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[Not long after the Liminal Space Transition, a voice comes through the network. He's not shouting by any means, and there's the monotone-robotic sound of someone who is quite unfamiliar with the network.]

oh stars, there's people in my head, and there was that room and everything there, and I don't know if I'm dead, and I'm looking at a flying saucer, and what even is going on, where am I

why are there people in my head, who is everyone, what the shit did Haggar do this time.....

[The ramble goes on for a while, getting increasingly panicked]

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Matt brightens a bit, grinning. "Hey, point me at the library, and I'll be a happy scientist." He takes a deep breath, feeling comfortable for the first time in ages. Shiro's here, and everything's going to be alright. He might be able to relax and heal for once.

"I never said I didn't like it. In fact, I rather appreciate having a buff boyfriend." Not that it's the only thing, but Matt has to teas a bit.

Shiro's steps stutter to a halt and he stares at Matt. "You... still want to go out with me? After all of that? Matt... Are you sure? I hurt you! Pretty badly!"

Matt freezes, looking more than a bit scared. "You did what you had to, Shiro. I mean, I know I'm a mess and broken, and you might not want me anymore, but I..." He takes a breath. "The hope that everyone was wrong and you weren't dead was what got me through some days. You're a part of me, Shiro, and of course I still want to be with you, if you'll have me."

"I... Of course I will. Stars, Matthew, I hoped, but I never really thought that you would want me back. I figured that you'd be scared of me at the very least." He turns to face Matt properly, carefully taking both his hands. "I don't know why you're not."

"I couldn't be afraid of you, Shiro." Matt's expression looks like Shiro just told him he has three heads. "No matter what. It's just not possible. I... never really let you go to want you back, though."

"Oh," Shiro says weakly. This is all very different than what he had imagined. He tries to laugh it off. "You always did have more faith in me than I did." He searches Matt's face. "You're sure. After everything that's happened, all that I did to you, you really want this."

"Of course I do! We're stronger together, Takashi. Don't you remember that?" A bit of his panic threatens to come back. "Why are you so uncertain about it all? I mean, if you don't want me anymore, I'll deal, but I know all you did what what you believed you had to."

"I remember. Sorry, Matt." He rubs the back of his neck uneasily. "Too much time to think of all the ways it could go wrong, I guess." He smiles. "Don't mind me. I missed you. I'm just glad you're here."

"Promise?" He's been through so much, that he doubts pretty much everything that said to him.

"I think I've lost about seventy five percent of the confidence that I never really had. Sorry." He takes a breath, and just smiles. "We have a lot to catch up on, I think."

"I promise." Shiro steps a little closer. "I'm not going to leave you, Matt. I never wanted to in the first place."

"I know. I saw it in your face." As scared as he was, he knew that Shiro didn't really want to be pulled away from him.

He takes a breath and glances around. "So, er, where am I?"

"Liminal space. A place between worlds, but not in space as we know it. Come on." He starts slowly heading for the Workshop again. "You're not dreaming, and you're not dead - those are the key points anyway."

"Guess those are the important bits. Not dead yet, not asleep." He sighs. "Well, it's not prison, and it's not a work camp."

He glances down at the ground. "Anything's an improvement."

"There's plenty to eat, safe places to sleep, friends and allies, an actual bathroom - with a shower and bathtub and everything, it's amazing. And this place has weird enough physics that you can run experiments for weeks."

"Of all of that, I think I want a shower the most." He sighs. "Don't ask how long it's been. It's pretty embarrassing, to be honest. And then some food that isn't grey goop or freeze dried. And then a bed. An actual bed." He's starting to vaguely feel human again.

"With pillows!" Shiro flicks him a grin. "You can absolutely have a shower first, though. Never-ending hot water. It's great. Do you want me to stick around while you do that, or should I grab us some food while you shower?"

"Oh, stars and planets, pillows!" He smiles, managing a tiny bit of a laugh. "You know what this means, right?" Pillow fight. Always a pillow fight.

He turns a bit more serious and shrugs. "I'm not so weak that I'll pass out in the shower. If you want to go do something else, I'm hardly going to stop you."

"I'm not worried about you passing out," Shiro says, matching him in seriousness. "I'm worried about you deciding this can't be real and having a panic attack. I want you to feel safe and welcome, Matt."

"I know, Shiro." Matt smiles, reaching out and taking his hand. "And I do. I'll be fine. And much cleaner, and probably less smelly. I'm sorry if I'm smelly."

Shiro snorts. “If you think I am worried about how you smell right now you are gravely mistaken, Matthew.” He squeezes Matt’s hand gently. “I’m just glad to have you back. But ok. If you think you’ll be ok, I’ll do that. And if you have any misgivings – any at all – you think at me, ok? If you think at me instead of into the void, you can talk to me directly without everybody else tagging along. Ok? Promise me you’ll do that?”

"Ok. I'll try. I think it's going to take me a while to really get used to this mental network thing. I wish Katie were here. She'd make up some kind of communicator in about five minutes, and we'd all be talking normally." A sigh, and a wistful face. "I miss her."

Shiro's throat tightens. "I miss her too. And she misses you. She's not going to stop till she tracks you down, you know."

"I know. That's Katie for you." He smiles. "She's the most stubborn and the most determined person I know."

"She's really grown up a lot. I'm really proud of her." And his voice shows it, too. "She's almost as smart as her big brother."

"Probably smarter, to be honest." Matt shrugs. "She always was the star of the family."