RECONCILIATION

Keith headed down the empty halls, 'Don't you think Allura would be planning your rescue' echoing in his head with each step. And yes, he was certain that she would. But was it really him she would rescue, or would she simply be going after their Red Paladin? If he weren't a paladin would she give a shit about him? The easy answer was no, she had made it very clear that they were not friends. So then why did he have to risk his life to save her dumb ass? Simple, it was the right thing to do. Stupid quiznaking Voltron and their stupid quiznaking Paladin Code.

He groaned as he walked the hall. The whole situation was utterly ridiculous. Why couldn't Allura just grow up? "I'm Allura, I'm a princess. I'll do whatever the quiznak I want, even if it means putting my entire team at risk!" Keith mocked, raising his voice several octaves and sashaying his hips in an admittedly mean spirited imitation of the princess. She had seemed so reasonable at first; he could even sympathize with why she would be upset. Sure, she'd slapped him and yelled at him and called him names, but then she'd recognized that she needed to calm down and removed herself from the situation. Keith had been incredibly impressed with her maturity … until she started being absolutely horrible to him.

The worst part of this whole thing was that they had gotten along really well. A borderline actual friendship started forming before everything went to shit. He had comforted her over the loss of her father's AI, he had backed her up in her rigid training schedule, he had even sat and listened to her talk about Altea and her people for vargas one night. For her to turn around and treat him like this – he shook his head. These thoughts weren't getting him anywhere. A gentle purr sounded in the back of his mind, telling him they did care about him. "I know you do, Red." He spoke out loud once again, not caring if anyone was around to hear him. "I love you too." Red gushed her affection in his mind and he found himself smiling as he made it back to his room. He pulled out his communicator, dreading the impending conversation with every tic that passed as he waited for Kolivan to answer.

{ Identify }

"Keith Kogane, Operative 2675 – Red Paladin of Voltron" After a tic, a familiar stern face appeared.

"Blade."

"Leader." They exchanged a curt nod in greeting and Keith cut to the chase. "I have chosen to assist the other Paladins in retrieving the Princess from Emperor Zarkon's Central Command." Silence. Several tics passed before the man on the other end let out a heavy sigh.

"I expected as much, to be honest."

"I'm sorry, but I have to do this. Without Allura the Castle of Lions will run out of power eventually and Voltron wont be nearly as effective. We wont be able to wormhole, and we wont have the Castle for backup." Kolivan held up his hand to silence the onslaught of justifications. Believe it or not, he really had weighed it all out before agreeing to help back on the bridge.

"I do not agree with your decision, but I do understand why you would make it. Are you requesting assistance?"

"Yes, Leader."

"Request denied. I gave you a direct order and you have chosen to disregard it. While I can not do anything to stop you, or the other Paladins, I refuse to risk any more of our Operatives." Keith nodded in understanding.

"I know Ulaz has returned to the Thaldycon base but do we have anyone else currently stationed on Central?"

"Yes. I will not divulge who they are, in case of your capture and subsequent torture." Keith nodded again.

"I understand."

"Keith … fail, and you will have made the chances of revolution a near impossibility. Succeed, and you will have hit the Emperor at his own front door, proving to the universe that he IS defeatable."

"Yes, Sir. I understand."

"Be careful. Your mother will not be pleased to hear about this." Keith paled then chuckled, it was Kolivan who would have to deliver the news to her.

"Yeah, good luck with that." He snickered and was met with a growl.

"I will contact one of our deep cover Operatives on Central to keep an eye on the Altean Princess. That is all I can offer."

"I appreciate any support you can give." Kolivan gave a curt nod and disconnected their call, leaving Keith alone in his room yet again. But at least Voltron wouldn't be completely alone. He sighed and got up, grabbing his data pad and heading for Pidge.

"You gunna stand there all day or are you gunna get your purple butt over here to help?"

"I'm not purple."

"Fine – I retract my previous statement." Pidge cleared their throat and began again. "You gunna stand there all day or are you gunna get your pasty butt over here to help?" They grinned wickedly at him and Keith rolled his eyes, but smirked despite his best efforts otherwise. Pidge was curled over their desk as usual and the Green Lion's hangar was a disaster of tech supplies, equipment, and random parts. He walked further into the room and Rover popped up directly in front of him, blinking in warning. "Down boy." Pidge commanded over their shoulder without shifting focus from the current obsession. The tiny floating drone blinked in recognition before returning to its dormant state at the side of the desk.

He walked over and spun a few of the more gizmo-y, gadget-y things. "Don't touch that!" Was barked at him followed immediately by "Leave it alone!" when he didn't listen and a sharp "KEITH, I'm serious!" after something fell and nearly broke. "Keep your hands to yourself or I'll chop them off!" was the final warning before he took the hint and sat down on Green's paw with a huff.

The first few times he'd climbed and leapt his way onto the Lion's paw Pidge had been shocked and impressed at his agility. However, by this point it would have been more shocking if he had chosen to sit on the floor like a Human. They had gotten used to his more 'alien' behaviours, and it was comfortable to be around the Green Paladin for that reason. Keith felt he could relax here, let his guard down and drop the 'Human' act for a brief time. The Red and Green Lion's hangars had become safe places for him, as had his bedroom and the training deck.

"I did what you asked by the way. I think it helped." Pidge smiled up at him, pulling Keith from his train of thought. "Shiro seems less tense … I think … maybe? It's hard to tell with him sometimes. You should probably still talk to him though."

"I will." He groaned.

"Keith, like – ASAP okay?"

"UGH!" Keith let his arms flop at his side while he glided his way down the side of the Lion as if she were a water slide, landing on the ground with considerably more grace than the others could have managed. "I'll go find him." And with that he left for the lounge. If Shiro was there, then they would talk. If not, then Keith had 8 million other things he needed to do. Plus he super didn't want to talk to Shiro, so best to leave it up to fate. Let the stars make the decision for him.

"Hey, buddy. Whatcha doin?" Lance peered over his shoulder, attempting to read the data pad in his hands. "What's this gibberish?"

"It's Galran, not gibberish asshole."

"Okay okay, yeesh." Lance replied, throwing his hands in the air as he vaulted the side of the couch to sit next to Keith in the empty lounge.

"I see you're back to speaking English."

"Yeah, it was freaking Hunk out too much to hear my voice translated into Samoan, and Shiro complained about the words not matching my mouth movements. Besides, I can still speak Spanish to Coran since he wont notice the difference any way. And Allura when we get her back." He smiled weakly but Keith could tell something was bothering him. Not you're problem Kogane! He told himself and continued to work on his project for Ms. Proxa, choosing to ignore the Blue Paladin and his complaints.

"Keeeeeeith!" He whined after several silent dobashes. "Come on, talk to meeeee! I'm bored!"

"It's not my job to entertain you, Lance. Go bother Hunk." He dismissed the other with a flippant wave of the hand. But it did nothing to deter the incredibly persistent (and whiney) Cuban boy.

"Hunk's busy." He replied and stared at Keith for a few more tics before groaning and launching into another series of complaints. "Ahh come on! We were getting along so well. We did all that bonding and what not."

"Go bond with Pidge."

Lance leaned across the couch and stole the data pad from his hands. "Whatcha workin' on?"

"WHAT THE FUCK? Lance, give it back!" He screeched, lunging across the distance between them to wrestle his precious history project out of the other's hands.

"Oh, you want this?" Lance asked teasingly and jumped to his feet. Standing on the couch, he used his height advantage to hold the data pad out of Keith's reach. "Come on, Keith. Just grab it." He chuckled and Keith jumped to swipe his tech back but the other had already bounced to a new cushion. He lunged across the gap in the horseshoe couch, hearing Lance yelp at his sudden proximity, but the Cuban was quick and he ran across the seats until he was out of reach again. Those long legs allowing him to get away faster than Keith could grab him.

A frustrated growl escaped his throat as bright laughter scratched at his slowly fading patience. "GIVE IT BACK" he snarled in Galran and the taller boy blanched slightly before shaking it off and bouncing away again. "GIVE IT TO ME!" He yelled, louder this time and the offending party slipped easily into his flirtatious persona.

"I didn't catch that Keith, could you say it again?" He didn't like that tone. Not one bit. But he also didn't really get what was so funny about what he'd said. So he repeated himself, slightly clearer this time.

"I said 'Give it to me', Lance!" Keith was seething and the other boy exploded with a bright laugh, his voice dropping in pitch to stare suggestively through his long lashes.

"You want it?"

"YES! Fucking give it to me already!" Lance practically fell over he was laughing so hard and Keith was utterly baffled, but too annoyed to care about having it explained.

He rammed Lance in the gut with his shoulder, hearing the wind whoosh out of his lungs, and swiped at his feet. The Blue Paladin landed on the couch with a thud before bouncing off and crashing to the floor. The data pad went flying in the air and Keith leapt off the couch, using his superior agility to deftly catch it as he landed steadily on the balls of his feet. Punctuating his landing with a hearty "Go fuck yourself, Lance." The tanned boy groaned on the floor behind him as he returned to his seat on the edge of the couch.

"That was a bit uncalled for don't you think?" Lance protested, struggling to stand back up and catch his breath. Keith ignored him, opting instead to focus on his project once again. "So that's your native language?" Keith nodded once, but still said nothing, continuing to mostly ignore the Human boy. "Are all Galra this obnoxious? Oh wait – we already know the answer to that!" Lance grumbled and the Red Paladin shot a deadly glare in his direction.

"Ugh, KEITH! Come on, dude! I'm so bored!" He groaned again, making more of his excessive sound effects and flopping down on the couch. "What do Galra do for fun?"

"Spar."

"Of fucking course you do!" Keith turned his head from the data pad back to Lance and narrowed his eyes.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he accused.

"Allura said the Galra are an incredibly aggressive species and that even in times of peace you're still violent! Guess she was right." He didn't mean anything by it, Keith knew this, he knew Lance was merely repeating the bullshit that was told to him. But it didn't change the fact that he was now super pissed off. Fucking Allura and her ability to insult him even when she wasn't around. Without a word he shut off his project and walked out of the lounge before he did something he'd regret.

"Keith? Buddy? Where're you going?" The doors closed on Lance's words and Keith took off at a run.

He stormed down the hall, frustration and confusion rolling off him in waves. He needed to clear his head and the tension radiating through his entire body with some quality stress relief. Essentially, he needed to punch something. Hard. Preferably with his blade. Stars, he missed having someone worthwhile to spar with.

Keith made his way back to his room and pulled out his Marmora blade, feeling the pulse of life as he held it in his hand. The worst of his tension melted away leaving him with a dull ache in his chest and a rage still simmering just below the surface. He grabbed a towel and made his way to the training deck.

The doors had barely opened when he toss his towel off to the side of the room and called out a series of instructions.

"Resume last training sequence. Keith Kogane." He commanded.

{ Welcome: Red Paladin }
{ Resuming: Training Level 20 }

He assumed his stance and activated his blade as the droid came down. Keith swung, giving it everything he had, feeling the rage and anger and pain and frustration he'd been holding in flow through his blade as it connected with the droid. Each take down was more ferocious than the last. He ripped his way through the level, earning a perfect score within 3 tries.

"Start training level: 21" He commanded and assumed his stance once again.

"End training sequence." Keith whirled around to face Coran, anger still tingling at his skin. "You need to rest."

"I'm fine." He dismissed, turning back to the deactivated droid. "Resume training level: 21"

"End training sequence. Lockout initiated for Red Paladin. Duration: 20 vargas."

"WHAT?" Keith whirled around faster than before, his grip on the blade tightening in anger.

"You need to rest."

"What I NEED is to deal with the tension that is DRIVING ME CRAZY!" He seethed.

"Training isn't going to solve that. It's only going to tire you out."

"In case you've forgotten, I'm Galra! This is how we deal with stress! So if you don't mind I really, really need to break something!" His fist was shaking at his side and the blade in his other hand was quivering between its awakened and deactivated states.

"I know exactly how the Galra are. But you are not thinking clearly and you are going to hurt yourself."

"You don't care about me, you're just making sure I'm in 'tip-top shape' to rescue fucking Allura!" he shouted back and Coran punched him. Right in the face. Keith stumbled back a bit before letting out a vicious snarl at the Altean. He deactivated his blade, sheathing it behind his back before charging forward, standing mere inches away from the other.

"You do not have the right to speak about the Princess like that."

"Why not? It's how she treats me! I've been nothing but nice to her, I've tried to help and tried to be supportive, and stars, I even tried to understand where she was coming from but FUCK IT! I'm done! I'll get your quiznaking princess back, don't worry. You're big bad Galra paladin will get her stupid ass back for you and you can all just go back to hating me. It's fine!"

"No one hates you, Keith. We were hurt that you would suggest leaving Princess Allura behind, but we certainly don't hate you." Keith huffed and crossed his arms defensively over his chest. "I know for a fact that no one here hates you, not even the Princess." He looked up at Coran with a skeptical look, one eyebrow arched in absolute disbelief. "It's true. Heard her say it with my own two ears."

Keith rolled his eyes. "I don't believe you."

"Suit yourself, my boy. But it's the truth. She felt betrayed and deceived. Allura is very upset, but she doesn't hate you." He didn't respond; he really didn't have anything to say. "Now, get some rest will you? Or at the very least, an cold pack for the swelling I suppose."

He couldn't hold it back and a light chuckle escaped. "You got me pretty good."

"Yes, I've been known to throw a doozy once or twice!" The Altean smiled back at him. "Feeling better?"

"Surprisingly – yeah."

"Ol' Coran knocking some sense into the youth of today!" He smiled broadly and tugged at the collar of his cloak while Keith let out a surprisingly loud bark of laughter. "I've dealt with my fair share of angry Galra in my day! Step 1: Let them hurt something. Step 2: Something hurts them back. Step 3: They scream out their anger. Step 4: Everybody gets along! Fool proof."

He chuckled again. "You could have told me you actually knew what you were doing."

"And risk step 3 not working? I think not!"

"Thanks, Coran. I feel a lot lighter."

"Excellent. Now, run along Number 4 – you really do need to rest." He nodded back and packed up his things, but paused before he reached the doors.

"Did you mean what you said? About Allura not hating me?"

"Of course I did. Wouldn't have said it otherwise." He nodded again and turned to leave.

"Oh, Keith." Shiro sputtered as they quite literally ran into each other outside the training deck doors.

"Sorry." He mumbled, and shuffled past. A strong grip wrapped around his wrist and pulled him back.

"Listen I, uh, I meant to come find you earlier. I think we should sit down and talk about this. Put everything out there so we can move on and this tension can just …" he made a flailing gesture with his hands above his head and Keith bit back his smile. "Now a good time?"

He shrugged, "As good a time as any." He was actually in a substantially better mood thanks to Coran.

"Great. Come on, I found a meditation room we can use. There's incense sticks and dimmer lighting." The Black Paladin gave a slight nudge to his shoulder and Keith offered a tentative smile, following behind the man as they made their way in silence. Very awkward silence.

The room was small, only slightly larger than the castle's elevator. It was also round and had an array of cushions in various shapes, sizes, and colours spread around. The lighting was certainly dimmer here, a soft feeling enveloping the entire space. Instead of bright blue lights set on stark white walls, like everywhere else in the castle, this room had a single recessed light on the ceiling with a large pink shade hanging below it. The result was a warm rose glow cast over everything it reached, fading as it descended towards the cushions. The effect was reminiscent of a setting sun shining overhead. The walls were painted in a faded gradient from pale pink at the ceiling down to lavender at the floor, instead the clinical white and shining blue the rest of the castle boasted. The room felt different, separate, and unique from the others: special.

He took a seat on one of the larger cushions, feeling his body relax into the softness. For the first time since they left Earth he was actually comfortable. This room was so similar to the meditation rooms back on their bases that there was no way it hadn't been designed by a Galra, or at the very least for a Galra. Emperor Zarkon had been a Paladin at one point after all. A cursory look at the command panel (entirely in Galran) confirmed his suspicion.

"This is my favourite room in the castle. It just feels so much warmer and more comfortable than anywhere else. It's hard to explain." Shiro spoke with a reverent tone, sitting himself in one of the pillow piles and pulling out a drawer from behind a hidden panel. "Do you want some tea?" He held up a packet between his fingers and Keith shifted his eyes back to their natural state in order to read it. The change was immediate, as the room grew instantly brighter and warmer. The true colour of the walls dulled and became even softer, the gradients blending into each other more seamlessly than they did with his colour sensitive Human eyes.

Shiro's breath caught but he didn't otherwise react, which Keith took as progress. He read the packet the other man was holding and scrunched up his nose. "Not that one." He replied, mild disgust lacing his tone. "Are there other options?" Reluctantly, Keith moved from his pillow to scoot across the room and move closer to Shiro, looking into the drawer and pawing through the various tea options, reading the packets and tossing several aside. "Gross – ugh horrible – gross – gross – not bad – allergic – ooo this one's good – this one too – gross – Altean – not bad – OOOO THIS ONE!"

The sudden change in volume caused Shiro to flinch, and Keith realized he was still on edge, not really as comfortable as he was letting on. "Ok, we'll try that one then." The Black Paladin said with a soft smile and added the packet of leaves to the contraption in the middle of the room. Keith stared at it; he'd never seen anything like that before and the clearly Altean design felt out of place in the more Galran setting.

In the mediation rooms on base there were large metal pots in the centres, something the Humans would have called a caldron. Under the pot was a small fire surrounded by heat resistant edging to prevent the pillows from catching fire. It was typical to fill the pot with water, tealeaves, and flower pedals, using a ladle to scoop portions for each of the room's occupants, while placing special incense sticks into the fire. The sticks would give off a rich and spicy scent, filling the room in a thick smoke that diffused the already dim light and made you feel as though you were alone, regardless of how many others occupied the small space.

The 'thing' Shiro placed their tea leaves in made a bubbling sound and a thick fog came out, blanketing the room in the scent of the tea. It was nice, not quite as relaxing as a real Galran mediation room, but still nice. A blue light cut the haze and a chime sounded to notify them that their tea was ready. It broke the stillness of the room and he glared at the offending intrusion.

Shiro chuckled beside him and filled his mug with the piping hot tea. It shouldn't be this hot, he thought as he cupped the drink in his hands and immediately hissed at the radiating heat burning the palms of his hands. Keith placed the tea on a section of floor beside his pillow and scowled at it. "Everything alright?" Shiro asked with an arched brow.

"Too hot." He shrugged back. Shiro nodded and settled into the pillows with his own drink cradled in his hands and took a tentative sip, breathing in the heavy steam and sighing as he exhaled. Keith watched him, it was the most relaxed he'd seen the man since – well, since before Kerberos. "What did you want to talk to me about?" He asked after several dobashes of comfortable silence. His tea was now cooled enough that he could take a few careful sips.

"Pidge dropped off your communicator and I had a lovely chat with an old friend. Thank you, for that." Keith shrugged off the comment but smiled into his tea nonetheless. "I mean it, it meant a lot to see Matt alive and well. I'm sorry for the way I reacted to your – I hate to use the word reveal but that's kind of what it was."

"Coming out?" Keith joked and smirked up at the other. Shiro snorted in response.

"Yeah, that too I guess." The older man looked down into this swirling tea, seeming to contemplate what to say next, or building the courage to say what he'd already decided on. Whichever it was, it didn't last much longer. Shiro found his voice and Keith lost his. "I'm sorry. I know I didn't handle it very well, but … it was difficult for me. I've really been struggling with trying to remember everything that happened while I was … uh, a prisoner, and it made it easier to deal with if I assumed all Galra were evil. It made it easier to swallow why they would do that, how they could just sit back and let those things happen. They took my arm, they forced me to fight, to kill, and I just - " he looked down into the depths of his tea once again as he mumbled the rest of his confession. "It was easier to handle if they weren't people."

Keith let out a long breath and stared at his former mentor, his Black Paladin, his brother. "Shiro? I can't say I know what you're going through, I've never been taken captive before, but I know what it's like to fear the Empire and what they're capable of. Especially the Druids." Shiro nodded along and they talked, for vargas. Shiro opened up about what he remembered from his time on Central Command, Keith relayed some of the more gruesome details he knew about (only after Shiro pried them out of him), and they talked about their respective cultures. The subject of Allura came up, and Shiro shared some of the hurtful things she'd said when Keith wasn't in earshot.

It had been cathartic for both of them. Shiro seemed to be on the same page as Coran, believing the princess didn't hate him but rather she felt betrayed and just needed some time. Keith still felt she could have handled it better and he hadn't yet forgiven her.

They stayed in the meditation room for quite awhile, the conversation naturally drifting to Matt and what he and Shiro had talked about earlier that quintant. The communications expert allegedly accused Shiro of being a certified dumbass, a complete bonehead, and a stubborn old man. Keith snorted at the titles but gasped in betrayal when he learned he'd been referred to as a piss poor Human, Mork, and Space Bourne. Ok, so that last one was actually pretty cool and he didn't hate it, but it was the principle of the matter. Matt had gone into detail about his escape and Keith filled in the gaps surrounding Shiro's. He also had to explain how me met Te-Osh, which led into him being referred to as a child soldier by Shiro and being pulled into a tight hug.

The hug had broken up with a gasp as the Black Paladin realized he'd made the same cultural faux pas as Allura and Keith had to reassure him that this time it was different. He considered Shiro family and therefore it was acceptable. That had led into another bone crushing hug that the Red Paladin protested vehemently while secretly reveling in the contact. It had been so long since he'd had any physical contact and he craved it.

It wasn't until Keith stomach made a very loud rumble that they realized neither of them had eaten. Shiro opted to stay in the meditation room, pouring himself another mug of tea and flopping over onto the rest of the cushions. Keith waved and headed for the kitchen, deciding to bring a bowl of goo back for the man. The weight in his chest lighter than it had been in quite some time.

The food goo dispenser gave a sputter as he switched it from the terrible green plant goo to the substantially better orange goo. This one was a mix of starches and meat, with better seasonings to boot. Because the nozzles were all labelled in Altean, only Allura, Coran, and Keith knew there was more than just the green goo. And since Alteans are vegetarian, they hadn't thought to mention the other option. But Keith had spotted it the first time he entered the kitchen. He also noticed that the holding tank was nearly empty. Split between all five paladins that tank would last maybe a phoeb or two. Keith had elected to keep it a secret. Humans can survive on a vegetarian diet, but Galra cannot. He continued to eat the green goo with everyone else, while stuffing his face full of the orange goo in private. Was it wrong? Probably. Did he care? Nope!

Footsteps came down the hall and he focused his hearing on them. They echoed in the empty corridor, each footfall coming louder than the last; heavy and distinct, letting him know it was Hunk drawing closer. He shoveled the goo into his face as fast as possible, licking the bowl clean to hide the orange evidence. And immediately refilled it with a splash of the green goo, taking a spoonful as the Yellow Paladin entered the room.

"Oh, uh, hey man. Didn't know you'd be in here. I can um, go if you want." He said nervously, a hand reaching behind his head to rub at his neck.

"Why would I want you to go, Hunk?" Keith asked, genuinely confused.

"Well you just, I don't know – you seem like you wanna be alone or something." The larger boy shifted his weight uncomfortably and Keith watched him. He watched as the expression on his face became increasingly more uncomfortable, he watched as the large hands began to fidget at his sides, and he watched as brown eyes darted around the room nervously.

"Hunk, I'm gunna be honest with you, I'm absolutely shit at reading Human expressions and emotions. If you have something you wanna say to me, just say it." He crossed his arms and leaned his weight against the edge of the counter. "Cause if you don't, I'm never gunna figure it out."

"I – well – um." He sputtered and shifted, nerves taking control of his communication skills. Keith's patience was waning.

"Spit it out, Hunk." He commanded and the other boy flinched.

"Ok, so um, do you – like, not actually like us? Cause, you know, I thought we were friends and all."

"So did I." He replied, cocking a brow and putting the bowl down on the counter. "Did that change?"

"Friends rescue friends, Keith." Ouch.

"Hmm." He hummed dismissively and moved the bowl to the sink. "Allura made it clear she's not my friend."

"She was surprised, we all were. She'll come around." Keith rolled his eyes. It didn't matter if she 'came around', what mattered was that she had been so horrible; she didn't even give him a chance. In fact, the more he thought about it, the angrier he became. This must have shown on his face because the kind-hearted Yellow Paladin was backing away from him. Or maybe it was the eyes he kept forgetting to change back.

"I suppose I'm going to have to be the one to apologize right? I'll have to help you guys get her back, and then I'll have to say I'm sorry for existing. Because this whole thing is really my fault for being born Galra." He shot Hunk an indignant look, daring the other to agree.

"Okay, yeah, when you put it that way it sounds silly. But -"

"No 'but' at all. Do you think it's easy for me to be here? To put up with the way Allura has started treating me? The way she looks at me? And you guys aren't any better. You've been skirting around me for the past two quintants, Lance is being extra … Lance, and Shiro – well I hadn't seen much of Shiro until a few vargas ago, and that said enough on its own." He took a deep breath and met those warm chocolate eyes, so full of fear and worry that a part of him wanted to squeeze the big cuddly bear and tell him everything was fine, he didn't mean to yell! But that was counterproductive; Hunk needed to move past this just as much as everyone else. And since that seemed to be the theme of the day so far, why not finish it off with one more.

"One of the hardest things I've ever had to do was sit back and take it. All the hate and anger that Allura's been dumping on me – I hate it. It hurts. You know nothing about my culture or my people – all you know is what Allura has told you, and she's made damn sure to paint the Galra as pure evil. We aren't! We aren't evil, we aren't monsters or beasts; we're just people! People how have been lied to by our leader, and force fed propaganda for ten thousand deca-phoebs." Keith was aware that he was starting to yell; Hunk's wide eyes were a sure sign that this was maybe getting a little out of hand. So he reeled in his emotions, pulled back everything that was bubbling below the surface, just itching to get out, and took a deep breath. He was locked out of the training deck already and wouldn't have an outlet if he got himself worked up.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. I just – it isn't easy for me to be here. Our Emperor destroyed Altea, he hunted down and killed their entire species, and now I'm standing in the Castle of Lions eating Altean food goo and flying Altean ships under the command of the Altean Princess. It's all so very – I don't actually know an Earth example. Sorry."

"Hey, hey man! It's ok. I didn't even think about what you were feeling. Lance mentioned that you were having a hard time but I don't know, I just figured he was being dramatic, you know? You just always seemed so – capable." Hunk replied, his nerves seemed to be calming but there was still something between them, something weighing on the room. Keith wasn't a politician; he wasn't trained to handle people or their culture or their feelings and this entire situation now had him very uncomfortable.

"I'm a highly trained operative, it was my job to be capable." Keith mumbled back to him, suddenly finding great interest in his feet. "Back on Earth I had Nadia and Ina. Here I have Pidge kinda, they aren't really that great at emotional support, you know? But I just, I've felt very cut off and alone. You guys all have each other, you're all Human, and sure my dad was Human but culturally speaking; I'm not, like not at all! It's very isolating, especially with Allura hating me."

"Allura doesn't hate you. You just need to give her time to accept the fact that you're Galra, the race that destroyed her entire planet and all of her people." Hunk frowned and blinked in surprise at his revelation. "Yeah, she might hate you a little bit."

Keith burst out laughing, the relief hitting him like a train. "Thanks for validating my fears, Hunk. You're a good friend." He choked as he doubled over, watching the big teddy bear gape back in confusion. "It's nice to know I'm not the only one who thinks that."

"Uhhh, you're welcome?" Hunk's eyes darted from side to side, taken aback by the abrupt change in tone.

"Paladins! Everyone to the bridge STAT!" Coran's voice boomed over the intercom and the two boys shared a confused shrug. Keith filled a bowl with green goo, fully intent on shoveling into Shiro's mouth himself if the man didn't eat something, and followed the Yellow Paladin out of the kitchen.