this wasn't a case of Shiro having amnesia again. "You remember that, right?"
Sendak. Shiro hadn't heard that name in well over a year. It made his throat dry, just thinking it. It took him a moment of stunned silence before the realization hit: if Keith was still wounded from that fight, then he'd never been in Vallo.
If he'd never been in Vallo...
"Oh," Shiro said. The word was quiet and small for such a large man. "Oh. You...you were in the hospital, just now? You don't…" He swallowed and lifted a hand to rub at the back of his neck. His stomach felt hollow but he told himself to shove that selfish pain to the back of his mind. He was glad to see Keith. Grateful beyond words. "I guess that means you don't remember being here for a few months."
Thick eyebrows furrowed together, Keith definitely knew he was missing things just from the way Shiro's face fell, from how he made that little 'Oh' sound like Shiro had lost something precious to him in a matter of seconds. He wasn't aware of how much could change between two people in just a few months, or how a world with relative peace could allow the two of them to come together in a way Keith hadn't ever thought of.
But he did know that he was going to pass out hard, once the adrenaline coursing through him for the last hour finally died away. Between being ripped away from the hospital in their reality, to an unexpected fight without weapons in a strange forest, Keith was running on fumes and that was going to be a problem, sooner rather than later.
"I was here before?" Keith asked, wishing like hell he had a blade on him or any weapon at this rate. He felt so disoriented and it would have helped ground him. Because what Shiro was saying didn't make sense. "I don't remember being here for months before, Shiro. Are you...not my Shiro? Is this like that reality with Sven?" A bit of panic was making its way to the surface of his confusion.
Keith's anxiety was like a fire alarm. It snapped Shiro out of the wallow that threatened to pull him under and he reached out to clasp Keith by his biceps.
"Easy," he murmured soothingly. "I promise it's going to be okay. Sometimes...sometimes people leave and come back and they just don't remember their time here." Saying it stung; there was no getting around that. But Shiro was regaining some of his focus. Keith's heath was paramount. Everything else could wait. "That doesn't mean we're not from the same universe."
It didn't mean they were either, but they'd get to that in time.
He urged Keith towards a chair, his brow furrowed and his gaze soft. "Come on, Keith. Sit down. You look like you're about to tip over."
They had already lost Shiro once. More than once, in some ways. Keith couldn't handle it if this was happening all over again. Waking up in that hospital and hearing the speech Shiro had given the world...hell, the universe, Keith had felt a hope he hadn't felt in a long time. A sort of peace, where maybe they could finally take a break and finally live their lives.
And now they were stuck in some other universe where maybe they weren't the same Keith and Shiro that they had always been. That didn't sit well with Keith, but he let himself be handled and sat down as directed. He didn't let Shiro go far, reaching for his shirt and gripping it tightly.
"You said months...you said I got sent back and then brought back? How long were you alone for?"
Shiro let himself appreciate Keith's intense and familiar face. God, how he'd missed it. At least this was the same. He reached to pull another chair over to sit down closer to Keith but he kept his hands on his own knees. It seemed important to create a little distance, for his own sanity, but it was about the hardest thing he'd had to do in ages.
"It's been eight months since I saw you last." He tried to muster up a somber smile, but it was colored by the way his gaze shifted around the room, avoiding eye contact. "I wasn't completely alone, though. Allura was here for a while. And I've made a few friends here. I, uh...I've been here fifteen months now. Altogether." His kind eyes finally made their way back to Keith and he sighed. "This is a lot, I know. You've been through so much. I'm sorry."
Eight months alone. That was...terrible, truth be told. They've all been separated from each other at various points in time for all sorts of crazy reasons. But this still wasn't anything to scoff over.
He did notice the way Shiro seemed to avoid looking at him, though he was too tired to push him on why he was acting so skittish. He'd interrogate him when he got his strength back and when he had on some proper clothes, Keith decided, reaching up to scratch at his face and sigh. "It's no more than finding out I'm half Galra," he pointed out with a small smile, trying to interject some lightness into the conversation.
They were both here and safe, that was all that really mattered for the moment. Finding a way home could wait until Keith got a decent nap in. Cause fifteen months here? No way was he letting Shiro spend more time trapped in this weird universe where Earth wasn't a thing. "So if we're free to leave this place, can we get out of here? I sort of want to find some pants and stop giving everyone a show every time I stand up." Stupid hospital gown.
"Oh god. Yes, of course," Shiro sputtered out with a laugh. There was no logical reason for him not to have noticed Keith was in a hospital gown - except of course that Keith was here and distracting in a dozen ways that had nothing to do with his lack of pants - but now that it had been pointed out, Shiro felt his face heat like the traitor it was. He leapt to his feet.
"There's actually a cabinet here with some spare clothes for exactly this situation. I'm not sure what will fit." Keith had filled in during his two years off on a space whale but he was still lanky. He'd probably swim in Shiro's clothes. "But we can duct tape you into some sweats long enough to shop if we have to," he joked. His expression sobered, though, as he broke his self-imposed restraint and reached out to squeeze Keith's shoulder. "Are you sure you're up for walking around?"
Shiro could be forgiven for the lack of awareness of the situation. Keith was well aware he had the tendency to bring attention to his words with how he normally became a demanding little shit when the situation needed some help being explained. And Vallo, whatever it was, still begged a lot of questions.
But his priority was pants first, even if they were Shiro's. He had no business wearing pants with that much muscle in the thighs and let's forget about the height Shiro had on his short ass. But it would be a lot better than only a gown for cover, where a strong enough wind could let everyone know what he was working with. Never give away that kind of show for free.
Giving the older warrior an unimpressed look for the short crack and for the concern over his well being, Keith explained, "If I pass out, you can carry me. I'm just not comfortable being in some place where an unfamiliar organization is in charge, when I don't understand the full situation yet." He clumsily patted Shiro's hand on his shoulder in what he hoped was a comforting gesture because he still wasn't able to shake that devastated look Shiro had given him when he realized he wasn't the same Keith that had been there earlier with him.
"So yeah, give me some of your stupidly long sweatpants so I can feel inferior, but covered." It occurred to him it was strange that Shiro had clothes there, but he didn't ask more questions about that. Yet.
Shiro huffed another self-conscious laugh and took a step back to give Keith room to stand. He would carry Keith if needed; it was the least he could do.
"If it helps any, I work here. Mostly in the field with a defense team, but I help out at the office too so this organization isn't completely unfamiliar to you," he smirked. He glanced towards the door. He was reluctant to get far from Keith. Like that would do anything to keep him from disappearing again. But he wasn't sure Keith wanted to wander through an office with his ass hanging out either.
"That's actually why I organized for a cabinet to have an assortment of clothes here. I kept seeing people come through in various states of half-naked and I just wanted there to be some kind of option nearby. They're not fashionable choices by any means, but I'm sure you're not picky in that gown." He moved to the door and paused there in the opening. After a moment, he glanced over his shoulder. Complex emotions flickered across his face, despite his efforts to remain carefully neutral. "I'm sorry you're stuck here but...I'm really glad to see you, Keith. I missed you."
Keith was steadier on his feet now because something about Shiro being calm about everything, kept him from freaking out again. And that, in turn, allowed him to focus on the simple tasks like ‘Stand, don’t pass out.’
And, of course the most important task of all, be a smartass.
“Y’know, I don’t know how we manage to lose you all of the time. Just have to find the nearest military organization and you’re usually in the middle of it, if not running the whole thing,” Keith snarked, though there was no bite to it. Just playful ribbing. The smirk on his face became softer, though when Shiro voiced how much he missed him. “Hey, at least we’re stuck together, right? Couldn’t think of anyone better to be here with.”
“Okay, alright,” Shiro chuckled, holding a hand up palm out. “You’re feeling good enough to give me a hard time, so I guess you’re not too bad off.” He dropped his gaze to the ground and then looked out the door, as if he had to look away from Keith’s smiling face to steady himself. At least we’re stuck together, right? A helpless little smile flickered across his mouth.
“My life is always better with you in it, Keith.” That quiet bit of honesty hit the air before Shiro even realized he was going to say it. He didn’t regret it, though. Rather than force Keith to walk in front of him in a hospital gown, he gestured down the hall and started walking. “If you need to walk backwards, just let me know. I’ll be your shield.”
Keith’s smile was a little dopey, just like it always was, whenever Shiro dropped his ‘I’m the calm and reasonable leader, everything is fine’ facade and was honest with him. It was appreciated, but instead of drawing attention to it and potentially ruining the moment, he awkwardly grabbed the back of his ugly orange-tan hospital gown and held it closed as best as possible.
“Yeah, yeah, just keep walking, big guy,” Keith said with a roll of his eyes and followed at a strange little waddle. God, his dignity wasn’t going to recover from this one, that was for sure.