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They're sitting in the common room, having a serious conversation about their next mission, when Lance suddenly blurts out, "It's December 20th!" Shiro sighs, exasperated. He loves Lance like a brother, he truly does, but sometimes Shiro doubts he fully understands certain social cues. Like, for example, during somber discussions about war, it is definitely not the time to blurt out random days.
Keith seems to agree. "What about it?" Lance looks affronted.
"What do you mean, 'what about it?! It's Christmas time!" Lance's eyes light up with such childlike joy that Shiro feels guilty for his earlier assessment. Sometimes, he forgets that they're just kids fighting a war much bigger than them.
"It's been so long since I've gotten to celebrate Christmas with my whole family," Pidge tacks on, and Shiro feels even worse.
"What's so special about Christmas? You just sit around all day and eat food." Okay, Shiro thinks, that was just depressing as hell. He sighs, mind made up.
"Okay Paladins, we're going to celebrate Christmas this year!" he proclaims.
"That's all good and well, but what exactly is Christmas?" Allura asks.
"It's eggnog and hot chocolate and cake!" Hunk says.
"Ooh, and giving and getting presents," Pidge adds.
"And don't forget the time you spend with family!" Lance reminds. Everyone looks at Keith.
"I guess the music is alright."
"That's the spirit!" Lance cheers. The Paladins spend the next few minutes teaching the Alteans about Christmas traditions all around the world.
"That sounds absolutely lovely!" Allura states.
"I'm inclined to agree," Coran says.
At their next pit stop, the team goes to the space mall to buy items that vaguely remind them of Christmas. Lance delegates tasks to each person. Hunk is in charge of the food, so he heads to multiple restaurant supply stores for ingredients resembling Earth food. Pidge, the technical genius that they are, buys lots of wires and batteries for an awesome lights display. Keith is in charge of finding music and a music player. Finally, Lance is in charge of finding ugly Christmas sweaters. ("Ugly sweaters are the pinnacle of Christmas! They are integral in creating the holiday ambiance." No one wants to ruin Lance's vibe, so they let it slide.) Shiro has self-appointed himself as the supervisor, along with Allura and Coran, because he knows how hectic these shopping trips can be.
As it turns out, he needn't have worried. All of the Paladins had successfully found and bought their items. They didn't even accidentally buy a cow! Shiro felt a sense of pride, but then realized that not accidentally buying a cow is a weird thing to be proud of. Oh well, Shiro thinks. Space changes people.
Back on the ship, the kids immediately set about preparing for Christmas as Shiro watches with a fond smile. Both Allura and Coran attempt to help in their own ways. It's quite amusing, Shiro must say. Eventually, even he gets up to help Hunk clean the kitchen.
Finally, everything is ready. Hot chocolate is simmering on a low heat, the gingerbread people are cooking on a wire rack, the electric Santa display is up and running, jazzy music is playing from the speakers, and somehow Lance got everyone to wear ugly Christmas sweaters. Only one thing is missing:
"The fireplace!" Shiro remarks, similar to Lance's outburst earlier that day. He turns on the big holo screen in the common room and, with the help of Pidge, turns on a repeating GIF of a campfire. It's not like the real thing, not by a long shot, but it'll do. Shiro smiles.
"Come on guys, let's decorate of gingerbread family!" Each team member grabs a cookie and decorates it like another member. Lance, of course, makes his gingerbread dude look like Keith ("Look guys, I'm emo—" "—I'm not emo!"), who makes his look like Shiro ("Look guys, it's dad!"). Shiro decorates his gingerbread person like Pidge. They make theirs like Hunk. Hunk has Allura, who has Coran, who has Lance. They make a cute little family, Shiro thinks. He almost doesn't want to eat them.
Ah, who is he kidding? Hunk's food is definitely worth eating. Gathered in the common room with the temperature turned way up, the team sits in a comfortable silence, eating gingerbread, drinking hot chocolate, and watching the fireplace.