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[The agreement to go back to Earth had been quickly decided without any argument. Krolia had agreed to ride with Pidge, leaving Shiro and Keith alone in Black with his cosmic wolf.

It's quiet. They're all still recovering from the long fight with Lotor, the exhaustion of the quintessence field, the everything about Shiro once Keith had the time to tell them. He left out a lot (Krolia and Coran's eyes let him know they could tell he left a lot out), but it wasn't their business really.

Keith takes a slow breath, trying not to disturb the wolf lazing next to his seat but he needs to move around. He's ready to be cooped up here for weeks going back to Earth, but after just a couple of days? He's getting cabin fever.

He doesn't get up yet, but squeezes the controls.]

You doing okay back there?

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[Shiro had made sure that he knew how to operate these. The fact that it's Altean tech rather than Galra helps, and Shiro supports Keith as best he can as he climbs inside.]

Rest up.

[He says that gently, brushing at Keith's cheek before he closes the pod, keys up the healing process. Keith's injuries are extensive, and it'll take a fair amount of time before it's had a chance to work. At least they know it does work.

Once he starts the process, he lingers until he knows that everything's working properly, and then he... well, does much of what Keith did to keep himself distracted. He finds Shadow and brushes her down, makes sure she has a healthy amount of the cave bugs to eat. He drags the bike closer to the house until it's under one of its awnings. He does meal prep for a few simple things so that Keith has something available once he's out.

It feels good to move unencumbered. He's still tired, but that's fixable enough. Then it's just a matter of sitting down on the floor with his back against the pod door and waiting.

The little griffon finds him eventually, warbles in question and crawls into his lap, and Shadow comes as well to rest her head on his thigh. They both seem equally concerned with Keith's wellbeing.]

[He'd expected to dream, but something about this tech doesn't illicit them. It's dreamless, quiet. He wishes his regular sleep was like this.

And the pod does work. Aches he didn't realize were there, had become accustomed to almost immediately, drift out with the pod treatment. His bones stop hurting, bruises gradually stop throbbing. The edges of the scar on his face heal a little softer, not as jagged. It won't go away, not entirely, not as nicely, but it will be gentler.

He's there considerably longer than Shiro. The timer beeps at the end of its cycle, Keith waking with the noise and seeing the world in that blue-green tint. When the pod opens, Keith is already reaching for Shiro.]

[He meets him halfway, wrapping an arm around him.]

Hey. Feeling better?

Little bit.

[A lot of bit.]

Don't feel like I'm falling apart now.

Small favours.

[Ha, he's hilarious. Shadow whines, and noses at Keith's hand, and the griffon has the brilliant idea to flutter to Shiro's shoulder so it can get closer to Keith without hurting him, as if it realizes that he's newly come from injury.]

C'mon, I made us something to eat.

You fixed food.

[Color him impressed. He squeezes Shiro gently as they move until he can sit. He hadn't realized just how exhausted he was until now. Shadow stays there, sitting by him and resting her head on his leg.]

You ate already, right?

[Excuse you, he was a functional adult before Kerberos, thanks. He lived on his own. He paid bills!! Made food!!

Shiro takes a seat close by, keeping watch.]

Wasn't hungry. I'll eat when you do.

[He gives him as close to a look as he can as tired as he is.]

Shiro. You shouldn't've waited.

[He doesn't know if he really wants to get into his complicated relationship with physical needs and a body that isn't his own right now, so he just lifts one shoulder.]

You can lecture me later.

[Now that Keith's settled, he gets back up and fetches the food, having already set out places earlier.]

You're right, I will.

[There's food though. It doesn't look half bad and he starts picking at it.]

Glad you're okay.

It was all you, Keith. I didn't even know this thing was in here.

[He casts a glance towards the pod. He must have dragged it out of somewhere nearby.]

[He manages around a mouthful of food:] Found it in the closet.

[The pod can heal injuries, broken limbs, physical pains, but it can't do anything for hunger. And Keith hadn't realized how hungry he was. It doesn't take him long to finish the plate and looks down at Shadow seemingly fallen asleep on his leg.]

Just glad it worked.

Me too.

[He's still moving with muscle memory. He favours the leg when he isn't thinking about it. When Keith finishes the plate, Shiro spoons more onto it.]

Thanks, Keith. You're making a habit of saving me.

[He smirks a little.]

This was a lot easier than the last few times. [Okay but he doesn't need to eat that much. He eats considerably slower from there on.]

Should probably get some real sleep soon.

[He nods. He's still exhausted as well, the rest provided by the pod isn't actually... sleep.]

I could use some too.

Could do that now.

[He reaches for Shiro's hand, hesitates, and rests it on the table next to Shiro's hand. Getting him in the pod is one thing, but Shiro still saw that part of him. He's still self conscious about it, about Shiro seeing.

He knows they'll get over this, but it's still fresh on his mind.]

[He takes Keith's hand without hesitation, reading the intent in the gesture, and then he brings his hand up to his lips and kisses his knuckles.]

Keith, I don't care that you're Galra.

[He watches, squeezing his hand a little.]

What about if I look Galra.

[He knows he is part Galra, but he's always looked purely human, until these little pieces started slipping through.]

I don't care.

[He says that softly.]

You're still you.

[He wants to tell Shiro not to lie. He doesn't have the experiences to know for sure, but he can guess Shiro may hesitate if he does ever start to look more Galra.

What's more, he doesn't want to believe Shiro would lie about this. He needs to let himself trust that. He carefully places his other hand under Shiro's, sandwiching it between them.]

All right. Just... had to ask.

[He stands up, tugs Keith along with him into a quiet embrace. To hell with the dishes, honestly, he bets the robots will clean them.]

Keith-- listen. I can't promise I'll never have a bad reaction.

[Keith would just hurt for him if he got into what it was like. He doesn't want to put that on him, not when he's more than capable of carrying it alone.]

But it won't ever be about you. You're beautiful.

[He's a little stiff in the hug but quickly loosens up. He knows there'll be a bad reaction if it happens again. He doesn't want to think about it.

Keith squeezes Shiro in that hug. He can't think of any time he'd been called 'beautiful'. It's a weird word to ascribe to himself.]

....So're you.

We're not talking about me.

[Of course that's his instinct when being complimented: turn it around. Except Shiro isn't the one that needs to hear it - never has been. He ruffles Keith's hair playfully.]

C'mon. Let's hit the hay.

[He nuzzles his face against Shiro a little before taking a step back with a nod. He keeps almost leaning on him as they walk up the stairs, head against his shoulder when they get to the bed. He doesn't even bother taking the armor off, Keith just climbs straight up to sit.]

Wonder how long it's been.

[... Child.

Shiro huffs a sigh, and then he kneels down on the bed beside Keith and starts taking his armour off one-handed. He's deft about it. One benefit of being familiar with the paladin armour.]

I did the math while you were out. Almost four days.