#keith likes hippos

[sikuena]

au where keith crash lands on earth and gets taken in by the garrison three

documentation of his nightly activities goes to the snap gc

#voltron legendary defender #vld #alternate universe #modern au #keith likes hippos #plushies #galra keith #keith kogane #lance mcclain #klance #shitpost #doodle #vld keith #vld lance #ibis paint

[haryuusart]

✨ Sixth Universe: Childhood friends ✨

This is part of my series "Do you think we love each other in every universe?" ❤️

In this last universe, Keith and Lance grew up together as childhood friends, and I imagine they go on to fall in love with each other as they get older 🥰 it reminds me a lot of one of my fave klance fanfictions with this premise but I can't remember its name!!! I just remember Lance called Keith Snickers 🤔 do you know this Fanfiction?

Thank you so much for your overwhelming support for this series! We got to the end of all the universes, but it's not the end of the series altogether! I'm planning some other stuff sooo stay tuned ✨

#klance #voltron #vld #voltron legendary defender #keith kogane #lance mcclain #art #digital art #voltron fan art #keith vld #lance vld #klance voltron #klance fanart #klance au #childhood friends #laith #Please notice the hippo and shark on their shirts #I love them #I'm sad it's “over” #But I promise it's not the end!!! #Hope you liked this journey :)

[silentwillowwhisperer]

This particular galaxy that the paladins are currently in is known particularly for its wide array of animals.

So obviously, when they hear that one of the planets has a zoo on it, they absolutely have to go.

"Whoo! This is gonna be awesome! The whole fam on a trip to the zoo! You know, my nephew Sylvio was always obsessed with lions. Ironic, isn't it?"

Lance chatters steadily about his family, as he usually does. It has become almost comforting because of how often he did it.

They all load into the lions and land safely on the ground. Thankfully, this planet has not been taken over by the Galra, though that may have something to do with the planet's army of man(alien?)-eating birds.

They find the zoo rather easily, as it seems to be advertised in every part of the town possible.

And they are not overrating it. The zoo is gorgeous, with paths shaded by trees similar to willows, but in shades of purple and blue. Dragonfly-like creatures big enough to ride roam around freely. Even the inhabitants of the planet look crystalline, with antennae and glittering eyes.

They wander for about an our before they hear a sharp gasp.

The paladins turn to see Keith with a gleeful look on his face. Of course, they automatically assume that he saw a cool knife, and look around suspiciosly.

Then Keith speaks, "Shiro! Look!"

Shiro follows Keith's gaze to see a small enclosure. Inside, are a bunch of tiny, suspiciously fluffy, hippos. They're all about the size of a German Shepherd, and their colors range from cotton candy pink to sky blue.

Lance is the first to start laughing.

"Really, Keith? You of all people are freaking out over fluffy animals? Doesn't exactly fit with your-"

Before he can finish his sentence, Keith has bolted off. He is right up to the fence in seconds, and he crouches down to coo at the animals. One hippo trots (do hippos trot or waddle?) right up to him and stares up at him with big, glassy eyes.

Keith looks like he might burst into tears. Oh, never mind, there are in fact tears rolling down his face.

The other gape at him. Shiro squats down next to Keith and pats him on the back.

"Alright bud. You'll be fine."

"They were his I favorite, Shiro. He would have loved them."

And then Shiro's eyes well up too.

Lance finally gathers the nerve to join them, and hugs Keith gently. Keith turns to start soaking his shirt in tears.

Yes, Lance is slightly upset that he'll have to actually wash this shirt for once when they get home, (he usually just douses himself in so much cologne that no one could ever tell his clothing is dirty) but Keith is literally having a mental breakdown 5-year-old style right now.

"How 'bout this? I saw a gift shop a little while back, and I've been saving up for a purchase. I was going to buy myself a cool sweatshirt, but I suppose we could buy you a hippo, or Fummi as they they call them here, stuffed animal."

Keith looks up at him with saltwater running down his face, and stars in his eyes. He has never ever looked this adorable, but Lance is living for it. Shiro has already taken the others to go see other specimens, his dad-sense telling him to give the two boys some space.

"Really?"

"Sure, my love." (haHA nicknames)

10 minutes later, they have successfully purchased a 6-foot tall hippo stuffy. In other words, Lance's beanpole genes make him just barely taller than it. Keith is just not, and he looks tiny next to it. This is literally the best purchase Lance has made in years.

Back at the castle, he may or may not find Keith asleep on the floor, using the stuffy as a body pillow/bed.

And it might be possible that Lance pushes Keith over slightly so that he can join him.

And maybe he falls asleep holding Keith.

He's got some explaining to do later.

#keith kogane #lance mcclain #spacedad #keith loves hippos! #you can't tell me he wouldn't react like this #vld #voltron #voltron legendary defender #soft keith #keith's dad's favorite animal was a hippo too #klance #tawny post

[lovebugism]

Heyo!

Can you pretty please with sugar on top do something with Steve and shy!reader and then passing notes?

Feel free to skip if you want, and thank you in advance! Your writing skills are so good!

ty angel! hope you like it xoxo — after a scolding from keith for talking to you on the job, steve takes matters into his own hands (shy!fem!r, fluff, established relationship, 1.3k)

bug's one year celebration ♡

Grieving, grieving, grieving.

Steve goes into his fourth hour on the clock mourning the lack of you. You’re sitting just beside him, click-clacking away at the chunky computer, but he misses you anyway. He hasn’t said a word to you in an hour. He’s pretty sure it has to be a record by now, especially with you close enough to kiss.

Keith got mad at the two of you for ‘fonduing on the job.’ Whatever that means. Now, the two of you are silent and unsure of what to do with yourselves. This job was only tolerable because he could spend eight hours with you. What’s he supposed to do now? Work?

“Have a good day,” he says, a bit robotically but with a smile, as he hands a customer their bag of movies. Killer Klowns, Poltergeist, and Basketcase — for what must be a horror movie marathon for a holiday season cleanse.

The customer service grin washes away the second the door dings open and shut again. The store is quiet and mostly empty, eerily so without you to fill the void. 

A funny joke pops into his head then, and his first instinct is to tell you about it — just to see you smile ‘cause he knows you’ll laugh even if it’s not funny. He looks over his shoulder to make sure Keith isn’t looking, then finds the weirdo watching him like a hawk, only his beady eyes visible over the aisle of tapes.

Steve cowers beneath the ice-cold glare and turns away again. He reaches for a sticky note instead, bright yellow and with the Family Video logo printed in green at the top. The jotting of his pen against the pad fills the mostly silent store. 

He yawns and fakes a stretch to stick the thing on the counter next to you.

You don’t notice it at first — because inventory has drained your awareness so much that it’s all you can focus on — but you’re smiling the second you do. It schlicks when you un-stick it from the laminate to find a sloppy drawing of a cartoon pig. 

“Missing you pig time” is written in something close to chicken scratch just beside it.

You get all giddy, like a schoolgirl in the back of the classroom getting a note from their crush. Being with Steve feels exactly like that, all the time. On the legal pad next to you, you write a cheesy pun of your own — a plump hippo in a neater cursive that reads “I hippopota-miss you.” 

You rip it from the notebook slowly and with a palm spread flat to avoid making too much noise. You crumble it up to pretend like it’s trash, then intentionally miss the bin beside you. The thing bounces by Steve’s sneakers before he bends down to pick it up with a golden hand.

He smooths out the paper as best he can on the counter. Then leans on his elbow and props his scruffy chin in his palm, using his fingers to hide the beam on his face. With his free hand, he draws you a hedgehog adjacent to the cartoonish animal you’d created — only he doesn’t really remember what a hedgehog looks like, so it’s more of a circle with spikes.

“Could really use a hedge-hug right now,” he writes.

He crushes the paper between his palms and tosses it into your lap.

You shoot him a glare, accompanied with a small smile, but he looks away too quickly to see it. 

You begin to beam as your eyes dart over the crumbled paper, an expression so wide Steve can see it in his own head. He’s grieved to miss it, but he doesn’t want Keith to see him and think he’s distracted again. Besides, he knows if he looks at you too long, he’ll have no choice but to kiss you stupid.

Now all you are is unkissed and grieving, more so than you were just five minutes ago. You grow empty with the feeling. It makes the spark of bravery and sudden longing burn brighter behind your ribcage.

You rise from your squeaking swivel chair and walk the very short distance to Steve. Three steps. Five, maybe. Six at the very most. You don’t count them, too overwhelmed by your love for the boy who doesn’t see you coming.

You wrap him up in your arms, wedging yourself between him and the countertop. Your arms clasp behind his lower back as your cheek squishes into his sternum. He smells like home, cologne, and something warmer.

Steve tenses beneath your embrace. Not because he doesn’t welcome it, but because you’re not usually so affectionate this way. It took you months to kiss him first — longer to stop asking to kiss him before you did it. 

And you’re a delicate little thing, too. You hate getting in trouble. Hate the thought that someone, somewhere in the world, was at some point unhappy with you. And even though you don’t particularly care for your boss, you’d think you’d probably cry if Keith ever scolded you.

Steve knows this, too. So he doesn’t give in to you so easily.

“Whatcha doing?” he croons lowly to you.

“Give you a hedge-hug,” you mumble into his chest.

He scoffs a faint laugh that fans across your forehead. “You’ll get in trouble,” he teases in a gentle whisper, slowly melting into your embrace. His wide hands smooth warm along your spine. He doesn’t press you anything closer with his touch, just cradles you softly against him.

“Don’t care. I just miss you.”

“Hippopota-miss me?” he jokes and noses into your hair. You smell like home, in both the figurative and literal sense of the word. Equal parts because you spent the night at his place and because your scent strikes something short of nostalgia inside his chest.

You laugh. He can feel the golden sound of it in his ribcage. “Pig time,” you answer.

“How’d you like that one, huh?” he asks, muffled against you.

“It was genius.”

“Right!” he chuckles. “Thought of it outta nowhere and had to tell someone about it.”

Your head shakes against him as a grin blossoms on your lips. He can’t see it from this angle, but he can feel it — in the way your cheek squishes harder against his sternum. “Your brain is so amusing, you know that?”

Steve, knowing that would be an insult coming from Robin, decides to take it as a compliment from you. He presses his petaled mouth to your forehead and lingers there for several moments. “Thank you,” he murmurs after.

The Robin in question turns out to be his savior, neither intentionally nor ungrudgingly.

She’s stacking VHS tapes on the shelves with Keith, both of them crouched to restock the bottom rows. She rises first, bones creaking in protest. “God, I feel like an eighty-year-old, man,” she groans and stretches her aching knees.

Back to full height again, she sees the two of you wrapped in an embrace behind the counter. She scoffs and rolls her eyes. Not because she’s jealous — she’s definitely not jealous — but because the two of you couldn’t last a whole hour not talking. It’s deplorable.

But despite her internalized complaints, she refuses to let Keith catch you fonduing a second time. Right before he stands beside her, she swipes a hand over the top row of tapes. Adventure movies titled L through M tumbled to the ground, a few of them knocking the older boy on his mulleted head.

“Ow!” he winces, nasally and whiny. He cradles the top of his deep brown, only slightly greasy hair and stares daggers at the girl above him. “What the heck was that for?”

Robin shoots him a shaking smile, freckled face blotched pink. “Sorry,” she lilts, voice trembling. “Spasm.”

#published by bug #steve harrington x reader #stranger things x reader #steve harrington #steve harrington x y/n #steve harrington x you #stranger things #stranger things imagine #steve harrington imagine #stranger things fanfic #stranger things fic #stranger things fanfiction #steve harrington fanfiction #steve harrington fic #steve harrington fanfic #st drabbles #stevie drabble #event: bug turns one

[soulreapin]

hypermobile keith kogane.

keith who LOVES to flaunt the fact that when he got forcibly diagnosed at the garrison they took 17 tubes of blood from him and he wasnt even dizzy

keith who has a hot water bottle inside of a hippo plush for when his hips or knees start to ache

he tapes up his ankles and wrists and has a sleeve on his right knee

when he cracks his back EVERYONE stops because truly it sounds like there is a bone breaking

keith who has to take a minimum of six extra strength ibuprofen to get it to work because of how many he took while in school

recreational swimmer keith because it soothes all his aching joints

the doctors at the garrison looked keith future paladin of the red lion dead in his lying little eyes and said do not bend in odd positions as a party trick

he left their office and immediately goes up to lance and bends his thumb back to his wrist because look at what i can do fucker

he’s a tea drinker because he can not so subtly press the cup to his wrist to alleviate the ache

(lance who understands. lance who learns from pidge who is also hypermobile how to take care of keith. lance who crafts microwavable beanbags for keith and makes sure there’s always a pillow tucked into the curve of his spine if he sleeps on his back)

#vld #voltron #keith kogane #vld headcanons #vld keith #keith voltron #headcanon #lance mcclain #vld lance #klance #keith hc #keith vld #keith hell #hypermobile keith #soulhcs

[shatterinseconds]

Hippos

Keithtober '23 week 3

“Aren’t they the cutest?” Keith mutters at the hippo on screen. He and Lance watch a nature documentary for no other reason besides the fact that it was on and they couldn’t reach the remote. That’s the stage they’re at in their relationship and Keith can’t say he minds. It’s nice to be able to relax with Lance for the evening, not worrying about some grand planned date. Moments like these matter the most to him.

Lance scrunches his nose in distaste. “It’d bite you in half without a second thought.”

“Exactly,” Keith emphasizes, “Cute.” He turns to look over his shoulder at Lance, eyebrow raised. “Don’t you like sharks?”

“Yes, but sharks are misunderstood, the puppies of the ocean,” Lance defends himself as he waves a hand at the television screen. “Hippos are just nasty.” Then he pauses, mouth open in mid-thought, before he leans back against the couch. Placing a hand on his chin, he corrects himself. “Wait, actually, I think I understand your obsession now. You’re both kill first, ask questions later type of creatures.” He flashes a smirk at Keith.

“You’re comparing me to a hippo?”

Humming, Lance nods. “If the shoe fits…”

Keith rolls his eyes. “You’re incorrigible.”

Moving forward, Lance drapes himself over Keith’s back, hugging him from behind. His warm hands lay flat on Keith’s stomach, over his shirt, and Keith shivers at the welcomed touch. Lance rests his chin on his shoulder, his lips brushing Keith’s hair when they move to speak again. “My murderous boyfriend’s favorite animal is Earth’s most dangerous land animal. I think it’s sweet.”

“Flattery’s not going to get you anywhere this time.”

“Then why are you almost in my lap?” When Keith faces him, Lance grins like he didn’t pull Keith towards him—even if Keith willingly went along with it. “Must be my animal magnetism,” he mutters in the space between them, all too pleased with himself. He wiggles his eyebrows as Keith lightly punches him in the shoulder.

“Incorrigible,” he repeats and grabs the front of Lance’s shirt to pull him into a kiss.

#klance #voltron #vld #voltron legendary defender #2023keithtober #klance fic #keith x lance #my writing

[justaz]

keith doesn’t like to share food and instead hoards it as a habit from bouncing around foster homes where some of them were just fend for yourself type houses (+ galra are kinda territorial). lance shares his food all the time and steals food off of his friends plates bc Why Not. keith is like uber protective of his food except for when it comes to lance. he sometimes even offers food to him and shiro just Sits There bc once he tried to grab the salt and keith thought he was stealing some of his food and pulled a knife on him from out of nowhere and almost ended up as an amputee years earlier than he was supposed to. lance shares his bag of animal crackers with keith and when he opens it the first one he pulls out is a hippo and hands it over without hesitation or even looking up and keith is just. a mess. but only internally, he keeps his cool bc that would be Embarrassing if he made a big deal out of an animal cracker of his favorite animal (how did lance even know??? (lance cornered shiro under the guise of “embarrassing childhood stories” when really he just wanted to know about keith without exposing his totally not crush on the idiot (he failed)))

#voltron #vld #klance #lance mcclain #keith kogane #takashi shirogane #he’s not mad just tired #literally sitting and watching across the table with dead eyes #broganes #headcanon #head canon #hc #i miss them

[alluraswifey]

Here you go gremlins some Shiro,Adam and Keith fluff:

#1 Them meeting Lance(If the whole space war and shit didn’t happen)

Keith:Soooo dads I’ve got some for you to meet*pulls Lance it the room*

Lance:H-hello Sirs!

Shiro:….

Adam:….

Keith:Anyway and Lance and dating…surprise!

Shiro:…

Adam:…

Lance:…

Keith:Guys you ok…?

Lance:*Shaking in fear*

Both:*Bursts out laughing*

Keith:What’s funny?

Adam:N-nothing!

Shiro:We’re just surprised anyone would date you!

Lance:*Laughing*

Keith:GUYS C’MON!

#2 Lil Keith 🥰

Keith:Dad!Dad!

Shiro:Yes bud?

Keith:Look what I found!*Pulls out a big spider*

Shiro:AHHAHAHOJHA WERE DID YOU FIND THAT-

Keith:In a bush!

Adam:What’s all the screaming about?*Sees the spider*

Shiro:Adam it’s ok.

Keith:Papa look!

Adam*Faints*

Shiro:ADAM?!?

Keith:PAPA?!?

Adam:…

Shiro:…

Keith:…I’ll go put it back outside.

Shiro:You do that bud.

Adam:Is it gone now…?

#3 Keith being a crazy bitch.

Shiro:Guys what happened?!Are you both ok?!

Adam:We’re fine babe don’t worry.

Shiro:Don’t worry!You told me Keith beat up a grown man!

Keith:I did!

Shiro:Why?!

Keith:Well when me and Papa were in the grocery store this old guy yelled at Papa to “Go back to Mexico!” So I pushed him of his wheelchair and kicked him!*Grins*

Adam:…

Shiro:…

Keith:..:)

Shiro:Did you get him good bud?

Keith:Yes!

Adam:Well I mean I wouldn’t have handled it like that but you got the job done so well done bud!

Keith: ….:D

#4 Keith’s first crush(On Lance~)

Keith:GUYSSSSSSSSS

Shiro:Woah Keith what’s wrong?

Adam:Yeah you ok hun?

Keith:NO IM NOT OK MY CRUSH ASKED ME OUT?!?WTF DO I DOOO??

Adam:*Squeals in Spanish*

Shiro:Ohmylordkeithwhatshisnameisheinyouryearwhatshelooklikewhatshisname???

Keith:His names Lance and yes he’s in my year and he’s tanned with brown hair and blue eyes.NOW WHAT DO I DO?!

Adam:Well do you guys have a date?

Keith:Yessss this Fridayyy*Happy keef*

Adam:Ok I’ll help you pick out an outfit.Shiro you good babe?

Shiro:Yh but now I have to go beat someone up.

Keith:Dad!Why?!?

Shiro:NO ONE DATES MY BABY!

Adam:Shiro we’ve been through this…

Shiro:*Grabs a frying pan*I’ll be back by dinner.

Keith:DAD NO-

#5 Keith’s first day of preschool(If Shiro and Adam adopted him earlier ofc)

Shiro:*Sniff*Bye baby…

Adam:*Rubbing his back*He’ll be fine hun.

Keith:*Waves* Bye Bye Daddy’s!

Shiro:AHHAHAHHAHAHA WHY IS HE SO CUTE?!?

Adam*Sobbing*BE CAREFUL BABY!

Keith:*Running inside*

Adam:*Sniffing*Lets just go home…

Shiro:*Wailing*

*Later at pick up*

Keith:Daddy’s!*Shows them a drawing of a hippo*

Shiro:Ohmylordbabydidyoudrawthisitssogood!!!

Adam:That’s so good hun does the hippo have a name?

Keith:Yesw it’s called hippo!

Shiro:Hippo?

Keith:Yesw.

Adam:*Chuckling*Ok hun let’s just go home…

#6 Late night cuddles 🥰

Keith:*Coming downstairs*Can I stay down here for a bit…

Adam:Oh hun you scared me!Ofc is something wrong?

Keith:*Tears in his eyes*

Shiro:Come here bud…

Keith:*Walks over*

Adam:*Leans over to Keith*You wanna talk abt it bud..?

Keith:I just feel sad…

Shiro:Aw that ok bud sometimes we just feel sad.

Adam:Yh you don’t have to now why sometimes it’s ok to cry for now reason.

Keith:*Sniffs* ok…

Shiro:Now do you wanna watch a show?

Keith:*Nods*

Adam:Ok you two move over a bit I’m joining!

{{This one was inspired by my parents!I had this conversation so many times with them more times than I can remember 😅}}

#7 Keith’s birthday!!🎂

Adam:Keith hun wake up!!

Keith:*Groans* Pape it’s to early…

Adam:But it’s your birthday c’mon!

Keith:What?That’s today?

Adam:Yes c’mon I trusted Shiro to make pancakes and I don’t want him to burn the house down!

*Downstairs*

Shiro:Well fuck.

*Theres pancake batter literally everywhere*

Keith:Dad…?

Adam:Takashi!

Shiro:In my defence the presents are unharmed!

Keith:All those are for me…?

Adam:Ofc bud!

Keith:*starts crying*

Shiro:Bud what’s wrong..?

Keith:N-nothing I’m just rlly happy is all….

Adam:Ohmylordyoursocuteyourverymuchwelcomecomeonletsgoopensomepresents!!

Shiro:*Dying of cuteness*

{{That’s all for now if you want me to do more just ask!! Xx}}

#voltron #takashi shirogane #keith kogane #adam #lance mcclain #pidge gunderson #hunk garrett

[eggsareround]

Klance headcannons while i suffer from writers block

Keith tells Lance that when they get back to earth, he'll build Lance a house by the ocean in Varadero with a gazebo.

Lance quietly suffers all night from the urge to tell Keith he loves him so much

When Keith is in a healing pod, Lance stresses so badly he knits. He crochets. Pidge has go drag him out of a space shop that sells yarn so many times that she doesnt even blink when he turns up with purple yarn.

Keith has so many hippos, bees and sharks that Lance has made for him.

He keeps them all on his bed.

They play stupid games on the tablets in the castle and Lance destroys Keith in all of them

Keith is a master at games on a console. Unless theyre horror and then he turns into a ball of terror and dread

Not much for public affection other than holding hands and a quick peck on the cheek, they've found other ways to assure each other in public

Keith says thinks to him in the galra tongue that leaves Krolia and Kolivan sharing a look each time without fail

Lance taps any part of Keith he can subtly three times to tell him he loves him

When Lance gets frustrated with himself, instead of pulling his hair out or biting his nails like he used to, Keith lets him braid his hair at least a thousand times

Lance got the big brother talk from Shiro

Funnily enough, so did Keith

Theyre so in love it physically makes Pidge sick but she loves them so when they smile softly at each other, she just turns away

When Keith leaves for BoM, they face time every chance they get. Most of the time Lance is in red and Keith always gets the faint feeling of happiness in the back of his head, along with a small flash of them both and a whisper of 'mine'.

One time Kolivan came in when Lance was telling Keith a story and took a picture of his face just to bully him because of how in love he was

Keiths background on his phone is lance smiling with his sister Veronica and the sun is in the background, with purple skies and sand in his hair from the beacj in Varadero

Lances background is Keith staring up at the sky, unaware hes being photographed, while a fire crackles between them.

(They were watching the sun set in the desert around where Keith stayes during The Year that Wont Be Spoken Of and get distracted so they wait for the sun rise)

Keith is little spoon while Lance is human body pillow for both Keith and Kosmo

Thats about ir for rn cause the inspiration just struck again! Bye!

#voltron #headcanon #klance #keith headcanon #lance headcanons #theyre so silly i love them #the house over the beach made me emotionally repressed Keith would do anything to make Lance happy

[lolabearwrites]

Is it fanon that Keith likes hippos?

Where did it come from?

#vld keith #keith kogane #voltron #lola rambles

[the-kittens-of-vol-tron]

Lance gets (or maybe makes, you decide) a hippo stuffed animal for Keith and is later suprised to find out that Keith treasures it

:D

(I saved this to post on his birthday lol) 

-----

Lance gripped the bag tighter in his hands as he made his way to the bridge. He tried to shake the nerves that overran his body; but what do you get a team member that you’re kind of in love with and every time you asked what he wanted for his birthday he just shrugged. The answer is you grill his kinda brother and settle on his favorite animal. 

“He like hippos,” Shiro said as he took a swig of coffee; well a space substitute. 

Lance’s face fell into a confused expression. “...hippos? Really?” 

Shiro looked at him, “don’t question it. Ever since I met him he has liked hippos. You should have seen him when Adam and I took him to the zoo. I thought he was going to cry.” 

Lance slowly nodded his head, trying to absorb the information he was given. “Okay...thanks, Shiro!” He said as he left the dining room. He had to get something to do with hippos. 

Which is how Lance found himself borderline stabbing his fingers as he handstitched a stuffed hippo together. It took him some time (and a lot of pleading with Allura) to get back to the space mall and get the materials he needed. 

Two black buttons, stuffing, light purple felt, a needle, and thread. He had some a lot of sowing on Earth so thankfully he knew a bit about what to do. He just had to make do without a sowing machine. 

It took him a couple of nights to complete the hippo, he could only work on it safely after everyone went to bed; well mainly Keith. And today, today was Keith’s birthday. Lance was finally going to give him the hippo. 

He placed the bag on a table Allura brought in, placing it behind the other presents and cake that Hunk made. “Okay so I’m going to call him to the bridge, is everyone ready?” Allura smiled at her team, a birthday hat sat a bit lopsided on her head. 

Everyone gave her a thumbs up and she pressed a button to activate the coms. “Attention Paladins! You are needed on the bridge immediately!” 

Not even a minute later Keith had run through the doors, his Galran blade in his hand. 

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!” Everyone screamed, a party popper or two going off; spreading confetti everywhere. 

Keith froze where he stood, his eyes trying to scan everything that was in the room. “I uh...what’s the emergency?” 

Everyone chuckled, “it was just an excuse to get you to the bridge,” Shiro spoke as he walked towards him, “happy birthday,” he pulled his brother in for a hug. More hugs were passed around and the cake was shared. It was relaxing, and Keith looked like he was enjoying himself. 

“Oh! Present time!” Allura clasped her hands together, picking her present wrapped in gold foil off the table. “This is from me.” 

Keith slowly made his way through all the presents. Thanking each person for every gift, his face filled with happiness. Lance’s present was the last one to open and Lance attempted to make sure he didn’t seem too nervous as his crush pulled the paper off the top. 

Keith stared at the hippo for a long time, not saying anything, was he even breathing?

He finally looked at Lance, his fingers tightening a bit around the felt, “did you make this?” 

Lance gave him a sheepish look, “ye-yeah. It took some time to get the materials but not the first stuffed animal I’ve made.” He released an awkward laugh. 

Keith looked back down at the hippo, he had dropped the bag some time ago and his fingers gently brushed over the black button that made up one of his eyes. “Thank you.” 

“You like it?” Lance grinned.

Keith nodded, “yeah. Thanks.” His face appeared to be dusted pink but Lance assumed he imagined it. 

---

Keith placed the hippo on his desk his fingers lingering on it a bit. Saying he loved it was an understatement, it was his favorite thing he was ever given. How did he know? Keith found himself borderline petting the fabric and dropped his hand. Shiro probably told him. 

He flopped down in his bed, that was easily one of the best birthdays he ever had. He was happy he finally found some form of a family. He loved them and they obviously loved him. 

His eyes wandered back to the hippo, which was going to make it harder to get over his crush on a fellow paladin. 

---

The hippo was given a permeant home on Keith's bed. It wasn’t a huge stuffed animal, but it was perfect to hug into his chest at night. He quickly found that he couldn’t sleep without it. 

When he made his bed he usually placed it back on his desk but sometimes he would place it on his pillows. It stayed in his room, always close enough for him to grab. 

It had been a couple of months since his birthday and his crush on Lance had still not gone away; in fact, it grew some. Keith would simply press his face into the stuffed hippo and relive any moments he shared with Lance that day. 

“Hey Keith, can I ask you-” Lance paused only a couple of steps into his bedroom. “You put the hippo on your bed?” 

Keith ran his towel through his hair, thankful he put on a shirt instead of walking out with only his boxers on after his shower. “Yeah.” 

Lance stared at him, he seemed a bit flustered by Keith assuming he was imagining it. “Why?” 

Keith shrugged and hung his towel on the back of his chair. “I like it.” 

Lance grinned at him, “do you sleep with it too?” 

Keith knew he was trying to start some friendly banter; they had moved away from actual arguments to friendly arguing. Something Keith was happy to finally happen. “I do.” 

Lance’s face fell for a second, not to anything negative just shock. Confusion? Keith didn’t know. 

Lance cleared his throat, his eyes still on the pastel purple. “I didn’t think you’d like it that much.” 

Keith looked at the hippo himself, “of course I do. It’s perfect to hug and cuddle at night.” 

Lance laughed, “I didn’t expect you to be a cuddly type of sleeper.” 

Keith took a couple of steps towards his bed, sitting on the edge of it. “I am when I feel safe.” 

Lance crossed his arms, staying in the same spot; Keith wondered briefly if he was glued to the floor. “Huh, I guess you do learn something new every day.” 

“Yeah.” After a couple of minutes of silence, Keith cleared his throat. “Did you want to sit? Or what did you come in here to ask me?” 

Lance blinked, he clearly forgot that he had gone in there for something else originally. “Oh um, yeah I wanted to ask you something but I think my nerves came back so sorry.” 

“Oh.” Keith couldn’t even hide the disappointment in his voice. 

Lance finally moved and sat down next to Keith, grabbing the stuffed hippo to hold in his hands.  After a deep breath he finally spoke, “are you busy tonight?” 

“Not really...why?” 

“Well...we’re going to that planet later so like. I didn’t know if you wanted to like...hang with me...?” 

Keith looked at Lance, his face was tinted a bright red and he was staring intently at the hippo. “Are you asking me on a bro date or like a gay date?” 

Lance laughed, “I never thought you would say something like that.” 

“Well...which is it?” 

Lance finally looked at him, “a gay date?” 

Keith grinned, “okay. Yeah sure.” 

-----

Hehehe they went to a festival and Lance totally won him another stuffed hippo 

Happy birthday Keith!!!! It’s not solely a birthday fic but shhhhhh

Thanks Viv! I hope you liked it 

And thank you for reading <3333

#happy birthday keith #klance #keith x lance #keith #keith vld #keith voltron #keith voltron legendary defender #lance #lance voltron #lance vld #lance voltron legendary defender #keith kogane #lance mcclain #hippo #keith gets a stuffed hippo #thanks viv! #moot interaction #my writing #long post #no beta #posted on A03

[rorimoon9597]

"I don't wanna," Keith pouted. Takashi sighed, staring down at his hands.

Okaasan, what do I do? He thought to himself. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Patience yields focus. Remember that. He opened his eyes again.

"Akira, you have to, alright? School is important," Takashi said.

"But it's loud," Keith whined.

"I know, but once school's over you can come right back home where it's quieter, alright?" Keith studied him, probably trying to detect a lie in there somewhere.

"Okay," he finally conceded. Takashi felt himself relax. He offered a smile to Keith.

"Alright, then. Let's get you ready, yeah?" Keith just nodded in response.

Keith's response to why he didn't want to go to school was ever so slightly concerning. Takashi was fairly certain that school being too loud was not a normal reason to not go to school.

I'll have to see if I can do any research into it. I want to help in any way I can, Takashi thought as he went downstairs with Keith and took the lunchbox that was offered to him to put into Keith's bag and then the lunchbox offered for himself.

"Alright, are we ready to go?" Sarah asked. Keith just nodded his head.

"Yep," Takashi said. He led Keith out to the car, Sarah behind them to lock the door.

They went to drop Keith off first, seeing as his new school was rather close. Takashi went in with him to get him situated in his new classroom, while Sarah stayed in the car.

"Hello! I'm Ms Summers, do need any help?" A kindly woman with her hair tied up in a bun asked.

"Uh, yeah, I'm here to drop him off," Takashi said, motioning towards Keith.

"Alright! What's your name, sweetheart?"

"Keith," he replied in a small voice. Ms Summers smiled kindly.

"Alrighty, then, follow me and I'll help you find your classroom." Ms Summers looked at Takashi. "You can follow along so you know where to find him at the end of the day."

"Thank you, Ms," Takashi said. Ms Summers waved her hand.

"Don't mention it. Let's go find your classroom, yeah?" Keith nodded. He was clinging to Takashi, which he'd gotten used to.

Ms Summers led them to the office, where Takashi gave them Keith's full name. Then Ms Summers led them to the room that they mentioned.

"You're in my class, Keith," Ms Summers said.

"That's cool, isn't it, Keith?" Keith just mutely nodded. "Sorry, he's been like this a lot recently."

"That's fine. A lot of kids his age are often nervous when they start at school, especially when it's in the middle of the year like this." Takashi nodded.

When they got to Keith's new classroom, Takashi bent down to hug him.

"I don't want to be here," Keith said.

"I know, otouto, but you have to be here, okay?" Keith nodded. "Have a good day, okay? I love you."

"I love you too."

"Mr Hippo will keep you company."

"Okay."

"Bye, Keith. Have a good day."

"Bye." Takashi walked out of the room, leaving Keith alone. Ms Summers distracted him by showing him around the room. She had a lot of experience when it came to this stuff. Teachers had to have this kind of experience when they taught younger kids who had only ever been with their parents for four years of their lives.

Takashi walked back to the car and hopped in.

"Right, let's get you to school," Sarah said. Takashi simply nodded, buckling himself in as Sarah started the car again and pulled out of the parking space.

His own school was five minutes away from Keith's school, so the ride didn't take that long. Sarah took him to the office to get his schedule and his locker number, then she left for work.

"You'll be shown around by another student," the office lady said.

"Thank you," Takashi said. The office lady smiled.

"You're welcome. Go wait over there while your guide comes."

"Alright." Takashi went and sat on a seat. He studied his timetable while he waited.

A girl entered the office five minutes later. Takashi watched as she walked up to the front desk and talked to the lady behind it. She pointed to Takashi, and the girl turned to look at him. He noticed that she was wearing a Harvard sweatshirt and baggy jeans. She had a head band on and glasses, too. She seemed like the kind of person to become a class president or become a lawyer.

Takashi stood up as she walked over to him, a bounce in her step.

"Hi there! I'm Emily, and I'll be your guide while you adjust to the school," she said.

"I'm Shiro," he replied. Emily smiled.

"It's nice to meet you Shiro," she said.

"It's nice to meet you too."

"May I see your timetable?" Emily asked. Takashi handed over his timetable. Emily scanned it. "Oh, you're doing Japanese?"

"Uh... yeah."

"Not many people choose to do it. They prefer more romantic languages, like Spanish or French. Japanese is a really cool language, though."

"Uh... yeah, it is. I'm actually Japanese myself," Takashi said.

"Oh! That's so cool! Now, you have English first up. I also have that now. Let's get going," Emily said. She handed him his timetable back.

"Thank you," he said, probably out of habit.

Emily led him through the halls, talking about some of the school's programs that he might want to consider, and then sharing information about some of the teachers. It was nice of her to do so, though Takashi didn't think that he would want to join any after school clubs, not when he still had to take care of Keith. Sarah might be their current foster mother, but Keith would only let Takashi help him.

This is going to be stressful, he thought to himself.

Emily led him to Homeroom, which he also had with her. He felt like the school had decided to put him in a few of her classes so that he would have someone he knew with him.

"Go sit wherever you would like," She said. Takashi nodded, and sat at the very back of the classroom. They had five minutes before school started, and the classroom was full already.

Almost as soon as he left to sit down, Emily was surrounded by a group of girls. They talked to her, glancing at Takashi far too frequently for him to be comfortable. He knew that they were talking about him.

He ignored them as much as he could, though it was proved to be hard when they were looking at him every five seconds. He chose to look around the classroom from his seat and watch how others around him interacted, trying to separate the different groups. It was only slightly hard, though he was only successful at separating the bullies from the rest before the teacher came in.

"Alright class, settle down," he said as the bell rang. Students rushed to their seats. "So, we have a new student today. Takayashi Shirogain, would you like to come up and introduce yourself?" Takashi cringed at the mispronunciation of his name, but he got up all the same and joined the teacher at the front of the class.

"Uh... Hi, I'm Takashi Shirogane, but I prefer Shiro," he said. There were giggles from some of the students.

"Do you have anything you'd like to share about yourself?" The teacher asked.

"No," he replied. The teacher nodded.

"Well, I'm Mr Baldwin. You can go sit back down." Takashi went and sat down in his seat. He breathed out a sigh of relief, but he could still feel some people looking at him.

Mr Baldwin started talking about something else, which slowly took the attention off of him. One of the boys was staring at him. Takashi ignored it.

After homeroom was, as Emily had said, English. There were different people in the class, and the teacher, who was a kindly woman, introduced herself. They played a bit of a game for him to get to know his classmates, then they started the lesson. Mrs Wilkinson caught him up on the work that they were doing. Which, right now, they were watching a movie.

He moved through the day with different guides, all from Emily's friend group. Emily would take it upon herself to be his main guide though, and during lunch she took the time to show him to the bathrooms and ate lunch with him. It was rather nice.

At the end of the day, he left, saying goodbye to some of the people who had helped him.

"How was your day?" Sarah asked.

"It was actually really good," he replied.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. Some of the teachers butchered my name, but that's normal. Not many people know how to pronounce Japanese names," he said. Sarah hummed.

"Unfortunately, some people don't care to learn hos vowels sound in other languages. It's a shame, really," she said. Takashi nodded.

They got to Keith's school, and Sarah let Takashi go and get him. He walked along the path he'd taken that morning to Keith's classroom, where his younger brother was colouring in a picture quietly while his classmates ran around. Ms Summers looked up at him and smiled.

"Keith, you can go now," she said. Keith looked up, and his face lit up when he saw Takashi. He packed up his things and bounded over to him.

"Hey, Keith, how was your day?" Takashi asked.

"It was okay," Keith replied. He reached up to grab Takashi's hand. He let his younger brother take it.

"That's good. Are you ready to leave?" Keith nodded.

They waved to Ms Summers and walked out to the car, where Sarah was waiting. Takashi helped Keith then got back in himself. Sarah tried to make small talk with Keith about his day, and she got some answers. Simple sentences, nothing long, no long rants about his day like what Takashi got.

He supposed that it was progress.

When they got home, Takashi and Keith sat at the table together to do homework. Takashi helped Keith out, while Sarah prepared them an afternoon snack that consisted of chocolate chip cookies, apple slices, and bananas. She also gave them a glass of juice each.

When Takashi was sure that Keith's homework was finished, he let his brother go off and play by himself while Takashi worked on his own homework. When he was finished, he cleaned up his mess and took it back to his room.

He went over to Keith's room to find him playing with Duplo blocks. He looked up when Takashi entered, but went back to playing soon after.

"Hey, Akira," he said. Keith hummed in response. "Did you make any friends today?"

"No," came the reply. Takashi frowned slightly. Keith... wasn't the best at making friends. He knew this. Takashi could only hope that he'd be able to make at least one friend some day.

Life was lonely if you didn't have any.

Takashi didn't want Keith to be lonely.

How do I help him? He asked himself, watching as Keith continued to play, stacking blocks onto each other and driving cars along the board that they were stacked on, always in an order, in this one particular way.

_______________________

Pt1 pt2

#keith kogane #takashi shirogane #alternate universe #orphan au #broganes #autistic keith #original characters

[silentwillowwhisperer]

Ok but wait

Lance would totally put clips in Keith's hair.

And not even normal clips, but random obnoxious clips that come in way too vibrant colors. The kind you would see a mother forcing her 2 year old child to wear.

Lance's favorite is a neon pink butterfly that rests on a bedazzled clip that he made painstakingly by hand. Keith will never admit it, but he kind of adores it purely because Lance's face melts with adoration any time he puts it on.

Keith's own favorite is a lavender hippo with huge buck teeth, though he pretends to like the skull clip more. There's no lying to Lance, however, because he knows all of Keith's quirks. If you want Keith, then you have to accept that he comes with hippos. No questions.

Anyway, it's really cute. But don't tell anyone that Lance said that! What? Nope! He would never have a crush on Keith! Ugh! Ew! Nonono.

(But he can't deny his fondness for Keith anymore because whenever he does the other boy makes the saddest little kicked-puppy face that could melt a planet faster than you can say global warming. And don't even get him started on the pout.)

Lance turns bright red at the sight of Keith wearing hairclips made for children waaay too often.

Back to the topic, Keith usually ends up with his hair styled in whatever hairdo Lance wants to try out that day.

When Lance finds out about alien social media, he makes an account specifically to post pretty pictures of Keith.

No, Keith does not know about that because he'd flay Lance alive for it. Excuse Lance for wanting to live.

The best one is where they found an entire room full of hair extensions and made Keith's hair 20 feet long. The team then had a hardcore Rapunzel moment and sang 'I've got a dream' while braiding flowers into the very ticked-off red paladin.

They bribed him with extra training hours and free team hugs (though the second part is all Lance) if you were wondering.

#technically klance #vld #voltron legendary defender #voltron #lance mcclain #keith kogane #klance #lance vld #keith vld #vld keith #tawny post

[afreakingdork]

Crush Too Much - Master Playlist

Here is the current master-list of all the songs you all have recommended to go along with Crush Too Much! This page will update as more songs come in:

Mirror Mirror (White Trailer) by Jeff Williams

Ocean Away by Barlow & Bear

El Clavo by Prince Royce

If I'm James Dean, You're Audrey Hepburn by Sleeping With Sirens

Figure You Out by Djo

Go for It by Djo

Connect the Dots by Greer

Rocky and Window by Still Woozy

First Time by Lucy Dacus

Kissing Lessons by Lucy Dacus

Baby by Hippo Campus

Vanilla Twilight by Owl City

El Tango De Roxanne by Ewan McGregor, Jacek Koman, and José Feliciano

Tongues & Teeth by The Crane Wives

Never Love an Anchor by The Crane Wives

I'm Not Crazy by Kevin Walkman

Shit by Bo Burnham

Your Stupid Face by Kaden MacKay

Coffee by Jack Stauber

Let You Break My Heart Again by Laufey and Philharmonia Orchestra

Two Time by Jack Stauber

Nobody Gets Me by SZA

Meteor Shower by Cavetown

I Like You by dandelion hands

Ocean Waves by Alaina Castillo

Smitten by Leanna Firestone

Olive Branch by Sophie Holohan

O Sol e a Lua by Pequeno Cidadão

Sally’s Song by Catherine O'Hara

To Exist With You by Madilyn Mei

Roses by Phoneboy

Boy's a Liar by PinkPantheress

Dsco by Sweet Trip

Genesis by Grimes

Remember When by Wallows

i love you by Billie Eilish

Just a Friend to You by Meghan Trainor

The Winner Takes It All by ABBA

I Love You So by The Walters

Line Without a Hook by Ricky Montgomery

Mr. Brightside by The Killers

The Night We Met by Lord Huron

An Idiot by Phemiec

Where Do the Lonely Souls Go? by George Salazar

Less and Less by Matt Maltese

Irrational by Cavetown

Without You Around by Rare Americans

Loverboy by A-Wall

What About Me (Television / So Far So Good) by Rex Orange County

Out of My League by Fitz and The Tantrums

Fear & Delight by The Correspondents

Bullet by Saint Motel

i think you're really cool by Guardin

Obsession by OK Go

Feel Better by Penelope Scott

Teenage Runaways by Hot Milk

Almost Lover by A Fine Frenzy

Again by Crusher-P

despair by leo.

Where Did the Party Go by Fall Out Boy

Almost Is Never Enough by Ariana Grande

Invisible by Anna Clendening

Starry Night by Jordan Critz

Dark Beach by PASTEL GHOST

All I Wanted by Paramore

Astronomy by Conan Gray

Nervous by The Neighbourhood

Afraid by The Neighbourhood

I Want You by Mitski

Francis Forever by Mitski

First Love / Late Spring by Mitski

Humpty by Mitski

The Only Heartbreaker by Mitski

Come Into the Water by Mitski

Escapism. by 070 Shake and Raye

Kawaki wo Ameku by Minami (カワキヲアメク by 美波)

I Really Want to Stay at Your House by Hallie Coggins and Rosa Walton

save your breath by JVKE

Tonight I Wanna Cry by Keith Urban

Painkiller by Beach Bunny

Sunsetz by Cigarettes After Sex

Snow by Ricky Montgomery

Let Her Go - Acoustic by Passenger

Why Do I by Set it off, Hatsune Miku

Bite Me by Avril Lavigne

Bad Habit

Song by Steve Lacy

In an Emergency Such as the End of the World by Chase Petra

Wait On by Hayley Williams

Asystole by Hayley Williams

firearm by Lizzy McAlpine

I Know the End by Phoebe Bridgers

Yours by Conan Gray

Lover, You Should've Come Over by Jeff Buckley

i want, doesn't get by DellaXOZ

Hope by Blood Orange and Dev Hynes

Never Wanna Fall in Love With U by nelward

The Moon Will Sing by The Crane Wives

Can't Help Falling in Love by Elvis Presley

Heartache Tonight by Eagles

Waves By Dean Lewis

I'm Not in Love by 10cc

Jar of Hearts by Christina Perri

Ready To Love by Emarosa

Cautious by Emarosa

Wait, Stay by Emarosa

Fireworks by Mitski

Eternity With You by Adventure Time feat. Michaela Dietz & Zuzu

Monsters by All Time Low feat. Demi Lovato and blackbear

Out Like a Light by Ricky Montgomery & The Honeysticks

j's lullaby (darlin' i'd wait for you) by Delaney Bailey

I Don't Wanna Be Okay Without You by Charlie Burg

Don’t Wanna Fall in Love by Jane Child

Grow As We Go by Ben Platt

Creep by Radiohead

Happy by Mitski

Someone You Like by The Girl and the Dreamcatcher

An Awkward Duet by Dodie and Jon Cozart

Ma Belle Evangeline by Jim Cummings

Mamma Mia by ABBA

Um, it's Kind of a Lot by Will Wood

Hollywood by Jukebox the Ghost

Would You Be So Kind? by Dodie

Kill the Director by The Wombats

Conversations with the Moon By grentperez

The Color Violet by Tory Lanez

Heart Attack by Demi Lovato

Maybe So by Kid Cudi

Can’t Shake Her by Kid Cudi featuring Ty Dolla $ign

Willing to Trust by Kid Cudi featuring Ty Dolla $ign

Want It Bad by Cowboy Malfoy

My Heart Is Buried In Venice by Ricky Montgomery

Violet by Wild Party

A Shitty Love Song by Jye

You Are in Love by Taylor Swift

Accidentally In Love by Counting Crows

I Hear a Symphony by Cody Fry

FFF by Zara Larsson

Heartbeat by Childish Gambino

Head Over Heels by Tears for Fears

Here With Me by d4vd

One More Shot by CIL

Hopelessly Devoted To You by Olivia Newton-John

I Ain't Perfect by IV of Spades

If It All Goes South by Sammy Rae & The Friends

I Dare You by The Regrettes

Sarcasm by Get Scared

Die for You by Joji

golden hour by JVKE

moon and back by JVKE

this is what falling in love feels like by JVKE

how deep? by Tai Verdes

Nonsense by Sabrina Carpenter

Glimpse of Us by Joji

Try Again by JAEHYUN and d.ear

Pluto Projector by Rex Orange County

Wag Kang Mag-expect, Tanga by Fishy Bishie

All I Ask by Adele

Against the Kitchen Floor by Will Wood

Absence by Rio Romeo

Inarticulation by Rio Romeo

Never There Enough by PROM

Ever After by Marianas Trench

Science & Faith by The Script

Patchwork Staccato by Rachie

Hopeless by Khalid

It Ain’t Over ’til It’s Over by Lenny Kravitz

Snow On The Beach by Taylor Swift and Lana Del Rey

Your Hands Are Cold by Dario Marianli and Jean-Yves Thibaudet

A Postcard to Henry Purcell by Dario Marianli and Jean-Yves Thibaudet

Salut d'Amour by Edward Elgar

What's Wrong by half•alive

Dandelions by Ruth B

Move Me by half•alive

Arrow by half•alive

selfdestruct by torr

Lovers Rock by TV Girl

I Didn't Know That I Could Feel This Way by Roger Bart and Susan Egan

Pink in the Night by Mitski

A New Hour by Mr.Kitty

@cryptkillo was kind enough to put together a Spotify Version!

#crushtoomuchfic #playlist #music

[erithel]

I have s questions that’s basically been in my head ever since I joined the fandom

How did hippos become Keith’s favorite animal? Cuz I see art and references to it in fanfic’s all the damn time but I have no idea where it came from.

Was it something the show-runners said at a con? I wasn’t here for the earlier days of Voltron so I missed all that interview stuff.

I also found a similar situation with lance, I think his animal are sharks?

As far as I am aware, the "Keith likes hippos" thing came from this sketchdump by one of the artists working on the show (sorry, I cannot remember who drew this):

In terms of Lance and sharks, I actually don't know.

I wasn't there for the early days of VLD either and I never really delved too deep into panels/interviews because by the time I joined there was too much drama surrounding all of the behind the scenes stuff.

There are a lot of things in this fandom that is basically accepted as canon but does not show up in the actual show. I think that a lot of it is founded in things mentioned in interviews, but also a lot of it was just collectively decided by the fanbase due to the showrunners not being clear on certain details.

#asks #keith (voltron) #voltron legendary defender

[alluraaaa]

for the promts: z (zoo trip gone wrong) with adam shiro and younger keith?

Kids have too much energy. Shiro knows he would’ve passed out five times by now if he was doing what Keith is.

The ankle biter in question is practically vibrating in place with happy stimming, staring through the glass at the hippopotamus enclosure.

“Never seen him so happy,” Adam muses beside Shiro, tucked against his side.

“Yeah, he’s really into hippos.”

“I can hear you,” Keith grouches, but he still looks excited. “Hippos can have twelve inch long canines. That’s a whole foot of teeth. How are you not into that?”

“Well I didn’t know that, that’s cool as hell,” Adam says easily.

“Language,” Shiro remarks.

“He’s eleven, that’s old enough for hell.”

“Definitely don’t say it like that.”

“Woah,” Keith says, drawing their attention again. He’s not watching the hippos anymore, instead watching the path they’re standing on, where a ten foot long snake is slithering past them. It’s muddy brown and heavy looking but moves with ease, and Keith crouches to watch it with wide eyes.

In a flash Adam is gripping Shiro’s shoulders and hiding behind him, using his boyfriend as a shield to a snake that doesn’t seem to care about them. He says, “What the fuck?”

“Language,” Shiro says again. “I’ve heard of zoos letting animals wander, I just didn’t know this was one of ‘em. The reptile exhibit is right by here.”

“You sure?” Adam asks. Keith takes the disposable camera he was given and snaps a picture of the snake.

“That thing’s huge,” Shiro says, “there’s no way they wouldn’t see it missing. And if it did escape, they’d be making a big deal of it.”

“Okay. Okay, yeah, that makes sense,” Adam says, but still has an iron grip on Shiro’s shoulders. Okay, his boyfriend has ophidiophobia, noted.

They all watch it slither away, either entertained or terrified. It isn’t long before Keith is back to the hippos, pointing out and describing their behaviors to Adam and Shiro, who listen with interest.

“Wow, looks like we have an expert here today!” a voice says, drawing the trio’s attention. She’s an employee, judging by the uniform she’s got on. No one willingly wears a tan polo with tan khakis and a chunky walkie talkie. Either way, she’s adopted a “talking to kids” tone and is addressing Keith with a big smile. “I take it you’re fond of hippos?”

Keith nods. The woman responds, “That’s lovely. Our friends here are real happy to have such smart visitors!” She gestures to the hippos, who seem more interested in napping than humans with trivia, by Shiro’s guess. But he commends this woman for trying to befriend Keith “hates strangers” Kogane-Shirogane. He’s been there.

Speaking of, he’s awkwardly nodding along to what she’s saying, before his attention is grabbed by one hippo diving into the water in the corner of the huge enclosure. The woman is then ignored entirely, and she finally turns to Shiro and Adam.

“He’s one smart cookie,” she says in that quiet, conspiratorial, “talking about kids right in front of them” tone. “Y’all must be having fun today.”

“Oh yeah, he’s been begging to see this exhibit,” Adam says, “We’re having fun too, but he’s overjoyed.”

“Yeah, plus it’s really cool that you let the snakes wander like that,” Shiro says.

“Not that fun,” Adam grumbles, and Shiro chuckles.

“I’m sorry?” the woman asks, concern beginning to take over her bright smile.

“We just saw a snake crawling around,” Shiro clarifies. “Is that… not a thing here?”

The woman blanches. “…Please excuse me,” she says before speed walking away and hurriedly hissing into her radio.

Shiro, wide eyed, turns to Adam, who looks two minutes away from a panic attack.

“Okay Keith time to go,” Shiro says.

Oblivious to the entire conversation that just occurred, Keith whines, “Five more minutes?”

From the direction they saw the snake go, a scream rings out.

“Now,” Shiro says, and Keith doesn’t protest any more. The three of them promptly start hauling ass.

[prompt alphabet - send a letter!]

#fun fact: 666 words exactly #shiro #keith #adam #adam&shiro #adam&keith #keith&shiro #fic #txt #mine #i vaaaaaaguely remember seeing a situation like this described in some story i read online #it might’ve been a tumblr post? idk lol #anyway. the sillies #claps my hand on keith’s shoulder. this bad boy can fit so much autism in him #(i am then immediately stabbed by him)