Shiro was back.

He had been safely returned back to the Castle of Lions, slightly disheveled and with a few new bruises, but overall intact. They all knew it was lucky - that Shiro could have been found in worse conditions after much rougher treatment.

Shiro's return marked the end of a stress-filled time in Voltron's history. There was no longer a tense atmosphere hanging over them all - a thick cloud that felt like it might ignite any moment and break the thin peace that the Castle's residents were struggling to maintain.

It signaled the end of Lance finding Hunk in the kitchen late at night because he knew the Yellow Paladin cooked when he's worried.

The end of Hunk having to bring dinner to Keith's door because the shorter boy refused to eat dinner with them all when the absence of Shiro haunted the table.

The end of Keith sitting there with Pidge late at night and letting the girl cry into his shirt because Shiro was gone just like her father and brother.

The end of Pidge tearing Allura away from the Black Lion because staring at it wouldn't give them any more answers, and the Altean needed sleep.

The end of Allura sitting silently with Coran by the window to space because she knew the man needed some reassurance that they weren't all going to disappear on him.

The end of Coran hugging Lance because the boy was trying to hard to suppress his own emotions in an effort to keep all the others smiling.

With Shiro back, this all was not needed. The team - the family that they had become - was whole once more, and the tears that fell were only because of joy. Smiles were shared instead of sympathetic looks. Laughter was heard loudly instead of soft cries.

Shiro was back.

Yet, there was still one more matter to attend to.

It began with Keith. The boy had barrelled right into Voltron's leader, throwing away all of his awkwardness and insecurity to just wrap his arms around the man and hug him tightly. He had been the first to meet Shiro, because every single moment without him pushed his every step and gave him the speed to do so.

"Promise you won't ever leave again." The Red Paladin insisted, clinging tightly to assure to himself that the man before him was real. "Promise you won't leave me again." He repeated, letting the last of his crumbling walls fall because Shiro was back.

"I can't." Because he was Shiro, he said those words. He knew this war as well as anyone. He was neither an optimist nor a pessimist, but a realist. He was kind and thoughtful, but overall logical.

He knew the war, so he knew that nothing could be assured. He could not make such a promise only to have it be broken later. He cared too much for his team to do that to them. He would not give false oaths.

Keith did not agree with this tactic.

So he tried some of his own.

Shiro would not relent.

That was, however, until Keith walking around the Castle aimlessly and stumbled upon a new one. Or rather, an old one. He had used it only once before on Earth, but thought it was impossible to use it in space.

His habit of wandering the Castle halls began after the Blade of Marmora. The ship was large enough to walk around for quite some time and manage to not run into another being, which he found slightly comforting. He had spent a year in self-imposed isolation in the desert, and during that time he learned that silence could be both calming and maddening.

Right now, it was the former.

He didn't typical enter any of the rooms, content to just move through the halls. However, there was a door open with a light on, and curiosity picked at him until he came to a stop in the doorway.

"Is that the cow?" He asked, surprised to see none other than Lance with the cow he recognized from the Space Mall. Lance hadn't even removed the bow from the animal. The room they were standing in was some weird cross of an Earth field and an alien desert, with vegetation that looked similar but not quite the same as grass on the ground between paths of silver sand.

Lance jumped slightly, obviously not expecting another soul to be there. It was a bit late, Keith had to admit, but what remained of his sleeping schedule had been killed in order to find Shiro, and it would take a while to revive it.

"No, it's a Balmera." Lance deadpanned. "Yes, it's Kaltenecker. I'm just feeding him." He said, gesturing to the large pile of strange vegetation next to him. Coran probably helped him out with that, Keith knew.

"Him?" Keith questioned, still slightly off-balance by suddenly seeing a cow in the Altean spacecraft. He hadn't really thought about what happened to the black and white animal, but he hadn't exactly had time to ponder the disappearance with the disappearance of a different black and white haired being.

"Yeah." Lance sounded slightly confused, and looked at Keith questioningly as the Red Paladin moved slightly to get a better look at Kaltenecker. Kaltenecker didn't even look at Keith.

Keith looked at the udders, then back at Lance. He then mentally shook his head. He'd let Lance keep up his assumption for now. Right now, he had a different plan in mind. A plan that had worked beautifully when he last used it against Shiro, and the Black Paladin would certainly relent to. He'd only used it once because repeated use decreased its power, and made it less effective against its target.

But Shiro's resilience was strong, and Keith needed to pull out all the stops on this one. It didn't matter to him the consequences it might have.

Shiro was going to make that promise, and Keith would make sure of it.

"Can I borrow him?"

Shiro was unaware.

Roughly a week - since time in space was more of a guess than anything at times - after Keith found Lance and Kaltenecker everything was in place. Lance was playing an unwitting role, and Keith had to admit he was using the Blue Paladin as a means to the end, but he didn't care. He was too persistent in his quest.

Shiro was going to promise not to leave them again. Universe be damned.

His original plan was just going to be between just him and Shiro. They didn't need an audience. The problem was that Lance made his own assumptions, and thought that they were surprising the other three Paladins, and Keith could not correct him without looking suspicious. Lance had already been a bit surprised when Keith told him what he needed, and Keith could not afford to make him any more skeptical, since it might tip off Shiro.

Plus, Lance would definitely not approve of the plan.

So that was what led them all to standing in the kitchen. Pidge, Hunk, and Shiro looking slightly confused why Lance had brought them there, Lance looking slightly apprehensive, and Keith keeping his resolve steady.

It was too late to back out now.

"Well, as I'm sure you all remember," Lance started off confidently, moving carefully towards the Altean version of a fridge, with one half of it for keeping foods cold, and the other half for keeping foods warm. He moved next to the button that would open the cold section. "Pidge and I got a cow at the space mall we went to awhile back. And recently - with a little help," He admitted quietly, causing Keith to race an eyebrow at him in amusement. "I was able to get back a bit of Earth."

He pressed open the door dramatically and moved in front of it so they wouldn't be able to see what he was grabbing. He steps back, still using his tall body to block what he had taken from the fridge (even though they could all easily guess what he had gotten), before allowing the door to slide shut. He then turned, "Voila!" He said victoriously, holding carefully a tray with five tall glasses of milk.

"Woah!" Hunk exclaimed excitedly, moving forward to grab a glass. Pidge reached forward to grab two, passing one to Keith, who made sure to stay slightly out of Shiro's sight. Out of sight, out of mind.

"That's wonderful Lance," Shiro complemented, nodding to the boy as he grabbed his own glass. He then looked a bit serious, "Are we sure this is safe?" He asked, ever careful.

Lance nodded as he set the tray down on the counter, before picking up the last glass. "I talked to Coran, and he helped me treat it so it's basically pasteurized. It's also safe for human consumption. I made sure of it."

Shiro nodded, relaxing, before Pidge moved up next to Lance. "So…" She drawled, "You know how to milk a cow?"

"Well, I did say I had a little help." Lance admitted, not looking at anyone. "Keith - the little Texan he is - does. It was actually his idea."

Surprised looks were shot his way, and Keith watched as Shiro turned, realization slowly coming over his face as Keith took a few steps back, out of reach. "Keith." Shiro stated, his voice serious as he stared at Keith, realizing the plan he had unknowingly stepped into. "You aren't...doing what I think you're doing...are you?" He asked, a faint trace of desperation in his voice.

Keith looked at him innocently, ignoring the confused looks shot his way by the other three Paladins. "I don't know what you're talking about." He asked, holding his glass up to Shiro as if they were doing cheers, before looking thoughtful. "Hey Shiro, can you do something for me?"

Shiro took a careful step forward, as if approaching a wild animal, and Keith moved back the same distance, moving sideways so the island counter was between them.

"Keith…" Shiro said, looking at him carefully. "Put the glass down."

"But Shiro, you know how much I like milk. I feel as though I could chug the whole glass down." Keith stated, not losing his facade of innocence.

"Uh...what's happening?" Hunk's confused question could be heard, but Keith didn't look at him, not breaking eye contact with Shiro.

"You said that you weren't going to do this again." Shiro said to Keith, not breaking the visual contact either.

Keith merely shrugged, "Well, on the subject of promises, why don't you make one?" He asked, serious.

Shiro narrowed his eyes, but Pidge moved before he could reply. "Okay, what is going on?" She asked, moving so that she could look at both Keith and Shiro clearly.

"Shiro is going to promise that he's not going to disappear for a third time." Keith stated, not looking at her, and keeping his voice casual. Shiro moved closer suddenly, but Keith held out a hand in warning and moved the other so that the glass was by his face, tilted slightly so that he was almost taking a sip. He tutted warningly, and Shiro halted. He was still tense, and was watching Keith carefully.

"Okay, I'm confused." Lance blurted out. "What did I miss?"

"Keith is extremely lactose intolerant." Shiro stated, and Keith saw Hunk whip his head to look at him in concern quickly. "And he's not above using it to his advantage, because he has no sense of self-preservation." Shiro paused, looking over Keith carefully, "He did this once before, back at the Garrison. I thought he was bluffing. He was throwing up all night, and couldn't go to classes the next day."

"I don't bluff." Keith stated, his voice cool as he gripped the milk glass tighter at the memory. It had been bad, but that wouldn't shake his resolve. He was too far now to turn around. "Now, promise that you aren't going to disappear again."

"And what's stopping me from letting you do this then throwing you in a healing pod?" Shiro asked, his voice careful. His hands slightly up as if showing he wasn't armed, and Keith had a loaded gun.

"Well, assuming you caught me despite the fact that I have memorized the vent system of the castle and only Pidge and I can really fit, there's a likely chance that Altean healing pods don't know how to treat lactose deficiency in a human. Wounds and bruises are different, but a natural deficiency?" He tutted slightly before smirking at Shiro and innocently raising the glass to his face once more. "I mean, you can take the risk…" He trailed off, letting it move closer and closer to his lips.

Shiro paled. "Stop!" He said, and Keith froze, looking at him knowingly as Shiro sighed. "Stop, you've made your point."

Keith looked at him expectantly. "And?" He asked, ignoring Pidge's look of disbelief at both of them, Lance's wide eyes, and how Hunk's eyebrows were scrunched up with concern.

Shiro took a deep breath, obviously not liking what he was about to do. Shiro and Keith took promises very seriously. "I promise not to disappear again. Now put down the milk."

Keith smiled, "That wasn't so hard, was it?" He asked, putting the glass of milk on the counter and stepping away.

Shiro instantly looked relieved and rushed forward to snatch the glass, moving it quickly out of Keith's reach. Keith didn't care - he got what he wished for. His plan had worked perfectly, and his work was done. Hunk rushed forward to hug Keith, and he let it happen, too satisfied to be bothered by the crushing embrace. Shiro sat down, rubbing his face as if he had just had to defuse a bomb. Pidge looked at them all as if she was trying not to laugh, and Lance looked slightly upset.

"You used me!" He yelled at Keith accusingly, but Keith was too busy being squished by Hunk to respond. "And Kaltenecker! You used him too!" He added.

Pidge looked at Lance with realization before succumbing to laughter. Lance turned on her. "What's so funny?" He asked, his voice slightly raised.

Pidge continued her laughter, "Lance," She said between laughs. "Kaltenecker...Kaltenecker can't 'man up'!" She laughed.

Lance looked at her confused, "Yeah, because he's a cow."

"And the fact that she is a girl!" She said amusedly, laughing harder at Lance's dumbstruck expression. "You milked her and thought she was a boy!"

"Is everyone secretly a girl?!" He yelled out in frustration at no one in particular, looking as if the universe itself had betrayed him.

None of the Paladins noticed Allura and Coran watching from the door, extremely confused and questioning what exactly 'lactose intolerance' was.

Well, at least it looked like they were bonding.