Burnt Out {A Hero!AU Sheith Fanfiction}

Plotting

Matt looked up at Shiro, his eyes wide behind his glasses. His lips, one side still swollen and scabbed from the punch delivered to him that morning, parted into a disgustedly surprised gape. He leaned up from his spot on the couch, shaking his head back and forth, still not able to even dignify Keith with even a simple glance. He just stared at Shiro as though he'd been a madman.

"Are you crazy?" he asked, pushing up a little bit on the couch. Shiro could smell the scent of strong weed wafting from Matt as he moved -- Shiro figured dismally he had gone out and smoked a bit to settle his nerves after his argument with Keith. "Shiro, God, I know you have like zero common sense but this is a whole new low. You want to willingly hand yourself over to the guy who wants your head on a steak, and you're going to depend on Keith to keep you safe?"

Shiro frowned a little, but he nodded. He'd been standing rather alertly, making sure he was the right distance from both Keith and Matt to be able to spring into action and stop one from lunging at the other. As much as he figured his previous chastising from that morning had affected Matt, he knew better than to take chances. Especially with the way Keith tensed up at the sound of his own name hissed through Matt's scowling lips.

"If you think about it, this is our best and safest bet on getting Zarkon," Shiro said. "Keith and I have been discussing possible plans all day. He's going to get closer to Zarkon in the span of a week or so, 'capture' the Black Paladin, and then we're going to take him out from the inside. I trust Keith, Matt. There's no need to worry."

Matt scoffed, rolling his eyes so dramatically he seemed to throw his head back. "You trust Keith? Really?" he snapped. "I... God, Shiro. What if he just turns you in and never breaks you out? What if this is all some kind of way to get you into Zarkon's hands?" He flicked his harsh gaze over to Keith for just a moment, looking him up and down before turning back to Shiro. "You're literally going to have to trust him with your life. How can you just... how can you just do that?"

"At least I don't make fun of orphans," Keith spat under his breath, before pausing a moment when he noticed how Shiro was looking at him. "My ass depends on this too. My life is on the line if any of this goes wrong. If you want to believe that I'm selfish then that's exactly the reason why I still wouldn't betray Shiro. The other reason is because I don't want to do something like that. I don't want to just turn Shiro in to be tormented. I don't want to hand Shiro over for a shitty promotion and more ties with a mafia I don't want to be a part of."

He wanted to wring Matt's neck already. Oh, great.

Instead, though, he slumped back in his chair.

"I want to take Zarkon down. Both for my sake and Shiro's. I want to defeat Zarkon. I want him to get the hell out of everyone's life. I never want to see him again. I want him to die. Partly because he implied that he might have had something to do with my mom's death- disappearance-" he faltered, correcting himself for Shiro's sake, "and partly because he's a horrible person. And if I wanted to get him delivered to Zarkon, why would I be telling you? Of all people to tell, I'd only tell you shit if I wanted my life ruined. I can't trust you to pass a message onto Shiro, why would I ever tell you about the plan? If it would make you feel better, we could get Lotor in on it?"

He looked up at Shiro.
"Wouldn't you like that? Just to ensure that I'm not going to hand you over for a little money and a pat on the head, let's tell Lotor about the plan too."

Shiro furrowed his brow at Keith.

"I'd go through with the plan with or without, Lotor," he said quietly, hoping to clear his point of trust over before turning back to Matt. "But all things considered, we are going to need all the manpower we have. Having Lotor on our side for this would be great."