Thread by @writinggiraffe

PT 2 of #Sheith supernatural AU
Lunch with Keith extended into dinner with Keith, then a day with Keith, followed by a week with Keith, plus a hunt with Keith. And then ended with oops, we're hunting partners now, Keith. To be honest, Shiro liked the company. He liked Keith's

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company specifically. It didn't hurt that he was easy on the eyes and the two of them just seemed to get along. Keith didn't try to hold Shiro's arm against him and Shiro didn't hold the fact that Keith was a werewolf against him. Other hunters that they ran into gave them a

strange look, but no one tried anything. They'd be stupid to even consider it. They knew what ties Shiro had and rumors had gone around the hunter community about what his arm could really do since it had magic humming through every part of it. For Shiro, it allowed him to swing

heavy weapons or hold a beer in one hand and a hot dog in the other. That's really all he wanted out of it. Oh, and the silver blade that slid out of it and made him feel like Wolverine was a nice bonus, but he kept that to himself since he didn't want that he had a hidden blade

making the rounds. Sort of ruined the point of having a hidden weapon that might come in handy during a fight.

Keith seemed... happy. Shiro wouldn't say he was content, though. Too many changes in too little time. But he hoped eventually that Keith would settle down a bit and

let loose. They still flirted, to a degree, but it was coming to a point where neither of them had done anything further and Shiro was starting to believe that either Keith was matching his tone or that's just how Keith was once he got comfortable with someone, so he stopped

looking into it just so he wouldn't inevitably be disappointed. Hunters didn't have much of a dating life anyway, especially when you didn't know how much longer of that life you had. You didn't want your partner to wake up one day in a world where you were no longer with them.

And God forbid you come back as a ghost and your partner had to find a way to send you off. It was better this way, Shiro decided. He couldn't allow himself to be distracted. He couldn't allow himself to be vulnerable, especially not if his vulnerability would be easy to get to.

--
Shiro settled onto his bed with a sigh, sore from a successful hunt, but definitely feeling the forming bruises from being slammed into a wall by the vampire. He'd taken a warm shower to wash away the grime and try to bring some relief to his muscles, but that had come back

once he'd stepped out from under the spray. He glanced over at the other bed and smiled when he saw that Keith was already asleep, exhausted as well. That was one thing Keith seemed to enjoy the most about their partnership. He allowed to sleep in regular beds now and Shiro was

certain that once they parted ways Keith would be treating himself to a motel room more often than he had in the past. He shifted himself up the bed more to pull back the covers and settled under them with a sigh. The pain medication he had taken should hopefully start kicking in

soon. But for now, he would just stare at the ceiling and wonder about what their next hunt would involve. He lay there in silence, listening to everything. The rumble of trucks on the highway, the buzz of the vacancy sign outside, the drip of the faucet in the bathroom. The soft

sighs from Keith as he slept. He turned to face him across the gap, wishing he was able to fall asleep as fast as Keith was. He'd been jealous of that little trick for a bit now. Finally, he let his eyes close shut, Keith the last thing on his mind as he fell asleep.

--
And I'm off to bed. See you all tomorrow!
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Keith is already awake by the time Shiro is pulled from his foggy sleep. According to the alarm clock, he'd gotten a little over 6 hours, but it feels like he'd gotten nothing. He sat up for a groan, rubbing at his eyes before patting around the bed for his arm. Once he found it

he reattached it and rotated his shoulder to get used to the weight again. Keith was fully dressed, sitting at their little desk on his laptop as he tried to find any new cases for the two of them. He glanced over at him, "Morning. Did you need to me to go out and get us some

coffee?"
"That would be... spectacular," he chuckled as he stumbled into the cramped bathroom. Shiro flicked on the light and pulled off his shirt to check out the bruising on his torso.
"Did you want your... usual..." Keith trailed off as he approached the doorway, eyes sweeping

over Shiro's bare chest, a frown on his face.
"I'm fine, Keith. Just bruising. No broken bones or fractures. And my usual coffee is fine, thanks." Shiro says quickly. He didn't have to be observant to know that Keith blames himself a bit for Shiro's condition. He'd been quiet the

whole car ride back to the motel room, glaring out of the passenger window as though he could find the person responsible once more, out there in the darkness and kill them. Again. He'd wanted to reach over and smooth a thumb over the lines between his brow, but had kept himself

in check. When Keith didn't move away from the bathroom door despite Shiro's reassurance, the taller man sighed. "Keith. Really. I'm okay. I bruise easily, remember? Ran straight into the edge of a table and had a bruise for over a week. It's part of the job. You know it and I

know it."
Keith shot him a small frown, but backed down. He went and grabbed his leather jacket, making sure he had some cash tucked away in his pocket before leaving the room without another word. Once he left, Shiro undressed, taking another hot shower just to help ease the

ache still in muscles. He finished it quickly and took more pain pills once out. Once dressed for the day he sat down in the seat Keith had vacated, taking over with looking for a new case.
--
"While I was out, I was thinking... maybe we should take a small break? Just a couple

days or so. And before you say anything, just remember that there are other hunters out there who can do any job just as well as we can," Keith said as they sipped at their coffees and ate the breakfast items he'd also grabbed on the way back.
"Yeah, but-"
"But what?" Keith said,

voice warning Shiro to even try arguing with him.
He chuckled softly, "Okay. Where would we go? Somewhere nearby I'm guessing."
"We can drive along Oregon coast, just have to head west a bit."
"Isn't that a bit... Twilight?" Shiro teased and Keith groaned.
"God, I hate that book

series. Only thing they got right was that we can shift at any time. If I ever see a sparkling vampire though, they'll get staked so quickly. Won't even know what hit them. Besides, that's in Washington."
"So you know more about them than I do," Shiro chuckled, trying to hide his

smile behind his coffee cup, but the look Keith shot him let him know he wasn't successful. They finished their breakfasts, discussing what they could do for a mini vacation. They eventually settled on going to see Shiro's friends in Seattle so they could still possibly see some

nice scenery while also letting Keith officially meet the other hunters Shiro worked with from time to time. He'd heard their voices on the phone but didn't have a face to put with the voice. And so after they finished their breakfast and cleaned up, then packed away their

belongings, checked out of the hotel, and were on their way.
--

Break time!
ko-fi.com/writinggiraffe

Most of the car ride was spent switching through radio stations until Shiro heared a song he knew relatively well enough to sing or hum along to. Keith told him he sounded like a seven-year-old boy trying to sing along, but couldn't keep the smile off his face long enough as he

listened to the other man sing his best. The most he got out of Keith was a foot tap or head-bopping as he listened. Finally, after 4 hours he was just about to give up on getting Keith to sing along with him when Cherry Bomb by The Runaways came on and he heard Keith hum along

to it. By the time the song was in full swing, Keith was singing along. He could tell he was looking away and out the window to not get embarrassed, but Shiro smiled as he listened. He loved Keith's regular voice and his singing was definitely something he was happy to witness.

After a moment he joined in as well and Keith paused to laugh before coming back harder, embarrassment forgotten he let himself just have some fun and sing along to songs on the radio. Once it was back to ads on that station, Shiro was flipping through them again. He stopped when

he heard a song by Ariana Grande playing. He didn't know the name, but had heard it enough times that he knew the tune. He shot Keith a look and wiggled his eyebrows as he swayed in his seat. Keith laughed, covering his face with his hands.
"I totally don't know this song, don't

look at me." His lips twitched as he tried not to smile.
"Oh, look at you. Don't lie to me. You totally know this song, don't you?" Shiro started to hum and sing along when he knew the words and after a minute he heard Keith start up again as well.
"Would you look at that," Shiro

said once the song ended, "You knew more words than me."
"Shut up," Keith gave a snort of laughter and saw a sign for some restaurants at the next exit, "Hey, can we get something to eat? It's past lunchtime by now."
"Yeah, we can go through a drive-through or something to grab

something quick. I told them we'd be there before dinner time so we don't want to take too long. Especially if we hit rush hour traffic."
They grabbed a quick bite, eating it as they got back on the freeway and continued to their destination. The radio still continued to play but

neither of them sang along, too busy eating. Keith still tapped his foot a bit, but otherwise they just talked between bites, learning a bit more about the other. So far on this long trip of theirs, Shiro found out that Keith was an only child, his favorite color was red, was

self-taught on how to wield a blade and gun, learned most of what he knew about being a werewolf through experience and that he had basically been on his own since he was 15 when he ran away from his last foster family. In return, Keith got to learn that Shiro was an older

brother, but his parents and brother had died in a car accident coming back from Ryou's soccer match. His grandparents raised him after that and took care of him as best they could when he was attacked by the werewolves, or just wolves as the official report said. It was at that

point that he started researching supernatural creatures. His grandmother died when he was 18, followed closely by his grandfather and everything that was theirs was left to Shiro. He'd sold it all, bought himself a reliable car, and had been on the road since, keeping busy.

Neither of them had a very happy 'origin story', but they were still able to joke about it with one another to get rid of any uncomfortable atmosphere that came with the retelling of everything. Keith had never been in the company of someone long enough to open up about all of

this and he voiced how he found it kind of freeing to finally trust someone enough to open up to them. Shiro was happy he could be that person for Keith, that the other one had trust issues a mile long, but still had decided to make room for him in his life despite all that.

Shiro smiled softly to himself as they lapsed into silence again, done eating and on the final stretch of the trip. It'd been a while since he'd seen his friends and he hoped they liked Keith as much as he did.
Well... maybe not as much as he did.
--

Aight, back on my five day weekend. Getting my hours cut due to COVID-19 sure is a double-edged sword. Anyway... here we go!

minor #allurance
"So... Keith. This is Hunk and Pidge," Shiro said, motioning toward two of the people as they all stood in the doorway. "That's Allura," he pointed to a woman. Keith raised a brow when he saw her. Allura did look the part of a witch.

"And this is Lance," Allura supplied when Shiro looked confused at the last person greeting them. "He's... with me."
Oh. Shiro smiled at that, holding out his hand, which Lance instantly shook. Keith kept his hands tucked in his pockets, shoulders hunched up a bit.

"So you're a werewolf?" Pidge asked, adjusting their glasses as they glanced over Keith. "You're awfully skinny to be a werewolf." Hunk gently nudged them. "What? I'm just stating facts."

"No, it's fine. I'm used to it," Keith murmured. "I'm a hybrid. Dad's human. Mom's werewolf." He shuffled his feet and Shiro could tell he was feeling uncomfortable with all of the attention on him, especially with the way Pidge's eyes lit up when Keith said he was a hybrid.

Shiro hoped that they wouldn't take this too far. He wanted Keith to be comfortable with the people he considered his family. But with Pidge eyeing him like they wanted to ask to draw some blood to examine and Lance, who Shiro had never met before, was eyeing Keith as though the

he'd done him a personal disservice in the past.

"So..." Shiro plastered on his best smile. "Dinner?"

Hunk was in charge of the dinner preparation as usual. Allura helped out, Pidge was banned from the kitchen, and Lance pretended like he was helping but eventually he left to go annoy Pidge. Shiro did his best to help as well, but he couldn't help but notice that Keith looked

like a deer in headlights when he was instructed on what to do to help. Eventually, Shiro asked if he could set up the table. While Keith was definitely skilled with a knife, he also looked to be having a meltdown when asked to julienne some carrots. Keith happily left to work on

his new job, setting up the table as best as he could. When then came over to set the dishes down the middle of the table, Keith gravitated back toward Shiro.

"Is the table okay? I sort of went off what I see on TV."

Shiro gave him a smile. "It looks great, Keith."

He just barely stopped himself from running a hand over Keith's back, but the look Allura sent him from across the table told him he was more obvious than he wanted to be. Luckily Keith seemed to be too busy looking at the food.

Shiro was happy to see Keith relax while they ate, tucking into the food like he hadn't eaten in days. Pidge teased Shiro, asking why he was starving the poor man and they both blushed. Keith just quietly admitted he didn't get to eat a home-cooked meal very often.

Keith continued to open up as they ate, even cracking a few jokes and laughing at other's. Shiro had to make sure he interacted more with the others so he didn't just look like a moony idiot watching Keith the whole meal.

Dessert had been kept warm in the oven, a pie made by Hunk earlier that day. It was served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. Keith looked like he'd gone straight to heaven.

After everything had been eaten Pidge and Hunk pulled Shiro away to check on his arm and install some upgrades they'd been working on over the months. Allura and Lance snagged Keith to help with cleaning up and Shiro hoped that they didn't ask him too many questions.

Pidge and Hunk, of course, did not hold back on the questions. All Shiro got out of it, in the end, was that while he knew Keith's story, he didn't really know much about him.

Once it was dark outside, Lance left for the night, having work in the morning, and Shiro finally got to sit down with Allura and ask about him as she looked over his arm and made sure the magic running through it was still running smoothly.

Lance and Hunk had apparently met on a hunt, Lance being a near victim, and became fast friends. Then, of course, the man had fallen head over heels for Allura. It'd taken a few months, but she'd eventually said yes to going on a date with him.

It made Shiro realize just how long he'd been away from them, his family. He squeezed Allura's hand as she connected the arm back to him, thanking her for keeping him in working condition.

Since Hunk and Pidge were staying the night as well, there was only one spare bedroom available for both him and Keith. Shiro tried to ignore the scheming glint in Allura's eyes when she let them know. She knew exactly what she was doing.

It was a king-size bed, but Shiro could sense Keith's hesitance, especially when he hovered in the doorway.

Shiro turned, giving him a smile, "I can sleep on the couch if you're too uncomfortable, Keith."

"No!" Keith said a bit too loudly and the man flushed in embarrassment, avoiding Shiro's gaze, "I mean, I don't want to put you out like that. This is your friend's house. Besides, I can just shift and sleep just about anywhere. I used to sleep in the woods, remember?"

"Just because you used to do that doesn't mean you still need to. Besides, I don't mind. It's just what you're up for, Keith." He waited for the other man's answer.

"I'm a blanket thief."

Oh. Shiro hadn't been expecting that, but he smiled just hearing it.

"I'll hold onto my side of the blankets a little tighter, then," Shiro laughed and he watched as Keith visibly relaxed at the sound. "You can use the restroom first to change and whatnot."

"All right, thank you Shiro." Keith dug through his bag to pull out his nightwear before disappearing into the bathroom.

As soon as the other man disappeared, Shiro flopped down onto the bed with a groan. Damn you, Allura. He was going to share a bed with Keith.

Fuck. He was so screwed.

--
Keith, as usual, fell asleep within seconds. Shiro, on the other hand, was busy staring up at the ceiling, every cell in his body hyper-aware that there was a person in the bed next to him, an added weight on the mattress and warmth.

He dared a glance over.

He'd seen Keith sleep plenty of times by now, but there was always a gap between them, their motel beds across from one another. Here there was hardly a foot between their bodies.

And of course, Keith fell asleep facing him.

Shiro watched him sleep, breath steady and deep. In the faint light, he could see the way Keith's eyelashes curved against his cheeks. A lock of his hair had fallen over his face, fluttering with each breath.

Before Shiro knew what he was doing, he was turning to face the man to use his only current hand to gently brush the hair back, tucking it behind his ear. Keith shifted, murmuring something, and Shiro's eyes slammed shut as his hand zipped back to his side.

He tried to pretend to be asleep and Shiro knew it was his worst attempt yet. Luckily Keith didn't wake further, falling back asleep after his slight change. Shiro dared open his eyes again, flushing when he remembered they were now face to face. He couldn't sleep like this.

As gently as he could, he rolled over onto his other side, back now to Keith as Shiro stared at the wall. He closed his eyes again and was about to fall asleep when there was a noise from Keith and suddenly Shiro's blankets were being pulled away. Ah, here was the blanket thief.

He gripped tight to his blankets, gently pulling them back over himself. Keith gave another noise, almost like a whine, but still seemed to be asleep. But he stopped trying to take the blanket off of Shiro.

And then there was an arm over him, face pressed to his back as one of Keith's knees pressed against the crease between Shiro's legs. If Shiro wasn't so worried about how he'd deal with this in the morning, he would have happily allowed one of Keith's legs to slip between his.

But for now, he was the little spoon. Keith gave a happy sigh, pressing flush against Shiro's back and he could feel Keith against his ass. He closed his eyes, chewing his bottom lip between his teeth, cursing out Allura once more.
This was it. This was how he was going to die.

--
"Are you all right, Shiro?" Allura asked as he stumbled into the kitchen the next morning. He'd woken up to Keith already gone, his side of the bed cold. He glanced into the dining room and saw Keith there, talking to Pidge and Hunk.
"You look like you didn't get much sleep."

Shiro turned to give her a glare, pouring himself a much-needed mug of coffee.
"Must not be used to such a high-quality mattress. Motel ones are usual crap," he hissed at her, knowing the others could hear them.
She laughed gleefully, eyes lighting up as her head tilted back.

"And how did you sleep, Keith?" Allura trained her gaze on the other man.

The smile he gave her was devastating for Shiro. "I slept great, thank you."

There was no blush, no avoided eye contact as Shiro went to sit down with his coffee.

Shiro glanced over at Keith, who gave him a smile before going back to talking to Hunk and Pidge about their hunts. He sipped at his coffee and allowed himself to relax. Perhaps Keith had eventually pulled away before morning. Shiro supposed he could find some peace in that.

--
They left before lunch, having already caught wind of a potential hunt in Idaho. It was another somewhat long road trip, but this time when Shiro turned on the music Keith started to sing along with the first song.
Shiro grinned at the change and joined right in with him.

--
It had been months.
Months.
Shiro felt like he was balancing on a thread at this point. Every smile, every laugh, every touch between them made him feel like he was going to fall.
Who was he kidding? He'd already fallen.

He'd fallen hard.

Keith constantly seemed none the wiser. Sure he'd gotten more touchy over the months, but so had Shiro. They were more familiar with one another now. Sometimes they could even have conversations with only half the words. They didn't even have to tell the other what to do during a

fight against a creature anymore. They just knew what the other was going to do and acted to help.
Shiro had Pidge, Hunk, and Allura still. And now Lance. But Keith... Keith was his best friend. He'd never had this deep of a connection before.

Shiro didn't want to fuck this up.

--
"Be careful, Shiro. And don't do anything stupid," Allura said through the phone, and Shiro chuckled.
"Stupid? Me?"
"Shiro." Her tone was serious.
He sighed, "We're not going to do anything stupid, Allura. We'll wait for you guys to get here before we engage."

"Good. Because Haggar is an old and extremely powerful witch. You both cannot take her on without my help. Keep an eye on her, but do not do anything that would make her suspicious. I don't want you or Keith to be her next victim. Understand?"

Shiro held back a sigh, muscles tense at just how serious Allura sounded. If she was nervous, then Shiro should be terrified. He'd seen Allura in action and she was strong and talented. Shiro never wanted to be on the receiving end of one of her spells. It wouldn't end well.

Allura promised they'd be there by 8 tomorrow and they could make their plan then before going after Haggar. The woman was known for not being choosy with her victims, killing innocents and not so innocents in order to further her own agenda.

Keith and Shiro went out for dinner to figure things out, eating at a place down the block from where Haggar was staying, just to keep an eye on her as Allura asked. If she left town they'd be able to at least tell the others so they wouldn't have to make the whole trip.

They went and sat on a public bench after dinner and just talked with one another. Over the months they'd started learning more about each other, their likes and dislikes, what made them tick. Shiro enjoyed the chats, finally getting to know the real Keith, not the mask he wore.

When Haggar's hotel room light went off and, five minutes later, her car remained in the parking lot, the stood and started the walk back to their motel.

They went off the beaten path on their way, taking a detour through the woods in order to get back to their motel quicker. It was quieter and if Shiro glanced up, he could see the hint of stars through the trees. It reminded him a bit of the night he had met Keith.

"Hey, look," he joked, gently nudging Keith and pointing up, "Almost a full moon."
Keith gently slapped his arm with a huff, "You jerk."
A common misconception was that werewolves went 'feral' on the night of a full moon, but the truth was just that they were stronger.

It meant they could get away with more, do more damage, and the sour ones took advantage of that and gave the rest a bad name.
"It is beautiful, though," Shiro murmured, still looking up at the bits of sky through the foliage.

They'd stopped walking and he could feel Keith's gaze on him. He tilted his head to give Keith a smile, wanting to say how beautiful he looked in the moonlight.

Then he saw the figure about twenty feet away and his blood turned to ice.

He quickly grabbed Keith, pulling him behind him as the person spoke.
"Yes... it is a beautiful night, isn't it?"

"Sorry, I didn't hear them," Keith whispered, gently shaking off Shiro's hold and moving to his side instead.

"Good evening..." Shiro said, still feeling uneasy.

The dark silhouette moved into a strip of light and he heard Keith suck in a breath as Haggar came into view.

"Yes... what a good evening, indeed," She gave them a toothy grin, eyes looking over them, pausing on Shiro's mechanical arm. "What fun. Two hunters." Her eyes snapped back up, meeting Shiro's. "Which of you would like to die first?"

"Keith," Shiro hissed under his breath, handing his phone over to him. "Get away and call Allura."

"What? No! I'm not leaving you, Shiro!"

"Go." His gaze was sharp. "One of us has to get ahold of Allura. She may be able to tell us something that helps."

He could see Keith's hands shaking a bit as they held the cellphone. The smaller man was at war with himself, trying to decide what was the best decision. Keith looked back at Haggar, who was still smiling, keeping her distance. Shiro gave him a small shove and Keith stumbled.

But then he started to run, heading away from them, phone in front of him as he unlocked it and pulled up Allura's contact information.

"Your arm..."

Shiro looked back at Haggar, shifting to position his arm away from her on instinct. He didn't quite like the way she was looking at it almost gleefully. At least she wasn't making to move after Keith and that was something he could find a bit of peace from.

"It's got magic flowing through it."

Shiro clenched his fist, ready to pop out the arm's hidden blade if she came close. Keith had to be far enough away now. He moved to pull out his gun, tucked away in the back of his jeans, but as soon as he had it, his arm stopped responding.

He paused, thinking maybe it was just a fluke, a mechanical failure, but he couldn't even move one of its fingers anymore. It was as though it had seized up.

"And it's connected to your nervous system too?" Haggar tsked, "Such a marvelous piece of technology.

I think I'll take control of that. Don't worry, it will only hurt for a minute." She muttered something under her breath, hand outstretched toward Shiro.

At first, there was nothing and then a blinding pain began to burn through him, feeling like his nerves were on fire.

He was screaming, he was sure of it, but the pain blocked everything else out. Shiro could at least feel himself fall. Everything was painful, he couldn't even breathe. All he could see was white light like it was pressing against his eyes, his brain.

It flickered, turning purple, and then there was nothing.

--
Keith ran as fast as he could, phone pressed to his ear as he leapt over exposed roots and rocks. He knew Shiro had told him to leave, he didn't want him coming back, but Keith knew he couldn't do that. He couldn't leave Shiro behind to die.
Because that's what would happen.

He needed to get back to their hotel, get their supplies, and maybe then they could have a bit of an advantage over her, even if for a little bit.
A branch whipped against the side of his face and he didn't even feel the sting of the cut.

The ringing cut off. A second of silence.
"Hello, Shiro? Did something happen?"

"She found us, she knew we were in town, probably knew ever since we drove up, and she caught us in the woods and all we have is Shiro's gun and he told me to run, to call you-"

"Keith? Keith, slow down! Haggar found you?"

"Yes!" He hoped the cracking of his voice didn't sound like much on the other end. "Shiro- he told me to run, to call you and try to see if you have any idea of how we can stop her or slow her down. I'm trying to get back to our car."

"Where's Shiro? Keith! Where's Shiro?"

"He told me to run!" He repeated. "I don't want to- I didn't want to- Fuck!" He skidded to a halt, "I just listened to him- I left him behind and-"

Allura was talking to him again, but he wasn't listening. Keith's hand with the phone dropped and he looked back toward where he'd come from. Screaming. He could hear screaming.

Shiro.

"No. No no no!" He turned, running back the way he'd come. He could faintly hear Allura still yelling for him from the phone, but his focus now was on returning, saving Shiro. He couldn't let him die. He couldn't. He bit back the bile in his throat. Why did he run?

Why did he just listen to Shiro and run? Shiro was his friend, his pack, his- he was everything. And he'd left him alone to fight. No wonder people like him were cast out of packs.
No wonder people looked at him with disdain.

He was a hybrid, not fully human, not fully werewolf. He didn't belong to either group.

And he was a coward when it came to connections with others.

Why stay when you could run and prevent the inevitable heartbreak and disappointment?

Keith burst back into the clearing where he'd left Shiro and saw him crumbled on the ground. He didn't even spare a glance toward Haggar as he made his way over to him, dropping to his knees. He set the phone on the ground and looked Shiro over.

His breathing was shallow and shaky, mechanical arm tucked against his chest. Keith reached up, brushing back Shiro's hair from his clammy forehead. He was alive at least.

"What did you do to him?" He snapped, looking over at Haggar finally.

She smirked.

"There's magic in his arm. I simply took control of it, forced my way into his brain."

Shiro's brain?

"Now kill him!"

Keith thought she was talking to him for a moment when suddenly Shiro's eyes opened and Keith was being kicked in the chest.

He fell back, air leaving his lungs, and Keith gasped at the pain.

"-eith! -iro? -anyone th- -at's hap-"

He rolled, reaching for the phone, hearing Allura, Hunk, and Pidge's concerned voices on the other end. Before he could grab it he felt Shiro grabbing the back of his shirt.

Keith was pulled off his feet as he was thrown back. This time he recovered more quickly, rolling away to get some distance before springing back up to his feet.

Shiro stood ten feet away, watching him. Keith could have sworn his eyes glowed purple in the moonlight.

"Shiro, I know you're still in there. You don't want to do this. Please, Shiro."

"Actually, he does want to do this." Haggar cackled.

Shiro charged again. Keith had seen Shiro get a bit intense on hunts, but never like this. This was different, wrong. Shiro was smirking.

He avoided the first punch from Shiro, but then he was grabbed before he could move again. Shiro gave him a swift uppercut to the jaw and Keith saw stars. He knew if it had been Shiro's prosthetic, his jaw would have shattered.

He knew Shiro worked out daily, he'd seen him fight during hunts. He could take someone down in a minute. Keith just never thought he'd be on the receiving end of it.

He kicked him back, getting some space between them. If he took out Haggar maybe that would stop this.

She was gone.

He just barely evaded Shiro's next attack, rolling out of the way before bouncing back up and running, trying to get to the phone. Perhaps Allura would know a spell to get her magic back in the arm.

He was just about there when Shiro tackled him from behind, throwing them down.

He reached out for the phone, just inches from his fingertips, but Shiro's reach was longer.

Before he could stop him, he had thrown the phone against a tree and device cracked and bent, falling useless to the ground.

Keith screamed in frustration, turning in Shiro's hold to punch him across the jaw.

"Shiro, stop this! Fight her, Shiro! You're stronger than this!"

Shiro didn't even flinch at the words. Keith heard the familiar sound of his blade sliding out of his mechanical hand.

His silver blade.

Shiro brought his hand down and Keith managed to turn his head, arm pushing Shiro's to the side.

He felt the blade slice down his cheek and burn as the sliver made contact with his skin. Keith screamed in pain before gritting his teeth, desperately looking up at Shiro.

The other man tried to bring the blade back, aiming to slice his throat this time, and Keith gripped tightly to Shiro's wrist, pushing and just barely keeping him back. He knew as he was he didn't have the same strength as Shiro. He would die like this if it continued.

"Shiro. Shiro, please," He tried one last time, voice cracking as he concentrated on pushing away the arm, stopping the blade from coming closer. "Shiro...

I love you..."

He heard Shiro's breath catch, his eyes widening in shock. Keith was able to push away Shiro's arm with ease as something like shock seemed to run through Shiro.
But he could still see the purple glint to his eyes, his arm had purple magic pouring out between the metal.

This wasn't over yet.

He watched as Shiro's eyes hardened again and before the bigger man could resume his attacks, Keith bucked Shiro off, flipping them.

The other man looked at him with such anger and disdain it broke Keith's heart to see him that way. This wasn't the Shiro he knew and loved.

The arm had to go.

"I'm so sorry, Shiro," he whispered, more too himself. Keith knew Shiro was already too far gone again.

The other man let out an angry scream, moving to surge up at Keith.

So he shifted, feeling his clothes rip and fall away.

One paw pressed Shiro's wrist into the dirt, the other applied weight to his chest. He feels his teeth change and sharpen.

Shiro kneed him, but Keith didn't budge. He wasn't letting him go, not until he got the job done. No matter how much it hurt the both of them.

He quickly leaned down, sinking his teeth into Shiro's metal arm. He could feel it cutting at his mouth as his canines punctured through.

Keith could still feel Shiro punching and kicking at him to get him off, but he didn't have the upper hand anymore.

It wasn't until he felt the jolt of magic fizzing against his tongue that he knew he could do this, he was at the point of no return now.

Shiro was screaming again, but it was from pain this time. His attacks had less power behind them now as it continued.

Keith felt his insides twist as he realized this is just how Shiro lost his arm in the first place.

He tugged and twisted, feeling the metal of the arm tear and give away. Keith repeated it, exposing more of the inner workings.

Shiro was still screaming, pushing at him.

Another bite and Keith bit clean through the last of it.

Underneath him, Shiro fell limp and silent.

Immediately he pulled back, looking at him. Shiro's eyes were open, unfocused as he lay there. Keith shifted back, reaching out with shaky hands to find Shiro's pulse.

When he found it still beating weakly, he gave a small cry of relief.

"Shiro? Shiro, please! Can you hear me?"

The other gave no sign that he even heard him.

Keith looked at the remainder of the arm still attached, Haggar's purple magic still fizzing out of existence. He gently disconnected the arm like he'd seen Shiro do countless of times before bed and set it to the side.

Still no reaction.

He rubbed his hands over his face, trying not to breakdown. He was alone in the woods, naked, with a man whose arm he just bit off. He'd have to carry him back somehow, which meant he'd have to shift again.

And then he'd have to wait.

He wasn't sure what would happen first.

Would Haggar return to finish the job?

Maybe Allura and the others would arrive sooner.

Or hopefully Shiro would snap out of this, come back to him.

He went and collected the broken phone from where Shiro had thrown it, then grabbed the pieces of the arm as well. The magic was gone now, Keith figured it no longer held any danger, but he knew he couldn't leave something like it just lying around.

He made a makeshift bag out of the remains of his jacket, silently mourning its loss, then pulled Shiro up and slung him over his back before shifting again to his wolf form. Keith took a second to rebalance Shiro, then grabbed everything else and started the slow walk back.

Keith was thankful that it had gotten late, foot and road traffic now at a minimum. The last thing he wanted people seeing was something straight out of a Ghibli film or him naked, trying to open the motel room door like some crackhead with an unresponsive man at his feet.

At least Shiro had had the room key and not Keith. Once the door was opened he pulled Shiro in and kicked the door closed behind him. Keith was exhausted, barely managing to drag Shiro up onto his bed before sitting down to catch his breath.

He glanced down at Shiro, the man's eyes closed now. Keith was sure there was nothing he could do to help the other man, he'd just have to wait for help to arrive. After a minute he got back up and went to pull on a change of clothes.

He didn't have any clean shirts so he grabbed one of Shiro's, sure the man wouldn't mind. Tonight was supposed to have been laundry in the motel sink night after dinner. Keith sighed, pulling on the too long shirt after everything else, then returned to Shiro's side.

Shiro still had his gun on him and Keith was glad he hadn't decided to use that on him. He pulled it out now, keeping it on him in case Haggar's influence wasn't truly gone. He didn't want a round two with the gun.

Keith retreated to the bathroom, looking at his reflection.

The cut on his cheek had stopped bleeding, but still stung from the silver. Usually he healed well from wounds, but this one left by that silver blade would scar.

He went to work cleaning and disinfecting it before bandaging it up.

After, he returned to Shiro, sitting down on his own bed to watch him, reassure himself that it was going to be okay with every shift of Shiro's chest as the other man breathed.

Keith was exhausted, mentally and physically, but he stayed awake and waited, one hand on the gun.

He just hoped it wouldn't be Haggar who found them first.

--
Keith watched as sunlight started creeping in from behind the curtains. No sign of Haggar at least. A quick glance toward the alarm clock told him that Allura's crew wasn't set to arrive for a couple more hours unless they have broken quite a few laws during the night.

He was sitting on the bed, legs crossed and gun nestled in the center. Shiro was still unconscious but it still didn't seem to be like he was sleeping. Keith worried his bottom lip between his teeth, hoping Allura would be able to do something to him, reverse what Haggar had done

Just a few more hours... and then he'd have allies in this fight. Keith could feel his eyes slipping closed and pinched himself on the arm to keep himself awake. He couldn't afford to sleep right now.

Keith runs a hand over his face, forcing himself to keep awake.

And then there's a sound at the door.

He's wide awake now, grabbing onto the gun and getting up quietly to sneak into the shadows of the room, gun pointed toward the door.
No one calls out, no one knocks, but the doorknob shakes and turns before there's a click as it's unlocked.

The silence that follows seems deafening to Keith.

The door creaked open a bit and Keith kept the gun trained in that direction.

"Keith? Shiro? Are you in there?"

It was Allura's voice, but what if it wasn't actually Allura?

"Open the door. Slowly," Keith warned and waited a moment before they did just that.

Allura stood in front, backed by Hunk. Pidge peeked around them, adjusting her glasses. Keith gave a small sob of relief, lowering the gun and letting himself relax finally. He set the gun on the table and the others took that as a sign to come in, Allura zeroing in on Shiro.

"What happened to him? Where's his arm?" She asked, all business as she crossed the room.

"Um, his arm..." He went and pulled the pieces out from where he'd stashed them, laying them all out. He was pretty sure Hunk looked close to crying as he saw the mangled parts.

"He- I don't know, I wasn't there when it happened, as you know, but Haggar said she took control of the arm? Replaced your magic with hers or took over yours or something. And since it's connected to his nervous system, she had complete control of his body."

"He was like a puppet?" Pidge asked, moving forward to examine the arm.

"Not- not exactly," Keith said, thinking it over. "He was more... emotive than a puppet. He looked like he was taking great glee in fighting me. It was like Haggar had taken control of his brain too."

"So you two fought and you won," Allura looked at Keith's bandages.

"Unfortunately... I won by biting off his arm," he grimaced as he said it, "But I figured that was where the magic was coming from so I had to disconnect him from the source. It worked. Kinda."

"How long has he been like this?" Allura was smoothing a hand over Shiro's forehead.

"Since the arm came off. I don't know if it was because of the loss of magic or... shock. From his arm." He looked down, scared to make eye contact with anyone.

"Hey..." Hunk walked up to him, putting a hand on his back. "You did good. Both of you got out alive with minimal injuries."

"Shiro's missing his arm again," Pidge said, "It's unsalvagable. We'll have to start from scratch."

Hunk shot her a look, trying to tell them that this wasn't the time. He then sighed, "Yes, he's down an arm, but that can be rebuilt just like before. Shiro as a whole is irreplaceable, though. And you saved his life and yours. You did what you had to do."

"What if he wakes up and hates me?" Keith asked. "You didn't hear him screaming as I bit it off. Fuck..." He rubbed at his eyes, "He's already gone through that once and now I made him relive it."

"If there's one thing Shiro can't do, that is hate you. Trust me, Keith." Hunk said, giving him a reassuring smile. "Now you look exhausted. Get some sleep. We'll keep watch and take care of Shiro."

Keith looked back over at him and Allura. She'd gotten up onto the bed, putting Shiro's head into her lap as she pressed her hands against his temples.

"This will take a bit, Keith. He seems to be stuck in his own head. Not your doing, so don't worry. Sleep."

He nodded, allowing himself to go to his bed and get in. Keith turned to face Shiro, hoping everything would turn out okay. He let his eyes close once and was immediately out, letting sleep take him.

--
He thought waking up and remembering nothing would be terrifying. But it felt like a warm blanket had been laid over him, nice and peaceful.

Or maybe that was the weight of the woman asleep on his chest.

He glanced her over. Something told him this wasn't usual.

She stirred awake at his change of breath, his tiny movements, and sat up, flipping her long hair over her shoulder as she blinked away the sleep. She glanced around before looking down at him and- what was his name even? What did-

"Shiro!"

She quickly hugged him and automatically he returned it. With one arm. He glanced at his right, finding there wasn't much there. Something tickled at the back of his brain, but then the woman was pulling back.

There was more movement in the room as others woke up.

Two crowded around the bed, hugging him as well. Shiro felt like his head was stuffed with cotton and he tried to pull it back as bits and pieces came back to him.

"Allura. Hunk. Katie." He murmured, voice coarse from disuse.

"Uh-oh. He only calls me that when he's emotional."

Right. Another name for that face. He shook his head.

"Pidge. What are- what happened?" And where was... He couldn't remember, but they seemed important.

Another man pushed his way through, hovering but looking like he wanted to hug him too.

His dark hair was messy from sleep, eyes somehow bright even in the dark room. Shiro was pretty sure the man even had some dried drool on his cheek. Beautiful.

The man's brow furrowed and something in him won as he suddenly surged forward and pulled him into a tight hug.

He hugged him back as well, closing his eyes as he tucked his face against the man's neck. He felt like home.

"Keith." That was the man's name. And he was home.

Keith pulled back, running a hand through his already unruly hair.

"Shiro, you're awake. You're okay."

"Yeah, I'm- I'm-" Was he okay? He rubbed a hand over his face as he tried to remember how he got here. It felt like a child was trying to put back together the puzzle pieces of his mind. "I don't think I'm all back yet. Everything's coming back in bits and pieces."

"Well, Allura did have to sort of reboot you. Like a computer," Hunk supplied. "At least you remembered our names."

"Do you remember what you do for a living?"

Shiro frowned, thinking it over. "Hunt? I hunt... Things. Supernatural creatures. Like vampires, witches, werewolves-"

Oh. He whipped his head around to look at both Keith and Allura. "But not those like you!"

"Smooth," Pidge snickered and Shiro felt his cheeks heat up.

Keith just smiled, though it was strained, worry pinching his face as he regarded him.

Shiro reached out, gently taking his hand. It seemed like the right thing to do. Judging by the way he relaxed a bit, it was.

"We should get moving. Haggar is already gone, but we don't want to stay where she knows we are," Allura said. "We'll head back to my place. Pack up and let's move out." Shiro watched as everyone scattered to get their things, missing Keith's hand in his immediately.

Keith was even grabbing Shiro's things, putting them away for him.

Shiro slowly got up, testing his balance. He wanted to help, but Keith shooed him back to sit on the bed and wait. So he did, watching as everyone made quick work of the room and then they were out to the cars.

Keith and Shiro would drive together, a spare cellphone in their car in case of any change with Shiro. He hoped, for Keith's sake, he only continued to improve. The man looked ready to breakdown at any moment.

He reached across the divider in the car, resting his hand on Keith's thigh. Immediately the nervous jittering of the man's other leg stopped.

Shiro glanced out the window, watching the landscape go by. It was early evening by the looks of it. He'd most likely been out for a bit

Despite that, he was still tired. It must have been obvious because he heard Keith murmur, "Sleep, Shiro."

And who was he to ignore something Keith said? He let his eyes close and fell back asleep, barely registering the feeling of Keith's hand covering his own before he slept.

--
When he woke up next, the car had stopped. Shiro blinked awake, rubbing at his eyes and sitting up from where he'd slouched against the window. A glance toward the driver's side told him Keith was gone and he had a moment of panic until he realized they were at a gas station.

More of his memories had clicked into place during his rest and he felt more clarity as he looked out the window, spotting Keith inside the small convenience store, most likely paying for the gas or buying snacks. He could remember Keith buying him Cheetos before.

He smiled at the thought and leaned his chair back, intending on leaning back up once they started moving again. Shiro could remember a figure talking to him in the woods. He knew she was the reason his arm had come off.

His hand went up on instinct, feeling the port where his arm used to be.

And then he remembered the pain and fear coursing through him, fingers digging into the metal port until he had to pull back. There was also the pain that came later, not the same. More localized and sharp.

There was a tap against the window before he could recollect the cause of that pain and he looked over to see Keith smiling at him, looking absolutely radiant despite everything. He held up a back of Cheetos almost hesitantly and Shiro grinned when he saw it.

He opened the door a crack, turning his body a bit to be able to reach out and grab the back when Keith slipped it through the opening.

"Thank you, Keith. I was hoping you'd get me some like you usually do."

"Are more of your memories returning?"

He sounded conflicted when he asked, but Shiro dismissed it. Why would remembering more be a bad thing?

"Yes, bits and pieces. Can't remember the whole fight against Haggar clearly, though. But I'm sure it'll come to me."

Keith gave him a quick smile before turning away to pump some gas. Shiro took the time to open up his bag and pop a few in his mouth. He was starving and hadn't realized it until just then. It made sense, he hadn't eaten in almost 24 hours after all.

"How much further?"

Keith looked back over at him, "We're just about there, only another 2 hours."

"Have you eaten at all?"

Shiro could tell just from the way Keith's brow pinched before he even voiced his answer that he hadn't eaten the same amount of time that Shiro hadn't.

"Stop at the next drive-thru, then. I'm starving and you must be too."

He nodded, finishing topping off the gas and put the nozzle back.

"There's a McDonald's down the street. We can stop there."

"Better than nothing," Shiro replied and smiled when that got a laugh out of Keith. The other man seemed to be drawn up tight, like he was going to snap at any second. He supposed he couldn't blame him after everything.

Shiro tilted his seat back up when Keith got back in, feeling much more awake now. They drove and got their fast food meal and while they finished their journey, eating greasy food, they did what they usually did.

Talked and sang.

And for a moment everything slipped back into place.

--
Night was darkening the sky again when they arrived back at Allura's place and everyone was exhausted. Lance greeted them, having ordered pizza for all of them and Hunk gave him a tight hug before diving into one of the boxes to eat.

While Shiro wanted nothing more than to eat a few slices, then fall into bed (ideally with Keith there), he wasn't given that opportunity. He'd barely finished eating his first slice before he was being pulled away.

Hunk and Pidge took him to a private room so they could examine the port and make sure nothing had been damaged, hooking him up to wires and tests. They also lay out the remains of the arm on their workbench, then started looking everything over.

Shiro stared up at the ceiling, wishing he was back out there with Keith. He hoped Allura wasn't grilling Keith too badly. Keith was, after all, the only one who saw and could actually remember what was going on that night.

Hunk and Pidges whispers and tinkering faded.

Shiro felt his eyes slip closed and then he was asleep again.

He was back in the woods, but there was no sound. It was like he was watching a glitched playback of what happened from his own perspective.

There was the pain, the magic burning through his veins before he fell.

And then Keith was back, hair wild and eyes wide as he surveyed the scene.

Shiro was moving again, but this time his attacks were focused on Keith and he had to watch in horror as he threw Keith around, the other man choosing not to fight back.

When the blade cut through Keith's cheek, he felt sick. He'd seen the bandage but hadn't bothered asking how he'd gotten it. He'd assumed Haggar had injured him, but if these were his memories, then Haggar was already long gone and the only enemy waiting for Keith had been him.

Shiro could tell Keith was frustrated, sad, and he could watch the moment that he snapped, eyes changing first before his whole body shifted and he finished the fight. He woke up with a shout when the teeth dug into his arm. His white hair stuck to the sweat on his forehead.

Hunk and Pidge hovered over him, concern on their faces, but before they could say anything, the door slammed open and Keith ran in, looking slightly panicked. The other man stopped, looking them over, then swallowed, looking a bit embarrassed.

"I heard him yell..."

Shiro looked back at the other two, "Are we done here?" He gestured at his arm and they started pulling everything off.

"Yes, we've got what we needed. Port is undamaged and we can build you a replacement arm that won't need Allura's magic this time," Pidge promised.

Shiro wasn't listening. His gaze was back on Keith, flicking toward the bandage again. He could still see the fight in his mind, like a bad movie playing on repeat. He could still remember seeing Keith beneath him as he hurt him, voicing something that Shiro still couldn't hear.

He sat up, a bit shaky, but stool quickly when he saw that Keith was about to leave the room.

"Hey." He said, voice sounding weak as he reached out for Keith. The other man didn't even hesitate to turn back and move close to help keep Shiro steady.

"I'm okay," he gently leaned against him, "Just a... bad dream, I guess. My memories are still coming back in pieces. I remember the fight now... but not every detail."

Shiro watched as Keith became uncomfortable and he tightened his grip on the other man's arm.

"I'm tired. Let's go to bed, Keith."

They obviously had things to discuss, but he'd rather they did it in private instead of here were he could painfully feel everyone's eyes on them, even Allura and Lance out in the room through the open door.

Keith just nodded, avoiding his gaze. "Sure, let's go to bed."

They changed into their pajamas in the room, backs turned to each other. Shiro took a bit longer with just one arm, but he managed without help.

It wasn't until they got into their single bed that Shiro remembered how awkward this had been last time. He gave a soft chuckle.

Keith turned toward him, a brow raised at the laugh, "What are you thinking about?"

"The last time we were here," he smiled softly.

"You remember that? That's good. How much do you remember now?"

"Honestly... I think just about everything."

Keith shrunk a little.

"The fight with Haggar... or well, the tremendous ass-kicking from Haggar is still a bit weird. It's like someone pressed the mute button on my memories for that. I'm sure it will come back eventually since it's seeming to come back bit by bit."

"So... you remember the whole fight?" His voice was small.

Shiro turned onto his side as well, reaching out, his hand hovering over the bandage on Keith's face. "I'm sorry for doing this to you, Keith."

"It's okay. It wasn't you. I should be the one who's sorry."

"Why? For saving my life?" He gave Keith a small smile when the other man met his gaze. "Because that's what you did. Thank you, Keith. Your quick thinking, taking off my arm, is probably what saved me from losing my mind. And my life to her."

"I- I thought you'd hate me for that." Keith admitted, "I thought you'd be pissed that I made you relive that, of getting your arm bit off twice."

"Oh, Keith," he gave a small chuckle, "I could never hate you."

Keith smiled but turned his face in an effort to hide it, hair falling over his expression. Shiro yearned to brush the hair back so it wouldn't hide his pretty face.

Instead, he put his arm over Keith, pulling him close. He felt Keith stiffen at first, but didn't pull away.

When he felt him relax in his hold, Shiro let his eyes slip closed, and he fell asleep like that, Keith pressed against his front.

--
Waking up to Keith still curled up against him, now with an arm slung over him and a leg pressed between his own, was bliss. But Shiro knew Keith probably wouldn't want to wake up this way. He gently slipped away, grabbing a change of clothes, and headed to the bathroom.

He felt sticky and grimy from not showering for long and if he spent longer in the shower than usual, Shiro figured he deserved it. When he reemerged fresh and cleanshaven, Keith had already left the bed, leaving just the rumpled sheets and blankets.

He found him downstairs, eating some pancakes made by Hunk, and once they all gathered, Lance included (apparently he'd stayed the night), they started their planning on how to track down Haggar once and for all.

"Well, you can count me out," Shiro said after swallowing a bite. He was cutting off another piece for himself when he glanced up at the silence. Every pair of eyes was on him. "What?" He popped the next bite of waffles into his mouth, then motioned toward his missing arm.

He wouldn't be much use for them, couldn't even reload a gun with one hand, let alone fight someone like Haggar.

He felt Keith's hand squeeze his knee and he tried not to show any emotion on his face at the intimacy of the gesture.

"All right, fair enough," Pidge said, adjusting her glasses, "We could always use some help researching if you want to help on that end."

"I can definitely help with that."

"I want to help with the fight," Keith said, "She never fought me or saw me shift last time as far as I know. So she may not even know I'm a werewolf."

"That's a definite advantage," Allura mused, thinking everything over, "It's going to be tough, but I think if we work as a team we can do this."

They all nodded and once the last of the food was eaten they cleared off the table and got to work.

--
Allura is able to find out where Haggar is in just a few days. Shiro doesn't ask for her methods, he merely knows that magic was involved to track her down. She's closer to them this time, only about a five-hour car ride away.

On one hand, that means they'll get to her and get this over quickly. On the other hand, that means the drive to the city with Keith in the driver's seat goes by too quickly for Shiro's comfort. He's scared, terrified even.

He can still feel Haggar's magic worming into his brain and contracting around his spine until he wanted to break. And now he's going to have to sit this one out and watch Keith and his friends, his family, run into danger instead while he watches from the sidelines.

He'd helped the other research and put together items that would help them, but still feels as though he hasn't been much help. But he got one last night with Keith.

They'd gotten a room with only one bed, but they didn't care anymore, used to sharing a bed at Allura's.

"I can hear you thinking," Keith muttered from where he was curled up against Shiro's side.

Shiro glanced away from the ceiling and looked at Keith, who still had his eyes closed. "Sorry. Just... worried."

"We'll be fine," Keith promised, then added, "I'll be fine."

Keith opened his eyes and Shiro could just see the glint of light on them in the darkness. "So get some sleep, Shiro."
He put an arm over Shiro's chest and closed his eyes again.

Shiro gave a sigh, but closed his eyes and eventually fell asleep like that.

Come morning, he didn't wake until after Keith. He kept close to him throughout the morning and then when it came time for them to separate, Keith gave his arm a squeeze and they left.

Shiro had a phone at least, they'd let him know when everything was over.

All Shiro could do was pace the hotel room Keith and him had shared, hoping for some good news.

--
Shiro lasted all of twenty minutes before he was tucking a blade into the holster in his boot and heading out after them. Disadvantage be damned, Shiro wasn't going to let his family throw themselves into danger without himself right next to them.

As he approached the place, he heard a gun go off and crouched outside to glance through the window. Haggar was still standing, but so was the rest of the group. He quietly crept around the building, entering from the back as quietly as he could.

He could feel the crackle of magic in the air, making his hair on his arm stand on end as Allura and Haggar fought, speaking and throwing spells faster than Shiro could process the words. He rarely saw Allura in action, she usually chose to stay back.

Seeing her now reminded him of her power.

Shiro stayed low and hidden and so far it seemed as though none of them had seen him, which was for the best. A spell caught Haggar, sending her back against a table nearby and then Keith charged, shifting mid-leap.

His teeth sunk into Haggar's shoulder and she screeched in pain before chanting another spell that caught Keith in the chest and flung him across the room. He hit the wall opposite and fell to the ground. When he didn't move, Shiro saw red.

Haggar was getting up, hand going to her shoulder no doubt to stop the bleeding, and Shiro was already moving where he was hidden behind her. He gripped his knife with the blade down and swung his arm from the opposite shoulder.

It sunk into her neck and Shiro didn't even try to retrieve it before he was rushing across the room to Keith's wolf form, still down. Allura used the surprise attack and fatal wound to finish the fight, lighting Haggar up in flames to be rid of her once and for all.

Keith was still breathing, and as Shiro scratched his hand through the wolf fur, Keith started to shift back to human. Shiro quickly shrugged his jacket off to cover Keith and checked him over for wounds. He could only find some blood on his head from where he'd hit it.

Allura came to check on Keith, hand hovering over his chest. "He will be fine. The magic she cast will have no lasting effect on him."

"Thank you," Shiro said, pulling Keith closer and double-checking he was okay. He could hear the others behind him getting ready to leave.

He watched as Keith's eyes fluttered open and he looked up at Shiro for a moment before realizing where he was and sitting up quickly.

"She's dead, you're okay," Shiro said, hand hovering to make sure Keith didn't fall back down.

"What are you doing here?" Keith asked, hand going up to gently touch his head, wincing a bit.

"I decided I didn't really want to sit on the bench," he smiled softly.

"And it's a good thing you showed up. Amazing timing, Shiro," Hunk said, coming back over with his knife.

"It's a little fire damaged... but still usable. I'm sure you aimed there since it was a bit personal."

"Just a bit, yeah," he murmured, "But also because I knew it would get the job done." Shiro tucked the knife away again, then looked at Keith.

"So... clothes."

Keith looked down at where Shiro's jacket had pooled in his lap. "They're out in the car."

"I'll go get them, be right back," Shiro stood and quickly went to grab those for Keith so he'd be more comfortable.

The ride back to their hotel was an awkward five-minute drive, Keith perched on Shiro's lap since there wasn't enough room for all of them in the car. Shiro didn't mind much, but he could feel stiffness in Keith's body that let him know he wasn't as comfortable as Shiro was.

The others checked out of the hotel and bid Shiro and Keith goodbye, with a promise they'd get in touch on the new cellphone they had when Shiro's new arm was ready. But for now, Shiro was out of the hunting business.

And then the two were alone again, just like old times.

Shiro could tell Keith wanted to say something, but couldn't find the time or courage to voice it. So he didn't push him.

It wasn't until they'd gotten into bed that Keith rolled to face him, looking determined.

"What now?"

"Well... now I'm not sure. I'm not much help currently."

"You were obviously great help today."

He gave a small laugh, "I think that was luck. No way will I be able to pull off something like that again, Keith. I just- I watched her hit you and saw red.

It was personal, yeah. But not because of what she did to me. I was more worried about what she was currently doing to you."

Keith shifted to press his forehead against Shiro's chest, "I won't leave. Unless you want me to. But I don't want to hunt without you."

"Keith. I'd never want you to leave. We'll figure this out. We don't even have to go back to hunting when I get my arm repaired. We can just... be us. Do whatever we want."

"I think we both know we'll always be doing some hunting, whether it's full time or not," Keith chuckled.

"True, true." Shiro gave a small laugh. Hunting had molded both of them to who they were today. There was no getting away from this life once you started living it.

"We'll figure it out." Keith sounded tired and Shiro rubbed his hand over his back, letting his eyes close.

--
As the week passed, Shiro's memories of the fight became more clear. It was still muted, but the images had become more in focus.

One part was the worst when he had Keith pinned down, the blade slicing over his cheek as the other man begged beneath him, lips saying- well.

That part he wasn't sure he was seeing clearly or if he was just hoping that was what Keith was saying. Not wanting to step over any lines, he decided to ask him over breakfast one day.

"Hey, Keith," he looked across the table at Keith, whose face was finally no longer bandaged.

The wound had scarred, but at least it was healed.

"Yeah? What is it?" Keith hardly looked up from his food, looking at local job openings for himself. Shiro had been the main person to get them money, hustling people at pool. But that was no longer an option.

"During our fight... you talked to me, right?"

Keith's gaze snapped up, "Yeah? I think so. Mostly... pleading, I guess."

"All right." He murmured, hesitant to meet his gaze, "So you talked to me to-"

"I said anything I could to snap you out of it." Keith interrupted.

"Oh. Okay. So you were just trying to break the spell?" Shiro pushed, trying not to show his disappointment. Maybe he'd been wrong, maybe Keith had said something else.

"Yeah, I didn't mean it. I just said what I thought might work. You paused for a second, but that was it."

Shiro was quiet for a moment, then asked, "Why did you think that would work?" Was he too obvious? Did it make Keith too uncomfortable? He was being too touchy, wasn't he?

"I don't know, Shiro," Keith snapped, catching him by surprise. "I was scared, okay? I thought I was going to die."

Silence fell over them, thick and heavy. Shiro couldn't even look at Keith. He could see the man start to fidget out of the corner of his eyes, expression unreadable but obviously uncomfortable.

"Sorry," Shiro murmured, getting up with his half-eaten plate of food.

"I'm sorry for a lot of stuff, actually," He let the leftover food slide into the garbage bin. "Sorry for pushing you to talk when you don't want to. Sorry for letting her take control. Sorry for dragging you down with me. Sorry for-" loving you. He couldn't say that.

"Shiro, you're not-"

"I'm going to go for a walk, get some fresh air. I also need some exercise. Moping around the hotel all day and just eating food really isn't helping," He gave a chuckle and smiled, but it felt hollow to him. "I'll be back in less than an hour."

Before Keith could try to say anything further, he grabbed his phone and jacket and headed out the door. He gave up trying to put the jacket on with his one arm after a couple of minutes, too frustrated with himself to continue trying to do that. He'd gotten so used to two arms.

Being back to just the one really brought him back to when he was younger, just after the werewolf had taken it from him. Those weren't memories he liked to relive. He sighed, tossing his jacket over the back of a park bench and sat there, breathing in the crisp air.

When he'd settled his nerves enough and quieted his thoughts, he headed back to the motel. It wasn't until he was standing outside the door that he realized that in his haste to leave, he'd forgotten his room key. Sheepishly, he knocked on the door and waited.
And waited.

After a minute he couldn't shake the feeling in his gut that something was wrong. Yes, Keith might just be in the shower, but it still felt off. The do not disturb sign was still hanging on the doorknob and a quick check of the window let him know that it was locked tight.

He couldn't even get into his car to try his hand at picking the lock, as those keys were in the room as well. A quick glance over his shoulder confirmed that the car was still parked in its usual spot. Shiro pulled his phone out of his pocket, pulling Keith up in his messages.

Nothing new from him. He sent him a quick text.
'Hey, are you still in the room? I forgot my keys. Please respond.'
After another five minutes of silence, he reluctantly made his way to the motel office to ask for their help to open the door to his room.

They did it, begrudgingly, and Shiro made sure to turn his charm up to an eleven despite the rising anxiety he could feel beating at his ribs. The room was as he had left it, but all of Keith's items were gone. The man didn't have much, usually just enough to toss in a bag.

But the room felt empty without any of it.

He sat down in the bed, heart feeling heavy in his chest. He'd done this. He'd pushed Keith away with his pity parties, his constant apologies. He knew Keith still blamed himself for Shiro's arm, for his nightmares. Nothing Shiro said had seemed to convince Keith otherwise.

He pulled out his phone, sending another quick text.

'Please come back.'

Nothing.

Five minutes stretched to twenty, then an hour. No reply from Keith. He gave a sigh, could already feel the ache in his bones as loneliness settled over him like an old friend.

Shiro got up, packed away his stuff, and paid the motel fee before getting in his car and driving away.

The silence felt suffocating, but he knew he'd be okay with it in time. After all, he had to be before he met Keith.

--
Allura and the rest tried to help track down Keith, but Shiro shut them down after their first few attempts. Keith left on his own and didn't want to be found. He was fine before meeting Shiro and he was sure Keith was fine back on his own now.

Shiro was fine back on his own too. That's what he kept telling himself.

He may be missing his arm again, but the ache in his chest when he turned to talk to the passenger seat, only to remember it was empty hurt more than any missing limb.

He started with easier jobs or ones where he could team up with another hunter in the area. Most times he'd stay back as the researcher.

Years of having his magic infused arm had made him forget the skill of fighting one handed, something he had to dig back out, polish again.

After a few months he felt confident enough to take down a single vampire on his own. Coming away from the fight with only a few scratches boost his confidence tenfold.

He wasn't the most seamless fighter, but he was good enough. Overtime he started working with others less and less again, relying less on them and more on himself.

Shiro pushed himself, worked longer days, tougher hunts.

And made himself forget about Keith.

If Shiro was honest, he never expected to see Keith again. Yes, they had a niche job, but lifespans were short on their career choice and there always seemed to be jobs popping up all over the country to choose from.

Besides, if Keith decided to slip over the border, either north or south, chances are they'd never run into one another again.

It made his chest ache at just the thought, but then he had to remind himself that Keith had made his choice. He'd willingly gone and left him behind.

So seeing Keith stuck in a cramped cage as they dragged his limp body past him over the dirty barn door was somewhat of a surprise. He was sure his face didn't show it due to whatever he'd been bitten with, but Keith's eyes grew wide as he moved to press himself to the bars.

And then he was dragged out of sight of the other and tossed into a cage of his own. He was left there on the cold floor, just waiting to regain control of his own body again. They'd already removed his new right arm and tossed it to the side like scrap metal.

He'd never hear the end of it from Hunk if he didn't retrieve that latest prototype before leaving this place. And Keith. He could still see the terror in the smaller man's eyes as they'd pulled him by. He'd get him out, too. Even if the man wanted nothing more to do with him.

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