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Keith was like a mystery to Shiro and Adam. The boy was obviously not okay, constantly engaging in fights and lashing out, but both of them saw much past just the facade he put up as a violent boy. They knew he was being bounced around the system, yet there was nothing they could do about it besides be there for him and offer a place to stay.
Keith would admit to nothing, so Shiro and Adam were forced to wait patiently for the next pen to drop or the next fight to start.
Though, something strange had happened during Keith’s last visit with the two. He came over to their apartment for dinner at least once a week. Shiro wasn’t much of a cook, but Adam sure was, and Adam would always bring Keith to the kitchen and teach him the basics of cooking lest he ever needed it. (They all knew that Keith wouldn’t miss how much he was lacking in the normal skills department. He could hardly use a stove the first time Adam had tried to teach him, and it hurt Shiro on the inside because basic skills like boiling water was something that everyone should know. Did his foster homes not allow him into the kitchen?)
Keith always ate his meals with gusto no matter what Adam cooked. Pork chops? Keith scarfed them up. Curry? One of Keith’s favorite comfort foods. The disgusting vegetables that Shiro hated? Keith never complained when Shiro scooped his extra serving over onto his plate and ignored Adams glares. (Adam always let it slide because Keith was thinner than he should be and could definitely use the extra servings.)
Though, this time? Keith hardly touched the food. He looked down at it with an unsure expression and occasionally took bites. He winced every so often, as if he was trying to mask his pain, or maybe he was finally disgusted with a meal? That would be a first, but not impossible.
“What’s wrong buddy?” Shiro finally asked, once he and Adam had finished their meals and the kid was only halfway through. “Usually you're going for seconds before we’re even done with our first round of food?”
Keith flushed, though eating had never seemed to embarrass him before. Or maybe he had been flushed the whole time? Shiro reached across the table to feel his forehead, not surprised when Keith pulled away. “You’re a bit warm,” Shiro hummed, “do you feel sick?”
“I feel fine,” Keith gritted out, “I’m just not hungry today.”
Shiro shared a concerned glance with Adam, the both of them sniffing out the lie immediately, but neither called him out on it. Instead, Adam took Keith’s plate and moved to the kitchen to wrap it up and put it in the fridge. “You can have the leftovers when you are hungry,” he bumped the fridge door closed with his hip as he washed his hands. Shiro squeezed by him to put the plates in the sink.
“Are you staying the night here?” Shiro asked, even if he knew the answer from Keith would always be yes. He had never said no before. “If so, you can take it back with you when we drop you off tomorrow, or have it as a late night snack if you get hungry later.”
Keith nodded, “I’ll take it back to the home with me,” he decided, never one to waste food.
It was summer, meaning that there were currently no classes for three weeks. It had already been two weeks full of relaxation and them offering to take Keith places and do things with them, leaving one week left.
Once the guest room was made, they had all decided to watch a movie together. A stranger sci-fi one that Adam and Shiro liked to make fun of. In the middle of it, Keith had fallen asleep, head slumping sideways against Shiro’s shoulder. Shiro felt something in his heart twist at the sight because it was an obvious sign of trust from the kid, or maybe, he really didn’t feel well at all.
“Let’s get him to bed,” Adam yawned, leading the way as Shiro helped a half-asleep Keith to the guest room, pulling back the covers for him. Just in case, Shiro set a bottle of water and a trashcan near the bed and Adam kept the thermometer out, but in the end they didn’t need it.
That morning Keith was fever free, his cheeks still flushed and puffy. Maybe he had gotten a sunburn or something? Strangely enough, he didn’t want breakfast either, simply taking the meals back to the foster house.
They had been busy the rest of the week, Shiro only getting to see Keith one other time when he took the kid out on a hoverbike ride. He seemed slower than normal and talked even slower, as if moving his jaw was a hassle.
“Okay yeah, somethings definitely up with him,” Shiro decided, later the night when he was laying in bed with Adam.
“We have to let him come to us,” Adam reminded gently, slipping his warm hand into Shiro’s, and suddenly the room didn’t feel as cold. “He will if he really needs it, he’s just not used to having people in his corner.”
“Well,” Shiro yawned, “we’ll have to… we’ll have to let him know.”
Adam chuckled, low and sleepy and it was music to Shiro’s ears. “We will, we will. Go to sleep, Takashi.”
“Night babe.”
“Goodnight, love.”
It wasn’t until the normal Garrison schedule returned that Shiro got to the bottom of what had been bothering Keith. He had been giving a lecture with captain Holt on protocols of breaching an atmosphere. A long, boring, frivolous lesson that Shiro had wanted no part in, but Iverson had set him up here and it’s where he would be for the rest of the day.
So when the phone attached to the wall started ringing and commander Holt had claimed it was for him, Shiro was almost glad to escape the lecture for a second. Almost. Captain Holt looked worried as Shiro took the phone, “it’s the nurse,” he supplied, voice laced with confusion.
Why would the Garrisons on sight Doctor need him?
Unless-
“This is Takashi Shirogane,” he talked into the phone, ignoring the silence of the class around him as they strained their ears to hear the conversation.
“Ah, Shirogane,” the doctor, a female in her late thirties, sounded relieved to hear his voice. She was one of the many staff members who had tried to flirt with Shiro before he and Adam became official, and Adam would always say that they were still swooning over him and that he was slightly jealous.
“What seems to be the problem?” Shiro asked, after an awkward silence.
“Oh! Well I have cadet Keith Kogane here…”
Shiro mentally groaned. Did he get into another fight again? Iverson was going to have his ass, in fact, he could kick the both of them out of the Galaxy Garrison if he was pissed off enough.
“Not to worry, he isn’t injured or sick,” the doctor was quick to reassure, and Shiro had to bite back guilt at jumping to conclusions. “But he does seem to be in pain. His roomate, Lance, brought him in this morning claiming that he was hurting but couldn’t, or perhaps wouldn’t talk to him.”
Shiro furrowed his eyebrows, “So… what’s wrong with him?”
“He didn’t say much to me, and wouldn’t let me check his mouth, but it does seem that he is in great need of a dentist appointment. I believe his wisdom teeth need to be taken out.”
Suddenly everything clicked together and it all made sense. Keith’s skin was flushed because his teeth were inflamed. He didn’t eat or talk because his mouth hurt. Shiro buried his face into his hands and sighed. He should have guessed, he should have-
“When I offered to call the cadets' guardian he was insistent that I call you instead.”
Hope bloomed in Shiro’s chest because at least Keith would go to him in the end. “I’ll be there soon.” He hung up and turned back to commander Holt, who waved him away.
“I have the rest of the lesson handled, you go do whatever you need to do.”
Shiro gratefully saluted him before hurrying to the doctor's office located in another building. The lecture hall he was currently in was next to the teachers dorms, which was across from the Cadets dormitories, but past the two buildings was the simulation and launchpad training grounds where the doctor's office was located because apparently a lot of Cadets got sick and injured running drills.
He pulled out his phone to let Adam know of the situation, knowing that he probably wouldn’t be able to look at his phone until he dismissed his own class in thirty minutes. He knew that Adam wouldn’t mind if he took the truck and gained permission to take Keith into town as long as he was back to pick him up.
“Keith?” Shiro asked, stepping into the pristine office. The doctor pointed to the corner of the room with her pencil and Shiro stepped closer to the area, pulling back the curtain and yeah- Keith did look two times worse than he did last time he saw him. His jaw was absolutely and undeniably swollen and his mouth hung open slightly, as if closing it hurt. Shiro felt a pang of sympathy when Keith sat up and removed the ice from his cheek.
“Hey bud,” he greeted, “you up for a ride to the dentist?”
Keith shrugged, which Shiro took as a yes. He helped Keith gather his backpack and notes before they left for his truck. The Garrison may appear to be in the middle of nowhere, but if you drove far enough you would reach the city where their apartment and Keith’s foster home was. Twenty minutes into the ride, (which Keith hadn’t talked at all. He was never a talker but Shiro could usually at least squeeze a few words out of him.) Adam had called back.
Shiro explained the situation to him, to which Adam stated he would get a ride home from captain Holt and his son. He also told Shiro to bring Keith back home with him and not let him go back to the Foster home.
Shiro agreed full heartedly.
Keith was tense for his whole visit there, obviously not liking it at all when the dentist had taken him by the jaw without warning to look into his mouth.
“Hey, let him know what you do before you do it,” Shiro informed the dentist with a flat tone, something fierce and protective flaring at the way Keith shuffled in the seat.
As predicted, it was just as they had expected. Shiro was quick to set another appointment for the next day to get the wisdom teeth removed, this time, not caring what Keith had to say about it.
“Look, I know you don’t want to go through a medical procedure,” Shiro said once they were back in the truck. The sun had set at this point, casting a faint orange glow across the interior. “But it needs to be done so that you won’t be in any more pain and can go back to piloting. I’m not gonna chew you out for not telling us, I really don’t blame you,” Shiro sighed, “but I wish you would care about your health more.”
Keith looked down, arms crossed defensively, but Shiro could tell he got his point across so he cranked on the Truck and headed back for the apartments. “If it gives you any consolation, you're obviously staying the night with me and Adam and your foster parents won’t be the ones taking you home.”
At that, Keith perked up a little bit, and it broke Shiro’s heart because he could only imagine the uncaring foster family picking up a semi-lucid Keith. The boy obviously didn’t trust them, and he obviously didn’t want them around him while he was high out of his mind. (Keith had asked the dentist if he could undergo the procedure without any anesthesia, to which the dentist looked at him like he was batshit insane.)
That night Adam presented Keith with a protein shake and a small straw, as thoughtful as ever, and Keith drank three of them. Shiro wondered if he really hadn’t been eating anything, but found that he would rather not know. As long as Keith was with them now, safe and drinking the protein shakes, then there was nothing to further worry about.
Both Shiro and Adam had taken the next day off so they could drive Keith to the dentist at around seven in the morning for the last minute operation. It was a different dentist this time, one that seemed to care a whole lot more than the last one and minded her personal space when Keith told her not to get too close or talk to him when her tools were in his mouth.
Then it was time for Shiro and Adam to go to the waiting room and wait. And wait. And wait some more.
Adam used the free time to go over some emails and lesson plans and Shiro used it to pace across the worn off-green colored carpet. “It’s a tooth extraction,” Shiro murmured, “how long is this gonna take? It’s been too long, maybe we should-”
“Shiro,” Adam warned, not looking up from his laptop, “sit down, it’s only been fifteen minutes.”
Shiro sat his butt down on the chair next to Adams and fidgeted some more.
“Takashi Shirogane?” A voice finally asked after what felt like a lifetime. Shiro jolted up from his seat, Adam following after much more gracefully as the dentist led them back to the rooms.
“The procedure went smoothly,” the dentist announced, calming Shiro’s nerves, “there were no mishaps and he went down fairly easily, and didn't make it past the number five. Because he waited too long, his jaw will still be inflamed and he will be in pain, but we have medication for that. He should recover after about a week or so and be cleared to go back to his daily schedule.”
“We’ll take turns taking off to watch after him,” Adam decided, “I’m sure his foster parents don’t care, either way.”
“Less skin off their noses,” Shiro grumbled fiercely.
The dentist smiled, ignoring their conversation politely before she came to a stop in front of a door. “Now, he’s still a bit out of it, but he’ll be okay.”
She opened the door to reveal Keith laying on the examination bed, his head lolled to the side and his arm hanging off of the table.
Shiro chuckled at the sight and moved to Keith’s side, watching as his glossy eyes fluttered open. Gauze poked past his lips and drool mixed with blood was beginning to form at the corner of his mouth.
“Good morning Keith,” Shiro greeted, not bothering to hide the endeared smile when Adam used a tissue to wipe away the drool.
Keith made a questioning noise from the back of his throat and he tilted his head to see Shiro, blinded by the overhead light. “Mornin’” he croaked back, and Shiro wondered if he actually thought it was the morning.
Keith probably didn’t even know what day it was right now.
“Hey buddy,” Shiro put a hand on the kid's back to help him sit up from his lying position. It looked like it took a great deal of strength for him to keep his eyes open.
“Hi,” he said back, eyes finally sliding shut. His face was flushed and Adam once again wiped spit from his chin. “Th’nk you,” he said blearily, and Shiro kinda wished he was recording.
“You’re free to take him to your vehicle and stay back to pay for him,” the dentist instructed.
“Alright Keith, it’s time to get up,” Shiro grunted as he helped Keith off of the table, the kid practically listing to the side. He would have fallen over if Shiro and Adam weren’t there to steady him. Wordlessly, they took either elbow and guided him out of the dentist office.
“You get him into the car,” Adam instructed, “I’ll fill out the billing paperwork.”
The bill wasn’t a very big deal. Shiro kind of figured they would be the ones paying for it instead of the foster parents despite them getting money from the Government, but he didn’t care. He would pay anything for Keith and he and Adam were more than well off.
The dark clouds had rolled in when they were waiting, meaning that when Shiro stepped out with Keith in tow, heavy raindrops were already raining down on them. “Shit,” Shiro cursed, hefting Keith up when they reached the steps.
“Language,” Keith mumbled, making Shiro laugh out of pure surprise.
“You’re right, sorry buddy.”
Keith didn’t seem too disturbed by the rain, in fact, he even opened his mouth to catch some on his unresponsive tongue. Shiro cringed when some of the gauze fell out, but didn’t bother to pick it up when the rain intensified to a downpour.
They reached the truck door and the vehicle was so tall that Keith’s already frazzled mind had trouble navigating his limbs to climb up. After a few failed tries Shiro grabbed him from under the arms and sat him down, buckling the seatbelt for him.
“‘M not a money,” Keith leaned his head back against the seat, “i don’t climb.”
“I know, I know,” Shiro shut the door and quickly made his way to the other side. He and Adam had already agreed that he would sit in the back in case Keith needed him and Adam would drive. He caught a glimpse of Adam hurrying back to the truck, baggies of medication in hand as he shut the back door.
Safe from the rain.
The first half of the ride back was relatively silent, Keith’s head leaning against the window, his eyelashes occasionally fluttering against his cheeks. His inflamed cheek rested against the cold window and sometimes Shiro would have to reach over and push him back gently so that he didn’t fall forward.
Shiro and Adam conversed in a low tone to not bother the cadet, though fifteen minutes later he groaned and shifted in his seat, eyes opening.
“Keith?” Shiro asked, “are you okay?”
“Mhn,” he grumbled, hands coming up to poke at the gauze in his mouth, “sore.”
“I know, but you can’t touch it,” Shiro gently batted Keith’s hands away from his face, “You’ll just make it worse, okay?”
“M’kay.”
A few more moments of silence passed before he talked again. “What did… what happened?”
“Are you asking about the procedure?” Adam asked from the front seat, eyeing him from the rearview mirror. When Keith nodded he began to explain how his wisdom teeth grew in from a bad angle and got inflamed and caused a lot of pain. Keith seemed to be listening intently, but at the end of Adam’s mini lecture, his eyebrows pinched with worry.
Shiro had never seen him so distressed in his life. “They- they took my wisdom?!”
Shiro put a hand over his mouth to hide the chuckle and Adam had to swerve to avoid another car, surprised at the sudden shouting. “Keith,” Shiro managed through chuckles, “you’re just as wise as you’ve always been.”
One singular teardrop fell from Keith’s cheek and he nodded.
Another moment of silence before Keith started groaning in discomfort, trying to claw at his cheeks again. Shiro reached over to grab his wrist and hold them still, “Hey, no touching,” he said patiently, like he was talking to a little kid and not a pre-teen. “You’ll make it worse.”
“Sore.”
“I know, we can put some ice on your face when we get home, okay?”
Keith’s eyes widened in panic, “Home? I don- I don’t wanna see t-them-”
“Hey no, shh. I meant me and Adam’s apartment. You don’t have to go to the Foster home if you don’t want to.”
Keith seemed to settle down at that, his eyes glossing over again as he stared at the back of the passenger seat. As they were about to pull into the apartment complex, Keith shifted his jaw just enough to dislodge the gauze. It was red with blood and saliva as it fell to the floorboard, and when Keith saw it fall, he let out an unholy screech.
Adam swerved once again and Shiro desperately reached to consol the kid and get him to stop sobbing.
“Keith! Keith? What’s- whats wrong?”
“M-My tongue!” He exclaimed, “it fell out.”
“Oh buddy,” Shiro said, mirthful, then another time with more amusement, “oh buddy. It’s still in your mouth, that wasn’t your tongue.”
Keith had never looked so confused in his life as he frantically reached to search his mouth for his tongue, making his mouth and hands a slobbery and bloody mess. “I can’t feel it!”
“It’s in there, I promise.”
Adam put the truck in park and he and Shiro rushed to the other side to reach for Keith and guide him to their apartment's doorstep. Luckily, they had a nice bottom floor one, so no stairs were necessary. Unluckily, there was no shade so they all got soaked.
That was fine though, Shiro could live with that as long as Keith was laughing to himself and splashing through the puddles like the little maniac he was. There was nothing but pure and utter joy in his face, and he may be high, but it was nice to see.
It had taken them an hour to get settled down. They changed Keith into a pair of his own pajama clothes (he had his own drawer under Adam and Shiro’s) and let him sit out on the couch and watch TV with them for a little bit. He was more subdued now. He watched the television with a blank stare until he conked out, and when he woke up, he seemed to be himself again, just a lot more drowsy and in a lot more pain.
He still couldn’t talk very well, judging by the garbled thank you when Adam had brought him an ice pack or when Shiro gave him a prescribed pain pill before dinner. And fell asleep a lot throughout the day, only waking up when Shiro woke him up to eat pudding or drink water from a straw.
But that was okay to Shiro and Adam because even Keith’s silent, suffering company was better than no company at all. Shiro shivered at the thought of leaving him all alone at the foster home, vulnerable and not like his normal sharp self.
He was glad they had rotated in shifts to watch over Keith for the week and he was glad that even if it took a lot of pushing and a lot of pain, that Keith had reached out to him in the end. Even if they all almost crashed multiple times on the car ride back.
Shiro was still upset he didn’t get any of it on camera.