Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Keith groaned uncomfortably, holding his stomach with one hand and supporting his weight on the ground with the other. It seemed that the food he’d eaten for dinner was disagreeing with his body again , if the horrible nausea washing over him was any indication. The feeling caused his whole body to tremble and go weak as cold sweat broke out on his skin, making it difficult for him to even hold himself up where he sat on the ground.

It wasn’t another minute before his body lurched and he vomited up the small out of fish he’d attempted to stomach earlier. The food was practically still solid, considering he’d only eaten it an hour or so ago, and the smell of it made him gag even after there was nothing left in his stomach to throw up.

He heard a soft sigh and footsteps as someone knelt down beside him, gently pulling back his hair to keep his stomach’s contents from stringing in it. They said nothing while he was sick, waiting patiently for the moment to pass.

Eventually, Keith managed to stop dry heaving and shakily sat back as much as he could without falling over. The other person took that as a cue to let go of his hair and carefully lift him bridal-style, carrying him away from the pile of sick he’d left on the ground. They set him down sitting against the back of the cave they were using as a shelter and felt his forehead, checking for a fever.

“Well, the good news is you don’t seem to have food poisoning this time.” His mother muttered, not sounding happy at all despite the fact. She was trying to hide it for his sake (and not doing a very good job at it), but she was extremely worried and even a little scared. They’d been stuck on the back of a cosmic whale for a movement, and so far Keith had been unable to keep down anything they hunted for food. At first, they figured they would be able to find something he could eat, but after seven quintants they weren’t so sure anymore. They were running out of options he hadn’t tried, and if they didn’t find something soon he would be in a lot of trouble.

Not that he wasn’t in trouble now. Because he was going so long without food, he’d grown weak, barely having the energy to walk around most of the time, much less hunt and gather other things they needed to survive. Neither of them were sure how much longer he could go before simple tasks like staying awake and chewing became difficult for him.

Keith hummed in acknowledgement and tried moving into a more comfortable position, although he didn’t have the strength to do so after just being sick. “That’s good.” He said, his voice scratching from the strain in his throat , trying to lighten the mood. Him and Krolia had been worrying constantly since that first time he threw up, one of them had to at least try to stay positive. It also kept his mind off of the….worst case scenario.

Krolia sat down next to him and looked into his eyes, her tense expression deepening into a anxious frown. It was obvious that the only thing on her mind was what would happen if he couldn’t stomach something soon. He couldn’t blame her though, it must be scary to be in a situation where she could lose her only child.

The teen cleared his throat and swallowed, trying to rid his mouth of the taste of stomach acid. “So what am i going to try next?” He croaked, attempting to distract his mother. He felt bad that she was worrying so hard over him, even if her feelings were warranted.

The Galra was quiet for a moment, looking her son up and down before dropping her gaze to the dirt with a tired sigh. “I hate to say it, but I don’t think you’ll be able to eat anything if we haven’t found something yet. You’ve tried almost everything there is to hunt around here.” Her tone made Keith frown as well, because she sounded so exhausted and depressed, like she was resigning to the possibility that he might starve before they got off the back of this whale. She met her son’s eyes again, her own now shining with unshed tears. “I don’t want to make you keep suffering when I know you’ll just vomit up the food.”

Keith let that sink in. If he was being honest, he agreed with her that he probably wouldn't be able to find something he could eat, and he hated throwing up food he knew wouldn’t stay down. However, he also didn’t want to just give up; he wanted to keep trying in hopes of a miracle. Not to mention that he used to be a paladin- if he could survive fighting Zarkon then he refused to go down because of something like this without a fight.

But he was aware this would probably not be a fight he would win.

When the reality of the situation truly hit him, he felt vulnerable and scared. He really might not make it. The teen gulped. “There’s nothing you can think of that I might be able to eat?” He asked, hoping for at least one more thing to try. He couldn’t accept he was really going to starve unless he exhausted all of his possible food sources, even if he logically knew there were probably none.

Krolia stared at him for a few minutes, deep in thought. Ultimately, she solemnly shook her head. “No. All of the game, fish, and plants have made you sick so far, and humans can’t drink milk.” She said.

Keith tilted his head in confusion at her. “What do you mean? Humans drink milk all the time.” He countered, wondering why she thought otherwise. “And where would we even get milk?” As far as he remembered there weren’t any animals on the whale that resembled cows or goats in any way, so they couldn’t get it that way, and food didn’t just suddenly appear, even in space.

It was Krolia’s turn after that to crinkle her brow in confusion. “Your father told me that only babies of your species drink milk, and after that humans only eat solid food. He said that some humans still do as adults, but they harvest it from a lesser species.” She explained, sounding like she didn’t really understand what she was saying. She was probably just parroting what she’d been told when she was still on Earth.

It took a moment, but after her explanation Keith figured out where the confusion was. “Oh, dad meant that humans only breastfeed or drink formula as babies. When we get older we drink cow milk because it’s healthy for us.”

“Then why not simply continue to drink your mother’s milk? Isn’t it the same thing?” The Galra questioned, puzzled.

“Well, humans don’t lactate forever. I think girls stop lactating after two years or something. And even if we did society wouldn’t really accept that?” Keith tried, not very experienced on the subject himself. “But why are you asking?” He wondered, although he was pretty sure he knew where she was going with this. And honestly, as weird and awkward as it might be, he’d be willing to do it if it meant he didn’t starve.

Krolia muttered something under her breath about how odd and impractical humans were before she responded. “Galra can lactate spontaneously, we need to in order to take care of litters and to feed our mates when we’re in heat.” She said, her expression starting to lighten a little now that she was realizing that her son actually had a chance to survive. “Would you be willing to try that?” She asked hopefully.

Keith’s eyes automatically drifted down to his mother’s chest at the question, his cheeks pinkening a little at the idea. Once he realized where he was looking he quickly turned his head away, the blush on his cheeks darkening. Regardless of his embarrassment, he nodded. He refused to let his pride be the end of him. Besides, only his mother would know, and this kind of thing was normal in Galran culture, right?

Krolia visibly relaxed when he agreed. She leaned herself against the cave wall and pulled Keith to rest against her side, tucking his head into her shoulder like she had been for the past few quintants when she wanted him to rest. “You were just sick, and your stomach is still irritated, so I will feed you in a few vargas. Until then, try to sleep.” She urged.

The teen sighed but settled down, knowing she was right. He wouldn’t be able to keep down anything right now, even if he wanted to soothe the intense hunger pains gnawing at his stomach. At least sleep would give him a brief reprieve from the discomfort and help him recharge until he could actually try to do something about it.

Just as he was about to drift off, he felt his mother gently brush her claws through his hair. “Sleep well, my dear.”

*****

Only a few hours later, Keith was awoken by his stomach cramping angrily, demanding he put something in it. He whimpered in pain and curled into himself as much as he could with his limited amount of energy, vainly hoping to soothe the cramps that way. He knew that the only way to make them go away would be to eat something though, and he knew that the solution would only last an hour at most before he was back to square one.

Then he remembered the conversation he’d had with Krolia last night, and his blush returned with a vengeance. He was going to….breastfeed from his mom….and he was nineteen. God, he didn’t think he could think of anything more embarrassing than that.

He licked his dry lips to wet them. It was his only chance though. He hadn’t eaten anything that had stayed down in eight days, and he could barely move at this point. He was weak, in pain, and in all likelihood, slowly dying. If he didn’t do it, then he would die.

He didn’t have a choice.

The teen felt his mother’s hand on his forehead again, checking his temperature for a second time. “How are you feeling?” She asked, sounding worried. He was curled in on himself and whimpering, he didn’t do that just because.

He grunted, attempting to shift onto his side to face her. Krolia helped him when he couldn’t manage it himself, then let him lay in her arms so he didn’t have to hold himself up. That small movement had him panting, he knew she was concerned. “Tired. Starving. Nothing new.” He huffed, laying his head on her shoulder while he caught his breath.

The Galra hummed in acknowledgement. “Do you still want me to feed you?” She questioned, sounding hopeful. She knew Keith would live if she did, but she also understood that for her son’s father species, what she was suggesting was….unusual. She understood that Keith might feel awkward and weird about it, and might not even want to do it. And as much as it would hurt, she wouldn’t force herself upon him if he said no.

To her relief, the boy nodded, even as his skin heated with another blush at the question. He definitely felt weird and awkward about this, but he really didn’t want to die, and he wasn’t so prideful that he’d turn down his one saving grace. “Do you think it’ll be enough?” He asked in return, not really believing he could survive however long they would be stuck here on just milk.

At that, his mom chuckled. “Sweetheart, I can sustain a full-blooded adult Galra on my own. I think it’ll be more than enough for you.” She said, sounding much more relaxed and calm than she had for the past few quintants.

If it was possible, Keith blushed even harder. “O-okay.” He said, officially no longer able to look at his mother without feeling like he would burst into flames. He didn’t have to though, as Krolia gently pushed him up to lean against her other shoulder, putting him face to face with the cave wall while she undid the front of her suit. Her’s apparently was much less of a hassle than the paladin’s suits were to put on and take off, because all she had to do was unhook the collar and everything else could be easily dismantled from there, even with him partially in the way.

Once Krolia had pulled apart her chest plate, she unzipped the black undersuit, and Keith abashedly squished his face into her shoulder at the sound, closing his eyes tight. The only thing going through his mind was a mantra of fuck because he was really going to do this. Part of him couldn’t believe it, because it was just so odd for a human, but then again he was also half Galra, and for the other part of him this was completely normal. Being stuck between those two reactions made him feel just plain weird, mainly because he didn’t know how else to feel about the situation.

His mother seemed to ignore his internal conflict as she readjusted him to lay in her arms again, this time with his face in front of her chest. She didn’t rush him though, instead giving him some space so he could settle himself first. Even if she was unaware of the chaos in his mind, she could clearly see the embarrassment heating his cheeks, and decided to give him a minute because of it.

Eventually, he managed to bring himself to open his eyes and stared at the bare chest in front of him. Oh….those were boobs, in his face.

Awkward.

The shade of red his face turned rivaled a tomato as he shifted a little closer, really wanting to just get it over with. The faster he started the faster it would be over, and the faster he would feel better.

It was with that thought that he took in a deep, settling breath and sealed his lips around one of her nipples. He felt so embarrassed and awkward in that moment that he thought he might die right then and there, but he didn’t, and with extreme hesitation he began to pull with his tongue. As he did so his eyes cautiously glanced up at his mother’s face, wanting to know what she was doing.

To his surprise, she was looking up, staring at the entrance to the cave with the eyes of a hawk instead of looking down at him. It made him feel a little bit better to know that he wasn’t being watched and that his mother was watching his back so nothing could creep up on him. He closed his eyes after that, focusing on what he was doing; he was struggling a little to pull hard enough to get anything.

When he tasted the first bit of milk on his tongue he perked up; it was more like thick cream than the milk he was used to. Although, even with how good it tasted, as he swallowed it nausea rolled over him intensely, his stomach not used to having anything in it after rejecting all of his meals for the past week. He’d had the same reaction every time he tried eating for the last few days, so the sensation didn’t deter him, but it made it difficult to keep sucking when he was almost gagging every few seconds. The gags caused his mouth to keep losing its seal, resulting in a bit of a white mess down his mother’s side. She didn’t mention it or even seem to notice though, which he was grateful for.

Thankfully, after a few minutes the nausea faded to a dull sensation low in his belly, and he could finally nurse without trouble. Although, it didn’t really matter, because only a few minutes after that he was being pulled away by his mother and was sat up leaning against her. He was tempted to complain, because he was so hungry and it felt like he’d barely had anything, but he didn’t, instead giving her a confused look.

Krolia smiled at him sympathetically. “I know, I'm sorry. I know you’re hungry. But if you eat too much at once you could still get sick.” She explained. “If you’re still feeling okay in a few hours, I give you some more.” She promised, pulling her son to lean against her side again in a silent suggestion for him to sleep.

Keith sighed tiredly but laid his head on her shoulder, knowing she was right. He’d been taught at the Garrison that reintroducing food too quickly to a starvation victim was a surefire way to kill them. Until he got past that danger window, he was supposed to eat small amounts in frequent intervals, although he didn’t know how that was going to work when Krolia still had to hunt things for her to eat and do other things like gather water. At least until he had the strength to start helping her again, the tasks would take up a lot of time.

He tried not to think about it. They’d figure it out. They were blades, they’d been trained for survival situations like this (for the most part.)

*****

Keith began to recover quickly after he started nursing. The hunger pains and nausea went away after a few days, and he was regaining his strength soon after that. The real sigh of relief came for him and his mother, though, when he finally started using the bathroom again- a weeks worth of vomiting had dehydrated him to the point where he’d been dying of thirst in addition to starving. So when his body told them it finally had an excess of resources, they knew he was in the clear.

He got used to breastfeeding too; it stopped feeling awkward after only a few days, then after a couple of weeks he got so comfortable with it he could unabashedly ask to be fed. It became just another part of his day.

And he got more out of it than just surviving; it helped him to grow a little taller and a lot stronger, as surprising as it sounded. Not only that, but it also helped him bond a lot with his mom. He needed her now, and as a result stuck close to her at all times. And he couldn’t stay that close to her and not do anything with her. Especially for the first few days he was recovering, when he didn’t have the energy to move more than an arm’s length away from her, they spent a lot of time talking. Whether it was about their pasts or their different cultures or Earth, they always had something new to occupy themselves.

By the end of their stay on the whale, breastfeeding went from being his last saving grace to a more-than-perfect solution to his predicament.

He never thought about what would happen when they finally managed to get off the whale, though.

*****

Two years after Keith and Krolia got stuck in the quantum abyss, they finally got back out again. They found a planet full of Alteans and were given a small, old Altean ship to pilot by a girl named Romelle. With her aboard the ship, the two flew to the castleship, where Keith reunited with his team.

Well, it wasn’t really a reunion, considering all the chaos that happened in the day he and his mother found the ship. Lotor turned on them, he had a duel with a clone of Shiro, then the castleship was destroyed. All that happened in a day, and by the end of it he was exhausted and hungry. (Two years ago, he would say he felt like he was starving, but after experiencing what it was like to actually starve he knew that this feeling was nothing compared to how bad it could get.)

Everyone was gathered in a little circle on the planet they were on when the ship exploded, having collectively decided to stay the night and rest for a bit. Once they were ready, the plan was for all of them to split up into groups to fly in the lions, on what would be one very long trip to Earth.

But that came in the morning. For now, they were relaxing together and eating some of the food rations they kept packed in the lions in case something like this ever happened.

Well, everyone except Keith.

While the others were chowing down on their food bars- they were probably just as hungry as him- he couldn’t help but stare at his with an uncomfortable gaze. He hadn’t eaten anything solid in two years, and the last of it he’d tried made him horribly sick and nearly cost him his life. He felt pretty justified in not wanting to eat it.

Instead, he offered it to his mother, who took it, looking confused until he tugged on her suit in the way he always did when he wanted her to feed him. Her expression softened in understanding at that, the Galra humming as she continued eating her meal. “In a few minutes, okay?” She whispered, trying not to let the others hear her. She remembered that Keith said breastfeeding was odd for humans and figured that he wouldn’t want his teammates to know.

Keith frowned at that, a little upset he had to wait, but sat patiently until Krolia was finished eating. Once she was done they both got up and said their goodnights to the others before climbing into the black lion. The black paladin led his mother to the small sleeping quarters inside the ship (there were two rooms with one bed each, the lions weren’t built to occupy many people) and pulled her inside the first room, locking it so no one could walk in.

When he turned around, Krolia was already dismantling the armor of her suit, a fond smile on her lips. “Someone’s eager.” She pointed out as she pulled off the last piece of armor and sat down on the bed in the room. Keith had been walking pretty fast once they were away from the rest of the team, like he couldn’t wait to have his dinner like everyone else. She found it endearing.

Keith huffed a little, sounding tired. “I did a lot of fighting today. I’m hungry.” He said as he moved over to the bed, waiting for his mother to get comfortable leaning against the head wall before he climbed in with her.

Krolia chuckled at him as she helped him get situated in her lap. “Today was a long day, wasn’t it?” She agreed, unzipping her suit with one hand and pulling it out of the way.

Keith hummed his agreement as he latched onto her and nursed hungrily, relaxing contently in her arms once his stomach started to fill.

They were both quiet while he ate, enjoying the calm quiet after the chaos of their long battle. It only lasted until he was done though, as Krolia broke the silence after he pulled away. “Your friends are going to notice you’re not eating the food bars. They will be worried and ask you why you are not eating.” She mentioned quietly, bringing it up because she didn’t know if her son had thought that far ahead yet. She wouldn’t have any issues with the others knowing- to her all she was doing was caring for her child- but she knew Keith might have some qualms. She wanted to know what he planned on doing.

The teen sighed at her words. “Yeah, i know. I don’t really want to tell them though.” He grumbled. “Lance can be a bit of an ass sometimes and I don’t want the others to be weirded out. They see me as the emo bad boy, they’ll laugh.” He said.

The Galra frowned. “Why would they laugh at something that saved your life? If you hadn’t started drinking my milk you wouldn’t have been alive to help them defeat Lotor. They would have had no black paladin.” She said, sounding bewildered. “That is no laughing matter.”

Keith nodded, agreeing with her. He didn’t think the fact that he was breastfeeding was funny, he was doing what he had been to survive. “I don’t know, but humans are like that. Sometimes we laugh when we feel awkward and uncomfortable.” He tried to explain, not really understanding it himself. His social mannerisms had always been much more Galra than human, apparently (as he’d learned in the past two years) so he didn’t exactly get everything humans did or why.

Krolia rolled her eyes, unamused. “Your father’s species never ceases to amaze me.” She said in a deadpan tone with a shake of her head. “Regardless, you will have to say something when your team questions you.”

“I know.” The black paladin sighed. “I’ll figure something out.”

*****

He did not figure something out.

*****

After two days of none of his teammates seeing him eat and him claiming to ‘not be hungry’ someone finally grew concerned enough to say something to him.

Unsurprisingly, that someone was Lance. “I don’t know what you’re trying to do, but there’s no way you aren’t hungry! You haven’t eaten anything in two days !” The blue paladin yelled, calling the black paladin out. He was just worried, and Keith knew that, but the way he showed it always got on the teen’s nerves a little.

“I’ve been eating, just not around you guys.” Keith replied cryptically, not wanting to open the can of worms on exactly what . “I already ate lunch, so I’m not hungry.” He assured his friend, hoping to soothe his worry.

Lance’s frown deepened. “I don’t really believe you.” He replied honestly, sounding as if he was sad to say so. “I’ve had family members say that too when they were actually starving themselves.” As he said that, the teen noticed how his eyes grew a little shiny, like he might cry. He really was just worried for his friend.

Still, what he was implying struck a nerve in Keith. He’d felt what it was like to starve, he was offended his teammate would even entertain the idea that he was inflicting that kind of pain on himself. “I’ve starved before, and I hated it. So don’t even question if I’m doing that to myself.” He stated firmly, his tone edging on an irritated growl. He saw Krolia give him a concerned look in his peripherals, although he didn’t acknowledge her.

At that, Lance’s worried hostility deflated, but a more curious concern replaced it. “What do you mean you’ve starved before?” He asked, knowing that the time Keith was referring to hadn’t happened while he was a paladin. Hunk kept them well fed and none of them had ever been POWs (well, except Shiro.)

Keith gave a deep sigh and turned to his mother, pleading with her silently to speak up for him. He decided that it wouldn’t be the end of the world if his team knew about what happened on the whale, but he also didn’t want to be the one to tell them. It would be too embarrassing for him to admit. (Yes, he was completely comfortable about it with his mother, but with other people it was a completely different story.)

Thankfully, Krolia relented to his pleading eyes and turned to face the rest of his team, ready to explain for her son the events of the past two years. “When we first got stranded in the quantum abyss, the creature we were living on was not home to anything your species could eat. Keith nearly starved to death.” She explained as-a-matter-of-factly, no emotion in her tone. It was evident she didn’t like talking about how she almost lost her son.

The entire team, not just Lance, blinked in surprise while that bit of information sunk in. Hunk was the one to speak up first. “So then how did he survive?” He asked, unable to imagine how someone could live somewhere where there was nothing for them to eat.

Krolia looked back to Keith, waiting for his hesitant nod of approval before she went on. “I breastfed him.” She replied, and Keith internally braced for their reaction.

Pidge had the quickest reaction, giving them a nod and making a face that said ‘that makes sense.’ Hunk followed behind her with an awkward expression and a hand rubbing the back of his head. Shiro didn’t have much of a reaction at all, acting like he’d been told the weather. Lance, though, looked like he was trying to hold back laughter.

“What the fuck?” The brunette half-laughed in disbelief. “Emo boy? How’d you get him to do that?” He asked, sounding amused.

Keith’s gaze hardened. “Maybe I didn’t feel like dying of starvation.” He stated firmly, crossing his arms over his chest.

Lance rolled his eyes but seemed to accept that answer. “Yeah, okay I can get that. But you’ve had things you know you can eat for two days and you haven’t eaten them.” He pointed out, starting to snicker. “What, are you too attached to mommy to eat anything else? Do you need her to tuck you into bed t-“

The teen was sharply cut off in his taunting by a quick cuff to the back of the head and yelped. He held the spot with a groan of pain as he looked over at Shiro, who looked just as unamused as Krolia and Keith. “Lance, knock it off. When you’re in a survival situation you grow attached to things you know will keep you safe. That attachment lasts.” He chastised, sounding like he was talking from experience, which was completely likely considering he’d been a POW before Voltron.

“Nearly starving can also leave someone with selective food anxiety. Keith vomited everything he ate for eight days and even caught food poisoning. He has every reason to be nervous to eat something other than milk.” Krolia added in, nearly growling at how inconsiderate her son’s teammate was being about his predicament.

The brunette frowned, holding his free hand up in a motion of surrender. “Okay, wow. I'm sorry, I didn’t know.” He said in his defense, not exactly sounding remorseful for his reaction, but at least he looked a bit more sober-minded after being corrected.

“So how do you plan on getting back to a normal diet?” Pidge asked, taking the focus away from Lance. “Cause if you and your mom get separated, you’re fucked at the moment.” She said seriously. She seemed to be taking everything in stride and didn't even appear to find the situation anything other than normal. Although, that being said, she was the one to nerd out about everything in space, and all of that was pretty weird.

Keith shrugged. He would prefer to not change his diet, both out of fear of getting sick again and because he was perfectly content to keep breastfeeding, but he couldn’t argue with the fact that he was leaving himself in a vulnerable position by staying completely dependent on his mom. “I don’t know? I’ve never had to reintroduce food before.” He’d never been sick enough before to interrupt his usual diet until now. He didn’t know the first thing about reintroducing food other than the fact that he had to go slow.

The green paladin hummed at that and readjusted her glasses. “Well, we don’t really have the resources to do it properly, but as long as we follow the rule of ‘slowly taking one thing out while simultaneously adding in another’ you should be fine.” She reasoned. “It’s a fairly simply process, you just need to be careful to not go too fast.”

The raven-haired teen’s expression turned uncomfortable, obviously not happy that he was going to have to try eating solid food again, but he knew he had to. “Okay.” He relented. “Sounds good.”

Krolia smiled at him and ran her claws through his hair in an effort to soothe him. “You’ll be alright sweetheart.” She promised under her breath, only loud enough for him to hear. “There’s nothing to worry about.”

He believed her.

Chapter Text

Keith found himself staring uncomfortably at one of the ration food bars again that night. Like Pidge had said, they didn’t have access to any of the traditional reintroduction foods: fruit, oatmeal, rice, etc. All they had was these bars, so that’s what the team was going to attempt to feed him.

Only, Keith knew that the food bars were full of extremely complex nutrients that were all shoved together into one small thing, which was how they could be used as substitutes for an entire meal. But he couldn’t just start eating something that complex when he’d been living off of something as simple as milk for two years. Still, even after him and his mother told the others his body couldn’t handle that big of a transition, his friends insisted he eat a small part of the bar. It was all they had to give him, and the team didn’t feel comfortable letting him keep his current diet until they got to Earth for fear of something going wrong and him being separated from his mother.

Pidge took the food bar from him and opened it, tearing off a piece no bigger than the pad of her thumb and offering it back to him. “Here, eat that. You’ll be fine.” She said confidently, not taking no for an answer.

Keith reluctantly took it from her, not believing her for a second. He was all but certain that eating it would make him vomit. He almost didn’t have a choice though, the others weren’t going to believe that the food bars would make him sick unless he actually got sick. So, if he didn’t want to be pestered endlessly for being stubborn, he had to at least give them this.

The teen gulped before popping the small piece of food in his mouth, quickly chewing and swallowing, wanting to get it over with. He shuddered and scrunched up his face at the bitter taste, having not expected it to taste that bad; he’d eaten the rations before when they were low on food goo and back then they hadn’t tasted like that.

Lance chuckled at his expression, finding his reaction humorous. “Was that so bad?” He asked teasingly. He took a bite of his own food bar nonchalantly, causing Keith to give him a horrified look.

“How can you guys eat that?! That was disgusting!” The teen protested, earning himself several laughs, including one from his mother.

She patted him softly on the back, offering a bit of consolation. “It tastes fine to us, dear. You’re just used to something much sweeter.” She explained with a fond grin, finding his reaction cute and endearing.

Keith blushed at that and covered his eyes, embarrassed. “Mom.” He groaned, dragging the name out until he was practically whining. Krolia simply chuckled again at him and went back to eating, taking the food bar that was meant for him as well once she finished her own.

Pidge handed her the bar and watched curiously as she ate it at the same pace as the first, not seeming to get full despite eating the equivalent to two large meals at once. “Do Galra have really fast metabolisms or something? Why do you need to eat so much?” She wondered.

Krolia perked at her question and smiled. “No, I believe my metabolism is about the same as a human’s.” She replied. “I have to eat enough to feed Keith.” She explained calmly, not at all embarrassed about it.

Keith did not share her nonchalant attitude. “Mom!” He shouted, snapping his head around to face her, his blush now as red as a tomato.

The Galra chuckled, amused by how easily her son was flustered. “What?” She asked innocently as she took another bite of her food, which only caused the boy to flop onto his back in exasperation. She only chuckled harder, using her free hand to rub his exposed belly in a soothing manner.

Thankfully, Krolia finished eating not too long after that and stood, saying her goodbyes as she turned to leave the group and head back to the black lion. Keith quickly got to his feet to follow her, wanting to get away from the rest of the team. They walked quietly to their shared bedroom, where Krolia immediately began to strip off her armor, knowing her son hadn’t had anything substantial to eat for dinner yet.

Once all of her armor was off she sat down on the bed and looked over at Keith, who was frowning at her. “What?” She asked again, this time more serious. Before, she was being playful, knowing that he was just embarrassed, but he was always much more open with his feelings to her, and embarrassment was not something that he experienced around her anymore.

Keith sighed, walking over to her and sitting down next to her, but noticeably not getting in her lap like he did when he was hungry. “You’re embarrassing.” He stated flatly, still sounding a bit exasperated from earlier.

Krolia’s expression lightened at that and a small chuckle fell from her lips. “Yeah, but you still love me.” She said, earning herself a playfully reluctant hum of agreement. Her fond smile quickly dissolved into a concerned frown after that, knowing that that wasn’t what was truly bothering him. “What’s wrong?” She asked softly, gently pulling the boy into her lap and wrapping her arms around him.

The teen sighed again, this time sounding much more unhappy. He rested his head on her shoulder and grabbed her suit tightly in his hands, his demeanor quickly changing to the honest form it always took on when he was with her. Before, he’d been acting like he was fine, but now he was showing her that he was clearly not. “I don’t wanna be sick.” He whispered lowly, sounding slightly scared.

Krolia’s face softened in understanding at that, her embrace tightening just a little around him. She knew how much he hated vomiting after his experience with it on the whale. “I know.” She lilted, one of her hands moving to comb through his hair, hoping to soothe him a little. “Try not to think about it, okay? If you worry yourself you’ll only feel worse.” She said.

Keith gave a small nod to show he was listening, unfortunately not seeming to calm despite her efforts. “Are you still hungry?” She asked, although she was sure that his anxiety had killed his appetite. Another nod confirmed her suspicion and she sighed, not liking the idea of letting her son go to bed without eating, but she wasn’t going to force him to.

Instead, she laid down, fixing Keith’s position so he was laying on top of her. “Why don't we get some sleep then?” She suggested softly as pulled a blanket around them both, trying to make her son as comfortable as possible. She leaned her head into his and rubbed his back hoping to soothe him to sleep.

When that didn’t work, Krolia tried something she didn’t do very often anymore: purring. After she left Earth, her throat had been damaged in a fight with another Galra, so she couldn’t make the revving sound Galra made when they purred anymore. Although, she could still make her trachea vibrate, so she sometimes purred to soothe Keith to sleep when he was having trouble. She missed the deep rev she used to be able to make, but Keith was always content to feel the rumbling of her broken purr.

Shortly after she began purring she felt Keith’s tight grip on her loosen as he drifted off. She smiled fondly at him and craned her neck to kiss his cheek, then settled down to sleep as well. She had a feeling she would be needing it.

*****

Keith was barely awake when he scrambled away from the bed and bolted to the bathroom, barely making it to the toilet before he was throwing up the tiny piece of the food bar he’d eaten. His stomach had tried to digest the food and somewhat succeeded, so the only thing that was coming up was discolored stomach acid.

Not even a second later Krolia was kneeling at his side, having been woken up when he abruptly rolled off of her, gently pulling his hair back and whispering soft encouragements in his ear. “Just breathe, sweetheart. It’s almost over.” She cooed reassuringly, suddenly thankful Keith hadn’t wanted to eat anything after the food bar. There was barely anything in his stomach to vomit, so he didn’t have to suffer for very long.

By the time Keith was done throwing up, he was panting and trembling from head to toe and beginning to break out in a cold sweat. Once Krolia was certain he wouldn’t dry heave she pulled the boy into her lap and cradled him, knowing he was frightened. “Relax, you’re alright. I’ve got you.” She promised, tightening her hold on her son’s figure to ground him.

Keith grabbed onto her suit with shaky hands and pressed his face into her collarbone, trying to block out the heavy scent of stomach acid permeating the room. He was definitely done being sick, but he was still shaken up and tired, both from the exertion of throwing up and because it was the middle of the night and he had yet to fully wake up.

Krolia didn’t move until Keith had stopped shaking, only then gently lifting her son into her arms koala style to free one of her arms, enabling her to flush the toilet and close the door to the bathroom as she left. She carried him back to bed and laid down with him the same way they had been before he woke up, hoping to get him back to sleep before morning.

Thankfully, Keith was eager for sleep, and was out like a light soon after they laid down. His mother followed closely after, just as tired as him.

*****

“So, how are you holding up?” Lance asked the next morning at breakfast, already eating as he watched Keith and his mother finally emerge from the black lion. They woke up a little later than everyone else, although the team just assumed that they forgot the time.

Keith was practically glaring at him and Pidge as he plopped down on the ground near everybody else. “I puked it up.” He replied in a short, grouchy tone, obviously not happy. “You happy now? Believe me that I can’t eat those?”

He received a round of sympathetic frowns at that, his teammates having truly expected him to be fine.

“So i guess that means we’ve gotta find a trade planet.” Shiro hummed, biting into his food bar.

Allura turned to him, her frown growing deeper. “There are none remotely close enough for us to fly to, though.” She said.

“Are there any along the route? Earth is awhile away, there’s gotta be one somewhere between here and there.” The former black paladin mused.

The Altean princess pursed her lips, but pulled out Pidge’s data tablet to look at a map of the universe (it was the only piece of technology other than Pidge’s laptop that they had after the castleship exploded.) After a moment of searching she said, “Well, there’s one a small ways off from our route, about a movement away at most.”

“Cool, so that’s our stop.” Shiro said.

“But what about gac? We don’t have enough to buy the amount of food we would need for Keith.” Allura mentioned, trying to be realistic.

At that, Shiro shrugged. “Sell my Galra arm for spare parts.” He replied nonchalantly, not seeming to care that he was offering up his arm for his friend.

It was Keith’s turn to jump into the conversation at that. “Shiro, I appreciate that you’d be willing to give up your arm for me, but you don’t have to do that.” He said seriously.

Shiro blinked. “What else am I gonna do with it? Half of it’s already been cut off, all it is is a nub for me to wave at you guys.” He said, demonstrating to prove his point. “I’m not gonna miss it.”

Keith couldn’t stop himself from chuckling a little at the way he flailed his robotic arm around, even with the bad mood he was in. “Thanks Shiro. I don’t know what I’d do without you.” He said, grinning.  

*****

A movement later, the team went on one very large shopping trip. Originally, they were just going to get what they needed to reintroduce Keith to foods as complex as the ration bars, but after they auctioned off Shiro’s arms they had much more money than they needed. So, in addition to buying the food, everyone was allowed to get whatever they wanted up to a certain gac limit, whether it was a trinket or something else.

Keith ultimately decided to get a small, soft blanket; he’d always been a blanket baby and the ones that were in the lions just didn’t cut it for him. They were thin and slightly rugged, meant only to keep someone warm; the one he got wouldn’t keep him warm, but it felt nice and had some mass to it despite still being light.

With the trip over, the team relocated to a planet not too far away and set up for lunch. While Hunk cooked up something for Keith to eat, the others dug into the food they’d gotten with the gac they’d been given. Lance got garlic knots, Pidge got a jar of peanut butter, Shiro got cheesecake, and Allura and Coran shared an Altean food that looked like the alien equivalent of pumpkin pie. Krolia decided to get a few pieces of Galra-style candy- they were essentially gobstoppers, Galra like to chew. Candy wouldn’t be enough for a meal though, especially because she had Keith to worry about, so she had a food bar to eat as well.

After a few minutes, Hunk returned to the group with a package of cookies (his food choice) in one hand and a bowl half-filled with rice in the other. He handed the bowl to Keith along with a spoon before he plopped down next to Lance, happily munching on one of the cookies.

Keith looked down at the bowl with a slight air of disgust, part of him still holding onto the experience with the food bar and not wanting to repeat it. He knew that rice was a really simple food though, and the small amount he’d been given would not be enough to make him sick. Still, he was wary.

Sensing he needed a bit of encouragement, Krolia leaned over and whispered in his ear. “Once you eat that you can have some milk, dear.” She reminded him, figuring the promise of something he wanted after the not-so-enticing stuff would make him more willing to eat it.

It did, and with some hesitation he picked up the spoon and took a bite of the rice. It definitely wasn’t as bad as the ration bar, but it still tasted bitter to him. He didn’t say that though, instead only making a face. He knew the answer he would get if he mentioned that: he was used to Galra milk, possibly the most sugary stuff in the universe. Of course normal food tasted disgusting.

He powered through the bitterness, although it was hard when every bite also felt like something else he would inevitably throw up later. He’d been traumatized by the fact that he threw up so much food that he nearly died, and now everything made him anxious about a repeat.

When he finally finished what was in the bowl, it felt like he’d eaten much more than he actually had, and his entire mouth tasted bitter. He shuddered a little as he placed the bowl on the ground like he couldn’t wait to get rid of it, then leaned into his mother, looking for some comfort.

Not even a second after he leaned into Krolia, the Galra was pulling him to sit sideways in her lap. She unzipped the front of her suit, having already dismantled her armor, and used Keith’s blanket to cover his head and her chest as she settled him down in her arms so he could nurse.

As soon as her suit was out of the way, Keith latched onto a nipple and sucked, eager to get rid of the horrible taste in his mouth. He was anxious enough that in the moment he forgot about the others, and all that was a part of his little world was his mother, holding him close while he nursed.

The taste of the rice quickly left his mouth and was soon replaced by the sugary-sweetness of his mom’s milk. Not too long after that, his nerves began to calm, soothed by the rhythmic motion of him suckling. It was also warm and dark, being underneath the blanket and cuddled up against Krolia, and it was decently quiet- all good things for someone coming down from anxiety.

He forgot the uncomfortably full feeling in his stomach and nursed until he was really full, this time relaxed and content. He hadn’t forgotten that he’d eaten some real food, but because he wasn’t feeling nauseous and had stopped obsessing over the fact, he wasn’t freaking out about vomiting anymore.

He pulled away once he was done, failing to notice that his mother didn’t move to sit him up or lower the blanket. He was happy to be left to relax against her, reminded of the many times he would fall asleep in Krolia’s arms after a meal back on the cosmic whale. Now felt like one of those times. Soon, his relaxation turned to drowsiness, and within minutes he was drifting.

*****

When Krolia pulled Keith into her lap and started to breastfeed him, she earned herself a few odd looks.

Hunk, the most squeamish of the bunch, spoke up first. “You know, not that I have a problem with what you’re doing, but why….right now…..?” He asked awkwardly, visibly squirming where he sat and fiddling with a cookie while he spoke.

The Galra looked over to him and offered a slightly apologetic and sympathetic smile. She understood that what she was doing was very awkward for humans. “Im sorry, I would normally wait, but I don’t want Keith to worry himself sick. He’ll get nowhere if he does.” She explained, hoping his teammates would understand. “I’m sure he will settle down after a day or two though.”

“So then that calms him down?” Allura pitched in, sounding admittedly curious.

Krolia nodded, smiling fondly. “Yes, it does. Sometimes it even puts him to sleep.” She replied, ending with a bit of a chuckle. She could tell that that was already happening, since Keith didn’t react to her telling his friends blatantly embarrassing information.

Pidge laughed as well, sounding amused. “That’s cute.” She said. “But I have to ask, how did you start being able to feed him in the first place? Humans can only lactate after giving birth, or we have to take this special pill to trick our bodies into thinking we’ve had a baby.” She asked, tilting her head in curiosity.

“Galra can lactate spontaneously. It’s an evolutionary feature that seems exclusive to us.” Krolia replied, happy to educate her. She seemed eager to learn. “I could smell his distress when he started throwing up, and it set off my instincts. It happens subconsciously from there.”

The green paladin nodded. “Cool.”

A few minutes later, they all finished their food. The paladins began packing up again for the next stretch in the lions, although Krolia remained seated on the ground, Keith still in her lap.

“So, uh, how long is he gonna…-“ Lance asked, feeling a little awkward as he cut himself off.

Krolia perked at the question, then smiled. “Oh, he’s asleep.” She replied, pulling back the blanket to show them. Keith was sound asleep in her arms, the side of his face pressed into her suit and one hand curled into a loose fist near his head.

Shiro smiled at that. “He’s cute, but he still has to get up soon so we can get going.” He said.

“Yes, I know.” The Galra said, gently shaking her son’s shoulder to rouse him.

*****

Keith hid his face further into his mother’s chest as he was shaken awake, not wanting to leave the comfort of her lap. It felt like he’d only just fallen asleep and he wanted to rest for a little longer.

He both heard and felt his mother chuckle at his stubbornness. “Come on dear, we need to get going.” She said, gently patting his back to encourage him to get up.

The teen sighed but nodded, knowing they still had a long journey ahead of them. Lunch must be over if she was telling him they had to leave. He sat up on his own and stretched, opening his eyes to see the team packing up. As he saw them it hit him that he’d fallen asleep in his mother’s lap in front of them , after she openly fed him no less.

His face heated in a deep blush as he quickly sprang to his feet, embarrassed now that he realized he hadn’t been alone with his mom. He’d have to lecture her later to not do that again, he didn’t know if his heart could take the shot of realization aftwards another time.

The longer he stood there, the more awkward he felt, so he stalked off towards Black, not waiting for his mother to follow. He hadn’t made it more than halfway to his lion when he heard someone call out to him, that someone being Lance. He groaned internally and rolled his eyes, mentally preparing for whatever kind of teasing he would taunt him with after seeing him so vulnerable.

“Hey, Keith!” Lance called as he jogged up to said teen. To Keith’s surprise, his expression was solemn and guilty, not snarky. The blue paladin stopped in front of his teammate and stood quietly for a second, choosing his words. “Um, about earlier, I’m sorry for being an ass to you.” He said sincerely, his gaze downcast as he fiddled with his hands. “I have a sister back home that used to be anorexic, and I remember seeing her cringe at food all the time. I know it was really hard for her to overcome that, so I understand how difficult food anxiety is. I didn’t realize you were dealing with the same kind of thing until now. I’m sorry for that. I shouldn’t have teased you.” He finished, glancing up at the other as he did so.

Keith found himself smiling the slightest bit at Lance’s apology, his earlier embarrassment forgotten. “Thanks. I should have told you guys sooner, so I’m sorry for making you worry like that.” He apologized in return, understanding Lance’s worry for him more now that he knew what it was grounded on.

Lance smiled, albeit slightly sheepish. “No, it’s okay. I get why you wouldn’t want me to know, I can be an ass sometimes.” He said.

The red paladin chuckled in agreement. “Yes, you can.” He replied.

“So we’re good?” The blue paladin asked, holding up two thumbs-up in a questioning way.

Keith rolled his eyes but nodded. “Yeah, we’re good.”

*****

After three days of being able to stomach all the food he was given, Keith’s anxiety started to dwindle. Thankfully, that also meant he could start eating more complex and flavorful stuff like fruit and seasoned meat, which was much better than bitter rice and tasteless eggs.

He quickly grew used to eating solid food again, so much so that milk wasn’t a substantial part of his diet anymore. It became more of a small reward at the end of each meal for eating all of his food (and a midnight snack), which Keith wasn’t complaining about. He’d been expecting his mother to completely wean him off at some point, but he was happy she didn’t, because knowing he always had something to fall back on when he tried more complex foods was a comfort.

Three movements later, the food supply they’d bought to reintroduce him to food was starting to run out, so he had to start attempting to eat the ration bars like everyone else. They still tasted absolutely horrible to him, and after vomiting one up the first time he was especially anxious to eat them, but he tried, knowing he had to eventually. To his relief, he could stomach them, but he could only make himself eat about half of one at each meal for fear of throwing up if he ate anymore.

He could finally eat the food that they had though, which made everyone happy. He was no longer in danger of literal starvation if he and his mother were separated, so as long as he was still eating the team didn’t care what else he did. That made him happy, because he didn’t have to completely stop breastfeeding.

He liked the bonding time, especially since his predicament and that solution had brought him and his mom closer together. He didn’t know what kind of relationship he would have with his mother if that hadn’t happened. Also, like Shiro said, he was attached to it because it had kept him alive on the whale, and he didn’t want to break his ties with that security just yet.

He was sure he would wean himself eventually, but that time was for him to decide.

Chapter Text

Krolia gazed down at her son’s calm, content expression, her own tense features relaxing as her worries were put at ease.

Keith had been in increasing amounts of pain for the past two movements, slowly losing his strength as he continued to throw up more and more food. After a movement he’d tried nearly everything there was to eat, and at that point both of them were starting to give up hope that he’d survive their trip through the quantum abyss. They had no idea how long it would be until they could get off of the back of the space whale, but they knew that it would be longer than Keith could survive with no edible food source.

Unbeknownst to her son, Krolia wept for him during the small naps he took between ‘meals’ and bouts of sickness. For the first few quintants she’d been fine, but as they started to rack up and Keith’s condition continued to deteriorate, she couldn’t find the strength to keep the tears at bay. By some miracle of the universe, she had reunited with her son after her departure from Earth and had the chance to get to know her child, the baby boy she regrettably left behind all those years ago believing that she would never see him again. But now she was watching him slowly die in her arms, and the thought of losing him for a second time was too much to bear.

On the afternoon that she finally voiced her morbid conclusion, she found out to her extreme relief that humans could drink milk. That her son actually had a chance at survival. She knew that wasn’t even half the battle though, because she was aware that breastfeeding was taboo for humans past infancy. Keith probably wouldn’t want to do it, and she couldn’t blame him for feeling weird about something that was looked down upon in his culture. She wouldn’t force him either, because she couldn’t do that to her son.

Despite all her worries, Keith agreed, albeit with some hesitation and a lot of awkward blushing. Krolia sagged with relief at that, but let him sleep on it before she tried feeding him. She wanted to make sure he was really okay with it; the last thing she wanted was to cause a rift between them because she did something he was uncomfortable with.

In the morning, he was still willing, so she let him drink from her. That only brought her the next issue, which was trying to manage portion control without knowing how. She learned in blade training that starvation victims were prone to ‘refeeding syndrome’ when they began eating again, and without proper medical treatment it was fatal. It happened when the victim ate too much at once for their body to handle, causing their heart to stop beating. Beyond that, her knowledge was scarce.

The first quintant was terrifying. She did her best to make sure he didn’t have too much at once, only letting him nurse for a few minutes at a time before she pulled him away, but Keith complained constantly that he was still hungry and in pain, and that was scary. Yes, she’d been taught for this kind of situation, but she’d never had to put her knowledge to use. She didn’t know how long it would take for her son to start feeling better, or for him to start to recover; for all she knew he could still be getting worse and she wouldn’t know until it was too late.

Thankfully, he could keep the small portions down, but it didn’t help her struggle to make sure she gave him enough without giving him too much. All she could do was guess and hope she was doing everything at the right pace.

So far, her guessing game had seemed to be paying off. It had been five quintants since Keith started eating again and he was finally starting to feel better. His hunger pains were fading and he was starting to regain a bit of his strength- he’d had the energy to shakily pull himself into her lap for breakfast, an amount of movement he hadn’t been able to accomplish several quintants ago. It was very reassuring that he was improving.

And now, as she watched her son have a later-day meal, looking more relaxed than he had been since they got stuck here, she felt the last of her anxiety wash away. If he could find the peace in the midst of his discomfort to be so calm, she didn’t have anything to worry about anymore. He hadn’t vomited since he started nursing, he was regaining his strength, and was getting so comfortable with being fed that he actually fell asleep a few dobashes ago, his tongue still gently pulling.

Her little boy was going to be okay and she couldn’t be happier.

She carefully leaned down, trying not to disturb him as she pressed a gentle kiss to his forehead. “Get well soon, dear. We have a lot of catching up to do.”

Chapter Text

Keith was awoken yet again by hunger pains after what felt like only a short time, causing him to groan and curl in on his gut in a vain attempt to soothe the pain. He had been hoping that drinking the small amount of milk from earlier and keeping it down (thank God) would help him feel at least a little better, but he was hurting just as much as he was before. Then again, he’d only had his first meal that stayed down in awhile a few hours ago at most, he couldn’t expect himself to start to recover that fast.

He quickly realized he was no longer leaning against his mother, but was curled on his side on the cave floor, and jerked his head up to look around for her. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw her only a few feet away, stoking a fire and cleaning what looked like an alien hare. His sudden movement caught her attention and she glanced over at him, noticing that he was awake.

“Oh, I didn’t expect you to wake up so soon.” She said as her hands stilled on the hare, her focus now on him. “How are you feeling?”

Keith breathed in deep and huffed out a tired sigh. “Still in pain.” He admitted, though he didn’t allow it to show on his face. He didn’t want to worry her any more than she already was. It still made him a bit guilty to know he worried her so much.

Krolia gave a gentle sigh of her own as she returned her attention to cleaning her food, a soft frown on her face. “It should fade after a few quintants. Unfortunately there isn’t much we can do about it.” She said, sounding remorseful. It was hard for her to see her son in so much pain and not be able to help.

Keith already figured that much, but hearing it out loud made him frown. Hunger pains sucked ass, especially when they were as intense as they were right now. They were bearable, though, so he had that going for him, and eating always soothed them for an hour or so.

Speaking of eating, watching Krolia clean her food was making him even more hungry than he was already, if that was possible. But she was busy and didn’t look like she’d be offering to feed him anytime soon, which meant he would have to ask. It would be way too embarrassing though, he barely had the nerve to latch onto her last time; if he could hardly manage that then how could he ever hope to ask to repeat the scene again?

Regardless, he knew it was either that or he would suffer. Embarrassment or pain.

He chose embarrassment.

The teen closed his eyes and took in a deep, calming breath before he reached for his mother’s suit, not having the courage to get her attention verbally. He grabbed the fabric above her rib and gave a gentle tug, earning himself a questioning look. His eyes met hers before they darted away shyly, his cheeks heating with an embarrassed blush as he tried to work up the courage to ask to be fed.

When he didn’t say anything right away Krolia spoke up, as if sensing he needed a bit of a push. “Are you okay dear? Do you need something?”

Her question made him blush darker, but after another moment he was able to speak up. “I’m hungry.” That hadn’t been what he was planning to say at all (and to his chagrin it came out more like a pitiful whine than a statement), but his mother seemed to connect the dots herself, so at least he didn’t have to elaborate.

Krolia smiled sadly at him. “I know. It hasn’t been long enough for you to eat again though.” She explained slowly, knowing it wasn’t something he wanted to hear. “You were only asleep for maybe a half varga.”

At that, Keith frowned. It had really only been half an hour since he fell asleep, and he was already feeling this horrible? The next couple of hours were going to suck then. Nevertheless he resigned, letting go of his mother’s suit and settling down into the floor again, preparing to suffer until he could eat again and soothe the pain.

“Why don’t you try to rest a bit more?” She suggested, trying to help. She knew there wasn’t much she could do and it was upsetting to say the least. At least sleep would give him some reprieve until he could actually do something about it.

Keith appreciated the suggestion, but he shook his head. “I don’t think I can fall asleep feeling like this.” He said honestly. The pain was too much of a distraction for him to even think of relaxing enough to sleep.

But it was also too much for him to just sit through. He would need a distraction. “Could you distract me though? Maybe tell me a story from your past?” He felt a bit childish asking his mom to ‘tell him a story,’ but as long as it would take his mind off his hunger he wouldn’t really care.

Krolia perked a little at that, seemingly interested. “What would you like me to tell you?” She asked, curious, as she went back to working on her late dinner.

Keith didn’t have to think before he responded. “How did you and dad meet?”

A reminiscent smile grew on his mother’s face as she thought back to the moment he was asking about. “The blade had sent me on a mission to seek out the Blue Lion within the Galra Empire; they had the most knowledge on its whereabouts, which would allow me to find it faster. I could also alert the blade should the Empire find the lion before me.

“I was on that mission for phoebs before I went to Earth to search for the lion. When I found that it was on the planet I was forced to kill my two partners, lest they return to the Empire and alert them of the lion’s whereabouts. During the brawl one of my engines was shot, and I fell into Earth’s atmosphere. Your father found me in the desert after I crash landed.

“I was severely wounded, but somehow your father was able to nurse me back to health with only the things he had in his small hut. We technically truly met after I’d healed; I was unconscious for most of the time before that.” She said. She might have stopped there, but as she looked over at Keith and saw how entranced he seemed in the story, she decided to continue.

“Heath helped me find and protect the Blue Lion, which was no easy feat for a human; he was short and not nearly as strong as a Galra, but he was confident and intelligent. I think that was what I found charming about him.” Her smile grew to a happy grin as she remembered the start of her relationship with her significant other. “He asked me out first, his excuse being ‘he wanted to be the first human to date a hot alien babe.’”

Keith laughed at that, imagining his dad calling her a ‘hot alien babe’. What a dork. “And I'm assuming you said yes?” He interjected, knowing she had to have accepted at some point if they had him.

Krolia hummed. “I didn’t at first. I was too preoccupied with my mission to let myself get distracted. I didn’t want to become attached to him and have it get in the way.” She admitted. “But Heath had a talent for seduction, so I eventually said yes. We couldn’t exactly go anywhere because I was a Galra, but it was still fun.

“A few months later we decided we wanted to have a child, so we started trying. It was difficult, Galra and Human DNA don’t mix very well.” Keith was surprised to hear that. Given how many Galra hybrid’s he’d met in the blade, he would think that Galra genes mixed well with other species. He was wrong apparently.

“I had a miscarriage and a stillborn before I had you.” Krolia continued, her face falling a little as she remembered the disappointment and grief she went through losing two babies. “Me and Heath almost gave up hope after that, but imagine our surprise when you came out healthy.” She said as she smiled down at her son fondly. She would have pet his hair, but her hands were covered in sinew and blood.

Keith’s eyes widened at that. His parents waited so long for him, went through so much grief and pain so they could have him. It made a gentle warmth swirl in his chest to know they wanted him that bad. “What was I like as a baby?” He wondered, curious. He never got to hear baby stories like everyone else did.

Krolia snorted. “Odd.” She replied immediately. “You behaved much more like a human infant than a Galran kit. I didn’t know what to do with you most of the time. Heath took care of you until I learned how to handle a baby.”

“What did you have to learn?”

“A lot. The first lesson was that babies don’t hold onto their mothers like kits do. When I let go of you your father screeched like a coyote.” She laughed as she said that. She may not have found it funny at the time, but looking back on the memory was humorous.

“Kits chirp and whine when they need things, but you only cried. It was hard to learn which cry meant what. Diaper changes were even worse though, kits don’t wear diapers. I thought your father was insane the first time he put you in one.” She groaned.

Keith’s brow crinkled in confusion. “Really? So then what would you put a kit in?” He asked.

“Nothing. Kits can’t eliminate on their own so their parents stimulate them and groom up the mess.” Krolia responded nonchalantly.

“Doesn’t that taste disgusting?” Keith wondered with a shudder.

His mother gave him a questioning look. “Of course not. It doesn’t taste like anything.”

The teen couldn’t possibly imagine how that would taste like nothing, but he let the topic go. He rolled onto his other side to get closer to the fire, feeling a little cold with the wind blowing in the cave. He looked outside and saw that it was now completely dark, surprised by how the time had flown by without his knowledge.

Krolia stood beside him, setting her food above the fire to begin cooking, then went outside to wash her hands in the nearby creek. When she returned she sat down closer to him and let him rest his head on her thigh. “Once I’m done with this, you can eat.” She said, deciding enough time had passed for him to have his next meal. One of her hands drifted down to his belly and rubbed firm but gentle circles into it, hoping to soothe the cramping until then.

“Okay.” He acknowledged, relaxing into her and listening to the crackle of the fire while he waited.

*****

“What’s it like?” Keith asked a few days later while he was laying in his mother arms. He was feeling a lot better, like Krolia promised he would, and now that he wasn’t nearly on his deathbed his curiosity was rising more than ever. He’d been asking her questions about her past on Earth and about him when he was little, but he hadn’t had the want or the will to ask about this until now. He guessed that his mom feeding him for the past few days had desensitized him enough that it was no longer embarrassing to ask. “You know, to breastfeed?”

Krolia perked up at the question, having obviously not expected him to ask about it. She wasn’t about to deny her son something he wanted to know though, especially when it was as harmless a question as that. “What do you mean?” She asked, not quite sure what he was asking.

“Like what does it feel like? Is it weird? Does it hurt?” The teen clarified.

The Galra took a moment to think before she responded. “Well, when you were a baby it was weird in the sense that it was new. You were my first child, so I’d never done it before. And I guess the same could be said for the past few quintants, it’s been awhile since you were a baby.” She hummed thoughtfully. “It does start to ache a little when you haven’t eaten in awhile, but that’s it.”

Keith couldn’t help but frown when he heard that. It caused her discomfort to feed him, he couldn’t help but feel a little guilty. “Sorry about that.” He said apologetically, casting his eyes downwards.

“There’s nothing for you to be sorry about.” Krolia replied. “It’s nothing I can’t handle. And as long as the pain means you’re okay, I’ll be happy to endure it.” She said as she leaned down and kissed his forehead affectionately.

Keith’s cheeks heated slightly at that, but he smiled at the sentiment. “Thanks-“ The word mom  hung on his tongue, but he decided not to say it. Not yet.

*****

When Keith woke up to something wet and warm being drug across his cheek he went to push it away, thinking it was Cosmo licking his face. He squinted his eyes open and looked around for the wolf, finding him curled up nearby, asleep.

The wet warmth touched his face again and he turned to look at it, finding to his surprise that it was Krolia’s doing, not his pet’s. “Stop moving so much.” The Galra chided gently as she ran her tongue over his cheekbone, nonchalant in her movements like what she was doing was a normal, everyday thing.

Keith pushed at her chest and twisted his head away from her, trying to put some distance between them. “Why are you licking my face?” He questioned, complaining as she simply cupped the side of his head to keep him from moving away.

“I’m grooming you.” His mother replied, continuing to clean his cheek with her tongue even as he complained. “You haven’t had a bath in over two movements. You smell.”

“Then I’ll go take a bath in the spring.” The teen groaned, his face turning red with a blush. He knew he hadn’t been outside the cave since he started to starve, but did she have to be so blunt about it? “You don’t have to lick me clean.”

“You don’t have the strength to stand for that long.” Krolia stated as-a-matter-of-factly, and Keith didn’t argue. He knew she was right. “Besides, a Galran tongue bath is as good as one with soap and water.”

Keith pouted but gave in, knowing that he couldn’t change her mind. He’d learned already that his mother was just as stubborn as him when she set her mind to something, even more so when it concerned his health. “Fine.” He mumbled, letting her groom his face without a fight. (The longer he let her do it the more he realized how nice it felt, but he wouldn’t ever admit that it actually felt good.)

She spent a long time on his hair, which was a matted, dirty mess and was probably what smelled (it most likely had dried stomach acid and milk in it, which would no doubt account for the smell his mother was talking about). He watched in awe as she spit out several hairballs without so much as a shudder and immediately went back to cleaning and detangling his hair each time. When she eventually finished it was soft and smelled clean, as shocking as it was to him.

Once she was done with his hair she pulled back, satisfied. “That’s good enough for now.” She said as she let him up, though Keith didn’t move away from her. Getting the hint, she curved her arms into a cradle for him to lay in, and he settled down and relaxed. He’d been spending a lot of his time in her arms like this while he was recovering, and was starting to get attached to it, if his reluctance to move was any indication.

“Thanks.” He yawned, turning his face into her chest to block out the light from the mouth of the cave. He’d been woken up from a nap when Krolia started to groom him and he was still tired. He was going back to sleep.

“You’re welcome dear.” Krolia said, smiling.

*****

Keith was resting against his mother’s chest, slowly drifting in and out of sleep. He was exhausted, but Krolia didn’t want him to go to sleep yet; it was just after dinner, if he fell asleep now he wouldn’t sleep through the night. He was so used to snoozing the day away, though, that it was hard to stay awake; taking consistent naps during the day while he was recovering from literally starving had screwed up his sleep schedule, and now she was trying to get him back to sleeping like a normal person.

Krolia gently shook his shoulder, causing the teen to sigh. “I’m awake.” He whispered tiredly, although he wished the opposite was true. He hadn’t slept since breakfast, this was the longest time he’d been awake in awhile.

“Your body became dead weight for a tick.” The Galra replied softly, knowing he was trying his best to stay awake. “One more varga, then you can sleep.” She promised, lovingly running her claws through his hair in an offer of gentle encouragement.

Keith hummed, feeling the want to drift off intensify at his mother’s comforting gesture. He gave into it for a second, his eyes too heavy to hold open, before another gentle nudge brought him back with a small jolt. He groaned in response, starting to not see the point of staying up another hour in his exhaustion.

In a moment of stubborn protest, he purposefully squished his face into his mother’s chest, almost immediately starting to drift at the familiar, comforting warmth. He felt a low chuckle rumble in Krolia’s lungs as she ghosted her claws over his side, causing him to squirm away instinctively with a huff. He refused to move, however, so his mother decided he needed more convincing.

The Galra grabbed her son by the ribs and dug her claws into the flesh there, careful not to cause harm as she mercilessly tickled him. Keith’s reaction was immediate: a high pitched screech followed by breathless laughs as he tried to get away from her but utterly failed. Krolia’s hold on him was too strong for him to wiggle out of.

“MoOm!” Keith howled, a bubbly grin plastered to his face as he weakly bucked to try to free himself, his attempt ending fruitless. He hadn’t seemed to notice what he’d called Krolia, or the fact that it was the first time he’d ever addressed her as such. His mother, however, caught the name immediately, a happy smile spreading across her cheeks with the knowledge that she had earned the title back. That Keith had chosen to give it back to her.

After he yelled for her to stop several times, she finally stopped tickling him. The teen collapsed against the cave floor, partially sprawled over her legs, leftover giggles shaking his shoulders as he panted for air. “That was so unfair.” He complained once he caught his breath, whiny but well natured.

Krolia laughed. “How was that unfair? You were the one that fell asleep.” She countered, removing the blame from herself as she patted his belly placatingly, done tickling him for now. She grinned at how his stomach tensed in anticipation, expecting another round.

Keith mumbled something under his breath that she couldn’t make out. “Well, I'm wide awake now.” He replied louder, exasperated but very much awake thanks to the adrenaline coursing through his veins.

His mother hummed triumphantly. “Good.” She said as she bent down to press a soft kiss to his temple, the memory of the word ‘mom’ on his tongue flashing through her mind again. “I love you dear.” She said, her tone serious and soft and full of love. She’d wanted to say those words so many times before, but only now did it seem right, after he’d verbally accepted her back.

Several emotions flashed in Keith’s eyes- surprise, realization, insecurity, and finally contentment- before he responded. “I love you too mom.” He repeated in return, looking up at her with a loving gaze.

Krolia beamed, helping her son to lean against her again. Keith cuddled into her and relaxed, resting more comfortably against her than before.

His mom playfully poked him as his frame became loose, earning another exasperated, drawn out groan from the boy in her arms. She chuckled, then decided to leave him alone.

*****

Keith shivered violently as he moved as close to the fire as he could safely, trying desperately to warm up after their latest hunting trip. Winter was setting in and the wind and dropping temperatures were brutal. His suit could only do so much to keep him warm, in his opinion not enough.

Krolia draped a fur skin around his shoulders and sat down beside him, their kill in her hands. She didn’t look nearly as cold as he was: she wasn’t shivering or huddling up to the fire, although she was sitting on another fur to put a barrier between herself and the icy ground. He would love to climb in her lap and steal some of her heat, but he couldn’t until she was done cleaning her food.

He impatiently waited the ten minutes it took her to finish, set the meat up to cook, and wash her hands, shivering pitifully the entire time. As soon as she sat down again he climbed into her lap and clung to her torso, some of his shivering dissipating immediately at her warmth. His eagerness earned him a fond chuckle from his mother as she tucked the fur skin around him tighter.

“H-How do y-you not get c-cold?” He huffed, a little upset he was suffering from the cold alone. Then again, if she was suffering as well he couldn’t cuddle up to her like this to stay warm, so he knew he couldn’t really complain.

Krolia rubbed his back to generate a bit of extra heat. “I have fur, remember?” Even with how she usually trimmed it, it was enough to keep her warm through temperatures like this. The fact that it had grown out a bit only helped her in this situation.

“R-right.” The teen said, ducking his head inside the cocoon of the fur to warm it up as well. He stayed like that, curled up into his mother until his shivering stopped and the feeling returned to his limbs. Only then did he pop his head out again and move to a more comfortable position than his cramped huddle.

“Hungry?” Krolia asked, offering to feed him before she ate. She needed both of her hands to eat, and it would be uncomfortable for Keith to have to hold himself up while he nursed. They couldn’t both have their dinner at once.

Keith shook his head. “You can eat first.” He said. He was hungry, but he would prefer to get his fill later, closer to when they would be going to sleep. It was no secret among them that he liked nursing himself to sleep at night, and he usually chose to eat second so he wouldn’t have to be woken up.

His mother gave him a knowing look but didn’t say anything. She finished cooking her food and ate quickly, tossing the bones into the fire as she scraped them clean. Keith watched them pop while he waited for her to finish, occasionally glancing over at Cosmo, who was excitedly tearing into the hare that he caught while they were out, crunching on the bones contently.

Krolia slipped her arms around him once she was done, and he took that as a cue to unzip her suit and latch on. He closed his eyes and relaxed, starting to feel himself fall asleep not too long after he started nursing. It had been a long day finding wood to stockpile for when winter really hit, he was tired.

“Goodnight dear. Sleep well.” His mother said quietly, combing her fingers through his hair until he was completely asleep.