#(he is debriefed by Shiro and Allura as to why Keith is like this. he decides he does not like admiral sanda)

[discordiansamba]

if keith recognizes shiro as his commanding officer, what happens when kuron comes into play? (and potentially doesn't realize hes a clone)

An excellent question!

By then, Keith would have become the red lion's paladin, as Allura would end up filling the role of black paladin after Shiro's disappearance. Keith is... far from recovered at this point, more a tiny flame than a raging inferno. But it's enough for the red lion to call out to and connect to him, with the hopes of stoking it's paladin's inner fire even more.

Then Kuron shows up.

Keith... kind of broke for awhile after Shiro disappeared. He didn't- and couldn't, really- realize just how important he was to him until he was no longer around. He just kind of stays there in the black lion's hangar for awhile, until someone finally gets him to leave. He just kind of goes through the motions after that, and if where he'd been showing even the slightest signs of personhood before, he just seems to completely shut down and revert back to his old ways in the absence of Shiro... until the red lion calls him.

So Keith understands when Shiro returns that he... cares about Shiro. He's important to him. And 'Shiro' is happy to see that Keith finally seems to be coming more into his own. There's a short period in which things are great, and then...

...then it happens. There's a disagreement. Without even thinking about it, Kuron uses one of the specific command orders Keith was trained to respond to- and Keith hasn't broken free of his programming anywhere near enough to refuse it.

And Kuron, to his credit, is horrified. He did not mean to say that. But it's also too late to take it back, and a rift is formed between them. Keith shuts down again, and starts to struggle with the red lion as a consequence. Eventually he's shut out completely, forcing Allura to take back over- and Kuron to become black paladin in her place.

But Keith still has more agency now than he did before, so he makes a choice to leave, and join the Blade of Marmora. He was always an extra piece on the Castle. He can do more here. He let himself forget it for a little while, but now he keenly remembers what he is- a weapon.

(Being a weapon hurts a lot less than being a person.)

[localfanbaselurker]

Watching Voltron:Legendary Defender for the First Time and Recording my Thoughts

S1-2 | S3 | S4 | S5 | you are here! | S7 | S8

<this debrief/review is pretty rant heavy because of how the season personally impacted me, but fret not! i (hopefully) made it to be still enjoyable/fun to read! just a heads up tho!!>

You get to see the “Pre” thoughts before the read more this time! As a treat <3

Pre-S6 Thoughts

->for the most part I think I understand what’s going on with shiro, but I want to really make sure. jussssst in case.

->they gave lance a big focus in season five so hopefully “we” get to see what that’s culminating to. Super excited about that!

->I don’t fw Lotor all that much despite him being the blorbo by proxy (oomf’s fav) but hopefully this season can change that. I’m just beginning to like him (beginning!) and it’s a 400k slowburn melting an ice berg of hate at that. but it’s getting there. soon they’ll hold hands.

->despite my personal enjoyment of allurance, I would be okay with lotura if Lotor got fully redeemed (in the show and in my heart)

-> PLEASE MAKE KEITH COME BACK!! AND WITH HIS MOM!! I’M BEGGING.

->I’ve noticed a sort of pattern where the characters get a specific episode(s) dedicated to them each season (shiro s1, keith s2, keith+allura s3, pidge s4, and lance s5) So hopefully hunk gets his focus episode this season

->I NEED to see what happened after keith found out about krolia

->hopefully more haggar/honerva lore, maybe even lotor lore to redeem him using Tragic Backstory™ points

Post-Season Six

-> what the actual frick.

-> what WAS this season bro.

-> This season had me getting punched,kicked and tortured left and right and up and down and everywhere. the plot twists and dramatic turns and cries and gasps just kept coming

-> this season left me like lance at the climax of a langst fanfic (yk like right b4 they save him and he’s all fucked over)

-> there are lots of things i liked and also SO MUCH i didn’t like this season

-> so pros and cons basically that’s it that’s the “review”

->WE GOT HUNK APPRECIATION!!! HE GOT TO BE THE ENGINEER AND BE SUPER HELPFUL AND ACTUALLY USE ONE OF HIS SKILLS ABDUWBDJSN IM SO HAPPY FOR MY BOY. MY SON. AAAAHHH.

->^LITERALLY LOOK AT HIM!!! HE GOT SOLID CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT TOO!! He reacted much calmer than his s1/2 self would have in a far less stressful situation!!! He grew up!!! HE GREW UPPPP!!

->^He looks like he’s itching to make a gay joke

->why did lance “die” in the first ep?? It was so random and literally served no purpose?? like it was never talked about in the other episodes and was literally just randomly put in the episode’s run time. it had nothing to do with the shield or whatever was going on with Shiro or lotor either

->does it get talked about in the next seasons or?? like it was literally just a throwaway scene

->KEITH AND HIS MOM!!! THEYRE BONDING!!! KEITH MAKES GOOD RELATIONSHIPS!!!!

->the whole “two years” thing is a little difficult to comprehend on all of its layers but I like to think of it positively because that means Keith and krolia got to spend time building upon their relationship and everything that krolia missed, more than just those flashbacks were “memory shared” between them, and keith resolved some of his internal conflicts.

->however it is probably going to make Keith be even more distant with the team because in his mind two years passed while in theirs only like 2-3 months passed from seeing him in person (if you don’t count 5x04 but they barely saw him there) so the relationships that he was building with them have fallen back a little on his part but the others still feel super close to him, so I hope that also gets resolved in s7

-> LANCE IS CUBAN!!! I got super excited you guys don’t understand. maybe you do considering the notes on my post where I said that. But still. I actually squealed so loud when he said it.

-> The mock DnD episode was super fun!! the calm before the storm though I guess

->i looooved the fact that keith came back to the team but that episode pissed me off SOOOOO FREAKING BAD BRO.

->^“we need to attack Lotor when he comes back” OMFGGGGGG NOOOOOOOO THATS literally so STUPID. make a PLAN first you freaking IDIOTS.

->^Literally if they had just played it cool when lotura came back and then told Allura about everything privately THEN stage an intervention/interrogation with Lotor like in Season 5, NONE OF THAT WOULD’VE HAPPENED.

->^but nooooooo we have to be STUPID and ATTACK IMMEDIATELY because PLOT REASONS. istg. don’t get me started this isn’t even the beginning of that rant. I just… *long suffering sigh*

->^and the way they immediately took the altean girl’s word and turned on Lotor? Y’all some fake ass bitches fr didn’t even let the man defend himself. it could’ve been a misunderstanding but okay. damn.

->^WHY ARE YOU INCRIMINATING YOURSELF BRO. OH MY GODDDDDD. every time i told myself that this episode couldn’t get any worse,, it. got. FUCKING. WORSE.

->^low key get the altean girl’s frustration tho because that shit was traumatizing. literally my live reaction right there

-> the only good things that happened that episode were lance calling keith hot and the team meeting krolia. maybe the lotura kiss. (I would’ve enjoyed it more if it wasn’t for the knowledge that they were straight up gonna beat Lotor’s ass when they got inside the castle)

->I guess I have to suffer for the absolute SQUEAL I gave when Kieth went up to the black lion and said “FORM VOLTRON” making them do the thing where they’re divided into 5 frames like a comic

->^that bitch ass clone better be ready to catch these hands. you do NOT say that to my boy.

->I got so excited when keith went all galra! ultimately yeah he did it because he was incredibly stressed but still it was super cool!

-> I was actually a little sad that Lotor didn’t get a real redemption. Like yeah I saw it from a mile away by the way he talked about quintessence and overall attitude but idk,, like him and allura actually seemed in love. even if he was just doing it for the quintessence you could tell he actually ended up genuinely falling in love with her. maybe it’s just me, but i think it would’ve been nice.

-> maybe keith and him could’ve bonded about being half-galra, and keith would finally get some solidarity with someone who knows exactly how he feels? idk it’s just a lot of missed opportunity there.

-> and then they just…kill him off…wow. that was a lot to take in. I had to actually take a moment. I mean it wasn’t even his fault, really. the quintessence got to him just like his parents. it’s actually super tragic now that I think about it. reminds me of family jewels by MARINA.

->I will say though that final battle was absolutely amazing. Beautifully animated and the action was great. I loved getting to see all the lions powers in the quintessence field. And the flaming sword?? that was literally awesome.

-> my hopes of allurance died but i think this is actually a really good step, Allura still felt bad for lotor when she didn’t wanna leave him in the quintessence field because she still loved him and after the conversation she had with the mice it was obvious she doesn’t (and won’t) like lance back, (she could’ve began to in s4/5) and lance seems to accept this as well, (seeing how he handles it when allura confides in him) which would be good for their relationship. so im happy about that 😊

->ngl if they ended it here it could’ve been pretty good, solid ending. Like, leave the rest up to interpretation sort of thing. (Yes I know there are some strings to be tied yet but yk what I mean) The ending was really satisfactory and if they just fixed a couple plot holes it would’ve been the perfect way to end the show tbh. Idk tho I still need to watch the last two seasons so I’ll see if I still keep my opinion then

->lance’s s5 focus didn’t really culminate to all that much, but he got to be taken seriously when he cried about shiro, so there’s that.

-> the clone!shiro vs keith fight was literally beautiful too omg. The emotions were perfectly captured and the flashbacks were just so perfectly timed it was incredible. the way you could just feel exactly everything keith felt as he fought what looked identical to the man who practically raised him was just. wow.

->^literally gorgeous. look at that, man. beautiful.

-> Don’t get me started on “you’re my brother, I love you” because I will start crying immediately

-> So. yeah. This season was a mess. I laughed. I cried (a lot) I got super pissed in the middle. But it was really super enjoyable otherwise. Bittersweet, really.

-> Hopefully Season Seven doesn’t disappoint! I really hope there’s more Keith+Shiro lore. Just. In general all their family lore.

These are thoughts I’ve been compiling for a while. I will continue to post my thoughts on the tag “Laura’s first VLD”

Please Remember that I am just a person with a life and responsibilities and try to be patient about updates.

Thank you 💞

[delaneytveit]

The Trouble with Being Useful part 2

Lance had been gone for a long time. Like a long time. Almost the equivalent of eight Earth months. He had missed birthdays, celebrations, parties, meetings, bonding, missions. Granted he knew he likely would, it just hurt knowing he was missing so much of his friends’ lives to fight in battles.

Fighting for the Resistance was a lot different than fighting with Voltron, and even from the way that Keith described his missions with the Blade. Instead of stealth missions or space battles, Lance was on the ground, in the heart of them. He had no idea how different fighting on the ground was from in the air. It was almost like it was a completely different war.

Granted he did fight a few as a pilot, complete a few air and space missions, but it seemed where they really needed him was on the ground. He climbed quickly, though I was likely due to the fact that officers and non officers alike didn’t last very long. He had been witness to a few of his commanding officers take a fatal blaster shot.

These particular  things he kept from the team. He didn’t need them to worry about him. Not when the universe depended on Voltron. So on his bi weekly video calls, he kept them light. hearing about what was happening back at the castle and telling them of all the planets he had been stationed at and his recent promotions. As light as he tried to keep the calls though, it seemed he couldn’t get rid of the tension between all of them. He had basically abandoned them for his own ego after all.

The happy feeling of catching up was always brought to a halt when someone would comment about how long he had been gone or ask him when he would be coming back. He honestly didn’t know, and he knew that they didn’t like that answer, but it was the only one he could give them. He had to wait for his commanding officers to notify him, and considering they were literally in the middle of a battle, it likely wouldn’t be anytime soon. 

Finally the time came though, when he was gifted a few Spicolian movements of leave following a pretty bad shoulder injury. He kept that from the team too, deciding to surprise them. 

Luckily, Coran was willing to help him, giving him the day that the team would be out of the castle on a training mission for Lance to make his surprise visit. It was simple. He flew in without any trouble, and made his way to his room to take a shower and change into some fresh clothes, opting for a newer outfit as it seemed all of his older clothes were a bit too small. 

He hadn’t notice how much he had changed in that 8 months. He was taller now, granted he was pretty tall before, but he seemed to have grown a few inches. His shoulders were a little broader, and though he was still lean, he was more muscular. His hair was longer too, it wasn’t a mullet like Keith’s, no he would rather die than have that, but it did reach his jaw now, the chocolate brown framing his face. He decided against cutting it, he rather liked it now. He slipped into some civilian clothes and made his way to the kitchen to grab a quick snack before heading to the bridge, where he knew the team would soon be to begin their training debriefing. 

He didn’t wait long, simply a few dobashes before the door slid open and he stood up from the seat he had taken earlier. The team was completely engrossed in their conversation as they walked in, paying no attention to the man standing in front of them before Pidge finally looked up and gasped. The rest of the team looked to him with wide eyes, the surprise freezing them in place. 

“Hey guys, guess who’s back!” Lance laughed, breaking the silence. That seemed to launch the group into action, as he was soon encircled by his very tearful teammates. “Aw, I missed you guys too.” 

Allura had given them the rest of the day off, deciding it was much more important to be with their Blue Paladin on his day of return. 

They had taken up post in the lounge, relaxing on the couches as the team asked Lance questions about his time with the Resistance. Finally, Keith had asked the question everyone else was thinking but dreaded the thought. 

“So how long are you staying?” he tried to keep his voice steady, but it was hard. He missed Lance, too much. The castle hadn’t been the same, hadn’t felt the same without him. He missed the jokes, the insults, the bickering, the never-ending noise that came with Lance. Without  him, it was silent, too silent. 

Lance rubbed his injured shoulder at the thought of returning, he knew he had too, he wanted to, but he missed his family so much. “Basically until my shoulder gets cleared.” he almost regretted the words, he forgot that he hadn’t told them about his injuries, more importantly the one that put him out of commission for a bit. 

“What happened to your shoulder?” Shiro asked, the statement reviving a concern he hoped he wouldn’t have to have again. 

Lance hesitated his answer, eventually deciding it would probably do more harm to not tell them. “I uh, caught a few blaster shots in it, completely shattered the head of my humerus and shredded my rotator cuff.” He winced as he recounted the intense pain he had felt when it first happened. 

Everyone else seemed to have the same reaction. “Yeah, it's fine now. I mean they had to basically reconstruct it, and it still really hurts but it's on the mend.” 

“And you’re just gonna go back?” Lance could hear the unease in Keith’s voice. He wanted to assure them that nothing would happen, that he’d be fine, but he knew he couldn’t. He could likely die out there, like so many of the people he fought with. But he could also die here, he almost died here. 

“If they need me, which they do. I have people under my command now.”

They didn’t like the idea of him leaving again, but they knew they couldn’t stop him. He had his mind made. So they spent the time they had with him with enjoyment, dreading the day that he would have to go back. 

Eventually he did go back. It seemed this time that leaving was harder than the first, but he did it. And of course he promised he would be careful and that he would be back soon. 

His second deployment was shorter than the first, only about 5 Earth months, and this time he was able to go back on vacation rather than injury induced leave. When he returned the second time, it was the team that surprised him. They planned an entire party around his return complete with Hunk’s space versions of his favorite foods. Being home made him ecstatic. 

Later that night, Lance found Keith sitting in the lounge long after everyone had gone to bed. He was looking at a hologram of Earth, something Lance used to do on nights like this when he couldn’t sleep. Of course back then it hadn’t been war related nightmares and memories of battle that haunted his mind, but rather homesickness and his insecurities of his place on the team. 

Trying his best not to startle him, Lance sat down in front of Keith, their eyes meeting for the first time since Lance had returned. “You okay man?” he asked. 

Keith looked at him with an expression that pained Lance more than anything. It was then that Lance noticed the familiar jacket that his friend had wrapped around himself, the jacket that Lance had given him when he first left. Keith clutched it to him like he was scared if he loosened his grip he would float away. 

“Is this how it felt when I left?” he finally asked.“Did it hurt this much?” His voice held no malice, but the emotion in it made Lance’s heart drop. He had made Keith feel abandoned for a third time in his life.

He didn’t know how to answer that, it hurt, he knew it hurt. But he also knew that it wasn’t Keith’s fault. Keith wanted to keep the team as together as possible, and Lance couldn’t fault him as he was doing the same thing. 

“It hurt...a lot.” he said simply. “But I think the worst part was not knowing if you were okay or not.” 

It was true, Keith wasn’t the best at communication, especially with the more secretive missions he was on. There were instances in which they had gone weeks without so much as a message from him. 

“That’s why I called so much, I wanted you guys to know that I was okay. That I was alive.” 

“But you weren’t okay.” it was a whisper, but it still held the same feeling as if he had screamed it at the top of his lungs. “You got hurt, and that’s the only one we know of. So much could have happened and we wouldn’t have been the wiser because you weren’t here.” 

“I’m here now.” he placed a hand on his friend’s shoulder, triying to offer Keith a small smile, but he knew that it wasn’t enough. 

“You weren’t when we needed you.” 

[void-tiger]

What if Krolia isn’t Keith’s mother, but Thace is Keith’s father instead. Keith’s just using Krolia’s Blade because, idk. She lost it somehow. Cue misunderstanding shenanigans about the knife when she sees Keith has it. Like, “did I ever actually fuck a Terran? How long ago was that. Which terran sex births young again?”

Turns out Thace found Krolia’s Blade, but left it with his Terran lover for protection of her and her unborn child. If Krolia was dumb enough to lose it, Thace is NOT about to return it to her or risk trying to Awaken HER Blade after leaving HIS Blade.

For Just A Fancy Knife it’ll do the Terrans just fine. (But would be less than Ideal for a Blade Agent.)

-

Keith’s memories of his mother are extemely vague, but somehow he always managed to hide his Blade so that it wouldn’t be taken away from him since a very young age. He has no memory of his father at all...but he hopes that his dad would look somewhat like and be like Shiro and come back for him someday.

When Keith eventually runs into Krolia and she recognizes the Blade, Keith goes along with her assumptions. All he really remembers is having a mother and then his mother being gone. (And what if he had two moms?) But Krolia as his “mother” isn’t...what he always dreamed finding his parents would be like. She’s even shorter tempered than he is and not exactly all that affectionate and gets annoyed if he tries asking about her and her lover. (Turns out she doesn’t remember.)

When Keith finally reunites with Team Voltron with Krolia and Romelle in tow...he discovers both Shiro—his Shiro—is out and about, with Lotor already back in custody with Dyak handling the Empire from behind the scenes to avoid yet another Power Vacuum, and...the clone Keith thought was Shiro barely able to stay in the same room as him.

Keith’s Grand Investigation resulted in...nothing. He left his Team over Nothing and he’s forced to admit to himself that ditching the Team had nothing to do with “going where he was best suited and needed”, he just didn’t want to lead. And if he’d taken Jiro’s concerns more seriously...he might’ve been able to get Shiro rescued sooner (and Jiro freed from Haggar’s influence.) (Despite Jiro insisting that Keith wasn’t the only one at fault—except for the Team and refugees nearly DYING, anyway—and Shiro admitting to allowing his own fears to be projected onto Keith (and the clone by proxy)...Keith still can’t help but feel responsible.)

And after a quick routine medical scan of both Krolia and Keith to make sure they’re still healthy after about two decaphoebs away from medical care...it’s learned that the two aren’t even blood related at all, let alone mother and son. Keith isn’t sure whether to be relieved or not. Krolia is relieved...but at least has the sense to gruffly offer her condolances and offers to check Keith’s profile against the Blades’ database—it takes her less than a quintant to find a match (although she swears colorfully about Thace stealing her blade.)

Kolivan could’ve known. Kolivan never intended to help Keith know.

Keith surrenders his blade back to Krolia, then retreats to his old quarters. He isn’t sure whether to be relieved or not that the Team left it exactly as he left it—save for having it cleaned regularly. A few vargas later there’s a soft knock at his door. Keith opens it, hoping it’s Shiro on the other side...but it’s Jiro.

The clone shifts awkwardly and apologizes for not being the one Keith wanted to see. Keith tries denying it, but Jiro cuts him off gently with a raised hand and explains that he’d promised to check on Keith for Shiro after the rest of the Team got called away on a minor emergency (and Coran assured him that he had the Bridge handled after the skirmish ended.)

“I thought you hated me.”

“It’s...complicated, Keith. Maybe I’ll be able to tell you why someday. But that’s not important right now. Right now...making sure you’re okay, is.”

“I don’t think I deserve that.”

“Good thing it’s not about ‘deserving’, because then none of us would. And I certainly have plenty of my own fault in this.”

“...I don’t want to go back to the Blades.”

“Can’t say I blame you. But then let me ask you one thing: what do you want, Keith?”

“I...I think...I want...I want to be a Paladin again. But—“

Jiro abruptly laughs.

“F-forget it! It’s stupid and—!!”

“No, it’s not. I just said something similar when Shiro asked me that same question. But I suggest you tell them that.”

“...I want to stay. I want to stay home.”

“Then stay.”

-

Shiro quickly makes a beeline for Keith once the Team’s back onboard the Castle of Lions after cleanup and debriefing vargas later. Keith’s a bit skittish, but quickly returns Shiro’s hug...but hangs back from the rest of the rest of the Team. Shiro and Jiro exchange a look over Keith’s head, and Shiro playfully gives Keith a gentle shove forward.

Keith apologizes—again—for how he left the Team...and that he gets why they were so upset with him now. He also confesses that he surrendered his blade and formally left the Blades—for good this time—although he understands that he’s lost his place as a Paladin and has no right to take it back.

The Team’s silent.

Finally...Allura admits that even with Coran and Jiro taking over many of her commanding and diplomatic duties, and Shiro also pitching in as he can as the Black Paladin, the Coalition is simply too large for her to serve as both a full time ambassador and commander as well as a Voltron Paladin. Coran and Jiro also admit that while they worked around much of the Castle’s original design to free Allura up, it still requires a backup supply of Allura’s quintessence in addition to the balmera crystal to simply maintain power (while many of the controls won’t allow a non-Altean access at all.) But ultimately, it’s up to the Lions to decide. (And the lack of communications between Lions and Paladins and Pilots is how their current situation even got so snarled.)

Keith would never admit it, but his legs barely support him when he enters the Red Lion’s hangar, while an equally anxious Lance makes his way over to the Blue Lion.

Red roars at him, mouth cannon glowing with a low whine as the Lion practically pounces on him. Keith raises his arms defensively as he braces for the incoming blast charging to vaporize him...then finds himself swallowed whole and slung about the Red Lion’s belly as the Beast blasts off into space. IF Keith is to be the Lion’s Paladin again, he’ll have to re-earn Red’s respect. Eventually Keith finds his footing and climbs his way back to the cockpit...only to find the door sealed shut.

Keith’s shoulders droop. Maybe Red doesn’t want him back.

But then his helmet’s radio crackles to life. Lance and Blue have reconnected. And the Team’s cheering for him—specifically Lance, Allura, and the Twins. Keith sets his jaw defiantly. He won’t demand to be the Lion’s Paladin like he did the first time, but he’s not giving up, either. If Red doesn’t want him then the Lion will have to actually kick him out the rest of the way. Otherwise...well, Keith’s never been one to know when to quit.

The Lion suddenly shifts to a dead stop, then suddenly rockets the opposite direction. Keith leans into it...then finds himself rocketing forward, through the now open cockpit doors, and landing head over heels into the pilot’s seat.

-

The Lion lands back into its hangar...but with the partical barrier activated and a low growl when the viewscreen shows the rest of the Team gathered below waiting for them.

“It’s okay, Red. I’m not going anywhere. Never again.”

The Lion whines, but reluctantly drops the barrier and lowers its great head.

“I mean it!” Keith insists. “Let them try it—even Black!”

He feels the Lion rumble darkly in agreement (although privately Keith thinks he’s probably the last pilot the BlackLion would pick, now. Can’t say he’s not relieved.)

“I mean it. I’m here to stay.”

He’s finally home.

[sleepyssnail]

What REALLY happened in Voltron Season 7

I was unsatisfied with Voltron seasons 3-8 so this was my solution.

So, in no particular order, here are a bunch of my headcanons about what actually happened in season 7. None of you can change my mind.

Lotor getting rescued and being treated for his injuries and he’s more than apologetic and can only beg for Allura’s forgiveness

Keith using his bayard in blaster form in an attempt to flirt with Lance

Allura forging a connection with the Atlas like with the lions, and Blue severing their bond.

The paladins returning to their original lions. Please. If not then...

Blue then accepting Shiro as her paladin because she knows he’ll always be there to support the team and lead them that way.

Pidge losing her mind over having three paladins who refuse to swap armor for color coordination.

Shiro activating his bayard form and being so excited about it

Matt, Coran, and Lotor work together to make Shiro another prosthetic that isn’t floating.

Lotor is the one who adds a special camouflage feature that makes it look realistic instead of mechanical.

Shiro sitting with Black for a while and talking about being a leader and thanking her for all she taught him and she lights up a bit and purrs to him before Blue roars in the back of his mind.

Hunk listening to Lance talk about Keith at the same time Shiro listens to Keith talk about Lance and both of them being Done™ with their stupid lovestruck friends

Krolia interacting with the other paladins and having flashbacks to the quantum abyss when Keith told her about them

Lance recognizing Allura has truly wanted him in a romantic way, and he is fine staying friends with her if it means he gets someone he needs later on.

Red, Blue, and Black letting Keith, Lance, and Shiro pilot them respectively if the time calls for it

(Or just because they miss their chosen paladins, but Black would never admit that out loud.)

Adam NOT dying. He’s alive and as sassy as ever.

Shiro and Adam reuniting only for Adam to slap Shiro, call him an idiot, and kiss him before hitting him again.

Shiro: God I love him

Keith: He beat you up

Shiro: Yeah…I forgot how good his right hooks were.

Lotor beginning rehabilitation and trying his best to redeem himself

Voltron game nights happen while Adam insists that the have to listen to the debriefing.

Shiro getting to see his family and just be with them after all that he’s been through.

Keith watching Lance’s back during fights and giving him smirks and little remarks that could be flirty or just nice

Keith: Nice job sharpshooter

Hunk seeing what’s going on and not being surprised when Lance approaches him with a bi crisis

Lance slowly thinking through and accepting his sexuality after realizing he’s had these feelings forever and only just started to think of them as a good thing

Honerva’s altean mecha’s actually are actually stronger robeasts made from surviving alteans and other alien species.

Adam and the MFE pilots make shirts to celebrate the Atlas being thicc

Adam’s shirt: “Atlas is Dummy Thicc”

Iverson: …why–

Adam: It was Griffin’s idea.

Pidge making small adjustments to Green to improve the cloaking and trying to apply it to her armor.

[fangirlauthor]

A Rip in Time Chapter 2

Hello again! Like I said, there’s a link to this work on ao3 if you’d like to read it on there. Check the masterpost to find it. 

Assuming, that is, that future Matt Holt ever stopped eating. It didn’t seem like he would - he was currently shovelling an insane number of donuts into his mouth at high speeds; he was clearly one of two things: extremely hungry, or excited about donuts. The reality was both. Not only was (future) Matt Holt hungry, it had also been a long time since he’d seen a donut, much less had one. 

“Are ye done yet, kid? We’ve got questions.” Commander Iverson glared at the kid - well, at Matt; kid didn’t really fit anymore. 

“Almost,” said future Matt Holt through a mouthful of donuts. “And I’m sure I’ve got answers, Commander.” Swallowing, Matt added, “There’s a lot to go through, so I’m going to need the devices I brought with me.”

“You aren’t getting those until we figure out what they are.”

“They’re databases that I’ve stored visual aids on, Commander. Nothing dangerous, basically the alien equivalent of a stored powerpoint.” 

Iverson shook his head. “Still need to get them cleared first.”

“Then I guess I’ll be eating donuts until you do.”

Iverson practically growled at that. Other Matt, Sam, and Shiro - watching from behind a two-way mirror - glanced at each other and did their best to hold in their laughter. It wasn’t a joke, and if it had been it wouldn’t’ve been a funny one, but confusion has an interesting effect on one’s sense of humor. 

Two hours later, someone managed to stop by with the devices future Matt Holt had brought with him. At that point, Iverson escorted future Matt to the debriefing room where several people - including the members of the Kerberos mission (and Adam, Katie, and Colleen Holt) were already waiting. 

“Alright, kid. What’s this all about?” asked Iverson. “We’d like the short version, please.”

“Of course, Commander. That’s why I needed my trusty visual aids to keep me on track.”

Taking a deep breath, Matt tapped the Altean device, triggering a holographic image of Kerberos to appear. “Everything you think you know is about to change. There’s an entire universe out there - and there’s more to it than we could ever have imagined. Years ago - for me, anyway - Kerberos was the farthest a human had ever traveled. The mission was supposed to be an embodiment of everything we had achieved, of how far humanity had advanced. Instead, it turned into a showing of how little we really knew.” A breath as everyone in the room waited for him to continue. “The Kerberos mission was successful up until a single point - and it was a big one.” 

Matt tapped the device projecting an image of Kerberos, and a video feed began to play. It was the video recorded during the Kerberos mission, the one that had proved to Katie Holt that the Galaxy Garrison was lying to everyone about what had really happened on Kerberos. After it played, Matt had the transmission the Galaxy Garrison had picked up play as well. 

The room was full of shocked faces, Sam, Matt and Shiro most of all - Adam, standing slightly behind and away from Shiro, reached out as if to touch Shiro on the shoulder, stopping at the last moment. 

“What-” Iverson began, but (future) Matt cut him off with a wave of his hand. 

“I’m not quite finished yet, Commander.” He smiled, but it was thin and very clearly fake. Old memories are painful to remember at the best of times, and this most certainly could not be considered the best of times. 

“Once the Galaxy Garrison caught that video and transmission, they told the public a lie - they claimed the Kerberos mission had crashed due to pilot error, and left it at that. A military funeral - closed casket because there weren’t any bodies - was held, during which the,” - here his voice broke slightly - “family members and loved ones were allowed to say goodbye. For the next few years, the world believed that Takashi Shirogane, Matt Holt, and Sam Holt were dead. Some people had suspicions that the Galaxy Garrison wasn’t telling the truth, but most of them kept quiet. My sister was not one of them - in a sense, anyway. She illegally hacked into the Galaxy Garrison’s computers and managed to see that footage before she was caught and banned from the premises. An amount of time later, she ran away and - also illegally - enrolled in the Galaxy Garrison as Pidge Gunderson, and cut her hair to add to the illusion. 

“Another amount of time later - sorry for not knowing the specifics, I was busy trying not to die on an alien ship - Shiro escaped from the aliens that had captured us, the ones known as the Galra. He crashed on Earth, near the Galaxy Garrison. The Garrison wanted him sedated and quarantined, but he had an urgent message and begged them to listen to him. They didn’t but before they could completely sedate him, former Garrison cadet Keith Kogane broke into the Galaxy Garrison and, with help from a few other cadets - including my sister - got him out and safely away from pursuing Garrison forces. 

“There they discovered a secret cavern and an alien ship - the Blue Lion. Shiro, Pidge, Lance, Hunk, and Keith ended up leaving the planet on the ship once it activated for Lance. At that point, they accidentally traveled through a wormhole and discovered what Voltron was. I’m not going to go into specifics of how, exactly, they managed to get there, but know that they did. And the universe is in a much better place because of it. 

“Voltron is a superweapon, and the universe’s only hope. It is made of five mechanical lions, piloted by the five paladins. Because of some strange - we’ll call it magic - known as Altean Alchemy, the lions are practically sentient beings; they choose their paladins, and they activate only for those they choose to. Working as a team, the five paladins - and the lions they are in - can fight separately or form Voltron. The current paladins are as follows: in the black lion, Keith, in the red lion, Lance, in the green lion, Pidge, in the yellow lion, Hunk, and in the blue lion, Allura, who is an alien and not someone you’d know.” Here (future) Matt paused for another breath, ignoring the stunned faces around him. “Don’t worry, Commander, I’ll make this last part quick. 

“Together, the paladins have worked together to save the universe an impressive number of times. They’ve faced robeasts, fleets of starships, and have adapted at an incredible speed for people who were thrown into this world without warning. I’m not going to go into detail about each battle they’ve fought because there’s not enough time, but know this; each of the paladins has proven time and time again that they are willing to do whatever it takes - and I mean whatever it takes - to save the universe. They are heroes, and they are a symbol of hope to the entire universe. 

“Right now, a time slip is occurring - people from my time are going to start appearing here, where you are. This includes some less-than-friendly aliens, but also allies as well. Some chaotically accurate math informed us that I’d be the first here - so, as I have done, I was to inform you generally of what has occurred in the future. I’m also supposed to - and plan on - helping bolster the defenses on this planet so we’ll be a little more prepared when the bad guys start arriving. I’m going to need your full cooperation for this, though - can I expect that, or am I going to have to go rogue again?”

Everyone stared at him, shock coating their features. “I’ll, uh, give you a moment,” (future) Matt said awkwardly, deactivating the device still projecting photos of the five paladins (and Shiro). 

Several moments later, Sam said, “So the first time we encountered alien lifeforms, they were hostile?”

(Future) Matt nodded. “The Galra Empire goes through the universe and colonizes - or destroys - plants and their inhabitants are usually forced to work for the empire. There is a small group of galra known as the Blade of Marmora that the Voltron Coalition works closely with. They’re on our side. Heck, one of their members is a paladin.”

Iverson asked a more pragmatic question. “And there are hostile aliens coming here? Because of this time slip?”

(Future) Matt nodded. “They’re coming, but so are the paladins and the Atlas. There’s not a lot we’ll be able to do to prepare before they get here - assuming Slav’s math is correct - but we’ll do what we can. I’ll do what we can.”

“Alright,” said Iverson. “What do we need to do?”

[victorlimadelta]

“Do you want to tell me what really happened?”

This... wasn’t a debrief Pidge was ready for. Keith’s already been through, asked his questions. Did you get the intel. What was in there. How long to decrypt it. How often can he expect progress reports. And then, distracted, eyebrows drawn close and a frown over his gritted teeth, he’d turned on his heel and walked out of the med bay, not quite tucked out of reach before he started chewing at the cuticle of his thumb. Which had given Pidge some time to just... be. Take mental inventory. Rest a little bit, as much as the pain would allow. Wait for the painkillers to kick in. Try not to swim too far out into the muffled puddle they let her sink into, try to keep her mental edge so she can pretend to start work on decrypting that database.

When Shiro walks in, it startles her from... a nap? She hadn’t meant to close her eyes, but she’s tired, and aching, and still trying to fathom how it went so terribly wrong (and why Keith won’t look her in the eye). Does she want to tell Shiro what really happened, when her commanding officer didn’t care as much about the how as he did about the what? When he wasn’t on the mission and didn’t actually see her make several crucial errors, one in front of the other, for no other reason than she thought she had luck on her side?

“it started well enough,” she says, then starts to reevaluate even that statement. Her throat feels parched, and her chest hurts if she tries to breathe in too deep. “we found another one of those galra docking stations in a gravity well, went to go check it out thinking it might have been abandoned, and it wasn’t, so we went in for a closer look. we didn’t have a manifest for this one, which was weird. we’ve seen that before--if you remember, all the way back, that base we found from sendak’s memories. yeah, that long ago.

“we all piled in green. we got into the control center just fine, we’ve been doing tons of those by now. hunk and lance were on lookout, keith and allura were at the doors, i did my download, everything went fine, except things weren’t centralized here. i think they’re learning how we infiltrate these things and they’re changing things around to accommodate. slow us down, thin us out, pick us off one by one. so, i got all the data i needed from the control center, but there was more in a terminal out in a processing facility--you know where this is going by now, probably.

“i did the idiot thing and told keith and allura they could get back to the lion, since i didn’t need door cover, i needed to move. lance had my tail, and hunk had his six. lance said he didn’t like it, something felt fishy, except keith didn’t listen to him and neither did i, even though he’s never been wrong yet when he says he has a bad feeling about something. so we get to the processing level, and yeah. not only is it rigged to blow with fuel-grade quintessence, but there was a druid waiting for us.

“hunk managed to literally, physically pick me up and throw me out of the main chamber with a few seconds to spare. i landed on my right side pretty hard, broke a rib and bruised two more according to ulaz, but that wasn’t the worst of it. the druid came for us even after we shut the blast doors. hunk’s cover fire narrowed it down to about a twenty-degree slice of freedom to move, and lance picked it off somehow while it was in the middle of teleporting, which, i still can’t figure out how he does it, he shouldn’t be able to make shots like that. somewhere in the middle of that, it... it got me.” She pulls up her shirt to show Shiro the purple spiderwebbing on her skin; the worst of the mottled, disgusting marks is the one the size and shape of a large handprint on her left side, but it peters out into pebbles of yellow and purple wrapping around front on her belly, behind on her back. “lance dragged me back to green, at least that’s what he told me, since i was knocked out. ulaz is trying to get some quintessence to wash it out, but until then, no pod is gonna help, i just have to... wait.

“and keith is... keith’s mad. i know he’s mad at himself for not listening to his literal right-hand man, but he’s also gotta be mad at me since i pushed the intel issue in the first place. it’s my own fault i got hurt. we only barely debriefed before he decided he couldn’t look at me anymore and ran out. i still have a database to decrypt, but i’m... i can’t concentrate. too much pain.” The facial expression she flashes Shiro is probably the best approximation of a smile she can muster right now, except no part of it is mirthful. “so, yeah. literal genius, breathtakingly stupid. it’ll make a good story in a few phoebs, probably, and lance will get to rub it in that he’s always right about this stuff.”

[poor-sickies]

What about fevers with Lance and Keith *together* (like at the same time? Or is that too much?) Could you do that? ouo

I am back! Kinda! I sprained my ankle really badly and had to be resting these past few days, so I took the opportunity to finish this! This is one of the classic “caught rain/snow and now we’re sick” kinda fic, so I hope you like it :)

cold outing

word count. 2592 words

prompt: fevers

Read on ao3

*

“I hate this s-stupid planet.”

Lance hugs his arms close, rubbing them up and down, trying to somehow block the dry cold wind that blows against him.

Keith lets out a humorless chuckle, moving forward hunched over himself, gritting his teeth as the relentless cold keeps hitting his skin through his clothes.

“I don’t t-think it matters” he says, “if you hate it or n-not. It’s just gonna keep being c-cold.”

“We’re almost t-to Red anyway. When I get to the castle, I’ll s-slip into a hot b-bath. And I’ll only leave after two hours.”

“Good for you,” Keith retorts, dragging his feet through the sloshy snow, “I just want some sleep.”

The Galra base they had returned from, six full hours after Red landed in Killeon, a snow planet deep within the Dardian quadrant, had been unoperational, but at least they had still managed to save the data logs. With some luck, those could be useful information for later.

They both hope it will be worth it.

The snowstorm was already bad when they had arrived. This planet doesn’t have much vegetation, but the little it does had been blowing strongly with the wind, powdered white from the flakes that fell from the sky.

Landing with Red closer to the base hadn’t been possible - there was a cave nearby that was ideal to keep her hidden. Leaving her out on the snow had seemed dangerous with a Galra base so close, and seeing as they didn’t currently have any support from the castle, they had decided to play it safe.

It was more or less a thirty minute walk from the cave to the Galra post, but after leaving the base, the snow had stopped and it was pouring rain, cold water with some ice on the mix, making the ground wet and sloshy.

And soaking both Keith and Lance to the bone.

They had taken thirty minutes just to get halfway to Red, and the paladin armor was starting to weigh on them, the black undersuit completely soaked. Fortunately, their wrist gauntlets are still working, to lead them the right way, because with all the snow and fog, they don’t see any further than a few meters.

“T-There. I see it.”

The outline of the caves appears slowly into focus, and they make an effort to walk faster.

Red opens her jaws right away as soon as they get there, urging them to get inside. The cockpit is unusually warm, an attempt to try and dry them up, but the or air comes up hot and almost suffocating on their face.

Lance collapses on the pilot seat, before ordering Red to go back home, and Keith stays behind him, on the floor, too exhausted to move.

-

Upon arrival, it all goes by in a numb haze. Dragging their feet, Lance and Keith make their way out of Red, and towards their respective bedrooms. Both get their soggy clothes off, dropping it off in a corner of their room to be washed later, take a quick warm shower and lay in bed, aching and exhausted.

They don’t actually get to sleep right away, because Shiro and Allura come back from their mission a while later. Fortunately, the post mission debriefing is quick and to the point. Everyone is tired and it’s late, so all of them shuffle to their own rooms to get some sleep.

-

Lance rolls over in bed, his sore muscles protesting as he moves.

It’s the middle of the night, he’s alone, and his sore throat is keeping him awake.

It feels like he swallowed sandpaper and broken glass. Lance coughs weakly into his elbow and sighs in frustration.

It was a long day, and exhaustion tugs away at him trying to pull him under.

But then another coughing fit brings him back up, doubling forward as something tickles again in the back of his throat.

His head aches with the effort, and when he’s finally able to stop coughing, his chest hurts as well.

He reaches for his bedside table, and turns the alarm towards him.

It’s seven AM, earth time, and the others would be up soon. Lance swallows painfully, and props himself up to stand and go out the door. There’s no point staying in bed if he can’t rest.

Walking feels even worse than laying down somehow. It’s harder to focus on keeping his feet moving, and his coordination is completely off. His muscles hurt, and it’s not easy to drag his limbs along when they feel like deadweights.

To his surprise, the lounge isn’t empty when he gets there, despite being so early. Coran is frantically opening and closing cabinets, with bundles of fabric in his arms.

“What’s goin’ on…?”

Coran looks behind his shoulder.

“Lance…” He trails off, clearly surprised. Lance isn’t sure why is presence is so unexpected, but Coran walks towards him with a worried look on his face. “Oh, I should have figured…”

Coran touches Lance’s forehead with the back of his hand. Lance closes his eyes, focusing on the cold feeling of Coran’s skin on his face.

“You’re ill as well… come on, let’s get you to the infirmary.”

“Sick…?” Lance questions, as Coran nudges his shoulder to guide him. Now that he thinks about it, he does feel warm.

“Well, after yesterday’s ordeal it doesn’t surprise me,” Coran explains, “and I should have known after I saw the state Keith was in… you were both in that planet after all.”

Lance frowns. “Wait… Keith? What’s going on with Keith?”

“Ah, don’t worry too much. He just woke up in the middle of the night with a high fever. Similar to the symptoms you seen to be having.”

Lance lowers his eyes. “Oh.”

Suddenly, he feels much weaker, and Coran has to steady him for a moment.

“Sorry,” he mumbles.

“It’s alright, lad. We’re almost there.”

Surely enough, there’s a bed set up in the infirmary, where Keith is curled up, shivering below a layer of blankets. Shiro sits on a chair by his side, rubbing Keith’s arms to warm him up.

“Coran,” Shiro calls out, “did you get more blankets?” Then he looks off to the side, noticing Lance with a surprised expression. “Are you sick too?”

Lance nods, hazy, and lets Coran guide him closer to the bed Keith lays in.

“Blankets,” Coran hands the bundles to Shiro, who in turn drapes them over Keith’s shivering form. Lance is gently pushed to another nearby mattress, and takes the opportunity to lie down.

“Ir seems that human bodies do not deal so well with cold,” Coran comments sadly, as he covers lance with a blanket as well.

Lance frowns, as he pulls the blanket closer to him. “We don’t deal that badly, that planet just sucks.”

Shiro sighs, hands still around Keith’s arms. “Well, it seems like you two just got a bad cold. Hopefully you’ll be okay within a few days.”

“Unless it turns to tonsillitis,” Lance adds with a mumble.

Shiro grimaces. “Hopefully not.”

-

When Lance wakes up again, his fever seems to be worse. He rolls over, his blanket kicked away in his sleep, and lifts his tshirt a little. His skin is sensitive and hot and sweaty, and his throat still hurts.

On the other bed, Keith looks asleep, no longer curling up beneath the sheet, but his flushed face is enough to tell that he’s got a fever too.

“Lance! Hey, you’re awake!”

It’s Hunk’s voice, to his right. He rolls over again, slowly, and sure enough, there he is, plopped on a chair with a tablet in his hands.

“How do you feel?”

Lance shrugs. “Not too good. I think my fever is higher now.”

Hunk frowns, and leans forward to touch lances forehead with the back of his hand.

“Yeah… it is,” he concludes, before getting up. “Try to drink some water,” he says, handing him a water pack with a straw, “I’ll go get Coran.”

Lance closes his eyes. With Hunk gone, there’s only the small breathing noises coming from Keith’s bed to break the silence.It’s relaxing somehow, so he lets himself being pulled back to sleep, water pack forgotten at his side.

*

It’s only a matter of time until the others move Keith and Lance to the living room.

“The sofas are big enough,” Hunk argues, “and we can check on them at the same time.”

No one disagreed, but Shiro and Pidge made sure to bring more pillows and blankets to make it extra comfortable.

Both od the paladins are wrapped in fluffy blankets, sleeping peacefully in opposite ends of the sofa, feet touching on the middle.

“I’ve already told Allura, and she’s going to stop by a peaceful solar system. With two of us down, it’s not a great idea leaving us vulnerable to any attack,” Shiro says.

“They look so peaceful,” Pidge comments with a sly smile.

*

“Achooo! Achoo! Ugh…”

Lance reaches out to pick up another tissue from the table. With an involuntary kick, he’s finally able to stretch enough, but he winces when his foot hits Keith’s side.

He hears an annoyed grunt coming from the bundle of blankets in front of him, and blows his nose, waiting for the inevitable complaining.

“Ow- Lance…” Keith says hoarsely. “Why did you just kick me!?”

It’s no secret for anyone this stupid cold is irritating Keith to no end, and Lance understands it better than anyone. Even though Keith did spend more time in the cold, and maybe being prone to migraines absolutely sucks in this situation, but Lance feels miserable too. Having Keith snap at every little thing is really getting in his nerves. He can’t help being sick!

But happy about his circumstances or not, he’s stuck here with Keith, at least for a few days. If he can keep each other’s presence amicable, Lance will at least make an effort.

“Ugh, Keith… I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.”

“Could you be more careful then?? I’m  trying to sleep.”

Lance rolls his eyes and puts the tissue away.

“Yeah, yeah… go back to sleep.”

Lance rolls over and buries his head on the pillow, hunching over his shoulders to keep the blankets closer. His throat burns all the way up to the back of his mouth, and a slight brush of the covers against his nose is enough to-

“Aaa..choo!”

“Lance!!”

*

“Oooh, what’s that you’re making?”

Hunk turns his head to see Pidge curiously slipping into the kitchen. He puts down the spoon, and grabs a sharp knife and some white fruits from under the cabinet, placing them on the counter, ready to cut.

“Oh, you know… since we’ll be stuck here for a while, I figured I’d experiment a little with the some of those fruits they offered us in Arus… and Lance and Keith look like they need some nice broth, to get their energies back and all that,” he explains with a gentle smile, as he expertly cuts the white fruit on the cutting board, and sweeps the pieces down to fall inside the bowl.

“Cool.” Pidge jumps up to sit on the counter. “Find out anything remotely close to garlic yet?”

“Nah,” Hunk sighs, “that’s gonna be a hard one… also-”

He turns around, slipping a baker glove on his hand and opens the oven, taking out a tray with some pink cookies.

“They finished baking a few minutes ago, though the tray is still hot. Taste one.”

Pidge frowns a little, but takes one and tries it.

“I know it’s pink, but I think I may have figured these out.”

Her eyes brighten, and she looks up at him.

“Gingerbread?”

“Not really, but it tastes close, right? Lance loves gingerbread. I know Keith prefers cinnamon, but we don’t really have that here… maybe he’ll enjoy these when he’s feeling better. I got another batch coming up anyway, so you can keep those.”

“Awesome! Thank you, Hunk!”

“No problem!” Hunk smiles, as he picks up the cookies from the tray, one by one, hissing when they burned tips of his fingers, and putting them on a plate. “I’m gonna see if those two have killed each other already.”

Pidge chuckles, still chewing on her cookie. “Lance is whiny as heck, and Keith is a thousand times grumpier than usual,” she says, “good luck.”

*

“So how are you two feeling?”

Hunk sits down next to Lance’s legs, and places the plate of cookies on the edge of the sofa. Despite looking terrible, both Lance and Keith seem at least intrigued by the cookies, and gingerly roll out of the sofa to get one.

Lance suddenly grips his cookie tighter and squints at the lights.

“A - Achooo! Ugh…”

Hunk watches as he pitifuly scrambles for another tissue, and doesn’t miss the way Keith groans.

“My throat hurts from sneezing,” Lance says, after blowing his nose once again.

“My head hurts from his sneezing,” Keith complains, burying himself deeper in his blanket, chewing on his cookie.

“Wha- Keith!!”

“You’re loud.”

“At least your fever is gone, right…?” Hunk asks with a forced smile, adjusting the blanket around Lance’s feet.

“No.”

“I think it’s coming back.”

Lance goes back to his reclined position on the sofa, leaning against a pillow. Keith reaches for the plate once again, and takes another cookie.

“These are really good,” he says quietly, his voice low and raspy.

“That’s not fair, I can’t even taste them…!” Lance pouts, “they feel crispy though…”

Hunk laughs. “I finally got the oven temperature right… you’ll be able to taste them soon enough,” he says, patting Lance’s leg.

*

“Keith…?”

No answer.

His fever wasn’t so bad during the day, and with the others keeping him company and distracting him, it was actually bearable.

But now it’s dark, and everyone is sleeping, and Lance cannot stop shivering.

He has three blankets on top of him, which he’s hugging close, and Pidge had even brought his jacket for him to dress, just in case. But even in his pajamas and the jacket, he can‘t get comfortable.

And, admittedly, he does feel bad for trying to wake Keith. He’s sick too, and needs to rest, even though he spent most of his day sleeping…

Eh, it’s still bad.

But Lance stands up anyway, blinking away the black spots at the edge of his vision, hugging the blankets around his shoulders.

Keith lays close to the back of the sofa, leaving enough space Lance to sit down next to him.

He gives his shoulder a light shake, but he doesn’t wake.

He’s not too warm, at least, which is a good change from his feverish state during the day, but that also means he’s getting his needed rest after all that.

Lance shivers again.

He shakes Keith again.

“Hm…? What - Lance.”

Keith groans.

“What do you want…?”

He doesn’t sound mad, just tired. Rolling over, he lays on his stomach with his head on his arms, and stares at Lance, squinting.

“H-Hey man… sorry for waking you up…”

“You’re shivering,” Keith notices. “You should be in bed.”

“That’s the thing, I, uh… it’s cold. Can I lay here?”

Keith only stares back in silence for a moment.

““With me…?”

“Ugh, yes. I can’t warm up at all on my own, and you’ve been pretty much behaving as a furnace the whole day…”

Keith doesn’t interrupt his rambling, much to Lance’s surprise. Like before, he’s probably too tired for that now. He sighs, and scoots over a little.

“If you steal my blankets, you’re out.”

[hunterguyveriv]

Kacxa Week Extended Day 14 - Life on the Atlas

I passed right out after work so I didn’t get a chance to post this last night. It was a little harder to do write but I am happy with it. I wanted to show their life on the Atlas as close to them being in character when not on duty, but they get a pleasant surprise when Garrison brass comes up with a Wargame.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Keep Reading~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It had been a year since the Atlas officially launched to take the fight to Honerva. A solid year since the Galaxy Garrison became part of a more significant force. Yet to typical Human fashion, they set themselves up as the head force. Something that rubbed their many newfound allies the wrong way. There were Olkari, Unilu, Tjaujer, Arusians, Blade of Marmorans, Balmerians, and many others all living on the ship.

As the Atlas droned through the vast nothingness of Space, it was es by an escort fleet of Rebels and a Galra ship with the Marmora emblem on it. They would all run drills to keep themselves ready. Well, the Blades were in charge of such exercises… well more like Krolia. She was an expert in all the BoM Galra to know how humans would react and create counters for their reactions. But today there was no drill; the tension was high on the Atlas in which the crew got a deserved break.

Two of those were Galra on the Atlas; her Son - Keith and his Jhuk’ un’ dak Acxa. After spending some time on a hostile planet in which they became close, they started being with each other more and more. He had gotten into many altercations with crewmates of the Atlas over her being Galra. Most were broken up by fellow crewmembers and Paladins, others resulting in physical fights.

Today started as usual for the lovebirds. They met on the training deck at 0400 when no one was up except the secondary crew. They did their typical warm-ups before running the equivalent of 5 miles in simulated gravity four times greater than Earth’s gravity.

They rest for ten minutes before they started sparring. They start with traditional sparring before selecting replicas of weapons from Earth's history - Keith the bokken - Acxa the saber. Not wanting to be disturbed, they lock the training deck. Acxa takes her Garrison tee off revealing her human sports bra. Keith, in return, takes his standard black tee-shirt off, revealing his chest and abs along with scars he acquired since becoming a Paladin.

They meet in the center circle. The two of them gave the standard proclamations in traditional Galra before she attacked. Both aggressively sparred and flirted with one another while sparring. Keith was the better blade wielder, and he always found it cute she'd get flustered and upset when he managed to lock their weapons and kiss her on the nose or cheek good morning. But she was also starting to figure out how to eventually surprise him.

By 0700, their sparring match was over, and both had to clean up and report for duty. Acxa had to report in to the senior tactical officer under Shiro for planning an attack on Galra installations, and Keith had to report in for the morning briefing. It was with Shiro, some of the other Garrison Bass, Allura, Blade of Marmora, and the heads of the Voltron Alliance.

Today he found out that Blade Intel has discovered that Honerva had recovered Lotor’s Sincline ship and was trying to figure out how to activate, duplicate it, or incorporate it with more of those Komar-Mechs. Something that shocked not just Allura but Acxa. So it was decided that with each of the Sincline ship schematics were retrieved, the Garrison would run drills with reconstructed versions of the ship.

Keith suggested that Acxa should pilot one of them, that she did have the most experience with each ship. Which the Paladins even Shiro agreed, and the MFE pilots, namely Griffin, protested against it. Shiro ordered wargame Scenarios to commence the following day with debriefing immediately after

Acxa was looking over the first ship, which was the 3rd part when Allura and Lotor collaborated. She was impressed that the human engineers with little help recreated the ship she and Keith had their first intimate dance. She walked around it as Olkari engineers who helped filled her in on the added abilities they added.

She looked at the doors as the Paladins walked in. Allura and that loud, obnoxious one… what was his name again walked in first, she took notice that they were smitten with each other. Making them easy targets. She saw Pidge walk in half dead and hair to prove it. She made a note that she would be easy to eliminate during the simulation. The yellow one walked in eating something. She smirked because eating before a G-Inducing fight….. well, things end up messy.

Then the MFE pilots walked in. Like her, they were doing visual checks of their fighters. Acxa was sizing them up; the blonde was too analytical, so she deemed her a threat to take care of right away. The tall, dark one was too much of a sniper, so thinking fast during combat was not his strong-suit he would be taken care of after the blonde. Then came the sassy one and Griffin, the one Keith had warned her on. They were the best pilots of this group, so taking them down will be challenging. But seeing how cocky they also were, Griffin the obvious, she was going to have fun playing with them. Like a cat plays with a prey animal.

Griffin looked over and saw her looking over to them and the Paladins. She gave him a smirk that seemed to get under his skin. He saw her move her head slightly as the door opened. It was Keith and Shiro walking into the hanger bay.

Shiro was talking to him about something as he walked in, clutching a PADD in his right hand and his helmet in his left hand. He handed the PADD back to Shiro in which Shiro walked back to the observation lounge to watch the launching of everything. Keith put his helmet on and started walking towards the location of his lion.

Griffin: I hope you can keep your half-breed girlfriend in line or take her out with your “superior flying.”

For once, when he was having such a good day until it had just been ruined none the less. But too many eyes were on him to physically reprimand him.

Keith: And why would I do that?

Griffin: So she doesn’t learn our strengths and weaknesses.

Keith: Oh, don’t worry, she already knows.

Keith slapped him on the arm.

Keith: Besides, WE, are the last defense.

Griffin: What?

Keith: The Voltron lions are going to be the last line of defense for the Atlas. Your… fighters will be the first line, and the rebel ships will be the vanguard.  

Griffin: But…

Keith: You guys fought SO well against Sendak’s fleet, so you will have to fight Sincline-A, Blade of Marmora fighters, and cruisers during this wargame.

Griffin: WHAT?!

Keith: What? Can’t be all THAT hard for the Garrison’s best pilot?

He walked away with a smirk on his face as Griffin seethed, glaring at Keith as he continued to walk to his lion. He winked at Acxa, who even-sized him up and winked back at him. She walked up to him, giving him the typical Galra greeting, which he returned well aware Griffin was watching.

Keith: You are going to go easy on me?

Acxa: Not a chance.

Keith: Just the way I like it.

Acxa: You, me?

Keith: Nope.

Acxa: Atta boy.

Shiro over the intercom: Pilots prepare to launch!

Acxa entered her fighter first. The MFE-Pilots in theirs. Keith briefed the Paladins on their role as he entered the Black Lion and was seconds later in the controls. The lions all roared to life. Shiro’s voice came over the comms, “LAUNCH!” Acxa took Sincline-A and rendezvous with the Blade of Marmora wargame fleet. The MFE-Fighters launched and met up with the rebel ships. The lions launch from Atlas last.

As to her plan, Acxa made short work of the MFE-Pilots, which everyone on the bridge could hear their protests and Griffin screaming obscenities in his cockpit. She went a little easy on the Rebels and left most of them to the Marmora ships. They were brothers and sisters in arms, after all. She played with Pidge, who was too tired to keep up and Hunk, who was struggling to keep his lunch down.

Having helped Lotor create the original version of this ship, Allura knew what to expect and quickly got the upper hand on Acxa when tag-teaming with Lance. But Lover-boy, who was in the second-best lion to keep up with her, got distracted when he got shot down by Krolia’s cruiser. Allura was taken down seconds later by Marmoran fighters, her scream “quiznak,” along with some obscenities she learned on Earth had the bridge crew laughing.

Keith was in the process of “destroying” the Marmoran fighters that the simulation called for their withdrawal. Leaving him… and her. Black Lion and Sincline-A. It was as if they were sizing each other up. They were waiting for those disqualified to return to their bases of operation.

Keith: Shall we finish our dance, my dear.

Acxa: We SHALL!

As ships became disqualified, they were ordered to return to base. Inside Atlas for the Lions and Fighters. Besides Atlas for the rebel ships that joined the exercise. For the Marmoran fighters, they had to return to their home cruisers. As long as there remained fighters, the wargame went on.

In the lounge, Romelle greeted the Paladins and the MFE-Pilots, who grumpily flopped down on the couches looking at the monitor. She offered refreshments and snacks for the main event. Even smacking Griffin for bitterly commenting, “Gee what a surprise, the half-breeds are the last ones standing.”

Then without warning, the Black-Lion and Sincline-A engaged each other like they did nearly four and a half years ago. Weaving and bobbing out of each other’s blasts, trying to get the better on the other as they did those years ago back when she was still loyal to Lotor. But now, this was fun with her Grek’ un’ dah.

They would continue at it for nearly an hour. It was apparent to the crew of the Atlas that they were having to much fun. The Paladins grew bored, making the declaration “no wonder he likes her…” The MFE pilots went on to do their other duties.  Romelle stayed watching her brother-friend and his future mate play-fight, eating the snacks and drinking the refreshments no one wanted because they were all made to look like fools.

Even Shiro was sitting in a “Captain’s Chair,” supporting his head up with a fist and wrapping the fingers of his other arm on the chair. Making a mental note “not to pit Acxa and Keith against each other again.”

But on the flip side, both Galra-hybrids had a new thing in which they could use to challenge each other. Something to add to their daily routines to keep themselves sharp.

[some-cookie-crumbz]

Echoes in the Wind

Echoes in the Wind - Kidge Month Day 6 Prompt Fill Fandom: Voltron: Legendary Defender Pairing: Kidge Summary: While on a mission to retrieve a necessary component for medicine, Pidge and Keith are forced to enter an allegedly haunted forest. And maybe confront something more frightening than ghouls. Standard Disclaimer: If you read and enjoy this, please give it a like/ reblog so I know if I should write more.

Missions to get medicine weren’t something they had been used to doing before but they’d had to adjust while Samuel and Coran tried to figure out how to make new healing pods. Their most recent escapade involved Lance messing with some kind of arachnid-esque creature while on a peace mission, which led to him turning orange, swelling up, and becoming slightly weightless. Coran had explained, while tying one of Lance’s ankles to the bed, that the illness took it’s time, so they had a few days to get the ingredients.

The last thing they needed was the roots of a vuque tree, found on the planet Sinturion 4. Sinturion 4 was a lush planet coated in greenary of all kinds, but was also a planet that had been relatively far removed from the conflicts of Voltron and the Galra Empire. It being aligned to no side, though, was a positive. Since Pidge was the begrudging Paladin of nature, and Keith was the leader, the pair had been sent out to retrieve it.

Which normally wouldn’t have been a problem. Except that the two of them weren’t on the best of terms right now.

Admittedly, Keith had no one but himself to blame for it. It had been a few nights prior, as he and Pidge were settled up in her room, watching movies. It had been a while since he’d had free time to just relax and it felt great. They’d started watching the Harry Potter films way back when Shiro was still missing and finally decided to start again, though they’d had to go back to the first film again. They were cuddled up under her comforter, her head on his shoulder, watching the chess game scene.

“Hey, Keith?” She asked softly, peeking up at him.

“Hmm?” He asked, tilting his head down to look at her.

She had leaned up to meet him and kissed him, soft and sweet. He had felt himself suck in a breath of surprise before relaxing into it, hand coming up to cup her cheek and tilting his own head to kiss back more firmly. The movie session had dissolved from there into more of a makeout session. Neither of them had pushed for anything below the collarbone, and the next morning he’d been silently singing the praises of his Garrison blazer’s high collar. Pidge had been watching him with a smug, satisfied grin, and actually winked at him as they parted after the morning debriefing. No one else had noticed, thankfully enough, but for as much as it had his heart pounding in a giddy whirl, it also put an uncomfortable realization in his mind.

For as much as he wanted to, he shouldn’t pursue his feelings for Pidge. It would be entirely inappropriate, given his status as the leader of Voltron. What if things didn’t go well between them and they weren’t able to work together as a team? Or if their fights carried over during combat situations? For as much as he wanted to be able to say that Pidge was his, he knew that they couldn’t put countless other lives at risk like that.

So, once he was able to, he asked to see her in private and said, “What happened the other night was a mistake.”

She had stared at him, hurt evident in her eyes. “I… I don’t understand. I.. I thought that you felt the same way,” She said quietly.

“That doesn’t matter. Or, well, I guess it does matter because it’s kind of the problem,” He said, trying to keep himself composed. It was hard, seeing her so upset, but he knew it had to be done. “We shouldn’t be pursuing anything with each other right now. Not when we still aren’t sure what Haggar is planning. Not when we have to form Voltron.”

Her brow knit at his words, eyes slowly narrowing to glare at him. “What?”

“We can’t be letting ourselves be distracted, especially not by each other,”

“So… What your saying is you don’t think I could handle us being together? That I’d be dumb enough to let how things between us are going affecting our ability to work together?” She snapped angrily. He flinched slightly, holding his hands up and getting ready to say something, but she shook her head. “Fine. Forget all about our little ‘mistake’, then.” She sneered before turning and storming off.

That had been nearly a week ago. Despite her still clearly being furious with him, they were still able to form Voltron and battle. She followed his orders just like before the argument, but he knew there was tension there, underneath the surface. While things with the team were fine, he and Pidge hadn’t actually been left to work solely with one another since then. This assignment, however, made collaborating a necessity. Allura and Hunk were both off getting other ingredients they needed.

The ride down had been a bit awkward with the comm channel silent other than confirming this or that about landing. The strictly professional side of Pidge wasn’t outwardly callous, but there was a rigidness to her tone and attitude and it hurt. It reminded him of how she interacted with some of the younger Atlus crew members when they got too big for their britches. When they landed, in a clear space between a large village and forest, she headed right to the small group of Sinturians waiting for them.

Sinturians were oval-headed with large, black insect-like eyes and multiple pairs of antenna that draped along them like hair. They had mouths that were reminiscent of humans but they lacked lips and had small, curved pincers protruding from the far ends. They had two sets of limbs that had exoskeleton-esque plates over them, with three fingers on their hands. From what he could glean based on appearances, females had beige coloration to their exoskeletons while males were a mahogany color. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Paladins of Voltron. I am Divus the 32nd, leader of my village,” The one he assumed was their leader said, moving from shaking Pidge’s hand to shake his.

“It’s a pleasure. Thank you so much for being open to our visit. We had been planning to come for a proper introduction with the whole team but, well, that's part of why we’re here,” Keith said.

“The captain of your allied ship - Shiro, I believe? - gave us a brief rundown of the situation. I am afraid, however, that getting what you need will not be an easy task,” Divus admitted nervously. Keith and Pidge exchanged worried glances before the leader nodded his head, leading them towards the nearby border leading into their forest. There seemed to be a gloss of sadness covering his eyes as he stared out into the shadowy forest. "It has been many decaphoebs since anyone has entered the forest, and the last who did, never returned. There are spirits in the forest that have grown malevolent in recent times."

Keith huffed a bit before turning his attention to the forest. "Well, we don't have a choice. We need the roots from a vuque tree to make the antidote our friend needs,"

"Besides, the likelihood that it's actually haunted is pretty slim. Your planet isn't known for that kind of activity, right?" Pidge pointed out as she approached as well, walking over on Divus’ other side.

He glared at the pair of them in turn. "I am speaking from experience, young warriors! That forest robbed me of my only son, Divus the 33rd!"

"What happened, exactly?" Keith asked, making sure to be gentle in his approach. The l;ast thing he wanted to do was set the ruler off.

"We sent him out with a small group of other young, strong warriors to eliminate a colony of vile Gulabulos that had started nesting on the other side of the forest! They never made it through to the other side, though, and we most likely killed by those vile beasts,” He growled out lowly.

"And Gulaboros are...?" Pidge prompted, settling one hand on her hip and cocking her head. Sometimes the aliens they interacted with forgot how limited the knowledge of other species was for humans.

Divus whipped his head around to look at her. "They are filthy savages! They will steal land and crops, and bring with them foul diseases! They cannot be trusted and must be chased away when they get too close!" He rambled furiously, indicating the forest with one hand while the others were clenched into fists. "They are the reason we had to grow this forest in the first place! Many innocent Sinturions laid down their lives to assure this forest grew! Their spirits have become restless and torment our own now! And for what? Because they move closer to the only thing keeping us safe from them, the barrier those lost souls gave their all to create? Disrespectful, foul creatures!"

His brow knit at the other’s words. "But... Couldn't you just move farther away from the forest yourself?" He was answered with a vicious glare. Pidge joined in when she saw the change in the Sinturian’s demeanor. "Er... Never mind, forget I said that."

Pidge herself hummed before shifting and starting to walk towards the forest. "Well, I guess it just means we should be extra careful, right?"

"Being careful will not serve you as well as you may think when there are furious spirits afoot," Divus advised gravely.

"Uh huh. Anyway, we're kind of running out of time, so," She trailed, walking backwards to face the alien and indicate the forest with a jerk of one thumb, "we really need to get going."

Keith gave her a warning glance but she waved him off and turned around, already wandering past the start of the tree line. He shook his head and offered his hand to Divus again. "We appreciate your advice and help. Once our friend is feeling better, we'll be sure to come by with the team as a whole and give you a proper welcome into the coalition,” He promised.

Divus nodded, "Thank you. Perhaps you will be able to lend you help with our little issue when your whole team is here?"

“We’ll certainly do what we can,” Keith said, nodding, before darting along after Pidge.

She glanced at him as he caught up with her. "So do you really believe anything he's spewing?"

He scoffed. "About the Gulabulo? Sounds like nothing but racist garbage. And the thing about spirits? Sounds like superstitious nonsense,”

"Good to know we're on the same page with something," She barked back flatly.

For as much as he wanted to snap something back, he opted against it. He didn’t want to fight with her about the situation between them. As they walked, there was none of the usual chatter between them, and it felt unnerving. The ambiance of the forest normally would have been something Keith enjoyed. The gentle gurgling of bodies of water off in the distance and the quiet chirping of foreign birds or insects were normally soothing, but now it left his skin prickling under his body suit. Something about the whole place felt… Off.

A part of him knew that part of it was tension, but he couldn’t place where the rest came from.

The forest itself was large and difficult to navigate. Pidge had pulled up a tracker to keep an eye out for heat signatures, specifically keyed in to track down the tree they were looking for, but he could see it occasionally freezing up. They had noticed that in areas like this, with limited technology, it could sometimes be hard for them to get a proper reading on this or that. Normally they had a guide, but it had seemed like a pointless request to make with Divus. He stole a glance around them, feeling the hairs on the back of his neck stand upright. He didn’t like going in with something like this so blind.

Pidge let out a quiet, frustrated growl. "This place is huge. Do you think my signal would be better if I climbed up one of the trees?"

"It's possible. Especially since we don’t really have any help here," He said, looking around again. From the corner of his eye he caught a flicker of movement, a few fern-like plants shifting. He grabbed Pidge’s shoulder and tugged her back towards him. "Hold up. Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" She hissed, rolling her shoulder from his grasp.

"Stand still for a second," He seethed, feeling on edge. He whipped around and saw the distinct gleam of something silver rushing towards them. "Pidge, hit the ground!" He barked, pressing a hand between her shoulder blades and forcing her down with him.

Pidge let out a squawk in response, the sound muffling as she connected with a ground. Behind them, an arrow that seemed to be made of a metal-like material stuck into a tree behind them. "Holy-! Where the Hell did that come from?" She blurted out, staying low but trying to get a look around to see if she could find their attacker.

"Stay down! I haven’t been able to track them yet!" He pushed himself up with his arms to try and get a better look around, but ducked again as another arrow whizzed by. The sound of hissing air as it narrowly missed hitting his helmet. "Any chance you can get a reading on where or how many we're up against?"

"Give me two ticks!" She snapped back, pressing her arms in front of her and pulling it up. Her other hand clacked away, doing this or that.

While she worked on that, he called up his shield and rushed towards where the two arrows had come from. Then, however, three more arrows came from either side of him. He managed to dodge one and had to use his shield to keep the other two from getting his calves, hitting the shield hard enough that it briefly flickered out. “How long is two ticks to you?" He snapped angrily, calling up his bayard and swatting at another arrow that came right for his head.

"It's not my fault there's all these big ass trees everywhere! They're jamming my signal and I can't get a good reading!" She snapped back, glaring up at him before returning her attention to her attempts at getting the monitor to work properly again. "Well, either that or we actually are dealing with ghosts!"

He whirled around and glared at her as another arrow was blocked with his sword. "What do you-?" He said before looking to the ground. Maybe if he grabbed one of the arrows, Pidge could run some kind of scan on it to track it. He was stunned, however, when there was nothing at his feet. "What the Hell? There were arrows in the ground right there! I felt the impact of them hitting my shield!" He looked behind him briefly, to where the first arrow had lodged in the tree, and felt fury swell in him when he saw it was gone. He hadn’t heard anyone behind him, and he certainly would have seen if someone came close enough to pick up the ones at his feet! "If that moron Dicus was right about this place being haunted, I'm gonna be pissed!"

"You mean Divus?"

"I know what I said!" He barked back, swiping again at another arrow that came at him. "Anything clearing up on you? Maybe something that can give us an actual answer?"

"My radar is still clogged! There’s still, you know, trees everywhere!" She snapped back, looking up as a barrage of arrows slammed into his shield, sending him tumbling back and crowding his shield as best as he could. "Keith!" She pushed upright as the onslaught died down and charged in front of him, calling out her own bayard.

"I'm fine! Get out of the way!" Keith snapped back as his shield finally flickered out.

"I'm not leaving you!" She barked back before firing her hook shot out, in the direction that the last batch of arrows had come from. She felt it slam into something and then there were sparks and a crackling sound. Then, there was a quiet electrical hum, before there were smaller sparks from some of the surrounding trees. "Huh?" She trailed, yanking her hook shot loose and looking around, watching as one by one the other devices short circuited.

There was a rustling behind where her first shot had landed and a figure came tumbling out, indicating the fried device with two sets of hands. "Aw, dude, what the Hell? Way to fry the system, dude!" They lamented, turning around to face them.

"Wha-?" Pidge trained, her head cocking at the Sinturian standing before them. He looked a lot like Divus, only slightly smaller, and his antennae were tangled and weaved into a braid of some sort.

Keith was up and charging at him in a breath, seizing him up by the front of his robe and slamming him into the nearby tree. "Who are you and why did you attack us?" He growled, pressing the blade of his bayard against their throat.

He held all four hands up in shock. "Attack you? Nah, dude, that wasn't me! It was just our security system; all totally fake but incredibly realistic!" He said, tone surprisingly jovial for someone being held at blade. He then nodded his head to indicate Pidge, who was approaching them with a scowl of her own in place. "Which, like, the little dudette there totally just fried."

"I'd apologize if I hadn't done it out of fear for our lives," She seethed at him, arms crossed over her chest.

"Nah, I get it. All that, like, self-preservation stuff, ya know?" He said with a small laugh.

"You still haven't told us who, exactly, you are," Keith growled out lowly, pressing the blade against the stranger more firmly.

 "Oh, right, right. Sorry, dude; always been a bit of a scatterbrain," He laughed, reaching up with one hand to gently guide Keith farther away from him. Once there was enough of space between them, he ducked down and away from Keith completely, dusting his robes off a bit. Then, he offered a smile and indicated they follow him with two arms. "Come with me and I'll tell you what you want to know."

“Maybe we could start with something simple to break the ice, like your name?” Keith prompted, calling his bayard back to himself.

"Oh, yeah! Sorry, dude," He laughed again, still as jovial as before. If he weren’t still so frustrated Keith might appreciate how unfazed the other was by being accosted. "I used to be called Divus the 33rd, but that just wasn't me. I felt like I was just, like, a cog in the machine. You know what I mean, man? So I picked a new name for myself! Get to be called Sudiv now!” He boasted excitedly as they began following him past the trees he’d been lurking in.

Pidge stared at him, blinking slowly, before shaking her head with a furrowed brow. "Isn't that just-?"

"Pidge, stop," He said, holding a hand up at her. The last thing he wanted to risk was pointing out the obvious and the whole situation getting derailed again. "Your father and the rest of your village think you've been dead for quite a while."

"That was an intentional decision," A smooth, composed voice chimed in behind Suvid. "Fucking idiots!" A more high-pitched voice shrieked afterwards.

The figure that stepped out was somewhat similar to the Sinturians, though the exoskeleton was a dark green coloration, their eyes were more oval-esque in shape with small black pupils, and two sets of legs, as opposed to the twin set of arms of the others. Additionally, they lacked the antennae of the others, though they did have the small tusks at the corners of their mouth. They wandered a bit closer and it was then the two of them could see a tail swaying behind them, with a large orb at the very tip. The orb was the same color as the rest of the exoskeleton, but there were two vertical slits that were glowing bright yellow, and a white zigzagging pattern just an inch or two below them.

Suvid perked up and smiled as he turned to face the. "Juel!" He said happily, holding out both of his arms to them. They smiled gently at him, holding their own hands up and allowing them to be held in both of Sudis’. Then, seeming to remember what was happening, he turned and looked at the two Paladins again. "Oh, yeah! So, strange dudes, allow me to introduce you to Juel! Juel here is my better half! Juel, these are some strange dudes that totally wrecked our security system."

Juel blinked, clearly surprised, before they seemed to compose themselves again. "That is rather unfortunate," They said. Their tail poked up suddenly, the orb hovering over their shoulder, seeming to stare at the two humans. "Are you kidding me? Do you fucking dullards have any idea how long it took to build that thing? What the actual fuck?"

"Um... Uh...?" Pidge trailed, looking from the furious talking tail to Suvid in hopes of getting some clarification. Keith himself cocked his head a bit, stunned to find that the white zigzags were the lines of the tail entities mouth.

Suvid cast a clearly affectionate glance at his associate. "Juel is a Gulabulo, hence her smaller side," He indicated her tail at the statement. He reached out with one hand and gently smoothed one hand over it, causing the eyes of the thing to close and the zigzags turning upward in a strange sort of smile. "For Gulabulos, their tails are a sort of secondary brain that helps filter out negative thoughts or desires to, like, help maintain peace and junk."

Juel smiled herself and chuckled a bit. "It is more meant as a means to keep us honest. The smaller sides of us are meant to help voice our honest opinions and thoughts, though they certainly put it much more crassly than we would say ourselves," She said calmly. The tail entity didn’t speak up this time, instead seeming content to just observe how things continued to progress. Juel’s attention returned to Suvid, growing a bit more serious again. "Now, Suvid, we should discuss getting the security system repaired immediately. Having it down for extended periods of time is not something we are prepared to allow."

Pidge held one hand up. "I can help with that, if you want. I mean, I was the one who broke it and all,"

Juel nodded her head. "It would be appreciated," She said. The tail mind turned to look at Pidge. "Especially considering you broke it, ya little shit!"

Suvis suddenly clapped his upper pair of hands together, as if a thought had just occurred to him. "Oh! So, like, who are you strange dudes? And, like, why are you out here?" He asked.

Keith took a deep breath in, grateful to finally be getting back on track again. "I'm Keith, and this is Pidge. We're the Black and Green Paladins of Voltron, respectively,"

"Voltron? We have not heard that name in many decaphoebs," Juel said, tilting her head. "Why are you wearing red, then, ass clown?" Tail chimed in angrily.

"Because red looks better on him," Pidge barked back with a glare. Suvid nodded sagely at that response, as if it made absolute sense.

"Regardless, what brings you Paladins to our planet?" Juel asked. "That's a pretty shit reason!"

"Another Paladin has been infected with a venom and needs an antidote. We were told we could find what we need to make it here," Keith said.

Suvid perked up again. "Oh, are you looking for vuque root? That stuff can cure, like, almost anything!” He said excitedly. “We've got stores of that in our village! It’s, like, one of the main things we grow and stuff! We can, like, totally give you the hook up, dudes!"

"Sounds great, dude," Pidge drawled blandly, going so far as to hold one hand up and make some kind of hand gesture Keith had seen in some old surfing movie. She fell in line with Suvid as he resumed guiding them to the village. "So, in regards to fixing your security system..."

Once there was a small breath of space between them, Juel began walking again. Seeing as Pidge was chatting up Suvid, he figured he’d take a swing at getting more information out of Juel. She seemed to be the more mature of the pair, anyway."So, this village..."

"It is a sanctuary for both Gulabulo and Sinturians who wish to live free of their respective societal pressures," Juel said simply. Her tail had lowered slightly to begin observing the forest around them. It must partially be a defense mechanism, he realized. "You see, Gulabulon society believes that the smaller self is the truest self and is the self to be believed most. But, it is more than that. The smaller self is a part of each of us, the same as how we choose to be seen. Both sides must be respected and obeyed in order for a Gulabulon to know true peace." She explained, her tone growing slightly bitter as she explained. One of her hands clenched into a fist around the soft fabrics of the robe-like outfit she was wearing. "Our leaders decided not to believe such things any longer, and instead only believe and trust the thoughts expressed by the smaller self.."

Keith hummed and nodded, understanding where Juel was coming from. "And Sinturians?"

"They are stunted by their leader’s refusal to acknowledge that not all old beliefs are beneficial and meant to be maintained as the needs of the society change," She said, growing a bit more even. She then glanced back up, looking at Suvid’s back. The soft look she’d warned before, when she’d first approached them, returned. "At least, that is how Sudiv has described the situation to me. He tends to be very… Blase about how he words things, though, so that could be an incredible oversimplification.”

"So the two of you decided to make your own society?"

Juel giggled and nodded. "I was skeptical at first, myself. He may not look it from how he presents himself, but once you get to know him, Suvid is quite the remarkable sort. He is an incredibly thoughtful,  compassionate leader who will do all that he can to help foster the success of others. He cares much for the happiness and best interests of others, even if he does occasionally come off as a bit... Flighty," She admitted. Her tail suddenly shot back upright. "He's such a fucking airhead though!"

He hummed quietly and nodded again, looking at her curiously. "So are the two of you...?"

"I love him. Dearly and truly, more than I have ever loved another in my time," She said with a soft, contented sigh. "And if that means I must live away from my own kind, pretending to be a phantom in the wind, that is a sacrifice I am willing to make.”

“But what would happen if things between the two of you fell apart? I mean, couldn’t that hinder your ability to lead together?” He asked worriedly.

“We are open and transparent with each other, and understand that we have a duty to those that follow us. We can be in love but also understand the importance of our roles,” She said patiently. She shifted to look at him with curiosity of her own. “Are you asking these questions out of curiosity, or to seek counsel on a situation in your own life?”

He paused and stared at Juel for a moment, then looking over at Pidge’s back. He couldn’t help but wonder if maybe he had taken the wrong approach. After all, Lance and Allura had taken their relationship to a romantic level and there hadn’t been any negative fallout regarding their teamwork. Could it be possible for it to work out for he and Pidge as well?

[hiuythn]

hell yeah

just for this i’m going to spoil you. just a little

“You know I’m going to find out about it sooner or later. Might as well just tell me now before I figure it out and blurt it in the middle of a debrief or something.”

Lance winces.

“Yeah, exactly. No one wants that,” says Hunk. “Spill.”

Lance chews on his lip. He shrugs, stiff. “I—really hoped that it would be her.”

Hunk hums, encouraging.

“She’s…amazing, and I—”

Allura, standing in the middle of the dais. Chin raised, eyes bright and certain, as if the loss of everything she had known didn’t just happen a day ago for her. As if she wasn’t Atlas, the universe on her shoulders, the future in her palms.

“I thought that if I was hers, then it’d mean that I wasn’t—lacking, this time.”

Keith, jaw set, arms crossed and leaning against a wall. Self-assurance in the lines of his body that wasn’t there before, back when he was fourteen, fifteen, sixteen and running from everything. The desert had forged him anew.

Looking at them both makes all the parts Lance doesn’t like about himself so much more glaring.

He says, “Just this once, I wanted to be enough.”

“What—you are enough,” Hunk says. “Lance, what—”

“I just thought,” Lance continues, “that if Princess Allura of Altea was my soulmate, then it wouldn’t hurt as much that he wasn’t.”

Hunk freezes. “…He.”

“It doesn’t make any sense. It doesn’t—” Lance swallows. “I was always one step behind. Shouldn’t that—shouldn’t that mean that we were almost equals? Shouldn’t it mean I could’ve been enough for him?”

“Shit,” says Hunk. “Ah, shit. Keith.”

“Keith,” Lance agrees, with a laugh. He rubs his hand over his face. “I don’t get it. What’s the difference? How is he always better than me? Why am I never enough—”

“Lance? Hunk?”

Lance’s teeth snap closed. He whirls around, pulse hammering in his throat.

“Shiro,” he says. “What—hi. What are you doing here?”

that’s part of chapter 2, babes!!!!

[dammitadolfnomorecake]

Caramel Skin Under A Purple Rain prt 7 full draft

Skipping the debrief on Daibazaal, Keith found the return wormhole his mother had opened for him, his team and the recruits took them straight to the outpost instead of home. For a milli-tick, his heart gave an uncomfortable thunk as he entertained the idea of running. It'd been no lie when he said he didn't know what to do about Lance. His husband had told him to leave last time he was there, leaving him feeling annoyed that they'd reached no clear solution on anything. Returning to Daibazaal, he'd talked out things with his mother, his and Lance's fears of the fallout, yet the coalition was still pressing ahead with the festivities and award ceremony, the only difference now was this whole team were being recognised for their work. He wasn't ready to face Lance, scared his presence would send Lance deeper into his flunk instead of supporting him. Being away he'd given it some real thought. Like losing Red, Lance had lost the support system he'd found in illicit drugs. And like with Red, Keith hadn't been there leaving everyone else to take the brunt of Lance withdrawal. They'd planned for him to be there. Lance had wanted him to be there because he knew he couldn't trust his choices. Withdrawal the first time around had been awful, the memories still vivid if he gave himself the opportunity to think of them. Again, like with Red, the drugs had supported Lance for years... there was little wonder his husband was still trying to find his feet again, especially when the one person who was supposed to be at his side wasn't. This whole year had been nothing like Keith wanted. Perhaps the only good thing was that his mother was indeed pregnant, and he was going to be a big brother in roughly 4 and a half more phoebs.

  Landing his ship in the "staff" area of parking, near the Telula, Daehra's pod, Zak and Tobias small new ship, and three other ships he didn't recognise, Keith climbed to his feet finding the recruits all staring at him in confusion. Right. He had people with him

"Thanks to Krolia, we're taking a small side vacation at... my husband's outpost. You should probably know that almost all the patrons here are experienced bounty hunters, who don't like Galra and also don't like the Blades. No weapons are to be taken into the outpost, nor is this any kind of training mission. That means no climbing in the vents. No recovering weaponry. No scavenging. No setting fires. No matter what anyone says about your heritage, you need to ignore it. Lance won't tolerate rudeness in his outpost, so even if you don't see him or the staff acting immediately, know that the incident hasn't gone unnoticed. There are also surveillance cameras in every location except the bathrooms and bedrooms. There are weapons for buy and trade, so don't be overly worried and most of the people you meet will be armed. If worst comes to worst, the bar has a weapons cache. I don't know why my mother decided you all needed to come home with me, but Shiro from the Atlas will also be here. Let's head down. The front door is kind of hard to miss"

  Letting the recruits walk ahead, Keith found himself cornered by his team. Zethrid with a tight hold on his arm as Acxa frowned at him

"What's going on? You said Lance was ill again, so why are we all here?"

"You know as much as I do. I have no idea why Krolia sent us out here"

"I doubt your mother..."

"Acxa, I don't know. And I wouldn't put anything past Krolia. She must have thought it bad if she sent us right here"

"Do you think he came down with that flu again?"

"No... but I'm worried enough without jumping to conclusions. Shiro wasn't happy"

"Is there anything we can do?"

Wrapping him a weird hug from behind, Zethrid nodded

"We care about the little guy. He's been pretty sick this year. Maybe we should take him back to Daibazaal and get him some real medical attention"

"He's alright... He's tougher than he looks"

Ignoring Ezor, Acxa hugged him from the front in some weird sandwich

"We know it's hard on you. But you can talk to us all"

Hugging Acxa back, Keith sighed

"I know. I honestly don't know what's going on though. He had an appointment on Altea as a follow up, and for some reason thought I was going to be there. Maybe it's because the outpost runs fast? Now I find out he's been sick since I last left and hiding it again. We didn't even get to talk properly last time because he was sick... Being married is a lot harder than people make it out to be"

"I know he has his job, and his issues, but you really should think about bringing him to Daibazaal. Even if it's just for a few quintants and medical checkup..."

"Shiro made it sound like he's too fragile for that. Every time I think about they did to him, I want to hunt them all down and slaughter them. This coalition bullshit couldn't have come at worse time. They fucking tortured him, gave brain damage, cut his finger off, left him having fucking seizures and now the coalition wants to put a shiny little medal over the top of it all... I'm sorry, I shouldn't be venting like this"

"We're your friends. Plus, mami said we're part of the family so we have to look out for our little brother"

 Watching as one of the recruits managed to walk into the automatic front door of the outpost, Keith sighed

"And the recruits. Apparently we can add "not knowing how to work a door to their failings""

"They are rather worrisome"

"We'd better head in there"

   Keith did a double take as he walked into the bar room. Behind the bar was Shiro, looking as if he ran the place, with Pidge looking... out of place... No... they were both out of place. Why were they even here?

"Keith! It's about time you showed up! Hunk! Keith's here!"

Hunk was here too... Now Keith was starting to wonder if maybe that wormhole had sent them all to some parallel reality. Cautiously walking over to his brother, Hunk popped his head out from the storage room closest to the till

"Hey, man! This is a pretty nice place you've got here"

Ducking back away into the room, Keith was even more confused

"Shiro. What the fuck is going here?"

Scratching the back of his head with his robotic hand, his older brother looked somewhat sheepish

"I borrowed a few people..."

"I can see that, but why?!"

"Well days are longer here, and with Allura day in two quintants outpost time, we decided to make a bit of a holiday of it before hand"

  "Allura day isn't until the end of the month"

"Don't worry, I thought I had more month in my month too. Seeing Pidge had already landed on Altea, I invited her out here, and borrowed Hunk for a quintants. I'm taking it Krolia didn't bother giving you a heads up?"

"No! As far as I know I was coming home to see Lance"

Pidge snorted

"Good luck with that one. Shiro's got him on bed rest, and he's the only one allowed to visit. He invites us out to hang out, then Lance isn't even up for it. Still, it's nice to finally be invited to see where you call home"

Keith's knees went wobbly. Acxa taking his arm

"Shiro, why don't you and Keith go visit Lance. Where's Lucteal or Daehra?"

"Lucteal's grabbing another crate of beer from the cool room. Daehra was picking up orders from the kitchen... Hunk and Tobias have been discussing cooking pretty much since Hunk walked into the kitchen and saw him using "the wrong" knife". Lance is in your room if you're ready to head down there"

Was he ready to see his husband? It felt weird that there friends had suddenly invaded their outpost like it was nothing. As far as he knew it was the first time Shiro, Hunk and Pidge had visited... plus the recruits... and wow... they were terrible home owners. Practically none of their friends or family had been invited to visit in the 5 is phoebs since they left Earth...

  Following Shiro through to the main connecting hallway for the outpost, Keith was finding his feet fascinating. He wasn't sure what Lance had told his brother, or what any of this was about

"Keith, it's going to be fine. Lance is still a bit out of it, but we've talked"

"Talked about what? I don't even know what's going on"

Pausing mid-step, Shiro turned back to him

"Lance had to have a scan on Altea, he was worried that it was caused from coming off that yellow pain killer..."

Reaching into his pocket, the older man pulled out Lance's comms. Tapping on the screen, he opened the conversation thread between them and handed it over

"He was pretty panicked that something was seriously wrong with him, so when you didn't show up, he went to the worst case scenario. I told him you were on a mission, but he insisted you promised that you'd be there... as you can see, your confirmed you will be. I don't know how it happened. If there was some kind of message glitch or delay or scramble, but this scan was really important to him. We've talked a lot, as much he could at any rate. His nightmares have really knocked him around the last few days, yesterday he stopped talking all together. I put him in the bath, because he was having trouble... with everything. He managed to forget who I was last night, so all I can say is you'll need to take it slow"

"He forgot who you were?"

"He came out a panic attack in a daze and has been hazy since"

If the scan results were positive, why was Lance acting like he was? His scans had to have been alright, or Shiro would have told him right away

"Did they say anything on Altea? Was any reason that he was trigger so badly there?"

"You're best off talking to him about that, then coming to talk to me about it. He knows everyone's here, but he's not going too great on verbal responses... oh, here. Take this. Talk to Lance before you open it"

Fishing a small envelope out his back pocket, it only served to make him more confused

"What is it?"

"Photos..."

Photos? Photos of what? And why wasn't he the first to know what was going on? Lance hadn't messaged him again. Shiro was acting shady. Apparently there was some kind of reunion happening that he knew nothing about... and he was still to tell Shiro and Lance that he was going to be a big brother...

"Keith?"

"Just what the quiznak is going on..."

"Talk to Lance. Here him out. Come on, he's probably wondering where you are"

  Watching Shiro let himself into what was supposed to be his and Lance's room, the bed was a mess. Clothes had been laid over the back of a chair carried in from the bar

"Sorry. I've been sleeping here. Lance hasn't been sleeping well without someone around"

Keith's possessive side flared. This was his and Lance's sanctuary. Their bed. Their blankets...

"Don't give me that look. Lance wanted your side because it smelt of you, and I've been trying to sleep on the edge of his side. Plenty of space between us"

"I'm being a dick, aren't I?"

"You should know I'm not going to make a move on you husband. You should also remember you're the one who told him to come to me"

"I know... But everyone is telling me I'm being... I'm not doing this right. It's been 5ish phoebs for me. I'm still trying to adjust to my new role. Mums pregnant. Lance is sick. You're all telling me to do better with him, but how am I supposed to be doing better when apparently I'm breaking promises I don't remember making. He's upset every time I leave. I don't even have to be out the outpost and he's upset. He's not coping. And I'm so sick of only being able to come home because something's happened to him. It's like... I don't get to come back otherwise. I want to spend time with my husband when things aren't going go right. I want to come home when he doesn't need me to look after him all the time. I thought we'd be able to make this work. He said he supported me still needing my job, but the last time I was home he thought I was going to dump him... He's off the pills but his mental health is going backwards... One dobosh he's shutting me out, and the next I'm stuffing up... and I don't want to keep stuffing up. All I want is to take time off, but this coalition thing and Allura day. I forgot it was so close... He's probably thinking about her constantly..."

"Keith, I can promise you that Allura is the last thing on his mind. And everything you said, he feels much the same. He wants to go away with you. Spend time one on one with you. Travel with you, but he also wants to respect you and your choices. He's talked to his therapist yesterday. They want him to come in for an appointment, but he's not comfortable with that. He said he wanted to talk to you before making any decisions"

Keith wiped at his eyes

"He's given me authority over everything medical and legal he could... on Erathus, Earth and Altea... and Daibazaal too I suppose. What has Daehra said about his condition?"

"He hasn't talked with her about it. It's been mostly chronic fatigue. Again, he wanted to talk to you. I don't think he would have opened up to me if he wasn't feeling guilty over giving me a call"

"He's good at that guilt thing... even over shit he's got no control over. I wish we could go back to how it was on Earth... even before that. When I could blow off work because I was still technically on a mission while not at the same time..."

"We won't be leaving for a while yet. Curtis is going to pick us all up with the Atlas then wormhole to Altea. So we don't have to leave until the last dobosh. Don't forget, Patience..."

Wiping his eyes again, Keith shot Shiro a watery smile

"Yields focus"

"Exactly. Let's go see your husband"

    Lance was in their bathtub with his knees up against his chest. A trail of water leading from the bath to the toilet, and the lack of remaining bubbles would indicate Lance had been there a while. Not looking up at them, Lance's gaze seemed fixed on the wall across from the bath. Walking over to the bath, Shiro squatted down, placing his human hand on Lance's shoulder who didn't even seem to register it

"Lance. It's Shiro.  Keith's here. It's time to get out the bath now, buddy. You with me?"

Turning in his direction, Keith got his first proper look at Lance's face. His husband's normally warm and golden skin seemed washed out. His eyes barely open, with deep bags beneath them. As Lance's lip trembled, he hid his face in his hands

"I'm sorry..."

"Shhh. Enough of that. We've talked about it. I'm going to leave Keith to help you out the ba..."

  Climbing out the bath, Lance didn't seem to care he was naked as he rushed to the toilet, heaving wetly as Shiro grabbed his towel with a sigh. Pushing the towel into his hand, his brother jerked his head in Lance's direction

"Talk to him. I'll be in the bar"

"I will..."

He wasn't going to turn his back on his husband, not when Lance was clearly ill. Carrying the towel over, he wrapped it around Lance's naked form

"Hey, babe. I'm home... Wanna tell me what's going on?"

Lance seemed to stick himself further in the toilet, trying to vomit when nothing was coming up. Positioning himself behind Lance, he pulled him back and into his lap, a hand going to his husband's forehead as checked for signs of fever. Keith wasn't sure if he was relieved or not to find Lance fever free

"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..."

"Babe, I don't know what you're apologising for"

"I... had it all planned. All of it... You were supposed to be there... we were supposed to be there together..."

"Where?  At the scan? Shiro showed me your comms, but babe, I swear I don't remember sending those messages... What happened? What are these photos? Why wouldn't Shiro give me a clear answer?"

Lance sniffled

"I... wanted you to be the first to know... together... I wanted to do it together...but Shiro had to be there wh..."

Launching forward, Lance threw up little more than spit

"How long have you been throwing up like this?"

Holding up 1 finger, Lance wretched again

"1 what? Movement?"

Giving him the thumbs up, Keith dragged him back out the toilet again

"You've got nothing left in your stomach to throw up"

"I know... oh, Dios... it wasn't supposed to be like this"

Placing both hands on his stomach, Lance squeezed his eyes shut. His scent was overly sweet, not pained yet not what it usually was

"Babe?"

"I need you... I can't... can you help me to bed?"

Sliding his arm under Lance's legs, Lance wrapped his arms around him allowing himself to be lifted

"I don't understand what's wrong with you... Shiro said the scan went well"

"I'll tell you when I'm laying down... I'm just... so sorry"

That wasn't comforting at all. What did Lance have to be sorry for? Had something happened before the scan? Or was there something more to the scan that wasn't alright?

  Laying Lance down, Keith moving automatically to dry him down with the towel. His husband whimpering away from him when he got too close to his stomach and head. It looked as if there fresh scars on Lance's inner thighs, but Keith couldn't be completely sure

"I need clothes... the others are here..."

Pulled from staring at Lance's slim frame, Keith shook his head

"You need sleep. And something for the nausea"

"The nauses's here to stay..."

"What does that mean?"

Lance sighed softly, rolling away from him

"It means you're... it means I... I'm sorry, Keith. You mean the whole to me... and I had it planned... how it was supposed to go... you were supposed to be here... you missed it... you missed it..."

Covering his face, Lance curled into himself as he started sobbing softly

"I was on a training mission. I told you, and I told you to put it up on our calendar"

"You were supposed to be there... you promised... you promised..."

Running his fingers down Lance's back, goosebumps erupted under his fingertips, Lance had dissolved into repeating "you promised" as he cried

"I don't know what happened, but I never saw those messages and I never replied... I would have been there... if you'd messaged mum or Shiro, they would have told you... I couldn't be there. Or you could have booked another time... I can't understand if you're going to lay there and cry instead of talking to me"

Lance shifted from his touch

"Under the bed... there's a box under the bed..."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

Literally he was right there. Lance could open his mouth and tell him what was wrong. Shiro could tell him what wrong. Why were they now playing this game? Pulling the blankets over his head, Lance cried harder

"Lance, stop ignoring me and tell me what's going on"

"Look under the bed!"

"Why?!"

"Because I'm too fucking scared to say it out loud! Because once I do, you're going to leave me!"

  Growling in annoyance, Keith climbed off the bed in order to find the box under their bed. There wasn't a whole lot of space under there, but there was a long thin box

"For quiznak sake! I'm not going to leave you! Now tell me what's in here before I open it!"

"I can't! I'm fucking scared...!"

Hurling the box at the wall separating their room from the bathroom, the contents of the box spilling as the lid came off, 5 white sticks with different coloured tips scattering on the floor. Furious, he stalked over snatching up the closest two sticks

"What are these? Are you shooting up again?! Is that why you're sick!? I thought you were done with that!"

"They're not drugs!"

Confused, Keith moved the red capped stick thing so the cap was laying next to the blue one. Rolling them over to face up, he stared at the them with his brow drawn. It took half a dozen attempts to read above the weird double lined window thing. "Pregnancy test"... and it said the other thing on the same one... which was...

  Keith's hands started shaking so badly he nearly dropped the tests

"Babe... babe... is this what I think it is? Lance... are you trying to tell me? Are you? When? How... are you sure? You're not serious are you?"

His mum was pregnant... She was having a baby... Not them... How? Wasn't Lance taking birth control? He used to take birth control... and why hadn't he thought of a condom? Right... right, he was horny as hell. Thinking with his dick and his heart not his brain... But how...? This couldn't be real... He couldn't be a dad... How did one "dad"?... a baby... them?

"Lance. Answer me. What is this?"

Having moved from his side of their bed to Keith's, Lance was right up against the pillows

"I'm sorry! It must have happened during my heat... I don't... I don't know... I wasn't thinking straight... I planned to find out for sure with you at the scan..."

 Shiro had been there. Shiro had known before him... about their baby... Taking a few shaky steps he sank down on the edge of the bed. They were having a baby. He and Lance were having a baby... it wasn't planned... but aside from the sick feeling of shock... something akin to happiness was welling inside of him. A baby...

  "I'm so sorry... I was so scared to tell you... I knew you wouldn't want this. I didn't mean this to happen. You promised to be there... and we were going to find out... together..."

"We're having a baby... how... How can I not be happy?"

"You didn't smell happy"

"I'm in shock. I... I mean, we knew it could happen but I didn't think you were off your contraceptives"

"They were a daily pill!"

"I thought maybe injections... I didn't think you'd go off them. Not with all these strangers in and out the bar"

"You think I'd sleep around?!"

How was he saying all the wrong things?

"No! I think too many people have their eyes on you"

"So you don't think I'm faithful? You don't think this... that you could be the father?"

"Babe, don't put words in my mouth. I'm trying to understand..."

"Your dick knocked me up. What else is there to know...?"

"I... how long have you known?"

"A movement and bit... I... I didn't know if it was true... I didn't know if I could carry... I lost... I lost the first one... I don't know if my body can carry properly. I don't want you to get your hopes up... because I might ruin this like everything else I do... I wanted you to be the first one to know... I'm so sorry"

  Leaving his boots on, Keith climbed in under the blankets on Lance's side. It smelt far too much like Shiro. Reaching out, he wrapped his arm around Lance's waist to pull him tight up against him

"Stop apologising"

"Why? You hate me, don't you? I got pregnant. I should have told you use a condom... I shouldn't have let you stay..."

"Don't you want the baby?"

"I don't know what I want!"

"I promised to spend your heat with you. We knew it was a possibility... I know you went off the drugs, but I never knew you meant your contraceptives too..."

"You're just as much to blame as I am!"

"Why are you yelling at me?!"

"Because I'm pregnant and I don't know what to do! It's in me Keith. Growing in me! Something I didn't... it's..."

Is that what it came down to? Lance didn't want their baby because he'd fallen pregnant accidentally

"Another thing you didn't want in your body?"

"Yes?! No! I don't know. That's what makes it so hard!"

"You don't want it... I see..."

Releasing Lance. Keith climbed back out of their bed, angered by his husband. Why tell him if he was just going to run off and deal with it himself!? Why tell him if he was only going to reject him? Did Lance not want him now that he was getting a child out of it? Out of him? No... He was being cruel. Keith couldn't even imagine what Lance must be thinking, or feeling. Keith didn't even know what he was thinking or feeling... Other than sick and scared. Lance had been right though, the nausea was there to stay, at least initially... A baby... they were having a baby...

  "I never said that I didn't! I... I don't know what I want!"

"It's our baby..."

"I know..."

"I don't know what to say..."

"I don't either... I'm fucking scared Keith. I'm scare and if you're scared, then you should say so... Maybe you should talk to Shiro? He seemed more excited about it than you are"

Keith didn't know how most people reacted to their partner being pregnant. He as excited. Nervous. Scared. Terrified. Proud... all at the same time

"I'm not not excited. You're the one who keeps apologising"

"This isn't working. We're going around in circles. I told you how I feel... now you need to think about what you want and what you want from us"

"I love you. You know that, don't you?"

"I do... but I don't know if you love them"

  How was he supposed to love someone he hadn't met. Someone who's existence he'd only just learned of... In his heart, he wanted this baby. He'd thought as much when Lance was in heat. All the what ifs as he rubbed the tiny bulge of Lance's stomach from where he'd filled his lover over and over... Lance should have told him though. That he wasn't on contraceptives. That it wasn't safe to be having unprotected sex...

"I think I'm going to go talk to Shiro..."

His husband was still crying, not responding other than to cry harder. Stress couldn't be good for the baby or for Lance's seizures and all he was doing was adding more stress due to his head being a muddled mess. He couldn't do this... He didn't know the first thing about being a father. He couldn't promise his kid he wouldn't die on a mission... and what would his mother say? She was pregnant... how could he tell her that his very male husband was very much pregnant?

     *

Finding Shiro in the bar, his older brother led him back from the space before he started drawing attention to himself. Leading him away from the main floor and up the smaller second floor control room, Shiro pushed him to sit, the paper of the envelop rubbing against his back and reminding him he still had the scan photos. Taking the envelope from his pocket, his hands were shaking uncontrollably as he slid the prints from the envelope, deep purple eyes filling with tears at the blobs on the scan as he let out a broken sob. Nearly scrunching the prints he brought his cupped hands to his forehead as everything became a hundred times realer. They were having a baby.

  Crouching down in front of him, Shiro took the prints from his hands

"Keith...?"

"He's pregnant"

"Yeah... How are you doing?"

"I... I don't know!"

Setting the prints aside, Shiro pulled him down so that he kneeling between his brother's legs, Shiro ending up sitting on the floor to hold him as he cried

"He doesn't want the baby!"

"Shhhh... shhh... Is that what he said?"

"He kept apologising... and he doesn't know... he said he doesn't know... he should have told me! He should have told me he didn't have contraceptives in his system! He hates me for getting him pregnant!"

Rubbing his back, Shiro continued to hush him softly. Not that Keith could calm down now that the dam had broken

"You knew it was a possibility?"

"Allura changed his body to be more compatible with mine! She did this... she changed him inside... and now he doesn't want our baby inside of him... he wants them gone! Why tell me if he wants it gone!?"

"Keith, you need to calm down for me and listen to me right now. Lance wants this. He's scared and confused. But he told me himself... He convinced himself that you'd be angry at him for falling pregnant when you're working so hard as it is... He wants to want this baby, and he wants you to want this baby, but he doesn't want you feel like you don't have options"

"He didn't sound like he wanted it. He made it sound like it... like it was the first time all over again... like I forced him to get pregnant..."

"What do you mean the first time?"

Emotionally shattered, Keith's mouth had no filter

"He got pregnant when they raped him... and he lost it... he had it... beaten out of him... He was so scared to tell me... but if he's comparing me to them than doesn't that make me the same? Doesn't that make... me a monster like them!?"

Swearing softly, Shiro hugged him tighter

"No. No it doesn't. He knows how much you love him. He knows it. He's been agonising over how to tell you. It tore him to shreds that you weren't there to find out with him. But he's about 6 movements along. Both bubs are doing just fine..."

"B-both?"

"Ah... yeah. It's twins according to the scan"

"Twins..."

  Suddenly he couldn't catch his breath. Everything surrounding him drowned out by his racing heart. Twins. As in two. As in Lance was pregnant with twins. Two tiny people...

"Oh god... oh god. I can't do this! I can't be father. I don't know how to be a father. What do I do? I only just found out mums pregnant. Now Lance is pregnant. How am I supposed to help both of them?! What if something goes wrong? He's going to have to quit work. I can't quit work. I can't. Mum needs me... I can't...

"Keith. Keith, listen to my voice. You're having a panic attack. I need you to focus on me... ok?"

"He's having twins... Does he want them? Can he carry them? What if... what if something wrong with them, from the drugs? What if he loses them? He's not well... I never should have let him buy this place... I never should have... we don't see each other. How am I supposed to be a dad if I'm never home? How am I supposed to go on missions? What if I don't come home? Our kids can't end up in the system Shiro... oh god... what if... what if he dies... what if they die"

  Pushing him back, Shiro cupped his face. Keith unable to focus through the blur off his tears

"Keith. You need to breathe. Come on. In through your nose for me..."

"He can't die!"

"Lance isn't going to die. We're going to get him the best medical attention and advice we can. You're going to be a father, and your husband needs you right now, so you need to calm your breathing for me. That's what you and Lance do isn't it, here, put your hand on my chest and breathe with me"

  An eternity and a half passed until Keith finally brought his breathing back under control. Or at least, it felt that long. Collapsing against his brother, he felt boneless and cold

"Lance wants these twins. He wants you and a family. It might have been accidental and over sight on the protection thing which you're both responsible for, but that doesn't change the fact that you're both going to be parents"

"He kept apologising"

"Because he's scared. He's been screaming Klearo's name in his sleep, I guess I understand why now. Why did neither of you tell me about this?"

"About what Allura did? How she changed his body? We don't have answers. Coran has theories that he can't control the extra quintessence he received from Allura so couldn't change his body back. Lance has a theory that this was her gift because she knew how badly he wanted a family of his own and with us both being male she didn't understand the whole adoption thing... Whatever it is, it makes his scent really appealing to Galra. I can feel his... smell his emotions in his scent. I can tell what he's feeling without having to ask... He's so ashamed of his body"

"He... he asked me if I thought he was a clone or if he was in his real body. He said it didn't feel like his body and hadn't since he came back"

"He died... he fucking died and thinks he came back wrong. He had fucking nightmares for phoebs about being trapped on the astral plane. Then... then he lost Allura... We... we think she gave him some of her quintessence to also keep him stable and alive. Like the power source for your arm... maybe that's what anchors your soul now? The only person who held any answers was Allura and she's gone..."

"That's a lot"

"I want to be happy about this baby, but I'm scared"

"He feels exactly the same. He's waiting for your permission on how to feel"

"We tried to talk... but it's so much... dad died before... well... you're the closest thing I had to a dad... I don't know how you did it. How you took me in... I don't know if I can make medical choices for... for the three of them... I can't... I can't choose them over him and he might never forgive me if I do... and what about his seizures, Shiro? He won't be able to be left alone"

"Seizures?"

Right... he didn't know what Shiro knew or didn't know...

"They're... from the brain injury... we thought they were from abusing drugs, but... apparently on Erathus they said it was from a traumatic brain injury... I just want to rest... I want to take him away... but now he's pregnant... he won't stop this. He won't stop work... and he's going to be worried about the others knowing. Worried about telling his family. What if it all falls apart because I couldn't control my dick?"

  Shiro snorted at his ending sentence

"I can't do much, and I can't say I fully understand anything going on with his body. But I've seen that look in his eyes before. I know it well. He's given up on himself. It's not that he wants to die, but if he was about to be hit by a car, he wouldn't be moving to get out of the way. What he needs is to hear that you want these twins. That's what's going to calm him down and bring him back. I know he's excited. He told me he was excited before he started over thinking what you were going to think"

  Keith drew in a shaky breath

"I'm scared, Shiro"

"That's alright"

"Mum's pregnant too..."

"I'll have to congratulate her. Did you tell Lance?"

"We just fought... he said he was going to sleep"

"He needs it. You're going to be a great dad, Keith"

"W-was he really... ok?"

"Yeah. Exhausted, emotionally exhausted, and scared. But nothing wrong with both babies"

"Two of them... I didn't know if my sperm would even take, being part Galra and all... God..."

"He's only 6 weeks in. So you have some time before you tell anyone"

He couldn't tell people before hand?

"We do?"

"Most miscarriages happen before 12 weeks. Most of the time it passes in a period before most women know they're pregnant... or men..."

"I didn't think to ask him about his period... I was mad over him being right..."

"That wouldn't the first time that happened... Keith it's ok to be excited, and if you're excited, I think you should tell Lance. Be honest with him"

"I just tried to do that. He's convinced I'm angry... maybe I am... but he's just told me. I don't know what to do! I... think I really want this, but the only real family experience I have that's been any good is that time with you, and Christmas... two babies... he's having twins!"

"You're both having twins. It takes two... I really don't understand how this happened, and honestly I'm kind of hurt you left me on the outside of something like this... but it's already done, and now you really should go back to Lance. Don't forget, he can't understand if you don't talk to him, and you can't understand if you don't question him. You can do this. You both can. You're going to be amazing parents. You know what shouldn't be done... I hate that you know, but you do. And neither of you are alone. I won't tell anyone, this is your news to share when you're ready. So go back to your husband"

Shiro's moved his hand from his back, Keith could hear the ruffling of paper before the scan prints were pushed back into his hand

"You've got this kiddo"

"Thank you, Shiro... Thank you for being here for him... and for staying... and going to pick him up... and just... thank you... I'm sorry... I'm not used to him letting people into our space..."

"Lance said as much. If it helps, hands were above the blanket, all I did was help him bath and shower... He... had an accident during a nightmare. That's the most hands on I got"

He knew Shiro wouldn't go after his husband like that. He was happy with Curtis, and Lance had chosen to let Shiro into his tiny circle of trust. His instincts were furious, but his heart was relieved

"Shiro..."

"I changed the sheets and blankets, I don't think he remembers. I know his body and who touches him is a big thing for him. So if he asks you can be honest with him now"

"Lance... is really susceptible to scents. Even if he can't say it, he knows it's you... I need to go see him"

"Then get off of me already"

"I am... you're the hugging me"

Keith sniffled and wiped at his face, releasing Shiro

"Thank you..."

     *

Walking back to their bedroom, Keith broke from a slow walk to jogging, then running. Shiro had said it was alright to be happy and it'd dislodged the fear, allowing the happiness and excitement to bubble into his blood stream.  Maybe the twins weren't planned... and maybe their jobs were impossible... but they were going to be parents. He and Lance... were living a miracle.

  Reaching their room, Keith slammed his hand down on the hand pad. Slipping through the gap before the door opened fully. Still curled up on his side of their bed, Keith pulled the covers off and swept his husband up into his arms. Lance's tired eyes blinking at him in confusion. Smiling down at him, he spun around in a circle, Lance scrambling to clutch onto him

"Keith?"

"We're having a baby!"

It was ok to want this... it was ok to want these children...

"Keith? Wha..."

Leaning down, Keith nuzzled into his husband's face

"I'm sorry. I'm scared and I'm probably going to fuck things up over and over again... but I'm... I think I really want this for us..."

"You sounded so angry..."

"Confused... scared... confused... maybe angry, but babe... we made a baby..."

"We made two... Keith how is this supposed to work? Our marriage is barely working"

"I'll quit ahead of schedule. You can come stay with me on Daibazaal, and come on training missions and help me train the recruits. You're the best marksman I know... and it'll be safe because I won't let anyone hurt you. The others can run this place. We can comm the every day and I can there for your next scan... and we can see our twins together..."

"This wasn't the plan..."

"Babe, all the best things that have happened to us haven't been planned. The best thing that happened to me was marrying you, and we took movements to figure that one out.. so what if mum's pregnant? We can talk to her and work something out..."

"Krolia's pregnant?"

"Yep. She only just told me I'm going to be a big brother... and now I'm going to be a father too..."

  Sitting down their bed, Keith carefully man handled his husband so he was straddling his lap, his face in his hands

"I don't even know if I want this... this wasn't the plan... I don't know if I can carry to full term... I was so sure you'd hate me... and now you've come back and said it's all ok... I don't know what to feel... your anger hurt"

"I know... but... this is a lot. I thought you were on contraceptives... so I felt... I guess I felt betrayed that you didn't tell me you weren't... My instincts didn't like it, not with so many people attracted to you... I thought you'd still be on them, or some kind of injection because you have no idea what kind of people are coming and going from here. Though now that I think of it, you did say you didn't want to take anything... and your heat... all I could think about was swelling that stomach of yours with our child... so I don't know if I could have remembered to actually use a condom. With... with how you were apologising, I thought..."

Lance let out a miserable whimper

"You thought I'd slept with someone else"

"Not consensually... but babe, you can see why can't you? You kept saying I'd be mad. Shiro said you were basically non-responsive. You kept apologising and you... you hated the idea of being pregnant... even to me"

"I can't ask you to stop working... your mum is going to need you more than ever and this pregnancy... it's not going to be as long as normal..."

Keith scrunched his brow

"Why not?"

"My heat was... like 7 movements ago now for me... but 5 for you... that's.... when I'm 6 phoebs... it's only to be 4 for you... 40 weeks... I don't know the math but it's like... 25 weeks... your time before I'm due...the gap is so big. I don't want to leave here, but I'm pregnant... I don't know what to do..."

"We'll work it out. We'll work it out when you don't look so exhausted..."

Searching his face, Lance sniffled softly

"You've been crying... I'm sorry... I'm so scared of what this means for us... I'm so exhausted Keith... I'm so tired of having so many ups and downs... I miss being on my injections. I miss having energy... I miss going out and helping people... and now I have to leave here and I have no where to go"

  Parroting it back to Lance, Keith was confused... the only thing that had really changed is that his husband was pregnant... Lance was still Lance... so how did that equate to homelessness?

"You don't have nowhere to go..."

"I can't go back to Earth... mami... mami... Keith how can I tell my family!? I was born male! I'm not meant to be pregnant!"

Oh. Ah... it's been scary enough for Lance the first time, trying to tell his mother about his health issues... But now Keith felt confident enough to talk to Miriam and Jorge on even ground over Lance's health. Lance might to think he shouldn't legally make his own decisions or question them, but he was far more capable than he thought. He knew what he needed... thoooough, he did have the tendency to be swayed by others opinions too easily... In this case, his parents were going to be the least of his worries. No. Rachel was going to be the main issue in Keith's opinion... but then again... Veronica. Oh god... Lance might have a point. Veronica was going to kill him for knocking up her little brother... No. Nope. He couldn't go there. Lance needed to hear everything was going to be ok.

  "Mami and Jorge are going to love you just as much as they do right now... Shiro said he's not going to tell anyone. And I won't tell anyone until we're ready to do it together..."

"And what if I lose them? What if I can only get pregnant but can't carry? What if all..."

"Babe... I know nothing about being pregnant. Shiro just gave like the 2 dobosh talk about it... he said that miscarriages happen mostly before 12 weeks... we still have time to decide what we want to say to everyone... and to ensure things are ok with the three of you. I'm serious. I want you to come back to Daibazaal with me. We can spend the next phoeb together... Daehra and Lucteal will probably be able to sense your pregnancy... and I'm sure they wouldn't mind running things here. Or you can call in Th'al...?"

"I don't want to stop working... I've barely been able to keep up with work since you left... I'm so tired all the time... Shiro's had to look after me..."

"He told me. It should have been me... I swore to myself I wouldn't make you cry and it's all I do..."

"I didn't want to say it... because I don't want to hold you back... but I need you... I've needed you home for phoebs..."

 Yeah. And he'd needed Lance just as badly... They'd both held it in because it only served to hurt each other when they brushed against the topic

"I know you have... I never should have listened to mum and gone back to work so soon... I'm grateful Lucteal and Daehra were here... but I'm so fucking sick of only coming home when something is wrong or something happens. I want to take you away. I want to... go on missions with you. Your mission... not my boring ones..."

Lance shook his head

"We can't anymore. Not now I'm pregnant! I'm not ready for any of this! I wanted to keep working... I wanted to make something out here and again I have to walk away! I'm sick of walking away not having finished anything I've started"

Moving his hand up to Lance's forehead, he frowned at the warmth now there. His husband's exhaustion had seemed to have lead to a fever

"Shhh... Hey... ok. You're feeling warm... your voice sounds ruff too... I think you need some sleep and fluids"

"I can't... Shiro decided to invite everyone out here... I can't ignore them. Pidge will ask questions... and Hunk... and you... I can smell other people on you"

"Mum opened a wormhole directly here. I have my team and the recruits with me"

"I should be out there. I should be the one..."

"No. You need your rest... you've got our babies to focus on... and I've got you and my other two babies to focus on"

"Did you just call me a baby?"

"I don't know, did I? How's the nausea?"

"Awful... my nose is all clogged up and burning... can we take a bath together?"

"Didn't you just get out the bath?"

"I... my skin... I feel them on my skin... I don't feel clean"

"Baby... you are"

"I feel them... I feel him on my skin... and hear him... telling me I'm a "pregnant whore"... it only excited them more"

Lance clamped a hand over his mouth, climbing from Keith's lap and running to their bathroom. A bath was completely unnecessary... though without his blade suit on, Keith probably stunk to high heaven... Still, a bath was a small price to pay for Lance's mental health...

[justheretobreakthings]

Remember Me - Chapter 15

(First Chapter) (Previous Chapter) (Next Chapter)

Word Count: 3,459 (Total Word Count: 60,826) Read on AO3

Story Summary:

It was strange enough for the paladins of Voltron to have found another human this far from home, locked in a Galra prison. But it was stranger still when this human insisted that he knew them, and even that he was the former red paladin of Voltron.

That couldn’t possibly be true, could it? After all, if this Keith was actually a part of the Voltron team, then why does nobody remember him?

Chapter Preview:

“Hang on a sec - ” Keith said, holding up a hand. “What, um - what exactly are you asking me right now?”

“Basically,” Shiro spoke up from the other couch, “We had been thinking that, while you’re here in the castle, it might be good to have you take part in some of Voltron’s activities. Lend a hand in some missions, join the group training, things of that sort. We’ve gotten to see a bit of your fighting and flying in action, so we know you have the capabilities. So, if you’re up for it...”

For a moment Keith seemed frozen in place, gaping at Shiro, and when he answered, his voice was soft and shaky. “You… you want to me to - to be a paladin again?”

“So, question,” Lance said. “Is there a way we can start moving some comfortable furniture in here? Couple sofas, bean bags if you got ‘em? And maybe, like, some speakers or a TV or, you know, something to keep people entertained?”

“This is a medical bay, Lance,” Allura said. “Not a lounge.”

“I know that,” Lance said. He arched his back to stretch out before folding his legs and repositioning himself on the steps he was sitting on. “But, I mean, think about how much time we all spend hanging out in here just waiting for people to finish up cycles in the healing pod or wake up from comas and stuff. Wouldn’t it make sense to be more comfortable while we do it?”

“You don’t have to be here if you don’t want to be, you know,” Pidge grunted from beside him without looking up from the tablet in her arms.

“Coran said Keith’s coming out in fifteen doboshes and then we all have to meet,” Lance said. “That’s twenty minutes, right Hunk?”

“Yep,” Hunk answered.

“So, now, what am I supposed to do in the space of twenty minutes?”

“A man from Bilhai once did a thousand push-ups in twenty minutes,” said Pidge.

“Yeah, I’m not doing that.”

“Fine, then go sing a four-minute song to yourself five times and stop interrupting my work.”

Lance snorted. “Interrupting your work,” he repeated under his breath. He knew full well that Pidge had programmed Snake onto that tablet, and that’s how she had been spending the past half hour while seeming oh-so-focused on the tablet’s screen.

“Well, I am going to go ahead over to the bridge before we debrief,” Allura said. “See if we got any replies. Lance, if you’re feeling restless, why don’t you come along?”

“Eh, beats just sitting around,” Lance said, clambering to his feet and following Allura out of the med bay. “So,” he said when they were in the hallway. “What ‘replies’ are you talking about?”

“I sent missives out to those groups in our coalition who would have resources to assist us in cargo transport,” Allura replied. “I’m hoping to be able to get a couple of convoys assembled to ensure safe delivery of those quintessence samples.”

“Delivery?” Lance asked. “We’re not keeping them?”

“They won’t exactly be doing much good sitting around in the castle. I’m arranging to send one of the containers to the Blade of Marmora. We’ll have them examine it and see if they can find any connection between the quintessence on the ship we raided and on the strain they’ve been pursuing in connection to Lotor. The other will be sent to Olkarion, for Ryner and her scientists to use in their quintessence research. Hopefully they will be able to determine what might be the cause of those energy fluctuations Pidge observed. Any information either of the two are able to give us could help us to determine what sort of work was being done on the quintessence.”

“Oh,” Lance said, wrinkling his brow in thought as they stepped into the bridge. “So, if they find something out about the quintessence, that’ll help us figure out where Keith comes from?”

Allura let out a sigh before approaching her console. “Honestly? I don’t know, and it seems a bit of a stretch that solving one will solve the other. The only thing we know for certain is that Haggar and her druids have been doing something with quintessence, and have done something with, or to, Keith. Whether the two are connected in any way beyond that, or whether we’d even be able to determine the connection if they are, remains in the air, and considering the scope of Haggar’s work, chances are slim that the connection is there. Still,” she added as she pulled her communication log up onto the holoscreen, “It remains the only trail we have. So until or unless it goes cold… we pursue it.”

“Mm,” Lance hummed, folding his arms and watching Allura’s screen. “Mystery-solving isn’t nearly as fun as they make it look on TV.”

Allura gave him a small smile, “Ah, yes, TV. And on an Earth program, how would they go about ‘mystery-solving’, hm?”

“Well, we’d probably get a talking dog to help us out, for one thing.”

“How, precisely, would that help us?”

“I dunno, morale? Any replies come in?”

“Yes,” Allura answered, her hint of a smile dropping to a frown. “One who currently cannot spare the crafts, one rebel group who can provide some, but we’ll definitely need more to keep the convoy reliably safe. And it seems Puania still does not wish to work with the Blade, and won’t make deliveries to Olkarion because it violates their trade agreement with Ceron KA-6 - although I am certain that this delivery would not fall under that agreement’s jurisdiction.”

“Why are we even letting those guys into the coalition?” Lance asked.

“They have voinerth ore.”

“Of course.”

Allura sighed again. “I wish I could simply wormhole the castle and make the deliveries myself, but I’d like this done soon, and since we also are going to be occupied checking the coordinates Pidge was able to download, and such a large number of trips via wormhole in that short of time was what wrecked our generator the last time.”

“Not to mention exhausted the hell out of you,” Lance pointed out.

“Yes, well.” Allura shrugged. “Some fatigue on my part ought not be a deciding factor in how we conduct our movements. By this point I’m accustomed to it. We all are.” She turned away from her console and back to him. “Well, I suppose I’ve nothing else to do here now I’ve seen to our replies. Shall we proceed back to the others for the debriefing?”

“Nothing would bring me greater joy.”

The group gathered in the paladins’ lounge for the debriefing once Keith was out of the cryopod and dressed, once again in a set of Lance’s usual day clothes. Keith had insisted on holding off on the typical post-cryopod shower and meal until after the debriefing - “No sense in keeping all the rest of you waiting,” he had said - so from where he was seated on the couch between Lance and Hunk, Lance could detect the faint formaldehyde-like odor of the cryopod’s juices that he hadn’t had the chance to washed away yet. He tried not to breathe in too deeply through his nose as they debriefed.

Allura gave the rest of the group the same explanation to where she was sending the quintessence as she had to Lance earlier, after a bit of awkward hedging during which she and Shiro tried to thank Keith for retrieving them while simultaneously scolding him for his methods. Keith seemed unfazed, simply keeping his arms crossed and nodding at the appropriate times. Lance did hear him mutter under his breath to himself at one point, something about “the ends justifying the means.”

The debriefing was turned to Pidge next, and she pulled the transportation logs she’d snagged from the ship up onto her tablet, mapping the route the ship had taken. Lance zoned out a little as Allura and Coran started to get into a thorough discussion over which locations the castle should check out itself and which could be delegated to others in the coalition, until Shiro spoke up to ask whether they needed to get this figured out during the debriefing or if they could hold it off for later.

Coran gave them a quick rundown of the damage report from the battle, which fortunately was minimal. Their biggest overhead loss had been the damage to Keith’s cruiser, which, Coran mentioned, would have to undergo repairs soon, as the castle’s vehicle supply was still low and they needed as many in working condition as possible. Beside Lance, Keith curled tighter into himself with a mumbled, “I’m sorry.”

“You’ve already apologized, my boy,” Coran said, flicking his hand as if brushing the apology aside. “It’s nothing that myself and Hunk cannot care of over the next few quintants.”

“I can help fix it, if you want,” Keith said. “I mean, since I, uh, I was the one to break it in the first place. Told you guys before that I’ve worked with vehicles.”

“Much obliged,” Coran said with a nod. “I’m sure you’ll be of great help.”

“Speaking of Keith’s help…” Shiro said, looking over toward Allura.

“Yes, yes, we were going to get to it,” Allura said before rising from her seat and rejoining Coran at the front of the room. Keith sat up straighter, watching her before sending a curious glance to the others, which Lance answered with an uncertain shrug. “One final item on the agenda before we dismiss,” Allura continued, returning Keith’s gaze. “Things have, of course, since your arrival here at the castle, been fairly up in the air in regards to how you spend your time with us during your stay, as well as how you can contribute to Voltron’s cause.”

Keith fidgeted in his seat as Allura went on, “Recently, Shiro and myself reopened the discussion regarding responsibilities we are willing to entrust to you, and although given the unknown variables of your circumstances I hesitate to declare that we are intending to open to you full privileges enjoyed under the title of paladin, we do both agree that until we are able to sort out your dilemma and return you to whence you came or, well, however we may end up ultimately resolving the situation, we could probably do with having your time with us made more productive and cooperative.”

No response from Keith, which Lance didn’t blame him for; he wasn’t even entirely sure that he understood what Allura was saying just now. After a pause, Allura leaned forward and continued. “Now, after your performance today, I feel it necessary to tell you now that this is probationary, and that we expect responsible behavior out of you. We need to be sure that you do not intend to go rogue when providing assistance, and your reliability and cooperation toward the paladins is key to - ”

“Hang on a sec - ” Keith said, holding up a hand. “What, um - what exactly are you asking me right now?”

“Basically,” Shiro spoke up from the other couch, “We had been thinking that, while you’re here in the castle, it might be good to have you take part in some of Voltron’s activities. Lend a hand in some missions, join the group training, things of that sort. We’ve gotten to see a bit of your fighting and flying in action, so we know you have the capabilities. So, if you’re up for it...”

For a moment Keith seemed frozen in place, gaping at Shiro, and when he answered, his voice was soft and shaky. “You… you want to me to - to be a paladin again?”

Shiro winced at that, and Allura hastened to say, “Well, no, not precisely, as a, ah, a paladin, by definition, is a pilot of one of the Lions of Voltron, and, of course, we’ve five lions, all already with their designated paladins, but, ah, we - we are open to you taking on some of the responsibilities alongside the paladins in battle situations and certain other matters. Perhaps you could consider it a paladin… apprenticeship?”

Keith nodded mutely as Shiro continued, “Now, like Allura said, this is on a trial basis. We can see how you mesh with the group in training, and for now we’re limiting this to select missions only until we know better where your strengths can best be put to use.”

“And of course, this is a privilege,” Allura said. “With conditions. And if we have reason to believe that this is not a position you are suited for or able to handle, it will be revoked.”

“But as long as you don’t abuse it, and as long as you respect orders from myself and Allura in training and in battle, and as long as we agree that you’re a good fit for the team, then there’s no reason why this shouldn’t be a long-lasting - ”

“Yes,” Keith interrupted. “Yes, yes, that’s fine, I - I can do that, I can - I can follow orders, I can be a good teammate, I swear, yes, I - ”

“Now, one more moment, Keith,” Allura said holding up a hand. “The reason we bring this up here and now rather than in private is that it’s important that all of the paladins feel comfortable bringing you into the fold. We need this decision to be unanimous before having you along for training and battles. Shiro and I have already approved the motion, under the conditions we’ve outlined just now, so now…” Her eyes drifted between the remaining three paladins. “Paladins, you are under no obligation either way, but it really must be unanimous if we’re going to go through with this change. Pidge? Aye or nay?”

“Aye,” Pidge answered simply and without hesitation. Lance wondered whether Pidge had been thinking over that hypothetical ‘excitement’ having Keith along on missions would bring, and whether she had determined that it sounded like it’d be worth it. That sounded like the sort of thing Pidge would do.

“Hunk?”

“Aye,” Hunk replied. He nudged Keith with his elbow and shot him a smile. “I mean, come on, by this point you’re practically part of the team already, right? About time we make it official.”

Allura nodded, and all eyes fell on Lance, including Keith’s own intense violet gaze. Something about it set something off somewhere in the back of Lance’s mind, a flicker of… something he didn’t quite recognize, but that was just a little unnerving.

But he shoved the flicker aside, along with any arguments about his recklessness and the fact that they still essentially didn’t have any real goddamn clue who this guy was, and he nodded. “Yeah,” he said, before clearing his throat and repeating more loudly. “Yeah. Aye.”

Keith sagged in relief, eyes shining, and within a fraction of a second Hunk had pulled him into a suffocating one-armed hug with a shout of, “Welcome to the team, buddy!” as the others watched, smiling.

“... Thank you,” Keith said, a hint of color appearing in his face. “I - I just - thank you.”

“Well, now that’s taken care of,” Allura said. “Keith, I expect you up bright and early for the team’s morning group training tomorrow. For now, you are all dismissed.”

“Come along and fetch me once once you’ve showered and eaten, Keith,” Coran said as the group rose from their seats. “We’ll see about getting you fitted for decent armor.”

Keith nodded to him as he made his way out, looking all the while like he was in a bit of a daze, enough so that he seemed to barely notice the congratulatory pats on the back Hunk and Pidge gave him as they left. Lance hung back, waiting for the others to go before tugging on Coran’s sleeve. “Hey, Coran?” he asked.

“Yes, Number Three?”

“As long as you’re getting armor made for Keith, do you think you can go ahead and make him some of his own clothes too? Nothing against him, just, I kinda get a little sick of sharing my wardrobe with him all the time, you know?”

“Oh, but those are his own clothes!” Coran said.

Lance raised a brow. “What? Did, uh, did you give some of my - ?”

“No, no, I made him some of his own. You two are close to the same size, but not precise matches you see.”

“... Oh.” Come to think of it, Keith’s had been fitting better into his clothes lately, but Lance had chalked that up to him regaining his weight and, well, maybe some sort of little outer space growth to account for the height. He hadn’t given it a whole lot of thought.

“Is that all right?” Coran asked, a thoughtful frown on his face. “You all have told me to simply copy your original ensembles to make new clothes, so I had assumed - ”

“Well, yeah, it’s just, you know, they’re - they’re sort of my clothes. It’s, uh, it’s - it’s weird, seeing someone else with - it’d, uh, it’d be like, if Shiro was suddenly going around wearing identical clothes to yours, you - you see how that would be weird?”

“Ah, of course, of course, I should’ve have considered!” Coran said, looking aghast. “You’re correct, of course, that would be quite upsetting!”

“I mean, you can still use my clothes as, like, a base or something, but - ”

“Yes, say no more, Lance. I’ll get something new whipped up for him postehaste. I must say, my boy, I’m rattled at the fact I hadn’t considered it earlier, simply rattled. Why, if anyone were to know the awkwardness of unintentional fashion matching, it would be I. I don’t know if I ever told you about the day I arrived for a luncheon with a group of delegates from Roglax only to find myself wearing precisely the same cravate as their most temperamental suzerain. Now, it certainly wasn’t the greatest amount of bloodshed I’ve ever witnessed at a Roglaxan luncheon, but it still…”

Lance swallowed back a sigh and resigned himself to a stiff smile and a lot of nodding for the next varga as he settled in for another long session of Coran anecdotes.

Lance’s decision to squeeze some extra time in on the training deck that evening had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that Keith would be joining the group training tomorrow. He wasn’t trying to prepare himself in case the two of them sparred again tomorrow, and he was certainly not making sure his shooting eye was honed enough that Keith would have no choice but to admit that, at least in that skill, he was absolutely no match for the paladin.

No, it had nothing to do with any of that. He just had the time to spare and figured he’d make the most of it. So it was on the training deck he found himself that evening, ready in his paladin armor and ready to go.

“Select training level,” the computerized voice of the training deck said.

“Oh, I’m feeling daring tonight,” Lance said as he made his way to the center of the room. “Let’s go with level three tonight. Random module.”

“Level three selected.” A ring of floating training robots ascended from their places in the floor, and Lance grinned. This exercise was one of his favorite, perfect for training his sharpshooter eye.

“Module start in: five ticks.”

“All right, go time,” Lance said, lifting his bayard and willing it to its rifle shape. But the familiar sensation of the bayard transforming didn’t come. Startled, Lance stared down at the bayard, which sat innocently in his hand, still looking distinctly un-rifle-like. “Wha - ”

“Begin.”

“Wait, hang on, I - ” The training bots cut him off by firing toward him, and he hastened to bring his shield up from his gauntlet. “I’ve got technical difficulties, would you - ”

The shield shook under the blasts from the bots, and with a grunt Lance dove out of their way, giving himself a moment while they reoriented themselves to bang his bayard into the heel of his left hand like an old flashlight. “Come on, work, you stupid - ”

To his relief, the bayard finally gave in and expanded into his rifle, and with a grin, Lance jumped back into the fray. The bots were small targets, and moved fast, but Lance made quick work of them, spending the next few doboshes blocking, dodging, and shooting until all the bots were taken down.

He went another two rounds before, panting, he called a pause on the training module to take a water break. When he did, he let his bayard shrink back into its dormant form in his hand. He frowned down at it as he hydrated himself - his bayard had never done that before. It always responded immediately when he called it forward, never delayed.

That flicker again, as if a tiny part of the back of his mind had had a hint of realization and chosen not to let the rest of his brain in on it. Lance didn’t know what to make of it.

So he ignored it, and he set aside his water pouch and brought his bayard back to form, without having to argue with it this time, before returning to the middle the deck with a firm, “Resume training!”

[halspur]

Disaster gay Shiro sparring with Keith, who figures out why Shiro is so flustered and teases him about it?

sparring sheith is classic vintage and chic all in one god we are so powerful. also rip kinkade i loved u

remember when i said i’d keep these under 1k? funny times

rated: t | words: 2.4k | post s7

The Garrison training room was painfully unaltered since Keith’s expulsion – orange and gray trim with rolled mats stacked against the wall, and except for the slight wear to some of the punching bags strewn up in the corner – the pleather edges peeled off in chips – even the smell of rubber and antiseptic was the same.

He was sure James would claim half the equipment’s wear be his own, though Keith seemed to be running into Ryan more frequently than anyone else during his free time – both of them exchanging a small nod before rotating around the gym in mutual silence.

Keith easily considered it a friendship.

Admittedly, he did miss the castleship’s gladiator bot – it was difficult to find a suitable obstacle to use his bayard against for practice, and he wasn’t about to coerce another pilot into sparring with him.

He almost texted Hunk, asking if he had some free time, when he heard the door slide open.

Like always, there was only one person he really wanted to see enter the room.Even in a white tank and Garrison-issued sweatpants, Keith had to bite his lip as he met the pair of polished gray eyes walking towards him. “Hey,” said Shiro, grinning. “They cleared me for recreation hours.”

Keith was stretching, and saw Ryan glance over briefly before going back to his weights, earphones in.

“That’s great, Shiro.”

Shiro grinned wider, his head tilting. Since his prosthetic had been attached, and after his fight with Sendak, Sam agreed with the medics that Shiro needed at least a week of rest before he could safely use his arm again, restricting his schedule to council meetings and brief publicity shoots, along with physical checkups every morning and afternoon.

I’m so bored. Shiro text him once, presumably in the middle of an exam.

Keith was eating lunch with Pidge, and held back a smile. It’s for your own good, you know.

Yeah, Keith could see the smirk on Shiro’s face. You saved my ass, I guess I should take care of it. See you at the next mission debriefing?

Keith’s palm itched. He missed alone time with Shiro more than anything, but he wasn’t selfish enough to complain. He’d take what he could get. Save me a seat.

You don’t have to ask :)

Keith felt himself pale as he stepped into the boardroom with Pidge – they’re the last ones there, and Shiro gestures to the seat beside him.

As he’s lowering himself into the chair, he notices something on the tabletop – a single place card laid in front of him.

K. Kogane

“They put you beside me,” Shiro’s voice was in his ear, low enough that Iverson didn’t look up from his notes. Keith kept his eyes trained on Shiro’s new arm, pinching the edges of Keith’s name card. “I guess they already knew.”

Keith tried not to think about the heavy hand Shiro had placed on Keith’s shoulder during the meeting – needlessly praising his flying abilities and special qualifications to lead the mission to the point that James coughed loudly, earning a kick from Nadia.

Keith may be the leader of Voltron, but it only took a touch from Shiro to knock him out of commission.

He was giving him that same look now, and Keith felt too self-conscious to continue doing calf stretches, instead standing to awkwardly accept a pat on the back as Shiro passed him, going for the stack of mats against the wall.

“Want to help test out this upgrade? Allura and Pidge just programmed it.”Shiro kicked the bundle until it unfolded, a large mat meant for tumbling.

Keith tried to ignore the jump in his pulse, shrugging. “Sure. But I should be able to use my bayard, to be fair.”

Considering it, Shiro gave a nod to the door, crossing his arms. “I’ll wait.”

“No need,” Keith felt overly smug as the handle formed in his fingers, feeling a swell in his stomach as Shiro’s eyebrows raised.

He quickly looked down, and Keith swore he saw a dusting of pink across his nose before Shiro began adjusting the straps on his gloved hand. His voice was velvet. “You never stop finding ways to impress me, Keith.”

Keith blanked.

You know that look Lance and Allura get when they look at each other? Hunk had said to him once while they were walking through the Garrison’s garages. The puppy eyes and soft smiles?

I guess so. Keith had replied, but he was mostly focused on locating where their assigned cruiser was, testing the locks on several vehicles.

That obviously wasn’t the answer Hunk wanted. Yeah, well, I bet you’ve seen that look before.

He thought Hunk was insane – he’d never had someone like him before, let alone give him the sappy treatment the princess and Lance reserved for each other.

But it was almost like reading a dictionary when Shiro met his eyes again, cheeks warm, with Hunk’s words echoing in his mind.

Shaking it off, Keith took his stance on the edge of the mat. “I learned from the best.”

That made Shiro laugh. “Ready?”

“Always.”

Shiro leaped first – a quick dive that had Keith rolling in a tuck already, his bayard forming a sword as he stood. His knee popped, and he almost cursed himself for being too embarrassed to do a couple lunges in front of Shiro.

The next rounds were calculated, mixed techniques of old Garrison maneuvers with varied motions earned from the field.

Neither of them really wanted to think about how they got those skills – if anything, they wanted this simple leisure to remain at the same value as it always had: two friends, brawling for sport.

You’re the first emo jock I’ve ever met. Lance had said, phrasing it as a half-compliment.

Keith almost forgot how easy it was to spar with Shiro, how mindless and instinctual the movements came to him. They could feel each other’s breath as they clashed, locked, and rebounded, the room echoing every step for them.He lived for the hint of a smile on Shiro’s face, searching earnestly for a thread of weakness he could shock him with.

But it was more difficult to keep up with his new arm than Keith would like to admit, even with Shiro being generous and only using it within a realistic range of attack.

He managed to push Keith on his back, his head spacing for a moment before he dodged a chest blow.

Man, I miss Allura. Keith remembered Lance laying on a sofa this past week, forlornly sharing a bag of chips with Hunk. Keith sat across from them with Romelle, who was watching a movie on Pidge’s laptop, both their legs propped up on the table.

She’s working, Lance. Hunk said between crunches, rolling his eyes. Geez, you don’t see Keith complaining about Shiro having a busy schedule.

Why would I? Keith growled, feet hitting the floor, and he immediately sensed the defensive tone that had Lance snorting.

Whatever. At least I don’t have it as bad as him, Lance jerked a thumb at Keith, and Hunk shook his head. At least I’m self-aware.

Was he not?

Keith knew he loved Shiro – knew it as well as he trusted him right now, both of them hurtling deadly blows at each other with extreme caution in mind.

He also knew he’d never push it, never ask for Shiro to be anything more than family to him. It wouldn’t be fair – especially now that Keith had his mother, the Blade, and friends.

He didn’t want him to be alone, not ever again.

Correct me if I’m wrong, Allura said at breakfast, which had begun to be one of her favorite phrases on Earth, but shouldn’t Keith and Shiro be living together?

Both Pidge and Lance had sputtered on their drinks, and Keith felt the onset of a headache.

I mean, Allura quickly amended, seeing Keith’s reaction, the rest of the paladins are living with their families, and I thought you two –

It’s different. Keith said flatly, and left it at that. He wasn’t upset. He wasn’t. He just wanted to eat his eggs and leave.

It was different. When Keith was a cadet, his biggest daydream was to have Shiro move into his dad’s old shack with him, both of them flying as copilots for the rest of their lives.

He didn’t see any flaw in that line of thinking until years later. You didn’t want to live with your brother forever, didn’t want to share every aspect of your life with him.

Sometimes, Shiro said, still recovering in Black – the night before Pidge had offered up a space in the Green Lion for him – they were sitting, propped up against the healing pod on the floor. His voice was raspy, and Keith knew he was still groggy from the sedation. I daydream about saving you, so we’d be even. Isn’t that cruel?

What Keith wanted most was to touch him, play off a caress to his head as medical concern. Instead, he dug his nails into his palm. Shiro, you saved me first. I can’t repay you for that.

He knew Shiro didn’t see it that way. He knew no amount of arguing would change that, but he was content with Shiro sighing – whether emotionally or physically exhausted – and laying his head on Keith’s shoulder.

He was stupid enough to zone out for so long, letting Shiro catch the front of his shoulder, sending him tumbling backwards. Shiro followed, loosely trapping Keith in a brace.

A complaint rose up to Keith’s mouth – stop going easy on me, Shiro – until he noticed the same flush across Shiro’s cheekbones, too deep-set to be from exertion.

Keith felt his eyes widen involuntarily.

He noticed Shiro’s stare lagging – his eyes took the long way to Keith’s face, working up his chest and neck - flicking briefly to his mouth - before finally meeting his pupils.

Oh.

Oh.

Did Shiro have it worse than him?

Keith wanted to laugh – sharp, bitter. He wanted to ask Hunk How did you know.

Instead, Keith wiggled loosely, elbowing lightly at Shiro’s side, wedging his legs apart with his knee, pulling a fraction of a groan out of Shiro.

He would have teased him more if he didn’t love him.

So Shiro’s nerves left him with room to spare – Keith immediately felt a way out of his grip, sliding out of his arms with minimal blocking, and was able to escape another pin by kicking out his legs, forcing Shiro to jump back or get hit in the shins.

“Fuck your long legs,” Shiro grunted, though it came out in an exhale as he blinked sweat from his eye.

Keith grinned, swallowing. “Can’t pin me anymore?”

The flare in Shiro’s eyes as he charged Keith was worth the taunt – the next time he managed to pin Keith, it was in a standing headlock, Keith twisting enough that Shiro couldn’t get a proper grip through his flails without pressing them together.

And he wouldn’t do that, Keith quickly learned.

Another escape had each of them circling, dying for a breath. Keith’s eyes passively jumped to the space behind Shiro, where he saw the blur of Ryan leaving through the door – not sparing even a glance in their direction.

Part of Keith wished he could apologize for whatever this was, and that he was a witness to it.

Shiro noticed his gaze, the distraction, and gave a swipe at his sternum. “Focus, Keith.”

It was too late – Keith felt Shiro’s new arm strike his wrist, and in shock, watched his bayard skitter across the floor. Before Keith could concentrate on summoning it again, Shiro was attempting to pin his entire torso, and he had to roll, making Shiro stumble.

Without planning an attack, Keith threw himself onto Shiro’s back as he tried to stand, forcing both of them onto the mat with a thud.

Shiro groaned as Keith scrambled for purchase on Shiro’s back, thanking luck that he managed to get Shiro’s prosthetic underneath him, wedged.

He bent over Shiro’s shoulder to look at his face, Keith’s smirk digging into his cheek as he watched Shiro’s blush soak into his skin, a shade of red prettier than it should be.

“Give up?”

“I could flip your legs with mine,” Shiro managed, though his voice was muddled, eyes now trained on some point on the wall in front of him, avoiding looking up at Keith’s voice. They were both panting, sweating enough that their skin was sticking uncomfortably, though Keith oddly didn’t mind.

Without commenting, Keith calmly shifted his hold - drawing up one of his legs to brace next to Shiro’s hip while he laid his other knee across the backs of Shiro’s thighs.

“How about now?”

It took Shiro a moment to gather himself, speaking in a mumble. Keith could tell from the vein on his neck that he was clenching his jaw hard enough to crack a molar, but he chose not to taunt him about it. “I could free my arm.”

Keith lowered himself against Shiro’s back, forcing his cheek into the floor. “That’s cheating, commander.”

Shiro snapped, his hair falling in his eyes. “I’m not the one playing dirty.”

Keith didn’t expect the clarity in Shiro’s voice, nor the blatant accusation.

It was twisted flirting, and Keith felt his nerves fray at the thought of it.

Slowly, Keith leaned down to speak into Shiro’s ear, watching him shut his eyes against Keith’s voice. “You can just tell me when you’re not feeling up for it, Shiro,” Keith shifted above him, making Shiro bite his bottom lip. “I won’t hold it against you if you can’t give it your all.”

“Keith –” Shiro started, but his breath was pushed out of him as Keith jumped off his back, retrieving his bayard from the ground.

He crossed his arms as Shiro gave him a confused look. “Come on. We could keep this up for hours, or we could go talk about it in Black.”

Shiro sat up, dazed, hair curled, and tank askew. But as Keith reached for his arm to pull him up, he broke into a smile, laughing, and buried his face in his hands.

“Was it that obvious?”

—–

They’re walking out of the showers into the hallway together - hair still dripping onto Keith’s shoulders - when Shiro speaks, clearing his throat.

“Hey, thanks for not teasing me too much.”

They both jump as their hands skirt each other in passing, both too shy to acknowledge it further than a blush. Keith smiled to himself – it was fine, they had a long time to work up to holding hands.

Noticing Nadia pass with Ina in tow, he almost waved, before he watched the former bend to whisper something in the latter’s ear, who’s eyes widened at the sight of Shiro and Keith, matching wet towels still draped over their arms.

“Actually,” Keith sighed, “I have a feeling everyone else will do that for us.”

[blueplanettrash]

Prompt: Au where Lance has CIP disorder (congenital Insensitivity to pain; a disorder where people can't feel pain at all) and the team doesn't find out until after Lance is badly hurt. Idk if it has been done already. I love ur writing and hope you accomplish everything you want to do this month and year😁

It’s honestly kinda weird how I was scrolling through my prompts trying to decide what to write during class and I saw this while we were learning about pain perception. I thought it was fate. I hope you enjoy! ❤️

Lance had always tried to be careful with his body and what he did with it. Ever since he was five years old and he was taken to the hospital after falling down the stairs in his house and breaking his arm. He was confused why his mother was crying and holding him carefully, promising him that everything was going to be okay. But he wasn’t afraid or anything in fact, when he looked at his arm he let out a giggle thinking it looked a bit like a staircase.

They later discovered that he had CIP disorder. A disorder where people produce a surplus of endorphins in the brain that cause them not to perceive any pain. Because of this, he had never been able to feel pain, and he couldn’t tell his parents whether anything else was wrong with him before breaking his arm. It was a miracle that the doctors didn’t find anything else that had happened to him throughout the years.

After that fateful visit, his family looked after him much closer and demanded that he tell them if he thought that he might have hurt himself in any way even though he couldn’t feel it. If he ever saw blood he was to tell them immediately to make sure he didn’t need to go to the hospital for treatment and the list went on and on. It was a bit annoying to keep the rules over the years but ultimately he didn’t want to die young like the unfortunate stories of others like him that he had read about. So he always tried to be extremely cautious.

That was until he joined the Garrison. At first, his family adamantly refused to let him attend but as the days passed of him begging his mother to please let him go, she was slowly coming around to the idea.

“Please Mamá, I don’t want to be cooped up here forever, at least there I’d be helping the world,” he pleaded with tears in his eyes. She sighed and pulled him forward into a hug. Her throat was tightening as she held him to her chest. All these years, she had never seen her baby cry. Just because he couldn’t feel physical pain, didn’t mean that he couldn’t feel emotional pain.

“I’ll think about it,” she promised.

And she did, the next month Lance was packing his bags, ready to go out into the real world. He turned when he heard his bedroom door creak open. His mother walked in followed by a tall blonde man wearing the Galaxy Garrison uniform.

“Lance, this is Professor Montgomery,” she said gesturing to the man who nodded his head at Lance. “If you think you hurt yourself, you go directly to him, do you understand?”

“Yes Mamá,” he promised. She nodded content before jumping forward and dragging him into a hug.

“Be good,” she whispered as tears rolled down her cheeks. Lance’s throat closed up and he nodded against her shoulder. After they pulled away, Lance picked up his bags and followed Montgomery out of the house and to the Garrison vehicle. As he buckled up he looked out his window and saw his entire family standing outside with teary eyes and waving goodbye to him. Shakily, he brought his hand up and waved until they were out of sight.

“Well, Lance McClain,” he looked over at Montgomery as he started talking. He took his eyes off the road for a moment to send a smile to the boy.

“Welcome to the Galaxy Garrison,”

Lance was especially careful after they became paladins of Voltron. Sure, maybe not feeling pain would be a valuable asset of being a soldier in space but it didn’t exactly help if he was punched in the ribs or something and didn’t notice that they punctured a lung until he couldn’t breathe. Which didn’t happen but was a very likely possibility in his situation.

There were very few times that Lance was thankful for his disorder but when he was caught in an explosion, he was very thankful. Especially because he saved Coran the pain of it. The very few moments that he had before he blacked out he could smell the flesh on his back burning and couldn’t even imagine what kind of pain he would be feeling, you know if he actually knew what pain felt like.

Finding out how close to death Lance actually was when he got out of the pod was another eye opener to him. He had pushed Coran out of the way because he knew that he wouldn’t feel anything and he didn’t want Coran to get hurt but he didn’t think that it would do as much damage as it had.

He looked in the mirror later that night and found a big star-shaped scar on his upper back. It was just another scar that he had collected over the years but this time, it meant so much more.

“Alright paladins, we have quite a simple mission today actually,” Allura told them after they landed on a dark desolate planet. They stood at attention in front of her, eager to get the mission done so they could come back and relax for the rest of the day.

“The Blade discovered this abandoned Galra base and sent a representative to plant some crucial information for us, they told us that it was so sensitive that they didn’t want to risk it being intercepted by the Galra,” Shiro added, pulling up the schematics of the building. He started tracing out areas in their respective colours and routes that they would be taking to get there.

“Because of this they refused to tell us where exactly the information was being stored and we have to split up to find it,” they nodded in understanding and headed to the lift.

“It should be a quick in and out, when we find the information head out and back to the Castle,” Shiro said as they started into the base. One by one they headed down separate hallways until Lance was walking down the main hallway by himself. He pulled up his map and carefully followed his directed path, careful to keep his eyes open for any sign of the Blade’s information drive.

As he hit the end of the hallway he was faced with a single door which he pushed open hesitantly and picked inside. He switched his map to his light and panned around the room.

“AIEEEE!” He screeched loudly as his light landed on a single sentry that was leaning limply against the wall.

“Lance? What happened? What’s wrong?” Shiro asked with concern as Lance let out loud huffs and leaned on his knees.

“Sorry, I just got startled, there’s a dead sentry in here,” he explained breathlessly. Immediately laughs started coming from everyone else and he blushed lightly.

“Haha, very funny, Lance got scared by a machine, laugh it up you guys,” he pouted as he walked further into the room. It looked like he was in the armoury or something but there wasn’t much to go off of except for a dust-covered helmet and the sentry still sitting in the corner.

He walked through a second door in the back and saw that there was actually hundred of soldier uniforms lined up along the walls. They were all layered with dust which admittedly was pretty creepy, seeing as they were in pristine condition. He picked up one of the helmets and brought it up closer to examine it and huffed out a small laugh.

“Guys I got it!” Hunk cheered suddenly making Lance jump in surprise and drop the helmet he had in his hands.

“Heading out now,” he started hearing in his coms as each paladin left their areas.

“Lance, you’re the furthest away, do you want one of us to wait?” Shiro asked.

“Nah, don’t worry about me, it’s a straightaway for me,” he argued, carefully closing the door behind him even though he knew nobody would notice. It was courtesy really.

He was almost out of the door when something hit him from behind and he stumbled slightly forward. He whipped around his bayard forming and pointing and the now activated sentry. It was twitching slightly and barely standing on creaking legs. A single shot took it down and he started stomping out again.

“What was that?” Keith asked.

“The dead sentry wasn’t exactly dead, but it just hit me from behind, no big deal,” he explained shortly.

“Are you okay?” Pidge asked with concern.

“Yeah, it didn’t even have any weapons,” he assured them. He quickened his pace slightly when the main entrance came into view. Thankfully, because the planet was vacant of any life, they were able to land the Castle really close to the base and he was on the lift within minutes.

When he got back to the bridge, he saw that Hunk, Pidge, Shiro, Coran, and Allura were all huddled around the new information and rapidly talking about whatever information they had been given. While Keith was relaxing in his chair waiting for the actual debrief to happen.

With a smile, he slid off his helmet and sat in his chair.

Or, tried to.

When he attempted to lean back he was met with a weird pressure not letting him rest on the back of his chair. His forehead furrowed in confusion and he reached behind him searching until his fingers hit something. He lightly touched at it trying to figure out what it was until it met his back. Finally, he lightly wrapped his fingers around it and his eyes shot wide.

“Oh shit,” he hissed quietly to himself.

It was definitely a knife.

“Oh shit,” he hissed again as he carefully stood up.

“Um, guys?” He called out uncertainly.

“Yes?” Shiro asked as they turned to look at him.

“Okay, first of all, promise that you won’t freak out,” he said nervously wringing his hands together.

“Um, alright?”

“Okay, so, the sentry might have had a weapon after all and I might have been stabbed?”

“What!? Where? Are you okay?” Hunk ran forward with his arms outstretched.

“I said don’t freak out!” Lance whined before he could reach him.

“Hunk’s right though, we have to get you medical attention,” Shiro said with concern as he walked up with Hunk. “Are you bleeding?”

“I don’t really know, I think the knife is stemming most of it,” he mused trying to look over his shoulder at the handle.

“YOU STILL HAVE THE KNIFE IN YOU!?” They shouted at him before he was being rushed towards the med bay.

They sat him on one of the benches while Coran prepped the healing pod and Allura went to retrieve a healing suit. They gently started popping off his armour, careful to avoid the knife.

Hunk precisely started cutting his bodysuit down the back and carefully ripped it until the knife was resting on a small black circle of fabric. Thankfully, it looked like Lance was right and the knife was stemming most of the bleeding.

“Okay, Lance I need you to talk to us, you’re probably going into shock,” Shiro said clearly, keeping Lance’s eyes on his. “Are you in any pain?”

“Oh no, I don’t feel this at all,” he answered distracted, swinging his feet lightly. Shiro’s features paled and went slack.

“WE GOT TO HURRY WITH THAT POD!” He yelled, Pidge jumped up and rushed to Coran’s side to help as Shiro looked back at Lance. He lightly cupped Lance’s cheeks and made him look him in the eye.

“It’s going to be okay Lance, you might have hit something in your spine but we’re going to fix it,” he promised. Lance blinked in confusion before he remembered this exact scenario happening when he broke his arm years earlier.

“Oh shit! I’m sorry Shiro, that’s not what I meant,” he said frantically, reaching up to grab his shoulders.

“What?”

“I have CIP disorder, I’ve never felt pain, that’s why I didn’t notice,” he explained. Shiro’s eyes widened again, this time in shock.

“Pod is ready,” Coran called over to them. Allura stood at the opening of the pod with the healing suit unzipped and ready for him to slip into. Lance slid off the bench and held on to Hunk and Shiro as they offered their hands to him.

He carefully stepped into the legs of the healing suit and let them pull it up and zip it for him until they reached his mid back.

“Okay, I’m going to pull this out now,”  Shiro said holding the handle of the knife. Lance nodded and stared ahead. Shiro took a deep breath and pulled, waiting for the scream that normally came from the immense pain that a stabbing would cause.

But Lance was silent.

Even as blood poured down his back, he didn’t make a single peep.

Quickly, they zipped the rest of the suit up and started the healing cycle.

They definitely needed to talk after this.

Stories Masterlist

[avidbeader]

Voltron Jaith/Sheith fic: Unexpected (M)

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

AO3

And this is the last chapter! Thanks to everyone who’s liked/reblogged/commented on this little side venture.

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

Keith is in a place he never imagined he’d return to.

He’s walking down the Garrison halls, following Commander Holt and Shiro as they bring each other up to speed. Pidge and her mom are behind him, with the rest of their group and those soldiers that helped them trailing behind. At least Lance’s sister managed to divide him from their swarm of a family, explaining the need for a debrief.

Hunk’s family is still out there, missing. Keith makes a mental note to check in on him soon.

Keith figures Adam is somewhere in the Garrison, biding his time until he can talk to Shiro. His hands tighten reflexively into fists, remembering how hurt Shiro had been over their breakup. They’d been together a long time, ever since they were cadets and flight partners…

Flight partners. Adam was a pilot as well as a teacher. One of the best ones in the Garrison at the time.

Suddenly Keith is sure that Adam is not in the Garrison anymore.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Keith feels eyes on him as the debriefing begins.

He’s already uncomfortable, wearing a Garrison uniform for the first time in many years. He never liked the stiff edges of the high collar or the combination of orange and beige. The uniform makes him feel like a kid again and it’s an effort at first to speak up, to remember he is the leader of Voltron.

He glances around at one point and realizes who’s staring at him. James—or Officer Griffin as he’s known now—is looking at him from his place on the other side of the room. Keith frowns at him, not sure why he’s getting the death-glare, but focuses back on the conversation when Hunk starts arguing about trying to rescue his family.

James snaps, “Hey, do paladins not understand the chain of command? Your CO said it was too dangerous.”

Keith is ready to smack him down and Shiro has stiffened beside him, but Sam cuts James off and redirects the conversation. Then Allura stands up as she offers a possibility; Keith has to remember that trick the next time he needs to make a point to this room full of people who are increasingly aware that their authority can’t help them in this situation.

It’s so different from working with Voltron, where the chain of command is fluid at best and everyone is used to voicing their thoughts or acting when they see a need. The Blades had been a bit more organized, with a specific operative in charge of a given mission, but everyone knew circumstances could change in an instant and was prepared to act on their own if need be.

Keith wonders what James would do mid-battle if the command center was taken down and he suddenly had no commanding officer. Or what his squadron would do if he were shot down.

And then he remembers the boy who apologized to him and reached out. He resolves to do what he can to make sure James never has to face either of those situations.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

They win.

Keith’s still not sure how they managed it. The team’s last desperate efforts to move the unknown robeast far enough into space to save Earth succeeded, but sent the lions spiraling back down to the planet at terminal velocity. Keith had been the first to be pulled from his lion, but the last to recover; by the time the doctors brought him out of a medically- induced coma, his mother and Kolivan had arrived in answer to Shiro’s summons.

His recovery takes a while, between the skull fracture, other broken bones, and internal injuries. Shiro visits every day, even if only for a few minutes, and the other paladins come as their own injuries permit. Kolivan stays long enough to establish a few Blades at the new headquarters of the coalition and Krolia makes it clear she’s staying for the duration.

Matt brings Pidge to visit. She rides in a hoverchair because her broken ankle is still healing, and the three of them are having fun trading stories about the others. Keith is still laughing over Lance’s “Tailor” moment in the sims when James comes to the door and hovers.

Pidge notices and elbows Matt. “We gotta get back before the nurses come looking for me. They’re supposed to scan my ankle and see what’s up with it this afternoon.”

Keith waves them goodbye, then beckons a little impatiently as James hesitates. “Come on, then.”

James looks back at the door. “Who was that guy?” His voice betrays more than a bit of interest.

“You didn’t recognize him? That’s Matt Holt, Pidge’s brother.”

James does a classic double-take back at the door, his mouth hanging open. “Wait, him? That shrimpy nerd?”

Keith smirks a little and responds in his driest tone. “Amazing what being kidnapped by aliens, thrown into a gladiator ring, rescued by rebels, and training with them to help overthrow an evil empire will do.”

James’ eyes narrow. After all the time they’ve known each other, he still has to pause in order to detect Keith’s sarcasm level. He looks Keith up and down.

“Funny, could say similar things about you. How did you get so beefed up compared to McLain?”

Keith shrugs. “I wound up going through a quantum abyss where time was slowed down. Gained two extra years on everyone else.” Seeing James’ eyebrows go up, Keith decides to muddy the waters even more. “And then there’s the fact that apparently three years went by in a few minutes when we managed to prevent all alternate realities from collapsing and destroying the entire universe.”

“Wait, what? Alternate realities? That’s actually a thing?”

Keith nods and James draws closer to sit at the foot of the bed.

“Like when someone makes a decision one way and that’s our reality, but when they make the opposite choice there’s a split and things happen differently? Infinite possibilities?”

Keith shrugs. “I don’t know exactly. We discovered one alternate reality where Allura’s people ended up being the bad guys. She had died ten thousand years before instead of being placed in cryosleep, and those Alteans enforced the peace by implanting mind-control devices in everyone who was against them.”

James shudders at that thought. “Okay, yeah, not a good place to visit.”

“It wasn’t. And it was weird; there was a version of Shiro there—he was a member of a resistance group—and it was the strangest thing. His hair was different, and his voice, but it was still him. Our Shiro had been missing for a while at that point, which made it even harder.”

James tilts his head and looks at Keith assessingly. His lips tighten, as if he’s made some kind of unpleasant discovery. “So, have you and Shiro made it official yet?”

Keith frowns and looks away, trying to ignore the spike in his heartbeat at those words. “What are you talking about?”

“You haven’t. Oh my god. You carry a torch for a dead man, follow him into space when it turns out he’s not so dead, even gain two years on him, and, from what I heard, took out a Galra commander up close and personal with your sword to protect him? And you haven’t told him how you feel? What’s it gonna take?”

Keith stares down at his hands, willing himself not to clutch the sheets or cover his reddening face. “It’s not like that.”

“It is totally like that! I mean,” James glances at the open door and lowers his voice. “The last time you and I had sex, you were pretending I was him the whole time.”

Is it possible to spontaneously combust from embarrassment and guilt? Keith almost wishes it were. He shakes his head, sure he’ll stutter if he tries to speak.

“You were. You said his name after. I heard you.”

That startles Keith’s voice out of him. “I didn’t… I didn’t mean to. God, James, I’m sorry.”

James reaches out with one hand, running it up and down Keith’s leg. “Apology accepted.”

Keith almost can’t breathe, the absolution is so unexpected. “But I hurt you!”

“Yeah, you did. But there’s no expiration date on an apology conversation.”

Keith smiles a little, hearing that old phrase, but James keeps going before he can say anything.

“And I’m sorry I didn’t talk to you faster. I wanted to go home and really think about what to say. Had it all planned out, with the best approach to get you to deal with your grief and everything. And then you apparently wrecked a sim and got thrown out before I could get back?” James’ voice lilts up in curiosity.

Now Keith clutches the sheets, remembering.

“I went to get some practice in and found a new program in the menu.” Keith swallows hard, remembering the grief and rage that had poured out of him at the time. “It was a rescue objective...with a target of Kerberos.”

James’ hand tightens on Keith’s leg. “Holy shit,” he breathes. “You saw that with no warning?”

Keith nods. “Smashed the menu display with my bare hand before I realized it.”

James lets go of Keith’s leg and holds his hand out. “I’m sorry I didn’t say something sooner.”

Keith accepts the apology by completing the handshake and goes back to twisting up the sheets. “Thanks. But I think it mostly worked out for the best anyway. If I’d still been in the Garrison when Shiro escaped, I doubt we’d have been able to find the Blue Lion before that first Galra ship arrived.”

James is about to reply when there’s a burst of bright light and the bed is filled with seventy-five kilos of cosmic wolf. He squirms up to lick Keith’s face, and Keith happily goes for the ears while James is whacked with a wagging tail.

“Shiro’s on the way, then?” Keith asks and the wolf gives that chirpy sort of growl that means assent rather than aggression.

James stands, holding his hands out to keep the wolf’s tail off him. “I better go.”

“You don’t have to,” Keith protests.

“Yeah, I do. You have something to tell Shiro. I’ll drop in again day after tomorrow. We’re in training all day tomorrow with the squadron for the new wave of MFEs.”

Keith smiles at James as the wolf settles on his legs. “Good luck with that.”

“Should be fine. No signs of anyone being a fancypants pilot in this bunch.”

“Hey, I can outfly anyone in this building...or what’s left of it.”

James’ expression turns fond. “Maybe once you’re healed up we can take a couple of the MFEs for a spin. See if you can find any room for improvement.”

“Only if you come for a ride in the Black Lion.”

“Deal.” James reaches out to shake on it and Keith tugs so he can slap James on the back with his free hand. James returns the embrace, ruffling Keith’s hair.

“Am I interrupting?” Shiro is standing in the door, looking a little curious.

“No sir, just saying goodbye for now.” James straightens and salutes.

“At ease, Griffin. I’ll see you at training tomorrow.”

James departs, but gives Keith a significant look as he does so. Keith gets the message: if he doesn’t talk to Shiro now, James is going to have ample opportunity to drop hints or otherwise make Keith’s life miserable.

Shiro comes to sit on the bed, patting the wolf with his prosthesis. “How are you feeling today?”

“Pretty good.” Keith reaches out and takes Shiro’s other hand. With one deep breath for courage, he begins. “I need to talk to you about something.”

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Two evenings later, James turns up at Keith’s door, bearing a plate of caramel brownies and praising Hunk for helping him sub some of the ingredients that are still scarce during a post-war recovery.

They’re still warm from the oven.

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