don’t wanna walk alone (or run away)

Several quintants after their lovely dinner date, Shiro finally gets the opportunity to talk to Krolia.

She does exactly as Keith had said she would. She smiles at Shiro as he tells her his intent over a holo-call, and she chuckles when he finishes.

“We’re of royal blood, but we’re not very traditional, Shiro. If you want to court my son, you only need to ask him. Not me, not Kolivan, not even my husband. I bet Keith doesn’t even call it courting.”

“He says we’re dating.” Shiro says with a little awkward laugh. “And… he calls me his boyfriend?”

“That, you are.”

Shiro nods. “I just thought it would be nice… To have your blessing, too. I know you and Keith are very close.”

“We are.” Krolia tells him, and her smile is not her prim diplomat’s smile, but the soft, gentle one she reserves for her only son. “Anyway, I think you two are good for each other, and I’ve never seen Keith this fond of someone in a long time. Since it means a lot to you, consider my blessing given. I am looking forward to spending some time with you both soon.”

Shiro smiles back and tells her that he feels the same. She says goodbye and to send Keith her love.

Keith is off on a solo mission – well, technically solo, but he has Kosmo with him – so Shiro promises to tell him when he gets back. The conversation had lifted Shiro’s mood up, so while he has free time around the Marmora base, he decides he’ll go to the gym to work out.

It’s been a slow few days after the whole diplomatic trip to Fluv, and he’d been going easy on the training.

As he makes his way through the now-familiar halls, someone sidles up to walk alongside him.

“Shiro.” the shorter Galra greets.

“Commander Thace.” Shiro squares his shoulders and nods. “Anything I can do for you, sir?”

Thace chuckles and raises a hand to pat his arm. “Keith is right. You are too formal.”

Shiro blinks. “I-… He said that?”

“Don’t worry, he thinks it’s cute.” Thace reassures him.

“He… does?”

Shiro doesn’t know who Keith really talks to, besides his parents, about himself or their relationship. He knew that Keith got along with Thace, though. He had seen them training together a couple times.

“He does.” Thace nods. “You’ve asked to court him?”

“He told you that, too?”

Thace grins and chuckles as he says, “Ah, well… in a way.”

“In… a way?”

“I’ve known Keith since he was a kit. That child wouldn’t be able to hide anything from me for long. Not that he’s trying to hide anything, mind. But, you know him. Sometimes he forgets to let us know things.”

Shiro remembers the surprise tea party with Allura and nods in understanding.

Thace’s data-pad chimes, and he speeds up. “Well, I must be off now. It’s nice seeing you, Shiro. Best of luck with the courting…”

Shiro smiles back. “Thank you, Thace.”

“Oh, and a tip? Take him racing.”

Thace winks, and then he’s jogging away and turning the next corner.

.

.

The following day, Vrek asks him if he’s free to help oversee some new recruits training in hand-to-hand combat. Shiro does him the favor, and spends a good quintant demonstrating basic fighting stances and techniques.

After that, as they watch the recruits tussle, Vrek leans over sideways to whisper, “So. Keith, huh?”

“…Yes?” Shiro glances at him, but keeps an eye out on two recruits very sloppily trying the new moves.

“How’d you do it?”

“Do what?”

“You know… “ Vrek gestures vaguely, then shrugs. “Everyone wants a piece of-”

Shiro turns to him sharply, visibly bristling.

“-information.” the other Galra coughs out. “On how to. Uh. Win… his affections… Honorably.”

Shiro keeps glaring.

“Not me! Well, once upon a time, me. And others! Everyone else. But. He’s… you know, practically a prince, and Kolivan’s kit, and very, very scary.”

At that, Shiro frowns. “Keith is not scary.”

“He… he glowers at everyone! And it’s adorable until you discover that he means it, and makes it hurt.”

“That’s because you tease him.”

“You don’t?”

“No.” Shiro looks at his fellow Blade with a disapproving frown. “I respect him.”

“Well, we do, too! But he’s just… he’s so tiny… and pink… and soft-like.”

Shiro’s frown deepens. “And what happens when you tell him that?”

“He doesn’t like it, so-… Oh. I see.” Vrek nods, like he has finally seen the light. Shiro shakes his head – all these years, these Galra never thought their Commander was grumpy because he didn’t like being teased? “What do you do then?”

Shiro blinks. “What do… I… do?”

“Yeah, to make him all nice and not grumpy.”

“I don’t make him nice, he was already nice.” Shiro sighs. “How did you know about it anyway?”

“Know about what?”

“About… us? Me and Keith?”

“What?” Vrek chuckles, like Shiro just made a joke. “Well, the same way everyone knew,  I guess?”

Shiro doesn’t get it.

Before he can ask, they hear a yelp and Vrek growls under his breath as his eyes zero in on the source. “Hey! You’re gonna break each other’s arms like that! I know that’s the point, but we’re in training…”

Shiro forgets to ask because the recruits start fighting over what went wrong and then one bites the other, and Vrek sighs. “Aw, quiznak.”

.

 .

Shiro gets asked about Keith four more times over the next two quintants.

Shiro always asks them right back how they knew about it.

Ilun had shrugged, Antok snorted, and the other two simply laughed at him.

.

 .

Finally, over a shared table in the dining hall, Ulaz, with a very amused shake of his head, tells him, “Your scent, Shiro. Your scent is all over Keith.”

“Oh…”

Oh.

Of course.

Yes, that makes sense.

“So… nobody told them?”

“Well, Keith did, technically.” Ulaz answers, shrugging. “Not that I think he meant to. His sense of smell isn’t as good as ours. He probably didn’t notice.”

Shiro nods, watching the doctor swipe through his data-pad as he ate. Indeed, he rarely saw Keith rely on his sense of smell when in a mission, or everyday, in general.

And well… Keith likes borrowing and sleeping in Shiro’s too-big shirts, wrapped up in Shiro’s arms, under Shiro’s sheets.

Of course everyone would have smelled Shiro on him.

It does make a lot of sense. It’s obvious now, in hindsight. How did he even miss that part?

But also-

“What… What exactly do you guys… know ?”

Ulaz doesn’t look up from the data-pad, humming in consideration before nodding. “What else? No one smells that much like their mate unless they’ve copulated.”

Shiro is thankful he had already finished his meal, because he would have choked .

He almost does, anyway.

“C-Cop-… We- We… haven’t-… We haven’t! I mean, that’s… that hasn’t-”

Ulaz spares him a look now. A curious one. “Really?”

“We… we’re not mates, yet? I’m just starting to court him.”

“Hm.”

“Keith just wears my shirts to bed! That’s all!”

“I don’t know why you’re trying very hard to explain to me, Shiro.” Ulaz says, looking very very amused. And smug. And here he was actually Shiro’s Blade mentor of sorts.

Oh, Gods. He’ll probably tell Thace and the other Commanders about this and they’d… what, maybe laugh at his awkwardness?

Why is he awkward, anyway? He’d been in relationships before- He’s an adult Galra male and he has experience- He shouldn’t be so flustered-

But this is Keith . And Keith is different, Keith is it , he just knows it, and –

“But I appreciate the clarification. That’s duly noted. You might have to give up on correcting everyone, though. There’s just too many of them, you’d have to make a base-wide announcement.”

Shiro sighs in despair, picking at the leftovers from his plate. “Well… at least they don’t know that we’re married.”

Ulaz, the most soft-spoken Blade Shiro has ever known, drops his data-pad and practically exclaims , “Pardon me, you’re WHAT , now?!”

.

.

Grandfather,

How are you? I hope you and grandmother are well.

I have a question: When you got married to grandmother, how did your co-workers take it?

Did they all congratulate and pat you on the back? Did they tease you? Did they ask very inappropriate questions? Did they give you fancily-wrapped presents that turned out to be questionable, suggestive items, some you didn’t even know existed before? Did your mentor spend an entire quintant telling you about the intricacies of married life and when, considering your line of work, is the perfect time to try for kits?

I know this is very different from my usual messages, but please do bear with me.

I promise, I’m asking this for a friend.

He actually sends that one.