#i also dreamt w my grandpa and **** so that messed me up

[ambrosykim]

what if i started smoking. just so i could do this.

[choptop-sawyer]

Hi again 😎💫 im here to dig at ur brain again bcs i. M. Aaa sorry i just love ur stuff but. I have this kinda rly specific storyline type hc area and I'd love to hear any hcs you might get from it if its at all jr thing. But um I keep sometimes thinking back to the idea of kinda, vaguely growing up in the same area as the Sawyers, being childhood friends (and being stupid 2gether, running arount the countryside, ditching school & playing in corn fields) -

But then having to leave in your late teens to school / whatever (I mean 😎 my sappy ass also thinks abt mutual pining w Bobby but you know...... nearly unrelated.......)

Then, later on (Bobbys now Chop Top, Nubbins is..... dead I guess but also >:( maybe not, the family is up to being a mess etc) returning to town to take a break from work or whatever. N meeting up w the family again, i mean, oblivious to the bullshit they get up to but.... yk

This is a bit rambly i should probs have waited to sleep but I can't get the thought of returning to the Sawyer door wearing Bobbys tie dye sweatshirt that hr borrowed u years ago and all the impact of being a former family member bc u were also kind of an outsider or whatever but also the drama of leaving so uwu sksjd

This got so long. All i wanted to ask is: sawyer family headcanons for a childhood friend returning to town after being away for years. Rip.

THANK YOU FOR SENDING THIS god I love the image too of just standing in the doorway,, you're not home, you've changed a little bit, but you still fit into some of the old aspects you know so well they fit you and cover you.

Actually this is great because that fic that I swear exists has pretty much the same premise but!!! I can make this one less tragic than that one. 😎

(This is mostly Chop Top n you centric please don't mind)

Also this timeline is all fucky. I think that as soon as Chop came home from Vietnam the Sawyers had basically uprooted themselves and were living in North Texas because of the... Hardesty incident. But like can we pretend that that never happened they r still there in Newt? Just for this. (Hope you like it!)

Chop Top's Childhood Friend Returns

You don't think you would have turned out the way you did without the Sawyers.

They were the main element of your childhood, a mystery that you had to be a part of. A mystery, because they were closed off. Mistrustful. The sickness of small towns carried to the extreme, because they were mostly alone. The loneliness made them more miserable, the misery made them more isolated. A cycle, a legacy.

So it was a a miracle that you were even allowed to be apart of some of it, but you attribute that miracle to Bobby.

He seemed to think you were as much of mystery as what you thought the Sawyers were. Two kids looking through a small window into another world. But he liked that. He liked that you were something different, something new. From beyond that small world of loneliness that lived in the house.

You learned quickly that he had a desire for anything beyond that world. So he'd invite you out with him, when you were kids, to run free in the tall grass, when you got older, to drive with him to places unknown. He had a knack for finding these odd places, and he always brought you along with the music cranked up loud on the radio.

Bobby told you many times that he wanted to see the world. He had this lust for life that went beyond the restlessness of the young. He also said that he wanted to bring you along with him when he saw the world. You didn't ever mention how that always made your heart skip a beat when he said that.

Maybe you should have. But the past is the past and you can't change that.

You knew the other Sawyers too, but Bobby tended to avoid them sometimes. But occasionally, you got to hang out with them.

Nubbins was an enigma. You didn't think Nubbins was his real name. But that's the only one you heard from him, but the name situation was the least confusing thing. He was the most open person you knew. And yet you couldn't understand him, and decided at some point that you wouldn't ever. But he was fun. His energy was infectious, if he was filled with joy, you couldn't help but laugh with him too. That was Nubbins, so absent of any purposeful deceit that he was almost a mirror, you saw yourself around him, sometimes it was uncomfortable, but other times it was fun.

Bubba was the opposite. He seemed to be legitimately wary of you. Bobby once told you that Bubba didn't like to leave the house, ever. He stayed and did the chores. You wondered if he minded, being stuck with all the chores but Bobby said he didn't. It was comforting for him. Always having something set to do. You only saw him once. Nubbins had made him tag along when he needed him to hang some things from a tree. Bones from indeterminate animals, a clock with a nail through it. You don't think Nubbins actually needed Bubba to reach the branches (he climbed pretty well) but he just wanted his little brother to see his work. Bubba didn't make eye contact with you the entire time. He was wholly focused on his task of helping Nubbins. But he was gentle when he helped his brother, careful, and for that you liked him.

Drayton was... well. He was the one Bobby argued with the most. He was his brother, but with how much age between the two, it was almost hard to believe sometimes. Drayton was the one that everybody in Newt knew the most. People liked him well enough, but they said he was odd behind his back. He knew that. You don't think he trusted anything outside the insular world he and his family had existed in for years, and was at odds with Bobby because he didn't get why Bobby wanted anything to do with the world outside.

Oftentimes you would see Bobby after he and Drayton got into it. He'd be fuming, but he'd smile when he saw you. You'd leave with him whenever he came to you. These adventures were the most fun you had when you were there.

The other times you'd go off were when he'd convince you to skip school. Bobby never went himself. He didn't get the idea of all those kids sitting in classrooms for hours, doing nothing but writing and listening. Why do that when you can find things out for yourself? Get into some trouble? In his mind, he was saving you from a very boring thing.

You two knew the area around Newt well. The fields and the flat expanses were the best kind of playground. Your dreams were still set in them. A kind of sunshine filled melancholy.

Bobby told you things in the grass. His dreams yes, but his own thoughts. On music, on late night radio, on movies, on you. He perhaps thought of you as wonderful as voices on the radio, stars on the screen. He never told you that though. But your name was never far from his mouth when Bobby talked about the things he loved.

You and him loved each other as much as two kids who didn't know how to could. He was always on your mind now, with not much tangible objects to remember him with. A photograph taken by Nubbins, your faces blurred because you were laughing. A button, the pin on the back bent. A sweatshirt, which he tie dyed himself, and gave to you one night. The colors were faded. You never did get to return it.

The years away did nothing to lessen thoughts of him. No, they just blurred all together now, and the stream of the sunshine filled melancholy was almost endless. You needed a break. There was only one place you could think of that could help you with that.

So you came back. All things led back to this place eventually. Newt was dying, or dead. Didn't you see somewhere that when a ship went down, it took everything with it? You didn't want to stay for long. But you had to see all of them, you had to know that they were all not these strange figures you had dreamt up.

You went right to the house. You'd never actually been allowed inside, Bobby just always said something along the lines of 'Grandma and Grandpa are napping upstairs' or 'there's a mess' (never mind that he could care less usually about messes.) But you figured he had had a good reason. Maybe he was embarrassed.

When you knocked on the door, your heart was pounding. And that was all. Nothing happened, no indication that anyone was there. You waited, the sweatshirt was too hot but you didn't want to take it off.

Maybe you should come back another time. You were just about to turn around and leave when the door burst open, almost whacking you in the face. And there (you couldn't believe your eyes you couldn't this was a dream) he was.

Bobby had a hammer raised over his head, grinning, he was poised to swing it down, but then he saw you and he felt as if he was in a dream too.

It's been so long. He thought he made you up, a dream to carry him through misery, and you looked the part, even as you stood before him on the doorway. The light of the setting sun shone behind you, heat waves shimmered in the dusk, and you... you.

Facing each other, you stood, just staring. Over head the sky grew colorful, in the fields the grass whispered in the wind. Nothing had changed. Everything had changed. Bobby dropped the hammer and grabbed for your face, and he held it, fingers digging in so tight it hurt.

"H-hey you." He said, and fell to his knees, releasing your face. You numbly touched the marks his fingers left. Bobby still looked like a man who had seen a ghost.

You called his name, and his eyes looked lost, like he hadn't heard it in a long time. He looked up at you, and you could really get a good look at him. His face was leaner, he looked sickly and wiry, but his eyes were just as you remembered. You sank down to the porch to sit with him.

"Fuck... FUCK I didn't... I- I thought ya'd forgotten all about me... uh.. uhm. Fuck! I mean, r-really! Turnin' up out of the blue like you're some kinda... ghost or whatever... WHOA man... like, ya here to return m-my, my sweatshirt? You're wearin' it, you can keep it! You look better in it anyway... heh, fuck." He rambled on and on, hands tensing and twitching as if they were moving to touch you again, just to reaffirm your existence. Did he know how glad you were to see him? Did he know that you hadn't felt right for the longest time being away?

You forgot all about the sweatshirt, the hammer he had raised with a sadistic grin. You reached out and held one of his twitching hands, and he stilled and stopped talking. There was a peace now.

It didn't seem possible for your heart to feel this full. But it was. And by god, if this wasn't the best decision you made in your life to visit your old hometown, if only just for this moment.

Bobby stood, with your hand still in his, pulling you up. He smiled at you, and you knew you still loved him, and in your deepest heart, you knew he loved you too.

But this time around, maybe you and him could love each other right.

[ahatintimestorybook]

Ebb and Flow Chap. 5

Hello!! Here is the next chapter!!

Just a reminder, I’m working more hours at work, as well as playing video games as a mini project to do to relieve the stress from work, so stories may or may not be slow. Though I do have breaks so I’ll continue writing on my brakes from work!

Enjoy!!!

Vanessa slowly opened her eyes and saw she was no longer on land, but underwater. She gasped, and was in awe yet shocked with how clear she could see. She then looked up, and saw she wasn’t too far to the surface. Vanessa started to swim up, but stopped when she couldn’t feel her legs. Looking down she saw her legs have been replaced with a green mermaid tail with an angel fish tailfin.

“W-what?” Vanessa asked herself. “What happened to my legs?” She then gasped realizing she was breathing underwater. “I-I can breathe underwater?” The rich girl had so many questions in her head that needed to be spoken out not realizing to put two and two together and see she’s a mermaid.

“Vanessa!” Vanessa’s eyes widened as Willow quickly swim towards her to give her a hug. The girl was surprised to see her best friend was also here. She looked at Willow and saw that her friend had also turned into a mermaid, with a rosy red tail with a clown fish tailfin. Vanessa also noticed that Willow had pink highlights in her hair, which made Vanessa look at her own hair to see she had black and red highlights in her hair.

“Are you okay?” Willow asked.

Vanessa nodded. “I am,” She replied. “But what happened to us?”

Willow rolled her eyes, “Duh, were mermaids!” She answered as she did a flip, showing off her skills in the water.

“Yeah I know.” Vanessa sighed. “Just how did this happen?”

“That was me.” Vanessa and Willow turned to see Hali putting away her seashell as she rubbed her arm nervously. The two were in surprise seeing Hali in her mermaid form, and that she was the one who turned them into mermaids.

Vanessa glared and swam over to the young girl. “Turn us back, now!” She demanded.

Willow swam over to her friend and put her hand on her friend’s shoulder. “Vanessa!” Willow rebuked, upset over how her best friend was acting right now.

“Well it is her fault you know!”

“MY fault?” Hali asked, pointing at herself, before pointing at Vanessa. “You pushed me into the ocean! However, you’ve been ignoring me and been smothering my brother!” She snapped back.

“Smothering? Hey I have a crush on your brother I’m just giving him all the love I can give!”

“You only met him for one day! You can’t just say you have a crush on him!”

The two girls were at each other's throats to the point Willow had to push them back before they decided to strangle the other. “Alright, enough you two!” She shouted. Vanessa and Hali glared and turned away from each other crossing their arms. Willow sighed seeing that the fight had stopped, but the tension was still in the air. “Now, Hali in a calm manner could you explain everything to us?”

Hali glanced at Willow, and thought about it. Willow did make her and her brother’s time in the surface a welcoming one. “Well,” She started, but wasn’t sure where to start. Should she start with why Vanessa and Willow became mermaids in the first place? Or, should she tell the two girls her entire backstory?

Willow saw the young girl quiet, and put a hand on her shoulder. “Hali?”

“Alright,” Hali spoke up as she turned to face the older girls. “As you can tell, yes I’m a mermaid.” She started. “I’ve always dreamt of seeing humans on the surface, so after asking my grandfather, he helped me fulfill that dream!”

“Typical.” Vanessa mumbled under her breath. Then she realized something; if Hali is a mermaid that also meant Lucas was a mermaid too. It made the rich girl smile, and ignored the situation with her and Willow. Usually in the fairytales she read as a little girl it was a mermaid princess falling in love with a human prince. However, a merman falling in love with her took the cake!

“Hali!” A familiar voice called out. Hali turned to see Lucas swimming towards her and gave her a hug. Hali was surprised that her brother followed after her.

“Lucas!” Hali exclaimed. “What are you doing here?” She asked,

“Well, you were gone and so were Vanessa and Willow.” He explained. “I wasn’t sure where you threw were, but I saw bubbles foaming in the sea and I had to follow-“ his voice trailed off when he saw Willow and Vanessa as mermaids. The two girls sheepishly smiled and gave a wave, though Willow chuckled nervously. Lucas groaned and face palmed. “What did you do?” He asked his little sister.

Hali chuckled nervously. “Well, I may have used some of grandpa’s spells and turned Vanessa and Willow into mermaids.” She explained as she gave a sheepish smile.

Lucas glared at his little sister, which made the latter gulp and turn away from her older brother. “Hali, I thought you told me you weren’t going to use grandfather’s magic unless it was an emergency!”

“It was an emergency! I got pushed into the water and well...that happened.” Hali explained, pointing at Vanessa and Willow.

“I don’t call pulling in our new friends and turning them into mermaids as an emergency.” Lucas replied. Hali rolled her eyes. If Lucas saw what happened, he’d definitely agreed with what she did would have been called an emergency.

“Lucas! Hali!” Another familiar voice called out to the siblings, who knew whose voice that was.

“Oh boy.” Lucas and Hali sighed at the same time. Soon their father swam by and hugged his two children. “Hi papa.” Hali said, giving a sheepish smile.

King Dolan wasn’t buying his daughter’s smile, which the latter dropped and sighed knowing punishment is just around the corner. “Where have you been? I’ve been looking for you everywhere!” He shouted. Lucas and Hali looked at each other nervously on who would tell their father first everything that happened. Though before they could speak up, King Dolan noticed the two new mermaids, Vanessa and Willow. “Who are they?” He asked.

“Don’t be mad, but Hali messed with grandfather’s magic and it turned two of our new human friends into mermaids.” Lucas explained, nervously. He and his sister let out a chuckle, hoping their father would laugh along with them. However, their father wasn’t laughing and glared at his two children.

“I’m in trouble, am I.” Hali answered.

King Dolan nodded, “big time.” He growled. Lucas glared and looked at his little sister. “Same goes to you, Lucas.”

Lucas sighed knowing he did go to the surface himself as well. King Dolan started to swim off, with his children following behind him. Vanessa and Willow looked at each other with the later giving a shrug as they followed the three mermaids to the palace.

As the mermaids got closer to the kingdom, Vanessa and Willow saw many merfolk here, but all were whispering or staying far away from the two new mermaids. “Why are they looking at us like that?” Vanessa asked, whispering to Willow.

“Probably because we weren’t born here.” Willow answered, whispering back. Whatever the reason was the two girls kept moving and tired to ignore the weird looks from the other merfolk. King Dolan then let his children and the girls in first before following them and sitting on his throne glaring at the four.

“You two!” King Dolan spoke up, pointing at the girls. Willow and Vanessa squeaked, flinching at the king’s yell. “Who are you and what were you doing with my children?” He asked.

“I’m Vanessa!” Vanessa introduced herself. “And I’m your son’s-”

“Son’s friend.” Willow cut her best friend off. “Well we both are, I’m Willow by the way.” Vanessa glared at her best friend, but Willow glared back telling her not to mention anything about dating Lucas.

The two girls looked up at the king, who was now staring at them in confusion. Lucas and Hali smiled and nodded in agreement. The king knew there was more to the story, but he just wanted to get the details on why these former, human girls were with his kids. “What were you doing with my kids?” He asked.

“Just showed them around Subcon, and took them to this place called the Pier.” Willow answered.

“Then,” Vanessa spoke up, but paused as she showed her mermaid tail to the king. “This happened thanks to your daughter.” Hali rolled his eyes seeing that’s the only thing going to be talked about tonight.

“Father.” Lucas spoke up. “May I say something?” He asked. King Dolan gave a nod, letting his son speak. “Willow, let us stay over at her place for the time being, she took good care of us.”

Then Hali spoke up. “See papa, not all humans are bad!”

“Hey!” Another familiar voice spoke up. Hali and Lucas quickly turned to see their grandfather, swimming by hearing the commotion. “What’s going on?”

“Grandpa!” Hali exclaimed as she swam towards him. Tim was pushed back by his granddaughter's hug, but chuckled hugging her back.

“What are you doing back here? I thought you told me you wanted to visit the human world?” He asked. Hali chuckled nervously and pointed at the two new mermaids in front of the king. Vanessa and Willow noticed him, and the latter gave the merman a wave. “Hali, what did you do this time?”

Hali chuckled nervously before going on to explain what happened. Tim sighed and shook his head in disappointment. “Father,” King Dolan spoke up, “you knew about this?”

Tim chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his head knowing he had a lot to say to his son. “You could say I may have also done something about this.” He revealed, giving his son a sheepish smile. With that Tim went on to explain what he did to Lucas and Hali, which earned him a groan from the king.

Tim took Vanessa and Willow to his lab to study the spell Hali used on them, and was surprised with what he gathered. “You’ve been practicing with your magic well, Hali.” Tim commented. Hali giggled, proud her studies have paid off.

“I don’t mean to be rude,” Vanessa interrupted. “But do you have a spell to turn us back to normal?” She asked.

“Well, yes but you see Hali used the spell Ocean of purity, which is a spell to turn a human into a mermaid.” He paused, a bit to continue the rest of the explanation, “forever.”

Willow and Vanessa’s eyes widen. “What?!” They shouted. “You mean we’re stuck like this forever?” Vanessa asked as she moved her fin.

“Well, I do know a spell that might turn you back. If it worked on Hali and Lucas, turning them into humans” Tim explained. Vanessa and Willow smiled seeing that they’ll eventually turn back to normal soon. “However,”

“However, what?” Willow asked.

Tim sighed, “while you’ll be human again. If you ever touch water, you’ll revert back into mermaid.” He explained.

Vanessa sighed, “great.” Knowing now it will be hard to do anything as they live on an island!

Hali started to feel guilty for what she did and looked at her grandfather. “Is there a spell to turn them back into a human fully?” She asked.

“Well. there is.” Tim started. He went over to his spell book and turned a few pages, and found the spell. “However, it's complicated and even myself has never done a spell like this before. It will take me some time to make sure the spell is perfected.” Hali nodded understanding the work needed to be done to perfect this spell.

Meanwhile, Lucas was outside speaking to his father about everything on land, as well as why he didn’t stop Hali. King Dolan sighed when Lucas mentioned the incident that nearly killed him. “So that is why I went with Hali to the surface. She couldn’t be alone, plus I needed answers about who saved me that day.” He explained.

King Dolan sighed. He didn’t know what to think of his children now; Lucas wanted to find a girl who rescued him 10 years ago, and Hali just wanted to explore the human world, not knowing what dangers lurk.

The two then heard the door open and saw Hali come out. “Any luck on the girls?” Lucas asked.

“Well, grandpa says he can use the spell he used on us to turn back, but if they touch water they turn back into a human.” Hali explained. Lucas and King Dolan sighed, the latter shook his head in disappointment. “Good news, there’s a spell that can turn them fully human, but it's complicated and he needs time to perfect it before using it on Vanessa and Willow.”

The King sighed and looked back to see Tim finishing the spell to temporarily turn the girls back. “As much as I could I would stop you, but your new friends have turned into mermaids, and leaving them alone with that ability could be even more dangerous!” He explained.

Lucas and Hali’s eyes widened as they looked at each other and smiled. “So we can stay in Subcon?” Lucas asked.

“Only until your grandfather has a reverse spell to turn them full human.” King Dolan answered. Lucas and Hali nodded knowing they both had a lot of time to explore Subcon and get what they both wanted.

“Alright!” Hali cheered, doing a few flips.

King Dolan smiled seeing his daughter happy. “Just be safe, okay. Don’t let anyone know your mermaids.” He reminded them.

“Don’t worry papa!” Hali replied.

“I’ll keep her safe.” Lucas added putting his arm around his sister. King Dolan nodded and his kids went back to their grandfather’s lab to meet up with the girls. “You girls ready to head back?”

“We are!” Willow replied.

Lucas and Hali swam over to the girls and gave their grandfather the nod of approval. Soon Tim used the spell and sent the four of them back on land. As they left King Dolan and Tim looked up, and the king sighed. “I still don’t trust them being alone, even if they are together.” He whispered.

Tim put an arm around his son. “They’ll be fine, don’t worry.” He reminded them. King Dolan sighed and nodded. He then swam away, but decided to pay someone a visit first.

“I don’t trust them being alone up there. I need help. Someone I know who can trust these two.” King Dolan thought to himself as he left his place to find the merfolk he’s looking for.

He swam to a small area, where the only sound there was a soft singing. The King smiled and swam faster and found a young girl, around Hali’s age with dark skin, brown curly hair with aqua highlights tied in pigtails, a light green tail with a catfish fin at the end.

“Brooke.” King Dolan said

Brooke stopped singing and smiled. “King Dolan!” She exclaimed. “What are you doing here? Where’s Hali?” She asked.

“That’s why I’m here.” King Dolan said. “I want you to go to the surface to keep an eye on Hali and Lucas.”

[octorabbit]

Fire and Fury

Fantasy AU

Pairing - Sheith

Rating - SFW (possibility of change in the future)

Summary - Childhood had been simpler, more innocent times. Times of playing make believe of valiant knights and horrifying monsters, times of laying in the grass and cloud gazing with friends, times of running freely through the village streets laughing and shouting at the top of you lungs. If only adulthood could be as simple.

A/N - When a new story idea comes and you need to actually get off your lazy arse and write it...fingers crossed that I can commit. Big shout out to my proof reader Den! Thank you for being patient and instigating half of the insanity that inspired me to write this. You can also find this on AO3, I thought I may as well post it here too

It was the sharp pain against his wrist that forced Shiro to drop his stick. "Oww! Keith, what was that for?!'

"I saw an opening and I took it." The younger said matter of factly as he swiped his own stick. The little runt seemed smug to get the one up on the 11 year old for once.

"Yeah, doesn't mean you actually have to hit me." Shiro said with a pout as he rubbed his injured wrist. Right on the bone too, ouch!

"You can't complain about that if you want to be in the royal guard."

Shiro just grumbled at the 9 year old as he goes to pick up his stick.

"Uttt!! You can't pick your sword up, I just cut off your hand!" Keith protested.

The only response Shiro gave was sticking out his tongue as he swapped his hand. "Alright, no mercy."

By the time Keith realized what he'd done, he screamed as Shiro charged towards him, barely able to deflect the strike.

---

"You and peaches I swear." Shiro huffs as he pulled Keith's sleeve to guide him through the bustling crowd. While the younger was just as eager to see the important guests who've come to grace their village, the fruit in Keith's arm were also a priority.

He was going to eat so.many.peaches.

Weaving and shoving their way past the eager adults and children, the duo managed to make their way to the front of the crowd that left them awestruck.

Right there, in the center of the crowd was King Alfor in all his glory shaking hands and chatting with the villiage head; surrounded by his infamous elite royal guards, and standing right beside him was a small girl who was none other than Princess Allura.

"I can't believe we're actually seeing the King and Princess of Altea, AND the Kings royal guards with our own two eyes!" Shiro said as he practically vibrated in excitement. Keith let out a high pitched noise in agreement, his blue eyes practically glittering and he took a bite out of one of his peaches.

The little Princess was looking around curiously, though made no attempt to leave her father's side. She eventually locked eyes with the boys, giving them both a cheerful smile and a wave.

Shiro chuckled as he waved back. "The Princess is kinda cute, huh?"

Keith hummed in response. "She has pretty eyes."

"Oooh does Keith have a crush?" Shiro teased.

"No, gross." The younger didn't even try to hide his face of disgust at Shiro's words.

"Keith's got a girlfriend, Keith's got a- OUCH!" Shiro cried out at the large pip pegged at his head.

"You're a jerk." Keith growled as his cheeks begun to turn pink and took a bite out of his second peach.

---

He just wanted to be alone.

No, that was a lie. He was so damn lonely it hurt, and everyone in the village had to keep reminding him of that fact.

Jaw and fists clenched and curled himself into a tighter ball at the situation running through his head. He had just blown up at the bakers wife who stopped by to give him some leftover bread with that same damn smile and speaking to him in that same obnoxious tone everyone else spoke to him.

They pitied him, he was just a charity case that people took care of to make themselves feel like good samaritans. 'Oh poor little orphan boy, what kind of parents would abandon their child?' They'd think as he was given what no one else wanted and leave him alone in the tiny house his father bought just weeks before disappearing.

He has been crying since he chased the bakers wife off, unable to contain the whirlwind of emotions that flooded through him, so when he heard a knock at the door, he couldn't help but jump.

"Hey Keith, you home?"

Oh Gods it's Shiro.

"C'mon buddy, I know you're in there. Why weren't you at practice?"

With a shakey breath Keith stood up and moved for the door, knowing full well Shiro won't leave, and he'd find out anyway. Gods he hated how persistent Shiro could be.

The second the door was open, the elder's slightly annoyed expression instantly warped to worry.

"Keith?... Hey Keith, what's wrong?" Shiro's voice cracked as he stepped closer.

Keith quickly stepped back, eyes darting to the ground, causing Shiro to cease his advances.

"Keith, please..."

Damn it all to hell the floodgates released again as tears streamed down his face without any signs of stopping. With another shuddery breath, Keith was finally able to look him in the eye, no mater how pathetic he looked.

"W-why.... W-why did dad leave m-m-me?" He finally choked out. Next thing he knew, he was in Shiro's arms as the elder held him close, a hand running through his dark hair soothingly.

"Shhh it's okay bud, it'll be okay. I'm sure there's a perfectly good explanation for it" Shiro said calmly as the boy in his arms lost what little control he had left and cried into his chest. He cried and cried and cried, and all Shiro did was stand there with sad eyes as he continued to comfort his friend.

By the time Keith finally calmed down to a hiccuping mess, Shiro finally pulled away, still keeping contact by rubbing the others scrawny arms.

"Feeling any better?" Shiro asked, genuinely concerned.

Keith nodded his head and gave a weak 'yeah' in response.

"Did you want to come over to my place? I'm sure mum and dad would be more than happy to have you over." Shiro offered, keeping his voice as gentle as possible.

Keith shook his head, no.

"...Did you want me to stay over?"

Keith was surprised by that offer and was unsure on how to answer.

"C'mon, it'll be great! I could whip us up a special recipe my grandpa taught me, you'll love it."

Keith finally caved, tense shoulders finally drooping "...O-okay."

"Just need to run home and get the ingredients and get my stuff. I'll be right back!"

Keith tensed up again at the idea of Shiro leaving. "W-wait!" He cried out, but it was too late. Shiro had already ran off.

The unbridled sense of abandonment bubbled up again and he couldn't tell if he wanted to cry from pain or scream in anger. Of course Shiro ran away, it was stupid to assume he wasn't like the others or actually cared, his own damn father didn't even want him.

Of course all those hateful feelings were flushed out with bewilderment and confusion once Shiro returned with a bag slung over his back and another full of food in his hands.

It took Shiro another round of comforting a hysterically crying boy, apologizing like crazy as the younger shed tears of relief, before he could settle in and start preparing dinner.

With full bellies and the strain of a full day's worth of strong fluctuating emotions finally crashing down, the boy's turned in for an early night. Shiro more than happy to let Keith cling onto him as they cuddled up in bed.

It was that day that Keith finally found someone he knew actually cared after years of feeling alone.

---

"Shiro!" BANG BANG "Shiro!"

Shiro opened his bleary eyes, head still foggy from sleep as he was interrupted by banging and shouting from his window. Dragging himself out of bed, he walked uncoordinatedly towards the window. Whatever the hell he was woken up for better be damn important.

No surprise Keith was the one making the racket. Whatever it was it must be something big for the 13 year old to look as manic as he was right now.

"Keith-" Shiro yawned as he undid the latch and opened his window. "Keith, what are you doing here, It's too early for practice." He managed to say as he failed to hold back another yawn.

"You're not going to believe what everyone in the village is talking about, like holy shit!" Keith said as he beated his hands against the sill enthusiastically.

"Language! So what's this so called unbelievable thing everyone is talking about?"

"Lord Zarkon betrayed King Alfor! Something really big must have happened because Zarkon's been banished from the kingdom!"

Well that was certainly a way to wake someone up.

"Are you serious? The Black Knight himself betrayed the King??" Shiro squawked in disbelief, cringing slightly as his voice cracked.

Keith nodded vigorously, seeming unable to contain his childlike excitement. "Yeah, it's all anyone is talking about."

"Oh wow." Was all that Shiro could push out. This new development had his mind reeling; Lord Zarkon, one of the Kings personal guard, the Black Knight that Shiro had looked up to since he was just a child had committed treason against the Altean Kingdom. "Keith, do you have any idea what this means?"

Keith only responded with a quirk of his eyebrow.

"It means that the new position for the Black Knight is open, and who knows how long that'll take. If I keep training and get accepted as an apprentice then maybe..." Shiro's chest swelled at the thought of becoming the prestigious Black Knight, being the leader of the Kings personal royal guard, being the brave hero he always dreamt of being.

Of course Keith had to ruin his fantasy as he bursted out laughing, snorting away like a little piggy.

"Oh yeah your perfect to be the Black Knight, especially with your weird gangly body and squeaky voice." The younger teased.

"Keith!!" Shiro growled before quickly slapped a hand over his mouth as his voice broke. Damn puberty had to prove the other right at the worst time.

Keith found himself in another fit of laughter, Shiro glared at him when he was grasping onto the window sill for support till he settled down and able to breathe properly.

"O-*snort* Okay I kid, I kid! Shiro, you're the best in the village; you almost never miss practice, you're teaching me and the others things we'd never learn if it wasn't for you, and remember the time you stopped that thief?"

"That was a collaborative effort between the both of us." Shiro interjected.

"Yeah, we stopped her and you were so cool! She didn't stand a chance when she tried to attack you. How many kids our age can say they took on a real criminal? There's no doubt you'll be accepted to get proper training to be a real knight, they'd be stupid not to."

The older couldn't help but feel embarrassed by all the things Keith was spouting "Jeez Keith, you have way too much faith in me."

"Someone's got to, I mean you're the only person in this damn place who has any faith in me so of course the feeling's mutual."

A smile stretched across Shiro's face at that. "Thanks Keith."

Keith returned the smile.

"Since you're here, I'm going to assume you're going to raid the fruit trees out back?"

"Do bears shit in the forest?"

Shiro snorted at the response. "Language. I think mum has taken all the ripe peaches to sell, but I think there's still plenty of mulberries to pick."

It took a moment for Shiro to notice Keith raced off at the mention of mulberries. With another snort, Shiro moved to go get a damp towel, fully aware Keith is going to look like he came out of a murder scene from being stained in berry juice. The kid had absolutely no impulse control.

---

"Oh my fucking gods!" Came a shriek as Keith threw his handmade spear that impaled a rabbit. The smaller boy didn't understand why Matt was so upset, he just scored the group some rabbit stew tonight.

The pair rushed over to their freshly caught game and Matt let out another distressed noise from his throat.

"Keith, the poor thing's still alive..."

Oh.

So it was.

For probably the 8th time in 5 minutes, Matt let out another shriek as the rabbit let out a squeal when Keith stomped on the little vermin's head. The older boy couldn't hold back his tears anymore

"Keith how could you!" Matt bawled

Keith just looked at him nonchalantly, completely oblivious on how much he was traumatizing his friend. "What? I just put it out of it's misery."

"You could have done it more humanely!"

"I did. I killed it quickly so it didn't have to suffer."

"You crushed it's head!"

Keith rolled his eyes "It going to be food soon enough. I don't know why you're complaining."

With a sniff, Matt just stared at Keith in disbelief. If he didn't know him personally, and that Shiro had the kid on the straight and narrow, he'd assume he was a sociopath.

With 3 rabbits in hand, the pair returned to their camp, no surprise to see the older two sitting by the fire, looking at the sky while Matt's father, Samuel, was pointing to different places while explaining stories and theories to Shiro. Of course Shiro was lapping up everything the man was saying.

"Hey boys, glad you're back!" Samuel chirped once he sighted the young teens. His smile faltered as he had a proper look at his son. "Matt, are you alright? You don't look well."

Matt groaned, "I don't feel well..."

"Let me guess, Keith got a little full on to what you're used to?" Shiro chuckled, only for Matt to give him a dirty look to confirm his comment and rant about his harrowing experience.

Of course Keith had tuned them out in favor of prepping dinner. Knife in hand, he begun cutting the pelt off the meat, followed by gutting, washing, and chopping the meat up into pieces with precision before plopping them into the pan next to the pot that was already boiling on the campfire.

"Oooh, looks like you got some big ones." Samuel commented as the youngest of the group sat next to him.

Keith just shrugged. "Pretty average really... What were you and Shiro talking about?"

"He was asking me about stories behind some of the constellations, he seems very intrigued by the stars."

"Doesn't surprise me." Keith said boredly, leaning to rest his head in his hand.

"It's really quite fascinating. If you look up now you can already see the Blue and Yellow stars of Voltron are already on show!"

Both Matt and Shiro seemed to stop whatever they were discussing to look up, Keith following shortly after to no surprise to see a bright blue and yellow star shining brightly and standing out from the sunset.

"You're not going to give us the same damn childs tale everyone else says about the Stars of Voltron are you?" Keith mumbled.

"Keith." Shiro warned.

Samuel laughed. "Well those stories have been embellished a bit. Most know the tale of the stars blessing the royal guards, which is only part true; only those worthy of being part of the kingdoms elite guard are chosen and it's because they were chosen that they are by the kings side."

Keith rolled his eyes, Matt seemed content, clearly been through many retellings of this story, and to no one's surprise Shiro seemed eager to hear more. With that Samuel continued.

"Each of those stars connect a tower, just follow the stars and they'll guide your way, but only those worthy and with permission from the royal family are able to enter and face the trials. Those who succeed the trials will meet the tower's patron lion goddess and will receive their blessing and give them incredible power."

"Let me guess, and those who fail die horribly." Keith stated.

With a snap of his fingers, Samuel pointed at him, "Bingo!"

"Have you ever seen the towers on your travels Mr Holt?" Shiro inquired.

"Sure have! I've only visited one which homes the Goddess of the Forests before Matt started joining me on my annual trips. It's a real shame I'll never get to see what it's like inside but just seeing the tower itself and knowing the stories behind it is breathtaking."

"Think I'll ever get to see one Dad?" Matt asked with an eager grin.

"I'm sure we could arrange something, but not this time. We need to reach the kingdom to deliver those important research notes."

Matt deflated at the answer, which made Keith snort in amusement. Moving up to check the pan, he shifted and poked at the now browning meat.

"Looks good... Shiro, mind cutting up the veggies?"

"Can do." Shiro answered as he pushed himself up to grab the sack of vegetables they had prepared for this little camping trip.

With his attention back to the pan, Keith gave it another shake to flip the chunks onto uncooked sides . If he was going to be stuck listening to silly fairy tales and myths, he may as well make the best damn meal to make sure the night wasn't completely miserable.

---

They both knew this day was coming, it was an inevitable fact of life. Shiro was a big boy and about to carve his own path to become a man, but one last trial stood in his way from persuing  his dreams.

That trial was Keith.

"Stop giving me that look, you're acting like I'm abandoning you." Shiro said as he looked up from his bag he was doing one last check to see if he had all his necessities and belongings.

Keith leaned against the doorway, arms folded against his chest and unable to completely hide the bitter sadness from his face. "You kind of are...."

Shiro couldn't help a sigh from escaping as he folded a shirt. "You knew this was going to happen eventually Keith, I thought you'd be happy that I'm finally going to get proper training to become a real knight."

"I-I am happy for you, it's just...-" Keith drifted off, eyes darting to the ground as he tried to think of what to say before eventually huffing through his nose loudly. "I'm really happy for you, it's just going to take time to process knowing you'll be gone."

With another shirt folded, Shiro gave him a weak smile. "I know it's going to be hard for you but you'll be fine, it's not like I'll be gone forever. I'll be sure to send you letters as often as I can."

Keith was quiet, a tense silence fallen between them, before sighing heavily through his nose again. "I'm being selfish, I know that, but you...-" he trailed off again, this time looking Shiro dead in the eye, blue eyes glassy and full of emotions. Eventually Keith broke contact as he stopped leaning on the frame and stormed away, leaving a surprised and hurt Shiro.

"Wh- Keith!" Shiro cried out and he chased after him. "Keith, come back!"

It was too late, the younger boy was already gone, leaving Shiro at home alone.

He couldn't believe it; they had been best friends for so long, getting into crazy adventures together and always having each other's back. Was that it? Was Keith so cut up at the idea of Shiro leaving  that it too hard for him to bare?

There was no one to blame, Keith hasn't ever had it easy after being abandoned by both his parents. He knew that he was Keith's most important staple in his life, and it hurt him to think that him following his childhood dream is what broke them apart. There was nothing he could do except pack for his journey.

Sleep didn't come easy that night, he wanted to tell himself it was because of excitement, but he knew he was still hung up over Keith.

He left home before the sun had even risen. His parents were there to see him off, his father and little brother proud, and his mother weeping at the thought of her eldest son leaving home, but it was a warm, happy send off. He chose to walk his horse through the town towards the entrance of the village, he'd rather not wake everyone up with the sound of galloping. He had just reached the archway when he noticed a hooded figure resting against the stone walls of the arch.

The person seemed to have been zoned out, possibly asleep even, till they perked up and noticed Shiro's presence for which they jumped up to their feet and pulled back their hood.

"Shiro..."

"Keith?" He breathed and stopped in his footsteps, his horse jerking to a stop with a tug of the lead.

"I... I'm sorry for yesterday. It was selfish of me to not consider your feelings. I know how important this is to you." Keith flushed, unable to hide his awkwardness, which succeeded in pulling a smile from Shiro.

"It's alright Keith, I understand. I'm just so grateful you came to see me before I go."

"Are you kidding, as if I'd miss out on seeing you off." Keith said as he moved forward and extended his hand "Travel safe, and good luck with everything."

"Thanks Keith." Shiro extended his own hand to seal the handshake before pulling Keith forward and trapping him in a hug, hands still held together at their chests. He couldn't help but grin as Keith made a surprised grunt at the action. "I do plan to keep my promise of writing to you whenever i can."

Keith remained silent for a moment before he wrapped his free arm around him to reciprocate the hug and buried his face into the taller man's shoulder. "I know, I'll be sure to write back."

They stayed like that for a few more seconds before Shiro begrudgingly had to pull away. "I have to go now, hopefully we'll see each other soon."

"Yeah..."

"And this means I'm leaving the village in your care. I better not hear that it's been burned down or been overrun by criminals."

"Please, I'll have this place running better now that you're gone." Keith snorted before they both broke into laughter.

Once they settled down Shiro gave Keith one last hard pat on the shoulder before walking through the archway, both waving each other off till Shiro mounted his horse and rode off.

Once out of sight, Keith visibly deflated, unable to keep smiling anymore as his best friend was now gone from his life. It hurt a lot knowing he was on his own again, but he was still happy for Shiro, he was going to achieve great things with his life.

Now he just needed to figure out what to do with his.