Notes: One of my favorite Galra headcanons is that they don't have toes. This one is (non-sexual) Omegaverse so skip it if that's not your thing. Also, there's a lot of blushing (and cringe-iness) in this chapter which I usually don't do because I prefer other ways to show one is flustered, but it worked well for this one.

Lotor let out a roar of frustration as he tossed another sock behind him. "Why do I even have toe-socks? I don't have toes!"

It wasn't as if Lotor had an abundance of clothing, just his armor and what he had picked up at the space mall last decaquintent, so the fact that all of his shirts had gone missing was deeply unnerving.

"Maybe I could borrow something?" Lotor wondered aloud to himself, but that idea posed an entirely different problem. He was far taller and far broader than anyone else in the castle, even Shiro.

Shiro seemed considerably shocked to see Lotor at his door (in a pajama shirt, no less.) He looked behind Lotor on both sides, perhaps wondering if someone had forced him to be there.

"Good morning, black paladin Shiro." Lotor greeted, hoping to make Shiro more comfortable and thus more likely to loan Lotor a shirt.

"Oh, um," Shiro said, "Hey, Lotor. What's up?"

"I am experiencing a wardrobe problem and I was wondering if you could be of assistance."

Shiro smiled as if Lotor had just said something humorous. When he spoke, it was with a trace of thwarted off laughter in his voice. "Are you sure I'm the one you want to ask? My husband says I'm a fashion disaster. Maybe Lance would be a better choice?"

Lotor shook his head. "No, Lance is far too short and thin."

Shiro looked taken aback. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Well, none of his clothes would fit me," Lotor explained, wishing the black paladin would understand more easily.

Shiro nodded after a moment. "Oh! You want to borrow some clothes?"

"Yes. All of my shirts have gone missing."

"Missing?"

Lotor did nothing to confirm this, because he was staring to get tired of this conversation.

"Sorry," Shiro said, "But I've got, like, two shirts. One of them is in the wash and I'm wearing the other. But maybe ask Hunk? He's not super tall, but he's wide. It could be like a crop top."

Lotor thanked Shiro for his help, even though Shiro had been most unhelpful, and went off to ponder what to do next.

"Nice shirt," Lance snickered when Lotor sat down at the table. "The Hawaiian print really brings out the despair your eyes."

"It's not mine," Lotor snapped at him, "I had to borrow it since all of mine went missing for Sa knows what reason!"

Everyone at the table was quiet for a moment after Lotor's outburst.

"I apologize for the bitterness of my tone," Lotor said after it became clear that everyone was a bit shaken.

"I was more concerned about the holes in the table," Hunk squeaked out.

Lotor looked down at his hands, and surely enough, his nails were deeply embedded in the table. He pulled them out and moved a nearby bowl of food goo so it covered some of the holes. "Better?"

Hunk shrugged, "It's not worse."

"Why didn't you ask me for a shirt?" Lance asked. "I have a polo that would make you look like you just got off the golf course. I can't wear it because I don't golf."

"What is... golf?" Lotor asked. "And what is a polo?"

"A polo is a shirt type." Hunk said. He didn't explain what golf was, but Lotor didn't care to ask again. "Why didn't you ask Shiro?"

"I did," Lotor said, "But he had no extras."

Shiro shrugged. "I Marie Kondo-ed my closet and got rid of all the clothes that didn't bring me joy."

"It's called organization," Pidge interjected, "Marie Kondo didn't invent getting rid of stuff you don't like."

"Maybe you should take a leaf out of her book and declutter your room," Keith said, "It's like a trash floof den in there."

"It is a trash floof den. They live there with me."

"Since it's not mine, whose shirt is it?" Shiro asked, changing the subject away from the 'trash floofs' in an attempt to deescalate the impending conflict. "Did you end up asking Hunk like I suggested?"

"It's Coran's," Lotor said. This statement was met with the disbelief of everyone at the table. "Apparently, he used to be quite... buff."

"That checks out," Lance said, "He showed me a picture of him and Alfor from 10,000 years ago, and I can't believe I'm saying this, but he was, like, pretty hot."

Lotor sighed, rubbing his temples to ward of the headache that often accompanied the blue paladin's voice. "I'm just dumbfounded as to where the shirts could be."

"You okay, Keith?" Hunk asked Keith, whose face had taken on a soft pink tinge.

'Even so,' Lotor thought, 'He looks beautiful. His hair is made of nebulas and night sky, his eyes spun from starlight.'

"You look kinda sick," Hunk said, sounding awfully concerned.

"I'm fine," Keith said. He stood abruptly without finishing his breakfast goo, "I'm just tired. Thanks for the goo, Hunk."

Keith left the room before anyone else had the chance to ask him anything else.

"I do hope he's alright," Lotor said.

Pidge gave a half suppressed laugh. "Oh, he's alright, all right. He's juuuuust fine."

"What do you mean?" Shiro asked.

"Let's just say, I definitely know who took Lotor's shirts. Keith's been a little dishonest. Emphasis on nest."

Looks of realization spread across the faces of those at the table, though Lotor still wasn't sure what was going on.

"I'm sorry," Lotor said, "But I still have no idea what you're talking about."

"He's nesting, you moron!"

Lotor ignored Pidge's insult in favor of asking instead, "And that is...?"

Lance stood up and brushed imaginary crumbs off his clothes. "I feel like I shouldn't be part of this conversation, so I'm going to leave."

"That's very mature of you," Hunk said, "I should go, too. It's not really my business."

"Yeah," Lance said, "And it's super boring Omega stuff."

"I'll stay to make sure Pidge doesn't do anything lewd." Shiro said, ignoring Pidge's scoffing at his concern.

Lance and Hunk left the room, leaving Lotor alone with Shiro and Pidge.

"So what is it that you were saying?" Lotor asked, "After you insulted my intelligence?"

Pidge pulled a tablet from under the table.

"Pidge!" Shiro scolded, "The rule is no devices at meals unless it's important."

"I had it down where no one else could see it," Pidge countered, "And it's a dumb rule anyway." They typed something into the tablet in their Earth language and turned it around so Lotor could read what was on the screen.

On the screen were several graphs (all of which were written in Altean) displaying information about-

"Nesting," Pidge said, "Is when an Omega falls in love with someone and decides, 'Hmm. I should steal some of their stuff because it smells like them and arrange it into a circle as a way to tell them I like them.'"

Lotor nodded. "I see."

"Back before humans were as evolved as we are now, a nest was one of the ways to show an Alpha that the Omega was capable of making a good home for their kids," Pidge continued, "But then during the Omega rights movement, people realized that Omegas were good for more than just having kids and making homes, so most of the traditions like nesting stopped. The difference is that nesting is more of a biological thing instead of a sexist thing like other traditions that I won't go into. Now Omegas mostly build nests for themselves, but if they trust you enough they might grant you access into their nest."

Lotor nodded again. "That is very interesting. I'd love to talk more about that sometime. Earth is truly fascinating, and I don't mean to gloss over the details of what you said, but If I'm understanding you correctly you're saying that Keith... is in love with me?"

"Duh."

Lotor thought back to the days previous. He thought about how Keith had left the room when Lotor had asked where his shirts had gone. He thought about how Keith's face had gone pink nearly every time Lotor had spoken to him recently. Lotor had thought it was a hybridization-caused pigmentation issue.

He thought about the whining sound Keith had made the day prior when Lotor bested him in a sparring session (a sound Lotor had to force himself not to read into. Surely Keith wasn't interested in him. He probably meant nothing by it and didn't realize how utterly needy and wanton that sound was in Galra society.) Lotor had thought he was reading into it and had felt guilty about it for hours, but if what Pidge was saying was true...

"Vrepit Sa." Lotor said in shock, feeling considerably foolish. "This makes far more sense than my hybrid pigmentation theory."

"Your what?"

Lotor waved his hand in dismissal of Pidge's question. "Not important."

"So yeah," Pidge concluded, "That's where your shirts went."

"Maybe," Shiro interjected, "We don't want to jump to conclusions."

Lotor finished looking at the charts and stood up. He walked over to the door. "Of course not. I will remain fully on the ground during my search for my shirts. Thank you both for your assistance."

Shiro frowned. "That's not what that-"

The door shut before he could finish his sentence. Lotor barely noticed as he strode through the castle, not stopping until he reached the door of the supposed shirt thief.

Lotor rapped thrice upon the door. "Hello, Keith? I need to speak with you."

When Keith did not answer the door, Lotor knocked again. When this knocking elected no response, Lotor opened the door and walked into Keith's chambers. Only after he did so did he realize that this was perhaps an invasion of privacy.

The guilt that stemmed from this realization was immediately quashed by what Lotor saw.

Laying upon Keith's bed was a half asleep Keith surrounded by a circle of pillows, blankets, a few small stuffed animals, and all of Lotor's missing shirts, along with clothing Lotor hadn't realized he was missing.

Lotor hadn't realized he was walking forward until he tripped over a rouge sword and stumbled, barely managing to right himself to avoid crashing onto the floor.

Keith was immediately jolted out of his mostly-asleep state, now alert and highly attentive.

"Lotor?" Keith asked, reaching out and wrapping his fingers around one of Lotor's previously missing shirts. Whether subconsciously or not, Lotor did not know.

"Sorry," Lotor said, picking up the sword and placing it on the nearby desk. "I didn't mean to startle you. I was simply looking for my missing clothing."

Lotor stripped off his borrowed shirt and replaced it with one of his own from the edge of the nest. "That is much better." He paused for a moment to shamelessly enjoy Keith's flustered body language (not to mention his sinfully adorable face) before speaking again, "It seems that I have found them."

Keith's face turned a soft pink color as he stumbled over his words. "Lotor! I- um- yeah. Your clothes are here, but I didn't take them. I mean, I did, but not on purpose. They were mixed in with mine when I was doing my laundry. Yeah! I was doing my laundry and I didn't look in the washing machine before I tossed my clothes in there, and you must've just finished a load. My bad."

Keith said this all very quickly, and had to take a moment after to catch his breath. Lotor took this time to go over Keith's hastily made up take in his head. He decided (and he knew this was perhaps somewhat cruel of him,) to mess with Keith a moment longer. "Laundry, you say? And why did you not return my clothing to me after you realized your error?"

Keith frowned, eyebrows knitting together to come up with an excuse that fit with his original one. "I-um-"

Lotor sat at the edge of Keith's bed, not touching the nest. He didn't want to offend Keith. "Keith."

Keith stopped stammering and looked up at Lotor's face.

"Keith, I was just teasing you. I know that you took my clothes for your nest, and I don't mind."

Keith's hands flew up to his face in an attempt to cover his ever-growing blush. "I'm sorry! You're right, I took them for my nest. I just- I like you a lot and my heat's coming up and I couldn't control myself and I know, I know that doesn't make it okay but you smell so damn good and I-"

Keith paused, "You don't mind?"

Lotor shook his head. "I don't mind. I'd rather you leave me at least one shirt so I don't have to wear that monstrosity," he gestured to the shirt he had borrowed from Coran, now laying abandoned next to the sword. "But I truly don't mind your infatuation with me in the slightest."

Keith took a moment to process this. Lotor could tell that his mind was still slightly addled with the promise of sleep that had been torn from his grasp only moments prior. "You're fine with me taking your shirts for my nest because I'm 'infatuated' with you? Why would you be okay with that?"

Lotor smiled. "Because, Keith, I am at least equally infatuated with you."

Keith took his hands away from his face and gestured for Lotor to come closer. "Do you want to come into my nest?"

Lotor thought about what Pidge had said earlier about Omegas only allowing those whom they trust entrance into their nests. He smiled at the red paladin and began to climb into the circle of soft items. "I would love nothing more."

Lotor wrapped Keith in his arms and held him tightly to his chest until Keith had fallen into a comfortable slumber. Only then did he give himself permission to close his own eyes and drift off next to him.