Chapter Text
Keith took off running. It was stupid, he knew it was stupid, but he did it anyway. He just couldn’t leave his knife behind. It was all he had, the only connection to his family. Keith swore as the guards were getting closer, he didn’t know the layout of the palace, not like he knew the streets of Saja.
“Thief!” The guards yelled as they chased him through the corridors. Keith swerved around people, pushing them out of the way if he had to, he couldn’t afford to be polite. The guards were big and bulky, dressed in armour, all he needed was to find somewhere small enough that they couldn’t fit through, but he could.
A couple guards suddenly appeared in front of him, Keith kept running, as he got near to the guards, he dropped to the ground, sliding between them. In one smooth motion he got up and turned a corner, he had just bought himself a few seconds, he had to make the best of them. He turned into the closest room, only to bump into a wall he quickly realized was a person.
Hands grabbed his shoulders. “Whoa.” A voice said.
“Let go of me!” Keith demanded. He had to get away before he was caught.
“In here.” The voice said before shoving Keith into what he assumed was a closet.
Keith could hear a couple guards enter the room, it was muffled, but it sounded like they were asking whoever shoved him in here if they had seen him. This was it, Keith thought, this was where the stranger told the guards exactly where to find him.
“I haven’t seen anyone go by here.” Keith was shocked. The stranger had helped him. Why would anyone help him?
The door opened, Keith pressed himself as far back into the closet as he could. “The guards are gone now, you can come out.” The stranger spoke gently. Now the Keith wasn’t being chased by guards he could get a good look at the stranger. He was tall with dark hair and eyes, wearing fine clothes, a nobleman maybe.
“Who are you?” Keith demanded, holding his knife out in front of him, pressing as far as he could into the closet.
“I’m not going to hurt you.” The stranger spoke, holding his hands out to show he was unarmed. “My name is Takashi Shirogane, but you can just call me Shiro.”
“Why did you help me?” There was no way Keith was putting down the knife. This Shiro must have had some ulterior motive for helping him.
“Guards were calling you a thief, a kid you age, my guess is you stole food, or you stole something, so you could buy food. And looking at you just confirms my thoughts, you’re not a criminal, just a hungry kid.”
“What do you want from me?” Keith demanded.
“You were a kid in trouble. I just wanted to help.” Shiro spoke giving Keith a small smile.
Keith frowned, “Nobody just wants to help.” He kept is knife pointed at Shiro, unsure if he could trust him.
“I do.” Shiro looked at him, looked at his knife. “You’re holding your dagger wrong. If you wanted, you could come back tomorrow, and I could show you a few things. Maybe some basic self defense so you’ll get less bruises”
Keith stared at Shiro in shocked. Helping him get away from guards was one thing, but teaching him how to fight? “What’s the catch?” Shiro had to want something from him, maybe he won’t show it until tomorrow, but Keith didn’t believe he just wanted to help.
“No catch. Just me teaching you some basic fighting skills.” Shiro sounded so sincere. Keith studied him, trying to figure if there was something wrong with Shiro, or if he was just stupid.
“What?” Shiro asked, noticing Keith’s look.
“Nothing.” Keith responded quickly, he wanted to avoid angering his rescuer.
“Come on, I’ll show you out.” Shiro backed away from the closet, giving Keith some room. Keith cautiously began to make his way out of the closet. Shiro made no move to attack him, or anything to prove that he was anything but honest.
“What’s your name?” Shiro asked as he began to lead Keith out of the castle.
“Keith.” He didn’t say anything else the rest of the way out of the castle.
“Meet me here at 10 am tomorrow, and I’ll show you a few things.” Shiro spoke when they reached the front gate. Keith didn’t say anything, he still wasn’t sure if he was actually going to show up.
This is a really stupid idea, a really really stupid idea. Keith didn’t know what it said about him that he knew this was stupid but was doing it anyway. 10 am and here he was standing outside the castle gates half convinced that Shiro wasn’t going to show up.
“Keith!” Someone called his name, Keith looked around, and there was Shiro waving at him.
“Hi.” Keith said as Shiro approached him.
“Here.” Shiro said tossing something to Keith. Keith caught it and realized it was some bread.
“What’s this?” Keith bristled. “I don’t need your pity.”
“It’s not pity. You probably haven’t had breakfast, and you’ll do better if you don’t have an empty stomach to worry about.” Keith refused to say anything as he started nibbling at the bread, he couldn’t afford to turn down free food, but that doesn’t mean he has to be happy about it.
Keith was panting, he couldn’t believe that using a simple dagger could be so complicated. He thought you could just stab people with it. When he said as much, Shiro proceeded to lecture him on the importance of technique. He still wasn’t sure what to think of Shiro, there was no way he was just being nice. He must want something from him. Keith was getting free food out this, as well as self defense training. Keith had made up his mind. He would stick around, and humour Shiro, but he was going to keep Shiro at a distance for when he eventually revealed his true motivation for helping Keith.
It’s been two months, two months of Keith going to the castle each day, of Shiro teaching Keith how to fight, and nothing has gone wrong. Keith was convinced that this wasn’t going to last, it couldn’t, nothing in Keith’s life ever went right.
“Lunch break!” Shiro declared, tossing Keith some food. Shiro settled beside Keith underneath a large tree, the only tree in the small out of the way courtyard they were practicing in.
“I can’t be here tomorrow.” Shiro spoke slowly. “I have to show some new recruits around the flight grounds. I promise I’ll be there the day after.
“You’re a dragon rider???” Keith was amazed, he’s never met a dragon rider before, and the only dragons he’s ever seen were drawings, and that one time he saw a dead one. “That’s amazing!”
“Technically I’m still in training, I don’t even have my own dragon yet.” Shiro blushed, rubbing the back of his head.
“Wow.” Keith had so many questions running through his head, but is mouth seemed to be sealed shut.
“If you wanted, I could show you around the flight grounds after lunch.” Shiro said with a small smile.
“Really?” Keith couldn’t suppress the smile that was spreading on his face.
“Yeah, it’ll be like a practice run for tomorrow. I’ve never had to give a tour before.”
“You done kiddo.” Shiro said, ruffling Keith’s hair. Keith nodded while mumbling how he wasn’t a kid. “Then let’s go.”
Keith had never seen so many dragons before. This was the best day Keith’s had in a long time. “That’s a Northern Icebelly! I didn’t think they could be found this far south!” Keith pointed at the large light blue dragon, that a woman was feeding large chunks of mystery meat to. “They're the only known dragons in the world that can breathe frost instead of flame. And that’s a Dark Versonian, the largest known dragon in the world, the front claws alone can get up to a foot long!” Keith pointed at another dragon, this one was dark green in colour and clearly larger than the other dragons in the area. Keith gapped in awe, “That’s a Dolarion Firebrand. Only the most skilled riders can ride on of those.”
“Wow.” Shiro had a look of surprise on his face. “You sure know a lot about dragons.”
Keith blushed, embarrassed by his outburst. He trusted Shiro, but he had yet to share much personal information with him. “My dad…” Keith spoke slowly, “He used to tell me how much he wanted to be a dragon rider when he was younger, but we’re not one of the chosen families, so it was never possible. He tried to learn as much about dragons as he could. He hoped that if he learned enough, he could get a job helping to care for them in the palace.”
Shiro gave Keith a small, sad smile. “As soon as I earn my own dragon, I promise to give you a ride.”
“Really?” Keith’s eyes lite up with excitement.
“Yeah.” Shiro said grinning widely. “It’ll be fun.”
Keith still isn’t entirely sure how it happened, despite all his efforts to keep Shiro at a distance, to prevent himself from becoming attached, Shiro had quickly become the most important person in his life. Keith had gotten attached, very attached, the worse part was, he didn’t even realize it, not until he arrived at Shiro’s room in the castle, and heard him arguing with someone, arguing about him.
“He’s a common street rat!” Keith heard a man yell, he didn’t recognize the voice.
“So what?” Shiro yelled back. “He’s braver than most of my classmates, not to mention smarter!”
“That doesn’t mean you have to disgrace your family name!!” Keith was scared, he found himself hovering outside the door. What if Shiro decided this angry man was right, that Keith wasn’t worth it. Life without Shiro was unimaginable. Keith may have spent the first twelve years of his life without Shiro in it, and now, almost a year later, the thought that Shiro might leave him made his breath catch in his throat, panic clawing at his insides.
“Like it or not” Shiro was no longer yelling, but his voice was cold and distant, “This is not your decision, and nothing you say will make a difference. I am the sole member of my house, and any personal decision I make is my business, and my business alone. Now I’m going to have to ask you to leave."
Suddenly the door swung open, and Keith had the jump back to avoid being hit. A tall man stormed out, almost as tall as Shiro, he had grey hair, his face was scrunched together in anger. “Move!” The man snarled, shoving Keith out of his way, hard enough that Keith fell to the ground. Normally he would have been able to catch himself, but the panic had made his mind blank.
“Keith!” Shiro’s face had gone from cold and distant to overly concerned in a split second. Shiro rushed over to Keith, his hands going over Keith to make sure he wasn’t hurt.
“Do you have to stop seeing me…” Keith spoke quietly. He should have known this was too good to last.
“No! Of course not!” Shiro looked horrified at the thought. “Some people may not like me spending so much time with you, but they can’t do anything about it, and I don’t care what they think about me. Nothing could make not want to spend time with you.”
Just like that, the panic that had been clawing at Keith’s gut had begun to recede. “Really?” Keith couldn’t quite let himself give in to relief.
“Really.” Shiro said, placing his hands on Keith’s shoulder’s, emphasizing the word. “If anything, I want to spend more time with you.”
Relief flooded through Keith, the tears he had been keeping at bay, slowly began to slip their way down his cheeks. Keith threw himself into Shiro’s arms, and almost instantly he could feel Shiro hugging him tight, running his right hand through Keith’s hair.
“I’m not going anywhere, and neither are you, I promise.” Shiro said softly. “I love you Keith, you’re like a little brother to me.”
That just made Keith cry even harder, “I love you too Shiro,” He managed to mumble into Shiro’s shirt. It was probably a really nice and expensive shirt, but Keith couldn’t bring himself to care about it, and Shiro didn’t seem concerned.
“I want to take you in Keith.” Shiro said quietly. “It’s all right if you say no, the decision is all up to you,” He began rambling before cutting himself off, “Legally you’d be my ward, but I think of it has adopting you as my brother. You could come and live with me, people may not like it, but I don’t care what they think of me. I have no other family, so there’s no one else I have to answer to, not in this matter. It’s all up to you Keith, you don’t have to say yes, you can think about it if you want, or just put it on hold until you’re ready, the offer will always be open.”
“Yes.” Keith whispered, this was better than anything he could have ever imagined. “I want to stay with you.”
Keith was pouting, he knew he was pouting and he didn’t care. It has been four years since Keith had officially become Shiro’s ward. Sure, most of the nobles in the palace were uptight and refused to acknowledge him, and if they did it was to insult him, but Keith had Shiro, and that was enough for him. And through Shiro, Keith had managed to befriend Lord Holt, and his son, Matt. Lord Holt, who always insists Keith call him Sam, and Matt were both dragon riders, though Lord Holt (Sam) was the only one to actually have a dragon. Telsha, Sam’s dragon, was a light grey Shadespur and could fly higher than any other dragon at the Garrison. Sam had even taken Keith on a ride on Telsha a few times, it was better then Keith ever imagined it could be. The wind in his hair, nothing but him, the sky, and Telsha, it was amazing. The first time Sam had taken Keith for a ride, he knew he wanted to be a dragon rider, but as much as he wanted it, he knew it could never come true. To be a dragon rider you must come from a family line of dragon riders, and Keith was a nobody from a family of nobodies who got lucky when he met Shiro.
“Why do you have to go?” Keith spoke, flopping onto his bed.
“I’ll only be gone a few months, I’ll be back before you know it.” Shiro tried to reassure Keith.
“Why does it have to be you? You don’t even have a dragon yet.” Keith complained.
“Lord Holt has a dragon, and we only need one for this mission. You know I’m one of the most skilled dragon riders at the Garrison. It’s a huge honour to be chosen for this before I’ve even earned my dragon.”
“That’s not hard.” Keith snorted. “Most of the dragon riders are either idiots or piss off the nobles too often.”
“You say that like I don’t piss of the nobles.” Shiro replied with a laugh.
“Yeah, but you’ve always been good at talking your way out of trouble.” Keith frowned. “Is this mission that important, that you have to leave so soon after finding out about it?”
“Kerberos is the first outpost Drekican has against the Northern barbarians. If it falls, we’ll all be in trouble. We’re just going to check out suspicious activity that’s been happening in the area, if it’s nothing, we’ll go home and that will be the end of it.” Shiro explained.
“And if it is something?”
“We’ll come home and report it. If it’s a big enough threat, the Garrison will send more riders, and since I don’t have a dragon, it’s unlikely I’ll be going with them.” Shiro finishes packing his bag, swinging it over his shoulder.
Keith stands up and speaks quietly, “I don’t want you to go.”
Shiro walks up to Keith, pulling him into a one-armed hug. “I know kiddo, but I don’t have much of a choice.”
“I’m not a kid.” Keith mumbles, he can feel his eyes begin to water, but he manages to keep himself from crying.
“I know.” Shiro replies, kissing the top of Keith’s head. “I’ll be back in a few months.” Shiro gives Keith a small smile before walking out the door.
Four months later, the Garrison declares Shiro dead, and Keith’s world shatters.