Chapter Text
Shiro’s thoughts keep circling around his head, to the point of almost making him dizzy. He really hopes that Keith and Callie will be okay. He knows what happened must’ve been horrible for Keith, given how he sounded like he was ready to cry out of sheer relief when Shiro called him on the phone and told him Callie was with him. He certainly looked like the whole world was weighing on him when he arrived in Shiro’s office, pale and flushed at the same time. His hair a mess and still wearing his scrubs beneath his coat like he had just grabbed it on his way out to get his daughter.
He stares at the unfinished column in front of him on his computer screen. While they were waiting for Keith to arrive, he had actually been able to work a little. Callie was surprisingly calm, and a nice companion in his office even though Shiro didn’t even have snacks to offer her. But now it’s like he can’t even form the next word in his mind, let alone put it on paper.
With another sigh, Shiro makes sure he’s saved what he’s written before closing his writing program and signing out on the computer. It’s clear he won’t be getting any more work done today. It’s been a strange day and he needs to process all of it, so he might as well just leave the office for now. Besides, with Callie’s arrival, he’d never gotten to eat lunch, so he should just go eat something and then head back to his apartment. Maybe afterwards he might be able to get some work done in a space that doesn’t constantly serve as a reminder of today's upheaval.
He grabs his coat from its hanger and wraps it around himself, before heading out of his office and towards the elevators. Just as he reaches them and presses the button to go down, he spots Allura at the other end of the row of elevator doors.
“Shiro!” she says with a smile, starting to approach him with the delicate clack of heels accompanying her.
“Hey,” he says, managing a smile in her direction.
“You’re leaving?” she asks as she reaches him, kind but curious with a raised eyebrow.
“Yeah,” Shiro says, the word coming out more like a sigh. He shrugs. “It’s been…it’s been a day.”
“It certainly has.” Allura nods. “Keith seems nice, though. I showed him the way to your office.”
Shiro smiles, a dust of pink raising to his cheeks. “He is. Thank you.”
“His daughter seems sweet too, if a little rambunctious,” Allura remarks.
“Yeah,” Shiro says.
Even today, he didn’t get to spend that much time with Callie, and the two of them mostly did their own things in the same space. But he thinks he wouldn’t mind changing that whenever Keith might be comfortable with it. Just the little he learned has made him grow very fond of the little girl, and he knows that her approval of him will be the most important thing going forward, aside from Keith’s own feelings. He meant it when he said he wasn’t going to come between Callie and James, but… he really hopes that she and him might have some kind of a relationship, too. After all, Callie is still young. If Keith and Shiro are going to last, she’s inevitably going to become a part of his life as well. And he plans to take that very seriously going forward, with as much space as Keith and Callie will allow him.
“I want to meet Keith properly soon. I told him that as well, so you best keep that in mind,” Allura says, eyebrows lowered mock-sternly.
Shiro manages a chuckle at that, before giving her a playful, two-fingered salute. “I shall, Princess.”
The old nickname causes Allura to chuckle too, just as Shiro’s elevator announces its arrival with the usual ping.
“Well, I should be going,” Shiro says as the doors slide open before him.
“Have a good day, Shiro. Get some rest,” Allura says warmly.
“I will.”
Shiro steps inside the elevator and watches the doors slide shut, separating him from his friend. It’s a relief when Shiro reaches the bottom floor, to be out of the office and on his way to get something to eat. Now that he has space to properly think again, his stomach is growling with hunger.
“Hey, Shiro,” Romelle greets him as he passes her.
“Hey,” Shiro says, a little tiredly.
“I guided Callie’s Dad to you before. And I saw them leave a while back,” Romelle says.
“Yeah, he came to get her,” Shiro says.
“I hope she didn’t get into too much trouble,” Romelle says. “She really is quite the clever little girl.”
“She’s with her Dad now,” Shiro says. “He’ll know what’s best.”
“I guess,” Romelle says with a shrug. “You heading for lunch?”
“Heading out,” Shiro says. “See you later.”
“See you!” Romelle calls cheerfully.
Shiro sighs as he makes his way to the door of Oriande Publishing. He likes Romelle’s enthusiasm and cheer most days just fine, but after the day he’s had he just needs some peace and quiet, away from people.
The cool outdoor air biting his face calms him down a little, as he walks to a nearby diner. It’s not as busy as it would be during the main lunch rush, but Shiro still doesn’t feel like sticking around, so he orders his food to go. The service is pleasantly fast – perhaps the waiter working the register can tell he needs to be somewhere not here right now – and Shiro is soon able to get going with his food.
He makes his way to his apartment, takes out some proper plates for his meal and eats at his table, slowly letting the food and being in a quiet place calm him, to wash away the weirdness of this day and his worry for Keith. He can’t do anything about that for now. He just needs to trust that if Keith needs him, he’ll come to him. Keith is still Callie’s Dad, after all, just like he said to Romelle. He’ll need to deal with everything that has happened on his own, too.
Shiro washes the dishes and puts them away, and just as he’s wondering what to do next, his phone rings on the counter. He grabs it, his heart growing warm when he sees who’s calling. He can feel a soft smile taking over his face as he accepts the call. “Hey, Keith. How did it go with Callie?”
Keith doesn’t answer. All Shiro can hear is someone’s erratic, shaky breathing on the other end. His heart immediately jumps into his throat. This reminds him all too eerily of Saturday evening, of Keith calling him in panic.
“Keith?” he prompts, sure his anxiety it clear in his tone. “Keith? Please, talk to me. Is everything okay?”
“…Did you…” Keith’s voice speaks in a raspy tone, breathlessly through the line.
“…Keith? Did I what?” Shiro says, his heart pounding painfully in his chest. “You’re starting to scare me.”
“…Did you give James advice on how to get back together with me?” Keith’s voice chokes out.
“What?” Shiro gasps. “Where did you hear something like that?”
“Callie said he wrote to you. That’s why he…”
Shiro’s stomach drops. Oh god. “Father in Love.” The challenging column. The way he kept imagining him like he was talking to Keith’s ex.
For a good reason, apparently.
“Keith,” Shiro rushes to say. “Keith, I swear, I didn’t know who he was. The letters come in anonymously. If I’d known, I never would’ve answered it.”
Keith snorts on the line, sounding pained. “But it’s fine if someone else in my situation ends up going through what I have in the past few days?”
“That’s not what I meant,” Shiro says. “Keith, I…it is true that I gave him advice. But I also said not to push it if you said no. I told him he’d have to accept that.”
“He was never going to accept it, Shiro,” Keith says, his voice sounding like it’s coming from very deep down in his throat, all choked. “People like him don’t take no for an answer.”
“Keith, I’m sorry,” Shiro pleads, feeling his own throat tightening, his eyes burning. “I didn’t know this would happen. Please…”
“I can’t do this right now, Shiro,” Keith murmurs. “My life is a mess. You’ve seen it. And you just make it more complicated than it already is.”
“Keith,” Shiro gasps. “Keith, please, I lo-”
“Shiro, please,” Keith’s voice begs. “Don’t make this harder than it has to be.”
Shiro hears the sound of Keith hanging up on him.
Tears spill down his cheeks, and he grabs the counter just so he doesn’t fall down to his knees in despair.
…
Keith grips his phone tight enough in his hand that his knuckles turn white, pulling it against his chest as if that might make his heart to stop hurting so much. He bites his lip so hard it stings, so hard he’s worried it might start bleeding, but he can’t stop because if he does, the tears burning in his eyes might fall. He doesn’t deserve to cry about this. He brought this on himself. This is his mess, and now he has to lie in it and be a grown man who doesn’t cry. Not even when this cut feels deeper, wounding him more than when James threw him out that day, all those years ago.
He breathes in and out slow and deep a few times, hoping it might help. It doesn’t. It just makes his lungs ache. His fingers itch with the need to just call Shiro back, to say he’s sorry and that he didn’t mean any of that. To tell him everything and figure something out. He knows he and Shiro could have something amazing. He cares about Shiro so much and he knows Shiro cares about him too. But that’s exactly why Keith can’t call him. It would only make things worse in the end, for both of them. If Shiro didn’t deserve to be dragged into his mess of a life before, then now…
No. Shiro deserves more than being treated as some sort of pawn to be tossed around at will. Keith has to leave him alone, no matter how much he might want to be held by him, to be comforted and told everything will be okay. That Keith doesn’t have to be scared. That James has no ground to stand on.
Keith’s been telling himself that ever since James hung up on him, leaving him shaking and numb. James has always had a way of making him freeze with fear, but never like this. No matter how James may have treated him or manipulated him, Keith had always been confident that he’d never be able to touch his guardianship of Callie. He may have been able to damage their relationship, in ways that have hurt and cut Keith deeply; but he knows he has a strong relationship with his daughter and they’ve always managed to pull through and fix things.
He knows he’s a good Dad. There’s a reason James has never threatened him with even the idea of trying to take Callie away from him before. James may have the money and the connections to gain access to better lawyers than Keith, but Keith has always had the truth on his side. The truth of how for the first three years of Callie’s life he was a single parent. How even now James is more her friend than her parent. And that’s not even going into the abuse Keith has suffered from him for years.
He always thought having the main custody over Callie was the one sure thing in his life he could count on; so long as he kept being the best possible parent he could be for her, the way he has always tried to be. He can hardly believe how that changed in just a few hours. Of course the school had to call James too, as Callie’s other father, to ask if he had seen her just like they had called Keith. Of course James had learned about it and figured out just how to use it against Keith.
Of course he had to go and make sure that Keith would never be happy with someone else. Never be happy, period, if James had anything to say about it.
His throat feels so tight. He can barely breathe. His view of the hallway he’d escaped into, to make his call becomes a blur of gray in his vision. He tries to bite his lip harder but it does nothing to stop the first tears slipping out.
He hates the school for calling James. Hates James for blackmailing him like this, for taking away his happiness so easily. Hates himself for being so weak that he gave in under the pressure.
But he can’t give up his daughter. Not for anything. Not even Shiro. He just prays to the Stars that James won’t take the issue to court now that Keith’s done as he asked. That he can withstand the rest of his life alone, enduring everything James will surely throw at him as punishment for daring to fall in love with someone else. But most of all, as more tears escape his eyes, he prays Shiro will be okay, that he’ll forget all about Keith soon enough and that he’ll find something better after him. Someone more worthy, with a much less complicated life than Keith’s is bound to be in the future.
…
Somehow, Shiro manages to make his way through his tears into his bedroom, falling down into his bed and curling up to cry, still in his day clothes.
He doesn’t understand how things could’ve turned out this way. How could they have gone so wrong so suddenly, so out of nowhere? He can understand why Keith would feel hurt by what happened, why he might feel betrayed and vulnerable, but… Perhaps it had been foolish of him, but Shiro had thought after everything they had shared between them, they would’ve been able to withstand this. He never would’ve thought something like this would be enough to split them apart already.
His head swims with so much emotion that he’s glad he’s laying down. He’s so confused, so full of sorrow and hurt. He thought Keith knew that he would never do anything to hurt him, or anyone, on purpose. He thought Keith had seen the worst of him and still thought of him as a good man. He thought Keith understood that he took his job very seriously, but couldn’t be responsible for how the people who wrote to him behaved in the end.
Perhaps it’s stupid of him, but this doesn’t feel like a reason why Keith would break up with him. And over the phone no less. He’d thought Keith would at least have the dignity and respect Shiro enough to do it face-to-face.
How could this have happened?
He loses track of time, loses track of how long he’s cried, loses track of everything. By the time he comes to once more, it’s dark and his pants are pressing in on his waist. He must’ve fallen asleep.
Swallowing around his dry throat, Shiro flops down onto his back and undoes his belt, shimmying out of his pants, before quickly taking off his sweater, leaving only a t-shirt and boxers on. He grabs his phone and opens up the message window with Allura.
Shiro: Won’t be able to make it to work tomorrow, sorry.
He unwraps his bed covers, shuffling himself under them, covering himself up again, and falling into uneasy rest once more.
…
On Tuesday morning, Keith gets up, nauseous, dizzy and feeling like he might cry at any moment. He’s not sure he slept at all again, no matter how badly he wanted to escape into the emptiness of dreams. He was only able to hide his distress from Callie last night, because he told her to stay in her room to think about what she’d done. And by the time they had to work on her homework and then have dinner, he had managed to somewhat compose himself.
Keith manages to somehow make his way to the kitchen to put the coffee pot on and start on breakfast. He makes warm BLTs today, thankful for the distraction of cooking and the helpful effect of coffee. It tastes bitter going down and hurts his throat, and he’s fairly certain it’s making his nausea worse, but at least it makes him feel a little less like he’s going to keel over at any moment.
“Daddy?” Callie’s voice calls to him from the direction of her room. Keith turns to look, seeing her poke her head out from the doorway. “Can I come out for breakfast?”
“Yeah,” Keith says with a nod. “And if you’re good, you’ll get to be in the rest of the house by the end of the week outside of mealtimes, too.”
Callie gives a nod and a brief smile, before stepping out from the doorway and walking to take her usual seat at the table. Keith smiles a little down at his cooking pans. He’s honestly quite proud of how well she’s taking all of this. She’s only six but already knows when to accept her punishment with grace, dignity and maturity. Seeing it makes Keith feel a little better. She’s growing into a fine young person and he knows he’s done right by her. She’s the reason he’s doing all of this, and she’s worth every sacrifice. His dear, dear heart.
He plates the food and arranges it all into sandwiches, adding the lettuce in too, before carrying them and the cutlery over to the table.
“Thank you, Daddy,” Callie says sweetly as she gets hers, immediately taking the sandwich and biting into it with a fine crunch.
Keith finds himself just staring down at his breakfast. The idea of eating makes his stomach roll, but he knows coffee is not good for him on an empty stomach, so he makes himself take a few bites. The sandwich is like cardboard in his mouth, tasteless and dry. Chewing it makes his teeth ache and his mouth feel strange, and swallowing it down is painful.
“Daddy?” Callie says, making Keith look up. “You look sad.”
Keith swallows around his latest bite, feeling his eyes burning again and his throat closing up. He swallows again, taking a quick breath. “I am a little sad, Starling. But I’ll be okay.”
“Are you still mad at me?” Callie asks softly, lowering her eyes down at her plate.
“No,” Keith says honestly, equally soft. “There’s just been a lot going on lately. It’ll be okay with a little bit of time.”
He has to believe that at least.
“…Okay,” Callie murmurs, taking another bite of her sandwich.
“But you’re still grounded,” Keith says, a little firmer this time.
“I know,” Callie says. “That’s okay too.”
Keith manages a smile in her direction at that. “I’m proud of you. Not everyone would take their punishment that well.”
“Well, I’m not everyone,” Callie says, giving him a bit of a grin back.
Keith smiles a bit wider. “No, you’re not. Now finish your breakfast so we can get going.”
“Yes, Daddy.”
…
Shiro wakes up to something ringing and with crusty eyes, dry mouth and exhaustion still weighing him down from the nightmarish, restless sleep he had. With a groan, he rolls onto his side to check his phone, but…no, that’s not his phone ringing or sounding the alarm. That’s a sound he hasn’t heard very often and not very recently. He’d almost forgotten what it sounded like. He had wanted it so badly on his loneliest days in this apartment, but now it’s simply a grating pain in his temples.
It’s the doorbell.
Shiro is shocked enough by the realization that he immediately tosses the covers off himself and begins rushing through the apartment, with his bare feet sounding against the cold floor with each step. His heart is pounding in his ears, wondering who it might be. He knows who he hopes it might be, but Keith has never been here before. Still, it’s not out of the realm of possibility, and Shiro just wants and hopes so badly it aches.
He unlocks the door and pulls it open, panting out into the hallway. He swallows down his disappointment when he sees it’s not Keith.
Allura holds a plastic bag in front of herself with two hands like a prim and proper lady. “Hey. I wanted to come and check up on you.”
Shiro swallows down the urge to just slam the door at her face, and send her away. But even with Keith gone, he…he’s trying to do better. He can’t let all his progress go to waste. He shouldn’t isolate himself the way he usually does from his friends. Since Allura came to him and on a workday no less, Shiro should be more appreciative of her friendship.
He steps out of the doorway to make way for her. “Come in.”
“Thank you,” Allura says, stepping past him softly, giving him a look up and down as she does. “You look horrible. I brought some soup,” she holds up the plastic bag, “since I thought you must be sick to send me such a message in the middle of the night.”
“I appreciate the thought,” Shiro says softly, moving to walk next to Allura and head over to the kitchen. “But I’m not sick. I just needed a day.”
Allura blinks, setting down the plastic bag on the kitchen table, before lowering her brows and frowning, turning her expression into one of concern. “Do you want to talk about it?”
Shiro swallows down the lump in his throat, painful and deep, fisting his hands. Allura has been here through this entire journey so far. She would find out what happened eventually regardless, and she deserves to know the truth and hear it directly from Shiro. After all, she offered to listen. And perhaps she can even help him make more sense of things.
“…Keith broke up with me last night,” Shiro chokes out, his eyes burning and his throat closing up more and more with each word.
“What?” Allura gasps, narrowing her eyes. “How? No, why? I thought things were going well between the two of you, despite the little mishap yesterday?”
“So did I,” Shiro sighs, hanging his head. “But apparently I made a mistake. A bad one. One that Keith couldn’t forgive.”
Allura purses her lips, seeming to think over her words.
“Sit down,” she says, motioning at the chairs around the table. “I’m going to heat up the soup so you’ll have something to eat. Start explaining from the beginning.”
If circumstances were different, Shiro might jokingly ask who she thinks she is, to give him commands in his own apartment, but today he’s just too tired and not in the mood for such things. He lets himself sit in a chair, watching Allura nod with approval as she takes out the plastic container of the bag and removes the lid, heading towards Shiro’s microwave.
“Keith called me yesterday, sometime after I got home,” Shiro starts. “I didn’t think much of it, since he’d said he’d text me earlier. But then he didn’t say anything at first and I worried. And when he did speak, he sounded…upset.”
Shiro watches as Allura turns on the microwave, listening to it hum before turning towards Shiro to give him her full attention, leaning against the counter.
“He told me…he told me that the challenging column from a few weeks ago was actually his ex, James. That my column, my advice had pushed him into…pushing Keith to get back together with him. He said some other things, too, but…”
“You don’t have to explain,” Allura says kindly. “And that’s why he broke up with you?”
Shiro shrugs, unable to find the words to say anything.
“Shiro,” Allura says, stepping over to him to put a comforting hand on his shoulder. “You know it’s not your fault, right?”
“I’m not sure what I know anymore,” Shiro says, lowering his eyes down to his lap. “Except that I must’ve hurt him so badly…” He swallows, taking a few sharp breaths. “I really thought…I really thought this could be it, Allura. Maybe it was stupid. Maybe it was too early, but…I really thought it would last.”
“I know. Me too,” Allura says, moving her hand to stroke Shiro’s shoulder. “It wasn’t stupid.”
The microwave pings to announce it’s done warming up the soup. Allura gives Shiro’s shoulder a pat, before going to retrieve it. She grabs a spoon from one of the drawers on her way back to Shiro, setting the plastic bowl before him, before retreating to the other side of the table.
The soup smells comforting and the steam feels warm on Shiro’s jaw. Having it before him actually does make him feel a little better, like it’s Allura’s friendship made into a tangible shape.
“Thank you for coming, Allura,” he says softly.
“Of course,” Allura says. “And you can take as much time off as you need. I’ll make sure no one has anything to say about it.”
Shiro nods silently, chewing the inside of his mouth. Dealing with other people’s problems, with his column, has always been his method of dealing with…or rather avoiding his own problems. But can he really go back to that knowing the damage he’s done to the one person he wanted to protect more than anyone?
…
The routine of dropping Callie off at school and heading to work feels comforting to Keith. It’s a relief to think he’ll have something else to do other than to wallow in his sorrows and fears, to think he can still do something good for the world through his job. To escape Shiro, James and this whole mess for a while.
He’s actually feeling a little better as he makes his way up to the right floor at Marmora Clinic, to leave his coat and put on a clean set of scrubs. He says hi to a few passing colleagues as he makes his way down the corridor… until his eyes hit the door to the staff lounge. The corner of the kitchen table just visible through the doorway that someone left open a crack on their way out.
That was the table he and Shiro had their very first lunch date at.
Keith can’t breathe. There’s a huge lump in his throat that won’t let him. His whole body shakes, turning him numb and unfeeling except for his throat and his eyes, both burning. Nausea churns in his stomach, and before Keith even notices it, he’s running. He only realizes where he’s going when he’s already kneeling over a toilet bowl, emptying his stomach in a bitter, disgusting manner and coughing.
“It’s okay,” he hears someone murmur behind him, feels them rubbing his back. The soft scratch of the claws through his clothes added to the voice lets him know it’s Ulaz. “Just let it all out, Keith. Breathe for me now.”
Keith opens his mouth for another load of bile to escape him, the bitterness mixing in with the salt of his running nose and eyes on his lips as he does. He takes in a shaking, choked breath to calm down, feeling a little better now that his stomach has been emptied.
He blindly reaches for the flusher of the toilet, missing a few times before managing to pull on it. As the toilet rolls with water, Keith pulls away from it, only to see Ulaz offering him some pieces of paper.
“Thanks,” Keith says in a choked voice, accepting the paper towels to wipe his face and blow his nose.
“You need to go home,” Ulaz says. “I can’t have you working while you’re sick.”
“I’m not sick,” Keith insists.
“There is more than physical kinds of sicknesses, and you know it, Keith,” Ulaz says, stern but kind. “I don’t know exactly what is going on with you, but you’re clearly not well. Take the rest of the day off and go home. You need to take care of yourself before you can take care of others.”
Keith bites his lip, before swallowing down the bitter taste in his mouth. “…Fine.”
“Come on then,” Ulaz says, offering Keith his hand. “Up you go.”
Keith takes his hand and lets Ulaz pull him up. He even lets Ulaz walk him out to the elevators, watching him until the doors slide closed on him. He makes his way to his car and drives to the grocery store, feeling like such a cliché as he buys himself a bucket of ice cream. But he doesn’t know how else to deal with heartache and break-ups other than what he’s learned from the movies. And he figures the cold treat might at least soothe his sore throat some.
He drives himself home and makes his way up to the apartment, the ice cream bucket in hand. He only takes off his winter clothes, grabs a big spoon from the kitchen, turns on the TV to some sitcom marathon he doesn’t really care about, before he starts devouring the cold treat.
He’s not sure how much time passes as he eats and half-lies there. The sitcom episodes all blur together, as do the ice cream and the tears that come. Keith doesn’t get up even to get tissues. He just wipes his cheeks and nose on his sleeve like he’s told Callie so many times that she shouldn’t. But she’s not here right now and he just can’t find the strength to get up.
He blinks, falling slightly out of his numb stupor at the sound of a ring. With another blink, Keith realizes it’s his phone, feeling it vibrate in his pants pocket. He swallows, feeling his heart quiver in his chest, wondering who might be calling. James? Callie’s school? Shiro?
He’s not sure which one of those three would be the best or the worst, given how the past twenty-four hours have been. And to think just yesterday at this same time, the idea of Shiro calling had brought him so much joy, too.
He ponders not taking out his phone, not answering. But he also knows if he doesn’t, it’ll just feel much worse in the long run. It’s always better to know and rip off the proverbial band-aid, rather than lie in ignorance and wait. So he pulls out his phone and sighs with relief when he sees it’s none of his guesses calling, but Hunk.
He accepts the call, putting it on speaker, since he’s alone and he doesn’t feel like holding the phone up to his ear. “Hey.”
“Hey, man!” Hunk’s voice rings through. “Is something wrong? You sound strange.”
Keith swallows painfully around his sugar-sweet, cold mouth. He’s not sure if he’s ready to say any of what’s wrong out loud yet, to admit that it’s all really happening. But just like he figured at the beginning of his acquaintanceship with Shiro, their world and friends are just too close to each other. With both his and his girlfriend’s curious nature, Hunk is bound to find out what has happened soon enough. It’s best that Keith break the news to him. Especially since if he doesn’t, he’ll just constantly be wondering when Hunk is going to find out, and from who.
“Shiro and I broke up last night,” he says softly
“What?!” Hunk shrieks. “Why? What happened?”
Keith swallows again, taking in a breath. He considers lying, considers saying anything else but the truth. He’s always been so ashamed of the truth and this is such a blatant display of everything he’s been trying to hide. The thought of saying it now makes his hands sweat and his heart pound.
But…he’s also tired. He’s so, so tired of hiding. He’s already lost so much to his lies. They haven’t ever helped him one bit. They’ve only made the burden of it all heavier to carry. And this is about Shiro. Keith can’t lie and disgrace him, or what they shared together because he wants to protect himself. He can’t lie about this. He needs to speak to his best friend.
Keith takes in a shaky breath, before sighing out, “James is threatening me.”
He hears Hunk taking in a breath of his own on the other end, but other than that, he doesn’t speak for a moment.
When his voice comes ringing through once again, it is low with severity. “Tell me everything.”
Keith feels his eyes burn, but he chokes it down, knowing he needs to speak now or he never will. “When Callie ran away from school yesterday,” he chokes out. “She took a bus by herself to Shiro at his job because James had written to his column about us. I guess Callie wanted to ask why his advice didn’t work because I still didn’t want to be with James. The school called me to let me know she was missing and asked if I knew where she was, and of course…”
He takes in a breath. “Of course they had to call James to do the same. Callie got to Shiro safe, and he called me as soon as she showed up. I was able to go and get her, but now…now James has this to hold over me. That our daughter ran away from the school he doesn’t like and that I chose, just so she could risk her life to go meet my boyfriend halfway across town. He can say Shiro is bad influence, and use that to take her away from me, and I can’t…”
“Keith,” Hunk says, his voice low, but warm. “It’s okay. It’ll be okay.” Keith hears him sigh deeply. “Why didn’t you come to me? I could’ve helped you. You know we will help you keep Callie, no matter what.”
“I’m scared of him, Hunk,” Keith admits softly, his body trembling as the tears escape his eyes once more. “I don’t know what he’s capable of anymore. It’s been getting a lot worse than I’ve been able to tell you, and now I feel like it’s too late. I can’t let Shiro get tangled up in all this. I can’t let James use him against me.”
“Shouldn’t he get to have some say in that?” Hunk says.
“Not anymore,” Keith chokes out. “It’s already done. And I can’t keep dangling him like a yo-yo. I’m…I’m too afraid of James. I don’t know how else to keep both Shiro and I safe.”
“How about Callie then?” Hunk asks. “Do you still think you can trust him with her? Especially since it’s his weekend with her this week, isn’t it?”
“I don’t know,” Keith says, another tear slipping out. “He’s never physically hurt her before, but I am scared to let her be with him. What he might say to her, but I’m also scared of what he might do if I don’t let her go, or how she might react, or…”
“Well, I’m assuming you grounded Callie for running away?” Hunk says.
“Y-yeah? Why?” Keith stammers, trying to hold in his tears.
“Tell Jackass that you’re keeping her this weekend since you can’t be sure he’ll actually keep her grounded,” Hunk says. “Offer him a bargain, if he argues. I think right now we need to know where our girl is.”
Keith licks his lips. “Yeah…yeah, you’re right.”
“Also, I think you should call Sam and Colleen to babysit on Saturday and come over for lunch, if you can ease up from grounding Callie that much,” Hunk continues. “We could really talk things out then, strategize what to do going forward and so on. Because as much as I hate to say it, for the sake of both of you, I think you might need to take all this to court yourself.”
Keith takes in a slow, trembling breath, wiping his eyes with his sleeve.
“You might be right,” he murmurs. “I’ll…try to come. I’ll let you know within a few days.”
“Good,” Hunk says. “Hang in there, buddy. Call or text me if you need anything, okay?”
“Yeah,” Keith says, and for the first time in his life, he thinks he actually means it. “Thanks for everything.”
“Anytime, buddy,” Hunk says, his voice warm. “Listen, I gotta go back to work, but talk to you later?”
“Yeah,” Keith says again. “Bye, Hunk.”
He hangs up, but the breath he takes in afterwards feels a little lighter than the ones before the call.
…
After Shiro finishes off his soup, Allura sends him off to shower and put on some proper pants. The steamy hot water does soothe Shiro some, as does having some food in his belly. He feels a little more alive after he puts on a fresh pair of underwear, some sweatpants and a clean t-shirt. He figures he probably isn’t going to be going anywhere today no matter what, so he might as well dress to be comfortable.
As he steps out of his bedroom door, Shiro finds Allura seated on his couch, looking down at something on her phone.
“Hey,” she says, turning to smile up at him and shutting off her phone. “You look much better now.”
“I feel much better,” Shiro admits. “Thanks for everything, Allura, really.”
“You would’ve – and actually have – done the same thing for me,” Allura says, smiling softly at him.
Shiro begins walking over to her, taking a seat next to her on the couch. “Still. Thanks.”
“Don’t mention it,” Allura says, her eyes darting about over the room, before settling somewhere in front of them.
Shiro follows her gaze, seeing it settle at the digital clock on his TV. He hums. “If you need to get back to work, you can go, you know. I’ll be fine, I promise.”
Allura turns to him, brows furrowed in worry. “…Are you sure?”
“Yeah.” Shiro nods. “I know how important work is. I can’t do mine properly right now, so it’s best I stay here for a while.”
“Hey,” Allura says, reaching to touch his shoulder, her eyes softening. “I meant what I said. Take as much time as you need.”
“I’ll keep you posted,” Shiro says, before getting to his feet. “Come on, I’ll walk you out.”
Allura gives him a smile and stands up on her own. The two of them silently walk the short path over to Shiro’s front door, and Shiro helps her into her coat.
“I’ll be back later to check up on you,” Allura promises as she starts doing the buttons of her coat.
“I appreciate it,” Shiro says with a nod and a small smile. “Have a good day at work.”
“Take care of yourself, Shiro,” Allura says, turning to walk over to the door. She opens it, gives Shiro one last look and waves over her shoulder, and then leaves him alone.
Shiro sighs. Immediately without her, the apartment just feels that much quieter and colder. But he knows he can’t interfere with other people’s lives just because he’s feeling sad and lonely. He’s just going to have to grin and bear the heartache just like the rest of the human population; with the help of his friends but in a way that doesn’t prevent them from living their own lives as well.
Shiro slumps his way over to the couch, rubbing at his temples, wondering how he’s going to make this day go away, when another ringing sound makes him jump. This time, he realizes, it is indeed his phone, making a racket in his bedroom where he left it.
His heart still pounding, Shiro rushes to his feet and to his bedroom to take the call before it cuts off. He searches for his phone in his sheets, desperate to find it, spotting it just in time to see that it’s Hunk who is calling him before he answers the ring.
“Hey, Shiro,” Hunk’s voice rings through.
And it’s only then that Shiro realizes that he maybe shouldn’t have taken the call after all. Hunk is, after all, Keith’s good friend and he might’ve heard what happened between them already. And Shiro’s not sure how ready he is to face the disappointment of his friends that they didn’t work out, or to talk more about what went wrong between him and Keith.
“Shiro? You there, man?” Hunk’s voice speaks.
Shiro swallows. He’s already accepted the call. He can’t go back now. Might as well get this over with. “Yeah, I’m here.”
“I called Keith a while back,” Hunk says, making Shiro’s heart jump painfully. “He told me about the two of you. How are you holding up?”
“I’m…okay for now, I guess,” Shiro says, a little choked up. “Allura dropped by and that helped a lot. I’m just…trying to take it all in. Make sense of it all.”
He’s just about to say he doesn’t really want to talk about this right now, when Hunk says, “There’s a reason you can’t make sense of that equation.”
“What?” Shiro gasps out.
“Keith didn’t break up with you because he wanted to,” Hunk says, his voice coming through low and serious. “Jacka…I mean James, his ex, is blackmailing him. He’s threatening to take Callie away, if Keith sticks with you.”
A flame of fury flares up, bright and hot, inside of Shiro. He bites his teeth together not to let out an angry growl. “That bastard.”
“Tell me about it,” Hunk says.
“Why didn’t Keith just tell me about this himself?” Shiro says, his voice softening. “All I’ve ever wanted is to help him. I thought…I thought he knew he could come to me. I thought he trusted me.”
“Hey, I’ve known the guy for years and he only now shed some light on how bad it’s been,” Hunk says, his voice equally soft with sadness. “He’s just been…afraid I guess. And if I know Keith, probably also ashamed. Maybe he thought he could handle all of this on his own. Maybe that's why he didn’t tell me until he was at his absolute breaking point.”
“Maybe,” Shiro hums sadly. “But we can’t just let this happen. If Keith only broke up with me because he was being blackmailed…then I’m not gonna give up on him.”
“Now we’re talking,” Hunk says, his voice perking up. “Listen, I’ve got a plan. And I’d like to involve you, too, if you’re up for it.”
Shiro furrows his brows, sitting up straighter, paying attention. “Tell me what I need to do.”
“I’ll talk to you about the details later, but I need you to come to my and Pidge’s place for lunch on Saturday. We’ll take care of the rest,” Hunk says.
“I’ll be there,” Shiro says. He swallows. “Keith…Keith really didn’t break up with me because I gave James advice on how to get back together with him?”
“You did what?” Hunk says.
“He wrote to my column under a pseudonym. That was the reason Keith gave me for ending things,” Shiro says.
“He didn’t mention that to me at all,” Hunk says. “So I don’t think he’s actually that mad. He was just using it as an excuse. But I’ll look into the column to see if it’s really that bad, just in case.”
Shiro swallows again. “Yeah…might be the best.”
“But Shiro,” Hunk says in a low voice. “James is a jerk. You couldn’t have known how he’d take your advice.”
“Yeah,” Shiro mumbles. “I know…but I never meant to hurt Keith like this.”
“I’m sure he knows that,” Hunk says gently. “You should’ve heard him after your first date. He sounded so happy. I don’t think I’ve ever heard him like that. You make him happy, Shiro. Don’t let this one thing ruin that.”
“I’ll try not to,” Shiro says. “So long as he’s willing to give me another chance.”
“I’m sure of it,” Hunk says. “He’d still be with you, if not for that Jackass. He’s really broken up about it, too.”
Shiro feels his heart grow warm, and he actually manages a smile at that. He’s not glad Keith is sad, but to know there really is still hope…
“Listen, I’ve really got to go,” Hunk says. “But I’ll be in touch, okay?”
“Yeah,” Shiro says. “Thanks for calling, Hunk.”
“Of course,” Hunk says. “Take care, and I’ll see you Saturday.”
“Bye,” Shiro says, hanging up.
He takes in a deep breath. There is still hope. He just has to keep it alive.
…
Although the talk with Hunk made him feel a bit better, when Keith picks up Callie from school, it’s in a daze. The same daze everything seems to continue in, through the rest of the day. Keith’s grief and fear have been replaced by sheer numbness. Only the notion of routine gets him through the rest of Tuesday.
He sleeps out of total exhaustion that night, and by morning, he deems himself well enough to go to work. He doesn’t think he can stand another day of lying around doing nothing in any case, and his work soothes him; though he keeps his eyes firmly on the other side of the hallway when he passes the door to the staff lounge.
Keith still gets sudden bouts of wanting to cry, and he puts off telling James that he has no intention of letting Callie go to him for longer than is probably advisable. But even with Hunk’s support, and hope that they might be able to come up with something to help, Keith can’t help the way his hands shake and his stomach turns when he thinks what James might do or say once Keith has said his piece. How he might threaten him.
He finally gathers his courage on Thursday night, knowing that he must. Otherwise James will pick Callie up like normal from school the next day. He swallows around the lump in his throat and begins typing a text message with shaky fingers. It will at least be less personal and more straightforward than a phone call.
Keith: Callie is grounded this week. I don’t want her going with you tomorrow since you probably won’t keep up the punishment. If you let me keep her, you can have her for the holidays.
Keith’s not sure if he should’ve waited before he starts bargaining, but he’s never been very good at hiding things. Besides, he doesn’t want to give James the chance to get angry before Keith can even get a word in.
It takes a moment, but James replies.
James: If I can have her from Christmas to New Year’s, then it’s a deal. And I want to take her to see my parents.
Keith grinds his teeth together. He’s never met James’s parents for himself but based on Callie’s stories from a few holiday visits, they are stiff pricks like their son, and Callie hates going to see them. It’s a little surprising to Keith, given how much she loves James, but he supposes James only shows her his fun side rather than his real, stricter side. Callie may not have completely understood what James’s parents were saying about and to her, but Keith understands being spoken down to, and he hates that his daughter will have to experience it.
Screw being cautious. Keith is not exposing his daughter to more of that. What is even the point of being her Dad if he can’t protect her?
Keith: You can keep her through new years, but you’re not going to see your parents. They make Callie feel bad about herself, and I won’t let anyone do that.
His heart thuds an unsteady, hard beat as he waits for a reply from James. He hopes James’s love for Callie will surpass his need to triumph over Keith or please his parents; that Keith’s reasoning will appeal to both his emotions and his logic. It’s the only valid card he has.
His phone pings with a message, and Keith opens it with shaky fingers.
James: Fine.
For the first time all week, Keith feels a small sense of relief, hope, and happiness. He lets out a silent cheer, before pulling up the text window with Colleen.
Keith: hey, would you mind coming over to babysit Callie on Saturday?
The response is prompt.
Colleen: Of course. Hunk already told us you might be needing us. We’d love to come :).
Keith actually manages a smile at that.
Keith: remember that she’s grounded though. don’t spoil her.
Colleen: No promises ;).
Keith shakes his head, knowing that’s about as good as he can expect. He takes in a breath, raising to his feet and walking over to Callie’s door. He still needs to tell her about all this, too. He just hopes she won’t be too disappointed.
He knocks on the door. “Starling? Can I come in? I have something to tell you.”
“Yeah, come in,” Callie’s voice rings from inside.
Keith finds his daughter sitting up in her bed, her pillow holding her back up, as she reads a children’s book on her lap. He gives her a soft smile, walking over to sit at her feet on the bed.
“What did you need to tell me, Daddy?” Callie asks, putting her book aside.
“I’m sorry to have to tell you this, but I don’t think going to your Papa’s this weekend is a good idea, Callie,” Keith says. “I’ve already spoken with him. He’s agreed to let you stay home. In exchange you’ll spend the holidays with him.”
Callie bites her lip, lowering her eyes softly in thought. “Is Papa mad at me?”
“No, no, Starling, of course not,” Keith says in a rush, setting a comforting hand on her ankle since that’s the closest where he can reach. “But you are still grounded and I think we both know he’s not exactly good at sticking out punishments.”
“…I guess that’s true,” Callie says. “Okay then.”
Keith blinks. He honestly was expecting more resistance. But he’s definitely not going to look a gift horse in the mouth.
“Granny and Poppop will come over on Saturday to look after you though,” he says gently. “I have some errands to run them.”
Callie looks up that. “Granny and Poppop are coming?”
“Yeah,” Keith says, giving her a smile. “But make no mistake, I’ve told them you’re grounded.”
“Still,” she says, her face spreading into a smile of her own.
Keith lets relief flood over him like a warm wave, comforting him. At least this one thing in his life was easy enough right now.
Callie’s smile falters a little bit after a while. “Did you need anything else?”
“No,” Keith says. “But I could stay if you wanted, we could read together.”
“…Okay,” Callie says, giving him a softer, but no less genuine smile.
…
The arrival of Saturday is a huge relief for Shiro. He ended up staying out of work on sick leave for the rest of the week, but with his newfound purpose, he was able to keep himself well-occupied. He, Hunk, and Katie texted and called with each other all week, doing research, and sharing thoughts and ideas regarding the plan to help Keith. By the time Friday rolled around, each piece seemed solid and in place for the execution.
Shiro wakes up relatively late on Saturday, having spent many days staying up late for research, his limbs jittering with a mix of nerves and excitement for the day. He grabs a quick breakfast of cereal, before heading out for a short jog to burn out most of the restless energy. Afterwards, he takes a long, invigorating shower. He brushes his teeth and makes sure to shave and do his hair up nicely, before going over to his closet to pick out a suitable outfit. He considers the leather jacket, but figures that might be a bit too obvious for the occasion. He wants to seem safe, like an unthreatening, gentle person for Keith to find comfort in. To be a safe place for him to land on, to feel content to rest in Shiro’s arms.
Shiro sighs. Picking out his clothes like this makes him remember his and Keith’s first date. He just hopes that after today, he can again hope that it won’t be their last.
He settles on a nice, soft gray cardigan with a black button-down below and the same jeans he wore to the museum exhibit, just for a little touch of that day to give him luck and keep him steady. By the time he’s finished, he deems it late enough to get going, since he needs to be present before Keith arrives. He grabs his research, the names and numbers he needs for the plan and places them into a satchel, before putting on his coat and heading down to get his bike. The cold air is rejuvenating, the speed getting his blood pumping with joy and relief that this is happening. And no matter what Keith decides about their relationship afterwards, Shiro hopes this will help him somehow.
There are no parking spaces big enough for his bike near Hunk and Katie’s building, so Shiro ends up parking on the next street over. He grabs his satchel and crosses the short path, before making his way up the flights of stairs and ringing their doorbell.
It doesn’t take long for Hunk to open the door, giving him a smile and opening his arms for him. “Hey, man, glad you could make it.”
Shiro steps forward, allowing Hunk to give him a hug. “I wouldn’t have missed it.”
Hunk gives him a quick squeeze before letting go, stepping aside to reveal his girlfriend who also steps forward to give Shiro a hug, mumbling into his shoulder, “I wanna murder that Jackass and feed his remains to dogs.”
Shiro can’t deny the prospect sounds nice. But in the long run, it’s probably best to do this by legal means. “Let’s just hope it won’t come to that. And if everything works out, it shouldn’t have to.”
Katie lets him go, giving him a wry smile. “Come in. Keith should arrive soon. My parents just texted me.”
Shiro swallows, his heart rate suddenly increasing. He hasn’t seen Keith all week and the last time they spoke, Keith broke up with him. Is it really a good thing for him to meddle in Keith’s life like this? Should he just leave his papers and go; let Hunk and Katie handle this?
He shakes his head. No. He knows what he and Keith had was real, and that it still can be. No matter what the outcome, they should at least talk about what happened face-to-face. Shiro’s done running away and not fighting for his own happiness. He’s done not taking risks. Done with existing and not living. Keith makes him happy. He loves him.
He’s not going to give up on him.
“That your stuff?” Katie asks, pointing at Shiro’s satchel. At Shiro’s nod, she says, “You can just lay it down on the coffee table. We put ours over there too.”
Shiro nods again, stepping further inside the apartment, into the living room area. The coffee table is filled with scattered papers, but given that that’s in no way unusual for this apartment, Shiro hadn’t paid it much attention. He walks over to take a seat on the couch, opening his satchel and taking out his papers and notepad, laying them in a neat pile on the table.
He takes a look at the other papers on the table, all of it holding information shared between the three of them in their texts and chats and calls over the week. He takes a few in hand, doing a bit of cursory reading to remind himself of all his points.
He’s poring over the words when the doorbell rings. Shiro looks up, his heart jumping to his throat.
“Everyone be cool now,” Hunk says, walking over and opening the door. “Hey. It’s good to see you, buddy.”
“Hey, Hunk,” Keith’s voice rings like a song in Shiro’s ears, even as his form is still hidden by Hunk’s bulk, aside from the arms wrapping around him in a hug. “It’s good to see you too.”
“Come in, come in,” Hunk says, stepping aside, and giving Keith and Shiro both their first view of each other in several days.
Keith stops in his tracks immediately, his face growing white as a sheet.
“I can’t do this right now,” he says, promptly turning around.
Shiro’s heart drops into his stomach, and he almost freezes on the spot out of sheer disappointment and heartache. But he bites the inside of his cheek and fights through it, getting to his feet from the couch.
“Keith, please, wait,” Shiro says, soft and gentle. He takes a small measure of comfort from the fact that Keith stops in his tracks, even if he keeps his back turned to Shiro. “Hunk told me what’s going on. If James is the only reason you broke up with me, please…let me help you.”
“Let all of us help,” Katie says, stepping over to put her hand on Keith’s arm.
Keith’s shoulders hunch and his head hangs low even as his arms wrap around himself, as if he’s trying to make himself look as small as possible. Shiro walks over to him softly, approaching him carefully, giving Keith plenty of time to see him coming from the corner of his eye. Keith doesn’t move, his eyes downcast and his lower lip between his teeth as Shiro steps in front of him.
“Keith,” Shiro says softly, his hands itching with the need to touch him. But he doesn’t know if it would be welcomed right now, with how skittish Keith seems, so he settles for searching for his face with his eyes instead. “Please, talk to me. Did you really want to break up with me? I would understand if you were mad about the column, but…”
Keith lets out a breath, his shoulders relaxing a touch, and Shiro’s heart quivers with a dash of hope.
“I was a little startled when I found out,” Keith says softly, his eyes still averted. “But I read it afterwards. This isn’t on you, what he did. James just took it the way he wanted to, the way he does with everything.”
“So…you didn’t want to break up with me?” Shiro asks, his heart thumping happily in his chest.
“No,” Keith says, looking up at him with reddened, open liquid eyes. “I just didn’t know what else to do anymore. I’m in over my head.”
“Then let us help,” Hunk cuts in, stepping closer into Keith’s space. “We’ve been here all along, Keith. Together, there’s nothing we can’t do.”
Keith averts his eyes, biting his lip again for a moment. “…Okay.”
Shiro gives him a small smile. “Come sit down. Let’s talk.”
Keith gives him a shaky smile, and actually offers Shiro his hand. Shiro returns the smile, his heart warm, and takes his hand to lead him to sit down in the living room. Hunk and Katie are quick to settle into the armchairs, leaving the couch to them.
“No more lies or secrets, Keith,” Hunk says, his brows furrowed in severity. “We can only help you if you’re truthful. Tell us everything Jackass has done to you.”
Keith’s throat bobs with a swallow. “It’s not gonna be nice to hear.”
“We don’t expect it to be,” Katie says. “But you don’t have to be ashamed. You never did. You’re among friends here. We won’t judge.”
Keith swallows again, licking his lips. Shiro can feel his hand trembling in his own, and he squeezes it, giving Keith an encouraging smile.
Keith takes in a breath and opens his mouth.
“When James came back into our lives three years ago, it wasn’t that bad at first. I didn’t expect him to stick around, and he was still the same pompous, stuck-up self he’d been before. But he was good to Callie and he seemed to actually want to be a father to her, so we worked out a visitation schedule and stuff. I thought for a while that maybe we could really be co-parents, that I could forget everything that had happened between us. We might never be friends or anything, but I thought we could at least learn to co-exist…”
Keith trails off. Shiro gives his hand another squeeze, silently telling him to go on.
Keith swallows again. “It was maybe…six months into James’s return when things started to…change. It began with him criticizing everything about me personally, and then the choices I made. My clothes, my hair, my apartment, my job…you name it. If there was even one thing amiss about anything I was doing, he would never fail to point it out and make me feel awful. He always related it back to what a bad father I was; like if I made the slightest mistake, it would affect Callie for the rest of her life.”
Shiro bites the inside of his cheek to keep down a growl. He knows Keith is a great father, and no human being can be expected to be perfect or maintain a completely spotless life, especially as a single parent raising a small child. He wants to tear James apart for ever making Keith feel like he’s not enough.
“I tried to start limiting our time together. I didn’t want to see him. But that only seemed to make things worse. He’d spoil Callie to make her favor him. I was always the bad guy, and he used that to get close. He became almost aggressive, and…”
Keith swallows, breathing hard and deep.
“Keith,” Shiro says softy, squeezing his hand. “It’s okay. We’re here.”
Keith averts his eyes, gleaming with unshed tears. “…It’s so shameful.”
“It’s on him, not you,” Shiro says, firm but gentle.
“I just don’t…” Keith murmurs, sniffing. “I don’t understand why I can’t push him away. I just…freeze. I know I could physically overpower him, but I can’t. I can’t fight him. He always knows where to hit me and…”
A flame of fury burns in the pit of Shiro’s stomach. He swallows down his anger. “Keith, I don’t know everything, but I think you might be experiencing some sort of post-traumatic reaction to him. He’s been abusing you. There’s no shame in you being afraid. It might just be your body’s way of trying to keep you safe, not knowing what would happen if you provoked him further.”
He doesn’t dare ask what James has done. He’ll listen if Keith wants to say it, but each picture his mind comes up with is more horrible than the last. He almost doesn’t want to know which one is real, because if James touched Keith…
Keith swallows again, taking in a few breaths. “He’d make…sexual comments towards me. Talk down to me, humiliate me, push me against a wall. He insinuated more than once that he was sure I’d just…fall back into bed with him the way I had before, and I just…”
Shiro snaps his teeth together, fury coursing through his veins like liquid fire.
“I never wanted anyone to know,” Keith says softly. “For a long time I thought I could handle it. But then I met you, Shiro.” He looks up to meet Shiro’s eyes, making Shiro’s heart leap. “And I forgot to be careful around him. I forgot he’d never let me be happy, let alone with someone else.”
…
Keith swallows hard after finally spilling his guts for everyone, takes a long deep breath and releases it, letting himself relax against the back of Hunk and Pidge’s couch. His head is swimming with emotion, and his heart is still pounding in his chest. But with every breath out, he also feels the tension he’s been holding in his body for…he’s not even sure how long, slowly disappear. It feels good to not have to hide things anymore, to have it all in the open, and to not have to deal with all of it alone anymore. Even with the sudden emotional weariness settling over him, making his eyes slide closed, he can feel his muscles relaxing, finally letting go of the weight he’s been carrying for all these years.
“Oh, buddy…” Keith opens his eyes at the sound of Hunk’s breathy voice. As he turns to look, he sees tears rolling down his friend’s cheeks, his eyes red and glistening. Before he has a chance to say anything, Hunk cuts in, “Can I come over there and hug you?”
“What?” Keith breathes. “Oh, sure.”
Hunk leaps out of the armchair and comes to sit on Keith’s free side, wrapping him up in his warmth. His tears make Keith’s shoulder wet, but he doesn’t mind and he wraps his arms around Hunk too. This closeness feels comforting, like a balm to his weary soul. Shiro’s still holding onto his hand like an anchor.
Keith feels someone clutch at his leg and looks down to see Pidge hugging the limb, apparently for the lack for any other body parts to hold on to.
He lets out a breathy, weepy sound. “Thanks guys. I’m okay.”
Everyone holds onto him a bit tighter wherever they’re attached, squeezing him. He does his best to squeeze back, though with Pidge, he can only nudge his leg deeper into her arms.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before,” Keith says.
Hunk pulls back from the hug a little, looking straight at him with his teary eyes. “No, we’re sorry that you’ve had to deal with all this alone.”
“What he said,” Pidge murmurs, her voice muffled by the fabric of Keith’s jeans.
“Hopefully we can help you from now on, though,” Shiro says, giving him a warm smile as Keith looks at him over his shoulder, and squeezes his hand again.
“You’ll never have to face him alone again if you don’t want to,” Hunk says. “One of us can always be with you when you have to see him from now on.”
Keith gives him a small, if wobbly smile, sniffing. “But what are we gonna do about Callie? What if he goes through with the threat?”
“Well,” Shiro says, causing Keith to look at him. His tone is low and his brows furrowed, his mouth tight with meaning. “What we’re not gonna do is let that Jackass walk all over us. If it comes down to it…I’ll help you with lawyers and connections, everything I have to offer in court. We’ll get the best representatives for you. With everything he’s done to you, it’ll be easy enough to prove he’s unfit to be a sole guardian to Callie.”
“Shiro, I can’t ask you to do that,” Keith says.
“You’re not asking me, I’m offering,” Shiro says, looking at him gently. “And Keith, I have more than enough money just put away, waiting. There’s nothing I’d rather spend it on than you and your happiness.”
Keith feels himself blush, averting his eyes from Shiro. He can’t believe Shiro would say something like that, and in front of Hunk and Pidge no less.
He swallows around his suddenly dry throat, willing himself to focus. “It’ll be my word against his though. And he knows how to manipulate people.”
“Still,” Shiro says. “There must be a reason he hasn’t threatened to do this before. You’ve always been Callie’s primary guardian. To grant him full custody all of a sudden would take a lot to prove your unfitness, and he doesn’t have a real case. Everyone can see Callie is the wonderful girl she is because of your parenting, influence and care, Keith.”
“He’s right,” Hunk says. “That’s why we came up with a plan, we want to show you. If it succeeds, we won’t have to go to court. But if it comes down to that, we’ll fight him tooth and nail.”
Keith bites down on his lip, lowering his eyes. “…I’m scared.”
“We’re right here,” Shiro says softly, squeezing his hand again. “We’ll get through this, together.”
Keith swallows. He turns around properly on the couch so he’s sitting facing towards Shiro again. He reaches to take his other hand in his, holding both of them tight, looking him in the eyes. His neck is burning, ears ringing and hands sweating, but Shiro had been so bold before. He’s been so sweet this whole time. Keith has to meet him where he is.
“…I really missed you,” he admits softly, letting himself drown in the warmth of Shiro’s gaze. “I’m so sorry that I hurt you.”
“I missed you too,” Shiro says softly. “and I forgive you.”
Shiro’s eyes are so warm and kind. He’s so wonderful, the most amazing man Keith has ever met. Keith’s eyes land on his lips. He really wants to kiss him. Shiro’s leaning forward too, and like he’s being pulled by an invisible string, Keith leans in too…
“Ahem,” Hunk fake-coughs, breaking Keith’s bubble. “We’re still here.”
Keith pulls back, but not so fast that it would alarm Shiro. With his cheeks burning, he clears his throat, giving Shiro one last soft look before letting go of one of his hands, and turning to face his friend. “So…what’s the plan?”
Hunk lowers his brows, growing more serious. “You’ll call Jackass and tell him we will fight him if need be, but that he doesn’t have a real case. We’re going to stand up to him.”
“We’ll be here the whole time,” Shiro says. “If at any time you feel we need to step in, just signal us and we’ll do whatever it takes to get him to stop.” He reaches for some papers laid out on the table, taking them in hand. “We also thought you might want to do some counselling with James. I have some contact information of an old colleagues here, they deal with couples who are not together but want to work on taking care of their children together. If that’s what you want, I mean.”
Keith begins gnawing on his lower lip, holding onto Shiro’s hand for an anchor. “…I don’t want to hurt Callie. And she still loves James as her Papa.”
Shiro nods. “Then that’s an option for you. You can suggest it to James when you make the call.”
Keith swallows, biting his lip again. The thought of standing up to James makes his stomach roll, and the back of his neck breaks out in a cold sweat. But he also knows he can’t keep living the way he has been. He has to make a change.
And he’s not alone anymore.
He pulls out his phone. “I’ll call him now. I’ll put it on speaker. If I put my hand up, I want you guys to do something.”
“Got it,” Hunk says with a nod.
“Wait, wait,” Pidge says, scrambling in her own pockets, pulling out her phone. “I’ll record this. He’ll probably say something incriminating. We can use that as evidence or leverage if need be.”
“Good idea,” Hunk says, giving her a smile and a high-five.
Keith takes in a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “Okay. Here goes.”
He looks up James on his contacts and dials. His heart pounds harder and harder with every ring, and he holds onto Shiro’s hand like a lifeline.
Finally, there is a click of someone picking up. “I knew you couldn’t stay away, my sweet.”
Pidge makes a silent gesture of vomiting. Keith manages a small, shaky smile at her efforts.
“Cut it out, James,” Keith says, somehow managing to make his voice sound firm. “I need to talk to you about something.”
“What is it?” James says, and there is a vague sound of him shifting. “Up for some phone sex?”
Keith feels Shiro tense beside him, but he refuses to look at him. He swallows down his own nausea.
“Not with you at least,” he forces himself to say curtly. “Listen to me very carefully. I am not scared of you, and I won’t let you blackmail me using my daughter. If you want, I will happily go to court with you. You will lose. I’ve made one mistake, you have made about fifty.”
“And yet you seemed so certain that I would win the other night,” James says. “Are you sure you’re really up for taking me on? I can ruin you and you know it.”
Shiro squeezes his hand. Keith swallows, and takes in a breath.
“No, I don’t,” Keith says, and somehow manages to keep his voice steady. “It’ll be me who ruins you, if it comes down to it.” He glances down at the papers Shiro’s holding, trying to draw some courage from the printed ink there. “But I don’t want that for Callie. She still loves you and I don’t want to hurt her. But I also want to make our arrangements as her guardians and parents more official, so that we can be as civil as we possibly can. There are people who specialize in family counseling, specifically for people who are not together but have children. I would like for the two of us to go see one of them so we can get everything between us figured out better. Have a neutral party help us get somewhere.”
“Someone recommended by your little boyfriend, I’m assuming?” James snorts. “What do I get out of it?”
“You’ll get to keep a relationship with your daughter,” Keith says. “I don’t think she’ll like it very much if you try to take her from me. This way, we both lose and win a little.”
“And if I say no?” James asks.
Keith swallows. “Then I’ll take this to court. You threaten me with it, but is that something you really want to do? I can’t imagine it’ll look good to all your lawyer buddies. And you know you don’t have a real case against me. I’m a good father, and you know it. You even said it yourself. And no matter how much you try to twist the truth, that’s something you can’t take away from me.”
James doesn’t respond. For a while, the only thing Keith can hear is his breathing, his own heart pounding in his ears.
“…Fine,” James finally breathes out.
Keith lets out a silent sigh of relief. “I’ll text you details later. Goodbye.”
He ends the call, setting his phone on the coffee table among the papers.
It’s the only thing he has time to do before he’s wrapped up in another group hug.
“You did it, buddy!” Hunk cheers as he squeezes him, smile in his voice.
“I’m so proud of you!” Pidge mumbles into his leg.
Shiro leans in and presses a soft kiss to Keith’s mouth, a mere touch of his lips before he pulls back to smile at him. “Well done, baby.”
Keith manages a smile back at him. “Thank you. All of you.”
“We’ll get through this together,” Shiro says. “Whatever life throws at you…if you just tell us, we’ll help you.”
“I know that now,” Keith says. “I feel stupid for not saying anything before now.”
“Forget about it,” Shiro says, squeezing his hand, looking him softly in the eyes. “Keith…you didn’t let me say it before. Please, let me say it now.”
Keith swallows, his heart in his throat. “…Okay.”
“I love you, Keith,” Shiro says, lifting his free hand to tuck a strand of hair behind Keith’s ear. “And if you’ll let me, I’d like to try and make you happy.”
“You already do,” Keith says softly, lowering his eyes. Shiro has said it now. And Keith’s been telling the truth tonight, anyway. It’s time to stop being in denial. “…I love you too, Shiro.”
“Aww!” Hunk coos, squeezing his arms around Keith even tighter. “I’m so happy for you guys!”
“And to think this all would never have happened if we hadn’t set you up!” Pidge says.
“Don’t let that go to your head,” Keith says, but he’s smiling.
He has a feeling that everything is going to be so much better from now on.