#keithweek

Paladin…

"What is it, Red?" Keith asked, still half-asleep. Red had got into the habit of waking him up when they were separated from the others, and she hadn't stopped now that they were back in the castle.

It was actually one of the nicest ways to wake up. No sharp noises or ringing, or an obnoxious person knocking at his door and shouting at him. No explosions or the castle-ship shaking wildly. Just a gentle feeling, a sense of something in the back of his mind, slowly rousing him. Just Red.

It's safe now…

Oh no. He knew what this was about. Suddenly he was wide awake, rubbing sleep out of his eyes.

"Um, ok, I don't wanna do this now. When it's almost time for sleep, we'll talk. Promise."

Annoyed huff. Assent.

At breakfast he wasn't really there, instead thinking about the dream he had. Since Red began waking him up, those few moments when her consciousness made contact with his had been influencing his dreams. He wasn't sure why that happened, but in the past month he'd seen a lot of strange dreams just before he woke up.

Once, there was a person, radiating happiness and fire. Then, a dark shape that might've once been a person. Then a different person, full of kindness.

At least, that was the impression he got.

"Keith? Hey, you with me?"

He jumped, Shiro's smile right in front of him, and realised the table was empty.

"So, what's bothering you?"

"It's nothing. Um, has Black ever wanted you to wear something… I don't know, for her sake?"

Shiro's eyes went wide, his expression comically horrified. For a few moments, his mouth opened and closed wordlessly like a fish.

"I, uh, uh… uh, no. No," he said, obviously at a loss for what else to say. "…No."

"What's wrong?" Keith asked. Shiro's face looked pained and his fingers twitching, like they did when he was embarrassed.

"And what, exactly, she asked you to wear?" he said, at last, with what appeared to be the last of his strength.

"Remember those Blue Lion slippers Lance wears?" Shiro nodded mutely, eyes narrowing. "Yeah, those, but in red."

"Oh." His friend's face relaxed in relief, and he laughed for a few seconds. Keith frowned, annoyed. "No, no, I'm not laughing at you!" Shiro immediately reassured him.

"Then what are you laughing at?" he demanded.

"Would you believe me if I said you would be better off not knowing?"

Keith considered him. Shiro had never been the kind of overly coddling person who would rather hide the truth about something in the interest of 'protecting' him.

"Alright, fine. So, I'll assume, she hasn't?"

"No. But I think there's a whole mountain of clothes in the hangars."

"Yeah, I've seen the crate."

"Just one? I think there are about four. At least, there are four in Black's hangar…"

Keith panicked a little bit. "I should go check. Just in case. See if there's anything else she'd want me to wear."

Shiro's laughter trailed after him.

…

One of the hangar's corners held a few boxes of various sizes. They weren't stacked on top of each other, rather they were bolted down.

Red showed him the right boxes. There were three of them, all full with clothes, bedding and various other things, all in a red colour. "They're pretty nice," he said, and Red was pleased, knowing he wasn't lying.

By far his favourite was a set of some kind of tight pants and a long sleeved shirt that could reach his thighs. The attire was completed by a pair of red boots with white accents and a pair of arm guards, metallic and adorned with delicate carvings of the Red Lion's face. He could actually wear that at some point.

He liked his own clothes more, but for how long could he wear them before they just fell apart? The jacket was probably strong enough to survive quite a few years, but the rest… not so much.

After dinner, he went to the hangar instead of his room, to change. With his own clothes, the slippers would just look ridiculous, so he went for a set of red pajamas too.

Red was positively glowing, but he could also feel her melancholy.

He looked himself up and down and decided the attire actually looked good.

Good taste, Red purred, smugness practically radiating from her.

"Yes, Red, you have good taste," he smiled fondly. "And I need to sleep. Goodnight, Red."

A happy purr echoed in his mind, and he was sure the other Lions heard all about his clothes that night.

…

"So, you couldn't resist huh Keith?"

"Couldn't resist what?" he was sure Lance was the worst person to see right now. Anyone else would not have cared about what he was wearing. Too much.

"Copying me! I must admit they are very cute slippers, though."

"Yes they are," Shiro's voice said from behind him. Oh no. Was he going to laugh?

Except, when he turned back, he saw Shiro with purple and black nightclothes, and Black Lion slippers.

So cute.

"I convinced him to join us," Hunk said, smiling wide at something behind Keith's back. It was probably Lance telling his friend something by miming.

Shiro smiled too, unrestrained and kind of… content?

"We're building a blanket fort as a team exercise," Shiro explained brightly, and Keith caught the underlying happiness in his voice.

…

The blanket fort was in fact pretty sturdy, but that's what happens when you have a genius engineer there.

"I think this is like the third time I've seen you willingly take off your suit," he observed, keeping his voice quiet.

"Just for tonight," Shiro said, just as quietly. "Maybe someday… but for now, today is enough. We have to be ready after all. How about you? Finally embracing the Lion aesthetic?"

Keith threw him an unimpressed glance at the word. "For tonight. Maybe other days. Red means well, and she feels smug about the whole thing. It's like she wants everyone to know I'm hers. Is Black like this?" he asked, wanting to know if he was the only one who got that impression.

"I think she just likes the way it looks. The black paladin in 'proper' corresponding clothes. But yes, I think, after the whole thing with Zarkon, Black wants to assert to me that we're really partners, she and I."

"Blue loves the way I trusted her," Lance piped up, and they realised they'd been overheard. Figured, with the way everyone was almost on top of each other. "She's so flattered. And let me tell you, it's comfy."

"It is, isn't it?" Allura's voice came from the intercom suddenly, a dreamy quality to it. Everyone jumped in surprise, and they heard Coran say something unintelligible. "Oh sorry, I'll leave you to your bonding, Paladins."

Keith remembered his dream, then, in which Allura wore a paladin suit. Could it be that she used to pilot the Blue Lion? He'd have to ask her someday.

"Yellow likes that she can give me things," Hunk said. "Coming here with just the clothes on our backs was not fun, and she gets that, somehow."

"Green was surprised to find that some of those things fit me," Pidge said absently.

"Yeah," Hunk agreed, and they shared a fist-bump.

Everyone had turned up clad in the 'Lion aesthetic' as Shiro had put it, and their slippers were left in a parade to their left, in the order they usually had before forming Voltron. It would probably not be needed today, but Allura and Coran were being extra vigilant. Their suits were just out of the fort, ready to be put on if needed.

…

But it wasn't needed. No Galra found them, no distress signals, nothing.

And if they tried to build Voltron with the fake little lions, no one would know. Except the Lions, who had a good laugh over it. Their paladins were not children, but they definitely acted like it sometimes.