Earth
Shiro wakes up, expecting to see the dark walls of his cell, or a Garrison hospital. Instead, Keith’s there, and he realises he’s home.
Of all the things Shiro expected to see when he woke up, it wasn’t this. He had been expecting the cold, darkness of his cell, battered and bruised from… he wasn’t even sure why he woke up like that sometimes. Right now, however, he woke up somewhere completely different. He hadn’t seen a place like this since… heck, how long has he been gone?
Blinking open his eyes, he looked around himself to discover he was laying in a rickety bed in some sort of a shack. A beaten up ceiling fan was blowing air around the room. It wasn’t doing much, but it meant so much to him at that moment because of how much it reminded him of home. This whole place looked so much like a shack you’d see on… on Earth.
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.
It was gonna take some time to heal completely.
