#besides from arguing eith one another

[mapleleafsthighs]

hockey tumblr:

the side of tumblr filled with what is supposed to be just harmless talking about hockey boys until they have scandals and all hockeyblr stans join forces to create a cancel culture on the player even though some of us hate eachothers guts due to the teams we cheer for

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The Shrink Treatment 2: The Team Gets Shrunk. Literally.

The Shrink Treatment 2: The Team Gets Shrunk. Literally. Fandom: Voltron: Legendary Defender Pairing: Kidge Summary: Sequel to this story; should be read for context. Pidge’s brilliant idea to take Keith to see the Lions doesn’t go as planned. At all. Standard Disclaimer: If you read and enjoy this, please give it a like/ reblog so I know if I should write more. AN: Gonna be honest and say there will be at least one more part after this one, since I ended up WAY more attached and involved in this idea than I planned.

The Lions had always been extremely interesting to Pidge. From a technological standpoint, they were constantly evolving to match their Paladin’s needs in battle without any sound reason as to why. As their bond as a team developed further, so did not only their connection with their individual Lion, but the other four as well; giving them the ability to communicate in brief flashes with each other without needing another Paladin to play translator. This benefitted Pidge especially well, since she was normally the one to start repairs or develop new upgrades to help improve their software. While she had been under the proverbial hood of all the Lions multiple times in her tenure as the Green Paladin, she still wasn’t sure how exactly the Lions actually worked. It seemed less that she learned how to repair them solely through trial and error or her own wits, and more that the Lions poured the solutions into her head themselves, much like turning on a sink faucet. Whichever Lion she was working on would tell her what to do as it needed to be done – down to which programs to run when and in what order, and what physical damages needed attending first – and then she’d be left to piece how it all worked together when the task was complete. She started to keep a journal for each Lion where she logged every repair or upgrade she made to them, paying excruciating attention to detail in making sure her accounts were as accurate as possible.

Green Lion had teased her once, when Pidge had asked why they gave her the information in such a way, by pointing out that Pidge would be insulted if they simply told her how everything fit together. “You are too smart to be talked down to, my Paladin, and giving you all the answers would only infuriate you. Instead, we give you the tools so that you can reach the answers on your own,” She had explained, her voice a warm and affectionate purring in Pidge’s head. Pidge had to admit that Green was right in that it was against her nature to simply want to have information handed to her, as well as feeling like learning about the Lions over time helped them maintain a certain level of mysticism and mystery.

In short; it helped maintain the image of being super cool.

A fact that was not missed on Keith when they entered the hanger.

His eyes had sparkled and the little gasp he let out had quickly morphed into a small squeal that cracked at the end, earning an amused snort from her. She set him down and he slowly approached the half circle of feline themed robots, looking from each one in turn as he stepped. Their shields were down so he could get a much better look at each of them. He paused in the center, where he could turn in a circle and see each of them perfectly as he did. He turned around to look at her, a grin that nearly split his face in half, and waved his arms out at the Lions. “They. Are. So cool!” He shouted as he ran in a big circle, arms still out.

She laughed a bit before she felt a panic rising in the back of her mind, the sensation foreign but also somewhat familiar. It was followed by a flickering of light from her peripheral. She frowned worriedly and took a few steps forward, slipping over to gently place her hand against the shield. “Oh, Red,” She said softly.

Of all the Lions, Red spoke with Pidge the least often. She didn’t take it personally, though, as Red expressed the same disinterest in anyone whose name didn’t start with a “K” and end in an “Eith”. The bond between Keith and Red, while instantaneous, had become deeper in a surprisingly short amount of time. Keith insisted that it was simply that they were a good combination, but Pidge knew better. She’d seen how often Keith would sneak into the hanger, believing no one else was present, and get himself comfortable leaning back against Red’s muzzle and simply chat with her. While Pidge wasn’t privy to what they discussed, Green Lion was able to confirm they were, in fact, speaking through the telepathic bond.

It only made sense, then, that Red may not be as accepting of the situation Keith was in as everyone else was trying to be.

“My Paladin… What have you done to my Paladin? Is that even my Paladin or is this some kind of experiment?” She roared, her tone a mix of fear and fury. The intensity of her emotions actually made Pidge wince, pushing on her mind like having a brick dropped on her head.

“Red,” Pidge breathed softly, trying to gain control of the situation, but the pressure in her head only grew worse. She bit her lip to keep in a whimper of pain.

“Answer me, Paladin of Green! Is this some kind of plot? Are you scheming against the rest of Voltron? Are you?” She bellowed.

“No, I would never!” She snapped back just as Green stood at attention, roaring loudly at Red.

“How dare you question the intentions of my Paladin!” Green growled, her body shifting low and tail raising. A sinking stomach grew in Pidge’s belly as she glanced between the two Lions. Red’s shield flickered briefly, teetering on the edge of being dropped to accept the obvious challenge Green was throwing down. The Lions had bickered and squabbled before – typically Blue and Red arguing over whose Paladin was actually responsible for whatever newest qualm rose between Lance and Keith – but Green had never reached the point of making threats or escalating a situation.

A small tug at her hand alerted her to the small child beside her, who was pressing into her leg with a fearful look in his eyes.

It occurred to Pidge that, while she doubted Keith’s bond with Red was at a point that he could fully communicate with her, he might be able to pick up on the feelings of the two Lions. And even if he wasn’t sensing anything telepathically, it was clear that he could at least read the situation enough to know he had reason to feel uncomfortable. Pidge looked up at Red and squared her shoulders. “Knock it off, both of you!” She barked, turning her attention between the two of them. She could feel their attention shift from one another back to her. “You’re both being unreasonable and you’re scaring Keith.”

Green returned to sitting upright, releasing only a small huff of resignation that the argument was being laid to rest for now, while Red shifted to lay down, her head dipping to rest between her front paws. Her shield stayed up and Pidge sighed, giving Keith’s hand a small squeeze and pressing her other hand more firmly against Red’s shield.

Keith looked from Pidge to Red Lion, cocking his head like a confused puppy. “Is the red kitty mad?” He asked quietly.

She looked down at him and plastered on a smile that she hoped was reassuring. “Well, she’s not really mad… She’s just upset. More sad than mad… See, she’s really worried about someone special to her but she doesn’t want to say it that way. Instead she’s being grumpy about it,” She said, trying to think of how best to explain it.

He blinked once at her before looking over at Red again. He released Pidge’s hand to walk a bit closer to the shield, pushing both of his tiny hands against the surface. Red perked up in curiosity, letting the shield drop upon his touch.

His eyes lit up when it disappeared, looking at his hands in awe, clearly thinking that he had forced it down himself. Amusement unfurled from Red as she observed him. Keith beamed up at Pidge before stepping forward and pressing himself against Red’s nose, stretching as far as his little arms could reach. For a moment, she tilted her head in bemusement as to what he was trying to accomplish, before he tossed his head back to try and look at her. “Does she feel better now?” He called.

A smile turned up on Pidge’s lips that she quickly hide by covering her mouth with one hand, the other falling to rest on her hip. “What is he doing? Why is he doing this?” Red pestered her.

“It’s called a hug; humans sometimes hug each other to offer comfort. He’s trying to make you feel better,” She mumbled into her hand, the words repeating in her mind so as to actually be understood by the puzzled robot.

Red seemed frozen by shock for a moment before she shifted a bit, letting out an actual purr through her robotic form, something akin to nuts and bolts being vibrated on a metal tray, and gently pressed into Keith as a form of acceptance of the affection. She was careful to not bowl him over with the gesture, though it did push him back a few feet. He noticed and giggled excitedly in response, tightening his hold on her snout and rubbing his cheek against the cool metal. Another purr rumbled out of the mechanical cat. While Red still seemed a bit weary of Keith, it was clear that she was at least a bit more softened up to him in his current form.

Glad that a crisis had been avoided with Red, Pidge cleared her throat to get their attention. “Okay, buddy, how about we let the Lions rest for a bit, okay? Do you like to color? Cause if so, I may have some markers and paper waiting to have your name put on them,” She mused lightly.

Keith slowly let go of Red Lion, looking up at her again in awe, before scampering back over to Pidge’s side. “Can I draw the Lions?” He asked excitedly.

She laughed lightly and nodded. “Of course. They don’t move around much so they’ll be great models, too,” She laughed before guiding him over to her table. She pulled open one of the drawers and started rummaging through. Her computer dinged to signify that Coran had sent the calculations along to her via the private messaging system they’d developed. It was in case of emergencies where they couldn’t use the regular communicators, but could easily be accessed from any technical device with a screen.

A space Discord, in a way.

Finding a notebook with lineless paper had been relatively easy for Pidge but locating something that could work like markers or crayons was the real trial. Over their travels, they’d gotten small trinkets and mementos from most of the planets they visited; practical things they could make use of being one of the more frequent options. For Pidge, notebooks and writing utensils and things of that ilk were her favorite. She loved getting to use the advanced tablets and holo-screens on the castle and they were common among most of the other aliens they encountered, but there were moments when she just liked the curl of a pencil in her fingers, the soft brush of her hand against a clean sheet of paper, and the hassle of washing trace smudges of ink or lead from her skin.

It took her emptying the drawer of nearly all its contents to find a small bundle of thin, long instruments tied together in a green ribbon, but she grinned in pride. They were an odd hybrid of markers and crayons – requiring a lid to be kept from running out, much like a marker, but were thicker and wider like toddler crayons back on Earth were - and required a bit of finagling to work. But the children of Huyrtroz - the planet she’d gotten them from - could use them well enough and she could say with certainty that they were washable, so she doubted that Keith would have too much trouble so long as he was taught. She returned the items she’d removed from the drawer with a quick sweep of one arm and turned toward Keith, who was bouncing on her chair with the notebook set on his lap. “Okay, this should work pretty good. They’re a little different than the kinds of color stuff you’re used to using, though, so watch how I do this carefully, okay?” She asked as she opened the notebook to a clean page, then tugged the green and red ones from the group.

He nodded happily, scooting a bit closer to her. She grinned and handed the red one to him, holding the green one up by the cap using her index and thumb. Keith tilted his head a bit, inspecting how she was holding it, and then mirrored her with the one he had. She grinned in approval and he beamed back.

The casing of the utensils were uniform and bland and had no text of any kind on them. The casing around them was a pale grey with white ovals in the center on one side, but the caps were tinted whatever color it would write in. “Now, you’re gonna want to leave the cap on for a minute or two, okay? They won’t write if we don’t do a little magic first,” She said, lowering her tone conspiratorially.

He gasped softly before he nodded, eyes so wide with excitement that they almost looked like they may pop out. “Is it secret magic?” He asked softly.

“Yes, it is. You can’t tell anyone else about this, okay?” She hummed. Pidge was the only one – sans maybe Coran and Allura, admittedly – who knew how to work these things and she planned to make use of that fact in the near future. After all, she figured Lance deserved a little bite back for constantly stealing her headphones.

Keith held his hand up to his mouth, tugging at an imaginary zipper, and flashed her a thumbs up. She laughed lightly at how ridiculously endearing it was. She made a note to herself to try to get him to do it again when he was back to normal. “Mmhmm!” He muffled out, refusing to open his mouth, as if to show his sincerity.

“Now, what you’re gonna do next is press your thumb against the little white oval here, and when it changes color you can take the cap off and use it,” She explained, placing the pad of her own thumb in place. How it worked was that the inside of the tube was a mineral that melted in to an ink-like substance, but only when exposed to high temperatures of heat. The casing around the sliver of mineral would amplify the body temperature pressed against it internally to melt the mineral without running the risk of burning the user. Once the oval turned completely green, she pulled the cap off and drew a quick kitty face on a blank sheet of paper.

“That’s so cool!” He said excitedly, fumbling with the red one in his hand to imitate how she had held it. Pidge chuckled as she popped the cap back on the one she was holding, reaching over to lightly push his bangs out of his face as he watched the oval change color under his touch. Once it was ready to use, he yanked the cap off and started drawing frantic squiggles and wavy lines, giggling like a little mad man in glee.

Pidge would be lying if she tried to say it was anything other than adorable and endearing.

She turned her attention to her desk then hummed softly on thought. Despite having cleared a small space off from where she’d placed the items in the drawer, there was still a lot of stuff on the surface. It was mostly controlled chaos of various projects she had going on, with blueprints and scrap papers with equations tossed here and there but components of new tech and tools were also strewn about. The idea of clearing it all off and tidying up was unappealing but seemed to make sense, so that she could make room for Keith to draw while she worked over the calculations. “I suppose I could group projects together with their blueprints and started pieces for now, just to make room,” She mumbled out loudly, cupping her chin in one hand as her eyes flickered between everything.

Violet eyes shifted from her, to the desk, and then looked back at the Lions as he snapped the cap back on the marker. “Can I draw near the Lions?” He asked.

She hummed thoughtfully before nodding, offering the rest of the bunch of markers to him. “I’ll be right over here keeping an eye on you. Remember that if you behave yourself maybe I can take you for a ride in the Green Lion later, okay?” She mused lightly.

He nodded eagerly. “I will!” He said before squirming off the chair and darting back towards the Lions. She laughed as she watched him settling on the ground, laying on his belly in the same spot he’d stood before, and began shifting through the markers to determine where to start. She smiled to herself as she settled into her seat and pulled up the calculations. She then grabbed the small holo-screen that she had programmed to work like a white board and got to work, picking the equation apart piece by piece to find where the problem stemmed from.

…………………………………………………………………………………………

Keith decided that he would start with the Yellow Lion, and then loop back around to draw the rest of the Lions, ending with the Blue Lion. He made sure to put the caps back on the markers the second he was done using them. He knew that Pidge was really, really picky about who she let use her stuff and he didn’t want her to think he wouldn’t be good to her things. Plus, he figured it would get him bonus points towards getting to ride in one of the Lions later. He started to grin and giggle at the thought.

Being a giant robot pilot was what he really wanted to be when he grew up. Well, that or a firefighter.

A strange sense ran through him, creeping from between his shoulders and up along his spine, but it wasn’t completely unpleasant. He perked up and looked around to see if he could find something that may have caused it. Maybe a fan was on, or something, but he didn’t see anything. Despite wanting to think it was something like a chill, another part of his mind seemed to tell him it wasn’t something as simple as that, coaxing him into settling back in and starting on drawing the head of the Black Lion. He felt like he was used to this sensation, and the sensation seemed to vibrate with amusement, so it couldn’t be bad. Right?

“So you can still sense me, eh?” A voice mused in his head, causing him to bolt upright and look straight at the Red Lion. He blinked then tilted his head, brow furrowing. “Fear not, my Paladin, I will not hurt you.”

He jutted his chin out a bit and huffed, turning his attention back to his drawing. “M’not afraid of nuthin’,” He grumbled sulkily.

Red laughed lightly. “There is no shame in occasionally being afraid or confused,” She chimed lightly.

“I’m not scared of nuthin’!” He shouted back angrily, glaring daggers at the yellow eyes of the giant cat.

Pidge perked up, pushing her chair out a bit to look over at Keith. Her eyes were bright with concern. “You okay over there, buddy?” She called gently. Keith’s face flushed at the question and he nodded, not wanting to speak again, and he could hear the Lion laughing at him. It only made him blush even more. “Well, let me know if you need anything.”

“Kay,” He called back meekly. He resumed drawing for another minute or two before glancing at the Lion again. “Why can I hear you in my head?”

“Because you are my Paladin. We have a deep, mental bond that links our consciousness together so long as we are both alive, to assure that I can protect you and that we can reunite with one another when separated,” She explained. He stared at her blankly. “Er, uh, you are my pilot and we have a magical bond?”

Ah, that seemed to make more sense to him by how he gasped excitedly. “I’m your pilot?” He asked, voice barely above a whisper. The hope and giddiness flowed off of him like waves, though, so it wasn’t hard for Red to figure out what he was feeling.

“Indeed you are. If you would like, we could take a brief trip out so that I can give you a taste of what you normally experience,” She offered.

He blinked then looked back over at Pidge, using a stylus to jot some things down on her holo-screen. “I promised Pidge that I would be good. She said that if I am she’ll talk Shiro into letting me go for a trip on the Green Lion later,” He answered.

“The Black Paladin will never approve of you going out. The Green Paladin may think that she can convince him otherwise, but I can guarantee that she cannot,” Red answered calmly. His eyes faltered, flicking with disappointment, and he shifted to look down at the picture. “I, however, will not deny you of what is yours. As the Red Paladin, it is our right to fly together whenever we should like.”

He stared at her for a moment before looking back over at Pidge, concern evident in his features. Red felt a bit guilty taking advantage of both he and the Green Paladin, but she was still unsure if this small creature was truly her Paladin. And if it was then she wanted to know exactly how much he knew; how much of the him she knew was still present. If he could pilot her as well as usual, she would have her answer. She knew that her Paladin had a soft spot in him for the Green Paladin – though she didn’t exactly understand why – and she had been hoping that this side of him may lack that same loyalty.

Then again, he seemed rather suggestable.

“Just a quick flight, I promise. All you have to do is ask the Green Paladin to leave long enough for us to get out of the hanger. Ask her to bring you sustenance or fluids,” She said, keeping her voice gentle and reassuring. She could sense the turmoil in him. He didn’t want to disappoint the Green Paladin, but he was also desperate to see what it would be like to fly in Red Lion.

“Pidge, I want some juice,” He said suddenly. A pleased purr rumbled through the Red Lion.

The girl in question perked up at her name being called and looked over. She looked at the calculations briefly. She’d done a pretty good job of deconstructing the equation, managing to locate three errors already that could perhaps explain why the chemical had caused the changes that it had. “I think I’m at a good stopping place. Why don’t we go get some juice and snacks together?” She asked. A break seemed like a good idea, especially if Keith was complaining about wanting something. Pidge didn’t have a lot of experience with toddlers – dealing with Lance apparently didn’t count, if you asked Shiro – but she knew that they could get really fussy if they got bored or needed something but had to wait.

“Is it okay if I wait here? I wanna finish my picture,” He said, shifting a bit to look back down at the page.

She hummed softly before looking around the hanger. There wasn’t really anything for him to get in to, really, since they kept most of their equipment and spare parts locked up in cupboards and high up on shelves. “Okay, but you have to stay right there, okay? I’ll only be gone for a little bit,”

He made a small noise of acknowledgement and waved one hand, turning to lay back down and picking up the black marker. She smiled and waved back, despite knowing he couldn’t see, and slipped out of the hanger. The minute she was gone, he scrambled up and walked towards the Red Lion. “We won’t be gone very long, right?” He asked cautiously.

“Correct. This will be a short trip, just so you can see what it is like,” She agreed, letting her head lower to him. Her jaw opened, welcoming him to make the short trek to the cockpit.

“We really gotta come right back, okay? I don’t want Pidge getting in trouble because of us,” He warned as he took a few steps closer, looking up at the roof of her mouth curiously. When it was nothing but metal and dim red lights, he started climbing up to rest on her lower jaw.

She hummed quietly in response. “The Green Paladin will be fine so long as we return before the Black Paladin finds out,” She answered as he made his way upwards. She then perked up slightly. “I will need to make some adjustments before we get going. I won’t be able to do so until you’re in the cockpit, though.”

Inside the cockpit, Keith couldn’t help but gasp in awe. The whole place was lit up with red screens in weird words he couldn’t understand, but that didn’t matter. He darted over and clamored on to the seat, kneeling on it and resting his hands on one of the arm rests as he looked around more. “Doesn’t have a seat belt,” He mumbled to himself.

Were giant robots supposed to have seat belts? He didn’t know but figured probably not. He’d never seen them before in Power Rangers, after all.

He ducked his head down to look under the console and saw a few pedals, but they started shifting upwards, closer to him. He jumped back with a small yelp, smacking into the back of the seat as it moved forward. “Turn around and face forward. I need to make the proper adjustments for you to pilot,” Red Lion chided lightly.

He scowled up at the roof of the cockpit and then huffed, sitting forward and crossing his arms over his chest. “M’just lookin around,” He groused quietly.

“I understand your curiosity, but there will be time for that later,” Red mused, moving the seat and pedals up and forward. Once she moved it close enough, Keith scooted forward a bit and nudged one pedal with the toe of his sneaker. The pedal shifted a bit closer at Red’s insistence, settling so that it was much easier for him to reach, and then she moved the throttles downward so he could reach those as well. He was almost pressed against the dashboard but he would be able to see and steer just fine. “Now, see if you can guide us out.”

“You can’t move on your own?” He asked in surprise.

“I can move a bit on my own when absolutely necessary, but if you are able to pilot me, then my movement is led to your discretion,” She said calmly before letting her presence fade back a bit. She opened the main hanger doors and turned to face the empty, twinkling abyss of space just outside. If this truly was her Paladin, then surely his instinct would guide him in to making their way for their flight.

Keith swallowed, a mix of nervousness and excitement coursing through him as he stared out at the open doors. He was going to get to do it! He was going to get to pilot a giant robot and fly around in space!... So long as he could figure out how to get her to move. He reached out and settled his hands on the throttles and tapped one of the pedals curiously, being sure to not use enough force to actually make it do whatever it was supposed to do. He felt as if he’d been here before – done this countless times – and he supposed it had to be true. The Red Lion seemed confident in his ability to do this.

He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then let himself fall in to what felt right.

Red Lion jolted to attention and laughed in delight as her body moved to stand, taking one cautious step forward. He wasn’t as brazen and bold as she was used to, but this was certainly her Paladin! “Wonderful! Keep going, now!” She praised enthusiastically. He pushed the throttles forward a bit more and the Red Lion began moving at a trot.

As soon as they reached the doorway, he pushed forward on one of the throttles, shoved the pedal he’d been poking earlier down as far as he could, and Red Lion darted out at full speed, leaving a small smoke trail behind them as they rushed out in to the unknown.

Just as the Lion disappeared, Pidge came back in carrying a small tray. There were two juice pouches, a small bowl with some kind of pink spread, and a slightly larger bowl with what appeared to be come kind of sliced fruit. “Okay, buddy, I went ahead and got some stuff to help keep us focused while we’re in he-!” Pidge’s smile faltered and she dropped the tray with a loud clang as she stared at out at the open doors of the hanger. Her mind whirled as she came to realize what was happening.

Keith and the Red Lion were gone.

Keith, whom was currently trapped in the body and mentality of a near-four year old, and the Red Lion, right arm of Voltron, were gone and the hanger door was wide open and they probably went out in to the vastness of space.

“Shiro’s going to kill me,” She wheezed out softly, knees shaking a little bit for both fear of their leader’s wrath, but also the myriad of terrible things that could happen to the tiny Red Paladin on his own.