#guest stars Hunk and Pidge

[future-mr-red-lion]

i feel like this is controversial for some reason, but id love a voltron reboot. i want to see lance back in space after years of forgetting that part of himself on a farm. i WANT keith trying to lead the team after years of not doing but it overall just being awkward because its been so long and he just wants to treat them as equals.

i need pidge and hunk who kinda just want to go back to their lives and families but are trying to put things on the backburner for the rest of the universe. i want the strain of not wanting to be there but not wanting to abandon the team either.

I NEED the conflict of the parts of themselves that MISSED WAR. i need them introducing a new member to the team and it feel strangely like replacing allura. i need shiro and matt and coran guest stars. i need it ALL you dont know how close i am to writing a script and sending it to dreamworks because i will.

DO IT

[bicsbec]

Stay a Little Longer pt. 2

The quintants that led up to the wedding were a bundle of stress and a test of patience. Hunk was in charge of catering, Keith was in charge of not losing the rings, and Lance was in charge of making sure Pidge didn’t go ballistic when the flowers on the centerpieces were wrong or any other detail were to be out of place.

Coran wondered if all weddings on Earth ran this chaotically.

The day itself ran smoother than Coran had expected, considering the buildup. The only hiccup was that Shiro was a babbling mess of nerves.

“I’m gonna mess up the vows,” he said for the tenth time, pacing the length of the room.

“You know them by heart,” Keith insisted. “You’ll be fine. We’re gonna be right there with you.”

Shiro didn’t look too sure.

“At the end of the day, lad, you love him, and he loves you,” Coran said. “You’re gonna go home married to him when the day is out. Isn’t that what matters?”

Shiro smiled, still nervous, but his confidence was building. “Yeah, it is.”

“Then let’s walk you down that aisle,” Coran said cheerily.

“Great,” Keith said with a clap. “I’ll get everyone in position, before he gets nervous again.”

Shiro jabbed Keith playfully before the sound of people scurrying around was heard from outside the dressing room. The guests were seated, and Pidge was doing the last round of finishing touches.

Just then, Krolia peered her head through the doorway looking frantic.

“Coran! There you are!”

“Is something wrong, Mom?” Keith asked as he stepped aside for her.

“I just need Coran really quick,” Krolia said, pulling Kolivan into the room. “He’s the only person alive that can figure this out.”

“Apologies,” Kolivan said. “I haven’t worn dress robes in a very long time. I forgot—um, I’m not sure where this goes.” He held up a piece of fabric.

“Shouldn’t be a problem,” Coran smiled. As he took Kolivan in, he noticed that his outfit did look incomplete. Coran hadn’t laid eyes on a traditional Galran dress robe in a very long time, but he remembered them well from all the balls he attended in Daibazaal.

“Are we ready in here?” Pidge asked from the door, seeming to have just appeared there.

“I’ll be just a tick,” Coran said. “Shiro, go wait for me outside, I won’t be long.”

“Krolia, please follow me,” Pidge said, exiting as quickly as she came. Krolia raised an eyebrow at Keith.

“It’s better if you do as she says,” Keith said gravely. With that, the only people left in the dressing room were Coran and Kolivan.

“This would be your military marker,” Coran explained, taking the scarf from Kolivan’s hand. “It indicated your loyalty to the Daibazaal crown. It goes around your neck, under your collar.”

“But I’m not loyal to the crown,” Kolivan pulled his neck away from Coran’s hands.

“It stopped meaning that a long time ago. By the time Altea was wiped from the star system it was just a fashionable accessory. Young boys that were not in the military would wear them. Could you take off your coat? It’s easier to wrap around then.”

Kolivan shrugged off his coat just enough to ease access to his neck and stayed silent for a tick. “Funny thing. Youth.” He vaguely gestured around them.

Coran nodded, concentrating on the knot of the scarf. “I remember being young and in love and all of that. It’s a sweet, silly thing.”

“That it is,” Kolivan had a small smile on his lips, his eyes were far away. It made Coran curious to know what he was remembering. With a light tone he added, “It’s also stupid.”

A surprised laugh escaped Coran. Kolivan’s smile grew wider. “Yes, it is,” Coran chuckled, fixing Kolivan’s collar. “You’re all set.”

Kolivan shrugged his coat back on. “Thank you, Coranic.”

“N-no problem,” Coran stuttered, flustered and confused by the name. Kolivan took a bow and exited the dressing room.

When Coran stepped outside, he found Lance pinning some flowers on Shiro’s shawl lapel. The smell hit him before he saw them properly: juniberries.

“Hey, Coran,” Lance greeted. “How do they look?”

“Um, good—great! They look—yeah,” Coran was transfixed by the flowers.

Lance’s shoulders relaxed. “I’m glad. These are from the farm back home.”

“They’re beautiful, Lance,” Coran said earnestly.

“Lance! Curtis’ cousin is waiting for you,” Pidge called. “She better not walk down alone.”

“Jeez, I’m coming,” Lance said, hurrying away.

The groomspeople, as Curtis and Shiro had agreed to call them, were in their places, Curtis walking in first with his mother. Coran could feel Shiro’s nervous energy beside him. He glanced over, about to try and calm him down, but he realized it was excitement when he saw Shiro’s expression.

“How do you feel?” Coran asked with a smile.

“Ready,” Shiro said, eyes focused forward. The sweet smell of juniberries hit Coran again.

“How do you feel?” Coran asked with a nervous smile.

Alfor seemed to be just as nervous. “Ready, I think.”

“You’ve met her before,” Coran said reassuringly.

“I have,” Alfor nodded in agreement. “She’s very beautiful. And brilliant.”

“Sounds like your type,” Coran fixed Alfor’s suit one last time, fussing over his medals and crown.

“I suppose she does,” Alfor regained some of his charm back. The families stood as Melenor appeared at the end of the aisle.

Coran straightened and plastered on his best smile. The smell of juniberries wafted over from Alfor. Coran tried his best to savor the familiarity. Tried his best to be happy for his King.

Coran sat down beside Curtis’ parents with a sigh. He couldn’t help but wonder what it would’ve been like to walk Allura down the aisle on her wedding day. A day he’d never get to see. He wondered if that would’ve happened at all. He wondered what kind of person she would’ve grown into. A wonderful one, he was sure. More than she already had been.

Coran’s heart felt heavy as he watched Shiro say his vows with confidence. He closed his eyes, trying to shoo away the emotions, but that only made him feel guilty. Guilty for not wanting Allura close, when, in fact, he did. Guilty for pushing her away, when he was the one that pulled her into the scenario in the first place.

She would’ve loved this. Maybe not for herself, but she would have loved today.

Coran watched the grooms’ first dance with some melancholy. They seemed so wrapped up in each other, talking and laughing as they shifted around, sometimes looking down at their feet. They looked happy; Coran couldn’t fathom how they must’ve felt.

He found his mood lightening with Keith’s approach. They weren’t really talking, but Keith’s presence was enough for Coran.

When the first dance was over, Curtis walked over to his mother with a charming smile and pulled her along for a dance. Coran chuckled at the sight, not noticing that Shiro was holding out a hand to him.

“Oh, I didn’t know we were dancing,” Coran said.

“I figured it was only right,” Shiro said with half a shrug.

Coran smiled, taking Shiro’s hand and pulling himself off his chair.

“You probably guessed this, but I don’t know these dances, my boy,” Coran said, looking down at their feet.

“That’s alright,” Shiro said easily. “Just follow my lead.”

Coran wasn’t sure how to do that. Shiro was walking in short steps, sometimes forward, sometimes to the side, and Coran could never tell which way he would go next. Which resulted in Coran stepping on Shiro’s toes constantly.

“Stop thinking so much,” Shiro chuckled, making Coran look up.

“Wh—how am I supposed to follow you?”

“Feel where my arms are pulling you.”

“Oh.”

His feet still stumbled, but he managed to not step on Shiro’s toes as much. He smiled at the floor as he figured out the pacing, noticing that the shifts in melody also had to do with Shiro’s timing.

“There you go,” Shiro smiled.

Coran laughed as Shiro spun him around. They danced until the song changed and Shiro walked Coran back to his chair.

“Thank you for today,” Shiro said, sitting down beside Coran.

“No need to thank me,” Coran smiled, looking up at the dance floor and seeing Lance and Keith had entered it without him noticing. Keith seemed like he was trying not to laugh at Lance as Lance talked and danced and stopped, like he was explaining something. “I’ve quiet enjoyed seeing you this happy.”

“I quite like being this happy,” Shiro said. “I like not waking up in a cold sweat every day, I like feeling whole, I like slow mornings where Curtis reads the paper and I make coffee. I’m really grateful for the mundane stuff in my life. I’m grateful for him.”

Shiro was watching Curtis talk with his father as his younger sister tugged on his sleeve. His sister won over his attention and pulled him to the dance floor, placing her bare feet on his shoes as he swayed them around, dancing for both of them. Shiro and Coran watched as Veronica asked for a dance with Curtis and his sister waddled over to where Shiro and Coran sat.

“Takashi,” she began somewhat shyly, “I was wondering…”

“Yes, June?” Shiro said with a smile.

“If I could…dance with you?” June was eyeing Shiro’s prosthetic, like she still wasn’t used to seeing it.

“It would be my pleasure,” Shiro stood and offered her his real hand, seemingly aware of her apprehension. June smiled and took his hand, bounding to the dance floor once more.

Coran watched as Shiro danced with June, faintly heard how she laughed with each spin. He found himself smiling, loving the sight of his family enjoying themselves, not burdened by worries about their safety or well-being. They were safe. They were happy. They were alive.

That was more than enough for Coran. He sighed contently. She would’ve loved this.

* * *

Coran found himself in a good place in his life. It was easy to breathe again. Easy to get up in the mornings. Even the Coalitions squabbles became a comfort, the stress it brought bringing a sense consistency in his life.

Galra Representative Lurok was one of those consistent inconveniences.

“The mass displacement of Galra citizens is an outrage!” Lurok said somewhere in the middle of his long-winded speech about honor and reparations, positioning the old Galran government as a victim of the ten thousand deca-phoebs of universal colonization. Coran’s attention caught at the word citizen. Lurok usually argued about ‘brave soldiers’ and ‘noble forces’ that were being repelled from the planets they had occupied.

Coran’s temple throbbed with the threat of the beginnings of a headache. Displacement of Galran citizens. A small, resentful part inside of him whispered, Good. He shook off the thought, a little alarmed at himself. These were people that found themselves without a home because of crimes they didn’t commit. They weren’t to blame for the state of the universe.

Representative Aihpos cued up some graphs and charts, taking the lead on the Galra’s time to present the ongoing issues their people faced.

“As is evident, the safe houses provided in Daibazaal have reached their maximum capacity. In the millennia of the planet’s absence, the Galra population grew beyond Daibazaal’s housing capabilities. Simply put, there is no place for our citizens to turn to without upsetting the ecological balance of our newly recovered planet.”

Aihpos tended to be the voice of reason between the two representatives, but sometimes even her sound logic leaned into Lurok’s agenda of painting themselves as the oppressed instead of the oppressors.

Right then, however, Coran found himself leaning forward, wanting to hear more.

“Most of these individuals have lived on these planets for generations,” Aihpos continued. “Entire communities and ages of tradition were uprooted overnight with the tragic fall of the Empire.” Coran cringed at the adjective. “Their concept of ‘home planet’ has never been Daibazaal. Very few people alive even remember Daibazaal. Our citizens are being displaced from their homes, and they have no shelter to turn to that their government can provide.”

“And what do you propose?” Curtis asked. Coran’s eyes flew to Lurok, watching for his reaction. Sure enough, Lurok’s nostrils flared. This was usually the part where the Galran’s proposals were shut down, too outlandish or bold to be considered seriously.

“Nothing that isn’t beyond your power to grant,” Aihpos said, as she always did. “Allow our citizens to remain where they have set down their roots. Grant them protection from those that wish the contrary. Preserve their dignity.”

That’s surprisingly reasonable, Coran found himself thinking.

“Can I see your proposal’s draft?” Emi piped in. Lurok sat up straighter, like the question surprised him.

“C-certainly,” Aihpos said, somewhat scrambling for the document. She handed Emi the document as he thanked her with a bright smile.

“I believe this draft’s revision should be a top priority,” Emi said to Coran as he glanced over it. Coran nodded, looking over the document in Emi’s hands. “I propose a motion to make it so.”

“I second it,” Commander Holt said.

“Opposition?” Coran asked the other representatives. Their silence was his answer. “The motion passes.

Aihpos and Lurok shared a stunted look, like they couldn’t believe they got away with it. It was the only crack in their usually proud and composed demeanor. One that always seemed too close to that of Galran generals, their attitudes stubborn and dead set on their objectives. Coran always had his guard up around them, having the dreadful feeling that their loyalty had never shifted away from Zarkon.

His mistrust in them was inevitable, but he tried his best look past it. These were different times. They hadn’t given him any real reason to not be considered trustworthy. It was only his preconceived notions that made him doubt their character.

He realized that this struggle had never extended itself to the Blade of Marmora. Their relationship had gotten off to a rough start, but once they were proper allies, he trusted them blindly.

This should be the case with Lurok and Aihpos, but something about them got under his skin. Maybe it was the fact that while Zarkon ruled, they never opposed him; maybe it was the fact that they no longer served the Empire because the option to do so was taken from them.

It made Coran uneasy.

That uneasiness continued when he noticed the vague wording in the proposal. It was too open to interpretation, words could be twisted, motives were unclear. He brought it up in a revision meeting with Lurok.

“Representative Lurok, your proposal states here in Section 3, Article D, that Galra citizens are to be ‘assigned guard to make up for lack of security.’”

“Yes,” Lurok agreed easily.

“What does that mean exactly?”

“The Galran people face the threat of violence on a regular basis nowadays,” Lurok supplied. “Forces would be deployed to guarantee their safety.”

“Forces? Whose?”

“Well, ours, of course! Who else would look after their wellbeing properly?”

On paper, the idea seemed rational, but what they were actually proposing was something different. They were using their citizens—or so it seemed—who were scattered all over the universe, to deploy their forces again. Forces that had been dismantled and repelled, on planets that were promised peace and the lack of Galran soldiers.

“That move would violate treaties to which the Coalition is bound,” Coran said firmly. “Find a different solution. Contact each planet, see what can be done.”

Lurok’s lip twitched, his chest puffing. “Very well,” he gritted out.

They went down the draft, slowly figuring out the proposal’s true intention and marking the articles that would need amendment.

“Have Representative Aihpos look over these changes,” Coran handed Lurok the document. “We want to help, but it must be done within a reasonable margin.”

“I’ll be sure to do that,” Lurok took the papers, wrinkling his nose at them like they’d done something unsavory.

“We look forward to hearing from you,” Coran said with a stiff smile.

Lurok only grumbled.

< pt. 1 | pt.3 >

[demon-sushi]

High-Score

@monthlyklance‘s Klance Trope Month, Day 2. Rivals to Lovers

        It’s finally summer, a long-awaited season after the grueling spring semester at the local college. Lance is just as thankful as his friends are for the excuse to be more lazy, relaxed, and using this time to get their head in the game for the fall semester later. He saves up some of his money from working part-time at his family’s store and every other day he and his two best friends hit up the arcade. 

        There are a few cabinets they frequent. Pidge is a fan of Pac-Man and Hunk genuinely likes Centipede, but Lance is still yet to find his game. Sure he’s racked up a few high-scores on various other machines but he hasn’t found one that completely sucks the soul out of him like Pidge and Hunk have. 

        He’s in the middle of getting change when he hears about the new game here. Galaga it’s called. A spaceship shooting alien bugs in space. And yeah, Lance will admit it, he’s a total space nerd. Immediately he shoots off for the game and finds the machine wedged between Donkey Kong and Defender. There’s a small huddle around it and using his height to his advantage, Lance watches over their shoulders at the game. Oh yeah, this baby is all his. 

        No one has dibs on it next much to his surprise, so he quickly slaps down his quarter on the edge of the screen during the stage load-out. One of the people nods in approval. The guy playing gets nowhere near the high-score when he finally loses all his lives and with a click of his tongue and a hiss he relinquishes his control of the machine over to Lance. 

        Lance simply rolls his shoulders and slips his quarter in. The game starts up with a cheery tune and his little white ship. Watching the previous player helps his game immensely rather than flying in blind. At some point Hunk and Pidge come over and watch him, but he’s busy trying to keep his little ship alive. 

 “Woah, what that hell!” Lance gasps as the green -- well purple bug now that he shot it -- catches his ship in a tractor beam and sucks it up. How rude!

 “Fighter captured?” Hunk reads from the screen.

 “Dude it just ate you.” Pidge laughs. Lance pouts and waits for his second life to load. He aggressively takes out the purple bug that got him in the first place. 

 “Oh wow.” Hunk whispers as it returns his lost ship to him, hooking up with the active one. Lance fires an experimental shot and grins widely when both ships fire. 

 “Hell yeah.” He chuckles and goes to town. He too doesn’t get that close to the high-score but since no one is queued up, he just slips his quarter in for a second round.

        He does better this time around, making it to the fifth stage this time. Round three has him getting passed the first three challenging stages but dying on the twelfth stage. However, he succeeds in getting the high-score so it’s ultimately worth it. He’s quick to input his initials, ‘LMC’ into the machine, and pats it gently.

 “Time?” He turns to Pidge who rolls back their sleeves. They consult their three watches and then nod.

 “Six-thirty.” 

 “Ugh, okay. Figured it was getting late.” He groans.

 “Time to head out then?” Hunk asks.

 “Yeah, I have a shift in the morning.” Lance tucks his hands in his pockets and follows the wonder duo out to the parking lot. From there they all clamber into Hunk’s baby yellow Volkswagen bus and he takes them all home.

------

 “Wow, someone already topped your score dude.” Pidge points out on the Galaga machine. A ‘KAK’ at number one by a few thousand points. No matter, it’s easy enough for Lance to be able to reclaim. After a whole dollar and fifty cents, dying on stage seventeen, he successfully creamed whoever KAK was and placed himself back on the top.

        KAK beat him again. Punk was probably cheating or something. Lance huffs angrily and shakes his head. He stomps over to the counter to get change. The worker behind the register today is a new face, or well, new to the Friday night shift. 

 “How can I help you?” His voice is flat and the guy looks bored out of his mind. 

 “Change for a five please?” Lance hands it to him and really takes the new guy in. 

        Long hair, though who doesn’t have long hair these days? But whereas generally everyone has their hair down, if not poofed up to an insane degree, this guy has his pulled back into some bun. It’s strange sure, but it seems to suit him rather fine. Dark eyes, hard to tell what color in this lighting, pale skin maybe even giving Pidge a run for their money, and a thin scar cutting from his jaw and arcing up to his cheekbone.

        Handsome. 

 “Here you go.” Mysterious handsome cashier says, snapping Lance out of it. He takes his change and glances at the man’s name tag. Steven.

 “Thanks, Steven.” Lance smiles. He looks confused but nods regardless. Lance takes his change and goes to top KAK’s score. It takes a dollar this time, still dying on level seventeen, but his strategy is getting better.

------

        Lance’s mom would probably kill him if she knew he dipped on services today to hang out with his friends at the arcade. Perhaps it’s God’s punishment that KAK has beaten him again and that he can’t seem to top his score.

        Tuesday, he puts KAK back in second place seventy-five cents in and dying on stage twenty. He feels confident that LMC will stay at one for a bit and gives the machine a loving pat. He finds Pidge who groans and needs to go get more change to try and top someone else’s score themselves.

        Lance walks with Pidge to the counter where Steven is working. Wait - no - his name tag now reads Giles. Strange. He could have sworn it was Steven.

 “How can I help you?” Same flat tone, same bored look.

 “Change.” Pidge grunts slapping a five on the counter. Giles sighs and takes it, counting out the coins and passing them back to Pidge.

 “Here you go.” 

 “Thanks, uh, Giles?” Lance gives him an awkward wave as Pidge walks away.

 “Giles?” He thinks he hears the cashier mumble.

------

 “Man KAK is out there for your blood.” Hunk points out when Lance steps over to Galaga to check his rank. It’s true, everything under LMC is nothing but KAK. The closest score being one point away. 

        Naturally, Lance puts in a few more rounds to secure his lead. 

 “Take that KAK.” He laughs when he beats his own score.

 “Be careful man, karma’s gonna get you,” Hunk warns.

 “Someone needs to knock his ego down.” Pidge grunts. “Come on, you promised me two rounds on Frogger.” They tug on Lance’s arm and he goes willingly.

-----

        Now Lance knows that mister cashier’s name tag did not say Neil before. He’s starting to wonder who this guy is. His score has stayed in the number one spot for five days now, a new record. A part of him is almost disheartened that KAK hasn’t beaten him yet, another part is thrilled that he beat the guy. 

        With the thrill still running in his veins, he approaches the counter, leaning over it to give the mysterious man a smirk and a finger gun. Niel, as he’s apparently going by today, raises an eyebrow in response.

 “Can I help you?”

 “Yeah actually,” Lance says. Neil waits and Lance waits. And then Lance realizes that Neil is waiting for his request like some sort of android.

 “Oh, sorr--”

 “What ca--” The two of them both interrupt each other. Lance laughs it off while Neil clears his throat and looks away.

 “Um. I was wondering if you’re seeing anyone.”

 “I’m seeing you,” Neil responds. It takes Lance a moment before he’s smirking.

 “Not yet, you’re ahead of me on that one.”

 “I… What?”

 “I was going to just ask for your digits dude.” 

 “My... “ Neil starts glancing around. “Are you pranking me?” 

 “No man, I mean it. I’ll give you mine.” Lance says. Neil considers this for a few moments, chewing his lip as he thinks it over.

 “Fine,” He grabs a pen and takes Lance's hand. “I live with my brother so you’ll have to ask for me.” He says and Lance’s hand tingles where his skin touches Neil’s. He tries not to twitch too much as Neil writes every number down carefully, mumbling the number under his breath as he writes. 

 “Sick. Let me give you mine.” Lance does the same and caps the pen when he finishes his name. “I have a huge family too, so my name will get you to me.” 

 “Lance.” Neil hums as he looks it over. 

 “Don’t forget it.” Lance winks as he taps the counter and walks away.

-----

        He forgets to ask Neil for his name. Calling and asking for Niel, Giles, or Steven resulted in an immediate hanging up. Neil doesn’t call him either which bums Lance out. He ended up having to work nearly a full shift to cover for someone who didn’t show on his off day which sucked as well. In fact, by the time he finally gets off work and joins his friends at the arcade, he isn’t even in the mood for it anymore. 

        KAK has finally beaten his high score, and his cashier isn’t here today. He blows his whole five dollars he allows for the arcade and gets nowhere near KAK’s new score. Hunk simply whispers the word karma over and over again to Lance.

-----

 “Lance, phone for you.” Veronica taps on his door. 

 “Who is it?” He asks as he rolls out of his bed, setting his Spiderman comic to the side. He follows her down into the kitchen where the phone is laying on the countertop.

 “Some guy.” She says unhelpfully. Lance rolls his eyes and picks up the phone.

 “Hello? This is Lance.”

 “Oh thank god, I was wondering when they’d finally pass me to you.” The voice says.

 “...You’re the cashier at the arcade!” Lance smiles. 

 “Yeah, I am.” 

 “God, I’ve been trying to call you but I kept getting hung up on.” 

 “My brother was telling me about it. He thought you were a crank caller.” 

 “Okay, seriously, I need your name now.”

 “Oh really?” The guy sounds amused. 

 “Yeah come on, tell me.” Lance leans against the counter.

 “I’ll see what name tag they give me tomorrow.” He says instead. Lance pouts.

 “Come onnn.”

 “Okay, fine.” The guy laughs. That’s when Lance hears it, the soft click and feedback on the line.

 “Oh my god, hold on,” He tells the guy and then presses the phone to his chest as he leans around the wall to shout upstairs. “Veronica! Get off the phone!”

-------

        He beats KAK once again but gets no closer in learning the mystery cashier’s actual name. He’s starting to think maybe the guy doesn’t even have one. 

 “They’re apparently having issues making my tag.” The guy shrugs.

 “So you just take one at random out?”

 “They hand me one and write down who I was that day. That way if they get complaints they’ll know it was for me and not the actual people.” He says and Lance hums, leaning back against the counter. 

 “Do you like working here?”

 “It’s alright. I get access to the machines after closing time but don’t tell anyone.” He presses a finger to his lips with a wink.

 “What’s your favorite to play then?” Lance looks over at him.

 “Galaga.” He says quickly.

 “Dude me too.”

 “I got hooked on it when I found it. Used to play Galaxian back in my hometown, but they surprisingly don’t have it here. I was kinda bummed by it, but Galaga fills that void.” 

 “Galaxian?” He hasn’t heard of it before.

 “Yeah, I think it came out, what nearly two years ago now?” The guy shrugs. “It’s a bit harder in some aspects, but Galaga has more going for it really.”

 “Huh, weird.” It’s not like Lance to not hear of a game. Maybe if he bugs Pidge he’d get more information about it.

 “So are you going to stay at my counter all night?” He asks, raising his brow.

 “Actually, I did have something else in mind.” Lance leans over the counter.

 “Yes?”

 “When’s your next day off?” He asks. The guy blinks and then smiles.

--------

        Lance dips into his savings just a bit and takes the guy to dinner. The waitress gives them an odd look but says nothing. He takes him by the hand after paying and leads him to a theater.

 “Come on, pick one.” Lance nudges his date. 

 “Okay, okay, um.” He looks at the movies listed for today and chews his lip. 

 “I will literally watch anything.” Lance tries to assure him.

 “...Tron. Let’s see Tron.”

 “Tron?” Lance looks over at him.

 “My brother said it was good.” He shrugs. “The guy is a sci-fi nerd and I trust his judgment.”

 “Tron it is then.” Lance smiles and gets them two tickets. He fights his date on who gets to pay for a drink and popcorn and then they both settle down in the back row and watch their movie. About halfway through, somewhere between Bit screaming ‘No’ and Flynn wrecking their ship his date holds his hand and Lance’s heart is never quite the same.

--------

 “Will you please tell me your name?” Lance asks, trying to keep his voice hushed with his family asleep in the other rooms.

 “I think your guesses are fun.” His boyfriend, yes boyfriend says. They made it official a week ago.

 “Yeah, or you could be Ted Bundy for all I know.”

 “Ted Bundy is on death row, Lance. I can guarantee it’s not me.”

 “He escaped a few times!”

 “I’m not Ted Bundy, Lance.”

 “Oh my god.”

 “What do I have to do to prove it?”

 “Tell me your name.”

 “...Keith.” He says.

 “How do I know that’s your real name?”

 “I guess you’ll have to believe me on that one.” Keith laughs.

------

        Lance does believe him, but it’s better when Keith digs out his wallet and shows him his driver’s license. Keith does keep the rest of his name covered up but Lance is busy staring at the photo. In the last four years of having his license issued, Keith apparently decided to grow his hair out from the cropped almost military cut in his picture. 

 “You looked so different!” 

 “Yeah, being seventeen is like that.” Keith shrugs.

 “Wait, you got yours at seventeen?” 

 “Yeah. You?”

 “Ugh, I had to wait until I was nineteen.” Lance laments. 

 “Trust me, the extra years do nothing really.” Keith shrugs. 

------------

        He forgets to check on his high-score at the arcade. Mostly due to when he would get off work he’d be trying to get a hold of Keith and hanging out with him. There’s an intervention staged between Hunk and Pidge, who remind him he can’t put his whole life onto one boy. Not when he has plenty of other people in his life. 

        Lance finds his balance again. Time with family, time with work, time with friends, time with Keith. Right now, he’s with his friends. He does chat up Keith behind the counter who is finally wearing the appropriate name tag, though Keith does threaten to get a label maker and cover up his name.

        Pidge has to drag him away and force him into a few rounds before he gets his head back into friend time. At which point he bounces over to Galaga. A few new names are on the board but KAK has once again topped his score. Multiple times. Pidge cackles loudly and it only bruises Lance’s ego further. Hunk meanwhile shakes his head and reminds Lance he did stop playing for a while.

        Lance immediately dumps two dollars into it, getting his initials back over the board and eventually topping KAK once more. He turns to Hunk and Pidge, vowing he won’t let KAK beat him like that again. The duo shares a skeptical look but agrees to try and hold him to it.

--------------

        It goes back to that painful loop of KAK beating him, Lance struggling for a bit to top that score, only for KAK to beat him again. It’s really starting to annoy the hell out of him so he makes a plan. It always seems that KAK strikes on the days Lance isn’t there. What better way to catch him than to change up his schedule. 

        He doesn’t see anyone approach the Galaga machine that day, or the others, and he ends up getting shooed out by Keith who has to close up the place and a promise to call when he gets home after his chores. KAK then somehow crushes his score and leaves him bewildered as to when it happens.

        Lance brings up the potential of someone breaking into the arcade at night after Keith closes up but Pidge and Hunk easily debase it because nothing is stolen. Lance voices this concern to Keith who takes it a bit more seriously and goes into the back to check the cameras of the night before when KAK topped his score. When Keith comes back, confirming no one had been in the arcade between Keith's closing and Jenny's opening, Lance is only more confused.

 “It has to be a ghost then.” Lance determines. 

 “What does?” Keith asks, making sure someone covers for him while he takes his lunch break. 

 “Ugh, it’s going to sound dumb.” 

 “Alright, tell me.” He shrugs, leading Lance out of the arcade and into the main portion of the mall. 

 “Well, okay. Someone keeps topping my score in Galaga. We’ve been going back and forth on it for weeks now.” Lance vents. “It’s frustrating and I just wanna catch the guy already.”

 “You…” Keith pauses and gives Lance a strange look.

 “Hmm?”

 “Nothing. Just take me to the food court already, I’m starving.” Keith shakes his head with a secretive smile. Lance takes him by his hand and leads him to the food court and ignores the occasional odd look of a passerby.

------------

 “Anyway, how was your day at work, samurai?” Lance asks, the pet name being birthed from having gently tugged on Keith’s bun and called it a ‘top-knot, like those old samurais’ much to Keith’s instant displeasure. He refused to let Lance call him ‘Toppy’, ‘Knotty’, ‘Top-knot’, or any other derivative. He allows ‘samurai’, but barely. He’s hanging upside-down on his mother’s bed with the second house phone resting on his stomach. She went out to run errands and most of the family is elsewhere giving him some privacy.

 “Long.” Keith groans, though it echos strangely.

 “Are you hiding out in your kitchen pantry again?”

 “Yeah, my brother is being a tool and wants to keep eavesdropping,” He says very pointedly and loudly even with the phone pulled away from his face. “On my conversations with you.”

 “I feel you. At least you only have one phone and one brother.” Lance laughs. 

 “God bet he’s got a cup against the door and everything.” Keith murmurs.

 “He just wants to look out for you.”

 “I know. Kinda wished he would pick a less annoying way to do it.” Keith sighs and Lance shakes his head. He can see his mom and dad pulling up into the driveway and he groans, knowing his time on the phone with Keith is over.

 “Sorry I talked so much.” He apologizes.

 “Don’t apologize. I like listening to you.” Keith says with a honeyed fondness that has certainly grown after nearly six months. Six months filled with the stress from adding his fall semester into his juggling act as well as meeting Keith’s older brother Shiro during Thanksgiving, having Keith meet his family for Noche Bunea, and then sneaking off to be alone on New Year’s Eve with that extra lucky midnight kiss.

 “I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”

 “Yeah, sure. Whe--”

 “Uh!” Lance cuts him off as his mom walks into the room, a stern look on her face. “Gotta go, talk soon!” He hangs up and gives his mom a sheepish grin.

 “I thought you were sick mijo.” She crosses her arms.

 “I was! But I took my medicine and felt better!” He tries to assure her. She shakes her head with a slight smile. 

 “Go. Get to your room before your father sees.” She takes the phone from him and sets it where it belongs. “To be young and in love.” She chuckles as Lance scurries out the door.

------------

        Hunk and Pidge come along to the arcade with Lance. They’ve still yet to properly be introduced to his boyfriend yet and they are both pretty cheesed by it. Sure they’ve seen him working here, but it’s not ‘a good place for a shovel talk’ according to Pidge and ‘not the best way for a casual talk’ from Hunk. Lance is expecting to invite Keith to come hang out with them after his shift but Keith isn’t behind the counter. 

        It has him bummed if he’s honest since Keith had agreed to see Lance today on their phone call yesterday. Hunk pats his shoulder consoling him and Pidge grumbles about Keith needing to count his prayers. Lance shakes his head, slaps on a smile, and lets his friends drag him to different games for a bit. 

        But eventually, he drags the wonder duo over to Galaga where, much to his surprise, Keith is at. He breaks into a wild and manic grin as he rushes over and watches Keith go, waiting for the brief pause as the next stage loads before greeting him.

 “Hey!”

 “Hey, Lance.” He smiles, it’s crooked with a dimple on the right side and it always makes Lance’s heart go aflutter. Keith turns his attention back to the game and continues to try and kick serious alien bug-butt. He’s doing phenomenal and Lance bounces on the balls of his feet as he watches Keith go.

        In the end, though, he dies when one of the bugs fly into his ship before he can escape from it. Keith clicks his tongue and leans back as it tallies his score. He’s placed third, KAK having beaten Lance and pushed him into second again much to his chagrin. It awaits Keith’s initials.

 “Wow, you’re as good as Lance is.” Hunk points out.

 “Good as Lance, but not as good as KAK.” Pidge snickers.

 “Uh, I’m just as good as KAK is,” Lance says. 

 “Definitely are.”

 “See Keith agrees with me.”

 “As your boyfriend, I’m morally obligated to do so.” He smirks and Lance sputters as he looks over at him. 

 “You’re awful.” Lance pouts and turns to the machine. “Oh, it timed out.” Now AAA sits in third place. 

 “Eh, it’ll get knocked out eventually.” Keith shrugs, not concerned at all.

 “You going again?” He asks.

 “All yours.” Keith steps to the side of the machine and Lance gratefully takes over. On his one quarter, he manages to just barely beat out KAK’s score.

 “Take that.” Lance hisses, putting in his usual ‘LMC’. 

 “It really is you.” Keith murmurs.

 “Huh?”

 “My turn? Bet I can beat you.” Keith challenges.

 “Oooo. A bet.” Hunk stage whispers to Pidge.

 “What’s the terms?” Lance crosses his arm.

 “One quarter. If I beat you I win if I don’t you do.”

 “Okay.”

 “Loser buys dinner,” Keith says.

 “For everyone,” Pidge adds on.

 “Pidge, no, it’s their bet.” Hunk groans.

 “For everyone,” Lance repeats the demand.

 “For everyone.” Keith agrees, offering his hand. Lance takes it, shaking it and Keith smirks.

        He redoes his silly hair bun, slips in his quarter, and goes full force. Lance starts off confident enough, but it slowly drains the closer Keith gets to his score. Soon enough Keith is shoving Lance back down into second place and taking first for himself.

 “Told you,” Keith smirks over at him.

 “Ugh, fine. You win, fair and square.” Lance pouts. “Hey, don’t forget your initials this time.”

 “Oh, right.” Keith turns back to the machine and quickly puts in ‘KA’. There’s a brief moment of silence as Keith looks Lance dead in the eyes and places the final ‘K’. 

 “You’re…” Hunk gasps.

 “Oh my god.” Pidge groans.

 “KAK! You’re KAK!” Lance screeches. Keith throws his head back and laughs.

 “I’m Keith Austin Kogane. KAK.” He wipes the tears from his eyes. 

 “How!?”

 “I’d top your score after closing.” He shrugs.

 “Oh my god. This is your just desserts.” Pidge looks at Lance.

 “You got yourself a boyfriend who will kick your butt on your favorite game. How lucky.” Hunk teases.

 “Jesus.” Lance groans and hides his face. All the times he’s been mad and angry at KAK feels ridiculous now.

 “Hey. Don’t sweat it.” Keith nudges his shoulder.

 “Easy for you to say.”

 “Make it up to me.”

 “How?”

 “I believe you owe me dinner tonight.” He tucks his hands in his pockets.

 “And us!” Hunk points out. 

        And while Lance’s wallet weeps at the thought of Hunk’s richer pallet, he can’t stay mad. Not when he has Keith’s fingers laced with his and the mystery of KAK put to rest.

 “I’ll top your score tomorrow.” He promises.

 “I look forward to it.” Keith smiles.

[mothmanavenue]

the Post-War Ghost Hunting Adventures of Keith and Pidge!

starring Pidge Holt and Keith Kogane

Produced by Hunk Garret and Matt Holt

Filmed by Lance McClain

Sponsored by Queen Allura of Altea

Guest Starring Takashi Shirogane

Edited by Adam Wayer and Romelle Altea

???? by Advisor Coran

[annoyinglyjovialbird]

Voltron: Next Generation

Brittle Relations: III

Word Count: 2992

It took three days to prepare the ship for launch. Besides the repairs and harvesting and the weblum, a majority of the urgency came from Keith. When Keith was shot with tranquilizers, it was Kenny freaking out and rushing the team. If it ain't one Kogane, it's another. They would've tranquilized Kenny, but they needed him down in the engine room. The makeshift solar panels helped a lot in powering the ship, storing it all in backup generators. By the third day, it was only a review of systems and they took off. The teens learned from their mistakes and traveled through a wormhole on empty stomachs. 

On the other side of the wormhole, the teens rapidly checked every map. In front of them, there was only a deserted and broken hull of a planet. 

"Kova, where are we?" Shiro asked with arms at his sides. Kova had pulled up the maps Liz had sent to the main console, while simultaneously trying to triangulate Pidge's location. 

"Thayama," Kova replied, finally able to translate the triangle. "Once a satellite to a larger star, it became too cold to sustain life." 

"Why is it broken like that?" Caleb asked, staring between the lifeless hull in front of the window and the complete planet on the map. 

"I think it became so cold, the entire planet kind of," Liz replied, holding her hands together in a spherical shape. "Broke." She separated her hands to hold half-spheres. 

"That's the running theory," Cake nodded his head with hands under his chin. Kova began talking to Kenny over her earpiece, working together to steer the Coeus towards Pidge's location. 

"Hold!" She yelled, dropping the controls. Down in the engine room, Kenny turned off the thrusters. "Cake, Kenny, suit up, and let's go." 

"What." Cake and Kenny deadpanned, eyes comically wide. 

"No offense to either of you," Kova began. "You look more gullible than I do." Cake stared at Kova as she walked out, putting her helmet on as she was doing so. Cake looked around at the other four Paladins, who stared back at him expectedly. Slowly, Cake places a dramatic hand on his chest. Allie, who was across from him, nodded her head, confused. 

"Cake!" All of the Paladins jumped, but Cake was the only one who stood up, tripping up the stairs while pulling his helmet on. 

Together, the trio (ugh, unavoidable alliteration) boarded the Yellow Lion with a vague plan in Kova's mind. Kova directed Cake towards the signal, narrowly avoiding several big chunks of Thayama. 

So, uh, what's the plan?" Kenny asked as Yellow neared the bright orange triangle. 

"Since Cake and I can defend ourselves, you'll stay here until we need help." 

"That's offensive, Kova." 

"If we need you, your code word is 'dump'.

"'Dump'? Why 'dump'?" 

"Cake, find a place to land here." It's safe to assume Kova never answered Kenny's question. Yellow touched down on a giant chunk of land still attached to the bigger mass of the dead planet. Kova handed Kenny a screen after Cake led Kenny into the seat. 

"This is going to give you a status on the weblum." 

"How do you know where the weblum is?" 

"Kenny, not the time." Kova glared at Kenny through their screens, shutting him up. She looked up at Cake and nodded towards the door. Cake nodded in response, gripping his bayard.

On the surface, Thayama wasn't cold. There were no readings. Even though the suits warmed them, Kova and Cake could feel the chill of the strong wind. Turning on their floodlights did nothing to help them, but they continued forward. They could still see Yellow's eyes when the first blast came. It came in between the teens, making them duck. Kova dived to the ground, summoning her shield. Cake summoned his minigun, firing a warning shot. Another shot came at them, hitting three feet away from Kova's left. 

"Where are they?" Cake shouted over the wind. Kova looked down to check her screen, seeing the triangle point thirty feet ahead. 

"Not far!" She yelled back, pushing forward. Cake hefted his weapon up and pushed forward too. Three more shots were fired from the darkness at the teens, who continued forward. The shots kept missing, but when one hit a boulder, causing it to explode, it rushed the teens. 

At ten feet, the Yellow Lion was a dim blob in the distance, but the howling wind stopped. Kova deactivated her shield, stood up, and lifted her hands in surrender. Cake saw what she was doing, and did the same, except he held the deactivated bayard in his hand. 

Two figures approached the teens. Dark fabric hung from their shoulders, with a makeshift mask covering their blurry shields. Either they didn't see their armor from the fogginess of their dark screens, or they weren't the person they were looking for. 

"Who are you and what do you want?" One of the cloaked figures said, holding up an upgraded weapon. This cloaked figure was significantly shorter than the other, with their torn fabric cloak dragging on the ground. 

"We want to get you off of here," Kova answered, getting the cloaked figure's attention. They approached them with their gun, pointing the barrel directly at Kova's chest plate. 

"Why?" The figure inched closer. "Who sent you?" 

"No one sent us." Kova stepped forward. Only a step. "We followed a signal coming from this location." The second, taller cloaked figure scoffed, standing next to the first figure. 

"Not until you tell us who you are and what you're doing here." Kova gave Cake a side-glance, who didn't meet her eyes. Kenny took the silence to update Kova. 

"Weblum is approximately half-hour out." 

"Listen, we have to get you—" Kova tried walking forward again, but the first figure held up their gun. Now that Kova was having a little bit of a closer look, it looked more like a bazooka, if a bazooka was made of random bits and pieces. "My name is Kova, and I'm the Paladin of the Black Lion." The taller cloaked figure hadn't made a move, but the shorter figure had begun to shake their shoulders. They were trying to stop their laughter. "We have to get you out of this dump." 

"Why?" The taller figure asked, earning them a 'huh?' from the shorter figure. 

"There's a weblum en route to this planet." The wind started up again, pushing the teens to their side. Kova held up her arm to try to block some of the wind. "Let's go!" 

"No!" The first figure shouted over the wind, trying to hold onto the dark fabric over their face and the bazooka at the same time. From behind the teens, Kenny ran against the raging wind to reach Kova and Cake. 

"Weblum is twenty minutes out!" He shouted, diving in front of Kova and Kenny to make his face visible to the pair. "I'm Kenny, and we really have to get you both out of here! You know what a weblum is, right?" He looked at the shorter person, then at the taller person, hoping to garner some sympathy. 

"Matt?" The shorter figure says. "What are you doing here?" 

Jackpot. 

"Katie 'Pidge' Holt?" Kova asked, getting a hesitant head nod. "And you? Who are you?" 

"I'm Hunk." The taller figure said. "Hunk Garrett." 

"I'm Takashi Shirogane's daughter."

"Shiro?" Both said. Kova nodded.

"Let's go!" Kova turned, dragging Cake by the back of his collar. Kenny stood up, grabbing the elbows of the two people, and pulled them towards Yellow's general direction. 

"Wait!" Pidge shouted, turning around towards the area behind them. Both Kenny and Hunk yelled after her, but she paid no mind. Pidge ran back to Kenny after about thirty seconds with a satchel, and let Kenny lead them. 

"Hang on, everyone!" Cake yelled as soon as Kenny and his guests boarded Yellow. The ride in Yellow was pretty bumpy, jerking around through the wind. It bounced the passengers except for the pair in the cockpit around like balls. Pretty soon, the Yellow Lion escaped the strong winds of Thayama. The calm was disturbing after the winds. 

"Yellow to Coeus, do you read me?" Cake asked into his earpiece, ignoring Kova's sigh of relief as they flew towards the Coeus. 

"Coeus to Yellow, what's your status?" Caleb answered. 

"Mission successful. Prepare accommodations and treatment for two."

"Copy. Transport bay doors open." Caleb was right, and both Kova and Cake were grateful for it. Flying Yellow into the bay, they began unboarding and led the newcomers directly into the observation room. Keith's room was dark, but he turned over as they passed by. Allie and Liz were on standby in the med bay, hanging out in the doctor's office as Kova walked in to knock on the glass. Liz led Pidge into the observation room while Allie led Cake to the spare cot in the corner of the room. They asked them to remove their cloaks and suits, which they seemed hesitant about. That was where Cake, Kova, and Kenny left them, practically skipping to Shiro's office. 

"Dad." Kova was the first one into the room. Shiro looked up at the teens and 'adult' with a bored expression. An inverse image of Curtis with crossed arms was on the screen. He smiled at Shiro's expression, choosing to answer for him. 

"What's wrong, Kova?" Curtis said with a funny deep voice, trying to imitate Shiro. Shiro turned to glare at Curtis, who began snickering. 

"Was your mission successful?" Shiro asked the teens, ignoring his husband. 

"Yes sir." Kova straightened her back and crossed her wrists behind her back. "We successfully recovered Katie 'Pidge' Holt and Hunk Garrett." Shiro did a double-take at the names, pushing past the teens to head for the med bay. Kova came into her Pop's view, who began to ask her about her mission. She confirmed and answered every question. 

"Bridge to the crew, weblum crossing. Repeat, bridge to the crew, weblum is passing." Curtis's last words to Kova were a demand to take a video of the weblum. Together, Kenny, Kova, Cake, and Caleb watched the giant weblum cross in front of the Coeus, devouring the broken remains of Thayama. 

"So, uh, how did you know where the weblum was?" Kenny asked again, and Kova sighed. 

"You know how there's online tracking for dolphins and whales?"

"Yeah. What about it?"

"Researchers applied that to weblums." 

"You're joking."

"It took eighteen months to find them all." 

"Did they find them all?" Kenny asked, turning his head to look at Kova. She shook her head, still looking at the huge weblum. 

"We don't need any scaultrite, right?" Cake asked with a smile.

"Please, don't joke about that," Caleb said with a flat look. 

That night, everyone aboard the IGF Coeus went to bed without a heavy thought. The lights dimmed, and the Coeus sang a soft lullaby. 

Early the next morning, Kova was rubbing a towel over her wet hair, grimacing at the neon green on the fluffy towel. As her hair went up in a towel turban, she walked into the kitchen to find Liz and Cake standing over a huge pot in the middle of the floor. 

"Um, what are you doing?" Kova asked, coming to stand next to them. The metal pot was filled to the brim with water, with a wooden stick sticking out of it. The water shifted from white to pink, reflecting the light above the teens. 

"We tried to wash the poncho, since two people have already worn it without it ever being washed," Liz began, looking at Kova. 

"So we started washing it, and we left it over one of the air ducts." Cake finished, taking the stick and moving the fabric around. 

"The Coeus releases hot air if low temperatures are detected, and the metal heats up easily," Kova pointed out, staring at the pair. 

"We know." They answered at the same time, faces darkening. Cake kept stirring, lifting the poncho out of the water. It looked like a bad tie-dye, with patches of white and pink from the leftover dye. Staring at the patches, Kova had an idea. Taking the towel turban from her head, Kova fluffed her hair so it fell smoothly down her back. A little prong fell in front of her forehead, almost touching her nose. Two other locks of hair framed her face, curling next to her chin. Her hair was as dark as before, reaching her shoulders. The rest of her long hair was still bright green, ending with dark tips. 

"Would you guys mind getting the green out?" Kova asked. Wordlessly, Cake dropped the poncho and stick back into the water, furiously pushing it to the bottom while Liz grabbed a lonely chair in the corner of the room. It took a half-hour and not all of the dye came out of Kova's hair, but it was enough to dye the fabric bright green. Not as neon as before, but green enough. Kova was left with a patch of hair that looked brown, but at least it wasn't green anymore. As the dye settled into the fabric, the teens remarked how amazing the dye was, wondering what store Caleb had gotten it from. Cake and Kova deadpanned Liz, but Liz said nothing. 

Thank Allura it was early. 

Breakfast was served as usual, Kova looked for any leads regarding Yorak, Allie searched for the colonies, and Liz took care of the three patients. Kenny was excited to see his parents together again, but to avoid being physically restrained to a chair again, he occupied himself in the engine room. 

By lunch, Liz declared everyone healthy, if only dehydrated. The five teens walked down to the observation room, calling for Shiro and Kenny. 

Hunk sat on the bed in the furthest corner of the med bay, wearing a yellow shirt and black pants and boots. His hair had grown to shoulder length, tied back by an orange headband. Sideburns grew long his face, stopping short of his beard. He watched as the teens filed in, wearing their Paladin armor. Cake wanted to wear his, while the others wanted to wear their normal clothes, but Cake persisted. 

"I didn't think the Lions would appear again," Hunk said, a sad smile on his face. "Much less so soon." 

"What are you talking about, Hunk?" Pidge said from her observation room. Her door was open, unlike Keith's. She stood from her bed, and stared at the five teenagers. Kova had brushed her hair, a small braid holding back the prongs, and a bigger braid holding back the rest. Caleb had swept his hair to the side, crossing his arms next to Kova. Beside him, Liz had left her short brown hair down. Behind them, Cake wore an identical orange headband around his dark hair, while Allie returned to the dual braids on her head. 

"I was the Yellow Lion," Hunk said, pointing out Cake. He couldn't contain his excitement anymore. 

"I know, Dad," Cake said, tears beginning to fall from his eyes. Hunk stared at Cake while he pulled up a picture on his arm screen. It showed a smiling Hunk with a little Cake, smiles wide and eyes sparkling. Hunk wore a spacesuit, while little Cake wore a yellow shirt with a small sticker that read 'MY DAD IS A PALADIN'. Cake looked up from the picture to Hunk, who did the same. Before Hunk could stand, Cake ran into his father's arms, crying into his shoulder. The other Paladins, the current ones, barely had time to get out of the way. Kova was directly in Pidge's line of sight, but there was nothing there. 

"You said you were Shiro's kid, right?" Pidge asked, getting Kova and Caleb's attention. Pidge wore the bodysuit of her armor underneath the poncho, now sewn at the open ends to form short sleeves. The rest of the loose pocho was tied by the random long strip on the back of the poncho. 

"Yes, but there is someone you'd rather meet first," Kova said, smiling slyly. (ALLITERATION). Kova walked towards the other door, the other teens stepped back to give Pidge room to move around. Their grins were wide as Kova opened the door, turning on the lights. A pillow flew in the direction of her head, with muffled grumbling coming from the bed. Thankfully, Kenny had arrived. 

"Hey, we have someone for you to meet." More grumbling come from a mass of blankets on the bed, missing a pillow. Kova carefully stepped further into the room, ever closer to the bed. "C'mon, it'll be good for you." Even more grumbling, but at least Kova could hear it. She grabbed an edge of the blanket, pulling it away from the being's face. "Keith, that's a very rude thing to say to someone." Keith's dark hair barely peeked out of the white sheets, turning to glare at Kova. 

"Keith?" Pidge whispered, eyes wide. "Keith Kogane?" That was enough to lift Keith out of bed, to stare at the woman on the other side of the room. Kova stepped out of the way just as Keith launched out of bed to embrace Pidge. Crying, they fell to the floor. Pidge leaned into his shoulder, grabbing fistfuls of Keith's vest. Keith had one hand on Pidge's head, combed into her light brown hair, while the other easily wrapped around her back. Cake and Hunk stood together to watch the scene unfold, with Hunk's arm wrapped around Cake's shoulders. Kenny silently sobbed in the doorway, watching his parents. Ten years. He waited ten years. 

Kova smiled at the happy reunion, already wondering what they would do. Pidge's next words, though, struck a lightning bolt through Kova's heart. As Pidge sniffled, and Keith wiped his tears away, they pulled away from the other to meet each other's eyes. 

"Now," Pidge started, wiping away a tear. "Let's find our daughter."

[loveafterthefact]

Love After the Fact Chapter 38: You’re Drunk on Wine, and I’m Drunk on You

Lance and Keith share a sweet moment. Too bad Keith won't remember most of it...

First  Previous  Next

It’s vargas later when people finally begin filing out, tired, drunk, happy. Keith leans against Lance, fairly drunk himself. Lance coaxes him through some water as Alfor and Coran say farewell to their guests.

Adam’s off to the side, recording Keith’s behavior on his datapad. Lance catches his eye, garnering a smirk. He’ll be able to commemorate this day forever.

“Did you have fun tonight?” Lance grins as Keith tucks his head under his chin like he had at the very beginning of the ball. It’s too adorable and Lance is too tired to concern himself with decorum. That, and Lance has desperately missed physical contact the last few phoebs.

“I did. It wasn’t bad once Pidge started sneaking me drinks.”

“So that’s where you kept getting them.” Drawing circles into Keith’s back, Lance finds himself facing another moral dilemma. “I wondered.”

“Mhm… We’re in trouble, aren’t we?”

“Well, my fathers are giving you looks, but you’re not in trouble.” Alfor himself is still tipsy after downing a few drinks and Coran seems more concerned than anything else. “Are you gonna be okay? You won’t throw up on me will you?”

“No, I won’t. I’ve been drunk a couple times before. Your fancy clothes are safe.”

“Good. Vetroneius worked hard on them.”

Keith frowns, still cuddled up against Lance. “I missed them. I thought they’d be here.”

“Because of all the clothes they needed to make, they’re exhausted and haven’t seen their family much lately. They asked to be excused.”

“Can we be excused, yet?” Keith grumbles. He’s tired and hot and wants to be done with this. There were so many people and the alcohol made it easier, but even so he’s reached the end of his tolerance.

“Mnh, it’s probably late enough. Let’s say goodnight to our friends, and then we’ll go.”

“Okay.”

Hunk, Shay, and Rosetta had already left once Rosie got fussy. They found Pidge quickly enough, giving them a hug. Lance took Keith’s former circlet, now primitive art project from them.

“Thanks for holding onto it for us. He would have lost it by now.”

“Don’t worry about it. We should try to do something just us friends. Maybe visit Hunk or something?” They rise up on their long tip-toes. “It might be easier for him. Crowds are very much not his thing. And it’ll definitely be easier for Hunk and Shay. Stars know two little pups is a lot.”

“Yeah, I really should take Rosie for a quintant or two so they can have some time together before the new baby.”

“Think Keith can handle that?”

“It’s okay,” Keith murmurs. “I like kits. But I also like quiet. Can we go now?”

Lanval and Gloriana come over in time to hear, laugh in amusement. “Someone had fun this evening, didn't they?”

“Mhm. So it would seem.” Lance chuckles. “Did you enjoy your evening, Lady Gloriana?”

“Yes, quite. I very much enjoyed speaking with you and Prince Yorak. I hope we can see each other again soon.”

“I would like that. Perhaps you two should join us for dinner soon. What do you think, beloved?”

Keith smiles, nods. “I like them.”

“Wonderful!” Lance beams, keeping his spouse steady. He can feel heat radiating off Keith’s form, capillaries dilated, breaths coming just a little fast. “Right, well I’d better get this one to bed-” He squeezes Keith closer. “But I’ll definitely ensure you get an invite soon. Lord Lanval, you and I must meet privately soon.”

"I quite agree. We have much to discuss. Farewell, your Majesties." Lanval and Gloriana bow; Lance inclines his head; he steers his spouse back to their room. He passes Adam on their way out.

“Go eat, since you haven’t yet. You’re done for tonight.”

“Are you certain?” Adam eyes Keith, leaning into Lance’s side for stability.

“Absolutely. Rest. You’re taking tomorrow off, too. Don’t forget.”

“Thank you, your Majesty.” Adam bows as Lance walks past with Keith through dimmed halls to their quarters.

A blast of cold air swoops into the hall when he opens their doors.

“Oh, Ancients! You left the garden doors open again!” Lance sets his spouse on the edge of the bed, closes and locks both sets of doors.

Keith busies himself with his clothes, unclasping his bloodred cloak and slipping out of his vest with a sigh. He tosses the vest and belt aside, gold and gemstones tinkling as the chains dance over the floor. He feels hot, feverish almost. Lance comes over, strips him down to his undergarments.

“Are you alright? You’re practically panting.”

“I’m hot. It’s normal.” His brain feels fuzzy, warm. “I can’t sweat like you can.”

“Right. Stay here,” Lance murmurs. Keith stays, yawning wide, raspy tongue curling tall as his ears tip back. Lance chuckles. “I’m going to say this because I don’t believe you’ll remember. You’re adorable...” Lance tugs a shirt over Keith’s head. “... and precious…” He slips sleep pants around Keith’s ankles. “-stand up- … and I-”

“Wait!” Keith puts his hands on Lance’s shoulders as he suddenly finds his brain. Lance adjusts the waistband of the kit's pajamas. This isn’t his first time taking care of someone who’s drunk. Previously, it had been his sister and Romelle. Or one of his friends.

“What’s the matter?” Lance frowns, starts undoing Keith’s braid.

“I’m supposed to kiss you.” Keith keeps his hands on Lance’s shoulders. “I made a deal.”

Keith rises up onto his toes, but Lance gently coaxes him back onto his heels. “A deal isn’t a good reason to kiss someone, beloved. Don’t worry about it.”

“But I- I want to.” Keith’s ears drooped. “I like you and I want to be with you.”

“Well-” Lance groans, staring into enormous violet and yellow eyes. Adam was right. He is indeed soft. “Well, I...” He sighs, pulls Keith in for a hug. The kit settles against him. Lance takes a moment to finish undoing his thick braid. “Let’s talk about it in the morning, okay?”

“But-”

“Not while you’ve been drinking. If you want to kiss me, you have to wait until you can do it sober.” Lance kisses the top of Keith’s head. “Now, let’s get you into bed so you can sleep this off and hopefully not be too sick tomorrow.”

Keith grumbles as Lance coaxes him into bed. Lance tucks the blankets up to his neck, strokes his hair, rubs his ears. “Promise I can kiss you tomorrow?”

Lance chuckles, bites his lip, eases his young spouse into sleep. “I promise, beloved. As soon as you're awake. And maybe after you’ve brushed your teeth.”

Watching his spouse instantly sink into the mattress, Lance can’t help taking a moment for himself. He can’t help but think that come morning, this opportunity might have slipped them by. A small, sharp breath, some crease in his resolve, and Lance leans down, brushing his lips against Keith’s temple.

It’s not as intimate as what Keith wanted, as what he was asking for, but with him asleep -and intoxicated-, Lance doesn’t want to do anything more than that. Still, it means something for him. It means a lot.

Lance has never in his young life given a kiss that meant anything. Yet it’s this one out of all the others, including every kiss to Keith’s cheek, that settles around his heart like a weighted blanket. It’s heavy, secure, warm. That warmth rises into his eyes.

“Goodnight, beloved.”

[voyager-into-the-unknown]

Part 6 of my Plance fanfic series is inspired by the song “Lucky” as sung by Lance’s voice actor, Jeremy Shada. Get ready for intimacy, hilarity, and the fluffiest of fluff in Pidge’s room. Lance and Pidge sing in this chapter. Guest starring Bae Bae and the Trash Floofs. (That might be a good name for their band if they decide to start one.)

https://youtu.be/6Sn_O9vDlR0

Part 6: An Intimate Moment in the Bedroom

Lance had been in Pidge’s room before, both on the castleship and onboard the Atlas. It was always a mess of odds and ends from computers, robots, and unidentifiable alien technology. There were clothes strewn about (Paladin gear, Garrison uniform parts, or her brother’s old hand-me-downs), and a couple of fluffy trash nebula creatures floating around. Her pets, she called them, but she wouldn’t ever tell anyone their names. When Pidge opened the door, he wasn’t prepared for the sight before him.

There were books and video games neatly lined up on bookshelves, a tidy desk and chair, many photos in frames and a few posters on the walls. There were model spaceships and robots on display, along with a teddy bear and a mermaid plushie. There were wall decorations of distant stars and planets, matching her bedspread, which was patterned with constellations from Earth’s night sky. There was a television with a gaming console, a computer, various small electronic devices, and a telescope. She also had a little collection of perfume bottles, makeup containers, hair accessories, a jewelry box, and so many other cute girly things that Lance almost thought they might have entered the wrong room. He realized then, that he had only really seen Pidge Gunderson’s room. This was the bedroom of Katie Holt.

Lance stood there for a moment, just taking it all in, while Bae Bae darted in through the open door. There were old photos of the Holt family when Matt and Katie were little, and some from when they were a bit older, including several taken on the launch day of the ill-fated Kerebos mission. There was a newer family photo taken on board the Atlas, and an amusing one of the Holts in costume, taken at the Clear Day celebration. There were many photos of the Paladins as well, some taken onboard the Castle of Lions, others onboard the Atlas, and many from the various planets that they had visited. In nearly every single one of them Lance saw himself standing next to Pidge, often with one arm casually draped around her shoulders. She was always beaming at the camera or laughing in every picture of the two of them together. He smiled at the happy memories that the photos captured. She probably had many other pictures of the Voltron team, but she displayed only those particular photographs for a reason, as if to cherish those particular moments. Lance felt another pang of guilt when he saw those mementos, regretting how he wasted so much time in those days, flirting with strange females he barely even knew, when he should have been paying more attention to the amazing girl who had been by his side the entire time. Hunk’s words came back to haunt him. “She’s had a crush on you since forever,” and “She’s cried herself to sleep over you a thousand times.” Lance hated himself for not noticing her sooner, and thought maybe the Holts should have been even more protective of their daughter. He didn’t deserve her.

“You’re awfully quiet.” Pidge looked at him, concerned.

“You’re room isn’t what I expected. I’m just...overwhelmed. That’s all.”

“You think it’s too girly, right?”

“It is girly, but you’re a girl, so that’s perfectly natural.”

“But you don’t like it,” she said dejectedly.

“No! It’s just the opposite, really. I love this room. It’s really cute. In fact, if I ever have a little girl of my own someday, I would want her to have a room as cute as this one.” He was still staring at everything. He had just picked up a framed photo of himself, Pidge, and Kaltenecker that made him smile fondly. Pidge’s fluffy blue and green trash nebula friends floated over his shoulder, as if to admire the photo with him.

“A little girl? You’re already thinking about starting a family?”

“What?! Oh...” Lance’s face felt warmer than usual. He nervously set the photo back down. “Oh, uh, yeah...I’d like to have a family of my own someday.” He couldn’t believe he had just admitted that out loud. He dared to steal a glance at her, and when their eyes met, he could not look away.

Pidge looked at him with a soft expression, her lips slightly parted and her golden brown eyes wide with surprise. She was small and vulnerable, and at the same time, she was also his Pidge—strong and tough, courageous and brilliant, but still so very young and innocent. For a fleeting moment, in his mind’s eye, she was more beautiful, more radiant, more dazzling than every star in the sky. “I want a family with you,” he admitted. “Someday...I mean, if that’s what you want, too.” It was if his mouth had a mind of its own. The blue and green space pets seemed to be blushing right along with him, as if feeling empathy for his discomfort.

She smiled at him, then looked down at the floor, blushing adorably. “Yes,” she said quietly. She was quivering ever so slightly. “I want a family someday...” Her eyes began to water. She took her glasses off and wiped her eyes, then swallowed. “...with you.”

Lance moved towards her and pulled her close, enveloping her in a warm embrace. She buried her face in Lance’s chest, her shoulders shaking as she wept quietly, grabbing a fistful of his shirt. He hid his smile in her hair, inhaling her sweet scent. He wasn’t crying, there was just a bit of space dust in his eyes...

They stood like that for a long time, saying nothing. The only thing he could hear in the stillness of the room was the sound of her fluffy trash nebula friends softly trilling, and Bae Bae’s tail thumping against the floor. Pidge stopped shaking and her breathing slowed, Lance rubbed her back gently. She slid her arms around him and hugged him. When she finally let him go, he held her by the shoulders and looked at her.

“I love you, Katie,” he said,. “I want to spend the rest of my life loving you. I want to grow old with you. And I am just as terrified by it as you are.”

She grinned. “I love you too, Lance.” She reached up to touch his cheek. He closed his eyes blissfully to savor the gentleness of her touch, then looked at her through eyes that were half closed. “For me, it’s always been you, and I never thought you’d ever feel the same as I do. I am happier and more frightened than I have ever been in my life. Everything is happening so fast...”

His opened his eyes wider. “We need to slow down. I...I didn’t mean to scare you. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry. We have been best friends for years, and we share a Paladin bond. Ever since that last battle, when we fully bonded with our lions...”

“We have been closer than ever before. Which is why I can tell you, with great certainty, and without fear of retribution, that you look like a raccoon right now.”

“What?!”

“Your mascara.” He turned her toward the mirror, laughing a little.

“Ugh! I’m not used to wearing this stuff. This is so embarrassing.” She picked up a makeup wipe and began to dab under her eyes. He grinned at her awkward attempt to maintain her dignity.

“Stop it. This isn’t funny, Lance.”

“Yes, it is.” He couldn’t stop giggling at how silly she looked. Then he saw her hurt expression.

“I’m sorry. Please, allow me. Close your eyes.” Pidge obeyed. She turned her face towards him, and handed him the moist little cloth. He held her chin as he gently wiped the dark smears away. Then he lowered his head and kissed her lips softly. It was intended to be a quick chaste kiss, but Lance couldn’t suppress his joy when she cupped his face and kissed him back. He deepened the kiss, wanting more, and Pidge then began to kiss him with more intensity and passion than ever. Lance began to pull away, afraid that things were indeed moving way too fast. Pidge pushed him down on her bed. “Take off your shirt,” she commanded.

Lance looked at her, both aroused and terrified. “Pidge, I don’t think we should...”

“Take it off,” she said more gently, sitting very close to him on the bed. “Start undoing those buttons.”

“Pidge, I really respect you, and I don’t mind waiting until...”

Pidge shut him up with another kiss. She took adavantage of his surprise to begin unbuttoning his shirt.

“I really don’t think we should do this,” he said breathlessly as she continued to undress him. “Pidge, I’m really trying to be a gentleman about this.” She had undone all of his buttons.

“Take off your shirt,” she insisted.

“I think we should wait. Now isn’t the time for either of us to lose our virginity.” He was blushing so hotly that he nearly radiated steam.

Pidge cracked up, laughing so hard her sides hurt. “I’m not trying to seduce you, goofball. You have mascara all over your shirt. I’m going to put stain remover on that, then put it in the washer. It should be as good as new after that.”

Lance’s facial expression changed from aroused embarrassment to cool shock in an instant. “Pidge!”

Pidge was in giddy hysterics. “That look...on your face...priceless!” She wheezed at him, so overcome with laughter that she nearly fell off the bed.

Lance sighed as he took off his shirt and handed it too her. “I still think that you’re using this as an excuse to tear my clothes off.” He turned on the charm, and said in his deepest, most seductive voice, “I’m just so sexy that you just can’t resist me.”

“In your dreams, Loverboy.” She draped his shirt over one arm, and then made finger guns at him. “Gotcha!”

She exited the room with his shirt in hand, still giggling as she shut the door. The trash floofs made a kind of sandpapery sound, which was probably their equivalent of snickering. Bae Bae, on the other hand, just whined in sympathy as she thumped her tail on the floor.

*******

When Pidge returned to her room, she discovered that Lance had removed his shoes and was sitting cross-legged on top of her comforter, strumming his guitar. He was definitely underdressed, wearing only his gray trousers, white undergarments, and socks.

“Making yourself comfortable on my bed, Lance?”

“Obviously, I am trying to seduce you with my good looks, charm, and talent.” He smirked at her as he played an elaborate riff on the guitar. The fluffy blue and green alien pets trilled in harmony with his last chord.

Pidge laughed. “I think it’s working. But alas, as much as I would like to keep you up here in my bedroom half-dressed and swooning with mad affection for me, I don’t think my parents would approve. I brought you the sweater you left downstairs. You can put that on before we have supper, which should be in about an hour.”

“Won’t your parents suspect something? They might wonder what happened to my shirt.”

“If they notice, just tell them you spilled something on it, so I washed it for you. Now, about that song you wrote for me...”

Lance played his most recent version of the the song, which he entitled “Lucky.” Pidge was delighted with it, and kissed his cheek when he was done. She sat barefooted on the other end of the bed, facing him, and he taught her to sing her part in the song. They spent several minutes revising the lyrics. The final result was this:

"Lucky"

Lance: Do you hear me, I'm talking to you

Across the stars, across the galaxies

Under the open sky, oh my, baby I'm trying

Pidge: Boy, I hear you in my dreams

I feel your whisper across the stars

I keep you with me in my heart

You make it easier when life gets hard

[Both:]. Lucky I'm in love with my best friend

Lucky to have been where I have been

Lucky to be coming home again

Ooooh ooooh oooh oooh ooh ooh ooh ooh

Lance: They don't know how long it takes

Waiting for a love like this

Every time we say goodbye

I wish we had one more kiss

I'll wait for you, I promise you, I will

[Both:] Lucky I'm in love with my best friend

Lucky to have been where I have been

Lucky to be coming home again

Lucky we're in love in every way

Lucky to have stayed where we have stayed

Lucky to be coming home someday

Lance: And so I'm flying through the stars

To a planet where we'll meet

You'll hear the music fill the air

I'll put a flower in your hair

Pidge: Though the breezes through the trees

Move so pretty you're all I see

As the world keeps spinning round

You hold me right here right now

[Both:] Lucky I'm in love with my best friend

Lucky to have been where I have been

Lucky to be coming home again

I'm lucky we're in love in every way

Lucky to have stayed where we have stayed

Lucky to be coming home someday

They were so caught up in the music that they didn’t notice that Sam and Colleen were standing in the open doorway. Sam had his arm around his wife and a faraway expression in his eyes, smiling at some distant memory. Colleen was visibly moved by the song and looked on the young couple with admiration. When the song ended, the Holts applauded. Lance and Pidge blushed.

“Mom, isn’t he amazing?” Pidge gushed.

“Lance, you have a voice like an angel, dear.”

“I thought the song was wonderful. Well done, both of you!” Sam exclaimed.

“You two had better get ready for supper. Matt will be here soon, with takeout from Pizza Shack. And there’s plenty of leftovers from lunch today.”

When Sam and Colleen went back downstairs, Lance and Pidge put their shoes on, and Lance put his guitar back in its case. Pidge handed him his sweater.

“Well, that went well. What’s the plan for after supper?” Lance asked as he pulled his blue sweater on over his T-shirt.

“I was thinking we can get Matt to teach us how he finally got to level 36 of Killbot Phantasm.”

Lance beamed at her. “That is a great idea! Then I’ll give you the surprise that I brought over for you. It’s in the white bag on the sideboard downstairs.”

“That bag smelled suspiciously like peanut butter cookies,” Pidge said.

“Of course!”

[legendary-defender-of-fandoms]

Would folks be open to a Vehicle Voltron spin-off of Legendary Defender?

I know Voltron left a lot of people disappointed at best and an unholy degree of pissed off at worst, and there’s nothing wrong with any reaction in between. The Voltron writing team dropped the ball with a lot of subjects (LGBT rep, Allura’s death, Lotor’s ultimate fate, Honerva’s “redemption,” etc.), and fans have every right to be angry, or hurt, or whatever.

But . . . . I’ve been thinking about Voltron a lot lately, and a Vehicle Voltron spin-off could be used to give us closure & redeem the franchise. Not the writers, or De Santos & Montgomery, but the characters & the core story deserve a second chance.

I’ll admit, I don’t know much about Vehicle Voltron (except it was an English redub of a Japanaese anime that had absolutely nothing to do with Voltron’s source anime, King of Beasts GoLion). But from what little I’ve gleaned, it could be a decent setup for a Star Trek/Justice League Unlimited sort of sci-fi action ensemble show, with different episodes focusing on separate teams until everyone has to meet up for big battles/finales.

There’s supposed to be about 15 vehicles of all sorts (planes, cars, helicopters, etc,) that make up Vehicle Voltron, broken down into 3 teams (Earth, Water, and Sky/Air). Each group of 5 vehicles makes their own mini-Vehicle Voltron, and when all 3 teams are together they make the big Vehicle Voltron. Perhaps the MFE pilots add one more to their ranks & form the Jet Vehicle Voltron that forms the head of Big Vehicle Voltron.

And with an expanded cast & different teams, the chances for proper representation would increase exponentially! Pilots & Paladins of every skin color, orientation, gender identification/presentation, body type, age, and neurodivergency. Not to mention all the crossovers born of the interpersonal relationships. Perhaps the left arm pilot of Earth Vehicle Voltron has a significant other who forms the head of Water Vehicle Voltron, or the legs of MFE Vehicle Voltron are Twins, and so forth.

Then there’s the appearances by characters from the OG Legendary Defenders. The Season 8 epilogue confirmed that Pidge & the rest of the Holt family spearheaded the Vehicle Voltron project, but they won’t be the only returning cast members.

Veronica probably transferred over from the Galaxy Garrison, either as a Pilot or a communications officer coordinating the deployment of all the Vehicle Voltron teams. And with Veronica onboard, we may see her girlfriend/partner/close friend Axca, who would rope in Ezor & Zethrid as the other members of her Blade of Marmorra relief team.

Perhaps Vehicle Voltron would give Curtis a chance to shine as the tactical advisor for one of the Teams, or an instructor at the Voltron Academy, and we’d get to know him as a character rather than a background Red Shirt hastily converted into a half-assed bit of LGBT rep. And with Curtis we could see Shiro, either as a guest advisor to teach the Teams about the importance of teamwork or just as a supportive husband. The important things here would be to establish Curtis’ personality & show his relationship with Shiro (who’s the better cook, what kind of stuff do they disagree over, how do they cheer each other up, do either of them want kids, etc.).

And think of all the other cameos we could see - Hunk & his culinary crew partnering with one of the Vehicle Voltron teams to oversee peace talks between unfriendly nations, Keith & his Blade of Marmorra team running into another Vehicle Voltron team as both try to evacuate an unstable planet, Veronica visiting her little brother Lance on the family farm & seeing how he’s doing after Season 8, etc.

Then there’s the stories. I have a few basic plots figured out, but there are tons of possibilities:

Welcome to the New Legendary Defenders - this would be the three-part premiere, as we’re introduced to the Vehicle Voltron teams, mission statements, and cast while following one of the new recruits (possibly Chip, or maybe a new character).

New Olcarion - ever wonder what happened to everyone on Olcarion since Season 8 forgot to tell us? This episode has you covered! Perhaps they built their own planet & it’s having some technical difficulties, or they think they found a new planet they could colonize but the planet has sentient life that went hidden until a bunch of off-worlders started stomping around like they owned the place.

Shadows of the Empire - there’s probably still a few Galra who aren’t ready to let go of Zarkon’s era of conquest or Haggar’s era of devastation, and they might pop up every once in a while to cause trouble. Sendack’s dead, but maybe that wormy General from the Taujeerian episode would make his long-awaited return as he tries to establish his own Galra Empire. Or maybe a forgotten cache of Galra sentret droids either never got deactivated or were recently reactivated & are still carrying out their prime directives (I.e. conquer everything in the name of the Galra Empire).

Balmera Pains - a colony of Balmerans reach out to Vehicle Voltron for help. Their Balmera is under distress, and no one is entirely certain how or why. The team shows up to help with evacuations, and they discover the Balmera isn’t dying - it’s pregnant. Everyone’s excited, since a new Balmera hasn’t been born in millennia, but there’s still the issue of tremors & other seismic activity putting the Balmerans at risk.

Lion Goddess - this would be an overarching story in the first season, possibly extending into a second season. It would start with the original Paladins getting dreams/visions/flashbacks of the Lions. Pidge & Shiro would be in Vehicle Voltron more than the others, so they’re the ones who we would see exhibiting symptoms first. Pidge might be dreaming about Green before her alarm goes off at the start of her day, or Shiro might hear some whisper over his shoulder & find nothing there, that sort of thing. The two would probably talk about these flashes & dreams with each other, chalking it up to old memories or PTSD (or one of them might try to pull a Steven Universe & keep their trauma bundled up until they explode into a Kaiju of guilt & self-loathing). This could even be something Shiro & Curtis regularly discuss, as Curtis wants to support Shiro through whatever’s going on. But as the other Paladins make their cameos, we may see them showing symptoms as well (Keith May be restless or irritable, Lance May be distracted or lethargic, Hunk might flinch if folks start talking about lions, space anomalies, or Quintessence, etc.). But eventually everyone will get together & realize they’re being Called by Voltron. Or Allura? Or the Universe in general. This revelation may coincide with reports of distant planets sighting giant flying robotic cats in their area, scaring off folks who come too close to their territory. Then it’ll be time to get the Gang back together to find the Lions & see why they’ve reappeared after so long & what’s going on. Through some complicated shenanigans, it’ll be revealed that the Lions have gathered the life force of Allura & need the Paladins to help with channeling her energies into regenerating her. Not sure if Lotor would be regenerated during this process as well - while his body kind of melted into the Sincline robot, his consciousness/soul/whatever could still be trapped within the space between dimensions, or his energies became entangled with Allura’s as they both drifted in the ether & by bringing back one, they bring back the other. Bottom line, yay, Allura’s back! And after a few episodes in a coma (regeneration is exhausting), she’s up & about and ready for some closure. She & Lance can try to pick things up where they left off & realize they still care about each other, but just don’t work as a romantic couple. She & Coran can get an emotional reunion to make up for Coran being snubbed in the Season 8 finale. Maybe Allura’s QuintessenceBending will have grown exponentially, and now she spreads new life wherever she goes, or maybe channeling all of Honerva’s stolen Quintessence into jumpstarting the Multiverse has left her completely drained of her gifts. If Lotor’s back as well, the two will have a lot to discuss after their shared time in the ether.

Anyway, those were my thoughts on a Vehicle Voltron spin-off. Am I the only one?

[shastelly]

Face the Music - March Klance Prompts from MonthlyKlance - Day 28

You mean it’s not March...I didn't notice...explains the 90 degree weather...anyway enjoy this cheesefest

"Keith, please tell me you didn't do it."  Hunk begged.

 "Do what?"  Keith looked up from his space oatmeal at Hunk's horrified face.  

 "You know."  Hunk accused.

 "No, I don't.  That's why I asked."  Keith frowned, puzzled.

 Pidge snorted as she walked through the door to the dining area to find the two, across the table from each other, glaring, while they ate.

 "So, what'd Keith do?"  She asked, as she flopped down.

 "You'll see."  Hunk growled ominously.

 "I didn't think he'd really try it.  I mean there is no way he can keep it up.  Right?"  Keith looked over at Pidge appealing for her help.

 "Keep what up?"  Pidge narrowed her eyes.

 "Keith," Hunk spat his name, "bet Lance that he couldn't sing Disney songs all day - like literally from when he woke up to when he goes to bed."

 "YOU WHAT?!" Pidge drew back in horror.

 Keith cringed, "So, he can do it?"

 "He could probably do it for longer if he wouldn't lose his voice."  Hunk snapped.  "He knows like every Disney song from every Disney movie ever."

 At that moment the paladin in question breezed through the doorway singing, "Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, Zip-a-dee-ay! My oh my, what a wonderful day!"  He sat down next to Keith and proceeded to serenade them for the next several minutes.

 "Lance, please eat something,” Hunk requested kindly as Lance was in the middle of singing something about being a cat.

 Lance shook his head.

 "Lance, you have to stop to eat.  Keith, tell him he can stop to eat!"  Hunk demanded.

 "Nope. No breaks, that was part of the bet."  Keith crossed his arms and frowned.  There was no way that Lance was winning this bet, it was too hard.

 Lance just shrugged and proceeded to a rousing rendition of “Be Our Guest”.

 "What did you bet?"  Pidge asked morbidly curious and considering getting cotton to stuff in her ears.  It wasn't that Lance was a bad singer or that she didn't like Disney, just all day was going to be too much.

 "If he loses, he takes pod cleaning duty for the next month."  Keith smiled to himself knowing he was going to get out of this chore that no one enjoyed.

 "Who gets pod cleaning duty?"  Shiro asked sharply as he walked in.

 "Uh…hi Shiro."  Keith looked a little nervous.

 "Lance and Keith have a bet."  Hunk filled him in.

 "Lance bet me he could sing Disney songs all day without stopping."  Keith nodded.  "There is no way he can do that, so I called him on it."

 Shiro blinked a couple of times and then sighed, "And if he loses, he's supposed to clean the pods, what if you lose?"

 "Won't happen."  Keith stated.

 "It will."  Hunk stated just as confident.

 "You are so going to lose," Pidge giggled.

 "Okay, but if at any point this interferes with training or we have an emergency I am calling it off, clear?"  Shiro rubbed the bridge of his nose.  He didn’t want to stop their rivalry or flirting or whatever they were calling it today, as long as it didn't put anyone in danger or interrupt their work.

 Training that morning to the soundtrack from Mulan and Hercules was almost amusing. Lance would at least sing quietly and seemed to be paying attention when Shiro gave out the instructions.  If anything, his hand to hand movements were improved, though the singing was impacting his long-range shooting and stamina, at least during the long or high notes.  Shiro let it go as minor.  He'd never seen Lance look quite so determined and Keith was starting to look nervous.  Shiro secretly thought Keith underestimated Lance too much and it would do him good to lose something easy like this to remind him that Lance usually backed up his boosts with action.

 Coran and Allura were mesmerized with the songs they had never heard before and had joined them in the training room to listen and ask questions about the stories the songs were from.  

 At lunch when Lance stood at the head of the table and started singing “Candle on the Water”, Shiro found himself taking his bowl of food goo and making excuses to leave. He couldn't help but think of Adam and well, tearing up in front of the team wasn't high on his list; he may be a big sap, but he was still their leader.  Apparently Allura had no such concerns because she had tears running down her face when Shiro got back and Lance was in the middle of “You'll be in My Heart” and Pidge was whispering the relevant story points.

 Apparently singing “It's a Small World After All” is a highly effective way of getting Keith annoyed and off guard.  Lance beat him twice in hand to hand combat signing that annoying little ditty that was never going to leave Hunk's brain and Hunk was glaring at Keith again. Pidge was strangely quiet during training until Shiro discovered and ordered her to remove the cotton from her ears. She instead began calling out requests for the most annoying Disney songs she could think of and, of course, a grinning Lance played right along.  Shiro pointed out that the team needed to learn to work through distractions, even annoying songs.  

 Lance was currently going through some of the less politically correct songs from Lady and the Tramp and Peter Pan.  Then it was “Heigh-Ho” and “I Got No Strings” and “I Just Can't Wait To Be King”. Lance actually followed Shiro around to sing “Following the Leader”.  

 Keith sighed as he turned the com off in Red.  They were doing flight drills and Lance was singing “Let's Go Fly A Kite”. He was starting to get concerned that he might actually lose this bet.  It had started out as a simple conversation about movies.  Lance liked movies, lots of movies, and he liked to tell Keith about them.  Keith had not seen a lot of movies.  It wasn't his dad's thing and then it’s not like his foster families took him out to movies and then at the Garrison he didn't have money to go.  The few movies he had seen had been courtesy of Shiro or Adam and it wasn't that he didn't like them.  He just didn't get why it was important or why Lance cared so much about them.  Lance had been going over the storyline to Hercules when Keith had snapped something along the lines of, he had something better to do than listen to some kids movie.

 Lance had frowned and a genuine hurt look had crossed his face before it flickered to anger. They had fought.  It hadn't been a nice fight.  It had been one of those, use what you know to make it hurt more, kind of fights.  Lance had at some point claimed to be a movie expert and especially a Disney expert and it wasn't his fault that Keith was an uncultured pig.  Keith told him Disney was overrated and so was Lance.  Lance had cried out as if in pain and somehow, they had reached a discussion of Disney music and Lance's love of said music and then there was the bet.  

 Keith had said if Lance lost, he had to clean the pods.  He knew Lance was afraid of them.  He knew it.  He'd talked to Lance about it before.  Lance had confided his fear to him, as if it wasn't obvious every time, he came up with fifty excuses to avoid using it if he was injured.  It usually took an order from Shiro to get him into one.  

 Keith knew Lance wouldn't want to do it.  He knew it would hurt him to have to clean the pods, but he made that the bet anyway. And then Lance had to go, and one up him.  He picked something Keith never would have dreamed of and to be honest he was a little terrified it was going to happen at this point.  Keith was not used to this kind of fear and he didn't like it.  It made him uncomfortable and an uncomfortable Keith is a cranky Keith.

 It was at the evening meal when Shiro realized Lance had not stopped to eat or drink anything all day.  He practically growled at the two of them.

 "It was part of the bet." Keith offered shrinking back.

 "And I said I would call it off if I needed to."  Shiro snapped.

 Lance scribbled on a piece of paper while somehow still singing “Hakuna Matata”. "Please Shiro, I don't want him to weasel out on a technicality.  I'm almost there!"  Lance gave Shiro his best puppy dog eyes.

 "No, you need to eat and drink.  I'm not sacrificing your health for this game.  We trained for hours and you didn't even get a drink of water?!" Shiro turned on him.

 Lance shrugged.

 "Drink."  Shiro ordered.  Lance looked over to Keith who had his arms crossed.  "He drinks and it doesn't call off the bet.  He eats and it doesn't call off the bet."  

 Keith glared and muttered something about cheating.

 Lance huffed mid song and scribbled on his paper again as he switched to “Part of Your World”.  "Compromise?  How about a rhythm song I can tap out while I eat and drink?"

 "Fine." Keith huffed before Shiro could even force him to agree.

 "Better. No more bets that involve not eating or drinking, got it?"

 "Yes." Keith turned back to his food goo.

 Lance nodded. As soon as his current song finished, he began tapping out “Trashing The Camp” with his hand while he gobbled his food goo and slurped down three hydration pouches.  

 Shiro cringed half certain that all of the food was going to make a reappearance, but Lance managed to keep it down and have it mostly swallowed before the song finished and he launched into “A Whole New World”.

 While settling down on the couches after the evening meal listening to Lance sing “Can You Feel The Love Tonight,” Keith found himself cringing.  It was almost over.  He was man enough to admit he was going to lose at this point.  Lance's voice was a little rough by now, but not "about to lose my voice" rough.  By the time the others were getting ready to turn in and Lance was singing and dancing to “Let It Go,” Keith decided to just tell him it was over.

 "It's the end of the day.  You win."  Keith muttered, despair coloring his tone.

 Lance looked over at him eyes gleaming and nodded.  In the spirit of the bet he continued singing all the way to his room and Keith could still hear the strains of “When You Wish Upon A Star” as the door slipped closed.

 The next morning came way too soon for Keith.  He barely slept a wink.  It was time, as they say, to face the music.  He sighed and climbed out of bed.  He slipped on something comfortable and moped and pouted his way to breakfast.  Lance was sitting at the table when he got there. When he saw Keith, his eyes widened and he gave him a friendly wave, before pulling out a pair of scissors and snipping them at him.

 "After breakfast, okay?" Lance asked with an eyebrow raised.

 "Yeah, okay." Keith's shoulders drooped even further, and he went to get his food.

 "What's after breakfast?"  Hunk asked eyeing the scissors.

 "Keith has to pay up.  He lost the bet."  Lance answered.

 "We still don't know what he bet.  We know what you would have had to do, but not him." Pidge narrowed her eyes.

 "You'll just have to wait and see."  Lance offered mysteriously.

 "You know my rule.  I'll call it off if I feel like I need to."  Shiro warned.

 "I won't hurt him Shiro."  Lance looked shocked that he would even suggest such a thing.

 "Okay."  Shiro answered warily.

 After breakfast Lance ushered Keith into the common room.  There was a chair sitting in the middle of the floor.  Lance gestured for the others to sit on the couches and Keith flopped into the chair.  

 "Now. Keith agreed that if he lost the bet, he would allow me to, in front of all of you, cut his hair!"  Lance finished the sentence with a dramatic draping of some kind of cape around Keith's front.  

 Keith's face burned bright red and he wouldn't meet anyone’s’ eyes.

 "Keith, are you sure?"  Shiro sighed. Everything about the Red Paladin screamed that he wanted to run away right now.  He did not like being the center of attention and no matter how much Lance teased him about it, he actually liked his haircut.  

 "Yes. I made the bet.  I'll see it through."  Keith answered determined.  He was not going to back out now.

 "Cool."  Lance produced a spray bottle, a comb, and the scissors.  "I do actually cut my own hair and Hunk's so it's not like I haven't done this before.  I promise no mohawks."  Lance set to work.  The others watched grins slowly working their way onto their faces as Keith cringed and Lance worked, tongue stuck out the side of his mouth as he concentrated.  

 "There. Done."  Lance announced about fifteen minutes later.  

 Keith looked down at the hair scattered around him and wondered what Lance had done to him.  Would it be super short?  Would he have cut it crooked?  Would it be cut like Lance's or Hunk's?  He wasn't sure he wanted to know.

 "Hey."  Lance stepped into his line of sight like he'd been trying to get his attention. "Don't you want to see?" Lance pointed to a mirror set up on the other side of the room.

 "I…um…yeah I guess."  Keith sighed.

 Lance slipped the cape from his shoulders and proceeded to cleaning up the chunks of hair from the floor.  No one else in the room was saying anything.  Keith looked around to each of their faces, trying to get a hint, but they all seemed carefully blank.  He walked slowly to the mirror and then stood in shock at his reflection.  It was still his hair cut.  It was shorter, but definitely still his style, just more like it was before they got onto the castle and he'd let it grow for all these months without a trim.

 "But, it's still, I mean, I still have a…?"  

 Lance looked over at him in amusement, "Are you admitting to having a mullet, Mullet?"

 "What? No."  Keith snapped back, but he couldn't keep the smile off of his face. "I just thought, I mean you always complain about it, but you didn't change it.  You just trimmed it?"  

 "Of course, I trimmed it.  Why do you think I wanted to cut it?  Those split ends were awful."  Lance mocked, though his eyes were softer than his words.  "Besides, if I gave you a different style what would I call you? I mean, I'm too used to calling you Mullet, Mullet."

 "Oh, um, well thanks."  Keith gave him a soft smile in return.  

[eastofthemoon]

This is both part of my Witch Allura AU and also part of @gentronlegendaryfriendships for the prompt Hanahaki Disease.  Couldn’t resist writing this once it got into my head.

Petals

Rating: G

Series: Voltron Legendary Defender

Part of Something Familiar

Summary:  Shiro would be the first to admit that as a witch’s familiar, one had to expect the unexpected. Yet, every now and then, something would throw him off. Coming home to see scattered flowers on the floor wasn’t exactly bizarre, but it wasn’t normal for their home either. He raised an eyebrow as he followed the trail of petals into the living room.

Shiro would be the first to admit that as a witch’s familiar, one had to expect the unexpected.  Yet, every now and then, something would throw him off.  Coming home to see scattered flowers on the floor wasn’t exactly bizarre, but it wasn’t normal for their home either.  He raised an eyebrow as he followed the trail of petals into the living room.

Someone coughing as he entered.  More petals were spread in disarray across the floor and in the centre of it all was Lance, in his cat form, hacking non-stop.

“Lance,” Shiro asked in concerned as he kneeled, “buddy you okay?”

The cat froze, slammed his mouth shut and attempted to raise his head as if nothing was wrong.  Shiro narrowed his eyes.  Lance didn’t seem to be in dire stress, but Shiro recognized a guilty look when he saw one.

Shiro crossed his arms as Lance seemed to struggled to keep inside whatever it was he had in his mouth.

“Alright, what’s going on?” Shiro asked.

Lance tried a meow but then began to hack again.  Then, suddenly a blue daisy dropped out of his mouth.  Shiro blinked dumbly as Lance sheepishly tried to hide his face behind his paws.

“Did..did you just cough up a flower?” Shiro asked.

Being cats, it wasn’t uncommon for them to cough up a hairball or two, but everyone tried to do that kind of thing in private and clean it up afterwards.  Coughing up a whole flower...that was new.

A sigh was heard from the other room.  Shiro raised his head as both Hunk and Keith entered.

“Lance, I thought Coran told you to say stay in the kitchen,” Keith scolded as he kneeled to scoop up the flower.

“Yeah, no offense but easier to clean up if you stay in one spot,” Hunk said as he patted Lance’s head.

Shiro frowned as he stood back up.  “Okay, could someone tell me why Lance is coughing up flowers?”

Keith and Hunk both glance to Lance like they were wondering if he would speak up, but when he didn’t Keith volunteered.  “Lance got himself cursed.”

Shiro blinked.  “What?”

“It’s a weird curse that apparently causes people to cough up flowers,” Hunk continued.

Shiro raised and then lowered his hand.  “How did he get himself cursed?”

Seriously, Shiro had barely been gone an hour.  There were days he swore he couldn’t his eyes off the other cats for five minutes.

Keith pointed over his shoulder at Lance.  “SOMEONE had the grand idea of going exploring in the attic.”

Shiro pinched the bridge of his nose.  Oh, now that made sense.  “And I’m assuming that someone accidentally set off a magical item from Alfor’s old collection?”

They had a good reason to avoid the attic.  Allura’s father had a huge collection of magical artifacts.  Some were useful, but most were weird due to the curses that was attached to them.  Walking in there could be equal to walking into a magical landmine.

Lance’s fur went up before he swiftly changed into his human form and tossed his hands in the air.

“It wasn’t my fault!” Lance cried.  “I was just trying to find a spare game controller to play that game Pidge found when I just happened to touch this dumb amulet by mistake.”

“Why would we have a spare game controller in the attic?” Hunk asked.

“Hey, Coran is always tossing old junk up there,” Lance argued.  “I figure there was a chance that-”

A cough came.  Lance covered his mouth as he continued to do so.  Instinct taking over, Shiro patted his back until another daisy tumbled out.

Lance took a breath as he glared at the flower.  “This..is so gross.”

“Just be glad you’re not coughing up roses,” Keith said as he crossed his arms.  “Those would probably have thorns.”

Lance grumbled just as Allura, Pidge and Coran entered.  Allura held one of her spellbooks in her hands as she looked to Shiro.

“Oh, you’re back,” she said as she shut the book.  “Lance has-”

“Been cursed, yeah I just heard,” Shiro finished as he approached her.  “Do we have a way to break it?”

Pidge adjust her glasses.  “Technically we have two ways, but it’s a bit tricky considering how this curse works.”

“What’s so complicated?” Lance said as he slumped on the cough.  “I am vomiting up plants.”  Another cough came and another daisy dropped to the floor.  “See?!”

“It’s called the ‘hanahaki curse’,” Coran said as he sat next to Lance.  “It causes it’s victim to have flowers grown inside them and then forced to cough them when they experience unrequited love.”

Lance’s scowl vanished as he tilted his head.  “Huh?...Unrequited…” He pointed to himself.  “But I’m not in love with anyone.”

Hunk raised a hand.  “Uh..don’t you have a crush on that movie star you like?”

Lance blushed.  “Well, yeah, but I’m not in love with her.  That’s just a plain old crush.”

“That doesn’t matter to the hanahaki curse,” Allura said as she flipped through her spellbook.  “It seems the curse lumps crushes and actual feelings of love as one thing.”

“WHAT?!” Lance said as he jumped to his feet.  “But that’s not fair!”  He clearly wanted to yell more, but kneeled over as more daisies fell from his mouth.  “I am so sick of this.”

“Calm down,” Shiro said as he gently forced Lance to sit down and looked to Pidge.  “You said you had a cure?”

“Well, we got a couple of options,” Pidge said as she paced.  “First one is to get the person to also feel romantic love to Lance...but that’s not an option for obvious reasons.”

Shiro nodded.  He couldn’t even imagine how to get a movie star interested in Lance, even if he was actually in love with her.  “What’s number two?”

Allura cringed.  “Um...according to the book we could either try to remove the flowers by magic or even by surgery.”

Lance paled.  “What?!  You’re going to cut me open-”

“Calm down, we’re not doing that,” Allura said as she patted his head, but then sighed.  “I could try my magic but I rather not.”

“Why not?” Shiro asked.  Allura was usually chomping at the bit to use her magic.

“That would be because there’s a high risk of Lance losing all sense of his emotions if not done carefully,” Coran said.

Lance paled again.  “What?!”  His hands shook.  “So...are you saying that I’m doomed to either no longer feel any emotions or to cough up flowers until I’m old and grey?”

“No, no, of course not,” Coran said as he patted his shoulder.  “The roots of the flowers would tangled up in your throat and kill you long before then.”

Lance’s jaw fell as Shiro, Hunk and Keith exclaimed in unison “W-what?”

Shiro paled as he looked to Allura.  “Is that true?  We can’t let-”

“It’s true, but it won’t happen,” Allura cut in briskly as she shot a glare at Coran, “because we have a reasonable third option.”  She pointed to a page in her spellbook.  “There’s a potion we can make and give to Lance that will cease the flowers blooming.”

Colour returned to Lance’s face as his hands stopped shaking.  “So...I just need to drink some weed killer?”

“In a manner of speaking,” Allura said as she chewed her bottom lip.  “The only issue is that this potion is beyond my skill.  We’ll need to call in an expert on the matter.”

“An expert,” Shiro muttered, but then the meaning dawned on him.  “You’re not suggesting-”

“That we call Slav, yes,” Pidge said with a nod.  “That was what we were thinking.”

In other words, Slav would be coming here.  Shiro would have to deal with his annoying antics and criticisms face to face again.

Shiro went quiet as he turned to Allura.  “How high of a risk was it again for you to use your magic?”

“SHIRO?!” Lance called out.

Shiro sighed as rubbed his neck.  “I know, I was just joking.”  Well...he was mostly joking.

0808080808080808080808080808080808080

Slav and Sven weren’t able to arrive until a few hours later.  It meant they would have to spend the night at their place.  Shiro wasn’t thrilled with the idea, but he was willing to put up with it if it meant to cure Lance.

Even if Slav did complain the shade of blue in the walls of the guest room.  Yet, Slav seemed to be in an oddly chipper mood as he watched Lance cough up another flower.

“Fascinating,” Slav said as he wrote in his journal.  “Truly fascinating.  I have read about this curse, but to witness it is a sight.”

Lance growled as he wiped the petals off his lips.  “Yeah, yeah.  Can you please just cure me already?”

“Working on it,” Sven said as he read over Allura’s spellbook.  “Although, we will require to boil some of the ingredients listed here.”

Lance raised an eyebrow.  “And how long will that take?”

“Including boiling the potion itself, a couple of hours.”

“Great,” Lance moaned as he buried his face in hands.

Shiro gave a sympathetic pat on the shoulder.  “It’s just a bit longer.”

Lance narrowed his eyes.  “Easy for you to say, you’re not gagging on petals-”  Another cough came and another flower instantly popped out.

Slav scratched his chin.  “Truly intriguing.  I will have to take some notes in the meantime.”

Lance twitched an eye.  “I’m glad someone is getting some use out of this.”

0808080808080808080808080808080

Lance swished the blue potion in the cup.  “You sure this will end the curse?”

“Yes, yes, but stop shaking it,” Slav scolded as he seized Lance’s wrist.  “Honestly, you’re as bad as Shiro.”

Shiro rolled his eyes as patted Lance’s shoulder.  “The only way we’ll know is if you drink it Lance, but this is the field Slav is known best for.”

“Worst case being poison is probably better than choking to death,” Keith commented with a smirk.

“Oh, ha, ha,” Lance glared before he sighed and held up the cup.  “Bottoms up, I guess.”  He braced himself and poured it into his mouth.

Surprisingly, it had a sweet taste to it, but it did cause his tongue to tingle and the sensation continued to do so as he travelled down his throat.  Once the cup was empty, Lance smacked his lips as he leaned back.

“How do you feel?” Allura asked.

Lance shrugged.  “Nothing, I feel-”

Suddenly, he felt another cough come.  He slammed a hand over his mouth as he coughed non-stop until he felt something fall out of his mouth.  Lance felt Shiro pat his back as he stared into his hands.  There were no flowers, but his hand was covered in tiny white specks.

“What are these?” Lance exclaimed as he pointed.  “I thought that potion was suppose to cure me.”

“It did,” Sven said as he pulled back Lance’s hand to check.  “The potion stops the flowers growing and they turn into seeds.”

“And now all you do is cough them up which you will only have to do at least two more times, or a ten percent chance a three times,” Slav said as he brought out a small bottle.  “If it’s fine with you, I would like to collect these seeds.  I imagine these flowers will make excellent ingredients for my research.”

“Sure, fine, fill your boots,” Lance said, but was stopped as Shiro took his hand.

“You can take most of them,” Shiro said with smirk, “but we’ll want to keep a couple.”

Lance raised an eyebrow.  “And why do we want to do that?”

“To plant in a small pot,” Shiro said as he crossed his arms.  “Maybe if we put some of those flowers in Allura’s room you’ll remember why you shouldn’t go in the attic.”

Everyone gave a laugh while Lance blushed.  He was not going to look at flowers the same way again for a long time.

[crimson-mage-02]

First Meeting

A/N: This is my very fist one-shot of Keith and Luka! I hope that you like this one @spacelion-loveshermulletson 

Keith, Acxa, Zethrid and Ezor had been handing in some food and supplies for the Alteans for the week and Lance helped out with Pidge. Pidge has been recently visiting him during her free time from the Garrison. After Allura’s death, Lance finally had moved on and begin to realise his feelings for Pidge.

“Ok that’s the last of it boss.” Zethrid grunted as she put down another container.

“Can we walk around Altea? Just for a few hours? Please?” Ezor asked with her best puppy dog eyes, or eye. Acxa smiled as she looked at Keith.

“Ok, meet me by the ship in two hours.” Keith says as Ezor saluted as the three Galran girls left him wandering around the Altean field.

Lance saw Keith wandering around the juniberry field with a sad look. “He really does miss her.”

Pidge nodded in agreement. “Yeah. it has been two years already and he still hasn’t moved on. I still tried to get him to ask some girls out, but he still doesn’t want to.”

Lance hummed. “Maybe he isn’t interested.” The two looked on sadly as they gave the food to the Altean children. Keith then went to the new constructed Castle of Lions. He smiled as he looked at the hallway and remembered the time when they all found the Blue Lion and went to Arus for the first-time meeting Coran and…

Keith then felt a hand on his arm and twisted it making him kneel down the floor and had his own blade on his neck. “Who are you? What are you doing in the New Castle of Lions? I demand to know!” yelled a young girl.

“Ahh, my name is Keith. I was the paladin of the Black Lion!” Keith strained as the girl immediately let him go. “Oh, my apologies. I uh, assumed you were the enemy.” The girl assumed as she knelt down in front of him.

“Yeah, well the Galra aren’t the enemy anymore.” Keith grunted as he massaged his arm back in place and faced the girl who had orange hair with bright golden eyes and red Altean markings on each cheek. She also has her hair in a ponytail and has two strands of hair braided and wearing a red and orange dress.

“Oh, you are one of the blades.” Said the girl. “Yeah… I am.” Keith trailed off as she offered her hand to stand up.

“My name is Luka. I believe I had met Princess Allura two years ago along with Romelle.” Luka smiled politely and introduced herself. “Y-Yeah, I-it’s nice to meet you.” Keith says a he took his hand out.

Luka blinked, tilting her head looking at his hand. “Er, is this an Earthling greeting?”

“Yes, it is. Just put out your hand like this.” Keith smiled and instructed as Luka did as he instructed her to do. She put out her hand then Keith shook it gently, feeling the warmth of her hand. “This is how we greet each other, like saying hello.”

“Interesting.” Luca smiled. “Erm, well sorry for uh, earlier. That was rude of me.” Luka apologised again, looking down on the floor as she gripped onto her dress.

“No. No, it’s ok. Um, uh, it’s good to always be on guard.” Keith says awkwardly as Luka giggled at his awkwardness.

“Well, then. It is such a great pleasure to meet your acquaintance and I have duties to attend to. I perhaps will see you around?” Luka says, hopeful to see him again.

“Yeah. Definitely, I will be around. I mean, I will see you when I have the time.” Keith says as Luka smiled and left towards the exit of the castle.

Keith let out a sigh of relief and went out of the castle for fresh air until he heard snickering not far from him. “Lance, Pidge I know you’re there!” Keith growled.

Lance and Pidge came out laughing at him. Keith crossed his arms with his face deep red. “Ahh, the great team leader Keith, so awkward and cute when it comes to talking to girls! Especially an Altean girl!” Lance laughed as Pidge smirked.

Keith then heard laughing and looked behind Lance, seeing Pidge looking down at something in her hand.

“Well, she did twist his arm.” Pidge chuckled looking at her phone.

“Oh, that part was hilarious!” Lance says.

“You recorded the whole thing?!” Keith asked angrily trying to get the phone from Pidge, but Lance blocked him from doing so.

“Yeah, so we can show it to the others.” Lance smirked as Keith took out his blade and turned it onto a long sword.

Lance whimpered. “Peanut, help me!” Lance screamed hiding behind Pidge as she giggled. “Ok, ok, boys. Fine. I deleted it.”

Keith smiled at her before he sent Lance a death glare and returned to his ship seeing that the girls were still looking around Altea. So, he went off to see the sights and then went to the statue of Allura. He smiled lightly as the breeze blew by, seeing the petals from the juniberry field blowing away in the wind.

Meanwhile, Luka went out to help getting the supplies in the castle in the kitchen as she put the boxes up on the shelf. Merla and Luka were sorting out the food for the new guests for the coalition meeting tonight.

Coran came in the kitchen trying to taste the new food, but Luka swiped his hand away. “Uncle, not ready yet!” Luca exclaimed.

“Oh, alright. But they better be good because the paladins care going to be with us for dinner tonight. So, be ready when you are, my dear.” Coran says.

“What? I thought I won’t be joining for dinner.” Luka tilted her head. “I thought it would be great for you to meet the paladins. Merla already met them herself.” Coran said gesturing to Merla who smiled.

“Don’t worry. They aren’t all that bad.” Merla winked at her, smiling brightly at her friend. Luka then blushed remembering her first meeting with Keith in the hallway.

Luka then turned to her Uncle, “F-Fine, then I’ll I join you for dinner Uncle.”

Coran nodded, satisfied then went off to do his duties around the Castle. Merla smirked, leaning towards her face. “What is it?” Luka growled softly.

“You met one of them? Which one?” Merla asked, grinning at her friend.

“What? Well, the paladin of the Black Lion.” Luka says slowly, darting her eyes away from Merla while hiding her blush from her.

“Ooh, how did you two meet?” Merla chimed. “I must know everything!”

“Well, I twisted his arm and demanded to know who he was, and I put the blade against his neck.” Luka said blandly to her friend.

Merla blinked a couple of times. “You really need to work on your social skills.”

At night, all of the coalition leaders were in the dining room along with the former paladins and Shiro. Keith was still in his blade uniform and sat next to Shiro who was looking at the tablet, “Keith, you ok?” Shiro asked. Keith nodded until the doors opened and saw Coran and Luka coming in with Merla. The meeting went smoothly as they all ate Hunk’s delicious meals and desserts.

Keith subtly looked back at Luka who was engaged in a conversation with Merla. He blushed a little when he saw her smile and turned away. Lance smirked and nudged his arm, “Go on, talk to her man!” Lance hissed.

“No! What if she doesn’t like me?” Keith asked. “Of course, she’ll like you! Now go out there and socialize.” Lance pushed Keith towards Luca.

At the same time, Luka was looking at the particular Blade leader. “Oh, come on Luka. Go and talk to him!” Merla giggled as Luca blushed deep red.

“No, I will absolutely not talk to him!” Luca exclaimed softly so no one can hear her and trying to get to calm her friend down. Not wanting to have attention from other people in the room.

“Oh, come on. Get out there and socialize!” Merla shoved Luca forward to talk to Keith.

Luka gasped as she started to make her way to finding Keith. In the crowd, Keith was passing by the leaders then he bumped into Luka in his arms. “Oh, h-hey.”

“Hello. Um, hope tonight’s meeting went smoothly.” Luka says as she fixed herself up and her dress.

“Guess it went well. There are some other Galra activities out there and we are working on it.” Keith says. “Don’t worry.”

Luka smiled, “That is excellent. That you’re doing your job I mean.”

Keith smiled at her and near the buffet, Romelle and Merla were gushing over the two as Hunk was munching onto the food, clueless on what was going on. “What’s going on?”

“Shh!” Romelle and Merla hushed Hunk as he stopped eating and looked at their direction as he opened up his mouth, food coming out and saw Keith talking to an Altean girl. Lance and Pidge were grinning as they saw their fearless team leader talking to the Altean girl they saw earlier.

“Have you had any other plans besides being a blade?” Luka asked as she drank her wine. “Not really. I uh, travel from time to time then settle down for the time being.” Keith replied as they walked their way to the balcony.

“Hmm, I want to learn more of the universe, but my uncle wanted me to stay here.” Luka says as she tucked a strand of her orange hair behind her ear.

“My mom and I are blade members and we often travel from planet to planet. Out there is amazing but, at the same time its…dangerous.” Keith says looking up at the sky and saw stars shaped as Allura. Their friend, their princess and their saviour. Keith looked away as he leaned on the railings of the balcony.

“Maybe one day I’ll be out there.” Luka said as she felt the cool breeze as her long hair blew gently in the wind. Keith watched as her eyes sparkled in the night as the reflection of the stars in her eyes sparkled.

“Maybe one day, I’ll take you out there to explore the universe. With extra protection of course.” Keith smirked.

“Oh, Keith. I am capable of looking after myself. I was considered as the most gifted pilot!” Luka pouted, crossing her arms.

“I was also considered as a gifted pilot in the Garrison on Earth. Then I got kicked out because of my discipline issues back then.” Keith says looking at the horizon in Altea.

“Well, you are not like that at all from what I have heard and seen. You are gifted. That’s makes you special and be admired by other people. You lead people to having hope to have a better future in the universe. We are eternally grateful to you Paladins.” Luka says, putting her small hand on his.

Keith smiled at her, “Thanks, Luka. We could go on a race some time. If you are feeling confident about it.”

Luka then had this big grin on her face. “Oh, you better watch yourself pretty boy.” Keith and Luka then broke out into laughter as they talked through the night.

Inside the castle, Coran was looking for Keith everywhere in the room but couldn’t find him. Then he went to see if Lance and Pidge had seen Keith. But then froze when he had saw the couple making out at their table and then cleared his throat. “Ahem!”

Then Lance and Pidge pulled away from each other as Lance saw Coran standing in front of their table. “H-hey, Coran!” Pidge turned red and covered her face not wanting to face the royal Altean advisor.

“Well, hello there. Hope I am not interrupting anything, but have you seen Keith anywhere? I got urgent word from Krolia. She said that Keith is needed for an urgent mission.

“Well, we just saw him talking to an Altean girl out in the balcony.” Pidge said.

Coran raised an eyebrow, “And do you know what she looks like?”

“Orange hair, golden eyes and Altean red markings. Has the same hair colour as you apparently.” Lance said, describing how the Altean girl looked like.

“What? My niece talking to Keith?!” Coran exclaimed, banging his fists on the table, surprising the two former paladins.

“What?! You have a niece?! When?! How?! You never told us!” Lance exclaimed.

“Well, It never came to my mind until now. Yes. I do have a niece and her name is Luka.” Coran said, returning to his calm demeanour.

“The Altean that attacked is on Earth years ago?” Pidge asked, adjusting her glasses and fixed herself, sitting up in her chair.

Coran nodded. “Yes. Well as you were. I’ll keep on looking for them.”

In the balcony, Luka was laughing with joy and asked. “Ahh, ok. Ok. So, this Lance was really stuck in that room when he was about to get suck out to space?”

Keith nodded, “Yeah, I had to save his butt while I was fighting the sim-robot.”

“Wow, your adventures out there are so lively! Can you tell me stories about Princess Allura?” Luka asked. “There are so much I want to know about her!”

Keith’s smile disappeared and then turned into a frown. Luka immediately felt bad for asking him that. “It was insensitive of me. Apologies.”

“No, no. It’s ok. I uh, could tell you one.” Keith smiled a little but heard the doors opened and saw Coran coming out.

“Ahh, Luka and Keith, there you are. Been looking for you everywhere!” Coran appeared.

“Sorry Coran, we were just talking.” Keith says.

“I see, having a great time talking to my niece.” Coran winked at Keith as he heard Luka groaned in annoyance and embarrassment.

Keith’s eyes widen and looked down at the Altean girl then back to Coran, “N-Niece? You never mentioned you have a niece.”

“Well, I had thought my family were caught in the attack of Altea, but I was wrong. I still have my niece here, alive and well.” Coran says.

Luka smiled. “Yes. I am glad too, Uncle. Do you need anything?” Luka asked.

“Well, came to say that Keith needs to leave for a mission with Krolia.” Coran says turning to Keith. “Your mother says its urgent that you need to be there.” Keith nodded as Luca slumped down, wanting to talk to him more.

Keith looked at Luka who had a sad frown on her face. “Hey, I’ll be back. Some time.” Keith chuckled.

“Alright. I’ll be waiting until you return. It is a pleasure to meet one of the paladins of Voltron.” Luka says as she stood on her toes giving Keith a small peck on the cheek then left her uncle and new friend on the balcony.

Keith froze at the close contact with Luka and turned to Coran who gave him a serious look. “You better treat my darling, little niece with extra care and if you hurt her. I’ll have no hesitation to hunt you down.”

Keith nodded quickly as Coran changed his mood to his normal demeanour. “Great. Now, have a lovely night.”

Keith let out a sigh of relief and decided to go down to his ship. Before he goes to his mission, Hunk gave him food for the trip and said his goodbyes to his friends and he went down to where he saw Acxa standing, waiting for Keith. “All ready for departure, Keith.” Acxa says.

Keith nodded then looked back at the castle with smile before heading inside. “Let’s go.” In the castle, Luka looked up in the night sky seeing his ship taking off to space. She smiled brightly, knowing he’ll come back someday.

[stardust-and-blades]

Lost Future AU--snapshots 2 (part 8-ish?)

“This can’t get any more painful”

me: hold my beer

------------------

“No. Nope. Not going.”

“Oh come on, Keith.” Lance begged. “It will be fun! If we want to wow the guests we need to learn some choreography.”

“YOU want to learn choreography.” Keith pointed out, crossing his arms. “I would rather stand at the sidelines and watch as you dance with Hunk and Pidge.”

Lance tapped him on the nose with a wooden spatula, the food he was making on pause. “No, that isn’t romantic. That is sad.”

Keith scrunched up his nose. “It’s not sad, it’s practical.”

“It’s stupid.”

Keith growled, frustrated. “I’m not doing it. I’m not going to make a fool of myself in front of over fifty people.”

Keith hopped off the kitchen stool and began to head for the room, ignoring Lance’s call. He heard him swear, no doubt putting the food on simmer and chasing after him. Keith made it a point to lock the bedroom door, Lance turning the handle and swore again.

“Keith, open the door.”

He remained silent, leaning against the bed frame and picked up his headphones, prepping to drown out Lance’s begging.

“Keeeeeiiith, please open the door. I know you hate dancing but I swear on my life you’ll do great. We have two months, we have time.”

Keith bit down on his flaring temper. God, why can’t he just let it go? He loves Lance, but sometimes he just doesn’t give up.

“Okay, how about this,” Lance reasoned. “We go to the lessons. If you’re still not comfortable by our last session, we don’t have to dance. I’ll let Hunk and Pidge take the wheel and do something else together. But...”

Keith stopped mid-earphone, one half hanging from his neck while the other neared his ear, rock music on full blast.

“But?”

There is a shift against the door, Lance most likely leaning his head against it. Not to hear, but in a way for him to be closer to Keith. To surpass the barrier Keith has drawn up, be it physical or mental. Keith knew he shouldn’t be this worked up. He usually isn’t. But venturing on unfamiliar territory in front of friends and family...it stirs something inside him that makes him feel wrong.

Nevertheless, that doesn’t mean he wanted to ignore Lance’s wishes. He wanted to dance with him. To create a memory they can look back on in fondness. Yet he knew, just knew he would fuck up. He doesn’t want to ruin the wedding in any way, no matter how big or small it was. 

“But I want you by my side.” Lance said softly. “Hunk and Pidge are fun to dance with. But you? We never really tried. I want to hold you close to me. I want our first steps in our marriage to be a dance, because that is what being in a relationship with you has been: beautiful and free. You make me happy, Keith. And I want to show it to everyone. I want to show YOU off. Again, we will do what is most comfortable, but it...would mean the world to me if we could try.”

Now how was Keith going to say no to that?

He relented, casting his phone and headphones away and opened the door.

“Fine.”

Lance clapped his hands and hugged him before Keith pointed out the food may be burning.

--------------------------------

Keith and Lance were just finishing up their dance lessons for the wedding one day, Keith’s two left feet definitely getting the best of their teacher by the end of the night. Lance insisted they have a dance as husbands, and though Keith likes the idea of it, he wasn’t much of a dancer. In fact, he made it a point he skipped his spring fling and prom in high school because A: he had no one to go with, and B: can’t dance to save his life. Engage in combat? Yes. Lovingly twirl around a ballroom for an hour? Might as well be asking him to fly. 

The teacher had left by the time the two changed back into their regular clothes, Keith in t-shirt and jeans with a hoodie over it and a beanie, while Lance sported more fashionable wear. The only clashing article he was wearing was his plastic bracelets, some saying ‘free the nipple’ and another saying ‘just getting bi”. 

“I don’t think I’m going to be able to waltz anytime soon.” Keith commented, hauling his bag over his shoulder. 

“Not with that attitude you won’t. Come on, it’s not a wedding without dancing.”

“I know, I know.” He pulled at his long hair, a nervous habit. “But you saw today. I’m pretty sure the instructor will have bruises for days.”

Lance laughed and walked over to his fiance, wrapping his hands around his waist and kissing his forehead. “Oh I noticed. Who would have thought the combat specialist would be bad at dancing.”

“It’s Krav maga. And the two are very different.”

“Both involve being quick on your feet.”

Keith sighed. “What are you getting at?”

“That you can dance. Just think of it as another way of fighting.”

“That’s hard to do with someone I love. I only wanted to kick your ass when we hardly knew each other and you were being a di--”

Suddenly the arms around Keith’s waist were gone and he was spinning, the lowering sun blurred into an abundance of oranges and yellows. He was falling to the ground, Keith bracing himself for impact. But instead an arm caught him by the waist, the other hand holding his. Lance was smirking down at him, proud of his ability to surprise the boy who was always on guard. Always ready for Lance’s antics. But this time he had him, and he did not hesitate to show his pride. Keith stared back at him, split between making heart eyes our retaliate.

“Someone is speechless.”

“Um...Uh...” His face slowly grew red, his pale skin not helping him in concealing it. “You just...caught me off guard.”

“Yes I did.” Lance grinned and bent down, closing the distance between the two. Keith tilted his head up, his eyes fluttering until--

Keith knocked Lance’s feet from under him and stood up, just barely catching the screaming boy from impact. Keith pulled his arm and looked back at him, a smirk playing on his lips. 

“Who is speechless now?”

“No fair! You know you can’t use your skills against the innocent!”

“What you going to do, fight me?” Keith invited him with a quirk of his eyebrow and shift in stance, but Lance just pouted, crossing his arms.

“Cheater.”

“Scaredy cat.”

“I am not scared!” He proclaimed indignantly.

“Oh yeah? Prove it.”

“You do not want to tempt me.”

Keith just smiled more, that smug glint sparkling in his amethyst eyes. They shown with such a brilliance in the low light, the darkness fading away and making them appear as if they were pure gems. Keith stance took on one readying for an attack, one foot backwards and the other forward. He straightened his back, puts his hands out, and waited. Of course he really didn’t think Lance would take him up on his challenge. They had this kind of bickering before, Lance usually sticking his tongue out and walking away, or was the one doing the daring.

Keith really wasn’t serious in his stance, for he jumped when Lance straight up ran to him. But rather than slam his body against the wall or floor, he seized Keith by his waist and lifted him. Keith squawked, losing his balance and almost toppling onto the taller boy. Lance was unnaturally strong, something he hid by his lanky-ness. 

Keith steadied himself by placing his hands on Lance’s shoulders, staring him down.

“What are you doing?”

“Proving a point.”

“In what? That you are bad at combat and want to swoon the enemy?”

He shook his head. Rather than answering, he dropped Keith and took his gloved hand and his other arm wrapped around the smaller boy, pulling him close. “Proving you can learn a thing or two from me.”

It took a moment for it to process in Keith’s flustered brain. “You are not going to teach me how to dance.”

“Oh I am.” Lance smiled. “If you can fight, you can dance.”

He reached inside the pocket of his jeans and extracted a remote, aiming it to the speaker on a table in a far corner. “Chasing Stars” by Fleurie came one, one of the few songs the two agreed to play at their wedding. Keith wondered for a minute how he got the remote from the instructor, but his thoughts were interrupted from Lance pulling Keith. 

“Just follow my lead.” Lance said. Keith tried to copy his steps; tried not to hurt his toes. His eyes remain on the floor, watching his feet closely that he forgets the rhythm. Forgets who he was dancing with. Lance did so well with the instructor, Keith wanted to be a pro as well. Or at least, pro enough he wont make a fool of himself in front of fifty people. Maybe more. Oh God Lance has a big family. What if they laugh at him? What would he--

A hand pulled Keith’s chin up. They stopped, Lance’s blue eyes washing over Keith’s nerves. Sending out a current to silence his worries over the future, blind faith in the partner he would have in life. 

“Keep your eyes on me. Go with the music. You trust me, don’t you?”

Keith’s shoulders relaxed. “Always.”

Thus, they danced. Lance twirled him, spinning the other into the embrace of inner surprise. Dipped his body in quiet elation. Waltz him in the shining lights, his heart fluttering with each step of their feet. Lifting him up, giving him a chance to reach out to the stars. The room no longer existed, replaced by an empty field and bright stars smiling down on them; wrapping the couple in its arms and whisking them into an array of euphoria and adoration.

And for once, Keith didn’t step on his toes. He kept his eyes on Lance, his careful, analytical look disappearing into a wide grin. He might as well be dancing on air, because he felt weightless. They were the only two people that mattered in the world. Just two boys so deeply in love the gods sent down their blessings in a form of clear skies and easy, beautiful movement. 

They were two wandering souls searching the earth for their missing piece. Now they are complete, the missing puzzle piece snugged comfortably in their chests. Keith never thought he would be this lucky. This happy. If he could freeze time, he would just to bask in the moment. But then again, there really is no reason for it. They are getting married and will have the rest of their lives to dance and love each other.

When the song ended, Lance pulled Keith close to him as before, their hands linked as Lance held Keith against him, chest to Keith’s back and arms reaching forward while Keith kept him close. 

“Told you you could do it.” Lance whispered, tender and soft. 

“I have a good teacher.”

With that, Keith angled his head to kiss Lance, the song long over but the dance continuing.

----------------

“Yes, I need to cancel. Yes I’m aware reservations take months to years. No I--look, the wedding is cancelled. No we weren’t unhappy, it just didn’t work out. Yup. Uhuh. You too, goodbye.” Lance says, finishing up with the phone call to the venue. As soon as he clicks the red button he sighs, resting his head on the kitchen table. It has been a grueling day in cancellations and setting up the viewing, Lance’s battered body screaming at him to rest. Allura and Shiro offered to take it over for him, but he shrugged them off, declaring it is his responsibility. 

Now he is wondering if it really was a good idea to leave him alone.

He still has to cancel the catering, flower arrangements, honeymoon reservations, inform the bridesmaids and groomsmen of unfortunate circumstances, the damn limo, and return the wedding rings. 

The last one he is not looking forward to. Just looking at Keith’s engagement ring around his neck hurts. Physically going into the shop and “enlightening” the store of current events is sure to leave him aching. And it wont be his bones. 

He tiredly glances to his left. A framed photo lies flat on its front, the contents hidden away in a vain effort to preserve what is left of Lance’s heart. Yet he is compelled to reach out, grasping the smooth wood and flipping it up.

It is a picture of Lance and Keith at the dance studio, Lance angling the camera like a selfie to capture the moment. Keith was leaning against him, a small but adoring smile while Lance full on grinned, all teeth and painful cheek muscles. Lance didn’t care at the time. He was too overwhelmed with the fact he was to marry the boy he admired and sought for in a couple of months. 

Both of their feet hurt after that day. But they didn’t care. It was fun. and filled with hope.

God, why did he think leaving in that snowstorm was a good idea? Why? Keith was even weary of it. He should have listened. Maybe then, maybe--

No, he can’t think about the accident right now. He needs to cancel shit. start working on the funeral. Get Keith’s body out of the morgue as soon as possible. He is cold and alone. Lance doesn’t want him left that way for too long.

He left the photo and puts on his jacket--well, put on one half. The other is trapped in a cast. He inserts his earbuds and heads out the door, the jewelry shop a couple blocks away. Lance can’t drive with one arm, so walking it is.

When he nears the shop he pauses his music, readying himself for the worst discussion of his life.

Then, he hears it.

It’s subtle; quiet, a whisper in the wind. The familiar high octave voice and elegant piano surpassing the hurrying sounds of traffic. It’s melody slowly wrapping around Lance’s still form at the end of the crosswalk, choosing to settle around his neck as his back hits brick.

It came from one of the shops, but Lance cannot pinpoint which one. All he knew is it is the same one Lance and Keith danced to in the photo, and it might as well have stabbed him. He shoves the earbuds farther in his ear and cranks the music. He ducks his head down and works to ignore the haunting voice, no doubt following him as he walks down the crowded streets. It isn’t until he reaches the jewelry store did he take a breath.

Jewelry stores are usually silent. Silent or playing mainstream music at low volume that you’d have to sneak into the back just to hear the lyrics perfectly. He should be safe. 

Oh but how wrong he is. As soon as he takes out his earbuds and approaches one of the nicely dressed sellers with an over-the-top grin, the same song begins to play. At first, Lance doesn’t notice it right away. He is busy messing with his backpack, only able to use one arm. The woman helping him offered assistance, but he shrugs her off. He has his hand around the boxes and was about to hand the receipt over to the woman when his ears perked up, curiosity killing the cat. 

His hand stops. The woman asks him a question, no doubt wondering when he purchased it and if the return is valid. Lance doesn’t hear her. He is engulfed by the song, its melody slithering up his spine and curling around his neck, the noose tightening with each word, with each hit or strum of the instruments. 

Touching the clouds, never get found Shoot straight up, never come down Lets get lost chasing stars Out on the edge, losing our breath Hearts on fire in our chests Lets get lost chasing stars, lets get lost, lets get lost chasing stars, chasing stars (stars, stars)

“Sir? Sir, are you alright?” The woman asks, concern etched in her eyes. 

No. No he isn’t alright. He feels like he is choking. Being choked. Strangled by the song. Clawing at the imaginary hands reaching out from the rings, the fingers scratching deep cuts into his flesh. His lungs are on fire, his legs growing weak. The room seems to spin, his nails gripping onto the glass as a way to prevent him from falling. Falling into the abyss waiting for him. He’s okay. He’s okay. He’s--

He is not okay.

“Sir?” 

Lance’s knees buckle, the rings falling with him and clattering. He needs to breathe. How can he breathe? 

Keith’s bright eyes flash through his memories, his laugh echoing in the middle of the song as Lance spun them around the studio.

“Slow down! I’m going to trip!”

“Don’t worry, I’ll catch you.”

It should have been him. The doctors even said, it should have been HIM. He was the driver. He was the one who insisted on leaving. He was the one who’s side was the most damaged. 

He should have protected Keith, not the other way around. 

It should have been him.

Lance covered his mouth with his uninjured hand, the tears he was holding back overtaking his shut down. His breath came out labored, and without so much as a care in the world over the worried employee and growing crowd, he sobbed. 

[brittysaucefanfic]

Voltron AU

YOOOOOO! And he we are for a new au! Welcome to my latest obsession, the actor/celebrity/famous au!

Strap in people, because this is going to be GREAT!

Actor Celebrity AU:

Career:

Allura- Actress, Singer, Director, Producer, Model. She’s the hottest thing in Hollywood, next to Shiro and Lance.

Shiro- Actor, YouTuber, War Veteran. He’s also a major icon for the LGBTQ+ community for his incredible gayness.

Lance- Singer, Songwriter, Actor, Director, YouTuber, LGBTQ+ Icon, Model. He’s a bit of a jack of all trades but master of none. Which, come on, that’s his entire personality. 

Keith- Actor, LGBTQ+ Icon, Model. As famous as he is, he’s probably THE most mysterious person in Hollywood for the sheer amount of his life being unknown. It makes him that much more famous, because everybody loves mysterious guys.

Pidge- Director, Actress, YouTuber. She has like five different youtube channels. She’s probably the largest internet sensation in the world.

Hunk- Chef, Actor, YouTuber. He’s America’s sweetheart because duh. Huge supporter for LGBTQ+.

Coran- Director, Fashion Designer, War Veteran. Everyone loves him, but no one is sure if his stories are true or not, seeing as everything he talks about is technically a classified kind of thing.

Side characters:

Romelle- Rising Pop Star, Model, Fashion Designer.

Krolia- Fight Scene Coordinator.

Matt- Comedian, YouTuber, LGBTQ+ Icon.

Shay- Costume Designer.

Ships:

Hunay- Obviously, because they are literally the most wholesome of all Voltron ships. They meet on set for Hunk’s first acting gig.

Klance- Because I can’t help myself. They Meet Ugly, then end up being cast as protagonists in a new live action sci- fi show, Voltron. They hate each for like, pretty much half the story, because yeah.

Broganes- Because reasons. Keith and Lance both had crushes on him when they were younger. Since Shiro was pretty much Keith’s sole sponsor, they became like brothers. 

Details and Background Overview:

Allura- Named the queen of Hollywood five times in a row without even trying too. Her father was a director, which is how she was introduced to the industry. Everybody loves her.

Shiro- Practically raised as a star. Child actor, then joined the military at 18, then continued his Hollywood career when he was honorably discharged due to injury. Favorite hobby is freaking people out when he takes off his prosthetic. 

Lance- Grew up in Cuba, started his career as a child actor in a Telenovela. Also a pretty popular Latino singer. Moved to America when he turned 18 to start his Hollywood career. His accent is well disguised nowadays, but it definitely slips out when he gets excited.

Keith- Appeared in Hollywood like some sort of Cryptid. One minute he didn’t exist, the next he’s a huge actor sponsored by THE Takashi Shirogane. He’s so secretive and stoic that people crave to know more about him. 

Pidge- Child actress, but she truly rose up in the world due to her youtube channel. She often has famous guest stars including but not limited to: Her brother, Matthew Holt, Lance McClain, and Allura Altea.

Hunk- Like I said before, he’s America’s sweetheart. He grew up in Samoa, became a locally famous chef and opened his own restaurant by the time he was sixteen. Caught the eyes of another famous chef, who brought him to America to share his talent. Scouted for a minor acting role when he was in his twenties, which is where he met Lance for the first time. 

Coran- War veteran, honorably discharged for old age, then was hired by his old friend Alfor. There he shot through the industry as a Director and Fashion Designer. His productions are infamous for being outside the box no matter the genre, even cheesy Rom Coms. 

******

I owe every ounce of interest in this AU solely to a story I read recently called Love Interest, written by @iwriteshipsnotsailthem and you can also find them on AO3. Please read, it’s literally heaven.

[raphidae]

A Full but Soft Emotion

Happy extremely belated Valentine’s Day, @veilofemptyspace! I’m your gifter for the Shance Valentine’s Day Exchange hosted by @shance-cafe and @shancesupportsquad, and I really hope you like this gift!  Also, thank you for your patience and willingness to have your gift be a part of this AU! Have Lance reading Lord Byron’s Stanzas for Music to Shiro! <3

Rating: Teen (there’s some innuendo and kissing but otherwise it’s pure fluff)

It had been a week since the happy day Lance Alforchild became Lance Shirogane, and he could not help but to smile at the thought of it. His new name rang like a joyous little tune inside his head, and oh it could not stop ringing. He sighed at the ceiling and turned to see his husband, his husband, laying beside him in their bed and still asleep. He placed a gentle kiss to the back of Shiro’s neck, breathed in, and found himself wrapping his arms around Shiro and sorely tempted to fall back asleep just like that.

Lance then chuckled to himself remembering his original post-wedding plans with Shiro. He had considered going on a wedding tour with Shiro to see his old friends, now happily married halfway across the world, but a letter from Ali Baba and Hongyu Saluja insisting that Lance remain in England with his husband stayed his impulse.

Now, however, Lance was half-sitting, half prone on the right side of the bed (he had to at least get himself up to greet the guests that would be coming soon, he’d let his husband sleep as long as he pleased), looking out the upstairs window of Keatonshire Abbey, its curtains half-open, and stroking Shiro’s hair.  He hummed fondly a tune he had been practicing on the pianoforte, one with a sweet familiarity that tickled his senses and reminded him of the day they had met, both unknowing of the absolute chaos that would befall their sweet town and eventually bring them together.

“Sleep is a reconciling, a rest that peace begets…” could be heard from the other side of the bed.

“Shiro you’re awake,” Lance said, helping Shiro sit up and placing a gentle kiss to his cheek. He then leapt off the bed, opened the curtains the rest of the way, and grabbed Shiro’s prosthetic arm, moving once again beside him to strap it on.

Once it had been completely strapped on a few minutes later, Lance grabbed the book of poetry, Lord Byron’s most recent, in fact, and began to read to a still-groggy but somehow sitting Shiro, “There be none of Beauty's daughters, with a magic like thee; and like music on the waters is thy sweet voice to me….”

“Keep going,” Shiro said, grabbing the blanket with his left arm and wrapping it around the both of them.

Lance continued, leaning onto Shiro’s right shoulder, “When, as if its sound were causing the charmed ocean’s pausing, the waves lie still and gleaming, and the lull’d winds seem dreaming.”

Shiro thought to himself that if Lance kept going, kept love flowing from the voice Shiro had loved the instant he had heard it, he would be soothed and entranced back into a delightful morning rest. However, they had guests coming relatively soon, so it would be best if he stayed awake.

Lance continued, seemingly oblivious to the fact that Shiro was by now entirely under his spell, “And the midnight moon is weaving her bright chain o’er the deep; whose breast is gently heaving, as an infant’s asleep.”

Lance saw his enchanted enchanting husband lean back onto the headboard of their bed, turned to look into Shiro’s eyes, and said perhaps more pointedly than he would have to a different audience, “So the spirit bows before thee, to listen and adore thee.”

Oh God, I adore you too, was the thought that rang in both their heads.

“With a full but soft emotion,” Lance whispered, his voice raw with love, and Shiro could not help but be swept away as he finished, “Like the swell of Summer’s ocean.”

Shiro steeled his heart back home, away from the ocean Lance’s voice had swept him off to, grinned and placed a kiss to Lance’s forehead, saying, “Stanzas for Music, eh? You set that to music, Lance, and I swear the world would swoon.”

Lance snorted and said, “Sometimes I think you’d say the world would swoon if I tripped on my face.”

Shiro grinned and replied, “The ground would be the envy of the sky right then–”

“Shiro!” Lance said, play swatting at him and then muttering, “Aren’t I supposed to be the one throwing lines like that?”

Shiro grabbed Lance’s hands with his left one, pressed them gently against his right hand, and said, suddenly much more serious, “I don’t know if you understand just how long I’ve longed for you.”

“Shiro?”

“From the moment I first heard you play, I knew my heart would be satisfied with nothing less than you by my side, just like this,” Shiro said. By the early morning light, his eyes seemed to sparkle like the last remaining of night-time’s stars, and once again, Lance found himself falling madly in love and wondering exactly what benevolent force in the universe could have gifted him with such a man.

Flustered and unsure of how to react to starlight, Lance stammered, “I, I can’t say that I was so certain from the beginning, Shiro, I mean, I hadn’t thought I deserved a man like you, and–”

“Oh Lance, you deserve everything,” Shiro said. He then leaned down and kissed Lance’s hands before placing a kiss on his lips.

Lance clasped Shiro’s prosthetic hand with one of his own and said, “I just wanted you to know that even though I figured out how wonderful we can be together, how wonderful we are together, second, I still believe in my soul that you are the love of my life.”

It was Shiro’s turn to turn away, wiping away tears (of joy, relief or perhaps a combination of both he would not say) as he replied, “You’d be shocked to know exactly what I dreamed of you doing with me–”

Lance then began to laugh as he replied, “Pffffft, I don’t think anything would surprise me on that front. It’s not like I hadn’t imagined myself getting to know you better, if you know what I mean, I just figured someone as… you’ve looked in the mirror, right, you know you’re a handsome man–”

“You really don’t think my body longed for you too?” Shiro purred, grabbing Lance with his left arm so his lips and his words rang right next to his ear, and suddenly the mood of the room changed entirely.

“When did you get so good at this?” Lance began to squirm in Shiro’s hold, and really, they had guests, though really, why couldn’t Hunk and Pidge, soon to be known as Henare and Katherine Garrett if they had their way, have waited until after Lance and Shiro’s honeymoon to leave for America and elope–

“Good at what?”

“Seducing me with your words, Takashi,” Lance said, his face bright red. To his delight, Shiro’s face had also taken on that crimson hue at the sound of his name, but Lance continued, feigning an attempt to leave the bed, “We have to get up, Pidge and Hunk are visiting Keatonshire Abbey in an hour before they leave for America tomorrow morning and you know I’d love nothing more than to stay in bed with you but–”

Shiro grabbed Lance by the cravat he had managed to put on, somehow managed it so that Lance was straddling him, and said, “They can always come upstairs.”

With that, he pulled Lance into a kiss, and that was that.

A blessed and unsurprisingly fruitful fifty-five minutes of passionate kissing later, they could hear the carriage holding Hunk and Pidge on the road in front of Keatonshire Abbey, and at that moment they realized that it would be the height of uncouth behavior to greet their approaching guests in such a… flustered state.

“It’s a shame that our honeymoon’s over now, visitors are coming and we can’t just keep kissing each other, among other things, for the rest of our lives,” Lance said, finally gathering the willpower to leave their bed and begin getting dressed.

“Well, we do have to eat as well as sleep, and also sometimes check up on our families,” Shiro said, “And our honeymoon will not be over in a week, Lance, it’s called a honeymoon for a reason.”

Lance looked wistfully at the window and said, “I don’t know, I quite liked it being just the two of us for the time we’ve had.”

“We’ll still have three weeks after today, but we’re going to have to rejoin the world someday, sweetheart,” Shiro said, placing a gentle kiss to Lance’s forehead and shrugging on his day clothes afterward. He paused once he finished getting dressed, and asked no one in particular, “Just what are we going to do with the rest of our lives?”

Lance was in the middle of buttoning his own waistcoat as he answered, “You’ve thought about it too?”

Shiro stammered, not realizing that Lance had heard him, “I mean, we can’t simply do nothing but live off the Alforchild company and name forever, Lord knows how that’d be perceived by the….”

As Shiro talked, Lance’s smile grew wider, because for once in their relationship it was he who could answer his husband’s questions and assuage his fears, rather than what more often than not seemed to be the other way around.

He placed a gentle kiss to Shiro’s cheek, held his prosthetic hand, and said, “You know, Shiro, I have a tailoring company I’d like to start, and I’d be honored if you joined me.”

[altean-plance-au]

The Wedding

In celebration of breaking 1000 followers, we decided to treat you all to a glimpse of the future. As AdminRue said we are in awe and humbled so many of you want to keep up with this AU. We hope you continue to enjoy following us and look forward to continuing to grow this AU.

The Wedding

Various shuttles arrived at the lake in the forest. A platform was floating in the lake but connected to the shore. On the platform was seating as well as the altar.

Guests from all backgrounds stepped out of the shuttles and were lead to their seats.

King Alfor and Coran went to greet the rulers of Daibazaal and their son.

“Zarkon, Honerva, Lotor,” King Alfor greeted. “Thank you so much for coming.”

“We are pleased to be invited,” Zarkon replied. “Though I am surprised the wedding would be here and not at the capital.”

“That was at the request of the bride and groom,” Alfor replied. “They wanted it held here so two of their close friends could be present. Speaking of which here comes one now.”

A large creature rose out of the lake.

“What is that?” Zarkon demanded.

“That is the Gombash,” Coran explained. “Don’t worry, he’s a peaceful creature. Unless of course he senses you having malicious intent in which case he will kill you where you stand.”

Zarkon looked at the Gombash with fear and uncertainty until Honerva gave him a reassuring pat on the arm.

“It’s fine dear.”

The three went to their seats. Lotor suddenly felt a light tugging on his hair. As he turned he saw a small Altean girl.

“Hi I’m Nadia,” The girl said brightly.

“Prince Lotor, it’s a pleasure to meet you,” Lotor replied.

“You have really nice hair.”

“Thank you.”

“Can I braid it for you?”

“Er….”

Lotor was thankfully spared having to give an answer when the Nadia was called back by her mother.

“Nadia! Get back here!”

“Ok, bye Prince Lotor.”

As the girl left Honerva commented. “I think you’d look good with a braid.”

Lotor could only give his mother a half-hearted glare.

Keith and Krolia sat nearby seat watching the everything going on.

“Thank you for bringing me along,” Krolia said to her son.

“The invitation allowed for a plus one,” Keith answered. “There’s no one else I’d want to bring.”

“True,” Krolia developed a sly grin. “Though you know, it might have been a good opportunity to bring a date.”

“Mom!”

“Just saying.”

As Alfor was at the Altar going over the notes of the ceremony Blaytz approached and gave the king a hearty pat on the back.

“Today’s the big day, and to think you’re now well on your way to having grandkids.”

“Blaytz, it’s my niece, not my daughter, getting married today.”

“Oh,” Blaytz replied. He then gave Alfor another hard pat on the back. “Well that means you’re well on your way to having grand nephews and nieces.”

“Indeed.”

In a nearby tent Lance was putting the final touches to his outfit. It was a suit of armour but far more impressive than his normal attire. Not only was it more intricately made and bore his family crest and the metal was gleaming. He attached his clock and gave himself a final look over as Hunk let out a whistle of approval.

“Not gonna lie buddy,” He said. “You’ve never looked better.”

“Come on Hunk, you know I look good in anything.”

“Really? How about that time you lost that bet and had to wear that Snargle herder outfit?”

“Alright,” Lance conceded. “I look good in most things.”

“Though Hunk’s not wrong little brother,” Luis said. “You’ve never looked better.”

Lance smiled as the men present nodded in agreement. It was no surprise that Hunk was chosen to be best man. Filling out the ranks of Groomsmen were his two brothers Luis and Marco as well as Matt.

“Alright you’re ready,” Hunk declare. “Now before go out there I want you to remember three things. I love you, I’m proud of you and if you screw this up I’ll never forgive.”

“Love you too,” Lance replied as they gave each other a hug.

“I hope I’m not interrupting.” Everyone turned and saw Shiro enter the tent. “Just wanted to make sure you were almost ready. We’re starting soon.”

“Shiro!” Lance exclaimed. “How do I look?”

“Really good. Though there is one thing missing.”

“Really? What?”

“This.” Shiro pulled out a small box. He opened it to reveal a medal.

“Is that…?”

“Lance McClain, You have served Altea and the Crown diligently and nobly. You have upheld the principles this world is found on and are an example for others to aspire to. As your Captain I could not be prouder. In recognition of your continued service and valor, It is my honour to present you with the Star of Mefral.”

Lance was dumbfounded as Shiro pinned the medal on to the breastplate of his armour.

“There will be a formal ceremony for it later on but I thought it would only be right that you get to wear it on your wedding day.”

“Wow, Shiro this is amazing, thank you,” Lance stated. “Though is it wrong to say this is only the second best thing to be happening to me today.”

Shiro smirked as he gave Lance a pat on the shoulder. “There’d be something wrong with you if that wasn’t your response. Now all of you finish up. The last thing we want is to make this man late for his own wedding.

Once they all were prepared they stepped out and headed to the altar. As Lance walked up aisle he got various hugs and handshakes (in the case of Blaytz a high five) from the people he walked passed. He lingered with his parents, hugging them tightly as they told him how proud they were.

As he made it to the Altar, he turned his attention towards the Gombash.

“Gommy! I’m glad you could make it.”

Gommy trilled happily as he leaned in to briefly nuzzle Lance.

“Alright then,” Lance declared. “Razzle Dazzle Time!”

[hr]

The under the shade of the Father Tree, the female party was set up in a tent doing the final preparations.

“There, finished,” Veronica stated as she put down the makeup brush. “Take a look.”

Pidge stood and looked at herself in the mirror. She wore an elegant flowing emerald dress. Atop her head was a tiara more detailed than her usual one.

“You look amazing,” Allura commented.

“She had better,” Veronica stated. “Lance would never let me hear the end of it if I got the makeup wrong.”

For the bridal party Allura was Maid of honour with the positions of bridesmaids going her cousin Mia as well as Lances sisters Veronica and Rachel. Pidge’s mother and father entered the tent.

“Pidge you look amazing,” Samuel stated.

“Thanks Dad.” Pidge replied.

“How do you feel?” Colleen asked.

“Good,” Pidge replied, when Colleen raised a skeptical eyebrow Pidge amended. “Absolutely terrified but I love Lance and want to be with him.”

Colleen smiled as she gave her daughter a hug.

Finally the bridal party was all prepared but before they left Pidge asked for a moment to do one last thing.

She walked up to Father Tree and placed a hand on the trunk. Her markings glowed as she connected with the ancient tree.  

“So what do you think old timer, am I doing the right thing?”

In reply there was a low rumble and the sensation of the ground shifting beneath her. Suddenly two roots shot out from either side of Pidge. The roots then ran along ground, creating a path that was clearly heading towards the lake. The flowers then burst out of the roots to decorate the path.

“Well,” Pidge commented. “I can’t argue with that.”

There were more than a few gasps of surprise as two roots grew out from the forest. The roots ran up the either side of the aisle, stopping just short of the altar before beautiful flowers burst out of the roots.

“You think this is Pidge’s handiwork?” Hunk asked.

“Actually I think it might be an old timer giving his blessing,” He bent down to give one the roots a pat. “Thanks Pappy.”

The root wrapped around Lances hand and squeezed lightly before releasing it. Lance stood back up and got into position as the music started. Everyone in the audience got their feet as the bridal party entered from forest.

Pidge lead the way, her flowing green dressing glowing with golden symbols. Allura carried the train as they exited the forest but released it as they got to the platform. The audience looked on in awe as Pidge walked up the aisle. Lance looked on in unbridled joyed.

The bride arrived at the altar and as she clasped hands with the groom the two became lost in each others eyes.

Hunk meanwhile had become misty-eyed and muttering to himself to “keep it together”.

Coran on the other hand was bawling his eyes out.

King Alfor allowed the couple a brief moment before he began the ceremony.

“Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to witness the union of Lance and Katie in holy matrimony. which is an honorable estate. This is not an institution that they have decided to enter lightly but out of their love and devotion for each other.Ifany one can show just cause why they may not be lawfully joined together, let them speak now or forever hold their peace.”

At that moment the Gombash raised himself to his full height and glared down at the audience.

“Although you may have to answer to him,” King Alfor added dryly.

This earned a chuckle from the audience, some more nervous than the rest. When it was clear no one was going to object, the Gombash settled back down.

“The union two souls is a moment great joy and celebration. It is with great pleasure that I now ask you two take these vows.”

“Lance, do you take Katie as your wife? To love and cherish for as long as you both shall live?”

“I do.”

“Katie, do you take Lance as your husband? To love and cherish for as long as you both shall live?”

“I do.”

“Then it is my honour, as ruler of Altea, to now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.”

As Lance and Pidge kissed, the audience erupted in applause.

[whorepheus]

about the requests could you write shiro confronting Lance after s6 and him apologizing and being filled with guilt etc

*oops i did it again plays in the background* I don’t have any excuses. This had the most simply, sweetest little outline and then i thought up the extra langst and now the first chapter is almost 4k words.

i refuse to apologize.

~Tay

Shifting Rock  [Ao3] [Part 2!]

Life without the castle was strange, but, looking around their little campsite, Shiro realized that they were finally settling into a routine. The planet they were stationed on had a longer day than Earth or the artificial days they’d set on the castle, but the extra hours felt like the middle of summer, and made their campfires seem all the more homey. Nevertheless, life without the castle also meant he had twice as much to get used to.

Coming back to his body had been weird enough— he was still sifting through the years worth of memories that, even though he’d known them partially while in the astral plane, he still couldn’t seem to made sense of. But the team had been a big help. Keith was hovering, of course, but he and Krolia were eager ears and hands when he needed assistance. Pidge and Hunk were already designing a new prosthetic for him, and everyone seemed willing to lend a hand when he was short one. It made things easier; though that didn’t mean they weren’t still hard.

He didn’t really know what to do with himself as a member of the team. Sometimes he felt awkward talking to them. He could feel his present aligning with past conversations someone else had had in his body. It was jarring and, two weeks back with himself, it still threw him for a loop. The others kept telling him to take his time, but his time being taken was the problem in the first place.

Nevertheless, he tried to slow down. He trained with Keith and the others in the mornings, gentle sparring sessions, and made it to communal meals, but other than that, he let his time be empty. He floated around the campsite, visiting with the others. He wandered  around, exploring the planet and bringing things back for Coran, who had started cataloging the wildlife in the places they stopped. One day he found a small river and just skipped rocks for an hour. And the weirdest thing was, it seemed to work. The more time he spent with himself, the more he started to feel like himself. The more he used his legs, his hand, the more they felt like his.

Which is probably why he finally noticed the things that were off.

At first glance, looking around the campfire, it seemed like the team was as they always were: Shiro was sharing a log with Krolia and Keith was on the ground in front of them feeding scraps to his wolf. Allura and Coran were talking with Romelle on another log, and the Garrison trio was on the last one, Hunk and Pidge leaning together while Lance sat on the ground, leaning against their legs. But, unlike meals on the castle, meals around the fire had been quiet, and it seemed to boil down to the standing Red Paladin’s sudden lack of verve. Even looking across the fire at Lance, he seemed withdrawn. He was curled in on himself, legs pulled up to his chest. Shiro watched for a moment, startling when Lance looked in his direction. The other boy’s eyes went wide, before he stiffened, turning away and tucking his face into his knees.

Shiro couldn’t help a frown. He couldn’t say he and Lance had ever been close, and definitely didn’t know where they stood after his year away from himself, but he couldn’t remember a time when Lance hadn’t been friendly if not exuberant. It was… unsettling to see him so unlike himself.

Shiro found himself stealing glances over the course of the meal and figured he should just check in. He was still technically their leader; it was a part of his job to make sure that everyone was doing okay.

Everyone rose to clear plates and wash up but, by the time Shiro was finished with his mess kit, Lance had already disappeared. He frowned, then decided he could talk to him at breakfast. But, when breakfast rolled around, Shiro realized Lance had somehow perfected his disappearing act. Whether he was volunteering to help Coran go catalog plants and leaving camp or just slipping away unannounced, it seemed like there was nothing Shiro could do to get ahold of Lance. He soon realized that, even with communal meals and group training, he hadn’t spoken to Lance in over a week, maybe even longer.

After three more days of chasing Lance back and forth around camp, Shiro finally managed to get a one on one with him by following Lance on his way out of the clearing to wash his face in the stream nearby. He waited a good distance away beside the black lion, suddenly grateful that Keith had parked her so close to Red. He could pretend he was there on accident and definitely not stalking his teammate.

“Lance,” he called, watching the other boy walk back with his arms laden with bottles and a washcloth. Lance stopped on a dime, all but flinching when his name hit his ears. He turned towards Shiro slowly, mustering a smile.

“Shiro,” he said, the word forced. “What’s up?”

Shiro wandered forward, closing the distance between the two of them. “I just realized we hadn’t checked in in a while. How are you doing?” he said with a smile.

“I’m fine. You?”

Shiro fought to hide a frown, but soldiered on. “I’m doing fine. Actually, I was about to go for a walk. Do you want to come? It’s been a while since we just talked—”

“Sorry, Shiro,” Lance said, taking a step back. “I’ve gotta milk Kaltenecker this morning and I promised I’d show Romelle how it’s done. Another time.” And with that he slipped away, heading straight into Red.

Shiro tried again, multiple times that day to get a moment with Lance, but the other boy was suddenly busy. He was always finishing something or heading to something else. And that went on for three days. Even when they left that planet to continue on to another, Lance was quiet on the comms (which never happened) and, when they landed a star system over, was the first one out his lion to set up camp, working right up to dinner and falling dead asleep afterwards.

In a way, the entire thing made Shiro grateful for the mission.

The next planet they stopped on next was inhabited. The King of Juloke had hailed them  on a coalition communicator as they neared and offered them safe harbor in exchange for a rescue mission on a planet in their galaxy. They were welcomed to the palace, which was subdued, a cloud of melancholy hanging over the entire palace. When they made it to the throne room, they found the king inconsolable. With the help of the queen and the royal advisor, Team Voltron learned that the crowned prince had been stranded a planet away on Humal during a ritual hunt. Because of continued storms on that planet, they hadn’t heard from him in days. It would be their job to go to Humal and find him.

They spent the evening planning and, in a probably unfair gesture, Shiro sat directly beside Lance, putting himself in the other boy’s space for the first time in weeks. It was probably this that made Lance jump up and volunteer to go down onto the planet with Pidge. He would help her set up a beacon to cut through the interference from the storm and help them track down the prince’s ship. The rest of the team would comb the planet for the prince, using whatever information the beacon let them receive to find him. When everything was settled, Lance dismissed himself, going to his guest room to get some ‘beauty sleep’ before the big mission.

In the morning, Shiro walked through the palace courtyard to where Lance was loading equipment into Red with Coran.

“Good morning!” Coran called, turning to wave. Lance walked out of Red, his face obscured by the boxes of supplies he was carrying.

“Morning Pidge,” he yelled. “I think me and Coran got everything you need on board. I just have a few more boxes to get out of the way—” he set his cargo down with a thud “— and then we’ll head out to—” he cut off as he turned around. “Shiro. Good morning.” He said, hesitance in his voice and confusion in his eyes.

“I asked Pidge if I could ride along instead,” Shiro explained. “I hope that’s alright.”

“Oh. But doesn’t the beacon— I mean, Pidge showed me, but it looks pretty complicated to set up. I don’t know if—”

“No worries about that, Number 3,” Coran said, coming to clasp Lance on the shoulder. “We updated the system to run off a combination of gravitational and electromagnetic energy. As long as it’s touching the ground, the modem will run. Besides, it’d be best if Pidge could be here with me to help coordinate. Everything will be fine. Besides, the rest of us are only a call away if there are complications.” Before Lance could even respond, Coran was bustling back into the Red Lion. “Now I’ll just grab the last of the old supplies, and you two can get going,” he called.

Lance and Shiro stood across from each other in awkward silence.

“Sorry to intrude, I just thought it’d be best to have as many lions in the air for a mission like this and, since Keith is flying black—”

“No, I get it. It’s fine. Let’s just… let’s get going.”

They boarded Red, passing Coran on his way out. He wished the two of them good luck as Red’s mouth closed. Lance took his seat in the cockpit and Red rumbled to life, but, even with her steady hum and the roar of her thrusters as they took off, the silence seemed unyielding.

Shiro watched from behind the pilot’s chair as they approached Humal. He’d forgotten how fast the red lion was, and had hoped to talk to Lance on the flight down, but it seemed like he was going as fast as Red could.

“Lance, are you sure you’re feeling okay?” Shiro said, leaning in.

“Fine,” Lance said. “Hold on.” Lance sent Red into a dive as they approached Humal’s atmosphere. Shiro clenched his hands on the back of the chair, crouching low to steady himself as Lance tore through the clouds.

“Lance,” Shiro said, “You don’t have to—”

“You know, Shiro. A storm like this isn’t easy to fly.”

“Right… Shutting up.” Shiro said, simply watching as Lance began the difficult descent onto Humal. Even inside Red, the rain felt powerful, drops impacting like bullets as Lance flew them through the storm. According to the map they’d been shown, there were forest covered mountains that they should be looking for, but they could barely see out Red’s windows, much less find their way.

“Pidge, I need a topographical map,” Lance said into the comms. “Visibility’s shot. I don’t know where to put her down.”

“Sending it now,” Pidge said. “Go for whatever’s tallest without being too dangerous. It’ll give the beacon a greater reach.”

“I’ll try,” Lance said, overlaying the map Pidge had sent with the view out the main window. The vague shapes below gained numerical labels, telling them how high or low certain areas were.

“Head east,” Shiro said, pointing to a corner of the map. “There’s a clearing or something pretty high up.” Shiro held on as Lance turned, pushing Red against the wind. They flew close, looking down at the area, which was surrounded by dense trees leading all the way up.

“Shiro, I don’t know if—” Lance cut off, leaning over the controls as they were buffeted by a gust of wind. “—if this is gonna work. Either the trees will be too thick to land, or we’ll be too exposed with all this wind!”

“We have to at least try,” Shiro said.

“But what if this is our only shot?” Lance said, looking around wildly in the storm.

“Then we take it. That’s the highest point we’ve got big enough to land on in wind like this.” Lance clenched his jaw but nodded, leaning back as he pulled up on the controls. Leveling Red out as they started their descent. They shook and rattled in the wind, working against the huge gusts to approach the tree line. As they drew closer, Lance saw a gap in the trees and aimed for it, sending them down. The wind made it nearly impossible for Red to hover, and Lance was sweating the the effort of keeping her steady as they approached the trees. One wrong move and they’d get caught in a draft, sending them into the trees and down the mountain; and who knew if they would make it back up?

A gust hid Red straight on, shooting them back. They jolted as her legs hit against the tops of Humal’s huge trees.

“Shiro—” Lance said, panic in his voice.

“You’ve got this. You’re almost there. Nose down, head on in.” Lance re-angled Red, sending her down between the trees. As they lowered into the clearing, the wind quieted, blocked by the huge circle of trees. Even the rain sounded less, intercepted by the leaves.

Lance set them down at one edge of the ring of trees, taking a deep breath in his chair as he unclenched his fingers from around the controls.

“You did great, Lance,” Shiro said, patting him on the shoulder. Lance curled away from the touched, pushing himself out of his seat.

“You should hail Pidge. Let her know we’re setting up,” he said, going and starting to undo the restraints holding the beacon in place. Shiro watched him work, calling Pidge and the others quickly to give their location and an estimate for when the beacon would be up.

Shiro saw Lance head down the ramp out of Blue. “Lance,” he called, trotting after him. Lance stood just inside Blue’s mouth staring out at where they’d landed.

The circle in the trees suddenly made sense. Red was perched on the edge of a crater, the bowl of which was filled with water. Something at the bottom of the pool was creating heat, and thick steam rose off the water. Instead of banks, there were just thick, jagged outcroppings of stone hanging over the bowl of steaming rain. It truly looked like a meteor had blown a hole in the mountain or the the spot had been a volcano long ago.

“That was a close landing,” Lance said, walking the few yards through the rain to the edge of the rock they were on. Red was tucked against the trees, so their spot really was safe, but looking out around the area, they could have been in real trouble if Lance had put her down any further in. Not all of the rock looked stable, especially not for something as heavy as Red.

“We can set up the beacon over there,” Lance said, pointing to an outcropping of stone near Red. He turned and went back into the lion, heaving the beacon precariously into his arms. Shiro ran up, taking half the beacons weight and helping Lance carry it out. They set up in silence, Lance hailing Pidge when it was ready. They watched with bated breath as she activated the beacon remotely, listening as it hummed to life and she cheered on the other side of the comms. A few tense minutes passed as she searched the new, clear data for signs of the prince of Julocke.

“We have a hit!” Pidge said. “It’s weak, but it’s a starting point. Hunk, Keith, Allura— sending coordinates now.”

“Good work Pidge,” Shiro said into the comms.

“Lets just hope he’s near his ship.”

“Entering Humal airspace now,” Keith reported.

“Careful in the storm,” Lance warned. “Visibility is low and the wind is a problem. We had some trouble landing.”

“Thanks, buddy,” Hunk answered. “We’ll check back in when we land.”

“Now that the beacon’s set up, they’ll have extra data, so navigation should get easier.” Pidge said.

“Shiro, Lance, are you two set to guard the beacon?” Coran asked. “If that goes out, we lose all our data.”

“Nothing’s gonna happen to it,” Lance promised.

“There’s a good lad,” Coran said. “Hail us if anything goes wrong.”

After that they settled in, sitting on the ground near the beacon and listening to make sure its steady hum stayed uninterrupted.

The search party checked in every fifteen minutes, giving status updates. Things had gotten harder because the signal from the lost ship was going in and out and, even though they were at its coordinates within the first half hour, they couldn’t find it through the foliage. Their third check in, they found what seemed to be a crash site, trees fallen into each other. At the end of the first hour, they were still trying to move the trees and get to whatever lied at the center.

“Looks like we’ll be here a while,” Lance said, tugging off his helmet and letting the stray rain soak his hair. He closed his eyes smiling up at the sky for just a moment as the drops hit his face. Lance opened his eyes, glancing to the left at Shiro, only to tense when he noticed the other paladin watching him.

“Lance—”

“We should do this in shifts,” he said suddenly, jumping to his feet. He grabbed his helmet and headed towards Red. “You, uh, you can start, while the rain is still light and we can switch out every two check ins. No point in both us sitting in the wet to watch some buzzing cylinder.” And then he disappeared into Red’s mouth.

“Lance,” Shiro called, scrambling after him. He ducked into Red and, when he couldn’t find Lance on sight, walked to the pilot’s chair. Lance was curled up on the seat, knees pulled to his chest and head tucked against his legs. He was taking shuddering breaths as if fighting off tears. “Lance,” Shiro said again, quietly this time. He rounded the chair in time to see Lance tug harshly on his own hair before sitting up to look at him.

“Did-Did you want me to take first shift? I guess it’s the least I could do—” he began to unfold, setting his feet on the ground and rising halfway out of the chair “—my idea after all—”

“Why are you avoiding me?” Shiro asked. Lance flinched, looking away.

“I’m not, I just think one of us should be with the beacon at all times—”

“Not just today. The past few weeks. You’ve been all but running away from me. I can’t get near you during meals, I can’t get near you during missions, you’ll barely even look at me!” Outside, thunder rumbled overhead and the hits of raindrops on Red’s exterior sped up. “What did I do wrong? Why don’t you want me around?”

“What? Shiro, how can you even look at me after what I did?” Lance said, anguish filling his eyes.

“What?” Shiro said, brows drawing together.

“Shiro, I abandoned you,” Lance whispered, clenching his fists in his lap and looking away as he felt tears well in his eyes. “You called out to me and I knew— I knew something was wrong, I just wasn’t smart enough to figure it out. You were dead, and you reached out to me for help and  I—” he sobbed once, burying his face in his hands. “All the while I was befriending your clone. I can’t even tell what of that was real— And even if any of it was, knowing I abandoned you to that? Left you in the astral plane when you tried to reach me? When you were begging for help? I wouldn’t want to be friends with me after that either.” He collapsed in on himself.

Shiro was agog. “Lance, none of that— none of that is true! None of what happened was remotely your fault. What happened… none of us could have controlled that. None of us could have stopped that. You can’t pin any of this on yourself—”

He cut off as light flooded the windows behind him. Lance’s face lit blue and a crack rent the air. Not a second later, thunder shook the air around them, so close that even Red lurched. Shiro leapt forward on instinct, bracing himself over Lance as Red shook, staying over him until the rumbling stopped. He drew back a few inches, not moving his arms as the lion stilled. He looked down at Lance and their eyes met. Outside there was a loud crunch of rock shifting.

“The beacon,” Lance gasped, pushing away from Shiro and running outside. Shiro took off after him calling his name. Outside, the rain was so heavy he could barely spot Lance, the young paladin a blur in the thick sheets of water.

“The ground is cracked!” Lance yelled, heaving against the beacon. Shiro ran over, taking part of the beacon in hand and lifting. He and Lance shuffled away from the lengthening cracks in the ground. If they could just get closer to Red they’d be on stable ground. They could wait out the worst of the storm. And there was no way they could take off in weather like this. If they did, they’d have to deactivate the beacon, and who knew what the weather was like where the others were. They could all end up stranded.

They were halfway to safety when there was another loud crack and the rock under Shiro’s feet shifted, opening a hole to the boiling water below.

“Shiro!” Lance cried. He acted on instinct, tightening his grip on the beacon and whipping around in a circle. Shiro and the beacon went spinning towards Red, falling just beyond the cracks in the rock—

And then he felt himself begin to fall as rock crumbled away beneath his feet.

Shiro landed hard a few feet away, shaking off the blow and looking up in time to see Lance start to fall through the rock.