Work Text:
"A Lesson Learned"
Hunk had expected to hear an explosion with the amount of "damage" done to his kitchen, but it had been mostly silent, except for a high pitched whining. It was this whining sound that attracted not only the Yellow Paladin's attention but the rest of the Paladins' attention as well. They gathered in the doorway to the kitchen in various displays of shock. There standing in the middle of the kitchen was Keith, whining as he attempted to mop up what looked like a chocolate milk explosion. It was on the ceiling, the walls, the counters, the floor, on his clothes, and in his hair.
Shiro was the first one to break out of his stupor and approach the Red Paladin. "Oh, Keith."
Keith looked up, his hair still dripping, and whined again. "'Kashi."
Shiro picked up the Altean version of paper towels and started cleaning a path so he could get to his brother. That snapped the Garrison Trio out of their stupor, and they started to help clean. Once Shiro made it to Keith, he started patting his hair and clothes as dry as he could. "What happened?"
"I found an Altean version of protein powder and was going to make a shake to take with me to the training deck. Apparently, the cup I chose didn't seal properly, even though I put the lid on correctly."
Shiro nodded, remembering how Keith liked protein shakes back on Earth. "Well, we'll clean up here if you want to go take a shower to get this stuff out of your hair." When Keith hesitated, Shiro added, "I'll make you a shake, so you don't have to waste any more time."
Keith smiled and carefully made his way out of the kitchen, heading for the showers. He needed to get this stuff out of his hair before it dried. He had practice getting stuff out of his hair, because a lot of his foster siblings put stuff into his hair for one reason or another, and his foster parents told him that either he had to get the stuff out himself or they would cut his hair. He shuddered at the thought of the short hair he had to have after a really horrible incident with a lot of gum.
Allura and Coran saw Keith in the corridor, looking miserable. He was also making small whimpers that were inaudible to human ears, but their Altean ears (and Keith's enhanced Galran hearing) could pick up the sounds.
"Keith, is everything all right?" Allura asked.
Keith's head shot up. He hadn't noticed he wasn't alone in the corridor and managed a small but weak smile. "Yeah. I just had a minor mishap in the kitchen. The other Paladins are finishing the cleanup, and Shiro insisted that I go shower first."
Allura hesitated. She knew what the whimpers of a Galran kit sounded like and meant, and Keith had been making those sounds. She didn't want to leave Keith alone if he was making kit noises, especially since Galran kits needed help. "Do you want some help getting it out of your hair?"
Keith paused, the small smile falling of his face. He whimpered again. "N-no. I can do it."
"It wouldn't be an issue, and I'd be glad to help," Allura pressed, stepping forward.
Keith backed up and whined. Allura stopped moving at hearing the distressed noise. Shiro appeared out of nowhere and immediately came over to Keith's side. Keith resisted the urge to tuck himself against his brother, knowing he still needed a shower. Shiro wrapped an arm around Keith's tense shoulders and led him away from the Alteans and towards the shower in Keith's room.
The tenseness seeped out of Keith's shoulders as Shiro led Keith away from Allura and Coran. They entered Keith's room, and Shiro let go of Keith. He paused. "Are you okay now, Otōto?" [...little brother?]
"Tabun, onīsan." [Maybe, big brother]
"Do you want me to stay here?"
Keith hesitated. "Hai?" [Yes?]
Shiro smiled. "Then I will."
Keith returned the smile and went into the bathroom. He quickly took a shower and changed into a clean pair of clothes. He was grateful when he saw Shiro was still there. He tucked himself under Shiro's chin and nuzzled his brother's chest.
Shiro rested a hand on Keith's back. "Do you really want to go train or would you rather stay here?"
"I don't think I want to train right now," Keith whimpered. "I don't know why Allura was insistent on helping me with washing my hair."
"I think it was because of the Galran noises you were making."
"Maybe. They are Galran kit noises, according to the Blades."
A knock on his door attracted their attention. Keith didn't immediately call out, which caused the person on the other side of the door to say, "Keith, is everything okay?"
Shiro gave Keith a squeeze before he released him to answer the door. Keith walked over and took a deep breath before he opened the door. "Hi, Princess. I'm fine now. Thanks for your concern."
"Are you sure?"
Keith resisted the urge to growl. This wasn't like his pack (or Shiro) making sure of his well-being. It was more like Allura didn't believe he could look after himself. He had been looking after himself during his time in foster care and after Shiro left on the Kerberos mission, especially when he got kicked out of the Garrison. "I. Am. Fine."
He closed the door quite rudely in the Princess's face, but he didn't care at the moment. He was too angry at the implication, unconsciously growling. Shiro stayed where he was, not wanting to invade Keith's personal space. He waited for Keith to decide what he wanted to do. He didn't have to wait long as Keith tucked himself under his brother's chin again. It was a movement that comforted Keith as it brought Keith's head close enough to hear his heartbeat, which calmed him down as well. Shiro started stroking his hair as well to help calm his nerves. "It's okay, Keith. You're okay."
%%%
Allura stared at Keith's closed door in surprise. She hadn't expected him to close the door in her face. Her ears twitched as they picked up the growling coming from behind the locked door. Why was he angry? She knew from experience that Galran kits needed looking after, and Keith was an extremely young kit by Galran standards; the Blades had confirmed that. So, why was Keith insisting that he could do it by himself? It didn't make any sense.
She was still standing there when the Garrison Trio came by on their way to invite Keith and Shiro to join them in the lounge. All three of them were confused as to why Allura was staring at a closed door. Lance approached her. "Allura, what's wrong?"
"Keith's actions are confusing. He's a Galran kit, but he insists that he can look after himself. Kits aren't able to look after themselves, especially ones Keith's age."
"Princess, don't forget Keith's had to look after himself during the time between his Dad dying and Shiro's family adopting him," Pidge mentioned.
"And don't forget the year he was on his own in the desert," Hunk added.
"Even if Galran kits can't take care of themselves, Keith grew up human, so he was forced to take care of himself or no one else would," Shiro spoke up from Keith's now open doorway, Keith standing next to him.
Allura's eyes landed on Keith, and she approached him. Keith stood his ground, even though he didn't know what Allura was going to do. She reached out and hugged him, his arms automatically closing around her, albeit stiffly. "I apologize, Keith. When I heard you whimper, it reminded me of other Galran kits that I had seen before the war with Zarkon began."
"I understand that, Princess, but as the team have explained, I have had to look after myself several times, so you implying that I couldn't..." Keith trailed off, uncertain of how to explain it.
"I apologize, too, for upsetting you, Keith. It was not my intention." Allura hugged him a bit tighter, one hand stroking his hair subconsciously. "Forgive me, my Paladin."
Keith nuzzled Allura's neck. "I forgive you, Allura. Just don't do that again."
Allura was glad that her Red Paladin forgave her, and she knew she had a lot of preconceptions about Galra from before the war and trying to mesh those with the knowledge she gained from their alliance with the Blade of Marmora was hard and left her confused, especially when it came to her part-Galra Paladin. At least she no longer hated him because of what flowed in his veins. That had been a hard lesson, but it was a very important one as well.This latest interaction was an easier lesson to learn but no less important.
Fin