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"Keith"
Allura peeked into the control room, but he wasn't there. She went to his room and knocked on his door, but there wasn't an answer. There was only one place left to look; the lounge. Hopefully, Keith would be there. She hurried to the lounge. No one had seen Keith in over an hour, which was unusual. She opened the door and was surprised. There was a little boy laying on the couch, asleep. There were bruises and scrapes on his face, arms, and legs. Despite the injuries, he looked familiar, but she couldn't put a name to his face. She decided to wake him up as she was sure someone was looking for him. She shook his shoulder gently. "Hey. Wake up."
He opened his black eyes. "Princess? What is it?"
She gasped inaudibly. His looks and speech reminded her of Keith. "Keith? Is that you?"
"Of course it is. Why would you ask that?" Keith sat up, and confusion colored his eyes darker. "Why are you taller, and why do I sound strange?"
"Keith, somehow you have been turned into a child."
"What?!" He looked down at himself, standing up.
Allura stared at the Voltron leader. He was so cute, especially in his red shirt and denim shorts. She couldn't help herself. She picked him up and gave him a hug. She set him back down and laughed softly at his affronted expression. "I'm sorry, Keith. I couldn't help it! You are so cute!"
A light blush appeared on Keith's cheeks. "Please don't say that, Princess."
"Okay but we do need to alert the rest of the team." Allura and Keith went to Castle Control. Keith sat down in the chair (keeping the back to the entrance), while Allura pushed the intercom button. "Voltron Force to Castle Control."
Three pairs of boots hitting the floor were heard before Lance, Hunk, and Pidge appeared. They went up to the Princess. Lance looked around before commenting. "Have you found Keith?"
"Actually, yes. He was in the lounge when I found him, but he wasn't as we remember him."
The chair turned around, showing the rest of the Force the condition of their leader. Lance tried to stifle his laughter but ultimately failed. All three members of the Voltron Force chuckled at the miniature version of their leader.
It was at that time that Lotor walked in. He took one look at the chair, and his eyebrows raised. He continued over to Allura's side and asked, "Is it just me or is Keith a child? How old are you anyway?"
"Seven." Keith scowled at Lotor, who was concealing his mirth at the predicament his ex-rival was in.
Allura watched the exchange between her two fiancées. She finally cracked a smile and stage whispered to Lotor, "Keith's pretty cute at this age, isn't he?"
"Yes. Yes, he is."
Keith's scowl deepened. "Allura, I told you not to say that again."
"Why are you injured?" Lotor asked.
A blush crept up on Keith's cheeks, and he looked away. He didn't want to admit that he had been abused by his uncle. Lance recognized the symptoms their leader was exhibiting. He crept closer and knelt down next to the control chair. He whispered to Keith, "It was abuse, wasn't it?" At this, Keith looked straight into Lance's eyes, seeing understanding in them. He gave a very minute nod. "Do you want me to tell them or would you want to?"
"You."
Lance nodded and stood up. He placed an arm around Keith's shoulders and gave a small squeeze before dropping his arm. "He was abused."
Allura's hand flew to her mouth, which had fallen open in horror. Lotor's eyes had hardened in anger. Hunk looked dismayed at the news.
"Was it just physical?" Pidge asked.
Keith closed his eyes. "No." Instantly, Allura and Lotor were kneeling at Keith's side. They had their arms around the child version of the Voltron Leader. Keith realized Allura was crying and reached up to wipe her tears away. "Don't cry, Princess. Not over me."
"Don't you degrade yourself like that!" Lotor exclaimed.
Keith not saying anything confirmed their fears that the abuse was mental as well. He simply pushed the button to raise the platform and slid out of Allura's and Lotor's arms. He slipped down and escaped down portal one.
"Why did he run?" Allura asked.
"He was being overwhelmed. It's a normal coping mechanism," Lance explained. "He needed to get somewhere he deemed safe and unreachable to others."
"I don't know how well choosing Black Lion's cockpit is working for him," Allura mentioned. "Black Lion is protective over his pilot. He likes Keith a lot."
%%%
Keith sat in Black Lion's pilot seat and took several deep breaths. It had been getting suffocating in the control room. He closed his eyes, trying to regain his shaken composure, when he felt the comforting presence of his lion. He opened his mind more and welcomed the lion in. A mental representation of child Keith and a real furry Black Lion appeared. Black Lion circled his pilot before asking what happened. Keith wasn't able to answer. He simply dug his fingers into the black fur of his lion and cried. Black Lion curled around his little pilot and allowed his body heat to lull the boy to sleep. Keith felt safe enough with his lion to fall asleep, mentally curled up against his lion and physically curled up in his pilot's seat. He knew Black Lion wouldn't let anyone get to him.
%%%
Allura had attempted to go to Black Lion to check on Keith, but she was blocked. Lance had the camera trained on the outside of the Black Lion, knowing that they had to wait until their leader was ready to come back on his own. He was simply watching to make sure Keith didn't take off in Black Lion.
A couple of hours passed, and Keith still hadn't come back. Allura and Lotor were worried about their little partner. Allura kept trying to access Black Lion but kept being rejected. Another hour passing with no sight of Keith caused Allura to start panicking. Lotor kept his arms around her, trying to keep her calm. He was worried about Keith but was also upset with him for causing Allura distress.
Suddenly, Keith reappeared but looked like he wanted to be anywhere else. Allura broke away from Lotor and flung her arms around Keith's shoulders, crying. "Keith! I was so worried about you! What happened? Black Lion wouldn't let me in to check on you!"
Keith awkwardly put his arms around Allura's waist as much as he could. "I was with Black Lion. He was comforting, and I fell asleep."
"You fell asleep?! We were worried about you, and you were sleeping?!" Lotor exclaimed. He narrowed his eyes, looking like he wanted to jump the seven-year-old.
Lance gently placed a hand on Lotor's shoulder. He whispered, "Calm down. Everything is ok, because he was safe. He seems a little better, but he's still an abused kid. He needs reassurance, not condemnation."
Lotor looked at Keith and Allura. She was kneeling and had her hands on his face but was no longer crying. However, she seemed to be looking for something she couldn't find. Her hands eventually ended up tangled in his black hair as she hugged him again. "I'm glad you're okay! I don't want to think about what I would have done if you were hurt."
Keith didn't reply, just hugging Allura tight around her neck. She stood up, taking the seven-year-old along for the ride. She carried him over to the four men standing near the control panel. Keith had his head laying against her shoulder, his eyes half lidded. It looked like their leader would fall asleep again but against the princess this time.
Lance approached the pair. "How are you doing, buddy?"
Without moving his head, Keith replied, "I'm ok. Just tired."
"You were just sleeping. How are you tired?" Lotor asked.
"I don't know. I just am," Keith replied, still not moving his head from Allura's shoulder.
Allura kissed the top of his head. "I'll take you to our room."
"Okay." Keith let his eyes close as the princess carried him away from Castle Control.
Lotor looked at Lance. "I hope Keith doesn't remain a child for long. He's acting so strangely."
"It's due to the abuse he's suffered. When you got to know him, he had managed to put it behind him with my help. For this Keith, the abuse is still raw."
%%%
Allura was walking down the corridor, hoping she wouldn't run into anyone, only to have her hopes dashed when Nanny rounded the corner.
"Allura! What are you doing carrying a child?"
"Nanny, please be a little quieter. This boy has been through enough."
Nanny looked closer at the little boy. He was almost asleep against the princess's shoulder. His red shirt and wild black hair reminded Nanny of the only member of the Voltron Force she tolerated, Commander Keith. "Allura, who is he?"
"Doesn't he look familiar, Nanny?"
"Yes. He reminds me of the Commander."
Allura bristled at that statement. "The Commander has a name. I would appreciate it if you would use it. He is to be one of the future Kings of Arus."
"Princess, it's all right," said a sleepy voice. The little boy didn't lift his head, but he opened his eyes.
Nanny recognized him by the eyes. "Commander? What happened to you?"
"We're not sure."
"I found him like this a few hours ago."
"A few hours? But those injuries look fresh!"
Keith flinched as Nanny mentioned his marks. Allura noticed and clutched Keith a little tighter. "I don't know, Nanny. When I found him, he already had those injuries, but they don't seem to be causing him any pain."
"Give him here. I can take him to Doctor Gorma." Nanny held her hands out, expecting Allura to hand over the child.
Allura clutched Keith even tighter. "No. I'm taking him to our room to rest."
"But, Princess-"
"No, Nanny. He needs rest before anything else." With that said, Allura walked off, loosening her grip on Keith ever so slightly.
Keith repositioned his head to nestle against Allura's neck and closed his eyes, which were starting to hurt due to the lights in the castle corridors. Allura started stroking his hair, ignoring the initial flinch due to the sudden contact of her hand. "It's okay, Keith. I think some rest will do you some good."
"If you say so, Allura."
Allura didn't like the defeated tone he said that in. "I'm also going to stay with you, so Nanny doesn't try to take you to Doctor Gorma." She laid Keith down on the bed and let him take off his shoes. She smiled and tucked him in, stroking his hair. "Get some sleep, love. I'll be here when you wake up."
Keith rolled over onto his side and closed his eyes, falling asleep rather quickly.
%%%
When he opened his eyes, he wasn't in the room he shared with Allura. He was laying on the couch in the lounge, but he wasn't alone. To his delight, Lance was sitting at his feet. He shifted and sat up, catching his best friend's attention. "Hey, Keith. Allura was called away, but I came to keep you company. No one else has gone near you."
"Who moved me?"
"It was Allura. I met her here. I would have preferred if she kept you in her room, but then, I am not allowed in there."
"I say you are. It's my room too."
Lance smiled. "I appreciate that, but I don't need to disturb your room."
Keith held out his arms towards Lance, who took the clue and scooped him up. He settled him on his lap and cuddled him. Keith relaxed against Lance, drowsing a little. Lance combed his fingers through Keith's long hair. "If you're still tired, you can go back to sleep."
"I don't know why I am so sleepy all the time."
"Maybe it's the way this goes through your system or maybe it's because you are catching up on all the sleeping you should have been doing." Catching Keith's eyes lifting to look at his face, Lance continued. "Ah, don't give me that look! I know you don't get much sleep. All of us suffer from nightmares, but yours makes ours look like a walk in the park."
"Yours are not a walk in the park!"
"I know, but you still need to sleep, Keith. I don't care if you have to pull Allura away from her duties or if you want to nap with one of us as long as you get sleep."
Keith yawned again, letting his eyes drift closed. He knew he was safe, especially in the arms of his best friend. Lance knew when Keith had fallen asleep and tightened his arms around the seven-year-old.
He wasn't sure how much time had passed before the door to the lounge opened. Lance was glad it wasn't Nanny. Allura had warned him that Nanny was wanting to take Keith to the infirmary, but Allura had insisted that Keith rest first. Lance didn't want anyone else to see the bruises that had littered kid Keith's body. Fortunately, it was Lotor that entered the room.
Lotor noticed that Lance was holding his little partner. He knew that Lance was Keith's best friend, but seeing Keith sleeping on Lance's lap irritated him, and he had no idea why. Lotor sat down near Lance. "Why don't you give him here?"
"I don't know, dude. Allura asked me to watch him while she was gone."
"He's my co-husband-to-be."
"I know, but I don't want to upset Allura. You know how she is."
Lotor frowned, but before he could say anything further, a bright flash of light nearly blinded the two men. Once their vision returned, they saw that Keith was back to normal. Lance carefully slid Keith off his lap and onto the couch between him and Lotor, Keith's head still resting on Lance's shoulder. They waited for Keith to wake up.
Keith's eyes fluttered open, and he realized that he was back to normal. He lifted his head from Lance's shoulder. He gave a small smile. "Hi."
"It's good to see you back to normal."
"It's good to be back to normal."
The door opened again, and Allura walked in. Keith smiled and stood up, walking over to her. He wrapped his arms around her, surprising her.
"Keith!"
"Yes, Allura. I'm back."
Allura kissed him on the lips, burying her hands in his hair. She pulled back slightly. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"I had managed to overcome my past and put it behind me before we had met. I didn't think it was that important."
"It may not be important, but you are," Lotor spoke up, standing up from the sofa and coming to his partners' sides.
"I know," Keith replied. "But I appreciate hearing it."
Fin