This was written as part of a challenge set, for the prompt 'Muscle'.

Kuro snarled and crouched, muscles bunching, then threw himself at Keith. He dodged, but not quite fast enough, and Kuro rolled as he hit the floor, keeping hold of the one part of Keith he'd managed to snag and leveraging him by that one ankle until he was pinned.

Keith kicked him in the side - quite hard, actually; Kuro bared his fangs and was startled when Keith growled back at him, teeth bared - and thrashed as Kuro struggled to catch his wrists. Keith was so much smaller and slimmer than Kuro but he was quick and bony and stubborn-

Kuro roared in his face and Keith laughed back in his, short nails dragging stinging lines over Kuro's fingers as he pried Kuro's grip on his right hand loose. Kuro slammed his left wrist into the floor and twisted his hand until he gasped-

"Stop!" Shiro yelled, and Kuro froze, metal fingers laced through Keith's, pressed to the floor. "Get off him, right now." he said, low and deadly, coming closer, and Keith looked up to find Shiro stalking him, right hand raised and glowing.

Kuro blinked and gingerly unlaced his fingers from Keith's, backing off. "It's fine. . ." he said, moving slow.

Keith kicked out for balance and executed a neat, quick roll up to his knees, but didn't rise any further or retreat to Shiro's side. "What's wrong, Shiro?" he asked, confusion the only thing in his voice, and Kuro sighed in relief.

"Come here." Shiro ordered, and though Kuro was watching Shiro closely, he could see the almost mulish set of Keith's jaw from the corner of his eye.

"What is wrong, Shiro?" Keith repeated, sharply.

"You- He-" Shiro faltered, and Kuro grinned, smothering a laugh. "He had you pinned and he was. . ."

"I'm fine." Keith said patiently, the stubborn tension of his jaw easing a little. "I promise, Shiro." His tone gentled. Then he moved, finally, but instead of going to Shiro, he shifted a little closer to Kuro, resting a companionable hand on his bicep for a moment. Kuro tried to look harmless, or at least innocent. "We were sparring. He didn't hurt me." he added, and raised both hands illustratively, rolling his previously-torqued wrist.

"You were hurting." Shiro said, more confident on that point, which, honestly . . . Kuro had been trying to hurt Keith. But Keith had been trying to hurt him, too - and not too unsuccessfully, either. Vicious little thing. Kuro's lips curled into a smirk.

"We were sparring. It happens." Keith said evenly, unbothered.

Shiro nodded, but his eyes narrowed. "You can't spar with him like you would in a Galra training ring." he said harshly, and Kuro startled, then growled, angry that Shiro would think he would.

"Why? Because I'm weaker than you?" Keith asked, an ugly, defensive snarl twisting his face.

Kuro opened his mouth - Keith was weaker than they were - but before he could speak Shiro shook his head, expression softening. "No, Keith. Because-" he faltered. "Because no one should train that way."

As Kuro could have predicted it would, Keith's flare of temper went out like dampening sparks. "I'm sorry." he said softly, offered so easily.

Kuro still boggled from time to time at that - at the ease of apologies, of softening for each other and allowing for rough edges or snaps of temper between them - even after months on the Castle, with Team Voltron accepting him into their 'family'. He shook it off again.

"I may be hard on him," Kuro grinned wickedly, "but I would never really hurt him. Not any of them. I swear it." he said more seriously. In all honesty, he wouldn't push any of the others as far as he pushed Keith, and even Keith he didn't go all out with. If only because 'all out' would have left Keith bloody and broken, even if he held his own. No, Kuro wouldn't train like that.

Pidge - little wildcat, that one - might be able to push harder than Kuro ever would try with her, but she was tiny and sweet - well, leavened with brash manners and a snappish nature, not that he was bothered by either - and she pinged at something in Kuro that wouldn't let him bring even mock harm to her.

Keith shouldered him lightly and Kuro's expression softened into a smile again.

He bumped Keith back, gently, more of a nudge than a shove, and sighed when Shiro's hand stretched out, offering Keith assistance up to his feet. "Spar with me for a bit?" he asked, and Kuro might have been pouting, a little. Keith wouldn't turn Shiro down, of course, but Kuro had been enjoying playing with him.

"Kuro?" Keith's voice calling his name regained his focus.

"Hm?" Kuro rose from his crouch on the floor, cocking an eyebrow at Keith.

"Do you want to try that?" he asked, and Kuro . . . had no idea what he'd just been invited to do. He had been preoccupied and hadn't paid attention to the conversation going on nearby.

"Keith suggested that since you two had already been sparring," Shiro said, arms folded across his chest in a pose Kuro only adopted when he was trying to be subtly intimidating, "you might like to join us. You against Keith and I, perhaps."

Kuro's brows rose, and he darted a look at Keith and then Shiro. He smiled. "Certainly."

Shiro gave him a narrow-eyed look, but nodded, and held out a hand to Keith, who circled back around near him, but not behind him. Kuro bared his teeth, half a threat and half a grin, and set himself, crouching slightly.

Kuro hissed, startled, as a . . . packet fell into his lap. He relaxed, snorting.

"You skipped breakfast; people need to eat on a regular basis." Keith said without batting an eye, moving over to a big chair. "Surprised Shiro hasn't already given you that talk."

"Someone sounds testy." Pidge commented from across the room, where she was working on something spilling out gears and circuitry. It was fascinating to watch her, sometimes, but Kuro tried to stay well back from the messes she made, remembered shocks of purple energy jolting through his body, through his arm, quite enough to make him wary even if Pidge was not one of them.

"Shiro is being. . ." Keith sighed, puncturing his juice bag and sucking at the straw. Kuro had risen to collect the energy bar that had tumbled off his lap and half behind him on the couch, and he paused with his hand extended towards it, glancing at Keith.

"What?" Pidge asked, actually looking up at him.

"He actually threatened Kuro yesterday." Keith said, frowning. Kuro startled, then realised Keith had kept hold of that warning more than Kuro himself had. He moved towards Keith's chair.

"What?" Pidge looked shocked, and she glanced at Kuro, her mouth tugging down into a little frown as well. He brushed his hand against Keith's shoulder, leaning against his chair.

"We were sparring, and Shiro came in and got upset," Keith began, huffing, "he-"

"He was just worried about you, little one." Kuro said affectionately, if absently, nuzzling lightly at Keith's hair.

"If you call me that again I'll feed you your teeth." Keith snapped, though without much heat. Kuro grinned broadly at the feisty sharpness, giving a soft purr and nudging Keith's ear with his nose, thinking of pointing out that Keith was quite little in his arms.

"I'm not sure threatening him actually has the effect you're going for, Keith." Pidge pointed out, squinting at them through her glasses.

Keith made a prompting, uncertain noise. Kuro was only vaguely listening.

"I'm thinking it might just be turning him on." Pidge elaborated more bluntly. She and Keith both looked at him, and Kuro grinned. Keith snorted, one eyebrow twitching, and Kuro curled himself around Keith slowly, nipping Keith's ear and purring for him again.

He didn't pull away.

"You're fucked up." Keith said, voice low, but there was a smile in his tone.

Kuro snickered. "Maybe." he said playfully, and set his teeth against the nape of Keith's neck, like he'd bite there and pin Keith under him, hard. Like he had on the training room floor, Keith squirming and fighting beneath him.

Keith shivered, his hackles probably tingling, but he didn't melt under it and he didn't fight it or knock Kuro away either. Kuro loved it. Unpredictable and-

Keith leaned into him, legs folding up over the edge of the chair as he pushed against Kuro, cuddling into his chest. Unpredictable and sweet. Kuro closed his eyes for a moment, returning the gentle contact and taking in a breath with his nose pressed almost in Keith's hair, scenting him.

Keith hummed, more of a thrum in his chest than a sound, and Kuro smiled softly.

"You sure you get to make the call on who's fucked up?" Pidge asked, waving a pronged tool that Kuro eyed warily even though she was several paces away from their chair.

"You sure you do?" Keith returned quickly, with no heat, and Pidge snorted even as she screwed up her face at him. Kuro slipped one hand up over Keith's belly and chest, slow, and Keith only stretched lazily, letting the light touch coax him into leaning against Kuro.

Kuro laughed from time to time as Keith and Pidge exchanged comments, dropping in the occasional barb of his own and hiding his grin against Keith's hair or his shoulder. He laughed a little louder when one particularly sharp comment earned him an equally sharp jab to the ribs from one bony elbow and another low-voiced threat that sent tingles through him.

Keith smirked at him, eyes flashing, and Kuro growled softly. It only made him laugh, low and playful, ignoring the threat it could have been. Kuro smiled, just a little.

Kuro came awake all at once, body tensing, giving no immediate outward reaction. There was a warm body near his own, quiet enough he couldn't even hear breathing.

He curled up, twisting quickly, sliding by the other body and thrusting his right hand out.

He only barely stopped in time, clawed fingers barely shy of Keith's face, his eye. "Keith!" Kuro's heart raced as the adrenaline alarm had sent rushing through him was joined by fear. He could have-

Keith smiled slightly, sliding his hand over Kuro's and slipping past his still-outstretched fingers. "Good morning, Kuro." he murmured, almost a purr.

Kuro growled at him, turning a little more and letting his arm relax just a little, so that Keith's neck was almost in the crook of his elbow. Much of the distance between their bodies disappeared as they moved around each other.

"Just returning the favour from last week." Keith breathed against his cheek, and he shivered at the caress of warm air against his skin.

It took a moment for that to make sense. "That's hardly turnabout!" Kuro protested. "I didn't even get in your room!" He'd tried, to be sure, but an alert had been called before he could coax the door open. And judging by the speed with which Keith had exited, it wouldn't have worked anyway - either he'd already been up and moving, or he'd reacted with astonishing speed to the alarm.

Kuro was admittedly very curious about that. How might Keith wake in the mornings? Or when startled?

"Maybe I just wanted to see what you'd do, finding me here." Keith said, his eyes dark, and then he twisted, ducking away from Kuro's hands, and was gone in a breath.

Kuro, still in a poised crouch, stared after him long after the efficient doors closed in his wake.

He smiled slightly, curling comfortably back on his bunk and sighing. He shook his head, then asked the room for the time. He snorted. Little beast. It was at least an hour before Kuro would have risen on his own - Keith didn't rise any earlier, either, he had to have gotten up specifically to pull this.

Kuro stretched, yawning, and rolled to his feet, pulling on his clothes. He went to find Keith; if the vicious little thing was going to wake him early, perhaps Keith would spar with him for a while before the others got up and they all had breakfast.

Play with him and make up for the trick he'd pulled.

Kuro trailed his fingers over Keith's shoulders as he passed by, hesitating but moving on before he could stop and bury his nose in Keith's spiky-sleek hair. Keith trailed him across the kitchen, dumping an empty plate on the freestanding counter and then leaning forward, bracing his elbows on it.

Kuro retrieved a bowl of probably-tolerable-but-unidentifiable goop, took a moment to wish Hunk a speedy recovery - for multiple reasons - from his mild bout of what he and Lance were calling 'space flu', and leaned opposite Keith to eat it.

He bit down lightly on his spoon and eyed Keith contemplatively. He hadn't said anything, just lingering here, but Kuro didn't mind.

One of Keith's wrists was more extended than the other, and Kuro reached out, running his fingers over the delicate joint, one fingertip brushing the edge of Keith's snug glove. He smiled, pushing his mostly-empty bowl aside, and nudged Keith's hand over, baring the tender inside of his wrist.

"Kuro, can I. . ." Keith trailed off, and Kuro's brows rose.

"Keith?" he replied softly, moving closer, around the counter, and cocking his head to one side.

"You. . . So is that. . . What Pidge said the other day-" Keith broke off, frowning slightly, eyes showing his confusion. Kuro was confused too, trying to keep up with Keith and not sure where he'd started. "The way you act with me, is it," he paused, changeable eyes narrowing, "you push at me and snap and you don't do it quite the same with any of the others, just me. It's because you-?"

Kuro tilted his head the other way, stepping in close to Keith. "Keith, what do you-" he paused. "Does the way I treat you . . . bother you?"

". . .no, that's not- It's fine." Keith shook his head, giving Kuro one of his odd little something-hiding smiles and pushing away. "I like it fine, it would be . . . weird somehow if you treated me like you do them. It's just- Don't worry about it."

While Kuro was still blinking, startled at the sudden shift, Keith took a quick step back and rubbed his thumb over Kuro's hand before pushing it away. He ducked his head briefly, and then darted out of the kitchen, not running but gone in a quick, light patter of boots all the same.

Kuro paused, running over what Keith had said and thinking about Keith. Thinking about the way he acted with Kuro in return. And- He ran after Keith, catching up with him only just down the hall. He had Keith up against the wall and crowded him there in one hurried shove, and Keith let him, eyes on his face.

"I want you." Kuro said, voice low and rumbling but straightforward. He pushed a little closer to Keith, and he still didn't force Kuro back. "I want you and I think you want me too, and yes, Pidge was right," he grinned, "you pushing and fighting and snapping at me does turn me on," he dipped his head and nuzzled at Keith's throat, "and so does you letting me in close, like you trust me, like-"

Kuro hadn't quite meant to say that much. Keith had a way of slipping past his defences, even when he clearly wasn't trying.

"I do trust you." Keith said softly, callused fingers gentle on his face. The battered, soft leather of his worn glove was warm between his palm and Kuro's cheek. "I do trust you, Kuro. At my back and," Kuro pulled back enough to see his face, and saw his lips were twitching, curled slightly at the corners, "at my throat. And," he paused, "I do want you." he added.

Kuro grinned, although it might be a little shaky. That was . . . more than he had expected. Wanted, yes. Liked, even. But . . . to be trusted was a big thing, and Keith was even more guarded than the rest of them - able to separate, as Kuro did, and as Shiro did as well, if more reluctantly, different types of trust - and separate between people liked but not trusted. Kuro hadn't expected to be so openly - almost easily - given all three.

Desire, affection, trust.

Kuro nuzzled into Keith's touch, wordless. Strong fingers, smooth leather, a gently-curving stroke as the pad of Keith's thumb rubbed over his cheek.

Kuro dipped his head, baring his throat even as Keith's fingers trailed down over his jaw. He nosed Keith's shoulder through his jacket and then pushed around the high collar, nuzzling Keith's collarbone - soft, thin skin over the slender bone - up to the base of his throat. He should have known, he thought faintly, though he never would have assumed. . . But Keith's openness to him had all but promised he trusted Kuro. Whatever he did.

He stilled, a soft rumble thrumming in his throat, as Keith's cheek rubbed against his temple, nuzzling him properly in return for the first time. Kuro lifted his head, slowly, careful not to pull away as he moved. Keith stroked his jaw before tipping his head and fitting his mouth gently over Kuro's, soft and slick and hot.

Kuro froze, startled, and Keith's other hand came up to his face. Light fingers ruffled through his hair, Keith's body arching against him. Kuro purred softly, still somehow surprised, returning the careful - but not tentative - caress.

One of Keith's arms slid over his shoulder, the other hand still stroking his cheek. He hummed, sounding pleased, as Kuro's left arm wrapped around his waist; his body tense though he was clearly not unhappy. Kuro's claws dragged through his hair, pushing the shaggy locks away from his face, and he nipped gently at Keith's mouth.

Keith laughed softly, pulling away just a little, his eyes flashing as they caught Kuro's, and then returned to the kiss with more fervour, pulling Kuro to him, holding tight. Kuro growled, right hand sliding down Keith's shoulder and then the length of his back and side to his hip, pulling him in close.

He kept Keith there even as the kiss broke, gently nuzzling him and purring. Keith didn't protest, though his arm slid down from Kuro's shoulder, hand trailing over the metal of his arm to curl loosely around his wrist. He didn't pull Kuro's hand away from him, though. His expression was soft, eyes heavy-lidded and slightly parted lips curled in a faint smile.

He brushed his fingers lightly through Kuro's forelock, and he had to resist the urge to lean his head into the touch as his purr grew louder. Keith kissed him again, fleeting this time, and rubbed his cheek against Kuro's jaw, cuddling into him.

"Come with me?" Keith asked softly, fingertips ruffling through Kuro's hair. Kuro made a wordless affirmative noise, dipping his head to nuzzle Keith's cheek.

Keith laughed, cocking his head - stretching his bare throat almost beneath Kuro's mouth - and slipped out of Kuro's arms with a fluid twist, dipping under his arm. Kuro rumbled unhappily, but Keith was lingering not even out of reach, waiting for him.

Kuro slid a hand over his back to rest over one shoulder blade, and Keith hummed, easing a little closer under the touch, letting Kuro's arm curl over his shoulders. Then he led Kuro down the hall further away from the kitchen. He realised they had still been standing only perhaps a dozen paces away from the kitchen doorway.

Kuro smiled slightly, amused, and followed willingly after him, lightly kneading Keith's shoulder, careful of his claws.

I almost titled this 'Courting' instead. I think this title fits better, but I still love that one for it, admittedly.