Stubborn
Title: Stubborn
Verse: A Pretty Enough Story
Fandom: Voltron: Legendary Defenders
Pairing: Keith/Shiro
Summary: “Are we fighting?” Shiro asked. “Or talking?”
Krolia smiled, then struck out hard.
Shiro had been antsy all day. All week. Hell, all month. Ever since he’d woken in the medical bay of the Atlas. Keith still hadn’t been to see him. Oh, they’d faced off across the table in the conference room and they’d patrolled the solar system to make sure there was no activity they needed to worry about, but Keith refused to have a conversation with him.
Shiro didn’t even know where he was staying, because he never came back to his quarters in the Paladin’s rooms. Shiro knew because he’d stayed awake all night waiting.
The sentinel came at him and Shiro was too frustrated to remember to pull his punches. His fist met with the metal and it carried it to the wall, metal head crushed in the wake of his Altean arm.
“Want something a little more … adaptable?”
Shiro turned quickly because there were very few things in the Universe more dangerous than one of the Blade. More specifically the Blade who happened to be his soulmate’s mother.
There really wasn’t a way to say no to Krolia’s invitation and he wasn’t sure he wanted to anyway. Keith wouldn’t speak to him but Shiro had seen him with her often in the last month. She wasn’t seeking him out by coincidence. She’d come to say something and Shiro wanted … needed … to know what it was.
“It would be nice to stop breaking sentinels.”
“I thought you had better control over your arm than that,” she reprimanded.
“I usually do. I’ve just been … frustrated lately. I usually spar with Keith when I’m like this but,” he wasn’t sure it was best to bring it up but in for a penny, in for a pound, right? “it seems like he’s too busy for sparring lately.”
“Oh?” Krolia asked as she took position in the center of the mat. “I’ve found he has plenty of time for me.”
“Are we fighting?” Shiro asked. “Or talking?”
Krolia smiled, then struck out hard.
***
They sparred for most of an hour. Other people came and went. Most who came stopped to watch the show. He’d thought for one second that he’d seen a familiar mop of black hair, but when he’d had a chance to turn, it was gone.
He managed to pin her and Krolia stared up at him, anger in her eyes, but it was nothing of the spar. He knew that, just like he’d known she’d come to find him intentionally.
“Are we done?” he asked. She’d managed to keep her anger in check this long, but now that it showed so completely in her eyes, he thought she was ready to talk.
“We’re done sparring.”
“But we need to talk?” he asked.
She nodded. “Your office?”
“We’re likely to be interrupted if I go there. We can go to my quarters. It’s not like Keith will be there.”
“No, he’s been staying with the Blade contingent on the ship,” she said.
He already knew that. Once he’d realized Keith wasn’t coming home he’d checked.
He stood up and offered her a hand, which she took. To anyone else, they looked like two friends who’d just sparred. The walk was tense though and Shiro wasn’t sure what to expect from this conversation. Thankfully it was late enough that the hallways were mostly empty.
When he entered the Paladin’s quarters he went straight to his own, ignoring the questioning look of the four Paladins who were currently relaxing in their lounge area.
The door closed behind Krolia and Shiro grabbed two waters from the fridge and came back to her and handed one over. He took a long drink from his and watched her as she took a seat.
“What do you need, Krolia?”
“Of all the people in his life, I would have least expected this from you.”
Shiro let out a deep breath. “I don’t know what you want me to say. It’s not like I knew all this time. I found out after the battle for earth.”
“And you rejected him.”
“No. I just didn’t tell him.”
“And you don’t think that was a rejection?” Krolia demanded.
“It’s not like that.”
“Then what was it like?”
Shiro took a deep breath but his own anger was rising now. He wasn’t known for losing his temper at the Garrison, but the Paladins knew him better. They knew he was often moved by his emotions. This was one of the times when he couldn’t hold back.
“None of your damn business!”
“He’s my son!”
“And he’s my soulmate!” Shiro shouted back. “And he doesn’t want to talk to me about it, so what the hell gives you a right to come in and demand answers? If you want to know, ask Keith. And if he won’t give you the answers you want, maybe you should remind him that all I did was keep quiet about the mark. He’s the one that walked away completely.”
“He wouldn’t do that.” Her voice was quieter now.
Shiro took a deep breath. “Look, none of it matters. Soulmates, they aren’t a guarantee of some cosmic happily ever after. Keith has someone else and I’m happy he has her.”
Krolia shook her head. “How can you claim to know my son and think that?”
“I’ve seen them together. He’s close to her and I don’t want to stand in the way of that. He deserves to be happy with someone.”
“You are his soulmate.”
“So what?”
“Do you not understand what that means? Has he not told you what a soulmate means to the Galra?”
“When would it have come up? He hasn’t spoken to me since he found out.”
“To the Galra, our soulmark shows us to our mate. We mate for life Shiro. Once we find them, there is no one else. There is no place for it. Keith has loved you for longer than he will tell and if you do not love him, then he will love no other.”
“That’s not how soulmates work for humans.”
“Keith is more Galra than human. And his mark was never a human’s. He has followed you from the day he met you. He has devoted himself to you and protecting you. Do you really think that now he knows the truth, he’ll be able to dismiss it?”
Shiro sighed. “I don’t know what you want me to say, Krolia.”
“I want to know if you love my son.”
“Tell Keith to ask for himself.”
Krolia glared at him. “You’re as stubborn as he is.”
“The comparison has been made before.”
She stared at him a moment longer before she walked towards the door.
“This isn’t done, Shiro. I didn’t spend all those years hoping for my son’s happiness to stand by when he and the man that he is a perfect match for try to out-stubborn one another.”
“I told you. Soulmates doesn’t mean perfect.”
“I thought it before I knew he was your soulmate, Shiro. I thought, if it wasn’t you, who could possibly be more perfectly suited for my son?”
“Maybe you’ll find the answer in whoever he is spending his time with while he’s avoiding me.”
Krolia left the room and Shiro only took a minute before he walked out after her. Sparring wasn’t going to work off his energy tonight, not after the hour-long training session with Krolia hadn’t, but maybe a long run would help settle his mind.
Krolia wasn’t right. Keith was falling in love with Pidge and he wouldn’t get in the way of that. Maybe for the Galra a soulmark meant something more, but for humans it was just a mark that convinced people they should try.
So, yes, Shiro loved Keith. He wasn’t being stubborn though. He just knew his own faults. He was a bad bet. He was broken and misused and too much trouble to ask anyone to try to make a forever out of. Shiro had his career and he had his crew and even if it wasn’t as a lover, he still had Keith in his life. He could be happy with that. He would be happy with that.
Alright. So maybe he could be stubborn. But it was for Keith’s good. For Keith, he would do anything.
Verse: A Pretty Enough Story
Fandom: Voltron: Legendary Defenders
Pairing: Keith/Shiro
Summary: “Are we fighting?” Shiro asked. “Or talking?”
Krolia smiled, then struck out hard.
Shiro had been antsy all day. All week. Hell, all month. Ever since he’d woken in the medical bay of the Atlas. Keith still hadn’t been to see him. Oh, they’d faced off across the table in the conference room and they’d patrolled the solar system to make sure there was no activity they needed to worry about, but Keith refused to have a conversation with him.
Shiro didn’t even know where he was staying, because he never came back to his quarters in the Paladin’s rooms. Shiro knew because he’d stayed awake all night waiting.
The sentinel came at him and Shiro was too frustrated to remember to pull his punches. His fist met with the metal and it carried it to the wall, metal head crushed in the wake of his Altean arm.
“Want something a little more … adaptable?”
Shiro turned quickly because there were very few things in the Universe more dangerous than one of the Blade. More specifically the Blade who happened to be his soulmate’s mother.
There really wasn’t a way to say no to Krolia’s invitation and he wasn’t sure he wanted to anyway. Keith wouldn’t speak to him but Shiro had seen him with her often in the last month. She wasn’t seeking him out by coincidence. She’d come to say something and Shiro wanted … needed … to know what it was.
“It would be nice to stop breaking sentinels.”
“I thought you had better control over your arm than that,” she reprimanded.
“I usually do. I’ve just been … frustrated lately. I usually spar with Keith when I’m like this but,” he wasn’t sure it was best to bring it up but in for a penny, in for a pound, right? “it seems like he’s too busy for sparring lately.”
“Oh?” Krolia asked as she took position in the center of the mat. “I’ve found he has plenty of time for me.”
“Are we fighting?” Shiro asked. “Or talking?”
Krolia smiled, then struck out hard.
***
They sparred for most of an hour. Other people came and went. Most who came stopped to watch the show. He’d thought for one second that he’d seen a familiar mop of black hair, but when he’d had a chance to turn, it was gone.
He managed to pin her and Krolia stared up at him, anger in her eyes, but it was nothing of the spar. He knew that, just like he’d known she’d come to find him intentionally.
“Are we done?” he asked. She’d managed to keep her anger in check this long, but now that it showed so completely in her eyes, he thought she was ready to talk.
“We’re done sparring.”
“But we need to talk?” he asked.
She nodded. “Your office?”
“We’re likely to be interrupted if I go there. We can go to my quarters. It’s not like Keith will be there.”
“No, he’s been staying with the Blade contingent on the ship,” she said.
He already knew that. Once he’d realized Keith wasn’t coming home he’d checked.
He stood up and offered her a hand, which she took. To anyone else, they looked like two friends who’d just sparred. The walk was tense though and Shiro wasn’t sure what to expect from this conversation. Thankfully it was late enough that the hallways were mostly empty.
When he entered the Paladin’s quarters he went straight to his own, ignoring the questioning look of the four Paladins who were currently relaxing in their lounge area.
The door closed behind Krolia and Shiro grabbed two waters from the fridge and came back to her and handed one over. He took a long drink from his and watched her as she took a seat.
“What do you need, Krolia?”
“Of all the people in his life, I would have least expected this from you.”
Shiro let out a deep breath. “I don’t know what you want me to say. It’s not like I knew all this time. I found out after the battle for earth.”
“And you rejected him.”
“No. I just didn’t tell him.”
“And you don’t think that was a rejection?” Krolia demanded.
“It’s not like that.”
“Then what was it like?”
Shiro took a deep breath but his own anger was rising now. He wasn’t known for losing his temper at the Garrison, but the Paladins knew him better. They knew he was often moved by his emotions. This was one of the times when he couldn’t hold back.
“None of your damn business!”
“He’s my son!”
“And he’s my soulmate!” Shiro shouted back. “And he doesn’t want to talk to me about it, so what the hell gives you a right to come in and demand answers? If you want to know, ask Keith. And if he won’t give you the answers you want, maybe you should remind him that all I did was keep quiet about the mark. He’s the one that walked away completely.”
“He wouldn’t do that.” Her voice was quieter now.
Shiro took a deep breath. “Look, none of it matters. Soulmates, they aren’t a guarantee of some cosmic happily ever after. Keith has someone else and I’m happy he has her.”
Krolia shook her head. “How can you claim to know my son and think that?”
“I’ve seen them together. He’s close to her and I don’t want to stand in the way of that. He deserves to be happy with someone.”
“You are his soulmate.”
“So what?”
“Do you not understand what that means? Has he not told you what a soulmate means to the Galra?”
“When would it have come up? He hasn’t spoken to me since he found out.”
“To the Galra, our soulmark shows us to our mate. We mate for life Shiro. Once we find them, there is no one else. There is no place for it. Keith has loved you for longer than he will tell and if you do not love him, then he will love no other.”
“That’s not how soulmates work for humans.”
“Keith is more Galra than human. And his mark was never a human’s. He has followed you from the day he met you. He has devoted himself to you and protecting you. Do you really think that now he knows the truth, he’ll be able to dismiss it?”
Shiro sighed. “I don’t know what you want me to say, Krolia.”
“I want to know if you love my son.”
“Tell Keith to ask for himself.”
Krolia glared at him. “You’re as stubborn as he is.”
“The comparison has been made before.”
She stared at him a moment longer before she walked towards the door.
“This isn’t done, Shiro. I didn’t spend all those years hoping for my son’s happiness to stand by when he and the man that he is a perfect match for try to out-stubborn one another.”
“I told you. Soulmates doesn’t mean perfect.”
“I thought it before I knew he was your soulmate, Shiro. I thought, if it wasn’t you, who could possibly be more perfectly suited for my son?”
“Maybe you’ll find the answer in whoever he is spending his time with while he’s avoiding me.”
Krolia left the room and Shiro only took a minute before he walked out after her. Sparring wasn’t going to work off his energy tonight, not after the hour-long training session with Krolia hadn’t, but maybe a long run would help settle his mind.
Krolia wasn’t right. Keith was falling in love with Pidge and he wouldn’t get in the way of that. Maybe for the Galra a soulmark meant something more, but for humans it was just a mark that convinced people they should try.
So, yes, Shiro loved Keith. He wasn’t being stubborn though. He just knew his own faults. He was a bad bet. He was broken and misused and too much trouble to ask anyone to try to make a forever out of. Shiro had his career and he had his crew and even if it wasn’t as a lover, he still had Keith in his life. He could be happy with that. He would be happy with that.
Alright. So maybe he could be stubborn. But it was for Keith’s good. For Keith, he would do anything.