3. Christmas in July – Space Tanabata

Characters: All of the paladins, Allura and Coran

Summary: Lance and Hunk bring up memories of Christmas, which in turn leads to the discussion of the Earth holiday, but also Tanabata, or the Star Festival.
Pairings: Keith/Allura (mild)

Theories: Shiro and Keith are biological siblings.
Warnings: None

To describe the feeling everyone felt would be no easy task. Lance's feelings were more evident; the blue paladin at times wore his feelings on his sleeve and commented to Coran about how much he missed his family. Hunk every so often would get a dreamy look in his eyes wishing for the food of home, and Pidge – well, everyone knew she hoped to find her father and brother, but she said nothing about the mother she left behind. As for Shiro and Keith, the subject regarding family wasn't something the two talked about beyond Keith's outburst about everyone having a family, meaning it was a sensitive subject.

"Noche Buena." The words came tumbling out of Lance's mouth from where he sat in the lounge area of the castle, his eyes looking up at the ceiling as they took a break.

One of Keith's eyes darted up, his mouth twisted in confusion. "What?"

"You know, Christmas. I'm wondering how long it is until Noche Buena."

"Oh." The red paladin slid down into his seat, his mouth twisting into a frown, his head leaning back indicating what Lance said held no interest to him.

"Noche Buena, huh? What made you think of the winter holiday?" Shiro leaned forward, trying to urge a conversation that would allow the team to bond.

Lance sat up, leaning forward, shoving his hands into his jeans pockets, his mouth twisting up into a frown. "I was trying to think of what Hunk's latest dish reminded me of, and it was my abuela's coconut rice, black beans, and fried plantains."

Keith's head darted up, his curiosity finally peeked. "Adzuki?"

"No, it's not called adzuki Keith."

The red paladin's mouth opened up to protest, only for Shiro's hand to reach out to stop him from chewing Lance out. The doors opened, allowing Coran and Allura to come through the door. "What are you doing?"

The younger male paladin's looked at her, their faces twisted with guilt, remembering her negative reaction to them taking breaks when they attempted to form Voltron for the second time. Shiro leaned forward. "We're bonding over memories of our families?"

Pidge's lips twisted into a wise smile. "Yeah, we're talking about Christmas memories."

Keith's mouth twisted into a frown, his fingers tapping at the top of the couch, but no words came from his mouth. Allura's mouth twisted slightly, then spoke up. "What is this Christmas?"

"It's a holiday when everybody spends time with friends and family, but also exchange gifts. Saint Nicolas comes for the little kids, and there is a ton of feasting." Lance leaned forward. "Do you have something like that?"

"Sounds like a normal festival." Allura sat down, and Coran followed suit.

Coran pulled at his mustache, thinking carefully, but before he could pipe up Lance slammed his hands down on his knees, a smirk spreading across his face. "A normal festival? No, Christmas or Noche Buena is everything. Roasted pig, tostones, arroz con leche..."

Hunk licked his lips. "Roast pig. I miss the luaus back home. I'd like to see the lights again at Christmas too, and all the food."

"Yeah, I mean who doesn't celebrate Christmas." Lance leaned back. "It's that much of a tradition on Earth, right Pidge."

Pidge opened her mouth to say something, only for Keith to beat her to the punch. "No, Lance, contrary to what you think, not everyone celebrates Christmas."

Allura's eyes widened. "Aren't festivals important back where you come from? They were a major thing back on Altea."

Shiro sighed, resting his arms on the back of the seats. "It's not so much that, as the festivals vary from region to region."

Lance leaned back, a smirk on his face. "Come on. The only people not celebrating Christmas are the ones who are from primitive areas, or who think the holiday has become commercialized."

"Commercial-whats-it?" Coran blinked a couple of times.

"That's where people use holidays to sell merchandise rather than to celebrate." Pidge pushed up her glasses. "You're also wrong Lance."

The blue paladin raised an eyebrow. "What, are you going to say you don't celebrate Christmas?"

The green paladin laughed. "No. I love Christmas."

"Alright then Pidge, since you're so smart, give me an example where..."

"Japan." Keith crossed his arms, glaring at Lance. Anger glinted in the young Paladin's eyes.

"What?" The Hispanic young folded his own arms. "What does Japan have to do with anything."

"I'm from Japan."

Lance began to laugh, one thin finger pointing at the other boy. "Wait... you don't celebrate Christmas?"

"No. I don't buy into that whole romantic garbage, mumbo-jumbo." Keith closed his eyes until the other paladin began to laugh very hard.

"Romantic..." The blue paladin fell out of the seat, his laughter getting the better of him. "Christmas is about family! Family!"

One of Shiro's eyebrows rose up, his arms crossed and the corner of his mouth twisting up as if he found some kind of amusement in what was being said. A grin suddenly burst over his face. "Nope. Not in Japan. And Keith means he's not yet found a girl he's interested in, else he'd..."

"Shiro! That's not funny!"

"No, no, no." Lance shook his head, sitting up so his back was against the seat as he sat on the ground. "You're making Christmas sound like Valentines."

"Sort of." The black paladin crossed one of his legs, his body relaxing, one eye looking over to see if Keith would react in a negative manner. "Some did explain to me that was the best equivalent."

The Hispanic teen felt his jaw drop, and Pidge grinned. "So, do you mean to say Valentines is different over in Japan as well?"

Allura leaned forward. "Valentine's? What is this Valentine's? How does it vary between your two worlds?"

"Um..." Keith blinked a couple of times. "Earth isn't two worlds. It's one, with a bunch of countries with different cultures."

"Valentine's is the day guys give romantic gifts to their girlfriends, or sweethearts, particularly chocolate." Hunk leaned forward.

Lance frowned. "Let me guess, Valentine's is a family time?"

"No. It's still a romantic time." Shiro glanced over to see Keith roll his eyes. "It's not the guys who give the gifts, though, but the girls."

"Interesting. Does Japanese culture and this other culture have different ideas regarding females?"

Keith started, before looking Shiro in the eye. The oldest of the paladin's shrugged his shoulders before looking back at Allura. "Well, I'm not sure if I can answer that question. It's kind of complicated."

"So, girls don't get anything on Valentines?" Lance's jaw dropped. "I can just imagine my sisters being upset if they didn't get something even from us."

"So it is family related." Coran pulled on his mustache, thinking of what he learned carefully.

"Well, it's more about love. There's love between a married couple, love of one's mother, love of one's siblings..." Hunk's fingers twisted into the shape of a heart.

"Love is important to girls. In Altea..."

Allura quickly interrupted Coran before he could bring up the Altean traditions. "Any other ways these holidays differ?"

"You mean the fact girls do eventually get gifts, just on White Day instead of Valentines?" Keith muttered, sinking down into his seat.

Lance's jaw dropped. "What? Are you Japnese crazy?"

"No. We just took the Western tradition and built it into already existing traditions. February is Valentines, March is White Day, and April is the time for sakura blossom viewing, which is a part of our culture."

The blue paladin's mouth widened. "Wait... the two of you are both from Japan?"

"You didn't know that?" Keith stared at Lance, almost as if he wondered what else the blue paladin didn't know that Keith thought Lance knew.

"No... I guess if it's Shiro's culture, then it's not actually weird, but kind of cool. No, it is cool." Lance folded his arms.

Keith's eyes narrowed. "Thanks. Thanks a lot."

Allura asked another question. "So, if you were to pick an equivalent to Christmas in your culture, then what would it be?"

The two Japanese paladins looked at each other and spoke at the same time. "Tanabata."

"Oh! Oh! I know about that! My grandmother told me, that's the festival about the star-crossed lovers get to meet once a year."

One of Lance's eyebrows rose up, his mouth twisting into a frown as he lifted himself up so he could sit in the seat. The young man slid down, his tan skin taking on a green hue. "Wait. That's nothing like Christmas. That's... what is with Japanese making everything romantic when it comes to their festivals? That's..."

"So, your culture, the Japanese culture, it is a very romantic culture?" Allura's eyes twinkled with excitement.

Shiro looked up at the ceiling. "I'm not sure if romantic is the right word for it." His shoulders shrugged. "But if it helps you understand, I guess it's fine to say it is."

Keith's mouth opened up, his eyes widening in horror. "No, it isn't." The red paladin's already pale skin paled even more. "It's... Tanabata's about making wishes on the stars, and wishing good will, putting it on a bamboo tree once you wrote it on the piece of paper. Not though as if any of my wishes came true that I can remember."

"That's how it's like Christmas? Trees? Does bamboo even count as a tree?" Lance shook his head. A silence fell over the room, making everything feel awkward.

"Hey! How about we make our own Christmas celebration since we don't know when any of you will see your homes?" Coran piped up, his eyes twinkling. "I just need to go and get a tree, right?"

The adviser stood up, quickly leaving the room.

"Cool. We're supposed to be family, and that is what Christmas is about." Lance sighed, looking up at the ceiling. Keith pushed himself up, walking out of the room without saying anything, but the fact he left saying everything. The blue paladin looked up, his mouth twisting into a frown. "What did I say?

Pidge pushed her glasses up. "Because that's not what Christmas is for everyone."

Shiro stood up. "I'd better see if I can't find him, and talk to him."

Allura watched the black paladin leave. "Perhaps we should do this Tanabata festival instead?"

The green paladin stood up. "Hunk, want to help me make paper?"

"Oh, sure."

Lance folded his arms, tapping his fingers against his arm, thinking carefully about Keith's actions. "Is what I said so bad?"

"I don't think doing something which equates to a romantic tradition to some of the paladins is ideal idea."

"Have you seen Keith?"

Allura found her attention drawn to Shiro as she stood in the kitchen. "You've not been able to find him?"

"He's always been good at hiding when he doesn't want to talk about something. It lets him cool off his head. I used to have all the places he liked to hide memorized, but this is a new place."

The princess' head tilted to the side. "So, you two are close."

"Why wouldn't we be?" Shiro glanced down the hall. "Let me know if you see him."

The black paladin then slipped from her sight, and she decided to get some fresh air. The sun was setting allowing the stars to start to come out, and she wondered what it would be like to look at them from a high spot. She climbed up a small ridge and stopped short upon seeing the red paladin had the same idea. "Shiro is looking for you." Keith didn't answer, and instead stared up at the night sky. "We decided, since the clash of traditions bothered you, that we'd try a Tanabata instead."

Allura watched Keith startle, and slowly he turned his head. "What?"

"Christmas for you is a romantic time, not a time for family."

"That's actually not what my objection was about."

The princess let Keith's words tumble through her head, and then she spoke again. "Keith, do you have a family?"

The teen stared at her, carefully thinking over his answer. "You guys are my family."

"Surely there is someone back on your home planet who misses you?"

"No." Keith turned his head away.

"So you don't have any family back home?"

"If you mean people who are blood-related to me, yes. If you mean people who care, no."

"Nobody ever cared for you? Shiro sure seems to?"

Keith swallowed, his Adam's apple bobbing nervously. "You remember how I said my Tanabata wishes never came true? When I was four, I wished that my parents were still alive, but that of course never came true. At age five, I wished for Shiro to die."

"What?" Allura sat down next to the red paladin, her eyes filled with worry. "Why would you do that? Was he your guardian after your parents passed?"

The red paladin turned to stare at her. "What? Wait, exactly how old do you think Shiro is?"

"Isn't he old enough to be your father?"

"No. Shiro's only three years older than me. I was mad at him because..." Keith took a deep breath. "I was mad because our grandfather decided to separate us instead of keeping us together. Shiro is my older brother, though to be honest, he's also the closest thing I've got to a father. That's why I can say there's nobody back home that cares about me. The one person left who did, he's right here."

"But to wish him dead?" Allura shook her head.

"It's kind of amusing really." Keith's statement caused the princess to startle, wondering if she should leave. "I actually regretted making that wish and was freaking out. I didn't get to see Shiro like I'd wanted, so I thought he'd really died."

"That's not amusing at all."

"It is when you think about how five-year-old kids perceive time. A few days feels like years. I'll never, ever forget that feeling. Thinking he was dead a year ago, that really hurt."

Allura looked up at the stars, wondering if she should say anything, her knees tucked under her chin. She finally spoke. "Keith, why haven't you and Shiro told anyone else that the two of you are related?"

"I'd like to say it's because I thought everyone knew, but then again, Shiro and I do not share the same family name, so I guess I was trying to keep it secret without realizing it." Keith leaned forward, resting his own chin on his knees rather than leaning back on the palm of his hands. "Why's not easy to explain."

Allura reached a hand out to gently touch his shoulder. "Try me. I told Pidge I'd lend an ear, I can do that for you."

"The Shirogane family is one of the noble families with samurai lineage. Samurai is the warriors of old from Japan. Noble families are comprised of the main branch and branch families. One of those families is the Kogane branch. I was adopted into one of those families."

"Wait, so Shiro's name doesn't come from his first name?"

"No. His nickname comes from our favorite series, as does mine. My..." Keith lowered his voice so she could barely hear him. "My name at birth was Shirogane Akira, or in the Western vernacular, Akira Shirogane."

"So, the two of you are actually of the head family?"

"We're not just of the head family. Shiro is... was my grandfather's heir, as he's the first son of the first son, while I'm the second son of the first son."

Allura leaned back, closing her eyes. "You say that with disdain. In my culture, when adoptions happen to lesser family branches as you put it, it's because the branch family has no heir."

Keith let out a chuckle. "Alright, so you do actually get what I'm talking about." His mouth twisted into a frown. "That's not why. I actually don't know if Shiro and I share the same father. According to some of the family, I'm actually his half-sibling. To others, I'm a curse, the black sheep of the family. All of my caretakers have had bad things happen to them, including Shiro."

The princess felt a tightening in her chest. "Please don't tell me you believe this?"

"I'm not sure if I do or not." Keith stood up. "Thanks for talking to me, though."

Keith got up and headed into the castle. Allura looked up at the stars, only to startle when she heard a noise. She turned her head to see Shiro approaching her. "Oh, you're out here too."

"Yeah. I couldn't help but overhear the conversation Keith had with you."

Allura turned her head. "What is your take on it, him being your half-brother or a curse?"

"What I think about it?" Shiro sat down next to her. "I think the rumors started because my father broke from tradition and married someone below his status, but also broke off all ties with the family. On top of this, even the people in the small village we lived in before I moved into the big house ostracized my mother, and yet that village had no connections what-so-ever to the Shirogane family. For all, they knew we were some distant relatives. Mother was a bit odd, almost like someone from outside our culture."

"I think I know the two of you a lot better, though I don't understand why you kept it a secret."

"You don't talk about things once it's ingrained in you not to talk about it, and yet..." Shiro stood up, dusting the seat of his pants off. "... Keith did tell you. That means something."

Allura didn't understand what Shiro meant; the cultural aspects of the paladins could at times be baffling. Keith would leave the room whenever he came across any of the others planning for the Tanabata festival, which in turn irritated Lance to no end. Eventually, Pidge and Hunk managed to make paper, colored at that. Allura couldn't help but marvel at the primitive form of communication, but also the wide variety of colors gathered in front of the group. Keith joined them, although it seemed rather reluctantly.

Pidge pointed at each of the colors. "Each color represents a different person. I used white for Shiro because we wouldn't be able to write on black paper. The mind is this light green, Hunk's is yellow, Keith's is this pink..."

"Man, you got pink Keith, how lame."

"Says the person whose represented by the baby blue. Pink's not that big of a deal."

"Let me guess, pink has special meaning in Japan." Lance rolled his eyes.

Pidge glared at the two. "I made Allura's purple, and that leaves the orange for Coran, which matches his hair color kind of." The young female teen looked up at Shiro. "So what do we do next?"

"Well, each of us takes one paper of each color and write a wish on them and hang it on the tree. Sometimes we write the wish as a poem. For some people, it is an art form, but it doesn't need to be complicated."

"What is a poem?" Coran piped up, pulling at his whiskers.

"It kind of goes like this." Lance pointed his fingers at Allura before spouting off...

roses are red,

violets are blue

sugar is sweet

and so are you

A groan escaped the other younger paladin's lips, and the princess pushed her lips together, not at all pleased at the polymeric sent her way. Coran, however, proved more excitable. "Oh, I know!" The man cleared is the throat.

Once upon a time long ago

Existed a major named Higabigalow

He throttled his compatriots

Sent the townsfolk into riots

And lived never more tomorrow

'cause they caused him to a Sigavow.

Shiro's mouth twisted slightly. "Yes, but far less morbid than that."

"Morbid? This is an Altean children's..."

"Yeah, I'm not sure I want to have nightmares." Hunk's mouth twisted into a frown, before picking up a yellow piece of paper. "That's what I'll wish for. To have no nightmares."

Each of the paladins began writing on their pieces of paper, and Coran and Allura followed suit. Pidge finished first and hung her papers on the tree. Keith stared at the papers without writing anything but then wrote something down on the paper. The green paladin leaned over to see what Keith wrote on the blue paper. "Oh. You wish for Lance to get a brain."

The red paladin paused, then spoke without his facial emotions changing. "I didn't know you could read Japanese Pidge."

Lance stopped writing on his slip of paper. "Wait..."

Shiro let out a sigh, taking the paper, one eyebrow shooting up. "Oh. Keith and Pidge are pulling your leg. It says something else."

"Yeah, what?" Lance leaned back. "I can't read those weird scribbles, nor can I understand"

Shiro handed it back. "That the next time you get yourself a girlfriend that she doesn't turn out to be a wanting something like the Blue Lion."

Lance opened his mouth while Keith glared at Shiro, only to be interrupted by Pidge.

"I did though wish you would get a brain." Pidge piped up. "Though truth be told, I doubt it would ever happen." A silence fell over the room as everyone stared at the youngest of the paladins, "What?"

The black paladin took a deep breath. "Pidge, everyone is dumb compared to you."

"Oh. Oh..." Pidge looked at the wish before scribbling out. "I guess when one thinks of it that way, it is a rather dumb wish."

The green paladin stared at the slip of paper, and Hunk let out a sigh. "This is actually pretty hard."

Allura found making wishes for almost everyone easy. Hunk's wish was for him to always make good food, and for Pidge to always do what she did best. For Lance and Coran, she hoped they would never lose their zeal for life. She looked down at her last two papers, the white and pink, wondering what to put down for Keith and Shiro, almost simply wishing Shiro would continue being a good leader, but added in the bit about also being a great father figure.

The room, despite Lance's ruffled feathers and whatever bugged Keith, this time, remained relatively calm. Her bright blue eyes darted up, remembering the hurt she felt coming off the red paladin when he told her about his broken family, and finally, she decided on what she would write down in Altean. She hoped Keith would find happiness.

The princess stood up to place her tags on the tree and hung them one at a time. Unexpectedly her hand brushed up against Keith's. Allura's head turned, looking him in the eye, and for a moment she thought she saw a slight blush on the red paladin's cheeks. She sat down, waiting for the others to finish so Hunk could bring in the food.

The green paladin walked over to the tree when Hunk finally left, holding up her device, letting it scan. Pidge pushed up her glasses, not noticing Keith's startled reaction to her words. "Shiro, what's an omamori? Why would you want to replace the one lost?"

"It's a good luck charm." Shiro shrugged his shoulders.

Neither Coran and Lance noticed Keith's reaction like Allura did, but the blue paladin still spoke up as Hunk came back in, hanging Keith a drink as he was the closest to the yellow paladin. "A good luck charm? You believe in that superstitious stuff?"

"It's part of the Shinto belief system, and even if I didn't believe, it's also a way of wishing someone well."

"Oh." Pidge looked back at her screen. "So, since you want a replacement for someone, it wouldn't happen to be from someone you're in love with would it?"

Keith started coughing on the drink, his eyes widening at the green paladin's statement, his fist pounding his chest. "What..." The boy cleared his throat. "Why do you like teasing us guys about... about..."

"Our love lives?" Lance sighed. "You know, it's not a bad word Keith. Why are you so red in the face."

"He did get quite a bit in there." Hunk commented.

"'cause I'm a girl." Pidge continued reading the papers. "Plus, Hunk started it. Was it someone you're in love with Shiro? Is there someone back on Earth?"

"Nope."

Pidge titled her head back, staring at the black Paladin. "Don't get it. To want one from the same person, it had to be someone special."

"It didn't though have to be someone I'm romantically attracted to."

"Okay." Pidge's mouth opened again but then looked over at Keith, her eyes blinking a couple of times. "Oh..." Her mouth twisted up into a frown, her eyes drifting, almost as if some kind of betrayal came about, but then she read another one, her lips pushing together. She turned to look at Allura. "Hey, can I talk to you for a second. You said I could talk to you if there is anything I needed to talk about, right?"

"Yeah, sure." Allura stood up, following the girl out, the door slid closed. "You wouldn't be having a crush on one of the male paladin's though."

Pidge took a deep sigh. "Very funny. About Shiro and Keith..."

"I already know. Keith told me a couple of days ago when we decided to do that."

"Keith told you something that important."

"How did you figure it out."

"It was kind of hard not to. Keith's wish for himself was to never lose his big brother again, and then his wish on Shiro's paper said he wished his big brother wouldn't get hurt again. Shiro's, well, I'm guessing the omamori was from Keith, but his wish for Keith was to never abandon him again. Keith though knows Shiro didn't abandon him, right?"

"I think so." Allura stopped, realizing they'd manage to get outside, and were now looking up at the stars.

"I was kind of angry for them hiding that when I told everyone I'm a girl, but then I began to wonder how Lance and Hunk don't know. I mean, they went to the academy with Keith last year, so how did they not know Shiro and Keith have the same last name."

"Because they don't. Apparently, the situation is complicated. Are you still mad at Shiro and Keith?"

Pidge worried her lip. "When I was thinking of leaving, the reason Keith got mad at me was because I wasn't the only one who lost family on the Cerberus mission, wasn't it? Shiro's though his only family. I at least had a mom. It's still not fair they didn't tell us."

Allura let out a laugh. "Actually, Keith told me we're his family. It took you time to open up about being a girl. Keith opened up to me about it, so maybe he'll let the others know soon as well. As for Shiro, he's a protective older brother, right?"

"Actually princess, I think you're only right about Shiro being a protective older brother." Pidge's eyes narrowed.

"What?" Allura stared at the young female.

"Never mind. You'll figure it out eventually."