What It All Comes Down To

[doubled_speed]

WHO: Tommy Shepherd, OTA
WHERE: Around Temba
WHAT: Coming Down From It All (Post House of Billy)
WHEN: The first week post event [Forward Dated]
WARNINGS: CW: Referenced sexual encounter in thread with Kyle, Referenced child abuse in thread with Kyle.


A. Keeping The Diners Supplied The Diner
"Delivery of fresh produce."

Tommy's tired. Perhaps that's why he's coming in later than normal with supplies for this meal shift. Perhaps that's why he looks frazzled and his hair is limp and he's not racing in with all speed. Clearly it's not the heavy crate loaded down with all sorts of foods from the green house, because that's never slowed him down before. But sleep after something like what they'd gone through was... Well, unlikely.

"The cyanana harvest is starting, so I'm thinking about trying to figure out how to make some sorta pudding out of it. That's a thing, right? Banana pudding or something."

He'd been enough out of it on entering that he didn't even know who it was he was talking to. Like hell he'd thought about how the kitchen help rotation was working now. Nor did he care. He was too tired from all his dreams to care.


B. Healing Power of Horticulture The Greenhouse
If there was one place that Tommy often found peace, it was the greenhouse. Today Tommy was trying his best to work there without getting too complicated with other people. For this he'd done the best thing he could do: working the mint wing. The advantage that came that the specific wing was sealed off from the rest of the greenhouse to keep it from spreading too much. Tommy moved slowly through it with a woven rush basket, humming quietly under his breath some German pop music he remembered from back home. While he moved he clipped little sprigs of mint to pass on to Glownies as a treat.

The advantage of the sealed area was that when the doors opened, Tommy knew someone was there. He could hear it. He turned to look at the door and frowned.

"Can I help you? I thought I was soloing the mint today."


C. The Solitary Island Closed to Aeon
It took a while for him to find her, but Tommy had wanted to have an excuse to get away, but he didn't want to be put into a position where his stupid brain could interrupt him. There had been someone interested after all, and so he'd raced through the city until he found her.

"Aeon," he said, offering a hand up for a high five. "You doing anything? Because if not, island time."


D. Wild Card
[Feel free to hit me up on Discord or Plurk to discuss places Tommy could get cornered. Or just have someone come to his actual home. Other options are to find him lazing by the fountain, on top of a tall building, or hiding out with the glownies which he normally does not visit.]

Comments

[doubled_speed]

Yeah, but he doesn't want to hear that a cool person was dead. So Tommy just mentally rushes past that point.

"Well, white is hot. Trust me. Gets all the girls. And guys."

[lionunchained]

Yeah probably a good idea. Shiro had a morbid sense of humor if allowed to stay on it. And talking about how was attractive was at least amusing.

“Is that so? I haven’t had the chance to find that out yet.”

[doubled_speed]

"Oh yeah, big time attractive. All the girls and the guys at the club would be all over me all the time," Tommy answered, grinning stupidly and starting to gesture with wide, open sorts of energy. "Like 'damn Tommy do you match all the way' and that's definitely way too personal of a question so I didn't answer because a dude needs some mystery."

[lionunchained]

"I wouldn't really know... well, kind of I do. There was this thing that happened when the clone was there. They were doing this... show because Coran thought it was good idea. You know, make Voltron a star and try to unite people, but you know... people really fell for the clone... so I guess me as well. I don't know if that's really the same thing."

[doubled_speed]

"It is," Tommy answered. "Like, the clone thought he was you, right? He acted like you in some ways. He cared about the people you cared about? In a way, it's like you were looking over them in two ways at once."

He hoped it was like that. That Shiro got to be there, protecting the ones he cared about.

[lionunchained]

"In some ways... yeah. At this point, the clone had driven Keith off so as far as I can tell it was behaving as I would have if I had been stuck with Coran and his Voltron show..."

It had been really weird now that he had vague memories of it.

"I guess so."

[doubled_speed]

Wait, driven Keith off?

"Why would it want to get rid of Keith? He's awesome."

[lionunchained]

"I'm not too sure on the exact reasons... maybe it was because Keith was the only one more likely to tell it wasn't me. Maybe its because he was currently piloting the Black Lion and the Galra wanted that one back so the clone pushed him out with the hope the lion would take 'Shiro' back. But the clone was overly critical of him in public and turned the other paladins against him."

[doubled_speed]

That... Tommy frowns at the very suggestion. That wasn't okay. That wasn't okay at all.

"If I ever meet your clone, like from before you got the body back, I'm punching him."

[lionunchained]

"Believe me. You won't be the only one. I want to do that too."

It was not a good thing what the clone had did, basically going after Keith like that and making others question his leadership skills. He'd want to do what he had wanted to do all that time he was stuck in the Black Lion.

[doubled_speed]

"I mean, you COULD punch yourself," Tommy teases lightly. But then he looks serious.

"Well if your lions ever show up I'll go give that Black Lion a talking to and tell it to be nice to Keith given that other Shiro was an ass."

[lionunchained]

He chuckled lightly at that. "I could. Would be really easy with my arm. But I don't think that would really make me feel better."

"The Black Lion did like him. Thought he had the qualities to be a leader. Of course, they don't really talk... you just kind of... feel them if they've bonded to you."

[doubled_speed]

Feel them huh? Weird.

"Well, I still don't like the idea of someone giving my man Keith grief. So yeah, I'll form up on the line if the dude shows up."

Why shouldn't he, after all? "We're all a team."

[lionunchained]

"Sounds good. I'll let you know if he does. I mean... he'll think he's me obviously, but his hair will be black with just the part in the front white."

He smiled faintly. "Yeah, we are."

[doubled_speed]

Black and white? Wow, that's just so cliche. But he doesn't mind it.

"Nah, snow white is better," Tommy assured him. "But hey, giant space lion robot or not, you need anything you can ask me."

[lionunchained]

Yeah, it was, but he didn't pick that white floof. It just kind of happened. Stress was a terrible thing.

"Sounds good. Will do. And same to you. You can always ask." He raised his glass. "Cheers."

[doubled_speed]

"Noble, man, offering to help me out," Tommy laughs. "My issues tend to be pretty fucked up. But it's nice to have backup."

[lionunchained]

"I don't know that mine are much better, but I understand the point."

[doubled_speed]

What a line. Tommy has to chuckle.

"You, sir, need another cup of red-fruit juice."

[lionunchained]

"Probably. I think we both do even if it isn't really going to help you forget about it."

[doubled_speed]

Well yeah, he knows that. But..

"Sometimes it helps you take a step back from the way it feels. And that's its own value.

[lionunchained]

He nodded his head.

"Yeah, it does that. I guess it does help, but though some would say only so much before you have to deal with it on your own."

[doubled_speed]

"Of course," Tommy answered. "I know exactly what you mean. I..."

No, he's not going there. The dark look on his face has to say there's maybe history there.

[lionunchained]

Another thing they have in common. Things that they don't want to talk about. He'd only just scratched the surface of his life with the Galra and that didn't include other things he was hiding.

After a moment, he lifted his drink. "Cheers."

To pasts that one wanted to stay hidden.

[doubled_speed]

Damn right they do. He just hoped that heir stories didn't come for them. He thought that might happen sometimes.

"Cheers," Tommy agreed, clanking his own glass against Shiro's.