Archive of Our Own

Keith swung open the door to her store. Well, it wasn’t her store, but it was about as close as it could be. She worked at the convenience store with two other friends of hers. However, seeing as they never seemed to be around at just the right time, she was more than happy to call the little store on the corner of Bloom and Hartford her own.

Tidying up in the store only took a few seconds. None of Keith’s customers were particularly rowdy, let alone destructive. As a result, her popularity grew. Not only for her reasonable prices and shy, mysterious aura, but more for her… more shady side of business. Keith was one of a many witches, wizards, and other magical persons in her small town. She sold charms, potions, and the likes to anyone with an interest and the time of day. Sure, it wasn’t the most profitable endeavor, but her clients were very pleased with her products and returned often.

Day to day life was slow and habitual for Keith. Wake up, eat breakfast, walk to the store, tidy up, open shop. Take customers, restock shelves, make magical goodies in the back, order more supplies for said goodies, sell things. Close shop, tidy up, keep record of sales and orders, walk home from the store, eat dinner, go to sleep. Typical, unchanging, but not boring. Never boring. Ever since she’d moved out, Keith’s life was seldom boring. Boredom was rarely on the list of things to do.

For example, there was the turf wars. For a month straight, two magical group faced off against one another over the tree in Melody Park, the place in town with the most magical energy. Of course, it was a terrifying thing altogether, but as she never gave them anything that would hurt more than an upset stomach, it was great for Keith’s new business. Another time, she had several clients come in asking for exactly the same love charm. As it turned out, they had no intention to do so, but all of them three of them fell in love with each other. It all worked out fine, and Keith had even more customers as a result.

But on this particular day, Keith was bored. No one had had the time to stop in and chat as they bought a morning cup of coffee. No curious patrons wandered in with stories to tell of the night before or questions about her magical wares. Boredom was Keith’s worst enemy. Sure, being away from people is all nice and good, but the boredom was even worse. Boredom meant that Keith had the time to do whatever her mind made her do. Whether it was to lonely wander her thoughtless plains, climb the mountains of memories, hike through the forest of her regrets, or dive deep below the surface of her subconscious into the deepest darkest secrets hidden in her mind, she had too much time.

The clanging of the door’s handmade bell interrupted her mindful stroll. She snapped to. A small girl walked carefully into the store, almost as if she was too scared to step. She nodded at Keith, who smiled in return. The girl searched the shelves like an explorer in a new land. Finally, she found a pastry and a pack of tissues. She anxiously walked towards the counter where Keith stood, leaned up against the cold, laminate countertops.

“Anything else?” Keith asked softly. The girl bit back her words and murmured under her breath for a moment before shaking her head.

“Are you sure, honey?” she persisted gently. The girl opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. She instead pointed to Keith’s hand.

“That.”

Keith understood what she meant. She rolled up her sleeves and concentrated on her palm. A small flame sparked to life in her hand. The girl, now completely awestruck, stepped closer. Keith offered her hand towards the girl. Curiously, she put her finger out and moved it near the flame. She poked it delicately, watching it as the flame exploded into miniature fireworks that lit up all around the small shop. The girl giggled gleefully with pure delight.

The girl reached up to grab a spark. Keith watched as the flame glowed and grow just like it had done with her. She smiled and let a few memories wash over her.

The first time she lit a flame. It was her 8th birthday. Her dad had been working all week long just to make enough to surprise Keith. She had to make herself dinner and get ready in the morning and pack her lunch. But she knew it would all be worth it. The house was lonely after school. It was just Keith and whatever kind of critter would wander into their small home.

Of course she could always go hang out with her “friends”, but they didn’t really care. They didn’t accept her. The only one who did was her dad. And now he was gone. Sure, he’d be back in a few hours, but those were lonely, long hours. Keith crawled up and sat in her bay window and looked out slowly.

Her birthday was on Friday. That Friday had been total hell for Keith. In class, they had sang “Happy Birthday”, only to throw a big cupcake in her face and snap the elastic on her paper party hat against the back of her neck as she cried. Needless to say, she was ready to go home. Her father picked her up from school for the first time that week. Keith curled up in the back of the pickup truck and cried quietly, letting chocolate cake and salty tears roll down her cheeks.

When they got home, her father took her around the back of the house to a small field. He showed Keith a gigantic stack of hay and guided her hand towards it.

“You are a witch. Not a wizard, a witch. A pyromancer, at that. You are so special. And someday, you will be able to light this entire thing on fire without so much blinking your eyes or batting an eyelash. You are stronger than you could ever imagine,” he said confidently. He lead her back inside.

There was a cake on the table. Nine red candles. Keith felt overjoyed that he remembered that red was her favorite. Hopefully he remembered the strawberry cake too. Keith’s dad took a lighter and lit the first eight. The final one he left unlit.

“Go on. Light it, my little witch.”

Keith focused hard on the final candle. Her one to grow on. The most special one of all. She made her wish.

The candle burned bright. But it could never compare to the bright smile on her father’s face.

She refocused. The little girl held the fire for a few more seconds before closing her hand around the small flame. It extinguished.

“You are going to be a very powerful witch, I can tell you that,” Keith chuckled as she bagged the items for her. The girl as she paid for the pastry and tissues. She walked out of the store, beaming bright like the fire she had held.

Keith had her regular customers from that point on. A box of mac and cheese. A few requests for love charms, a luck charm, a mild hypnosis charm. But that girl stuck in her mind. Keith was glad she could have an influence on someone. Changing the way that anyone thought was something Keith never thought she could do.

It was rare that Keith was able to leave her job early. Her friend had come in unexpectedly, with full intention to work the rest of the day. Maybe she’d seen the bags under eyes from working too many late shifts, or maybe she was an angel sent from above, but Keith took the chance to leave without hesitation. She walked out of the store with her head held high like the afternoon sun. Keith pulled the headphones out of her crimson hoodie (a bad choice on such a hot day, she decided a few moments later) and scrolled through her playlists.

Happy? Sad? Angry? Bored? Inspired? Yeah, inspired.

She put the earbuds in her ears and cranked up the volume all the way. Her father always warned her about her about going deaf prematurely, but since he wasn’t here, she could do what she wanted to. Music seemed like a good solution for her problems. There was far too much on her mind to keep track of.

So when she crossed the street and walked right into a parked van, it came as no surprise to her. Standing up and rubbing at her forehead, Keith looked at the van. Ironically, it was a parked moving van. She chuckled at this for a second before realizing the implications.

Someone new in town!

Keith walked around the van and looked towards the house. She recognized it vaguely, she had toured it while searching for a new place to live. It was a small, pale blue house, made just for someone like her. Small, but not cramped, tidy, without being for a neat freak, and just far enough away from the city to not be interrupted at night, while being close enough for her to walk to work.

The newest member of her small community had a lot of boxes. Boxes meant a lot of stuff. A lot of stuff meant a lot of history. A lot of history meant lots of stories. All in all, it meant questions. And not just for even whoever was moving in, but for her. It was truly a double edged sword.

Regardless, she wanted to meet her new neighbor. It was turning out to be a good okay, so she thought she might as well try something new. Keith stood next to the tallest box she could find and peeked over the top.

“Need a hand?”

“Yeah, kinda,” the voice on the other side chuckled. A woman stepped out from the other side. She held her prosthetic arm out for Keith.

Oh. My. God.

“I am so so so so so SO sorry. I don't know what came over me. I-I didn’t mean to--” Keith stuttered, extremely flustered.

“No, no! Don't worry. It's an expression! Not to mention, you didn't know,” she responded.

Keith scratched her neck awkwardly. She looked up at her new neighbor. She was tall. Very tall. And very, very attractive. Keith felt her heart flip about, like a gymnast in the middle of a huge tumbling pass.

“I’m Shiro, by the way,” Shiro said.

“Nice,” Keith said, forgetting how to speak for a moment. “Oh, OH, Oh. Um. I’m Keith. It’s very nice to meet you.”

Shiro smiled and shook her hand. Keith blushed profusely and grinned.

“Do you wanna come inside maybe? You’re the first person who I’ve actually met, so I’m kind of ready to get to know someone,” Shiro asked. Keith stared for a second before replying. Shiro shifted her weight awkwardly, waiting for a reply. Keith snapped to and nodded hastily.

“Alright then, grab a box and come on in!”

The inside was smaller than she remembered. The front hall lead to a small staircase. Behind that, a kitchen, which was connected to a tiny dining room. And to the left of the front hall, a living room with a bay window. Keith recalled wanting to buy the house solely for the bay window. From the foyer, she could see the sliding-glass doors. In some ways, it reminded Keith a lot of her house, but a few glaring differences diffused her illusion.

For example, the furniture was all some sort of soft fabric. The couch looked especially so, like one out of a commercial. Much bigger, the bay window- one of Keith’s favorite features. But hidden in the corner, was a small shelf. Despite being no bigger than about a foot, the shelf drew her attention due to its ornate nature. The base, decorated with carvings of swirling seas and bolstering breezes, tapered up to the top, where hand-painted fairies fluttered loftily around as sirens swam in the seas below.

The shelf didn’t just stand out because of its detail, but rather its content. The shelf was stocked full of the same type of small, canvas bag. Why was it so familiar?

Shiro sighed at Keith’s fascination. She shrugged her shoulders slightly, saying, “Welp, I guess you caught me.”

It hit Keith like a bus what the bags were. Spell bags! What kind, though? And why did she have so many? Usually, one or two charms will suffice for all of your needs- what could anyone have done to need that many charms. Her look of fascination turned to mild-to-severe concern.

“A-Are these all yours?” Keith stammered.

“Yeah, unfortunately. But don’t go getting the wrong idea. Let me explain,” Shiro waited a second to let Keith catch up. “I’m a witch. A bad witch. Not a bad witch, I’m not evil or anything. I just… can’t do magic well. These are all good luck charms. All...”

Shiro counted her charms before continuing on, “57 of them.”

Keith’s eyes practically popped out of her head. Fifty-seven good luck charms?? How th-

Shiro held up her finger again and pointed to one final charm hanging around her neck, “58.”

Keith was flabbergasted. In all her years, she had never met someone who needed more than three charms. She had only heard of people like that in stories her father told her growing up. Why did she have so many charms? How could anyone be that bad at magic??

Keith decided it was best to not to question any further, seeing as it would be kind of rude to just up and ask “How the hell are you so bad at this?”. She followed Shiro into the small dining room. From the blue plaster walls hung all sorts of paintings- ones of birds (flying, sitting, doing all sorts of birdy things), of magic symbols (mostly those Keith could never remember the names of), and overlapping lines (the kind of painting that made her think “Yikes that’s a mess”).

“Damn,” Shiro said from the other room. Keith looked into the kitchen to find her frustratedly twisting the knobs on the stove. She banged her fist hard on the counter, hardly recoiling, to Keith’s surprise. She walked into the kitchen and tapped on her shoulder.

“What’s wrong?”

Shiro sighed, “The stove won’t light. And I don’t have a lighter, even.”

Keith gently pushed Keith out of the way and pointed a finger towards the stovetop. It ignited instantly.

“See the thing is- I’m a witch too. I don’t have 57…58 good luck charms,” Keith explained. “I make charms though. So if you ever need 59… I’m your gu- gal. I’m your gal.”

Shiro looked quickly between Keith and the now-lit stove with a massive grin. She hastily explained that she had never actually met anyone else with magic since grade school. The overjoyed look on her face made Keith blush more and more with every second. She nodded and excused herself back to the dining room.

Minutes later, tea was ready. Shiro delicately carried in the kettle along with a sugar dish. Keith stared in marvel at her prosthetic arm.

“What kind of tea do you want, Kei- oh,” Shiro became quiet and tugged on the her folded-up sleeve, pulling it over the metal.

“Huh, oh, uh, um...” Keith said, clamoring over her words.

“It’s okay. I mean, it’s not every day that you meet someone without an arm, I guess.”

“No, no it’s not like that at all, it’s just like… how?” Keith asked, hopefully.

“How...?”

“How does it work?”

“Oh! Magic, actually. Not mine, but yeah… that’s the only way that I would ever have an arm again, so I said ‘To hell with it’ and now I have… this,” she finished, gesturing towards her arm. Keith gushed for a moment about how cool it was. Shiro beamed brightly. She walked back into the kitchen and dug through some boxes.

“So what kind of tea do you want? Mint… mint… orrrrrr mint?” she laughed.

“You wouldn’t have to have… mint, would you now?” Keith quipped back. The two laughed as the teabags steeped.

The tea was warm and smooth. In some ways, Keith imagined that’s what it would feel like to be held by Shiro. But no, that couldn’t be. Keith was straight.

Right?

Maybe?

Okay so maybe not. But this wasn’t the time for a sexual awakening. It was time for tea.

The discussion during tea varied greatly. They jumped from topic to topic like frogs on lilypads, barely even breathing between words. Lions, however, seemed to be a common ground.

Lions, as Keith learned, were Shiro’s favorite animal. They way they roared, how protective they are, even the way they played, interested her. Keith was always a cat person, so she could relate- to some extent at least.

Lions were always the topic, but they laughed like hyenas. Shiro’s laugh, Keith noted, was rich. It wasn’t shallow and soft like hers. Shiro’s laugh was warm and deep, like the grotto she grew up by. The seconds on the clock grew longer. Time seemed to slow down whenever Shiro so much as smiled.

The sun dipped below the horizon as Keith left her house that night. On her way out, Shiro gave her a small card, whispering softly in her ear. She shoved the card into her pocket. Keith grinned as she walked down the street, her heart practically tripping over itself. Like the little girl from earlier, Keith felt something like never before- a spark that burned bright deep inside her, growing and growing into a heated blaze. She felt the blaze spread throughout her body, like embers being blown back to life. Keith smiled as she felt the familiar tingle in her fingertips. She flexed her palm and a small flame appeared in it. She let the little fire illuminate her all the way home, extinguishing it by cupping its warm energy and pulling it close to her when she reached her doorstep. Keith slept easily that night.

The next day seemed to crawl by. There was no way that she was going to miss a chance to see her new friend. Friend? Friend seemed like the right word, but it wasn’t exactly right. But friend would suffice. Customers in, customers out. In. Out. In. Out. The words, “Have a nice day!” seemed to echo in her mind. Keith groaned as she leaned against the counter.

She stood up again as the bell chimed against the glass door. It was one of her regulars, Mrs. Elbourne. The old lady strolled up to the counter, where Keith had already resorted to slouching again.

“Rough day, honey?” she asked sympathetically. Keith nodded, letting the exhaustion show through her face. “Oh Keith, sweetie, you look like you haven’t slept in years!”

Keith chuckled at the irony, “Actually, last night was the first night where I actually was able to get to sleep before midnight!”

“Did you meet someone?”

“No, Mrs. Elbourne,” Keith replied, rolling her eyes a bit. Mrs. Elbourne sighed with slight disbelief.

“I remember being in love. The late Mr. Elbourne was quite the charmer, let me tell you. The first date, I remember he took me to the old rose garden by the cemetery. It was a full moon...”

Keith smiled as she described the date, but tuned out halfway through. Her mind was distracted by thoughts of Shiro dashing around her mind. Keith imagined the feeling of being held tight by Shiro all night long. She thought of the soft kisses, the sweet laughter, the quiet moments that they could share.

“...and of course, he was quite shocked when I made the skeletons dance with us, but all in all, it was quite romantic,” she finished, with a satisfied look on her face. Keith waved off that last bit with a little laugh.

“So what will it be today? A communication spell? A few ingredients? A box of cereal?”

“Oh, nothing. Just thought I would stop by and say hello,” Mrs. Elbourne smiled mischievously. Damn. Keith forgot that she was telepathic.

“Goodbye, Mrs. Elbourne,” Keith said. The old woman grinned and walked out of the store, leaving Keith alone in the store once again. Keith whipped out her phone and furiously texted her co-workers, Allura and Hunk.

K: I’M LEAVING IN 10, SOMEONE TAKE OVER FOR ME

H: Why? Is everything alright?

K: THINGS ARE BETTER THAN OKAY!!

A: Oh dear God, Hunk. She’s in love.

H: ooooOOOOOOOO YOU’RE IN LOVEEEEE

K: AM NOT

A: Yep, definitely.

K: Just one of you get over here soon.

Keith put her phone away and waited a few seconds, anticipating the bell to ring right away. To her surprise, she didn’t hear anything. She checked her messages

A: I can’t today. It’s my turn to go see my dad.

H: It’s date night with Shay!! I have to get ready!

K: Guys, seriously??

A: I know how much this means to you, but I don’t get to see him often.

H: Shay just got back from out of state…

K: Alright. Fine.

She slammed her phone against the countertop. Reaching into her pocket, she withdrew the card Shiro had given her. She turned the thick cardstock over and over again in her hands, letting every groove and indent of the penned-in numbers register against her skin. What did she have to lose? Keith picked up her phone.

Ring. Ring. Ring. Click.

“Hello?” came a voice on the other end. Keith didn’t know what to do.

“Keith,” she anxiously stated. She heard Shiro’s laugh through the phone.

“Hi Keith. It’s nice to hear from you!” she giggled. Keith blushed madly.

“Uh… I was wonderi- What are you doi-,” Keith wracked her brain, searching the deepest nooks and crannies of her mind for just the right thing to say. She clenched her fists and mustered up all of the determination she could. “Do you need any more help unpacking boxes?”

“Yeah, actually! I have could really use an extra set of hands. No pun intended.”

“YES!!!- I mean, great! Sounds amazing. See you later!” Keith hung up the phone abruptly. She slumped against the wall by the counter and sighed, lost in thought once again. Sinking to the floor, Keith closed her eyes slowly.

It was a good nap. Mostly uninterrupted, mostly calm, mostly full of good dreams. She would have known entirely if she hadn’t been so rudely interrupted by Hunk.

Hunk? Hunk. Hunk??

Why was Hunk here?

“Sleeping Beauty awakes at last!!!!” he cried in mockery. Keith rubbed her eyes gently, clearly disoriented.

“What time is it? And why are you here?” she asked groggily.

“After you passed out, I got a text from Lance saying he came in and didn’t see anyone in the store, but it was unlocked. So I came to check and found you, takin’ a nap in the corner like it was some sort of lockdown drill. By the way, it’s 6:30, ya doof,” Hunk briefly explained. How could it be 6:30 already? Shiro was expecting her soon.

“But wait, what about Shay?” Keith yawned and stretched her arms, motioning for Hunk to pull her up. She stood up and brushed herself off.

“Shay had to cancel. More work stuff, she said.”

“Oh no… I’m so sorry Hunk,” Keith said sympathetically. Hunk shrugged it off and suggested they close the shop a bit early tonight. She happily agreed. Hunk tidied the aisles and checked stock while Keith ran over the sales for the day.

“Y’know ever since Allura’s dad… y’know… it seems like we’ve become a lot more distant,” Hunk said suddenly. Keith snapped her head around to look at him.

“What do you mean?”

Hunk took a second to finish sweeping the floor where he stood and moved onto the aisle before continuing. “I dunno. It just seems that she’s never in the store anymore.”

“Well, that’s understandable. Her father practically raised her here. And since the accident, she really doesn’t like being here. It reminds her too much of him.”

Hunk shrugged and focused back on his sweeping, stopping only moments later to make a snide remark about the price of pineapple, his favorite. Keith stuck her nose back into her bookkeeping duties. She shut the thin, leather bound book and pulled her belongings into a bag.

“Wait, where are you going?” Hunk called after her.

“I’m going to a friend’s.”

Keith walked quickly. She felt a cool breeze against her cheek as she paced, faster and faster, closer and closer. She reached the doorstep and knocked gently. No answer. She knocked again, a bit harder. No answer. She knocked a third time, nearly banging on the door. Shiro interrupted her “knocking”.

“Hi, babes, come on in!” she smiled. Keith felt her jaw drop. Babes? No one had ever called her that, or even anything close to that. Shiro took note of that and grinned mischievously before practically pulling her inside.

There were more boxes than before, even though it was evident that there was progress being made on the unpacking of things. In the living room, there was another huge sofa, but this one looked much fluffier (How that was even possible, Keith wondered). The dining room had some more of the paintings put up. Shiro’s stove worked, from what she could guess based on the smell of marinara sauce when she walked in.

“Whatcha making?” she asked.

Shiro gestured to the stove. “Pizza! Just with extra cheese.”

Keith watched in awe as she added various spices and cheese to the sauce. The oven beeped. Shiro called something about getting the over over her shoulder. Keith opened the door slowly and removed the tray from the oven with her bare hands. Shiro gasped in shock and rushed over with a oven mitt to take it away from her. Shoving her towards the sink, Shiro lectured her about oven safety and how that was, “a dangerous and impressive stunt”.

“Shiro, darling. That doesn’t hurt me,” Keith reassured her. Shiro sputtered for a second before collecting her thoughts enough to ask for an explanation. “I’m a) A very powerful witch and b) A pyromancer. I literally create flames from my fingertips.”

“Oh yeah! Never mind then!” Shiro exclaimed and carried on. Keith let out a small laugh for her fluttered friend. Shiro poured the sauce on the pizza crust and added more cheese before putting it back into the oven. Now would be a good time to tell her that I’m lactose intolerant .

Chit-chat, Keith soon discovered, was not her strong suit. The night went slowly, but she had no intentions of waiting for time to pick back up again. It was surreal. Minutes felt like hours whenever she was with Shiro. Everything seemed to be still, suspended in motion, stable. Nothing mattered, but in the best way possible.

And like time, the boxes in the corner didn’t move. At least not until the plates were cleared. Then came the boxes. Each came with a story of its own, one of Shiro’s stories. There was a hairbrush, full of black and white hairs (which Shiro apologized profusely for). Keith found a music box- it played “Twinkle Twinkle” (Shiro confessed it was her favorite as a child). A dress here and there, a pair of matte black stilettos, a few hairpins.

Everything that Keith found made her understand the girl before her a bit more. She felt something burn inside her for the first time in so long. Love? Sure, it could be that, but how? The best idea she could discern, right then and there, was that she was was in crush- the pressing feeling deep in her that at any moment could collapse and shatter into a million pieces, but felt so warm in the meantime.

Keith and Shiro barely noticed the time. It was far past the midnight by the time they noticed.

“Do you want to stay over?”

Keith nearly dropped what she could have sworn was the seventeenth lion figurine when she heard the words slip from Shiro’s mouth. She slowly turned to meet her shocked gaze. Shiro just looked blankly at her confusion. Keith stumbled out something about having to get back. Shiro helped her to her feet. Soon, they stood by her doorstep once more.

“Night, Keith,” Shiro smiled.

“Night babes,” Keith called as she walked down pathway.

Keith’s schedule was overworked to say the least. She never could have imagined ever getting a day off. All that changed when Allura, of all people, stormed right into the small convenience store and demanded full control of the ship. But Keith was not going to pass up an opportunity to take the afternoon off. She texted Shiro and quickly arranged a picnic date in the park, as a friend of course. Just as friendly date as some friendly friends.

They met at her doorstep, like the first time they had dinner together. Since then, they had spent what could have been hours standing at the doorstep, making cute little quips and flirtatious advances. The number of times Keith had been referred to as “babes” had skyrocketed exponentially, particularly on that very doorstep.

And there they stood, just a few months after meeting, at what felt like a turning point- a burning point- in her life. Keith was a phoenix. She had been burned, so harshly, with her work, her reclusiveness, her… everything. She had been born anew, or mostly so. Her work was less of a struggle and more of a joy, her heart felt something besides crippling isolation. Something deep inside of Keith was burning bright, warm, and soft. Shiro had been that spark, the one that burned her in the best way possible. She could only hope it didn’t burn a blaze too hot.

“Uhhh… Keith?” Shiro waved her hand in front of Keith’s face. “Earth to Keith?”

“Yeah? Huh? What?”

“You were spacing out- like WAY out!” she exclaimed. Keith giggled slightly in return. She then gestured towards the basket in Shiro’s hands.

“Ready to get your picnic on?”

The walk to the park was full of fluff. She discovered that Keith was a pyromancer, yet somehow afraid of most fires bigger than a breadbox. Keith learned that Shiro was a vegan for three years, only taking breaks to eat crabs at the beach. They found a spot beneath a blossoming dogwood tree.

“The park looks really nice today,” Keith smiled. Shiro smiled back for a second and started eating a ham and swiss sandwich. Keith frowned. “Is something wrong?”

“Oh, it’s nothing!” Shiro said dismissively. Keith looked towards her with big, round, indigo puppy dog eyes and pouted. Shiro booped her nose gently and continued chewing.

“I know that look. What aren’t you telling me?” she hesitantly asked.

“Can I trust you?”

“What?”

“Can I trust you? Not to hate me, not to judge me, not to treat me any different than before.”

“Yes? Of course. Just tell me. Please,” Keith begged. Shiro sighed a bit.

“My magic is unlucky, to say the least. Actually- if to put it frankly, I don’t ‘do’ magic, magic does me. I’m just along for the ride,” she chuckled for a bit before signing and continuing. “But there’s a reason.

“I didn’t have magic when I was younger. I didn’t have… any of this,” she gestured towards her body. Keith tilted her head slightly. “I’m trans.

In elementary school, I knew there was no way I wasn’t a girl. But… my body was different. I just wanted some way to change myself. I knew that no matter what, my parents would love me and stuff, but I didn’t love me. So I did the only thing my elementary school self could ever think of.

“I asked my friends to experiment on me. It’s not like I could do anything else. I mean, I could have told my parents, but that would have been to hard to explain. ‘Hey mom and dad! Your only child wants to completely change herself and be who she wants to be!’ I didn’t want to deal with all of that. So i became a guinea pig, I guess.

“Of course it wasn’t all that bad. Minor scrapes and a tiny burn or two. We were kids, so their magic was nowhere close to as strong as it could be. One day, my best friend Matt, was trying out a new spell- a transfiguration spell, you could say. He asked me what I wanted to be. Well… I think you can guess what I said.

“So I guess that’s what happened. Next thing I knew, I was laying on a hospital bed with a bandage around my arm. It hurt like hell, but I didn’t care. My parents looked horrified, but I was thrilled. My arm seemed like a small price to pay for everything else. That’s how I got my white streak too.”

Keith’s jaw dropped. Now was the time, tell her, Keith! Stop overthinking! You’ve got this! Just say it! Tell her th-

“Me too,” she whispered. She straightened up and spoke with confidence suddenly. “I’m trans too, Shiro.”

Shiro smiled towards her. “Well in that case, I guess I had nothing to worry about! Actually… you’re the first person I’ve told. I’m one for one, I guess.”

The two sat in mutual silence. Keith lay down on the blanket, the sun shining on her face. Moments later, a cloud covered the sun. She sat back up and frowned at Shiro.

“Allow me, madam,” Shiro said as she waved her hands at the sky. She clenched her eyes shut and wrinkled her face. Shiro opened her eyes with hope. The cloud stayed in place. Keith watched as her face fell into a deep pout.

“Try it again babes!” Keith insisted. Shiro persisted once more as she secretly flicked her hand slightly, moving the cloud for her. Shiro opened her eyes again and beamed with delight.

“I did it! Keith, look! I did it!” she squealed as she jumped around slightly. Keith smiled and nodded along happily. “Wait, wait, wait, watch this!”

Shiro took a leaf from off the ground. Keith waited with her eyes widening in anticipation. She cupped her hands around the leaf and squeezed it. When she opened them again, the leaf had turned into a napkin. Shiro handed the napkin to Keith, but as she did so, the napkin did something unusual for a napkin to do- it grew wings. Particularly, dove wings. But hey, at least Keith had a new favorite bird.

Dinner at Shiro’s place became a regular habit for Keith. At least once a week, Keith went over to her house. Their discussions went anywhere their minds could- aliens, space, knives (A topic which Keith greatly enjoyed), family, being trans, flowers- anything. Shiro was very open about a lot of things, which prompted Keith to open up as well. It was a bit of an adjustment at first, especially considering that everyone joked that Keith never spoke more than the same four sentences (“that will be five dollars”, “cash or credit?”, “here’s your change”, and “have a nice day”), but Shiro’s outgoing nature somehow changed Keith in a way. It made her want to talk about everything. Sure, that attitude never passed her doorstep, but Keith was content like that.

On this particular evening, one topic seemed prevalent- jobs. Since moving in, Shiro had been working from home as, as Shiro herself described it, a part-time digital bookkeeper, part-time IT consultant, and full-time badass. However, money in those fields was running short. Shiro needed a job.

“I don’t know where to get one is the problem,” she said as she stoically, adding a sugar cube to her chamomile tea. “All of my friends don’t have any ideas either. Most of them have had steady jobs since they were born, pretty much.”

“You didn’t ask me,” Keith pointed out with a twinge of pain in her voice. Shiro shook her head.

“You love your job. I wouldn’t want to mess things up for you,” she insisted.

“I can ask! I run that store. That store is my bitch. Boom. Problem solved,” Keith picked up her fork and dropped it, which would have been a fantastic gesture if not for the fact that she dropped it in her drink, causing it to spill onto her macaroni and cheese and prompting Shiro to practically split her sides laughing.

The idea seemed appealing enough to be considered. So for that night, and that night only, Keith stayed over. The spare bedroom was still packed with the never-ending boxes from Shiro’s move, so the next best thing was the couch downstairs. Shiro found a warm blanket and a pillow for Keith. She lay them down on the couch and tucked Keith.

“If you need me, I’ll be upstairs. Sleep well!” she wished.

“Where else would you be?” Keith scoffed in reply. Shiro rolled her eyes and walked upstairs. She heard the closing of a door. Gentle snoring followed a few moments later. Keith shut her own eyes and drifted off into a peaceful sleep.

Where am I? It’s dark. Dark and warm. What a weird combination. Wait a second, no. I’m at Shiro’s house. Am I really having another nightmare again? And why here- why now of all times?

Well… what’s it gonna be this time, huh? Spiders, sharks, strangulation? I wouldn’t be surprised.

A burning figure moved closer and closer to where Keith stood. It smelled of something… sweet? Like flowers, black charred flowers- roses, maybe. As it got closer, she could she the flames, running through its veins, like blood. In its hands, the figure held a heart. Keith looked down. Her heart was missing. The figure approached her, and placed a hand on her shoulder. She flinched in anticipation. The other hand gently placed the heart back inside her bosom. Keith expected a burning sensation, but instead was met with a soft warmth, spreading throughout her body.

From the corner of her eye, she could just barely see something interrupting the peace of her dream. A smoky figure crept rapidly towards her, like a stumbling zombie. She quickly turned gaze to face the figure. It looked horrid. She reached her hand out to grab the flaming figure, but it had disappeared. The smoke approached even faster than before. Keith turned to run the other way, but was met face to face with the creature. It engulfed her, leaving a burning feeling in her body. She watched in horror as the flaming figure was extinguished right before her eyes. She could hear its screams as its life drained slowly. Keith cried out in agony for it. She sunk to her knees. The smoke creature’s focus was redirected to her. It sprinted towards her fallen figure and-

Keith’s eyes snapped open. The room was dark. The front windows were open, letting a cold draft sweep through the house. Keith slowly rose to her feet and stumbled towards the window. She tripped over a stray cord, pulling an expensive lamp down with her. Upstairs, a door slammed and footsteps on the stairs. The light clicked on in the living room. Keith lay, emotionally immobilized, a deer in the headlights. Shiro knelt down beside her.

“What’s wrong? What happened?”

“I-I don’t… I don’t know,” she whispered shakily. Shiro pulled her close to her chest. Keith could hear her heart slowly cease its racing pace. She breathed carefully before clutching the loose gray fabric of Shiro’s sweater. She started to shake before breaking down, sobbing quietly into her friend.

After what felt like several millennia, Keith’s tears tapered off, leaving the last few salty drops to run down her face. She sat back on her heels and reached for a table to stand up, but found herself in a heap on the floor again as her knees buckled. Shiro gave her a sympathetic look.

“Come on, babes. I’ll carry you.”

Keith nodded as she felt Shiro scoop her up, bridal style. She tucked her head into the crook of her elbow. Lightswitch clicked off. Footsteps climbed up the stairs. Door opened. Shiro placed her down gently on top of a soft, velvety blanket. It smelled just like her- safe. Shiro tucked the blanket around her before climbing into the bed on the other side. She rolled over to face Keith and smiled.

“Better now?” she asked. Keith nodded. Surrounded by warmth, she drifted to sleep peacefully.

The next morning, everything felt normal again. Had she just spent the night with what might just be her first girl-crush? Yes, but Keith was having a hell of a time pretending that she wasn’t falling head over heels for her.

Sun was seeping through the windows. The dining room table stood in a ray of the warm light as Shiro made breakfast in the kitchen. Occasionally, Keith looked up from her phone to catch a glimpse of Shiro looking at her, only to see her blush and turn away at being caught. Those were the moments that Keith liked the most- those where she could almost hope for just a second that she was loved in the way that she loved Shiro. The thick, sweet smell of maple syrup filled the air as Shiro presented a tall stack of waffles in front of her.

“They smell amazing, but where’s the syrup, babes?”

“Ifs inshide,” she responded through a mouthful of waffles. Keith stared at the plate before her before raising her knife to pierce the flesh of the waffles before her. Syrup gushed out to her surprise. They tasted pretty good as well as being presentationally nice.

“Y’know,” Keith said, staring at her food as she swallowed another bite, “Waffles are just bone-in pancakes.”

Shiro opened her mouth to protest, but nothing came out. She stared at Keith, completely bewildered. Defeated, she dropped her fork and nodded silently. “You’ve won. But at what cost?”

The walk to the store seemed unusually short. With Shiro by her side though, Keith had a hard time focusing on the pain of her feet from the mile-and-a-half-long walk. Something was off, out of place- more accurately, someone new was in place. As the store entered their view, Keith and Shiro watched as a group of a few girls stood idly outside, snapping bright, pink bubblegum and twisting it around their fingertips. Shiro looked at her with a look of complete bewilderment. She shrugged in response. The tallest girl stretched the gum from her mouth and stuck it against the bricks of the storefront. That was where Keith drew the line.

“Hey! What do you even think you’re doing! That’s vandalism!” she yelled as they stood and stared blankly. The tall girl scoffed at her and rolled her eyes in response. In that moment, Keith saw her pale white skin flash a sort of bright lavender. A glamour, great. She narrowed her eyes. “Get out of here. Now.”

“What are you gonna do, burn me?” the girl laughed. Keith felt her fingertips glowing with rage- and flames.

“Give me one reason I shouldn’t.”

The girl stopped laughing and snapped her fingers. Her girl-squad straightened up. Suddenly, the leader was nowhere close to being the tallest. Keith gulped, but gathered her courage and marched closer to them. The leader furrowed her brow and clenched her fists. Suddenly her face relaxed, defeatedly. “Ezor! Acxa! Zethrid! Let’s get out of here.”

The rest nodded or said some sort of agreement. She flipped her long, snow-colored hair and stormed past Keith, shoulder checking her along the way. Keith stared at her as she walked by, noting everything about her. Strangely enough, she had no shame in literally wearing her name. Printed on the back of her royal purple varsity jacket in bright white letters- “LOTOR”. Keith glared.

“Hey beautiful,” Lotor said, winking at Shiro as she passed her. Keith’s eyes started burning bright, letting her hands become engulfed in flames. Shiro stared in awe as Lotor blew her a kiss before raising her middle finger high in the sky and turning the corner, her girls trailing right behind her. Ezor, whipped her magenta ponytail around, and stuck her tongue, but was met with the sight of Keith’s flaming hands. She flinched and turned back around. For just a second, Keith could smell the stench of singed hair, watching as Ezor chased after her friends.

Keith let out a long sigh. Her hands extinguished and she fell to the ground. Shiro rushed to her side and helped her to her feet. Standing up again, she reached for her keys out of her jacket pocket. Keith unlocked the door and ushered her friend in. “Welcome. Put your stuff behind the counter and I’ll give you some tasks for the day.”

“But don’t you have to ask everyone or something like that?” Shiro asked perplexed. Keith shrugged in response. “Just want some help around the shop?”

“Yeah, something like that. Plus, if you do end up working here, you’ll know what to do! You were a digital bookkeeper, right? Well you can do that today because I am horrible at keeping track of that kind of stuff,” Keith finished. She wasn’t quite over the adrenaline rush from her storefront showdown. Shiro just nodded and got to work.

The day was over soon enough and the two were on their way back. Keith, again, walked her to the doorstep and gave her a tight hug before walking back to her own house. She couldn’t get the image of Lotor and Shiro out of her head through.

Maybe she’d be happier with Lotor. I mean that’s not really fair, I’m not even with Shiro.

She opened the door and threw her stuff into the first available space.

I don’t know why someone like her would like someone like me, let alone how. I’m literally on fire most of the time!

Keith turned on the stove and set a kettle of water on it.

No way in hell she could possibly love me. Not possible. I can’t believe it. Lotor walked into her life and Shiro walked out of mine. Maybe I should stop talking to her. Maybe she’d feel better.

The kettle hissed wildly. Keith absentmindedly took it off the boiler with her bare hands. Her skin swelled up slightly, leaving red welts along her palms. She sighed and turned on the sink’s faucet, placing her hands under the cold water. Even if she couldn’t feel it, it wasn’t uncommon for her body to react to touching really hot things, especially when she was emotional. Keith didn’t notice her hands start to shake from the coolness of the water and continued to swim through the ocean of less than favorable outcomes of the meeting from earlier and from then on. Her phone chimed. Not just any chime though- Shiro’s chime.

S: Come over

K: What? Why?
S: Cos
K: Because what? 

S: I need help

K: With?
S: Something
K: What something?

S: Come over and you’ll find out

K: I hate you.

K: Be there in 10.

Keith threw on her jacket. It would be easier to drive, for sure, but walking sounded nice.

S: OH OH bring like,,,, all of your charms.

Suddenly, driving didn’t sound like such a bad idea.

Darkness fell over the land, leaving the streetlights to guide the way for Keith, who drove slowly with a box of charms in the passenger’s seat of her small car. She pulled into the driveway of Shiro’s house, to be met with a very upset Shiro standing on the doorstep. She opened her door and stepped out of the car. Shiro rushed towards her car.

“Where are they?”

“Passenger’s side.”

“Thank you,” Shiro said, opening the door and carefully, but quickly, taking out the box. There were at least 30 different pouches of charms and multiples of each. Shiro smiled at the sight. “Thank you, babe.”

Keith nodded before a wave of realization washed over her body. Babe? She never calls me “babe”, it’s always “babes”. What is going on??

Despite her confused condition, she willed herself to follow Shiro through the house and right to the back door, right into the backyard. Shiro set down the box and sighed. Keith snapped to. They stood in front of a rosebush. The buds were clearly dying, which was a shame because of how nice Keith imagined it would look in full bloom.

“Fix it. Please,” Shiro begged.

Keith blinked at her. “I’m sorry, what now?”

“I need you to fix it. Heal it, please. I really need your help. I tried so hard, but I can’t, I just...” Shiro’s voice trailed off as she broke down into Keith’s arms. “Please.”

Keith nodded. “I will, but may I ask why? You don’t have to answer, of course, I just, I’m a bit curious, is all.”

“This rosebush… belonged to my great grandmother, Asaka. Everyone in my family has a clipping. And when we move out, family tradition says that we each take some and plant it wherever we go. That way we leave a legacy. Except I do not have a green thumb. It’s closer that I have a red thumb, or whatever the exact opposite of a green thumb is. Point is this- I need you to save it. Please. It hasn’t taken root at all. It’s going to die soon,” Shiro said, practically crying. Keith nodded and sat down next to the bush with a handful of charms.

To be fair, Keith had no idea what she was doing. As a pyromancer, she could do little more than light things on fire, or so she thought. The first charm she tried was none other than a “helpful growth” charm. Surprisingly, no significant changes were made. A few twisted briars reached towards the ground, but their attempts at rooting seemed unsuccessful. Keith sighed and asked Shiro for another handful. Guess and check, I suppose.

After what felt like eons, more tricky briar branches made their way to the ground, rooting themselves deep within the earth. She sat back on her heels, realizing suddenly how sore she had gotten from being so steeply stooped and crouched over the now-flowering plant. She stood up, stretching the tension out of her muscles, only to see Shiro slumped against a large tree. Keith smiled for a second before gently shaking her friend back to reality. Shiro looked up groggily and gave a dazed look of concern. She parted her lips and began to speak, but was clearly too tired for anything to come out.

“It’s okay, darling, the roses are fine,” Keith said quietly, so not to disturb Shiro, who gave a contented smile before slowly closing her eyes again. Keith sat down beside her, almost letting her eyelids droop for a moment before nudging Shiro awake again.

Shiro groaned and yawned, but gestured for Keith to come closer. She obliged. Shiro brought her soft lips right next to Keith’s face and kissed her gently on the cheek before falling back against the tree and closing her eyes once again, leaning her head against her shoulder. Keith blushed furiously. From across the garden, the roses seemed to look at her. Keith carefully lifted her head and stood up, brushing the dirt from her ripped jeans. Stray petals lay tucked between the folds of her pants. Keith picked a few and held it close to her nose and breathing in the warm, sweet aroma. Suddenly, she felt a tickle in the back of her nose. Oh no. Oh no. OH. NO.

There was no way to avoid it. Keith sneezed, burning the petal in her hand in front of her. She rolled her eyes and sighed. Shiro woke up immediately.

“What smells like it’s burn- OH MY GOD!” Shiro screamed. Keith blew out the petal, reducing it to ash. She dropped it and dusted her hands off before clamping her palm over Shiro’s mouth. To her surprise, Shiro’s jaws clenched and shut, gnawing on her hand.

“Ew!” Keith cried, wiping the spit on the older woman’s shirt. Shiro chuckled in response. She pulled Keith’s hand and dragged her onto the ground beside her, kissing her cheek once again. Keith cupped her hands over her mouth and jokingly screamed into them. Shiro frowned intensely. Keith laughed. “No, no, no, not that. Not that look babes. No!! It’s my greatest weakness!”

The two grinned as they sat under the light of the stars and moon above. Shiro tilted her head up against the tree bark. Keith could see the color of her deep, sliver-y eyes, sparkling in the moonlight, bright against the darkness of the night sky around them. She smiled. Things had never felt so right- everything felt at peace within her. The burning sensation of liking, loving, crushing, whatever it was, had subsided, leaving a soft glow of warmth inside of her. Sitting by the tree under the moonlight was just what she needed. What she needed to confirm. What she had know was true, but was too deep in denial to say out loud.

“I think I love you.”

Keith looked over at Shiro. Those words did not just come out of my mouth- Did she just say that? Oh God, she’s looking at me. What the hell! I was supposed to say that! Way to steal my thunder- wait, what!?

“I think I love you too,” Keith whispered back. Before she knew it, Shiro had leaned her head on her shoulder and was flashing her most adorable smile. Keith stared back at her. Shiro’s eyelids slowly dropped. She began to snore quietly. Keith chuckled to herself for a bit before carefully standing up, pulling Shiro up with her.

Shiro regained her feet reluctantly, claiming that she could walk all by herself, but Keith was evidently dubious of this and chose to keep her arm over her shoulder as the two of them walked up the stairs to her bedroom. Keith tucked Shiro in before her friend/lover/whatever, could say anything about “Not being tired yet”. She closed the door and headed back down the path to the driveway. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of platinum blonde hair, practically white in the moonlight, ducking behind a bush just out of view. Keith could have sworn she had seen that same ponytail somewhere, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it. Under her breath, she quietly cursed her poor memory, but decided it was best to wait until morning to worry anymore.

The next morning, Keith opened her shop as usual. The usual customers, the usual purchases, the usual things outside the shop’s window as she watched over everything.

“You know, honey, there’s no cure for love aside from admitting it,” came a familiar voice from across the counter. Apparently, Mrs. Elbourne had stopped in for a bit of banter.

“I don’t think I’m in love, but thank you for the tip, I suppose,” Keith laughed playfully.

Mrs. Elbourne rolled her eyes. “Sweet pea, I know what love looks like. And you are most certainly in love.”

“What makes you so sure?”

“Well, for starters, you haven’t stopped talking about that new girl since she moved in. Keep in mind dear, she’s lived here for… all of 7, maybe 8, months? And you haven’t shut up since you met her! You’re practically infatuated at this point!” Mrs. Elbourne paused to gauge Keith’s reaction. She nodded for the old lady to continue on. She took a deep breath before continuing. “I’m going to guess you’ve been feeling warm lately, from somewhere inside your chest. It burns and hurts, but in all the right ways. Something burning brightly inside of you, like a candle that’s growing into a massive forest fire. It feels out of control, right?

“Just nod, sweetie. Good. Now, that witch girl. The new one. You’ve noticed her, correct? Well, I know you have- I was there, more or less.”

Keith’s jaw dropped. “How the he- Y’know, I’m not even surprised! Leave it to you, Mrs. Elbourne, to find a way to watch over me without even being anywhere in sight. You truly are a magic woman. Anyways, you were saying something about-”

“That girl. She’s powerful. A constant glamour is really hard to keep up. She’s quite impressive looking. Nothing compared to you, though.”

Keith practically chortled with laughter- Me? Good looking? Pffttt. I’m a hot mess.

“Don’t even think about saying any of the lies coming out of your mind. You’re beautiful, darling. You remind me of myself in my youthful days of love!”

“Mrs. Elbourne, don’t take this the wrong way, but do you have a point? It’s been such a long day and-”

The bell above the door clattered and jingled. Mrs. Elbourne rushed out in a matter of seconds and in walked none other than the ponytailed-princess from the night before: Lotor and her entourage. The tallest one of all, a muscular, tanned girl with bright blue puffs sticking out from the side of her head stood by the counter. The name on her blazer read “Zethrid”. Zethrid did not look pleased. Next to her stood a thin girl with a long, pink french braid. She threw her leg onto the counter and reached for her toes, like a runner warming up, and revealing the tattoo on her arm that said “ALTEA REGIONAL CUP CHAMPION”. To her left, a shorter girl. She glared menacingly at Keith. Lotor took her arm. “Acxa, Ezor, let’s take a look around.”

Zethrid took the opportunity to intimidate Keith by slamming a pack of gum down against the linoleum. She followed it with a few, surprisingly loud, coins too. Keith gulped, but rang it up.

Lotor returned from the back of the store holding a bag of popcorn. “This and… your most powerful love charm.”

“I’m sorry, I don’t think I have any in stock.”

“Well go make one, witch,” Lotor said bitterly. Keith bit back her words and angrily stormed into the adjacent part of her store with all of her charm supplies. The bell on the door clanged again, this time revealing Shiro.

Keith’s face burned a bright, bright red with a mixture of anger and embarrassment. Shiro smiled at her and waved before she was snatched away by Lotor, who directed her attention to her smooth hair. Keith hastily prepared the charm, eager to save her crush from the glamour of the girl in front of her. Her mind raced with jealousy for a way to get Shiro out of this situation.

“Here’s your charm, have a nice day!” Keith said through the clenched teeth of the biggest, fakest grin she could manage. Lotor shook her head tauntingly.

“I haven’t paid you yet. But first may I see the charm?”

Keith handed the tiny bag to her. “It’s on the house, Lotor.”

Lotor’s eyes glowed an electric yellow hue, startling Keith slightly. She held the bag to her nose and inhaled deeply before letting out an exaggerated sneeze and blowing the contents over Shiro. Keith watched in despair for a moment as the charm seemed to take root in Shiro’s mind. Her eyes fogged over, she started to sway slightly, her knees buckled and she fell to the ground. Lotor helped her up.

“Ow… what the hell was that about? You can’t just go blowin’ charms on people! That’s dangerous, you absolute unit! Are you thick?”

Keith burst out laughing. “I had no idea you were a sassy Brit!”

“Yeah, well something about having charm dust blown in my face doesn’t seem all that appealing!” she countered, glaring intensely at Lotor, whose face immediately lost all of its color. Lotor took one last glance at Keith before leaving as fast as possible, her girl squad following in her wake. The bell chimed for the last time. All was at ease.

“What just happened?” Keith asked, letting out the breath she had been holding deep inside her.

“It didn’t work. Probably because of my curse, to be honest,” Shiro shrugged.

Keith slumped back against the wall while Shiro leaned against the counter. Keith broke the peaceful silence.“I’ll be honest, after that, I’m just about ready to leave this shop. Wanna help me close up for the day a bit early?”

“Why not. We could go to the park!” Shiro added. Keith nodded in agreement. The two packed their belongings and locked the doors to the shop.

The sunlight couldn’t come anywhere close to being as beautiful as Shiro’s smile. Something about it- something about her- was absolutely enchanting. Maybe it was the way that her eyes sparkled a sort of gray-blue when the sun’s bright rays hit them just right. Or maybe it was her perfect eyeliner, which she always seemed to wear, that accented her eyes in all the right ways. It could be her hair, jet black with that streak of pure white. Perhaps it was just the way she looked at Keith, with a smile that brightened up her whole face, sending sparks flying in the emotional wasteland of Keith’s heart. Regardless, it was hot, to say the very least.

“Which park should we go to?” asked Shiro. Keith shrugged. “How about the one we went to last time? What was it again, Baxmore Park?”

“Why not try somewhere else? We could always go to Falls Plaza,” Keith suggested in response. Shiro frowned.

“Can we please go to Baxmore? Lotor said that she would be there and I have something to say to her.”

Keith’s heart dropped. Every muscle in her body suddenly ached and felt burdened down with what she had just heard. Not only does she want to see Lotor, but now she’s going out of her way to see her? But I can’t say no… that would be so wrong.

“Baxmore it is then,” she said sullenly. Shiro noticed her sudden change in tone and demeanor and stopped walking.

“Keith, babes, what’s wrong?”

Keith brushed it off and continued on walking as if she hadn’t even hear the question. Shiro trailed behind her, clearly upset. I keep messing things up. If she wants to be with Lotor, then fine, so be it. She deserves to be happy, not just me. Don’t be so selfish, Keith.

They walked the rest of the way in a slow silence. Instead of the same grassy hill as their last meeting, the pair opted for a park bench. They sat on opposite side of the same bench, or as far away from each other as humanly possible for a four-foot bench. Keith noted that the benches were made of a hard, cold stone which, she admitted to herself, was certainly a good metaphor for her emotional state. It came as no shock to her when Lotor came bounding up to Shiro only minutes after their “picnic” had begun.

“Shiro!” Lotor squealed. She caught a quick glimpse of Keith, who was giving her major side-eye. “And Keith.”

 Shiro smiled at her, “Hey Lotor! What’s up?”

Lotor flipped her pale ponytail, nearly whipping Keith in the face. Keith almost got up to slap her, or at least say something, but was stopped by Shiro subtly grabbing her arm. Keith blushed hotly and shot a bit of warm energy into Shiro’s hand, hoping it was enough to deter without causing nerve damage, until she realized it was her prosthetic. Shiro just seemed to grip tighter.

“I was wondering if you’d wanna hang out tonight? Except, maybe, just us? I know a great Thai place and it has a nice, romantic atmosphere! What do you say?” Lotor asked cheekily. Keith felt her blood boil, but Shiro’s hand held her in place.

“No thanks,” Shiro said politely. Lotor’s jaw dropped for a second and she sputtered out a few choice words. She looked like she was going to start begging until Shiro dropped onto one knee, dropping Keith’s hand in the process. Lotor took a step back. Keith winced at the thought of what was to come. “But, speaking of… Keith will you be my girlfriend?”

Keith opened her eyes. “What?”

“Will. You. Be. My. Girlfriend?”

“I thought you’d never ask, you complete dorkus.”

Lotor didn’t seem to be taking the news well. “Why do you want to be with her , don’t you know she’s just a disgusting, lying, stuck up-”

“Do not even finish that word, let alone that sentence. You have no right to say anything like that to my girlfriend. If you respected me, you would understand my wishes and leave me, and my girlfriend, ALONE,” Shiro stood up. She was much taller that Lotor, likely about as tall as Zethrid.

“I bet you have nothing to say about this, huh, you freak?”

“Nope, nothin’. Probably because this ‘freak’ has a girlfriend and you don’t,” Keith retorted harshly. Lotor stormed off. Neither of them cared, particularly because they were interlocked in a well-needed embrace. Keith pulled away first. “Were you serious about that?”

Shiro nodded. “I’d been meaning to do that for a while. And I’m sorry for leading you on like that. I couldn’t think of any other way to get her to leave me alone. She followed me home the other day! Can you believe it!?”

The two sat right next to each other, leaving no more room for alienation on either side of the bench. Keith pulled her girlfriend’s arms around her. From the look on Shiro’s face, the gesture meant a lot. They cuddled for what felt like forever, watching the people walk by, silhouetted against the sun as it set in the sky. Keith walked Shiro back to her house, where she kissed her girlfriend on the doorstep for the first of many times.

Months passed quickly for Keith. Her job wasn’t too hard and she had lots of free time to talk to Shiro. They had grown very close, and it had become almost commonplace for Keith to spend the night at Shiro’s house. It saved her a longer commute to work, anyways. On the cool nights, Shiro would sometimes have them sit outside, citing that it was “natural air conditioning” and

“good compost”. Warmer nights meant dinner in the kitchen, sitting criss-cross on the floor because it seemed to be the coolest room in the house. The temptation to stay the night, to be held by her girlfriend as the darkness slipped into morning and her worries lessened, always hung over head and she gave in more and more as the months went on.

Which was why it was such a harsh reality when she walked into the store- her store, and was handed a pen.

Allura’s dad’s comatose condition had been worsening and deteriorating for quite some time. It wasn’t long before he passed. Allura’s father, Alfor, had been like another dad for Keith, especially given the frequent, long absences of her own. He had taken her in, in a sense, and raised her. Allura and her father were one of the first people Keith came out to. Before the assault that put him in a coma, Alfor was always a happy, smiling man. Allura’s mom had died many years before, leaving her father a single parent, like Keith’s own.

In school, when she was picked on for being “odd” or “antisocial”, Allura was always there to stick up for her. On those days, the two girls would sit together and trade sandwiches, apples, fruit snacks, whatever they had. They would barter with other children and then gather back to share the goods with each other. Alfor was there when Keith scraped her knee from running away from the boys with sticks. He and Allura bought her a tube of lipgloss for her 11th birthday. So when Allura knocked on her door that one fateful night, with tears rolling down her face, something inside Keith burned out and was extinguished- something that would never glow again.

His passing wasn’t a surprise for Keith, but a realization that life moves on, far too fast for her to keep up sometimes. Alfor’s corner shop had to be sold to pay off the remaining medical costs. Keith had already sold off her some of her things to keep the shop’s balances afloat and help subsidise the medical bills, but it wasn’t enough. Bill after bill piled up and in the midst of it all, came that knock on the door and Allura collapsing into her arms and weeping.

The funeral was a few days later. Her tears had never had the chance to dry before Allura started again. Keith remembered the look in Allura’s eyes as she placed a handful of primrose flowers from their garden on the coffin. From then on, Allura had changed- she went through so many phases of emotional distress- as soon as one subsided, another came attacked her. She was drained. Hunk, a close friend of Keith’s, got roped in as a business partner during one of Allura’s more motivated phases. He helped watch the store with Keith. The three of them seemed to manage altogether for a while.

A year after his death, Allura became distant again. Hunk blamed all the pressure from managing her late father’s business. They argued for what felt like hours, before making a final decision. Though the business was in Allura’s name, Keith and Hunk would take control of the store while Allura worked through her problems. Hunk chose to stay with Allura most of the time, while Keith remained at the store.

Memories from the store, the love triangle, Mrs. Elbourne, the little girl with that spark in her eye, flooded over Keith. There was no possible way that it could all just go away with no regards for-

Keith’s hand pressed against the paper. Ink flowed through the body of the pen. She signed her names on the sale papers. Allura broke down in tears. Keith and Hunk comforted her and walked her out to the car. Keith took a final look at the store, her store, their store, on the corner of Bloom and Hartford out the back of the car window as it drove off.

Keith called Shiro and arranged for an emergency dinner. Dinner, and whatever else Shiro had to give- be it love, advice, or a shot of vodka. Shiro gladly obliged. Keith was over at her house as soon as possible. The atmosphere at the doorstep seemed off that night. A cloud of gloom hung over Keith’s head, no matter how hard Shiro seemed to try to dispel it. She put on some sort of chick-flick, hoping to lighten the mood.

“We lost the store today,” Keith mumbled out. Shiro turned to face her girlfriend.

“I’m so sorry… I know how much it means-”

“I grew up there. I had my life there. I’ve helped people, I’ve made a difference, and now all of it… everything… it’s just gone. Like it never happened,” Keith could feel the tears welling up in her eyes. She shook her head in a desperate attempt to stop them from falling, but it proved futile. The salty drops fell from her eyes and rolled across her face like rain. And like rain, they didn’t cease for ages. Keith felt her girlfriend’s embrace around her. She leaned into it, remembering all the nights they’d shared, all the memories they’d made, all the perfect hours they had spent.

“You didn’t lose them, y’know? The people who you helped, who you inspired, who you touched, they still know you. You still impacted them. And you have your memories, Keith,” Shiro whispered into her ear. Keith felt a small smile creep across her face. “So what do you say, baby? Let’s celebrate the good right now.”

Shiro pulled her girlfriend up and guided her to the dining room, where a meal was already set up. Keith was completely perplexed. “When did you have the time to do any of this?”

“I have magic, darling, just like you. Sure, it’s a pain in the but sometimes, but it’s times like this that it comes in handy. All you have to do...” Shiro gestured to the table in front of her, “Is light the candles.”

Keith smiled, making the candles start to glow a warm amber. Shiro pulled out her chair for her and introduced the dishes in front of her. She could see the sparkle in Shiro’s eyes as she proudly described each part, pointing out the details and ingredients, being sure not to skimp out on her own stories about each dish.

Dinner went smoothly, though it was clear to Shiro that Keith would definitely want to stay the night. Keith was quiet for most of the night. They went back to watching the movie and cuddling after their dinner. Keith told Shiro about her favorite memory from the story, reliving it as she told it: the girl.

“She wanted to play with fire. Not in a bad sense, but she wanted to try it. Fire is powerful, it’s so beautiful, but it can be so destructive. You have to have someone with you… otherwise you might get burned.

“I didn’t have someone. I mean, I had Allura and Alfor, but they didn’t share what I had in the same sense. It was a burden to them, just an inconvenience. I didn’t learn how to control my magic for quite some time. In fact, I burned my hands so many times, I stopped keeping track. That’s part of why I barely feel heat in them anymore. But I leaned to start practicing all alone, far away from everyone, where I could be sure that I wouldn’t hurt anyone.

"But that just separated me. I didn’t have any idea of what I could do. Allura kept me sane all those years where I felt all alone, abandoned, unloved. When Allura’s dad… y’know… with the accident and everything… She left.

“So I guess I latched onto the closest thing to her- her store. I never, ever thought I’d have to… give up something. Nor that it would hurt like this. But hey, you learn something new everyday, I guess.”

Shiro pulled Keith closer into her and kissed her cheek. “There’s another expression that I feel suits this occasion more, but I need you to trust me, okay?”

Keith nodded hesitantly. Shiro took her hand and brought her outside, placing a small box in her hands, giving the instruction not to open the box until she felt it was the right time. Without saying anything else, she shut the door. Keith could faintly hear the sound of the door locking shut.

How rude! Seriously, what the hell was she thinking? How can anyone be so stupid as to do this? I cannot believe her. If I’m that much of a burden, she may as well just tell me.  

She jiggled the doorknob. It was locked. 

“Shiro! Shiro? Shiro, please, this isn’t funny. I’m really not in the mood for your antics right now...”

No answer. Keith stared at the tiny cardboard package in her hands. What even is it? Why is it so important that she had to kick me out of her house for me to open it?  

Keith breathed a controlled flame and carefully melted the tape off the box. She opened the flaps of the box to be met with what she could only dream of. On a golden chain, there was a small key. She gently took the key out of the box and pushed it into the lock on the door. It opened. Keith stepped inside, where Shiro stood with open arms.

“Welcome home, Keith.”