2019 Voltron Whumptober Collection

29 Numb

Keith felt- off.

Was- was it always going to be like this from now on?

He- he wasn't sure.

Cosmo whined, jumping up to the bed he was perched on, curling up at his side, and Keith numbly ran his fingers through the animal's fur, the action doing little to calm the ocean of thoughts inside him as he tried to understand it.

Why couldn't he understand it?

He'd seen it with his own eyes, he was there, he'd seen the princess disappear in a brilliant glow of yellow light after everything- everything but one single reality was left, the very bane of existence tied down to a thread that could've snapped at any given moment.

Everything gave way, fading into a single endless sheet of black.

And then-

And the universe shifted back to the way it was.

The way it had been.

The way it had always been-

"Keith?" There was a knock on his door-

Shiro-

"Are you in there?"

He didn't say anything, fingers still going through Cosmo's fur, eyes blank as Shiro let himself in, the door quiet as it shut behind him, a black and white blur coming into his vision as the man knelt down in front of him, brown eyes trying to meet his own.

He didn't move.

Didn't stir.

Why would it matter if he did?

In the world, the universe, realities, did any of it really matter? With how small he was to the universe, how-

"Hey."

For the first time in hours, Keith's thoughts came to a halt, his vision clearing as he caught sight of the scar, the hair, the expression.

Shiro.

"Hey," the man tried again, shifting to kneel on the floor.

Keith knew he'd do that.

"Everything okay? I was walking through and figured I check on you."

Keith blinked.

Shiro frowned, "Are you doing okay?"

Was he?

Was he really, with everything that's happened?

Was he really okay?

His fingers ran robotically through Cosmo's fur again, he blinked.

"Keith."

He looked up to meet the man's eyes, brown orbs radiating worry.

He didn't know what to think.

"Look, I get it, I do, what you went through- what we went through- it was rough, and I understand that-"

"Do you?" He felt his lips move, but he didn't register the sound until Shiro's expression changed, Keith's fingers clenched in his lap, and he actually saw Shiro's face warp into understanding.

Not shock, or anger, he just understood.

"Yes, I do."

"How?" His voice croaked, "How can you understand what we went through? What happened back there? How no one seems to know about it but us? The whole universe disappeared, Shiro and- I-"