#80% exposition a;sldkfj

[cybled-a]

[ 𝙲𝙾𝙼𝙵𝙾𝚁𝚃 ] 𝙵𝙾𝚁 𝙾𝙽𝙴 𝙼𝚄𝚂𝙴 𝚃𝙾 𝚂𝚃𝙰𝚈 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙽𝙸𝙶𝙷𝚃 𝚆𝙸𝚃𝙷 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙾𝚃𝙷𝙴𝚁 𝙰𝙵𝚃𝙴𝚁 𝙰 𝙷𝙰𝚁𝙳 𝙳𝙰𝚈   /   @afierosii

this is the first time shiro’s been party to a consensus meeting, and five minutes in he can’t help but wonder how andal can stand any of it. how he can get through it with that charming smile on his face. though, sometimes that smile sharpens to a razor’s edge, sharp as shiro’s arc blades. sometimes it disappears entirely. shiro can’t decide which expression should worry the others more. 

the meeting lasts for hours. covers various topics. from city planning, to crop yields, to expeditions into the surrounding wilderness, to zoning restrictions. everything is debated tooth and nail by one party or another. nothing has an easy solution. if shiro had teeth he’s sure he’d have ground them to dust by the time the topic of vanguard operations comes up. it takes another two hours before shiro is asked to deliver his own report on the fallen house of kings ; andal had asked him this favor, and he can see equal parts apology and mischief in his friends’ eyes when he introduces shiro to the consensus and the other vanguard leaders. see what i have to deal with? 

shiro’s report is brief, succinct. the leader of new monarchy has a half dozen questions to ask that shiro answers in a dry tone, trying not to show how rankled he is by the way the man addresses him. like he’s a drone. a mindless soldier. he wonders if it’s because he’s a scout, an exo, or some combination of the two. 

most likely the latter, crux murmurs through their neural link, and shiro’s throat flickers blue with a quiet noise of derision. when the topic turns to final deaths in the field shiro has to stop himself from physically attacking a few of the members for their poorly voiced opinions, the ways in which they dishonor the dead by speaking of them like so many meaningless numbers. the battle of mare imbrium is brought up twice as a barb against the vanguard, heated discussions nearly boiling over into shouts until the speaker calls for order.  

eventually, the meeting comes to an end. except, not truly. because half of the consensus leaders have gathered around the vanguard and are plying them with more questions, needling comments, overly ingratiating compliments. shiro elbows his way past the new monarchy leader without bothering to look at him, using his considerable frame to his advantage. 

“ think we owe each other a drink, ”   shiro says to andal, tossing him a quick wink. andal says his goodbyes quickly and takes the easy out that shiro’s offering. 

they don’t stay out long. it’s autumn, and the nights are coming on early. feels like they’d spent all day in that echoing chamber full of irritated and overwhelming voices. everyone fighting to be heard. almost nobody pausing to really listen. as an exo, there’s no place on his body for physical exhaustion to latch onto. but somehow, after that, he feels more tired than after a month in the field spent tracking down a target to assassinate. so when andal offers a nightcap in his quarters, shiro’s more than a little thankful. 

they talk a little more about anything but that meeting, quickly fall into companionable silence after the fourth drink is poured. shiro takes a moment to look at his friend. to really look. can see the tired lines on his face. the weight of his duties hanging off of his shoulders heavier than any hunter cloak, even one picked up from a fallen comrade. it’s not a single death he carries now. it’s thousands and thousands of lives. 

a part of shiro still wants to hate him for it. for taking the dare in the first place. for losing it. for following through. but he doesn’t think he can hold on to that anymore. not after the tiny slice of andal’s life he’d tasted today. 

by midnight they’re both well and truly drunk, and shiro has no intentions of transmatting to his ship. instead, he makes his way to andal’s bedroom, kicking his boots off, pulling lucky raspberry from his chest only for crux to trasmat the rest of his armor away without a word. he doesn’t look over his shoulder for andal. can feel his quiet footsteps vibrating through the concrete floor as he follows the exo. they get in bed, back to back. andal’s always been good about respecting shiro’s space, knows that nine times out of ten he isn’t fond of touch that he doesn’t initiate himself. knows too that shiro rarely initiates. 

they’re both still awake when shiro rolls over. slips an arm over andal’s side. scoots closer till there’s only a finger's breadth of space between his chest and andal’s back. 

“ i don’t know how you can deal with it, ”   he murmurs quietly, voice washed lightly with static.   “ the way some o’ them talk about things… feels like they’ve lost sight of the trees tryin’ to picture the whole forest. ”

he doesn’t know if that makes sense. doesn’t know how else to say it either. shiro shuts his eyes and presses the palm of his hand over andal’s chest, just above the thudding of his heart, and tries to remember the hundreds of times they’ve done this before in the wilds, with nothing but the stars over their heads.