A/N
Trigger warning: be warned there is a running theme of self harm, suicide and character death. I did not mean to give Keith's dad a tragic backstory, but I did. This was supposed to be fluff!

Life isn't fair. No one knows that better than Mr. Kogane. He didn't live in a farmhouse in the middle of a desert for no reason. He likes the peace and quiet, sure, but the house was a way to escape.

Kogane realised long ago that life only takes and takes. For a long time, he just tried to limit what it could take. One day, a woman cried out for her husband and child, trapped in a burning house. He didn't know why he ran in, still doesn't, but he did and, even though the husband was paralysed, the family was reunited. Sure, life takes and takes, but there are ways to change just how much it can take. It wasn't the thank yous or the praise that made him devote himself to firefighting after that, it was the desire to stop life from just taking.

Kogane was done with life, but he wasn't done living.

He's glad he didn't. Krolia never realised just how big of an impact her arrival had on him. She brought him back from the brink with her laughter and her yelling and just by being her. Krolia always whispers to him that he has taught her to love life in a way she never did before, but she doesn't understand that they taught each other. It takes two to learn, after all.

He is no longer just living, he is alive.

Kogane's gaze stops lingering on anything sharp, even kitchen corners, for the reasons they used to. Instead, he covers them or locks them away, so even he and Krolia have trouble getting to them. Baby proofing was a pain, but he never expected it to be something he would do. He can't be happier, as he holds his beloved close, hands resting on her slightly swollen abdomen. Their baby will be absolutely perfect, not because he is born from the love of two who never should've met, but who saved each other, but because he is theirs. He deserves everything and Kogane is determined to give him whatever he wants. His vacation days he has never used will pay off in the near future.

He is no longer alive, he is happy.

Keith Yurak Kogane is perfect. The universe may not know about him yet, but they don't need to. Keith is something special, but the universe doesn't need to know, Earth doesn't need to know, no one else needs to know. He smiles when Krolia suggests Yurak and, looking at their human looking boy, suggests Keith. Krolia likes the name, loves that it is from the planet she loves ever so dearly and adores that it belongs to the uncle that raised her beloved for his first twelve years of life. She mentions how Yurak was her eldest brother's name, a boy who raised her away from the Empire, on a foreign planet, until the Empire came. When the Empire showed, the boy bought her and the citizens enough time to escape. The Blades gave them refuge and saved them. Kogane decided then and there that both names are perfect, just like their boy. Besides, it gives the boy a choice in the future.

He comes home to his wife nursing their baby, whilst trying to cook something that was probably pancakes (her usual craving) with her left arm. His arms wrap around her waist and his head rest on her shoulder. He watches his baby boy finish feeding and kisses her cheek.

"Careful there, baby boy. Don't overdo it. Your momma has been through more than enough pain due to you," Kogane laughs.

Krolia bats him away, knocking the pan. Both of their eyes widen as the boiling substance splashes over Krolia and the baby. Kogane moves backwards, but it doesn't help. Krolia hisses in pain.

Keith doesn't make any sound.

They wipe the mixture off Krolia and Keith. Krolia starts to run her burnt hand under the tap, whilst Kogane tends to their boy. Their boy who has purple stains instead of burns. Kogane pokes it, only for it to start to glow a faint red and his finger feels tingly.

"Krolia! Do some Galra glow and heal?"

"No? Why?"

Kogane gets up and walks over to show his beloved, "Keith... he's glowing and healing."

It's not a Galra thing or a human thing, but it's a Keith Yurak Kogane thing. Something that is becoming more and more obvious. Their boy isn't just an ordinary boy. They always knew he is special, but they never realised just how special.

Despite the strange occurrence, the two parents avoid any more incidents. No more baby in the kitchen. They don't talk about it, but Kogane tells Keith the story of his guardian angel protecting him from the pain and Krolia tells him the legends of blessings by Altean Alchemists, one of the few tales Zarkon allows, due to his inclusion as a hero leading Voltron. Neither know why that happened, but they are grateful and want their baby to know that, no matter what, he's never going to be alone.

After the first incident, the two keep a closer eye on their baby. Nothing happens, but they notice how the boy always looks at the desert in the same direction at random points throughout the day. Sometimes he looks up into space, but focuses on four particular points, only one ever seems to move. They only notice because he looks that one even more than at the desert. He even babbles at whatever invisible force he looks at.

It's been longer than usual, due to the accident. Krolia goes to check up on Blue, only to realise, that this is where her baby is looking. It takes her a minute to realise and her lover less. She returns and they take Keith. The baby babbles more and more the closer they get.

When they finally reach it, the symbols seem to faintly glow red. Keith reaches out, both him and the Lion carvings glowing brighter. He laughs and babbles excitedly, pointing down the hallway, towards the Lion. They make their way to Blue and sit with Keith by the Barrier. Keith babbles at the Lion and laughs.

Keith sleeps well that night, smile on his face.

The parents begin to fear for his fate. The boy knows where the Lions are, the Lions know him and he can talk to them. Realistically, they should find a way to contact the Blades and find all the Lions, but this is their baby. A baby who doesn't need to be involved with this war. The Lions are safe and have been for 10000 years. Only Red and Blue have been found and Blue is safe. Besides, without Paladins, they are dead weight, not Defenders of the Universe.

The war can wait. Their boy cannot.

Keith babbles, but he doesn't begin to crawl or stand. It worries his parents. Physically, Galra develop faster, but Keith is developing slow. Mentally, he is developing fast, but they worry that his body won't keep up. The problem with half-breeds is that the combined genes can sometimes hurt the child. Ideally, they would've tested to see if they are compatible, but Keith wasn't expected and they don't have the resources.

They love him, but they worry.

One day, Kogane walks in to his beloved sat on the floor with the baby. Said baby stares at him.

"He was watching you through the walls again," Krolia smiles.

Kogane chuckles and smiles, "You miss your old man, little cougar?"

He doesn't expect the boy to push himself up and run towards him. Kogane manages to crouch just in time to pick his boy up. He looks at the shocked Krolia and both of them are glad these first moments are on the Nanny Cam 1046.

"Traditionally, kids learn to crawl, walk, then run, not run first," Kogane chuckles, hiding his worries at this development.

"It is usually the same for us. He's going to be a fast learner and completely reckless," Krolia sighs, moving to wrap her arms around her beloved.

"Good thing he has the best to teach him," Kogane chuckles, as Krolia playfully bats him, giving her a kiss.

...

Then, the Empire's scouts came.

Neither parent ever notices how Keith gave his father one last gift.

...

He is happy this is how his life ends. He'd much rather lose his life protecting his two worlds than any of the numerous ways he could've died. It may not be talked about and may not be praised like a fireman's death, but his only regret is not watching his baby grow up. Still, if this is what it takes to protect them, he will gladly give his life.

He is no longer happy, he is dying.

Death isn't cold or warm or like sleeping. There is no way to describe it. It is nothing at all, yet it is everything at once.

He is no longer dying, he is dead.

He now regrets dying when he did and letting them go through this.