The Galra Boy [discontinued?]

First Meals in Prison

Keith sat twiddling his thumbs in the brig. His mother's knife confiscated, his word taken as a lie, and worst of all, being associated with the Galra. He felt helpless. Small. Weak. And with his sprained ankle, he couldn't even pace to distract himself. He growled and punched a wall, and immediately regretted it. As he gripped his fist and hissed in pain, he heard a tapping on the glass wall.

Lance stood with a large plate covered in food goo. He waved before opening the door.

"I brought you dinner!" he said cheerfully. Keith snatched the plate out of his hands and practically inhaled the food. "Wow, hungry, aren't you?" 

Keith swallowed the last bite and groaned. "I've only eaten spiders and wild plants for fourteen quintents." 

"Spiders, huh...? Damn, that's rough, buddy." Lance put an arm around Keith's shoulder. Keith gave him a funny look.

"Why are you still here?" Keith asked. 

Lance paused, thinking of an answer. "I dunno, I guess I like you?" Keith raised an eyebrow in response. "Woah, not in that way, I just... I think you're cool. A Galra guy rebelling against the Empire? That's pretty badass!" he playfully punched Keith's shoulder. 

"Hm..." Keith hummed thoughtfully. "I ... I guess I don't hate you. You seem nicer than that girl with the sword" Keith said.

"Aw, thanks!" Lance gave Keith a small hug. He was quiet for a moment, thinking about the other half of Keith's statement, and sighed. "Hey, don't be too mad at Allura, okay? The Galra Empire destroyed her entire planet, so it makes sense that she's kinda scared of you. We're kind of like her family, and she doesn't want us to get hurt. I'm sure once you get to know each other, you'll like her." He got up and headed for the door. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow morning, then? When I bring you breakfast?" he asked.

"Yeah... tomorrow." Keith answered. With that, Lance left, locking the sliding door behind him. Keith watched him through the glass wall and sighed.

The next day, Lance came early in the morning as promised. He found Keith sleeping soundly, buried under his blanket, just like he was when he first found him. He uncovered Keith's head and brushed his hair out of his face. "Hey, wake up, Keith. I brought you breakfast." As soon as he said the word "breakfast", Keith's eyes snapped open. 

Keith turned his head to look up at Lance. "Food?"

"Here ya go!" Lance held out a plate of pancakes. Keith reached for it instinctively, but then hesitated.

"What are those?" he asked nervously. 

"Pancakes! They're a food from my home planet. Hunk made them!"

"And... the thick liquid stuff dripping down the sides...?"

"Oh, that's maple syrup. Or, at least, the closest imitation Hunk could make. You can't exactly find maple trees in space..." Lance said with a tinge of sadness. Hunk's "maple syrup" was good and all, but it couldn't beat the real deal. 

Keith took the plate and poked the fluffy delicacies with his fork. "And... Allura didn't poison them or anything?"

"No! I got these right off the pan, I promise!" 

Keith cut out a bite sized piece and stabbed it with his fork. He brought it up to his face and sniffed it, gave it a quick lick, before finally eating it.  He chewed slowly with his eyes shut tight. After a second, his eyes lit up. "That's pretty good!" He took another bite. He then scarfed down the whole thing as quickly as he could. 

"Hey, Keith?" asked Lance. "Tell me about your rebel group. What was it called? The Knives of Moira?"

"The Blade of Marmora." Keith corrected. "I was born into the group. My mother is a member, and so when I started walking , she started training me."

Lance raised an eyebrow. "Training since you could walk, huh? Your combat skills back on that planet you were stranded on begged to differ."

"Hey! I was injured! Also, I hadn't had a decent meal or a good night's sleep in a while," Keith defended. "Besides, combat wasn't the main focus in my training. I was trained for stealth missions, and quick getaways, and stuff like that." He looked away with embarrassment. "And... I'm still technically a rookie, anyways..." he grumbled, "And, I was kind of panicking..."

"Oh... Well, hey, you're in luck!" Lance attempted to change the tone. "I just happen to be a pro at hand-to-hand, and I'd be happy to give you some pointers," Lance winked.

"Uh..." Keith didn't look convinced. "Wasn't your weapon a rifle of some sort?"

"I'm... a man of many talents...?"

Keith raised an eyebrow with suspicion. 

"Okay, fine, I'm a bit more of a ranged weaponry kind of guy, but I could still teach you some moves! Also, the training room has some robots you can practice on. If you want, we just gotta-" Lance suddenly remembered Keith's situation and sighed, "We just gotta get you out of the brig somehow."