[Voltron]: shop ‘til your heart drops
Title: shop ‘til your heart drops
Read it on [AO3]
Words: 6138
“I’m sure Keith’s the most difficult one to get gifts for in this castle, but—”
“No. He is just plain difficult,” Shiro said.
In which Shiro tells Allura that getting Keith a birthday gift he’ll truly appreciate is no small feat. She responds the only way she knows how: with pride and determination as she rises up to the challenge.
Alternatively: Allura takes Keith shopping. Feelings and shenanigans ensue.
Birthday fic for @stardusted ! Happy birthday!! <3
Parts of this fic were inspired by @itty-bitties-posts art here.
Also, special thanks to @brettanomycroft and @vldrarepairs for helping me read this over.
“Well, then — challenge accepted!” she declared to the black paladin, who leaned back in wide-eyed surprise at her outburst. “There are many things I pride myself on, and understanding people is very high on that list.”
“I don’t think it’s a matter of understanding him,” Shiro reasoned, trying to bite back a laugh. “It’s just… a fact of life. Like water is liquid, or like Hunk loves cooking.”
“What do you usually get him on his birthday?” Allura demanded with her arms crossed. “You’ve known him a long time.”
“You see, the thing with Keith is if he wants something, he’ll get it himself,” he explained. “That’s why it’s so hard to get him anything that won’t end up at the bottom of his drawer or in the trash pile once he’s forgotten where it’s from.”
“Yes, yes, but what did you get him?” she prompted.
Shiro grinned sheepishly. “I did get him his first pair of gloves. Now, I know that’s hard to top but—”
Allura pursed her lips. “Wonderful.”
It was then that Allura had hatched a plan to take Keith to the space mall. Because, despite the team growing even closer as a family over the last few months, she’s never thought about what Keith would want for his birthday. In fact, if Shiro hadn’t mentioned it last week, she may not have even realized that it was coming up in three quintants. With all the chaos surrounding the fight against Zarkon’s Empire, the focus had always been about the war. There were still so many things she had yet to really learn about her paladins. And to make matters more difficult, Keith has always been the most guarded and quiet of them all.
“I know what you said before,” Allura began, leaning against the doorframe of Shiro’s bedroom later on that night. “But I’m gonna do it. I’m gonna find Keith a really amazing gift that he’ll appreciate. Like the gloves, but, you know, better.”
“I wasn’t gonna stop you,” Shiro chuckled, crossing his arms. “Those gloves are one of a kind though.”
Allura upturned her bottom lip. She had always wanted to get Keith a fun birthday present, but now, with Shiro’s subtle taunts, she wanted to do something that would really knock his socks out of orbit.
“I bet I can find something at the space mall,” she said confidently. “Something that he’ll both treasure and keep forever.”
“You’re on,” he smirked. “Terms of the bet?”
“I’ll tell you tomorrow morning when I think of it,” she said before stalking off towards her sleeping quarters.
Shiro blinked, then shrugged a nonchalant “Good luck with that, Princess,” before heading off to bed.
[read the rest here on AO3!]