#twingane

but seriously, Ryou with his love of all things mechanic - sigh.  Poor man.  He’d just have to start putting red paint all over his actual work and teach the Iron Giant red meant ‘no’.  On the upside - someone to dig through trash with him!

all right, gang.  We are being SUPER spoiled with Ryou and Taka stories this week.  Look what our anon author sent us this time!  No angst this time, we’re going for a ride instead.  Buckle up and bring your stupid grins because we’re off!

((So…I think we need a different type of feels. So I wrote this a couple days ago, and I think you guys can guess when it takes it. After “Let’s Forget About It”, if you didn’t. Enjoy!))

~~~~

Twenty minutes came and went, twice. And the night was still young.

“Ryou,” Taka practically sang, gently rocking his brother awake.

“Noo…” Ryou whined as he hugged his brother’s arm even tighter.

“You are such a child.” Taka rolled his eyes with a smile on his face.

“You too.” Ryou looked up with a cheeky little smirk.

“Come on, we’re going for a fly, remember?” Taka had to practically drag Ryou to the Black Lion, but luckily, the sight of the majestic sentient machinery got his spirits up like fresh coffee on a Sunday morning.

Black was quite understanding of her Paladin wanting an aimless trip through the surrounding star system and was more than happy to oblige.

Though for just a few moments, they stayed in the hangar. Ryou found himself a seat by squeezing himself between the control panels and the pilot’s chair. Their hands drifted to the other’s, fingers interlocking seamlessly. Even if his hand was metal, even if it was created by the very species that they were fighting against, even if the thought of how it happened made Ryou shake with anger, it was still Taka’s hand, and he didn’t want to let go.

A low growl interrupted their moment.

“Black’s getting impatient.” Taka explained.

Ryou huffed. “I thought she was supposed to be a calm and cool leader?” Slowly, reluctantly letting go, Ryou got to his feet.

“I guess even giant robot cats get antsy.” Taka joked, chuckling up until the seat jerked forward and back on its own. “Okay okay we’re going.”

Ryou couldn’t help but chuckle. He knew the Lions had minds of their owns, but he could only ever see them act on their own, and even then it was rare. Except for Red. Red was always doing something. He also knew that the Paladins could speak to their respective Lions through some magical telepathic bond, and according to Allura and Coran, that’s where Taka shined the brightest.

“Ready?” Taka smiled fondly, pressing some buttons, hands ready to push the levers forward.

“You bet.” Ryou nodded.

In an instant, the Black Lion accelerated and was out of the Castle just as quick. Stars rushed by as they kept going, the sensation of floating never left the cockpit.

It didn’t matter how fast they were going, or where. What mattered was that they were moving. Even if just for a moment, just for one fleeting moment, they were unburdened by their past. The pain was gone, the scars didn’t ache. They could fly without a care and let their wings stretch out, one flutter and glide after the other.

Black suddenly sped up, somehow given their previous speed, and started…well, Ryou could only describe it as dancing. Barrel rolls, aerial rolls, diving, spinning, free floating. The light speckled void was her stage, and the Black Lion was the brightest star on it.

Then came the asteroid field. While the Red Lion was the most agile, she was put to shame with Black’s fancy maneuvers. Every part of her just barely brushed against the asteroids each time she got too close to one, as if daring the universe to throw more at her and laughing in its face when she dodged by distances smaller than a hair.

“This feels awesome.” Ryou finally said.

“I know right?” Taka answered, his hands not moving from the controls.

Wait.

“Hey.” Ryou shot an accusing smirk.

“What?” Taka smirked back. Ryou only raised his eyebrow in response. “What?” Taka ended up laughing, unable to keep his composure.

“You little sneak.” Laughter is, for a fact, contagious, and Ryou was no way immune to it.

“Okay okay,” Taka tried to stifle his laugh, failing spectacularly. “You got me. Black wanted to show us something.”

“Oh?”

Whatever it was, she was keeping it a secret. No matter how much her Paladin and his brother pestered her both mentally and verbally, she refused to say what she wanted to show them.

Eventually, she opened up a wormhole. The blues of Allura’s wormholes seemed to blend in with soft shades of purple, convincing the two that the Lions had more powers and abilities they kept secret. The Black Lion remained in front of the wormhole, as if waiting.

“She’s asking us if we’re ready.” Taka explained, an eyebrow raised. Despite how close they were, he could not tell what Black was thinking in this moment. Besides excitement of course.

“Are we?” Ryou asked, eyebrow also raised.

They looked at each other, and they shared a knowing, bright smile.

Taka pushed the controls forward and they entered the portal.

On the other side, in a very unfamiliar part of the universe where even Black’s navigation system was at a loss, was something truly spectacular.

A nebula in the shape of mighty wings, spread out in an eternal and graceful glide through the universe. Brilliant red wings, with the tips fading to blues and greens, most of the mass fading to oranges and yellows. The very center, the heart, was purple.

The twins were at a loss for words.

“This is…..” Taka tried to articulate the myriad of emotions swirling inside him.

“Beautiful…” Ryou managed to mutter.

“Even better….” Taka continued his gaze on the nebula. He was pulled away by the beeping on the control panel. “Huh.”

“What?”

“It’s a part of the universe even the Galra haven’t touched.” Taka’s eyes widened a bit at the realization of what word just slipped out.

Ryou gasped but in absolute glee and amazement. “Does that mean we can name it?”

A keyboard appeared on the control panel.

“Guess so.”

They stared at the nebular again, basking in its glory, unable to think of anything to accurately desribe its beauty.

“Tsukiko.” Ryou was the first to speak.

“That’s our mother’s name.” Taka glanced back to Ryou, who continued looking at the cloud of stardust and gas.

“Yep.”

Taka sighed and smiled, typing it on the keyboard. “Tsukiko it is then.”

Unbeknownst to the twins, far away from them, back on Earth, a woman, hair in a loose braid down her back streaked with white stripes, sneezed for seemingly no reason. She wonders why, and looks at the photo she took of her only two children, feeling an inexplicable warmth in her heart.

welp.  You’ve done it now, nonnie.

“Shiro, could you come to the bridge please?”

The princess’ voice over the com and Shiro looked up from where he was working on training the rest of the team on hand-to-hand.  Lance took a pot shot at him with an elbow and Shiro, smiling a little, caught it in his palm without turning his head to look, peripheral vision easily catching the telegraphed move.

“Good job, Lance.  Always take the opening when you see it.”  He straightened and the rest of the team, looking relieved, and, in Hunk’s case, a little less scared, straightened as well.  “Be right there, princess.  All right team, take five. Then try out your new move on each other.  Gently.”

“That was her ‘uh oh’ tone,” Pidge observed, moving over to get her glasses.  Shiro didn’t comment on it because - well, Pidge was right.  Allura’s voice somehow got stiffer and even more enunciated and ‘proper’ when she was concerned about something.

“Uh oh voice?” Lance was suddenly interested - and giving Shiro the woolly eyeball.  Starting to grin.  “You’re in trouble,” he singsonged.  Shiro ran a towel over the back of his neck and debated getting back into his uniform.  He didn’t feel right coming into a situation, especially on the bridge and with Allura no less, out of uniform but he’d just get it dirty in his current state if he did and he didn’t think that tone of voice offered time for a shower and making himself presentable.   He accepted the water packet Hunk passed him with a smile and shook his head.

“Just keep up with your training.  I’ll be back to check on you once I get the chance.”

Lance gave him a salute - which he assumed meant the team was going to rest for at least ten minutes instead of five once he was out the door but he wasn’t going to call them on it.  They had been working hard.  Keith however fell into step next to him.  Shiro arched an eyebrow at him but Keith just scowled and kept pace with him for the door.  Keith had always stuck close but since the run in with Haggar and the crash landing on the planet with the space lizards, there was a definite shift in the way he - it wasn’t hovering but it certainly had a more protective feel to it.  Shiro appreciated it - and knew he was going to have to get it to stop.  Keith had other things he needed to concentrate on.  Just - not yet.  Whatever Allura wanted, Shiro didn’t have a problem with Keith hearing it too.  If anything happened to him, he wanted Keith to lead and that started with being part of making planes.

“What?  How come Keith gets to go?  Allura didn’t use her ‘uh oh’ voice on him.”

Which, Shiro suspected meant Lance was looking for a way out of more training but he shrugged.  It wasn’t as if they were keeping secrets about anything.

“Well, come on.”

Pidge and Hunk took one look at each other and scrambled to their feet as well, falling into quick step behind a trotting Lance.

Looked like Allura was getting the whole crew after all.

Not that she seemed particularly bothered by it, beyond a raised set of thin eyebrows when they all walked onto the bridge shortly after her call.  The main vid screen was up, trailing alien lettering across it like a marque sign.  A vicious looking face, something that looked like a bad mug shot, flared to life and somewhere in the back of Shiro’s mind, something went very cold.  His stomach rolled, nauseated without reason, and the next picture that flashed by was of the same alien, armed with dual knives the size of bastard swords in the middle of a fight, a frozen second of time in a death struggle that Shiro recognized the way a sick fever that had settled into the bones was recognizable each time it surfaced.  He averted his eyes from the screen and forced all his concentration on the princess.  Who was watching him with the tight lines of worry about her eyes.

“What’s going on?”  His voice at least stayed steady but he saw the way the other paladin’s craned their necks to see what was still flashing across the screen and he knew they were putting the math together and realizing what that was - and what it meant to him.  He refused to look at them.

“I’m sorry, Shiro,” still clipped but softer and he both appreciated that and registered that anything that started off with an apology was probably going to be uncomfortable, at the least, for him.  He unconsciously squared his already set shoulders and met her eyes.  He could do this.  He was the Black Paladin.  And he was the squad leader.  Everything else came second place to that.  Whatever Allura say she took it as her sign to continue.

“As you know, we had a constant monitor running on all the news sources we can access.  Both for any hints that will help us with assigning new targets and to keep an ear out for any news involving Voltron.  We programed in quite a few words that will immediately flag if they come up.”  She gave him another look, part apologetic, part ‘don’t ask me to apologize it was necessary’.  “One of those words is Champion.”

The sick feeling intensified, curling rotten in his gut, coiling up the back of his spine and wrapping around the base of it.  The fever dream feeling moved through the back of his brain, always there, just a little less dormant now.  He kept his jaw looked and his eyes straight ahead on her and he didn’t miss the way Keith stepped to his side and just a little behind him or the way the rest of the team went silent.  Coran interrupted.

“As you know, we run hundreds of words through the system every tic, sorting through the news and trying to find useful tips.  Most of its rubbish of course.  That and a few catchy song lyrics really.”  The brief distraction lost to his usual enthusiasm.  “But every now and then we get a useful hit!  Loose lips ground star ships and all that.”

“Right,” Allura took over again.  “We got a pip just a few moments ago.  It appears one of the more affluent planets is hosting a Gladiator event.”  Her tone made her opinion obvious as only Allura could.  Her eyes met his and her voice went gentler.  Almost apologetic again.  “Shiro, I thought you should see this.”

His common sense was screaming at him not to look.  That he already knew what the fighter scrolls looked like, that it would cause a flashback, that his team didn’t need to see him fall apart again - but if the princess thought it was important than he trusted her judgement.  Eyes narrowing a little, bracing himself, he turned to look at the screen. 

“They’re hailing it as quite the event.”  She paused, just for a second.  “And the core game is for the return of the Champion to the fight ring.”

The picture flashed up on the screen.  Dark close cut hair except for the longer fringe in the front, stormy grey eyes, a lean square face.  Shiro went completely still.  The universe stopped, in that split second, just before it crashed like broken glass into sand and something, small and foolish, thought - if he would just not move, maybe the rest of the world wouldn’t either and this wouldn’t be real.  Lance made a surprised noise.  And, surprisingly, it was Hunk that spoke, voice cracking a little, in surprise and hurt.

“Instructor Ryou?”

The ‘mug shot’ was a little out of focus and the man in it looked a bit worse for the wear, bruised and hollow cheeked, lip split.  But it was the eyes that tore the heart right out of Shiro.  The wide, scared, lost looking, unprepared eyes.

“Who?” Lance wanted to know as Pidge made a small squeaking noise and said:

“I didn’t realize they were identical.”

The next still was of the same man, the man that looked so much like a younger Shiro from only a year ago, teeth bared, pure fury and anger across his face, features splashed with something dark and teeth bared in a snarl as he lunged at something much bigger than him bare handed.

“It’s his brother.  Shiro’s twin brother.”  Keith was explaining but it was all buzzing in Shiro’s ears, somewhere distant and hollow.  He could taste metal in his mouth, tinny and foreign.

“He’s supposed to be on Earth though,” Keith’s voice was still going.  “He shouldn’t be out here.”

Safe on Earth.

Anywhere but here.

“Suit up, team.”  Shiro’s voice was flat and deathly calm.  He was already heading for his compartment, stride intent and irrevocable.  “We’ve got a fight to stop.”

WOOT!  All right, gang!  We got another submission fic and it is perfect.  I laughed way too hard almost all the way through.  And the names were hysterical.  Not going to give the point away but its a lot of fun to read.  Make sure you shower hearts on this one so we’ll encourage more from our anon writer teammate.  Just put down your drinks first.  I almost choked on mine.  And here - we - go

((I honestly just wanted an excuse to have Shiro be a smartass about Ryou’s dating experience. Enjoy!))

~~~

“Hello and welcome back to Earth Dorks in Space.” The Blue Paladin whispered, a false accent on his lips as the Yellow and Green Paladins stifled their laughter. “This episode, we will be observing the Mehanicus Shiroganicus, in his new habitat.”

The three peeked around the corner, Ryou, deep in thought on work related matters, in sight..

“As you can see, the Mechanicus Shiroganicus is a tinkerer by nature, always nipping and pawing at metal and electronics.” Lance continued his commentary. “What’s this? It seems Mechanicus has found an interesting piece of metalwork. The glee on his face is unmistakable, he’s going to be taking this gadget apart all day.”

“This is hilarious.” Hunk giggled out.

“Dude, shh!” Lance broke character to warn his companion, glancing back at Ryou to make sure he hadn’t heard them. Lace’s eyes brightened when he saw someone else with Ryou. “Crikey! We’re in for a real treat today folks! It seems Goldicus Shiroganicus, a close relative of Mechanicus, has strolled into Mechanicus’ territory! Under normal curcumstances, Mechanicus is quite territorial, throwing the nearest object straight to the unlucky intruder’s head. Truly, birds of a feather, or in this case, dogs of a hair, stick together.”

Lance looked to Shiro and Ryou again, their heads close together as they shared hushed whispers that turned to lively shouts, mostly on Ryou’s end.

“Ooh! Ooh! Let me try!” Hunk cheerfully whispered.

“Me next!” Pidge chimed in.

“Okay okay! Keep it down!” Lance hissed.

“Ahem-hem-hem,” Hunk cleared his throat as quietly as possible. “Watch as Mechanicus yips and barks excitedly as he shows off his incredible discovery. Goldicus, who has shared territories with Mechanicus before, returns the interest in graceful stride, gently prodding the metalwork without disturbing Mechanicus’ work.”

“Uh oh gang!” Pidge added. “Mechanicus has brought in an enemy of Goldicus, the eccentric Teslacus Ferreticus. A chatty species, Goldicus can’t stand its presence for more than one second without twitching and quietly growling in frustration.”

True, Shiro could barely stand Slav’s presence, but tolerated his ability. What made the situation more frustraing for the poor older twin was the fact Ryou seemed to get along with Slav better than he did with people in general. Considering that Ryou was equal parts gossip, social butterfly, and workaholic hermit, it was not too surprising.

“Pidgey’s right dear viewers. Prolonged exposure to Teslacus can cause the usually calm and docile Goldicus to erupt in fury.” Lance continued, a shiver going down his spine when he remembered Shiro yelling. “Truly, a sight much scarier than a wild and bloodthirsty Tyranicus Caticus.”

“What are you guys doing?” Keith made the trio of fellow Paladins jump and shriek in surprise.

“Keith don’t scare us like that, geez!” Lance snapped tgrough his teeth.

“We’re bored and need entertainment.” Hunk blankly answered.

“Hunk!” Pidge exclaimed offendedly.

“What? It’s true.” Hunk held his hands close to him.

Lance looked back to Shiro, Ryou, and Slav. Thankully, they were too interested in whatever they were working on. “It appears Mechanicus and Teslacus have joined forces and Goldicus is not too happy.”

“I’m telling Shiro.” Keith sighed as he walked closer to the other trio nearby.

“Run!” Lance practically ordered, scurrying off with Hunk and Pidge close behind. “Goldicus is lenient with nuisances in his territory, but Mechanicus’ aggressive behavior is cause for safety concern!” Lance continued providing commentary as they ran to the common room, the extra effort draining more energy from him.

Keith did in fact tell Shiro about the trio’s little boredum buster activity, and the three received a lecture about better ways to spend their time. He wasn’t sure about Ryou’s reaction, or lack thereof. Ryou continued working as if nothing happened, which was honestly a little more frightening than a lecture.

The incident had all but slipped Lance’s mind until one day, about one slightly uneventful week save for a supply run and hit-and-running a Galra warship later, Lance heard hushed whispers from the opposite end of the dining room.

“We have ourselves a beautiful specimen here, don’t we Ryou?”

“We sure do Taka. One Oceanicus Snipericus, the sharpest set of eyes in the universe, and a gorgeous pair if I do say so myself.”

Lance couldn’t help but blush and pretend he didn’t hear them.

“Say Taka, has Snipericus here had a successful courting season?”

“Not that I know of. One potential partner tied him to a tree and stole his most prized treasure, while others are either not very interested or oblivious to his courtship attempts.  Nevertheless, he’s determined to succeed, and that’s what I admire about little Snipericus here.”

“Kinda reminds me of Mechnicaus’ courtship attempt with Onelineus Datela.”

“Ah yes, when Onlineus almost set Mechanicus on fire after destroying his hoverbike and giving his packmates food poisoning.”

“Goldicus was not too happy about that.”

“Not at all. And I think Goldicus had given Mechanicus a warning about the dangers of dealing the dangerous species of Onlin-”

“Oh look! Snipericus’ companions Sunshinican Hunkules and Slytherinicus Gremlinicus are joining him in leisurely bonding time! Quite the close bunch they are, don’t you think?”

“Do you think we should tell them?” Hunk inquired as he handed Lance a box of crackers.

“Let them. I think we deserve this.” Every fiber in Lance’s body tried to resist looking to the twins. He really couldn’t find any words to counter their commentary with anyways. Shiro was his idol, and Ryou was honestly too crafty of a man to even consider trying to take revenge on. Once again, a shiver went down Lance’s back he recalled each and evey word of how Ryou stripped down someone’s Garrison issued vehicle down to each wire, explained himself with a smile on his face, and avoided any punishment by peppering his explanation with valid loophopes and technicalities.

That person’s sin was calling Shiro an overrated hotshot.

“They do know we can hear them right?” Pidge ate her own box of crackers, side-eyeing the twins as they continued their commentary.

“Just let them have their fun.”

Some time later, Keith was in the training room, as was his routine. He couldn’t shake off the feeling that someone was watching him.

“Oh little Volcanicus Mulletus, how adorable your efforts are to try and match the strength of your pack.” Ryou threw a grape into the air, expertly catching it in his mouth.

“Don’t get too cocky Ryou. Word from our fellow hosts say that Volcanicus once punched Mechanicus in the gut, resulting in a full two minutes of dry heaving and whining.” Taka took a sip of his drink, a smirk on his face.

“I did nothing to provoke him I swear.” Ryou threw another grape into the air, flinching as it bounced off just above his eye.

“Sure Ryou.” Taka was able to catch the grape before it fell to the floor, popping it into his mouth just as quick.

“So about that courting attempt with Onlineus,” Lance swiped a grape from Ryou’s bowl.

“Long story short, Mechanicus had to pay tribute to Goldicus in the form of an extravagant display of submission and three special hunting trips for food.” Shiro’s hand was hovering over the manual difficulty settings for the training bot. Luckily, Pidge was there to slap his hand away should he be too tempted.

“What.” Lance nearly choked.

“I had to dance for his amusement and pay for the next three dinners we went out for.” Ryou explained, tossing and catching another grape.

“Is that why you had a set of heels in your-” Hunk began to ask.

“Oh look Volcanicus is getting his ass kicked!” Ryou too almost choked on the grapes, almost falling out of his chair.

Earth Dorks in Space was a huge hit among the Paladins. Surprisingly, the Alteans caught on and joined in on the commentary and front row view of the wildlife. This did not, however, save them from being the subject of the various hosts’ observations and quick witted remarks. Neither did the strength in numbers rule save the Paladins from the Alteans’ own research of the humans.

Thus, Earth Dorks in Space became Space Dorks, a riveting live documentary of various specimens and their habits.

you know, of the two twins, one of them has to at least be semi-proficient in the kitchen just so they don’t both starve when left on their own.  I’ve headcanoned before that one of the reasons Taka is so terrible at cooking is because he gets distracted away from it, look even five minutes in the microwave is five minutes he could be doing other things instead of standing there staring at the timer and in five minutes there’s a lot he can get into that can distract him away from dinner.  Give Taka anything that DOESN‘T turn itself off automatically like a microwave does and that’s just begging for disaster.  I would love to think that he and his twin balance each other out here and Ryou is the salvation of the younger Shirogane generation... but I’d honestly be lying if I thought Ryou was any better about not getting distracted away from things than Taka is when it comes to cooking.  Not to mention at any given time, half of their cooking appliances are probably in pieces because Ryou is in a never ending quest to improve them and - I think the Shirogane twins eat a lot of microwave food.  A lot.  Especially since, while eating itself is important and Ryou recognizes that - what he eats ... isn’t so much?  I mean, I think of the two of them Taka is the one eating Frosted Flakes out of the box and drinking milk afterward and calling it breakfast/dinner but while Ryou may be a bit better when it comes to ‘no, that only gives you a temporary sugar high, you need something that will give you energy all day and ‘OHMYGODTAKA! PUT THE MONSTER ENERGY DRINK DOWN!!’ I don’t think that stretches to included Ryou being any kind of miracle in the kitchen.  God knows, I suspect their mother (and possibly father) tried but it just didn’t take.  So Ryou relies on protein shakes and energy bars and just kind of puts them in front of his brother at random times knowing Taka will down them without question or really even too much realization (and if you think this hasn’t led to Ryou taking advantage with the occasional horrifyingly nasty concoction just to watch his brother’s face once his taste buds register it, you’re... not thinking of the same set of twins I am).  But - yeah, I can see Ryou actually being fairly decent when he applies himself - both because he can follow instructions and because he’s good at improving with designs.  I think, the rare times he does though, you’ve nailed it on the head and the kitchen is a the ending of a horror movie afterward and Taka doesn’t even really phase at cleaning it up because that’s just the way its always been.

You know, I wondered when I wrote that if anyone was going to pick up on it.  Good eye, nonnie! 

All right, so let’s talk Ryou and Keith.  Because they both want top spot with Taka and I think, as competitive and honest emotion as they both are, its natural that they must jostle each other from time to time.  So, all his life, Ryou’s always been secure in his top spot with Taka.  He knows that, if he needs it, Taka will drop everything for him.  He doesn’t call it in often - but its still a warm, fuzzy spot deep in his heart.  And then this kid shows up and its not as if its the first time Taka’s taken an underclassmen or hurting kid under his wing because - well, it’s Taka and that’s pretty much what he does but this one is different.  This kid limpets to Taka and suddenly every time Ryou is dragging himself out of his classes and training to crash with his brother, there’s this kid already there.  A kid who doesn’t back off and give Ryou what he considers his rightful spot.  I’m not a shipper but even on a friendship/mentor level the way I see Taka and Keith, there‘s no doubt at all that the bond between the two of them is very strong and that it goes both ways.  And especially as its first developing, Ryou is going to, naturally, hit moments when his twin is talking about/worrying about/helping out someone else.  I think it would be impossible for both Keith and Ryou not to butt heads and honestly be jealous of what each other have with Taka.  And, honestly, there’s not much Taka can do about that beyond trying to stay balanced.  It’s really something that Ryou and Keith have to sort out between the two of them.  Especially at first, I think there was a lot of sniping that went on behind Taka’s back and I’ve got to say, sure he’s the older and more mature one, but I’m going to bet Ryou was the snippier of the two.  Because Keith - isn’t the best with knowing what to say or reading people and Ryou - Ryou is Taka’s brother.  Just because he works with machines doesn’t mean he’s not much more socially aware and good with knowing the right word for the right twist.  I would like to think that a part of him held back - because, again, he is Taka’s brother and I think both of the boys were raised to be aware that their actions have consequences and the strong protect the weak.  Ryou can’t, in good conscious, run over Keith to the extend he could once he’s sussed out his weaknesses.  Utterly destroying someone goes against his grain and - Taka cares about Keith.  That kind of thing puts a high value on anything for Ryou as well.  But I can’t pretend he didn’t snap back just as fierce and twice as vicious and I can’t pretend that sometimes he didn’t go out of his way to make things difficult when he knew Taka wouldn’t catch him.

But then

Because there’s always a ‘but then’ and I can’t imagine a Shirogane being comfortable being cold or cruel for long before it started to eat at them - but then something happened.  Keith failed a simulation, Ryou ran across someone else picking on him, parent-teacher night rolled around and no one showed up for the kid, he got stuck at a bust stop fifty miles out of town and Taka was on a training mission and Ryou was answering his phone.  Something.  Something that  triggered in Ryou.  Something that made him recognize what an ass he was being.  Something that showed him how hard the kid was trying against the odds.  Something - that honestly showed him why Taka was fighting so damn hard for this one’s future.  And Ryou looks at this scrawny, spit and fire, arms and legs and not much more fourteen year old kid and - he gets it.  He gets it.  And he feels like shit.

Things don’t go hunky dory after that.  Keith’s still ready to fight, because he’s the kitten that’s been poked too many times and he’s not expecting anything else.  And he still takes up more room in Taka’s schedule than Ryou is used to having to share.  Ryou isn’t going to apologize and sometimes - the kid still manages to get under his skin but - he gets it.  He sees where Keith’s missing a part, he sees where the kid had to cobble things together for himself because no one started him off right to begin, he sees just how much extra fuel Keith has to pour into everything just to get the things done that he needs to do.  He sees how gunked up Keith’s ‘engine’ is.  Ryou isn’t Taka.  He’s not even going to pretend.  But he’s got a fixer nature too and Keith is fighting the hardest he’s seen anyone fight for a place in life for a long time.  Where he can help, he will.  And it starts off by kind of adopting the gawky, spitfire kid into his family.  He’s not the gentle, encouraging older brother that Taka is - he’s the asshole brother.  But he’s the asshole brother that will stay up late and give up his sleep to work on your speeder because its making a noise he doesn’t like..  he’s the asshole brother that will make sure you’re eating by throwing breakfast bars and water packets at your head.  He’s the asshole brother that will rein down fire and cold hard fury on anyone that dares pick on this kid he’s adopted. 

He’s the asshole brother that will soup up a unused simulation pod so you can practice maneuvers in it that you’re technically too young to be qualified for.

He’s the asshole brother at the back of the room who shows up for each and every award and merit Keith earns, no matter what he’s supposed to be working on instead and he’ll stand in for Taka as the missions start to take him more and more away from Earth.  The first time Keith knocks on the door in the middle of the night because he can’t stand going back to his dorm room and finds out that Taka’s been called off planet on an emergency, it’s Ryou who lets him in and pops in a horrible B style sci-fi movie and doesn’t say anything other than ‘grab me a drink on your way over’.  They still scratch against each other from time to time but - its not that bad.  In fact, the scratching is kind of part of their relationship.

And then Taka goes missing, tallied down as dead on a moon so far away from Earth chances are they’ll never even be able to retrieve the body

and both of the boys are far too hurt to offer each other anything.

Finding out Keith’s been his brother’s right hand is going to be a relief and a little annoying for Ryou.  But - its still his adopted kid brother and he’s stood in for Ryou when Ryou didn’t even realize there was a spot.  They’ll have to work out a bit, bump around each other again a bit, resettle - but Taka needs them both because they’re the ones who realize the most how damaged he is and how much he needs support.  Keith has grown up some since, stabilized some since.  It’s easier to find a rhythm they can both fit into. Ryou can’t be as much of an asshole as he was before, the opportunities are less.  Them working together without having to talk about what they’re doing is happening more.  Ryou steps up on one side of Shiro and Keith is on the other more.  There’s a better balance.  Finding out Keith is Galra?  Not really an issue for Ryou.  I mean, of course, a surprise, a shock, a brief ‘I killed your kind in the Arena’ thought but - its still Keith.  Ryou might have a harder time if the kid looked Galra from a purely reactionary standpoint - his worst moments have been at Galra hands and there’s possibly still a bit of a latent physical kneejerk reaction to that but Keith... just looks like Keith.  Like he’s always looked.  Still acts like he’s always acted.  Ryou can hear that he’s Galra but his mind doesn’t see Galra when he looks at the kid.  The engine parts are still the same, different brand name, same engine.  If Keith physically mutates to such an extent that he’s unrecognizable, Ryou would probably double take and have to readjust but, right now, he looks and he sees Keith.  That annoying little brother that will fight the stars for a spot in them and maybe Ryou tosses the juice packets these days at hand level instead of head level lobs.  He’s still going to ruffle Keith’s ‘fur’ for the fun of it, but only the way an older brother that’s watching you grow up and find out who you are would. 

oh, nonnie, he would be so talented at that.  Ryou strikes me as fairly chill most times so I can’t imagine what someone would do that would merit him doing that to someone (probably they messed with Shiro in some way that Shiro shrugged off but like hell is Ryou going to do the same) but I can see him sticking around afterward, leaning against a wall most likely, so that he got full credit for it and could explain exactly why he’d done it in the first place, every single piece down to the separate wires all laid out in size order on a nice white sheet in the middle of the garage.  Ryou probably has eyes that burn like ice if he gets a real glare going on (I imagine Takashi’s do too but I also suspect Taka’s ‘I’m disappointed in you’ is more devastating by far than anything else he could ever do or say to someone).

Can you imagine how much everyone would enjoy introducing Ryou to ‘their’ alien group?  (and why did I never notice until now how On Spot each alien race is for one element?  Or I picked up on the Olkari for instance but completely missed that Shay and co. are ‘Earth’ elemental with the Hunk/Yellow Lion tie in)  But anyway, can you imagine, each of the paladins considers one of the groups’ theirs’ and after a while its ‘oh! It’s my turn to show Ryou a cool new alien group!’?

As for Ryou?  I think he’d love to get dragged around and shown everything (triple so if its one of the team and he can enjoy their enthusiasm) and he’s very much interested in culture (it’s just another branch of ‘how does this work’ to him) and seeing different ways people live but - I almost think he might be a bit disappointing if left on his own?  Not disappointed, but disappointing in that anyone expecting enthusiasm from him beyond ‘I love what you’re showing me’ is going to find him instead up to his nose in the local recycling plant digging through machine parts or buried in the engine of some street taxi or stuck in a building because the air recycling system is on the fritz and he just has to see how it works to fix it.  Ryou loves people but he’s not a people person.  He loves his people.  He’s sociable, he enjoys meeting new people, he is likely to adopt a stranger that hangs around long enough into his people.  But he’s machine-hearted and he’s going to tend to drift that direction if left alone with no one to tug him back.  So, while he’s going to be sociable, he’s going to be more interested in the Olkari technology than the plant powers, he’s going to be more in love with the Balmera itself than the Balmereans and he’s going to want to see how the merfolk created tech that works underwater more than he’s going to be into their local specialty foods.  Taka is the space explorer in the family and Ryou has always been more than happy to let him take point so Ryou can focus on the things that really interest him.  Like how crystals can provide renewable energy or the merfolk use the way water conducts vibrations to power their satellites or whether the Olkari tech’s ability to split and still be whole is liquid based.  Ryou enjoys the extended tour of the galaxy and meeting new people, but what he’s really there for is to take apart their tech.