[ and surprising to no one: shiro doesn’t want to talk about it. it’s a short-sighted kind of stubbornness on his part, he knows, because they’re working on something bigger here and if they’re collecting intel, shiro needs to be open about any experience, especially the unpleasant, possibly traumatizing ones. so even with keith letting go and doing nothing to actually stop him, shiro slows his steps until he’s standing in the midst of the pathway. thankfully it’s large enough for people to continually pass by without either of them being a nuisance.

he delays an extra beat and then exhales on a sigh, turning just enough to look at keith. ] I saw Adam again. [ clearly, he’s frustrated, but it doesn’t wholly take over his voice. if anything, he sounds tired. apologetic. this is the second time in less than a half an hour that he’s had some sort of crisis over his ex. it is, of course, not his fault, but to shiro, it feels like he has some share in it. ]

This time he was a target. [ another pause, one in which he moves to cross his arms over his chest, self-soothing by hugging them tight to himself. this next part has him offering a tight grin and a strained laugh, his dark humor coming through. ] Pulling the trigger didn’t make the hallucination go away. It made it worse.

[ and that’s as far as his compromising will go. he's talked about the bare-bones of the spook so that they are on the same page of what this circus is dabbling in but any detail of how shiro feels in the wake of all that? he’s done enough opening up about adam to last him the rest of the year. so he tacks on a hasty, yet firm: ]

But it’s fine. None of it was real. [ he doesn’t need another pep-talk. shiro likes giving them, but he certainly doesn’t like receiving them and another one will likely only sour his mood further. right now, he’s desperately trying to unsour it by forcing a smile, sheer determination to appear stronger than he feels, making him nod to the prize in keith’s grip. ] And we got you your hippo -- I’m glad you like him.