Thread by @pejaposarambi

Post S8 // Divorced Shiro // Time Travel // Hopeful Ending //

**
Everything is blinding white. There's no sound.
Shiro's been here before- the biggest loss of his life happened in a place just like this.
Here, where everything went wrong.
But then, he wakes up.

He finds himself lying on solid, dirty ground.
This isn't his cozy, well lived quarters in the ATLAS. This isn't even the bedroom of his "home" on Earth.
He's out there in nature, in some place be doesn't know.

Shiro takes a few deep breaths because panic will help him none, tries to remember.
He had a diplomatic mission, long, annoying. Normal. There he saw his friends, the former paladins of voltron, and they all suffered through it together.

Keith looked stunning in his blade uniform, smiled at him with the usual quiet fondness that makes Shiro's inside melt.
Liquid courage led him to ask for a dance during the event. It was supposed to be one dance, but they danced together all night.

They talked all night: about Keith's humanitarian work, about the latest election for the new president of the Voltron Coalition, about how Shiro is handling his first year back on the force after coming out of retirement.
Shiro missed the stars, he missed his ship.

He missed helping people.
"I could not be happier" he remembers saying. And remembers wincing bc that's a lie.
He could be happier. He could be the happiest. He remembers the twitch of his own hands on Keith's waist, and the mental cringe he felt at his own greed.

He remembers trying to switch the topic to- to something more important. So much more important.
"How's your kid?" He always has to ask, always wants to know.
He remembers Keith's wide, grateful smile.

"Getting bigger" was his answer.
"Ah yes, his birthday--"
"Please don't overdo it with the gift this year-"
"His gifts are fine, I'm not spoiling him as much as you think."
"Gifts? As in plural? Shiro!"

He remembers spinning Keith around and laughing. And he remembers kissing Keith's cheek before watching him walk back into his ship after the event.
He remembers coming back to the ATLAS alone. Taking a shower, getting into bed.
Checking his PADD and chuckle at the video

of a drunk Lance dancing with the new coalition president that Pidge sent in the group chat. A short text from his ex husband, wishing him happy birthday-- the date probably already passed on Earth, but here he's still has some days before it. Time dilation shenanigans did remind

him to check if his request for a day off has been approved, so he could visit Diabazaal to spend it with the fellow birthday boy. Then he fell asleep.
Then nothing.
He couldn't have been kidnapped, no one could possibly break in. The ATLAS is too secure.

He /would've/ woken up. And why leave him here, in the middle of nowhere?
He takes a look at his surroundings. Deserted, rocky, dry. A little familiar.
Shiro bites his lip, he better make it to the ATLAS before their birthday.

He tries to summon her, first with his mind, then with the commands codes he punches into his prosthetic arm.
No response.
It's when he hears a creak, and the familiar sense of danger washes over him that he realizes where he is.

The beasts before him- he's seen them. He's fought them before.
He's uninjured now, but wearing no armor and with no other weapon than his arm. There's no lion to protect him either.
And there's no hopes for Keith to find him.

Shit. He better make it to the ATLAS alive by their birthday.

He readies himself as they stalk closer. It's getting dark, and he's surrounded.
Shiro swallows. He's survived worse things.
He can do this.
He can-

Bright lights from above blind him for a second, but they did as soon as the beats coward away, leaving Shiro alone.
The ship lands slowly, forceful winds pushing Shiro away from it, dragging his feet thought the dry land and raising dust.
He recognizes this ship.

It's the Albatross.
Keith's galran cruiser.
Keith's found him.

The massive gate lowers, and several agents for the Blade or Marmora run towards him as Shiro runs towards them.
"Get them!" The blades say, running past Shiro, to where the beasts ran off.
Shiro doesn't care, not when he sees the masked senior blade walking calmly towards him.

"Keith!" He calls, happy. He's more than ready to wrap his arms around his best friend and whisper his devotion and gratefulness into Keith's hair.
But the mask doesn't lower, not yet. And as Shiro comes closer, the blade gets bigger. Taller.

Taller than Keith.
Exactly as tall as Shiro.
This person isn't---
"Keith?" the blade says, voice amused.
The mask dissolves as Shiro stops, and Shiro finds himself staring into a human face with familiar eyes, and a familiar smile. Although he's seen them on different faces.

"That old man retired decaphoebes ago."

Shiro is immediately sent to med bay, given warm clothes and a warmer beverage. The stranger senior blade stays by his side the whole time.
Shiro wants to ask about Keith- wants to ask what's going on. Like, what the fuck is actually going on?
The man seems to read his mind.

He smirks. "Alright, shoot. I can answer whatever you want me to."
Shiro squints his eyes at him before sipping his tea. This man acts cocky and confident in a way that feels super familiar, but he doesn't seem dishonest.
Shiro feels be can trust him.

"Well" he starts, "first I'd like to thank you for saving me. If you hadn't made it right on time I would've-"
"I would've made it on time regardless" the blade shrugs, "I was supposed to find you here."
Shiro frowns. "You were?"
The blade chuckles.

"I'm sure you realized by now that this isn't your present in the timeline, exactly?" The blade says, "we seem to be around the same age, which makes it about 30 human years in the future from when you come from."
Shiro gasps.

"Oh Shit" Shiro breathes. "Oh fuck."
The blade laughs, loudly, and the sound of it seems familiar too. Makes him feel a little self conscious.
"So you can curse! I'm loving this already."

The senior blade quiets down when the galra medic sends a glare his way. Shiro then has to focus on answering the medic's questions and following his instructions during the examination, so he can't ask much more.
Once the doctor is satisfied and deems him healthy enough, she

dismisses both of them with a shoo. An actual 'shoo' noise.
"Aren't you the leader?" It's not among the questions Shiro wanted to ask.
"Eh" the senior blade sniffs, "the previous leader of the organization was pretty big into equality and not being treated like a superior"

Shiro catches the hint immediately. "He loved rebelling to authority, so I'll assume he hated having to become one eventually."
The blade smiles at him, fond. "I'm glad he retired, he actually deserves a breaks from all these brats, me included."

They both laugh as they make way through the hallways of the ship, which doesn't seem to have had any big aesthetic changes in the past thirty years.
"Anyway, I knew I'd finally meet you as soon as I was given this mission-"
Shiro stops laughing, and blinks in confusion.

"So, I'm not your mission?"
The blade shakes his head chuckling. "Oh no, they are my mission."
They walk past a bunch of galran sentries bringing massive cages through the halls. Within those cages were specimens of the beasts that tried to attack Shiro.

"This planet has been dying for years now, it's become hostile. In order to prevent its fauna from going fully extinct, we're transporting the surviving species to a natural reserve in a planet with similar to this but with a healthier environment, a few galaxies from here."

"Oh" Shiro nods, "and we met because?"
"A coincidence" the blade shrugs, then laughs at Shiro's shocked face.

Shiro sputters "This can't be a coincidence if you were expecting me- expecting to find me!"
The blade speaks calmly, then. "Shiro, this already happened."
"Wh- I don't understand."
"I knew I'd find you here because he told me this would happen."
"He?"
"You."

Oh.
"My Shiro" the blade explains. "What you're living right now, already happened to him. He already lived this exact same thing, with a different adult me, thirty human years ago. And he told me about it, because the me he met told him that his Shiro told him about it."
/Oh/

Shiro needs to sit down. So he does, on the floor of the hallway. The blade kneels before him and pats his shoulder sympathetically.
"Eventually you'll tell the me in your time this, too"
"Fuck" Shiro breathes.

"This mission is meant to happen, and so is your little glitch through time and space. These two things just happen to coincide here, every time."
"Holy Shit" Shiro wheezes.
The blade laughs, "Yeah, I really am loving all this cursing."

Shiro takes a deep breath. "So me jumping thirty years in the future in my pajamas is... a 'glitch' in time and space that's meant to happen. A glitch."
"That's how you guys worded it-" the blade groans, "I'm not that good at this stuff, I don't mean to confuse you-"

"It's fine" Shiro says, rubbing his temples. "I'll figure it out eventually."
The blade helps him up, and they resume their walk to the living quarters within the ship.
"Anyway, the portal that brought you here will reopen in 15 vargas, in this exact place."

Shiro nods, but doesn't speak. The blade continues.
"We have plenty of creatures to rescue and transport, so we'll stay in this planet for much longer. I'll get to see you off."
Soon Shiro faces a door that he knows was once Keith's sleeping quarters
He sighs, rubs his face.

"Why is this happening to me specifically?"
The blade presses his palm to the panel beside the door and it unlocks- the sight snaps something in Shiro, but quickly it just makes him feel a little bitter that Keith has been replaced, when he should be happy Keith's resting.

This blade is the new leader, so obviously he gets to have the former leader's living quarters. It makes sense. Shiro can't be petty about this.
As soon as Shiro sits on the bed, the senior blade member points at his arm.
"You're here because of Auntie Allura- uh, Ambassador uh"

Shiro's eyebrows rose. "You know Allura-?"
The blade cleared his throat, scratched the back of his neck and smiled. "I mean, I can spoil you things, it'll change nothing anyway since it's already happened-" he points at Shiroa arm again, "the jewel powering your prosthetic

belonged to the Princess' Tiara, and spent millennia with her in a pod. The crystal is pure energy, and not only reacts to quintessence but stores it. In this case, there's some of Allura's quintessence on your arm, along with yours."
Shiro places his metal hand over his

Hard beating heart. "What does that mean?"
"She needs all the power she can in order to travel across space and time back from the void of what was once Oriande, to our reality and your timeline specifically" the blade explains, "Lance's quintessence is the mark she pulls from

to guide her back home, and she sows power from different versions of herself across all realities to get to him. Thing is, in your timeline, she's still dead- and one of the few sources that store her quintessence that she needs is-"

Shiro gasps, "my arm."
"Yes" the blade nods, "but that quintessence is now mixed with yours, and while trying to extract it, your entire body was pulled along to travel back to her up until she managed to separate her quintessence from yours, leaving you here by accident."

"And that's why this thing happening to you is a glitch and a coincidence" the blade chuckles, "as soon as she realizes what she's done, a few vargas from now, you'll be returned where you belong."
Shiro holds himself tightly, a trembling flesh hand wrapping the metal one.

"Your Allura is alive" Shiro breathes.
The blade smiles at him, soft. "So is yours" he says, "she's coming home, Shiro. All this is happening because you just helped her get there."

Shiro takes a few breaths to steady himself, because he's still in a hallway, on the floor.
But the kind blade gives him a break. He gets up and follows the cages and speaks with his crew for a while.
Shiro inhales deeply, exhales loudly. Once, twice.

Allura is alive.
She's coming home.

The guilt of failing her burns under the light of this newborn hope. The idea of getting a second chance, of doing right by her.
He covers his face with his hands and lets himself feel the burn in his eyes.
He has to tell everyone.
As soon as he returns home, he will--

But that won't be for at least half s day.
Shiro looks up, his whole body is buzzing with energy and happiness.
He can't wait.
The blade returns, looking at him with an amused expression. "You look like you're about to jump over the walls"
"I just might" Shiro answers, smiling.

"Well if you're feeling so hype, how about you help us out?" The blade wiggles his eyebrows at Shiro, who snorts.
"Trying to get some free labor out of me, huh?"
"As if you can stay iddle at all" the blade laughs, offering Shiro a hand.
Shiro take sit.

"You literally walked out of retirement and returned to the force because you couldn't sit still" the blade titters as he pulls Shiro up. "Stubborn old man."
Shiro feels so giddy, his smile feels so big on his face. "Is your Shiro still captain of the Atlas?"

The blade laughs loud and hard, holding his stomach.
"I know I said I'd answer everything" he wheezes, "but don't ask me questions you already know the answer to."
Shiro chuckles. Of course.
"Alright then," he claps his hands. "What are your orders?"

*
Hours are spent with Shiro and the senior blade joining rescue teams to help track down several specimens of the kind that attacked Shiro.
Shiro leaned that the reason these beast have been so aggressive is because they're starving. As soon as they're put in crates they're

Offered food that isn't rotting and water that isn't boiling. With stomachs full they turn into purring, lazy, sleepy things.
They're almost cute, Shiro may even forget they tried to eat him twice.
Shiro asks a lot. The blade answers some.

He asks about all his friends, is glad to hear they're all alive and well and their bond formed as paladins got only stronger with age.
He's not surprised to receive the news that his grandparents already passed in this timeline, but only recently so.

With altean support and alliance, Earth made enormous steps and medical advances that favored the human life span. He's happy that at least back home he still gets to keep them with him for a good long while.
He asks about Allura and Lance, and only gets an eyeroll. Fair enough.

He's happy to learn that Hunks and Pidge leave their organizations behind and fund a massive intergalactic technical college, where disciplines and technology from all over the universe is shared and taught.

He asks about Keith, and the blade stops in his tracks, turns to him.
"What do you want to know about him?"
Shiro opens his mouth, then closes it. He wants to know a lot about Keith.
"Is he happy?"
The blade snorts.

"We thought he'd pull a you and come back from retirement" he winks at Shiro, "but in all honesty, he's got his hands full back at the ranch, with all the babysitting he's doing."
Shiro's heart does a little flip. "Yeah?"

"Yup. If you thought raising a teleporting wolf was tough, imagine raising a litter of ten. The second litter, mind you."
Shiro gasps a laugh, "oh my god."
"Then add the two hurricane toddlers he's got for granddaughters, who are just as mischievous as those pups."

"Oh my god" Shiro wheezes, clutching his chest.
The blades gives him a fond look, an expression so familiar he swears he's seen it somewhere else. "He's the happiest man I know."
They continue working, quietly as Shiro copes with all this information.
Life gets better.

He wants to meet this Keith- wants to see the ranch he lives in, back in Diabazaal. He wants to pet all these puppies.
He wants to see Keith's kid all grown up, and the cute granddaughters he'll give Keith.
Perhaps he will do all of that, one day, thirty years from now.

He swallows, hard, before asking what he's decided will be his last question.
He doesn't need to know anything else, eventually he'll live it all anyway.
"Am I happy?"

The blade looks at him seriously, his purple eyes are soft and tender.
"The only one happier than that old man Keith is you, old man"
Shiro lets out a shaky breath, and smiles. "Thank you"
They hear a beep, coming from the blade's pad- a reminder of dinner.

The blade huffs, requests their food being sent outside so they could watch the sunset together.
Their time will be over soon.

"I almost asked your name" Shiro says, munching on his dinner while watching the orange sky.
He doesn't have to look at the blade beside him to know he's rolling his eyes. "Didn't we establish early on that I wouldn't bother with questions you already know the answer to?"

Shiro chuckles softly, takes a sip of his tea, any doubts he could possibly have about this blade now cleared with just those words.
Now everything makes sense.
"I said almost."
They laugh.

Shiro puts down his plate and clears his throat. "Don't you want to ask me anything?"
The blade blinks once, twice. Then he cups his chin and forwns, deep in thought.
When he finally looks up, he's smiling again.
"Tell me a story?"

Shiro hums. "I got one- it's a little sad, at first."
The blade laughs, voice soft and tender. "Your stories usually are."
Shiro gives him a small smile, then sighs. Steels himself.
"I almost had a little brother."
The blade goes so quiet Shiro can't hear him breathe.

"I was way too young to really mourn my parents' passing, and my grandma and grandpa made sure I never needed for anything, even when I was so sick the doctors said the kindest thing they could do for me would be to-" Shiro can feel emotion squeeze around his throat.

"They are my parents, to me." The gulp Shiro takes is rough and it hurts. "But they wanted me to know, about my birth parents. Mom just recently found out the sex of my future little brother, weeks before the accident. She was gonna name him Ryouta, because that was almost

my name until my grandpa shyly gave her an option she ended up liking best."
Shiro takes a deep breath. "I said I was gonna give that name to my future son- if I ever had one, to honor my mom."

The blade was stiff beside him.
"But the doctors already said that even if I did miraculously reach adulthood I would not be able to have biological children."
Finally, the blade let out a sad exhale. "This never gets easier to hear about," he says.

"Also, apparently in the past decade or so your biography became a mandatory read for training pilots in all institutes for space flight and exploration funded by the Coalition."
"Oh?"
"My baby brother is a senior cadet, sixteen years old. He had an assignment on that book- he

knows you as well as I do, and knows all your stories by heart. He still cried reading it."
Shiro smiles. "It doesn't seem like something I'd do, publish my biography."
"Wasn't you. The Coalition really loves to market you around."
"I must've been pissed"
"Not as much as Keith."

Shiro chuckles, tiredly. "And I still stuck with them."
"You love ATLAS too much," Shiro hears the fond tone, feels the blade lean towards him, his warmth so close Shiro can feel it like a weight. It feels as familiar as an old friend.
But the blade stops himself and retreats.

"I interrupted you. I'm sorry."
Shiro gives him a small shrug. "It's a welcomed break, this story is a lot."
"We don't have to go in if it's tough in you, Shiro."
"I was gonna say the same thing to you"
They look at each other, Shiro's gray ones searches any hesitation

in the pools of purple in the blade's eyes.
The he continues. "I was a walking miracle, to everyone. Not only I reached adulthood, I became the youngest pilot and space explorer for the former Galaxy Garrison back on Earth. I had a fiance- who wanted a marriage and kids."

"I wanted marriage, but I knew I was already pushing my luck. I couldn't bear the idea of leaving a little kid orphan, worse if we adopted him like he first suggested."
Shiro pinches the bridge of his nose. "I married someone else, eventually. Not too long after the end of the

war. He wanted kids too- and I have... a healthy body, now. All the time of the world to raise as many kids as I want, adopted or otherwise. He reminded me a lot of that fiance, and I... Should've known better. I told him no, that I wasn't ready. And I wasn't. I'm not. Yet."

"Yet." The blade repeats, and he sounds amused.
Shiro hums. "That is one of the first conversations you figure out with your prospect life partner don't you? I should've known from the start that it wasn't gonna work. He couldn't wait to get back to a normal life, like

It was before the war. And I married him looking for that normal life myself but, I wasn't ready. I was just starting therapy. I was grieving with so much still."
Shiro sighs. "For two years he waited, and as much as we tried to be happy, this was one of the two things

that made him very miserable, even if he tried to hide it from me and bear it alone."
The blade nodded, "What was the other thing?" his tone was knowing.
Shiro cleared his throat. "Ah, Keith."
The blade huffed a laugh, "That's pretty understandable."
"Oh, he was very valid."

Shiro let out a nervous laugh. "One day, when I visited Diabazaal, Keith commented about something he's been wanting for a while."
The blade snorts.
"He didn't ask me anything, but I knew he trusted me above everyone else so I offered-"
The blade wheezes and Shiro feels his face

heat up.
"He killed for me, okay? Fought a war by my side, almost died for me. Saved my life countless times. I could do this one thing for him-"
"He didn't ask you anything!" laughter.
"And that was a problem!"
"Why?!"
"Because I wanted him to ask me- uh."

The blade laughs more. "There isn't a single story of yours in which you don't spend a good minute reminding everyone how loyal you are to each other and trying to excuse the dumb things you've done just to spoil him."
"This wasn't spoiling him- it was a huge favor."

"That you didn't have to do for him."
"But it had to be me."
"He said he couldn't put this pressure on you because he knew what it meant to you, and asked literally everyone else but you."
"But I couldn't let this happen with anyone else!"
"Why?"
"I-- listen."
The blade cackles.

"The point is that I offered-"
"You insisted about it during your entire stay in Diabazaal."
"I wanted to let him know I wanted to help him-"
"Liar."
Shiro throws his arms in the air. "I was Not Jealous!"
"Who said anything about you being jealous?!" The blade dries tears

from his face. "And why do you always have a need to clarify that you're not jealous, everytime you tell this story?!"
"This is the first time I'm telling this story!"
"It's not for me!"
Shiro has to laugh along with him, at how bizarre this is. "I wasn't jealous."
"Right."

Shiro adds, though, "but yes, as soon as he said it, this idea wormed into my brain. I wanted to help him, and maybe... See for myself. Something."
The blade is nodding along, tittering. "Yes, right."
"He was very grateful, you know?"
The blade sighed happily, "I know."

"He said I could ask anything of him."
"And you did."
"I didn't! But I did make a small... suggestion."
"Shyly, like your grandpa?"
"I-- listen. Shut up. I'm telling a story."
Shiro is in awe at how familiar this feels.
Another fit of laughter fills the air. "I'm listening!"

Shiro rollea his eyes at his terribly audience, but continues. "I split with my ex husband as soon as I returned to Earth- the trip made me realize that I put hard limits in that relationship that I didn't even bother with for Keith. So he was right to feel miserable about

these things about us, and there was no way I could fix it-- I wasn't even willing to, which was worse. My ex deserved better, so I was as honest as I could to him, and requested a divorce."
"He's a nice guy."
Shiro nods. "He cheats at poker, though."
"I know, I played with him."

Shiro chuckles softly.. "and then.."
The blade hugs his knees, "this is my favorite part" he whispers.
Shiro can't help the tight squeeze of his heart as he continues. "Did you know I never held a baby before? Never. I didn't want to give myself any hopes- and also, they're

so fragile looking. I was terrified of being too clumsy with them, ever more after I got my new arm."
The blade laughs softly. "Yeah, yeah you've told me."
"It makes sense that the first baby I ever held was Keith's son."
"The first son."
"I guess? He only has one still."

Shiro gives the blade a nervous look. "How many are they?"
The blade chuckles. "Two biological, one adopted."
Shiro hums, "he always wanted to adopt, too."
"He likes being a parent."
"He's goot at it, too."
The blade smiles softly at Shiro. "He is. And a good grandparent, too."

Shiro sighs. He can't wait to meet this Keith. And all his family. He will eventually, he's sure of it.
The blade eventually stops pretending he doesn't want to cuddle Shiro and leans closer.
Shiro allows it with a smile.
"It was too early in the morning.

Keith had a really tough day and just finally fell asleep so when the baby cried again. So I jumped to tend to him so Keith wouldn't have to."
"I didn't even know what came over me, it was like I memorized all the times I saw Keith do the same."
The blade nods sleepily.

"And I sat on the couch and fed him, sleep deprived as fuck, I realized that-" Shiro takes a deep inhale, hands shaking. "I realized that I wanted that. This. I realized that I am allowed to want this, to have this even. That's it's okay to

finally let go of my anxieties and just want this. I wanted this baby to need me, and to be there for him. I wanted to be ready for him. I am the man I am now because I wanted to proof myself. But also because I want to be the best man I can be, for this kid."

His throat is tight when he turns to look at the blade, whose purple eyes shine with the sunset falling around them, with unshed tears.
"Are you ready, now?" He asks.
Shiro's lower lip trembles. "I'm ready."
"Good" The blade smiles back. "Because the portal is about to open."

The make it off the ship just in time.
It's a glowing pink gash that tears through air and space, turning into a wormhole of sorts before them. Big enough for a big man.
The blade doesn't say anything touching, and good byes just don't feel right.

They'll see each other again, soon. All they have to do is come back home.
The blade gently pushes Shiro towards the portal, winking at him.
Shiro laughs sadly as he walks towards the portal. The energy that emanates from it is warm, like affection.
Allura is alive.

She's coming back, and she cares for him.
Shiro almost caresses it, but stops. He turns to the blade, to that familiar face he's seen bits of in two different people.
"I have to say something."
Tender purple eyes he knows best that anyone settle on him. "Yeah?"

"That time I first held you in my arms was one of the happiest, most hopeful moments in my entire life" Shiro says, voice shaking. "I love you, Ryouta."
The blade's face breaks into a smile he knows so we'll, too, because it's his own.
"I love you too, Dad."

And then everything is blinding white. There's no sound.
And when Shiro wakes up, he's back in his quarters in the ATLAS.

**
Time dilation shenanigans.
Shiro thinks he gets to Diabazaal a whole day late, but instead he makes it the morning before the party.
Keith is still in his pajamas, warm and soft and still sleepy when he opens the door for Shiro.
His smile is so honest and sweet.

Shiro leans to kiss his cheek and lingers. Drops a couple pecks to Keith's jaw, to his shoulder.
When he pulls away, Keith's eyes are questioning, but amused.
/Are you ready, now/ Ryouta asked him.
Shiro leans back in slowly enough that if Keith plans to reject him he

gets to have plenty of time to move, to push him. But Keith raises to the tip of his toes and meets him halfway.
It's chaste, gentle. It fills Shiro's entire chest with immense joy. Shaky hands grab Keith's hips and tugs closer, Shiro almost moans when Keith wraps his arms

around his neck to hold him as close as possible.
When they part, Keith whispers.
"Happy birthday, Shiro."
Shiro kisses him again just because he can, before telling him, "there's something important, really important that I have to talk to you about."
Keith chuckles.

"I know" he says, "but there's no hurry. We have time, and today we have to focus on something else that needs our attention."
Nodding, Shiro takes Keith's hand and lets himself be dragged into the house.
The living room is already fully decorated , and it's pretty obvious which

arrangements we're done by Lance or Romelle, and which we're done by Pidge.
He can already smell Hunk's cookies.
They all cried over the news of Allura's return. They're not sure when it will be, but it's soon. They all can already feel her.

As they reach upstairs to unpack Shiro's things in Keith's room, they hear a tiny whiny noise they both know too well.
"I'll go" Shiro says, pressing a kiss to Keith's cheek. "Let's talk about this tomorrow."
Keith nods, "from tomorrow on, I'm all yours."
Shiro's heart does

a little flip.
"I'm yours too." Shiro says, and delights on Keith's breathless expression for a good second before he rushes to the kid's bedroom.
The little kid is already kicking the covers of the bed away from his body and onto the floor.

He whines comically when he stretches.
Shiro kneels by the bed and kisses the boy's forehead.
The kid slowly opens his big, beautiful eyes. Purple, like Keith's.
"Mornin", he says, smiling.
"Morning," Shiro gives him the exact same smile. "Happy birthday, Ryouta."

😌