VOLTRON ONE-SHOTS

Keith - Colorful Sound

Word Count: 4,284

For as long as Keith could remember they'd always been there.

The colors.

Bright flashes of light flitting across his vision at every sound that met his ears.

Sometimes, it was- peaceful, almost serene, it helped remind him in tough times that no matter how many foster homes he'd sift through, no matter how many people gave him hard looks or made fun of him for being the orphan of the group, sound never changed.

Color never changed.

It was the one thing in his completely screwed up life that always remained the same.

And he was grateful for that.

He wasn't sure how he'd feel if this "gift" was taken away from him (his earlier foster brother had called him a freak every time his commented on how ugly the color was that came out his mouth was, after a few more times of bringing the ability up to a few grown-ups Keith quickly learned to keep it to himself).

It never kept him from exploring though, recalling the memory of him picking up an instrument for the first time- a weathered guitar, looking like the thing had seen much better days. His pale fingers wandering over the strings the moment the smooth wood made contact with his skin as he gave it an experimental thrum, bright blues mixing with pinks and greens in a swirling, dipping, mixing collage of color that made Keith's head spin in awe far after the colors faded from sight.

He loved it.

After some convincing and waiting for his current foster father at the time to loosen his grip on the instrument, he got the same rickety guitar as a birthday present a year later, Keith not even bothering to care that the thing looked to be days away from falling apart.

He loved it.

He'd been near inseparable from the thing ever since.

The instrument grounded him, helped him remind himself that even in a bright big world of noise, he could still have control over what he could hear- er- see to be more exact.

It was amazing-

-whimsical almost.

He liked being able to see what he could hear, the sensation almost like watching fireworks explode across his vision at every whisper that met his ears.

But sometimes-

Sometimes it was a hell of a headache to deal with.

Like now.

Especially now.

He couldn't deny the days where he wished more than anything in the world for the earth to quiet, for him to be the only one in his head, silence reigning supreme in his ears, his vision clear of any colors, of any sounds, just-

Silence.

Of course, in New York City, silence was hard to come by.

He clenched his teeth as the subway finally came to a stop with the ear-shattering sound of breaks, a bright collage of putrid yellow and green exploding across his vision, nearly blinding his sight and Keith stumbled forward the second the car under him came to a stop, pushing past the mass of bodies trying to enter and leave the train much to the annoyance of several passengers who shot him dirty looks over their shoulders when he pushed past without a sound-

He didn't care.

He had to get away from the noise.

It- it was too much.