[ shiro takes fast showers. hair shampooed, body soaped down, washed up, dried, and dressed cozy in a pair of soft sweats and a white tee, shiro is done in six minutes flat. he wasn’t always a stickler for shower time. he used to spend an exorbitant amount of time wasting water while his voice bounced off the tiles. thankfully, the galaxy garrison never policed their water use down to the last drop, otherwise shiro might’ve been knocked down a few pegs from his golden boy status. things changed with kerberos. the modified cleaning on the persephone was the start. the dirty rag and occasional allowance with a bowl of water to wipe himself down in his prison cell was the fatal blow that cemented a habit to be as quick as possible. he was surprised in a way, when he found himself in that cramped shower of keith’s middle-of-nowhere cabin and couldn’t get out of it fast enough. the first shower in more than a year and the only reason it clocked longer than ten minutes was due to him being too weak and disoriented to shuffle quicker through the motions.
perhaps he should’ve asked keith for help but he’d been stubborn and rattled and heartsick and…
he sighs and shakes loose the thought, tapping his fingers against the cup noodles container in his left hand. sitting cross-legged there on his bed, shiro’s waiting with two cups, both saturated and steaming. just because his showers are empty in every aspect except efficiency, doesn’t mean keith’s are. shiro expects keith to take longer and so, he’s spent the last five or so minutes zapping two cups of instant ramen. it’s not much and he isn’t even sure if keith has the stomach for it but…it might do him good to get something in his system.
so what’s he at now? eleven, twelve minutes? he waits. waits. waits some more. the heat from the cups begin to ebb. he tosses a glance toward his phone, nudging it to get the screen to light up and show the time. twenty or so minutes now. no big deal, waiting that is. he doesn’t mind.
… until he does. five more minutes pass and concern creeps in with each passing minute, until the feeling overwhelms him. he’s on his feet in the next moment and after placing the cups on his dresser, he’s out of his room. keith’s door is ajar. shiro takes this as license to nudge it open wider and stick his head into the room, calling out a tentative: ]
Keith…?
[ no answer. but there wouldn’t be, would there? not when the bathroom door is shut and the sound of the running shower is filling the space. he stares at that door for a long moment and… relief never finds him. if anything, he has a lump forming in his gut, one that sinks and sinks until his feet feel like lead blocks, unable to do anything other than stand here rooted to the spot. he needs to move though. not to return to his room to wait it out further, no. he needs to… – ]
Keith?
[ his voice is louder this time. still, nothing changes. so shiro slips inside the room and clicks the bedroom shut behind him; he has no idea if abel is in his bedroom or not, and some innate part of him wants to shield keith from any prying curiosity. well, outside his own, that is. as for himself, he’ll knock on the door and try one more time of calling for keith. nothing. nothing. so he barges in. luckily, the door is unlocked, so he won’t be forking over any money to adi for home repair, not that any of that would have stopped him from getting to keith anyway.
a turn to the right, down a short way and then another turn brings the shower into sight and – ]
Keith… [ he looks so small. that’s the first thought that comes to mind. second, is get to him and then his legs are working again, having momentarily struck still on the shock of seeing keith sitting there, dressed and drenched, looking altogether lost. he gets as close as the shower door. it’s been left open and all shiro has to do is keep walking to get to the boy but he hesitates at the threshold and crouches down instead, trying to catch keith’s eye through the steam. ]
/judged!! well. that one paragraph thing failed p quickly.
perhaps he should’ve asked keith for help but he’d been stubborn and rattled and heartsick and…
he sighs and shakes loose the thought, tapping his fingers against the cup noodles container in his left hand. sitting cross-legged there on his bed, shiro’s waiting with two cups, both saturated and steaming. just because his showers are empty in every aspect except efficiency, doesn’t mean keith’s are. shiro expects keith to take longer and so, he’s spent the last five or so minutes zapping two cups of instant ramen. it’s not much and he isn’t even sure if keith has the stomach for it but…it might do him good to get something in his system.
so what’s he at now? eleven, twelve minutes? he waits. waits. waits some more. the heat from the cups begin to ebb. he tosses a glance toward his phone, nudging it to get the screen to light up and show the time. twenty or so minutes now. no big deal, waiting that is. he doesn’t mind.
… until he does. five more minutes pass and concern creeps in with each passing minute, until the feeling overwhelms him. he’s on his feet in the next moment and after placing the cups on his dresser, he’s out of his room. keith’s door is ajar. shiro takes this as license to nudge it open wider and stick his head into the room, calling out a tentative: ]
Keith…?
[ no answer. but there wouldn’t be, would there? not when the bathroom door is shut and the sound of the running shower is filling the space. he stares at that door for a long moment and… relief never finds him. if anything, he has a lump forming in his gut, one that sinks and sinks until his feet feel like lead blocks, unable to do anything other than stand here rooted to the spot. he needs to move though. not to return to his room to wait it out further, no. he needs to… – ]
Keith?
[ his voice is louder this time. still, nothing changes. so shiro slips inside the room and clicks the bedroom shut behind him; he has no idea if abel is in his bedroom or not, and some innate part of him wants to shield keith from any prying curiosity. well, outside his own, that is. as for himself, he’ll knock on the door and try one more time of calling for keith. nothing. nothing. so he barges in. luckily, the door is unlocked, so he won’t be forking over any money to adi for home repair, not that any of that would have stopped him from getting to keith anyway.
a turn to the right, down a short way and then another turn brings the shower into sight and – ]
Keith… [ he looks so small. that’s the first thought that comes to mind. second, is get to him and then his legs are working again, having momentarily struck still on the shock of seeing keith sitting there, dressed and drenched, looking altogether lost. he gets as close as the shower door. it’s been left open and all shiro has to do is keep walking to get to the boy but he hesitates at the threshold and crouches down instead, trying to catch keith’s eye through the steam. ]
Hey. [ soft, careful. ] What’s going on, buddy?