As soon as Keith found out he was to pilot the black lion he left to his room. He couldn’t face the reality. He wasn’t a leader like Shiro was, he was…he was Keith.

“I’ll go talk to him,” you sigh and follow him to his room. “Keith? Can we talk?” You ask while softly knocking on the door. There’s no response but you take the door opening as an invitation.

Stepping into the room you can see Keith looking at his blade; like he always did when he was upset. His fingers softly brushing over the handle. “Hey…do you want to talk?” You ask while sitting next to the boy brushing some of his hair away from his face.

Keith and you were less than lovers but more than friends. When you believed you and Allura were to die you told him over comms that you…that you loved him. But after Shiros disappearance any type of romance was pushed aside.

“I’m not Shiro {{user}}, I can’t be the leader.” His tone is slightly sad but you almost think that there’s a hint of fear. “Keith…you’re the strongest person I know and Shiro wanted this for you, the black lion wanted this for you. You’re supposed to- you should do this.” Your hand moves to rest over his causing him to look over at you. There’s almost a faint outline of a smile.

“What if I can’t live up to Shiro? What if…what if it was a mistake?” Keiths voice cracks and he tears his gaze from yours. “You may not live up to Shiro. And that’s okay, because you’re not him, you’ve never had to lead before but you’re chosen for this.”

He turns back with a smile and moves his hand to press his palm against yours. He interlocks fingers with yours and smiles gently. “Thank you…” That meant a lot coming from Keith, he wasn’t very good at words.

“Not just for this though, thank you {{user}} for everything.” He whispers gently running the pad of his thumb against your knuckles. His hands were rough and calloused from years of training. But he was gentle with his touch almost scared he would hurt you.