(*Strolls in four days late* Okay, so this is related to a longer, more-obviously-Galra Keith AU I have planned. It was actually Shiro's birthday for once, and I wanted to do something to commemorate it, so… here you go. Like I said, it's an AU, so I'm having Shiro turn 24 (read: 6) in this for my own giggles. For general backstory, this Keith was born with some nice purple splotches and fluffy ears, so he couldn't stay on Earth. He ended up in the Empire, was imprisoned with Shiro for a little while, and eventually ended up with Sendak and the Red Lion. Our boys get reunited and Allura has some trust issues, so Keith spends a brief stint in one of those fancy Altean jail cells before the other paladins convince her to let him out. That story will be about 10% plot, 45% angst, 45% Keith and Shiro being soft with each other, not gonna lie. Anyway, enjoy the Paladins trying to give Shiro the nice birthday he deserves.)

It all started on one of those rare occasions when Keith was hanging out with Pidge, Hunk, and Lance on his own. Well, gradually-less rare occasions. Although Keith still spent most of his time glued to Shiro's side, on the training deck, or bonding with Red, he was beginning to trust the other humans enough to spend time around them without Shiro. The humans didn't appear to want to hurt him, at least.

The three paladins were getting used to Keith, too. At first, Hunk was wary of their newly-acquired half-Galra, but once he witnessed Keith trying to eat a mango-like fruit he'd found without even bothering to peel it, Hunk forgot why he'd ever found the fluffy purple ears, sharp claws, and tiny fangs menacing. It broke the Yellow Paladin's heart to realize how little the other boy understood about simple things like food, and hey, he could always use another taste-tester.

Pidge's initial approach to Keith had bordered on a full-scale interrogation, despite Shiro's protests, but one look at a picture of Matt and Pidge together was all it took to break the tension between them.

"Do you know anything about him?" Pidge asked, holding her picture up to the glass.

Keith crept closer, squinting and tilting his head (Not cute, Pidge told herself, not cute-) before his eyes lit up in recognition and he practically threw himself against the glass. Pidge tried to conceal her responding flinch.

The words rushed out of Keith, his excited voice raspy from disuse. "Human. Like Shiro. Hurt leg. Human with hurt leg, sick, need help. You friend? You friend, find hurt human?"

Pidge nodded, hoping she didn't look as excited as she felt. "This is my brother, Matt. Do you know where he is?"

The question got a different reaction out of Keith. He swallowed, cringing back on himself and glancing back at Shiro. Shiro nodded, resting his hand on Keith's shoulder. "It's okay, Keith. You can tell us."

"Rebels come. Say they want to help. Matt go with them. Matt go, be safe, get better." His voice dropped to a whisper. "Keith stay…"

Keith didn't have much more information on Matt and knew nothing of Sam, but his information gave them a start. He was more than happy to give Shiro and Pidge what little knowledge he had on the current movements of Zarkon's Empire, which Pidge relayed to Allura, who seemed to have resolved to stay as far away from Keith as possible. And whenever Pidge needed someone to ramble at, Keith would usually sit and listen, eyes wide with wonder as the Green Paladin ranted about things Keith never knew existed.

Lance's current interaction with Keith was more of a begrudging acceptance. He wasn't sure how to feel about Keith. Shiro obviously trusted him, and Lance had looked up to Shiro for the longest time, and Coran treated Keith like any other paladin. On the other hand, Princess Allura, while not openly hostile toward Keith, clearly didn't want him on her ship. The Blue Paladin was strange to Keith, too, always saying things that Keith didn't understand yet suspected were meant as some sort of challenge.

As for Shiro? Clearly, the Black Paladin meant the universe to Keith.

So, while Allura, Shiro, and Coran were wrapped up in a briefing on the bridge, Keith sat on the kitchen counter, watching Hunk and Lance sort through their current food supply while Pidge typed away furiously at her computer beside him.

"Quiznack, it is!" Pidge suddenly exclaimed, startling Keith so badly he launched himself to the opposite counter. Keith's movement surprised Hunk more than Pidge's voice, causing him to accidentally squeeze a packet of food goo into Lance's face. Lance yelled, and Keith responded by leaping back to his previous perch as Lance sputtered and swiped at his face. Pidge cackled.

"It is what, Pidge," Lance growled, glaring at them all through the goo.

"I updated my Earth calendar and got it synced with space time. According to my calculations, it's almost Shiro's birthday."

"Really?"

"¡Increíble!"

"What is a birthday?"

The other paladins fell silent, turning to look at him with wide eyes. Keith curled up under their gaze, making himself smaller. Did I say something wrong?

It was Hunk who broke the silence, almost tearfully, "Oh man, that's so sad."

Lance muttered something under his breath that Keith was fairly certain was one of those words that would make Shiro say Lance's name in a disapproving tone.

Meanwhile, Pidge was constructing a slideshow. She turned the computer toward him to display a box divided into several smaller, numbered boxes beneath the word "February." Keith blinked at it.

"This," Pidge began, "Is part of an Earth calendar, one of the ways humans measure the passing of time. On Earth, there are twelve months in a year, and each month has a certain number of days. Right now, it's February, which normally has twenty-eight days, but, since humans were a little off when they came up with this calendar, February has an extra day-February 29th-every four years to catch us up with the solar year." The picture dissolved into another, this one being a nearly naked and nearly hairless creature, like the humans but tinier and more fragile. Keith's ears flattened against his head as he regarded it with narrowed eyes.

"Oh, that's a baby human," Pidge told him and decided to not be the one to explain that to him. "Anyway, the birthday celebration began with the ancient Egyptians as a celebration of the birth of their gods. The Greeks adopted a similar practice, but the Romans-"

Lance cut in, "Maybe get to the part that he needs to know today?"

"Ugh, fine, mortals," Pidge scoffed, changing the picture to a cake with candles. Keith gazed into the tiny flames. Pidge taught him about fire last movement, to Shiro's dismay. "Today, humans celebrate the day of their own birth in various different ways. Most birthday celebrations involve eating cake and doing things with people who are special to you. Usually there are gifts of some kind, but more so for younger humans. Shiro's birthday is February 29th, which is the day after tomorrow."

Keith let out a pitched noise. "But you said February only has a 29th every four years! Shiro does not always have a birthday?" His drooping ears twitched.

"Nice going, Pidge," Lance said.

"Of course he does," Hunk chimed in, "He just has to celebrate it on the day before or the day after when there's no 29th. So, what do you say? Want to help us give Shiro a nice birthday?"

"Yes, sir!" Keith said, perking up and clenching a fist against his chest.

"Hey, buddy," Hunk cautiously placed a hand over Keith's and drew it away from his chest. "You know you don't have to do that anymore."

Keith's face fell. "Sorry," he whispered.

"Okay!" Pidge interrupted by ruffling Keith's hair and jumping off the counter. "Any ideas for Operation: Shiro's Birthday Surprise?"

"I guess cake's a good place to start," Lance said. "Does anyone know what Shiro likes?"

"Shiro likes sweet things," Keith mumbled. The others nodded to him encouragingly, so he continued. "Shiro likes sweet things, but they are bad for you? And looking at stars. And racing in the warm place with the sand, the… the desert? And mac 'n' cheese."

"Mac 'n' cheese," Lance repeated incredulously. "You can hardly name the foods you ate for breakfast, but you remember that Shiro likes mac 'n' cheese."

"Because what Shiro likes is important!" Keith spat back, the fur around his ears rising.

"Some kind of sweet cake and mac 'n' cheese, then!" Hunk declared, stepping between Keith and Lance. "We might have to make a supply run to find the right ingredients. I can't promise it'll be exactly like Earth food, but we might be able to get the taste about right."

"You can take Lance for that," Pidge said, hopping off the counter. "Keith and I will work on decorations and see if Coran can help us find somewhere to hide everything for the next quintant."

"And it's a secret, got it?" Lance said, looking at Keith in particular. "Don't tell Shiro."

"I won't!" Keith snapped, although he was still a little confused. Why do something nice for Shiro and then hide it from him?

While Keith distracted Shiro with their daily sparring session on the training deck, the other paladins taught Allura and Coran about human surprise parties and finalized plans for Shiro's. The rest of today would be devoted to gathering supplies. Then, everyone would spend the next day alternating between distracting Shiro and party preparations.

On the training deck, Shiro was struggling. It wasn't that the training bot was set to a particularly difficult level, it just moved in a way that reminded him of darkened hallways and Empire sentries.

After the fourth time Shiro's shaking hands almost missed blocking the bot's staff, Keith shut it down. Shiro closed his eyes, taking a shaky breath as Keith took the machine's place in front of him. He felt a warm hand settle against his cheek, Keith ever so careful not to catch Shiro with his claws.

"It is too much," Keith said. It wasn't a question.

"I'm fine," Shiro responded, opening his gray eyes to meet Keith's violet ones.

"You don't have to pretend with me," Keith told him, voice quiet and even. "I already know you are strong."

Shiro sighed and leaned into Keith's touch.

"Fight me."

Shiro blinked. "What?"

"Fight me, Shiro. Only hands. Fight me."

"I don't want to hurt you."

"You won't," Keith said, dropping his hand from Shiro's face and moving back into a fighting stance.

"What if I trigger you? What if I make you remember the bad things, too?"

"Then you will bring me back, like you always do."

"Okay," Shiro conceded, "But I'm going easy-"

Keith grabbed Shiro's hand and flipped the larger man onto his back. "There is no easy, old man!" Keith replied, ears perked up and fangs bared in a small smile and an open challenge.

Shiro grunted, "You… have been spending too much time with Pidge." Still, he couldn't help but grin from his place on the floor. The Black Paladin leapt back to his feet and waited for Keith's next attack.

Keith huffed a short laugh before launching a high kick, which Shiro blocked. Shiro's responding jab was blocked by Keith's hand snatching his wrist, and the half-Galra proceeded to use Shiro's momentum to propel himself over the human. Shiro turned in time to dodge Keith's sweeping leg and tackle him, rolling the pair across the floor. They ended with Keith on top, then Shiro flipped their positions. Keith dug a knee into Shiro's side and regained the upper hand, ending their grappling with Keith's knee digging into Shiro's back, Shiro's human arm trapped in Keith's grasp behind him.

"I yield," Shiro said, a little winded. When Keith released his hold, Shiro immediately turned to check on him. Though he was breathing heavily, Keith seemed fine. The glazed, distant look Shiro feared he would find in Keith's eyes was absent. It was a relief to Shiro, that Keith was able to trust himself to fight to protect himself again. It was progress.

Shiro took Keith's outstretched hand, pulling himself up before turning to grab water pouches for them before round two.

Dinner that evening-or whatever counted as evening in space-was normal enough for the paladins. Lance and Hunk had returned from gathering supplies slightly singed but overall successful, and if Shiro noticed anything suspicious, he'd decided not to question it at the time.

To the Black Paladin's right, Keith was more cheerful than usual, making occasional chirruping noises as he poked at his food goo more than he ate it. It gave Shiro a fuzzy feeling in his chest.

"Did you have a good day, Keith?"

Keith headbutted Shiro's shoulder. "Happy," he mumbled into the man's arm.

Further down the table, Lance rolled his eyes. Hunk elbowed him.

In the middle of the night cycle, Shiro awoke from his usual restless sleep. He couldn't remember what the nightmare had been this time. He usually didn't. When Shiro would wake up, wide-eyed and gasping for breath, Keith would be there to hold his hand or whisper nonsense to him until he calmed down. When it was Keith plagued by nightmares, Shiro would ply Keith's claws from his shirt, give him space if he needed it, turn on the lights, and remind Keith that he was safe. In the Castle. With Shiro.

Tonight, however, when Shiro jolted awake, the rest of the bed was empty. Keith wasn't in their room, or the adjoining bathroom. Suspecting Keith had gone for a walk, Shiro checked the training deck and Red's hanger. Genuinely concerned now, Shiro ran a check on the Castle's bioscanner and found Keith in a remote part of the ship that Shiro had never visited.

It was a fairly dim hallway, one with a wall of windows gazing out into space. Keith was huddled against the opposing wall, back to the metal and knees drawn up to his chest. His ears swiveled to track Shiro's approach before the rest of his head followed. He didn't utter a word, only reaching out a clawed hand to tug Shiro down beside him. Shiro was still shaky from the nightmare and the adrenaline rush of finding Keith. Needing something to ground him, Shiro cautiously wrapped an arm around Keith, moving slowly to broadcast his intentions and give Keith time to move away or tell him to stop. Instead, Keith leaned into the embrace, resting his fluffy head of dark hair beneath Shiro's chin. Shiro stiffened with surprise at Keith's warmth before melting into it. Even with all the time that had passed and how many moments like this they spent together, Shiro knew both of them were still getting used to good kinds of touches again.

Eventually, Keith broke the silence to ask, "Bad dream?"

"Yeah," Shiro sighed, running the fingers of his human hand through Keith's hair.

Keith wilted. "Wasn't there. Sorry."

"Don't be sorry, Keith. It's okay." He huffed out a quiet laugh, "You really had me worried when I couldn't find you. What are you doing all the way up here?"

Keith gestured at the windows and the vast expanse of space with the arm that wasn't clutching onto Shiro. "You said you like the stars. I wanted to find a quiet place for you to see."

"You found this place for me? Really?" Keith nodded.

"Thank you, Keith." Don't cry, Shirogane, don't cry-

Keith squeezed Shiro's arm in reply, and the two stared out into the universe. For a moment, the two troubled souls were at peace.

Then, the Castle's alarm system went off.

The battle was short and exhausting. The Castle of Lions had crossed paths with a Galra cruiser, which almost immediately opened fire. The paladins raced to their Lions, and they didn't even need to form Voltron to put the cruiser out of commision before Allura wormholed them to a quieter part of space.

Lance immediately returned to bed. Once he was assured that everyone was all right, Hunk followed. Pidge wanted to run a systems check and increase the range on their enemy ship detection. Coran volunteered to help after ushering Allura back to her room. Though Shiro wanted to stay and supervise, Keith was tugging Shiro towards the door.

"Don't stay up too late, Pidge!" Shiro called while dragging his feet.

Pidge merely grunted in acknowledgement, already lost in the screens.

The following day cycle, after breakfast and some routine training exercises, the paladins were allowed some free time. The younger paladins-including Keith, surprisingly-split off on their own while Shiro found himself wandering back to the windowed hallway Keith had discovered. This time, however, Shiro came armed with a data tablet for working and a cushion to serve as protection against the hard, metal floor.

Meanwhile, Pidge monitored Shiro's location and the impending disaster before her. Hunk-thank the cosmic dust for Hunk-was making their "Happy Birthday, Shiro!" banner with occasional help from Lance, who had convinced Allura to join them and placed her in charge of balloons. Stretched out on the floor, Keith had created several surprisingly accurate and detailed drawings of the Lions, the Castle and its inhabitants, the places and people Voltron had saved. Then, he started drawing everyday objects (such as fruits and shoes) interspersed with things like Sendak's head on a stick, and his teammates decided it would be better to distract him with a different craft. Pidge taught him to make origami flowers, telling Keith all about how Shiro had taught the art of folding paper to Matt before they went on the Kerberos mission, and how he'd been more than happy to let Pidge join them. Then, the resident hacker sat back to take in the chaos.

Paper flowers of various colors and shapes quickly took over the walls of the lounge. Soon, they were hanging from the ceiling. Keith managed to stick several to Lance before the Blue Paladin noticed.

"What the-how did you-you can't just-Keith!" Lance spun around trying to reach the various flowers. Keith let out a series of choppy trilling noises and the others laughed. While everyone was distracted by Lance dramatically pulling the paper flowers off and Keith sneaking them back on, the mice arrived and managed to slip a cherry blossom into Allura's hair.

Keith noticed the flower and went silent, backing toward the corner and making himself small. His companions followed his frightened gaze back to Allura's hair.

"Uh, Princess," Lance said, "You have a little, um…" He gestured at his own short brown hair.

Allura carefully patted her head until her fingers made contact with the paper. "Oh," she said.

Finally, Keith spoke. "I'm sorry, I didn't-sorry-"

"That's all right," Allura told him. It was the first time the princess had spoken directly to Keith since Shiro insisted he be freed from the Altean cell. "They're very… nice."

The paladins returned to their tasks, and if several more flowers ended up in Allura's hair, well, no one had any complaints.

Shiro knew something was up. After his break, Shiro had run into Coran, who insisted Shiro help him with various maintenance tasks in distant parts of the ship. He'd rejoined the others afterwards to find Keith slipping in and out of the vents covered in what appeared to be orange flour while Lance tried to catch him. Pidge was looking very smug about something. Allura had several bits of vibrantly colored paper in her hair. When Shiro asked about the paper, Allura looked at the Black Paladin as though he was the strange one, as though this was nothing short of normal.

Eventually, Shiro lured Keith from the vents and cleaned him up. Convincing the energized warrior to settle down for bed was just as difficult.

"Please tell me they didn't introduce you to sugar. Or caffeine." Shiro plucked Keith from his newly acquired perch on Shiro's shoulder and dropped him onto the bed.

"Who sugar? New friend?" Keith asked, scampering around the edge of the bed in a bid for freedom.

"It's a kind of-food-that makes things taste sweet," Shiro said as he blocked Keith's escape attempts. "It can make humans tired when the effects wear out." Giving up on containing Keith, Shiro climbed into bed. Keith darted around the room before he followed, burrowing into Shiro's chest and letting out a low rumbling noise Shiro was fairly certain was purring.

"You sure seem happy lately, Keith. I'm glad," Shiro said, wrapping his arms around the smaller creature. Keith continued to purr.

Shiro soon drifted off to sleep to the warm vibrations of Keith's purring against his chest.

For once, neither man was plagued by nightmares.

Keith was curled up on top of Shiro when he awakened, his warm weight holding him down. Shiro gently shook his shoulder.

"Keith, you have to wake up."

"Noooooo," Keith groaned in response, burying his face in Shiro's chest and wrapping his arms and legs around him.

Shiro wriggled slightly. "It's time to get up, buddy."

"No 's'not."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah." Violet eyes peeked up at him before Keith hid his face once more.

"And why not?"

On the desk across the room, Shiro's tablet pinged.

"That," Keith mumbled before grudgingly relinquishing his hold on the larger man.

While Keith grabbed his clothes and vanished into the bathroom, Shiro checked the tablet. It was a message from Pidge, containing only a smiley face emoji.

Once the two paladins were ready, Keith latched onto Shiro's arm and dragged him down the hallways. Figuring this had something to do with everyone's strange behavior and Pidge's message, Shiro let him. Keith was becoming increasingly excited, trying to urge Shiro to move faster.

"Slow down, Keith! There's no need to…" Keith stopped them outside the door to the lounge, which slid open with a soft hiss. "...rush…"

"Surprise!"

"Happy Birthday, Shiro!"

"Happy Birthday!"

The other inhabitants of the Castle called out as Shiro stalled. A banner had been hung from the ceiling, balloons bobbed along the walls. A table of food had been set up at one end of the lounge, a screen for movies or games along the other. And plastered on every available free space were various colored origami flowers.

"Tulips?" Shiro asked, running his fingers along the edge of a scarlet blossom pinned to the wall.

"I showed Keith how to make them," Pidge told him.

Keith nodded. "Do you like them?" Shiro turned to meet his eyes.

"I love them," he said, placing a hand on Keith's shoulder and turning to the rest of his family. "Thanks, you guys. How… how did you know?"

"Also Pidge," Hunk said, appearing with a multicolored cake balanced before him.

"You didn't think I'd let someone take my family to space without learning absolutely everything about them first, did you?" Pidge's voice bordered on mocking as she pushed Matt's glasses up her nose. "Though I have to give Keith credit for telling us what to get you. Who would've guessed the oh-so-healthy Takashi Shirogane's favorite food was mac 'n' cheese?"

"There's mac 'n' cheese?" Shiro turned toward the food table.

"Not so fast!" Hunk cried, holding up the cake, now complete with six flaming candles. Shiro raised an eyebrow. "You have no idea what we went through to make this. You are totally trying it first."

"Make a wish, Number One!" Coran called from his place next to Allura.

Shiro closed his eyes, breathing deeply before letting out a long, steady stream of air. As the flames went out, Shiro looked up, meeting Keith's wide eyes with a soft smile.

"All right!" Lance cheered, "Let's get this party started!"