[ the amusement for keith’s intense consideration and defense for the art of throwing knives stays with shiro for a good while, even when keith turns his attention to the balloon board. he lands the first shot; of course, shiro thinks and he smiles proudly, staring at the ripped purple rubber. there’s no accompanying whoop of victory on keith’s part though. the next couple of moments come on fast and regretfully, shiro flounders in them.
keith is gasping, the carnie isn’t helping, and shiro isn’t either. he stands there like a fool. ]
Keith? What’s happening? [ shiro doesn’t have the frame of mind to keep the panic out of his voice or his expression. but fuck, what a stupid thing to ask. keith can’t even talk. shiro abruptly drops the hippo on the counter and steps closer, hands raised as though to touch keith in some form of help, but how? shiro is saved from his uselessness soon enough. those last, few seconds seemingly last forever and yet, they pass in a blur. keith’s hunched over, with his hands on the counter but he’s breathing and shiro, well, shiro finds that he can breathe a little easier too.
medical? now that keith isn’t suffocating right in front of him, shiro remembers the carnie, although he doesn’t look to him. it was a spook, huh? what happened, happened once keith won, just as the worst of shiro’s last hallucination came when he pulled the trigger to win. the concerning part here though, is that while shiro merely imagined something, keith felt something.
they shouldn’t have come here. they should’ve left for headquarters. all this for a stupid -- ]
What prize would you --
[ frustrated at his own deteriorating mood and the utter unconcern in the carnie’s voice, shiro snaps: ]
Shut up, would you? [ he issues a glare at the clown as well, holds the stare for an extra beat and then looks back to keith. finally, he does something with his hands, lying one lightly on keith’s back as he leans in closer to his hunched over form. far gentler now: ]
Keith. You okay? [ he can hear the carnie moving away but shiro doesn’t care. ] I don’t understand what just happened, but if there’s anything I can do…
[ the carnie is back and suddenly, there’s a furred yellow thing shoved close to shiro’s face. ]
Here you go. [ shiro straightens up some, just to get away from the hatted duckie. thrown off, shiro starts off slow. ]
That’s not… -- what? [ guess they’re taking too long and the carnie is choosing for them. nice. ]
it's important for our nonexistent stalkers to know.
keith is gasping, the carnie isn’t helping, and shiro isn’t either. he stands there like a fool. ]
Keith? What’s happening? [ shiro doesn’t have the frame of mind to keep the panic out of his voice or his expression. but fuck, what a stupid thing to ask. keith can’t even talk. shiro abruptly drops the hippo on the counter and steps closer, hands raised as though to touch keith in some form of help, but how? shiro is saved from his uselessness soon enough. those last, few seconds seemingly last forever and yet, they pass in a blur. keith’s hunched over, with his hands on the counter but he’s breathing and shiro, well, shiro finds that he can breathe a little easier too.
medical? now that keith isn’t suffocating right in front of him, shiro remembers the carnie, although he doesn’t look to him. it was a spook, huh? what happened, happened once keith won, just as the worst of shiro’s last hallucination came when he pulled the trigger to win. the concerning part here though, is that while shiro merely imagined something, keith felt something.
they shouldn’t have come here. they should’ve left for headquarters. all this for a stupid -- ]
What prize would you --
[ frustrated at his own deteriorating mood and the utter unconcern in the carnie’s voice, shiro snaps: ]
Shut up, would you? [ he issues a glare at the clown as well, holds the stare for an extra beat and then looks back to keith. finally, he does something with his hands, lying one lightly on keith’s back as he leans in closer to his hunched over form. far gentler now: ]
Keith. You okay? [ he can hear the carnie moving away but shiro doesn’t care. ] I don’t understand what just happened, but if there’s anything I can do…
[ the carnie is back and suddenly, there’s a furred yellow thing shoved close to shiro’s face. ]
Here you go. [ shiro straightens up some, just to get away from the hatted duckie. thrown off, shiro starts off slow. ]
That’s not… -- what? [ guess they’re taking too long and the carnie is choosing for them. nice. ]