Shiro watched Keith as he slept peacefully on one of the lounge couches. His arms were crossed over his chest, and he was sitting up, but his breathing was too even to be awake. His head was down, and his face covered with his thick, black bangs. Hunk peered at Keith, shooting a glance at Shiro.

"Is he sleeping?" Hunk whispered, leaning more towards the black Paladin. Shiro found himself smiling. Without a sound, Shiro nodded. He lifted his finger to his lips, and signaled for silence. Keith groaned softly and rearranged his head. His knees were slowly gravitating to his chest. One of his arms dropped from his chest, landing on Pidge, who was beside him. Pidge looked up expectantly, then she noticed that it was Keith's hand. She opened her mouth to say something but stopped as she noticed he was sleeping.

"He looks peaceful." She whispered to the group who had gathered around the paladin. Suddenly, the raven haired boy's eyes shot open. He reached for his knife strapped to his hip. Turning sharply, he brought the knife to the back of his neck.

"Keith, no!" Lance shrieked, shiro got up to get the knife away from Keith before a rip was heard. Keith moves his hand, and in his clenched fist he held a chunk of his hair.

"... Why did you do that?" Hunk asked after a few minutes of shock. The neck of Keith's hair was curling upwards and layers were unevenly cut by his blade.

His violet eyes were dark and his eyebrows furred. He shrugged his shoulders, refusing to look at Hunk. Pidge gave out a sigh and put her hand on a strip of uneven hair.

"Give me the knife, I need to make it even." Keith turned green and shook his head.

"Why're aren't you talking, mullet? Well... I guess your mullet is gone. I mean, it wasn't... that bad." Lance's voice grew quieter with each word.

Shiro slowly reached for Keith. His hand was so slow that Keith has time to see it and extra time to react. The paladin bit his lip and sat up straighter. His knees were pulled to his chest as he pulled away from Pidge's touch and into Shiro's embrace. He nuzzled his nose into the older male's neck.

His shoulders shook softly and Pidge placed the knife on the table.

"You okay?" Shiro murmured loud enough for the group to hear. Keith nodded but remained silent. The only sound he made was from his hair and skin brushing against the fabric of Shiro's shirt.

Shiro exhaled slowly and moved his other arm to Keith's lower back. Keith has his legs on the floor now, Shiro practically cradling him.

"I... uh... I...," Keith sighed. "Sorry. 'M sorry." Shiro shook his head at Keith's apology. Instead of comforting Keith with words, he began to rock back in forth. After a few minutes, Keith gently pulled back. Shiro softened his grip on the teen and let Keith escape with little effort. Back to his spot on the couch, Keith's knees returned to his chest.

"So... why's you cut the mullet off?" Lance asked, eyeing the new haircut Keith sported. His hair ended just below his earlobe. Lance hated it already.

Keith didn't answer Lance. His gaze turned to the ground.

"You might feel better if you tell us..." Hunk pushed in a calm manner. Keith bit his lip, gnawing on his lip as he glanced up. His eyes met Hunk's.

"They called my a sissy boy." Keith rasped out, wincing at his voice. Pidge handed him a water pouch from her bag. Keith took it and thanked her quietly.

"Oh." Hunk decided to reply.

"Danni called me a sissy boy and decided to make me pay for it." Keith said to the group. His neck was red and cheeks were burning with shame.

"Pay for it... how?"

Keith shook his head and cut himself from the group. He let his mind wonder as the Paladins continued to get him to talk. His exposed neck was cold, and he shivered once. Lance was quick to hand him a blanket.

He murmured a thanks and wrapped himself up.

"Hey..." he entered the conversation again. All attention was on him.

"Thanks..." he said softly.