#IDK HOW TO HASHTAG N CORRECTLY

[mewrnn]

[whatusernamex3000]

So I know it's a niche ship but Komelle has always been a sweet little pairing I've loved since I watched voltron. I just wish they did more to further the two of them together (romantically or friendship idk just wanted more).

Anyways here's and unfinished fic from two years ago when I started writing. Just wanted to put more Komelle into the world.

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Keith was on a mission to reconnect with his estranged mom. Feeling rejected by his friends, he set off on a solo road trip across the country to meet her.

The last thing he imagined was that on the trip back, he would end up being happy for the first time in his life. All it took was his mom, a mutt, and a goofball hitchhiker.

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Keith sat in silence with his newly found mother, Krolia, he learned her name was. When he set out to find her, he was at an all time low in his life. And at twenty one years old, that was saying a lot.

He'd made mistakes before, but he'd never meant to burn bridges. He never meant to throw away everything he had worked so hard to build. But things just didn't go his way. He had no idea what to do next, so he finally decided that he was going to set out to talk to his estranged mother.

The woman who had left him when he was born with just his father. The woman who didn't seek him out when his father died. The woman who didn't want him, didn't need him.

But he packed as much as he could into his rusty pickup truck and said enough with California, and drove to Portland, Maine where he discovered she lived.

After he mustered the courage to knock on the door, things went rather well from him. He was prepared to give her a piece of his mind and tell her off, but when the time came, he couldn't. Keith was just so happy to have found her. And she was nothing like the terrible monster he had created in his head. Krolia for all her faults and mistakes in her youth, was willing to be a part of his life. She wanted to find Keith after she found out his father died but she had heard too late and he was already with the Shiroganes.

While Keith wanted to say that it was no excuse, he couldn't imagine his life without growing up with Shiro and his family. They treated him as their own, and he considered himself a part of their family even if he knew it wasn't true.

The trip back was filled with awkward silence as the two tried to learn more about each other. He'd learned that his mother was a total badass, and a surprisingly great cook. She never married, or had other children, and all around was a great woman. While she couldn't get back the time she'd missed, she wanted him to know that from that point on, she was going to be there.

Somewhere around Indiana they hit a snafu. More specifically, Keith nearly hit a dog. The damn thing sprinted in front of his truck causing him to swerve out of the way and drive straight into a ditch. There they had to get it towed to replace the destroyed tire. Keith could've done it himself had the ruined tire not already been the spare.

Next door there was a local dive bar that Krolia suggested that they check out while they wait for the truck to be fixed. Leaving the shop Keith noticed the dog that had caused this fiasco sitting patiently as if it were waiting for them. "Go away you mutt!" He shouted but it had no effect on the dog. It sat patiently waiting for God knows what.

Forgetting about the dog, Keith followed his mother into the dive bar. Needless to say it was exactly what he expected. Loud drunken local hillbilly types, a bartender that was too pretty to be there, and a few out of place strangers. But one stood out among the rest.

A cute blonde who looked to nervous to be at a place like this. Krolia seemingly sensing Keith's wandering eyes chose to have them sit next to the pretty blonde girl. "Do you mind? These seats aren't taken are they?" She kindly asked the girl.

She shook her head. Krolia sat down and had Keith sit between her and the girl. "What would you like Keith?"

"Ummm a rum and coke," he replied. Krolia chuckled, "just like your father." But as soon as she said it, she realized how much of a mistake it was. They were far to soon in their relationship to talk about him. Keith excused himself for a minute leaving Krolia alone. She let out a large sigh, snagging the lonely girls attention.

"Is everything okay ma'am?" She kindly asked. She had a slight British accent if Krolia was placing it correctly. "No. I'm stuck with my estranged son who hates me. I haven't been part of his life in over twenty years, and now I am. And it's a bit much. For both of us."

"But you're trying right?"

Krolia let out another sigh, "I'm trying harder at this than anything I've ever tried before. But I don't think it's going to be enough."

"Well I think it should be. You have motherly eyes," the girl pointed out and offered Krolia a kind and friendly smile.

"Thank you. And I'm sorry. I'm sure that the last thing you wanted was for some stranger to confide in you. Especially something like this," Krolia laughed a bit.

"Nonsense, I asked you. I'm Romelle," the girl said offering her hand.

"Krolia."

"So Krolia why are you and your son here in the middle of Indiana?"

Krolia filled her in on her and Keith's story. From meeting in Portland, Maine, to hitting the ditch just a few miles down the road.

"It was Kosmo," Romelle said. Krolia looked at her with a confused look. "What's cosmic?"

"No the dog that ran in front of your truck. His name is Kosmo. He's like the towns friendly neighborhood dog. He doesn't have an owner," she explained. By this point, Romelle had taken Keith's seat and drink, due to Krolia's offer.

"He was probably trying to chase a rabbit," she explained, polishing off the last of Keith's rum and coke. "And he was probably trying to apologize to your son when you saw him outside."

"Speaking of Keith," Krolia swiveled in there seat to survey the rest of the bar. "I don't see him."

Krolia paid for the drinks and her and Romelle walked towards the exit in search of Keith.

Much to their surprise, Keith was playing fetch with Kosmo. "Would you look at that," Krolia teased. "I thought you didn't like that mutt."

Keith smiled as Kosmo returned with the stick. Keith bent down to pet his face. "He's a mutt alright. Half amazing, half terrific."

"Parks n Rec," Romelle shouted. "I love that show."

Keith awkwardly smiled at her. "Uhhh hi. I'm Keith."

"Oh I know all about you," Romelle playfully teased. Keith's face started to turn red, thankfully, Krolia stepped in.

"Actually Keith, I was about to buy Romelle here a drink for listening to me ramble on about you. But why don't you do that while I talk to the mechanic." She gave her newfound son a smile and surprisingly he returned it.

"Uhhh yeah sure." He responded as Krolia walked towards him to give him some money. "Play nice, she seems like a sweet girl," she whispered as she handed him the money.

Keith and Rlomelle sat there awkwardly sipping on their respective drinks. A rum and Coke for him, and a vodka cranberry for her. It wasn't the fanciest of bars, but the pretty bartender definitely did make killer drinks. "You're mom's nice," Romelle finally said, breaking the silence between them. He couldn't help but notice her misplaced accent. Certainly foreign.

He awkwardly laughed, "you probably know her better than I do at this point."

"Because you met her a few days ago yeah?"

Keith nearly choked on his own drink. He looked over and saw her with a concerned look in her eyes. "I'm so sorry. It's just that she told me, and i… I shouldn't have brought it up."

"It's okay. It's just… I don't actually know what I'm doing," he said, offering her a reassuring smile. He ordered them both another round, Indiana had very cheap alcohol compared to California. Once the bartender returned with their drinks, he turned his attention back to Romelle. This time he took all of her in. She had beautiful blonde hair that she kept neat and straight with pigtails but not really pigtails, if Keith knew anything about hair other than to wash and occasionally comb it, he would've been able to pinpoint her hair style. But regardless of what style it actually was, he thought she looked beautiful with it. It flowed all the way down to her just above her waist, but it was hard to tell while she was sitting. And while her blonde hair was eye catching, it was the piercing violet eyes that pulled him in. She was truly beautiful.

"I just feel like I should forgive her," he continued once he found his voice again. He was nervous that he may never be able to speak properly in front of her again now that he noticed just how stunning she looked. "But I don't know if I should. She had a chance to find me, but thought it was best to leave me with the family that took me in… that I wasn't good enough." He finished in a whisper, struggling to keep the tears at bay.

Normally he would've called up Allura by this point, telling her everything. If he were still back home in California, he would've driven to Acxa's. She was never one for sharing heart to hearts, but hanging out with her always put his mind at ease. With her, he was able to forget temporarily and just be himself. Hell, he would've called Lance or any of his friends by now, but in typical Keith fashion he blew up at all of them and promptly left the next morning without a word. Some time during the night he mistakenly and drunkenly blocked and deleted all of their contacts, the only thing that kept him in touch with them. He didn't have snapchat, or twitter, or even Instagram. That was all of them. He preferred things the old fashioned way, face to face. That didn't mean he wasn't on Instagram. All his friends had decided to create a hashtag for him under #keithkogane. He loved and missed his friends, but they weren't here. And yet somehow here, in the middle of nowhere Indiana, in some rundown bar, he found himself pouring his soul out to a beautiful girl he just met.

Romelle wasn't too sure what to say. Keith looked completely devastated, and she refused to believe that this man she just met was anything but good enough. Suddenly, the dj started playing a song she's recently started listening to religiously, and an idea came to mind. "I love this song let's dance," she grabbed his arm, not allowing him to say no.

"I don't dance," Keith tried to refute, but the look in Romelle's eyes told him that he was going to lose this fight ten out of ten times. The first few songs weren't that bad, considering they were a variation of country music. Romelle tried to teach him to two step, but in the end he proved that he doesn't dance because he can't. But still, Keith was thoroughly enjoying himself; watching the way Romelle moved with the rhythm, the way she laughed as she was spun around. It wasn't until the latest song had ended that they found themselves back in each other's arms. His smile was much more genuine than when they started. Suddenly the lights dimmed and the beat slowed. (A/N Golden Hour - Kasey Musgraves)

"Surely you can slow dance?" She teased, giving him an out if he wanted. He hadn't slow danced since the senior prom with his date Acxa, and he was so awkward (thankfully, Acxa was just as awkward) that he swore off slow dancing forever. But now, not slow dancing with Romelle was just about the last thing he wanted. Dancing the past hour or so had completely taken his mind off of his situation. For the first time since he left his friends a week and a half ago, he was having fun. And it was all because of her.

Keith pulled Romelle close and they slowly swayed to the soothing beat. Her head rested on his chest as they kept swaying. "I know what you did… And thank you," he whispered into her ear.

"For what?" Romelle asked, obviously playing dumb.

He did his best not to laugh. "The dancing. It's helped. I really appreciate it. You didn't have to do this for a stranger."

"How about a friend?"

Keith didn't respond, instead just closed his eyes and let the music take over. Something about this felt right, and if he wasn't stuck here, he would've been willing to explore this feeling further. "Thirsty?" He heard her ask, and he opened his eyes to look down at her and just stared into her eyes, getting lost in their reflection. It was right then and there that Keith wished more than anything that this was just a dream. If it was, he wouldn't have to leave her so soon.

"That'd be great."

Two more drinks later, courtesy of the bartender who liked Romelle's "sunshiney attitude", Keith finally decided that despite knowing that he would most likely never see this girl again, he wanted to enjoy his time with her. Not wallow in self pity due to their limited time. "So tell me about yourself?"

"What do you want to know?" She asked between sips of her apple Martini.

"What brings you here?" It was the wrong question, he realized too late. The pain in her eyes told him all he needed to know. She was running from something. "I… sorry. You don't need to talk about it."

She smiled, sliding her hand over his. "Thank you."

"So where are you going?" Based on her face, this was a difficult question as well, but not for the reason he thought.

She sighed, "I don't know. I've just been drifting from place to place. But I've been here for about three weeks. I don't know why but something was keeping here and honestly I wasn't sure what it was… until today."

It took Keith by surprise, and he almost pulled his hand away. Instead he switched so his hand rest on top of hers and he gave it a squeeze. "I hope you're right."

Krolia reappeared to a sight that made her smile. He saw the look the two young adults were sharing… comfort and hope. It as perfect picture, in fact she took out her phone and took one. She had decided that she was going to catalog their entire journey back with Keith. She wasn't sure if her son had Instagram, so instead she just used a simple hashtag with his name. And to her surprise, she wasn't the only one that had used that tag. Suddenly she was staring at hundreds of images of her son with his friends. It made her heart melt that despite all his struggles, there were people that cared about him. The most tags came from two girls named Allura and Acxa, and a man named Takashi. Clearly these were three of his closest friends, and she hoped that she could meet them.

She stared at the photo she just took and debated on whether or not to add it to the four other photos she had posted under the hashtag. But she decided against it, this was a private moment between the two of them.

Feeling eyes on them, they snapped out of their reverie and turned to look at who was staring. Keith had forgotten that his mom was even with him, and all of a sudden all his feelings came pouring back in. But seeing the look on her face made them slowly vanish. She was smiling… his mom was smiling at him.

Maybe it was the alcohol finally taking effect, but he swore that he had never been more at peace.