Disclaimer: I own nothing! Voltron and all its characters belongs to DreamWorks Animation and World Events Productions.
Author's Note: I want to thank Skiewrites 2.0 for beta-reading this for me. This takes place around the start of season 2. Characters may be a little OOC. Please only leave constructive criticism.
Training
"Hey, Keith! Where are you going?" The Red Paladin turned to see the Garrison Trio coming up behind him. Hunk grinned at the sight of their friend, adding a friendly wave, while Pidge kept it simple with an acknowledging nod. However, the mouthpiece swaggered over, looking ready to challenge him on some other trivial matter. It wasn't that Keith disliked Lance. He was a great friend, except when he was busy keeping up this one-sided rivalry. Then, he simply was too exhausting and annoying to deal with. Stifling a groan, Keith decided to face the three head on, hoping to keep it brief.
"Just grabbing breakfast before heading to the training deck to get some sparring in." Keith held up his bayard as evidence. He took a few steps to continue on his way, assuming the exchange was complete. He was quickly disappointed.
"Want to come explore with us instead?" Hunk invited overly excited. Not that Keith could blame him. This planet, Kapapia, was the first friendly civilization that they visited in a while and cabin fever was running wild with everyone onboard.
"Shiro and I went for a run to scout the area this morning. It was cool. I just got out of the shower and now heading to breakfast. See you later." He replied, gesturing to the red towel around his neck. Ignoring Lance's lame retort, Keith continued to the kitchen and snagged some sort of alien fruit.
"Ahh, number four!" Coran greeted, looking up from his tablet as he entered the kitchen. "Excellent. Could you assist me? I am working on an upgrade for the gladiator and no one spends as much as time on the training deck as you. Perfect for an assessment!"
"Sure. Just give me a min—"
"Excellent!" Coran cut him off as he ushered the paladin to the training deck before Keith could get a word in edgewise.
"So much for breakfast." Keith mumbled, scarfing down the fruit. Much of what Coran rattled off went over Keith's head, but it soon became clear that he was actually recruited to be Coran's gofer. Though still a little tired from the run with Shiro, Keith didn't mind and decided that it would be a nice warm-up before serious combat training. He even managed to surprise the older Altean with some insight on where the gladiator's fighting style could be improved and suggested some new tactics to make practice more realistic. Eventually, the two had a whole new sequence to test out and Keith happily volunteered to give it the first test drive. He jogged out of the control area, heading towards the training deck when he bumped into the three explorers, looking a little rough to wear.
"What happened to you three?" Keith inquired, plucking a twig out of Pidge's hair. All three looked as if they wrestled one of those tree demons from Wizard of Oz. Two pointed looks shot towards Lance, who crossed his arms in a defensive stance.
"I don't want to talk about it, Mullet Head. What are you doing?" Lance huffed, quickly changing the subject.
"I'm heading to the training deck to—"
"Again? Is that all you do?" Lance challenged, taking note of the sweaty teen.
"Coran came up with a new training regimen and I volun—" Keith tried to explain, only to be interrupted once more.
"Of course, you volunteered! Geez, do you ever take a break?" Though sick of constantly being cut off, Keith kept his temper in check with Shiro's mantra: Patience yields focus. Almost any interaction with Lance was a great training session in patience.
"Can it, Lance! Maybe, you could learn a thing or two before you cause a Gama Freudian whatever death match with the Kapapisians!" Pidge snapped irritably.
"What is this about a Gamfrusa Tian challenge? And, what happened to you three?" Coran asked, bewildered at the haggard appearance of the three paladins. Originally, Coran had come down to see what was taking Keith so long. Now, hearing word of a possible intergalactic incident had rapidly shifted the Altean's priorities.
"I DON'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT! And, in my defense, how was I supposed to know that flirting and some light karaoke would initiate a Gama thingy?" Lance announced, clearly frustrated. Unfortunately, this was not something Coran was about to drop and Pidge was not helping as she continued to tell fragments of the story.
"Anyway, we came back to grab some lunch. Want to take a break and join us?" Hunk smiled at Keith. Before the Red Paladin could answer, his stomach grumbled loudly. "Have you even eaten today?"
"Well, I meant to, but then—"
"Nope! Nope, nope, nope. No more buts. You're joining us for lunch." Hunk slung an arm over Keith's shoulder and steered him back towards the kitchen. "You got to learn to take better care of yourself, buddy!"
Sensing arguing would be pointless, Keith sighed and went along with it. Besides, any opportunity to eat Hunk's cooking was one to be taken and he would be lying if he denied being curious on how Lance's karaoke started a death match with some of the friendliest people in this part of the galaxy.
~Line Break~
"So, Pidge swung us up into the tree and I said, "Kapa you later!" And, we monkey-hopped back to the Castle." Lance finished, pushing his plate away. Keith rolled his eyes. Though he had enjoyed the story, he was glad Pidge was there to help expel the more embellished parts with her own snarky humor.
"That wasn't funny the first time you said it either." Pidge groaned, rolling her eyes. Hunk grinned as he began to collect dishes.
"Hold up, Hunk. You made lunch. It's only fair that we clean it up." Coran announced, taking the dishes from him. "In fact, why don't you check to see the princess and Shiro are hungry? I think they're still on the bridge, talking strategy."
"Knowing them, it might be best to simply take food to them." Keith remarked, collecting his own dishes.
"Excellent idea, number four! You can help him." Coran snatched up Keith's dishes, adding it to his own stack. "Lance, Pidge, and I will wash up here."
"No fair! Why does Keith get to go?"
"Because I said so and you two have caused enough trouble today. Come along, number three. These plates won't scrub themselves." Keith smiled gratefully at Coran, catching the older Altean's knowing wink. Carrying the trays of food, Keith and Hunk entered the bridge and were surprised to see only Allura ending a conference call with a being that looked to be a cross between a balloon and wolfman.
"Can either of you tell me why I received a distressing message from the leader of the Kapapisians?" Allura inquired pointedly, her hands firmly on her hips. Both paladins started to think that dishwashing was not looking so bad at the moment.
"Well, princess, you see… It all started with a karaoke competition…" Hunk nudged Keith with a look that clearly screamed SOS. Keith sighed, launching into the full story, and glanced at Hunk to fill in on details here and there. Once satisfied, Allura excused Hunk and Keith to have a word with a certain Blue and Green Paladin. Free at last, Keith headed towards the training deck, marveling at the crazy day. Though out of breath by the time he arrived, he was more than ready to go a few rounds with the gladiator. He barely got in two hits when he heard that ominous swoosh of the door.
"Keith, there you are! Have you been here the whole time?" Shiro shook his head, smiling. "I should have known. Why don't you take a break and help me a bit? Allura is sending me to clear up a misunderstanding with the Kapapisians. Something about a karaoke battle to the death. Either way, I would like the back-up and you can practice your diplomacy skills. Win-win."
"Yeah, sure. Lance accidently challenge the chief to a Gamfrusa Tian." Keith sighed wearily, resigning himself to train afterwards. Ever since the whole splitting up in the wormhole and being stranded on a deserted planet, Shiro has been taking every opportunity to help prepare him to take over. Though Keith had argued that nothing was going to happen, he knew it made Shiro feel better and he couldn't say no to that.
~Line Break~
The sun was low when Shiro and Keith finally returned, exhausted. Apparently, the Kapapisians were a very musical based people, like the Arusians, as the chief demanded that they participated in a dance of apology with them to renew their alliance. Upon the renewal, the Kapapisians threw a huge celebratory feast and took great offense if the paladins tried to leave early. After so much interaction, all Keith wanted to do was crash in his bed, but he didn't want to throw off his training schedule and walked down towards the training deck. This time, he was careful not to run into anyone and slipped in quietly.
"Just one round and then I'll go to bed." Keith murmured to himself, stifling a yawn. He pulled out his bayard and turned to face the gladiator. Given how tired he was, he set it on the lowest setting and materialize his sword.
~Line Break~
"Has anyone seen Keith?" Shiro asked, mildly concerned as he walked into the kitchen where everyone was eating breakfast. When the teen didn't show up for their morning run, Shiro assumed he needed more sleep after the eventful evening they had yesterday. However, Keith had yet to make an appearance this morning.
"Well, he wasn't in his room when I went to get him for breakfast. I assumed he was with you." Hunk responded, sharing worrying looks with Lance and Pidge.
"I'll call the leader of Kapapisians and have them on the lookout for him. Coran, take the paladins to search the castle." Allura declared, rising from the table. With all the bustle, no one noticed Lance leave. He had a sneaking suspicion where their missing friend was. Sure enough, he was right. Turning on the lights, Lance found Keith asleep against the wall of the training deck. That Mullet Head, he never could take a break, could he?
~Line Break~
Author's Note: Everyone seems to have this idea of Keith: the introverted loner that will train himself to the point of starvation and exhaustion. Truth be told, that representation never made much sense to me when I watched the show, but I can understand how it developed. The truth is any good athlete knows how to push their limits and when to stop. Keith would not be able to do his job as a paladin if he didn't do basic self-care. Personally, I think the group allow too much of their own assumptions about Keith color their judgement. For example, in the Belly of the Beast from season 2, Hunk acted shocked that Keith has a sense of humor, despite laughing with him and Lance in Fall of the Castle of Lions in season 1. Therefore, I wrote this fic to expose why the Paladins hold this idea of Keith and a behind-the-scenes look that hold the truth.