Right Here (Klance)

Chapter 1

Ever since he could remember, Keith had been an orphan his entire life. When he was 7, his father died in a house fire while rescuing a family. He died a hero, but he left his own family behind, the only family he had left. Now where was his son? Alone. All alone. Seemingly forever alone. That was until he was moved into a foster home by a young man with pale skin, black hair, a muscular figure, and dark slanted eyes. He was rather intimidating, but the people at the orphanage assured Keith that he was a good man who was going to take good care of him. Still, he couldn't help but be suspicious of him. For years, no one had wanted him because he was an older child, amongst the oldest in the orphanage. When most people adopt, they look for babies, and young children. Keith was entering his teens this years. The orphanage was almost sure that he would never find a home at this rate and would have to live there until he was old enough to care for himself, yet here he was, saved by this godly figure dressed in dark greys and black. The man towered much like a God-like figure would, confident and intimidating, yet gentle all at once. It turned out, the man who took him in happened to have lost his mother a year prior and had no one left to turn to for comfort and company. He had been looking for a brother to take care of, sort of an outlet, or a source of responsibility to keep his mind busy and the negative thoughts away. Keith so happened to be right kid for the job.

Keith sat in the back seat of a black Charger in silence, looking out the tinted windows. Every so often he would catch the man glimpsing at him from the rearview mirror, only to smile and look away again. The car was seathing with an awkward silence, the only source of sound coming from the tires against the slightly bumpy road and the very light volume of music playing on the radio. He looked over at the man with his head rested on the palm of his hand. He returned the glance and smiled again.

"I don't think we were properly introduced." he said in a deep voice, though intimidating, there was a friendly tone in it.

"My name is Takashi Shirogane. I realize that is very difficult to pronounce, so you can just call me Shiro if you would like. If you aren't comfortable with the formality of it, Takashi is fine too." Keith did not respond.

"So Keith, I understand you are a little rebel." Keith shot him a glare. "Oh no, it's not a bad thing; I was too at your age. And I'd like to say that I think I can handle it. As long as you're not doing drugs you're all good with me."

Keith looked away with a blank expression.

"I've never had any siblings before, so I think this will be fun. I know you aren't well into the idea of it just yet, but you'll get used to it as time goes by. You seem like the loner type so take your time to get used to things. I know change is hard..."

The whole rest of the car ride returned to the speechless void that it had been the moment they left the orphanage. The only belonging Keith wanted to bring along with him was a small purple hippo plush that sat next to him in the back seat, buckled up. That poor toy had seen hell throughout its days, but it was still in one piece and Keith still loved it, refusing to fix or get rid of it. He never knew why...

Keith's eyes began to open from darkness the second he heard the beeping of the car door open. His vision was rather blurry, seeing how he had slept for about an hour or two on the way back. Shiro was rounding the car and opened his door for him, putting a hand on his shoulder to be sure that he was waking up. Keith unbuckled and took the hippo with him in his arms. He followed Shiro through the garage door and stepped inside, shutting the door behind him. The garage led to the dining room, which was decently sized and had a wooden chandelier above the table. He looked around, his legs refusing to move from their comfortable spot in front of the door and on the welcome mat below his feet. The floors were plated in grey tile, the walls a light bluish-purple lined with wood around the trim and baseboards. Beyond the dining room on the right was the rather large kitchen, built the same way as the dining room. He could not see any further than that without moving from his spot. He looked at Shiro, who was busy hanging his coat on the wall and setting his car keys on the table. He then met Keith's eyes, only for the small boy to look away again. Shiro stepped toward him and placed a hand on his shoulder. It was that moment that Keith noticed his prosthetic arm. How had he not seen it before?