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one-trigger-lullaby · 6 years

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Dying in Their Arms Featuring Dads of Marmora

Kolivan remembers the first day Keith spent on the Blades' ship. He remembers feeling uncertain, allowing this hairless Galra on board, especially after learning that this hairless Garla was a kit; a mere babe, fighting a war he had no business being a part of.

He remembers.

Remembering had never hurt as much as it did now, clutching at his hairless kit, his kit's precious life force bleeding into his fur.

He remembers the first time he'd ever had a one-on-one conversation with Keith. Wishes he'd savored it more.

"Is Keith a common name on Earth?" Kolivan inquired, studying Keith with an uncomfortable intensity.

"I guess?" Keith replied uncertainly. "I've never met anyone else named Keith, but a lot of TV characters were named it, so it probably wasn't uncommon."

Kolivan's wide, bat-like ears flickered as his puffy brows furrowed. "TV? What is that? What are its characters?"

Keith scrunched up his nose, rubbing the back of his head mindlessly with a gloved hand. "It's like a...box with blue light that plays pictures for people to watch."

"Such as a hologram?" Kolivan asked, intrigued by this 'TV' thing.

"Not...not really," Keith sighed, straightening as he started gesturing with his hands. "It's usually about this big, bigger if you're wealthy or bad with budgeting, and it's plugged into a source of electricity, usually a power outlet, and you buy something called cable or internet to make it play pictures."

"You pay currency for this thing?" Kolivan asked, "What do humans need to see so badly that they're willing to pay for it?"

Keith shrugged, "I don't know--movies? Documentaries? Some TVs have options to buy things on them, now. Humans use them for all sorts of things, but, essentially, a TV is just a vessel for some other program to take control of for it to be of use."

"That's...odd," Kolivan admitted, looking almost annoyed. "Can you contact other galaxies with them?"

Keith let out a surprised snort of laughter. "What? No. Humans don't even know there are things in other galaxies to communicate with yet,"

Then, Kolivan got a strange, far-away look before walking away.

He didn't understand.

Kolivan shakily strokes Keith's cheek, his thumb smearing blood across the pale surface. Keith blinks up, his eyes hazed over. "...Kolivan?"

"Yes, kit," Kolivan says, unusually soft, "I'm here."

Keith smiles, lopsided in the way Thace always says is so cute. "Am I..." Keith takes a minute to collect more air, Kolivan waits patiently, they have all the time in the world. "...am I going to be...okay?"

Kolivan leans down, pressing his forehead to his kit's, "Of course, I promised I would never let you come to harm, didn't I?"

Keith brings a weak hand up to clasp at Kolivan's, "You did," he slurs.

Yes, he remembers making that promise, remembers it like it was yesterday.

Galra liked to sleep in packs, curled up in one another's warmth with lazy, grooming tongues and swishing tails. This was a great comfort to all Galra, half-breed or otherwise, which is why Ulaz felt compelled to speak up about his worry for Keith's mental state, being away from his pack for so long in addition to never actually having a proper pack that could truly cater to Keith's Galran needs.

"A kit shouldn't go as long as he has without a pack," Ulaz said.

Kolivan rumbled in agreement, his every instinct telling him how wrong it was for a kit to be alone as often as Keith was. To be lonely as often as Kolivan could tell Keith was.

"We should offer him temporary placement," Thace proposed, leaning back into the mountain of pillows they had piled on the bed.

"That wouldn't be a bad idea," Ulaz said, looking to Kolivan and Antok for agreement.

"I want my blades to be in their best forms at all times, physically and mentally, if this will help him do better, I'll allow it," Kolivan said, a purr starting up in his chest as Ulaz rubbed his face against his in thanks.

"I'll go retrieve him," Ulaz said, standing.

"Wouldn't the kit be asleep as of now?" Antok said, gesturing to the late time displayed on the wall.

Ulaz frowned. "He will sleep better here," he reasoned, walking out of the room.

They'd allowed Keith to stay near the Captain's quarters as they did most Galra under adult age despite him being half-human and, technically, an adult as he still had the instinct of a Galra kit, instincts that would do well not to be ignored.

Ulaz took his time, strolling past the rooms of all the kits, generally accompanied by their parents or packs, and making sure they all slept soundly as he carried on to Keith's quarters. That was when he heard the first noises of distress floating through the hallway. He walked a little faster, his ears pricking and swiveling as they tried to find the source of the distress call clearly given by a Galra kit.

He stopped in front of Keith's room, leaning in. The sound was definitely coming from inside. He brought a knuckle up to knock at the door, "Keith?"

There was no response, so Ulaz opened the door without the kit's say-so, hoping it wouldn't anger the little one.

Ulaz peered into the room, his eyes glowing yellow as the darkness cleared and Ulaz saw a squirming bundle lying under the covers on the bed. Ulaz approached quietly, gently resting his hand on the arm of the half-Galra kit who was keening in a high, acutely distressed pitch.

"Hush, kit," Ulaz whispered, gently wrapping his arms around the boy and his blanket, clutched tightly in small, clawless fingertips, and lifting as gently as possible. There was no way humans were supposed to weigh this little, Ulaz could think of a few blasters that outweighed this kit.

He walked Keith through the corridors, gently rocking the distressed kit and humming a Galran lullaby in low tones, hoping it would soothe Keith as it had so many other Galra young. The noises of distress didn't cease, but they did quiet enough that Ulaz wasn't worried about another Galra hearing the noise and coming to investigate.

Kolivan, Thace, and Antok were still up when Ulaz reentered and it was as if a switch had flipped the second Keith's whine reached their ears.

Thace was the first to stand, a trill working its way into the air, calming all in the room. Still, the signs of distress did not stop.

"What is wrong with him?" Antok asked, gently, almost cautiously, pushing the boy's hair out of his face with the clawed tip of a finger. The strand was soaked in sweat.

"Do all humans sweat this profusely?" Kolivan asked, giving in to his instincts and pressing close to his pack until they were all surrounding the sleeping kit in a tight circle.

"When they're in this much distress," Ulaz said, a whine climbing his throat as the kit seemed to be impossible to ease.

Thace noticed Ulaz's discomfort, "Let's put him in the nest, maybe that will soothe him."

They did so, all four of them shuffling around until Keith was the center of a furry cuddling session. Ulaz and Thace pressed close to the small kit while Kolivan curled around them, his back facing the door, while Anrok did the same on the other side, Antok's tail curling around Thace's hip.

Soon, Keith stopped making noises in his sleep and all but Kolivan laid resting. He felt something horribly parental bubble up in his chest when he looked at Keith, silently watching the now calm rise and fall of his chest. "No harm will come to this kit, I swear it," Kolivan swore to himself before quietly lying his head own and shutting his eyes.

Keith's eyes had gone wide.

Kolivan never knew that humans had this much blood within them. They are so tiny, his kit is so tiny but he holds so much blood. So much life.

"I can't," Keith takes a moment to swallow and Kolivan wishes he had some water. "feel my legs."

Kolivan nuzzles his kit, treacherous heat building behind his eyes. "It's okay, kit, it's okay."

"Kolivan?" Kolivan lifts his head up to meet his precious kit's eyes. "Where are we?"

"Have you forgotten?" Kolivan asks, wishing it wasn't the case.

But Keith, the honest thing, nods. Despite the pain tearing at his heart, Kolivan says, "Don't worry yourself over it, it holds no importance, now."

His words seem to shock Keith almost as much as they do him. "I thought...I thought the mission was everything."

It is. It always has been. That's always been their rule, their way, but...their way had never been more painful than it was now as Kolivan holds his dying kit, something he wishes on no one, not even his greatest enemy.

Kolivan never thought he would ever regret a mission being successful, but, in Zarkon's name, he would do anything to not be sitting here right now, anything to have his full-of-life kit standing on his own two feet, bothering Antok like he always did.

Who will braid Antok's tail now?

"Braiding? What is that?" Thace asked. It sounded painful.

"It's a...ritual? I guess? Something ones with long hair tend to do to either style or put up their hair so it isn't in the way?" Keith explained,

"If it's in the way, why don't you just cut it off?" Antok asked in a low grumble, sitting cross-legged between Keith's legs.

"On Earth, hair is kind of important. It's seen as something essential to one's overall beauty. Hold still." Thace watched as Keith pulled on the elastic around his wrist with a loud snap that Thace recoiled from.

Antok sat still, letting Keith braid what little hair he had on his head. Thace ended up leaning forward, enraptured as Antok's thin hair twisted into something elegant.

"This is what Kolivan wears," Thace realized, "I always wanted to learn."

Keith undid his braiding and scooted over, patting the space next to him and letting Thace sit. "I'll show you. After you can do this, I can show you all of the other ways humans braid hair."

They sat there for longer than they could count, Antok sitting patiently as his pack braided and mussed with his hair.

"Hey, Antok?" Keith was leaning forward as Thace tried to twist Antok's strands into a braid, his tongue caught between his lips.

"Yes, kit?" Antok responded.

"How much fur does your tail have?" Keith asked, gesturing to the tail still hidden within Antok's uniform.

Antok frowned, perplexed. "Why?" His tail thumped on the ground and Keith gave a toothy grin.

"Trust me, Antok."

Kolivan and Ulaz walked in hours later to quite the scene.

Antok was on his stomach, his legs raised to support Keith's back where he sat on the back of Antok's thighs, twisting bows into the fur of his tail. Thace sat near Antok's head, concentrated on his own project of twirling the sparse hair on Antok's head into a messy braid.

Ulaz huffed, amused, "Have you become the children's plaything, Antok?"

Thace didn't respond, too wrapped up in his project, but Keith glared.

Keith dropped Antok's tail, seemingly done with braiding it and set his sights on Kolivan. "Hey, Kolivan, can I fishtail your hair?"

Kolivan didn't understand what a fishtail was, but the kit looked so eager, he gave in.

Even under his uniform, Antok had fresh braids on his tail nearly every day, sometimes with a head braid to match, courtesy of Thace. It became a ritual, one they all held dear.

There was blood pushing up past Keith's lips, so pale yet so red, and the sound of gurgling made Kolivan tip his kit to the side on his lap, doing his best not to jostle him though he knows he wouldn't feel it, Keith is too far gone.

"Kolivan?" Keith's voice is barely a scarce whisper.

"Yes, my beloved kit?" Kolivan says just a softly, gently threading his hands through Keith's hair.

"Where is Thace?" Keith asks, his spit is mixing with his blood and it drips down his chin, staining both his and Kolivan's uniforms in a red Kolivan knows will never wash out.

"He'll be here, kit," Kolivan promises, knowing Thace, Ulaz, and Antok are doing their best to be here.

But they don't know what they're walking into. They don't know they'll come only to have the most precious child any of them had ever known's blood staining their knees where they would surely kneel over the still body of their kit's corpse. They would not make it in time to say goodbye; Of that much, he is sure.

Kolivan's ears already rang with the cries he knows will hear as his throat begs to open with its own.

Keith's lip trembles, just barely. "Tell him I love him. Antok, too. And-and Ulaz and the paladins...I never told them enough." He lets out a self-deprecating chuckle that pushed more blood down his chin.

"It will be done, my kit, save your strength," Kolivan says, trying not to get choked up, trying to stay strong.

"I love you, Kolivan, I...don't think I said that enough to you, either," Keith says breathily. "I love all of you...so much."

Kolivan knows. How could he forget such precious words that had come from his first and only kit? He remembers the first time Keith told him so clearly, he can still feel the warmth he felt then.

Keith had been with them for over a year and Kolivan had finally admitted that he wasn't just any kit, but his kit. His pack's kit.

The half-Galra had grown on all of them quickly, almost like a foreign, blood-sucking fungus that purred when its back was rubbed.

Despite the new fondness Kolivan held for the kit, Keith was still a blade. A little one, but a blade nonetheless. He had duties just like every other member, but Thace and Antok didn't seem to grasp that, they wanted the tiny one with them at all times, going as far as watching Keith's sparring and growling at those who so much as nicked Keith with a blade.

Kolivan understood, he wanted to tear their heads from their bodies for injuring his kit, but his kit was strong, nothing could bring his kit down.

Nothing short of back rubs, that is.

"Enough," Kolivan hissed, dragging Thace by his collar, "I have had enough with you two interfering with Keith's training."

"We aren't interfering!" Thace insisted, digging his heels into the ground.

"That soldier was being too rough with our kit," Antok growled, speed walking to stop Kolivan from tugging on his ear so hard.

Kolivan released both of them then spun on his heal, his face hard as stone. "He himself is a soldier, or have you forgotten?"

"He's our kit," Antok growled.

"He belongs to the Blade before he belongs to us," Kolivan hissed, his hackles rising. He didn't like it any more than they did, but that was why the boy was there in the first place. To assist and work and train, not be coddled twenty-four-seven. "By human standards, he is fully-grown."

"Not by ours," Thace muttered bitterly.

"No," Kolivan agreed, his voice softening, "not by ours. By our standards, he shouldn't even be able to topple out of his crib yet, much less be stricken by a familiar blade. However, he was and is a paladin of Voltron. He is our kit, and as our kit, he is deserving of the respect and trust he has earned. Until serious damage is being done, we need to let him be thrown around while sparring with the older Galra and not rush to his aid every time he so much as whines."

Thace visibly swallowed, his ears flattening at the thought of not coming to his kit's distress call. Kolivan rested a hand on his shoulder. "I'm not saying you ignore him completely, that would anger me, but, often times, Keith doesn't even realize he's making calls for his pack. He's constantly at war with being an adult by his standards and a kit by ours, let's not make it harder on him."

Antok's fists clenched but he nodded. "Understood. It is our duty to ensure our kit grow and matures properly. Both sides of him."

"Thank you, Antok. You're both free to watch Keith train if he permits you to do so, I won't deprive you of that, at least," Kolivan said, watching Thace perk up.

"We should go do that, then," Thace said, grabbing Antok's arm and pulling him towards the training grounds. Kolivan huffed with a fond smile.

Mere hours later, when Kolivan was sitting in his office, there was a knock on his door. "Announce yourself," he called.

"It's Keith," Keith said.

Kolivan's ears pricked in surprise. He had never had Keith visit him in his office before. He then felt concern overtake him, had something happened? Was he wrong to tell Antok and Thace not to interfere?

No, they would've been the first to come crying.

"Come in," Kolivan permitted, setting down his pen.

Keith came in, a small smile on his lips. At a cursory glance, he looked fine. "What ails you?"

Keith huffed a laugh, "Does something have to be wrong for me to visit you?"

Kolivan frowned in confusion, "Usually, yes."

Keith paused, his lips turning down briefly. He hummed, "I guess... I don't visit as much as I should. Sorry."

Kolivan waved off his concerns. The kit used his arm as a personal stuffed toy at night, not Ulaz's, so there were no hard feelings about not getting to see him much during the day. "It's not worth worrying about, kit, what can I do for you?"

Keith came to stand at the front of his chest, smiling softly at Kolivan in a way that made him want to melt. "I just wanted to say thank you."

"For what?" Kolivan asked.

Keith came around the table and curled his arms around Kolivan's neck in a hug, squeezing tightly. "For believing in me. For make Antok and Thace give their momma bear thing a break."

Kolivan wrapped his arms around his precious bundle of life, resting his furred cheek on his shoulder. "You deserve it and more, my kit."

Keith pulled away and gave Kolivan a grin, brimming with life and joy and love, "I love you a lot, Kolivan. I love all of you so much. I... I never thought I'd ever have a family but I'm glad that the universe made me wait so long."

A rare smile pulled at Kolivans lips, "Why, because you like making yourself suffer?"

Keith shook his head, bumping his nose with Kolivan's in a customary show of affection, "Because it saved the best for last."

Not even the warmth from that memory could keep the cold from seeping into Kolivan's fingers as Keith's body, once so bright, went still and lifeless, his fingers dropping from Kolivan's large hand, still on his precious kit's head.

"No..." Kolivan breathes. Sounds build in the back of his throat as everything within him tells him to awaken his kit, his kit is too cold and his skin is too pale. For the first time in decades, tears drip from Kolivan's eyes and onto the chilling skin of his dead kit.

Dead.

Never has Kolivan felt such despair, such ache, such horror, such...sadness.

Oh, the sadness echoes within him as he clutches Keith, pressing his face close to his kit in hopes of catching on to the last bits of his scent before they are washed away with the ruining scent of blood and death.

He hears footsteps entering the room. Then, a gasp and an anguished cry. There are sobs that echo around him, but Kolivan is too numb to partake in this physical show of sadness.

He just wants to be wherever his kit is.

That's all he wants, so why does the universe insist on ripping it away from him?

The others gather around Keith's still corpse and then they're grasping at it and pressing their hands to his throat, making high, keening noises to try and rouse him from his endless slumber, try to smell what used to be so organically Keith below the death and despair. Feel his warmth one last time.

It's useless, Kolivan knows.

They're too late; Their kit is dead and he will never be warm again no matter how hard they tried.

His cheeks will never flush, his fangs will never grow in, his eyes...they will never open.

He will remain cold.

@badthingshappenbingo

#Dads of Marmora #badthingshappenbingo #dying in their arms #Keith Kogane #Kolivan #Ulaz #Thace #Antok #Braids #writing #ao3 #voltron #vld #the blades of marmora #Keith is a blade #Keith is Galra

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