#also krolia isnt in this i hate that entire substory i have an entire different hc as to who keiths momma is and its not that bad plot

[officialredlion]

Okay so I was having a sweet thought today in terms of post voltron after war stuff.

So, okay, Keith and Lance continue BoM humanitarian stuff. On a break during the fall they stop by the Garrison where Shiro, the headmaster 😌, is hosting some kind of 5 year anniversary for the day the universe defeated Honerva and thinks meeting the paladins might be a really exciting thing for the students. Allura and Lotor even make it as well! Wow!

Keith, still not super comfortable with all the celebrity being a savior of the universe brings, kind of tails behind Lance during the lunch period and lets him answer most of the questions for them. It's a lot of sensory overload and scary in a way that bringing back the universe from the edge of destruction isn't.

He's mumbling through answers and quickly signing autographs when he sees a young teenage boy, who desperately needs a haircut, a faint bruise underneath his eye, sitting in the corner alone with a scowl on his face, messing with his food but not eating it. A scholarship kid, he's told. Ward of the state who doesnt have exceptional grades but is here after a scout noticed his talent (James??? Maybe?) but can't keep his act together.

Next think he knows, Keith is sitting across from this kid, being told to fuck off and that he's not interested in talking. Keith responds with that's okay, I don't feel like it either, also kind of tired of listening anyway.

By the end of the day, Keith has a pen pal (begrudgingly at first on the teen's end) he gets "letters" (emails?) from on occasion so he can check in and give guidance where he can. The kid let's him know that everyone wanted to sit with him the next day, but he wasn't ready for that kind of attention. He's even working on making a friend! A shy girl who says she'll help with out with calculus and physics if he helps her with her piloting. And when Keith visits a few times a year, they both train together in combat and flying, sometimes with the caveat of please don't tell shiro I showed you this but check this out *steals hoverbike*

Of course Shiro knows, it's his school....and his bike (again Keith really?)

The teen doesn't have a family to be with during the holidays. Keith didn't either, but now he has Lance and his huge family who are absolutely esctatic to hear that Keith wants to invite someone. There's too many people, too much extended family and friends to sit in one area. It's a little overwhelming, but Lances already has a plan and introduces the kid to his cousin, who just started in August as a freshman in the cohort below his. The kid thinks, hey they're not so bad...and only a month later for winter break does the cousin invite the kid back for holiday dinner before Keith even had the chance.

He reads over his next few updates that the kid now has two friends! His grades are up. He's not sitting alone. He's using the techniques Keith taught him in class and he's absolutely crushing the rankings.

Of course Shiro recognizes them immediately, he taught them to Keith.

By the time he's graduating, the lonely kid goes from no family to having an entire voltron family complete with amazing badass older brother he can tell everything to, because finally someone understands him and he finally knows what it means to be wanted.

And on Keith's end, maybe he starts to finally understand just what in the world (universe, even) THE Takashi Shirogane ever saw in him. And that maybe he means as much to his chosen older brother as his chosen little brother does to him.

And of course during this entire thing Shiro is watching from the background like 🥺🥺🥺 I love full circle moments