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31 - Midnight Cruise part I

A/N
This chapter was too long, so I had to split it into two parts :')

KEITH

"Where you heading?"

Keith paused in the middle of tying his laces, looking up. At the doorway stood Shiro, leaning his weight on the frame. His jaw was freshly shaven for the new year, even though neither him nor Adam had any plans to celebrate it ("It's a bit corny. And the 'new' thing I know I'm gonna get is a new arm," Shiro had stated that morning, sounding more cavalier than Keith). He didn't have his prosthetic yet, so the right sleeve of his sweater had been tied to a knot to fend off the crisp air from getting into his body. His body upright looked uneven with only his left arm hanging from his left shoulder.

Keith was still trying to get used to it.

"Out," he replied. "I thought that was obvious."

"Oh yeah, it's very obvious," Shiro agreed. "Just had to make sure. Since your natural habitat is a room full of art supplies – that being your bedroom."

Keith sneered at his brother, translated to; I hate that I can't argue with you on that one so I'm just gonna look derisive. "Glad to know your head's okay," he said instead.

This made Shiro laugh. "No, seriously," he said after a few seconds. "You barely go out this late."

"It's nine-twenty,"

"I thought Keith's shop closes at seven p.m.?"

"Har,"

"You meeting someone?"

"Now that you asked," Keith gave his shoelaces a final tug, "yeah, I'm going out with my friends."

Astonishment flickered on Shiro's face. "Okay, that's cool," he said. "But I thought you hated parties?"

"I do," he nodded. "But Lance, Hunk and Pidge do this annual midnight cruise on every New Year's Eve where they drive out of town. Thought it'd be fun to join them. No parties; a green light for me."

A serene smile replaced his brother's playful mien. Shiro's eyes momentarily glazed over, and Keith was suddenly struck with the realisation that him actually going out with a small band of close friends was what Shiro had been trying to nudge him into ever since they met. He supposed the man's prayers had been answered.

"All right," Shiro eventually said. "Have fun out there."

Keith opened his mouth to deliver a witty comeback before Shiro pointed his finger at him, saying, "Not too fun."

The man was mostly out of sight when Keith came bounding into the corridor. "Wait, Shiro—" he halted just in time when Shiro turned around, eyebrows raised. "Have ... have you heard from Krolia?"

"Yeah, this morning, actually," the man nodded. "Why?"

"I— I tried contacting her but she never responded," Keith felt contrite as he said this. It was true that he had been trying to reconnect with his mother, but the latter appeared to have given him the cold shoulder.

That was his fault.

"Do you know why?" Shiro asked. The question didn't contain any sort of mockery in it, but Keith felt it punch a hole into his heart nonetheless.

"I ... lost my temper at her when you were first rushed into the hospital," He waited for a scoff of disbelief, but snapped himself out of it. Shiro was not a mean person. "I just wanna apologise to her."

Now a different smile – full of affection, worn only when Shiro felt like a father who had unlocked a new path into bonding with his son – took over the man's face. "She doesn't use her number anymore. Says it's risky at the moment," he said, all at once explaining the zero response from Krolia. "She contacted me via an anonymous email."