More headcanons about the foster care au
Keith punched his first crush
He was ten and overwhelmed with ~feelings~. When the boy tried to talk to him, Keith freaked out and punched him.
The others still haven’t let him live it down
Pidge’s first “hacking” experience was sneaking onto Zarkon’s computer at age eight
She ended up finding a folder of *adult* content and was subsequently horrified.
Eleven-year-old Shiro was the one who had to try to explain.
“Um...so sometimes when adults, uh, like really like each other...”
“BUT WHY ARE THEY NAKED!?!”
Keith actually knows more Spanish than Lance simply because he actually paid attention in Spanish class. Lances hates this.
Lance’s first language was actually Spanish, but because he’s been in foster care since he was six, he has largely forgotten it.
Keith has offered to help Lance with Spanish, but so far neither of them have the attention span to make real progress yet.
Secretly (and seriously, DON’T TELL KEITH), Lance really appreciates that Keith tries.
Hunk’s bio parents were abusive. CPS got involved because Hunk told his teacher that his parents couldn’t come to kindergarten because “sometimes they hit, and that’s against the rules.” Among other things, his mom used to make him (at FIVE!!) diet and shame him for being “fat.”
In some ways, the Zarkon house almost helped because there food was a necessity that wasn’t always around. Which can also lead to disordered eating, but at least food wasn’t something to be ashamed of.
But more than that, Hunk just likes food.
To this day, every time Hunk makes a meal he enjoys or puts a lot of thought into flavor profiles or texture composition, it’s a little bit of a screw you to his bio mom.
This is something Hunk enjoys, and that other people enjoy with him, and Hunk refuses to let the nasty voices in his head take that away from him.
He hasn’t really told the others about this, but that’s okay. This form of rebellion is just for Hunk.
Shiro got the nickname “Shiro” from the other paladins (of course he did)
Lance had a stutter as a kid, and “Takashi” with the harsh t and k was particularly hard for him to say.
Keith was just somehow convinced that Shiro’s name was “Shiro” and to this day, no one knows how or why (least of all Keith)
Shiro went with “Shiro” to make it easier on Lance and because convincing Keith that that wasn’t his name just wasn’t going to happen.
Hunk and Pidge almost immediately joined in
Shiro hasn’t exactly let go of “Takashi,” but it’s become the name of his very most private self, one very few people have access to.
Besides, “Shiro” is name of the big brother of Keith, Pidge, Lance, and Hunk, and that’s someone Shiro is proud to be.
He carries a little bit of that with him every time he introduces himself, “Just call me, Shiro. Everyone does.”
