Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It was quiet in the training room. It’s part of why Keith liked it so much. He could go there and beat the shit out of a robot and decompress without a single soul disturbing him. Not even Lance.

Lance frequented the training room more than he would’ve liked, but he understood that Lance was more complicated than he let on. He needed to let off steam too. But ever since Shiro’s disappearance, Lance had barely left his room. And if he did he was in Blue’s hangar; once Keith found him in Black’s hangar and he had lashed out at Lance. He apologized later, but ever since then Lance had avoided Keith. Keith had used Lance’s weaknesses against him, and he knew no how many times he apologized and told Lance it wasn’t true, what he had said, that Lance still laid in bed and replayed every word. Torturing himself.

Hunk never came to the training room unless he was alone. Sometimes he would come looking for one of his fellow paladins, but other than that, Hunk never left the kitchen. He stayed in there, stress cooking it seemed, and sometimes Keith or Pidge would have to go in there and force him to sleep. Once Pidge had found him curled up by one of the counters, fast asleep. Hunk had tried his best to keep a positive attitude around everyone else, but Keith knew when he was alone that’s when he allowed his smile to fade.

Keith had spent half of his time in the training room, exhausting himself, trying to prepare himself for whatever fight came next. He thought maybe he was slightly obsessed. But the training room was the only place he could keep a clear head. As long as he was fighting something, doing something, he could stop himself from thinking about Shiro. Shiro was like a brother to him, and he had been there for him ever since he could remember. And he had also told Keith to lead the paladins, knowing he was brash and reckless, and didn’t think most of the time before he acted on anything. What a jerk. He missed him.

Allura and Coran had remained stable (at least in front of everyone else), business as usual. Keeping the castle running, trying to keep the paladins in order. But Keith could sense that they were worried. Worried for Shiro, worried for the paladins, worried for themselves. Coran had respected Shiro, and he missed him sure, but he didn’t feel the overwhelming sadness that the paladins felt. And Allura?

She had been distraught at first. She had actually shed some tears (in private of course). She missed Shiro a lot. Just his presence seemed to calm her down. Now without that presence, she had been a bit on edge. Much like everyone else.

But if anyone knew what Keith was feeling, it was Pidge. She had already lost her father and her brother, and now she lost the closest thing she had to a father figure. It just added another person to the list of people she felt pressured to find. After they realized that Shiro was gone, nowhere to be found, Keith had searched for Pidge, finding her in Greenie’s hangar. He had only meant to talk to her, it had been nearly a week since they proclaimed Shiro as missing, and he hadn’t seen her at all. He couldn’t even feel anything through their paladin bond, which was unusual.

He hadn’t meant to make her cry.

He walked into the hangar, and saw Pidge sitting on the floor in front of her desk, three different laptops in front of her. Her hair was a mess, she had dirt smudged on her face, oil on her shirt, and she was missing a shoe. She looked terrible, and that was putting it lightly. She had bags under her eyes, and he wasn’t sure when she last slept or ate. Or showered.

She didn’t look up at him as he approached her, and she didn’t move when he sat down in front of her, only a laptop separating them.

“If you came in here to ask me if I’ve found Shiro yet, the answer is no. And no, I haven’t found any leads, and no, the Black Lion didn’t have any information on where he might be, I asked,” she was well rehearsed, he would give her that. Her voice was hoarse and tired. The entire time she spoke her eyes stayed glued to the various screens in front of her.

“Actually… I just came to check on you Pidge. I haven’t seen you in a week,” she looked up at him now, hazel eyes wide. She ran a hand through her hair and shook her head.

“Sorry, Lance and Hunk and Allura haven’t left me alone, and they just keep coming back and asking the same questions. I’ve banned them from Greenie’s hangar, so I figured they sent you to ask this time,” there was no rambling, after she spoke this time, her eyes went back to the screens.

“When was the last time you slept?”

The question was simple, but it seemed to have caught her off guard, because her eyes widened again and she looked away from the screens and Keith.

“I honestly don’t know, Keith. I know I keep falling asleep and then Allura and Lance find me and freak out on me, telling me I’m worthless unless I’m looking for Shiro,” she thought again for a moment, “two maybe three days ago? And that’s a rough estimate.” Keith’s eyes widened this time. Three days?

And how could Lance and Allura call her worthless? She’s doing far more than they are. It also seemed very out of character. Especially for Lance.

“If you’re mad, no one’s on the training deck. Just checked,” Pidge interrupted his thoughts. She turned one of her screens around so he could see. It was one of the camera’s in the training room, showing it was completely empty.

“I’m good. How are you tracking Shiro?” He wasn’t sure what made him ask, maybe it was the fact that he hadn’t been getting updates like all the others. Which, he had to admit, pissed him off a little. Pidge knew how much Shiro meant to him.

Pidge let out a sigh, and ran another through her hair.

“I’m using my Galra tracking system to locate the technology in his hand. I’ve actually picked you up a few times,” he assumed that was supposed to be a joke, but Pidge didn’t laugh. And the fact that she didn’t laugh kind of made Keith think it was an insult.

“And you’re doing everything you can, right?” Pidge looked at him, and the look in her eyes was heartbreaking. It made him regret asking the stupid question.

“Yeah, Keith. All three of these laptops are scanning different galaxies. If makes you feel any better, I stopped looking for my family to look for Shiro. Sure made Allura feel better,” the last part was a mumble, but Keith felt his heart break and his anger rise all at once. He was pissed, not just at Allura, not just at Lance, but at Shiro and Coran and everyone in every galaxy. Including Pidge.

“You just want sympathy, don’t you?” Keith stood, towering over Pidge, and he swore he saw her cower. He wanted to stop, but his anger took control, and he lost it.

“What? Keith no that’s not- “

“Shut up Pidge!” She flinched, “you think that you’re the only one affected by this? You’re not!” Pidge stood now, walking away from the laptops over to her desk.

“Keith please stop, that’s not what I was saying at all. And you know that! What’s wrong with you?” That’s when he snapped.

“What’s wrong with me? Ha! That’s a good question Pidge. Let’s go through the list, shall we? I’m half Galra, so now no one trusts me, and Shiro told me to lead Voltron. How in the hell am I supposed to do that when I don’t even have a team by my side? Huh? Not to mention, Shiro is GONE. Gone, Pidge! He’s like my brother, and I miss him so fucking much, and all you’re doing is sitting here playing with your laptops, trying to pretend you’re good for something! If you really wanted to find Shiro, you’d be in that lion right now looking for him! Like I did, like Lance did, like Hunk did! But no. Instead you’re sitting here on your ass, searching for your family. I’ll tell you what Pidge, they’re probably- “

“STOP!” Pidge screamed. It was blood curdling honestly. Keith snapped out of it and turned around and walked out of the hangar then. Leaving Pidge, a crumpled mess sobbing on the floor. He needed to calm down before he talked to her. No matter how much it shattered his heart to leave her there like that.

It was three hours later when Keith decided to look for Pidge. He checked her room, nothing. He checked the kitchen, even asked Hunk, nothing. He checked Greenie’s hangar. Nothing. Giving up on finding the girl, he walked to the Black Lion’s hangar. And to his surprise, that’s where he found her. She had four laptops now, and was sitting underneath the lion’s head. He wasn’t sure if he should approach her or not, so he just observed her for a few minutes.

The bags under eyes were still there, and tear stains marked her face. Her hair was messier than before, and he noticed that her breathing was still shaky. She had her glasses on the ground next to her, and she rubbed at her eyes. They were still puffy from crying, and he heard her sniffle. She was still crying. She had one laptop in her lap while the other three sat around her. She was muttering something to herself and Keith had to move closer to hear it.

“They aren’t dead. They’re not dead Katie they aren’t. They can’t be,” she rubbed at her eyes again.

Dear god. He had broke her.

“Pidge?” Her head shot up and she met his eyes. They were bloodshot and puffy.

“Go away Keith,” her voice cracked and he could hear her quietly curse herself.

“Pidge, I’m sorry.”

“I know you are, now go,” her focus was back on the computer again.

“Pidge…,” she looked at him again.

“What Keith? What could you possibly have to say to me? Haven’t you said enough?” Keith looked down at his feet. He didn’t know what to say, but he wasn’t going to leave her like this. He had already done it once. “Do you really think they’re…?”

Her voice was almost a whisper. Keith had lost his family a long time ago, so he knew what she was feeling. And he had still used it against her. Just like he had Lance.

“God Pidge, no I don’t really think that. I was just mad at nothing and everything and I took it out on you and I shouldn’t have. If your dad and brother are even half as strong as you are, they’ll be fine. I am so sorry for what I said to you. I let my anger take control and I shouldn’t have. You’ve done everything you can do and no one is giving you any credit for it.”

“I don’t want credit. I just wanna find Shiro and my family,” she was looking down at her lap, having put the laptop on the ground in front of her. No doubt the lions were communicating; Greenie telling Black what had happened a few vargas earlier.

“I know. I’m gonna help you okay? But you’re so tired Pidge, you need rest.”

With fear in her eyes she responded, “Allura and Lance…”

“I’ll keep them from bothering you,” he hated to admit it, but seeing Pidge so vulnerable made his heart flutter. He had been crushing on her for a while, but ever since Shiro disappeared and he hadn’t seen much of her, he hadn’t thought about it. But now, seeing her scared, hazel eyes, and her disheveled look, he realized she was still everything to him. She was beautiful in a way he couldn’t explain. Her voice was like music to his ears, although he hated how it sounded now; rough and hoarse, tired and exhausted, broken and defeated.

He walked over to her now, he had been standing a distance away, and kneeled down in front of her. Her eyes never left his.

“What do ya say we close up this stuff, take it back to your hangar and get you some food and a shower? Then you can get some rest. Sound good?” Now that he was this close to her, he realized how badly she had been taking care of herself.

She nodded weakly, not having any strength to object. She closed all the laptops and put them in the bag she carried them with. Keith helped her up as he slung the bag over his shoulder. He kept his free arm around her shoulders, keeping her close to him. He felt her wrap an arm around his waist, probably to help her keep her balance, she was weak at the moment, having not slept in days. He felt a blush make its way to his cheeks and when he looked down he noticed she did too.

They made their way down the hall to her hangar and she opened the doors. She led Keith over to her desk and pointed to where she wanted him to put the laptops. As he did so she walked over to Greenie and went behind her front left paw. When she emerged she had a pillow and a blanket with her.

“You’ve been sleeping in here?” Keith puzzled.

“Yeah, just cat naps though. I didn’t sleep for more than thirty minutes.”

“Pidge…,” he tried his hardest not to sound annoyed. It didn’t work. He saw Pidge flinch, nearly dropping her blanket.

“S-sorry Keith, I just-“ He grabbed her shoulders and looked her in the eyes.

“It’s okay Pidge, I’m not upset I swear. I didn’t mean for it to come out that way.”

She nodded and they walked out of the hangar. Keith swore he heard Greenie thank him for apologizing and making her sleep. But he couldn’t be sure.

They made their way through the hallways, Pidge falling more behind with every step they took. Keith stopped, abruptly, and Pidge slammed right into his back. She fell backwards on her butt.

“Keith, what the?” Keith turned around and walked over to her. He bent down and placed on arm under her knees and the other around her back. He felt a blush creep to his cheeks. He lifted the small girl into his arms and she wrapped her arms around his neck. She nuzzled her face into his chest, and Keith felt a warmth spread throughout his chest.

They would have to eat tomorrow.

He imagined her brother doing this for her when she fell asleep working on something, or maybe after they had watched a movie. He looked down at Pidge’s face and noticed that her eyelids had fallen shut. Her breathing had evened out as well. She was asleep. He also took note of the blush on her cheeks, that mimicked his own.

“Keith…,” he barely heard her whisper.

“Yeah, Pidge?”

“I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“Everything.”

“Pidge, you don’t need to apologize. Go back to sleep, we’re almost to your room,” he turned another corner and passed Lance’s room. He could hear snoring, which meant he was asleep. Hopefully. He would have to talk to Lance the first chance he got; an apology was in order.

“Not my room, please,” Keith stopped dead in his tracks. If she didn’t want to go to her room, where was he supposed to take her? He could see his door from where he stood.

“Why not your room, Pidge?”

“Monsters,” the response sounded childish, but he completely understood. If he left her alone in her room, he left her alone with her thoughts, her demons, her nightmares.

“Okay,” was all he said. He started walking again, willing his exhausted body to move forward a few more feet, until he opened the door to his room. He walked inside, and placed Pidge’s sleeping form on the bed.

He quickly changed his clothes, before she woke up, because he was NOT walking all the way to that bathroom to change. He would rather blush hard for two straight minutes than walk any farther. He also didn’t want to leave Pidge, but he tried to convince himself that wasn’t the real reason he did it.

He turned around and looked at Pidge. Her hair had grown out slightly since they started this whole adventure, she could put the top of it in a ponytail, which she did often. Her face was so calm then, and Keith wasn’t sure he had ever seen something so beautiful. Her mouth was open slightly, and small snores escaped her lips. One of her hands was draped across her stomach and the other was up by her face. She was paler than when he last saw her, which was before Shiro disappeared. Her feet weren’t even close to the end of the bed, and even further when she rolled to her side and brought her knees up. Keith moved then, realizing she must be cold. She was in a tank top and shorts, probably because it got warm in the hangars sometimes, especially in the Black Lion’s hangar.

Pidge was curled up against the wall, that’s where the heat came through. He could actually see her shaking a bit, trembling even. He sat down on the edge of the bed, and lifted the covers over her freezing body. He knew this would be awkward in the morning, he and Pidge sharing a bed, but at that moment he didn’t care. He just wanted to sleep.

He slipped his feet under the covers and pulled them up over his body, making sure to cover his shoulders. He moved slow, so he didn’t wake Pidge. He rolled on his side, so he was facing Pidge, but she was still facing the wall. At least for a few minutes. Keith thought maybe it was the Galra in his blood that made him constantly warm, and apparently, he was warmer than the heat, because Pidge rolled over to face him and scooted herself as close to him as she could.

Keith had never blushed harder in his life.

Keith wrapped his arm around Pidge’s shoulders, and pulled her closer to him. She nuzzled her face into his chest again, and he could literally feel her body relaxing under his touch. She wrapped herself around him, her arms wrapping around his waist, their legs were intertwined.

He was sure that no one had seen Pidge so vulnerable, and something about that made him extremely happy. He had to admit, he like being gentle with Pidge, and he liked taking care of her. She needed a rock, and he was more than willing to be that for her.

“Hey Keith?” How long had she been awake?

“Yeah?”

“I’m gonna find em. I promise,” her voice was muffled by his t-shirt.

“I know, Katie, I know.”

Chapter Text

The next morning Keith woke up first. He looked around his room; bare walls stared back at him. He looked down at the girl asleep on his chest and quietly took in her appearance. Her eyebrows were knit together, her mouth was slightly agape, and her breathing seemed to be quickening.

Keith brought his hand from her waist, where it had slid to at some point after he had fallen asleep, to lightly tap her back. Her eyes shot open immediately at the sudden contact and she jolted away from Keith so fast that she hit her head on the wall. After further examination, they concluded that she didn’t have a concussion, just a killer headache.

“Are you alright?” Keith held his hand out, not really reaching to her, just as a way to say he was concerned, that he was there.

“Y-yeah, I’m fine,” she took a shaky breath, “it was just a dream, I think.”

“It was Katie, I was just a dream,” Keith cups her face in his hand, wiping away a stray tear that fell from her eye. Keith noticed her eyes widen a bit, and her cheeks turn red for a moment.

“Did you call me Katie?”

“Yeah, that’s your name, isn’t it?” Keith smiled at her, still cupping her cheek. She nodded, a small smile forming.

“Just haven’t heard it in a while I guess,” she leaned into Keith’s hand, eyes closing. Keith thought she was falling asleep again, but her eyes opened again and met Keith’s.

“I’m hungry,” Keith laughed and took his hand away from her face.

“Alright then, let’s go get some goo.”

Keith took Katie’s hand and helped her off the bed. He obviously has no idea how strong he is, because he practically yanked her off the bed. She lost balance and fell right into Keith, and Keith’s instincts kicked in, pulling her closer and wrapping his arm around her waist to steady her. She looked up at him with wide hazel eyes and red cheeks. Their faces were inches apart.

“Oops?” Keith whispered. Keith’s entire body felt warm, and he wasn’t sure if it was from being this close to Katie, his embarrassment, or the heat that was on full blast.

“Sorry!” She pushed herself away from him, her bare feet slapping against the cool floor.

“Hey, no it’s alright. Totally my fault,” Keith had a blush on his face too, no doubt. She brushed some hair out of her face and straightened her clothes, she found her glasses and put them on.

“Food?” She held out her hand to him, and he was glad they didn’t dwell on the awkward moment that had just unfolded. Keith gladly took her hand as he led her out the door, even though he dropped it a few moments later.

“What, embarrassed to be seen holding my hand Kogane? What if I told everyone that we slept together?” Katie had a smirk on her face, and she wouldn’t meet his eyes. Keith stopped dead in his tracks.

“You wouldn’t do that would you? Tell everyone what happened?” Katie turned around to meet his gaze, obviously losing some of her playful confidence.

“Well, I might. Unless you didn’t want me too. Are you really embarrassed of me Keith?” She tilted her head, and he though he saw a flash of pain in her eyes. His chest was hurting. She couldn’t tell anyone.

“Don’t,” nice Keith, real smooth.

“Keith, answer my question.”

“We’re not together so what does it matter? You were upset and I helped you, that’s it, so why are you acting like this? Like we’re a thing. I wouldn’t date a girl like you Katie. Why are you trying to be funny and lighthearted when you shouldn’t?” Keith started walking again, but Katie stayed glued to her spot behind him.

“I’m not hungry anymore,” by the time Keith turned around, Katie was half way down the hallway they had just walked through. When she turned the corner, he saw tears in her eyes.

Shit.

KATIE

Worthless. That’s what Katie Holt was. Worthless, and ugly, and stupid, and the worst paladin, and that’s why Keith had said those things. “I wouldn’t date a girl like you Katie.” That’s what he had said. A girl like her? He had probably noticed many of her flaws while she was sleeping.

And she was just trying to make a joke. It was just the two of them, friends, and she wanted to see him smile again. Props to her for fucking it up.

Just like she did everything.

She couldn’t find her family, she couldn’t find Shiro. Lance and Allura stopped checking on her, told her to only speak to them if it was about Shiro. Hunk was nowhere to be found. She had been by herself for weeks, beaten herself down, starved herself, stared at the same screen for hours, and nothing. It was all for nothing. She threw up countless times, and when her stomach was finally empty, it was just dry heaving.

When Keith had come to check on her, she thought it was out of the goodness of her heart. Sure, he had yelled at her, but he apologized and stayed with her all night to make sure she got some rest. But she was wrong, so very wrong.

He had gotten close to her and learned her weaknesses. Now he was using them against her. Every time she thinks someone on this team cares about her, she’s proven wrong.

She stopped in front of her room, tempted to go in and change her clothes and take a shower, maybe even take a little nap. She did shower and put on fresh clothes, because lord knows she needed it, but she decided against the nap, no matter how exhausted she felt. She needed to prove to this team that she wasn’t worthless.

She stepped into the hangar, earning a disapproving growl from Greenie.

“Great. Now my lion hates me too. Just what I needed,” She threw her tools and her laptop onto her desk and sat down in her chair. She opened several different softwares and started scanning for Shiro. She had decided that looking for her family would make her look selfish, so she wouldn’t look for them for now. Shiro was her main goal.

At least he found her a worthy paladin.

A few hours later Katie found herself passed out again, glasses crooked on her flushed face, and her head resting on her arms. She didn’t hear the hangar door open.

KEITH

Keith had been stewing for hours. This girl would be the death of him. As much as he wanted to be angry with her, for not taking care of herself, for not finding Shiro, for never leaving her hangar, he found that he couldn’t. She wasn’t talking care for herself because she was looking for Shiro. She hadn’t found Shiro, and that was out of her control. She never left her hangar because she was looking for Shiro.

None of this was fair for her. Or for him. Or for the team.

He walked into the hangar expecting a disapproving growl from Greenie. But he was met with silence. Unusual. He saw Katie passed out at her desk, three laptops opened to several different scanning systems. There were papers strewn all over the place, with Katie’s handwriting on them. He picked one up, expecting to find some kind of decoding, but was met with a letter written to her brother. He folded it up and put it in his jacket pocket. He wasn’t sure why he did, but it happened.

He nudged her, trying to wake her without scaring her, but failed. Greenie decided that would be the perfect time to let out a giant mechanical roar, scaring Katie awake and nearly bursting Keith’s ear drums.

“What?” Katie rubbed her eyes, “Greenie, what the-“ She looked up at Keith,

“I know you’re sorry. We’ve been through this, so leave me alone,” Keith looked at his feet. He wanted to explain himself, and his outbursts, but he couldn’t. He didn’t know how.

“Katie…”

“Don’t call me that. Only people that care about me call me that, and you obviously- “

“Don’t you DARE say I don’t care about you!” Katie’s eyes widened, “if you knew just how much I cared about you, you wouldn’t have even THOUGHT of that.

“Then how much do you care Keith? You yell at me and make me feel like shit and then apologize. Then you take care of me, like I’m a child, and then the next day you’re back to belittling me! I let it go yesterday but saying you don’t date ‘girls like me’ pushed me over the edge,” she took a deep, shaky breath, “you know, Hunk has disappeared, Lance and Allura told me not to speak to them unless I’ve found Shiro, so when you came to me, and asked me how I was, and you checked on me, that made me feel… better. I didn’t feel like the worthless piece of shit I am, for two seconds. Then you fucked up. Then you fixed the fuck up and now; now you’ve done it again. What do you want from me? Because I have always been there for you, I’ve always stood by you, let you confide in me. But everything I do or say sets you off and I don’t know what I did Keith. I just thought you were my friend, ya know? We’re the sword and shield, and I just wanted… I just… I don’t know!” She pulled at her hair.

“I’ve never had a best friend, and I thought maybe you could be that. My rock was Matt, and he’s not here now, and I just… I’m falling apart and nobody gives a fuck. I just thought you genuinely cared for me. I’m sorry,” she turned around and walked towards Greenie, where she sat underneath her head.

Keith walked up to her and sat down next to her.

“I never had a best friend either. This is the first time I’ve had real friends besides Shiro. I’m a hothead, and I’ve got a temper that I need to learn to control…,” he looked over at Katie, who was wiping tears from her eyes.

“But you’re right. You’ve stuck by me through thick and thin. You’ve protected me, just like a shield,” Katie met his gaze.

Then Keith leaned in, and pressed their lips together.

He kissed her.

Chapter Text

Katie froze.

Keith absolutely blew her away, he always has really. Not only was he extremely attractive, even with the mullet but something about his personality, the sense of mystery that surrounded him is what drew her to him. She had slowly fell for him over the time they had been together, and their bond as the arms of Voltron had only drawn them closer.

Every time Katie got around Keith she had to force herself to stay calm. The ever-present anxiety that she would say something to piss him off was always there, and she never really knew what would set him off. He was temperamental, just like his lion.

She wasn’t really sure how long she had been anxious around Keith. She was sure that this was new to her. She had only felt these kinds of emotions once in her life, and that… well that didn’t end well. She knew there was no reason to be nervous around him. He was her friend, her teammate. They had saved each other’s lives, on more than one occasion, and he was always looking out for Katie. She literally had NO reason to be nervous around him and yet here she was. She was constantly a stuttering, blubbering, blushing mess around Keith, and he probably thought he hated her.

At least that’s what she thought.

Now here she was, lips pressed together. She felt something in the pit of her stomach; butterflies maybe? She wasn’t sure. Hell, she wasn’t even sure what she felt for Keith yet. She didn’t want to call it love until she was absolutely sure that’s what she was feeling.

This was her first kiss. Keith Kogane was her first kiss. That’s the next thought that crossed her mind. So why was she still frozen? She knew she felt something for Keith, albeit she didn’t know what to call it yet. So instead of pulling away and ruining this whole thing, Katie wrapped her arms around Keith’s neck and melted into the kiss.

She tugged him closer, catching him off guard, eliciting a small noise from the red paladin. He placed one hand on the back of her head, the other finding its way to her waist. One kiss turned into many, and they got closer with each one.

Katie’s first kiss slowly turned into her first makeout session, and she wasn’t sure what to think anymore. The feeling in her stomach kept growing and she knew that she was screwed. She was falling hard for this boy, this boy that told her, her family was dead, and she couldn’t stop herself. Especially not now.

When the pulled apart, finally, Keith’s face was blood red, and Katie could feel that familiar burning sensation she got whenever she was around Keith. She was blushing too. She looked at Keith and saw a smile on his face.

A real, genuine smile.

Katie was blown away once again by the beauty of this boy. This boy that had kissed her, with no hesitation.

Which is what brought on her next train of thought. Why? Why had he kissed her, like it was the last time he’d ever be kissed? She wasn’t anything special, and she knew for a fact that Keith was WAY out of her league. Katie just wasn’t the type of girl that guys like Keith date, or love for that matter.

Katie is the type of girl who get guys that don’t really care about her, and lead her on until she’s ready to drop everything for them and then they decide that Katie just isn’t good enough anymore, which she really isn’t, and then they leave her stranded in the middle of nowhere, walking for miles until she can FINALLY get a signal strong enough to call her parents and tell them what happened. Okay, so maybe that was specific.

Anyway…

Katie is the type of girl who loves and eats as many peanut butter cookies as she can fit in her mouth, which is not a pretty sight, and builds computers for fun. Guys don’t like to even remotely talk to her because she outsmarts them. So, they opt to pick on her instead, and they pick. At EVERYTHING.

So, over the years, Katie grew very insecure about everything. Her hair, her eyes, her nose and ESPECIALLY her height and intelligence.

So why, WHY, would KEITH KOGANE of all people decide to kiss HER?

Maybe this was a joke, a cruel joke that he had been put up to by Lance or Allura. There was just no way that Keith could feel the same.

Keith was staring at her, smile softening as he cupped her face.

“Look, I-I’m sorry about that I just-“ Katie cut him off.

“Why on EARTH would you be sorry? That’s the best first kiss a girl could ask for!” Keith’s eyes widened.

“That was your first kiss?” His hand her on his head now, he was officially freaking out.

Katie’s resolve that she had somehow managed to muster up, was gone in an instant.

“Well, guys haven’t really paid that much attention to me. I’ve always been in Matt’s shadow, as his weird little sister. They would sooner pick on me than kiss me Keith,” her voice was sad, memories were resurfacing that she couldn’t afford to think about.

Keith’s hand was back on her cheek, “well I think you’re amazing Katie, fuck what they think.”

Katie looked at him, tears brimming, threatening to fall.

“I- thanks Keith.”

“I know you’re probably confused, but I think I love you Katie,” his voice was soft, and he wouldn’t meet her eyes anymore. This was a new sight, seeing Keith being nervous.

“I- okay gimme a minute. I just… I have a lot to say,” Keith nodded, blush still fresh on his cheeks.

“Okay so I… I don’t know how I feel. I know I feel something for you Keith. It was there when we were kissing, and it’s the reason I kissed you back, but… I just don’t want to call it love too early, you know? I did that before… once before and it just didn’t work out well in the end. This guy, he thought he was in love with me, but he realized later on, that maybe he didn’t, and he cheated on me and I’m just scared… I know you wouldn’t do that to me, but what if you wake up one day and realize I’m not what you want, or that I’m not as pretty as you think-“ She was rambling and she knew it, and the only things that stopped her from talking was the lump in her throat and Keith’s lips on hers.

“I’m so sorry Katie,” he pressed a kiss to her forehead, wiping the stray tears off her cheeks, “but I’m sure that I love you, and that you’re the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. Seriously, like, ever. I am never, ever going to stop loving you Katie Holt, and I will wait as long as it takes. Okay? Trust me on this, I’ve thought about it very thoroughly,” he leaned in, their lips almost touching. His voice was a whisper, “and you know I don’t do that often.”

This earned a giggle out of Katie, and she pulled him in for another kiss. He pulled her so that she was sitting on his lap, practically straddling him.

Needless to say, she had her first kiss, and two makeout sessions to add to her list now.