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Keith hated diplomatic meetings.
He was one of the worst people to send into one of these and Allura constantly did. He told the princess that he should have skipped it but she claimed that all of Voltron had to be there, Red Paladin too.
Keith sighed as his arm jerked slightly, not enough to raise suspicions. If anything, it probably looked like he had tried to stretch his arm but had decided to stop a second later. He could feel that itch from his collarbone all the way up to his ear. He groaned softly before doubling down on stopping his head from moving. The itch got worse, like an impending sneeze that wouldn't leave him.
He knew that holding the tics back wasn't helpful. The more he did it, the worse they'd be and the more they'd sneak up on him. And it was building. He was stressed because he was normally a terrible diplomat without feeling nervous about his disorder too. And he was tired since his insomnia had been rearing its ugly head lately. He knew he was going to screw this alliance up. And he was bored out of his mind...none of these factors were helpful to his tics at all.
If anything, that made them worse.
The aliens who were their hosts absolutely despised certain gestures and motions some people made. Some of these included moving arms around too quickly, eye twitching, moving the head, and others Keith hadn't caught. And all of those were Keith's specific tics, which would be deeply offending to the aliens.
He could feel his eyelids itch. Sighing to himself, he dug his nails into the table. He needed something to focus on. Glancing to the side, he looked at each of the paladins and Allura. Before long, his eyes landed on Shiro who was having fun closer to the head of the table. The older was smiling as he talked with the leader of the planet, laughing every so often around the sound of him coughing and saying quiet unrecognizable words.
Shiro made it seem so easy. Keith wasn't jealous just...lost. The older had the same thing he did, but his was more vocal than motor, leading to things like coughing being his tic unless he was really stressed. Then cursing tended to slip into his tics too.
So Shiro wasn't too stressed. But he was a little, as shown by the small furrow of his brow. Also, Keith could see him blinking his eyes sometimes without any control of it. He couldn't help smiling at the other, glad to see him having a good time. He deserved it out of any of them.
"Paladin," a voice brought him back to the present as he gazed at an alien getting his attention. The woman was short with grey...well, everything. Her hair, body, and clothes were a colorless rainbow but her eyes were the color of fire-crusted wood, "I was asking a question of you, Sir Red Paladin."
"I ummm…" Keith swallowed before he raised a brow, trying desperately to hold back a twitch and not make her mad, "What did you ask?"
"I wondered if your lion was as fast as the legends spoke."
Keith felt himself relax. This he could get into and talk about. Red was amazing, one of the best things about space. She never seemed to judge Keith for his disorder, even as he sat in her cockpit, doing full-on body twitches and head jerks and making weird noises. She had asked through pictures in his mind about it, and he had explained that he had something called Tourette's Syndrome. He had it before his dad died, and for twelve years now, he had been dealing with it. And Red...seemed to understand. She had only purred softly once he got done telling her about it, wrapping around his mind like a warm cocoon.
"Red is," Keith grinned for a moment before he went on, "She's faster than anything I've seen out here. And while she's wild and untamed, she is really fierce and tough."
A small purr echoed in his head, making him relax even more. His fingers twitched slightly but he let them as he talked about his lion. The other alien didn't seem to get annoyed by his awe. A couple of minutes passed by before he felt another itch build just before his eyes. Groaning in his head, he felt Red gently poke his mind as if telling him to let it out.
He tried to ignore it. But seconds later, the sensation came back but more intense, burning. Keith stopped mid-sentence for a second before giving an excuse before covering his eyes. The feeling came up faster, so he finally gave in, hoping it would stay more on his face. His eyelids fluttered and twitched rapidly as his nose scrunched a few times. Under the table, his foot stomped against the floor quietly. This continued for a few seconds before it stopped, making him feel better.
Keith finally released his face. Glancing around, he could see Shiro sending him a concerned expression, brow twitching a bit. He merely shrugged before grinning softly. The older man did the same after a long moment, going back to his conversation.
Like he said earlier, Shiro made Tourette's look so simple. The older usually seemed good at handling the tics. He had a bit more trouble in space now, but not like Keith did. The younger had grown up with trying to hide it. People were more understanding of sexual orientation and mental health, but not everyone was. Tourette's was still one of those things that people didn't usually see in person and...Keith had some bad experiences with those people.
“Can’t you just stop that?”
“Look at the freak getting all twitchy!”
“Is he having...a seizure?”
“Mullet, you’re messing up my concentration and I’m gonna lose.”
Maybe age played a role in Shiro’s control? Keith watched the other who was mostly tic free. It was usually times of deep stress that his went wild. So unlike Keith’s which just loved to go off at anytime. And he had a lot of specific ones.
Twitching, shoulder rolls, head jerks, and all that fun stuff…
“Young paladin,” the alien spoke again as he once again focused on her. She looked annoyed, “Do you not like our conversation?”
“What?” Keith blinked before tilting his head, “No. I mean...it’s fine. I wasn’t trying to offend you or anything.”
“You keep gazing away,” the woman stated before her eyes slid over to look at Shiro, “That is the Black Paladin, is he not?”
“Yes?” Keith didn’t know why she was asking. Shiro clearly was dressed in black armor and was the leader of the group.
“He is your friend?”
“Yeah,” Keith answered back before his shoulder twitched slightly, rolling just a tad bit, “My best friend.”
“Best friend?” The woman tilted her head before inspecting him, placing her chin on her joined hands, “What is a best friend?”
“Uhhh…” Keith paused for a second. Was he really the best to explain this? He didn’t understand people very well. But...with another gaze at Shiro, he turned to her, “A best friend is someone you spend time with...someone who you know has your back and you have theirs. That someone you feel comfortable with at all times. They’re someone who you know will never give up on you.”
Keith’s voice is softer at the end, remembering what Shiro had told him long before the Kerberos mission. A small smile touched his lips as he felt his fingers jolt just the slightest. Shiro was his best friend.
“You’re sure that is a best friend?” The woman blinked before gazing back and forth between them, “Sounds more like lovers to me.”
“Uhhh...what?” Keith coughed softly, nearly choking on his drink. His eyelids twitched slightly at his shock, “Shiro and I are just friends.”
“From my view,” she snickered softly before tilting her head a little, “It seems like a little more than just friends.”
Keith wondered why she was doing that when he looked over to where she was pointing to. Shiro was watching him again, turning away as soon as Keith noticed with a sheepish look on his face before paying attention to something Allura was talking about. Keith gazed back at the alien.
“He doesn’t see me that way,” Keith gazed down at his plate before wincing, leg jerking some. His stress and anxiety was rising, “We’re not together. And we won’t be…”
Because they wouldn’t be. Keith liked Shiro a lot. His life mostly centered on Shiro, but...he was just Shiro’s friend. He didn’t feel the same way, had never done anything to say that he was.
And apparently his body was picking up on his inner feelings because his arm jerked again. Before he could do anything, his face burned slightly, a nose scrunch coming on strong. Keith couldn’t even bother to suppress it as his head jerked a bit. It lasted for just seconds, but by the time he was done, the table had fallen silent.
Keith glanced around. The aliens were staring at him with narrowed eyes, and the one who had been talking to him seemed a bit shaken. Keith didn’t understand what the problem was until he noticed the leader staring at him.
Oh shit…
Of course that ruined this…
Shiro usually liked to tell him that his nose scrunch tic was cute, but Keith knew exactly how off putting it could be. It probably made him seem like he was disinterested in the conversation or that he was making faces. And they were at a diplomatic meeting…
“Red Paladin,” the leader stood up, showing off his height. Just like the rest of the people, he was in various shades of grey, eyes bright blue. But he was the tallest of all of them, almost Shiro’s height whereas the rest of the people were around Pidge’s, “Do you know of our customs?”
Keith didn’t answer, only gazing down in embarrassment and shame.
“He is,” Allura answered instead, giving him a disappointed and tired stare...oh yeah, none of them knew about his Tourette’s...they just assumed that he was doing these things on purpose, just like almost everyone else did, “He was well informed back on the castle.”
“He could have forgotten,” Pidge moved her glasses, giving him a small smile. Leave it to Pidge to understand what he had without being told, maybe because she knew that Shiro had it too? “We are new to this. On Earth, no one watches for that.”
“Yeah,” Shiro spoke up softly before turning to the alien, “He means you no offense.”
“He doesn’t?” The alien narrows his eyes as if he doesn’t believe them. Keith holds his breath, feeling another itch beneath his skin right over his nose and eyes again. His body just loved to do nose scrunches, and he held it back as much as possible. The itch grew, “He seems to be...perhaps it was a one-time offense. We are a forgiving race, but we will not tolerate rudeness. Is that clear, Red Paladin?”
Keith nodded weakly before feeling his eye twitch. Fuck...this wasn’t going to end well. He couldn’t stop it. So he hide it with his hands in front of his face, feeling the tics about to go off. A chair scraped against the floor as Keith’s leg bumped into the floor a few times.
“You dare hide your shame behind your hands?” The leader boomed as Keith blinked before sniffing...great, his stress was clearly rocketing now, “You should face us.”
Keith didn’t want to drop his hands...the twitching was just about here, but...if he didn’t, they could lose the alliance, and they needed all the allies they could get. These people could provide medical equipment that would save lives later. Keith couldn’t mess this up. He could handle it for a little more.
So he dropped his hands. One shoulder rolled some but no one seemed to notice as Keith stared down at his empty plate. He didn’t even bother to look at Shiro, who was no doubt worried about him.
“Okay, now we can be back on our way,” the leader sat back down before giving a small speech. Keith didn’t bother gazing anywhere other than his plate as his face twitched again. God, holding the tics in only made them worse as time went on, and Keith was reaching his threshold. He felt like a dam about to break, and he couldn’t stop it from coming all out. Right in the middle of the speech, Keith finally gave up again, letting the twitching happen. Several angry gasps echoed around him as his eyes twitched and his nose wrinkled a few times. The tick seemed to roam up his shoulders, making them rattle for a second before finally leaving him as he grunted.
“How dare you!” Another alien growled before Keith pressed his thumb over his hand, mood darkening, “Our leader gave you a generous pardon and you throw it away!”
Keith didn’t protest. Why bother when no one would believe him? He didn’t see a point in saying anything because they’d ignore him too...like always. Like everyone did...
“Do you guys sneeze?” Shiro’s voice interrupts them all. Keith doesn’t need to look to know they are all staring at him in confusion. Keith can hear the other clearing his throat more than what was necessary, a sigh of his own tics flaring.
“What kind of question is that?” Another alien glares before huffing, “Of course we sneeze.”
“Good,” Shiro laughed lightly before some sounds left his mouth, ones that Keith...found calming for some reason, even though Shiro couldn’t help them, “What happens when you hold in those sneezes?”
“Why are you even asking this?” The leader narrowed his eyes, “We do not need to tell you about our sneezes.”
“Humor me,” Shiro shot back softly before standing up, “What happens when you hold back a sneeze?”
“Well…” The alien Keith had been talking to glanced at his best friend, “It builds until you do sneeze and if you don’t sneeze, it bothers you.”
“And what about after a sneeze?”
“You feel better,” the woman answered before tilting her head curiously and looking back at Keith, who somehow forced himself to watch, even as his shoulder rolled again, “It can’t be helped.”
“Why are we going over this?”
“Because I know that Keith does not mean to offend you,” Shiro grinned over at him, which Keith looked at this time, a tiny smile coming to his face, “Keith basically has sneezes...but with his muscles instead. He can’t help them, nor can I.”
“What are you speaking of?” The leader gazed back and forth between them as Keith felt his head jerk slightly before a small cough came out.
“Keith and I both have a disorder called Tourette’s Syndrome,” Shiro shrugged a bit before his eye twitched rapidly, “That causes our muscles to twitch and for us to make noises sometimes...depending on the severity of it. Keith can’t help it.”
“Then how come you haven’t been...doing the same?”
“Is it because yours is different than the Red Paladin’s?” The alien near him asked with wide eyes, taking everything in. She...clearly wanted to learn about it…
“Yes,” Shiro grinned bigger this time, diffusing the tension in the room, “Tics are repetitive motions and twitches that we can’t control ourselves. Mine is more often in vocal tics, but they don’t come out too often because I know how to cope with them. I’ve been shifting them the whole time here to not be as...bothersome. I’ve been living with them for nearly twenty years, so...also, being imprisoned gives you time to figure out ways to help it calm some, strangely.”
“So...what can we do to help?” Allura asked this time, thoroughly listening, “I have never heard of such a thing. And Keith...I am sorry for not being helpful to you. You’re one of my paladins.”
A moment of silence passed before Keith nodded. The others turned to Shiro who shrugged, not knowing exactly what to do.
“Stress,” Keith blurted out finally as everyone looked at him again, making him shrink back, “I...uhhh...stress makes it worse.”
As if to prove his point, his body did another shoulder roll before his nose scrunched up and both eyelids twitched even more.
“If you really want to help,” Shiro was suddenly by his side, resting his hand over the younger’s shoulder pad. Warmth flowed through his chest at the gesture, “Treat us normally. The tics might be annoying at first, but...they’re normal. We’re not sick and we’re not doing it on purpose, I promise.”
Everyone waited a moment, not saying anything. Shiro cleared his throat again, making a small sound as Keith felt his fingers twitch through the armor. And then...the ice melted.
“We are sorry, Red and Black Paladin,” the leader frowned at them before sending them an actual gesture that Keith figured was an official apology, “We merely thought you were just…”
“Acting out,” Keith spoke gently before shrugging on his own account now, “It happens.”
“Well, we will try not to mind it while you are here,” the man nodded as he took his place at the table. “Thank you for telling us.”
“Wait,” Shiro muttered as they all froze, “May I move my seat? I don’t want to offend you and your people, but...I wish to be by my best friend’s side.”
Keith pretended not to see the alien’s smirk nor her purposeful brow wiggle as Shiro’s hand flexed on his shoulder.
“That will be more than fine,” the leader spoke as his icy eyes blinked, “I had assumed you always sat in rank order anyways. I only sat you near my side to speak with you, as you are the leader of Voltron.”
“Oh,” Shiro tilted his head for a moment before laughing softly, muttering nonsense under his breath before relaxing too, “Thank you.”
And then like that, his best friend was sitting by his side. Keith loved this when they got to be side by side, enjoying their meals and talking with each other like old times. Even now, he could feel that itch behind his skin, but...he let it go as soon as it came. His eyes and nose did their usual twitching before Keith looked at Shiro who snickered.
“That is still adorable,” the older smirked back playfully before ruffling his hair, fingers lingering in the ebony strands, “Anything’s cute when it’s part of you.”
“Shiro?” Keith tilted his head, blinking in shock, “Really?”
“Yeah,” Shiro’s voice was breathless in awe, something that made Keith grin fondly, “Yeah.”
“You too,” Keith blurted before he could think, brushing a hand to the other’s thigh carefully, “Cute, I mean.”
A small noise left the other's mouth before said person blushed slightly, face twitching slightly. Before Keith could question it, the other rested his hand on top of his, grinning softly. Keith chuckled before leaning his shoulder against Shiro’s happily.