Until I Get There (Part Two)
Title: Until I Get There
Fandom: Voltron: Legendary Defenders
Pairing: Keith/Shiro
Summary: The day after Keith's father died, a strange group of aliens came to collect him to take him to his mother. This is a look at how things might have happened, if Keith had been raised by the Blade of Marmora.
“I don’t like this, at all.”
“Then I supposed it’s a good thing I didn’t ask you, Yurak,” Kolivan answered.
Keith was still reeling. The death of Ulaz, the man who had been like a father to him since his own father’s passing, had hardened him in a lot of ways. He was too angry and too wild. He took risks he shouldn’t and made snap judgments. At least that’s what everyone said. Keith didn’t see it. He made the same decisions he always had. And now, he was being asked to work side by side with the team that had ended Ulaz’s life.
“You’re only doing this because I’m part-human,” Keith accused. He didn’t hate humans, but he refused to let them get him killed the way they had Ulaz. Keith had better things to do than die for a group of people who didn’t seem to know what the hell they were doing.
“I’m sending you as a liaison to Voltron because I need someone who thinks fast on his feet, is skilled in combat, knows how to strategize, and can be useful in aiding the Blade with the only ally we’ve ever found. One who happens to be the strongest ally we could ever have hoped for. The fact is that they have Alteans on the ship and we are Galra, so that makes it difficult. I trust in the training that Ulaz and Krolia have given you over the years. Should I doubt them?”
Keith glared at Kolivan and crossed his arms over his chest. “Fine. But I’m not taking the mask off. Just because my father was human doesn’t mean I want them to think of me as some kind of lost puppy.”
Kolivan nodded. “See. You’re already better suited at this than most of us. Someone used the same metaphor the other day, and I had no idea what a puppy was. You at least understand the slang and lingo they use.”
Keith sighed. “I’ll do the job, but I’ll do it my way.”
“I would expect no less, young Yurak.”
“I’m not so young anymore, Kolivan,” he reminded him.
“You’re only 19. That is young for a warrior of your ability, even among the Galra. And I am ancient. To me everyone is young.”
Keith shook his head and smiled. “Right. I’ve seen you fight, oh Ancient One. I bet you could still kick the ass of every member of that team.”
“Maybe,” Kolivan said, tilting his head to the side as if he was considering. “Maybe not. Watch out for their leader, the Black Paladin. He was one of Zarkon’s prisoners. The one they called the Champion.”
“Really? I’ve heard stories about him all the way to the Farenian Zone.”
Kolivan nodded. “He wields a prosthetic arm, courtesy of his time in the arena. He is a strong fighter and a good leader. You will be under his command now, but still reporting back to me. I trust you to follow his direction as you would mine unless it directly compromises the Blade.”
“Of course,” Keith said with a slight bow of the head.
“Then we should get this introduction over with.”
Keith nodded as he placed the mask on his face. He wouldn’t let them know he was human. They’d see he was small for a Galra, but they wouldn’t know why. He could always just tell them he was a half-breed and they’d probably leave it alone. Most creatures did.
Kolivan led him off the shuttle where they were met by the Alteans.
“Princess Allura, Coran, this is Yurak. Princess Allura is a member of Voltron. She is the pilot of the Blue Lion,” Kolivan said and turned to Allura then. “Yurak will be leading the members of the Blade that we are leaving with you on the Castle of Lions.”
Keith bowed slightly to the Princess. She was an attractive woman, which he already knew from Regris’ report. Keith had already had a conversation with him about not letting personal feelings interfere with a mission, especially when diplomacy was far harder than battles.
“Did Kozak, Canzana, and Matrof arrive on time?” Keith asked in way of greeting.
“They did,” Coran said. “They were settling into their quarters and were going to meet with Regris before you arrived.”
Keith nodded. “Thank you.”
“Shall we take you to meet the rest of the team?” Allura asked.
“I would be honored,” Keith said.
She seemed surprised at the niceties but he’d been raised human for the first eight years, and he’d learned that his human manners worked far better for diplomacy than straight forward Galra words did.
She led them through the bay and pointed out various branches in the hallways where amenities could be found. Keith would have to study it thoroughly tonight to make sure he knew the way.
When they reached the main control room, Keith was prepared for something utilitarian, but as the door opened, there was beauty, an elegance to the design even here. The maker of the Castle of Lions had been truly gifted.
He was about to say so when the team stepped forward, and Keith was struck dumb.
Four of them approached, but Keith only had eyes for the man in the center. He had gray eyes and dark hair, but with a shock of white on top that looked soft enough to run his fingers through. He had broad shoulders that tapered down to a trim waist and long legs that went a mile.
“Yurak,” Kolivan brought him out of his thoughts as he began the introductions. “These are the Paladins of Voltron.”
“Pidge,” the girl to the left of the beautiful man said. “I fly the Green Lion.”
“I’m Lance,” the guy to the right of Beautiful said. “I’m the Red Lion.”
“I’m the leg,” the big guy at the end said. “I mean, the Yellow Lion. Hunk.”
Beautiful took a step closer and offered his hand. It was an uncommon gesture. In a universe full of greetings, physical contact wasn’t usually initiated at a first meeting, but humans, Keith had found, were odd in a number of ways.
He took Beautiful’s hand in his own and shook.
“I’m Takashi Shirogane, or Shiro as everyone calls me. I’m the Paladin of the Black Lion and the leader of Voltron.”
Keith withdrew his hand and found his voice. “I am Yurak, at your command, Voltron Leader.”
Beautiful… or… Shiro smiled. “Thank you. We’re looking forward to working with you and your men. I understand you’ve just come from a mission. Why don’t we let you get settled into your quarters? We can meet in the morning to start discussing how best we can use you and your men to help Voltron, and how Voltron can help the Blade.”
Keith nodded. “My men and I are at your service.”
Kolivan stepped forward then and clasped hands with Shiro. A few minutes of small talk between them gave Keith the opportunity to watch the others. The one called Pidge was the youngest, but he judged the others to be close to his own age. Pidge and Hunk were talking science, and that was something Keith didn’t understand so he tuned them out, except to note the happy back and forth between them and their comrades. Lance was an attractive man who seemed more interested in attracting good-natured attention than anything more devious. Hunk was smiling at all of them, and it put Keith at ease more than he liked to think about.
Then there was Shiro. A few years older than them, surely. He was self-assured and poised, a leader of men, confident in his place. It was a quality that Keith had never found attractive before, but Shiro wore authority on his shoulders like most men threw on a jacket.
“Let me show you to your quarters,” Shiro came over to Keith, and he realized he’d missed a little of the conversation in his contemplation of the others. He’d have to make sure not to get caught out like that again.
“Thank you,” Keith said. “It’s been a long day.”
Shiro smiled. “I hear you. I’d be nice to take a vacation from all this saving the world business.”
Keith smiled in return, though Shiro wouldn’t be able to see it through the mask. The walk was punctuated with more directions. Keith didn’t know whether it was some skill Shiro possessed, or if it was something else, but he felt he could navigate the castle better with Shiro’s guidance.
When they reached the door, Shiro had Keith take off his glove and place his hand on the door panel. “You only have to do it once. It’ll open when you get close now.”
He was relieved that Shiro hadn’t noticed the plain color of his skin, or that he hadn’t commented if he had. Keith didn’t know him well enough to know which it was.
“Your men are in these four rooms here,” Shiro said, pointing to the other rooms. “If you need anything else, just give me a call.”
“Thank you, Shiro.”
Shiro smiled again. “Any time. You and I are going to be working together a lot. Don’t feel like you need to stand on protocol. The Castle is yours to explore, and feel free to seek us out if you’d like.”
“Thank you. I’m sure we’ll be fine. For now, I think I’ll scrub off some of the dirt from the road and speak with my men. We’ll meet with you back at the conference room in the morning.”
The door closed behind him, and Keith let out a long sigh. This could be bad. He’d been teasing Regris about his infatuation with a member of the team. Now, Keith was no better. He just needed to keep Regris from realizing it.
For now, he pulled off his mask and set his bag on the bed. It was a sparse place, but it was his. In time, he could make his mark on the room. There was no time limit on this assignment and Keith could see that the work ahead of them would cost them years.
As he pulled off his Blade uniform and prepared to test out the shower in his room, he realized he could be in a lot worse places.
In the morning, he’d try to remember to tell Kolivan that.
***
Keith was careful to keep his distance.
At first, he was still bitter that Ulaz had given his life to save the Paladins of Voltron, but he eventually came to see the value of the team and of having an icon like Voltron as an ally. He learned to see that Ulaz hadn’t died in some vain hope of making a difference. With their support, they just might be able to start freeing people of the Galra rule instead of continuing to work so dark in the shadows that they weren’t even a whisper.
He still couldn’t let himself relax around them though. He didn’t know how to explain it, but they made him uneasy. Maybe it was because he left humanity behind a long time ago. Maybe it was because the team was too informal and a bit chaotic, and there was no real discipline.
Or maybe it was because of Shiro. Shiro made him feel at ease in ways that Keith didn’t like and made him tongue-tied at times when he needed to be able to keep his wits.
Keith would never stop his team from spending time with the others, but Keith couldn’t. He went to the first couple informal get-togethers Hunk organized when the tension between the Alteans and his team were still high, but it hadn’t taken long for them all to see they were on the same side.
After that, he stopped going with them. His team understood. They didn’t have a problem showing their faces to the Paladins, but Keith refused. He might be human, but he wasn’t one of them. He hadn’t been since he’d left Earth behind all those years ago, with no ties to keep him there.
The only regret he’d ever had was that he never knew if the young man who had pulled him from the fire had looked for him, that he’d never had the chance to say thank you.
Krolia had tried to talk to him about returning to Earth at some point to seek the maker of his soulmark, but Keith had no desire to find his soulmate. Krolia said he’d always feel empty, always be wanting, until he found that person. Keith thought maybe he was too human for that. There was no ache to be with someone else. Keith was content to be where he was, with his team to back him up.
That didn’t mean he didn’t have rough nights though. Tonight was one of them. He’d woken with the taste of smoke in his mouth and the remembered burn of his back. He wouldn’t be able to sleep until he worked the adrenaline out of his system, so he dressed quickly in his suit and put his mask on before he left his quarters and headed towards the training deck.
He slipped in quietly, but almost as soon as the door opened he realized it was already in use. He should have stepped back out as soon as he saw the Black Paladin was using the room. Keith froze though. He’d been into battle with the Black Paladin. He had never been able to watch him.
Takashi Shirogane was elegant. Every movement against the sentinel was graceful, but with an efficiency of movement that Keith had never seen outside of the most polished fighters of the Blade. He destroyed one sentinel with the slash of his metal hand, then moved on to one of the other three that still fought him.
Keith remembered Kolivan’s warning that this man had been the Galra’s Champion, the only non-Galra species to survive long enough to attain that title. He had seen the way Shiro thought, the way he led his team, and he could believe that the same mind had survived in the arena. Until now, he had never attributed it to the man’s fighting ability. This was a fighter. He had both the strength of body and the determination to fight for what he believed in.
He didn’t know what the other man was doing there so late, but he felt like he was intruding on something. He couldn’t seem to look away though.
The second sentinel fell after Shiro kicked it across the room with enough force that it shorted out. The third and fourth circled him, and Shiro seemed to gather himself for a moment before he struck out. He didn’t engage his Galra-tech, but each strike was deliberate and well placed, meant to throw his opponent off-balance and reeling backward. As soon as the sentinel fell to one knee, Shiro turned to the other that was still behind him. The purple haze glowed around his arm when he engaged, and he punched it in the chest. He didn’t hesitate as he spun and knelt to deliver the same blow to the sentinel that hadn’t been able to get to its feet yet.
The sentinels had been set to turn off if they received a killing blow and it spoke to the amount of force Shiro held that he was able to take them out that way.
Shiro stood slowly and took a few deep breaths, and that’s when he turned. Keith nearly flinched when Shiro’s hardened gaze fell on him, but Keith saw recognition in his eyes a second later and the other man let out a small huff before he smiled.
“Yurak, I didn’t hear you come in.”
Keith hadn’t planned on being caught, but now he was. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to disturb you.”
“Not at all. Did you need me for something, or were you just looking to blow off some steam?”
“I was just walking past and heard someone in the training room,” Keith lied. He wasn’t sure why he didn’t want to admit to the other man that he’d come to spar, but after seeing Shiro move, Keith had other needs than sparring to take care of. “I was just checking to see that everything was okay.”
Shiro nodded. “Sorry to disrupt your walk. I’m fine. I just …” he glanced away. “I have a hard time sleeping sometimes. Sparring helps.”
Keith nodded. “I understand.”
“You do?” Shiro asked.
Keith wasn’t sure what to say to that. “We’re warriors,” he said slowly. “Most of us have something that keeps us up at night.”
Shiro gave a small huff of a laugh and Keith wanted to taste the breath, but he cleared his throat and took a step back towards the door. “I’ll leave you to it.”
“You don’t have to leave,” Shiro said. “I’m done.”
Keith nodded. “I think it’s time for me to return to my quarters, then.”
“Alright. Good night, Yurak.”
Keith paused in his turn and then continued on anyway. He hoped Shiro didn’t notice the hesitation, but he had little faith in that. Still, the other man didn’t call him back.
It had been eleven years since he’d left Earth behind. It had been eleven years since someone had wished him a good night.
He was grateful for the mask tonight since it hid the pain he was sure was on his face as memories of his father surfaced, along with the nightmare he’d hoped to work off.
With the training room out of the question, Keith took off down the halls of the castle. He ran from the memories instead.
***
Shiro didn’t say anything about the late-night wandering when they saw each other the next day. Keith would bet he didn’t want the others to know he’d been up late and Keith was more than happy to keep the incident between them. If Regris found out Keith had been out as well, he’d have known why he was up, and he would have pestered him all day. Keith could do without the mother-henning.
It wasn’t even two weeks later when Keith finished his own sparring session to find Shiro leaning against the wall, a small smile on his face. “Fancy meeting you here,” Shiro said.
Keith could see there were dark circles under his eyes and thought that there must have been a few more restless nights since their last meeting. “I’m sorry. Do you need the space?” Keith asked quickly.
“No, watching you fight was actually kinda calming,” Shiro said.
Keith understood. When he’d watched Shiro, it had been easy to forget his thoughts and get lost in the movement in front of his eyes. “Bad night?”
Shiro nodded. “Not the best.”
“I should give you the space then,” Keith said as he started to clean up the training room.
“Yurak, you don’t have to go. I was the one interrupting.”
“This is your ship,” Keith said with a sigh. He didn’t know why no one seemed to remember that. Keith didn’t have a problem with that, but he’d always been very aware that he lived by the grace of others. If Ulaz hadn’t taken him in, he’d probably have ended up as some mouthy street rat back on Earth. When he came to the Blade, he had been in constant fear that they’d get rid of him if he failed. He was just too different from the others. He hadn’t known how to fit in, and he was too traumatized at the time to realize that there were a lot of Blade members like him; half-breeds who didn’t fit the Galra standard.
“This is your home,” Shiro said. “You and the others, this is your home now. I know you don’t feel that way yet, but I want you to.”
Keith let out a deep breath. “I appreciate that you’ve given us a place here.”
Shiro shook his head. “Yurak, we’re working together. You have a good team, and they seem to be adjusting well here. You’re the one I worry about. You rarely spend time with us, outside of talking about our rebellion against Zarkon. I don’t know the first thing about you.”
He was surprised by the concern. “I’m a member of the Blade of Marmora. I lead a team of five half-breeds and Kolivan ordered us here to help you.” He frowned. “What else is there to know?”
Shiro raised a hand and rubbed the back of his neck. “Anything?” he asked. “What do you do for fun?”
“Spar.”
Shiro seemed to be waiting for Keith to say something else, but there was nothing more to say. He’d spent years becoming the best fighter he could. That was all he did in his free time.
“Okay,” Shiro said with a grin. “What’s your favorite color?”
“Um, black?”
“Come on, Yurak,” Shiro playfully begged. “You have to give me something more here. Okay, we’ll start like this,” he said as he took a seat on the training room mat. He looked up at Keith expectantly. Keith knew he should leave, but he was curious about what Shiro wanted from him.
“Okay.”
“You know my name is Takashi Shirogane and that I’m the Black Paladin. Everyone calls me Shiro. Back on Earth, I used to ride motorbikes and hovercrafts for fun.”
“What do you do now?”
Shiro let out a deep breath. “I guess I don’t get to do much for fun these days. To blow off steam I …” He shook his head and smiled a little. “I spar.”
Keith nodded. “It’s a good use of time. I’ve been reviewing the performance profiles of our past missions and what I could find of yours. It doesn’t leave much time for … fun.”
“Our missions?”
Keith nodded. “Of course. Kolivan has a great deal of faith in you and your team, but I wouldn’t be much of a leader if I went into this without knowing as much as I could about you and the other Paladins.”
“Wow, Yurak. That almost sounds like you want to get to know me.”
Keith frowned. “We have to be able to work well together. Knowing your strengths and weaknesses so I can augment your team is a part of that.”
Shiro nodded. “I agree.”
Shiro crossed his arms over his chest. Keith realized exactly what he said, and he sighed. “Fine. My favorite colors are red and black. I’m actually the youngest member of my team, though I have been with the Blade longer than any of them. I was raised by the Blade.”
“Wow. The Blade doesn’t really seem family friendly.”
“They were good to me,” Keith said quietly.
“My mother died when I was younger,” Shiro confessed.
Keith didn’t know what to say to that. He hadn’t expected Shiro to offer any personal information. Keith’s story was well known among the Blade. It wasn’t like he’d shared anything truly private.
“My father and I didn’t get along,” Shiro said. “As soon as he could, he shipped me off to a boarding school. I guess the upside was that when I realized I wanted to be a pilot, he had the power and money to send me where I wanted to go, even if I was the youngest cadet in the Garrison.”
“Did you get to fly?”
Shiro smiled, and it was the most beautiful thing Keith had ever seen.
“I did. I flew the fastest aircraft we had. For my people, I went the farthest into space as we had ever gone. That was before we knew about the Galra and the Lions.”
“Did you do anything besides fly?” Keith asked.
“I dated. Or tried to,” Shiro said with a sigh. “I wasn’t too good at it. I’ll admit, I was a bit of a workaholic. It’s hard to meet a nice guy when you’re buried in a flight simulator all the time.”
“You could take your date into a flight simulator with you,” Keith offered.
Shiro laughed. “I guess I could have. I never really thought about it.”
“Too bad there isn’t a simulator in the Castle.”
“Not sure I have any more time for dating now than I did back at the Garrison.”
Keith wasn’t sure what to say to that. He’d never really thought about things like dating. It seemed like a silly thing to do when he was fighting for the world. Not only that, but Krolia believed he’d never find anyone suitable, not until he returned to Earth. His mate was there somewhere. No use in dating when he’d never be able to settle anyway.
“The Blade doesn’t have time for that sort of thing.”
“Surely there are some families in the Blade? People who have something else to live for?”
Keith thought about his father, dead on a distant planet for a complete stranger, and his mother on an undercover mission a galaxy away. “We have a cause,” he said firmly. “We are each other’s family. That’s enough.”
Keith got up from the floor and made his way to the door. He wasn’t sure why he’d stayed in the first place. These late night meetings with Shiro made him feel at ease, at first, but they always left him feeling uncomfortable by the end.
He had a foot out the door when he heard Shiro’s voice, “Good night, Yurak.”
He didn’t stop. He didn’t fall asleep that night either.
***
It became a fairly regular occurrence. Some nights Keith woke, drenched in sweat with a need to work off the nightmares. He’d get to the training room and call up the sentinels. He’d fight until his opponents were destroyed. Some nights he knew when Shiro came in, but others he was too lost in the battle, and Shiro was damn good at being quiet for someone of his size.
He could be a Blade if he had any Galra blood in him.
On those nights, Shiro sat on the floor next to the wall and just watched. When Keith was done, he’d sit down beside Shiro. Sometimes Shiro would try to talk to him. He’d ask simple questions, and Keith would answer. Keith kept his distance from the others still, but he let himself have these little moments with the Black Paladin.
Some nights, Keith spent his time in the room alone.
Others, Keith arrived when Shiro was already sparring. On those nights, it was Keith who sat on the floor against the wall and watched as Shiro danced a circle of death around the sentinel. When Shiro was done, he would slide down the wall next to Keith and wait. Keith didn’t always feel like talking on those nights, and Shiro seemed too tired to make small talk.
Some nights the silence became too much, and Keith would share little bits of himself-places he’d been and seen, missions he’d completed. Nothing personal, but something he thought the other man would appreciate.
It wasn’t a friendship, but they were comrades, and Keith felt that their working relationship had improved as well. They had been going on small missions together in the two months since they’d joined the crew, they had meetings frequently, and Shiro had asked Keith to review the Paladin’s performance to help them with their training.
The rest of the team seemed to sense their new level of comfort, and it translated into their interactions as well. They took meals together and trained together. Keith would find Regris and Pidge at a console going over tech. Kozak spent a lot of time with Hunk and Coran, going over the specs of the medical equipment, or different features of the castle. Canza and Lance had a shared interest in sharp shooting and trying to win hearts. Matrof had become obsessed with Altean history and was constantly following Allura and Coran around asking for more details, or more sources. Thankfully for all involved, there was a large library, and Matrof had taken on the task of learning Altean so he could read the books there.
The alliance between the Blade and the Paladins was doing well. Kolivan was happy with their developing relationship, and Keith’s team was happy on the Castle of Lions.
If Keith felt a little uneasy with just how often he and Shiro found each other late at night, he ignored it.
***
“What the hell was that?” Keith demanded.
The headpiece he wore in his suit was crackling. Something was interfering with his team’s communications, and that was never a good sign.
“Shiro, can you get ahold of the Paladins?”
“Lance?” Shiro asked immediately. “What’s going on down there?”
They had come to Wantabu to rescue the planet’s leaders and get them to safety until they could remove the occupation forces the Galra had left. Nothing was going as planned.
“The Galra are blocking the Blade’s communications, but ours seem to be working fine,” Lance answered. “Good thing we teamed up on this one.”
“Good to hear it,” Shiro replied. “Give me a head count, Paladins.”
Keith had leaned closer to Shiro as soon as he’d heard Lance’s voice and he listened as each of the Paladins accounted for themselves and their Blade partners. Keith would breathe easy, except they were in trouble themselves.
“Allura here,” the Blue Paladin breathed heavily into the headpiece. She must have been running hard. Or fighting. Kozak had gone with her in case the Parliament Leaders needed a medic. He was good with hand to hand combat-all of Keith’s team excelled in it, or he didn’t let them in the field-so he had faith that they’d get out okay. “We have all seven members of the Parliament Board.”
“Shiro,” Pidge’s voice came in next. “They seem to have picked up on us somehow, but they’re behind us. Our exit strategy is still good.”
“Alright, everyone get out of here,” Shiro ordered. “Paladins, keep an extra eye on the Blade since their communications are out. Let me know when you’re airborne.” He looked at Keith. “Did you get all of that?”
Keith nodded. “We worried that they would expect us here. I’m just glad we’re faster than their detectors.”
Shiro smiled. “Let’s head out, then. We have the longest path on foot.”
They took off at a jog and Shiro wasn’t kidding. As the largest of the Voltron Lions, the Black Lion had been the hardest to hide. The others had called out their clearance one by one until the last had been gone fifteen minutes.
Keith sighed as he looked up at the sky. “The patrols are increasing.”
“Yeah, you noticed that too?”
Keith gave him a glare, but with the mask on it really wasn’t as impressive as it should have been. “I don’t know if we can get out unseen,” he said. “If we get caught right now, we’ll have their whole fleet on our backs. The point was to get away before they could follow us.”
“I think we need to hold up a little longer, wait for the search to move away from the skies. Black has a cloaking shield that’ll keep them from finding him, but I can’t engage it while taking off. We need to wait until we have a little breathing room.”
Keith nodded. “You’ll have them let my team know?”
Shiro smiled. “You’re worried about Regris, aren’t you?”
Keith rolled his eyes, even though Shiro couldn’t see the expression. He found himself doing that more and more lately. “The less chance I give him to worry, the less l have to reprimand him for it. I’m tired of the argument.”
Shiro laughed and passed on the message to the teams. Pidge-and Regris-offered to come back to help them, but they were quickly vetoed.
They got back to Black a few minutes after that and Shiro let out a deep sigh as he entered the Lion and reengaged the cloaking shield.
Shiro reached up and took off his helmet. He hit a few buttons that Keith knew would turn communications on inside the Lion, rather than to his helmet. Keith had flown enough missions to know the basics in case of an emergency, though he doubted the black beast would let him near the controls if something happened to Shiro.
To be honest, he wasn’t sure if he’d forgive himself either.
Thirty minutes passed, and they were both relaxed enough to let the Lion keep watch for them. Shiro stretched his arms over his head as he got out of the pilot’s seat and Keith was grateful, once again, for the mask that covered his face. He was pretty sure he was drooling.
“Might as well get comfortable,” Shiro said. “They’ll continue running those air patterns for most of the night if your information was correct.”
He slowly stripped away each part of this armor. Keith sat there, trying not to stare but unable to look away. When Shiro was done, he was left in a black body suit that was even more form-fitting than the one the Blades wore. It was indecent, except on Shiro it looked amazing. There was very little left to the imagination and Keith did not need that kind of help.
“You can make yourself comfortable too, you know?” Shiro said.
Keith stared at Shiro for a long time before Shiro turned away and went back to the pilot’s seat. “Suit yourself,” he said softly. It was the disappointment in his voice that finally did it. This wasn’t about Shiro trying to get a look at him. This was Shiro offering hospitality and trust, and feeling that Keith had once again turned him away for it.
And no matter what Keith felt about anything else, he trusted Shiro with his life. With the life of his men.
It had been six months since they’d come aboard the Castle of Lions. It was time. Unless he wanted to impact his relationship with Shiro in a negative way, he needed to do this.
He let out a deep breath, took off his gloves, then removed the faceplate. He breathed in the fresher air, then pushed the hood off his head.
“Sorry,” Keith said. “It’s just been a long time since someone new has looked at me.”
He felt more vulnerable than he had in years. It was true though. He didn’t wear his mask inside the Blade hiding places and bases, but he always wore one when he was out on missions. Except for random strangers on the rare outing, Krolia had been the last person of concern that he’d shown himself too.
Shiro turned at the sound of his voice without the filter, and his eyes widened instantly. Whatever he had been expecting, it was obviously not this.
“You’re human,” Shiro whispered in shock.
“I’m Galra,” Keith corrected quickly.
“I’m sorry. I knew you were of a mixed race, but I didn’t know that one part of that was human, Yurak.”
“On my father’s side,” he replied. “He died on Earth a long time ago. The Blade took me in afterward, but you already know all that.” Keith shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. I was small for a human, and I’m smaller for a Galra. I can still kick anyone’s ass who gives me a hard time about it, though.”
Shiro smiled. “I’ve seen that first hand.”
Keith felt something in him relax a little when Shiro gave him the same sort of smile he always had. “We should grab some food while we’re waiting,” he said. “You’re right in front of the rations compartment.”
Keith pulled out two meals. Hunk had been working with Regris, Kozak, and Pidge on the new provisions. They were the most edible rations Keith had ever had. If Hunk ever left Voltron to be a chef, Keith would follow just to keep eating his food.
Shiro grabbed water from a compartment behind him, and they sat on the floor, legs stretched out together, and ate.
“Do you mind if I ask?”
Keith gave a little huff then shook his head. He knew as soon as they found out he was human that they’d all have questions for him.
“How long ago was it?”
“Eleven years,” he answered quietly. “My mother is a member of the Blade. The day after my father died the Blade took me from Earth so she could raise me.”
“I’m sorry,” Shiro said. “That must have been hard. You lost your father, and then the Blade took you away from everything you knew the very next day.”
“The Blade was great. My Dad was all I had on Earth, so I wasn’t leaving anything behind.” He felt a slight twinge of guilt at that, but he always felt it when he thought about that night. Keith still wondered if the guy who pulled him from the fire had come looking for him. He deserved a thank you, at least. “Besides, I started training right away, and it kept my mind off that. And then when Krolia was done with her mission, I was able to meet her.”
“It must have been something,” Shiro said softly. “To reunite with your Mom like that.”
“Yeah, well, I was with the Blade for about four years by then. I’d been working hard to make her proud of me, so it was really intense, but Krolia is amazing.”
“I hope we get the chance to meet her someday,” Shiro said.
Keith looked over at him because there was something off about the statement. When Shiro caught his questioning look, he smiled. “Sorry,” he said “I was just thinking. You didn’t really get a chance to grow up around humans. You missed out on all the things we did for fun. The typical kid stuff.”
Keith shrugged. “Yeah, but I got to see the universe and fly through space with the Blade. It was a pretty cool trade-off.”
Shiro gave him a weak smile, but Keith could see he didn’t believe it.
That was fine because Keith had loved being a member of the Blade and being able to do the things he did. That didn’t mean he hadn’t spent a lot of time keeping anyone from seeing how much he longed for the things he’d never got to do back on Earth.
***
He didn’t realize what was happening at first.
They were at the harvest festival of the Batatsu people when Shiro suggested they all stay and enjoy the day. The team wasn’t there to protect anyone or perform some service. It had been an open invitation for them and their guests, and they happened to be in the area, so Shiro had accepted.
Shiro pulled Keith aside when the others went off together. He shoved Keith into the Black Lion with a bag and told him to change. The bag had clothes that didn’t belong to Keith but fit him fairly well. He ended up in black pants, a black t-shirt, and a red and white jacket. There were also a pair of boots in the bag. Keith wasn’t sure how Shiro knew his sizes, or where he’d gone to get all this, and he decided that he didn’t want to know.
It was more a question of why Shiro had done it that made him wonder. And the answer to that was why he was dressed, his blade tucked away from sight just in case, heading back out of the Lion and towards Shiro.
“So, what are we doing?” Keith asked.
“We’re just enjoying the festival,” Shiro said with a smile. “We all need a little time off. As a team leader, you know that. You encouraged your people to have fun today, and I did the same.”
“And what if something happens?” Keith countered.
“The Castle and the Lions have long range sensors. They should be able to warn us if something comes our way.” Shiro stopped at an intersection where food stands were set up. Down another way, it looked like there were games of some kind. “Come on,” he said. “Most of the team followed Hunk towards the food. Let’s see what sort of games they have.”
Somehow, they managed to avoid seeing the others for the entire day.
Keith and Shiro, between them, won every game in the row, and then enjoyed a dozen different treats from stalls as they walked around. They watched dancers and some weird sort of sporting event that neither could understand and when night came, Shiro flew them off in Black to enjoy the sunset near a ridge to the East.
It was the first time Shiro dragged him along on a friendly expedition, but it wasn’t the last. Pretty soon, they had become exploratory partners at all such social events. Keith had never laughed so much in his life as he did on those days with Shiro.
Shiro seemed to understand Keith in ways that no one else ever had. Maybe it was because they’d both been violently ripped away from their own worlds at some point in their lives. Maybe it was because they both had a love of space and flying that seemed to overshadow every other thing. Maybe it was because he was good at listening, and for the first time in his life Keith felt like he had a peer to talk to.
He enjoyed his time with Shiro and, although he would never admit it, he liked having the Black Paladin to himself those times. They never saw the others, and it was quickly obvious that Shiro avoided them to help Keith keep his secret. Keith appreciated that, though he was aware enough by now that it was only a matter of time before the mask fell and the others saw his face.
Shiro even made having to face the Paladins without his mask seem like less of a worry and just a matter of circumstance. They traveled the galaxy fighting for freedom, looking for people to help, and sometimes, having fun in the process. Keith had certainly never expected anything like this when Kolivan had sent them to live in the Castle of Lions a year ago.
On to Chapter Three
Fandom: Voltron: Legendary Defenders
Pairing: Keith/Shiro
Summary: The day after Keith's father died, a strange group of aliens came to collect him to take him to his mother. This is a look at how things might have happened, if Keith had been raised by the Blade of Marmora.
“I don’t like this, at all.”
“Then I supposed it’s a good thing I didn’t ask you, Yurak,” Kolivan answered.
Keith was still reeling. The death of Ulaz, the man who had been like a father to him since his own father’s passing, had hardened him in a lot of ways. He was too angry and too wild. He took risks he shouldn’t and made snap judgments. At least that’s what everyone said. Keith didn’t see it. He made the same decisions he always had. And now, he was being asked to work side by side with the team that had ended Ulaz’s life.
“You’re only doing this because I’m part-human,” Keith accused. He didn’t hate humans, but he refused to let them get him killed the way they had Ulaz. Keith had better things to do than die for a group of people who didn’t seem to know what the hell they were doing.
“I’m sending you as a liaison to Voltron because I need someone who thinks fast on his feet, is skilled in combat, knows how to strategize, and can be useful in aiding the Blade with the only ally we’ve ever found. One who happens to be the strongest ally we could ever have hoped for. The fact is that they have Alteans on the ship and we are Galra, so that makes it difficult. I trust in the training that Ulaz and Krolia have given you over the years. Should I doubt them?”
Keith glared at Kolivan and crossed his arms over his chest. “Fine. But I’m not taking the mask off. Just because my father was human doesn’t mean I want them to think of me as some kind of lost puppy.”
Kolivan nodded. “See. You’re already better suited at this than most of us. Someone used the same metaphor the other day, and I had no idea what a puppy was. You at least understand the slang and lingo they use.”
Keith sighed. “I’ll do the job, but I’ll do it my way.”
“I would expect no less, young Yurak.”
“I’m not so young anymore, Kolivan,” he reminded him.
“You’re only 19. That is young for a warrior of your ability, even among the Galra. And I am ancient. To me everyone is young.”
Keith shook his head and smiled. “Right. I’ve seen you fight, oh Ancient One. I bet you could still kick the ass of every member of that team.”
“Maybe,” Kolivan said, tilting his head to the side as if he was considering. “Maybe not. Watch out for their leader, the Black Paladin. He was one of Zarkon’s prisoners. The one they called the Champion.”
“Really? I’ve heard stories about him all the way to the Farenian Zone.”
Kolivan nodded. “He wields a prosthetic arm, courtesy of his time in the arena. He is a strong fighter and a good leader. You will be under his command now, but still reporting back to me. I trust you to follow his direction as you would mine unless it directly compromises the Blade.”
“Of course,” Keith said with a slight bow of the head.
“Then we should get this introduction over with.”
Keith nodded as he placed the mask on his face. He wouldn’t let them know he was human. They’d see he was small for a Galra, but they wouldn’t know why. He could always just tell them he was a half-breed and they’d probably leave it alone. Most creatures did.
Kolivan led him off the shuttle where they were met by the Alteans.
“Princess Allura, Coran, this is Yurak. Princess Allura is a member of Voltron. She is the pilot of the Blue Lion,” Kolivan said and turned to Allura then. “Yurak will be leading the members of the Blade that we are leaving with you on the Castle of Lions.”
Keith bowed slightly to the Princess. She was an attractive woman, which he already knew from Regris’ report. Keith had already had a conversation with him about not letting personal feelings interfere with a mission, especially when diplomacy was far harder than battles.
“Did Kozak, Canzana, and Matrof arrive on time?” Keith asked in way of greeting.
“They did,” Coran said. “They were settling into their quarters and were going to meet with Regris before you arrived.”
Keith nodded. “Thank you.”
“Shall we take you to meet the rest of the team?” Allura asked.
“I would be honored,” Keith said.
She seemed surprised at the niceties but he’d been raised human for the first eight years, and he’d learned that his human manners worked far better for diplomacy than straight forward Galra words did.
She led them through the bay and pointed out various branches in the hallways where amenities could be found. Keith would have to study it thoroughly tonight to make sure he knew the way.
When they reached the main control room, Keith was prepared for something utilitarian, but as the door opened, there was beauty, an elegance to the design even here. The maker of the Castle of Lions had been truly gifted.
He was about to say so when the team stepped forward, and Keith was struck dumb.
Four of them approached, but Keith only had eyes for the man in the center. He had gray eyes and dark hair, but with a shock of white on top that looked soft enough to run his fingers through. He had broad shoulders that tapered down to a trim waist and long legs that went a mile.
“Yurak,” Kolivan brought him out of his thoughts as he began the introductions. “These are the Paladins of Voltron.”
“Pidge,” the girl to the left of the beautiful man said. “I fly the Green Lion.”
“I’m Lance,” the guy to the right of Beautiful said. “I’m the Red Lion.”
“I’m the leg,” the big guy at the end said. “I mean, the Yellow Lion. Hunk.”
Beautiful took a step closer and offered his hand. It was an uncommon gesture. In a universe full of greetings, physical contact wasn’t usually initiated at a first meeting, but humans, Keith had found, were odd in a number of ways.
He took Beautiful’s hand in his own and shook.
“I’m Takashi Shirogane, or Shiro as everyone calls me. I’m the Paladin of the Black Lion and the leader of Voltron.”
Keith withdrew his hand and found his voice. “I am Yurak, at your command, Voltron Leader.”
Beautiful… or… Shiro smiled. “Thank you. We’re looking forward to working with you and your men. I understand you’ve just come from a mission. Why don’t we let you get settled into your quarters? We can meet in the morning to start discussing how best we can use you and your men to help Voltron, and how Voltron can help the Blade.”
Keith nodded. “My men and I are at your service.”
Kolivan stepped forward then and clasped hands with Shiro. A few minutes of small talk between them gave Keith the opportunity to watch the others. The one called Pidge was the youngest, but he judged the others to be close to his own age. Pidge and Hunk were talking science, and that was something Keith didn’t understand so he tuned them out, except to note the happy back and forth between them and their comrades. Lance was an attractive man who seemed more interested in attracting good-natured attention than anything more devious. Hunk was smiling at all of them, and it put Keith at ease more than he liked to think about.
Then there was Shiro. A few years older than them, surely. He was self-assured and poised, a leader of men, confident in his place. It was a quality that Keith had never found attractive before, but Shiro wore authority on his shoulders like most men threw on a jacket.
“Let me show you to your quarters,” Shiro came over to Keith, and he realized he’d missed a little of the conversation in his contemplation of the others. He’d have to make sure not to get caught out like that again.
“Thank you,” Keith said. “It’s been a long day.”
Shiro smiled. “I hear you. I’d be nice to take a vacation from all this saving the world business.”
Keith smiled in return, though Shiro wouldn’t be able to see it through the mask. The walk was punctuated with more directions. Keith didn’t know whether it was some skill Shiro possessed, or if it was something else, but he felt he could navigate the castle better with Shiro’s guidance.
When they reached the door, Shiro had Keith take off his glove and place his hand on the door panel. “You only have to do it once. It’ll open when you get close now.”
He was relieved that Shiro hadn’t noticed the plain color of his skin, or that he hadn’t commented if he had. Keith didn’t know him well enough to know which it was.
“Your men are in these four rooms here,” Shiro said, pointing to the other rooms. “If you need anything else, just give me a call.”
“Thank you, Shiro.”
Shiro smiled again. “Any time. You and I are going to be working together a lot. Don’t feel like you need to stand on protocol. The Castle is yours to explore, and feel free to seek us out if you’d like.”
“Thank you. I’m sure we’ll be fine. For now, I think I’ll scrub off some of the dirt from the road and speak with my men. We’ll meet with you back at the conference room in the morning.”
The door closed behind him, and Keith let out a long sigh. This could be bad. He’d been teasing Regris about his infatuation with a member of the team. Now, Keith was no better. He just needed to keep Regris from realizing it.
For now, he pulled off his mask and set his bag on the bed. It was a sparse place, but it was his. In time, he could make his mark on the room. There was no time limit on this assignment and Keith could see that the work ahead of them would cost them years.
As he pulled off his Blade uniform and prepared to test out the shower in his room, he realized he could be in a lot worse places.
In the morning, he’d try to remember to tell Kolivan that.
***
Keith was careful to keep his distance.
At first, he was still bitter that Ulaz had given his life to save the Paladins of Voltron, but he eventually came to see the value of the team and of having an icon like Voltron as an ally. He learned to see that Ulaz hadn’t died in some vain hope of making a difference. With their support, they just might be able to start freeing people of the Galra rule instead of continuing to work so dark in the shadows that they weren’t even a whisper.
He still couldn’t let himself relax around them though. He didn’t know how to explain it, but they made him uneasy. Maybe it was because he left humanity behind a long time ago. Maybe it was because the team was too informal and a bit chaotic, and there was no real discipline.
Or maybe it was because of Shiro. Shiro made him feel at ease in ways that Keith didn’t like and made him tongue-tied at times when he needed to be able to keep his wits.
Keith would never stop his team from spending time with the others, but Keith couldn’t. He went to the first couple informal get-togethers Hunk organized when the tension between the Alteans and his team were still high, but it hadn’t taken long for them all to see they were on the same side.
After that, he stopped going with them. His team understood. They didn’t have a problem showing their faces to the Paladins, but Keith refused. He might be human, but he wasn’t one of them. He hadn’t been since he’d left Earth behind all those years ago, with no ties to keep him there.
The only regret he’d ever had was that he never knew if the young man who had pulled him from the fire had looked for him, that he’d never had the chance to say thank you.
Krolia had tried to talk to him about returning to Earth at some point to seek the maker of his soulmark, but Keith had no desire to find his soulmate. Krolia said he’d always feel empty, always be wanting, until he found that person. Keith thought maybe he was too human for that. There was no ache to be with someone else. Keith was content to be where he was, with his team to back him up.
That didn’t mean he didn’t have rough nights though. Tonight was one of them. He’d woken with the taste of smoke in his mouth and the remembered burn of his back. He wouldn’t be able to sleep until he worked the adrenaline out of his system, so he dressed quickly in his suit and put his mask on before he left his quarters and headed towards the training deck.
He slipped in quietly, but almost as soon as the door opened he realized it was already in use. He should have stepped back out as soon as he saw the Black Paladin was using the room. Keith froze though. He’d been into battle with the Black Paladin. He had never been able to watch him.
Takashi Shirogane was elegant. Every movement against the sentinel was graceful, but with an efficiency of movement that Keith had never seen outside of the most polished fighters of the Blade. He destroyed one sentinel with the slash of his metal hand, then moved on to one of the other three that still fought him.
Keith remembered Kolivan’s warning that this man had been the Galra’s Champion, the only non-Galra species to survive long enough to attain that title. He had seen the way Shiro thought, the way he led his team, and he could believe that the same mind had survived in the arena. Until now, he had never attributed it to the man’s fighting ability. This was a fighter. He had both the strength of body and the determination to fight for what he believed in.
He didn’t know what the other man was doing there so late, but he felt like he was intruding on something. He couldn’t seem to look away though.
The second sentinel fell after Shiro kicked it across the room with enough force that it shorted out. The third and fourth circled him, and Shiro seemed to gather himself for a moment before he struck out. He didn’t engage his Galra-tech, but each strike was deliberate and well placed, meant to throw his opponent off-balance and reeling backward. As soon as the sentinel fell to one knee, Shiro turned to the other that was still behind him. The purple haze glowed around his arm when he engaged, and he punched it in the chest. He didn’t hesitate as he spun and knelt to deliver the same blow to the sentinel that hadn’t been able to get to its feet yet.
The sentinels had been set to turn off if they received a killing blow and it spoke to the amount of force Shiro held that he was able to take them out that way.
Shiro stood slowly and took a few deep breaths, and that’s when he turned. Keith nearly flinched when Shiro’s hardened gaze fell on him, but Keith saw recognition in his eyes a second later and the other man let out a small huff before he smiled.
“Yurak, I didn’t hear you come in.”
Keith hadn’t planned on being caught, but now he was. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to disturb you.”
“Not at all. Did you need me for something, or were you just looking to blow off some steam?”
“I was just walking past and heard someone in the training room,” Keith lied. He wasn’t sure why he didn’t want to admit to the other man that he’d come to spar, but after seeing Shiro move, Keith had other needs than sparring to take care of. “I was just checking to see that everything was okay.”
Shiro nodded. “Sorry to disrupt your walk. I’m fine. I just …” he glanced away. “I have a hard time sleeping sometimes. Sparring helps.”
Keith nodded. “I understand.”
“You do?” Shiro asked.
Keith wasn’t sure what to say to that. “We’re warriors,” he said slowly. “Most of us have something that keeps us up at night.”
Shiro gave a small huff of a laugh and Keith wanted to taste the breath, but he cleared his throat and took a step back towards the door. “I’ll leave you to it.”
“You don’t have to leave,” Shiro said. “I’m done.”
Keith nodded. “I think it’s time for me to return to my quarters, then.”
“Alright. Good night, Yurak.”
Keith paused in his turn and then continued on anyway. He hoped Shiro didn’t notice the hesitation, but he had little faith in that. Still, the other man didn’t call him back.
It had been eleven years since he’d left Earth behind. It had been eleven years since someone had wished him a good night.
He was grateful for the mask tonight since it hid the pain he was sure was on his face as memories of his father surfaced, along with the nightmare he’d hoped to work off.
With the training room out of the question, Keith took off down the halls of the castle. He ran from the memories instead.
***
Shiro didn’t say anything about the late-night wandering when they saw each other the next day. Keith would bet he didn’t want the others to know he’d been up late and Keith was more than happy to keep the incident between them. If Regris found out Keith had been out as well, he’d have known why he was up, and he would have pestered him all day. Keith could do without the mother-henning.
It wasn’t even two weeks later when Keith finished his own sparring session to find Shiro leaning against the wall, a small smile on his face. “Fancy meeting you here,” Shiro said.
Keith could see there were dark circles under his eyes and thought that there must have been a few more restless nights since their last meeting. “I’m sorry. Do you need the space?” Keith asked quickly.
“No, watching you fight was actually kinda calming,” Shiro said.
Keith understood. When he’d watched Shiro, it had been easy to forget his thoughts and get lost in the movement in front of his eyes. “Bad night?”
Shiro nodded. “Not the best.”
“I should give you the space then,” Keith said as he started to clean up the training room.
“Yurak, you don’t have to go. I was the one interrupting.”
“This is your ship,” Keith said with a sigh. He didn’t know why no one seemed to remember that. Keith didn’t have a problem with that, but he’d always been very aware that he lived by the grace of others. If Ulaz hadn’t taken him in, he’d probably have ended up as some mouthy street rat back on Earth. When he came to the Blade, he had been in constant fear that they’d get rid of him if he failed. He was just too different from the others. He hadn’t known how to fit in, and he was too traumatized at the time to realize that there were a lot of Blade members like him; half-breeds who didn’t fit the Galra standard.
“This is your home,” Shiro said. “You and the others, this is your home now. I know you don’t feel that way yet, but I want you to.”
Keith let out a deep breath. “I appreciate that you’ve given us a place here.”
Shiro shook his head. “Yurak, we’re working together. You have a good team, and they seem to be adjusting well here. You’re the one I worry about. You rarely spend time with us, outside of talking about our rebellion against Zarkon. I don’t know the first thing about you.”
He was surprised by the concern. “I’m a member of the Blade of Marmora. I lead a team of five half-breeds and Kolivan ordered us here to help you.” He frowned. “What else is there to know?”
Shiro raised a hand and rubbed the back of his neck. “Anything?” he asked. “What do you do for fun?”
“Spar.”
Shiro seemed to be waiting for Keith to say something else, but there was nothing more to say. He’d spent years becoming the best fighter he could. That was all he did in his free time.
“Okay,” Shiro said with a grin. “What’s your favorite color?”
“Um, black?”
“Come on, Yurak,” Shiro playfully begged. “You have to give me something more here. Okay, we’ll start like this,” he said as he took a seat on the training room mat. He looked up at Keith expectantly. Keith knew he should leave, but he was curious about what Shiro wanted from him.
“Okay.”
“You know my name is Takashi Shirogane and that I’m the Black Paladin. Everyone calls me Shiro. Back on Earth, I used to ride motorbikes and hovercrafts for fun.”
“What do you do now?”
Shiro let out a deep breath. “I guess I don’t get to do much for fun these days. To blow off steam I …” He shook his head and smiled a little. “I spar.”
Keith nodded. “It’s a good use of time. I’ve been reviewing the performance profiles of our past missions and what I could find of yours. It doesn’t leave much time for … fun.”
“Our missions?”
Keith nodded. “Of course. Kolivan has a great deal of faith in you and your team, but I wouldn’t be much of a leader if I went into this without knowing as much as I could about you and the other Paladins.”
“Wow, Yurak. That almost sounds like you want to get to know me.”
Keith frowned. “We have to be able to work well together. Knowing your strengths and weaknesses so I can augment your team is a part of that.”
Shiro nodded. “I agree.”
Shiro crossed his arms over his chest. Keith realized exactly what he said, and he sighed. “Fine. My favorite colors are red and black. I’m actually the youngest member of my team, though I have been with the Blade longer than any of them. I was raised by the Blade.”
“Wow. The Blade doesn’t really seem family friendly.”
“They were good to me,” Keith said quietly.
“My mother died when I was younger,” Shiro confessed.
Keith didn’t know what to say to that. He hadn’t expected Shiro to offer any personal information. Keith’s story was well known among the Blade. It wasn’t like he’d shared anything truly private.
“My father and I didn’t get along,” Shiro said. “As soon as he could, he shipped me off to a boarding school. I guess the upside was that when I realized I wanted to be a pilot, he had the power and money to send me where I wanted to go, even if I was the youngest cadet in the Garrison.”
“Did you get to fly?”
Shiro smiled, and it was the most beautiful thing Keith had ever seen.
“I did. I flew the fastest aircraft we had. For my people, I went the farthest into space as we had ever gone. That was before we knew about the Galra and the Lions.”
“Did you do anything besides fly?” Keith asked.
“I dated. Or tried to,” Shiro said with a sigh. “I wasn’t too good at it. I’ll admit, I was a bit of a workaholic. It’s hard to meet a nice guy when you’re buried in a flight simulator all the time.”
“You could take your date into a flight simulator with you,” Keith offered.
Shiro laughed. “I guess I could have. I never really thought about it.”
“Too bad there isn’t a simulator in the Castle.”
“Not sure I have any more time for dating now than I did back at the Garrison.”
Keith wasn’t sure what to say to that. He’d never really thought about things like dating. It seemed like a silly thing to do when he was fighting for the world. Not only that, but Krolia believed he’d never find anyone suitable, not until he returned to Earth. His mate was there somewhere. No use in dating when he’d never be able to settle anyway.
“The Blade doesn’t have time for that sort of thing.”
“Surely there are some families in the Blade? People who have something else to live for?”
Keith thought about his father, dead on a distant planet for a complete stranger, and his mother on an undercover mission a galaxy away. “We have a cause,” he said firmly. “We are each other’s family. That’s enough.”
Keith got up from the floor and made his way to the door. He wasn’t sure why he’d stayed in the first place. These late night meetings with Shiro made him feel at ease, at first, but they always left him feeling uncomfortable by the end.
He had a foot out the door when he heard Shiro’s voice, “Good night, Yurak.”
He didn’t stop. He didn’t fall asleep that night either.
***
It became a fairly regular occurrence. Some nights Keith woke, drenched in sweat with a need to work off the nightmares. He’d get to the training room and call up the sentinels. He’d fight until his opponents were destroyed. Some nights he knew when Shiro came in, but others he was too lost in the battle, and Shiro was damn good at being quiet for someone of his size.
He could be a Blade if he had any Galra blood in him.
On those nights, Shiro sat on the floor next to the wall and just watched. When Keith was done, he’d sit down beside Shiro. Sometimes Shiro would try to talk to him. He’d ask simple questions, and Keith would answer. Keith kept his distance from the others still, but he let himself have these little moments with the Black Paladin.
Some nights, Keith spent his time in the room alone.
Others, Keith arrived when Shiro was already sparring. On those nights, it was Keith who sat on the floor against the wall and watched as Shiro danced a circle of death around the sentinel. When Shiro was done, he would slide down the wall next to Keith and wait. Keith didn’t always feel like talking on those nights, and Shiro seemed too tired to make small talk.
Some nights the silence became too much, and Keith would share little bits of himself-places he’d been and seen, missions he’d completed. Nothing personal, but something he thought the other man would appreciate.
It wasn’t a friendship, but they were comrades, and Keith felt that their working relationship had improved as well. They had been going on small missions together in the two months since they’d joined the crew, they had meetings frequently, and Shiro had asked Keith to review the Paladin’s performance to help them with their training.
The rest of the team seemed to sense their new level of comfort, and it translated into their interactions as well. They took meals together and trained together. Keith would find Regris and Pidge at a console going over tech. Kozak spent a lot of time with Hunk and Coran, going over the specs of the medical equipment, or different features of the castle. Canza and Lance had a shared interest in sharp shooting and trying to win hearts. Matrof had become obsessed with Altean history and was constantly following Allura and Coran around asking for more details, or more sources. Thankfully for all involved, there was a large library, and Matrof had taken on the task of learning Altean so he could read the books there.
The alliance between the Blade and the Paladins was doing well. Kolivan was happy with their developing relationship, and Keith’s team was happy on the Castle of Lions.
If Keith felt a little uneasy with just how often he and Shiro found each other late at night, he ignored it.
***
“What the hell was that?” Keith demanded.
The headpiece he wore in his suit was crackling. Something was interfering with his team’s communications, and that was never a good sign.
“Shiro, can you get ahold of the Paladins?”
“Lance?” Shiro asked immediately. “What’s going on down there?”
They had come to Wantabu to rescue the planet’s leaders and get them to safety until they could remove the occupation forces the Galra had left. Nothing was going as planned.
“The Galra are blocking the Blade’s communications, but ours seem to be working fine,” Lance answered. “Good thing we teamed up on this one.”
“Good to hear it,” Shiro replied. “Give me a head count, Paladins.”
Keith had leaned closer to Shiro as soon as he’d heard Lance’s voice and he listened as each of the Paladins accounted for themselves and their Blade partners. Keith would breathe easy, except they were in trouble themselves.
“Allura here,” the Blue Paladin breathed heavily into the headpiece. She must have been running hard. Or fighting. Kozak had gone with her in case the Parliament Leaders needed a medic. He was good with hand to hand combat-all of Keith’s team excelled in it, or he didn’t let them in the field-so he had faith that they’d get out okay. “We have all seven members of the Parliament Board.”
“Shiro,” Pidge’s voice came in next. “They seem to have picked up on us somehow, but they’re behind us. Our exit strategy is still good.”
“Alright, everyone get out of here,” Shiro ordered. “Paladins, keep an extra eye on the Blade since their communications are out. Let me know when you’re airborne.” He looked at Keith. “Did you get all of that?”
Keith nodded. “We worried that they would expect us here. I’m just glad we’re faster than their detectors.”
Shiro smiled. “Let’s head out, then. We have the longest path on foot.”
They took off at a jog and Shiro wasn’t kidding. As the largest of the Voltron Lions, the Black Lion had been the hardest to hide. The others had called out their clearance one by one until the last had been gone fifteen minutes.
Keith sighed as he looked up at the sky. “The patrols are increasing.”
“Yeah, you noticed that too?”
Keith gave him a glare, but with the mask on it really wasn’t as impressive as it should have been. “I don’t know if we can get out unseen,” he said. “If we get caught right now, we’ll have their whole fleet on our backs. The point was to get away before they could follow us.”
“I think we need to hold up a little longer, wait for the search to move away from the skies. Black has a cloaking shield that’ll keep them from finding him, but I can’t engage it while taking off. We need to wait until we have a little breathing room.”
Keith nodded. “You’ll have them let my team know?”
Shiro smiled. “You’re worried about Regris, aren’t you?”
Keith rolled his eyes, even though Shiro couldn’t see the expression. He found himself doing that more and more lately. “The less chance I give him to worry, the less l have to reprimand him for it. I’m tired of the argument.”
Shiro laughed and passed on the message to the teams. Pidge-and Regris-offered to come back to help them, but they were quickly vetoed.
They got back to Black a few minutes after that and Shiro let out a deep sigh as he entered the Lion and reengaged the cloaking shield.
Shiro reached up and took off his helmet. He hit a few buttons that Keith knew would turn communications on inside the Lion, rather than to his helmet. Keith had flown enough missions to know the basics in case of an emergency, though he doubted the black beast would let him near the controls if something happened to Shiro.
To be honest, he wasn’t sure if he’d forgive himself either.
Thirty minutes passed, and they were both relaxed enough to let the Lion keep watch for them. Shiro stretched his arms over his head as he got out of the pilot’s seat and Keith was grateful, once again, for the mask that covered his face. He was pretty sure he was drooling.
“Might as well get comfortable,” Shiro said. “They’ll continue running those air patterns for most of the night if your information was correct.”
He slowly stripped away each part of this armor. Keith sat there, trying not to stare but unable to look away. When Shiro was done, he was left in a black body suit that was even more form-fitting than the one the Blades wore. It was indecent, except on Shiro it looked amazing. There was very little left to the imagination and Keith did not need that kind of help.
“You can make yourself comfortable too, you know?” Shiro said.
Keith stared at Shiro for a long time before Shiro turned away and went back to the pilot’s seat. “Suit yourself,” he said softly. It was the disappointment in his voice that finally did it. This wasn’t about Shiro trying to get a look at him. This was Shiro offering hospitality and trust, and feeling that Keith had once again turned him away for it.
And no matter what Keith felt about anything else, he trusted Shiro with his life. With the life of his men.
It had been six months since they’d come aboard the Castle of Lions. It was time. Unless he wanted to impact his relationship with Shiro in a negative way, he needed to do this.
He let out a deep breath, took off his gloves, then removed the faceplate. He breathed in the fresher air, then pushed the hood off his head.
“Sorry,” Keith said. “It’s just been a long time since someone new has looked at me.”
He felt more vulnerable than he had in years. It was true though. He didn’t wear his mask inside the Blade hiding places and bases, but he always wore one when he was out on missions. Except for random strangers on the rare outing, Krolia had been the last person of concern that he’d shown himself too.
Shiro turned at the sound of his voice without the filter, and his eyes widened instantly. Whatever he had been expecting, it was obviously not this.
“You’re human,” Shiro whispered in shock.
“I’m Galra,” Keith corrected quickly.
“I’m sorry. I knew you were of a mixed race, but I didn’t know that one part of that was human, Yurak.”
“On my father’s side,” he replied. “He died on Earth a long time ago. The Blade took me in afterward, but you already know all that.” Keith shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. I was small for a human, and I’m smaller for a Galra. I can still kick anyone’s ass who gives me a hard time about it, though.”
Shiro smiled. “I’ve seen that first hand.”
Keith felt something in him relax a little when Shiro gave him the same sort of smile he always had. “We should grab some food while we’re waiting,” he said. “You’re right in front of the rations compartment.”
Keith pulled out two meals. Hunk had been working with Regris, Kozak, and Pidge on the new provisions. They were the most edible rations Keith had ever had. If Hunk ever left Voltron to be a chef, Keith would follow just to keep eating his food.
Shiro grabbed water from a compartment behind him, and they sat on the floor, legs stretched out together, and ate.
“Do you mind if I ask?”
Keith gave a little huff then shook his head. He knew as soon as they found out he was human that they’d all have questions for him.
“How long ago was it?”
“Eleven years,” he answered quietly. “My mother is a member of the Blade. The day after my father died the Blade took me from Earth so she could raise me.”
“I’m sorry,” Shiro said. “That must have been hard. You lost your father, and then the Blade took you away from everything you knew the very next day.”
“The Blade was great. My Dad was all I had on Earth, so I wasn’t leaving anything behind.” He felt a slight twinge of guilt at that, but he always felt it when he thought about that night. Keith still wondered if the guy who pulled him from the fire had come looking for him. He deserved a thank you, at least. “Besides, I started training right away, and it kept my mind off that. And then when Krolia was done with her mission, I was able to meet her.”
“It must have been something,” Shiro said softly. “To reunite with your Mom like that.”
“Yeah, well, I was with the Blade for about four years by then. I’d been working hard to make her proud of me, so it was really intense, but Krolia is amazing.”
“I hope we get the chance to meet her someday,” Shiro said.
Keith looked over at him because there was something off about the statement. When Shiro caught his questioning look, he smiled. “Sorry,” he said “I was just thinking. You didn’t really get a chance to grow up around humans. You missed out on all the things we did for fun. The typical kid stuff.”
Keith shrugged. “Yeah, but I got to see the universe and fly through space with the Blade. It was a pretty cool trade-off.”
Shiro gave him a weak smile, but Keith could see he didn’t believe it.
That was fine because Keith had loved being a member of the Blade and being able to do the things he did. That didn’t mean he hadn’t spent a lot of time keeping anyone from seeing how much he longed for the things he’d never got to do back on Earth.
***
He didn’t realize what was happening at first.
They were at the harvest festival of the Batatsu people when Shiro suggested they all stay and enjoy the day. The team wasn’t there to protect anyone or perform some service. It had been an open invitation for them and their guests, and they happened to be in the area, so Shiro had accepted.
Shiro pulled Keith aside when the others went off together. He shoved Keith into the Black Lion with a bag and told him to change. The bag had clothes that didn’t belong to Keith but fit him fairly well. He ended up in black pants, a black t-shirt, and a red and white jacket. There were also a pair of boots in the bag. Keith wasn’t sure how Shiro knew his sizes, or where he’d gone to get all this, and he decided that he didn’t want to know.
It was more a question of why Shiro had done it that made him wonder. And the answer to that was why he was dressed, his blade tucked away from sight just in case, heading back out of the Lion and towards Shiro.
“So, what are we doing?” Keith asked.
“We’re just enjoying the festival,” Shiro said with a smile. “We all need a little time off. As a team leader, you know that. You encouraged your people to have fun today, and I did the same.”
“And what if something happens?” Keith countered.
“The Castle and the Lions have long range sensors. They should be able to warn us if something comes our way.” Shiro stopped at an intersection where food stands were set up. Down another way, it looked like there were games of some kind. “Come on,” he said. “Most of the team followed Hunk towards the food. Let’s see what sort of games they have.”
Somehow, they managed to avoid seeing the others for the entire day.
Keith and Shiro, between them, won every game in the row, and then enjoyed a dozen different treats from stalls as they walked around. They watched dancers and some weird sort of sporting event that neither could understand and when night came, Shiro flew them off in Black to enjoy the sunset near a ridge to the East.
It was the first time Shiro dragged him along on a friendly expedition, but it wasn’t the last. Pretty soon, they had become exploratory partners at all such social events. Keith had never laughed so much in his life as he did on those days with Shiro.
Shiro seemed to understand Keith in ways that no one else ever had. Maybe it was because they’d both been violently ripped away from their own worlds at some point in their lives. Maybe it was because they both had a love of space and flying that seemed to overshadow every other thing. Maybe it was because he was good at listening, and for the first time in his life Keith felt like he had a peer to talk to.
He enjoyed his time with Shiro and, although he would never admit it, he liked having the Black Paladin to himself those times. They never saw the others, and it was quickly obvious that Shiro avoided them to help Keith keep his secret. Keith appreciated that, though he was aware enough by now that it was only a matter of time before the mask fell and the others saw his face.
Shiro even made having to face the Paladins without his mask seem like less of a worry and just a matter of circumstance. They traveled the galaxy fighting for freedom, looking for people to help, and sometimes, having fun in the process. Keith had certainly never expected anything like this when Kolivan had sent them to live in the Castle of Lions a year ago.
On to Chapter Three