His Color Is Red (Voltron Highschool AU)

Plans (Seven)

It had been 3 days since Keith's past came to light. And the other paladins of voltron were actually pretty impressed. Just by looking at him, no one would suspect what was going on in his head.

Though, they noticed small things. Like how his face lit up when he saw Shiro, and how he sometimes was so lost in thought that they had to shake him out of it. But they also noticed how he sometimes flinched when he is suddenly touched and avoids most of the teachers. Keith liked Coran, but he couldn't get over the fact that Coran was an adult. Even if he didn't act like it. So, Keith tried to avoid being alone with him or talk with him one on one. They also noticed how he didn't eat much during lunch. Keith gets his lunch money from Shiro and feels bad for taking his money, so he usually gets a small snack and gives the rest back to Shiro with a lame excuse.

Shiro noticed how Lance and Keith were getting to become inseparable. Everyone agreed to keep the fact they knew about Keith's past a secret, and Keith suspected nothing. But Shiro thought, as his father figure, that Keith needed to get out of the house and stay with a friend. So that he could understand not everyone was out to hurt him.

So, he decided to make sure it was okay with Lance. Yes, it was very clear that Lance had a crush on Keith, but his earlier threat still hung over his head.

"Hey, Lance," Shiro called as they were in between classes at Lance's locker. "Do you mind doing me a favor?"

Lance got out his books and raised an eyebrow. "That depends." He said, leaning on his locker.

"Can I have Keith stay at your house tonight? Just a trial thing, I want to get Keith familiar with more people, and your family is probably the homiest." Shiro said.

Lance's eyes basically lit up.

Keith? House? My house? My family? Oh god, he's going to be in my room! Why the hell do I care? It's just Keith...we're friends! Why is my heart racing? Am I panicking? I feel like I'm panicking, Lance thought.

He looked away to hide away his persistent blush. "Uh, yeah, that's cool...I mean, if he's down I'm down. My family would love him..." Lance said.

Shiro rolled his eyes at how dumb Lance was acting. "Okay. I'll talk to Keith about it. Thanks Lance. And don't try anything on him. I am his dad and you aren't good enough for him." Shiro said, walking away.

I am 40% certain that he is being sarcastic, Lance thought. Wait, should I tell my family about Keith?

Lance ran to catch up to Shiro and asked him. "Uh...your family is a huge, I don't think all of them can keep this secret, especially the kids. I'll let you tell your mom and dad, but do not let them upset Keith. I need to get him to trust adults." Shiro explained.

"If I tell mom, she won't let him leave the dinner table," Lance laughed. "But, okay. We'll take him shopping, maybe to the park, we'll fatten him up. Promise." Lance winked at Shiro before heading off to class.

Later that day

Keith and Shiro left school to head home. Shiro was talking to Keith about his staying at Lance's house. And Keith immediately got a bit nervous.

"Did I do something wrong?" Keith asked, looking down.

"No, no no! I just thought that it'd be good if you had a sleepover with a friend. I think you'll like it. It'll be this weekend. And if you want to go home, that'll be fine. I won't force you, but Lance cares about you and they won't let anything happen to you. Okay?" Shiro asked. "And, fair warning, his family is pretty big, so you'll be surrounded by people almost constantly."

Keith didn't like to be alone, but he wasn't sure how he would even begin to act around so many unfamiliar people. He didn't know if he was good with kids or how he would act when he met Lance's parents. Keith didn't want to leave Shiro. With Shiro, everything was certain. He didn't like not knowing.

But, Keith didn't want to disappoint Shiro. His opinion was everything to Keith. So, he had to be strong and agreed to go to Lance's. But there was only one thing he was looking forward to. Being there with Lance.

Shiro wrote out a list of instructions for Lance. Mostly including to double check he took his meds and what to do in case of a panic attack and what to be cautious of around Keith. He also mentioned that he had been saving up money to buy Keith a phone, so not to let Keith wander off was another point.

The next day, Friday, Lance kept telling Keith how excited he was about hanging out that weekend. Keith was anxious, but kept it hidden, like all his feelings.

"Amusement park or pool? Take your pick!" Lance suddenly asked. Voltron was sitting at the lunch table eating and talking about plans for the weekend.

"I vote for pool." Said Hunk, raising his hand.

"No way, I wanna ride that new coaster at Arus Land." Pidge said, taking a sip of milk.

"I personally would like to try out my new two piece." Allura flaunted.

Lance noticed her glance at Keith with a small blush on her cheeks. Oh no. Not her. Anyone but her! She is way too perfect to be my competition! Wait...is Keith even into dudes? Am I into dudes? Holy shit, I think I'm into dudes! Either that or I'm Keithsexual, Lance thought.

"Amusement park! I vote amusement park!" Lance yelled, throwing up his hand as he stood up.

"That makes two for the pool and two for the amusement park. That means, Keith is the deciding factor." Pidge said. Everyone looked at him.

Keith had never been to either. He didn't like crowded and loud places like parks, but he also had no idea how to swim and having fun meant taking off his shirt. He glanced at Lance before saying, "I guess the amusement park sounds fun."

Lance's heart loosened up, and he sighed with relief. "He has spoken, bitches!" Pidge exclaimed. Everyone laughed. They all decided to head out and go to the amusement park together on Sunday.

Later that day, Lance walked with Shiro and Keith, because Keith was going home with Lance. He went home to pack his things. He took a couple anti anxiety pills to stop his rapidly beating heart while Shiro and Lance talked.

"Take good care of him, Lance. I don't think I've gone a day without seeing him since I brought him home, so I guess I'll be here having separation anxiety..." Shiro said.

"You really are a dad," Lance teased. "Don't worry, Keith'll be fine. And if anything happens, I'll text you. But, seriously, he's still a teenager. Loosen up a bit."

Keith went into his room. He didn't have much. Shiro was still a high school student with an allowance and his mom basically let Shiro have Keith as a pet. So, he really just had a bed and one stuffed hippo his dad gave him when he was born. That hippo had been tossed out, torn apart, and shot at with a gun. But, Keith always managed to find it and stitch it back together. He sometimes thanks the hippo for keeping him sane. When he was being tossed around from terrible family to worse family, he decided to always protect the hippo. So, since he couldn't sleep without it, he stuffed it in the bag.

He took two pairs of clothes, his hippo, and all his medications. Painkillers, anxiety meds, sleep aids, and PTSD managers. Keith came downstairs and Lance led him out the door.

"To the McClain residence!" Lance exclaimed. Shiro said goodbye to Keith and they left.

(Word count: 1358)