Shiro was not doing well.

Actually, that was an understatement, he was in the middle of a panic attack set off by a particularly brutal flashback. He hadn’t wanted to know how they’d taken his arm, not really. To make matters worse, the flashback had been triggered on the bridge when Pidge had hooked up his arm to her computer—which she warned him about, how could he still be like this?—and a sudden jolt of electricity had… well, everyone had seen. They all knew that he could fall apart in a second. They’d all seen him run.

The door slid open. Shiro looked up, expecting Keith. His brother had always thought of him as so strong, but… was he still strong? Thankfully, it was not Keith, or Lance, or any of the other humanoids. It was Slav. Slav, the brilliant bytor he’d help to rescue, Slav who made him grind his teeth and scream and made his heart beat fast because hey, finally something was real, something was affecting him, and it wasn’t the Galra.

Slav didn’t say anything at first, just loosely circling Shiro. He didn’t lunge for him and wrap himself around Shiro’s neck—he had taken a liking to Shiro, and Shiro made a point about not thinking about why he didn’t push Slav away anymore—he simply sat nearby in case Shiro needed him. Shiro eventually calmed himself down.

“Thank you… for not saying anything.” “There was a 90% chance that it would just make you worse.” Slav replied, meeting Shiro’s gaze. “I understand.” “Right. The Galra got you too.” Shiro did not relax at that. Would everyone else think of him like Slav? “Well, that, and in this reality and 86 others, I’ve gotten to know you. You don’t like it when you don’t have control.”

Shiro nodded. “I suppose that’s true… I’m… I’m sorry about when I’ve lost it when we first met.” “What, control of your emotions? That’s fine. You still let me prepare, took my anxieties into account. Not many of your people do that.” “They’re good kids.” “That’s true. And that’s how I know they won’t judge you. For example, the small green one and the angry red one think of you as a brother. That doesn’t just go away. Also, the green one looked like she blamed herself when you left, even though in 97 alternate realities, you would have been set off anyway.”

“I bet Pidge didn’t want to hear that.” Shiro smiled slightly. Slav nodded solemnly. “She yelled at me! It was very rude.” Shiro’s smile grew. “Yeah, it was.” Slav curled tighter around Shiro. “…they’re all looking for you, by the way.”

“How’d you find me?” Shiro asked. He hadn’t gone to his room, he preferred an unused observation deck when he needed to be alone. “In another reality, you brought me here to watch the stars pass with you.” Slav replied softly. “It was… nice.” Shiro nodded slowly. “I… I know that I’m only here because I went to space, and that everything happened because of… but I still love the stars. I always have, I think I always will.” “That’s true. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a reality where you don’t, it’s just… accepted. It’s you.” Slav said softly.

“In that other reality, when I showed you this place… did I tell you about hugs?” Shiro asked. “The human expression of affection? The embrace? The big yellow one has told me about them. They’re a source of comfort, yes? …would you like one?” “Very much.” Shiro said softly.