WHERE: Vallo: The Outpost WHEN: Early 2033 WHAT: Coming back home after a mission. WARNINGS: Apocalypse vibes, but fairly fluffy here. STATUS: Complete
Complete mission, sneak back to the Outpost, debrief with the group, and then go find Kipp, Tex, and Shiro to hug the shit out of them and thank whoever out there was watching out for them that he was able to get back to his family. Eventually, Kipp would wander off with his grandfather for the rest of the evening and Keith and Shiro would bang it out in their little part of the Outpost that they had started to call home.
Rinse and repeat. Sometimes, it was Keith that was the one that had been away for weeks at a time. Other times, it was Shiro. But it was a very rare time that they both went out together because despite how much they hated not having each other’s backs, they couldn’t afford to leave Kipp parentless if a mission went wrong.
Today was no different from most of their missions. Except today Keith got back fairly early in the day and Kipp was off with the other kids his age, learning what they could from their teachers. When he got back to their home base, he found Shiro alone, as he worked on some paperwork.
Even in the apocalypse, there was paperwork.
“Hey,” he said, leaning against one of the posts that kept their tent standing and fairly stable. He smiled as Shiro looked over, warmth spreading outward from his chest as he took in the barely there lines on his husband’s face. Even all these years on, the sight of Shiro never failed to make him happy.
Some days felt longer than others. Shiro wasn't as good at zoning out on his duties anymore when he was worried. Maybe it was age. Maybe it was just that finally letting go of the heavy responsibility burden he'd carried his whole life. Being second in command hadn't saved anyone after all. The Lions were as good as gone. So it was easier to admit that his mind was drifting while he worked and to simply let it. He was picturing Keith and where he might be on his return home when the sound of his husband's voice snapped Shiro's gaze across the room.
"Hey." His face split into a broad smile. "You're early. I was just thinking about you." He gave his stack of paperwork a guilty glance and then stood anyway. It was early. It would get done soon enough. "How did it go?" he asked as he crossed the room to pull Keith in by his hips.
“Mmm, got some good leads on a horde of weapons that we might potentially get our hands on. But we’re waiting for the other scouting teams to get back so we have a fuller picture of the situation,” Keith said, draping his arms around Shiro’s shoulder and hooking his hands around the taller man’s neck. He leaned a little back so he could take him in more fully. “Lance found some whiskey in a shack we had been using as base, so expect him to come by at some point to share that with us.”
It never was a good time to drink these days, because they couldn’t afford to get complacent, but a drink or two here and there with friends was needed to keep from going absolutely insane with the pressures of their reality. You just had to be smart about it, that’s all.
“How were things around here? Did I come back at a busy time?” Keith asked, peering over Shiro’s shoulder to give his stack of paperwork a pointed look. It hurt him to think that Shiro had lost faith in his own leadership abilities when things had gone sideways, but he couldn’t force Shiro to change how he felt. He could only keep being there for the man and supporting him in whatever he decided to do to keep busy and help the Outpost.
Even if it was just paperwork. Because telling him that he was capable of more felt hollow to Keith’s ears, when all he wanted for Shiro was to be safely nestled away in this safe haven of theirs with their son. Intertius had changed a lot for both of them.
"Whiskey." Shiro made a childish face, nose wrinkled cutely. "Well, beggars can't be choosers." They'd said that a lot of the years. With everything from liquor to toiletries to weapons. "Glad to hear about the leads." They always needed weapons. Every time a safe house was lost, so were all the supplies stored there. And they always seemed to be losing more than they were gaining.
He didn't want the focus to turn back on him but Keith was good at that. It made Shiro smile somberly.
"I'm a little distracted tonight. I went by and brought Kipp lunch earlier and he was learning about phases of the moon and the tides and I guess I got a little melancholy about it. Once upon a time, I'd had a plan to supplement all his astronomy lessons while flying around in Black." Shiro hugged Keith a little closer. "You and me, showing him how to fly and how to read star maps."
Whiskey tended to hold up better than premade margarita cocktails. Keith had found an unbroken bottle of it a couple of years back when they had been scouting into Vallo City. Despite carefully bringing it back unopened, it had turned out to be spoiled when they did finally crack the seal.
Higher proof alcohol had a better shot of being drinkable, even if it wasn't preferable. "I'll see if I can find some lemon juice and oranges to make it more tolerable," Keith promised as poked Shiro's cute little nose. "No promises though." No promises on a lot of things these days, but fresh fruit especially. There were a lot of potatoes in their diets.
His smile faded into something a little more sad, as Shiro painted a picture of what could have been. Wrapping his arms more fully around Shiro, he hummed a bit and said, "We can still do some of that. On a clear night, we'll hike up to that outlook on the other side of the Outpost and point the stars out for him. Might have to get creative with some of their names, but it could still be fun." The important part was that they spent that time together. "Anything else got you looking like that?" You know, other than the end of the world.
"I'll take it," Shiro chuckled softly. He appreciated Keith's offer to try and sweeten the pot. He knew it was unlikely, but the thought still made him smile fondly. The end of the world hadn't stopped them from taking care of each other. It had just changed some of the ways they did it. With that thought in mind, he kissed Keith on the head and rocked him slowly in a circle. It wasn't a dance, but it was something like one and it moved them closer to the old sofa they had jammed into their small space.
"I like that idea very much. Assuming we judge the risk low, anyway." As much as he wanted to give Kipp the love of space he had, it wasn't worth putting his family in danger. Particularly when the chances of any of them ever getting to space again were nil. "I think we scrapped all the telescopes for parts, but we'll figure something out." Pulling back, he nudged Keith towards the sofa. "Anyway, I was just missing you. Worrying. The usual. Sit down and let me take your shoes off."
Low risk was the most important thing that they could do for their family. Helping keep the Outpost running and those that couldn't protect themselves safe was important too. But Keith wasn't altruistic as he might have been in the past. Keeping his family alive was his number one mission and keeping himself alive was number two. If it ever came to it, he honestly would let everyone else burn if it meant keeping his family safe.
It was a deep departure from the time he had been the Black Paladin of Voltron. Those days, he had been all too willing to let himself die for the sake of others. Now? Not so much. Not when they were on the losing side of this war and they were bleeding numbers daily. Helping keep the Outpost going luckily aligned with his personal desires for now.
Was this what love was? It was now, for Keith.
Swaying in Shiro's arms and allowing himself to be nudged along to their sofa, he smiled as he sat back and then tugged Shiro onto his lap. "I can take off my own shoes. Just come here for a minute." He tilted his face up, puckering his lips a bit to ask for a kiss. It was always so hard to be away from Shiro for weeks at a time.
Shiro laughed and let himself be tugged down. He was a little too large for straddling Keith's lap like this but Keith's alien physiology came in handy. If Keith wanted, he could stand up from this position with Shiro's legs around his waist and carry him to bed. He had even, more than once. Shiro tried not to get distracted by the thought as he combed his fingers through Keith's hair and gave him the kiss he was asking for.
"You've been running around out there, in danger. Under pressure. You're supposed to let me take care of you." Another kiss, this one less innocent. "I could give you a massage before school lets out. Or run you a bath." It might take a while to heat it up and their water allowance would take a hit but Shiro was good at managing their resources. And it would be worth it to watch Keith loosen up. "I found another bottle of that shampoo you like. The vanilla one. I traded for it."
It was tempting, the promise of a warm bath and that soothing vanilla smell that never failed to put him in a more relaxed mood. But they didn't have a lot of time before Kipp was home and Keith didn't really want to send him off to Grandpa Tex's place this time. The missions were getting more dangerous as time went on and this last one had a few close ones. All he wanted to do was be here, surrounded by family, and not let them out of his sight for a few days.
Especially after this last kiss.
"I already scrubbed up," he murmured, kissing a line down Shiro's throat as his hands ran up and down Shiro's thighs. Then he suddenly grabbed them and locked in his grip, effortlessly picking the larger man up as he stood. "Kind of want to skip to the best part of coming back home," he smirked, as he encouraged Shiro to wrap his legs around his waist while he walked them to what passed as their bed these days. There were some things Keith would catch Shiro up on, about the mission and close calls, but those things could wait. His reunion with Shiro could not.
Shiro huffed a laugh as he was abruptly lifted into the air. They might not have been psychically bonded through Black anymore, but they still knew each other inside and out. As horrible as things were, he was grateful they still had that. Nothing short of turning into a thrall or dying could take that away from them. Worried that thought might also paint itself across his face and his perceptive husband would read it like a page in a book, Shiro curled his arms around Keith's neck and kissed him fiercely.
"Must have been a rough run," he whispered sympathetically, with their lips only a breath apart. "Come on then, Muscles," he teased, giving one of Keith's biceps a squeeze. The days of Keith being a scrawny kid were long gone and Shiro was happy to objectify him for a long moment. "Carry me the rest of the way to the bed and I'll take care of you in a different way. I might even let you call all the shots…"