Disclaimer: I don't own Voltron Legendary Defender.
Author Note: I saw the idea of Keith and Shiro being adoptive brothers online. I fell in love with the idea and this one shot was born. There is a tiny bit of Japanese in the story but the translations immediately follows in brackets. The title "Kazoku" means family. This is AU as of mid second season.
Keith sat bolt upright in bed, gasping for air. The nightmare was horrible, and it left him shaking in fear. He didn't want to be alone anymore. He wanted his brother with him. He grabbed a bag with a few essentials he would need in the morning and left his room. He navigated the castle's corridors silently, praying he wouldn't run into anyone at this late hour. As his luck would have it, no one was in the halls. He made it to his brother's room and entered the dark room. He set his bag down in the corner and spotted his brother lying in his bed, asleep. He crept over and slid in next to him. There, next to his brother, Keith was able to go back to sleep without having to fear that the nightmare would come back.
Several hours later, Shiro woke up and was surprised to find Keith cuddled up next to him, his head tucked under Shiro's chin. Without disturbing his brother, Shiro untangled himself from his brother, sat up, looked around the room, and saw Keith's bag. So, his brother came looking for him some time in the night. What would bring his almost adult brother to him in the middle of the night? At that moment, Keith's violet eyes opened and landed on the awake Shiro. Keith sat up and blushed slightly. "I'm sorry."
Shiro was confused. "Sorry for what?"
"Coming to you like a child."
Shiro drew Keith in, giving him a hug. "It's okay. I'm your big brother. It's what I'm here for."
Keith wrapped his arms around Shiro. "Love you, Shiro."
Shiro smiled. "Love you too, Lil Bro."
Unbeknownst to Keith or Shiro, Lance spied them hugging, still dressed in their night clothes. He almost couldn't believe his eyes, but there was no mistaking the love radiating from the duo. Lance quietly snuck away, intent on telling everyone he saw.
%%%
It didn't take long for Keith and Shiro to make their way to Castle Control. They entered together and took their seats. It only took a few minutes for the staring to get to Keith. He glared at Lance, who was the closest. "What is your problem?"
"I saw you this morning," Lance said smugly.
Keith was confused. "And?"
"You were hugging your boyfriend."
"Boyfriend?" Keith echoed. "I don't have a boyfriend!"
"Oh? Did he propose then?" Lance pressed.
"What are you going on about? The only person I saw this morning was Shiro."
"That's what I am talking about!"
At that statement, both Keith and Shiro laughed, confusing the other five people.
"Why don't you explain what is so funny?" Allura prompted.
"Keith is my adoptive brother. When his father died, my family adopted Keith. He was about four, I think," Shiro replied.
"What about your mother?" Hunk looked at Keith as he said this.
Keith shrugged. "I never met her."
"So, why were you hugging?" Lance questioned.
"I had a nightmare last night and sought out my brother," Keith started.
"I gave him a hug to reassure him that it was okay," Shiro finished.
"What was your nightmare about?" Pidge inquired.
Keith flushed in anger. "None of your business!"
"Ochitsuita ototo," Shiro told Keith. [Calm down, little brother.]
He ducked his head. "Gomen nasai ani." [I'm sorry, big brother.] Keith cleared his throat and looked at Pidge. "My nightmare was just the memories of when my father died."
Pidge fiddled with her glasses and asked, "What were you and Shiro saying?"
"My grandparents were Japanese and since Keith was family, he picked it up, and we speak it once in a while," Shiro explained. "I just said calm down, little brother and he said I'm sorry big brother."
"What the quiznack!" Lance exclaimed. "I thought you two were in a relationship."
"We are. We're brothers," Shiro smirked.
Fin
