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"Kits and Instincts"
It was an intense battle. The lions were doing good destroying the ships, being aided by the Blade of Marmora. The four Blades were in a pod in the midst of the battle. Everyone knew that Ulaz, Thace, Antok, and Kolivan could take care of themselves, so when the battle cruiser showed up, no one was really worried. The battle cruiser looked different though. It didn't have the usual ion cannon. Instead, there was a new type of weapon mounted in its place. The Galra ship powered its weapon and aimed it at the pod.
Keith watched in horror as the pod containing his fellow Blades was hit. He zoomed over as the pod ejected the four members before exploding. He caught all four in Red Lion's mouth. Fortunately, the rest of the battle was brief, and the lions forced the cruiser to retreat before they returned to the castle. The tick Red was safely in her hangar Keith entered her mouth. He stopped short, staring at the four unconscious figures in his lion's mouth. There were four Galran children swamped in the Blade of Marmora's clothing. Keith exited his lion and recruited the other Paladins to help him carry the unconscious child Blade members to the infirmary.
"Keith, we'll need to take several trips as there are only four of us that can safely help carry them," Shiro pointed out as Keith led them into Red's hangar.
"Actually, it'll only take one trip for each of us. Pidge, run ahead and get four pods ready. I don't know the extent of their injuries, but they definitely need some healing," Keith said. Pidge left the hangar, and Keith led the other three into Red's mouth, where their own mouths fell open.
"Are those-" Lance started.
"Yes." Keith knelt down and touched each of their masks, which made them disappear. He also put down their hoods. It was easy to tell them apart. Kolivan still had the red markings on his head, the scar across his right eye, and his braid. Ulaz looked almost exactly the same, only shorter. Thace looked the same as well except shorter and the patch of fur on his chin was missing. The last child had to be Antok, even though none of the Paladins knew what Antok looked like. He had a scar matching Kolivan's except it was across his left eye and had the same fur color as their leader. He had large furry ears and a strip of white fur on the top of his head, much like Ulaz. Shiro stepped up and picked up Kolivan, Hunk picked up Antok being careful of his tail, Lance picked up Ulaz, and Keith picked up Thace. Each of the four Paladins rushed to the infirmary while still being careful of the children they were carrying.
Allura and Coran had met them there, and their eyes widened when they saw the four children. Allura stepped over to Shiro. "Who are these children? Where are the Blades of Marmora?"
"Keith actually has more answers than I do," Shiro admitted.
"These are Kolivan, Antok, Ulaz, and Thace. I will answer all of your questions after we get them into pods," Keith replied.
Allura nodded, and the Paladins carefully placed each Blade into a pod. Once the pods activated, Allura turned to Keith and said, "Keith, what happened? Why are our allies children?"
"Their pod was hit by some kind of new weapon the Galra have. Their pod exploded, but Red and I were able to rescue them. I don't know why the weapon's effect turned them into children. I also don't know if they will remember anything about us." Keith sounded depressed at that thought.
Shiro wrapped his arms around his friend. "I understand, Keith. You consider Thace your father among the Blades, and if he doesn't remember you, that would be devastating."
"Ulaz is also my father. Kolivan and Antok are like uncles. All four are my family." Keith looked at the pods where the child Blades were healing. "I am going to stay here until they are out of the sleep pods."
Keith leaned against the wall opposite the healing pods. Each of the others left Keith alone, but before Shiro left, he walked over to his friend. He placed a hand on his shoulder. "Meet us in the lounge when you're ready."
Keith nodded, eyes never leaving the pods containing the Blades. Shiro looked at the Red Paladin, concerned. He knew he was concerned about the Blades and how what happened to them was going to affect them. He looked at Keith one more time before leaving and heading to the lounge.
A few vargas later, the four sleep pods opened at the same time. Keith was the only one in the infirmary at the time, but he had fallen asleep sitting against the wall. The four Blades looked at themselves and each other in shock. They conversed in hushed tones as they didn't want to wake up Keith.
"What happened?" Ulaz asked.
"The empire apparently has a new weapon, although this effect is unusual," Kolivan answered.
"We should hold a meeting with the Paladins and Princess to discuss what is going to happen," Antok said.
Thace kept his eyes on Keith, who remained sleeping. How was his kit going to take this? Ulaz stepped over to Thace. "Are you all right, Thace?"
The other two followed Thace's gaze toward the sleeping Paladin. "We should tell him we're out of the pods," Thace said.
All four Blades walked over to their newest member, and Thace placed a hand on his son's shoulder and shook him gently, which startled him. In one quick move, Keith had his knife out, which transformed into the short sword form in the blink of an eye, and it was halfway to Thace's neck before Keith realized what was going on. He willed the blade back to its knife form, quickly sheathed it, and said, "I'm sorry. You startled me."
"It's all right, Keith," Thace said. "You have good reflexes."
Keith's eyes lit up. "So, you four remember everything?"
"Yes. We do," Ulaz replied.
"We should have a meeting with everyone." Keith stood up and led the rejuvenated quartet to the lounge, where the other Paladins were.
Catching sight of the four Galran children following Keith, Lance called out, "Hey, Mullet, when did you adopt four kids?"
Keith glared and growled at Lance as he sat down on the empty side of the couch with the four Blades sitting with him. Thace looked at him. "Stop growling, kit. He meant no harm."
"He needs to learn to keep his mouth shut," Keith said with a growl. Antok's tail smacked Keith in the head. "Hey!"
"Listen to Thace, kit."
The other four Paladins watched the interaction between the five Blade members. It was obvious that they remembered everything and still acted like their normal selves. It was still strange to see and hear them as children. Shiro didn't think he could handle it if they had acted like children.
Keith looked around. "Where's Allura?"
"She should be here any time now," Shiro said.
Time seemed to drag as they waited for the princess to arrive. The child Blades rearranged themselves to get more comfortable. Thace was sitting next to Keith, and Ulaz was leaning against Thace, who had his arms around him. Kolivan was sitting on the other side of Keith, and Antok was leaning against the leader. Both Thace and Kolivan were leaning against the Red Paladin. It was in this position that the four child Blades fell asleep. Keith also felt his eyelids start to close, but he fought against it until Shiro called him out on it. "Stop fighting it, Keith. If you are tired, go ahead and rest. When Allura shows up, we'll let you know."
Knowing he couldn't resist an order from his oldest friend, Keith allowed his eyes to close and fell asleep with the other Blades. Lance stared at the five Blades. "I never knew the Marmorites actually slept. They always seemed to be awake."
"Of course they sleep, Lance, and it's more obvious now that they are children," Shiro half-scolded the Blue Paladin.
Hunk looked at the group of Blades and stood up. He walked to the closet and pulled out a few blankets. He draped one over Ulaz and Thace, one over Keith, and one over Antok and Kolivan. He sat back down. "That's much better."
It was then that Allura showed up. She was surprised to see the five sleeping Blades but didn't say anything due to seeing Shiro hold an index finger to his lips. She walked over and sat down next to him. She whispered, "Did I miss something?"
"Not really. We were waiting for Keith to join us, which he did but he had the four Blades with him. They do remember everything by the way. While we were waiting for you, they grew tired as children do and fell asleep against Keith, whom I had to order to get some rest as well," Shiro whispered back.
"You said they remembered everything, but how do they behave?"
"They seem to act like their normal selves though I have never known any of them to cuddle." Shiro's gaze rested on the group, and he smiled. The blanket that was draped over Keith had fallen off his shoulders, and his arms were wrapped around the waists of the two closest Blades (Thace and Kolivan). Allura followed Shiro's gaze and smiled as well, seeing her Red Paladin so relaxed. "I would love to have a camera."
Lance pulled out his device. "I'll take a picture, Shiro."
"Take several, Lance, but don't wake them up," Shiro stage whispered.
"Got it." Lance proceeded to take a lot of pictures. He took a couple of the group of five; then individual shots, shots of the couples, shots of Keith and Thace, and shots of Keith and Kolivan. When he was done, he went to hand his device over to Shiro, but he didn't take it. "If you want, Pidge might be able to print these out, and we can all have copies."
Hearing her name caused Pidge to listen in on the conversation. "I can print them out in my lab and in any number of copies."
"Go ahead and make enough copies for everyone. That way no one is missing anything," Shiro decided.
Lance gave Pidge his device, and she left immediately to go print out the pictures. The Paladins and Princess decided to let the five Blades sleep. Allura stared at their allies before whispering to Shiro, "I wonder how old they are."
"If we go by Earth standards, I would guess somewhere around eight-years-old."
"I don't know what to do, Shiro. I don't doubt that they will still want to play an active role in the war, but I'm not comfortable sending children into a war zone," Allura said.
"Keith knows them better than I do, but from what I do know, I doubt you can stop them from playing an active role. They have been doing this for longer than we have. It would be wrong to discount them based on physical age alone."
Unbeknownst to the other occupants of the room, Kolivan and Thace were actually awake. They had been awake ever since the Blue Paladin started taking pictures. They kept their eyes closed to see what they would discuss when they were asleep. They were glad Shiro was on their side. Allura seemed to be ready to cast them aside just because they looked like children. They tightened their hold on their mates and hoped a solution could be found before the next attack.
%%%
The lions were in another battle. It had only been a quintant since their last one. Keith was a little nervous. The Blades had insisted on joining them in battle. They were aboard an Altean pod, helping the Paladins defend against the empire.
Keith saw it happen in slow motion. The Galra ship powered its new weapon, and it was aimed at the pod containing the four child Blades. He pushed Red to zoom over there and intercepted the blast. Yellow rushed over and caught Red before she fell. Seeing his Red Paladin get hit caused Shiro to see red. Black Lion reacted to her Paladin's rage, and her jaw blade appeared. Shiro flew her to the weapon and absolutely ripped it to pieces.
%%%
After landing Black in her hangar, Shiro ran into Red's hangar and pulled a very young Keith from his lion. Keith seemed to be about five-years-old. He carried him to the infirmary. On the way, the four other Blades joined him. Thace stared at his son. He looked so small. He couldn't believe what happened. Keith willingly put himself in harm's way to save them. At least the weapon was completely obliterated courtesy of Shiro. Once Keith was loaded into a pod, the four Blades stationed themselves around the pod to wait for their newest member.
Thace kept his eyes on his now tiny kit, his ears droopy. He couldn't stand seeing Keith hurt. Seeing his mate looking depressed, Ulaz walked over to Thace and gave him a hug. "I know how you feel, Thace, but at least, we're here for him."
"He shouldn't have done that," Thace said.
"That is part of who he is. He is selfless. He would rather risk his own life, if it meant saving someone else's," Kolivan replied.
"He is fiercely loyal to those he considers family," Antok added.
A couple of vargas later, the pod's door opened, and Keith fell out of it. Fortunately, Thace was there to catch his kit. All four of the other Blades crowded around their youngest member. Keith's arms went around Thace's neck. "Dad."
Thace held his son, who started shaking; the tears in his eyes started falling. Thace started petting his son's hair and purring to him, which did calm Keith a little. The other members put their arms around Keith, comforting the littlest Blade by purring to him as well.
Shiro walked in at that time. He stopped short as he saw the heartbreaking scene. Keith was clearly having an emotional breakdown, and the Blades were comforting him. A purring sound reached Shiro's ears. He didn't know who was purring, but he quickly and quietly left the infirmary to allow them some privacy.
Keith stayed in his dad's arms, but his tears were spent. He could clearly hear all four Blades purring to him. He smiled and purred back to them, which delighted the older Blades. Young Keith seemed to be more at ease with his Galran instincts than the adult Paladin. After a few doboshes, Keith stopped purring and rubbed his eyes. The Blades recognized that their kit was tired and stopped purring. Ulaz, Antok, and Kolivan removed their arms from around the littlest Blade, and Thace started leading his son out of the infirmary. When he was met with no resistance, he continued leading the way.
The five child Blades made their way to the lounge. They all sat on the couch and ended up in a cuddle pile. Keith was in the middle, being held by Ulaz and Antok. Thace and Kolivan were on the outside, holding Ulaz and Antok, respectively. Keith fell asleep ensconced in his fellow Blades' arms since it was warm and comfortable.
The Paladins and princess entered the lounge, and their eyes immediately found their tiny Red Paladin. Allura cooed at Keith, who thankfully remained asleep and oblivious to the embarrassing situation. She turned to Shiro. "How old is he now?"
"He seems to be about five-years-old," Shiro replied, smiling at the youngest Paladin.
Lance looked at his rival. He seemed so small. "Are you sure he's five? He looks younger."
"I'm sure. I have seen him at this age after all," Shiro assured him.
This peaked the interest of the elder Blades. They didn't know that Shiro had known Keith before they met at Galaxy Garrison. It shouldn't have been surprising as Keith didn't talk about his past at all. They looked at the young child their kit had become. Ulaz rubbed his head gently against Keith's head in a comforting manner.
"When did you meet Keith?" Kolivan asked.
"I met him when he was four. He was being fostered by a friend of the family. After that, I kept tabs on where he was, which wasn't easy considering he didn't stay with any family very long," Shiro admitted.
"Fostered?" Thace sounded confused at the foreign word.
"Foster Care is a system where orphans end up when there are no relatives for them to go to. Foster Care is normally for families who want to adopt children. Keith never stayed with one family long enough to be adopted. He was passed from family to family until he was old enough to attend the Garrison."
The Blades were appalled at the thought of their kit not being part of a family. Their arms tightened around the sleeping five-year-old. Ulaz kept nuzzling Keith's head, Thace started quietly purring to his kit, Kolivan petted Keith's hair, and Antok stroked Keith's other cheek with his tail.
Shiro watched the Blades as he recounted how he had met Keith. They seemed horrified at the thought of foster care or was it the thought of Keith not having a family? Shiro did notice they were doting on Keith, even though he was asleep. "How do the Galra regard children?"
"Kits are a miracle to us. The thought of one of us being cast aside is appalling. The fact that this happened to our kit hurts," Ulaz answered, still nuzzling Keith.
"If he had grown up with The Blade, he would have had all of our members looking after him," Kolivan mentioned.
Shiro nodded. "Like an extended family. I wish he had grown up with you guys."
"I wish I had too," a small tired voice said.
Everyone looked at the tiny Red Paladin. Allura asked, "How long have you been awake?"
"Not long, Princess." Keith noticed the actions of the other child Blades. The ministrations felt good, so he purred to them.
"Dude! Did you just purr?" Lance asked, incredulously.
Keith blushed but didn't stop purring. In fact, he purred louder. He didn't care what Lance thought. His instincts were very close to the surface at this age, and it felt right to follow them. Ulaz decided to explain it to the Blue Paladin. "Kits purr a lot. It's soothing and a form of communication. Keith's instincts are closer to the surface at this age, and he is just doing what feels right."
There were too many people around for Keith's liking. He was itching to do something physical. Keith turned to look at Thace. He whispered to him, "Dad, can I go? It's too crowded."
The Blades released their hold on the five-year-old. He slid off the couch and left the room. Everyone watched him go. Allura was confused. "Why is he leaving?"
"He said it was too crowded," Thace answered.
Shiro had his doubts. "If I know Keith, he's going to head to the training deck."
"Surely he wouldn't think about training at his age!" Allura was appalled at the thought.
"Pull up the castle's cameras, and prove me wrong."
Allura quickly did as Shiro suggested, and everyone watched as the tiny Paladin entered the training deck and started an exercise. The ten of them rushed out of the lounge and towards the training room.
%%%
Keith was dressed in a miniature version of his Paladin armor, complete with helmet. He had his bayard out and his shield up and was defending against drones that shot lasers at him. He was doing extremely well, but everyone was upset that he would even think about training at his physical age.
"End training sequence NOW!" Shiro ordered.
The drones deactivated and dropped to the floor. Keith turned to face Shiro to ask why he stopped the training sequence, deactivating his shield and bayard. He was surprised to see everyone there. Allura, Coran, Shiro, Lance, Hunk, Pidge, Thace, Ulaz, Antok, and Kolivan were all looking at him with varying looks of shock and anger. Keith was confused. Why was everyone looking at him like that? Lance strode forward and swiftly picked up the five-year-old, throwing him over his shoulder in a traditional fireman's carry. Keith growled loudly at Lance's treatment of him, but Lance simply ignored his tiny rival and proceeded to carry him off the training deck. Once everyone was outside the training deck, Allura entered some codes and locked the training deck. "The training deck is now locked. If you wish to use it, you have to ask me for the code. Once you are in, you must lock it again. Please do not change the code."
Keith saw red. Why wasn't he allowed to train? He always trained! Tears of frustration formed in his eyes, making them a brighter shade of purple. He was being treated like he was actually a little kid. He knew he looked like one, but he didn't act like one. Lance finally set Keith on his feet. He didn't stay there. He walked away, tears streaming from his eyes. Once he was out of sight, he let out a sob and started running. He didn't know where he was going but let his feet take him where they wanted to go. He ended up at his room and, upon entering it, collapsed on his bed. He yanked his helmet off and let it fall to the floor as he cried into his pillow. He didn't know why he was crying, but it felt sort of good. What he really wanted was one of his dads to hold him, but they were angry with him too, so that was out of the question. He didn't realize that he had stopped crying or that he had started making a whimpering sound. There was a knock on Keith's door, which he ignored. He just laid on his bed, his face buried in his pillow, a whimpering sound coming from him.
The door slid open, revealing Thace. He had followed his son when he had left the group. He had heard the sob and rapid footsteps and had hurried down the hall, trying to figure out where his kit was going. He had lost sight of him, but soon a whimpering sound caught his attention. It was a sound a little kit made when they needed their parents. It was a heartbreaking sound, and Thace knew only one kit was aboard the ship, so he hurried to his son's room. He knocked on the door but got no reply. He could plainly hear his son whimpering, so he opened the door and entered the darkened room. There on the bed was Keith still dressed in his Paladin armor sans helmet. Thace approached his son and was surprised to see his son had some Galran features. He had purple ears similar to his own and streaks of purple on his face, leading down to where his armor covered his body. He smiled, sat down next to Keith, and started softly rubbing his kit's ears. The tiny Paladin looked up at Thace with red rimmed eyes and tear tracks on his cheeks. It was only a split second before Keith crawled onto Thace's lap, still whimpering slightly. Thace wrapped his arms around his son. "You're safe, kit. Yes, I am angry with you, but never feel that you aren't loved."
Keith whimpered again, and Thace just purred to him, reaching up and rubbing his kit's ears again. Keith practically melted in Thace's arms, no longer whimpering. Thace used his other hand and wiped the tear tracks off his son's face. Keith nuzzled his father's hand. "Dad."
Thace didn't respond verbally, just kept purring. Keith gave a small smile and purred back to his father. They stayed like that for about a varga, purring to each other, before Thace stopped purring and said, "We should go see the rest of our family, kit."
Keith looked up at his face, no longer purring as well. "Are they mad at me too?"
"Yes, but we still love you. Let's go." Thace released Keith, and both stood up and walked across the hall to Thace's room. The four Blades had gathered in Thace's room when they were deaged. Even though they remembered everything and acted like their adult selves, their bodies were those of children, and Galran kits liked to cuddle, especially while they sleep.
Keith was a little hesitant to enter his father's room, knowing the other three Blades were in there. He didn't want to see the disappointment on Kolivan's face or the anger on Antok's. Ulaz's reaction was harder to predict. Thace entered his room first with Keith following a couple of ticks later. He saw the other Blades cuddling on the couch. Keith longed to join them but knew he had to wait first. Thace placed a hand on Keith's shoulder and gently pushed down, indicating that he should sit down on the floor. The young Paladin obliged and waited for the other Blades to come over. Thace approached the couch and said, "I brought Keith." Kolivan, Antok, and Ulaz stood up and, together with Thace, walked over to where their youngest member was.
Keith was sitting on the floor in front of the other four Blades in Thace's room. He was still dressed in a miniature version of his Paladin armor, but his helmet was off. All four of the eldest Blades were gazing sternly at the littlest Blade, who had his head cocked to the side. He still had the Galran ears, but his skin was no longer purple. He looked so cute Thace had to keep from smiling. He kept the image of little Keith training in his mind. "What were you thinking, kit? You could have been hurt!"
"I was okay. I always train."
"When you are an adult, but right now, you're a child. As you are my kit, you will not endanger yourself." Thace knelt in front of Keith. "I don't want to lose you."
Keith threw his arms around Thace. His ears flattened against his head. "I'm sorry, Dad! I didn't think I was doing anything wrong. I'm used to training all the time. I promise I won't train until I'm older."
Ulaz knelt down next to his mate. "Kit, that's good. Now, how did you end up with Galran ears?"
Keith reached up and touched one of his ears. "I don't know."
"When I found him, he had the ears and streaks of purple across his face. As you can see, the purple faded but the ears remained," Thace added as he pulled Keith into his lap, where his kit snuggled into him. Ulaz was tucked against his side as well, his hand stroking Keith's hair.
The three child Blades sat there, snuggling with each other until Kolivan mentioned, "Why don't you join us on the couch or in the nest?"
"Or you could join us over here," Ulaz retorted.
Keith giggled, feeling better. "I'm going to change out of my armor."
"All right, kit." Thace released his hold on his kit, who stood up. The Blades watched their kit leave before retiring to their nest for cuddles as it was nighttime.
A few vargas later, there was a knock on the door to Thace's room, where all the Blades were currently sleeping. Thace slid out of the nest and opened the door. To his surprise, there stood little Keith with red rimmed eyes, droopy Galran ears, and a blanket. "What's wrong, kit?"
Keith let out a small whimper and asked, "Can I stay here tonight?"
"Tonight and every night, kit." Thace led Keith into his room. Keith let out another small whimper, and Thace hugged his son. "It's all right, Keith."
"His Galran instincts are much more prevalent at this age," a sleepy Kolivan said from the doorway. Thace and Keith both turned to the doorway to see the other three Blades standing there.
"Come back to the nest, Thace," Ulaz requested with a yawn.
When Keith let out yet another whimper, Antok came over, picked up the littlest Blade, and carried him to the nest. The rest of the Blades joined them, all cuddling their kit to some degree. Here Keith felt safe and content. His ears perked up, and he started purring as he drifted off to sleep.
When Keith awoke, he was still tucked between the other Blade members. He saw Thace was the closest to him, and, without knowing exactly why, he started rubbing his head gently against Thace's. It felt good, so he kept doing it. Suddenly, he felt something against his neck. It was warm but wet. He looked out of the corner of his eyes to see Ulaz dipping his head to Keith's neck before the sensation happened again. The tiny Paladin realized that Ulaz was licking him. His instincts told him that it was grooming. Keith just nuzzled Thace again while being groomed by Ulaz. This felt so good that Keith started purring again. Ulaz grinned as he continued to groom their kit. He wondered if Keith was going to stay in the nest or leave before the rest of their pack awoke. Several vargas later, the other three Blades were awake, however, Keith had already left the room by the time they woke up, claiming he was getting breakfast.
After breakfast, Keith was alone in the lounge, just laying on one of the couches. He was relaxed, his Galran ears barely visible in his position. He was barely aware that someone else had joined him. He lifted his eyes to see Allura sitting next to his head. She unconsciously started running her fingers through Keith's hair. He stiffened at first but then relaxed at her touch. Her fingers danced over his ears, eliciting a purr from him. She paused as she looked at what she had just touched. She saw the fluffy purple ears and hesitantly reached out and touched one, making Keith purr again. He loved his ears being rubbed. She smiled and rubbed his ears again. The purrs Keith was giving were adorable, and it made Allura want to keep making Keith purr. She was so deep in her task that she failed to note that the other Paladins and Coran entered the room until Lance spoke. "Man, he's purring up a storm. You must have the magic touch, Princess."
"Not really. His ears are just sensitive."
Shiro cocked his head. "Human ears aren't usually sensitive."
"But apparently Galran ears are."
Everyone crowded around the tiny Red Paladin, who was sitting up now. His ears were easier to see up close, but Keith didn't like everyone so close. He involuntarily let out a whimper. It wasn't loud, but Thace appeared almost instantly. He looked at the scene and approached the couch from above. He sat down next to Keith, who cuddled up next to his dad, still whimpering slightly. "Everyone, take two steps back."
Once everyone did, Keith stopped whimpering and relaxed a little in Thace's arms. Shiro looked at the two Galra. "Thace, we didn't intend on causing Keith any distress. It's just he now has Galran ears."
"I know, Shiro, but you of all people should know how Keith is about personal space." Thace started stroking Keith's hair, trying to calm him even more. "Being a kit again makes him feel insecure."
"He doesn't need to feel insecure around us. We're family," Hunk replied.
"It's not quite the same," Keith whispered.
"We'll try not to overwhelm him anymore," Shiro promised.
"Well, I need to make lunch," Hunk mentioned, leaving the lounge.
"I have a special project that needs completed." Lance was being vague on purpose. He was compiling the photo albums filled with pictures of the child Blades.
Shiro, Pidge, and Coran didn't say anything but did leave too. Allura didn't leave. She wanted to pet Keith's ears again, but he didn't leave Thace's arms. She sighed inaudibly and eventually left to go to the bridge.
%%%
"Shiro, I need your help."
"What do you need, Pidge?"
"I want to examine Black Lion's jaw blade to see if there's some kind of residue from the Galra's new weapon. I might be able to detect something I can use to help Keith and the Blades."
"Of course I'll help. I'd do anything to help Keith."
"You two are really close," Pidge said as the two Paladins started walking down to Black's hangar.
"He's like a brother to me, a little brother." Shiro and Pidge enter Black's hangar, and Shiro approached his lion. He placed a hand on one of her massive paws. "Hey, girl. We need your help. Can Pidge examine your jaw blade to see if there's any residue from the weapon you helped destroy?"
To their delight, Black lit up and produced her jaw blade. She bent down and laid it at their feet. Shiro smiled as he heard her purr in his mind. "I hope this helps Red's Paladin."
"Me too, Black. Me too."
Pidge took her time examining the large blade. After several vargas, she detected a compound she recognized. "The Galra's new weapon uses Scaultrite. We should be able to synthesize a cure."
"Get Coran to help you. He seems to know a lot about Scaultrite." Shiro turned back to the Black Lion. "Thank you."
She picked up her jaw blade and made it vanish. She purred to Shiro before powering down. Pidge rushed off to get Coran and get working on a cure. It was several vargas before she went searching for the child Blades, whom she found in the lounge in a cuddle pile.
"We have a solution! Who wants to go first?" Pidge announced.
"I will!" Keith exclaimed.
"NO!" All four of the elder Blades chorused.
Keith pouted, and his ears drooped. He was tired of being five. Thace turned to his kit. "We do not know if this will actually work. We won't risk your life."
"Fine, but I don't want you to risk your life either, Dad!"
The older Blades looked at each other. "Who should go first?" Thace asked.
"Kolivan shouldn't. As the leader, he is too important," Antok said.
"I refuse to let you go through it, Antok. You are important too, my mate," Kolivan replied.
Thace opened his mouth to respond similarly concerning Ulaz, but the lighter purple Galra cut him off. "Before you speak, Thace, someone has to go first. Since everyone else has very good reasons not to go first, I will."
"But Ulaz-"
"No, Thace. I'm going." Ulaz walked out of the room with the Green Paladin.
As everyone was waiting for Ulaz to come back, Keith was in Thace's arms, and Kolivan and Antok had their arms around Thace.
When Ulaz reappeared as his adult self, Thace all but threw himself at his mate. "You're okay!"
Ulaz hugged his little mate. "Yes. The solution proved correct."
Kolivan nodded at Antok, who reluctantly let his mate go next. Thace stayed in Ulaz's arms, and Keith went over to Antok, who put his arms around their kit and nuzzled his hair.
When Kolivan returned, Antok released Keith and let his mate hold him. Thace nodded at Ulaz, who let him go next. Ulaz held Keith, trying to give their kit comfort. Even though he knew it would work, Keith was still worried, making little whimpering sounds, and his ears were slicked back. Ulaz purred to Keith, trying to comfort him but to no avail. For the entire time Thace was gone, Keith whimpered.
The tick Thace came back his arms were full of relieved kit. Keith had launched himself at his dad. Burying his face in his father's neck, Keith nuzzled his dad, still whimpering slightly. Seeing that Thace was back, Antok left the room, taking his turn. Keith refused to leave Thace's arms. The two vargas it took for the solution to work was almost torture for the littlest Blade. Being a little kit again made him realize that he did need his family, especially his dads. Purring to his almost distraught kit, Thace was surprised to see how Keith was acting. It was almost as if he had been gone for Deca-phoebes instead of a couple of vargas! Thace stopped purring and whispered to Keith, "It's okay, kit." Thace started petting his son's hair. "If you need some family time, we can postpone your turn."
Ulaz was standing next to his mate and looked at Keith. He was clinging to Thace like if he let go, he would disappear. Ulaz nuzzled Keith's neck, purring to his kit. Kolivan even came over to provide comfort for their smallest member, gently rubbing his back. He only paused when Antok returned, who joined the group and, after receiving a hug from Kolivan, provided comfort for their kit. Keith only looked up when he felt Antok's tail gently slide across his right cheek. He saw all four Blades were adults again. It made him happy that they were back to normal, and his ears perked up.
"Did you want your turn now, kit?" Thace asked.
Keith hesitated. True, he was tired of being five, but he had his family back to their normal adult selves. He found himself not caring if he didn't immediately take his turn. "I want family time."
Thace hugged his kit, who purred to him, making him grin. He looked at Ulaz. "Could you go tell the Green Paladin that Keith isn't taking his turn now?"
"Certainly." Ulaz gave Keith a small hug before leaving.
The three adult Blades left (with Ulaz catching up soon after), carrying their kit to their room. Thace sat down on their couch and was immediately surrounded by the other Blades. Ulaz nuzzled Keith's neck, causing him to relax against Thace, who rumbled to him. Kolivan ran a clawed hand through Keith's hair, and Antok's tail was wrapped around Keith's waist.
Thace curled around their kit, Antok tightened his hold on Keith, and Ulaz nuzzled the kit's head. Kolivan started grooming their kit's hairline near his ear and neck. The kit was extremely relaxed in his pack's presence and started purring. His purring was soothing to them; so soothing that they purred back to him.
%%%
There was a knock on their door to which Thace called out, "Come in."
Lance walked in with five albums in his arms. "Hi! We finally got these done. There's one for each of you." He handed out the albums to the confused Blades.
Each of the Blades took one. Keith opened his, and his family looked at what was inside. There were a lot of pictures; mostly of when Thace, Ulaz, Antok, and Kolivan were de-aged and cuddled up with adult Keith. The last picture was of all five of them sleeping, and they could see Keith's arms wrapped around the waists of the two closest Blades (Thace and Kolivan). Keith slid his finger down his picture and whined a little. Ulaz nuzzled the back of Keith's neck. "What's wrong, kit?"
"I want to be big again."
The Blades looked up at Lance. Kolivan addressed him. "Blue Paladin, will you tell the Green Paladin our kit is ready for his turn?"
Lance grinned. "Sure thing!"
He left quickly, and the Blades put down their albums. Thace stood up, still cuddling his kit close. Keith clung to his dad all the way to the med bay where Pidge was waiting. She was confused as to why all five were there but realized it was because it was Keith's turn. He was a kit to them.
She grinned at the five-year-old Red Paladin. "Ready, Keith?"
"Yes." Keith was set on his feet.
"Just step into the cryopod and it'll be over in two hours."
Keith looked at his family. "Stay with me?"
Antok knelt down to Keith's height. "Always, kit."
Kolivan petted Keith's hair. "We'll be waiting, kit."
Thace bent over and rubbed Keith's back. "More family time will follow, kit."
Ulaz scooped up Keith and nuzzled him as Antok and Thace stood up. Keith purred to his family as Ulaz placed him albeit reluctantly into the cryopod. He ruffled Keith's hair before stepping back and allowing the semi-clear front of the pod to appear. Their kit's purple eyes closed, and thus began the longest two vargas of their lives.
Once the two vargas were done, Keith exited the cryopod. He was eighteen again but still had the purple Galran ears. Thace approached his kit and said, "Kit?"
Keith looked up at his dad and grinned. "Dad."
He wrapped his arms around Thace and was immediately surrounded by the other three Blades. "Are you ready for family time, kit?"
"Yes." Keith nuzzled Thace.
%%%
Keith was sitting on the couch with the other Blades surrounding him. Antok had his tail wrapped around Keith's waist, and Kolivan was holding his mate. He leaned against Ulaz, who was leaning against Thace. Thace and Ulaz were rubbing their kit's ears, which prompted him to purr. He was still exhibiting the Galran instincts that were so prevalent when he had been deaged, but he found himself okay with that. His family would help him sort out his instincts.
Fin