Archive of Our Own

"Don't worry, I'll be back before you know it," Shiro promised before he turned and vanished inside the spaceship. 

Keith didn't see him for the next two deca-phoebs.

He can still feel the heavy hand in his hair from Shiro tousling through it the last time; even again, see the happy smile on his face and hear the joyful laugh as Keith threatened to get him himself if he doesn't keep his promise.
Back then, he was too young to go on a mission. Not to mention going on one alone. No matter how often he tried to sneak out, to go against the rules and his mother's saying, he was always caught. The Blades were known for their stealth ability, and while Keith was one of the best, he was no match for the older Blades. Especially not for his mother and their leader.
Now older, he has proven his skills over and over again. Determined to find the one person he is missing more than anything else.

The stars on the night sky don't hold the answers to what happened, and yet Keith feels as if he could reach Shiro through them. They taunt him with their bright and sparkling light as if they laugh at his misery.

Shiro is out there somewhere. He promised to come back. Keith knows he is still alive.
Now it is on Keith to keep his promise.
He will go out and find Shiro.

There had been searches, of course. Shiro was a high member of the Blades, an outstanding strategist, and friend to many. Nobody had been able to pinpoint his location, though, and while Shiro was indeed part of their family, the Blades still are an underground organization of rebels that can't go out of their way to find one single person. The risk of getting revealed is too high.
Keith decided to go on his own, without any ties to the Blades. Dressed in a simple dark fighting suit together with a hood and an ordinary dagger. The weight of his blade is missing, making him feel naked.
There is a rule about operating solo, especially without a decent plan. With such a small number of members, the war around them, Kolivan has to be a strict leader in protecting his subordinates. Luckily, he also is acutely aware that Keith had inherited Krolia's stubbornness - along with her secrecy skills.
So when Keith enters the hangar to borrow one of the ships, nobody stops stopping him. It is an open secret that Keith gathered information around this incident and how much he's missing Shiro. No one will be surprised to realize he left in the dark of night to go search for Shiro himself. It's not like it's his first try to leave.

Keith passes the control room of the hangar when he sees his mother standing there together with his space wolf. She nods at him, knowing she can't stop her son anyway. Keith hasn't said goodbye to her or anybody. Seeing her standing there and approving of his doing calms his nerves.
There is a sudden flash of light followed by a rumble as Kosmo appears next to Keith inside the cockpit.

"You can't just let me go like this, can you?" Keith says, smiling, scratching behind the wolf's ears. He is a welcomed company, not only for his teleportation skills.

When Shiro opens his eyes, it's to a familiar ceiling. Yet, it's one he hasn't seen in years. Curling into his blanket, he tries to fall back to sleep. This is his bed, in his room, back in the BoM base where he belongs. And yet, each time he closes his eyes, he is back in the dark, moldy cell. On the ground, bleeding and alone with no hope of escape whatsoever. Or worse and his dreams push him into the arena — a bloody hell consisting of screams and death.

Mixed in these horrible nightmares are always pictures of Keith, how he appears suddenly in his cell, whispering that they needed to hurry. At that moment, Shiro’s sure he either died or hallucinated. It wouldn't be the first time. Your brain tries everything to keep you going. It showed him, Keith, over and over again to push his own body beyond its limits.

Right after knocking, Shiro feels dumb and wants to leave again. He shouldn't annoy him this late at night. Before he's able to turn around, though, the door opens, and a dark tousled head of hair appears.

"....Shiro? What's wrong?" The sleepiness vanished out of the purple eyes the moment Keith realizes it's him. 

"Uh, I didn't mean to wake you up. It's okay, go back to sleep," Shiro's ordinarily deep voice is nothing but a faint mumble.

Instead of letting him go, Keith grabs his arm and smiles as he pulls Shiro into his room. The taller Galra only gives a weak attempt of resistance as he doesn't want to disturb Keith.
Glad that Keith doesn't need a lot of words, he follows suit while Keith crawls into bed and holding up be blanket for Shiro to get under as well.

"This is weird, isn't it…" Shiro whispers and tries not to touch Keith in any way or take any space away from him. Luckily, as a half Galra, Keith is smaller than the other BoM members. Meaning his bed is enormous compared to his figure. Shiro, on the other hand, is full Galra and tall even for their race.

"No, it's not. Try to sleep," Keith's voice is soft and relaxed as if this is normal.

"Thanks, Keith," Shiro mumbles and closes his eyes again to find a calmer sleep hopefully. 

The following days go by with a new routine. Shiro tries to get back into his healthy life and get his work as a Blade going again, but it is harder than he thought. No one is pushing him, they all give him time to readjust, but Shiro feels useless. You earn your stay and food at the Blades. To be here while he still recovers feels wrong. Every time he tries to fight with the training bot, he has flashbacks and has to stop.

To prevent that, Kolivan commands him to visit Ulaz, one of the Blades physicians. At first, Shiro really didn't want to go, but he quickly learned that it helps him. It's just talking, but more often than not, it is hard.

Something else changed as well.

"Stay here," Keith whispered into the dark. "You always come over anyway." 

"It's your room...I shouldn't bother you this much," Shiro mumbled.

A small chuckle reached his ears. A wonderful sound. "You knock each night because you can't sleep. Then you come and lie with me, and you sleep soundly. You're not bothering me in any way, Shiro. I like having you here. And if you don't want to wake me—go to sleep here right away."

So from now on, Shiro sleeps in Keith's room with him.

It is a long road ahead of them, but Keith believes in Shiro, and he can see how Shiro is doing better and better each day. And yet, Keith also notices how restless he gets. He is wandering in the corridors just to move at all.
There is no way to hasten this process. Shiro has to be patient. Ironically the life motto that he used to preach to Keith over and over again. Now he has to show how good he's in pursuing it himself.

When Shiro starts to follow Keith around, he doesn't overthink it. He enjoys Shiro's company. They get to spend time together, precious time that was stolen from them.
But when Shiro starts to stare at other Blades as soon as they get closer to Keith, he wonders what this is about. This would be normal if they were mates. Which they weren't. Keith would love nothing more, but Shiro isn't interested in him like this. Right?

"What are you doing?" Keith asks in the evening when Shiro enters his (their?) room.

"What do you mean?"

Keith crosses his arms in front of his chest. "You're acting weird. You right out snarled at Thace this morning. You're scowling and glaring at everybody that comes near me."

Shiro doesn't say anything to it, but his ears drop down, and he avoids Keith's gaze.

"I'm always here for you, and I love having you around. But this treatment is not normal... Unless," Keith continues softly before he bit his lip and turned around. "Unless we are mates. Which...we are not," his voice drops down to a small whisper.

The fluffy ears flicked up again upon hearing this. There is silence for a small moment, then Keith feels the warm body directly behind him.

"Would you want me to be your mate?" The dark voice sends sparks through Keith's whole body. It drops even more profound for the next words, breathed against Keith's neck. "Because I could be." 

"...I want my mate to truly love me," Keith doesn't know how he even manages to speak out loud. His heart was racing miles. Admittedly loud enough for Shiro to hear. It would jump out of his chest if Shiro would truly become his mate. How long has he waited for this moment? Dreamed about it? Keith loves the other ever since he can remember. It is always so easy and gentle with him. Simple, as if it was meant to be. When Shiro went missing for a year, Keith felt like a part of him was ripped out of his body.

"I always loved you."

Keith turns around quick, his eyes big as he stares up to the other. "You did?"

"Of course," Shiro's low voice a small whisper. His thumb strokes over Keith's cheek. "I always knew I belong to you. I just never knew how you felt." 

"You idiot," Keith breathes out and chuckles bitterly. "I always loved you!"

"That is my line," Shiro grins.

A small fist hits his chest. "It's still true!" 

"So, you love me, and I love you?"

Keith blushes heavily as if he only now realized what they had said to each other and what it means. "...Y-yeah." 

The bright smile on Shiro's face lets Keith's heart bouncing up and down. "Does that make us mates?" He leans down so close that Keith feels his warm breath on his cheek.

"I...I…I guess," Keith's breath hitches and he bites his lip to stop altogether. 

Shiro's low chuckle rumbles through his whole body. How can one person have this much power over him? It’s ridiculous.

Two warm hands settle on each of Keith's cheek. "Breath, babe. Breath."

There’s a strangled laugh coming from Keith. "How should I when you call me that."

"What? Babe? Oh, but you are my babe," Shiro lets his voice drop down even further as he presses his nose into the crook of Keith's neck.

"Oh, fuck…" It’s all that Keith handles to whimper, his hand clawing into Shiro's arm to steady himself. This is more than he could've ever imagined. More than any dreams could've promised him. Nothing ever felt as good as this moment. Having Shiro this close to him, saying these things just to him.

This must be how true happiness feels.

This isn’t how Keith thought his day would go. Not in the slightest.

Shiro confessing to him, and he doing the same.
Warm hands on his body, followed by lips.
The two of them becoming one.

Now he’s running through the corridors of the Blade base with all eyes on him. They see, of course. It can't be overlooked.
This big, purple bruises all around his neck — bite marks.
And the apparent scent on him.

It had been wondrous.

His first instinct was to cover the marks, hide the obvious.
But then he figured he didn't want to hide. Everybody should know. He has a mate now. He wants others to know; intends to show off his marks with pride. 

The door to the room opens, and Keith walks into. Inside his mother, Krolia, and the head of the Blades, Kolivan, are waiting already.

"You said you had more intel about the Tukar System?"

"Ah, Keith," Kolivan says and looks up, mouth open already to say more, but he stops and just looks at him. Then he shoots a glance towards Krolia. She turns around, a smile on her lips. When she sees Keith, her eyes are pronounced on his neck, crushing Keith's resolution of wearing them proud. Having his mother (and with Kolivan something similar to a step-dad or uncle who helped raise him and being his leader) seeing them like this is something else.

Krolia's smile only grows in size. "I'm so happy for you, starlight," she says and comes over to hug her son.

"Uh...yeah, thanks...I guess," Keith mumbles into the fabric, his face flushed. He truly is happy, and he would've told his mum soon anyway. For her to find out like this is a bit peculiar, though. Again, not exactly how he thought these things would play out.

From over his mum's shoulder, he sees Kolivan nodding to him before he continues to type into a scroll. 

"Don't we have something important to discuss?" Keith asks in hopes that he can push the conversation into another direction.

"Indeed, we do," Kolivan nods, and Krolia lets go of Keith. She is a typical mum on some occasions, in the end, however, she is the second in command of the Blades and takes this position very seriously.

They talk about new intel and plans in the working and missions that need scheduling. Keith isn’t yet a senior Blade but still ranked high enough to help with strategic planning.
They’re only in for about fifteen minutes, though, when someone knocks the door. Keith is quite surprised when he sees Shiro standing in the frame. Usually, this wouldn't be unusual, considering Shiro's high rank and magnificent strategic thinking. Given his current mental state, though, Keith would’ve thought Kolivan would spare him.

"Ah, Shiro. Thank you for coming on such short notice," Kolivan says, pointing Shiro to come into the room thoroughly.

"Of course, I'm glad if I can be of help."

"Shiro," Krolia smiles brightly at him and takes him into her arms. She is awfully touchy today. Keith catches a confused look from Shiro and shrugs just as puzzled. "Welcome to the family.”

"Huh, what?" Shiro blinks at that.

She lets go of him and nods to Keith. "I heard you mated with my son."

"MUM!" 

"What, you confirmed it just some minutes ago," Krolia replies, now the one that seems confused.

"Y-yeah..! But not that we had…!" Keith stutters, his cheeks burning hot and avoiding any eye contact. This is not how he imagined things to turn out. "And I never said it was Shiro!"

A deep laugh echoes through the room, as Kolivan chuckles. Keith shoots him a glowering glance.

"As if that wasn't obvious," Krolia says, rolling her eyes. "Everybody knows."

"It was hard to watch sometimes. All those glances and small touches. Thace and Antok have a bet on who confesses first and how long it takes you two to finally realize each other's feelings," Kolivan explains calmly, while still looking at paperwork in front of him. Keith never thought he is listening or even interested in gossip around the base since he always seems like a strict leader who works continuously.

Keith wrinkles his nose. That everybody knows right away it's Shiro doesn't bother him as much as the fact that it also seems apparent that they slept with each other, which hasn't been the intention behind him displaying his bruises. Maybe he should've thought things through more.

"So uh...yeah, I guess I'm part of the family now?" Shiro says shyly, scratching the back of his head.

Even though this all is very embarrassing, Keith can't do anything other than smile at Shiro. To hear he is part of the family means a lot to Keith. He always considered Shiro as family, but now it was an even stronger bond.

"Yes that's why I asked you to come here," Kolivan says, nodding, causing Keith to look wary at their leader. "I'm sure you, Shiro, know about the custom of a ceremony for mates."

Keith furrows his brows. He grew up on Blade bases, as he is only half Galra, and his human dad died early. Therefore he knew a lot of Galra traditions but not all of them—primarily not related to mates. Since at the moment there is hardly time to think about this.

After Shiro nods, Kolivan continues. "I also understand that you two know our situation. We can't throw a big feast and get everyone together to celebrate you. You have our blessings, and we are happy for you, but as the war goes on so does our work. I also want to press that our credo still stands. Information is the most important part. If you can save your mate, do so. If that means to jeopardize the whole mission, don't."

It's the strict behavior Keith knows from the Blade, and yet it makes him swallow. In previous missions, Keith already had problems with this kind of motto. Yes, he had grown up here in the Blades and knew their ways better than some members, but leaving people behind in favor of the bigger scale is still hard for him. More often than not had his mother stepped in between Kolivan and him.

"Understood," Shiro says and salutes, which is a bit too much for Keith's taste, yet it fitted Shiro's demeanor of being the perfect soldier - even though Keith very well knows how Shiro likes to bend or break the rules. 

"It won't interfere with our missions," Keith promises as well. 

"Good. Then you two are dismissed."

Two weeks later, both Shiro and Keith are called into Kolivan's office once more. Since Shiro has yet to get the okay from Ulaz to go back on missions again, it wonders him. Maybe there is some minor mission he can take to get back into work in general. Why with Keith, though? It isn't unusual for mates to go on missions together, but Keith is competent. To send him to something small and manageable is almost an insult. Of course, Keith would come along if that means to go with Shiro. After what had happened with Shiro and considering Keith was the one that finally found and rescued him, Shiro can understand that Keith wanted to stay at his side. After all, he feels the same. He can't bear the thought of losing Keith in any way. 

They enter the room to find not only Kolivan but Krolia there as well. Not unusual either, she was second in command, Kolivans literal right hand.
The grin on both their faces is indeed weird, though.

"Hello, you two. How is life as newly mated?" Krolia asks in a higher-pitched tone, almost as if her voice got higher because she is excited.

Keith rolls his eyes, which let Shiro grin slightly before he nods. "We're doing good, thank you."

"Great, because we have some...tasks for you," Kolivan adds.

"Yes, indeed. Since we can't give you an official Galran ceremony, we want to preserve the human traditions at least," Krolia continues with a bright smile on her face.

"Human traditions?" Keith asks, obviously just as confused as Shiro. Shouldn't he know about these?

"Yes. See, humans have a similar concept of wedding and mating as we do. One person proposes to the other, they exchange rings as a symbol of them belonging to each other, and there is a big feast," Krolia explains. "There won't be a big feast, as stated before for obvious reasons. But there is also the deep tradition of trials before the wedding."

"Trials?" Shiro asks curious, while Keith next to him looks more suspicious than interested.

"Trials the family would put on the one that wants to marry their child. To test them. Many Galra clans do this in the form of fights. Most humans are less, mh, aggressive, though. Their trials look different."

"You never mentioned any trials before," Keith says and squints his eyes at his mother. 

"You never had any interest to mate before. There was no need to tell you," she answers right away and shrugs it off.

"No one pushes you to anything, Shiro, but the Blades will allow you to use your time for these trials, and we also will provide the rooms and props necessary," Kolivan says. 

"Rooms, props? What the heck kind of trials are we talking about? Shiro doesn't need to prove himself! He is a ranked high commander of the Blades; he is a skilled warrior and thoughtful strategist," Keith intervenes. "You said mere days ago that we are an important organization that can't allow themselves to party around and celebrate in the face of war!"

"Your father would want you to continue the tradition of his people. Won't you want that as well?”, her voice is calm. 

"I don't remember him at all, and I never got to know any other humans! I don't even know where Earth is exactly or remotely how it looks there, much less know any kind of tradition or custom!"

"Keith," Shiro says softly and grabs his arm. "Calm down. Look at me." Once he has Keith's attention, he smiles and brushes a black strand out of his face. "I want to do it. If it's a human tradition, I want to honor it. You're part human, and I love you exactly the way you are. That means I also love the human part in you. It's your heritage, and I would be thrilled to get to know more about it."

Keith doesn't look convinced at first, but it only takes Shiro's big puppy eyes for mere seconds to let Keith roll with his eyes and pout.

"Okay…" he mumbles and leans in closer, his cheeks red as he adds almost inaudible: "I love you, too."

Then he turns around. "I'm sorry I shouted like that. I know you of all people would never want us any harm. To be honest, I don't know why I reacted this aggressively." 

"Shiro is your mate. It's only normal that you want to protect him from any possible threats," Krolia says and offers a smile instead of any hard feelings. "If anything, it shows how deep your bond runs already." 

Warm fingers find Shiro's hand and intertwine them. "Thanks, mum."

"Good then, about these trials," Kolivan steps in like the leader he is as if this is a mission briefing. "We organized everything to start right away if you feel up to the task, Shiro."

"Of course, sir," Shiro says as he salutes, back straight, and a stern look on his face.

"Then please get in the clothing of your choice and meet us at the trials room in the lower level," Kolivan says and dismisses them with that.

"What do you think this trial will be about?" Shiro asks as soon as they are outside. 

"I dunno. Mum told me stories about humans. Even though they're not part of this war, they apparently fight a lot inside their own species. And knowing Kolivan, I'm pretty sure it's about fighting or endurance," Keith guesses while they walk to their room.

He waits until they're inside to pop the next question. "Do you think you're up for that?" Keith asks carefully.

Shiro sighs and looks at his artificial arm. It is still new to him even though he got it many phoebes ago. In the end, it will never be like his own arm. It will always be something foreign that the Empire pushed on him. A constant reminder of what happened.

Of what he did.

The lives he took with this… 

Suddenly Keith's hands wrap around his metal one. "It's okay. You're here now, not there anymore. Nobody can hurt you anymore. And you won't hurt anybody." The soft and calm voice brings Shiro back into the present. He was about to get swallowed by his past again. This happens every now and then, and Keith learned to work with it. He knows now what words to say and how to calm Shiro again.

"Yes, I know," Shiro mumbles quietly.

"You don't need to do this, you know that, right?"

"Yeah, yeah. But I want to. I really do," Shiro smiles at the other, taking him into his arms. "I want to continue your traditions."

Keith smiles slightly, but worries still linger in his eyes as he hugs back. "Thank you." He lets go of Shiro and goes to their wardrobe. "So, I guess it'll be a fighting suit?"

"Sounds right."

After changing, they make their way to the trial room. The suit is comfortable as if it is welcoming him back. Since he can't go out on missions at the moment, he started wearing more plain clothes. Now he realizes even more how much he missed this.

"Okay, I'll be watching since I guess I'm not allowed inside," Keith says once they arrived. Leaning upon his tiptoes, he pulls Shiro down to him to seal their lips. "Be careful. We stop the moment it's too much." 

"I know, but I'm not made out of sugar, I'll make it," Shiro promises with a smile.

Once alone, Shiro breaths deep in and out. Nothing terrible will happen. He knows he's safe here. Kolivan is a strict leader, and while their credo is 'Knowledge or Death,' he wouldn't let anything serious happen to his members in trials. Shiro knows that. He trusts Kolivan and Krolia. And still, his hands are shaking. The blade in his belt, once a reaffirming weight, now feels like dread.

Another deep breath and Shiro stops shaking, ready to face whatever was behind this door.

Which is not at all what he expected.
The big room is empty besides some furniture in the middle, lit by bright light. No fighters, no weapons, no treats? 

That alone isn't unusual. The Blades of Marmora are an organization specified on stealth after all. Which is why Shiro doesn't let go of his guard. His blade in one hand, he steps forward slowly, ready to strike as soon as something moves.
But nothing appears.

Shiro reaches the setting in the middle. Upon coming up closer, he can distinguish what it is. It's a...kitchen..?

"Welcome to your first trial, Shiro," Krolia's voice sounds through the speakers. From inside the room, he can't see them; however, he knows they are watching him. "As you might have figured by now, this is not a typical trial." 

Shiro looks around the kitchen in front of him. It has everything needed, a fridge, an oven, pots, and a basket that looks like it holds ingredients of some sort. "Uh...yeah." 

"Don't worry. You just need to cook a dish, nothing more."

"Cooking, huh," Shiro mumbles.

"Yes. But you won't be making any traditional dishes. You see, during my days on earth, I found some exciting recipes. And it so happens that humans have a dish they love and always present their mates for special occasions."

Shiro looks at the various ingredients in front of him. There is nothing he can name. Some things reminded him of food you can find on other planets. Most of it, however, is entirely new to him.

How could this be the trial?

"You good? The dish is named: Pancakes. You have 30 minutes to do them. Ready—go! " 

Keith is upstairs together with his mother and Kolivan. Considering they said they won't have time for a party, it is surprising to have them both here. And they look very eager.
The trial is not what Keith had suspected. And Shiro definitely either. Cooking. Why cooking of all things?

"Are those really human trials?" Keith asks with his arms crossed.

"Of course. Do you accuse me of lying?"

"No, of course not. It just seems...odd."

"Well, humans are an entirely different race from Galra, it's only natural that their customs appear wild for us."

Keith snorts at this but adjusts his attention back to Shiro again. Shiro, who has problems even figuring out what he would need for something called Pancake. It is obviously translated for them, but a cake in a pan still doesn't make a whole lot of sense. 

It's a fiasco that plays out right in front of them.

He opens a bag of loose, white powder - flour as Krolia calls it - and looks inside. Confused upon what this is, Shiro dips his nose inside and sniffs. The reaction is prompt as Shiro sneezes heavily, spreading flour everywhere. For a moment, all they can see is a white cloud. It sticks to his hair, making it completely white, as well as his furry cheeks and his clothes. The sneezing doesn't stop right away, however, leading to Shiro dispersing more and more of the white powder as he moves around in spasms with the bag in hand.

Keith has a hard time not to laugh at this.

Instead of leaving it be, Shiro tries something else and sticks a finger to the almost empty bag and licks it. Keith has no idea how flour tastes, but judging from Shiro's sour face, it's not pleasant.

"Where did you get all this stuff? Is it actually from earth?" 

"Indeed, it is. We found it in a mall, actually. Someone was selling all sorts of earthly things. They even included a cow if you bought something," Krolia says, her eyes focused on Shiro, who decided to take a glass flask with something white in it.

"Come again?"

"A cow. An animal, apparently," Kolivan explains and furrowed his brows, nodding towards Shiro, who opens the glass to sniff the content inside. "Humans enjoy this product form them. We now have one residing in the botanic garden. Thace is still trying to figure out how to get this fluid." 

"It's their milk," Krolia says nonchalantly without even looking up.

"Their...milk..?" Keith asks cautiously and is pretty sure he doesn't actually want to know the answer to this.

"Yes. Their breast milk. The one they feed their calves with. You need to squeeze it out of their udder, similar to a breast," Krolia continues as if this was the most normal thing to say. "It's quite tasty."

Kolivan and Keith blink in union.

"Humans are special creatures," Kolivan figures mumbling and takes out a scroll. "Going to tell Thace to stop trying to get this milk immediately."

Keith wrinkles his nose at this. It really sounds obscure to him. On the other hand, there are a lot of different species out there, all with their own costumes and ways to live. It is a given that some will strike others as odd.

Shiro very clearly is not happy with his task, but he tries his best. Making a dish that you never heard of nor ate and that without any kind of recipe was plain mean. It's not helpful that he is not a cook either. Since they all live together on the base, Keith never saw him cook before. They have something like a canteen where all Blades eat a meal prepared for them.

From the looks of it, however, Shiro would have trouble with a recipe as well. It is hard to watch, really.

After the disaster with the flour, Shiro decides to try something he knows, eggs. Way smaller and in a weird color - brown - than the ones he knows but definitely an egg. In Shiro's big galra hands, however, they look even smaller.
Shiro kneels down to be on the same height as the bowl on which he tries to crack the egg. It seems hard to even grab right with his claws. Needless to say, he fails time and time again. In the end, he is not only full of flour, but debris of eggs and their shells stick to him.

Keith watches all of this and has to bite hard on his lip to not laugh. It is too cute to look at. In no way does he want to ridicule Shiro's attempts as he sees how hard he tries. It's funny, nonetheless. Keith falls for him all over again.
No matter how cute this is, though, Shiro doesn't make any progress in baking.

"Mom if you really want him to make this weird cake, shouldn't you at least give him a clue? A recipe he can follow?" Keith asks, turning to his mother, who rolls her eyes at him, and he can't stop the feeling that she has way too much fun with this. 

"Shiro," Krolias voice sounds over the speaker, making Shiro almost jump. From this angle, Keith can see drops of sweat on his forehead. "In one of the cupboards is a recipe. With pictures."

Shiro's eyes get big right away, and he smudges egg everywhere in his frenzy search for the recipe. Once he has it, he holds it up triumphant, a smile on his face as if he had received a gift from the heavens. Keith can't hold back a snort. This goofball. His goofball. 

From what Keith can gather up here, the recipe indeed has pictures to help Shiro out, but no note about the amount he'll need. It at least gives Shiro a direction that he follows.
Once he has the dough, he starts pouring it into a pan. This shouldn't be so hard, it's not like pans are not known here. But Keith shall be proved wrong right away.

"And then…," Shiro holds the pan in one hand and the recipe in the other as he reads it out loud. "swing the pan to let the pancake flip to the other side…"

The moment these words reach Keith's ears, he knows that the next catastrophe is right around the corner. Shiro looks at the pan and swings it slightly back and forth as if testing that this will work. With a flick of his wrist, he actually gets the cake flying but underestimates his galran strength resulting in the flat cake to land against the observation window. They all jerk away from it, and while Krolia laughs, Kolivan shakes his head, and Keith makes a face as this sticky thing slides down the glass.

"If you two ever live together outside the base, don't let him enter the kitchen," Kolivan mumbles, and Keith nods. He'd at least never let Shiro in there alone.

Another pancake flies when Shiro tries with less power to flip it. Instead of the window, it finds its way on Shiro's head. Finishing the look of flour and egg with a cute hat. How Keith wishes to have a camera right now.
Now being spurred on by ambition, Shiro tries again and actually succeeds in keeping the pancake in the pan. Half of it is now sticking on the outside of it, but it's enough to make Shiro smile brightly.
In the end, Shiro has something that at least looks like...something. If it's really edible remains questionable. They all meet up outside the room. A part of a shell clings on his fluffy ear and Keith wonders how it ended up there.

"Did I pass the test?" Shiro asks hopeful, looking at his products. "I think they're not bad." 

Krolia takes the plate, inspecting the pancakes on it. They all take a bite and it cost all three of them all their Blade training to not twist their mouths to not hurt Shiro. 

"Yes. Yes you did," Krolia says, nodding.

"Great," Shiro is visibly relieved and grins happily at Keith. "Means I can make them for you now, Keith."

"G-great," Keith presses out, still smiling. A big hand pats his back as Kolivan shows his condolences. "But you should shower first. You look like a pancake yourself", Keith adds and laughs as Shiro smears some of the egg on Keith's cheek.

It's one trial each day so that Shiro can rest up and more importantly, Kolivan and Krolia won't neglect their responsibility as leaders. On the next day, Keith and Shiro walk down the corridor for the next task.

"You think I gotta cook some more?"

Keith stands next to him with his arms folded. "I hope not," he mumbles first, then sees Shiro's look and adds. "I doubt! No, no, it would be weird if they make you cook more."

"Mhm...but I'm curious what comes next. The cooking was kinda fun," Shiro says and scratches his neck smiling. Cooking might not be his forte, but it had its thrills to try all these new ingredients and it did look edible at least. 

"It looked fun," Keith smiles back at him.

They say their goodbyes and Shiro steps into the room once more—now changed up for the next trial that Shiro has to go through. Keith will be up in the observations room once more.

This time there are pots and plants all over the place. Some are large, with big green leaves, others are small and got thorns and prickles on them. Most of them are everyday green, different shades and sometimes with white spots, but green dominates the scenery.
Nonetheless, there are some lovely blossoms in different colors. None of these flowers speaks to Shiro, he's pretty sure to never have seen any of them. 

"Another important skill a mate has to conquer is the caretaking of offspring," Krolia's voice halls in the room. "But since we couldn't go to earth and, you know, kidnap some children, we got the next best thing." 

"...Plants," Shiro figures and looks around curiously. Plants couldn't be so bad, right? At least there is nothing that he could set on fire. 

"Exactly. You just have to take care of these plants for us."

That strikes Shiro as odd. How long are they supposed to be here to actually see a change? It's not like these plants will die right away the moment he touches them...right?
On the other hand, cooking those cakes in a pan was weird as well, so this next task fits the theme.
Shiro looks around; not a single plant seems out of place—besides that, they are all green, which apparently is an earth thing. When he turns, he has an odd feeling of being followed. As if something had been moving. He shakes off the thought, though, as it is likely just the knowledge that he indeed is watched by Krolia and the others.

"So uh, what exactly am I supposed to do?" He asks a bit confused until he sees a small watering can and takes it in hand. "Just...watering and looking after them?"

"Yes. Can you do that?" 

Shiro shrugs and starts watering. He could say how silly this feels, but first of it's not like he has some urgent mission to go after. Secondly, and most important, he really wants to honor human traditions. If that means cooking weird dishes and taking care of plants, he is all game. There is rustling behind him when the water flows down from the leaves to the potted earth.

"This doesn't really feel like the equivalent to taking care of ki—," Shiro is interrupted as something suddenly touches his arm. He spins around fast, but nothing is there. "What the…" He almost waits for a sign of distress coming from the others, but Krolia is silent. Did he just imagine it? Or is it part of the trial?

Anyway, his instincts are running wild now, telling him to be careful and not miss anything. With a wide stance, his head slightly ducked down, he looks around and carefully steps forward. All plants are standing idle around him. No movement in the dark, nothing out of the ordinary.
Maybe it was a hallucination, after all. Ulaz did say something like that might happen in stressful situations. It seems silly to Shiro to be stressed enough in such a trial for his brain to act like this, but he wants to accept this. It feels stupid for him anyway to not be able to go on missions anymore just because of what had happened to him. It shouldn't bother him this much. Keith saved him weeks ago, he should go out again and be useful. Not sit in the base and pity himself. But accepting that you need time to heal is hard. Especially if it is the brain. It's nothing that you can see. No wound, no blood. And yet, it limits Shiro more than broken bones. 

Shiro relaxes after another look around and starts watering the plants again. Mere seconds later, there is movement once more. From behind. Shiro twirls around and ducks under something blue. He wouldn't be a Blade agent if he would've let go of his guard this easily, and his guts never failed him before.
Adrenalin flushes through his system, enhancing his senses even more. His whole body entering an alert state. His heart races, his breath quickens as he turns and turns to find the attacker. How much he'd love to have his blade with him right now. 

A blue tendril suddenly appears in front of him, but the moment Shiro wants to grab it, it pulls back and a deafening cry echoes through the room. With his hands on his ears, Shiro tries to find the origin of this. A small plant in the far corner of the place looks like it has multiple mouths and tendrils. Upon coming closer, Shiro realizes it's not any kind of scream. It literally sounds like a crying child.

"What…" he mumbles but doesn't let his hands sink down, it is still too loud, and his sensitive galra ears are everything but pleased.

"You need to calm it!" Krolia's voice is almost inaudible over the crying.

"What?" Shiro shouts back. "How?!"

"Feed it, pet it. Play with it maybe?"

Shiro makes a face. Playing with a plant? Feeding isn't that unusual. Many plants eat meat or other plants. He never heard of one that wants to be petted, though.

There is a small container not far from the plant with some green goo in it. While keeping the screaming flora on sight, Shiro walks forward and grabs some of the presumable food. It's squishy in his hand, but he tries not to dwell on it and instead throws a bunch in one of the open mouths.
It works. The screaming stops. But just for a second before every other mouth cries out for even more food-goo.

"A hungry fella, huh," Shiro smiles slightly as he feeds more.

"This is Clamatus Herba, from the Traga system. One of Ulaz's favorite for her healing nectar. But she's quite...demanding." 

"So, not from Earth?" Shiro asks, while he throws more food-goo in mouths with one hand and tries to keep a tendril at bay with the other, that keeps nudging him. Petting it actually helps.

 "Oh, no. Some are, but we thought this would make it feel more like taking care of a child."

This is odd and, again, not what Shiro had expected, but he has his fun at it. The more he feeds, the quieter the plant becomes again until it resumes to silence. A deep sigh leaves Shiro, happy for the calmness.
It doesn't stay like this for long.

In a quick motion, Shiro is suddenly swept off the floor and hanging upside down- held up by tendrils.

"He! What the—! Let me down!" He demands surprised, wiggling but to no avail. The plant pulls him closer and closer, squishing him between their leaves and vines. It's a tight grip, but it doesn't hurt. A tendril rubs at his face up and down.

"Uh…" 

"She likes you!" 

"I...I guess," Shiro huffs with a laugh, nudging the plant with his head as his arms are trapped on his sides. A satisfied hum rolls through the hall.

This surely is his strangest encounter with a plant yet.

"Phwee, I must say, these are some special trials," Shiro says on the way to the mess hall after they saved him out of the tendrils grip. 

Keith shakes his head and sighs. It truly is not what he expected either, and he has a weird suspicion that these are not ordinary human trials. In the end, however, he's just happy that his mate is safe and sound. His mother had to hold him back once the plant started to attack Shiro. There is no doubt in Shiro's skills as a warrior, but after what had happened to him, Keith is always ready to aid him.

"And on to the next round," Shiro says, awfully chipper and excited. 

"Good luck," Keith says before leaving for the observation room. Only his mother is present this time. A look down to the room explains why: Kolivan is sitting there on a chair in front of a plain metal table. Shiro sits down across from him, scanning the room left and right.

"Shiro, this part of the trials will test your knowledge."

"Okay," he nods wary, his muscles visibly tense even from up here, ready to strike if something happens. It was not fear or discomfort. Merely the readiness of a trained agent.

"Good, let's start," Kolivan says with the deep voice he uses on new cadets. "When is Keith's birthday?"

Keith upstairs snorts. "You serious?" He looks at his mum, who smiles widely.

"Totally," she grins at him, obviously happy with what she has planned. 

Shiro blinks in surprise. "23rd of October," he then answers within a second.

"Correct. What is his second name?" 

"Yorak. It's the Galran name Krolia picked for him but they went with the human name in favor of his dad and because they planned on living on Earth," Shiro explains as if this is the most straightforward task of them all. He leans a bit back on the chair, his arms casually on the table.

"Is this a quiz just about me?" Keith guesses. This gets weirder and weirder with each second. What are such questions suppose to show? How good Shiro knows him?

"Well, it's a good sign when your mate knows you well, isn't it?"

"Mum, please be honest with me. Those are not normal human trials, are they?" Keith crosses his arms in front of his chest.

Krolia turns to face him directly and smiles but then shakes her head. "No, they are not. I don't know a lot of human traditions sadly, but I doubt they have these kinds of tasks."

"Then why do we put Shiro through this?" There was an annoyed undertone in Keith's voice. He trusts Krolia and Kolivan but this all doesn't make sense for him at all. Shiro is in no danger and yet it rubs Keith the wrong way to see him go through all these unnecessary trials. 

"Look at him," Krolia says and points to Shiro. "He's calm and collected. Relaxed even. He makes jokes and laughs. When is the last time you have seen him like that?" 

Keith looks at Shiro, how he answers one ridiculous question after another. He realizes that he can't pinpoint the day he saw him like this the last time. Of course, when they finally decided to stand to their feelings and mated, Shiro was happy and content. But it didn't last. Ever since he got captured and tortured, Shiro is not himself anymore. It had changed him completely, understandably. No-one ever judged him for that, least of all Keith. And yet Shiro blamed himself for it, wants to be like he used to so desperately that he pushes himself to exhaustion. The therapy with Ulaz helps. It's no miracle, however.
After the first two trials, Shiro slept like a stone. Usually, he wakes up in the middle of the night, plagued by memories and nightmares but not anymore. Keith observed him being sound asleep, finally getting the rest he deserves.

These stupid and odd trials seem to work.

"We talked to Ulaz and decided that we had to distract Shiro a bit. To get his mind off from overthinking everything. He is constantly trying to be his former self again, to be of use for the Blade and return to going on missions. But the truth is, he never will be like he was before," Krolia explains and Keith's crossed arms turn into a hug around himself as he watches Shiro. "He lived through terrible things, and he will always have to fight his inner demons now. But that doesn't mean he can't live happily. They didn't take away who he truly is. His characteristics, his joy and friendly nature. It might be harder for him to reach through it, but it's still there."

"So you did all of this to help him cope?" 

"Kind of, yeah. We thought it might help him to have another goal. Something he can reach more easily than healing from his trauma. Something reachable. That's why we put it behind the disguise of human traditions. Shiro would do anything for you."

It gets Keith blushing, but he knows she's right. He feels the same for Shiro. Nothing would stop Keith from helping him. 

"Thanks, mum," he whispers then and smiles at her. Keith feels unbelievably lucky for having such a great family.

"Favourite animal?" Kolivan asks.

"Mh…," Shiro has his chin leaning on his hand. There is no sign of tension left anymore. He even has a smile on his face. "He has this very old purple plush of some kind of Earth animal. I think he once said it's a uh...Hippo?"

Keith's cheeks start burning even more. What kind of questions did he miss while talking to Krolia? Did Kolivan go deep into personal things? Keith would wonder how he knew these things, to begin with, but since his mother was with him in this, Kolivan could have every kind of knowledge. What is way more uncanny is how fast Shiro answers each of them. He honestly does know Keith best.

"Shiro, congratulations. You made it through the trials," Krolia says and nods, smiling at him. The moment Shiro is about to celebrate, she holds up his hand to stop him. "There is one more trial you have to go through before I can bless your mating with my son." 

His mother had told him before, so Keith is not surprised, but instead worried. Out of the corners of his eyes, Keith can see how excited Shiro is. It's unbelievable what these trials did to him. It was the sense to do something meaningful that helps Shiro to keep going and being excited for each new task they bestowed upon him.

Keith is not so sure about this one, however.

"It's a galran tradition. You're going to fight me in a spar," Krolia continues, and Shiro's smile drops instantly. 

"You don't need to do this, Shiro," Keith mumbles to him, taking his hand and squeezing it.

Shiro is quiet for a small moment, which is never a good sign. Beforehand Keith had voiced his concerns about this. They haven't sparred in some time as it made Shiro uncomfortable or even triggered him. The trials helped him, sure, but is it enough already? On the other hand, Krolia said it's important to push him into it again at some time. Soft pushes, Ulaz had warned, but still some. If Shiro ends up curling himself up in self-pity, he will never get better, let alone be able to hold a sword again.

"No, it's okay. These are our traditions and I want to honor them just as much as the human ones," Shiro then says and squeezes Keith's hand back, smiling at him. "Some sparring can't be too bad." 

This time Shiro stands in front of the room in his fighting suit. Just wearing it feels weird already. It is not directly uncomfortable but it brings back bad memories that Shiro has to fight now. It's a shame, he used to love these suits. Fighting was a constant in his life, something he was good at and confident in. It was different when it was only against android sentries and occasional Empire fighter. However, in the arena, Shiro had to fight innocent people. Other prisoners like him. Men and women, kids, who never had a weapon in their hand before. Never a fair fight, only death, and destruction. 

"Hey…" Keith's voice brings Shiro back into the present. A warm hand lays on his arm. "I mean it. Nobody pressures you to this."

"I know," Shiro says and exhales deeply, casting away his inner demons. "I can do this." He leans down, wraps his arm around Keith's slim waist, and kisses him deeply. "I know when you're with me, I can do everything," he whispers against his lips. 

Keith smiles, a blush covering his nose and the tips and tips of his ears. His hand brushes through Shiro's hair. "I know you can," he whispers back, kisses his mate one more time before he lets go.

It's the same room as before, empty this time, besides Krolia, who waits in the middle for him. She wears her own fighting suit, but no weapons. There is no need to cause unnecessary injuries. A fair fight with bare hands. 

This isn’t the same, Krolia is a trained fighter. This is not about life or death. It's just a spar. 

"Are you ready?" Krolia asks, her soft voice in stark contrast to her appearance. When Shiro nods, she widens her stance and waits until Shiro follows suit.

Just a spar.

Krolia doesn't lose any time. She jumps towards him for a kick. Similar to Keith, Krolia is fast and precise. There is no way Shiro can dodge this in time, so he raises his arms to block her instead. He ducks under her next swing and tries to go for her side, but Krolia side steps away, giving him a blow to his back.

Shiro turns and is blinded by the bright light. Suddenly chanting reaches his ears.

Champion! Champion! Champion!

A whistle from behind pulls him back into reality. He shakes his head and swirls around to attack again. Where Krolia has speed, he has strength, which only gets you so far in friendly sparring. But he can block her attack with ease and yanks her arm forward to get her off balance. The moment his fist hits her side, something changes. 

The chanting is back. The lights are too bright. When Shiro looks down at his hands, he sees blood. Blood everywhere.

It's pure instinctual that he can react to Krolia's next kick, but he is too sloppy in parrying. His arm hurts. 

His arm. They took his arm! It's just gone!

It hurts so much.

Screams.

Blood.

Death.

"-iro. Shiro! Please, look at me!" 

Shiro doesn't know how much time has passed, but suddenly Keith is in front of him. The floor is too close, is he on his knees? His hands are in his hair, scraping the scalp as if pain could keep him in this reality. 

"I'm going to touch you now, okay?"

A faint nod. 

"Okay," Keith nods as well, wrapping his arms slowly, carefully around the other. "It's okay. Nobody is here to hurt you. You are not hurting anybody." 

Shiro just breathes heavily, eyes unfocused, body shaking. 

"We are safe here. It's over. You're not there anymore. You're home. They can't get you here," Keith continues to whisper into his ear. 

They stay like this for some time until Shiro finally moves his arms around Keith as well, burying his face in the small of Keith's neck. Breathing in the familiar scent, feeling the warmth of the body slowly calmed him down and grounded him. With closed eyes, Shiro tries to listen to Keith's heartbeat and breathing, to match his own breath to it.

"I'm good," he mumbles and lets go from Keith. Big, worried eyes meet his, and Keith doesn't let go of him. "I'm okay, promised," Shiro reiterates and brushes over the velvet hair. Keith still scans him thoroughly before he nods and gets up with him.

On the way out, Shiro catches Krolia, whom he had forgotten is still there. "I'm sorry, I—"

With the rise of her hand, she stops him. "No need to apologize, Shiro. You went through something horrible, and if you're not ready yet to fight, it's no sign of weakness. You're injured and deserve time to properly heal," she explains with the softness of a mother but the honorable strength of a warrior and leader. To Shiro's surprise, she bows down. "I'm the one apologizing for putting you through this before you're ready. Get rest."

Shiro doesn't know how to react to this. He feels awful, his whole body aches, and his head spins. It does feel like an injury, but he knows it's all just in his head. It shouldn't be this hard. He feels like he is overreacting.

"Thanks," he mutters then and leaves with Keith. 

"She's right, you know that, don't you?" Keith asks once they are back in their room. 

"Yeah, yeah I do…" Shiro mumbles and sighs, slumping down on the bed and just stares up at the ceiling.

"...Do you want to talk about it?" 

"I dunno…" 

Keith purses his lip. It's not the first time they have such a conversation. It's not easy to get through to Shiro in such phases. Keith talked to Ulaz about it, asked for tips and things he can do in such a moment. The physician always tells him that being there is the right thing to do. To not press, to not push but to be present and there for him.

Easier said than done.
It breaks Keith's heart to see Shiro like this. Lost in dark thoughts. Without any energy, any happiness.

He goes to bed and curls up next to Shiro. Pressing himself onto him, his arms tight around the trembling body. It always seems to help. After some time, Shiro turns, hugs Keith, and nuzzles his face into his hair. 

"I'm sorry I'm not the one I used to be." 

"Stop talking like that. You are." 

"I'm not even able to spar, Keith…"

"So what?" Keith raises his head to look at Shiro. His eyes are fierce. "I don't care. You're still Shiro. You're still the intelligent, funny, and good-hearted man I always loved. And I will always love you."

"...I don't feel like myself anymore…" 

There is a deep crease between Keith's brows. He brushes through Shiro's hair. "I understand that it's a vital part of your being. You're a warrior, a fighter. And I'm so sorry that you can't do what you want at the moment. But mum is right. You're injured. You suffered for so long; of course, you can't heal in just a few weeks. You wouldn't act like this if it broke your legs. You would accept that you are hurt and give you and your body the needed rest. Please, give your brain a rest. Do not push too hard. You are so much more than just a fighter, Shiro," Keith says, smiling softly. "You went through all these trials just for me. And you mastered them with finesse and creativity."

"I wouldn't call having eggs and pancakes on your head finesse," Shiro snorts, chuckling.

"You still manage to make something edible out of ingredients you never saw!" Keith says, snickering as well as he leans up to kiss Shiro's nose. "And it was charming." 

Shiro looks at Keith as if he is searching for something. His eyes trace over his features to the point that Keith blushes slightly. "You really love me the way I am? Even like this?" 

"We are mates. I will always love you, no matter the injury," Keith whispers back.

"Thanks, Keith," Shiro leans in to kiss him. 

"Shiro, where are we going?" 

"Shh, you'll see soon enough." 

Keith huffs and crosses his arms. They are sitting in a small spaceship on the way to—somewhere.

It has been a week since the trials and Shiro's triggering. The next days were calmer again, Keith went to work with Kolivan on some strategic planning while Shiro kept going to Ulaz and now liked to take care of the many plants Krolia had gathered. His mental health got better and better each day, recovering from the flashback.

In the end, the trials did help him, after all. 

Today he suddenly took Keith by the hand, telling him they need to go somewhere and just boarded the ship. It has been a month since Shiro had left the base.
Curious as he is, Keith looks out the windows to see where they are heading, but to no avail. The planet that Shiro is making it for does not ring a bell. It looks pretty, though.

"Are we delivering something?" Keith asks, confused.

"Nope. It's just us. Vacation."

"Vacation?" Keith likes the sound of that. After the month in the base without any missions, it's nice to see different places else again. Especially with Shiro at his side and no need to do something. 

Once they arrive, Shiro pulls a blindfold over Keith's eyes. 

"He!" 

"Come on, babe. It's a surprise," Shiro's voice is suddenly deep, as he whispers right next to his ears, sending chills down his spine.

"O-okay," Keith swallows hard and nods. 

After what feels like endless minutes of walking, they arrive. Keith can hear the sound of water. The ground beneath his feet gives in to his weight. Warm fingers on his head start to remove the blindfold slowly.

They're on a beach. It's in beautiful colors of blue. The water is almost turquoise, the sand white, the sky tinned in a beautiful saturated blue. It looks like a small piece of paradise. 

"Wow," Keith breaths out.

"It's not Earth, but Krolia says it's very close to it," Shiro says, hugging him from behind.

"It's beautiful," It's the only thing Keith is capable of saying. Because it is. It's breathtaking. Over the years, they had seen many planets, many beaches. For some reason, this one, in particular, lines up with Keith. Maybe it is because it's similar to earth's—it's his home-planet after all. Even though he doesn't remember anything from it.

 "Just like you are," Shiro whispers, kissing his neck softly and letting go of him. Keith smiles, shyly and shakes his head as he watches Shiro walking up in front of him.

And then he kneels down on one knee.

Keith tilts his head to one side. "What are you doing..?"

"Shh, your mum told me how to do this. Don't ruin it," Shiro says, and Keith only knows realizes he is shaking. He closes his eyes and exhales deeply, before he looks at Keith, a soft smile returning to his face. "Keith. You're the most important person in my life. I would— and will— do everything I can to keep you safe and sound. And happy. You brought me back when I lost every hope of survival. You keep me in your arms when I'm at my lowest point, and you never judge me for it. You're like my guardian angel—no, you're my starlight. Always watching over me. Always there when I need you. I want to do the same for you. I want to make you happy, to see you smile and hear you laugh. Want to hold you when you're crying. To fall asleep and wake up next to you each day for the rest of my life." 

Keith feels tears stream down his face. Shiro is holding his hand in his own, squeezing it softly upon seeing the tears. Then he takes out a small box, in it, a silver ring. 

"Keith Yorak Kogane, honorable member of the Blade of Marmora, do you want to marry me and become my mate for the rest of my life?"

"Yes. Yes I do," Keith says, sniffing as he lets himself fall into Shiro's arms.