She could see Keith in his spot near the door where he’d just returned from the bedroom he and Lance had taken Shiro too. He had his arms crossed, eyes trained sharply down at the floor. The silence lingered long before Hunk’s stomach grumbled. Keith jumped right into a defensive stance, knocking his shoulder loudly into the doorframe.

“What was that!?” He demanded.

“Sorry,” Hunk said, putting his hands up and blushing slightly, “Just hungry.”

“Oh.” Keith didn’t completely relax, though.

“Well, Mullet, got anything to eat in this place?” Lance asked.

A flash of annoyance crossed Keith’s face, but he seemed to change his mind before he said anything else. He walked over to the fridge, looking around.

“I don’t have much in here,” He confessed, “Usually I either hunt or… uh… or I buy food every now and then.” Pidge had an idea he was lying but let it drop. She made note to confirm the 'Garrison kitchen thief' theory, though.

Hunk stood up and hesitated before approaching the mullet-headed emo.

“Uh… you don’t mind if I… if I cook?” He asked.

Keith blinked at him, “Uh… sure, go ahead.”

Keith stood aside as Hunk looked through the fridge for something to make.

“I think there might be some spaghetti in the cabinet… don’t know if it expired yet or not,” Keith pointed out helpfully. “Well, here’s a can of corn… in the fridge?” Hunk looked confused.

Keith shrugged, “It’s too hot in the cabinets,” He said curtly simply.

Pidge could see Lance getting ready to defend Hunk. She begged whatever god there was so Keith doesn’t say anything wrong. She wasn’t in the mood for any of that. Keith quickly showed Hunk how his stove worked and where the pots and pans were before realising it might be a little hard doing all of this in a room with only a dim candle for light.

“I’m gonna search for a lightbulb,” He said, “There might still be one in the living room.”

He left the room quietly. Pidge sighed, pressing her forehead into her hands.

“So… what are your plans for dinner?” Lance asked.

“Well, I was thinking a simple corn soup or something? There’s stock here as well and a sack of potatoes. I could whip something up.”

Lance gave a laugh, “I suppose we’ll get your ‘late night snack’ after all.”

“Yeah,” Hunk said, “I’m starving, though. I wonder if Keith found a lightbulb yet.”

Lance groaned, “I still can’t believe we’re stuck with Mullet. How is our fate so cursed?”

“He’s not that bad,” Hunk said, “He’s been mostly quiet after almost killing us by flinging us off a cliff at high speed.”

“That was uncalled for,” Lance moaned, “He could’ve killed us.”

“Yeah, but if it weren’t for him, we wouldn’t have gotten Shiro out of the Garrison hospital,” Pidge spoke up, “He’s obviously been planning this. Somehow he knew.”

“It’s sketchy,” Lance said, “I don’t trust him.”

“Well, we kind of have too for now,” Hunk said, leaning against the counter, “Anyway, he allowed us into his hideout, let us use his food and he seems to know Shiro first hand.”

“Still doesn’t explain where he got explosives and how he knew he’d need them tonight,” Lance said in a singsong voice.

“Lance, let’s just deal with one thing at a time now, alright?” Pidge reasoned, “We don’t have the time to ask all sorts of cryptic questions right now. Keith let us into his shack, he's quiet and so far only tried to kill us once.”

“How’s that supposed to make me feel better?” Lance asked, “And how do we know Shiro’s safe in the same shack as him? Seriously, I’m getting some bad vibes off that guy.”

“Like that time you got bad vibes off that squirrel?” Hunk asked, “Or the chicken that was looking at you funny?”

“That was different,” Lance said, “Anyway, the chicken did end up stealing my fries, so I was right.”

“Found one,” They heard from the door. Keith walked in, dusting off a lightbulb. He jumped onto the table, placing the bulb near his feet.

Pidge could see Lance’s fingers itching to push the lightbulb off the table, but she could already see how this could go very wrong. She gave him a warning look, and he held his hands up to show he meant no harm. She didn’t take her eyes off of Suspicious-McClain, though. She hadn’t known Lance too long but if Hunk’s stories were anywhere near accurate, then better safe than sorry.

Keith replaced the bulb and jumped off of the table, walking over to the light switch. He flicked it on, and Hunk screamed. Pidge’s head turned to the reason, and she saw it instantly. A giant spider with eight furry legs was sitting right next to the oven. The spider was agitated by Hunk’s scream. Before Pidge or Lance could react, Keith had taken a few long strides across the room and grabbed the creature by three of its legs and opened the window, tossing it out like an old soda can.

He dusted off his hands and closed the window.

“Sorry guys,” He said, “I probably should’ve warned you. This is a desert, and there are spiders whenever I leave the windows or doors open too late. Trust me, I know.” His eyes flicked over to Lance as he said the last sentence. “Be right back. Yell if you need me.” He left the room, probably to check on Shiro again.

The Garrison Trio was silent after that encounter. Pidge turned to Lance, “So… trust him now?”

Lance was still staring at the window. “Dios,” He whispered.

It was as if everything came back to him, yet nothing at all. He could pick up bits and pieces, but those pieces were shattered and broken and mixed up. But he found himself only caring about one thing: he escaped. Somehow in his forgotten miracle, he'd escaped from the mind-numbing depths of the prison. But that didn’t exactly explain how he was in a bedroom somewhere in a beaten shack and not in the infirmary of the Galaxy Garrison.

That’s when he noticed a figure slumped in a nearby chair. He flinched at first. Was this an illusion? Did one of those aliens trick him into a false sense of security? Those fears were instantly diminished.

He knew who this was. He wasn’t a threat.

Keith was sitting in a dusty green chair, his eyes closed, head resting against the wall behind him. His chest moved before Shiro could worry about his stillness. The relief at seeing a familiar face hit him so hard, it was almost painful. His chest hurt, and he felt his eyes burn. Keith was here. Somehow, he’d found him. Keith, who he hadn’t seen in so, so long, was right there. A few footsteps away, closer than he’d ever been in such a long time.

He felt himself get choked up at the way Keith’s arms were crossed over his chest, even as he slept. That’s when he decided that the prison had really messed him up. Or maybe it was the side effects of the anaesthesia the Garrison had given him.

Okay. Pull yourself together. No crying. You’re most likely still somewhere in your twenties; you can do this.

Instead, he trained his eyes somewhere else. Watching Keith was way too emotional now. He looked around at the shack. It was a little banged up and dusty, but strangely, it also gave off a homey aroma. He tried to sit up, realising he was still in that godforsaken prisoner outfit. He couldn’t wait to get out of these sad excuses for clothes.

When he finally made it into a sitting position, he heard a strange machine-like sound next to him. He lifted his right arm. He’d almost forgotten… the cyborg prosthetic arm was still there as if mocking him. Even if he got a new pair of clothes, rid the prisoner clothes for good, this piece of machinery would still be there. It was always going to remind him of what had happened to him…

The worst part was that he wasn’t entirely sure of why or how he got it.

No, scratch that. The worst part was that he didn’t know where Sam and Matt were… what even happened to them? Were they even still alive? Before he could berate himself for thinking so negatively, he heard a familiar voice.

“Shiro?”

He looked over to where Keith was starting to stand up. He sounded just the same as the last time he’d seen him at the Kerberos launch; he even looked kind of the same, his hair just a little longer. It couldn’t have been that long since he was gone then.

“Keith.” He managed to say it without his words shaking.

The teen stood awkwardly near his bed, lowering his indigo eyes to the ground. A few seconds ticked by, the awkward silence hung heavily in the air. Before Shiro could figure out what to say, Keith spoke up.

“How-how are you feeling?”

He considered the question, leaning back against the wall of the bed. He didn’t need to bother Keith too much with his hazy, confused thoughts right now... maybe after he got a little fresh air, he’ll be okay again. “I’ll be fine,” He finally answered. He looked back up at Keith’s face, noticing the way it was carefully guarded, not showing too much emotion than what was necessary.

Keith cleared his throat, “Well, I’ve got some clothes for you to put on.” He walked towards a table across the room to retrieve it, “I hope it fits. Used to belong to my Dad. We’re in his shack right now, actually.”

Keith handed the clothes over to Shiro but didn’t leave yet, just staring down at the bed covers, his face unchanging. Shiro knew that face well. He spent a long time trying to get Keith to stop hiding like that. Keith was always trying to be strong, keeping his emotions at bay. It worked well in some situations, of course, but he didn't have to keep it up 24/7. Shiro hesitated slightly before placing his human hand on Keith’s elbow.

Keith looked at him, barely hiding his surprise. Shiro had so many questions he wanted to ask. How Keith knew he crashed on Earth, why they were in Keith and his Dad’s old shack, how he managed to break Shiro out of the Garrison. But none of that mattered right now.

“Thank you, Keith.”

A smile made itself known on Keith’s face, making Shiro’s chest tighten. He didn’t realise exactly how much he’d missed Keith until now.

“Anytime,” Keith said. After a while, he moved toward the door, “I’ll bring you something to eat. While I’m gone, I suggest you get dressed. We’re burning the other outfit.”

Shiro allowed himself a laugh, “Will do,” He said.

The door closed behind Keith.

Shiro closed his eyes as he leaned against the wall again. He was home… back on Earth. The Garrison didn’t listen to his warnings, but they could figure something out. Now that he had Keith back, they could figure out how to stop the aliens from invading Earth. With that motivating thought, he got up from the bed.

He was glad to note that he was able to stand up and walk around, meaning the anaesthesia didn’t affect him too badly.

He dressed in the new pair of clothes, trying to ignore all of the horrible scars revealing themselves. He didn’t remember when he got all of them or how, although he had an idea from the flashes of a fighting ring. He got dressed in the new clothes (which fit him perfectly) before throwing the prisoner outfit at the end of the bed.

He considered to go looking for Keith but decided against it. He didn’t know his way around the shack and would probably just wander in circles. He sat in the bedroom to collect his thoughts instead.

That’s when it hit him hard. He was back on Earth… he’d survived. He made it out. A ghost of a smile came onto his face, but it didn’t feel like one for relief or that he was happy. Instead, it felt empty. Like some part of him died on that alien ship, but he didn't know what it might've been.

He sighed, trying to breathe evenly before he started to hyperventilate.

I made it, he told himself. I got out. That’s all that matters now.

He heard a knock on the door as he finally felt in control of himself again. He answered, and Keith walked into the room, a bowl of soup in his hands. Keith couldn’t stay long in the room, briefly telling Shiro that there were other three cadets with him and they needed help with a toaster or something. The other three had helped Keith save him from the Garrison hospital, and they were all on the run now.

Shiro decided not to say too much about that. He’d learned long ago that Keith could get in the strangest shenanigans, especially after Matt Holt and he became roommates. It felt good, though. He enjoyed being able to speak to Keith again, even just for a short while. But he felt like he needed the silence after Keith left, trying to eat as much as he could.

Unfortunately, getting abducted by aliens, locked up as a prisoner in a ship for an extended period, somehow escaping, crashing onto earth, put under by Garrison officials and waking up in a shack once belonging to his adopted younger brother’s late father didn’t seem to agree with him.