mazeofrelationships

[It rarely snows here, but the weather decided to play a joke on them today. It started with a light dusting, but when the snow got heavier the Garrison sent everyone home. Or rather, to Mr. Holt's home because the kids live all over the place and it was too dangerous for them to call for rides home.

Keith happens to be one of those kids. He would have just as soon stayed at the Garrison with Shiro and Adam, but since the Holts need their help keeping order, he's stuck going to a whole new environment with kids who don't like him. A smaller, more cramped one, even if the Holts' house is pretty big.

Everyone's chattering away about something or other. The loud kid's trying to hit on the girls as usual, his chunky friend who seems nice enough is running off to the kitchen to help Mrs. Holt make snacks for them all, his archenemy James is hanging around some other kid and doesn't seem to notice him (thank God).

Shiro and Adam are busy wrangling everyone, trying to keep the panicky kids calm. It'd be selfish of Keith to follow Shiro around all afternoon demanding his attention, so...he might as well try to socialize.]

So, um. Talking about TV?

[Keith's only knowledge of current shows is what he's seen on Shiro's Netflix account. The only cable Dad could afford in the old days was a basic package that picked up channels full of old junk from decades ago, so Keith grew up with stupid 80s sitcoms. And like a dope, he namedrops a few.

The WHAT Prince of where?

Oh, that cartoon my parents watched in the old times.

A cop show? Seriously?

We're just gonna go over here and talk by ourselves, okay?

Yeah, this is why Keith doesn't try harder to make friends, and why the well-meaning but pushy adults in his life have stopped trying to "help" him make friends.

He hears the loud kid laugh derisively, followed by everyone else snickering, and every other little group of kids he approaches ignores him, gives off an air of there's no room for one more, go away, emo freak.

They don't say it, but the message is loud and clear. Keith quietly slips out of the rec room to find a lonely little corner to sit in.]

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Oh, we're all about space in this house. We can't really help but be. I think it's part of the Holt genetics.

[Matt laughs, shaking his head.]

Hey. Don't worry about it. Everyone has opinions. To be completely honest, I don't like them as much, but I don't think they're utter crap like some people do. They just... are.

[Phew! Keith's heartbeat returns to normal and the knotting in his stomach fades.]

I guess the prequels are still important to me cause Dad and I watched them together. And Shiro and I saw The Force Awakens together before he left. [He smiles a little] But nothing's as good as the original. And Phantom Menace would've been a lot better without that thing.

[We threw popcorn at the screen anytime he showed up, Katie says. Yeah, that's pretty much what he and Dad did, too.]

Edited 2018-10-15 01:19 (UTC)

Yeah, exactly. I remember the first time Katie watched them with us. She wouldn't shut up with all the questions. But... that was fun in its way. It's such a family bonding experience.

[He cracks up, and nods at Katie, grinning manaically.]

Oh, yeah. I think Dad came up with some point system to figure out who hit the target the most. I am, admittedly, the world's worst shot.

I was the same way when Dad sat me down to watch them with him the first time. I guess this is why more people don't go to the theater these days, it's more fun at home.

[Keith laughs, helping himself to one of the last cookies on the tray. After a moment's thought, he breaks it in half and offers Katie the other piece.]

Dad and I just made extra so we could have some left over to actually eat. When that ran out, we'd throw wet paper towel wads. I dunno how the TV stood up to all that.

Oh, man. It's so much more fun at home. You can make all the comments you want, and no one's going to care.

[Matt smiles at Keith's gesture to Katie, but doesn't remark on it.]

Paper towel wads sound like a fantastic idea, to be honest. Must be hard as all crap to clean up, especially if you don't have the best aim.

[And Katie...eats the cookie out of his hand. Is she acting this cute on purpose for him? Like, she thinks she's his little sister now too?

He's not complaining, though. He wishes he could've had a little sister growing up. Or even a big one. Or a brother, really.]

Oh, they were. But Dad said it was worth it, cause it was so satisfying to try to hit that guy when he was on screen!

[Matt can't help giggling at his sister's antics, reaching over and ruffling her hair. It's obvious that the two Holts are very close, and actually like each other.

He smiles at Keith and nods.]

There are definitely things that are worth the mess.

[It is, and he can see why Katie didn't seem too cut up about not having any friends at school. Hanging out with Matt Holt is worth more than a bunch of jerks letting him hang out with them just so he can feel liked.

He flinches when they get to the scene where Lando's apparently betrayed everyone.] Oh yeah, this part. I was so mad at Lando until he ended up helping everyone again.

[Matt winces as well, making a face at the screen.]

Yeah. It didn't make much sense to me at first either. He was Han's friend. Why would he all of a sudden just... turn against him?

[Matt tosses a piece of popcorn at the screen idly. It bounces off of Darth Vader's nose.]

Hey, good shot! Hit Vader right in the face, the jerk. [He may have thrown popcorn or paper at Vader a few times in the past] Man, everyone makes memes about Vader these days but when I first saw him he was the meanest, scariest thing ever and I hated him. Didn't see anything funny about him.

[Revenge of the Sith was supposed to make him more tragic, but Keith was still a kid when he saw it and didn't get it.

Also, the Sand Speech.]

[Matt laughs, then shakes his head just a bit in amusement.]

He was definitely a bad guy. I never did believe that he was 'redeemed' in his last moments. Like... you can't just ignore a lifetime of shit things and be 'good' in one moment. Yeah, sure, if he actually did good things, he could be redeemed, but not just... not much.

[A shrug, and Matt throws another popcorn at Vader.]

The whole parent thing was... too much drama for me, to be honest. It never really fit somehow.

Shiro mentioned some comic his cousin liked tried to do that with its main villain. I'm not a writer so I dunno how redeeming the bad guy is supposed to work, but I'm pretty sure it's not like that.

[Keith and Katie each throw their own piece, neither one quite hitting the mark.]

Way too much drama. I was so disappointed, Star Wars is about fighting evil and having adventures! I mean, Han and Leia fell in love, but that didn't take up an entire movie.

It's possible, but not as a last-minute hurrah for emotions.

[Matt makes a face and shrugs.]

Yeah. If I wanted romance, I'd go to another movie. Not Star Wars.

[After a minute, he tosses a bit of popcorn at his sister. Oops?]

I'm not even big on love stories myself. [He snorts] Mainly cause whenever one comes on TV, I end up watching Shiro and Adam make out for about half of it.

[And when Katie tries to toss a piece back at Matt, it hits Keith.]

So...is this where we get in a food fight? Just kidding, just kidding! [Last time Keith tried to join the fun of a food fight, he was the one to get yelled at first. Even after the other kids got yelled at too, it basically put him off that kind of "fun" for a long time.]

Watching other people make out is just the most awkward thing.

[Matt shakes his head, wrinkling his nose, but laughs a bit when Keith asks about food fights.]

If you want to. Mom would just roll her eyes at us and make us clean it up. It's not like we have chocolate sauce or ketchup or something like that here.

Well, it's just popcorn, so-

[And Katie hits him with another piece, giggling.]

...oh, it's on now. [He laughs as he flicks a piece at her, which lands in one of her pigtails. Gunther, who's been pretty calm and sleepy the whole time, leaps up poses like he intends to catch some of the pieces]

[Matt just laughs, tossing a piece at Keith, trying to land it in his hair, then one at Pidge, and one at Gunther for good measure.

He's pretty sure he just acquired a little brother, and he's more than happy with that.]

[He'd forgotten how much fun this was, and this time he won't get yelled at in front of an entire crowd! Gunther's chasing the pieces of popcorn around the room, too, probably better than trying to eat them.

Keith adores big brother Shiro. But he's at that awkward line between brother and father. He'll race recklessly through the desert, sure, but he doesn't approve of popcorn fights.

This is gonna work out just fine.]

Snowed In

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taking liberties with the timeline here...

pfff what are timelines? Who even knows.

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