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Keith has a secret.
When Keith is eight the superhero Firebird burns down a building while fighting a villain named Rockshare. Rockshare’s powers are weak—he can probably be defeated by a candle—so the inferno Firebird conjures is entirely unnecessary. But it’s not about catching Rockshare it’s about tomorrow’s headlines. Firebird isn’t going to get anywhere by taking down a petty villain no one cares about. Firebird needs to put on a show to get noticed.
Firebird doesn’t care that the fire spreads to another building, he doesn’t stick around to help rescue the occupants, and he isn’t there when the ceiling caves in and crushes Keith’s father.
Keith doesn’t have any other family. After his father’s death, he’s shuffled through foster homes that are unequipped to handle his grief and rage. He’s held back a year; it makes things worse. He gets into fights over anything and everything. Sometimes they’re his fault and sometimes he’s done nothing to provoke them other than exist. It doesn’t matter either way. Once he has the reputation, no one will believe he’s innocent.
Keith is thirteen when his life changes for the second time.
He has nowhere to run or hide. He’s reached a dead end. He can win a fight if he has to, but it will just extend his stay in the youth correctional center and he wants to get out. He hates being locked up. The feeling of being trapped is killing him.
He misses the freedom of the desert. The hot sun that made him feel alive. His hair blowing in a welcome breeze. The night sky when it was littered with stars, not like the dull, empty sky of the city. The coyotes howling, the sand under his feet—he wants to go home.
The world shifts.
The grey walls are gone, replaced by the open desert. He recognizes the rock formations in the distance. He turns around and finds the ruins of his childhood home. Abandoned for so many years, the desert has started taking it back He stays there for a few days until he’s eventually found by authorities. His escape baffles the correctional facility, but they’re unable to figure out what really happened. It’s understandable. Teleportation is a big leap to make.
It takes months of trying until he teleports again, and years until he’s able to control it. Once he’s able to, Keith leaves the foster home he’s in and never looks back.
That’s not Keith’s secret. Keith’s secret starts when he’s twenty and meets Captain Atlas.
Captain Atlas is popular with the public, but not much is known about him. He’s a rare modern hero that doesn’t do media appearances, doesn’t go on talk shows, and doesn’t smile and wave on parade floats. He’s completely off Keith’s radar which is why when Captain Atlas sends him flying across a museum floor Keith is stunned.
“Has anyone ever told you stealing is a crime?” Captain Atlas floats next to a sarcophagus, hands on his hips in a perfect superhero pose. He makes no move to apprehend Keith and from that alone, he can tell Captain Atlas doesn’t know who he is.
“Nope. Can’t say they have.” Keith teleports away before Captain Atlas can answer.
That first encounter is brief and boring; Keith doesn’t expect anything to come of it. He’s not a famous villain—he doesn’t even have a codename—despite being a rather prolific thief. It’s hard to tie him to any crimes and the rare times he’s spotted he teleports away the instant he gets the chance. There’s no job or item worth getting caught for and he’s not stupid enough to think his powers make him infallible. Captain Atlas catching him by surprise is proof of that.
He’s careful for the next few weeks. He keeps tabs on Captain Atlas’s heroics: a few foiled robberies, cats stuck in trees, killer robots trying to start the apocalypse—the usual nonsense.
Two months later Keith when is surveying the city from a rooftop he runs into Captain Atlas again.
“I hope you’re not planning to rob any more museums.” Captain Atlas is standing on the rooftop behind Keith. His ability to fly gives him a unique advantage in sneaking up on Keith.
“No, not a museum.” Keith leaps off the roof before Captain Atlas can get him. The lights and sounds of the city blur as the ground rushes towards him.
When Keith’s teleporting he takes what he’s touching with him. There’s a limit to it—he can’t teleport a building—but Captain Atlas is definitely lower than that limit. He flies after Keith much faster than the natural pull of gravity; Keith barely manages to teleport away in time.
The close call is unacceptable to Keith. He starts training harder and shoring up his suit’s technology to make sure he can’t be taken by surprise again. He looks into Captain Atlas’s background and keeps tabs on his activities. To test his suit and skills he telegraphs his crimes and waits for Captain Atlas to show up. He learns how to use his teleportation offensively, becoming a nuisance for Captain Atlas to fight. Captain Atlas is fast and strong but it’s not enough to capture Keith.
His encounters with Captain Atlas brings him a slight level of celebrity, enough to gain the codename “Thunderstorm Darkness.” The name is not his idea but he accepts it. It has a certain ring to it. With that fame comes a menagerie of superheroes vying for his attention but Keith sticks to his old tactics of running away if Captain Atlas isn’t involved.
He knows he’s making a mistake by making an enemy out of Captain Atlas. It’s putting him in the spotlight, which is the last thing he needs. Every villain loses eventually and Keith won’t be the exception. He’s playing a game he’s destined to lose.
✨
Keith yawns as he walks to the convenience store. He was up late last night fighting Captain Atlas outside a Denny’s for reasons that no longer seem clear in the morning sun. He’s distracted and tired and isn’t paying attention as he turns the corner.
There’s a loud crack as he bumps into a man holding a briefcase and a cup of coffee. The coffee goes flying and Keith and the man crash into the sidewalk.
Keith lands on pure muscle. Even through layers of clothing, it’s obvious the man works out. “I'm so sorry, I wasn’t paying attention.” The coffee spilled on the man’s arm. It has to hurt. “I'll pay for it. Coffee, new clothes, medical bills—all of it.”
The man chuckles and Keith’s stomach drops because he knows that laugh. He would recognize it anywhere. “I don't think you need to worry about any medical bills and I can wash this coat, but a cup of coffee would be nice.”
Keith is gawking. He can’t stop himself. It's the first times he's seeing Captain Atlas without a mask and cowl but that’s his square jaw and bright eyes he’s looking at. There’s no doubt about it. The voice is simply the final confirmation.
It takes everything in Keith to keep his shock from appearing on his face. “Of—of course. Anything you want.” Keith longs to disappear but it’s a dangerous thought; he doesn’t want to accidentally trigger his powers.
“Can I get a raincheck on that? I’m actually late for an appointment.” His hair is a light grey, almost silver color but he looks young. He’s probably not much older than Keith. His suit is perfectly tailored and his coat is designer. Keith’s not sure what he was expecting from Captain Atlas, but it wasn’t this. He looks like the kind of corporate sellout Keith dedicates his life to annoying. He’s handsome though, which kind of pisses Keith off.
“Sure. Right, of course.”
“Can you, uh—?” He gestures to Keith, who is sitting on top of him.
“Right. Sorry.” Keith scrambles to his feet, self-conscious. He doesn’t think Captain Atlas recognizes him. He designed his suit carefully to hide his identity (even hiding his voice) because he was paranoid something like this would eventually happen.
When they’re both standing, Captain Atlas hands him a plain white business card.“Takashi Shirogane, but you can call me Shiro.” He’s a defense attorney which makes Keith pause.
“Keith.” He’s never carried a business card on him in his life so he writes his number on a receipt instead. Shiro tucks it carefully into his wallet. Despite being late, he seems reluctant to say goodbye. He turns around twice after walking away, blushing furiously when he’s caught. Keith can’t understand why since he’s the one standing on a street corner watching Shiro walk away.
Shiro calls him that afternoon and Keith is so surprised to hear his phone ring he actually answers it. As they talk Keith feels painfully aware of how stupid it was to give Captain Atlas his real phone number instead of a burner phone’s number.
Keith doesn’t exactly have a demanding schedule so he readily agrees to meet Shiro the next morning. The faster they get this over with the better.
Of course, life is never that simple. Keith doesn’t buy Shiro coffee so much as he drinks coffee with Shiro. He tells himself he’s simply trying to be nice, polite, and all those other things he’s never been before. It’s unconvincing even to himself. Especially as they keep talking long after their coffee cups are empty.
Shiro ends up late again. “Next time we need to meet up after work.” Keith’s heart flutters. Shiro wants to see him again.
Keith should change his phone number and avoid Shiro at all costs. Befriending your archenemy is a stupid thing to do. Incredibly stupid. Mind-numbingly stupid. The kind of stupid that can wreck his life.
“Sounds like a plan.”
It doesn’t matter that it’s a terrible idea. He wants to see Shiro again so he’ll embrace all the terrible ideas to make it happen.
✨
Keith’s secret isn’t that he can teleport.
And it isn’t that he’s a villain either.
Keith’s secret is Shiro.
✨
Keith’s first impressions of Shiro are completely off the mark. The nice coat is a heavily discounted outlet find, he tailors his suits himself, and his apartment is in the same shady neighborhood as Keith’s tattoo parlor/lair (a worrisome coincidence Keith refuses to dwell on). Most of Shiro’s clients are the underprivileged and the poor, people that normally rely on a public defender. Shiro doesn’t care for the way they get shuffled around and take bad deals. He doesn’t even care if they’re guilty—a serious surprise for Keith—it’s the unfairness behind how the system treats them that makes Shiro take on their cases. It makes Keith wonder what it would have been like to have someone like Shiro defending him when he was a teenager.
Keith has no idea how Shiro manages to balance a heavy workload while moonlighting as a superhero. He can tell it’s not easy. There are more than a few times Shiro has to cancel plans to prepare for a trial or because some supervillain has unleashed a giant mechanical spider on the city. He can tell Shiro expects Keith to get tired of it with the way he apologizes until Keith finally tells him he’s not going anywhere. Whatever time Shiro can give him, he’s happy with. The admission catches Shiro off-guard. He lets it slip that not everyone has been understanding about his lifestyle. Shiro’s ex-boyfriend dumped him because he was tired of Shiro always bailing on him.
“What a dumbass. I would never complain if my boyfriend had something he was passionate about.” Keith wants to teleport Shiro’s ex into a lake—or maybe a volcano—for asking Shiro to give up the things he loves.
“He wasn’t completely wrong though. I keep putting myself in danger. It’s not fair to ask someone to support that.”
“Putting yourself in danger? You’re not exactly defending hardened criminals.” Keith is proud of how casual his words come out. He wonders if Shiro’s ex knew about his superhero identity. For some reason the thought makes him see red.
“I—I stay out at night a lot working on cases. Walk through dangerous neighborhoods. That sort of thing.” His eyes briefly flicker to the side; it’s cute how bad he is at lying.
“I’m sure you can handle yourself. A big guy like you can throw a punch.” Keith knows firsthand how strong Shiro’s punches can be. In fact, Keith is currently nursing a bruise on his side from one of Shiro’s punches because just as Keith keeps meeting Shiro, Thunderstorm Darkness keeps meeting Captain Atlas.
Thunderstorm Darkness meets Captain Atlas in museums where they browse paintings and then fight, zoos where they feed lions and then fight, concerts where they listen to music and then fight, festivals where they—well, it’s not hard to guess. These days the only crimes Keith are committing are either not paying for a ticket to enter or trespassing when a place is closed. They’re petty crimes that shouldn’t interest a superhero like Shiro but Keith figures since they’re archenemies Shiro has no choice but to dedicate his life to apprehending Keith.
✨
Keith wants to crawl back into bed where it’s warm and he doesn’t have to be awake. He can’t though because he’s meeting Shiro for brunch.
He digs through his wardrobe and finds the thickest, warmest, most oversized hoodie he owns and teleports to a fire escape near the restaurant. Keith catalogs places in the city people don’t pay attention to. He rarely uses them when he’s dressed as a civilian but today he wanted to sleep in a little longer.
He gets to the restaurant before Shiro and waits in their usual spot. There’s a TV in the corner playing the news. A dog in a bee costume is on screen for a special on pet Halloween Costumes.
Keith’s phone vibrates with a text from Shiro. He has to cancel—some last minute information came in for a case he’s working on that means he needs to rethink his strategy for tomorrow’s hearing. Keith knows it’s a lie when a breaking news bulletin interrupts the bee-dog and a man in what can only be described as a purple fursuit appears on screen promising to destroy the city.
Keith yawns. He might as well go back to sleep then. He orders a meal to go, feeling bad to leave without getting anything. While he waits he watches Captain Atlas battle the fursuit man on TV.
Fursuit is a big man, bigger than Shiro, but he’s fast. Shiro can’t keep up with his speed in the air. Shiro struggles to turn fast when he’s flying; it’s something Keith exploits in his fights with Shiro. Fursuit lands a punch on Shiro that has him slamming into a bulldozer so hard it slides a few feet in the dirt.
Keith frowns. Shiro has mild durability, but it’s not that impressive. It’s a secondary power to his flight. There’s a slight wobble to his step as he collects himself. Fursuit notices and aims for Shiro’s legs. He misses but in the process Shiro hits the back of his head on the bulldozer. Shiro falls to the ground and doesn’t get up.
Keith barely has time to think. He steals a scarf as he runs out of the cafe and secures it around his face. He puts his hood up, grateful that his hoodie is a plain indistinguishable black, and teleports from the first deserted spot he finds.
Fursuit is a lot less cartoonish close-up. He has claws that come to a dangerous, sharp point. Keith takes care to avoid them as he slams his body into Pursuit, knocking him away from where he was about to land on Shiro.
“Who the hell are you?” Keith barely avoids a claw to the chest. He glances to where Shiro is out cold on the ground.
“A friend of Captain Atlas’s? Well, no matter. I’ll just crush you too for I am Sendak, and I will cleanse this city with fire!” He makes a run towards Keith and it’s almost funny how terrifying a man in a fursuit with claws can be.
Keith waits until the last second to teleport away. Sendak slams into steel rigging, not expecting Keith to vanish. It doesn’t knock him out but it does piss him off.
“Coward! What kind of hero runs from a fight?”
Keith teleports to a pile of steel bars and grabs one. He teleports again when Sendak leaps towards him.
“I’m not a hero.”
He lunges for Sendak. Sendak grabs not one, but four of the steel bars and swings them together like a baseball bat. He’s easily twice Keith’s size and magnitudes stronger but he’s woefully unprepared to fight someone like Keith.
Keith teleports behind him and hits him on the head with the bar. Sendak stumbles but doesn’t fall. Keith is relentless. He attacks Sendak again and again, always taking him by surprise and teleporting away before Sendak can touch him. A final hit to the back of Sendak’s head has him crumpling to the ground.
“Don’t you ever touch him again.” Keith kicks Sendak’s smiling furry face for good measure.
With the villain dispatched, the cops start to descend and Keith teleports out of there.
✨
Sendak is just the beginning.
Keith’s little performance creates quite a stir. It gets high ratings and is replayed on TV for the next week. Miraculously, his stupid disguise works and no one figures out who he is until Captain Atlas misses bowling night and Thunderstorm Darkness rescues him from a weird looking shark dude. After that, it’s easy to put two and two together.
Shark dude sets a precedent. Villains all over the city decide kidnapping Captain Atlas is a quick and easy way to get attention and rise to infamy. Gigantic hamsters, killer robots, evil scientists—there’s no end to it. It’s after rescuing Shiro from a man wearing the corpse of a disco ball that Keith decides he’s had enough. He takes Shiro with him when he teleports from the scene.
Keith teleports them to a secluded hilltop overlooking the city. It’s one of Keith’s favorite places to go when he wants to get away from it all. It’s not as good as the desert, but Keith’s abilities aren’t unlimited. There’s a range he can successfully teleport to; it gets smaller if he teleports too many times in rapid succession. His powers need time to recharge.
Shiro leans over and puts his hands on his thighs. “That felt weird. I might be sick.”
Keith kicks him in the stomach. Shiro falls on his ass in a loud yelp. It’s incredibly undignified for a superhero.
“Hey! What the hell was that for?” The look of betrayal on his face says a lot about the bizarre state of their relationship. Shiro shouldn’t look surprised that his archenemy knocked him to the ground.
“You’re going to learn how to fight.”
“I know how to fight,” Shiro scoffs.
“It sure doesn’t look that way to me. This is the fourth time I’ve had to rescue you this month. Thanks to you we never—I mean, I never get to—nevermind. This has got to stop.” Keith was this close to complaining that they never get to hang out anymore. What’s worrisome is he doesn’t know if he means Shiro or Captain Atlas. If he means Shiro, that’s a colossal slip-up, he can’t let himself treat Captain Atlas like he treats Shiro. If means Captain Atlas he has to deal with the fact that he’s been thinking of his encounters with Captain Atlas as “hanging out.” Either way is a disaster.
“I know how to fight, Darkness.” Shiro springs up suddenly and barrels towards Keith. Keith avoids him and stumbles over a tree root. His powers activate on autopilot and he manages what he hopes is a cool save. He can’t dwell on it though because Shiro speeds after him again.
The go at it for hours; it’s amazing no one notices them. Keith’s powers are stretched to their limits; he teleports more times than he usually does in a week.
The sun is starting to rise when they finally stop. Shiro’s right. He does know how to fight. Keith’s an incredibly difficult opponent to deal with but Shiro manages to beat him several times. It doesn’t make any sense. None of Shiro’s kidnappers should be a challenge for him.
“Satisfied yet, Darkness?” His white suit glows in the morning sun. He looks like a buff angel. Keith wants to peel the suit off and see the man underneath it. He wants to kiss his bare skin, run a hand through his silver hair, press his head against his chest—
Keith teleports as far away as his exhausted powers will take him.
✨
Keith doesn’t know how much longer he can hide his feelings from Shiro.
It’s not easy keeping them secret. They show up at inopportune times—like when Shiro’s been tied to a missile in a way that makes Keith blush, or when he’s on the phone with Keith dazed after his law office receives an anonymous donation that means he can finally hire a second staff member.
What makes it hardest of all is sometimes he thinks Shiro, the real Shiro, might like him back.
The thought that Shiro might feel the same way makes his heart flutter. He clings to the idea, craves it.
He lets Shiro put his hand on the small of his back. He sighs in contentment when Shiro’s fingers brush through his hair. He almost purrs when Shiro curls into him when they watch a movie together. Keith isn’t an idiot. He knows it’s weird that sometimes they sleep in Shiro’s bed together. He’s well aware male friendships generally have a lot less cuddling, shoulder touches, and lingering looks. There’s a good chance Shiro knows what he’s doing and he’s waiting for Keith to make the move.
But Keith can’t. It’s one thing to befriend Shiro when they’re archenemies and Shiro doesn’t know it, it’s a whole other thing to date him. It’s not right. He can’t tell Shiro the truth either because that would destroy their friendship. Shiro is an incredible, good person while Keith is a juvenile delinquent turned petty villain and tattoo artist. The best he can hope for if Shiro finds out his true identity is that he’ll agree to be his attorney.
✨
“What do you want to watch?” Shiro flips through the catalog of movies he’s DVR’d the past week, pausing to let Keith read each title.
“Are all my choices made-for-TV holiday romances?”
“That’s right,” Shiro says without the slightest hint of shame.
“Great.” A movie about two spies finding love in time for Christmas catches his eye. “A Christmas Mission sounds interesting.”
Keith’s contribution for the night is making stovetop popcorn as Shiro is prone to burning even the microwavable kind. He keeps the bowl in his lap and tries to hide his happiness each time Shiro reaches to grab some.
The movie is predictably poorly acted with a cheesy story, but Keith finds himself getting sucked into it. Both characters aren’t aware that the other is a spy. They have to tiptoe around their secret, making it difficult for them to open up to each other. When they discover their secret identities it destroys their developing relationship. It’s devastating; not even the bad soundtrack can stop the way it makes Keith feel.
The movie is almost over when the power goes out. Keith lets out a curse. There was still ten minutes left to the movie. Anything could happen in the last ten minutes of a made-for-TV Christmas romance. Maybe Santa Claus himself will descend and tell the two spies they were idiots that needed to get together.
Shiro checks his phone while Keith looks out the window and sees purple light near City Hall. According to Shiro, it’s a citywide power outage courtesy of the mad scientist Haggar. Keith can tell Shiro is itching to involve himself in the fight.
“Maybe I should go home,” Keith says.
“And walk alone on the dark? I don't think so.”
“Maybe we should go to sleep early.”
Shiro agrees.
Keith pretends to fall asleep. He’s not surprised when Shiro gets up and sneaks out of the apartment.
Keith follows after him, teleporting to his lair briefly to put on his suit, and hides on the roof of City Hall.
Haggar has set up a diabolical looking machine at City Hall Park. There’s a strange portal of light next to her—no doubt it’s a portal to another world or dimension and if they don’t close it all of reality will collapse or something similarly dramatic—and she’s blasting purple lightning at every superhero that goes near her. There are four more superheroes other than Captain Atlas trying to take her down. Haggar is a big deal like that—only appearing two or three times a year with a plan that goes beyond wanting a little media attention to get a book deal. She might genuinely be a mad scientist and not just a theater grad with a mountain of student loan debt she’s hoping to pay off by turning to a life of crime (or simply avoid while in prison). She’s injured dozens of superheroes, including career-ending injuries. Taking on Haggar isn’t worth the risk to most superheroes so the motley group fighting her are either genuine in their desire to protect the city (Shiro) or arrogant fools underestimating Haggar’s power and tactical genius (the other four).
The menacing portal of light grows larger and a bizarre glowing blob steps out of it. It’s translucent, like a jellyfish, with tentacle-like legs. Princess Altea blasts it with pink energy; the blob absorbs it, glowing pink for a moment, and expands.
This isn’t an ordinary interdimensional void creature then but something more frightening.
Tentacles spring out from the blob and attack each of the heroes. Princes Altea and Captain Atlas evade it, aided by their ability to fly, but the other three are hit and throw across the park. Haggar takes advantage of the chaos and starts pressing buttons on her machine that makes the portal expand even further.
Keith watches the scene unfold and wishes he had stayed in bed. He stands up from where he’s crouching and begins pacing across the roof.
Any moment now Princess Altea is going to blast Haggar with her pink energy bolts and things will be fine. Then they’ll send that creepy blob back into the void where it belongs. Any moment.
Any moment.
Keith’s powers have a way of doing things on their own if he’s not careful. That’s what he tells himself anyway when he teleports behind Haggar and dropkicks her into the machine.
She recovers and blasts him with lightning—it’s painful, stupidly, absurdly painful—but in the process, it leaves Haggar vulnerable to Princess Altea who does finally blast her with a pink light that knocks her out cold.
Keith falls to his knees. The pain lingers and breathing feels like the hardest thing he’s ever done. Haggar’s lighting wreaked havoc on his suit; he can’t see from the eyes of it and he’s certain the voice modulator is done for. It also burns, but that’s something Keith is only distantly aware of until Shiro lands beside him and rips off his mask.
“Shit, I think that’s going to leave a scar. Is anywhere else burned?” Shiro traces a line down Keith’s face; Keith winces in pain. “I’m so sorry, Keith. I couldn’t get to you in time. That stupid void monster. Thank god Allu—Princess Altea was here.”
Waterboy (Keith thinks that’s his name) freezes the blob while a superhero in green Keith doesn’t recognize yells and starts fiddling with a tablet.
“Do you think you can stand? I’ve got to get back there. I-I don’t know what I can do exactly but I need to do something.”
It’s a good question. The pain is starting to clear; without the overall sensation of all his nerves on fire Keith’s able to notice how badly his face hurts in particular. “Yeah, I think I can stand—wait. You called me Keith.” He claws at his face, careful to avoid where it burns. The mask is off. Obviously. Shiro has eyes, which is good. Keith’s fond of Shiro’s eyes. It’s just a pity Haggar didn’t disfigure him more thoroughly.
“I did.” There’s no shock or anger in his voice.
“You already knew who I was.” For a moment he thinks Haggar has blasted him with another round of lightning. He can’t breathe. It’s over. He wonders what was Shiro’s plan. Befriend him to get enough dirt to send him to jail? Use him for ratings? Land a sweet book deal exposing Keith’s secrets? Keith’s told him so much—about his father, about his past. It will be easy for Shiro to write some tragic exposé on Keith’s life. It will probably be a bestseller.
“I—this isn’t the right time, Keith.” The blob expands again from whatever Green has done. Another superhero, this one in yellow, starts screaming.
“Of course. Yeah.” Keith stands up.
“Find somewhere safe to hide.” Shiro flies towards the chaos, leaving Keith behind.
This is his chance. While Shiro and the rest are distracted he can leave. Pack what he needs and get out of the city. He doesn’t want to go to prison. He remembers all too well how shit it was being locked up, and that was only juvie. He can’t rely on his powers to save him. There are ways to shut them off. He needs to run. Leave while he still has his heart intact.
A tentacle strikes Shiro out of the sky.
Keith is there in an instant, catching him before he falls.
“I’ve got you.”
He teleports them to the machine. Lights flash and blink ominously on its panels.
“Thank you, Keith.”
“You need to close the portal. Can you promise me that?” He grabs Shiro’s hand and squeezes. “No matter what happens, close it.”
“I promise. But what are you—"
Keith doesn't stick around for the rest of the sentence. The blob is getting dangerously close to the city.
“Hey stupid blob, I'm over here!”
A tentacle grabs Keith. He thinks Green and Yellow scream. Keith ignores them.
He’s not sure his plan will work. He has two ways of teleporting. He can think of a specific place and appear or he can let his emotions take over and guide him to where he wants to be. He doesn’t know what the world beyond the portal looks like so he prays wanting to get there will be enough. He needs Shiro to be safe. That’s all that matters.
He teleports.
A woman holds a baby in her arms. She makes a silly face and the baby laughs.
The stars expand endlessly on a desert night. They wrap around him until he too is a star.
Happy Birthday, son! Keith blows out all seven candles at once. That’s the trick to making a wish come true. Take too long and it will slip away.
He didn’t steal it. But it’s not like anyone will listen. He has a record. Take the deal, Kogane. It’s only a few months. It will pass in the blink of an eye. He didn’t steal it.
Air rushes past him. He’s falling. He doesn’t reach the ground. The fall starts again.
Takashi Shirogane, but you can call me Shiro. This is the sun. It rises slowly, bringing color to the world. He can’t look directly at it, but he can feel it. The ice melts away.
"Keith!” He’s eight and a police officer tells him his father isn’t coming home. “Keith, can you hear me? Keith!” The woman has to leave. She needs to protect their world. “You need to come back. You can’t just—Keith, please. You can’t leave me like this.” They’re coming for him. He needs to get away before they find him. “Damn it, Keith. Don’t make me keep this promise.” Home. Home is a desert. Home is the stars. Home is the sun. “I’m going to close the portal, Keith. I don’t know what that’s going to do to you. Please, come back.”
Home, home, home. Keith wants to go home.
✨
Shiro has a secret.
He bumps into a beautiful man outside a coffee shop. He makes a fool of himself. The man’s face crinkles up when he reads Shiro’s business card. He writes a number on a crumpled receipt. Shiro is certain it’s fake. That’s why he calls it, not expecting the man to answer.
He does.
The man is not as closed off and guarded as he first appears. He pokes fun at Shiro, takes Shiro around the city, makes him watch bad action movies.
It’s Shiro that’s guarded, Shiro that’s afraid of opening his heart up. Eventually, the man will get sick of Shiro bailing on him.
He doesn’t.
Shiro starts to think that maybe the man wouldn’t leave him even if he found out the truth. He contemplates it, how it might change their relationship.
And then the man shows up and saves him.
He knows it’s Keith. The black hoodie and scarf may fool the people that don’t know him but his eyes are visible. This isn’t a comic book. He knows Keith’s eyes. “I’m not a hero.” He knows Keith’s voice.
Keith is Shiro’s archenemy. Keith.
He tries to make sense of it. Keith has to know it’s him. Shiro doesn’t do anything to change his voice and his cowl leaves his jaw uncovered. Keith isn’t an idiot.
Was he doing some kind of weird honey trap? Is he hoping to get information out of Shiro? But why? To beat him? To take over the city? That doesn’t make sense. Thunderstorm Darkness is a thief. He doesn’t do diabolical plans.
Why did he risk his life and identity to save Shiro? That’s weird for a villain, right?
Shiro decides to test it. Maybe it’s a one time fluke. He lets himself get captured by some boring third-rate villain and tries to look as helpless as possible for the cameras. He waits. Maybe Keith was just pissed Sendak ruined their brunch. It was Shiro’s turn to pay after all. Beating someone half to death for free food is a solid motive.
Thunderstorm Darkness dispatches of Sharklad with one kick to the face and frees Shiro from his bindings. He’s gone before Shiro can even thank him.
Shiro’s more confused than ever.
He gets captured over and over again in the hopes he can make sense of Keith’s motivations but each time it happens he’s left with the simple conclusion that Keith wants to protect him.
Keith confirms his motivations when he takes Shiro to a hilltop and tells him he needs to learn how to fight and stop getting kidnapped.
It’s on the hilltop that Shiro is confronted with how obvious Thunderstorm Darkness’s true identity is. Everything about the way he holds himself is so Keith, the way he talks is peppered with Keith’s mannerisms, and, most damning of all, that’s clearly Keith’s ass in that skintight suit. Shiro has no idea how he’s been so blind.
He’s at a loss. He has feelings for his archenemy—a beautiful thief that keeps saving him. A man that Shiro regularly cuddles with. A man that’s bared his soul to Shiro.
This is Shiro’s secret. He doesn’t mind the complication. He loves everything that Keith is.
✨
“Shiro!”
He falls on top of Shiro. This time no one is burned by coffee.
Green slams a button on the machine and the portal disappears. Princess Altea blasts the machine into smithereens.
“Keith, you came back to me.” Shiro yanks off his cowl and mask. His silver hair matches his suit perfectly; it’s a shame he has to keep it covered.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t—I’m sorry.” The reality of the situation comes back to him. He’s been lying to Shiro for a long time.
“Sorry? For what?” Shiro asks.
“Can we go somewhere private?”
“Of course.”
Keith takes them to the hill above the city. The power is still out in the city. It’s the first time in years Keith has been able to see so many stars.
“I know it’s hard to believe me. I’m a villain. Why would I tell the truth? But I wasn’t trying to take advantage of you. I promise you that. I knew who you were from the start, but that’s not why—“ He shakes his head. “This—Captain Atlas and Thunderstorm Darkness—isn’t why I became friends with you. You were easy to talk to. You were nice. I’m not used to either of those things. I get it if you never want to see or talk to me again.”
Shiro brushes back a stray strand of Keith’s hair. He’s not running—or flying—away. That has to mean something. “I believe you, Keith. And I’m not going anywhere.”
“Really?” It’s a reflex to ask. Even Shiro’s warm expression can’t stop it.
“You scared me so much when you disappeared. I know you told me to close the portal but I had to give you a chance. I didn’t know if you could teleport back if it was closed.”
“I heard you, in there. I saw things—memories maybe. It’s a blur now but I know I heard your voice calling out to me. I wanted to go home, Shiro. That’s how I got back to you.”
“Keith.”
Their lips meet. The angle isn’t quite right and the wound on his face is starting to hurt again, but it doesn’t matter. The kiss is a promise to not run away, a promise to not give up on each other.
It’s exactly what Keith needs to hear.
✨
Keith’s suit is unsalvageable. Haggar’s lightning destroyed the mask while the blob’s tentacles permanently stained the rest. It’s fine though. He wants something new.
He chooses a look that’s more rock concert than crimefighter: fishnets paired with shorts; a simple, unadorned eye mask; a rotating set of shirts and boots; and finally a cropped red leather jacket from Shiro. Overall, it’s an unconventional look for a superhero.
“They’re going to know it’s me. My powers give it away.” The end of the world is nigh. Doctor Apocalypto has lived up to his name and has triggered the apocalypse—the perfect day for Keith to debut as a new superhero.
“No, they won’t. They didn’t figure it out before. Plenty of heroes and villains have the same powers. I can think of three other teleporters off the top of my head. Granted, none of them are local and one hasn’t been seen in decades, but that’s not the point.”
“I don’t know if I’m cut out to be a superhero.”
“I believe in you, Keith. Now you just have to believe in yourself.”
Keith is grateful Shiro leaves his jaw uncovered. There’s nothing in the way when Keith wants to kiss him.
“Thank you,” Keith says when they break apart. “Let’s go save the world, I guess.”