Lance noticed Keith walking the opposite way down the hall. He was staring at the floor and kind of shuffling. Lance frowned.
"Did anyone notice Keith acting kind of…. Down?" He asked, coming into the meeting room.
Nextra, one of the Galra who had decided to stay with them while they monitored the fallen empire, nodded. "That would be the topic of this meeting."
"Oh cool." Lance sat down, crossing his legs. He was totally on top of the subject today. Go him!
Nextra nudged Rognak, the other of the two who was staring deeply into the surface of a tablet, and cleared his throat. The scarred Galra looked around blinking for a moment. Apparently he had taken an awful blow to the head during the war and was a bit slow at times.
He shook his head. "Right Paladins. You may have noticed your fellow Keith acting a bit oddly. We believe this to be due to his Galra blood. It is approaching breeding season and he is coming to be around the age where it should start to affect him. Not quite so deeply as the rest of the Galra, given his age, but still."
"Breeding season?" Shire asked, startled.
"Indeed." Nextra nodded. "Every rotanem. Around two earth years for you. Not precisely of course but close."
Lance sat bolt upright. "Wait! Is this gonna be like that Star Trek thing with Spock? Is Keith gonna die if we don't find him a mate?" His pitch rose. "How do we find him someone? We're in the middle of space!"
Rognak worked his jaw and shook his head in utter confusion. "I do not know what a star trek is on your planet but no. Keith is perfectly fine on his own."
"Oh. Good." The Blue Paladin sat down, relieved.
"What about you two?" Pidge asked.
"We're quite content with one another." The two answered nearly in sync.
"So you're gay? No offence, just curiously." Hunk asked.
Nextra cocked his head. "Explain gay. Then I may answer your question better."
The Paladin waved his hand. "You know, like when two guys are together. Two males."
"Ah. You are laboring under a human concept." The Galra nodded. "Our species has no male or female. Every being has both capacities when it comes to creating young."
"So you're hermaphroditic!" Pidge leaned forward excitedly. "Is Keith too?"
"Most likely."
Shiro sighed. "Okay wait. Focus. How can we help Keith? Does he need to stop training or eat more or not eat? What can we do?"
Nextra actually half smiled at the Paladin. "There's not a lot to do. Just be aware that he'll be very emotionally sensitive right now. His irritation will be fury. His uncertainty will be personal crisis. His like, adoration. His satisfaction, ectasia. But he will also be mildly uncomfortable the entire time."
"So watch what you say around him." Shiro said casting a gaze at Lance.
"And don't be alarmed if he seeks out abnormal contact or averts from any and all contact." Rogak waved a clawed hand. "Both are quite common."
"So don't insult him and lots of hugs." Hunk said with finality. "Wait, Keith knows all of this right?"
"He does." Nextra nodded. He paused and frowned as Rognak suddenly got up and left. "He wanted us to tell you. But he very specifically did not want to be here. Pardon me please." He hurried after the confused Galra.
"I wonder if I could make him something special." Hunk was starting to plan out recipes already.
Pidge was babbling about hermaphrodites from earth. Something about sponges and worms. Lance was looking pointedly away. Pidge and Hunk left.
"Lance." Shiro said quietly.
The dark skinned Paladin finally looked over.
"I know this is hard for you," The older human said quietly, "But it's hard for Keith too. He does consider you his closest friend out of everyone here. He's going to need you."
"But he's so different now." Lance burst out. "Now he's got these other customs and other. Other. Other stuff that happens!"
"Yes. There are new things. But underneath he's the same Keith."
"I know. I know!" The younger paused. "I know it. Like I know, know it. But. I just don't feel it yet."
Shiro stood up and put a hand on Lance's shoulder. "You will. I'm so proud of you for doing so well with this. I'm proud of all of you. You. Keith. Pidge. Hunk. Even Allura. You learn so quickly. We bonded so quickly. I won't let this family fall apart over something so small."
The Blue Paladin sighed and nodded. "This family's solid Shiro. We've got this."
"Good. I'm going to see if I can't find more information on the databases. Why don't you go relax, you look like you could use it." The Black Paladin gave his shoulder a last pat and headed out the door.
Lance stood up, stretching. He could do with some rest, something mindless. He wandered down the hall with a definitive goal. A couple weeks ago he had figured out that he could get one of the big screens near the dining area to play historical reference footage. It was like old alien war movies. It wasn't much but it was familiar. He plopped himself down and started up something called the XYZ War Quazteran.
"In the entran 19245, there was a mighty Empire. And it's name was SCREEEEEEE."
Lance quickly turned the volume down. That name might actually have killed his ear drums.
"That was piercing." Someone grumbled.
Lance glanced over. "Oh hey mullet. Looking extra frizzy today."
He looked back at the screen, waiting for a snarky reply or even a snort. There was nothing. The Blue Paladin looked back over to find Keith self-consciously running a hand through his hair. Lance gulped. Great, he messed up already.
"Uh. I mean that's good." He stammered out. "Your mullet. It looks frizzy which is good. You look good."
Keith gave him a very confused and concerned look. "Um. Thanks?"
Lance shrugged and looked up at the footage. It was actually quite an entertaining battle. Both sides were smart and observant. Lance felt relaxed but not totally at ease. Probably because of a certain Red Paladin fidgeting away quietly on the other end of the couch. Keith kept catching him glancing over, then quickly away.
"You know, it's kind of cold in here. If you actually sit over here I bet it'll feel much warmer." Lance said, a little too loud.
Keith actually replied. "Yeah. That sounds smart."
The Blue Paladin went still and quiet, letting the other approach him. Keith actually ended up sitting down far closer than he expected. Lance leaned over cautiously and let their shoulders bump together. The black haired Paladin sagged into the contact.
"Oh." Keith sat up straighter, pulling away from the point of contact. He looked more on edge now. "You, ah, probably. Got the lecture?"
"Yep." Lance said, crossing his arms behind his head. "Learned all about your weird cat stuff. I mean cool cat stuff."
"You don't have to keep doing that." The Red Paladin muttered. "I'm not going to flip out of anything."
"Who says I'm not just trying to be nicer?" He joked.
Keith laughed harder than necessary. "Sorry." He choked out, through plays of chuckles. "I'm all over the place."
"Well I'd prefer you be all over here. I'm still cold." Lance held his arms open and pouted like a petulant child expecting a hug.
Keith moved hesitantly and tucked himself in the other's side. Halfway through the movie, Lance was entirely wrapped up in sleeping Paladin. Finally, he found himself smiling. He felt it. Yeah, Keith had changed, but his friend was still there. Same old Keith.
With cuddles thrown in.