I recently binged through the whole series of Voltron Legendary Defender. I really enjoyed it wand wanted to write a little something. This was originally going to be a post season 6 piece, but because *spoiler* the Castle of Lions was destroyed and I still wanted to write something in their 'home base' this takes place somewhere during season 7 with Shiro conscious and aboard the Atlas.

Since getting settled back on Earth, everyone started getting settled in and thoughts and emotions began to sink in. With that came unusual side effects. While the other Paladins were settling in well and began looking into their recent discovery, one had been absent and potentially restless.

Keith hadn't been seen in a while and had been more withdrawn than usual over the last few days. And for those who were observant enough, it could be inferred that he hadn't slept in a while. Though whether or not that was because of their recent endeavor, no one was certain.

Shiro was the first to really get concerned. With everyone else's uncertainty, he seemed to be the only one who could affirm a problem. Shiro had a few concerns of his own that he wanted to address, but Keith's sudden disappearance heightened the need to deal with it.

Shiro entered the lounge area, hoping to find him hiding there. Unfortunately, it was a dead end. However, Coran was in the room, so there was hope that someone might have seen him.

"Have you seen Keith?" Shiro asked.

"I was about to ask you that myself Shiro." Coran admitted, approaching Shiro. "I'm starting to worry. He doesn't typically sulk this long."

"I know. I'm worried too." Shiro sighed with disappointment. "I'll keep looking, but if you see him, tell me."

"Will do."

The doors to the kitchen slid open. It had been a few hours, and Shiro still wasn't having any luck finding the missing Paladin. Krolia was in the kitchen, snacking on some of Hunk's leftover lasagna. She was in a tank top and a towel was draped around her neck, a clear indication that she had recently done some training. Shiro grabbed a glass of water, grustraited by the lack of progress.

"I think I saw a bundle go into the dark room." Krolia stated.

Shiro nearly choked on the water before his body panicked in defense. This was one of the few times she referred to her son in such a way.

"And you're just bringing this up know?" Shiro choked.

"Well he's been staking out in the infirmary, the armory, and the library up until today and I thought you all knew he was in those locations." Krolia admitted. "I bring this up now because photography doesn't seem like his thing."

She had a point. He was usually spotted in those places, but was probably shuffling it up over the last day or so, so that no one knew which place he was in at what time. The dark room was initially added as a recreational space for some of the crew and to show Allura and Coran an old, but still enjoyable way to develop photos.

Krolia also had a point about Keith's journey there being unusual. Keith wasn't exactly the most photographic member of the team. He didn't seem to like taking photos, but disliked being in them even more.

"He's become a bit of a recluse these days." Shiro explained, setting the cup down. "He pretty much disappeared as of yesterday."

"He does seem to have a lot bothering him lately."

It was good to know that she seemed aware of the situation. However, her tone signified that she hadn't talked to him about it. Shiro wasn't sure if that had to do with her unable to get to Keith before he hid, if she tried and he shut her out, or if she was still catching up on all of those years of being absent and was unsure how to approach this kind of situation.

"And you haven't talked to him?"

Krolia set her plate down so that she could give Shiro her full attention. She clearly had something on her mind and might have known something that Shiro didn't. She leaned against the counter for a moment, thinking of how to word it.

"Well, I think I know what's troubling him, but I don't feel like it's my place to intervene." Krolia explained.

Her reason was a little confusing. She knew, but why she didn't want to get involved was a curious thing. Shiro didn't believe it was a Galra way of parenting, given how she wanted to be in his life compared to Zarkon, but it was still a little weird. Krolia noticed this and knew she had to elaborate.

"Keith's shook up about the whole clone incident." Krolia stated. "He didn't want to believe that they truly lost you. However, when your clone went A.W.O.L., it wasn't the kindest experience to him." Krolia flinched slightly as she recalled what her son told him about the incident. "He ended up having to essentially fight you, someone he cares deeply for. And 'you' weren't exactly the nicest person to him in that moment. Quite the opposite in fact. Your clone fought him, degraded him, and even tried to kill him. Heck, he still has the burn mark to prove it." Krolia stood up, a little disheartened. "He's confused. Scared that such a prominent figure in his life turned evil and tried to kill him. I bet that image hasn't gone away." Krolia sighed, looking at Shiro with concern. "As his mother, I want to do what I can for him. I want to help him get through this. However, I think he needs you to help him with this. He needs to talk to you. It may not have been you that did this to him, something I'm sure he's aware of, but it was a physical copy of you that caused it. I can't talk him through something that I know you can."

Krolia began walking towards the door. One quick whiff of her shirt was all she needed to tell her she needed a shower. She looked back at Shiro before completely departing.

"Remember, he's in the dark room, and I'd hurry of I were you." Krolia emphasized. "Who knows how long he'll be there."

The red tint of the dark room was enough to make the search for Keith difficult. Shiro could manage once his eyes adjusted, but it was still a bit of a challenge. When he didn't see Keith out in the open, Shiro began opening the cabinets.

He eventually found Keith hiding in one with his kneels held against his chest. Now on the ground, Shiro got as good of a look as he could at Keith. Hair blocked Keith's face for the most part, denying Shiro access to a visual of his face and expression even more so than the already hindering lighting of the room. Keith wasn't moving outside of shifting whenever he breathed.

"Hey Keith." Shiro greeted.

Keith didn't acknowledge Shiro's presence. Or at least he didn't appear to. Keith still didn't move either. Shiro thought about what to say next.

"Mind if I join you?" Shiro asked, to no reply. "You're right, even with a levitating arm, I still couldn't fit in a cabinet like this."

When Keith ignored his attempt at, albeit dark, humor, Shiro knew he had to do something. His arm reached inside, aiming to grab Keith's right shoulder and nudge Keith out. The motion startled Keith, causing him to panic. He started writhing in the grip, wanting to get out of it.

"Let me go!" Keith gasped. "Just leave me alone!"

Shiro refused Keith's demands, moving even quicker. Once he managed to nudge Keith out enough, Shiro wrapped his other arm around Keith and yanked him out and set Keith on his lap. The movement caused Keith to start kicking his feet out. Not hard enough to hurt Shiro, but enough to fight back.

Shiro didn't care, tightening his hold. He didn't say a word, wanting to wait for Keith to calm down. Shiro didn't have to wait long as Keith's exhaustion take over and slowed his movement down. Once Keith stopped, Shiro finally gave Keith room to move. Keith almost bolted, but Shiro's prosthetic arm was already behind him, stopping him.

Keith gave up the option to run. He locked onto Shiro, silently letting Shiro know he wasn't leaving. Shiro's arm returned to his side, accepting Keith's admission of defeat.

The duo got comfortable, sitting on their knees. Shrio began inspecting Keith further. He lightly brushed Keith's bangs aside. The first thing Shiro noticed was the dark circles under Keith's eyes. From what Shiro could tell, it was clear that Keith hadn't slept in days. At least four days by his estimation.

Keith was clearly suffering physically. Not only did Keith have dark circles under his eyes, but he also seemed thinner. It wasn't significantly noticeable, but Keith's cheekbones were slightly noticeable, which was a sign that it was taking a toll on Keith.

But that wasn't the only reason why Shiro was there. These were just symptoms to a much larger problem. It was painful to see, but Shiro knew he had to address Keith's anxiety. Even if he had to pry it out of Keith, he was going to help him.

"Talk to me." Shiro requested. "I know you don't like opening up, but I need you to talk to me."

The room went silent. Shiro wanted to give Keith the opportunity to speak up. He hoped that Keith knew that he was always there for him. Keith's pride and isolation may have prevented him from opening up, but he knew that he had a friend in Shiro.

"I didn't give up on you." Keith whispered. "I knew something was wrong. I knew you wouldn't hurt us. They were suspecting it, but I knew." Keith bit his lip, shaking slightly. "The next thing I knew, I had to fight my closest friend. And no matter what I said, he wanted to end me. To end everybody."

Shiro was relieved that Keith wasn't being difficult. Maybe not in depth about the issue, which was kind of expected, but it came out pretty easily. It wasn't without its pain though. Hearing Keith go from hopeful to confused was painful.

Keith flinched slightly, almost closing his eyes. His body was trying to speak to him, but Keith refused to listen. That had to be a result of his lack of sleep.

"You need to sleep." Shiro advised.

Keith shook his head in refusal. A hand hovered around Keith's forehead. The thought of sleep seemed problematic. An enigma that was undesirable to Keith.

"Every time I close my eyes I see you trying to kill me." Keith stated, picturing the fight. "I see glowing eyes and a voice demanding for my death." Keith's breath hitched. "I know everything's fine, but I just can't let it go. I'm terrible."

Shiro had no response to that. He didn't want to speak to soon, responding in a way that seemed like he was brushing it off. He knew Keith was demeaning himself out of grief. Keith repositioned himself, bringing his knees to his chest.

He may have been able to get through to Keith and help save everyone, but he wasn't able to prevent this. The pain of losing Shiro. Realizing that a fake was in their midst and led the team while Keith was away. Having to fight someone that Keith held close. Keith's stress and emotional baggage had to be through the roof.

Looking at where Keith's scar was, Shiro felt a tinge of guilt. A hand gently traced along it as Shiro thought about its cause. All of this was caused by Keith's dedication and an outcome that wasn't deserved.

"I'm sorry." Shiro apologized. "I'm sorry you had to suffer because of a manipulative witch and a clone. You didn't deserve what you went through."

"No I'm sorry." Keith argued. "You did everything you could, died even, to make sure everyone was safe. I just took over and failed to lead properly."

Shiro's hand stayed on the side of Keith's face, wanting to give Keith a sense of security. A sense of reality, letting him know that Shiro was there. Shiro hated that Keith was blaming himself for the situation. While maybe not perfect, Keith did so well with the Paladins and Marmora, and he deserved credit for it.

"That's not true." Shiro disagreed. "You did so good with Voltron and the Blades of Mamora. You led the Paladins so well and I'm impressed with how well you took control of situations given to you. I just wish you didn't have to suffer like you did. I am so proud of you. Come here."

Grabbing Keith's shoulders, Shiro brought him in for a hug. Keith didn't have the strength to really fight back, but he did try to squirm away to no avail. Keith just accepted the embrace, secretly wanting it and feeling comfort in Shiro's arms.

"It's okay." Shrio reaffirmed. "I'm here now Keith and everything is going to be okay. Those dreams aren't real, and the clone no longer exists."

Keith rested his head against Shiro, soaking in his surroundings. Just being with Shiro, the real Shiro, was surreal. The black and grey uniform, Shiro's voice, the smell of Shiro's aftershave, all of it was familiar. Tears sprinkled down Keith's face. He didn't want to cry, but he couldn't stop. This was real. Shiro was real.

"It's okay." Shiro whispered, gently rubbing the back of Keith's head. "Everything's going to be okay."

Several hours later, Krolia went looking for her son and Shiro. She entered the dark room, figuring she should see if they were there. Scanning the room, something on the ground caught her eye and caused her to grin softly.

Shiro was sitting on the floor with his back against one of the cabinets. His eyes were closed and he was softly snoring. In his arms was Keith, who was comfortably sitting in Shiro's lap. His head was resting on Shiro's chest and his eyes were shut.

He was finally sleeping, and Krolia was glad that he was. She knew they must have talked and Keith must have accepted Shiro's comfort. She knelt down, softly patting Keith's head. He unconsciously shuffled slightly, loving the affection.

"Good night." Krolia whispered.

She exited the dark room, not wanting to disturb them. She got the answers she wanted and her son got the peace that he deserved. In the back of her mind, Krolia was thankful for Shiro's help. everything was going to be okay, and that was all that mattered.

As always, feel free to leave your thoughts. This is my first VLD fic so if it's not perfect/in character, don't be afraid to let me know.