Archive of Our Own ^beta

Keith knew the others missed their families, it was pretty easy to tell. When Lance would start babbling in Spanish and then his face would fall, before he tried to force a smile again and keep on talking.

Hunk would sometimes be in the kitchen sniffing over whatever various food he was making and then he’d snap when Lance came in and he’d start crying for him Moms and Keith would always feel awkward so he’d book it outta there.

Pidge. Pidge was searching, despite herself not giving herself time to miss them because, “They’re out there. If Shiro’s alive, so are Matt and Dad” which had a few logic holes all things considered, which had many logic holes everything considered. But still, she missed them, even if she’d never admit it. Sometimes she’d go silent, and mutter under her breath, so that only Keith could seem to hear. “You’d love this Mom.”

Shiro, of course, missed Adam. That meant Keith of course missed Adam. Shiro’s missing of people was quieter than everyone else’s, and the only visual cue that Keith had for it was when couples walked around laughing and having a good time, Shiro’s eyes would follow them from a bit too long. The rest of Keith knowing that Shiro missed Adam was based on how well he knew Shiro.

Sometimes when Shiro and Adam would argue, and Adam would leave to calm down. Shiro would grab one of Adam’s jumpers, which have never and will never fit him, and hugged it to him. That was just after a fight.

Keith knew that Shiro was missing Adam like anything else, because he was missing Adam like anything else.

“Keith buddy, you alright?” Lance waved a hand in front of his face and Keith flinched a little. 

“Yup. Don’t wave your hand that close to my face.”

“Oh. Yeah, sorry.” Lance glanced down at the floor before looking up again. “So, what are you doing today, samurai?”

“I’m not even Japanese, call Shiro a samurai.”

“Shiro’s more of a cyborg,” Lance responded, a big, huge, goofy grin on his face and Keith wanted to either punch it off his face, or kiss it off. He hadn’t decided yet. “Mullet always works for you.”

“It is not a mullet!” Keith shoved Lance, not that hard, but hard enough that Lance started cackling. “It just grows this way.”

“Does. Not!” Lance smiled before ducking under whatever lazy hit Keith went for. “And you say you don’t have anger issues.”

“I have emotional processing issues, that’s different.”

Lance just smirked, again, the bastard. “Okay, whenever you have a slight emotion you get mad.”

“Do not!”

“Do so!”

“I do not!”

“You totally do!”

Shiro sighed, and Keith turned to him, his mouth halfway open to respond but no words came out. There was a slightly fond look on his face and Keith didn’t quite know what to make of that look. “You’re actually five.”

“I probably didn’t mature that much past five,” Lance said, “Correct.”

“It’s the trauma,” Keith blurted out and somehow Shiro sighed even more.

“Didn’t your therapist say not to make trauma jokes?”

“Technically I don’t have a therapist anymore,” Keith shot back and Shiro sighed again. How did one man sigh so much? “So…”

“Keith.”

“Shiro.”

“How are you my legacy?”

“Your dropout little brother is a great legacy to have,” Lance swung an arm around Keith’s shoulders who tried to bat him away, but was only met with a tighter grip. “Sure, he was like the best pilot the Garrison had ever seen.”

Keith managed to pry Lance’s arm off of himself. “I am a fantastic legacy.”

“Keith you had a breakdown when you couldn’t reach the top shelf,” Shiro deadpanned and the joy that lights up on Lance’s face at hearing this is enough that Keith seriously considers not ending his own life and then Shiro’s. “Also, I literally found you in a dumpster.”

“I was next to the dumpster.”

“Wait, what?” Lance asked, “How did you and Shiro even meet?”

“I walked into a weird alleyway after I’d fought with one of my friends. There was a child there who tried to stab me but I took the knife and told him to meet me there if he wanted it back. Then next time I saw Keith he was on top of a dumpster and yelling, and he fell off, smacked his head on the ground and I called an ambulance.”

Keith rolled his eyes, “Then his family discovered I was a missing kid and then realised I didn’t have anyone. Despite my criminal record and stuff. They decided to torture me by making me Shiro’s brother.”

“Wait, wait, wait,” Lance asked, “You’re actually brothers. Like legally.”

“Much to my disgust,” Keith and Shiro said at the same time, before glancing at the other one. Both with the same exact expression on their faces. Lance laughed, slapping a hand over his mouth.

Shiro ruffled Keith’s hair, who squawked in protest before Shiro laughed, shoving Keith at Lance and the pair of them hit the ground, with a thump. Lance landed under Keith, who’s brain at that moment was going: Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God. Oh my God!

Lance just stared at him, almost looking amused. “Are you done yet? Ogling me, I know I’m attractive but if you wanted to—”

Keith pressed his hand to Lance’s mouth, feeling Lance continue to talk against Keith’s hand even if nothing was heard. Before Keith removed it.

“You just could’ve asked.”

“Shuddup!” Keith mumbled, realising how Southern he just got, before standing up and taking a few careful steps back and hitting into Shiro before yelping and smacking his hands to his own face. “I’m going to kill myself.”

“Woah,” Lance muttered, also standing up. “You sound like a cowboy.”

“I despise you,” Keith muttered. “I’m going to bed.” He pushed past Lance and started off down the hallway.

“Shiro! He’s Southern, I can’t believe I forgot!” Lance said, before Keith rolled his eyes and turned down the hallway. 

Keith knew how to steal, it was one of the things he was excellent at. Pickpocketing was kind of his entire thing. He’d steal and sell that thing and pray he didn’t get arrested while he was living on the streets.

It worked out pretty well for him, or as well as living on the streets and stealing for a living could. He was currently fighting in a 10,000 year old war for his life most days. Which was the cruelest karma anyone could get.

Today Hunk was sitting on the couch, his eyes closed. Snoring softly, Keith didn’t hesitate to find the closest blanket and throw it over him, before taking off Hunk’s bandana because sleeping with a bandana on was never good for you.

He kept going into the kitchen, there was something in the oven which smelt like it was going to start burning in a second. Keith took the cookies out of the oven, they looked good. He smiled, putting them on the cooling rack before leaving the kitchen quietly.

No one had to know that he’d done that, it didn’t matter. Not even a little bit. Hunk could just think he did that before he went to sleep. Keith crossed his arms, holding his jacket closer to him before stepping out of the living space and towards the training deck.

Keith trained, for a while until Shiro’s voice came in through the comms. “Paladins. Get dressed into human clothes, we’re going out!”

He couldn’t stop the groan that came out of his mouth. Reluctantly he put his bayard down, shoving it in the pocket of his jacket, ducking underneath a sword swing. “End training sequence!” He yelled as he ran out of the door.

Lance was standing outside of his room. Sighing. He rubbed at his eyes, his hair ruffled in a way that made Keith want to smooth it out again. “Sup,” Lance said as Keith stopped running and started walking beside him.

“Howdy.”

Lance laughed, “You’re a cowboy.”

“I just got up, leave mah alone,” Keith pushed at Lance’s shoulder who just smiled uncontrollably. He decided to really up that Texan. “Ya all hat no cattle,” and Lance just looked at him.

“You gringo.”

“I—what?” Keith asked, looking at Lance. “Is that Spanish?”

“Slang, in Cuba it’s used for Americans,” Lance said, almost nervously. “Because you’re the most American, american I’ve ever met. Start singing the national anthem every morning and then you’re there.”

Keith rolled his eyes, nudging Lance’s shoulder with his own as the pair of them stopped in the living area. Where Pidge had a fruit bar, or something of the sorts. She bit into it, chewing for an obnoxiously long time.

Before looking at the pair of them. “Wow, I wonder what you two were up to?” She drawled. At their dumb faces she sighed, gesturing between them. “I can’t even tease you because you’re stupid.” 

Keith shrugged and Lance opened his mouth to retort when Shiro walked in. Quirking an eyebrow at the pair of them, before tapping his foot on the floor. There was a noise and Hunk sat up from the couch.

“Huh?” He muttered before standing up. “Was’happenin’?”

Shiro smiled fondly, “We’re going to stop at a planet. Get some supplies. Hopefully you don’t come back with a cow this time.”

“One time,” Lance muttered and Keith found himself grinning.

“Basically, Allura and I are incharge. The rest of you are free to roam. Contact Coran if things go horribly wrong…” he looked at the four children in front of him, “Don’t die please.”

“Don’t jinx it,” Lance muttered and Keith, (again) found himself grinning.

For once Lance didn’t jinx it.

Keith was roaming, just for the fun of it. Lance was with Hunk and Pidge, they’d gone off. Coran was on the ship and Shiro and Allura were actually being adults, doing adult things. Whatever they were. It was weird to think about how technically Keith was an adult now. He didn’t feel like an adult.

The place was like the last space mall. With open, blinding white walls and stores everywhere, which gave the places bright pops of colours. Some hurt Keith’s eyes, others didn’t.

He was just people watching really, his eyes focusing on what he assumed was a woman but gender constructs were really different out in space. With a golden shining dress that bellowed around her beautifully. Her blue hair was in golden ringlets and her skin, a lighter blue also seemed to sparkle.

She was rich, rich.

Keith knew how to steal from rich, rich people. Currently he was following her, subtly, the mall was crowded enough that Keith knew what he was doing. Following, stopping and then looking at a map and cutting around the mall so that he stayed behind her.

The woman had a handbag, or something of the sorts hanging off of her arm as she walked around. It was also shiny and gold looking. Keith’s eyebrows furrowed as he twirled his knife around his fingers. He’d cut the straps off. He’d done that before.

Why are you stealing?

Good question.

There is no good reason for this, yeah, you’re a psychopath. But you’re not this bad. What has this lady done to you!

True. True, very true.

“Ugh,” the lady muttered to herself. “Six communicators for that much, who cares if they deliver a message to anyone in the universe. They shouldn’t be that much.”

Keith smiled to himself. Okay then. He could work with that.

“Sometimes I just wish I could tell them I was alright,” Lance would say late on movie nights when everyone else was asleep. “I know Pidge does too, she left her Mom and Hunk… he tries to hide it, but he misses his family so much.”

Keith cracked his knuckles. Gripping his knife a bit harder.

She stopped, looking in her handbag. Long enough so that Keith could basically catch up. This wouldn’t be good press. Keith sighed, deciding he’d have to hide his identity a little if he was going to start stealing things.

So reached into his pocket and pulled out a hairband and a piece of cloth. Before ducking into the closest bathroom, doing up his hair and putting the cloth over his face. Now, he had to put his jacket somewhere.

Glancing around Keith sighed, stepping into a stall. And looking at the toilet situation, he had no idea how anyone was supposed to pee in that. But there was a hook which he hung his jacket on.

There was a sign that Keith read as Out of Order so he stuck it on the door of the stall before pulling the cloth down his neck and walking out, his knife with the symbol on it, being twirled around his fingers.

He spotted the lady straight away, a bit further away but not that far away and Keith started walking towards her. Before he was trailing directly behind her. In the distance he saw Lance. This would be interesting.

When she stopped Keith went for it, cutting the single strap of the bag before bolting in the other direction. Then she called out, “Stop thief!” Keith wanted to laugh hard.

“Don’t worry!” He heard Lance say, “I’ll get them!”

Keith wanted to laugh even harder for some reason. What in his life led up to stealing under a disguise while one of his friends chased after him not knowing that he was the “thief” he was chasing.

This was too good.

“Oi!” Lance yelled and this was even funnier. “Stop or I’ll shoot you!”

Keith didn’t reply, instead skidding between an alien’s legs and stumbling onto his feet as he heard Lance swear several times. He laughed as he ran past another alien and heavy footsteps were behind him. Heavy footsteps that belonged to Lance.

His heart was pumping, his feet were pounding against the floor and he was cackling hard. He turned around a corner, catching a pillar to fling himself around quickly and there was scrambling behind him.

This wasn’t a real thing happening. This felt like something out of the trashy movies that his pops would watch. He flung himself up onto a ledge. Sitting on it and watching Lance stand there and look up at him.

“What sort of cat are you?” He muttered.

Which was fair, Keith was up higher than most humans could jump. Keith waved and Lance rolled his eyes and Keith swung his legs. Lance walked back a little bit, before his eyebrows knitted in concentration. Then Lance ran, before jumping and grabbing onto one of Keith’s legs.

“Ah!” He said intelligently, kicking his leg. “Get off, get off, get off!” He shook his leg a little bit harder, kicking Lance in the face who made a noise.

It must have been a weird sight.

“I hate you,” Lance muttered, before by some force of nature pulling himself up and over. Before throwing himself at Keith who hit the floor and his head on the floor, Keith glared. Lance was sitting on top of him. Their faces were very, very close.

“Hey,” Lance said, his chest heaving. “Can you give me that bag?”

“You mean the bag I just stole? No.”

“Okay, well I’m taking the bag, whether you like it or not Samurai.”

Keith returned by bucking his hips up and throwing Lance off him who yelped as Keith scrambled back to his feet and jumped down off the ledge, before bolting down the hallway, weaving between people as he made it to the bathroom.

Flinging open the door to the stall he put the sign on and fighting the urge to start laughing until he cried.

He didn’t cackle as he shrugged his jacket on, undid his hair and shoved the cloth back in his pocket. But he did suppress laughter, before he opened the ladies handbag and took out the box which said Communicators. He opened said box, six communicators. Which he stuffed into his pockets. Leaving the box in the bag.

Before leaving the handbag in the stall and changing the sign to another stall. Faking washing his hands, before leaving the bathroom. His pockets weighed down as Keith started back down a hallway.

Lance ran right into him and Keith grunted but managed to keep his balance. “You okay?” Keith asked, trying not to laugh and Lance just eyed him up and down.

“Nice job Samurai,” Lance smiled. “I’m guessing it’s in the bathroom then?”

“I won’t confirm.” Keith shoved his hands in his very full pockets. “But I won’t deny.”

Rolling his eyes Lance walked off. Into the bathroom, before Keith started laughing. He stumbled into Shiro who just sighed at him. Allura looked confused, her arms full of… things. “Oh dear,” Shiro muttered. “What have you done?”

Keith ran off, hearing Shiro sigh after him.

“I’m disowning that child,” he said.

Pidge was bouncing, a new video game. Hunk was excited, he had a new cooking knives kit. Lance was excited because he’d returned the bag to the lady and got some money out of it. Even if the most expensive thing in there was currently in Keith’s pockets. Weighing them down.

Everyone was talking about their days. “Hey, Allura, Coran what do you know about communicators?” Lance asked, looking directly at Keith who met him with a steely gaze.

Coran just looked at him, “Communicators or The Communicators.”

“ The Communicators,” Lance said and Coran gasped. Putting a hand over his mouth.

“You can send a message to anyone, anywhere in the universe. They’re actually partly organic which is why you can’t recreate them. They’re rare, new technology and go for a good price.”

Lance looked at Keith.

Keith rolled five of them out on the table, leaving on in his pocket. If he had that one no one needed to know. Coran spluttered and Pidge’s mouth fell open. “W—what? How?” Coran said and Keith just shrugged.

“Don’t worry about it.”

Shiro sighed. “Keith.”

“It’s fine.”

He sighed, before pinching the bridge of his nose. Mumbling something which wasn’t English and looking back up again, his face disappointed. But brightened once he saw the communicators on the table.

“How do they work?” Pidge asked.

“They read your mind,” Keith supplied, “For the exact person you want to send it to. They’re basically instantaneous. You can pause the recording too, it’s like a vlog if you want. Tell your family that you’re alright. They’re voice activated, to start, pause, stop.”

“Well there are five of us,” Lance said, “And five communicators.” He looked at Coran and Allura, “Is there anyone you guys want to contact?”

Allura shook her head and Coran did the same. Pidge picked up one of the metal balls, turning it over in her hands before her eyes turned a little shiny. “Holy shit!” She muttered. “We can contact home!”

“It’s probably illegal,” Shiro added and was met with four tired gazes.

“Shiro. We’re fighting against an oppressive race in a war. We’re criminals,” Keith crossed his arms. “This isn’t the biggest problem we have right now.”

“Fair,” Shiro picked up his own orb and judging by the soft look on his face Keith knew exactly who he was going to send a message home to. Keith also knew that Shiro would bullshit his entire message home, saying he was alright.

Keith had two messages to send anyway. He couldn’t even bring himself to feel guilty about the second message he was going to send. Sure, maybe someone else wanted it more, but Keith needed this message.

Hunk picked up his own, and Keith and Lance snatched theirs off the table. And the way Lance’s eyes were shining meant that Keith didn’t feel too bad about stealing from someone. Still a little, but not a lot.

God, the things he did to make his favourite people happy. Still. He didn’t regret it, not even a little bit. Because everyone was smiling wider than he’d seen them in a long, long time. 

You should feel guilty, this is selfish.

Yup! Keith deserved a chance to be a little bit selfish.

Lance sat in front of his communicator. Staring at it, unsure what to do or say. What was he supposed to say? His family didn’t know what happened to him, how would he explain it to them? They probably wouldn’t believe him.

He could show the lions and the observation deck. That seemed pretty believable. He looked at the communicator. He’d missed them all so much, and now he had a chance to ease some of that and he couldn’t think of anything to say. What would the Garrison say happened to him? Was he dead? Or was he just MIA?

With a sigh he looked at the communicator. “Play,” he rasped out and a red blinking light came from the communicator. “Hey,” Lance gave an awkward smile and laugh. “I’m alive… I’m in space… nothing feels real.”

“Delete it!” Lance yelled, covering his face and shaking his head. 

“Deleted.” The communicator said kindly and Lance took another deep breath.

“Play, please.” 

It flashed red and Lance gave a huge smile to the camera. “Hey,” he waved. “I’m alive, and Mama. I can already feel you sharpening your knives, I’ll explain everything. In my defence, there was a wormhole.”

So Lance started talking, about everything that had happened, leading up to this point. Slipping into Spanish and then back into English when he was talking about his friends, he talked until his voice was hoarse and his throat was aching. But he didn’t stop talking until he sighed.

“I’ll show you the lions.”

Hunk was pacing around his room. What was he supposed to say to his Mom and Ma, what was he supposed to say to his little sister? That her big brother had to leave her to help out the universe. That he got thrown through a wormhole and didn’t have it in him to return home, not when people needed his help this badly.

With a sigh he sat down on his bed. Cradling his face with his hands, wondering, going over every situation he could in his head. How his family would react and therefore what he could do to calm them down. He sighed again.

Crossing his legs looking at the communicator. Opening his mouth, closing it and then flopping onto his bed, covering his face. “Okay, you can do this. Even if Ma and Mom are going to kick your ass when you get back.”

“They’re not as scary as the Galra,” Hunk lied, “You can do this!”

Pidge’s message was easy for her to do. It was going to her Mom and she knew exactly what to say, so started rambling about the technology and finding Matt and she didn’t find it in herself to stop.

She talked about the movie nights and Keith’s endless pining while Lance kept flirting with Allura, Allura who also wanted Keith and Lance to finally get together so Keith would stop staring at Lance when he wasn’t looking.

About Hunk and how she found a best friend and about Lance how she also found a best friend in him. And Allura and Shiro, her “space-parents” and “the only people who can tell me to go to bed and I’ll consider it… apart from you of course.”

She talked and talked, about the tech, showing off Green and the food goo and anything and everything that came to mind. So when she finished it was early in the morning and she got no sleep. Rubbing at her eyes she yawned. “Sorry Mom, for leaving you. By yourself, it— I regret it.” 

It was early in the morning and she was sleep deprived. Which was why she was talking about these things. “I really regret it, I miss you… I went up to space to find Matt and Dad, not realising I’d left you in my chase for the stars…” she looked dead at the camera. “I hope you don’t kill me when I get home.” And she smiled. “I miss you Mom, I’ll come back with Matt and Dad. I promise it. If Shiro’s alive, they have to be.”

She gave a shaky smile at the camera. “Right?”

Shiro knew who he was going to send his to, he knew it was going to be short. Barely a message, more an update. Because him and Adam left on terrible terms, and Shiro didn’t know if Adam really wanted to hear from him.

He had no idea how long it had been, maybe Adam had moved on and had three kids and was in a happy relationship with someone else. Space time worked differently to Earth time, you aged slower.

With a sigh he sprawled over his bed. Staring up at the roof. What was he supposed to say? How some nights he couldn’t sleep because his dreams kept him awake and he didn’t know what to do. How he felt responsible for these kids, the kids he’d basically adopted.

“Record,” Shiro moaned, before sitting up on his bed. Hugging his pillow to his chest. “Hi Adam, I’m alive. I’ve also adopted three more space children plus Keith… he’s safe. I’m safe. We’re alright.”

Shiro hugged the pillow a little bit tighter, before looking up at the camera. He could do this. Just tell Adam what had been happening, and he’d be alright, he’d be fine. 

“This is stupid,” Keith muttered. Holding his face in his hands. “Give the other one to Pidge or Lance, or Hunk or even Shiro. You’re being selfish.”

There was a knock on the door and Keith jumped, as Lance stood in the doorway. His arms crossed around him, glancing around, Keith hadn’t added anything else since Lance had been here. The three photos of, his dad and him, Shiro, Adam and him and the team were still in the same spots.

Lance walked in, eyeing the two communicators on the table but not saying anything about it, sitting down on Keith’s bed and crossing his legs. “So I’m guessing Commander Wright, but who’s the other one going to?”

“I dunno,” Keith muttered, “I should give it to Pidge. She could track the signal and find Matt— it’s dumb.”

“Hey, you got them for us,” Lance smiled, “No one has to know. You’re allowed to miss people too.”

“Hah. Adam probably hates me, in fact. I’ll just give you guys the communicators—”

“Keith,” Lance pulled Keith back down so he was sitting on the bed. “Don’t. Send a message to Adam, send a message to whoever the Hell you want. It doesn’t matter.”

“No one wants to hear from me,” Keith laughed, before picking up the two orbs on his desk and holding them out to Lance who shook his head before taking them and sitting them back on the desk.

“People do,” Lance smiled, incredibly softly too and Keith didn’t know exactly what to do with that tone of voice. Explode? Cry? Have a nap? It was all a bit much and Keith felt like exploding was the way to go. “Just… talk y’know, be honest. Or as honest as you can be.”

Keith shook his head, “I don’t want to, I don’t want to send a message home. It’s better if I just—”

“Adam wants to hear from you,” Lance said over his shoulder, on the way to the door. “Just trust me on that one. You trust me don’t you?”

“Much to my disgust.”

Lance smiled, a full-faced, real smile, which made the corner of his eyes crinkle. He had dimples and Keith forgot that English was a language he was semi-competent in before looking anywhere that wasn’t Lance and the door closed behind him.

“Send help,” Keith said to the roof. “Please… strike me dead right now.”

The universe didn’t comply.

With a sigh Keith looked at the first communicator, shoving one into the draw in his desk. Adam. Maybe he didn’t want to hear from Keith, but he wanted to hear what had really happened to Shiro.

Adam’s arms were crossed and Keith was sitting on the couch as Adam cooked. He was always the better one at cooking anyway. He played with the ring on the chain that he’d still kept even if Adam would say it was just habit, it was more than that. It was so much more than that.

“Sometimes I just want to know what happened,” Adam confessed. Taking the fry pan off the heat. “As horrible and ugly as it is, I want to know what happened to Taka — Shiro. It’s morbid isn’t it?”

Keith nodded, “Yeah… if I went missing I’d want you to know what happened.”

Adam raised an eyebrow. “Are you planning on going missing on me Keith?”

He had planned for it, it didn’t mean he was planning on it. Keith shook his head and Adam relaxed a little at that.

Adam would want to know what had happened, what was happening to Shiro. Keith sighed. “Okay, start recording. Please?”

“Hey Adam, I’m alive and I’m sorry for running off… and then getting stuck in space. Um, Shiro’s with me, he’s okay. Well okayish, he’s not the same anymore and—” Keith took a deep breath, “Even if you don’t love him, or want to marry him. I know you care about him, at least a little… and when we come back. If I don’t come back, I need you to promise to take care of him— do it for me if nothing else.”

Keith tugged his sleeves over his hands so the tips of his fingers were peeking out of his sleeves. “Um… so space, it’s fine. I don’t miss Earth that much, everyone else does though. It’s weird, it’s like there’s a part of me stuck here. The emptiness is almost comforting. Maybe because I’m used to being on my own?”

“I’m rambling… Shiro got captured by evil aliens, and they forced him to fight in an arena I think— he has a new arm. Like a prosthetic? I suppose you might want to hear about what I’ve been doing.”

He sighed softly, running a hand down his face. “We pilot this giant robot thing, with semi-sentient lion-robots. You don’t have to believe me, I’ll probably add some footage of them at the end, so you do believe me. So, I’m okay.” He smiled at the camera. It felt fake, even to him.

“Shiro’s adopted some more weird children, it’s a bad habit he has. So we have Hunk, who you’d love and then we have Pidge, who is a little gremlin. She’s Matt Holt’s sister, I think you met her? She’s cool. Then there’s Lance, who’s a bit of a dork but you’d also love him. He’s kinda like you.”

Keith smiled, and this time it was real. “Then there’s Allura, our space-Mom and Coran, our space-Uncle, they’re both cool. You’d love Allura, like an unhealthy amount, or you’d have an unreal amount of tension. Either besties or worst enemies, I can’t decide.”

He sighed again. “So… I’m saving the universe, actually making something of myself. Weird things are happening, my teeth are getting sharper and I keep cutting my tongue on them. I thought I went through puberty.”

With a short laugh he ran a hand down his face. “You can’t tell anyone, not even when they get back. I don’t think I’m fully human, I never knew my mom. Maybe she’s an alien, it’s weird. Sometimes my skin turns kinda purple and my vision becomes slightly more yellow and I get stronger? I’m kinda scared Adam, I don’t know what I’m doing or who I really am.”

Keith had the answer in his head. Galra. You are part Galra. Galra are purple, you turn purple. But Keith’s argument to that was, Galra can’t be the only people out there.

Keith laughed, “The logical side of my brain sounds kinda like you,” he smiled a bit wider. “I guess that makes sense, considering you’re Shiro and my impulse control. Yesterday Shiro tried to make toast with his hand and it didn’t go very well. He’s still a dork, just less dorky.”

He gave the camera a small smile, “See ya Adam.”

Then he shut off the video. With a soft sigh.

Now the next video. The one he needed to do.

He sighed. He could do this.

“Keith had two communicators!” Pidge had yelled early in the morning and Keith lazily looked up from his food goo, it looked like she hadn’t had much more sleep than him. Everyone seemed a bit more drowsy than usual. “They don’t sell them in groups of five, it’s groups of six. Also they are unbelievably expensive.”

“Because I stole them Pidge,” Keith deadpanned. Shoving another spoonful of goo into his mouth. At the shocked looks of everyone (minus Lance and Shiro) he sighed. “This isn’t even on the top ten worst things I’ve done.”

“Keith,” Shiro sighed. “Did you keep another communicator to yourself?”

He couldn’t lie to Shiro, so he instead looked into his food goo.

“That’s not how a team works,” Shiro said sternly, and Pidge pushed him out of the way.

Her face contorted with anger. “You know what we could’ve done with that?” She yelled, “I could’ve used it to find Matt or Dad! You don’t even have anyone to send it to!” 

The room was silent. Everyone was looking at Keith, waiting for him to explode back. Twice as much, waiting for him to yell then storm off. Keith was waiting for it too, but instead he felt a rush of calm. He didn’t have the energy for this.

“Correct,” Keith said instead. Brushing hair out of his face. “On all accounts, thank you Pidge.”

The look on everyone’s face was a lot funnier than if Keith had started yelling back. Pure, unfiltered shock on all of their faces. Which was fair enough, Keith was known to explode. Start yelling and not stop until he’d ripped the person apart. Why did he feel so calm all of a sudden?

He stood up cracking his neck with a click. He wasn’t going to tell them who his other message went too, it didn’t matter to them. It was for him and him alone. “I wouldn’t take it back,” he said instead. Instead of, “your brothers probably dead!” And he stood by that.

Keith stood up, his chair making a loud squeaking noise. “I’m not telling you who I sent my other message to, because it’s none of your business.”

And he walked off, rather than admit how much he cared about these dorks.

Maria McClain knew children. Having five of her own and surrounded by her grandchildren, siblings, friends kids, her kids friends, cousins, friends. She knows kids, she knows how to tell what one is like before they even opened their mouth. 

She knew her boy was alive. From Veronica joining the Garrison to find out more. Before coming home one day crying. “He’s alive.” She said, “They just don’t know where he is.” Which was more than enough for her.

Veronica, the eldest daughter. Sometimes Maria couldn’t believe what she did for answers. Simply put she finished her aerospace engineering degree a year early, so she could go to the Garrison and find out what happened to her little brother.

Sometimes Maria missed knowing where and how Lance was, she missed the video calls with him as Lance rambled in and out of Spanish about friends and school and anything else he could think of.

Seeing her boy, his face being projected by a small little orb as he rambled on in and out of Spanish. About everything and anything, talking faster than Maria had heard Lance talk before. An endless chatter.

The entire family watched. Enthralled with the fact Lance was alive and well enough that he could get a message to them. Best of all he was safe, safe with a group of people he talked extensively about. 

Pidge Holt, the daughter of Sam Holt. Takashi Shirogane, who was apparently alive and kicking despite everything. Hunk Garret, who Maria had met a lot and was a lovely boy was also there and Maria trusted Lance and Hunk to keep each other safe.

Then he mentioned someone named Keith Kogane and his face changed, barely, it was barely noticeable, just the light quirk of a lip. But Maria saw it, her husband saw it and they exchanged glances.

Okay then.

She knew that look, Lance was developing a crush and all she could do was hope that this Keith Kogane person was kind and wouldn’t break her boy’s heart in two. But judging by the fond smile that covered Lance’s face as he went into a story about Keith reading an… inappropriate book and then realising before actually wishing for death.

Maria McClain didn’t know Keith, but for some reason she trusted him.

That was amplified when a few hours later. When John and Maria were going to bed, talking about their boy in low voices so that Rachel and Marco couldn’t hear then. As Luis, Lisa, Nadia and Sylvio had left a while ago.

Then another orb thing popped up on their bed. John squealed and Maria clamped a hand over his mouth straight away. Staying like that as a face popped up like a hologram.

“Is that a mullet?” John said and Maria swatted him in the arm. “That’s a mullet!”

“John. Shut up.” Maria said and John kindly decided to do so.

“Um. Hi, hello,” the mullet-boy said.

Maria knew these type of people, normally boys, closed off, scared, very sweet and kind but in ways that you couldn’t place unless you knew them for a while. He had the slight startled animal look, the look that Maria saw on kids who had been hurt one too many times and now was used to it. 

“I’m Keith,” he said.

And just like that Maria trusted Keith with Lance. Even if nothing ever happened there, she still trusted Keith. A seemingly scared boy with a bad haircut.

“Oh joder,” John whispered. “Maria!”

“I know.”

“So… I’m the Red Paladin. Which probably means nothing to you but— ugh. Okay, so I’m sending this message to three people. Maria McClain, Colleen Holt and Janelle Garret. So I think that means that the message will teleport when I’m done.” He sighed.

“I’m assuming you just got a message from your kids. So yeah… they’re alive, and they’re well but knowing them I know they weren’t completely honest with you. And if I was in your situation I’d like to know what was really happening to my loved ones. Feel free to not listen, if you want to you can, if you don’t I understand.”

Maria was liking this kid more and more. She looked at John. “We’re adopting him when he gets back,” and John nodded before looking a little bit sad as Keith looked up, clearly trying to think. Black hair moving as he moved.

“First of all, I hope it’s okay if I borrow parts of your families for my own— I’ll return them, I promise, I’m not going to keep them from you or anything and now I’m just rambling about nothing.” He sighed softly

“Basically, the kids who left you won’t be the same kids who’ll come back. We’ve been through a lot and we’ve barely started the fight. We’ve been injured and come too close to death and I don’t think we’re coming out of this without our scars…”

Maria nodded, even if Keith couldn’t see her. She hoped he’d feel her presence light years away.

“It can be fun. But more often than not it isn’t… I’d like to thank you all for having such wonderful kids, sure they’re the biggest dorks I’ve ever met and they all have their weird little quirks. But they’re good kids, and they’re my friends. I’m going to cry aren’t I?” Keith laughed, rubbing at his eyes. 

“They make me better, they make each other better. And you better be proud of these little shits or I’m going to come down there and yell at you myself,” Keith smiled, and it was so fond that Maria wanted to cry. “I promise I’ll keep them safe, they will come home. No matter what. That’s all I can promise you, that they’ll come home alive and in one piece.”

He sighed again. “Look… I’m not sure if I’ll come back myself, I’m kinda the reckless one and I know I’m going to do anything to keep them safe. I mean anything. So if they come back and I’m not there…”

Blinking a few unshed tears away Keith smiled at the camera. “I know you’re going to anyway, but take care of these shits. They mean a lot to you and they mean a lot to me, so I think we have this unspoken deal here. I’ll protect them in space and you protect them on Earth. Like you’ve always done.”

“Keith!” Someone off screen yelled, and Maria knew that to be Lance. “Are you done being emo yet?”

Keith rolled his eyes, “No! Let me wrap this up!” He yelled back, before looking at the camera with a what-are-you-supposed-to-do look about him. “Yeah… I know it’s hard, knowing your kids aren’t getting a chance to well... be kids. But they’re amazing and if anyone can get through this it’s them,” he sighed before running a hand down his face.

“They talk about you a lot, and they miss you even more. It’s sweet. I really hope I get to meet you all one day, if you want to. Just a heads up to Maria McClain, Lance has already said I have to meet your family.”

Maria smiled widely at that. As a determined look came onto Keith’s face. Strong and sure of himself. 

“I will keep them safe,” Keith said quietly, like it was a secret, something he’d thought about but hadn’t dared to say out loud before. “And I don’t care if it kills me.”

And Maria believed him, with her entire heart the determination in his eyes, looking into the camera like a General would before a battle started. He was only a boy, yet he was looking decades older than he actually was and that broke her heart.

If Keith was looking out for everyone else… Who was looking out for him?