Season 5 was great, so naturally I had to write something to celebrate.

Feels Like Coming Home

It felt strange to set foot in the Castle of Lions after being away for what felt like months. In reality, Keith had only been staying at the Blade headquarters for a few weeks and that was only when he wasn't flying off somewhere on a mission. The serenity of the Castle washed over him, filling him with a sense of peace and security.

It was the closest he'd ever come to feeling at home.

An Altean ship, thousands of light-years from Earth, with a rag-tag group of humans and two Alteans who'd somehow forged a family, at least to his eyes, and it was home. There was no other place that even came close to being the same. Not the Garrison. Not the shack in the desert. Not the Blade of Marmora headquarters.

For a moment, he forgot why he'd come back and let himself stop and relax, soaking in the atmosphere. He hadn't realized he'd missed it so much.

"Keith?"

A gentle hand coming to rest on his shoulder drew him out of his thoughts and he looked up to see Krolia – his mother – standing there with a soft expression on her face. (And he would never get used to that. His mother. He'd found her, somehow. She was real and alive and right in front of him and he still found it impossible to believe.)

"I'm okay," Keith said, looking away from her. "The others are probably on the bridge." He waited until she moved her hand away and then led the way through the familiar halls of the Castle, only slowing when he spotted a familiar figure leaving a room up ahead.

Pidge froze when she saw the pair of them, her brown eyes widening and her lips parting in surprise. There was a split second when he thought she was going to yell at him, but instead she breathed out what he thought might be his name and ran toward him. On instinct, Keith opened his arms just as she wrapped hers around him and pressed her face against his chest.

"Pidge, what's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing," she murmured against his uniform. "A lot has happened and I just... it's so good to see you." Pidge pulled away, tears glimmering at the corners of her eyes. "We found him, Keith. We found my dad!"

The sight of her smile – not a grin of triumph or that little smirk she did whenever she made fun of Lance, but a real, genuine smile – had something in his chest doing tiny somersaults. "You found Commander Holt? That's great, Pidge! I, uh, I found someone too," he told her, stepping to the side to let her fully see Krolia. And suddenly he was nervous for a whole new reason. "Pidge, this is Krolia. She's... she's my mother."

"Oh!" Pidge's tiny gasp echoed through the hall and for a moment, all she could do was stare at the Galra woman. She recovered quickly, her smile growing even bigger as she looked back to Keith. "Do you want me to get the others? I think Allura and Lance are in the training room, but I'm not sure about Hunk, Shiro, and Coran."

"We were heading to the bridge to find you guys," Keith said.

"We'll go together," Pidge said, lingering a moment longer before stepping away from him. "Just give me one minute and I'll let the others know you want to see them."

Keith tried to call her back, but she was gone before he could stop her, disappearing back into the room she'd just exited.

Behind him, Krolia chuckled. "I know that look."

"What look?"

Krolia chose not to elaborate, merely patting her son on the shoulder once again. He'd figure it out in time, just like his father did. (That sulking pout though? That was all her.)