Chapter Text
"Kuron"
Keith looked at the man lying in the prison cell. His even breathing told the Red Paladin that he was asleep. Keith couldn't believe the Shiro he had rescued all those months ago was a clone named Kuron, but everything made sense after that revelation. The real Shiro wouldn't have let Keith leave the team. Speaking of the real Shiro, he had just been rescued from a Galra base by Keith on a solo Blade mission. Initially, Keith thought Shiro had been captured again, but when Shiro asked about what Keith was wearing, Keith was suspicious. He still took Shiro with him back to the Castle of Lions.
Seeing Shiro and Kuron side by side, it was easy to see which was which. The two most obvious differences were the short sleeve shirt and the haircut; however, those were things that could change. The other difference was the scar over his nose. Kuron's scar was more angular than Shiro's.
Speaking of Shiro, he was angry at Kuron for deceiving his team, and the team put him in the prison cell they had on the ship, while they decided on his fate. Keith wasn't sure what they were going to decide on. He feared they would decide to kill him. He had grown close to Kuron. He couldn't let the team allow Shiro to kill the clone. He didn't know how long it would take them to come to their decision, but he knew it wouldn't be long.
His time with the Blades wasn't spent solely on missions. He also got educated on every aspect the Galra culture, from medicine to poisons to politics. He took a real shine to mixing compounds. It reminded him a lot of chemistry back on Earth. He learned what a lot of compounds did and decided to put that knowledge to use in order to save Kuron. His plan was drastic, but he knew the team wouldn't hurt an innocent.
He slipped down to the infirmary, where there was a lot of compounds. He looked at the labels and groaned. Of course there were written in Altean. He brought out his data pad, a gift from Kolivan when Keith had complained about not knowing how to read Galran or Altean. He was taught how to read Galran by many of the Blades, but the tablet had a translation program. It would scan a written language and translate it to Galran. Since he knew the names of the compounds in Galran, he had to scan each one. Fortunately, it didn't take too long. He found the four compounds he needed. He quickly mixed them together and slipped into the kitchen. He needed something to make the liquid a little sweeter. He wanted sugar and hoped Hunk had some. He found a few containers of crystallized spices. He quickly dipped a finger in each one until he encountered sweet. He sprinkled it over the mixture and stirred it together. He poured it into a cup and put everything away.
He slipped back down to the prison cell and opened it. He closed it behind him. He wasn't going to leave Kuron's side until the other Paladins came down to see him. He gently shook Kuron's shoulder, waking him. Kuron's eyes (so much like Shiro's!) landed on him, and he sat up. "Keith?"
Keith sat down next to him and handed him the cup. "Here. Drink this."
"Thanks." Kuron drank it straight down. Kuron yawned as he handed the cup back to Keith.
Keith set the cup down on the floor and guided Kuron's head to his lap. "Go back to sleep, Kuron. Everything will be okay."
Keith knew Kuron would fall back asleep easily. One of the compounds he used was a sedative-hypnotic. Kuron's eyes slid closed, and his breathing evened out. Keith ran his hands through the short hair while he waited for the mixture to take effect. It didn't take long. Kuron shrunk down into a child of four. His Galran prosthetic even shrunk with him. He looked like a young version of Shiro. Keith knew he wouldn't remember being an adult. Keith slid the pants off the boy as they were too big now, and his shirt was long enough to reach his knees. Now, all Keith had to do was wait.
%%%
The next morning Shiro went down to the prison cell to confront his clone. He was surprised to see Keith dozing in the cell with a little boy in his lap. Keith's arms were wrapped around the boy, who was also asleep. He was confused. He didn't see his clone anywhere. Why was Keith dozing in the cell, and who was the little boy? Shiro opened the cell, activated his arm, and approached Keith. He was fully expecting his clone to jump out and attempt to knock him down in order to escape. He neglected to think about how his position would look to a just waking up Keith.
Keith took one look at Shiro and literally jumped to the side. He clutched the child, who was now awake, to his chest and held his Marmora blade (in its short sword form) in front of them in a defensive position. "Don't hurt him!"
Shiro deactivated his arm. "Who is he? Where is the clone? Why are you here?"
Keith didn't put down his blade when he answered Shiro's questions. "This is Kuron. I deaged him to save him from what you guys decided was to be his fate."
Shiro looked at the little boy Keith was holding protectively. He still had the white bangs and the Galran prosthetic but was a small child, who was clutching Keith. "Why, Keith?"
"He was never malicious towards the team. He doesn't deserve death or abandonment. He deserves a second chance. I want to give him that second chance. I want him."
"Want him?" Shiro echoed.
Keith sheathed his blade, nodded, and stroked the boy's short hair. "This is my son, Kuron Kogane."
Fin