Finding Home
A Voltron: Legendary Defender Fanfic
Galaya
Written: 12-18-17
Published: 12-22-17
This is fanfiction. I don't own anything.
I don't know much about the foster care system or social services. Most of what appears in this fic is guess work based off the little information I know, and me messing around with that information a bit to explain a possible reason Keith ended up in it. I probably have gotten some things wrong, and I've tried to leave it vague.
While this fic will be going into the events of the series, it will be diverging from canon pretty quickly. Once I get to that point, where things really start diverging, this may get a little more plot-oriented. Canon events will still happen, unless they conflict with this story in any way. I will usually leave a note at the beginning of a chapter if I am removing or changing and even to fit better in this fic.
Chapter Two: Legal Guardian
Keith wasn't sure why most people complained about dorm rooms. With the 'unusual situation,' as Shiro had put it, the Garrison had allowed Shiro to share his dorm room with Keith, rather than having a roommate. Keith had shared rooms with people before. It had never really bothered him that much, unless it was a person he didn't like.
Sharing a room with Shiro wasn't like that. It felt more like the half-forgotten memories of his father, or even the almost memories – he wasn't sure if they were real or not - of his mother. The closeness was comforting. For as much of a loner as Keith was, he hated being alone.
Shiro spent the first few days convinced that Keith was a terrible snorer. Keith wasn't entirely sure what to tell him. The faint vibrations in his throat had hardly ever quit ever since Shiro had handed Keith the folder.
When Keith was asleep it was louder, as he wasn't able to consciously tone it down while asleep, but it kept up while he was awake. That had dispelled Shiro's belief that he was snoring. Part of Keith had expected Shiro to laugh at him, or call him a freak for the 'purring.' There wasn't really another name for it. But Shiro had only smiled, and told him it was cute. And that he didn't want Keith to force himself to silence it if he didn't want to.
It had grown even louder after that. Keith would stifle it when anyone else was around, but he didn't when it was just him and Shiro. It felt good. It felt free. And it made Shiro smile, so Keith couldn't hate it. It did mean that their room was rarely completely silent for the first couple weeks until the novelty began to ease a bit.
Keith loved the dorm room. It was the first place that had felt like home since social services had taken him away from his father.
V
Keith learned of Shiro's arrangement with the Garrison that spring, when Shiro was assigned to a mission. It was simple, just a flight to bring supplies to a mining operation in the main asteroid belt. He wouldn't be gone more than a few months. Keith hardly spoke for the first few days following the announcement.
He was scared that he'd be sent to another foster home, at least temporarily. Shiro had promised multiple times that he'd never let Keith go somewhere he didn't want to, so long as he had any say and any ability to help. As such, Keith was confident that whatever arrangement that would be made for the next few months wouldn't be permanent.
It didn't relieve his fear entirely, however.
Shiro gave him a reassuring smile as they sat down to eat breakfast that morning. "I'll be back before the end of summer."
"Where am I going?" asked Keith. "While you're gone."
"You're not going anywhere, Keith."
Keith frowned at him, spoon halfway out of his bowl of cereal. A drop of milk fell back down.
"I told you, I had to work it out with the Garrison." Shiro smiled. "I knew I'd be sent on missions. While I'm gone, the Garrison has custody of you. It isn't conventional, but they agreed to it. I would have asked Commander Holt to watch you, but I'm usually sent on the same missions as him. Besides, the Garrison's interested in recruiting you, you know."
"Really?"
It was everything he'd ever dreamed of. Could it actually happen?
"It'll be probably at least another year before you hear anything. Most cadets join when they're fourteen. A few get accepted younger, but that's rare."
Keith stared at his food. "What about my… issues?"
"What issues?"
Shiro was grinning, but Keith could see hints of sympathy in his expression. He knew what Keith was talking about. Keith stirred his cereal around in the milk with his spoon.
"Keith, you haven't gotten into any fights since you came to live with me. They might keep a closer eye on you, be a little stricter than with other cadets, but they aren't going to throw you away unless you give them reason to."
They ate in silence for a few minutes. Shiro finished his cereal before Keith – who was more playing with his food than he was eating it.
"Keith?"
Keith met Shiro's eyes.
Shiro set his bowl aside and crossed his arms over the table. "Do you mind if I ask what started those fights?"
"What do you mean?"
"Like, did they throw the first punch? Were they picking on you? I can't see you getting into a fight without a reason."
Keith deliberated for a few moments. Shiro didn't press. He allowed Keith time to think.
"I don't really know," admitted Keith. "I… Sometimes I only realized what was going on once we were already fighting. A few times it… it was because I got mad at comments people made. Calling me 'orphan,' and 'unwanted.' 'Freak.' And… people – adults, other kids – got upset when I wouldn't let go of my knife."
He gestured vaguely at the knife on his belt. That was one of the things he appreciated most about Shiro – he'd never demanded that Keith give him the knife, or get rid of it. He let Keith keep it, though he did keep a careful eye to make sure Keith didn't hurt himself with it.
Which was actually rather nice, in a way.
"But most of the time, I don't know what happened. I just… I read the situation wrong, or something. Or people would get in my face, and I'd just… react. Once I accidently punched a kid for shouting at me. I thought he was angry, or trying to provoke me. Turned out he was just excited that I was wearing the same shirt as him. I…"
Keith shrugged helplessly. Doctors had tried to diagnose him with learning or behavioral disorders for years, but nothing really fit.
One therapist had likened it to the relationship between cats and dogs. Often, they didn't have anything against each other naturally, and could get along perfectly well, but sometimes they'd get confused by each other's body language, and it could turn into a fight unintentionally. They could learn to compromise, and to read each other, but misunderstandings were still inevitable.
"It doesn't make you a bad person, Keith. Come on, I got to get you to school."
V
The next few months were rough. Keith watched the shuttle take off. A few of the commanding officers would check on him occasionally, to make sure that he was eating, sleeping, and not dead or something, but otherwise left him alone. Shiro had left enough money for Keith to go to the store and get himself food and anything else he might need.
It wasn't the same as having Shiro around, but it was infinitely better than being sent to another foster home or a group home.
Shiro messaged Keith when he got the chance. They were delayed, due to the growing distance between the shuttle and Earth, but they quickly became the highlight of Keith's day. On the days he didn't receive another transmission, he'd watch the previous ones again.
Shiro came home a few days before the new school year started. Keith barely managed to keep from hurtling himself at Shiro as he exited the briefing room. Shiro ruffled his hair with a laugh and looked him over.
"You've grown. I thought I was only gone for a couple months."
Keith blinked. "What?"
No one had ever commented on him growing before. It was just a normal thing. All kids grew. It'd be more noteworthy if he hadn't grown.
"I missed you, kiddo. Garrison treat you well?"
"It was bearable."
They visited the park again after that to celebrate having known each other for a full year. Shiro packed two lunches for them. They sat on the same bench.
It was the longest Keith had known someone since he'd been taken away from his father.
V
October came quickly. Shiro asked Keith if he wanted to do anything for his birthday. Keith didn't have to ask him how he knew, his 'birthdate' was in the files Shiro was given when he took custody of Keith.
Keith shrugged. "I don't care."
He'd never really celebrated his birthday properly. Some of his foster homes had tried to make an occasion of it, but it didn't usually mean much. Foster homes with a lot of kids and the group homes turned it more into a party for everyone than something just for Keith. He wasn't sure if he'd ever celebrated it with his father.
Besides, it might not even be his real birthday, anyway. It was just a guess. Social services had asked him to choose a day. Keith didn't remember well enough if the day he'd said was his actual birthday, or not.
Keith tried not to let it bother him.
Shiro gave him a chunk of crystal mined from the asteroid he had visited for his birthday. It was clear with flecks of metallic grey streaked through it. It took up residence on the desk beside the picture of Shiro's family and the model of the shuttle.
V
"Do you remember anything about your parents?" asked Shiro one day.
"Maybe?" Keith had never been too sure about the memories of his parents. "I think my dad looked like me. Dark hair, dark eyes. He was tall, I think. He taught me the constellations, and the names of all the planets."
"Anything about your mom."
"Purple cat."
Shiro stared at him for a moment. Keith shrugged.
"I think it was probably her favorite color and favorite animal or something? And my brain just combined the two, I guess. I don't really remember anything, but I always think of a purple cat any time I think of her. And… safe. She was safe. This belonged to her."
He pulled out his knife. The purple symbol on the hilt was covered, wrapped up in a strip of thick white cloth to block out the dim glow.
"At least, that's what my dad said. I think? I was pretty young when…"
Shiro nodded. "I know social services claimed custody of you when you were little, but I didn't want to pry into it. Can I ask what happened?"
Keith stared at the ceiling, thinking about his past before foster care, about his parents. His mind conjured vague images and impressions. Darkness all around, like the night sky but everywhere. A purple glow. Odd symbols. A low, rumbling voice that seemed to be his mother's, promising safety and love. Something about a blade. A purple cat.
And his father. A tall man, with dark hair and eyes like Keith's. Laughter and cuddling up under a blanket together to wait out a thunderstorm. Sand and warmth. His voice was gentle and calm. But he always seemed sad, looking toward the sky as if waiting for something. Watching the front door as if fearing something.
"Social services said he wasn't fit to raise a child," Keith said quietly. "That he was insane, or something."
"I'm sorry."
"I don't believe that."
Shiro frowned. "That I'm sorry?"
"No. That he wasn't sane. I think they realized I didn't have real documentation, and decided to make up an excuse for taking me away."
Shiro's eyebrows rose.
"You know, like a birth certificate," Keith clarified.
"You have one, though."
"Social services made it when they took custody of me. It's just guesswork, though. They don't even know how old I really am. I don't know."
"Don't take this the wrong way, but what makes you certain your father… That it was just an excuse?"
"They claimed that he probably wasn't my real father. They didn't even try to do a paternity test or anything, just assumed. But he was my real father. I know."
Keith had realized from an early age that other people weren't as sensitive to smells as he was. He couldn't necessarily identify and individual by scent – unless he was extremely familiar with them, he could pick Shiro out of a crowd with his eyes closed and ears covered – but he could tell when people were related. He knew his own scent well enough to be certain that his father was his real father.
People called him crazy, or accused him of making it up when he told them that, though.
Shiro didn't say anything to that. Keith wasn't sure what that meant, but he accepted it. It was better than most of the reactions people had. Usually, they tried to argue that he couldn't possibly know for certain, especially without real documentation or a paternity test.
"Why didn't they do a paternity test?" Shiro asked instead.
Keith shrugged again. "I they used the excuse of 'being insane' so that they wouldn't have to check. So that they couldn't be wrong."
"What about your mother?"
"She left. When I was really little. I don't even know her name. I don't… I really don't know much of anything about my parents."
He didn't even know his father's name. It wasn't on his official birth certificate, he'd checked. He remembered being confused, when social services had showed up, and his father had told them his name was Kogane. It wasn't his father's name. Maybe it was his mother's, he didn't know.
He'd effectively been cut off from ever being able to find his parents, if they were even still alive.
V
