Chapter Text
Shiro marries Adam in the spring.
It’s a small wedding, with only three other people standing around them, making the field of lilacs they’d picked look vast and overwhelming.
He’d worried about them looking out of place, but now? Now he knew what looking into the stars themselves felt.
Beautiful.
Matt had become their officiate, saying that it was his civil duty to marry them. He’d started out his speech with “O Captain my Captains” and had devolved into embarrassing them both to the point of blushing by the third sentence into his speech. He spoke of Adam tending to Shiro’s wounds after the accident, how he and Keith had to suffer with Adam being “The Hot Nurse with Glasses”.
Keith had laughed so hard at his and Adams faces that Shiro thought he was going to break in half. Sven hadn’t fared any better by the time Matt announced “I’m not sure how I feel about telling Shiro to kiss Mr. Shiro.”
Shiro kissed Adam while his best friends and younger brother looked on.
Keith cheered and Matt looked like he had finally noticed him.
Life fell into place.
He’d moved the three of them a month after the wedding to a small farm outside the city. It was small, blue, and had a flower garden he could spend his afternoons in. It reminded Shiro of Japan and Adam, melded into something purely them.
Keith had helped him find the house, patiently waiting as Shiro spent days trying to decide over it. At one point Keith had threatened to buy it for him if he didn’t stop waffling.
His laughter when he finally forced Shiro to sign the contract in the beat up jeep Keith loved was contagious. Before they knew it, both of them had to lean on their respective windows, gasping for air around their giggles.
Shiro looked at Keith and noted the golden sunset framing him, making him look ethereal. He momentarily understood why Matt was always watching the younger man.
“-etting old, you know.” Shiro blinked and focused on Keiths words.
“You’re not far behind me, smartass.”
Keith’s smile could have hung the moon.
Pictures begin to fill up the walls over the next five years, slowly at first, but then rapidly. It was like an explosion of life had suddenly appeared at the Shirogane house.
Adam had been out with Keith six months after the wedding, their typical beer and movie night, when he finally admitted to Keith why Shiro had become obsessed lately with taking pictures of them all.
“He keeps looking at pictures of his parents and grandparents. The ones from Svens birth.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah. I think.. I think Takashi is having a hard time remembering them after the accident. I think he’s scared he’s going to forget us one day as well.”
So Keith did what was natural, taking it upon himself to become the personal Shirogane family timekeeper. At first, no one really noticed Keith filling up the blank spaces on the walls with pictures. Then Shiro had caught his reflection in an image of his head thrown back, laughing with an arm slung around Matt's shoulder.
He cried quietly that night while holding the picture that had shown up on his nightstand without him realizing, a family picture of them all from Shiro’s wedding.
Matt teased Keith about it, calling him a romantic, and Keith took soft sunset shots of Matt in return.
Shiro suspected that maybe those fond looks before didn’t mean Matt was admiring Keith's appearance.
Adam had laughed at him for a week.
Then the outbreak happens on Shiro’s birthday.
Svens asleep when the phone rings, jerking him out of his slumber in a confused state. It’s shrill tone climbs higher and higher, making him wince as he blindly reaches for the device.
Hands making contact, he answers it and brings it to his face, voice muffled in his pillow, “Yeah?”
“Sven. It’s me. Get Takashi right now. You two need to pack a bag and get ready to leave.”
It’s Adam. Svens heart slams to a still when he notices how Adam is breathing harshly, like he’d just run a mile, “Adam? What’s going on?”
“There’s no time. Go get your brothe-” Sven hears someone in the background that sounds like Keith cursing up a storm. The line cuts out sharply, leaving a harsh beeping in his ear. His thumb hangs up the phone as he sits up, feet hitting the cold wooden floor of the house.
It’s fall, and living in the country during any sort of cold season can be harsh on the service they get.
He clicks the button the phone again, and waits to hear the dial tone, but is instead greeted with harsh beeps. Heart settling in his stomach, he rises to his feet, heading towards the door of his bedroom.
“Takashi?”
Sirens greet his calling, screaming past the house at breakneck speeds. Sven jumps slightly, his fingers tightening around the phone he’d forgotten to put down.
Once in the hallway, he heads towards his Brother and Adams room, pushing open the door with a soft squeak, head peeking in. No one greets him, or makes a noise to indicate life.
The TV in the room plays softly, the news reporter talking in front of a “urgent” background. He pays no mind to her, eyes instead drawn to the window looking out across the fields, towards the town they lived near.
It was lit up, like a fairy tale Shiro told him about as a child.
The news reporter started to sound panicked, drawing Svens gaze to it. He watches the woman's face contort with fear, and then hears the sounds of a scream before the power completely cuts out with a sickening crack.
A thundering noise fills the air, causing Sven to drop the phone and jump, his back hitting the door and slamming it shut.
Dogs began barking, and the sound of a car alarm pierces the air, turning a once quiet night into something much more.
Svens heart sinks to the bottom of his feet as he watched a plume of smoke rise from the town, and vomit began to threaten his throat when he realizes his brother has still not answered him.
“Takashi?!”
His voice sounds rough even to his own ears, like he’s forgotten to drink water for weeks. He doesn’t think he’s ever been this scared since he was a child, and the unease in his own voice sets him even more on edge.
Still not receiving a reply, he turns quickly and rips open the bedroom door, his legs carrying him downstairs quickly. More sirens go past, and at this point he’s not sure if it’s from the opposite direction as last time, or the same.
The dog next door barks louder, and Sven curses under his breath, trying to muster some courage as he heads towards the kitchen. He’s never realized how creepy their house can be in the dark, and suddenly understands why his brother has always been so insistent on leaving on at least one light.
A buzzing noise catches his attention from the kitchen, so he heads towards it, nearly kicking the bar stool along the way. Muttering softly about useless furniture he finally makes it to the ratty old cell phone, grabbing at it and holding it near his face.
“Eight missed calls from Keith? Where are you? Get Sven and hide upstairs?" He pauses to look up around him, "What on earth is going on?”
He opens the phone, and dials for the voicemails. It rings for a moment before he hears it announce the message.
It’s Keith, and his voice sounds broken, “Shiro, I just got a call from Lance. He says to get everyone out of town. I just got off shift, and I’m going to swing by and get Adam. Don’t worry. Just get your stuff and Sven ready.”
The line cuts out, and it runs to the next one, “Shiro, I swear to god I’m going to tape that phone to your hand one day. The hospital is on fire, and I don’t know where the hell Adam is. It’s fuckin crazy out here and- Oh shit wait I think I see him.”
Another cut, and this time it’s Adam’s voice filling his ear, “Takashi you need to answer your phone. Get Sven.”
There aren’t any voicemails after that, and the soft voice on the other end asks him if he’d like to delete all messages or not. Trembling hands pull the phone away from his face, eyes glassy with tears as he hangs up and notes the time.
3 AM.
Setting the phone down, he takes a step back, head turning towards Shiros office. A light from Shiros laptop shines in the corner, and suddenly Sven prays his older brother is just lost in an email, or fell asleep on the chair again.
Moving forward, feet feeling like they are trapped in sludge, he slowly makes it his way towards the door, only to freeze with a silent scream as the dogs barking from next door stops with a pained scream. His hands come up to cover his mouth, silent frightened sobs threatening to control him as he moves again. He forces himself to move again, trying to be brave.
The door to Shiros office pushes open easily enough, exposing a cozy room. Sven looks towards the corner, taking note of the empty chair and desk. Dread begins to tick in the back of his head, the sound of Keith and Adams voice filling his head.
He nearly screams when Shiro bursts into the room, looking desperate and like a scared animal. Sven wants to run towards him but stops when he sees Shiro head for the desk, ripping open a drawer to pull out a gun, “S.. Shiro?”
“Oh go- Oh shit Sven. Are you okay? How long have you been here? Has anyone come in the house?” Shiro’s voice rasps tightly as he clicks the bullets into his gun, fingers quickly and smoothly loading the weapon.
Sven shakes his head, lips unable to form words as he watches his older brother approach him, “That’s good, Kiddo. That’s good. I need.. I need you to stay away from the windows and doors, okay? Something isn’t right with the neighbors.”
“Jessie and Melissa? What’s going o-”
“They’re sick. Oh god they are sick. I don’t know what all is going on but I pro-”
Sven screams as Shiros cut off. Jessie, his elderly neighbor slams into the room, making high pitched gurgling noises. His mouth opens and an inhuman noise pours from it, making Sven careen backwards, stumbling into the wall. He watches in horror as his neighbor charges at Shiro who raises the gun quickly, shots ringing out one after another.
The silence after is sickening. Sven can’t control his breathing, and Shiro is looking at his own hand in horror, like he can’t believe what he just did.
“You.. You killed him.”
“Oh god, oh god I did. He wasn’t right, Sven. He suddenly went crazy, and Melissa was dead and- Oh god are you okay?”
He’s wrapped up in Shiro's arms after that, pressed into a solid wall of muscle, hands soothing along his arms, “Hey Kiddo, it’s okay. Breath for me. It’s okay. We’ll be okay.”
“K-Keith called and-” His voice hitches, breathing still coming out in gasps, “He said to get a bag and then Adam called and-”
“Shhh. Shh. It’s okay. I promise it’s okay. It’ll be okay.”
They linger that for a few minutes, Sven finally giving up to grasp tightly at Shiros blood covered shirt, breathing shaky but finally calming down. He vaguely remembers when his parents and grandparents died, being in this same position. Wrapped up in Shiros arms, blocked out from the rest of the world.
The sound of tires crunching on gravel stirs them into movement, Shiro finally pulling back and tugging Sven along behind him. He stops in the kitchen, grabbing his cellphone from the counter, making a noise in the back of his threat as he pockets it, trying to ignore the image saved on the screen.
They step outside the front door to witness both men climbing out of Keiths jeeps. Adams covered in blood, and Keith looks like he just returned from a battlefield. Shiro feels his knees go weak slightly, threatening to buckle out under him as he looks for any sort of injuries.
He barely notices when Sven runs from his side, crashing into Adam with a loud sob, clinging onto the man. They share a moment, clinging to each other like they thought the world was ending.
Keith’s eyes meet his, wincing slightly as he realizes how he must look, “We uh.. We ran into some issues.”
“Issues?” Shiro cringes at how his voice barely croaks out, “Keith you look like you swam in a pool of blood. So does Adam. What the hell happened?”
“The hospital. I was at work. People… People suddenly went crazy. Started attacking and trying to kill each other. We.. I.. I hid in the back room with some elderly patients. They broke down the door.”
Adams voice hitches ever so slightly, betraying his calm exterior, “Then Keith was there, smashing the window in and grabbing me by the back of my shirt. He pulled me out just as they got to us. We drove here after trying Matt’s place.” His hands grip onto Sven tighter, eyes wide and blown as images of the night flash across his vision, “The place was overrun. Keith checked his phone and called Matt. He’s out of town, his family made it to a military camp safely. The line disconnected, and then.. We came here.”
The four of them fall silent, and Sven grips onto Adam harder.
“We need to go.” Keith's voice startles them, causing eyes to turn to him, “We need to head out. Matt said we’d meet up at Camp. It’s a long drive, but if we take the back roads we should be safe.”
“We’d still have to go through some populated areas to get there.”
“I know, but it’s the only way there. They’ve shut down the freeways and everything else.”
“Alright. Alright let’s go.”
Adam loads Sven into the back seat, his eyes meeting Shiro’s briefly before closing the door. Keith’s behind Shiro, shoving him in before moving to the driver’s seat and throwing the car into reverse. Adam hops in as they pull away, and start forward, leaving their peaceful blue house behind them.
Shiro’s eyes linger on the flower garden, remorse filling him as he realizes he doesn’t know what’s going to happen.
“Where is Lance?” Shiro doesn’t realize it’s his own voice asking until Sven leans into him, startling him out of his daze.
“He’s at the army base they’ve set up. They called in all reserves, so he responded. He said he’s going to keep in touch, and meet up with us at Camp soon as he can. Says he’s going to bring a friend as well.”
“The reserves? Keith that mean you shoul-”
“I’m right where I should be, Shiro.”
Adam sends Keith a look, his hand coming to rest on Keiths shoulder, squeezing gently, “Thanks, by the way. For saving my ass.”
“Don’t mention it. It’d be a shame if my movie partner up and died on me. Might have to start taking Shiro, and we all know he talks the entire movie.”
Adam chuckles softly, turning back to look at Shiro, a tired but soft expression on his face, “Nah, you just didn’t want to risk Shiro crying.”
Keith laughs, and Shiro grins, shaking his head.
They drive in silence a few more minutes before Shiro can gather the courage to ask his next question.
“Keith where is your family?”
Keith doesn’t answer him, his hands tightening on the steering wheel so hard Shiros afraid he’s going to snap it in half. Tightness grips Shiros chest as he tries to think of what to say, but nothing comes out. Instead he reaches up, placing his hand on the other shoulder not occupied by Adam.
“It’ll be okay. Everyone knows to meet at Camp if things get dicey. We’ve been practicing for years.” Keith’s voice is barely above a whisper, but still loud enough to deafen the car.
They watch as houses burn down as they pass, commenting on who lived there and hoping they got out. Shiro debates covering Svens eyes, but can’t bring himself to move. Both brothers sit in the back seat, eyes glued to the destruction around their home, leaning into each other slowly for comfort.
Keith slows momentary, a curse ripping from his mouth. Shiro’s eyes draw to the front of the car, noticing the family waving their hands. He sees the kid, her frightened body turning into her mothers.
“Keith we need to sto-”
“No. We’re driving on.”
“Keith they have a kid!”
“And I have you three!” Keith’s voice is loud and hot, but Shiro can hear the tears behind it. Can hear his best friends heart breaking as he slams on the gas, swerving around the family and driving off.
Svens whimper beside him makes him flinch before putting his arm around the teenager, squeezing softly.
God he can’t believe his baby brother is seeing this.
All four passengers watch with horror as they begin to finally approach the town, gazes locked onto the smoke rising into the sky. Adam reaches forward to the police scanner on the dash and flips it on, breaking the silence finally.
Officers reporting in, and screaming fills the car. Keith slams on the breaks as a group of police officers go ripping past the Jeep, nearly clipping the nose. Keith watches after them, his face showing his heart break.
“Hey.. Hey I’m sure they’ll be okay, Keith. You know the officers of Marmora are tough. They’ll make it out okay. Your mom didn’t train them to be knocked over easily,” Shiro know his words sound empty.
Keith nods brokenly, his eyes not leaving the way the police cars had gone until they rounded a corner, breaking the line of sight.
By the time they make it to the street entrance they need, Keith is back to cursing lightly. It’s blocked up all the way to the freeway not to far away. Miles and miles of red lights shine in the distance.
They creep to a stop, and Adam winces, “It looks like everyone had the idea of getting onto the highway.”
Shiro’s about to answer when the words die on his throat. The man in front of them gets out of his car, yelling loudly for people to hurry up. He’s waving his arms around when suddenly someone comes running from the bushes, tackling him.
Sven screams, and Adam starts swearing, his eyes wide as they watch the man being torn apart. Another body lunges out of the bushes, scrambling to get in the car where a woman is screaming on the top of her lungs.
“Oh shit, oh shit we gotta go.”
“Keith you need to put us in reverse right fucking now.”
“Oh shit, Oh sh-”
Keith slams on the gas after throwing the car in reverse. Shiro jerks in his seat, arm coming out to slap across Svens chest, holding him in place as they turn sharply.
He can hear the screaming behind him getting closer.
Sven screams again and Adam yells at Keith to step on it.
They take off like a rocket, Keith weaving around parked cars, deeper into the town. His breathing is hitched slightly, betraying his fear enough to startle Shiro, “Keith calm down and drive safely. Please.”
Adam sends him a look that reads ‘shut up’.
They turn a corner, and Keith yells loudly, pressing onto his breaks.
People are running at them, scrambling across the hood and over the jeep to get away. They sit stunned as people scream and sob, fleeing from the direction they are headed.
“Keith, Drive.” Adams voice breaks out of it’s silence first.
“Bu-”
“Keith. Drive.”
He eases onto the gas softly, creeping forward. Shiro breaths in relief as people move around them, thankfully not getting trapped under the car.
Svens voice is soft next to his ear, fear filled, “What are they running from?”
No one knows how to answer him.
They make it around the group finally, all collectively breathing a sigh of relief. Keith is looking at Adam, asking what road he thinks is best. Shiro’s looking at the people, his stomach swooping even lower as he realizes all these families are doomed on foot.
No one hears Sven scream until it’s too late.
Shiro’s dragged back to consciousness slowly, his eyesight focusing and unfocusing rapidly as he blinks slowly. He can hear Sven sobbing, and what sounds like Adam talking softly.
His hands grapple slowly with his body, realizing suddenly that he’s hanging upside down, seat belt holding him firmly in place. Terror rises quickly as he forces his head to look over, finally focusing on what's going on around him.
Adam is cooing at Sven, who is sobbing while hanging upside down. He’s gotten himself out, and is slowly unbuckling Sven, lowering him gently while checking him over for injuries. He finds one on his leg, wincing slightly, “Kid, your legs broken. It’ll be okay. We’ll get you fixed up once we’re safe, alright?” He turns to look behind him,” Keith? Hows that escape coming?”
Shiro turns his gaze to the driver side, eyes widening as he notices finally what the pounding in his head is. It’s Keith smashing out the drivers window with his feet, “Almost there. You get Sven out and safe, I’ll get Shiro.”
Adam doesn’t respond, already wrapping Sven up in his arms as the glass comes free. Shiro fumbles for the seat belt, letting himself crash down as everyone begins to exit.
His broken window makes a good escape route.
A gurgled scream makes him rethink that almost instantly. Turning quickly, he braces his hands above his head, shoving off the body attempting to get at him. A shout starts to rise in his throat for help, but it never gets the chance to leave.
The body slumps and falls, leaving Keith standing over him, knife in hand and out of breath.
He pulls Shiro up carefully, wincing slightly when he realizes the larger man is unable to walk properly due to a minor injury on his calf. A hand goes around Shiro’s middle, while pulling an arm over his smaller shoulders, “You know, when I joked about going into the firefighter career so I could carry your ass out of dangerous situations, this isn’t what I pictured.”
Shiro can’t help the tired bubbled laugh that escapes him as they begin moving forward with a crowd of people.
Keith takes Shiro’s gun from him, holding it by his side as he supports the older man’s weight. Adam and Sven move behind them, making sure to stick close.
Sven comments about the people screaming, and Adam hushes him, telling the boy to cover his eyes.
Shiro wishes Sven would listen.
They startle and nearly fall to the ground when the gas station to their left explodes, sending got waves of fire in all directions. Sven whimpers, and finally moves his face into Adams shoulder, leaving them to witness people screaming as they catch fire.
Shiro’s voice comes out pained, “Oh god they’re on fire.”
“Don’t look.” He looks down at Keith who has his gaze centered forward, pained expression on his face. It strikes Shiro that this might not be the first time Keith has seen a man on fire.
Adam yells suddenly while they are both distracted, moving quickly towards a gate. Shiro and Keith follow, their movements slower, more clumsy due to the imbalance of weight.
They make it to the gate in time, slamming it shut behind them as a crazed person slams into it. Shiro isn’t even really sure he can call them human anymore as he watches it press itself so hard into the metal it rips its own flesh. Jerking away in fear, the group begins to move faster, winding down the alley, following Adams directions. Shiro nearly lunges forward as Adam runs into one of those things , and winces as Keith doesn’t hesitate to shoot it in the head.
The noise draws attention, and next thing they know there are more on their tail, “There is a bar ahead. Duck into it. First door on your left!”
Shiro breaths as they slam into the building, Keith throwing him ahead and closing the door with a heavy thud. The group exhales loudly, looking around before looking at each other.
Adam opens his mouth to ask a question when the door Keith is leaning against gives a heavy jerk. Screams from the other side sound out, deafening anything he could have said.
Keith’s eyes fill with panic as he looks over the three in front of him, finally making contact with Shiro.
“Run.”
Shiro’s brain halts, freezing in it’s spot as he tries to digest those words, “We.. What.. I can’t..”
“Adam, take them and run.”
“Keith I can’t just lea-”
“Shiro! You need to think about Sven and Adam right now! I’m faster than you both, so I can distract them so you can get away. So please. Fucking run!"
Shiro chokes when Adam grabs his arm, sending one last look at Keith over his shoulder as they begin to move. They move messily, feet stumbling over each other like toddlers.
Bile rises in the back of his throat as he realizes he’s leaving Keith behind, that Keith is staying behind to keep them safe.
They stumble out of the bar, into a street. Shiro’s eyes can’t focus, and his hands shaking as Adam holds it, dragging him towards a hole in the wall. Pain laces up his leg as he jumps down from the small ledge, the impact unsettling his balance slightly.
He vaguely hears screaming noises coming from behind him, wonders if that means Keith is dead.
Vomit really does rise in his throat this time, but he chokes it back down, opting to move faster.
He looks up and makes eye contact with Sven, who is openly sobbing at this point, Keith’s name on his lips. Shiro’s heart tugs in a sickening way, wondering how he’ll explain to Sven that Keith isn’t coming back. How he’s going to be forced to explain to Matt why Keith is dead. How he’s going to have to look Krolia in the eyes and admit his failure.
Hatred for his own inability to do anything comes alive like a monster from the corner of his mind.
A light flashes ahead of them, and Shiro hears the gunshots to his bones. A military personnel stands ahead of them, gun held upright, and pointed just behind them. The screams silence, and for the first time that night, Shiro lets himself feel grateful. Finally, they’ve found help.
“Sir I’ve got three civilians on the perimeter.”
“Tell them we’re Lance McClain’s friends! We’re not infected! We’re just trying to get out!” Adams voice is much more stable than his own.
The man pauses, raising his hand to his radio, “They say they know Lance McClain.”
Another pause.
“Sir.. Sir there is a kid.”
Adams voice breaks, “Please! He’s hurt. His leg is broken.”
The man doesn’t say anything, pausing in his tracks before moving to slowly raise the gun.
Like in slow motion, Shiro watches his life flash before his eyes. He remembers his parents. His Grandparents. He remembers the first time he held Sven. The first time he walked. The first time he fell out of a tree. When his family died. When he adopted Sven formally. When he met Keith while serving. The injury. When he met Adam. Their wedding. Living so happily.
He can hear muffled screaming from the man’s earpiece, and he wonders briefly if Lance is trying to save them.
The bullets rip out, and he hears himself and Adam scream from a mile away. Metal hits his side, grazing flesh and barely missing anything major. He falls like a tree, hands gripping his sides as he struggles, pain etching itself across his entire body.
Memories of being wounded in combat rise like tidal waves, knocking him out of his mind and into another universe.
The soldier slides down the slope, his gun rising to Shiro’s face with a slight tremble. Shiro can see the hesitation, and basks in it as the bright light from a flashlight fills his vision. He raises his hands in surrender, “Please. Oh god please. We’re not infected. Please.”
He knows the man isn’t listening anymore. Knows his life is about to end.
A bullet rips the soldiers head apart, making his body ragdoll down to the ground. Shiro is shaking, terrified to move a single muscle until Keith fills his vision, bloody and scraped up, but oh so very alive .
“Shiro it’s me. Oh god you’re okay. I heard yelling and I couldn’t run fast enough and- Oh god. Oh god no.”
Shiro hears it then.
Tiny pained gasps, whimpers and sobs.
His body turns itself without his permission, dragging it’s useless flesh over to the two people laying on the ground.
He knows Adam is dead before he touches him. The bullets in his back are proof enough that is was quick. A choked sob threatens to rip from his lungs as he moves the body, trying to get to the person under him.
Sven.
The young boy looks up at Shiro, his eyes leaking tears. He’s clutching his stomach, whimpers and sobs ripping out from him. Shiro chokes, freezing before springing to life, quickly smoothing the boys hair down, “Hey there, Kiddo. Hey. It’s gunna be okay. I promise it’s gunna be okay. Move your hands and let me see the damage. You’re gunna be okay.”
He’s repeating himself at this point, words growing shakier to the point he’s sobbing. He finally peels the boys hands back, placing his own over the spots they covered. Blood oozes from the bullet wounds on his stomach.
Sven whimpers and sobs, his voice cracking ever so slightly, “Kashi, it h-” he gulps, “It hurts so bad.”
“I know, Kiddo. Oh god I know. It’s okay. We’re gunna get you help. I promise. We’ll get you help. I’m going to pick you up and we’ll go find help.” His hands move on their own accord again, one sliding under Sven, the other grasping his hand.
Shiro hears Keith move next to him, trying to help him lift the smaller boy. Sven whimpers, and Shiro closes his eyes, fighting back the full body sobs that threaten to rip from him.
He prays that the universe is done taking things from him.
The silence that settles breaks Shiros heart worse than anything in the world could ever hope to do.
He doesn’t want to open his eyes, doesn’t want to look down. If he keeps them closed, then Sven's still alive. Shiros fingers curl tighter around his brothers, pressing it against his face.
A hand places itself on his back, lightly and barely there.
Shiro isn’t aware of the first sob ripping itself from his chest. Or the second. It’s not until the third he finally realizes he’s sobbing like a baby and got his head pressed into Svens neck, cradling him against his body. His voice is muffled and on repeat, whispering over and over, “Don’t do this to me. Please. Don’t do this to me.”
The hand on his back never moves, and anchors him to the world he doesn’t want to be apart of any longer.
It’s not until Keith’s voice echoes around his head does he choke back his sobs.
“Shiro we need to go.”
His hands tighten further on his brother, ice settling in on his heart, “No.”
“Shiro we need to go, it’s not safe.”
“No, I’m ready to die.”
The hand flinches slightly before a second one joins in, grabbing at his shoulders and yanking him. Shir’s grip loosens on his brother, and he’s forced to open his eyes, looking at both of them laying on the ground, their lifeless bodies staring at him.
Hysterical sobs break from him, and he thrashes, trying to pull away from the hands dragging him back, “No! No! Let me stay and die! Let me die! ”
He feels the blow on his head before it registers that Keith’s hit him with his own gun. He feels his body start to relax, fading into blackness despite his best efforts to not.
“I’m so sorry, Shiro. I’m sorry.”