#sheithauweek2019

The distraction had worked, and while troops were being sent away to inspect the explosion, Keith managed to enter the base. It was still guarded, but he used the Force on the clone troopers, so that they didn't pay attention to him.

From listening to their communications, he had gathered that Shiro was being brought to the lab section first, rather than to the cells. What that meant, Keith didn't know, but a knot of anxiety was festering in his stomach.

He managed to keep hidden while exploring the base, and, even if he somehow got lost on the way, he finally found the medical area. The first few rooms he looked into were empty, but he did find a lab that was guarded. He tried to use the Force to get in, but that didn't work.

There were soldiers and medics inside, and they all surged at him when he entered. It was too late to try and curb their will wit the Force, so he just used his fists. When they were all knocked out, he sped to free Shiro, who was strapped to a table. He almost tripped over one of the medics laying on the ground in his haste.

He gasped when he got a better view of Shiro. He was unconscious, and seemed to have aged much more than the two years they had been apart; his right arm had been replaced with a mechanical prosthetic, a scar was barring his nose, and the hair from his bangs had turned white. Keith felt tears well up in his eyes as he muttered his friend's name, wondering what he had been through. But he didn't have time to linger on his emotions.

He took out the lightsaber he had inherited from his mother, and cut the straps that were holding Shiro prisoner. Gently, he tried to lift the big man from the table. The motion caused Shiro to wake up; he panicked and tried to free himself from Keith's hold. Keith didn't restrain him.

"Shiro, it's me!"

"Keith?" Shiro's voice was hoarse and his eyes unfocused. He was obviously still under the effect of some kind of anesthetic. Reassured, he let himself fall against Keith again with a sigh. Keith wrapped Shiro's left arm around his shoulders, and tried a few steps, but Shiro could barely stand. Keith hadn't expected that. Getting out of the base without being caught was about to get more complicated than anticipated.

While he was hesitating, three people barged in. It was obvious they didn't belong there, and were infiltrating the base just like him. A little Mark IV sentry droid was with them, but to Keith's relief, it didn't attack;  from the way it was flying alongside them, it seemed re-purposed to be at their service.

Before Keith could even react, a lanky guy strode toward him, waggling his finger disapprovingly: "No no no no, no! No, you don’t! I'm saving Shiro!". He took Shiro's other arm, helping Keith carrying him. His long face, tan skin, blue eyes and pointy chin were somewhat familiar.

"Who are you?" asked Keith, confused.

"Who am I? Uh, the name’s Lance?” He seemed to expect Keith to react, but that didn’t ring any bell. “We were in the same flight school? We were like rivals! You know, Lance and Keith, neck to neck..."

Oh, right, the flight school Keith had been part of.. before he stole Shiro's landspeeder for a ride, and Shiro insisted on bringing him to the Jedi temple. He hadn't paid much attention to the other cadets at the flight school, but after thinking about it harder, Lance had been difficult to ignore. Loud, cocky, and always trying to confront Keith for some reason. Keith still didn’t get what he meant about being rivals. Wasn't Lance a cargo pilot?

"Oh, yeah, I remember you." grunted Keith. "What are you doing here."

"Saving Shiro!" repeated Lance. "Don't try to one-up me on that!"

That left Keith confused. He was just trying to help his best friend. He didn't even know they were coming. Why would Lance believe...?

"I'm Pidge. We're from the Rebel Alliance" stated the shortest, and apparently youngest, member of the group. They examined Keith sharply through their round glasses. "What about you?"

"Keith. Former Jedi apprentice," mumbled Keith.

"What?! Former? Did they kick you out?" There was some underlying excitement in Lance's tone that had Keith's hackles rise.

"Sorry to interrupt", said the big guy nervously, "but I think we should go. My sensor is signaling droids coming this way. And the troops are going to come back to the base soon!"

Pidge nodded. "Let's go. Rover, you go as a scoot!". The sentry droid took the lead.

They followed the less crowded paths according to the sensor, with Pidge going first after Rover, then Lance and Keith carrying Shiro, and the last one, who introduced himself as Hunk, covering their tail with his blaster rifle.

---

Once they escaped, Keith brought them to where he had hidden his hoverbike. Their ship was bigger, and further away to avoid it being discovered by the Empire troops.

Said troops were back from inspecting the explosion Keith had caused as a decoy. They hoped to go unnoticed, but shots in their direction proved them otherwise. Keith pulled the throttle. The troops started chasing them.

Keith's heart was in his throat. Alone, he would have shaken them off them easily, but with everyone on board, they were overloaded. The hoverbike was slow and unresponsive. The tanks, land troops and battle droids weren't much of an issue, but the droideka were catching up. Thankfully, fire wasn't much nourished, maybe because they wanted Shiro alive.

Still, Rover, who was firing back at the enemy, got shot and exploded. Pidge let out a long wail when they saw that, and fired back desperately. Lance caught Shiro, who was still dazed and almost fell down as Pidge let go of him.  Hunk leaned forwards to comfort the young rebel; it caused the whole hovercraft to nose down. That gave Keith an idea.

"Hunk, lean left!" Hunk did, and the hoverbike did too; Keith used it to gain speed. Going on with this trick, he managed to keep distance between them and their pursuers. Adrenaline was flooding his veins. He shouldn't have fun doing this.

"Guys, i-is that a cliff overhead?!" Hunk's voice was tight with fear. It was.

They were all yelling at him to stop. As if it was an option. He pulled the throttle. The rush of blood was chanting in his ears, the wind from the acceleration tossing his hair and adding to his elation.  

This was a trick Shiro had taught him. Everyone kept screaming, but Keith let out a laugh. He managed to stick the landing. Unable to come down, the Empire troops had abandoned pursuit.

Lance, who had a good sense of direction, guided him towards their ship.

"That's Blue!", he claimed proudly. "Isn't she beautiful?"

Keith lifted a skeptical brow. The ship was older than themselves, and looked like a wreck. It was indeed painted blue, to be less conspicuous while flying in the atmosphere, maybe?

Hunk grinned, patting the metallic carcass: "She doesn't look like much, but believe me, she can fly! Pidge and I make sure of that."

---

They managed to take off from the planet without trouble. Lance had improved his piloting a lot since flight school, but Keith still had to fight back an urge to push him off the pilot seat and to take the commands.

They were headed towards a Rebellion base on Arus, where they would join Princess Allura. Lance said they hoped Shiro could share some of what he had learned in his mission and during his captivity. Shiro nodded, but Keith noticed how tense he had gotten.

Even with light speed, the trip would last at least a few days, which was good, because Shiro obviously needed some rest.

----

After catching up some sleep, Keith noticed Shiro's bunk was empty. He finally found him gazing through one of the ship's viewing bays. Shiro was lost in the contemplation of the stars, but as Keith was approaching him, his focus shifted to his prosthetic arm. Keith's chest tightened; they still hadn't spoken about what had happened to Shiro.

Gently, he put his hand on his friend's shoulder, a gesture that Shiro had used so often to comfort him in the past. "It's good to have you back."

Shiro turned towards him, a wistful smile on his lips. "It's good to be back".

Keith hesitated. "So, what happened out there?"

Shiro let out a distressed sight. "I wish I remembered. My head’s still pretty scrambled. It’s all a blur..." Keith felt worry grow in his heart. He wasn't the most informed, but between this and Shiro's nightmares that night, it wasn't hard to see symptoms of trauma. Shiro continued: "How did you know to come to save me?"

Keith shifted uneasily. "I... heard stuff. Coded communications from the Empire. On my dad's radio."

Shiro was now looking at him with a concerned expression: "But... what were you doing, alone on Tatooine?"

Keith hesitated, and there was a short silence while Shiro held his gaze. Keith bit his lip, folding his arms and looking away. "They said you died. I didn't believe them. I would have felt it. In the Force."

"I... I understand. Sometimes... I remember... sometimes, I felt you try to reach out to me."

Keith felt his heart stop. He had thought of Shiro, often, missed him terribly. He had no idea Shiro would be able to feel that. "I... missed you." Shiro was still looking at him perplexedly, and he realized he hadn't answered Shiro's question. "After being booted from the Jedi Temple..." he heard Shiro's intake of breath, "I was kinda... lost, and felt myself drawn out to this place." His voice was breaking.

"You went home."

"Yeah."

Shiro knew about Keith's past on Tatooine. About his mother disappearing when he was a baby, about his father being killed by the Empire. Shiro was the one who had found him there at the flight school. He had seen him flying, and  had insisted that Keith was force sensitive, and that he used it without knowing for piloting. Keith had been reticent at first, but Shiro had managed to convince him to try becoming a Jedi. He brought him back to the Jedi Temple. They had begrudgingly accepted him, despite his sixteen years- much older than the usual recruits. Shiro was the one who helped him finding his footing living with the Jedi. Who taught him how to manage his emotions better. Keith had hoped becoming his padawan when he was deemed ready. It was the closest bond to him that he could wish for - Jedi were not supposed to love, after all.

As Shiro didn't answer, he added:  "I kept looking for you..." He found himself incapable of speaking more. Emotions were overflowing him and he could barely keep himself together.

"You found me", Shiro said softly. He reached out a hand, tentatively. Keith knew that signal. He took Shiro's hand and they hugged, a long time. It felt nostalgic, and it felt different and new too. Keith hadn't even realized how much he'd missed this. When they separated, they were both a bit awkward and flushed.

"You grew", commented Shiro; he sounded shaken.

"Eh. It's been two years." He hadn't even paid attention to his growth. His pants were a bit short, now, but it didn't matter when he was wearing boots. He knew his work as a farmhand had developed his muscles, but he had never reflected on how changed his figure.

Shiro had changed too. He too had gained muscles. His embrace was still as warm and welcoming as before, but there was metal now mixed with his familiar scent. He was however clearly not ready to talk about it, so Keith changed subject.

"Are you going to contact the Jedi Order?"

Shiro took a moment to consider the question. "I...I don't know. Let's meet that Princess first. We can see from there."

Keith let out a relieved sight. Now that he wasn't part of the Jedi Order anymore, he was worried of being separated from Shiro again if he went back to the Temple. And after they had abandoned Shiro to his fate, Keith didn't trust the Jedi anymore. He wanted Shiro safe. And close to him, if possible.

"What about you?" asked Shiro.

Keith shrugged. "The Jedi won't take me back, so. I guess I could join the Rebellion... Like you said. Let's meet the Princess."

---

A few days later, Blue landed on planet of Arus. Lance, Hunk and Pidge brought them in front of the Princess.

She was in a conference room, discussing strategy with a group of commanders. Her white hair was in a bun, and the pointy ears and cheek marks revealing her altean origins. She was wearing simple flight clothes, despite her rank. When she saw them, she left the holographic map they were examination and walked towards them.

"Hello, I am Princess Allura, from Altea. You are in a Rebel Base. Master Shirogane, as a survivor from the Kerberos mission, we believe you may have valuable information about Lord Zarkon and the Empire. Would you accept to share them with us?"