Disclaimer: I don't own Voltron: Legendary Defender.
Author Note: This is an Au, where Ulaz, Thace, and Antok survived.
Lance was sitting in the lounge, leafing through a photo album. As he gazed at the pictures of his family, his eyes misted over. He missed his family and Earth. He had always wanted to go into space exploration like his hero, Shiro, but he never thought he would be hundreds of light years away from the people that loved him. His right index finger trailed down a family group shot with him in the middle. He was homesick.
Suddenly, he felt a large hand on his shoulder. His head jerked up, and, to his surprise, it was Thace. The violet furred Galra was sitting next to Lance. "What's the matter, Blue Paladin?"
Lance rubbed at his eyes, trying to get rid of the tears. "I'm just looking at pictures of my family. I miss them."
Thace looked at Lance's pictures. "I understand. Perhaps talking about them and sharing pictures will help?"
"It might, and I bet everyone else would love the chance to do the same! Let's round up everyone else and bring them to the training deck. There's a projector we can use in there." Lance ran out of the lounge, still holding on to his album. Thace watched the energetic Paladin run off. He stood up and walked off to gather the rest of the Blades.
The eleven inhabitants of the Castle of Lions gathered on the training deck. Lance, Hunk, and Pidge were excited to do this. Allura was curious about the Paladins' families. Shiro and Coran were calm. Keith was resigned, completely unwilling to take part of this exercise. The four Blades were simply watching the group, slightly interested in the backgrounds of the Paladins.
"Thank you all for coming! We have a little bit of free time, and I thought this would be fun," Lance announced to the room at large. "We will be sharing pictures and stories of our families! We are here to use the projector, so everyone will be able to see the pictures."
Keith stiffened. He definitely didn't want to be there. He didn't want anyone to know that he didn't have any family waiting for him back on Earth.
Lance approached the projector with his photo album in hand. He chose the family portrait with him in the middle he had been looking at earlier. "This is my family."
Everyone looked at the projected image. It was a large family. It was easy to pick out Lance in the center. His parents were directly behind him, his older siblings (one sister and one brother) were at his sides, and two younger siblings were perched on each of Lance's legs (his arms around each one).
"I can see why you miss Earth. It would be difficult to be gone with such a big family," Shiro commented.
"I know." Lance's eyes misted over, before he shook his head. "This is meant to share good memories, not drudge up the fact that we miss our families."
Keith tore his gaze away from Lance's family picture. Everyone looked so happy; happy to be there surrounded by people. It was vastly different from his life back on Earth. No one was happy he was there. Keith was so deep in thought he missed the beginning of Lance's story.
"...and he just threw me in the deep end of the pool! Mama wasn't happy, but they learned I was a good swimmer and planned the next trip to the beach for the following weekend," Lance told them.
"I love the beach," Hunk agreed.
"I've never been to the beach," Keith said, despite himself.
Lance looked at his fellow Paladin. "I didn't expect you to, Desert Boy."
Keith crossed his arms. "Don't call me that. I am older than you."
"But I'm still taller, so I win," Lance quipped.
Keith growled and tightened his folded arms, almost hugging himself.
"Boys, let's get back to the exercise," Shiro admonished.
Lance put up another picture. "This one was when I got accepted into the fighter pilot program of the Garrison. They were so proud." The picture showed Lance's parents and siblings crowded around a telephone, big smiles on all their faces.
"When did you get promoted to fighter class?" Shiro asked. "When I left for Kerberos, there weren't any openings."
"When Keith got kicked out, that opened up a spot, and I was next in line."
"Kicked out?" Kolivan repeated.
Keith looked at the leader of the Blade of Marmora and shook his head. "Don't worry about it. It's in the past."
"Speaking of the past, why don't you go next, Mullet?" Lance suggested.
"I don't think so." Keith wouldn't look anyone in the eye.
"If no one will volunteer, I will," Hunk spoke up. He put up a picture of little him holding a tray of cupcakes with his dad beaming behind him. "My dad taught me how to cook. I would bake cupcakes for my classmates every time one of them had a birthday. They first thought my mom made them, but I told them I did. They were very supportive, especially a certain brown-haired boy." Hunk put up another picture. It was of young him and the brown-haired boy; the boy everyone recognized from a previous picture.
"You knew Lance back then?" Allura asked.
"He adored my baking."
"And I still do! He cooks as good as my mom!" Lance added. He turned to Hunk. "Was that all, buddy?"
"Yeah. It was just how we met," Hunk admitted.
Lance turned to look at the other three Paladins. "So, who's next? Mullet?"
"No," Keith refused.
"I will though." Pidge walked over to the projector. She connected her laptop to the projector and flipped through her pictures until she found the two she was looking for. She put both up and grinned. "When Matt and Dad learned they were picked for the Kerberos Mission with Shiro, my family got to come spend time with Dad and Matt. My dad took this picture." She pointed at one showing Matt and herself. "But if you look in the background, there are two other people in the picture."
Lance leaned forward and squinted. "I can't tell who it is."
Pidge grinned at the even bigger and enlarged the picture. "It's Shiro and Keith."
"I didn't realize we got caught in the picture," Shiro said, staring at the picture.
Lance started laughing. "Shiro and Keith photo bombed!"
"Photo bombed? What's that mean?" Thace asked.
"It's a term that means that someone ended up in the picture that wasn't the intended subject," Hunk explained, while Lance laughed even louder.
"Dad also captured this moment." Pidge switched to the other picture. It showed her mom, Matt, and herself. After a moment, she enlarged it to show Shiro with his hand on Keith's shoulder. "I don't think Dad actually knew Shiro and Keith were there."
"I wouldn't put it passed your father to know and willingly capture us in those pictures." Shiro smiled at Pidge. "Your father would have found it amusing to capture someone unaware in pictures."
"Well, I just wanted to show those two pictures." Pidge disconnected her laptop. Lance seemed to be finally getting his laughter under control, after a few minutes of silent, side splitting laughter.
Shiro took this time to go next. He pulled out the tablet-like device and connected it to the projector. He swiped through his pictures before deciding on one. It was a fourteen-year-old Shiro in a Tae Kwon Do uniform with a black belt. "My mother took this picture. I had just earned my black belt rank in Tae Kwon Do, which is a martial arts."
Antok stared at the picture of teenage Shiro until something stood out in the background. "When did you meet Keith?"
Shiro was slightly startled by the seemingly out of the blue question. "We met at the Garrison. Why?"
"Look in the right hand corner of the picture," was the reply.
Everyone looked at the background. The four Galra could see the small figure perfectly, but the humans and Alteans were having trouble making out the details. Shiro enlarged the picture, and his eyes widened in shock. There in the corner of his picture was seven-year-old Keith in a Tae Kwon Do uniform with a black belt, apparently going over his black belt form. "Keith, I never knew you were in my picture. We attended the same academy and didn't know it."
Keith stared at the picture. "I didn't know either."
Lance blinked several times at the picture of his rival. "You were so small but still had the mullet! What are you doing in the picture? Why do you have a black belt at that age? How old were you anyway?"
"It's not a mullet. I am going over my black belt form. I earned my black belt at the same time Shiro earned his apparently, and I was seven at the time," Keith answered all of Lance's questions without supplying any extra information.
Lance seemed interested in this little tidbit of Keith's past. "Time to share more, Mullet!"
"I'd rather not." Keith kept his gaze on the floor, not wanting anyone to see the fear he was sure was in his eyes.
The four Galra studied the Red Paladin. Why was he so against sharing his background? Maybe the other Paladins had normal families, and Keith felt like he didn't. Perhaps he didn't have many good memories. Maybe he just needed more time to sort out what he wanted to share. Kolivan decided to give him that time, while allowing the other Paladins and the Alteans the chance to see some more pictures.
"We have some pictures as well. Perhaps that will help Keith to share his own," Kolivan suggested.
Keith blushed at being called out by the leader of The Blade of Marmora. "No. It's okay. You don't have to do that."
"But we will. Leader, may Ulaz and I go first?" Thace asked.
Kolivan simply nodded before Thace removed a tiny chip from under a claw and inserted it into the computer. Ulaz was at his side as the two decided on which picture to show. The picture they decided on was one of them as little kits. They were back-to-back, holding their unawakened blades in front of them.
Allura cooed at the picture. "You two were so cute!" The Paladins looked at her. They couldn't believe she thought something Galra related was cute. "What? You can't tell me that's not true."
Shiro looked at the picture. It was easy to tell who was who. The two kits were different colors, one violet and the other one lavender. Their knives looked as different as they did. The only things that were the same were their clothes and the insignia on the blades. The clothes were smaller versions of the Blade of Marmora uniforms minus the masks.
"We were training," Thace said.
"Kolivan wasn't too happy. We weren't supposed to have our blades unsupervised at that age," Ulaz mentioned.
"You both were too young to train with your blades," Kolivan clarified.
"How old were you two?" Hunk asked curiously.
"I was six, and Thace was five," Ulaz answered.
"Every kit manages to get ahold of his/her blade when they weren't supposed to...even the most rule abiding ones." As Thace said this, he looked right at Kolivan.
"I have no idea what you are talking about, Thace." The leader sniffed. "I did no such thing."
"Oh? Then, I suppose that this picture is a fake." Ulaz put another picture on the projector.
It showed two more kits of approximately the same color back-to-back holding unawakened blades in front of them. The taller of the two kits had a tail, and the other one had red markings on his head.
"Where did you get that?"
"From Antok," was the chorused reply.
Kolivan turned to Antok, who shrugged his shoulders. "I didn't see any harm in sharing our picture."
At Antok's comment, the Paladins and Alteans studied the picture. It apparently showed Kolivan and Antok as kits. It was easy to see which was which, but it was still strange to see the two highest ranking members of the Blade of Marmora as kits. Despite not wanting to take part in this exercise, Keith found himself interested in the pictures the Blades had. Would they be willing to share more? Possibly, but perhaps in a more private setting. Keith was so lost in thought that he didn't realize that it was his turn again.
"Okay, Keith. No more stalling. It's your turn to share."
Keith tried to keep his expression neutral, keeping any trace of dread off his face. "No."
"Everyone else has shared, even The Blades of Marmora! Why are you not joining in? There is nothing to be embarrassed about!" Lance exclaimed.
"You want to know why? I don't have any pictures, because I don't have a family!" Keith shouted before slapping a hand over his mouth. He had no intention in sharing that piece of his background, but no one got under his skin like Lance. He made him angrier than he normally was, which made him say things he usually wouldn't.
"What do you mean?" Ulaz asked.
Keith let his hand slide off his face. He sighed before replying, "I'm an orphan."
"Were you a Foster?" Shiro asked.
"I was, but no one wanted me," Keith admitted, his gaze on the floor. Shiro, Lance, Hunk, and Pidge looked at each other and nodded. They walked over to the Red Paladin and enveloped him in a group hug.
"I'm sorry," Lance apologized.
"We didn't know, man," Hunk added.
"We want you," Pidge continued.
"We are your family," Shiro finished.
The Blades and Alteans looked at the Paladin hug. They watched as Keith clutched at each of the other Paladins, tears in his eyes. It was surprising to see Keith tear up. He wasn't a crier, but this was an emotional situation. Shiro held his hand out in their direction. It was clear he wanted them to join in on the hug.
The Alteans joined in without a second thought. Allura was pulled into the hug close to her Red Paladin, who hugged her tightly. His walls had been completely broken down, and tears were pouring down his cheeks. His knees gave out under the emotional weight, and he sagged against Allura, who hadn't expected it. Thankfully, Shiro was behind her. When she staggered under the unexpected weight of Keith, Shiro kept them upright. Once she got her bearings, she held Keith up with no problems. Shiro once again held his hand out and motioned for the four Blades to come over.
With extreme reluctance, the Blades came over one at a time. Thace walked over first, followed closely by Ulaz. Thace placed a hand on Keith's head. He was surprised to see Keith's head jerk up, and the Paladin freed himself from the group and threw his arms around Thace, surprising him completely. Ulaz wrapped his arms around Keith too. Antok and Kolivan walked over as well. They did not wrap their arms around the Paladin, but they stayed within arm's reach. Kolivan petted Keith's hair, and Antok rubbed his tail against Keith's cheek. Thace brought his head close to Keith's ear and purred softly to him. It was a few minutes before Keith's tears slowed, stopping a few ticks later. The silence that followed was deafening. Kolivan looked at Keith and was surprised to see he was asleep against Thace's chest. "He's asleep."
Ulaz unwrapped his arms, and Thace shifted his hold on the teen. He picked him up, and Keith laid limply in Thace's arms. "Why did he fall asleep?"
Shiro walked over and looked at Keith. It was obvious to him that Keith hadn't been sleeping well, if at all. He wasn't taking good care of himself. "He apparently hasn't been sleeping well. This stressful mental release didn't help his exhaustion either. He desperately needed this though as tough as it was on him."
"So, this was a good thing?" Ulaz asked.
"Yes. He just needs to rest now," Shiro replied, running his hand through Keith's mullet.
"We will take him with us to our room," Thace informed Shiro. The Voltron leader nodded, and the Blades left the training deck with Keith. They entered the room they all shared and laid Keith on the humongous bed that took up a good majority of the room. They all crowded around him and softly conversed about what they recently learned. Thace softly whined. "He doesn't have a family."
"He's probably all right. I mean, the Paladins are adults, right?" Ulaz replied.
The four Galra looked at their newest member with uncertainty before Kolivan stood up. "I will talk to Shiro and get some more information about Keith."
Kolivan left the room and tracked down Shiro, who was on the bridge staring off into the stars. "Hello, Kolivan. Is Keith doing better?"
"He's still asleep. I wanted to ask a few questions."
"I will try to answer them."
"What can you tell me about his past?"
"I can only tell you what I learned when we met at the Garrison. He is younger than I am but is a more accomplished pilot than I. He was placed in the fighter pilot program straight away. Normally, it's a multi-step process to get into the program, but Keith blew everyone's expectations and records away. I was selected to go on the Kerberos Mission with Pidge's brother and father. We were captured by Zarkon, but the Garrison reported it as pilot error and said we were dead. Keith didn't believe that and ended up getting kicked out of the Garrison. They said it was for disciplinary issues, but I think the real story was he was digging into the Kerberos Mission files, which were secured, and got caught."
"How old is Keith?"
"He is eighteen-years-old. He-" Shiro cut himself off, watching Kolivan's face darken slightly.
A light growl came from him. "I must leave. Thank you for the answers."
Kolivan left a confused Shiro behind and returned to the room he shared with the other Blades. He entered the room, still growling slightly. The other three Blades looked up from where they were watching Keith, who was still asleep. Why was their leader growling?
"Kolivan, what's wrong?" Thace asked.
"He's just a kit," was the only answer they got.
Ulaz looked at the half-galra Thace was holding. "How old is he exactly?"
"Eighteen."
Thace rumbled. "Why would they send a kit into battle?"
"Not a kid," came a still sleepy voice. The four Galra looked at Keith, whose purple eyes were half open. "What happened? Where am I?"
"You fell asleep on the training deck. We brought you back to our room," Antok replied.
Keith tried to remove himself from Thace's grasp, but the violet Galra held onto him firmly. He started petting Keith's hair, which caused the Red Paladin to relax again. "Kit."
"I'm not a kid," Keith replied, mishearing Thace again.
"You are to us. You are so young that we consider you a kit. A kit is a term for a Galran cub," Ulaz explained.
"But I'm considered an adult on Earth," Keith insisted.
"That may be true, but you are also part Galra. You are a kit, and we will treat you as such in private. We understand that you are a Paladin of Voltron, but you will be taken care of. Kits need cuddling and nuzzling from their parents. As you haven't had a family, we are your family," Kolivan firmly stated.
"There's no getting out of this, kit," Antok rumbled.
Keith remained quiet, thinking about what Kolivan had said. Then, he asked, "Why would you want me when no one else did, except for Voltron?"
Thace kept petting Keith's hair. "Actually, you chose us. It may have been instinctual or unintentional, but either way, we are pleased. We hoped to get to know you better, though we were under the impression that you were an adult in every sense of the word."
"When did I choose you?" Keith didn't think he had done anything of the sort.
"Just recently. On the training deck, when you were getting hugged by the Paladins, the Princess, and her Advisor, you voluntarily left the family and came to me. In that moment, your Galran side claimed us as family," Thace replied.
Keith thought about that. Why did he go over to Thace in that moment? He didn't know. Was it his Galran instincts like Thace had said? Perhaps. It would explain a few things like why he was comfortable with the four Blades and why he felt like purring at that moment. He looked up at Thace. "I think it was instinctual."
"Why do you say that, kit?" Ulaz asked, nuzzling Keith's neck.
Keith didn't answer but purred instead, surprising them. They did understand how Keith came to his earlier conclusion though. He was more in tune with his Galran instincts, and they seemed to be a little more prevalent now. The purring was a tell.
Thace continued petting Keith's hair, Ulaz kept nuzzling Keith's neck, Kolivan rubbed Keith's back, and Antok's tail wrapped around Keith's waist in a type of hug. Keith continued to purr as the Galra doted on him. He felt like what he assumed a family felt like. He finally had a family. He liked it. He liked it a lot, and he wasn't going to do anything to jeopardize that relationship.
Fin
