prompt for Sheith... you can make this fluffy or angsty, anything you like! :D you know how Lotor is like always thinking ahead of them? My prompt is a scene where Lotor sees right through Shiro & Keith and thinks they're together. (of course Matt and Pidge already talked about their oblivious friends... but that's a prompt for another day I guess)
(Me: How in the hell am I going to get Lotor to where he sees Keith and Shiro?Season 4: *happens*Me: WELP.)
âYou were going to do what?â
Keith took a deep breath and met Shiroâs furious gaze. âWe needed to get through the cruiserâs shield, and none of us had the firepower to do it. We had to do something before Naxzela exploded!â
Shiro took a step forward. âAnd your solution was to ram it? With your own ship?â
Keith spared a glance across the room to glare at Matt, who winced and mouthed Sorry. It didnât matter. Keith was going to kill him. He could make it look like an accident.Â
âI didnât have a lot of other options,â he said through gritted teeth. âWe had to get through somehow. Otherwise weâd have lost the entire system!â
Otherwise, Iâd have lost you, he thought, but couldnât bring himself to say. Voltron was fast, but there was no way it was fast enough to get away from an explosion of that size. Keith would have lost everyone he cared about in the blink of an eye.
Heâd have lost Shiro. Again, and for good.
âWhat if it hadnât worked?â Shiro shouted. âYou would have thrown your life away, and for nothing!â
Keith flung his arm out. âWhat did you want me to do? Nothing? Because those were my choices! Sit there and watch while Haggar blows up a planet and destroys every hope we have of defeating the Galra, or try to stop it!â
âThere had to have been another way that didnât involve you dying!â Shiro shouted.
âThere was,â a new voice drawled. âOr have you boys forgotten the reason youâre even having your loverâs spat is because I flew in at the last minute to save the day?âÂ
Keith whirled around, the blood draining from his face. Lotor was still sitting in Pidgeâs chair where theyâd tied him up, smirking at both of them.
Keith had completely forgotten he was there.
Shiro drew back and frowned at him. âWhat are you talking about?â
Lotor chuckled. âSurely your boyfriend didnât try to take credit for me blowing a hole in that cruiser.â
âBoyfriend?!â Keith exclaimed, and head Shiro echo the word in the same tone of disbelief.
âOh.â Lotor raised one white eyebrow. âAre you not?â
Keithâs heart hammered in his throat. Heâd thought he was doing a good job of hiding his feelings, but if Lotor could tellâŚ
âNo, we arenât,â Shiro said firmly.
âHm. My mistake, then,â Lotor said. âA shame, though. You do make a very entertaining pair.â
Keith couldnât take this for one minute longer. He spun on his heel and stalked off the bridge. âIâm heading to the training deck. Tell Pidge to call me when we start the debriefing.â
He heard Shiro call his name, but he couldnât bring himself to look back.
Either the gladiators werenât as hard as he remembered, or Keith had gotten a lot stronger fighting with the Blades, because he tore through the first four training levels in less than five minutes. It gave him something to focus on, gave him a way to work out his anger and frustrations, but right now even fighting wasnât enough to wipe away the way Shiro had sounded when heâd said no.
It was true. They werenât.
But the finality in his voiceâŚ
Keith rammed his sword through the next robot to come at him. It fell to the ground, sparking.
His eyes stung, and he swiped at them angrily. âEnd program.â
The door to the training room whooshed open, and Shiro walked in.
Keith turned his back so that Shiro couldnât see that heâd been crying. âI told you to have Pidge call me.â
âKeith,â Shiro said softly. âYou would have been killed if Lotor hadnât shown up. Weâd have lost you.â There was a beat, and then, âIâd have lost you.â
Keithâs heart twisted, and he shoved his knife back in its sheath. âVoltron couldnât have escaped that explosion. If I hadnât done something, weâd have lost everything!â
Keith spun around and cut him off. âI had to do something!â
âDying shouldnât have been it!â Shiro shouted. âHow could you think that? There had to have been another way. There had to have beenâŚâ He closed his eyes and trailed off, turning away. âYou have to know how much you mean to me.â
âDo I?â Keith asked, and he couldnât keep the tremor out of his voice.
Shiro looked back at him then, so broken and vulnerable that it was gutting.
Oh, Keith thought distantly. Heâd always assumed his feelings were one-sided, had always assumed there was no way Shiro could care as much about him as he did about Shiro.
Apparently that assumption had been wrong.
He took two steps forward, uncertain, trying to gauge how heâd be received. Shiro grabbed his hand and hauled him into a hug, hard, and stifled a sob in his ear. Keith hugged him back, pressing his face into Shiroâs chest and trying not to break down.
âI canât lose you,â Shiro whispered. âI need you, Keith, I need to know youâre okay, even if I canât be with you, I needââ
âI need you, too,â Keith said, his throat tight. âI thought you were mad at me for leaving, I thought you didnât need me anymoreââ
Shiroâs arms tightened around him. âGod, Keith, no. I thought that was what you wanted. I thought you were mad at me, and I didnât want to force you to stay. I was trying to be supportive. Did you not want to go?â
âI did,â Keith admitted. âThe work is important, and I hate parades. ButâŚI wanted you to want me to stay.âÂ
âI did.â Shiro pressed a kiss to the side of his head. âI do. It kills me when youâre not here.â
Keith closed his eyes. âIt kills me not to be with you.â
Shiro sighed. It sounded a little wet. âI shouldâve said something ages ago, but it never seemed the right time. But when Matt told me what youâd done, I justâŚI had no idea how close Iâd come to losing you and it scared me to death.â
Hot tears pricked at the corners of Keithâs eyes. âI couldnât think of anything else. I had to do something.â
âI know, but God, KeithâŚyouâre irreplaceable.â
Keith laughed hollowly. âVoltron replaced me pretty easily.â
Shiro pulled back and cupped his face, his grey eyes burning with a determination Keith had only rarely seen. âYou. Are irreplaceable. To me.â
Keith could only stare back at him. Heâd had no idea. Sure, Shiro was irreplaceable to him, Shiro was the one who never gave up on him, who believed in him, who never walked away from him. Heâd never thought he might have been the same thing to Shiro.
âKeithââ Shiro started.
The comms crackled on. âShiro, Keith,â Pidge said. âWe need you for debriefing.â
Keith gritted his teeth so he wouldnât yell at her.
Shiro actually groaned, soft enough that only Keith could hear. âWeâll be right there, Pidge.â
Keith wrapped his hands around Shiroâs wrists. âTalk later?â he asked.
Shiroâs face softened into a small smile, and he nodded. âLater. Come on, letâs go debrief.â
Keith took Shiroâs hands from his face and threaded their fingers together, and let Shiro pull him from the room.
(Note: This fic assumes that the current Shiro is real!Shiro, only having some significant issues because because the Galra fucked with his brain. Iâm about 55/45 on whether current!Shiro is a clone or itâs really him, just with some kind of mind fuckery. Leaning slightly toward the clone theory just because of the name of the operation and the personality changes, but honestly I think theyâve got it built out that this could go either way.)