#keith looks so small and innocent omg his EYES

[hear-the-black-lion-roar]

Something dumb that’s been living in my head for some time now, based on a chat with a friend. Context under the cut, cringe warning.

|'ve been thinking about that joke how Ulaz gets a silly costume to help Shiro during the "no Galra allowed" episodes and I actually really like the idea. Like, even though they don't settle down after the war since there are still planets to discover and explore, alien cultures to befriend/battle, and trying to bring back some order to the universe devastated by the war with the Galra Empire, there are fairly long periods of time they spend at home on Earth which is also where these states hit Shiro the most often because there's nothing that would distract his mind intensely enough. And it's really hard for both of them, Shiro really doesn't need the guilt to add to the distress he already feels during those episodes and Ulaz feels desperately helpless because he can't really do anything other than talking to him through the closed door. And since Keith isn't always around to help, he decides to try if putting on a mask would work.

So during one of those episodes, Shiro is being a complete mess in his room when all of a sudden Ulaz knocks and says someone's there to see him. He doesn't even bother to respond, he's miserable to all hell and doesn't want to be bothered. Yet when he turns around when the door open, there's a 2,5 meter tall fucking bright pink fluffy plushie unicorn trying to fit through, almost knocking his head off by the doorframe. Now, Shiro is completely stunned. His brain simply doesn't have a program for "home invasion by a giant plushie" scenario so he just stares with his mouth hanging open while the unicorn is shuffling closer, nearly stumbling over his own feet because he can't see shit from inside the costume.

When he croutches down to him, Shiro can only muster: "...Why."

"Well I learned that humans often use the fake stuffed animals as comfort objects..."

"So you turned yourself into one?"

"Yes. I purposely chose a herbivorous creature to present as non-threateningly as possible, plus one that is, as I've been told, heavily associated with childhood, fantasy worlds, innocence, dreaming, and so on. Also, it's fluffy. And you have a strong affinity for fluff."

He starts to explain how he thought that if his form is not that of a Galra, he can hopefully safely provide him with physical comfort, and Shiro just hugs him, laughing and crying at the same time because it's probably the most thoughful gesture anyone ever did for him. So Ulaz picks him up, carries him at the couch, lies down, and lets him rest on him, gently stroking his hair and back. Shiro manages to choke out, "You know, every time I think I can't possibly love you even more, you always prove me wrong," before breaking down in tears again, eventually crying himself to sleep while being softly sing to.

The next morning, Keith gets back there and when he enters Shiro's room, he initially thinks he's sleeping on a giant plushie. He almost has a heart attack when the plushie lift his head and gestures to him to be quiet. He then carefully untangle himself from Shiro, covers him with a blanket and gets out of the room and out of the costume before Kosmo gets completely crazy because OMG HUGE CHEWING TOY! and tries to tear his tail off. Keith decided a long time ago he won't be surprised by anything that's happening in that house and just asks, "He gets freaked by anything Galra-shaped again?", and when Ulaz nods, "Why didn't you call me? I'd get here sooner."

"You were on a fairly important mission. I can't exactly call you off on a whim."

"You know very well you can when it's Shiro."

"I'd like to remind you that the responsibility you took upon yourself when you joined the Blades is not a small one. You better prove you are indeed a reliable member."

Keith of course pouts because IT'S SHIRO DAMMIT AND YOU OF ALL PEOPLE SHOULD UNDERSTAND!

Ulaz just pats him on the shoulder and show him to the room. "Go to him. He'll be happy to see you when he wakes up. I'll go make some breakfast." and starts to leave. Keith calls after him and says, "Thanks. For everything you do for him." Ulaz just smiles. "It's my duty and my pleasure." Which for Keith is pretty obvious since he gets kicked out of the house every time those two want to have some adult fun.

He then goes in and together with Kosmo he snuggles to Shiro until he wakes up. And when he does, Keith presents him with a beautiful crystal figurine that looks a lot like his DnD character he got for him and Shiro is just done, he barely pulled himself together, his hair is a mess, his eyes are swollen from crying, probably looks like a zombie, yet no one cares and everyone is nice at him. So he hugs him with "I love you," and when Kosmo snuggles to him as well for some ear scratches, Shiro frowns at him: "Not you, you shredded my favourite boots and I still didn't forgive you." Space doggo is offended because the boots didn't even taste that good.

[whattheklance]

Wecavod 4

wecavod= “What Else Could a Virgin Omega Do?”

So this is probably the most chaotic of chunks of information from my original notes.

I have the original timeline that I was never sure about and glad changed to what realfakedoors and me came up with, but here’s what was floating around in my notes long before that.

There’s also some chunks of dialogue related to some of the bullet points, or some summaries of scenes and scenarios. It’s all kind of a jumble, but if you’d like to read it, here it is.

Original “Timeline”

Lance decides to try speed dating. mixture of bored and creeped out interactions (this happening only after he tried and failed to see keith again cuz keith is popular)

Keith learns Lance speed dating news from a coworker (see a brief dialogue thing I have below this list)

Possibly keith at work more?? ruing his new popularity. or maybe a keith dream about lance? (this one might not be necessary at all. just an idea if more angst is needed or to build suspense)

Lance assertive flirting at a club leads to being stalked by a scary alpha.

Keith enraged at finding out about lance’s plight from coworker

Lance catches Keith talking w/ shiro but can't hear anything. Makes a lot of assumptions

Keith & shiro? + matt conversation?? Maybe Keith is talking to them about lance? Maybe he's keeping everything about lance to himself but is spitballing ideas of changing his "career path"

matt/shiro wedding. lance and keith were invited separately. possibly use this location & event for confession of feelings, but with a lot of awkward and shy stuff leading up to it.

if the wedding is where they get together then next would be the hottest steamiest night between them afterward. a long time coming (pun intended). cuz they know they love each other. Or possible deliberately postpone this and give them some absurdly innocent and/or awkward interactions before they finally have their first night "together."

(END OF TIMELINE)

SMALL BITS OF WRITTEN DIALOGUE

/////////////////////////////

Keith is told by a coworker that they saw Lance at speed dating.

Keith: "What are YOU doing dating?" (author's note: as employees at the brothel it's in their contract that they can't be casual dating for health/safety reasons.)

Coworker: "Moral support"

yaddayaddayaddda. They talk some more. Keith doesn't care about small talk. He's in his own head until...

Coworker: "I could still smell you on him."

Keith felt like he'd been kicked in the gut. He couldn't breath. Lingering scent post-knotting was normal for a few days. But it'd been over a month. His heart tightened as his brain struggled to assign meaning to that new piece of information.

Confusion.

Keith's hopes are up but he still dares not believe.

////////////////////////////////////

The "Stalking" idea

Lance tries to be "loose" in reaction to his extreme attachment to Keith, and decides to respond to getting hit on at a club to get a date or one night stand.

maybe lance was starting to smell "in heat" even before he feels it so the alpha gets aggressive. Follows Lance out of the club, harassing him.

Not wanting to lead the guy home he took a detour. unsure of what to do or where he was going. He ended up walking by the brothel's entrance

TWO IDEAS about this scene -lance could seek asylum there to escape his stalker OR -2 or 3 alphas inside the brothel could hear/smell what was going on outside and they come out to intervene. Lance asks them about Keith and they tell him just that–he's booked.

Dialogue after Lance is long gone and Keith is between clients

Keith: "Why do you smell like him???"

Guy (rolo?): "Who?"

K: "You know DAMN WELL who. Everybody does."

G: "Chill, man. He was only here for a bit."

Keith's mind raced. a glimpse of hope. Was Lance scheduling a new appointment? Had he stopped by to try to see Keith?

G: "(continued) An Alpha was stalking him so we helped him out. Poor dude didn't know we could already smell the preheat on him."

Lance had been in fucking danger and Keith wasn't the one to help him. He didn't even know. Damn, he would've settled with just being in the same room with him even if it meant seeing him if only for a second. He never hated his life before, but that was the only way to describe this sickening feeling.

Keith hated that lance was HERE and he didn't get to see him. He hated that he couldn't be the one to help him, protect him. More than all that he hated himself that he was in here...doing his job, fucking another nobody.

G: "You need to get your Alpha-self in order. You can't go claiming or dibs on clients. Who says he even wants to see you again?"

hearing someone tell him the precise words keith feared the most sent him almost feral, shoving his coworker so hard he hit the tile and slide across it.

/////////////////////////////

Lance catching Shiro and Keith talking together somewhere

possibly have lance catch the two of them from a distance and be able to suspect that they had a history

Seeing familiar signs from Keith with the added pain that Shiro could touch him nonchalantly and Keith not only didn't flinch, he seemed comforted.

Between that and a certain fondness in Shiro eyes that's similar to the way he looks at Matt

Lance gets juvenile ideas about "omg does Matt know?? Only to see Matt join them later and nothing about either Shiro or Keith's body language changes

They weren't hiding anything from matt. He'd have been shocked if Shiro had, but of course that guy was true.

Whatever Shiro and Keith were talking about Matt was in the know. Both were equally contributing to the conversation with Keith

Why did his mind immediately jump to intimate things between them?? They're both alphas. But thinking on it lance realized that Shiro had an alpha girlfriend in high school and as far as he knew it, the only people before Matt that Shiro had ever been with had been alphas.

Course he never knew anything about Shiro's sex life, even though high school him would've given his right arm to learn even one detail.

(Possible) Keith side of the same scene (or maybe just some in general characterization to include throughout)

Keith depression? He has a contract with the brothel and has never worked anywhere else. He dropped out of school so he doesn't even have a diploma.

He can't even think about going after Lance until sex isn't his job. It has to be Lance and no one else. He wouldn't be able to stand seeing Lance's face if he had to go to work.

Shiro and Matt offered advice in regards to what he could do if/when he got out

But he didn't want to risk his good livelihood cuz he doesn't even know if lance would accept him. He doesn't want to pursue lance while this is his job, but he doesn't want to sacrifice his job without knowing if he has a chance with lance. what to do.

If the above scene happens before the wedding: Lance having already had the surprise seeing them together, and learning keith and shiro know each other. At the wedding Keith initiates conversation cuz he has no idea that Lance knows Shiro. Lance wants to damn well know the answer after seeing them together.

/////////////////////////////

Shiro/Matt wedding: the first klance interaction since...Lance’s heat

Lance goes stag, and is hyperaware that most people have a date or at least a 'plus one.' The last thing he ever would've expected was to encounter KEITH.

"How do you know Shiro" conversation

upon being face to face for the first time in a WHILE this is the first thing out of both their mouths

Keith: (conversationally) "So, how do you know Shiro?"

Lance: (sputtering indignantly) "How do I know Shiro? I grew up with him. How do YOU know Shiro???"

Keith hesitated with his drink at his lips, searching for a 'way' to word it.

Keith: (slowly) "Well~I guess you could say we worked together." Regretting the words the moment they left his mouth.

Lance: Lance stared slack-jawed. "No––No way." shock/stunned, mouth hanging open

Keith: "No-no-no-no. Not like that. I didn't mean––"

Lance took a deep breath and relaxed again.

Well Keith kind of did mean it, but Lance didn't need to know that, especially if they're childhood friends.

Keith massaged the truth a bit, it wasn't his place to tell Lance about something Shiro hadn't. It was Shiro's business.

From Keith's brief acquaintance with Shiro, it was a little eerie that he already had a connection to Lance from the year he was old enough to take his job. He was 18 and a new employee at the brothel, having dropped out of school. Not long after, an older guy joined up too. The notorious virgin Alpha hired only getting hired because of how fucking hot he was.

That'd be story for a different day...what was he thinking?? Like he'd get to see Lance enough to eventually tell him about that? He was constantly catching himself acting like they were already "in" a relationship.

**LATER**

Lance: (watching Matt with Shiro in their slow dance, eyes staring at Matt's suit collar that had to be hiding a mark Shiro made long before this day. It gave him chills thinking about it.) "I wonder what it feels like to be mated, claimed."

Keith almost choked on his drink when Lance suddenly said that introspectively. His heart raced. His body tensed. Was Lance addressing him or just talking to himself out loud??

KLANCE DANCING (at least one 'slow dance')––I want this to be important

So possibly have a wedding dance between them where the vibes Keith gets from lance give him the courage to take a chance.???????

Holding lance close cheek to cheek, chests pressed together arms wrapped around each other, hands pressed into backs. Whenever they spoke they looked each other in the eye, noses almost touching.

Both felt drunk on the others scent, fighting a strong urge to just close the distance for a kiss. They both wanted that taste again.

maybe they kiss? and it gets heated but their brains get in the way? OR they ALMOST kiss but one of them pulls away.

////////////////////////////

FUTURE . after angst and miscommunication

would KEITH "confess first??" maybe? but expect no reciprocation when he does.

the line below is text FROM A FANART by artisttothebone

Lance: "I love your eyes, your hair, your smile, I love YOU Keith"

maybe make it something like...

Lance: "I love the warmth of your arms around me, the sound of your breathing, the feel of your laugh when I touch your chest. Every time I have to leave your side I die a little inside because I never want to be apart from you. I love YOU, Keith. You."

Keith: "Lance–"

/////////////////////////////

POST CLIMAX (they've been a together for a while)

Keith job situation. Decides to get his GED to eventually pursue psychology and language studies.

Insert jokes from Lance about having a high school boyfriend, and it implying some huge age gap, or that he's robbing the cradle etc.

Keith saying: "you KNOW, I'm actually OLDER than you"

And

"Its not high school, it's high school equivalent"

Lance knows all that he just loves how easy it is to rile Keith up, being so flappable. Lance always showers his love afterward

[blueplanettrash]

Hey, could you do one where Lance almost kill someone in cold blood and paladins were forced to hold him back and were totally teriefed? Btw your writing is amazing and sorry for my English but l'm trying.

Omg thank you so much

Lance watched as Red exited out of the atmosphere, his cheek scraped against the dirt as the planet’s commander, Thax, pressed his head into the ground. They had landed on a planet earlier that day and tried to negotiate an alliance with them. Until they figured out that they planned to turn them into the Galra. When they attempted to escape, everyone but Keith had been captured. They just hoped that he would be able to plan with Allura and Coran before the Galra arrived and kept them prisoner.

“Commander, should we follow the red lion?” One of the soldiers asked. Thax waved his hand in dismissal and pressed down further on Lance’s skull.

“We have four of the paladins and their lions, we have no need to get the fifth, this will be enough to please Lord Zarkon,” he stated. He picked Lance up by the back of his collar and dragged him to line him up with Hunk, Pidge, and Shiro. He was already regretting telling them what the Galra had done to themselves personally; about Pidge’s family, Shiro’s imprisonment, and the fall of Altea. They were quickly bound with their hands behind their backs and around their torsos.

“Are you okay Lance?” Shiro asked with concern, looking at the bloody graze on his cheek. Lance gave him a reassuring smile in return.

“Yup, A-okay boss man,” he said cheerfully. He heard Thax scoff and turned to face him. He was standing imposingly in front of them with his arms crossed in front of him.  

“I’m almost surprised that the all-powerful Voltron fell for this plan,” he stated mockingly, “then again all you seem to preach is peace and diplomacy, instead of fighting for planets or taking them by force. It all seems a bit tedious to me,” he huffed. He paced in front of the four of them, stopping at the end in front of Pidge.

“But what could I expect from a weak girl who couldn’t even save her family when they needed it,” he smirked at Pidge as she lowered her head in shame.

“Or an unfit paladin who looks as if he couldn’t get himself off the ground if he tried,” he laughed at the way Hunk blushed and looked away from his face.

“And a broken soldier who couldn’t escape for a year and still feels pity for himself,” Shiro’s eyes widened before he bit his bottom lip and looked down at the ground. Lance listened to this with impossibly wide eyes, a feeling of pure hatred stirring in his stomach.

“Ah I almost forgot about the Blue Paladin, just like the rest of the universe,” he crouched in front of Lance and grabbed his chin in his claws. “Can’t forget about Voltron’s weakest link now can we?” Lance couldn’t hear Thax’s voice over the rushing in his ears. His eyebrows lowered and he looked straight into his eyes with a glare full of complete hatred.

“Are you feeling brave paladin?” He laughed backhanding Lance across the face. Lance’s head snapped to the side but his glare didn’t let up and he only faced Thax again. He gritted his teeth and shot forward grabbing the ridge of Lance’s chest plate and hulled him up.

“Do you have something to say?” He spat, punching Lance in the gut making him spit out the air in his lungs. He dropped him to the ground and started mercilessly kicking him wherever he could reach. There were loud cries of disapproval coming from the rest of the team but he ignored them, set on trying to teach Lance a lesson. He stomped down on his chest plate making him look up at him.

“Something to say?” He asked again.

“Don’t insult my friends, they’re worth more than you’ll ever be,” he hissed breathing heavily under his boot. Thax let out a snarl and fell to his knees to deliver a few heavy hits to Lance’s face before he heard the sound of ships coming their way. He stood up with a smirk looking down at Lance’s blooded nose and forehead.

“I believe that is the sound of our ensured victory,” he stated smugly. He looked up at the sky but his smirk dropped and his eyes widened when he saw the Castle start descending into the atmosphere. He turned to his second in command in fury.

“Why did you not inform me that they had another ship?” He demanded.

“We couldn’t detect it, Sir,” they stuttered under the venomous glare they were being given. He sighed in annoyance and pivoted to look at the few soldier that were around the base.

“Everyone get to your crafts, we must take the large one down,” he commanded. However, before anyone could move to do as they were told. One of the Castle’s particle beams shot out destroying the aircrafts that were lined up a ways away from them. Thax could only stare in shock as the soldiers all retreated away from him, leaving him to stare at Red when he fell to the ground in front of him. His hands shot up the moment Keith ran down the ramp and pointed his sword to his throat.

“Guys,” he said in relief. He crouched in front of Lance and cut the ties to his wrists and carefully set them in front of him, noticing the obvious damage done to him. He turned to release Shiro only to immediately start hearing the sound of beating on flesh. He cut the ties binding Shiro and looked over his shoulder. He froze when he saw Lance standing over Thax throwing blow after blow in his face, chest, gut, anywhere he could reach and he didn’t look close to stopping.

Lance could only feel the rage boiling just beneath his skin. How dare this stranger hurt his friends like this. They don’t deserve to be torn down like that, they’re everyone’s heroes. They’re his heroes. He was going to teach this unworthy creature a lesson. Even it ended up costing him his innocence.

Thax only felt fear staring into the glazed over blue eyes that seemed to be staring and mocking his very soul. The blood that dripped from the paladin’s nose and forehead made the glowing eyes stand out even more. He could only feel himself slipping into a daze as hit after hit landed on his body. The feeling of cold metal pressing into his forehead was the only thing that made him snap back into awareness. He looked up and saw the shiny white metal of the paladin’s bayard and felt it dig into his skin slightly.

“N-NO NO NO PLEASE DON’T KILL ME!”  He screamed as tears burst out of his eyes. He sobbed out pleas to the blue paladin and trembled when his eyes didn’t look away from him or show any sort of remorse. He started blubbering in terror when he saw the small twitch of Lance’s finger and the start of it pressing down.

“LANCE, NO!” Keith yelled pulling his arm away making the blue laser graze across Thax’s cheek instead. He yelped and immediately slumped on his side in a dead faint. Keith looped his arms through Lance’s when it looked like he was about to jump on him again but caught him when he slumped down as well, finally succumbing to his injuries. He shakily looked over to the other paladins who were equally trembling at what they had just witnessed. They cautiously walked over when they saw Keith struggling to take Lance closer to Red. Shiro picked him up and walked on-board Red. With a glance to their own lions they decided to board as well, the threat of the soldiers minimal at this point.

“I’ve never seen Lance act like that,” Hunk admitted quietly as Red flew up to the hanger doors to land.

“Me neither,” Pidge added sticking close to Hunk who was standing further away from Shiro and the bloody form of his best friend. They were all still trembling from seeing the actions of one of their best friends. They unloaded and started making their way to the med bay. Keith stared blankly ahead as he thought about what could have happened if he wasn’t able to grab Lance in time. He would have murdered someone in cold blood obviously, but even after that. At any rate he wasn’t sure whether or not he could trust him now after seeing what he was capable of even after being severely injured.

“What do we do now?” Pidge asked after they set him in a pod. She was still shaken up and everyone could see it as she stayed behind one of the examination tables in the room. They looked at Shiro in question.

“We wait,” he stated looking at Lance warily. “Then we’ll have to handle Lance.”

Stories Masterlist

[lordofthebigtimesupernatural]

a concept i have been thinking about since reading your au of the single dad shiro au (au-ception woah): shiro being THAT dad who sees teenage keith in a crop top for the first time or super tight jeans and being like????? PUT ON THIS PARKA IMMEDIATELY YOUNG MAN because he will not and can not stand the thought of anyone ogling his precious gift to this earth. nope.

Omg, can I say that I laughed so hard when I read this prompt? Like just imagining this in my head was so funny. Protective Dad Shiro trying to protect his boy’s innocence. No one deserves to look, no matter how cute Keith is. I loved this and I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it! And whoops, something super happy turned into an emotional realization and all. ha. Ha. ha. But it’s still very fluffy. Enoy! I love when you guys send in these prompts.

x.V.x

               “Andwhere do you think you’re going young man?”

               “Um,out? With my friends?” Keith paused in the doorway, hand still on the handle ofthe front door. He turned around to face his father, who had appeared out ofnowhere (so it felt like) with arms folded over his chest. He tapped his footgently and one of his perfect eye brows rose. Quickly, Keith ran a list throughhis mind.

               Did I forget anything today? It’s not hisbirthday. Or grandma or grandpa. I already did the dishes and took out thetrash. My room is never a mess. We already went grocery shopping. It’s Saturdayso he has to go into the office, meaning we couldn’t have anything planned.

               “Um, Ican’t think of anything that I’ve forgotten. Can I go now?” Keith asked,rubbing the back of his neck when he heard a familiar honk outside of hishouse. That meant that Hunk was here, and everyone else was probably already inthe car.

               “Whatare you wearing?” Shiro asked, trying to keep his voice from sounding tooshrill or upset. When Keith was younger, Shiro never had to worry about whatKeith wore. He often wore the same type of cotton t-shirts and shorts all thetime, year round. However, as Keith got older and older, diving into his teenyears, Shiro noticed Keith beginning to explore with his sense of fashion. Now,Shiro wasn’t ever going to judge Keith, because after all, he was thedefinition of a military man, and yet he wore the “Baddest” eyeliner and eye shadowon his eyes (according to Lance and Allura) and he kept good care of his face.

               Shirowas happy that Keith was starting to get comfortable in other clothing that heliked. However, now that Keith was fifteen, there was the issue that Keithmight be interested in…dating. AndKeith was a good looking young man already, meaning there would be no doubtthat others would be ogling Shiro’sson.

               Andthat was unacceptable.

               It wasShiro’s job to protect his baby’s innocence for as long as he could. It was ajob Shiro took seriously too.

               Currently,Keith was about to walk out of the safetyof their house, with the tightest black pair of skinny jeans, with rips alongthe knees and thighs. That wasn’t even the worst part of the whole outfit; no,on top Keith wore an actual literal crop top.

               Shirohad to admit it looked good, but that top revealed way too much skin of Keith’sbelly and back. Not to mention the skin showing along Keith’s leg. And Keith had his hair pulled back intoa messy pony tail which meant Shiro could see some neck skin. Neck skin.

               Hisbaby’s innocence would be lost by those vultures in society.

               Shirocould not let that happen.

               “Myoutfit?” Keith blinked, confused by his dad’s question. “It’s supposed to bereally hot today, and I don’t like sweating. You know that.” Keith shrugged andattempted to exit the house once more. He was stopped by Shiro moving quicklyin front of the door.

               “Thenwhy don’t you wear regular jeans? That are looser and not black? Then it won’tbe so hot and a tank top?” Shiro smiled quickly and nodded. However, Keith onlyfrowned.

               “Dad,it’s going to be like 35°C today. That’s what too hot, even for a tank. This isairy.” Keith gestured to his top and Shiro could only see how much skin wasshowing. “Can I go now? The others are all waiting for me, and that’s rude.”Keith pushed against his father and opened the door. Shiro bit his lip whenKeith made his way for the car before snatching something off the closet by thedoor.

               “Youngman, you put on this Parka right now!” Shiro finally shouted, causing Keith tofreeze in his steps. Shiro ignored Lance and Pidge poking their heads out ofthe car, curious about what was taking Keith so long. Eventually Keith turnedto look at Shiro in disbelief.

               “What?”He asked.

               “ouheard me. You put on this Parka immediately young man.” Shiro thrust thearticle of clothing outwards and held it out for Keith. Keith only gawked athis father.

               “Dad!It’s going to be too hot for that!” Keith argued with a pout and Shiro snorted.

               “Doesn’tmean you have to show off your whole body for everyone out there. There are lotsof pervs and creeps who will want to feed off your innocence!” Shiro snappedback and held out the parka for his son again. Keith sighed dramatically.

               “Oh no.No. No. No. We are not having this conversation now. It’s hot, this outfit iscool. Goodbye dad.” Keith threw his hands in the air in disbelief beforespinning around and storming off.

               “Don’tyou dare walk away from me! You put this parka on right now or I will shoveyour winter coat on!” Shiro threatened weakly but Keith kept walking.

               “I knowhow to take care of myself, dad. Give me a break.” Keith waved absently overhis shoulder at his dad, who was now standing around with his mouth sputteringlike a fish.

               Lancepoked his head out of the window and waved to Shiro. “Don’t worry Shiro, Keithis wearing that really because it’s hot. Not because it’s a rebellious fashion statement.”

               “LanceMcClain, you better not also be wearing a crop top or I’ll be calling yourmother.”

               Lanceyelped before shoving his head back into the car. Luckily, Keith had reachedthe passenger seat and threw himself into the car. He buckled up and motionedfor a nervous Hunk to floor it before looking back at his dad.

               “Youforgot your PARKA!!!!”

x.V.x.

               “A croptop Allura. It was an actual crop top.” Shiro moaned into his hands, at thesmall café that he was at with Allura and Coran. He’d tried to call Keith abouta dozen times after the teen left, only for his calls to go straight tovoicemail. Shiro knew Keith was just mad, and he would actually pick up if itwas an emergency but calling about a parka wasn’t exactly an emergency.

               “So?”Allura sipped her drink quietly and shrugged. Shiro turned his head so that hecould stare at her in disbelief. “Crop tops are cool. Plus they’re super cute.I wear them all the time.”

               “Wellyeah, but you can beat off any pervs…” Shiro argued weakly.

               “So canKeith.” Allura pointed out and Shiro groaned again. “He is a champion ex-boxer.He’s knows Judo. His father was aspecial operations military man who know doubt helped to teach him self-defense,and Keith doesn’t care for “suitors.” You know that.”

               “Suitorsis too nice. Let’s just call them creeps.” Shiro sighed dejectedly while Allurachuckled.

               “Youcannot hide Keith away forever. He’s a handsome young man, and no doubt manyother girls and boys would agree.” Coran added, earning a sharp glare fromShiro. Even after all these years, Coran was still afraid of the younger manafter losing Keith and the kids in a park.

               “Coranis right Shiro.” Allura gently gave Shiro’s arm a pat. “Keith is growing him. Hemight want to have girlfriends or boyfriends. It’s what teenagers do and surelyyou remember what being a teenager was like?”

               “Yeah…butKeith is so innocent…”

               “And he’salso very blunt. I doubt Keith will let any person walk over him or be weird.He knows how to take care of himself. You gotta let go of some of theseridiculous restrictions.” Allura laughed when Shiro whined into his arms beforesighing. He nodded slowly and sat slumped in his seat with his arms over hischest. “Like you could even let go of these restrictions for yourself.” Allurasaid causing Shiro to frown.

               “What?”

               “Shiro,it’s so hot that I’m practically melting in shorts and a tank. You’re wearing ablack long sleeve shirt and pants. I can feel your sweat from over here.”Allura said and Shiro gasped.

               “I amnot! I am perfectly fine like this.” He cried and Allura only rolled her eyes.

               “You’regoing to pass out.”

               Shirochewed on his bottom lip. Actually, he wasreally hot. And there was probably sweat stains everywhere (how embarrassing). “I just don’t…I don’t want anyone to see them.”

               “Seewhat?” Allura cocked her head but Shiro only bit his lip some more. SuddenlyAllura’s eyes widened. “Oh. Oh. Youmean your scars. From your time in the military?” Finally Shiro nodded.

               “I havea lot on my back and my shoulder by the prosthetic. They’re kinda gross.” Shiroshrugged.

               “Whocares?” Allura frowned deeply, concerned for her friend’s insecurity. “It doesn’tmatter what anyone else thinks except for you.Those scars are proof of how strongyou were; of how far you’ve come since them. I’m proud of you. Keith is proudof you. Coran is and your parents. We all know that you’re not weak or ugly.You’re perfect, just the way you are.” Allura’s smile softened when Shiromanaged a teeny grin.

               “Besides,I think any of your suitors will betoo busy with your perfect face to notice the scars right away.” Coran added, causingShiro and Allura to laugh.

               “I justdon’t want you to pass out from heat exhaustion on me.” Allura said with alaugh and Shiro nodded.

x.V.x

               Keithsighed when he and his friends arrived back at his house. It’d been a week ofShiro trying to get him to wear a parka, and a week of Keith ignoring his dad.However, his dad hadn’t tried to stop him from leaving in another crop top andskinny jeans this morning. He’d simply smiled and wished Keith a good day.

               “Dad!We’re home.” Keith called out as Lance already began rummaging his fridge withHunk while Pidge kicked off their shoes.

               “Outsidein the Garden. Welcome home!” Shiro called out from outside and Keith made hisway out. However, upon seeing his dad kneeling in the garden, Keith froze withhis jaw dropped.

               His dadwas putting in the last of the plants for this year with a baseball cap overhis head to keep the sun out of his eyes. However, unlike the usual longt-shirt or long-sleeve, Shiro was wearing a loose (very loose) tank top and shorts.His dad never wore shorts. Or tank tops.

               WhenShiro turned around after finishing his work, he looked at Keith biting his lipnervously. Keith could instantly see how uncomfortable his dad was like this, lookingfar more vulnerable than ever. Keith’s eyes lingered on the visible scars on his dad’s skin, that heknew all too well from Shiro’s time in the military.

               Finally,Keith beamed and laughed. “Purple looks good on you dad. You should wear thatmore.” I’m proud of you for overcomingyour fear. Shiro’s whole body sagged with relief at the unspoken words fromhis son before grinning brightly.

               “Wellit was hot out and these are cool.” Shiro said playfully before he wasinterrupted by several loud whistles and one annoying cat call.

               “Wh-oa.Looking good Shiro!” Lance yelled from their porch and Keith rolled his eyes.He smiled a bit at the relieved look on his dad’s face before rolling his eyes.

               “Youperv. Stop checking out my dad. That’s weird!”

               “I can’thelp it.” Lance shrugged, entirely unashamed. “Your family has genes that aretotally unfair.”

               “That’strue. Completely unfair.” Pidge nodded in agreement while Hunk smiled. Keithsighed dramatically at his friend’s antics, but couldn’t help but grin at hisdad. He was proud of his dad for stepping out of his comfort zone, and backing off of Keith.

               Plus,this meant that Keith could wear a crop top whenever he wanted.

               Score.