WHAT. Atreus checks in after Tex and Freya disappear and they talk things out a little. WHERE. The Sanctuary! WHEN. Backdated to Feb 4th WARNINGS. None really, just some sadness. STATUS. Complete!
The kids really hadnāt been out of their sight since Freya and Tex disappeared, and Atreus had been okay with that. Yrsaās stint as a tortoise had been fairly short lived, because as soon as sheād poked her head out of her shell to spot Keith, the toddlers were able to distract each other. It was a lot easier being a kid sometimes, even when they had trouble regulating their emotions.
But seeing the way that Yrsa leaned against Kipp and wrapped her arms around him had given Atreus the same urge. He remembered what it was like losing Kratos, and that hadnāt been the kind of loss Keith had. His father had been at home, Freya was at home. His most recent memories had been letters from his father and Mimir of what they were up to, how Freya had a good path forward. The kids didnāt understand that kind of loss, though, not at this age.
Atreus waited until it was a little quieter, but sitting in silence had never been something Atreus was very good at. He didnāt sneak up behind Keith, but he did wrap his arms around him from behind and pull him into a surprise hug, voice muffled against Keithās shoulder. āPlease donāt stab me, but if you do itās okay because Iāll just heal.ā
Normally, Keith would have been startled hell of a lot more. He still wasn't fully comfortable with overt displays of physical affection outside of Shiro and Kipp, but his friends and people he considered family got away with it a lot more than they would have two years ago. It took Keith a long time to be okay with touch and it was in a large part thanks to Lance and Atreus that he could be okay with it on occasion. Could even offer his own hugs nowadays without overthinking it.
Still, surprise hugs weren't always a good idea with him, but today found him a lot more mute to things. The numbness in his eyes had been obvious when he had arrived at the Sanctuary with what remained of his household, but he had done his best to put on a good face.
Everyone had lost people. It did no one any good to let himself be consumed by the grief of losing his father again.
So he accepted the hug without an elbow to anywhere uncomfortable. His shoulders hadnāt even tensed, instead slumping a little. āI'm not going to stab you, Atreus,ā he said, huffing out a sad little laugh. āEspecially not after you opened your place to us.ā He had spent a good chunk of that afternoon moping in Black's maw, but he had felt bad about keeping his husband and kid there and had easily agreed to head to the Sanctuary when Shiro had suggested it.
He wasn't the only one that had lost someone today, after all. āHow are you?ā
Atreus closed one eye and squinted at Keith, comically. āYou threaten to stab Lance all the time, donāt go soft on me now.ā Atreus knew full well that was a lot of back-and-forth shit-talking these days and all in the fun of their friendship, but it was good to point it out occasionally to let both of them admit that. He was soft when it came to those two admitting how much they actually liked each other.
āYou know our place is your place, whenever.ā Father had even insisted with waffles, which had been a nice surprise.
Atreus stepped back to give Keith his own personal bubble back, and shoved his hands into his pockets awkwardly so he wouldnāt be tempted to do it again. āIām, you know- I wanted to apologize, actually. For snapping at you a while back.ā
It was easy to complain and threaten Lance simply because of how far they had come in their friendship. From rivals (unknowing in Keithās case, until they got to space) to comrades to a real and genuine friendship and support system? They had been through it all. So if Lance hugged him and Keith got prickly, Lance knew better than to take it to heart. Knew that their friendship was solid, because thatās how their friendship worked. They could be rude and brash to one another.
It was a little softer with Atreus, who wore his heart on his sleeve. Keith, who hadnāt had a lot of experience with being empathetic until Vallo, had struggled and shied away from confrontation when it came to Atreus (and Adora for that matter, who had worked it out with him to fix their rift). So when he had seen how deeply he had upset Atreus with his assumptions, he had put distance between them until he could figure out how to fix it.
Then a portal opened up and sucked him away and, when he was finally back, his dad got taken. It was just one thing after another these days and Keith was exhausted. But he appreciated that Atreus wanted to broach this topic, even if he was still trying to figure out how to fight the sadness that was threatening to take over now that Tex was gone back to his death.
Immediately though, he blinked and scratched at the back of his neck, little ticks that he fell into whenever he was unsure and struggling to find the right words. āNo, thatā¦you donāt have to apologize, man. I messed up there. I made assumptions I shouldnāt have. Itās not my place to drag you off to the stars just because I miss being home among them.ā
Atreus had some of his own ticks, ones where he fidgeted and felt like he was in the wrong skin, usually shifting helped and he felt a bit more right. It was sometimes a little too easy to hide away in the fur of his wolf-self though, and occasionally he had to be an adult about things.
Like owning up to the times he was a little too abrupt with his commentary. āHey, you guys are my family. You can drag me wherever you want me, at least briefly.ā He meant that, and his face was open and honest about it. āI know you get my reasons, but I just wanted to say if we hadnāt built up--ā Atreus gestured around the Sanctuary at the barns and other pens around them, ones that housed healing animals, or the bears his father had taken in. āAll of this? Iād follow you anywhere. Lance and I both would, weāve talked about it.ā
If it ever came down to it, Keith didnāt think he would leave Vallo. Not unless he had means to get back to the people that would stay behind. And he said as much. āWhen I think of home, yeah I can see space and the cabin and places. But when it really comes to it, home is who I consider my people. Thatās Shiro and Kipp, but you know that includes you, Lance, and Yrsa. So Iām not going anywhere unless I have a way back here and I think Shiro feels the same.ā They had discussions before, the one most recent being after Keith fell through that portal months ago, but unless they had their people, they wouldnāt be voluntarily leaving.
So all of this was moot, but it was good to get it out there in the open and confirm how important they were to one another in the grand scheme of things. Especially after losing Tex so recently. It was awful and Keith didnāt think he was done crying over it, but he knew he would be able to keep going forward. Tex would have wanted that.
Exhaling and letting the tension in his shoulders melt away, he said, āIām sorry about Freya. I know that she isnāt going back to something terrible, but a loss is a loss.ā
Atreus nodded and swallowed the lump in his throat. It shouldnāt have felt like the relief it was, with Keithās reassurance, but- Atreus had lost a lot of people in his life, they all had, but heād never been very good at not getting attached along the way. āLance and I have talked about it, about everything heās been through, about what you guys have all been through, and I think weāre on the same page.ā
Settling into a domestic partnership and co-parenting situation hadnāt been on his own bucket list for anytime soon, and yet that was right where Atreus planned on staying. It had changed his life for the better, so had so many of the people heād met here in Vallo.
But heād already thrown a good amount of sappiness at Keith for now. So Atreus just shuffled a little uncomfortably. āYeah. She had work to do with the Gods and all, so.ā He blew out a breath and stared across the grounds, in the direction of the rise of children starting to laugh. āIām glad Yrsa and Kipp have each other for the distractions. This sucks.ā
āIt does,ā Keith agreed, before bumping his shoulder forward into Atreus. āBut we have each other too. Shiro was right, I donāt want to be alone today and Iām betting neither do you. So letās go hang out with the rest of the family and distract each other too.ā Maybe he didnāt always have to feel like he was doing well, but he could try and maybe it would start to feel like it was enough.
Especially if he had people around him still. He couldnāt stop living just because it wasnāt the complete picture that he wanted. And the same applied to Atreus.
Atreus couldnāt stop himself from wrapping his arm around Keithās shoulder when the bump was offered. He squeezed just once before loosening the hold to something Keith could easily worm his way out of, but just that one squeeze made him feel a little better.
He had that same soft look he always got around them, the pointedly Atreus face of a person that was able to let go of a persona and just be himself around this family. āLetās go. Fatherās cooking something that smells good and Shiroās probably doing that face journey of his where he looks approvingly and lovingly at us for being mature.ā