Tex has a son who is small, and skinny, and his wrists look so fragile that Tex thinks he could snap them if he’s not careful… and yet, Keith is faster than any man in the unit, he can carry two people back to safety in a single trip and lift beams larger than Tex himself.
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Supremely disappointed that there wasn't a #showAU tag for #Keithtober this year, but anyway! have a Show AU!
And Happy Birthday Keith!!! Here’s an au where Tex survives and raises Keith!
･㉨･)っ♡
Sure, there's a chance that even with his dad alive Keith would still want to join the garrison, but I also like the idea of him choosing to stay closer to the desert (and blue!)
Here are some things I was thinking about this AU:
-There is one universe where Tex died in a fire, but in THIS universe he survives the fire.
-His brush with death makes Tex aware that he needs to have a larger support for his child, so he makes some changes: he takes more desk time whenever possible, and forges deeper bonds with his fellow firemen; Keith now has half a dozen different godfathers who could take him in if Tex ever falls in the line of duty.
-With his father alive Keith has the chance to learn who (and what) his mother is, where she is and most importantly, what his father is protecting in the desert.
-Keith reasons that should anything happen to his dad, the keeping of the Blue Lion would fall on him, and it'd be difficult to do that if he's stuck in a military school; instead of going to the Garrison he decides to stay and become a fireman.
-There might have been a row at some point because of this (since Keith had said over and over how much he wanted to become a pilot before), but Keith is stubborn and got his way. Besides, if he really wanted to, there's always flight simulators.
-With Tex alive Keith never loses his alien roots. Tex knows enough galran to at least read the controls of a spaceship, and he passes this knowledge to Keith.
-Tex also gives Keith his mother's knife, not just for sentimental reasons, but also because Krolia showed him how to receive and send signals with it.
-Keith grows up in the desert, he still has poor people skills but he’s less conflicted about them; he also has a few quirks here and there that don't look entirely human (like the super strenght), but Tex assures him "your mother used to do that too" and therefore he's more confortable on his skin.
-Keith still aced the flight simulator during Shiro's visit to his school; he never steals Shiro's car but neither does he accept the offer to join the Garrison. Their friendship might develop after Shiro's continuos tries to recruit Keith.
