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Keith never talked about their family. Though Pidge seemed to have an idea on why, based on what Matt has said, and Hunk and Lance can guess; from James Griffin’s comments in their first year, to the way that they’re so defensive and struggle to call them all family. Not to mention them finding their mom in deep space during a ten-thousand year war. They all knew they lived alone prior to Shiro’s arrival before they found the blue lion and were launched off into space.
But perhaps only Shiro realized how truly lonely they were on Earth until the team actually came back. Unlike Pidge and Lance who had family waiting for them with open arms, even unlike Hunk whose family had been taken, Keith and Shiro had no one waiting for them. And even then, Shiro had the Garrison staff waiting for him. Even the princess had family after all these years.
But they all exited the vehicles and Keith merely leaned against the wall of the buggie with Kosmo sitting patiently next to their leg. They didn’t seem bothered by it, their face at a bored impasse until Iverson calls them over, making them stiffen and their face tense. Hands fall into a salute that no one has seen since their first year at the Garrison. Only for that hand to fall into a handshake when instead of yelling at them, he thanks them, congratulates them, apologizes to them.
And when Iverson reaches down to pet Kosmo's ears, Keith looks over their shoulder, having heard feet hit the ground somewhere behind them. James, who has just finished with everything in his buggie and has finally climbed from it, meets their eyes and mutters ‘later’ when he notices Keith looking ready to approach. The ravenette nods and turns back to Iverson petting Kosmo and Coran warning him about the dangers of Kosmo in his overly cheery tone.
Soon the paladins are pulled into a couple meetings, debriefings, planning, catching up on Galran events, etc. When they’re all finally done, the Alteans and Pidge run off with Commander Holt to get Sendak’s memories prepared, Keith finds themself talking to Hunk about his missing family.
Then when that conversation is over, the ravenette leaves Hunk to his thoughts and walks out into the hall, where they run into James Griffin himself. There is a beat where the two of them just stare into each other’s eyes for a while before arms are wrapped around the other’s body and lips have collided in a kiss that is more a reunion than any other emotion.
When they pull away, James pushes Keith into the wall by their shoulder, “You fucking dick, just up and disappearing without word.” He puts his forehead to Keith’s shoulder, “I missed you so much.”
Keith lets out an airy laugh and lets their head fall back against the wall and their arms wrap around James’ waist, “I’m sorry, it was a bit of a sudden thing. There’s…” they clear their throat, “a lot to talk about.”
“Not right now.” James sighs, lifting his head and pressing Keith into a passionate kiss.
Keith laughs into it and between kisses they smirk, “Gettin’ bold aren’t we, Griffin? Kissin’ me in a public hallway. And did I hear you swear earlier?
“Oh shove off it.” James grumbles, “My parents are so far in the grave I can’t care and there’s no one in this hall to tell anyone else who might care.”
“Thank the Gods for that.” Their words are teasing but there’s pure affection in their eyes and they pull James to their body, arms wrapped around his neck and grabbing onto his head. James huffs but wraps his arms around the shorter’s waist.
“God, I missed you so much.”
Keith presses their foreheads together, “Me too. I never stopped thinking about you, it was as much getting my teammates home as it was doing everything for you.”
“Don’t be sappy.”
“It’s true.” Keith gives him a wide grin, then it falls, “I was so fucking worried when we learned that Earth had been attacked.”
James hums, tears in his eyes that he refuses to let fall, “You’re talking too much.”
“Less talking more kissing?” James doesn’t deign them with a response, instead just nods and pulls them into a kiss. And Gods, it’s so easy to get lost in each other, even after all this time.
And it just so happens that the couple get so lost in each other that they don’t hear the voices of Lance and Hunk walking towards them. Unfortunately they were only made aware by the new arrivals when they heard the gasps.
James pushes away from Keith and the two snap their heads to Keith’s teammates. Keith, being the awkward person they are, just raises their hand in a slight wave, “Hey.” James cringes at their slightly rough voice.
“I-” Lance starts, pointing at Keith, “Keith, you- and him. I thought-” but he can’t finish his statement because James grabs Keith’s wrist, turns on his heel, and takes off. Keith needs a couple of seconds to regain their footing before they’re running in line with him, the two laughing all the way until they tumble into James’ room.
They collapse onto the shitty Garrison mattress and Keith lets out a full laugh, “We’re grown ass adults fighting an intergalactic war running like two kids that just put a whoopie cushion under Iverson’s chair.”
“Well, cherish these moments because I doubt we’ll have them for a while.”
“No, no. You’re right, it’s just… so absurd to be back here.” Keith sighs, “I don’t want to go into details now but… there was an occurrence where I went at a different speed than the others so it feels like it’s been much longer for me.”
“Did you really?”
“Yeah, but that’s a story for another time.”
“Sure, let’s enjoy this while we have it.”
And James was right because from then it was go, go, go. Then Keith was in the hospital after the whole final fight with the robeast. And it only brought James to a minor start when James walks into his boyfriend’s hospital room and there are two Galra in the room smiling at them, one on the bed by their legs and the other sitting in the corner.
Whether he was actually the first one to notice James’ presence or not, the man in the corner looks at him first and his face falls from the gentle smile. Then Keith looks at the door and smiles, extending their hand towards their boyfriend. Their voice is weak as they beckon him and James hesitates at first but eventually makes his way into the room, grabbing their hand once he’s in range.
The woman on the bed mutters to the ravenette, “Is this him?” as she moves to make room for James on the bed.
Keith nods, “Yeah, this is James. James, this is Krolia, my mom. And the man in the corner is Kolivan. They’re members of the Blade of Marmora.”
James nods his hello but doesn’t do anything other than focus his gaze on his partner, likely scanning their face for discomfort or pain, “How’re you doing?”
“Better than I have been.” They joke, which gets an eye roll from James.
“I was worried sick when you went down and weren’t responding to anyone.” James scolds, “I thought you died, you bastard.”
Krolia’s smile widens marginally, “We heard from Shiro that he was the first to get to Black when they located you.”
“Were you really?” The ravenette asks, their eyes wide and voice disbelieving.
James nods, his cheeks tinted with pink, “Ryan tried to stop me but I wouldn’t hear him out. Launched out of my ship before it stopped.”
“That was stupid.” Keith scolds in response, “Something could’ve happened to you.”
“I thought you were dead! And you almost were when we got you here!” He sneers, “It was more than worth the risk.”
“And I thank you for that risk,” Krolia says and outstretches her arm, “Also, I want to thank you for being there for Keith when no one else could.”
James, albeit a bit hesitant, clasps Krolia’s elbow, “Of course. I didn’t think Keith had talked about me.”
“They didn’t.” Krolia just smiles at Keith. James turns to look at them.
Keith huffs, “I know I told you that I went through a time distortion? Krolia and I were stuck on the back of a space whale thing for what was two years for us. Occasionally there would be a flash that would show each other pieces of our past.” The ravenette shrugs, “She saw you in my memories.”
“Is that where you got Kosmo?”
They nod, “From the day he crashed near us.” James nods and just takes a couple minutes to look over his partner.
And finally, he speaks, “So you’re Galra, huh?”
Keith chuckles, “Yeah. Sorry I didn’t tell you earlier I just…” They look down at their lap, “I had such a hard time coming to terms with the fact that I was the enemy. The possibility that I could be related to a reign of tyranny, even knowing about the Blade’s existence...”
“Don’t apologize.” James shakes his head and his hand folds into Keith’s where they’re sitting in their lap, “I don’t blame you. I had a feeling you were Galra when Sam showed us pictures of the Blade and they had the same symbol as the one on your knife.”
“I didn’t know you knew my knife so well.” They tilt their head and raise an eyebrow.
“You think I wouldn’t remember the knife you fought tooth and nail with every principal we had just to keep it on you the entire time I’ve known you?”
A nonchalant shrug, “I guess.”
“That was brave of you, kid.” Kolivan hums, “Krolia has told me how strict Earthen schools are with weaponry.”
“Well,” they huff, “it was the only connection I had to my family and I knew that houses could burn and, with it, my knife.”
“Luxite doesn’t burn easily.”
“Until I went into space,” Keith hums, “I had never heard of Luxite. And any of my foster families could’ve taken it from me.”
“Such horrible humans.” Krolia scoffs.
James either doesn’t hear her or moves on quickly, “Speaking of foster families, I want to give these to you.” In his hands are three envelopes. One has Keith’s name in James’ handwriting and the other two…
Tears well up in the ravenette’s eyes…
There, on those envelopes, is Keith’s name on one and Shiro’s on the other in Adam’s beautiful handwriting.
Before Keith can ask, James explains, “After the attacks started, Adam came and found me, apparently he knew about our relationship, and gave me those letters. In return, I gave him that one.” He breathes, “It was a pact we made that if one of us died in the war, the other would get the letters to you. I don’t dare give Shiro his, I’m pretty sure he’d think it’s a joke if I gave it to him.”
“No, I get it. I’ll give it to him the next time I see him.”
“Thank you.” The brunette glances at the clock and squeezes their knee, “I need to get going soon, when do you get released?”
“The staff aren’t sure.” Keith shrugs, “They still need to run tests and they wanted to check how Galra’s health differs from humans’.”
“Not to mention, the doctors said you took most of the damage of all of Voltron.”
“That’s how Black was designed. Alfor figured the leader would be the one who could take the most hits.”
“That’s bullshit.”
“If you want to go 10,000 years back and tell him that, be my guest.” They offer with a sly smile then shrug, “Coran warned me of it when we changed our ranks. He didn’t want anyone, not even Allura, to know outside of Shiro and I.”
“And you just accepted that?”
“What else could I do?” Keith sighs, “I was the only one who could do something. Then things happened and I was kind of thrust back into piloting Black.” The ravenette shrugs halfheartedly.
“God, you’re such a self-sacrificing idiot.”
“Didn’t you say you needed to go?”
James sighs and stands up, pressing a kiss to Keith’s forehead, “You’re lucky you’re right and injured, otherwise I’d kick your ass. I’ll visit again when I can.”
Keith nods, “I know how it is. Stay safe.”
“Get better soon.” The brunette nods to them, getting a nod in return. James turns on his heel and, with one last wave, leaves the room.
“He’s perfect for you.” Krolia nearly whispers with a gentle smile on her face, “I had figured as much when I saw him in your memories but this just confirmed it.”
“We’ve been through a lot together,” Keith sighs, “I’m sure you saw a b-” The door opens before Keith can finish, effectively cutting them off as Shiro and Lance enter the room. Kolivan quickly excuses himself but Krolia elects to stay for a while longer.
Shiro moves to sit by Keith’s bed, “How’re you feeling?”
Before they can answer, Lance pipes up, “We passed James on the way up here, was he causing you troubles?”
“I’m fine Shiro.” Keith consoles before looking at Lance, and shaking their head, “And no, he wasn’t bothering me.”
“Are you sure? Y’know, I’ve spent some time thinking-” he shoots a glare at Keith when they mutter ‘oh quiznak’, “And I realized that you’re not much different from a people pleaser--oh don’t give me that look, let me explain! You don’t let people push you around like they do, but you bottle up and brush off your issues and emotions. We’re a team, man, you can tell us if James is messing with you. Don’t think Hunk and I didn’t see you two at each other’s throats in the hallway the other day!”
“What?” Shiro asks, practically whipping his head to Lance, alarm in his voice, “You saw what?”
“Hunk and I walked into a hallway the other day and James had them against a wall and they both looked ready to pounce. And when they heard us coming, James grabbed them by the wrist and dragged them away.” Krolia chokes and covers her mouth, her shoulders beginning to tremble with badly hidden laughter--so much for her stoic Blade training. Keith feels their cheeks begin to burn.
And Shiro turns, sees it, and seems to take the blush as shame, “Keith! Did you get into a fight without telling me?”
“Yeah, man, we’re a team,” Lance whines again, “I saw ‘Vol’ you say ‘Tron’, remember? Vol!”
“Vol… tron?” The faux confusion in their voice nearly cracks Krolia. Lance literally whimpers and seems to deflate where he’s standing. Keith sighs, “Really, he’s not a bother and no, we’re not fighting anymore. Believe it or not, he was coming to check on me. Speaking of, what are you doing here Lance?”
“I was released today and have been going around with Shiro and seeing everyone.”
“Allura is getting released right now. Pidge and Hunk are allowed to leave within the next couple of days.” Shrio then explains.
“That’s good to hear.” Keith nods, fiddling with the envelopes James gave them.
And it seems that Shiro takes notice because he jerks his chin in the direction of the letters, “What are those?”
“They’re uhm…” Keith coughs and shuffles them around to find the one addressed to Shiro, extending it out to the man, “This is for you.”
Albeit with a bit of reluctance, Shiro takes the letter. He opens his mouth like he's about to say something before he reads the writing on the letter, “Keith what is this?”
“That-” the ravenette clears their throat, “It’s why James was visiting me. Adam gave him that and one for me before they started fighting Sendak’s army. Neither of us know what it says.”
“Why did Adam give James the letters?”
Keith sputters for a moment before Krolia speaks up, “He must’ve known that James had good odds of surviving and knew that he would be able to get to Keith.”
“How could Adam know to trust James?”
“James was a dick but he’s not horrible.” Keith sighs, “He knows when something is important like that. Plus, it’s not like he didn’t know about you and Adam.”
“Wait!” Lance shouts, waving his hands around, “Whose Adam?”
“Unlike Lance, apparently.” They breathe between their teeth.
Shiro gives them a chuckle before he turns towards Lance, “Adam was my fiance, but we had… issues because of the Kerberos mission and I haven’t seen him since before I left. He…” The man’s voice fades out and he moves his hands to rub at his eyes.
“He died at some point during the war with Sendak’s men.” Keith explains, their voice solemn, for him. They press their hand to Shiro’s knee, “He took care of me until he couldn’t anymore.”
“I didn’t know you were engaged!” Lance shouts, “How did Keith and James know that!?”
“The Garrison wanted us to keep it quiet in case there was something that happened between us.”
“And because they thought less people would want to attend if they learned that hot, sexy Shiro was in a relationship and they didn’t have a chance at their weird, teacher-student fantasy.”
Shiro nods, lips tightened into a line, “That too. But Keith knew because we spent a lot of time together.”
“And James picked up on it because Adam started speaking for me after we got into fights.” Keith shrugs, not feeling the need to include that they had told him after they started dating when they were reminiscing about Shiro’s visit in middle school.
“And speaking of, Keith, you should take me to see your father.” Krolia interjects, “Once it’s alright for you to be up and walking around.”
“Yeah, of course. I need to visit him again anyways.”
“Speaking of what?” Lance once again asks.
“Speaking of dead spouses.” Keith’s response is blunt and unexpected, Shiro and Krolia having assumed that they would lie.
“Dead spouses?” Lance furrows his brows, “Did your dad die in the war with Sendak too?”
“No, Lance. My dad died when I was young.”
“Oh, so you really didn’t have anyone on Earth to come back to, huh?”
“I had someone,” Keith shrugs.
Krolia offers them a gentle, motherly smile then stands up, “I need to prepare for the Blade meeting tomorrow.” She informs them, then nods to Lance and Shiro.
“Let me know any important information?”
“Of course. Let me know when you’re released.” The ravenette nods towards their mom, the woman leaving shortly after.
“I’m glad you found your mom, Keith.” Shiro mutters, watching the door where the woman had just left.
“Me too.” They trail off, “It filled in a lot of gaps. Answered a lot of questions.”
“In the short time you were with her, you got to know her that much?” Lance questions.
“I was stuck in the quantum abyss with her for two years.” Keith ridicules, “Time works different there, remember?”
“Maybe his sense of time was skewed.” Comes a new voice from the door. And when the three look, it’s James leaning against the door. He pushes off the door frame, “I mean three years went by like a flash for you all.”
Not caring to deign him with a proper response, Keith tilts their head, watching as their boyfriend stalks over to the bed, “What’re you doing back here? I thought you said you needed to get back to work.”
“Apparently it's all just small jobs and Ryan sent me back to you, said 'I was working too much.'” He sighs and collapses onto the bed next to his partner, then looks over and sees the other two guests, “Oh, hey.” The brunette says like he didn’t announce his presence by engaging in their conversation.
Keith rolls their eyes, “You’ve really become shameless in the time I was gone.”
“It’s not a lack of shame, it’s a lack of the threat of being disowned.” James winks
“Okay, can one of you explain what is happening right now?” Shiro asks, both alarm and exasperation in his voice.
“Oh,” Keith starts, “James and I have been dating since a bit before I was kicked out of the Garrison.” At their words, Lance’s jaw goes slack and Shiro rubs the bridge of his nose.
The oldest ignores Lance’s shout of ‘what!’ in order to say, “Of course you’re dating James. Why else wouldn’t you fall for him?” And Keith gives him a cheeky grin at the sigh in his voice.