Archive of Our Own ^beta

Allura would like to think of herself as someone with a great deal of patience. As a member of the Altean royal family, she had learned how to be a well-behaved diplomat, and knew how to get her way in any situation while keeping her cool. After what she’d been through as the leader of the Voltron coalition, she didn’t think anything could break her perfectly sculpted calm. 

Patience, as she was learning, did NOT come easily when there was a screaming baby sitting on your hip. 

To make a long story short, Keith had been turned into a baby on a prior mission, leaving him as a infant about the age of one or slightly older. He was just young enough to not be able to walk around easily, which was a very, very small mercy and saved her the trouble of having to keep him from waddling off. 

And, to be fair, the situation hadn’t been too bad at first. As it turned out, Lance and Hunk were uncles and were very experienced with young children. Obviously, Keith’s care was turned over mainly to those two (although more to Hunk, Lance couldn’t quite let his rivalry with Keith go, even as a baby, and Keith liked Hunk better because he was big and warm.) The two paladins were great at keeping Keith happy. 

But now they weren’t here. They were on a mission to bring supplies to a new ally in the coalition. Leaving her with Keith. (Coran was monitoring communication and directions to the planet so he couldn’t help.) 

Allura had no idea how much of a nuisance human children could be when they weren’t happy. 

Because the first few hours hadn’t been that bad. Keith had been sleeping when the paladins originally left, so Allura laid him down on a blanket and he was fine. 

Then he inevitably woke up two hours later. 

And everything was not fine. 

From the second Keith woke up, he’d been wailing nonstop. Allura tried holding him, rocking him, feeding him- everything she’d seen the paladins do that would calm him down from a fuss- but nothing worked. 

And now, another hour later, she was at her wit’s end. 

The princess was standing at her usual place on the bridge, watching the holographic map of the universe and monitoring Voltron’s path towards their allies’ planet. Keith was laying over her shoulder, held there by an arm under his rear, sobbing and rubbing snot all. over. her. clothes. 

Ew. 

“How do you deal with him so easily?!” Allura groaned over the coms, utterly frustrated and annoyed. As if sensing her distress, Keith’s cries grew louder until he was red in the face. Who knew a baby could have so much lung capacity?!

Hunk’s apologetic voice responded. “We’re sorry Allura. He misses us.” He explained. “Babies cry when the people they’re attached to disappear.” 

“Your species is frustratingly odd.” Allura grumbled as she awkwardly patted Keith’s back, trying to offer comfort. “Altean children do not cry when their parents are not in the room. And they are far less needy.” She added with a hint of disgust, recalling a few choice memories of Keith doing exceptionally gross things. 

“Yeah, babies are needy.” Lance said next, agreeing with Allura with a small chuckle. “But it’s not a problem if you know how to deal with it.” 

Allura groaned. “I don’t know how to deal with it!” She shot back. 

“It’s okay Allura, relax.” Shiro cut in calmly. “You can’t settle him down if you’re upset too.” 

The Altean princess wanted to argue, but didn’t, figuring he was right. He would know better than her how to tend to a fussy human baby. She took in a deep, relaxing breath and let it out slowly. 

When she was calm again (or calmer, she couldn’t help but be stressed with a child screaming in her ear) Shiro continued. “Does he need anything? Is he hungry? Does he need a diaper change? Is he tired?” He listed, and Allura shook her head. 

“No, I tried to feed him and put him down for a nap, he wasn’t having it. He has not made a mess of himself either.” She replied with a frown. 

“Have you tried cradling him?” Hunk asked curiously. “Maybe he doesn’t feel safe the way you’re holding him.” 

“I will try.” Allura sighed. She moved Keith off of her shoulder and laid him down in the crook of her elbow, hoping that the new position would soothe his crying somewhat. 

As she moved the baby, he squirmed in her arms and began to scream in protest. Startled by his outburst, she quickly tightened her hold on him, worried that she would drop him with all the wriggling he was doing. Her other arm came up instinctively to support his legs and back and she adjusted him slightly.

To her surprise, Keith’s cries quieted down quickly after that. The tension came out of his little body and he laid heavily against her chest, sniffling away the last of his tears. 

Several relieved whoops came through the coms at the silence. 

“Good job Allura.” Shiro praised.

The princess gazed down at the baby, watching with interest as he stuck a thumb in his mouth and started to suckle on it. She grabbed his pacifier from his diaper bag and replaced his fingers with it, then returned her arm to its previous position below the baby. Thankfully, Keith accepted it without complaint and cooed softly. 

Now that he wasn’t wailing at the top of his lungs, Allura had to admit that he was kind of cute. He was sprawled out across the entire space her arms provided, yet he still looked so small. He looked up to her curiously as he nursed on his pacifier, interested in the new person now that he wasn’t busy fussing. 

Allura looked down at him. “Hello there. You look quite comfortable.” She commented. 

Keith mirrored her smile and giggled. 

She smiled back to him. Maybe he wasn’t so bad after all.