happy blummin belated bday to my favorite emo child

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"Shh! Stay quiet, this has to be perfect." I clutched my trumpet and Lance hid behind a guitar, Hunk on the drums, and Pidge had a set of clappers. Allura and Coran had keyboards and Shiro was positioned on the tambourine.

"Okay, okay! He's coming!" I snickered, shooing everyone away to their places. "Stage set, everyone!" The paladins hid, waiting for the lights to flicker on.

"Why is it so dark?" I heard Keith mutter. I put up three fingers, then two, and then one. We burst out of hiding, Allura and Coran hitting that authentic G-note. I picked up the microphone and started to yell.

"When I was- a young boy-" I screamed as loud as I could, Hunk starting to beat, Lance following along with Allura and Coran. Shiro shaking the tambourine furiously, Pidge right alongside him, on Shiro's broad shoulders.

"My father took me into the city, to see a marching band." Belting out chords, I looked up at Keith, who was almost ghastly white, from what I think was sheer and bountiful amounts of joy.

"He said, son when- you grow up-" Shiro sang, his semi-deep voice echoing around the large lounge room. "Would you be the savior of the broken, the beaten and the damned?" I could hear incoherent choking coming from the other side of the room as our fellow teammate started to slump on the ground, on all fours.

"He said, will you defeat them, your demons, and all those non-believers, the plans that they have made?" Lance and Pidge joined in, singing it musical-style, looking at each other, then Keith, winking. In the short musical interlude, Keith stood up, shaking and crying.

"Because one day, I'll leave you, a phantom, to lead you in the summer, to join the Black Parade!" The music ended, Hunk giving a small drum riff. Keith burst into tears, crying and sniffling as he made his way towards us. We were all either crying with him or hugging him, some of us doing both at the same time.

"How did you fucking know..." he wailed, stomping on the ground. "I'm so blessed that my birthday is the day that song was released, so fucking blessed, oh my god..." Shiro chuckled and ruffled Keith's head, patting his shoulder.

"Don't cry, we still have cake and presents," Lance joked. "Wouldn't want to mess that up, right?" Allura and Coran wiped their eyes and clasped their hands together.

"I do not know what a 'My Chemical Romance' is, but it seems to hold a special place in your heart, Keith," Allura said, smiling gently. "It's like the band I used to enjoy when I was a little girl."

"Ah, young music tastes. I remember in my prime," Coran sighed, reminiscing at the old memory. "I had long hair and everything when listening to instrumentals."

"Buddy, come on you know we wouldn't miss your birthday, okay?" I laughed, gently patting his back. To my surprise, Keith flung his arms around me, sighing into my shoulder, tears still leaking down his flushed face.

"Thank you so much, all of you."

(Bonus)

"And look who just happened to stumble on by!" I said, exaggerating the emphasis on a certain someone in the room. Keith raised a brow, popped his head into the room and then screamed.

"What- MOTHMAN IS REAL OH MY FUCK HOLY SHIT I TOLD YOU-" I nodded to Shiro, who smiled proudly, side hugging me and rubbing his arm against my side.

The whole team watched as Keit started to fanboy over an alien we invited over who was coincidentally named "Mothman" and looked a lot... like a moth as a person.

"I WANT HIM CAN WE KEEP HIM?" Keith begged, "It's my birthday!"

"I mean, I wouldn't mind staying here," the alien said, shrugging. "This kid actually worships me, and I don't wanna burst his bubble." I looked at Allura, who rolled her eyes and nodded, still grinning.

And so Mothman and Keith frolicked into his room where they had tea and wore pink princess hats, listening to My Chemical Romance.

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almost 100 oneshots owo

also: thank you all so much for supporting me through this book :) i wouldn't have made it without you guys/gals