It's still only Christmas Eve, but since I definitely won't have anything done by tomorrow, Merry Christmas! This isn't really a Christmas fic, even though there is technically a Christmas scene, but here you go! I ran into a bit of a writer's block with the next chapter of abyss of memory, so I just decided to write this instead for a change of pace. But have no fear, the next update of abyss is still in the works!
That said, I had a lot of fun writing this. Especially the aforementioned Christmas scene. Hopefully you guys have just as much fun reading it!
when there's no place like home (you just don't know where that is)
"You're not a wolf."
Keith blinked, looking up towards the person who had spoken. They were a kid, maybe a year or two older than him, around six. He had never met them before, but they were probably a distant cousin of some kind- his father had tried to introduce him to everyone, but there had been so many names that it had kind of made his head spin.
He had begged his father to take him to the yearly clan meeting with him. He had never met any other Shifters, and he wanted to know more about them. His dad had been reluctant at first, but he'd eventually caved.
Keith shook his head. "No. Are you?"
They didn't smell like a cat, but they didn't quite smell like his dad did either. Nobody here smelled quite like his dad did.
The kid just narrowed his eyes, offended. "Of course I'm a wolf. We're all wolves."
"Oh," Keith frowned, not understanding why he was so upset, "-my dad's a wolf too."
The kid scowled, apparently unsatisfied with that answer. "Which one is your dad?"
Blinking, Keith turned his head, scanning the crowd for his dad. He had left him in the kid's area while he went to greet some of the elders. With all the people around, he was a bit hard to spot, but he picked him out from the crowd eventually, pointing towards him.
He expected the kid to point out his dad. But instead, their scowl just deepened. "Oh. You're the freak."
Keith bristled. He knew that word. His father had called it a mean word, the kind of thing you weren't supposed to say to anyone. Yet this kid had dropped it so casually.
"I'm not a freak." Keith told him. "My name's Keith."
The kid just scoffed. "Of course you're the freak. Your dad's the one who broke the taboo, right? I heard my mom talk all about it."
Keith's brows knit together, not understanding what he meant. Taboo? He didn't know what that was, but it didn't sound like a good thing. But that was impossible- his dad wouldn't do something bad. He was a hero! He saved lives!
"I'm not a freak." Keith repeated, more firmly. "And my dad didn't break any taboos."
"Then why are you a cat?" The kid accused, jabbing a finger against his chest. "Don't try to pretend you're not. I can smell it."
He felt the hairs on the back of his neck raise. He didn't think he liked this kid. "Why can't I be a cat?"
"You don't get it, do you?" The kid asked. "Your dad's a wolf. We're all wolves. You can't be a cat."
"Why not?" Keith challenged. "What's wrong with me being a cat?"
"Wolves can only have wolves, stupid." The kid said.
Keith froze. Wolves could... but that couldn't be right. His dad was a wolf. And he... he wasn't. He was a cat. He'd never thought it was weird. His dad talked about cat Shifters that he knew all the time. There had been his old roommate back in college, and the one he'd met while he had been traveling cross country... there were plenty of Shifters that were cats. It wasn't weird that he was one too.
But if what this kid said was true, it was. It was weird.
"See?" The kid smirked. "You can't even say anything back. I knew you were a freak."
Gritting his teeth, Keith glowered. "Take that back."
The kid didn't. They just looked smug instead. "Or maybe you're not a freak. Maybe you're just some stray that your dad took pity on. Maybe you're not even his-"
He barely even remembered throwing the first punch. What he did remember was the kid clutching at his mouth, a bloody tooth tumbling out between his fingers. Suddenly, he wasn't so smug anymore- he just looked scared.
He remembered relishing in it, like some deep, primal urge.
He also remembered the fuss it had stirred up. The kid started wailing, drawing the attention of the adults. Suddenly, all eyes were on them and everyone was talking at once, all of their voices starting to blur together. He remembered his heart pounding in his chest, suddenly feeling cornered- and then his father was there, scooping him up in his arms, making him feel safe.
He buried his head into his father's chest, and took a deep whiff of his scent. Usually it calmed him, but right now, all he could think about was how he smelled different from everyone else. Was it because he had broken the taboo?
He didn't remember much of what was said after that. He was pretty sure he wasn't even listening. He just remembered a lot of shouting. Not his dad though- his dad didn't shout. Didn't even raise his voice.
They didn't go back to any clan meetings after that.
Whenever he asked about it, his dad would just ruffle his hair, and tell him that he was more important. It took him awhile, but he eventually came to understand just what had happened that day- that his actions had given his father's clan exactly the excuse they needed to exile them both from the clan.
His dad had lost his family.
He did remember the drive back home, rental car bouncing along the unpaved road. How quiet it was. How much his knuckles hurt. How he couldn't stop thinking about what that kid had said.
"You know," his dad began after what felt like hours, but probably hadn't actually been that long, "-there's a great ice cream place in the next town. You want to stop by on our way home?"
Keith looked up, lips set in a tight frown. "But I did something bad."
"Maybe," his dad acknowledged, "-but you just got overwhelmed."
Keith just stared down at his hands. "I don't think they liked me."
Heath just sighed, reaching out a hand to absently ruffle his hair. He made a half-hearted purr, but quickly choked it back, remembering the way that kid had talked about him being a cat like it was a bad thing.
"Dad," he began, looking up at his father, "-why am I cat?"
His dad just gave him a sad look. "That's because of your mom."
"Was mom a cat?" Keith asked. His dad so rarely spoke of her, that he barely knew anything about her. Most of the time it didn't bother him, but now he just wanted to know. To have some kind of reassurance that he wasn't actually a freak, like that kid had said he was.
"She was." Heath told him.
He took those words to heart. If his mom was a cat, it wasn't weird that he was one too. Maybe a wolf and a wolf couldn't have a cat, but a wolf and a cat could, right?
That meant he wasn't a freak. He wasn't, and nothing that kid said mattered. He wasn't a freak, and his dad hadn't broken any taboos. And so what if they could never go back to any of the clan meetings? As long as he had his dad, he didn't need his stupid clan.
He didn't.
He did.
He'd been eight when his father when his father died. Old enough to start school. Old enough to be left standing at the front gates, waiting for a hoverbike that never came. His teacher took pity on him after awhile and let him come inside the classroom to watch cartoons while she graded papers. She was human, but she was the type of human that Keith liked- the type who was kind, and smelled nice.
She tried to break the news gently. It didn't work.
It wasn't her fault. He was pretty sure it was an impossible task.
His dad might have been exiled from their clan, but the humans didn't know that. On record, they were still family. It was how he'd found himself in the hands of his dad's cousin a few scant hours later, clutching a bag of his belongings. They hadn't had any further contact with the clan since his dad's exile, and from the moment he entered the small two room apartment, a knot of dread formed at the pit of his stomach.
He didn't feel welcome.
The man made some small talk with the social worker, promising her that he would contact her if anything came up. Keith just clutched his bag tighter to him all the while, hoping she would notice how on edge he looked, how much he didn't want to be here. How much he wasn't wanted here. But all she did instead was say a quick goodbye, and left.
Now they were alone.
Keith swallowed, eyes darting up towards the man. He tried to recall what his name was, but he couldn't.
"Here's the deal, kid," he began, no hint of compassion or sympathy in his voice, only just a bit of pity, "-you can stay here long enough for me to get a clan doctor to make sure you're safe, and then you're going into the system."
Safe. System. He knew the meaning to both of those words, just not in that context. But he didn't want to make a scene, so he just nodded, hugging his bag tighter.
"Take the room at the end of the hall. Breakfast is at seven. Don't be late."
He bit his lip, but just nodded, silently making his way to his room as instructed. The guest room was dusty, like it hadn't been used in awhile, but he could still catch the faint smell of wolf. Setting his bag down by the bed, he kicked off his shoes, curling up on it. Burying his head in the pillow, he tried to ignore the scent that clung to it.
He only understood two things- that his dad was gone, and that his family didn't want him.
He remembered crying. Soft and silent, so that no one could hear him.
He didn't remember falling asleep, but he must have. Sunlight was starting to filter in through the window when he woke, but thankfully, it was just a little before seven. Breakfast was a simple bowl of cereal, not even the fun kind with marshmallows, but he didn't complain. At least he was being fed.
"The doctor will come check you out this afternoon." His dad's cousin said. "If she clears you, you'll be out of here by tomorrow evening."
Keith just frowned, nodding his head. He normally wasn't this meek, but all he could remember was the clan meeting, and the way they had all stared at him, like he was an intruder. He knew he wasn't supposed to be here, so it was all he could do to just keep his head down.
For the rest of the day, he sat in front of the television. The man had switched it to a channel with cartoons, and he didn't dare touch the remote to change it. He just sat there, knees tucked up into his chest, watching. He couldn't stop feeling on edge, all of his instincts warning him that he wasn't supposed to be here, that it wasn't safe here for him.
He didn't think his dad's cousin would hurt him. He didn't seem like that sort of person. He didn't even think he hated him. He just didn't want him here.
He found out that afternoon what he'd meant by safe. The doctor wanted to make sure he could control his shifting- of course he could. She also wanted to make sure that he knew not to bite anyone, which of course he did. His father had been very adamant about that when he started school. No biting.
Just like his dad's cousin said, he was gone the next day. Taken to something called an orphanage. There were plenty of other kids there, some even his own age, but all of them were human. He wasn't supposed to talk to them about Shifter stuff. He didn't know why, he just knew that it was bad- dangerous, even.
So he just kept to himself. He quickly gained a reputation as a loner, and for the most part, the other kids opted to ignore him. But some of them, mostly the older ones, the ones who had been in the system too long and had grown bitter with it, picked on him instead. He tried to ignore them as best he could, but sometimes he lashed out, angry and frustrated.
They always stopped after he did. He learned getting angry made them leave him alone. So he got angry. Bitter. Not in the same way they were- he didn't take out his bitterness on others. His dad wouldn't have wanted that. But if they were mean to him, he didn't see any reason why he shouldn't be mean back.
Just so long as he didn't bite.
As a result, before he knew it, nobody wanted to approach him. He was labeled as a problem child, a discipline case... and the kids who started the fights with him in the first place usually got off scot-free. It wasn't fair, but there was nothing he could do about it.
None of this was fair. But he was starting to understand that was just how life worked. Those years he had spent with his father had been blissful and happy, but they had been the exception, not the rule.
Eventually, he stopped expecting anything.
"Merry Christmas!"
Keith froze, too stunned to move. When Shiro had called him over to the apartment he shared with Adam, this hadn't exactly been what he'd expected.
There were still colored bits of red and green paper floating in the air, fired from party poppers that both Shiro and Adam held, flanking either side of him. In the two days since he had last visited their apartment, it had been decked out for Christmas- there was even a huge pine tree with lights strung up, decorated with ornaments that they had definitely just gotten from the Garrison gift shop at the last minute.
He instinctively took a whiff of the air. It smelled like brisket and pecan pie, like freshly baked rolls and butter. His stomach growled without his input.
Oh. Right. The commissary was closed for the holiday, so all he'd had to eat since two days ago were ration bars and oatmeal. He'd finished off the gingerbread cookies that Garrett kid had passed out on the last day of class to everyone pretty much on the same day he had gotten them. No wonder he always smelled so much like baked goods.
"Sounds to me like someone's hungry." Shiro beamed, guiding him inside. "Adam just finished making dinner, so you're in luck."
"Don't worry," Adam began, "-I didn't let Takashi help."
He snorted in spite of himself. It had probably only been half a year since he'd enrolled at the Galaxy Garrison, but that was plenty of time to learn what an atrocious cook Shiro was. Even he could probably do better.
He let Shiro guide him to the table, which had been packed with so much food that his stomach growled again. Shiro sat him down, and before he could say anything, Adam was handing a plate loaded with food, all in generous portions.
"Uh," he finally managed, "-what is all this?"
"This?" Adam began. "This is the annual Shirogane-slash-Warner Christmas feast."
"Soon to just be the annual Shirogane Christmas feast." Shiro added.
"I think you mean the annual Warner Christmas feast." Adam corrected. "Seeing as I'm the one who does all the cooking."
"That is a fair point." Shiro admitted.
Keith frowned. "I mean... I can see that. I just don't know why I'm here."
The pair blinked, exchanging a look. Before Shiro and Adam, he didn't think much of human's non-verbal communication abilities, but the couple had proved him wrong.
They had proved him wrong about a lot of things.
"I thought," Shiro began, a slight frown on his face, the one he wore when he was internally debating if he'd overstepped his bounds, "-I thought you might like to join us this year."
Since you don't have anywhere else to go, was the undercurrent to his words, but Shiro was way too nice to actually say it. Besides, they all knew it. There was no point in saying it out loud.
"Did you have something else planned?" Adam asked, and he knew the question was purely perfunctory.
Of course he didn't. His only plans had been to sit around in his dorm all day, maybe transform and raid the Christmas party set up for the officers who were still stationed at the Garrison during the holiday break. You know, for fun.
"No, I just..." Keith trailed off, staring down at his feet, "...isn't this private?"
"Keith, if you were intruding, we wouldn't have invited you." Shiro pointed out. He rested a hand on his shoulder, giving it a light squeeze. "We invited you because we both want you to join us."
"You hang out with us enough that you might as well be part of the family." Adam observed.
Family. Adam had said it so casually, like it was something simple. Like it wasn't something he had given up on chasing since his dad passed.
Keith swallowed, glancing up at the both of them. They had each taken a seat, across from each other. He only realized just now that they had sat him at the head of the table. He didn't know if that actually meant something, or if they just wanted the excuse to gaze across from the table at each other.
Honestly? It was probably both.
Just like that, he felt his apprehension wash away. They wanted him here. Him. The problem child. The discipline case. The one they both knew wasn't human. Him.
"Besides," Shiro began, cracking a grin, "-we can't have you raiding the officer's party again. Admiral Sanda was furious when you did it over Thanksgiving. You're lucky she has no idea it was you."
"Personally, I thought it was hilarious." Adam remarked. "I don't think I've ever seen Iverson laugh that hard. And I'm pretty sure Sam still hasn't managed to get that stain out of his dress uniform."
"Well," Keith grinned, "-it was his fault for attending a feast in full dress uniform anyways."
"Adam," Shiro warned, "-we are not teaching Keith bad habits."
"Takashi, you know I love you, but I think we're too late." Adam said. "He already knows all the bad habits."
Just for emphasis, Keith automatically put his elbows on the table. Adam pretended to gasp.
"You see? Terrible." Adam said.
Shiro just snorted. "Okay, fine. But we're feeding you today, so no raiding any officer parties."
Keith just grinned. "I make no promises."
He should have known nothing lasted forever.
Adam and Shiro split up, and the Kerberos mission failed. Pilot error, they had said. Keith knew it was a load of crap from the moment he'd heard it, and so had most media outlets- at least, they had, right up until someone had leaked the details of Shiro's medical condition. Then suddenly they all changed their tune.
It was right around then he got himself expelled from the Garrison. He packed his bag and left, heading out into the desert. He knew that the home he had once lived in with his father was out there somewhere, but to his dismay, once he found it, only the shack remained.
He still moved into it. Technically. He spent time out there, in the desert, trying to track down the source of the strange energy that pulled at him. At first he'd thought it was a Shifter thing, but the longer it went on, and the closer he got, the less he thought so. He didn't know what it was, he just knew that he had an undeniable urge to find it, as if doing so would somehow bring some much needed clarity into his life.
The rest of his time he spent at the Garrison, searching for answers. They might have expelled Keith Kogane, but they had long since become accustomed to the presence of the stray black cat that half the cadets and staff alike had their own names for. Some were overly simple, like Blackie, and others weren't so much names as they were curses- bastard thief cat was a popular one.
Adam, now the only one who knew the truth, opted to hold his tongue.
He did get the impression that he wished he'd stop sneaking into his apartment, though. Mostly because he told him so.
"You know," Adam began, "-I wish you'd stop sneaking into my apartment."
Keith just lifted an ear, casting a disinterested glance towards him. He was a cat, so it was more powerful than usual. He knew this. It was a power he chose to wield.
"You could at least change back." Adam pointed out. "When was the last time you were even human?"
He simply yawned. Probably ten days ago. That was when he had last been at the shack. It was a lot easier to stay in one place and in one form for multiple days at a time. He kept a stash of clothes about half a mile out from the Garrison, hidden under the floorboards of a tiny outpost that they hadn't used in years.
He'd shift there, then sneak into the Garrison. Once he was done with what he had to do at the Garrison, he'd sneak back, and shift again. It was the perfect system.
Adam just grunted, tossing his bag on the couch next to him. He lifted his head, glowering at him.
Adam just rolled his eyes. He wasn't going to hit him, and they both knew it. "I'm starting to think I should just buy you a cat bed."
Narrowing his eyes, Keith made his protest to that known. He wasn't a pet.
"Right, no cat bed." Adam said. "So? What'll it be? I'm guessing it's my job to feed you again since I didn't hear the usual ruckus when I passed the commissary."
With another yawn, Keith got up, pausing to stretch before he leapt off the couch, making his way to the kitchen. Leaping onto the stool, he yowled, looking pointedly towards Adam's knife set, a prized gift from Shiro that he hadn't managed to part with.
He'd started wearing their engagement ring again after the mission failure was announced. He hadn't said anything, so neither had Keith. They didn't talk about it.
He knew Adam was hurting. Adam knew he was hurting too. But their break up had been rocky, and it had effected him too- he'd watched the family he thought he had gained crumble and fall apart long before Shiro was announced dead.
He knew Adam felt guilty about it. That's probably why he let him stay. Why he hid him from Admiral Sanda, who was still determined to catch him and put him in a shelter. Which, no thanks. The pampered life of a house cat sounded easy, but he'd pass. He was still human under this feline skin, at least, in the technical sense.
Adam glanced at the knife set. "Please don't tell me the head chef threatened you with a knife again."
Keith just yowled in confirmation, and Adam made a face. Like he was torn between chewing out the head chef and knowing that he had no way of doing that without seeming like a total weirdo.
Like the type of weirdo who talked to cats, Keith thought with a wry grin.
Adam just heaved a sigh, peeking into the fridge. Glancing back towards him, he squinted. "Can you eat curry?"
Ears perking up, Keith felt his stomach growl. Adam's curry was the best. But it was also super spicy, and his feline tastebuds didn't exactly handle spicy all that well. But missing out on Adam's curry was not an option, so he just leapt off the kitchen stool, intruding into Adam's bedroom.
When he came back out, he was human again, clad in a borrowed pair of sweats. Adam might not be half as beefy as Shiro was, but he was still taller than him, so he had to roll up the sleeves of his sweatshirt, though he just left the sweatpants to bunch around his ankles.
He was a cat. He didn't trip.
Adam just stared at him blankly. "Are you telling me all I needed to do to see you as a human was offer you curry?"
Keith just shrugged, tucking his hands into the sweatshirt's front pocket. It had probably been a good four months since Adam had seen him in human form- not since he'd left the Garrison. Whenever he came here, he was a cat.
His joints complained a bit at moving in ways they hadn't for ten days, but he ignored it. It would fade in a few minutes. It was always a bit rough, transforming back after staying so long in feline form. It wasn't the case the other way around, but he supposed that was just because he was already used to spending long periods of time as a human.
Adam just made a face. "Fine, but now that you have opposable thumbs again, you're on chopping duty."
Keith just crinkled his nose. "Even the onions?"
Adam just snorted. "If you're going to be a baby about it, then fine, I'll chop the onions. And go wash your hands! They were feet until like, ten seconds ago. This is a sanitary kitchen."
Keith just snorted, but complied. Cutting up vegetables would help with the adjustment anyways. Flexing his fingers, he adjusted to the feel of them, before he reached into the utensil drawer for the peeler. By the time he had finished washing his hands, Adam had already set out a mound of vegetables for him to wash.
"Isn't this too much?" Keith asked.
Adam just rolled his eyes. "You think I don't know by now how many calories transforming burns? You'll be thanking me later."
Keith blinked, then slowly cracked a small smile. Maybe his family had gotten a lot smaller, but it hadn't crumbled completely.
He just didn't know how long it would last.
"You know," Shiro began, "-that would have been a good chance for you to come clean."
Drawing his arms up tighter in front of him, Keith set his lips in a tight frown. "Come clean about what?"
He had seen this conversation coming ever since Pidge had confessed her real gender. Honestly, he'd been trying to avoid it, but he guessed he just wasn't that lucky.
Shiro just stared at him blankly. "Keith, you know what I mean."
Exhaling, Keith let his shoulders slump. He did, but that didn't mean he liked it. The only reason Shiro and Adam even knew about it was by accident, and maybe that had turned out okay, but he barely even knew these people- he couldn't just be expected to spill his biggest secret to them so easily.
Shiro, in his usual fashion, seemed to read his mind. "Look," he began, resting a hand on his shoulder, "-I'm not saying you have to do it right this second. But at some point, you're going to have to tell them."
"Why should I?" Keith asked, shrugging off Shiro's hand. "I don't know if you've forgotten, but there's a taboo against telling humans about Shifters. I'm already in enough trouble as it is because you and Adam know. I don't need to add three more people to that list."
There was Allura and Coran too, but they were aliens, so he guessed technically that was kind of a loophole. He still wasn't interested in telling them, though.
There was also the fact that even if he did tell the paladins, it probably wouldn't matter. He had been in trouble with his clan since he was born, so he was pretty sure there was nothing he could do at this point to gain their approval. They had made that pretty clear.
"Keith, we're in the middle of space." Shiro pointed out. "I don't think that's something you have to worry about."
Fine. That was a good point, and he'd admit it. He still didn't want to tell them.
Shiro just studied him, carefully gauging his posture. Almost instinctively, he drew more into himself, even if all that would do was probably cement the impression Shiro had of him. What was the point of even hiding it, when he could just read him like an open book? It didn't seem fair, but then again, Shiro had always been that way, from the first time he'd met him.
"How long has it been since you last shifted?" Shiro finally asked.
Keith tensed, gaze darting away. Not since they had left Earth, and before that, not for another nine days. It had been awhile.
Shiro just sighed. "Keith-"
"Look," Keith cut him off, glaring at him, "-I've got it handled, Shiro."
Shiro closed his mouth, but he didn't look the least bit convinced. Part of him wanted to lash out at him, tell him that it was way past too late for his concern. He'd left him- maybe it hadn't been by choice, but he had. He couldn't help but feel bitter about it.
Now he was up here, in space. Alone.
He wasn't technically alone- he had the paladins, plus Allura and Coran. There were also the space mice, he guessed, although they had been avoiding him from pretty much day one. He guessed maybe they smelled the cat on him- if there even were cats this far out in space.
He just knew there weren't any Shifters. None. Maybe back on Earth, he'd been isolated from their community, but it wasn't like there weren't any others around. Heck, he wasn't even the only Shifter at the Garrison!
"Keith," Shiro began again, and this time, he didn't cut him off, "-I meant what I said to Pidge. Owning who you are will make you a better paladin. I wasn't just talking to her."
Keith just snorted. "No offense Shiro, but there's kind of a huge difference between admitting you're actually a girl, and admitting you're not human."
"Alright, fair point." Shiro admitted, holding up his hands. "All I'm saying is, it would be better if you told them yourself."
Keith narrowed his eyes. "You make it sound like they're going to find out."
Shiro just stared at him blankly. "We're living in an enclosed space, Keith. Secrets have a way of getting out."
Keith just frowned. He wanted to say that he'd been hiding his secret just fine all this time, but he had a point. The only one who hadn't known Pidge was a girl was Lance, and given enough time, probably even he might have noticed something.
And... Shiro had a point about the other thing too. He couldn't just not shift. He could probably hold out for another few days, but at some point, he would have to. It was probably better if he got to choose both the when and where that happened.
Shoulders slumping, Keith heaved a sigh. "I'll think about it."
Shiro ruffled his hair. He fought the urge to purr. "That's all I'm asking. Now come on," he smiled, "-we've got a Balmera to save."
In spite of himself, Keith instinctively felt himself relax. Maybe this wasn't the ideal situation, but at least he had the other half of his tiny family back.
And this time? This time, he wasn't giving him up without a fight.
Alright, so, this was bad.
He didn't need anyone to tell him that, though Hunk hadn't failed to express that same sentiment like, ten times over the past two minutes. Even if he knew that Allura and Shiro were out there, probably already coming up with a plan to rescue them, it still didn't change the fact that the situation they were in right now was... less than ideal.
Honestly, he didn't even know how it had happened. One second they had been raiding a Galra base for intel, and the next, they had been caught off guard by an ambush. Definitely not his best moment.
In his defense, his helmet dampened his hearing, and pretty much every Galra base smelled overwhelmingly of Galra. His nose wasn't so fine tuned in human form that he could separate all that information out. So yeah, he'd gotten captured. They'd all gotten captured.
"Look, we just need to sit tight until Shiro and Allura come for us." Pidge said, trying to serve as the voice of reason.
"See," Hunk began, "-I knew this was a bad idea."
"Yeah, you've told us that like, five times now." Lance said. "At least we left our lions back on the Castle."
Closing his eyes, Keith tuned the other paladins out. While he was confident that Shiro would be along soon, he didn't know if it would be soon enough. He was pretty sure he'd heard one of the Galra say something about interrogation before they had all been thrown in here. He really didn't want to have to find out what that meant.
"Oh hey," he heard Hunk say, "-there's a vent."
Opening his eyes, Keith looked in the direction Hunk was pointing in. He was right, there was a vent.
"Wow, great, a vent." Lance said dryly. "Too bad we don't have anything to open it with."
He could probably jimmy it open with his claws, if he really tried. It wouldn't be the first time. He probably would, if he were alone, and not stuck with the rest of the paladins.
"Also, no offense Hunk, but I think it's too small for any of us to fit in." Pidge pointed out. "It'd probably be a tight squeeze even for me."
Keith frowned. She was probably right. He could probably fit though, in feline form. And again, he probably would do it, if he were alone. But he wasn't. So he couldn't.
Guess their only option was to just sit around and wait for rescue.
Heaving a sigh, Keith got to his feet. No. That wasn't their only option. Shiro was right, this wasn't something he could just keep hidden forever. Voltron was about transparency and trust, and so far, he hadn't been doing a lot of either of those. Maybe it was about time he did his fair share.
"I can get through."
Lance just stared at him like he was an idiot. "Uh, Earth to Keith? Weren't you listening? If Pidge can't squeeze into it, what makes you think you can?"
Keith just rolled his eyes. "Just trust me. Hunk, do you think you can give me a boost?"
Hunk blinked. "Uh... yeah, sure buddy. Do you need my shoulders, or...?"
"Not that much of a boost." Keith told him. "More like a stepstool."
"Yeah, I can do that." Hunk told him. "No problem."
He ignored Lance's suspicious look as he climbed up on Hunk's back. Pidge's curious gaze was easier to deal with, though frankly, he'd rather not have an audience for this at all. But he'd already resolved to do this, so he couldn't exactly back out now.
Flexing his fingers, he retracted his claws. He was a lot better at partial shifting than most other Shifters were, which he had to admit, came in handy sometimes. The good thing about their paladin armor was that it molded to fit their bodies- which included even massive changes. He knew. He'd tested it.
Before anyone had the chance to say anything, and he sensed that they desperately wanted to, he used his claws to jimmy open the vent, yanking the grate from the wall. Stepping off of Hunk's back, he watched his mouth slowly drop open as he caught up onto just what it was that had Lance choke on his own words.
"Uh, Keith, buddy," Hunk began, "-are those claws?"
"No." Keith said, for no other reason than to be contrary. Taking off his helmet, he passed it off to Lance. "Hold this."
Lance accepted the helmet without thinking, then promptly glowered at it. "Wait," he began, "-why am I holding this? And why the heck do you have claws all of a sudden?"
"The helmet's the only thing that doesn't change shape." Keith shrugged. "The claws are because I'm not human."
He wasted no time in transforming after saying that. He didn't even stick around to see their stunned faces, though no doubt, they were a sight. Instead he just took a running leap, scrambling up Hunk and leaping off of him into the vent, disappearing inside of it before any of the paladins so much as had a chance to recover. He was probably halfway through when he heard Lance drop his helmet in shock.
The vent led to a bend. Sitting, Keith's tail twitched behind him. Guess even Altean tailors were way more advanced than Earth ones, because not only had his paladin armor shrunk accordingly, it had also altered its shape to accommodate having four legs and a tail. He just wished he'd had something like this back on Earth.
Ears twitching, he sniffed the air. Determining that he should go right, he quickly scrambled down that way. Coming to the end, he peeked outside, before he jimmied the vent grate open from this side. It was a little more difficult to do with paws, but again, it wasn't the first time he'd done this.
Leaping out of the vent, he didn't waste a second to transform back into a human. The hallway was still empty, so he checked the air with his nose, zeroing in on the scent of the paladins. It wasn't hard- when the ship smelled this much like Galra, picking up on the lone human scents among them was easy.
So was opening the door to their cell. That was weird, but he didn't have the time to think about it.
"You!" Lance shouted, pointing at him accusingly. "You're a cat!"
"Sometimes." Keith shrugged.
"Sometimes!?" Lance sputtered. "You can't just be a cat sometimes!"
Right. He should have known this would happen. Scooping up his helmet, he tugged it on. "Look, can we save the freak out for later? I don't know about you, but I just want to put this base behind us."
"I, for one, have like, a million questions," Hunk piped up, "-but yeah, I agree with Keith. I think we should leave."
"Ditto." Pidge agreed. "On both the questions and getting out of here."
Lance shut his mouth, squinting suspiciously at him. "Fine. But we better get some answers after this."
Keith just rolled his eyes. "Yeah, sure. Now let's go."
This time they managed to get out of the base without getting caught. They were also right about Shiro and Allura coming to rescue them, since they ran into the black lion halfway back to the Castle. Shiro seemed infinitely relieved to see them all safe and okay, and by the time they all got back onto the bridge, he'd almost managed to forget that he'd blown his own secret.
You know. Again.
"Okay, now that we're all safe, can we please talk about the fact that Keith's apparently a cat?" Lance asked.
Keith just groaned. Right. Of course he wasn't going to get out of this.
"Come again?" Coran asked. "Keith's a what now?"
"A cat!" Lance shouted. "Please tell me they had cats on Altea."
"We did, actually." Allura frowned. "But what's this about Keith being one? I was under the impression that he was just as human as the rest of you."
"Yes, he certainly doesn't look at all feline." Coran observed, tugging on his mustache.
Shiro caught his eye, giving him an encouraging smile. Heaving a long sigh, he folded his arms in front of him. "Look, it's not a big deal."
"Not a big deal." Lance repeated. "You turned into a cat, an actual cat, and now you're saying it's not a big deal? It's a huge deal!"
"Yeah, I'm kind of with Lance on this one." Hunk said. "Sorry, Keith."
"Yeah, same." Pidge admitted. "I mean... how does that even work? All that extra mass has to go somewhere, it can't just disappear."
"One question at a time, you three." Shiro cautioned. "Let's not overwhelm him. This isn't an easy subject for Keith to talk about."
"Wait," Lance squinted, "-did you know about this?"
"I've known about it for awhile, yeah." Shiro admitted.
Fighting the urge to just turn into a cat and fuck off for a couple of hours, at least until things calmed down, Keith drew in a long breath. It had seemed so easy back on the ship, when it had been urgent, but now he just wanted to do anything to avoid talking about it. But he guessed the cat was already out of the bag, so he might as well just suck it up and deal with it.
Ugh. He couldn't believe he'd just made that pun. That had to be Shiro's fault.
"You said something about not being human." Pidge spoke up. "You're not an alien too, are you?"
"Oh yeah, that'd make sense." Hunk said.
Keith just snorted. "I'm not an alien. I'm a Shifter. We've been living on Earth for probably as long as humans have. We just don't exactly make that fact public."
"Wait, so," Hunk squinted, "-are you like a werewolf? Or well, a werecat, but-"
Keith shrugged. "I mean... pretty much. It's not what we call ourselves, but it works."
"Okay, hold on." Lance said, holding up his hands. "How can you be a were-anything? I've seen you when the full moon is out."
That... actually was a good question, but Lance didn't need to know that. He honestly didn't know why the full moon never affected him, but it didn't. It wasn't that he minded- it sure as heck had made living in foster care a lot easier, but it was weird, and he wasn't exactly oblivious of that fact.
"Not every Shifter is affected by the full moon." Keith lied.
"So, what you are saying is," Allura began, "-that there is an entirely separate species that has been living amongst humans for millennia, and they have never even noticed?"
She sounded more curious than annoyed, which was a relief. He'd seen how the princess could get when she was angry, and he'd rather avoid that.
"I mean... someone had to notice." Pidge pointed out. "Otherwise we wouldn't have werewolves."
Shiro joined him, resting a hand on his shoulder. "Look, the important thing is, is that Keith was honest with us. This information hasn't changed who he is as a person."
Looking up, he gave him a grateful smile. Having Shiro here definitely made things easier.
"I have no qualms with it." Allura said simply. "Only I wish you had told us sooner."
"Yeah, well," Keith frowned, "-it's technically a taboo to speak about it."
Hunk winced. "So... basically you're in big trouble?"
"If we ever get back to Earth, yeah." Keith shrugged.
"Aw man," Hunk frowned, "-I can totally understand why you didn't want to tell us."
Keith gave him a weak, grateful smile. Hunk's reaction was probably the most expected, and the one he'd been least afraid of. He was kind, understanding- he'd probably get pretty flustered when he put two and two together and realized he was the stray cat he liked to baby talk to back at the Garrison, but that would probably come later.
Pidge just shrugged. "I mean... it's not like I have a problem with it, I'm just trying to wrap my head around it. I mean, it's not the craziest thing I've seen since coming to space but..."
"Mm, yeah, true." Hunk agreed. "That creepy robeast from the Balmera definitely takes the cake for me. Either that, or the time the food goo machines attacked. Except that was less crazy, and more just awful so... yeah. Definitely the laser eye robeast."
"I'm sure Keith wouldn't mind answering any questions you might have." Shiro said, glancing down at him. "Right, Keith?"
Chewing on his lip, Keith nodded. Questions were fine, so long as they didn't try to grill him for answers. Knowing Pidge, she might, but it probably wouldn't be intentional. "I don't exactly know everything, though."
"So what, we're all just accepting this?" Lance asked.
Tensing, Keith swallowed. "You don't have to."
Right. Of course Lance would react this way. Even back at the Garrison, they had never exactly gotten along. He'd thought that maybe things had improved between the two of them since becoming paladins, but maybe he'd been wrong. It wouldn't be the first time he'd misread a situation.
Lance locked eyes with him, and then, after what felt like an eternity, just shrugged. "I never said I wasn't."
Relief crashed over him like a wave, disbelief in its wake. He was half-tempted to pinch himself, wondering if this was maybe some kind of dream- maybe he'd been knocked unconscious when they had been captured by the Galra. Maybe none of this was real.
Shiro's hand on his shoulder served to ground him. Looking up towards him, he gave him a reassuring smile. It didn't quite reach his eyes, mostly because those were too busy silently telling him I told you so.
He just snorted, looking away. Figures. Shiro had been right, and he wasn't about to let it go anytime soon.
And honestly? He was okay with that.