Half Galra

Well if Keith was interested in learning more about it, he could talk to him on everything that he knew. It was a lot to talk about, and of course, he didn’t know everything about his home planet. But he hoped it would be sufficient to tend to Keith’s curiosity.

         “Yes I am. Earth is a beautiful place. Blue skies, blue waters, green forests, amazing wildlife, and great people. Of course there will always be conflict between us humans, but I like to believe that there are good people on Earth. It would be nice to get home and show you, I think you would like it.”

He then paused, looking down as his mind wondered about the many places he went around the world thanks to the Garrison. Especially Japan. He turned back to look at Keith.

⌈ —  Shiro watched Keith for a moment, waiting to see if the half galra was willing to take the offer of his bite. If he didn’t, then no harm done. He just wanted to include Keith in their meal time and try to make him comfortable. Even if Keith didn’t like what he (or they) offered, he knew Hunk will do his best to make something suitable for their new teammate’s taste. He just had to find out what Keith liked and pass the information along to their residential cook.

But then he beamed happily as Keith took the bite and he seemed like he liked the food. Good, good, its off with the right start. He will compliment Hunk later for the nice choices of food to welcome their newest member.

He then grinned before turning to eat his food, participating in whatever topic was asked of him, joking around and it had created a nice, friendly atmosphere as time passed on. Shiro was glad that everyone was slowly starting to accept Keith, he knew it would be difficult and weird in the beginning but he trusted his team. He trusted Keith too and working together will make it better between them.

He hummed at the question, a nod, placing his empty bowl in front of him and began to take a few sips before replying to the other.

          “Mmhmm, our chef over there tends to go crazy in the kitchen, he loves to cook as you can see. And also, its good for morale for all of us, missing our home, our family…but we’re a family as well and having something that reminds us of our home…its what we all need from time to time. Plus, we need all the energy we can with all these missions.”⌋

Keith didn’t say much as he ate glancing around at the others. His mother had gone under deep cover nearly five years ago and while they had spent as much time together as possible before that it had been a long time. A long time of him training then being out in the field himself. Was this what it was like to have more than one other person.

⌈ —  After entering the room, he grinned as he was greeted the others before taking a seat. He made sure to have an empty one beside him in case Keith felt a bit more comfortable sitting next to him. Shiro figured since he was the only one (so far) that had been talking to him, he would think the newest paladin could be at ease close to him.

As the dinner went on, Shiro turned towards Keith and smiled. He figured that Hunk’s dishes might be strange looking to him, he didn’t know what the Blades did during their meals, but he just hoped that what they offered would be suffice for the red paladin.

        “This is various arrange of foods that our ‘chef’ has made up using the horrid green goo.”

He smiled and turned to glance at the others as he returned his gaze at Keith.

         “Hunk tries to accommodate as many cuisines as he could learn and try to replicate it or at least make it edible for us. You can try and see if anything is to your liking, if not…Hunk will definitely work on making something you might enjoy. Don’t worry about insulting him, he loves cooking and any feedback would be appreciated. Go on, and try this…its one of my favorites, its not mac and cheese like Earth, but its close.”⌋

“Horrid green goo?” Keith asked himself as he took in most of what Shiro had said. Did that mean ration packs? They weren’t that bad, once a person got used to everything having the consistency of thick medical paste. It wasn’t easy to keep food aboard ships and even the Blades who couldn’t supply ration packs without a risk had similar food most meals dependent on what they could keep edible. Food had always been better planet side and even then that had never been so much choice provided.

Truly a bit overwhelmed with the verity of choices he took the offered food from Shiro. Not for the first time he wondered what it may have been like had his mother been a civilian, or had the empire not killed his father during their hunt for the blue lion. Would he have been left of Earth and how would a half galra have been received?

⌈ —  With a nod, Shiro walked towards Keith, to catch up on him as he then decided to give him a quick, mini tour of a few rooms that were locating on the floor where they were as they made their way towards the dining room. Might as well kill a little time until they get there and met up with the others.

Just as they arrived at the doors of the dinning room, Shiro stopped and turned to Keith, a small smile on his face…

        “I know that all this is new, and most likely you don’t trust us yet, but I can tell you that don’t have to worry about our team. They are a great bunch and I’m sure that you would feel at ease in no time. If you need anything, anything at all…just let me know and I’ll help you.”

He then turned as the door opened and they were greeted by the others, food already served at the table, along with drinks and some conversation.⌋

Keith swallowed hard as the door opened looking at all the other team members in the room. He could swear he felt all their eyes boring into him as he took a step into the room. Maybe they didn’t really have it out for him, but experience said they should want that.

He gave Shiro a tiny nod as he slid into an open chair. He was visibly tense but just as clearly trying to project an image of calm. His eyes darted about trying to avoid eye contact as a rule.

⌈ —  As he waited for Keith to finish changing, Shiro contemplated about certain feelings he was having whenever he was around the Galra. He felt…guilty for being attracted to the other, but he just so surprised that he met one like him. He wasn’t entirely like other Galra’s he encountered and….his gaze looked over at his metal arm, bits and pieces of memories of what had happened to him when he was a prisoner.

He fist his metal hands, it felt almost natural except when he used his arm too much. It hurts sometimes but he made sure not to say anything to anyone, no need to worry them for his own burden…they had other things to worry about at the moment.

At the sound of the door opening, he broke his daze before looking up to see Keith stepping out of the room and….wow, he looked…

       “Well, you look…great. I mean….nice. Uh, yeah…lets grab some food, I imagine you must be hungry.”

Nice save, Shiro. Just go on and try to not be flustered in front of Keith again. ⌋

Keith shifted his feet a bit licking his lips at those words. He certainly hadn’t expected that. He’d honestly thought these people would simply tolerate him because they had to when he came here. He almost wanted to pull the hood up right there. This was embarrassing and he had no idea how to respond.

“I ... could eat.” He knew his embarrassment was clear in his voice. At least fur was good for hiding blushes. He even found himself kicking at the ground a bit.

⌈ —  Shiro just stood there with his arms crossed, waiting to see if Keith found anything that he might want to wear. It was a large vast of clothing, even he took some time to find something he liked. Hence the black outfit he wore. It was simple and easy to wear as there wasn’t much to use due to his mechanical arm.

He was just grateful that he found something he could wear. He turned towards Keith, checking to see if he needed anything before seeing him with the clothes already picked. Ah, yeah…he might need some privacy.

He smiled and dropped his arms, Shiro had a feeling that Keith was still skiddish with being here, and he didn’t want to look intimidated towards the other (but then again, he was a Blade),

          “I’ll give you some privacy so you can change, and trust me…I know the feeling. I’ll be outside when you’re ready to get some food.”   ⌋

Keith’s mouth opened just a bit in his surprise but he simply gave a small nod of thanks. He wasn’t quite sure how to talk to these people yet. Sure his mom had told him a bit about humans, but even she hadn’t really known much.

He watched the man leave still that bit confused. Stripping off the uniform he wore dropping it to the floor with a sigh. He pulled on the dark shirt he’d found and the red hooded jacket. He’d even managed to find a different pare of boots. Combined with black pants he’d been able to abandon every part of the uniform. He even kicked it aside for good measure. Still he’d probably have to ask that it not be thrown out, just encase he found himself needing to sneak into some Empire felicity again.

⌈ —  At hearing the sounds of the door opening, Shiro looked up to see Keith and moved away from the wall where he was leaning up against. He smiled, dropping his arms to the side as he nodded, he had totally forgotten about the clothes but he had an idea on where to look. Besides, it wasn’t like he could offer some of his clothes to the new paladin…it would totally make things awkward. And he would not DARE to even think about what Keith would look like with his clothes on. NOPE.

         “Sure, follow me. I believe there is a room one floor down where there are all sorts of article of clothing. Maybe you can find something to your liking there.”

After saying that, he turned to walk down the hallway. He resisted the urge to look behind him, he didn’t want Keith to think that he didn’t trust him….even though they just met, but something inside Shiro made him think that he can trust Keith.

Reaching the room, Shiro let Keith enter first before following him inside. He gazed around the room,

         “See if there’s something that you like here. If not, I guess I can let you borrow something and we can make plans to head to the Space Mall or something.”  ⌋

Keith glanced around as he stepped into the room. He couldn’t exactly say he was all that picky about what he wore or anything, At least as long as it wasn’t imperial. That and there sure were a lot of clothes in this room. Likely more than he’d ever had to choose from. There was something to say for never really living as a civilian.

It took some rooting about but he eventually found something passable. He’d even managed to find something with a hood, just encase he needed to at least try and hide his heritage.

⌈ —  At Keith’s words, Shiro stopped in his tracks and turned to look over at his new teammate. A frown over his face before turning to approach him. It would made sense that the Galra would be surprise of having his own room, he guessed when dealing with missions after missions, alone or with a team, he would have to share barracks with his other teammates. So he smiled and nodded.

           “Yes, you get your own room and your own bathroom and such. The castle was supposed to host thousands of Alteans but…its just us. Come on, its not far. Later after you settled down, I can give you a tour of the place.”

He then proceeded to show Keith his room, telling him about how to use the showers and things before giving him some space and heading to his own room to freshen up. After he was done, Shiro headed to meet Keith, waiting for him outside of his room so they could head to the dinning area for some food.⌋

Keith took his time cleaning up. It was always a pain to try and get clean in a shower. Nearly as much of a pain as getting dry when covered in fur. He didn’t put on his proper armor but at least the under shirt and pants at least. The thought crossed his mind to dispose of the armor, but if he needed to sneak into a Galra ship it may be useful to have armor that actually fit his undersized frame. At least he should get a chance at some clothes that weren’t from the empire. That would be nice.

⌈ —  Shiro could feel the tension surrounding Keith. And he didn’t blame him for it. If it were the other way around, he knew he would be on constant alert as everything was new and overwhelming. So as he descended down the ramp from Red, he made sure to keep close to the new paladin as he approached the others.

Being the leader, Shiro took initiative in introductions and explain what had transpire in order to get the Red Lion, plus meeting with their new teammate. He saw the look of uneasy on their faces (again, not blaming anyone) before relaxing a bit. Red chose Keith. Red trusted the half Galra so they should all trust him as well. It would take a bit of used to, but Shiro made sure to let everyone know that they could always come to him in needed.

After talking a bit, everyone went to freshen up so they could get some food and rest; Shiro turned towards Keith and motioned him to follow him.

          “I’ll take you to your room. Its next to mine in case you need anything. The castle pretty much as everything we need, but I can find you some clothes that could fit you. Is that ok?”⌋

Keith shifted from foot to foot through most of the meeting chewing his lip yet again. He was Galra, sure he was a member of the Blade, but most other rebels didn’t even believe they could be organized. Just a bunch of lone Galra traitors selling information for their own greed. Could these people believe he wasn’t loyal to the Empire in any way that counted? At most he didn’t want Galra civilians pulled into it.

Still he didn’t know how to react to these people. He’d never spent much time around people that weren’t Galra. Not after his mother had brought him to the Blade. 

⌈ — As they circled around the castle, Shiro couldn’t help but smile at the awestruck look over Keith’s face. Yes, the castle was a sight to behold, so graceful, and elegant yet ready for anything that came in its way. It was still surreal to be part of this team, to live in the castle and round up the Lions for this intergalatic war, which he never sign up on but…if he was meant to be here, then he will do whatever it took to make sure his team were safe, and help those that were in need, as well as defeat whatever enemies that came at them.

After landing Red, Shiro turned to watch Pidge and Allura heading out before he too, began to leave only to stop when Keith spoke to him. He looked over at him in concern but he understood what the half galra could be worried about. New teammates, new environment, and of course…he was part Galra. The same species they were here to defeat.

But he felt like he could trust Keith, Red did. So he placed a hand on his shoulder and gave him a small, reassuring smile.

        “You’re meant to be here, just like any of us. The Lion chose you, so its safe to say that I’m sure. Besides, I know we can trust you…I already do.”

And with that, he turned and began to walk away before calling out to Keith to follow him to meet the rest of the team.⌋

Keith hesitated in his seat. The lion had chosen him? Before he would have thought that crazy, but it was almost like the ship had told him how to control it. That and he’d always felt so at home in the cockpit. He belonged in the cockpit.

⌈ — He hummed softly as he listened to Keith speak about his heritage, but then shrugged as he didn’t think too much about the half galra’s appearance; it wasn’t like Shiro paid too much attention (other than the fact that his new teammate was handsome).

       “My apologies, I guess I meant full Galra. I never seen one like you before and I’ve seen many…well…most of my memories of the Galra are hidden away in the back of my mind.”

Well, maybe he was talking to much; no need to make Keith feel uncomfortable about this topic anymore. They had more important things to talk about, but first…he motioned and pointed at the screen on the location where the castle was while checking up on the rest of the team. Allura and Pidge are talking quietly among themselves, through the comm, Hunk and Lance are almost reaching the castle.

His attention turned back to Keith, watching him closely before smiling, thinking about Earth made him a bit homesick, but he would love to talk about it with Keith, seeing how he had an interested in it.

       “Of course, but first lets head to the castle and get everyone settled in before we talk. I have much to tell you, and I could answer any questions you have to the best of my abilities.”⌋

Keith gave a little nod checking the location of the castle and setting his course. He’d taken to the lion almost like a Galra fighter. He’d practically grown up in the cockpit and it showed.

When he got his first look at the castle he couldn’t help staring slack jawed. Sure he knew how to recognize Alteans and had never believed they could have all been whipped out, but he’d never seen anything they built. It was incredible. Even though the lion seemed to know where to go and be trying to tell him he couldn’t help taking a lap around it to wonder at the Majesty of it.

 A mix of things said in the BIOSHOCK INFINITE games.

lionsandspacewolves‌:

That was unexpected. Even so Keith found himself leaning into the kiss. His own eyes closed a look of peace spreading across his features. It took several moments for him to recover when the kiss was broken off.

His eyes opened looking at Shiro. “I was afraid you would.” He admitted softly taking the older’s hand. “I should have known better.”

“We have to trust each other, and be willing to have that secure your faith I never will.  I.. honestly, do love you Keith.”  Shiro spoke in a emotionally deep tone.  He been trying to understand his own feeling before they ruined anything between them.  They were friends first, and now this next leg of the journey had to be explored before anything else happen.

lionsandspacewolves‌:

Keith looked away pouting. “Shiro I … I’m not good at people, or friends. Everyone … leaves. I … I left so they couldn’t leave me.” As much sense as than probably made.

He slowly pulled his hand back biting his lip. “I screwed up, I know that. Sometimes it feels like all I do. When I was a kid, no one wanted me. ‘It’s not my fault’, or at least that’s what the therapists said. But it was all me. I just couldn’t be what people wanted. They all … left me.”

“We didn’t leave though, … we are all still here around you?  Especially…”  Shiro kissed his lips lightly, with his eyes closed.  He could tell this adventure was draining for them all, but one more moment he could finally get all of his feelings out in the open for Keith.

“We are a family,…. our souls are deeper than blood.”

That was unexpected. Even so Keith found himself leaning into the kiss. His own eyes closed a look of peace spreading across his features. It took several moments for him to recover when the kiss was broken off.

lionsandspacewolves‌:

Keith licked his lips reaching out again. This time he actually placed a hand on the other’s upper arm biting his lip. He’d never really done this before, but he wanted to do his best. Shiro was so important to him.

“I didn’t want to know Shiro. It was easier to just believe it was you than think I wouldn’t find you.” He never wanted to think of Shiro as dead again.

“Well, it was frightening being dead and still within the lion.”

Shiro mumbled, allowing Keith to know where he was finally, such a relief at the time.  Just being packed around and devoid of anything, slightly made him wonder if he was anywhere.  That is, if it hadn’t been for the Black lion not letting him give up.

“If you been there, you would have found me faster..”  Pointing out, but loving Keith none the less for getting him home.

Keith looked away pouting. “Shiro I ... I’m not good at people, or friends. Everyone ... leaves. I ... I left so they couldn’t leave me.” As much sense as than probably made.

⌛️ Speed PAINT: Here | More about VLD Fix it AU: Here

Meet Yorak. Krolia and Kolivan’s child AND Keith’s little brother!

Three years after the war, Kolivan asked Keith if he could court Krolia. At first, he was shocked and upset because he didn’t want to share his mother yet. Or ever. Not after finally getting back together. It was childish, but he didn’t care!

He stopped being stubborn thanks to Lance and Shiro’s intervention, though.

When Krolia got pregnant a year after getting married, Keith felt scared. He knew almost nothing about babies or how to help his mother. But his mind changed once he held Yorak for the first time.

He started crying and wouldn’t stop till he fell asleep with Yorak in arms. This baby was HIS little brother. He was born only minutes ago but those little hands already held his heart. From that moment on, he swore to be the best big brother EVER in the universe.

Extra:

The paladins filled Yorak’s room with toys and cute-baby stuff and Yorak’s favorite toy was the yellow hippopotamus Hunk gave him. His PJs were Lance’s idea (one PJ for each DoTu’s Paladin).

BTW, thanks to @littlecofieart for this idea!