Ears
Lance stood in the open doorway of Keith's room. The other paladin had yet to notice his appearance and Lance couldn't be happier about it. You see, the blue paladin was eating up the show Keith was giving him.
Since Keith's Galra genes were unlocked by the druid back when they went on their big rescue mission to save Allura, Keith had changed considerably. His fingers and toes were now a dark purple and as the purple pigmentation traveled up from his digits to spread throughout the rest of his body, it lightened to a light violet. His skin wasn't completely purple like the Galra soldiers Lance and the others knew. The purple was more scattered and patchy, leaving some areas of pale skin visible to the human eye. His face wasn't fully purple either, but there was a light dusting of violet along his cheeks that made it look like he had a spray of freckles on his pale cheeks. Then there were his eyes. Keith's eyes hadn't changed to the piercing yellow most Galra have, though Lance swore at times he could spot tiny sparks of gold in the irises of Keith's eyes when he looked close enough. Lastly, there was Lance's favorite part of Keith, the part that was entertaining him so much now without Keith's knowledge. A few months after his skin started to turn purple, Keith had grown Galran ears. Lance wasn't sure whether to compare the shape of his ears to that of a cat's or a bat's, but he knew exactly what Keith's ears felt like when he brushed his fingers through the soft tufts of purple fur. When he was a kid, a friend of his once had a pet chinchilla. He got to hold it then and whenever Lance touched Keith's ears his mind instantly brought up the image of the fluffy chinchilla from his childhood.
Stretched out on his bed and facing away from Lance, Keith was reading contently. Lance couldn't see what it was the red paladin was reading, but it must have been good. As Keith read, his ears gave away each and every emotion that fluttered through him. When he got excited, they perked up— the little tufts at the tips of his ears bobbing slightly with the movement. When something sad would come up in the book his ears would flatten on either side of his head, making him look like a kicked kitten.
Not able to hold it back any longer, a snicker broke past Lance's lips and Keith started from the world his book had taken him.
The red paladin sat up, his book falling shut on the bed. His ears folded back and Lance didn't need to look at Keith's face to see the angry eyes and embarrassed flush. All he needed were Keith's folded back and slightly bristled ears.
"What's so funny?" Keith questioned and Lance stepped into the room, making his way around the bed until finally plopping down beside his fellow paladin. Lance's fingers found their way to Keith's ears and they folded back even further as Keith's face turned a bright red.
"You're just so adorable," Lance cooed at him, making the red in Keith's cheeks only worse.
It felt good to pick on Keith again. The first month or so after discovering Keith's Galran heritage, Lance hadn't teased the guy at all. He was too worried about hurting his friend's feelings then. Keith being a Galra and having ears had been a touchy subject then and Lance never really wanted to hurt Keith. Now, things had gotten better. Thanks to the help of his friends, Keith had grown more comfortable with himself.
"Whatever," Keith huffed, pulling back from Lance and shuffling to the far side of the bed. He patted at his ears, trying to smooth down the fur Lance had messed up when he touched them. Though, without a mirror, he only made it worse.
"Want some help?" Lance offered, shifting his legs on the bed so that he was sitting cross-legged.
Keith eyed Lance's hand's skeptically.
Lance wiggled his fingers. "I have magic fingers," he tempted.
Keith's ears flicked and twitched for a bit, but when they folded back against his head, Lance knew that he had won.
Reluctantly, Keith moved closer to Lance. He plopped down in front of the blue paladin and turned his body so he was looking at the door to his bedroom.
Lance let out a little victory whoop, punching the air with his fist before diving in to pet at Keith's ears. He scratched around the base of the ears first, earning a happy purr from his friend. Lance smirked and slowly worked his way up Keith's ear, scratching and petting the fur and soft skin until Keith was practically vibrating he was purring so much.
The blue paladin stared at the ears as they twitched bellow his hand. They reminded him of something- not of his friend's pet. No, the softness of Keith's fur only reminded him of that. The way they moved though? The movement felt so familiar. Like there was something deep within Lance's memory that matched the description perfectly.
Keith's ears wiggled up and down when Lance worked out a matted area and the blue paladin's eyes widened.
Oh.
That was where.
A chuckle broke the silence and Keith frowned, looking over his shoulder at Lance in confusion. Lance ignored the look sent his way and wiped a tear from his eye before announcing, "Dude, every time I look at you now I'm gonna miss TV."
Keith's ears flicked."Why?"
Lance held in another snicker. "Because you look like Gizmo with your big fluffy ears." He rubbed Kieth's right ear between his fingers. "Just...you know...more purple."
Keith's ears flicked again, one flattening while the other stretched upward, signaling Kieth's confusion. "Gizmo?" he questioned uncertainly.
"Oh my god." Lance released Keith's ear. "Seriously?" he snorted. "You and I are having a Gremlin marathon when we get back home."
The confusion in Keith's eyes was as strong as ever but the red paladin didn't ask any further questions. He was too busy enjoying the ear rub Lance was giving him again. His head was tipped back now and the tiniest of smiles rested on Keith's purple peppered face.
Content, Lance pulled his hand free of the soft fur and flopped down on his back, picking up the book Keith had so quickly forgotten about. As he flipped through the book's many picture-less pages, Keith settled down on his stomach, watching Lance silently.
Lance closed the book and turned it back and forth in his hands. He looked to Keith, meeting his friend's dark eyes. "I don't understand it."
Keith rolled his eyes. "That's because it is in Altean," he revealed.
Lance's brows raised and he thrust the book back at Keith. "You can read Altean now?"
"Well, not exactly, but I'm learning," Keith revealed. "I figured that since we'll be staying here a while I should try to learn a bit on my own."
A rumble gurgled from Keith's stomach then, startling the two paladins. "And with that kind of sound you'd think I was reading a cookbook." Keith placed a hand over his stomach. "I'm starving."
Mischief spread over Lance's face and he threw himself from his spot on Keith's bed, landing on top of the red paladin. "Too bad!" he yelled.
A squeak burst from Keith's lips and he struggled from under Lance's weight. "What?" he gasped "Why?"
Lance pointed at the clock on Keith's wall, the mischievous look still sitting proudly on his face. "No eating past midnight," he whispered.
Keith let his head fall into the mattress he was currently being crushed against. "I don't understand that reference," he grumbled, his words barely understandable thanks to the mattress his face was pressed into.
Lance patted Keith's hair lightly, curling his fingers through the soft fur as he did so."Movie night, Keith," he said, giving a pat to his friend's head. "We're going to make it a thing."
So I'm sure you all can guess what I just started watching recently.
I'm a huge sucker for Galra Keith and every fic with someone scratching his ears gives me life. For those interested, I am still writing Voltron fics but not for this site. I'm Bright_Sea on AO3 so come check me out.