[ he didn't feel responsible for you is the bitter response that catches on keith's tongue. he just barely manages to keep himself from saying it, but it's all but spelt out in the briefly sour look that crosses his face. it isn't exactly the fairest framing of how adam had felt maybe, but it was unquestionably the functional outcome. adam wasn't the one insisting there must've been a mistake. of course not. he was the one getting all the sympathy for having told shiro not to go and look how tragically this all turned out while keith was the one routinely being told to stop being delusional.

keith doesn't breathe a word of it. what good is arguing about adam when shiro clearly feel some residual need to defend him? and how is keith's lingering resentment of the garrison even shiro's problem? for as much as keith had garnered some reputation for picking fights, that's not the truth of it. it's more that when keith is provoked sufficiently, he doesn't de-escalate. in this case, this is a pointless debate that they can both do without. he reaches over to give shiro's shoulder a light pat. ]

I don't think he'd want that either.

[ it's only after keith's said it that it occurs to him that maybe this isn't exactly the most comforting thing to hear, but... it's hardly a secret, is it? if adam had actually wanted to look after shiro, they would likely still be together and all. after a beat, keith takes his hand off the shoulder and re-folds his arms. ]

Wonder if the Garrison even bothered telling people back home you're alive and owned up lying.

[ again, bitterly, keith thinks probably not. ]