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Chapter Text

Ulaz was confused to say the least and it all started with their newest recruit Keith. Ulaz thought this would be a good opportunity to learn about another type of hybrid and decided when Keith came to the infirmary he could start on his questions. However, Keith avoided the infirmary as best he could, and when he was finally inside, he would only stay long enough to get his injury treated. Unsuccessful so far but he was still determined to get some answers.

Those prior sessions could become important in emergency situations, like right now. Keith came in after a bad fall where he landed on his blade. Somehow not noticing until he stepped into a puddle of his own blood. Ulaz feared he might have gone in shock or lost too much blood and became delirious. He didn’t know how much blood a human could hold but he didn’t think losing a big amount could resolve in the human laughing at its own pain.

Keith was very deliberately looking away from his injury and taking up deep breaths between giggles. Ulaz was growing increasingly worried at this reaction. Most galra would be quietly whining or gritting through the pain of having their blade sticking out of their leg. Ulaz finished wrapping up the wound and leaned over to get a better look at Keith’s face.

“Keith, are you doing alright? As far as I know, laughing isn’t a normal reaction to this situation.”

Keith stopped giggling and turned to look at Ulaz. “I’m trying to forget about the pain rather than face it right now. Apparently laughing is supposed to release endorphins, which acts as self-made painkillers. It doesn’t work that well.”

“You do know I can just give you painkillers?”

“I don’t like taking medicine, I’ll just wait it out.”

“Keith, that’s a little self-destructive.”

“No, it isn’t.” Keith matched Ulaz’s unimpressed stare, daring him to argue back. Ulaz sighed and admitted defeat, for now.

“Okay. Instead of medicine come and see me for the injury, so at least it doesn’t become infected. And-” Ulaz held up a finger when Keith tried to speak. “If you don’t, I’ll have Regris drag you down the hall with his tail in front of every blade.”

“Ulaz I already have a weird reputation, don’t do this to me.”

“Then you know what to do.” Ulaz leveled him with a smug grin. “Now with your injury treated, I would like you to fill out this paperwork, so we have a profile to put in our systems. Just fill in what you know, and we’ll figure out the rest later.”

Keith took a quick look and typed a bit out. “Done.”

“Keith, I just gave that to you.”

"And I don’t know the rest of my answers. ‘Height?’ Who knows I haven’t measured in years. ‘Weight?’ I don’t own a scale. ‘Previous medical history?’ I only had one doctor’s appointment and that was when I was seven. Want me to continue?”

Ulaz looked so fed up with Keith. “Okay.” Ulaz took in a deep breath before getting the data pad back. “How about I ask you some questions about human biology and you tell me the answers. This will help in answering other questions in your official medical profile.”

“Got it.” Keith got comfy on the cot. 

“First question, what is the average age for human lifespans?” 

“Okay. Well women usually live longer than men. I think on average, women go for seventy-five to eighty and men for seventy to seventy-five.” Keith watched as Ulaz slowly put down the data pad, halfway through writing down what he said. “Ulaz?”

“How old are you, Keith? You didn’t put anything down.”

“Because I’m not sure? I mean, I think I’m either nineteen or twenty, I haven’t been keeping track.” Ulaz wasn’t reacting, at all. “How about we move on for now and you can have your break down later?” Keith suggested.

“We’re going to need a new leader.” Ulaz tried to mumble but they both heard it. “Number of teeth?”

“On average I’m pretty sure thirty-two. But some people have less or in rare cases people have more.”

“And how long does it take for replacements to grow in?”

Replacements? “Um, well you get your baby teeth when you're young. Then you lose those roots, and the teeth fall out over the course of a couple years, that’s different for everyone. Then your permanent teeth come in and that’s it. If you lose those teeth, then you get fake teeth put in.”

“Your body doesn’t make new ones?”

“No. We can’t just grow a new tooth; it’s called permanent for a reason.”

Ulaz stayed silent for a moment. “Sorry I’m… I would like to ask more on a later date. But you definitely said nineteen, right?” Ulaz just nodded to himself and made his way out of the med bay.

“Well, that was a useless talk.”

Later that day he heard one of the training decks was closed due to a very aggressive fight. Everyone kinda avoided Ulaz for a while after that and sent pitying looks towards Kolivan and Antok.

Chapter Text

Kolivan doesn't understand half of what Keith does, and when it's with the other paladins then he's really lost. 

One of his blades sent him an incoming call from the castle of lions not knowing what they needed. Kolivan answered the call and was surprised to not see the black paladin or the princess. Instead he saw the blue paladin and the short green one. The blue paladin jumped back from the screen in surprised. The green one leaned forward.

"Hey Kolivan, can we talk to Keith?" The green one glanced and the blue one. He turned to glare at her.

"Is it something urgent?" Even if it wasn't Kolivan would still let Keith talk, which was something he didn't do often at the base. He had already sent a message to Keith's data pad for him to come to his office.

"Yep." The blue one answered this time. 

A knock at his door and a small 'It's Keith' was heard.

"Come in," Keith walked in and stood in front of his desk. "It's a call from the paladins."

Keith looked confused and annoyed. He silently took the data pad from Kolivan and looked at the screen.

"Pidge, Lance." He said in a short greeting.

"Is Pluto a planet?" Pidge asked straight away.

"Yes."

Lance was two seconds from exploding at the answer. "No it's not."

"Yes it is." Both Pidge and Keith said at the same time. 

"No it's not! It's too small!"

"It's a planet, you can't change that." Keith shot back.

"Pluto is smaller than Russia!" Lance got very close to the screen.

"Viva la Pluto fuck you!" Keith swore.

"Did you just make a reference to that old post I showed you-" Keith closed the call before Pidge could finish.

Kolivan was staring at Keith in so much confusion. Keith, who was still sleep deprived and now a little pissed off, turned to look at him. After he put the data pad down he pointed at Kolivan.

"Pluto is a planet, you are on my side."

Kolivan hasn't felt this confused in a long time. He didn't know anything about 'Pluto' or what a 'Russia' was. He just nodded along to Keith. "Pluto is a planet."

"Thank you."

"Now please get some sleep, or no missions for a phoeb." Keith looked offended for a moment.

"But i'm not-"

"Bed. That is an order."

Keith snapped his mouth shut as Kolivan sent him a glare. "Yes sir." Keith turned and walked out of the office.

He would have to ask some other blades who sometimes talked with Keith, see if they knew anything to clear his confusion. 

Chapter Text

Thace has heard and used his fair share of the colorful way of swearing. The regular 'bitch', 'ass', 'piece of shit', and the oh so creative word 'fuck'. The simple word that could be put into nearly any sentence to get a point across.

Now don't get him wrong, he found it amusing when Keith would curse out an enemy. Funny when the receiver (who most times was taller than Keith) would stare Keith down wondering 'what the hell is this child saying?' 

He was often, however, confused himself as to what Keith would say. He could come up with the strangest things to yell out, using many Earth terms that no one knew what he meant. 

Like when he was paired with Keith to gather intel at a local bar. Thace had just finished up his conversation when he heard Keith yell.

"Go fuck a cactus!"

The one Keith yelled at was a very tall many with a body built of boulders. The man looked confused, as did everyone that heard it. Thace had never escaped a place so fast, dragging Keith and shoving him into their ship. When Thace was way out of the system he had asked what a cactus was. The only reply he got was, 'spiky green plant'. 

Or the one time when he overheard a few blades teasing Keith. 

"If I had claws I would go fucking wolverine on your ass." 

And once again no one knew what Keith meant, in the end the blades just walked away.

That wasn't the only thing he has said to teasing or annoying blades. There was also, 'Every time you open your mouth it's like a fucking terrorist attack on my life."

But after that one Thace though Keith had whispered 'fuck, that one was a little much'.

The very confusing sentence Keith had made was when they were running back to the ship after being caught on a mission. Keith would turn around every few seconds to yell a 'fuck off!' and throw a small bomb in their direction. It did save them some time for everyone to escape.

"Why did you keep yelling fuck off?" One of the other blades asked.

Keith turned to them with a serious expression. "Fuck the fucking fuckers before the fucking fuckers fuck you." 

Even with masks on it was easy to tell they had no idea what just came out of Keith's mouth. 

Thace still wrote down whatever he heard each time Keith said something strange, it became useful for distracting your opponent. But Thace never knew what any of the things being said meant. 

Chapter Text

Antok wasn't blind, he knew how much Keith trained. Constantly going past his limits and passing out a few times. He had been known to train in any situation, from him being unwell to having a broken bone. But Antok had never seen Keith start shaking during practice. Antok had quickly pulled Keith aside.

"That's enough training today." Antok watched as Keith bounced on his feet, a wild grin on his face.

"But Antok i'm on a roll!" Keith whined. 

Antok hasn't seen him this expressive towards him before. "You're shaking-"

"Oh, that's just my adrenaline. Can I please continue?"

"Adrenaline?" Antok have never heard of that word.

"Yeah yeah umm.... You guys not get it? That's a shame." Keith was talking quickly, words tumbling over each other. "It's uh, it's... So." Keith paused, looking for the right words. "It's kinda like a burst of strength, like someone could be able to lift a car, and it hides all of your pain until you come down from the rush..... like right now." Keith swallowed. "And then you just feel tired after. At least i'm less of an adrenaline junkie that I was before."

"Adrenaline junkie?"

"Yeah where people actively seek out an adrenaline rush by doing crazing shit. Like life or death kind of stuff."

Antok took this in and said the first thing that came to mind. "Humans are fucking weird."

Keith huffed out a laugh. "That's barely anything."

Wait, barely anything? "What other weird things do humans do?" Antok asked nervously.

"You don't want to know, trust me. But you'll probably learn through me so, meh." Keith shrugged and went back to training, leaving Antok alone.

Antok was left even more curious. What were the limits of this 'adrenaline'? Does it have to be a dangerous situation or could it come from something harmless? Antok decided he would ask Keith when he was calmed down.

Chapter Text

Keith had bought something from the space mall last time they visited. In his opinion it was worth it, all for an internet joke. The other blades had no idea what he had bought or why he got it.

"What is that?" Thace looked over Keith's shoulder, pointing to the object in Keith's arms. 

Keith snickered. "It's a roomba."

"Roomba? What does it do?" Regris studied the round robot.

"He's for cleaning."

"He? Is it sentient?" Regris poked it.

"Nope."

"But you already seem to be attached to it." Thace said.

"Let me tell you, humans with pack bond with nearly anything. Now i'm going to take Stabby the Roomba back to my room for a small improvement." Keith strode past the two.

"Stabby?" Regris asked, suddenly worried. Regris and Thace turned to each other then towards the direction Keith left. 

Keith found tape. With it he taped his blade to the top of the Roomba. 

"This is both a beautiful and dangerous creation." Keith smiled as he stared at his accomplishment. He took out his data pad and sent a picture to the castle group chat.

Lance replied immediately. 'Oh my god you found a fucking roomba!'

Pidge showed up next. 'Okay, here is what we're gonna do. Make an illegal betting ring featuring a roomba with a knife strapped to it going up against someone with a mop.'

Keith replied. 'Yes.'

Shiro popped up. 'No, stop this now.'

'Shiro you're no fun.' Lance said.

'I'm going to release him into the base.'

'KEITH NO!'

'Keith yes'

'KEITH I SWEAR'

'sorry dad too late'

'god, pidge and lance are dying over here.' hunk joined in.

'and shiro?'

'disappointed dad glare'

'great, bye hunk'

'have fun keith'

Keith put the data pad away and brought Stabby into the dining hall. I'm going to be screwed for doing this..... oh well. Keith set Stabby on the ground and turned him on. "Everyone I would be careful with your ankles! Oh, and if you destroy him I'll destroy you."

Many blades looked around in confusion until a blade yelped from his blade nicking them. Many scrambled up as Keith tried to keep in his laughter, until he felt a presence behind him.

"Keith?" It was Kolivan.

"Oh shit-"

Chapter Text

Keith had no fur, just pale white skin. Skin that's rough from scars or pink from his own nails digging into it. Skin that is marked with burns from a fire or torn with fresh cuts. Only purple from nasty bruises then fading to a yellowish-green. 

These were now a common site to see for the blades. What they had never seen was the picture on Keith's back. 

Keith sat uncomfortably on a stool in the med bay. After a mission gone wrong with a horrible explosion, Keith's suit was melting onto his skin. Ulaz and another blade peeling away the suit, another in front of him holding him still. Keith let out small noises of pain and was gritting his teeth so hard they were aching badly. Finally the last of the suit came off and Keith let out a relieved breath, slumping against the blade holding him. 

The blade behind him, Vriya, let out a choked sound. 

Keith turned to her. "Is it bad?"

"There's actually no burns but..." Ulaz trailed off.

"Why, or actually how... how..." Vriya lightly touched his back, nails trailing lightly over something.

Keith raised an eyebrow at her as he straighten up.

"A replica of your blade is colored on your back." 

"Oh that? That's just my tattoo." The tattoo showed his blade, the hilt at his lower back with the old wrapping loosely floating around it. The tip reaching just underneath his shoulder blades. The glowing effect matched his blade with a soft purple. Splashes of reds, purples, and dark blues painted under and around the blade itself. Keith really liked how it turned out, and how beautiful it stayed over the few years he has had it. "It's not ruined is it?"

"No it's, it's really stunning. It's not ruined at all." Vriya gently outlined the shapes.

"What exactly is a tattoo?" Ulaz asked.

"Ink injected into the skin to make a design. It's mostly safe, the rare occasion now of getting one with a used needle. But most places open up a needle in front of you. And getting a tattoo does hurt, but mine didn't hurt much. It really depends on what area you're getting one how painful it will be."

All three blades looked horrified. The one who never spoke just up and left. Ulaz walked in front of Keith and held his shoulders.

"Did someone make you get this?"

"Wha...? No, no! I got it willingly. I went to the tattoo place and got it done with my consent."

Vriya stayed silent. She gave him a one armed hug and sat down on a stool in the corner. "But why would you do that?" Keith didn't know if she was whispering that to him or herself. 

Keith looked back up at Ulaz. "Ulaz?"

"So you willingly had someone poke a needle into your skin to inject ink into it to make a picture." At Keith's nod he stood. "What is wrong with your species?" Ulaz walked over to his desk.

Keith just stayed on the stool, wondering what he said to make them this way. 

Chapter Text

It was supposed to be a quick meeting, or so Kolivan thought. He brought Keith along in hopes of putting him in less dangerous situations and to give him a little teaching on forging alliances. He also brought Thace to keep an eye on Keith. They haven't even entered the building yet and Keith was already wandering away.

"Keith where are you going?" Kolivan asked.

Keith paused momentarily. "Just this once, can I go over there?" Keith pointed to a structure a little ways away.

"Go over to what exactly?" Thace put a hand on his hip. Keith thought he looked like a skeptical parent. 

"I haven't seen a swing in years."

"A what? Is this really more important than this meeting?"

"To me, Kolivan, yes it is."

Kolivan and Thace side glanced each other. 

"Keith," Thace began. "How important is this to you?"

"I can feel the joy of using a swing again." Keith said this with a straight face.

Kolivan sighed. "Fine, go to the swing. Thace, stay with him." There was always next time to drag Keith with him. 

Keith put a bright smile on his face, an action that almost made Kolivan smile back, and ran over to the swing. Kolivan walked past Thace into the meeting room.

Thace walked slowly over to Keith. Keith hopped onto the seat. He pushed far back and lifted his legs into the air, the seat taking him forward. Keith swung his legs to match the motions with the swing itself. Back and forth, back and forth. Going higher and higher until it looked like Keith would swing all the way around. Thace didn't know why Keith looked to be enjoying this that much, but it made him feel better seeing the look on Keith's face.

"Holy shit I love this!" Keith yelled. 

"How high are you planning to go?"

"Until I can't go any higher!"

"Are you on that adrenaline rush Antok spoke of?"

"Maybe...."

Awhile later Kolivan left after a successful meeting. "Time to go!" He watched as Keith let go and jumped off the swing.

Thace made a dive for Keith but Keith landed and rolled away.

"Why, why would you do that?!" Thace looked so confused.

Keith grinned. "Because that's the best part."

Thace stared a hole into Kolivan. "You need to teach him better discipline."

"I'm not the one training him."

"You're the leader of the blades!"

"Then why are you acting like his parent?"

Thace did a double take. Keith had no words. He slid away from the conversation and went back into the ship waiting to leave. He had his fun, he thinks he could actually take a nap after this. Maybe tape a new object to Stabby. He could hear the distant arguing between the two blades, not getting in between that cat fight. Haha, get it, cat fight? Cause galra were like giant cats. Keith silently laughed to himself. 

Chapter Text

There was something different about Keith. Ever since they came back from the space mall a week ago, something had changed. He hadn't bought anything, but his appearance seemed off. Regris stared at Keith in the training room. Keith had glanced over a few times to see Regris sitting  against the wall looking back at him, it was distracting. And his tail was swishing back and forth behind him, looking like a dog wagging it's tail. Keith popped his back and strode over to him.

"Did you need something?" Keith sat down across from him.

"You look different."

"Huh?" Keith tilted his head to the side, hair falling across his shoulders. It had been getting longer and as long as it didn't hinder his fighting Keith would let it be.

Wait, hair.

"It's you hair." Regris leaned in close, then pulled back with a gasp. "Your hair is now three colors!"

Keith blinked. He grasped at a few strands and looked at it. "Yeah, I got it dyed. That's why I was gone so long."

"Dyed? Why would you put colors in you hair? Was it painful like the tattoo?!" Regris brought up his hands to his chest. Did Keith voluntarily put himself through pain again?

"No, it's completely harmless. I haven't had it dyed in years." Keith's black hair faded into a deep blue halfway down his head. Then a violet halfway down the blue to the end of his hair. Regris liked it but didn't believe the harmless part.

"I swear if you're lying about pain again...."

"Hey! I haven't done that in two months."

"Two months, you still haven't gone for any check ups in that time either."

"Shhh! If anyone heard then i'll be dragged there." Keith let a smile through making Regris do the same behind his mask.

"Well I like it. Also," Regris stood up. "I'm also anyone."

Keith's eyes widened. He tried to escape Regris but wasn't quick enough. Regris scooped him up and over his shoulder, making several blades look over. 

"And off we go!" Regris kept a tight grip on Keith as he tried to get down.

"Regris!" Keith stretched out the 's'. Keith went limp in his hold. "Dammit."

Regris laughed as he made his way to the med bay.

Chapter Text

Regris plopped Keith down onto a stool. "Stay." Regris held his hand towards Keith. 

Keith huffed. "I'm not a dog."

"I don't know what a dog is."

"So you finally came for a check up?" Ulaz walked over to them with his data pad.

"Yep!" "No." Came both replies.

"Have fun Keith." Regris waved and walked out. 

"Ready to start?" Ulaz turned in his chair to look at Keith, who was staring at the floor with a face of betrayal. 

"Yeah..." Keith mumbled.

Keith answered the basic questions such as height, weight (which Kieth seemed to be a little underweight), blood type, regular amount of sleep (too little), how much food and water intake was needed, and finally his age. 

"I've been in space about a year- er, deca-phoeb, so nineteen?" 

Ulaz paused. "I'm sorry, could you repeat that?"

"I'm nineteen." 

"Nineteen hundred?"

"No, just nineteen." Keith felt just as confused as Ulaz looked. "What? Do galra live super long or something?"

Ulaz gently put his data pad down. "So Kolivan put a child through the Trials?"

"Well actually people are legally an adult at eighteen, so i'm not a child."

Ulaz didn't seem to be listening. "Excuse me for a moment." Ulaz stood and left the medbay. A minute later Antok walked in and blocked the doorway, Keith could here a quiet growling.

What the fuck is happening? "Um, Antok?"

"I'm not growling at you."

"Then who....?"

"Myself and Kolivan."

"Okay?" Keith moved his gaze around the room not looking at Antok or the doorway. 

Ten minutes later a very pissed Ulaz came back followed by Kolivan and Thace. The anger and the tension in the air was thick, Keith was sitting there awkwardly in the middle of it. Kolivan spoke up first.

"Keith we're deeply sorry, if we had known-."

"I swear if you call me a child I will bash my head against that wall till I black out." Keith wanted to laugh at the faces they made at the threat. Just casual humor.

"But you were far too young to go into the Trials."

"How long is a human's lifespan?" Ulaz asked.

"Well, we think a hundred is a nice long life. Not everyone makes it to that age, and I think the oldest person to ever live lived to one hundred and twenty two."

"Galra live hundreds of years." 

"Oh cool."

"But it's not cold?" Thace commented.

"No that's- never mind. So why are you so pissed about my age? Besides, y'know, being 'too young' for the trials."

"Who is your pack?" Antok looked at Keith.

"A what?"

Antok picked Keith up and walked out. "We claim you."

"What the hell?" Keith didn't struggle, he just let himself be carried off. 

Chapter Text

So Keith was part of this 'pack' thing now. He escaped back into his room as soon as Antok left. So what now?  Keith didn't have to think about it for long though when there was a knock at his door.

"Come in."

Antok walked in carrying what looked like pudding and milk. Keith rose an eyebrow.

"You didn't eat enough lunch so I brought a snack."

Keith's eyes went from the food to Antok's mask.

"Why are you uneasy?" Antok read Keith's body language.

"What did you do to it?"

Antok was taken aback.  "Excuse me?"

"What did you put in the food?"

"Nothing? Why would I do anything to it?" 

"Natural suspicion." Was all Keith said, he still didn't take the food. 

"It's normal for humans to put things in other's food? Something dangerous?"

"Well you have to be suspicious of friends and enemies-"

"You think I poisoned this?!"

"No, no!" Keith frantically waved his hands. "I mean like messing with the food a bit, like putting something disgusting in it."

"But why would you think I did that?"

"Because it's something I would and have done."

"Okay...... But will you still accept the snack?"

"Why did you get me food again?"

"Because you didn't eat enough."

Keith reached out and snatched up the pudding and started eating. It distantly tasted like strawberries. Keith would glance at Antok every so often. Sitting on the opposite side of the bed and seeming, proud? What the hell is happening? 

Keith finished the pudding and grabbed the milk, chugging down half of it and peering at Antok through the glass. He looked relaxed. Keith swallowed the rest. 

Keith would never say this out loud, but this reminded him of his time with his dad. They would have a snack then stare at the stars, and there were plenty of stars here. Keith stood up and was making his way out. Antok stood.

"Where are you going?"

"To one of the observation decks, wanna come?"

Antok nodded and followed Keith out. They sat in silence and Keith found himself smiling. The pudding and milk made him tired and he didn't really care that he fell asleep against Antok.

Chapter Text

It was a mission in a cavern. One where it didn't matter if the group was loud or not. It was quiet at first but as the group ventured deeper, the darker and creepier it became. It was Keith and four other blades. They needed to obtain a certain gem for a trade. 

The cavern was spacious and damp. Spikes and spirals of rock with faint sounds of dripping water. This place was deep into the soul of an abandoned planet. A planet also know for quakes. 

Keith was placed in the middle of the group. Most of the blades now knew how old Keith really was and while some treated him like how they always did, the rest was a little more protective. A kit was precious, so losing Keith on a mission would devastate the blades with him. 

Keith wasn't scared of the dark or what hid in it, he wasn't fond of huge open spaces and something about this place put him on edge, maybe the fear of being buried alive. 

Then the ground started to shake and the ceiling above started to crack.

"Move!" The leader, Kathar, pulled and pushed the group forward until the patch of the ceiling was behind them. They watched as the ceiling collapsed seconds later.

"We'll find a way out later, c'mon."

They had found the gem and were trying to find a way out but to no avail. Everything was fine until Keith started to sing. They had heard him humming before and they had thought it was his way of staying calm.

"~We are all gonna die, we're all gonna fucking die, this is terrible and I wanna go home~...." The other blades slowly turned to look at Keith. 

One of the blades, Ravie, took Keith by the shoulders and stopped him.

"Keith, if you need a break we can stop."

Keith looked at her confused. "No, we can keep going."

"But you-"

"It's just a way to keep myself calm, i'm fine."

The blades shared a silent look. One shrugged and continued forward.

Ravie kept his arm close to Keith and walked with him, Kathar and the other blade kept close and walked ahead. It took two hours to find a way out and Keith continued to sing and hum the rest of the way. The blades kept glancing between each other and Keith. Their concern didn't make them look for a way quicker, totally didn't. 

Chapter Text

Whenever Keith wasn't in uniform, he would always have his jacket on him.  He could be in the hottest room in the base and still be wearing it. Ulaz thought it was strange but maybe the kit was cold because of the lack of fur. 

Ulaz stared Keith down in the dinning hall. Keith was a couple of tables away chatting with a few blades.

"Laz, you're doing it again." Thace said from his spot beside Ulaz.

Ulaz ignored him.

Thace sighed. "What is it this time?"

"Why does he always wear a jacket? Is he sick?"

"Does he look sick to you?"

"How would I know? I don't know human sicknesses. He could very well be sick right now!"

"How about you ask him?"

"You know he will lie, anything to get away from medical treatment."

Thace stood up and walked over. "Keith."

"Hm?" Keith looked up at Thace.

"Why do you wear a jacket? Isn't the base warm?"

"Maybe it's warm to the rest of you but to me it's freezing. And before you ask, no I am not sick, so can you tell Ulaz to quit staring."

Thace chuckled. "Thank you kit." Thace heard a 'don't call me that!' as he went back to Ulaz.

Thace sat back in his seat and turned to Ulaz.

"He's just cold, not sick, so stop staring."

"So the lack of fur... When do we go to the space mall?"

"Tomorrow? What are you planning?"

"Why are you looking at me like i'm plotting something?"

"Because you are."

Ulaz thinks he spent his GAC well. All that was left was to find Keith.

Keith, surprisingly, was in his room.

"What is that?" Keith pointed to the object in Ulaz's hands.

An over-sized purple fluffy hoodie. 

"Something to keep you warm." Ulaz held it out to Keith. "Are you sure you're not sick?! Your face is getting red."

"I'm happy," Keith took the hoodie and held it to his chest, burying his face into it. "Thank you."

Ulaz smiled to himself and left.

Later in the movement Ulaz saw Keith walking around base in the hoodie. Keith could hide his entire body in it and would roll around the floor in ball form. It would also serve as a pillow for a blade to sleep on when Keith and a few close blades would fall asleep together in a pile. Whenever Keith came back after a tough mission he would curl up on the hoodie. 

Ulaz is happy he could bring Keith something of comfort.

Chapter Text

Vriya will forever be concerned about their youngest member. 

Keith was currently walking back to his room. He looked to be drowning in the hoodie Ulaz had given him, and carrying several packs of water.

"Keith?" Keith turned his head to look at Vriya.

"Hey, you still freaked out over the whole tattoo thing?"

Vriya hadn't spoke to Keith much after that. "No, I've looked past it. What are you doing?"

"Just waiting for the last trigger to start a huge mental breakdown that will leave me crying for one to two hours straight because I haven't had one in a while and it's starting to be suspicious. The water is to prevent a headache that will last forever 'cause i'm pretty sure there is no space aspirin to help me." Keith said it all in one breath and made it sound like it was part of a casual conversation.

"Vriya?"

Vriya said nothing. She walked to Keith, scooped him up into her arms and proceeded to carry him to his room. She sat him down on his bed. "Stay."

"Why do you all give me dog commands?"

Vriya had no idea what a 'dog' was so she just left.

Vriya went back to the med bay and looked through a shelf full of pill bottles. One held bright green ones that dealt with different body aches. Now what she had to do was find what amount to give Keith. 

It took a while but Vriya found a safe amount now- 

She just came up with a good idea. She quickly dropped of the meds to Keith with a 'be right back'. She entered the training room and went straight to Antok.

"Vriya, good to see you."

"Nice to see you too. I have an odd question but what kind of snacks did you give the Keith that first night?"

"Is something wrong?" 

"Nothing really physical, he's just sad?"

Antok's tail hanged limply. "I will visit him soon. He enjoyed the fruit flavored puddings."

"Okay I will tell him, thank you."

Antok nodded and went back to work but looked a little distracted. Vriya thought their friendship was adorable. She was glad Keith could be comfortable with more blades and Antok would relax more often. 

Vriya got a few different puddings and made her way back to Keith's room.

"What are you doing?"

"Suffocating myself to avoid the tears." Keith held his pillow tightly to his face.

"Would you like to eat some pudding before you die?"

Keith's eyes popped up from under the pillow. "Yes."

"Well sit up and start eating. Antok will be by soon."

Keith was shoveling food into his mouth when he quickly pulled it away from him. Keith hung his head and went silent.

"Keith what's wrong?"

"The last trigger."

"Hmm?"

"I bit my tongue too hard and now it's bleeding.... I wont be able to enjoy the pudding." Keith placed the cup down and went back to shoving the pillow in front of his airways. 

Vriya didn't know what to do. She caused the last trigger and now Keith was becoming a mess. What should she do, can she even fix this?!

Right then Antok walked in. 

"Oh thank the stars please help i don't know what to do!"

"Calm down Vriya, how about you take a walk then come back when you're ready?"

"That sounds good, I'll do that." Vriya went to the door.

"Thanks Vriya." Came the small voice of Keith from under the pillow.

Vriya smiled softly and continued her way, hoping she could be with Keith a little when she came back. 

Chapter Text

"Keith."

"No."

"Keith~"

"...."

"Keith c'mon!"

"Screw off Lance."

"No way! We came all this way to get you so get out here!"

"No thanks."

Lance glared at the door to Keith's room, Pidge next to him.

"Y'know," Pidge smirked, "Shiro told us Halloween was your favorite holiday. He said you liked to jump out of bushes and scare other children, sometimes with a knife."

The door opened.

"I was twelve."

"Why would you do that?!"

Keith looked at Lance. "It was fun."

"More fun than getting candy."

"Of course."

"You know what- forgetting that info, let's go to the castle do a little trick or treating-"

"How?"

"We concluded Shiro is the equivalent to an old man therefore he will pass out candy." Pidge said.

"That sounds stupid."

Lance flailed his arms dramatically. "Keith! Let's just get candy and watch spooky movies together and pass out on the couch!"

"It's just a little trick or treating and bonding time." 

"Pidge didn't you stop trick or treating very early?"

"Matt the little snitch, but in my defense it got way to cold to be fun."

"Oh, I didn't know the paladins would be visiting, but isn't it a little late?"

Everyone turned to look at Thace. Lance smiled and sent a glance at Keith.

"Don't you-"

Lance covered Keith's mouth. "Thace tell Keith to come trick or treating with us!'

"Trick or treating?"

"Yeah! It's where we go to strangers and ask for candy!"

"Actually sounds kinda creepy when you say it like that." Pidge said under their breath.

"And it's fun?" Thace tilted his head, something Keith noticed they did when confused.

"Mhm!"

"Well go have fun Keith, you need a little break." With that Thace walked away.

Keith stood with his mouth open.

"Well that settles it!" Lance grabbed Keith by the arm and dragged him away.

(At the castle)

"So you had fun?" Shiro asked from beside Keith. They were all seated in the lounge watching The Nightmare Before Christmas. Pidge and Lance arguing in the back if it's a Christmas or Halloween movie, Hunk saying it doesn't matter. The Alteans watching the movie with fascination. Shiro and Keith snuggled together with their laps covered in odd space candy. 

"Yeah I guess."

"You guess?"

"...... It was nice, to invite me I mean."

"Why wouldn't we? You're still family. We're doing this for Thanksgiving and Christmas too."

"Oh great, who's coming to get me those times?"

"We take volunteers but no going twice in a row."

"Cute."

"Isn't it?"

They both giggled.

"So help me out a sec, no doubt Thace is going to mention this to everyone else. He likes to compete to see who learns more about Earth culture first. He would want a better explanation of holidays so he seems to be a master of holidays. Got any ridiculously funny and completely wrong facts about any holiday. Just to let him tell everyone then throughout the day give more blades more lies and some thruths so they don't know what to think of it?"

"Keith, what in the world?"

"I like to play mind games."

"You are a horrifying child."

"Thank you."

Shiro sighed. "But yeah I have a lot. Since I'm part japanese people want to know what holidays are like so I just made up stuff."

"So you see where I got that from."

"Just don't make anyone have a mental breakdown."

"No promises."

"IT'S A CHRISTMAS MOVIE!"

"SHUT UP LANCE!"

Chapter Text

Kolivan finally got fed up with Keith's shit and decided he could do with spending some time out of the base. Guess who gets to babysit him.

"Thace, don't you do any other kinds of work?"

"Keith, going through the market for supplies doesn't have to be exciting."

"Yeah but, it's uncomfortable."

"What is?"

"People. This place is stuffy and it's awkward to be surrounded by the crowd."

"At least this place is galra friendly?"

Keith gave him a look before huffing and disappearing into the market. Well now Thace can do his shopping quicker. After getting most of the things on his list his com comes to life.

"Hey Thace."

"Hm?"

"This is a fruit market right?"

"Yes."

"Then why is this guys selling organs?"

"..."

"Did I walk into a black market situation? This guy has a lot of organs to sell, like, way too many for all these to be donations. I wonder if he stole them... I'm gonna ask."

"No stop! Where are you right now, I'm picking you up."

"Towards the back. He gave me a funny look when I asked and said he only took from those who didn't deserve them. Dude's kinda cool now that we're having a conversation."

"Please stop talking to him."

"His name's Graen."

That's as far as Keith got before Thace came up to him and grabbed his arm. 

"Okay, time to go." Thace started tugging Keith back to their ship. Keith turned his head back and waved.

"Bye Graen!"

Graen was this big, pale green creature with one eye, six arms, and a big mouth. He waved back with a smile.

Nope, Thace isn't letting Keith back into any market without at least two blades with him. How does this kid make friends with an organ thief in two minutes?!

Chapter Text

The mission went wrong, to say the least.

Keith was supposed to download information from a galra base. In and out in thirty minutes to meet up with Ulaz and Antok. 

Keith snuck in undetected, downloaded the info, and got ready to leave when someone came up behind him and held something over his mouth. In a matter of seconds Keith went limp and everything blurred. 

Keith woke up in a cell. His ankles and wrists were tied but something was wrong. Keith didn't realize he was making sounds until two galra opened his cell and stepped inside.

"We got infiltrated by a child." 

"What do we do? We can't just leave him here." 

"Kits are more easy to manipulate, let's bring him to our side. It's be easier while he's drugged."

Keith started to whine. He didn't fully understand what was going on but he missed the blades and he didn't like the restraints.

"Look what you did, he's crying." The nicer galra bent down and lightly patted Keith's hair. "Hey, it's okay. We're not going to hurt you."

"Or maybe converting him would be harder since he's a halfbreed."

"Are you still going on about that? How about you help me untie him."

"Untie him?! Just because we took away his weapons doesn't me he's harmless!" He huffed out with his hands on his hips. The other soldier ignored his and untied the kit. He scooped him up and left the cell.

"Hey! Where do you think you're going?"

"Our quarters. He'll feel safer in a nest. You know we have to be nice to kits to help them trust us." 

The two soldiers made it to their nest. The nicer glara sat in the nest and gently wrapped Keith up in a blanket. Keith had quiet down letting out the occasional whimper. He wasn't being hurt but he didn't know these galra. He felt vulnerable with his unclear head and didn't have anyone familiar to comfort him. He could see the meaner galra crossing his arms and refusing to let up his glare. The nicer galra was running his claws through his hair and whispering comforting words to him. 

Keith's eyes started to droop and he let out a purr. The hand in his hair was nice and the blanket was warm. These galra weren't hurting him so they couldn't be bad. He was growing sleepy, whatever they had knocked him out with was still there. Why did he come here again? Keith guessed it didn't matter if he couldn't remember. He yawned and snuggled closer. 

Loud explosions rocked the base. The door to the room burst open, sending one galra into the wall. He fell to the floor in a crumpled heap. The other galra was ripped away from Keith amd pinned to the wall by his neck. Antok got in his face and growled. Ulaz ran to Keith and cradled his head in his hands. 

"Keith are you hurt?" Ulaz tore off the blanket to check for injuries.

"Nope. Hey Ulaz?"

"Yes?" Ulaz turned Keith's head from side to side looking for head wounds. 

"Can I have a head pat?"

Ulaz froze. "What?"

Antok snarled and put more pressure on the galra. "What did you do to him!"

The galra struggled to breathe. "N-nothing! The drugs should wear off the next couple of vargas! We didn't hurt him I swear! We didn't know he was a kit until he whined i'm so sorry!"

Antok seemed satisfied with the answer and tossed him aside.

"So no head pat?" Keith looked up at Ulaz sadly.

Ulaz smiled down at Keith. "Tell you what, when we get back to base we'll pet you all you want?"

Keith's face brightened. "Okay."

"Good, now how about a nap? When you wake up we'll be back."

"'kay."

Ulaz picked Keith up and tightened his arms around Keith. He secured both his and Keith's blades on his belt and looked towards Antok. Antok was looming over the galra. "Antok, we don't have all day."

Antok made eye contact through his mask. "If I ever see you near my kit again, I'll rip your head from your shoulders." Antok turned around and followed Ulaz out the door.

"I'm surprised you let him live."

"He made Keith purr, I guess I can let it slide."

"Oh? I thought you would be jealous that a total stranger could make Keith purr before you could."

"Actually now that you mention it." Antok started to turn around.

"Antok." 

"Kidding."

They exited the base and watched as it crumpled.

"Think they're dead?"

"I went easy on them, they'll be fine."

"Mm. You're flying."

"Got it."

Chapter Text

It's been hours since the drugs wore off, Keith didn't remember what happened and once Ulaz told him, he couldn't stop blushing. He left their room and hid in his. How could he let that happen. That mission was important and what did he do? Get captured and jeopardize the mission. Stupid.

It was around night and Keith couldn't sleep. He got up and left his room. It was cold in just his shirt and pants but he wouldn't wear his hoodie, he didn't deserve it's warmth.

"Keith?"

Keith turned to find Regris with his arms full of snacks. 

"Why are you not asleep? It's late."

"Says the one caring around snacks." He didn't say it in a rude way, but it didn't sound playful either.

"My pack and I wanted some. Don't change the subject."

"Um, I just have a bit of insomnia is all."

Regris tilted his head. "What's that?"

"To put it simply, it's just harder to sleep. Taking a walk helps."

"Oh. Does your pack know?"

"Yep. Just a quick walk and I'll head back to bed."

"Okay, see you tomorrow." Regris continued on his way and so did Keith.

He didn't have a pack. It didn't matter what Antok said, he probably said that to diffuse the situation, he didn't mean it. He didn't sleep in the same room as them often, or anyone really. If any blade found him dozing off or already asleep they would take him to their room, their nest and let him stay there. But as soon as he woke, he left. They wouldn't bring it up but he gets it. They just did it to be nice, help out the half galra who doesn't belong.

Even if he had been spending more time with everyone, it will only be a matter of time until they realize he wasn't worth keeping around. And then he would-

Keith rubbed at his eyes. He was tired but he couldn't sleep. He wandered into the lesser used parts of the base and found a room that no one had been in in years. He curled up in a corner. Knees against his chest with his arms around his legs.

He stared into the dark as he felt everything go numb. At least he could hide here and not disturb anyone's peace. He would lock away his instincts that wanted comfort, it was careless to let them out in the first place.  He was so stupid.

Keith dropped his head as the tears came. But here, alone in the abandoned room, no one could see them.

Chapter Text

"Holy shit is that a space kangaroo?" 

It was, but bright red. It was slightly hidden behind the bush. 

Keith spared a glance at Regris, who was poking a blue tree. They were both in this weird forest area. They had to collect some special rocks, honestly Keith didn't really listen to Kolivan earlier.

But a fucking kangaroo. Keith hid the smile starting to form. He was about to become a horrible person.

"Hey Regris." Keith pulled Regris over by the arm and pointed at the animal. "You wanted to know more about Earth right? Well right there is the space version of a kangaroo."

"Are they dangerous, like the lizards?"

Keith had gotten Regris interested in weird conspiracies, the lizard people.

"Kangaroos are assholes. They like to prove dominance by beating the shit out of others. If he finds us he could kill us." 

Regris slowly started to pull his blade out. Keith caught him and pushed it back.

"No blades, they are too quick. See, what you wanna do is go behind him, they can't hop backwards. You need to kick him and not back down, or we're dead."

Regris took the instructions seriously and snuck forward. Keith let the smile show itself. Keith got out a data pad to record the following events.

What Keith should have said was to punch their face. If the kangaroo feels how strong you are with your arms, they are more likely going to back down thinking your legs are much stronger than theirs. Also don't stand at full height, they take that as offensive.

I'm a little shit .

Regris came up behind the kangaroo and kicked it's back. It stumbled but turned around and quickly kicked Regris in the chest, sending him flying.

Keith stopped the recording as soon as Regris landed. "Oof."

Keith ran over and crouched low in front of the kangaroo. It stared him down. Keith sprang up and punched it in the face as hard as he could. 

The kangaroo decided this fight wasn't worth it and left. Keith went over to Regris who was still on the ground. 

"Did you break anything?"

"No."

"Good. Now what the hell was that? I know you can kick harder."

"I didn't want to hurt it."

"Regris, they are assholes. Assert dominance and regret nothing."