Relaxing at home (Open to Nexus people)

[hellomajortom]

It had been a crazy few weeks. Learning about a place with so many aliens, reuniting with his wife, and finding a house. It was a lot, nevermind his son being the usual tornado of chaos. The house they had eventually settled on was human built but the style had given his wife a jolt of nostalgia. He hadn't been to Anthea, but he could only imagine this architecture was similar to her home. It was a beautiful house, small, minimalist, and warm with all the sunlight. Right now thin bluish curtains were drawn on most of the windows, another thing his wife had insisted on. He cared little about it though now that they were in place he could appreciate the beauty. Tom imagined at one time Anthea must have been beautiful with its open air houses and sheer colored curtains.

He turned his mind away from Anthea as he sat on the porch swing reading. The past of his wife's people always felt hopeless and depressing. Instead he smiled to himself. His son had been here earlier, high on more than drugs. The stream of Anthean had been welcome to hear as Ziggy spoke to his mother. Truth was they were both talking too fast and high pitched for Tom to keep up from across the room. He got the gist though from human culture. His son had someone or several someones with how his son was, what kind of someone in a place like this Tom could only guess but the signs were there.

That had been a few hours ago. The two of them had left, giddy like school girls, for the plaza and shopping. Tom had been invited but he had so little time to relax during the recent NASA projects that he was going to take his time to do nothing. What was the use of retiring, semi-retiring, if you didn't enjoy it. He took a moment to look at the cats laying on the porch at his feet. There were six now that his wife brought in from wherever she had found them. Most of them looked Earthly though one, one Tom was sure hadn't hailed from an Earth. Still he barely gave it a passing thought.

With one of the cats now settling in his lap on the porch swing, Tom went back to reading and listening to the sounds of people occasionally walking by.


[More images of the house here]

Comments

[hellomajortom]

"Ziggy feels quickly and processes emotions slowly. It's been that way since childhood." Tom smiles at the reaction. "I don't think I have ever seen him not care. Though I rarely hear about, much less meet, any of his past intimate partners."

He doesn't need any more than the smile he just saw to know things were getting more involved than random sex or a friend with benefits.

Tom listens and the only thing that comes to mind is brainwashing, or military programming. There's a pause before he answers. "It sounds like you have a good handle on what memories are yours and which were put there. You might not have them sorted but you can recognize the difference. That's a start, and very important."

Tom let the words hang and then added. "Trust your partner. He can help you. God knows his mother helped me with my mind when... when I was having trouble."

[somekindofspaceuncle]

"The witch, Honerva, she had given me memories of the real Shiro. Through the right arm prosthesis," Shi--- Hiroki explains.

"The border between the memories is... my birth, I guess, and in my head I know that, but when I tell myself that..."

Hiroki gulps.

"That I was never born a bit over twenty six years ago, only Shiro was. That in reality, I was born a bit over a year ago, truly."

He's shaking a little.

"I know THAT is true, but I hate it, I hate knowing that, now, and never before MY WHOLE LIFE, all the months of... Never... I hate it!"

Oh.

Trust...

"I do trust Ziggy. I've decided... I'm his, from now on, until I stop existing. That also means, my life is in his hands, and I don't mind that."

"I'm his. That's the first choice I've made in my life as myself, you see, sir. I'm his. Whatever it takes."

[hellomajortom]

"It's difficult when reality and expectations don't agree. When I first came back I was listed as insane. The reality I knew wasn't what I or anyone else was ready to accept." Tom shrugs. "There was a lot of time in the 20 years I lived with Aletayria that I thought I was dead and dreaming. Coming back to Earth caused a lot of mental upheaval."

Maybe that wasn't the best description of what had happened but it felt right. It's a difficult place to question one's own memories. Hiroki's next statements though are bold. Tom isn't quite sure what to do with them, deciding it's the best to just let the two figure it out on their own.

"I'm happy for both of you." Tom was honest and internally hoping that the relationship might help both of them with their own baggage.

So 100% sane! :D XD

[somekindofspaceuncle]

"Mental upheaval, hm? I'm sorry."

Hiroki ponders something for a moment.

"Can I tell you a secret? Fresh outsider perspective, looking in... like a voyeur, ugh... the real Shiro, Takashi Shirogane, is a bit, hmmm... shell-shocked. Yup. But, please, don't tell anyone."

"Fortunately, I, Hiroki Shirogane, am completely, utterly, quiznaking wholly sane. I'm too young to be crazy."

2/2

[somekindofspaceuncle]

Happy for...

"Th-thank you, sir!"

[hellomajortom]

Major Tom gave Hiroki a curious look. However, he's going to let the boy have his ideas for now.

Though he does smile. "Do you need anything for the house? I know he's just moved in."

[somekindofspaceuncle]

Oh. That's right. He ponders this.

"I'll ask Ziggy if he needs anything."

[hellomajortom]

"I meant for you." Tom redirects. "I'm not worried about my son. He has plenty of money."

[somekindofspaceuncle]

He smiles.

"Hmm, maybe I could make a short trip home and take my Black Lion slippers, to complete my pyjamas, and my volume of Gundam manga, and of Daimos manga, oh, and also one volume of Batman, so that I can finally finish reading them."

Then he shakes his head.

"Nevermind."

"Things, huh? I haven't given it much thought. Ziggy's already given me some nice clothes, so, don't worry about it. I'm not lacking for anything."

[hellomajortom]

"You'll let me know if you change your mind." Tom was serious. His son had never taken to anyone like this which made him think this boy would be around for a long time.

Yup. Euphoria is a hell of a drug. XD

[somekindofspaceuncle]

This is almost surreal to him somehow. He remembers having a father, but, for reasons unknown to him, the memories always felt like... memories, he used to tell himself, simply that, of course...

Of course the memories of the past had to feel slightly distant.

But, that's just it: when he now thinks back on his own memories of Keith , of Lance (never distant, those two), of Allura, of Pidge, of Hunk, of Coran, of Matt (Matt, who now in Nexus... wasn't repulsed by him being an imitation of Shiro, even though... dear Matt, so understanding...), of even, let's say, Shay (she visited Hunk a few times, hmm... were they dating?? Ah, they grow up so fast...)... all those memories, own memories, did not feel as distant as old memories or rather Shiro's memories.

Memories - they were not necessarily meant to feel so distant.

This is so surreal, almost, really.

Hiroki Shirogane giggles lightly.

"Yes, sir!" he says, after he manages to stop giggling. He's taking all this seriously, really.

"Sorry, sorry, it's just. I, hmm... I don't have a headache. Ever since I don't, I'm just... too happy. I'm no good at this."

[hellomajortom]

Tom chuckled quietly at all the giggling.

"You sound like just about everyone else who's in love with someone. "

Tom paused and then added. "It's a wild ride to be within Anthean compared to a human, they're.. a bit overwhelming for a long time."

[somekindofspaceuncle]

"Overwhelming is true. But that's alright. I adore... everything about your son, really. Everything. It's true. I wish I could say I was born to meet him,"

Shiro, no, Hiroki... sighs a little.

"Unfortunately, that'd be a stupid lie, because I was born to spy on prince Lotor for his estranged mother, Honerva. Neither he nor I knew that, naturally."

[hellomajortom]

"You have no idea yet." Tom smiles knowingly. He knows that the first meetings are strong, but it is in a few months when their minds have latched on to the human that, in his experience, is the really when things get interesting.

Tom shakes his head. "Purposes can change as you live. I don't think I feel like my purpose is the same as it was when I was younger."

[somekindofspaceuncle]

Oh. Oh. There's more???

"If I die of happiness, please tell Ziggy it's not his fault."

Purposes... can change, huh? he wonders.

But can his? He's not a person. Just a thing made by Honerva.

Yes. Just a thing made by Haggar. Somehow, he has an impression that the real Shiro has called him that, too. When talking to Keith.

Wait. Talking to Keith when?

He shakes his head. He must've hallucinated something. He's never met the real Shiro, and so...

Anyway. Purposes...

"I hope they can. Change. Thank you, sir."

He's almost said father, instead of sir, wanted to say that, and he mentally kicks himself for that.

[hellomajortom]

Tom starts laughing. "I know the feeling."

He smiles and probably wouldn't have minded being called Father.

"You'll find your way. It takes time. I needed a long time to adjust after coming back to Earth and figuring out what I wanted to do."

[somekindofspaceuncle]

"And do you think I'll survive this ordeal?"

Hiroki smiles a little.

[hellomajortom]

"You're tenacious enough to deal with Ziggy." Tom smiles, amused a little. "I'm sure you'll be fine."

[somekindofspaceuncle]

"Thanks."

"Oh. I've completely forgotten, I was telling you about how the Lions came to be. How Voltron came to be."

[hellomajortom]

"All good conversations get side tracked. You should finish."

[somekindofspaceuncle]

"Mhm. Where was I? That's right. New Paladins. Us. I mean..."

"Keith, Pidge, Lance, Hunk, and Shiro. All humans."

"When Lance talked to the Blue Lion, that's where everythiing really began. We flew, in Blue - in the Blue Lion, I mean - off, not knowing where. And through a sudden wormhole. Made, naturally, by Blue herself."

"I still think Lance should stop constantly flirting with Blue. C'mon, she's a Lion!"

"We landed on a far away planet, near a castle. The Castle of Lions. There we met Princess Allura, who's explained everything to us."

"Oh, by the way, I know now this was at least weeks before I was born, so I should stop saying we. Truly."

[hellomajortom]

Tom laughs at the bit about Lance. "Do you have room to talk since you are flirting with an alien?" He's teasing but not serious. He could imagine, if these were intelligence, one could find them attractive. Tom had a very different concept of attraction since his dealings with the Antheans.

"You memories are.. complex." What else can he say to the concept of having other people's memories?

[somekindofspaceuncle]

"Mhm. I have real Shiro's memories inside. Nowadays, now that I know - they feel a bit more distant? If that makes sense to you. But I still could say things about Shiro that only Shiro himself knows. Not that I would."

"Haggar - Honerva - has done that, somehow."

"Surely not to all the clones. She must've first tested for functionality, or something."

[hellomajortom]

"I understand some of what you're describing." Tom offers sympathetically. "There were some mistakes early on between Aletayria and I. I have a few of her memories and I think she has some of mine. Some of the images I can't make heads or tails out of them."

[somekindofspaceuncle]

"I see. That makes sense."

"However, you've never woken up believing you're her, have always been her, perhaps?" Hiroki asks, a little drily.

"Because I... one day I've woken up... as Shiro. I wasn't Shiro, but I thought I was. Back then, real Shiro was MIA after his fight with Zarkon over the Black Lion. Zarkon tried to reconnect with Black, you see. The bond."

"And so..."

"I remember that battle, of course. Shiro's memories. What happened after, I know from other Paladins. When after they fought off Zarkon and Honerva... well, Allura fought off Honerva, they're magical Alteans, it's best not to get between such fight..."

"When the team has fought off Zarkon and Honerva... when everyone was back. The others went to the cockpit of Black and saw that it's empty. Shiro wasn't there, anymore. And nobody knew where he was."

"For months."

"They had no idea he died. And how could they know, when there was no trace of him?"

"And so... when I woke up, later..."

"I had memories... up to and including the fight with Zarkon. Of course, I didn't remember that Shiro's died."

"I thought I was Shiro. And then, I escaped - er, it was a Galra cruise where I woke up - I escaped with difficulty, in my weakened state..."

"I had no idea my so called escape was planned. By her. Honerva. All part of her plan. As she wanted me to go where I wanted to go. So that she could spy there. Through me. With no knowledge from me. Anyway..."

He sighs.