You were sitting alone in the kitchen, eating breakfast. Which was pretty much the same green goo that you always ate. Oh joy.

You were probably the last one waking up that morning, as it seemed like everyone else had already had their breakfast. You always had trouble getting up in the mornings. Usually at the Garrison, when the alarm clock woke you up, you hit the snooze as long as you could.

Waking up just wasn't your thing. And you wondered if that was a remnant from the time before the Garrison. Maybe back then you thought that if all the days were the same, why get up at all. But now you were just happy that Allura and Coran let you sleep late. They were probably just making up for yesterdays demanding day.

After everything that had happened ever since you had arrived to the castle, you had been left with a feeling of exhaustion. Everything was so new and exciting and frightening at the same time. And just because of that, you felt like your body was in a state of alarm all the time. You needed to relax.

You had meditated that morning in your room. Even at the Garrison you tried to meditate at least 15 minutes before getting ready for the day. Even if it meant you were going to be late for classes. And that happened a lot by the way.

That morning you had a bit of trouble concentrating though. Maybe yesterdays lousy training exercises haunted your mind. Or maybe you were just feeling a bit anxious because you knew you had a long way to go with your training.

As a Paladin, you would have to try to improve your fighting skills and your mental strength a lot. You were going to have to fight a lot more Galra in the future. There was no way around it. And you knew that the Galra would definitely be harder opponents than the gladiator in the training deck. Which you hadn't even beaten yesterday.

You suddenly flinched from your thoughts as Shiro entered the kitchen. And as he noticed you, he started smiling. And that smile always made you feel better. "Morning (Y/N). You're a late sleeper then?" Shiro said as he started making himself something to drink.

"Yes, I'm bad at waking up." You smiled back at him. "Did you sleep well?" Shiro looked at you while frowning. "Yes, I actually slept really well. Surprisingly so. I don't usually sleep well in strange places." You explained to Shiro. And he just hummed back approvingly as he focused on making his drink.

Then you looked at Shiro for a moment. And you thought about your fighting skills again. And you frowned. "Shiro?" You said his name. "Yes?" He hummed without looking at you. 

"Do you think you could maybe teach me? I mean, I think it would be wise for me to learn to fight with my fists, at least a little." You started asking a bit hesitantly. It was hard for you to ask people for favours.

"Why?" Shiro turned to look at you. "Well if my bayard gets lost, or I don't have it with me for some reason, or you know...things can happen." You tried to explain rationally, but you were just all over the place.

"Well that is true, things can happen." Shiro started to smile again at your hasty explanation. And you looked at him and laughed. Though you hadn't known Shiro for long, you loved his smile. There was just something so reassuring in it, that you couldn't help but feel like home.

"And there is Lance. Better to have a punch or two ready for him." You giggled. And Shiro let out a laughter. And as you suddenly felt more at ease, you continued eating your breakfast. Even the goo tasted a bit better now.

Just then Shiro spoke. "Why don't you ask Keith? He might be able to help you. I think he is at the training deck right now." He suggested. And your carefree mood cooled down as you looked at Shiro. Didn't he want to teach you? Why did he suggest Keith?

"I promised Pidge and Allura to go through defense systems with them." Shiro explained smiling. But, what was that smile? It was like he was thinking something else than he was saying. And you looked at him frowning. 

"Sure." You silently said as Shiro took his drink and made his way out of the kitchen. And after he had left, you let out a deep sigh. You still felt a bit awkward with Keith. And you didn't know why he made you feel like that.

You finished your breakfast, and went to your room to change. And then you went to the training deck. You had picked up your bayard and lent some training clothes from Allura. The only thing she could find that suited for the purpose was something similar to a tank top and harem pants. They felt comfortable and you could move in them, so you didn't complain.

As you were closing in on the training deck, you could hear sounds of fighting coming from inside. You took a deep breath before opening the door. Then you went inside and saw Keith fighting the gladiator. So Shiro was right.

You went in and sat on the bench on the edge of the wall, waiting for him to finish. And as Keith saw you coming in, his focus got lost for just a second. And in that second the gladiator swung its spear fast and Keith was sent flying on his back to the floor. You gasped and got up to see if he needed any help. But he just quickly got up, recovering from the setback, like nothing had happened. He started clashing his sword against the gladiators spear again.

You observed Keith as he fought. He was an aggressive fighter, very fast and agile as he moved. He was the one doing the charging and attacking. His moves weren't that coordinated. Instead he relied more on instinct. He played with surprise and speed more than strength. And his movements were interesting to you. You kind of ended up staring at him as it felt like you could take a small peek into his soul as he was fighting. And what you saw was something new to you.

Maybe Keith saw that you were staring at him as he ended the fight with a flashy slash to finish off the gladiator. He quickly brushed his hair off his forehead as the gladiator disappeared. "Do you want to train?" Keith turned towards you, showing that you could take the next turn.

And as soon as he stopped fighting, the window to his soul was closed. And you suddenly started to feel slightly nervous of asking him. You knew you needed to get more training, and you needed more strength. But you didn't know if he would just tell you to bug off, and it made you nervous to ask.

"Umm, well, Shiro said you might be able to help me..." You started hesitantly. And Keith looked at you curiously. So you continued. "Well, I need to learn to fight with my fists. I mean without my bayard. So, maybe you could help me out a bit?" You asked while looking at his reactions.

Keith looked at you slightly surprised as he crossed his arms. And he was silent for a moment, like he was thinking his options. "You don't have to teach me thoroughly of course. Maybe just basics. I can fight with my staff, but not with my hands. I would like to at least know the basics so I can defend myself if I ever need to..." You explained and realised that you were again just babbling headlessly. Why did he make you so nervous?

"I can help out with the basics." Keith then just casually replied. And you got silent. You were surprised that you didn't have to try to force him into it. That he just agreed like that. "Oh, thanks." You smiled at him relieved as your nervousness somewhat faded away.

"You want to take a round with the gladiator first, to get your warmth up?" Keith still asked while shrugging his shoulders, like he didn't care. But you nodded. It had been a while since you had trained with your staff, but you looked forward to it. It always made you feel so strong and powerful.

You took your bayard and walked to the center of the room. You let the bayard turn into your fighting staff as you prepared to train. Keith went aside so he wouldn't be in your way. You saw how he crossed his arms as he was clearly observing you.

You grabbed the bayard staff with both hands and took your stance. You leaned a bit back, your left foot forward, weight on your right and your center of gravity low. You kept the staff close to your body. "Start training sequence level 1." You commanded when you were ready.

A gladiator appeared in an instant. But you didn't attack it straight away. You looked at it and the gladiator looked at you. Then it started rushing towards you. But you still didn't make a move. You waited.

The gladiator ran closer and lifted its arms, ready to swing its spear at you. And you finally moved. You quickly struck the gladiator under its arms at the same time sliding away from under it. You sweeped your staff across your head and let the motion still continue as it naturally flowed towards the gladiator. But the gladiator quickly turned and blocked the strike with its spear.

You fought with the gladiator, at the same time trying to avoid it and trying to analyse its movements. That was your style. You'd rather avoid than hurt, and rather hurt than kill. You twisted and turned, and your movements flowed. You were like water.

The gladiator attacked again. You blocked its attack and lightly spiralled away from it, ending on your fighting stance with your center of gravity very low. Then you waited to see what it would do.

The gladiator charged at you again. Its pattern was very straightforward so you could easily analyse it. You leaped backwards, and with continuing motion you swung it with the end of the staff. And the gladiator got hit as you landed on one knee. Then with your left leg, you quickly swiped its feet under it.

The gladiator lost its balance and fell to the ground. With the same motion still going, you lifted yourself up and ever so gently hit the gladiator on its chest with the end of the staff. You won and the gladiator disappeared.

And as you saw that you had won, you took a deep breath, trying to even your beating heart. You felt so excited. You hadn't had a change to train much for weeks because of the busy schedule in Garrison. And now that you had a change to do it, you felt so alive. And you couldn't help but smile.

Then you remembered that you weren't alone in the room. You turned to Keith who stared at you with round eyes. And you suddenly felt self-conscious as you seemed to blush a bit. "I haven't had a change to train for a while, but that was so much fun." You sighed excited, but still a bit shy.

"Umm, it was like you were dancing..." Keith cleared his throat as he slightly averted his gaze. "Thanks. I'm still at an average level though." You replied modestly while trying to hide your blush by looking away.

And then the training room fell silent for a moment as you both just stood there, slightly awkward. Until Keith cleared his throat again. "Can I fight you?" He said a bit timidly. And you turned to look at him confused. Why would he want to fight you?

You hadn't trained in a while and he would be a much greater challenge than a level 1 gladiator. You had seen how aggressively he fought. But as you glanced at Keith who looked at you curiously, you smirked. You were still easily incited. "If you promise not to be chivalrous." You said to him. And Keith looked at you and smirked a bit. "Fine."

So you took your stance again with your staff. Keith went to stand a bit further away with his sword. And you took a deep breath. That was not what you had in mind when you came to ask Keith for help, but now that you were on it, you realised that you were rather enjoying it.

And when you were ready, you nodded at Keith. And as soon as you had done it, he started to charge at you, as aggressive as before. But you didn't move.

You watched him closely. As soon as he was getting closer and readying to lift his sword, you jumped a bit back so that Keith practically hit air. And as you jumped back, you took some steps to the side and started to swing your staff towards him. But he blocked your attack pretty easily.

Then he charged at you again, slashing his sword fast. And he really relied more on speed and surprise, than carefully thought out movements. You blocked the hits, but not easily. You were struggling.

When you had blocked another hit, you quickly shoved Keith with the end of the staff. He didn't see it coming and it made him flinch. And you took the chance to swipe your staff upwards strongly. You hit Keith's sword and knocked it right out of his hand. And as it dropped to the floor, Keith quickly tried to grab it. But you blocked his hand with your staff and kicked the bayard further. Then he stopped. And so did you.

So there you were, your staff blocking Keith's hand, his bayard a bit further away. You looked at him and he looked at you. You both observed of what the other would do next. Then he moved.

As he moved, you quickly spinned around, swinging your staff at him in a large arc. But Keith quickly evaded it and slided towards his bayard in one smooth motion. And when you missed him, you stopped. You realised that Keith was behind you. You felt the tip of Keith's sword touching your back. And you looked down and smiled.

Your staff turned back to a bayard again, and you playfully lifted your hands up in the air "You got me." You said as you turned towards Keith. And then his sword turned back into a bayard. "Nicely done." He complimented you with a serious expression.

And as you looked at Keith now, he suddenly seemed more relaxed and warm. He felt more at ease. Was this his way of breaking the ice? "Okay, shall we start then" He just casually asked as he went to put his bayard on the bench. And you looked at him slightly puzzled. You really couldn't read him at all, and that intrigued you.

Then a bit later, you were standing in front of Keith. You had your fists up, and Keith had his hands open in front of him, serving as a target to you. "You have to clench your fists tighter, otherwise you will get hurt." He explained to you. And you obeyed him.

"Okay, punch with your right." He said and you punched his hand with your right fist. It looked awful and weak and you quietly chuckled in your mind. But Keith was surprisingly serious and calm. "Good. But remember to keep your hand straight." He instructed.

You were a bit baffled as how good teacher he was. To your disbelief, he was actually a really calm and collected when trying to explain you the basics. And it seemed like he didn't hate teaching you, though you knew how lousy you were without your staff.

But you didn't get too far in the teaching. Suddenly you heard a cough coming from the door. You startled a bit and turned around, just to see Shiro there. "Oh, hey." You said to him, slightly displeased by the sudden interruption. "What is it?" Keith asked a bit irritated too. But Shiro just looked at you and smiled.

"We need you both. We're in for some Voltron training, again." Shiro said while crossing his arms and smiling. "Oh, okay." You nodded at him as you went to grab your bayard. But before that, you still turned to Keith. 

"Thank you for this Keith. So, maybe we'll continue this some other time?" You asked him with a hesitant smile. "I guess." He just said as he shrugged his shoulders, like he didn't mind.

And after leaving the training deck and changing into your Paladin armour, you felt quite energetic. Even though about a day ago you had felt like the castle was a prison, now it started to feel quite cozy.

The surroundings and the people were really starting to grow on you. And you couldn't wait to get in your gorgeous Lion and train forming Voltron with the others. You were really starting to get into this whole Paladin business. You were ready for this journey.

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(A/N) I had so much fun writing this chapter! Again, thank you for reading!