The sparring session had been exactly what Keith needed and was partly sad when Shiro deemed they had enough. Keith was also tired, but it meant his mind would end up wandering back to his plight with Thace.

He toyed with the idea of tracking Pidge down to discuss the matter with her, but then Keith recalled she was probably still playing with Lance and didn't feel right intruding. He could head to his room, but Keith was certain his mind would only brew more while there.

In the end, his body somehow ended up wandering into the kitchen. Keith's stomach gave a small growl as his nose caught the whiff of something cooking. He wasn't surprised to see Hunk as the cause of it, he usually was.

Although, there was something oddly familiar about the smell from the pot he was stirring, but Keith wasn't certain exactly what it was.

"Hey, Keith," Hunk greeted as he added a herb to the pot. "Hungry?"

"A bit," Keith admitted as he snagged a seat. "What are you making?"

"Something good, I hope," Hunk said as he picked up his notepad. "I got this new soup recipe I'm trying out."

He took a spork and dipped it into the soup the pot to taste a mouthful. "Broth is a bit different, has a spice to it," Hunk stated thoughtfully. "But seems good so far." He turned to look at him. "Want a taste?"

"Sure," Keith said with a shrug. He honestly could never say 'No' to when Hunk offered him food. Granted, if there was anyone he trusted about how food tasted, it was Hunk.

Besides, whatever Hunk cooked normally tasted way better than the space goo. Plus, ever since Keith admitted to him that he spent his year living in the shack basically eating instant ramen, toast, and jerky, the boy seemed determine to get Keith into a better diet.

Keith was half certain that even if he refused Hunk would only keep staring at him until he gave in anyway.

Hunk grinned as he dished up a bowlful and placed it in front of Keith. "Okay, let me know if this is a keeper or not," he instructed as he stepped back. "It shouldn't be hard to tweak it a bit."

Keith gave a half smile as he picked up the spork and dished a mouthful into his mouth. He froze as the flavor landed on his tongue. He silently stared at the bowl, his fingers tightening on the spork.

He KNEW this flavor. This soup tasted identical to the soup his mother use to cook when he was little. She never told him what it was called, but he had never been able to find anyone else that made it.

"Keith? You okay?" Hunk asked as he moved in closer. "You don't like it?"

"No..it's not that," Keith said slowly as he took deep breaths to calm himself. "Hunk, where did you get this recipe?"

Hunk scratched his cheek as he peeked back into the pot. "Um..Thace actually. I asked if there was anything I could make for him and he gave me this recipe."

Of course it was Thace! Keith thought as his body tensed and he rubbed his eyes. He made this soup on Ceinus too.

"Oookay, what's going on in that head of yours?" Hunk asked as he pointed to Keith's forehead, "because you're looking like you just swallowed a lemon? Is the soup that bad?"

Keith shook his head. "No, it's fine, in fact don't change it," he said as sincerely as he could with his annoyance and anger boiled up inside. "Sorry, but Hunk which room is Thace in? I need to see him."

Hunk gestured with his thumb over his shoulder. "Uh, two hallways down and fourth on the left."

"Thanks," Keith said briskly as he jogged out of the room. "I'll be back for more later."

He ignored Hunk's confused frown as he stormed into the hallway. That's it, no more waiting, Keith thought as he made a beeline for his room. I'm getting those answers NOW!

Keith spotted the two daggers where he had left them on the shelf and picked them up. He momentarily glanced at Thace's dagger, but regained his resolve as he clenched it and left his room.

He kept his mind blank as he marched to Thace's room. Keith refused to be deterred by doubts or lingering fears he had. Enough was enough. He approached Thace's door and almost rushed inside, but forced himself to stop and knock on the door.

The door opened and Thace appeared. He blinked in surprise. "Keith, I wasn't-"

Keith didn't let him continued as he stormed inside. "I want answers," he said as he held up the daggers. "No, more playing around and I want to hear them before anything else happens."

Thace frowned as he narrowed his eyes. "You seemed angry? What happened?"

Keith's body became tense. "Hunk just gave me some soup from a recipe you gave him," he said sternly. "It's a soup that tastes exactly like one my mom would make when I was a kid, which is weird because I have never been able to figure out how she made it."

Thace's eyes widened. "I see," he said, softly.

"So, how do you know it?" Keith asked as he tried to keep his voice from shouting. "Did she teach it to you? Did you know her somehow? How do you know?"

Thace was silent and didn't move. Keith took a gulp of air, but only felt more on edge. Was he over reacting? He probably was, wouldn't be the first time.

"Never mind, it's stupid," he started to say. "It's a silly-"

"You have it backwards."

Keith froze as he lifted his head. "What?"

"She didn't teach me, I taught her," Thace continued as he took a seat. "I...was never much of a cook, but I did make that for her." He gave a stiff smile. "Although, it never occurred to me she had made it for you. I can't believed it never occurred to me."

Keith shoulders dropped and all the anger from him vanished. "So, you did know her?"

"Yes, and as for these," Thace said as he reached out and took the daggers. "They're a set. It's an old tradition for a Galran warrior to have two daggers, and then pass one off to their eldest son."

He held up his own dagger. "The eldest child does not inherit the other dagger until the father dies."

Keith was still frozen and was trying his best to keep calm as he pointed to his own. "Why...do I have that dagger?" he managed to say aloud.

Thace sighed as he picked up Keith's dagger. "I left it with your mother to give to you when you were old enough."

"Why?" Keith asked and wasn't sure how he felt about the answer.

Thace raised his head to look at him directly. "Because...I'm your father, Keith."

No words left Keith's mouth. He couldn't think of anything to say and he suddenly wished he had finished his soup with Hunk.

08080808080808080808080808080808080
Lance had always considered his knack for timing a proud skill to have. Somehow, fate had always allowed him to be at the right place at the right time. He was able to show up to his family's dinners without being called. He always managed to avoid when his parents needed help with the more annoying chores. It was a gift! Lance had been certain it was partly what had been able to lead him to his destined lion.

However, there were the rare moments when it was a curse and Lance hated it including this very moment. He and Pidge had finished their game of checkers, and decided they needed fresh meat to play against before continuing. Shiro was busy, and Hunk was in the middle of cooking.

They then spotted Keith storming off in the hallway, and while Pidge was reluctant, Lance followed figuring they could at least ask Keith to play. He didn't think much on the fact that Keith had headed straight where Thace was staying, but he wished he had.

He was about to knock at the door that had been left ajar, but then his and Pidge's ears caught five words he never expected to hear.

"Because...I'm your father, Keith," Thace spoke.

Lance froze and couldn't utter a sound as his jaw dropped. Gradually, he turned his head to Pidge, praying he did NOT just hear that, but to his horror she held the same shocked expression.

A little squeak left his lips. "Pidge…what..that," he whined as he clasped his hands over his mouth. His brain could not compute. There were so many questions. How? What? WHY?! What should they do?!

He craved to yell, but knew he couldn't. They weren't suppose to hear that! WHY DID THEY HAVE TO HEAR THAT?!

Fast as a bullet, Pidge grabbed Lance by his shoulders and shoved him into the closet across the hall. Lance remained still as Pidge shut the door and recomposed herself before turning around.

"Okay, you can talk now," she stated. "They shouldn't hear us in here."

Lance's shoulders relaxed, but the calmness evaporated as his mouth and brain took over.

"Oh my God! Thace is Keith's dad?! How is that possible?! Wait, is Keith part Galra? Did he know?! Were we supposed to know?!"

"Lance, chill," Pidge said as she patted his arm. "There's no need to freak out."

"Are you kidding me?!" Lance snapped. "I just heard an alien say he was Keith's dad! Keith's part Galra! That is major reason to-"

He paused as his memory clicked in. "Oh my gosh! That's why he could access the controls on the Balmera! IT'S BECAUSE HE'S PART GALRA-"

Pidge slapped her hands over his mouth and hearing his voice muffled was enough to break him out of the shock.

"Lance. Clam. Down," Pidge ordered. "Freaking out is REALLY not going to help anything, okay? BREATHE."

Lance removed Pidge's hands as he forced himself to take deep breaths and tried to focus solely on that. After a few breathes, he rubbed his neck and looked up to Pidge.

"Okay..okay, I'm better. Sorry, just..it's a bit of a shock," he said and raised an eyebrow at her. "Although, you seem rather cool as a cucumber about this reveal."

Pidge fidgeted and gave a nervous laugh. "Well...uh," she adjusted her glasses. "I kind of..already suspected it."

"What?!" Lance cried, but quiet down as Pidge shushed him. "When?! How?!"

"Keith's been suspicious ever since he met Thace and told me about when we went to find the rebels," Pidge explained and poked his chest. "On that note, the whole thing has been bothering him because he's afraid on how you guys will react."

"React?" Lance asked in confusion. "Well, the others are going to be shocked. It's not like-"

"No," Pidge replied. "He's afraid you guys are going to hate him."

Lance paused and blinked stunned. "Hate him? Why?" But then it dawned on him on exactly why. "Because the Galra Empire are the big bad we're fighting and trying to take down."

"Exactly," Pidge confirmed with a nod.

"But that's stupid," Lance retorted. "Keith's not with them. He never did any of that stuff, and besides the rebels proved not all of the Galrans are bad."

"That's what I've been trying to tell him," Pidge stated as she tossed her hands up in the air. "However, he's still cagey about the whole thing...especially with Shiro."

"Oooh," Lance said as he ran a hand through his hair. They all knew how much close the two were, they were practically brothers, and if Keith learned he was part of the race that had hurt Shiro...Yeah, it made sense.

He squeezed his eyes shut as he placed his hands on his hips. "So, guessing this means we need to keep our lips shut about this until Keith tells us himself?"

Pidge gave a pout as she blew the air of out of her cheeks. "Yeah, it will drive me crazy, but we have to keep it secret for now." She shot him an accusing expression. "Also, no joking about this when he does confess, got it?"

Lance rolled his eyes. "Geez, of course not! I may like to tease, Keith, but I wouldn't pull a jerk move like that."

Pidge gave a small smile. "I figured, but wanted to make certain." She sat on the floor and folded her arms. "Let's just wait a minute or so before we leave. We don't want to run the risk of them realizing we heard them talk."

Lance cringed, not thrilled with the idea of sitting in a small storage space, but she had a point. "Fine," he grumbled as he took the seat next to her.

They sat in silence for a moment, until a thought struck him. "Hey, do you think Ketih is suddenly going to grow big ears and purple fur?"

Pidge blinked and scratched her head. "What? Why would that happen?"

"If he's part alien maybe he's got shapeshifting abilities," Lance argued.

Pidge scoffed as she hugged her knees to her chest. "Garlans don't have shape shifting abilities, that's Alteans remember?"

"Well, what if he's got the power from being a combo deal?" Lance argued.

"He's almost 18, I think he would have gotten clear signs of it by now if he was able," Pidge snarked back as she shook a hand. "You know, with puberty and all?"

"Oh," Lance said as he dropped and arm. "So...no glowing yellow eyes either, I take it?"

Pidge sighed as she buried her face into her hands. "Oh, brother."