Growing Pains (A Voltron Legendary Defender Fan Fiction)

Chapter 4

Keith just stared at his reflection in shock. There was no way... he reached up and touched his ear. Sure enough... they were pointed. "No..." he couldn't help himself as tears started to drip down his cheeks. "What... what's happening to me..."

He backed away from the mirror in horror and slid down to the floor. This couldn't be happening... it... it had to be the Galra blood in him. that was the only explanation... but why was it only showing itself now? What was he going to do when the others saw him like this?

He needed to think. Think Kogane! He grabbed onto strands of hair and pulled. Why did it have to happen now? Right when everything had been going so well?

Keith could feel himself panicking, so he slowly tried to take deep breaths like Shiro had taught him when he was younger. God, he wished Shiro was here. Of all his friends he hated lying to the most, it was Shiro. He was also the one he was most afraid of disappointing with his being Galra. The others, he had only known for a few months. But Shiro... he was like an older brother to him. He hated to think what Shiro would say to him if he knew he was the same race as their enemy.

Keith slowly stood up, and robotically got dressed. Once he was finished, he walked back over to the mirror. He messed around with his ears a bit and noticed that they were surprisingly bendy. If he didn't know better, he would have said he looked like and Altean, on minus the face markings. As he stood there in the quiet bathroom, he also noticed that he was able to hear noise coming from the next room over. It sounded like Hunk was snoring. It seemed like he now had a better sense of hearing.

"Ok..." Keith let out a sigh. "Don't panic, you can make this work." He pushed his hair back into its usual style and noticed that this covered the points quite well. "See, no one will be the wiser..." his biggest fear though, was what if these changes continued, slowly becoming more and more noticeable? What if one day he woke up purple?! There had to be a way to figure out what was happening...

Kolivan!

He ran into the bedroom and frantically reached for the box he had hidden under his bed. He tore the lid open, and found the communicator, laying next to his knife. He pressed the button on top and waited for a response. There was a good chance he was on a mission. Or asleep. Or...

"Good evening, Keith. Isn't it rather late for you to be up?"

Keith let out a sigh of relief as the Galra man appeared on the screen, "Sorry to bother you this late. But I... had a problem..."

"Does Voltron require assistance?" he asked with concern.

"No no, we're all fine." He shook his head, "It's... well..." he sighed before reaching up and tucking his hair behind his ears.

"Oh." Kolivan studied him. "I'm assuming those are new?"

Keith nodded sadly. "I woke up this morning with a terrible headache. I just went and took a shower and when I got out... my ears were like this..."

"That's very interesting..." Kolivan continued to stare at him.

"I... was wondering if you had any idea as to why this was happening?" Keith asked quietly.

"Hmm..." Kolivan thought about it for a moment. "If I didn't know better, I would say that you were going through Galra puberty."

"Wh... what?" Keith reddened in embarrassment. "I've already gone through puberty."

"Yes, for your human half." Kolivan clarified. "However, the lifespans of humans and Galras are much different, so it only makes sense that they would occur at different times. This is all just speculation of course. You are to only human/Galra hybrid I have ever heard of."

Keith huffed, "Sure is great to be unique..."

"How old are you, Keith?" Kolivan asked.

"I just turned 19." He replied.

Kolivan nodded, "In Galra years, that would put you just around the age at which Galra boys experience puberty."

"How long is this going to last? How much more am I going to change?"

"I'm sorry," Kolivan looked at him sadly, "I have no idea what kind of changes you will undergo. Galra puberty usually lasts for about 5 Phoebs. I'm sorry, that's all the information I can give you."

"It's alright... I appreciate your help." He looked down.

"Do not hesitate to call me again as you experience more changes." He assured. "Also, I would suggest you tell your friends about this. They can help you through it. Plus, it is better they find out now, than when you no longer have a choice."

"I... yeah... that's good advice. Thanks again." They said their goodbyes as Keith shut off the communicator.

5 Phoebs? That meant he had 5 months of changes ahead of him. What all could change in 5 months?

He sighed and laid down in bed, trying to fall asleep. Maybe the changes wouldn't be too bad and he could keep them hidden from the rest of the team. Maybe it would just be little things, like developing a taste for Galra food. Or getting better eye sight. Stuff no one would notice. He drifted off to sleep trying to think optimistically, even though deep done, he knew that this wouldn't be the last of his changes.

(A/N - Hey guys, thanks for reading. WHen I say Vol, you say...)