Disclaimer – I don't own Voltron: Legendary Defender. This story was written for Wattpad's August 2016 challenge, which was to write anything which was 10,000 words or more, so I decided to expand upon 'Virus Among Us', particularly since one of the anonymous reviewers was correct in saying "there's no real desire to flesh them out in a unique way", as I was aiming at a simple piece. That said, the one-shot does not need to be read to understand this piece. I also like working with the theory that Shiro and Keith are brothers. This story also puts a twist on the Keith is alien theory.

Virus Among Us
Alien Feelings

The group atmosphere felt wrong, making Keith's stomach clench, and yet the teen could see Hunk, Pidge, and Lance eating up the experience, attaching themselves to Shiro like glue. The black paladin took everything in stride, taking on the role of leadership with ease. Watching everyone for some reason made bile rise to Keith's throat, but he didn't know why watching the four upset him like it did, or maybe he knew full well. Heading off to train seemed like a far better option than thinking too hard about how he felt, particularly when he struggled with losing his temper at the wrong moments.

Closing his eyes as he sat there, ignoring the others yammer away at whatever subject the yellow, blue and green paladins decided to talk about, his memories flickered to the first time Shiro told him patience yields focus. Keith's jaw clenched shut remembering the laughter of his classmates as they called him a bastard child, only for his fist to fly leading him to have an aching jaw. Shiro sat in front of him with his arms folded, jaw set firmly in a stern manner, only to melt away into worry. Keith also remembered the time he told Shiro, "no, you don't get how I feel. I'm the unwanted orphan, while you're actually wanted."

"That's not true." Keith though Shiro would tell him he was also unwanted, but instead told him something which stuck like glue. "I want you. You're my little brother after all. You're my only little brother."

The bile rose to Keith's throat, his eyes opening to see the other three chatting away. "Not anymore. Plus, a half-sibling is a half-sibling anyway you look at it. Why else would they ship me off like that, if I weren't a half-sibling." The red paladin shook his head, the corners twisting up slightly, remembering what Hunk said after the first time they formed Voltron without being in the midst of battle. "No. We're all family. Shiro may have other brothers now, and even sisters, but so do I."

Keith's eyes narrowed just as Lance looked at him, staring. "What's so funny?"

The red paladin's eyes blinked, his mouth opening like a fish as panic welled through his mind, causing a tightening of the chest and throat. Instead of answering he shook his head, looking down at the floor, his hands hanging limp from his knees, palms facing himself.

"Are you sure you're not some alien?"

Keith felt a sudden panic eating away at the back of his mind, a sweat breaking out across his body. He glanced up, wishing to sock Lance in the jaw, but caught the rather exasperated look Shiro gave him, indicating he should take things with stride. "Not going there."

The blue paladin's hand's held up, almost as if he were begging Keith to get into a fight with him. "Come on! You pushed the button and opened the hatch I couldn't. You know, the one that looked like a handprint."

Shiro rubbed the back of his neck, the color draining from his face. "Lance. You're not being very nice right now."

"Come on! There isn't any other explanation!"

Pidge let out a sigh, pushing up her glasses. "Explanation for what?"

"Why Keith was able to push the handprint button? It was a handprint button for crying out loud." Lance leaned back, letting his arms drape across the back of the couch, his lips twisted into a frown. He glared at Keith venomously.

"It's a freaking button, Lance! Please tell me you're not doing this crap because you didn't think of putting your hand on the handprint because that's just lame!" Keith ground his jaw together.

"Says the person who thought it a good idea to go in guns blazing back there!"

Two dark blue eyes looked at the ground rather than his fellow paladins. "That's got..."

"Enough!' Shiro's voice rose up, making a shiver run down Keith's spine, knowing what the tone meant. "It's a button."

"Yeah. You don't need to access a computer to push a button."

"Yeah, but it's..."

"Stop." Keith looked up, a world of feelings and memories coming back. In the back of his head, he could hear the voices telling him what they felt he was - the bastard child of that woman, whose real father, unlike Shiro's was unknown.

His blue eyes widened, watching Shiro rub the back of his neck, the older paladin's mouth flickering for a bit as if he was avoiding something. "Lance..."

"You..." The red paladin swallowed, his sudden utterance making Shiro look him in the eye. Keith stood up. "I'm not going to put up with this. I'm going to go train."

The door swished open and closed before Shiro regained his composure to look Lance in the eyes. "Now look what you've done."

"What?" Lance shrugged his shoulders. "I don't get why Keith can't take a bit of teasing."

"What..." The black paladin's tone darkened, only for two dark eyes to close quickly.

"So you knew the button was a button?" Hunk's eyes widened.

"I mean, it was like Total Recall. Having a handprint shape doesn't mean it's for scanning hands. If it were for scanning hands, then there would have been this light thingy that flickered around. I mean, it was totally a button, and not a scanner, and who hasn't seen Total Recall. It's like, a sci-fi classic."

"Keith hasn't," Shiro muttered, before pushing himself up from the seat. "At least he hadn't when I left for the Kerberos mission." Lance's eyes blinked a couple of times in confusion. I'm going to go and do some damage control."

"Wait..."

…

Sweat covered Keith's body. but not because he'd managed to work up a sweat. Instead, the hot, sticky feeling from when Lance brought up the idea of a certain someone being an alien. A hand wiped his brow, trying not to think about the conversation, pissed off that Lance had managed to irk him so easily.

"Training session end."

Keith's eyes widened, recognizing the voice coming from behind him, his body turning as his dark blue eyes flashed with anger. He swung his bayard, making it disappear. "Shiro..."

One of the older paladin's eyes darted up, his arms crossed. "If you want to come after me, then do."

"That's so not a fair!" The red paladin felt his hands clench together, as well as his jaw. "I could never beat you in a fight!"

"I don't know. You've done a lot of improving, and I'm not exactly my old self." Shiro's facial features softened. "Maybe you could finally take me in a sparring match."

"Don't you dare talk to me about sparring matches when we've not even had one since..." Keith felt the words snap in his throat. "Since..."

"Since I left?" The black paladin looked away. "I get the fact I've neglected you."

"Shiro..." The red paladin let an irritated growl escape through his lips, the breath not registering on his lips. "How would it look if the leader showed favoritism towards his little brother?"

The sound coming from Shiro's lips indicated the older teen's feelings were hurt, and the nineteen-year-olds eyes reflected this. "That..." Instead of finishing, the black paladin looked at the ground again, his arms crossing again. "Do the others even know we're siblings? We don't exactly share the same last name anymore. Not since..."

Keith saw the flicker of pain in Shiro's eyes as the nineteen-year-old looked up again. "Don't. Shiro. You know full well you can't give me special treatment. Whether they know or not, that stays the same. Plus, if you suddenly start giving me special treatment, they'll know."

The look on Shiro's face he honestly couldn't read at that moment. "So you don't want them to know?"

"I..." The red paladin took a deep breath. "I've not said anything because I thought you didn't want to talk about it with them."

"What..." The black paladin suddenly sounded tired. "Keith, please tell me you don't think I'm ashamed of you or something."

Keith felt his jaw and neck muscles tightened up. "Shiro..." Closing his dark blue eyes, he swallowed. "Aren't you aware of the fact I got kicked out of the garrison for disciplinary issues?"

"So?" Shiro's voice sounded even more tired, and Keith looked up, watching as his older brothers eyes closed. "Isn't that my fault? I should have been there for you."

"Stop!" The red paladin found his voice rising, his head shaking. "Don't you dare blame yourself for something that wasn't in your control! Plus, you taught me everything I needed to know to control my temper, but I choose not to heed what you taught me. So it's my fault."

"Well, you should never, ever think I'd ever be ashamed of you."

Keith felt a nasty feeling in the back of his head, watching Shiro's posture begin to freeze up. "Why the hell would you think I'm thinking that!"

"Because I know you're mad at me!" Shiro's arms flailed slightly, as he tried to control his emotions, making one of Keith's eyes twitch. "You gave me one of those looks of yours, and you're giving me another one now. You're annoyed with you."

"Annoyed with you?" Keith let out a laugh, not realizing his tone of voice indicated what Shiro thought.

"I told you. I'd never, ever be disappointed in you. Please..."

"I told you, I know that." Keith narrowed his eyes.

"You thought I didn't want them to know we're brothers. Why? This isn't because..." Shiro's eyes glazed over, becoming distant, his speaking stopping.

The red paladin stepped forward, biting down on his bottom lip. "You didn't think I noticed?" Keith watched Shiro flinch. "Come on Shiro. You're my brother. I know your fighting style. I've seen you flinch like you are now." His own arms crossed his chest. "I can't even imagine what all happened to you, but..." Keith swallowed, looking away. "... you've got enough on your plate without being reminded of our crappy family circumstances."

Shiro's eyes closed. "Keith..."

"What."

"You're angry with me. Why? If not because you think I'm ashamed of you, then why?" The black paladin's voice strained. "Why are you mad at me?"

Keith took a deep breath. "I told you, you don't need to be reminded of our crappy family circumstances."

"What..." A confused look appeared on Shiro's face, making Keith look at the ground.

"Fine. I'm mad because you know something. Lance asking if I'm some kind of alien brought it up. You know something about my real dad." A sharp pain hit him in the jaw, and Keith found himself seeing nothing as his body crashed into something. A groan escaped his lips.

"Keith, I'm so sorry." Shiro's voice pierced the darkness, and the red paladin's vision began to clear. "I didn't mean to. I really didn't. I just..."

The silhouette became clear, and Keith could see Shiro's entire body trembling. His head leaned back. "Crap. What happened." A silence fell over the room, and he finally snapped his head up. "Seriously..."

"I'm what happened. I'm going to get you to a cryostasis pod. I think, I just need to stay away from you."

"What, no. Shiro..." Keith felt his brother lift him up.

"No. I lost control back there. I know..." Shiro's head leaned forward. "You're actually not the only one with an anger issue."

"What..." The red paladin let out a sigh, before tilting his head. "No. I somehow managed to do something to really tick you off. I've seen you like this before. What did I do."

"You..." The black paladin's eyes closed shut. "Don't ever say we've got different fathers again. Don't you ever say mom cheated on our father. It never..." Keith could feel the emotional pain emanating from Shiro. "Mother and father loved each other dearly. You've got to understand that."

"I promise."

Note: One of the reasons for the theory of Keith being Galra ties into the fact the red paladin supposedly uses Galra tech that the others can not, but there is a major difference between pushing a button, and a hand scanner, let alone using a prosthetic arm to access Galra tech. The other reason is because Zarkon comments on Keith fighting like a Galra, and yet ones fighting style has nothing to do with genetics, but temperament. Still, I liked the theory of Keith having alien DNA simply because it is fun to play around with in fanfiction.