Head canon:
Keith is a touch starved person, he doesn’t really physically interact with people, and never really has. Because his mother left and he was obviously never a very social kid, he just never really experienced that element.
He’s really awkward with hugs as is, though he doesn’t mind them, he kinda dreads the awkwardness that they could cause.
What if he held on for too long, what if his hands were in a weird place that made the other person uncomfortable, did his breath stink? What if they don’t let go of the hug first will he have to awkwardly judge when to stop and step away back into his own space?
Basically, he just tries to avoid contact because he’s so stiff and bad at it
Of course most of the team kinda assumes that he’s not a really social person, it’s pretty obvious, but they don’t really get the element to which he hasn’t been exposed to human contact. So when they do touch him in the most simple ways, it’s like a big deal for him and he notices more than a normal person probably would.
◾ Pidge will just randomly lean on him or even hug him sometimes, she treats him like a sibling and he loves it
◾Hunk is a really touchy person so he’ll just hug whoever’s around if he’s excited about something. Sometimes it’s Keith and though he’s a little afraid Hunk will squish him with his strong arms, he enjoys the gesture
◾Lance has a ton of siblings at home, so he does not know personal space. If they’re chilling, he’ll lean on, or put his feet over the lap of whoever is near him
▶Pidge pushes his feet off of her lap immeadiatly, she does not like it
▶Hunk accepts it, he’s been friends with Lance for quite a few years this is normal for him
▶He does it to Keith once without realizing and immediately expects to get hit or yelled at, but he doesn’t. Keith just places his hands in Lance’s ankles and sits there quietly
◾Lance and Keith’s relationship eventually develops into casual cuddles and/or hand holding and sitting really close. They’re not exactly dating but it’s obvious that they both like each other
▶Lance notices a pretty big increase in Keith’s mood and attitude since this is going on. He mentions it to Shiro, and after thinking about it for a while he says that Keith might be touch starved. More human contact would probably benefit him bc that kinda stuff releases hormones in your brain that relieve stress
▶Unbennounced to Keith, Shiro explains this to the other paladins and they devise operation “Love Keith”
▶Any time if someone sees him upset or down in anyway, they have to run up and hug him. Even if they just feel like Keith hasn’t been hugged in a while, they go hug him
▶Allura even joins in and hugs him once, even though she’s not very close with him. He finds it a little weird at first but he’s glad she’s trying
▶Coran is definitely in on the hug Keith thing, he’s like a space uncle who’ll just hug Keith any time he sees him just because
▶It takes Keith a little while to catch on, but when he does, he doesn’t try to stop it. It just makes him feel loved and welcome in this small space family, and he’s just happy to know they care so much
ruinedchildhood
