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ebhenah · 6 years

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Spirit Week (Voltron Fanfic)

Fictober 18 Day 15

Voltron fanfic featuring Klance future family (as seen in "Forts" from Day 11) FLUFF

Minor S07 Spoilers

Rating- Pg (minor language, same sex couple)

Prompt: "I thought you had forgotten."

Halloween was one week away and for some reason, this year, everything was beyond busy. The little school on board the Atlas had chosen this week to be 'spirit week' and the preschool had joined in- which meant that three of their four kids had different thematic activities every. Single. Day. If that wasn't busy enough, there were Coalition meetings every single afternoon that required the full complement of Paladins and MFE pilots to be in attendance. Plus, Thace had been sick the week before and was trying to catch up on his missed work, AND Kashi was teething.

All those things combined had left both Keith and Lance wrung out and twitchy Keith loved their life, and most of the time they did a great job juggling work, family, friends, and couple time. But, every now and then, everything seemed to happen all at once. It didn't help that Lance insisted that McClains went ALL OUT for Halloween, and that making sure the kids got to fully participate in all the 'fun' school activities was important to Keith. He remembered how much he'd hated it when he was in the system and his foster parents, or group home workers couldn't be bothered to make sure that the kids in their care were wearing silly socks, or all blue, or dressed as their favorite story book character, or whatever. It sucked to be singled out for not doing the fun stuff, and Keith wanted to make sure that his kids never knew what that felt like.

So, on the weekend they'd prepped for each and every day. Monday- crazy hair day. Easy- Talia and Rai had long hair and Lance had grown up with sisters, so he was a whiz at that. He'd made tiny little buns all over Rai's head, then added pipe cleaner legs and googly-eyes stuck to bobby pins to turn them all into spiders. Talia's hair was pulled into a high ponytail and threaded through a thoroughly cleaned pop bottle with strategic holes to pool in a plastic drinking cup stuck to a headband. Thace's hair was shorter and paler, so he got spikes and colored hairspray. Done. The kids were thrilled and Lance had taken about 400 pictures of them before they'd left their quarters.

Tuesday was color day. Each class was assigned a color, and the kids dressed head to toe in it. More colored hair spray, and a deep dive into the McClain's family hand-me-down bins had outfitted Thace in "lime" (seriously, though? Lime? Not just green? Why so specific?) and the twins in "purple". Talia had been thrilled, purple was currently her favorite color. Again, leaving the quarters took longer than usual because of the photoshoot with Lance.

Wednesday had been 'silly socks'. That had required an actual shopping trip, and not only had they worn the silly socks on their feet, Lance's sister had shown the kids how to cut socks into fingerless gloves… which was cute, but had led to far too much teasing about his own teenaged fashion choices for Keith's liking.

Thursday was 'dress as your hero day', and when they'd gotten to school, a good 75% of the kids were dressed as Paladins, which was sweet and heartwarming (and led to about a million pictures, since Lance had INSISTED that they bring the kids to school wearing their armor). However, none of THEIR kids wanted to dress up as the Paladins of Voltron. Their parents and honorary aunts and uncles were definitely not 'cool' enough to be their heroes. Oh no- he and Lance had had to put together one Bi Boh Bi costume (Talia had been unable to explain to either of them WHY Bi Boh Bi was her hero, but he suspected she just liked yelling the name at the top of her lungs), one King Alfor costume (thankfully Coran had stepped in to help for that one), and one Kosmo costume. He wasn't cool enough for his actual son to consider his hero, but their space wolf WAS, go figure. Although, honestly, he was just glad none of them had wanted to dress up as Uncle Shiro with his 'cool arm' or Kolivan.

Friday felt like a gift to the parents after all the work of coming up with hero costumes- Pajama day. It should have been easier than it was. None of their three wanted to wear 'boring old' pjs, they all wanted new onesies in very specific themes (and yes, he realized his kids were spoiled… but they were perfect and they deserved to be spoiled and that was final). Of course, none of them had mentioned THAT until they were sitting down to supper on Thursday, and there was nowhere on the Atlas to get that kind of thing, so all six of them ended up on the surface, well past bedtime, with a cranky, teething baby, shopping for footie pjs: one alicorn (very specific- an alicorn has both a horn AND wings. If only one was present it was either a unicorn, or a pegasus- the things you learned from a four year old), one shark (because Thace was basically just 'Lance, the sequel' at the moment), and one 'scary halloween skulleekin' (that was too cute to ever be corrected- if Keith had his way, Rai would be calling skeletons 'skulleekins' until he was 50)... and OF COURSE as soon as Lance saw that they made them in adult sizes, he insisted on getting them pjs, too. A penguin one for Lance, and a purple hippo one for himself. Even Kashi got one- his was a panda, and even Keith had to admit their little roly poly drool machine made the cutest panda ever.

Spirit week cost a small fortune… but the kids had been thrilled, which was what really mattered. It was just that between all that, AND the meetings, AND taking turns walking the halls with a howling infant every night, AND making sure they were all ready for the shockingly long list of Halloween-themed activities Lance's family had as traditions in the latter half of October, Keith really just wanted… like… a nap. Not even a long one. Just like, half an hour of solid sleep, without being chewed and/or drooled on by their youngest. He was seriously cute. Absolutely loveable… The apple of his daddies' eyes… but right now he was a slobbery mess who really needed to let his parents rest before they went completely off their rockers.

So, he'd been absolutely overjoyed when he'd gotten a text from Lance letting him know that Veronica had volunteered to take Kashi for the night, and that the other kids had all been packed off to sleepovers with various teammates. Talia at Shiro's, Thace at Pidge's, and Rai at Hunk's. All he could think about was how good it was going to feel to sleep through the entire night and wake up rested- and free of baby drool. Man, parenthood really changed your perspective on how to spend a night off.

He was barely awake when he reached their quarters. He hardly even recognized that he was hungry until he smelled the food that was waiting for him, which brought him up short. He took a deep breath, letting the aroma fill him. Lance had cooked. Not only that, Lance had cooked his absolute favorite Cuban meal, a secret family recipe for pernil relleno de moros y cristianos. If he was really lucky there would also be croquetas and Cuban corn on the cob. Special occasion cooking.

"It smells AMAZING in here, babe," he called out, toeing off his shoes and hanging up his uniform jacket. He picked up a few stray toys on his way through the living room, tossing them into the toy box with practiced ease. "I can't believe you cooked! How did you have the energy to cook?"

He rounded the corner and was caught up in a warm, lingering kiss from his husband, who took one look at his surprised face and chuckled. "Mmhmm, just what I figured. It's been so busy this week… no one would believe me when I told them I thought you had forgotten. But I know you. I knew it. You've barely stopped moving in days. You are running on autopilot. Babe, what's the date?"

Keith blinked at him, confused. "Umm… it's Friday," he started, glancing around for some kind of clue. He knew it wasn't their anniversary- they'd gotten married in June, and he NEVER forgot that… but Lance was one of those romantics that remembered every little milestone- although thankfully, he never expected Keith to remember the little ones. Finally, his eyes lit on the counter and the few small wrapped gifts that sat next to his favorite Hummingbird cake. "Shit… I can't believe I forgot."

Lance just laughed, handing him a drink and steering him to a seat at their table. "Yeah. Of course I cooked… AND made sure we had the night to ourselves. Happy Birthday, babe. Love you so much."

Keith snaked his arm around Lance's waist and pulled him into his lap, "how did I ever luck into marrying you? You're amazing, I can't believe you did all this! Thank-you." He took his time kissing his husband, wanting to make sure that there wasn't even the tiniest shred of a doubt in Lance's mind about how much Keith loved him and loved the life they'd built together.

#fictober18 #Fictober18day15 #IThoughtYouHadForgotten #Day15PromptIThoughtYouHadForgotten #Klance #Voltron #VLD

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vrepitsorrynotsorry · 6 years

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Family Game Night

Title: Family Game Night Rating: G Pairing: Gen A/N: This is set directly after Season 5 but doesn’t really comply with Season 6. We decided not to try to make it conform. This is my contribution to @voltrongenminibang, and @clambatch’s art post is here: http://clambatch.tumblr.com/post/175954988597/hey-guys-heres-my-contribution-to. It’s amazing. You should go check it out.

One of the things the group had asked of Keith when he decided to work full-time with the Blade of Marmora was that he check in with them every once in a while. He had just finished telling them about his latest mission and meeting his mother.

Shiro knew that locating his family meant a great deal to Keith, but instead of looking happy, his face on the vid screen seemed haggard.

“It’s been a while since you’ve come by the castle for a visit,” Shiro mentioned. “Maybe you could ask Kolivan to take a few days to relax? You did just finish a mission, after all.”

The other paladins, Allura, and Coran were quick to agree.

“Actually,” Keith admitted, “that sounds great. Kolivan doesn’t seem to be too happy with my performance lately, and this whole thing with my mom is...weird.”

“You just need some time,” Allura assured him. “We’re happy to have you with us.”

After the transmission ended, the group decided to make it a sort of a party. Hunk was in charge of refreshments, of course, but beyond that, the plans began to fall apart fairly quickly.

“What about entertainment?” Lance wanted to know. “I mean, yeah, we’re all going to eat and talk and stuff, but after that? We need some way to unwind.”

“I’d suggest watching a movie,” Pidge remarked, “but first we all have to agree on one, which would probably never happen, and we don’t have any.”

“I’ve got my music player,” Lance offered, “but most of it isn’t exactly dance music...”

“Hey, Allura,” Hunk asked the princess, “what kind of things did you used to do around the castle for fun?”

“Actually,” the princess begrudgingly admitted, “games were generally considered to be things for very young children, and I’m afraid we don’t have any of them here any longer. I spent most of my free time reading about the cultures of our allies and sparring on the training deck.”

“I guess there’s always the Gameflux,” Pidge mentioned with a shrug, “but we only have the game it came with, and that one’s single-player.”

“There was all kinds of Earth junk in the shop we bought it from!” Lance grinned. “I’ll bet there’s some other games for the system there. Looks like it’s time for us all to take another trip to the space mall!”

“And we’ve got money now, too!” Hunk agreed. Lotor had been more than happy to exchange GAC for Coran and Allura’s old Altean currency. It probably wasn’t worth as much as he’d given them, what with 10,000 years of galactic inflation, but he’d been eager to get his hands on a part of Altean culture thought lost to time.

“I don’t think so,” Shiro declared firmly. When the others, especially Lance, looked like he’d just told them all holidays and birthdays were cancelled forever, he amended his statement. “We really don’t want to cause another scene like last time, and we should leave enough people here to respond in case of an emergency.”

“I don’t think the security guard got a very good look at me,” Coran mused, “and you didn’t go along, did you, Shiro?”

“I didn’t go along, either,” Allura chimed. Shiro and Coran both gave her a pointed look and she sighed. “I know, I know, who would create a wormhole if we really need one...”

“I’m sorry, Allura. I’m sure you’ll get a chance to go some other time.” After Allura smiled to show there were no true hard feelings, Shiro turned his focus to Lance and Pidge. “Now, what was the name of the store where you bought the game system?”

“Uh...” Both paladins considered the question for a few moments.

“I don’t remember.” Pidge shrugged.

“It was run by an alien.”

“We’re in outer space, Lance. Everything is run by aliens.”

“Yeah, but this guy was like the Earth alien stereotype. You know, little, green man with big, black eyes and a head shaped like an upside-down teardrop?”

“Oh. Well, I’m sure we’ll find it.”

“Remember,” Pidge cautioned, “we have the Gameflux Two, just in case he has anything for the first system.”

“Also, please don’t get anything lame or educational,” Lance pleaded.

“I do know how to have fun, Lance. Promise.”

As Shiro and Coran headed to the pod bay, Allura went to help Hunk inventory ingredients in the galley, and Lance and Pidge set about moving the Gameflux into the common area with the most comfortable seating.

*****

After a short period of searching, Coran and Shiro located the correct store. “Terra, huh?” Shiro chuckled and shook his head. “They must have been too distracted by the game to look at the name because they should have remembered that.”

“Oh?” Coran asked. “Does it have some special, human meaning?”

“It’s another name for our home planet.”

The shopkeeper approached in a bright purple leisure suit jacket and gold parachute pants. “Can I interest you in the latest Earth fashions?” he asked politely.

“Ooh!” Coran looked their host up and down. “I quite like that jacket. How are you getting the shoulders so pointy?”

“Actually,” Shiro cut in, “what we’re really looking for are game cartridges for the Mercury Gameflux Two system.”

The alien blinked. “Pardon?”

Shiro glanced around and noticed there were still boxes of the game system in the display window and pointed. “I have friends who bought one of those.”

“Ah, yes! They received a Kaltenecker with their purchase.”

“Um, yeah. You may have cartridges that can be used with it. They would be about this size,” Shiro paused to form a rectangle between his thumbs and index fingers, “and they probably come in a small box with pictures on the outside.”

“Let me check in the back.”

While they waited, Coran scanned a rack of jackets similar to the store owner’s but ultimately decided he didn’t like the fit when he tried one on over his uniform. Shiro found some model kits from an old animated series about fighting robot suits. It was the kind of thing he would have loved as a kid, and it was strange to think that he was kind of living it currently.

The owner eventually returned with a storage container full of Gameflux games in their original packaging. Shiro and Coran rifled through it, the former on a mission to find something for multiple players and the latter taking great joy in reading the descriptions on the back of all the boxes aloud.

There was no shortage of fighting games, but given how tense things had been lately, that probably wasn’t the best idea, even though it could be a vicarious means of blowing off steam. Finally, Shiro’s eyes settled on a particularly vivid box and he grinned as he picked it up.

“Master Racer?” Coran asked, reading the name off the back.

“I can remember playing a later version of this one,” Shiro explained. “It’s a pretty fun racing game. There are lots of characters and cars to choose from, and it’s not too hard to learn, if the others haven’t played before.”

“Might you also be interested in any of this?” The shopkeeper presented yet another container full of various items with the Gameflux logo. They happily snagged extra controllers and an adapter to allow four people to play at the same time. Coran insisted on purchasing several other games as well, but Shiro was fairly certain the racing game was going to get the most play time.

*****

When Coran and Shiro arrived back at the castle, Pidge had just finished setting up the game system to display on a large, projected holo-screen.

Allura cocked her head to one side and frowned slightly at the load screen of Killbot Phantasm 1. “These graphics are certainly...unique.”

Pidge wrinkled their nose at the display. “Yeah, this system is pretty low-tech. Earth has much better ones now.”

“It’s not this awful looking on a smaller screen,” Lance defended.

“I think we’ll be happy for the larger image when we play in split-screen,” Shiro added.

“Play what in split-screen?” Lance asked eagerly.

“Yeah, what’d you get?” Pidge wanted to know.

“Wow...” Hunk let out a low whistle when Shiro showed them their brand new copy of Master Racer. “I’ve never seen the first version of the franchise! I wonder how different it is from the ones I’ve played.”

“It’s been years since I’ve played any of them, either,” Shiro admitted, “but I’m sure at least a few of the characters and boosters are the same.”

Allura was now eyeing one of the game controllers. “These controlling options seem rather...limited. How complicated could this game really be?”

“I can see where you might think that.” Lance nodded sagely. “In fact, you don’t even have to use all of the buttons to play a racing game. The trick is in the timing and good reflexes and hand-eye coordination.”

“My reflexes and coordination are excellent,” the princess mused, “yet I still feel I may be at an unfair disadvantage, having never played one of these ‘video games’ before. Might Coran and I play a few practice rounds to acquaint ourselves with the system?”

“Seems fair,” Hunk agreed with a shrug. “I’m pretty sure all the Earthlings have played a racing game before, right?”

Everyone nodded, and Shiro added, “I can vouch for Keith having racing game experience. He prefers a real vehicle, given the choice, but he’s played his fair share.”

Lance switched off the console and swapped the adventure game for Master Racer before poking the power button again. An upbeat if tonally limited song played as an opening animation scrolled across the screen.

Shiro laughed and shook his head. “Wow... I’d forgotten what the music was like! I think I usually muted it and supplied my own.”

“Yeah, that’s going to get old pretty quickly. Especially since it’s about a sixty-second loop,” Hunk pointed out just as the music began to repeat itself.

Coran was bobbing his head to the peppy beat. “I rather like it.” The mice, who had decided to join in the fun, seemed to like it, too.

In the meantime, Lance had made it to the player selection screen.

“I guess there’s only about eight drivers to choose from in this version.” Lance shrugged. “They’ve still got my favorite at least.”

Allura tilted her head to one side as she perused the images of the available drivers.

“My goodness,” she finally remarked, “the chest on this one seems rather unwieldy for her frame and they are very...perky.”

Pidge’s eyes rolled and they let out a disgusted sigh. “Video game physics tend to ignore gravity a lot.”

“My exposure to human females is understandably limited, but is that typical?”

“Well,” Hunk considered, “figures do vary in size, but those are exaggerated.”

Allura frowned. “Why?”

“At the time this game was made,” Lance began to explain but was cut off by Pidge.

“Only at the time this game was made?”

“Fair enough,” Lance admitted. “The target demographic of games like this tends to be guys that want female characters to stare at and not so much for their personalities. If you think this is bad, you should see some of the fighting games.”

“That being said,” Shiro added, “Bella’s not a bad driver choice. She’s fairly balanced skill-wise, so she’s a good choice for a beginning player.”

“I wonder if she’s racing in someone’s memory,” Allura mused, eyeing the bright pink car behind Bella in her equally eye-melting pink jumpsuit.

“Huh?” Lance asked before he remembered the significance of pink to Alteans. “Oh, the pink. On Earth, pink tends to be a color associated with girls.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, and blue is usually considered a boy color. I happen to like blue, but not just because I’m a guy.”

“How odd!” Allura laughed. “Associating colors with gender is something that had never occurred to me.”

“Lucky,” Pidge grumbled. “It’s totally arbitrary, too. When you get older, people don’t care so much, but little kids tend to get either pink or blue shoved in their faces all the time.”

Allura continued scanning the players. “Is there something wrong with that last one’s head?”

“Yeah... That one’s a bear.”

“A what?”

“It’s an animal native to Earth,” Pidge explained. “They look a little like a klanmürl, but they’re arguably less terrifying.”

“Animals on Earth are capable of controlling vehicles?” Coran was intrigued.

“Realistically, no,” Hunk broke the news. “I guess they can be trained to act like they could, but this is another example of video game rules not applying to reality. I love that bear, though. Grizz is my favorite.”

“Dude.” Lance raised a skeptical brow. “Grizz is a heavy! Why would you pick somebody so slow?”

“I like the better control on corners!” Hunk defended his choice. “Grizz is the only character I’ve ever made it all the way through Graveyard Gulch with and not fallen off the road.”

“What is a ‘heavy’?” Allura asked.

“It’s a nickname for a certain kind of driver,” Hunk answered. “They usually have bigger, bulkier vehicles, and they move slower, but they can sometimes knock other cars out of their way. There’s also regular drivers with middling speed and weight, and smaller, lighter cars that go really fast but can be knocked around by other vehicles. It’s a trade-off.”

“Although,” Shiro cautioned, “I think that’s something that may have been added into later versions of the game. The drivers in this one are probably pretty much the same.”

Hunk’s face brightened. “You mean Grizz will be faster?” Then his expression fell again. “Aw, man... Graveyard Gulch is going to be an even bigger nightmare than it usually is. Unless it’s not one of the tracks in this version?”

“Not sure, buddy. We won’t see the track list until we’re out of the character selection screen.”

Allura decided to give Bella a try, and Hunk had almost convinced Coran to race with Grizz so he could get a peek at the character in action, but the advisor had discovered a character with a mustache, and that was that.

Finally, they got their first look at the available tracks: the Original Oval, Curvy Creek, Desolate Desert, City Cruising, and Hunk’s nemesis, Graveyard Gulch.

“You guys should probably practice on the Oval,” Lance suggested. “It’s the least complicated track so you can get the basics down.” He held a controller out to explain the various buttons to an eager Altean audience. “You hold this button down for the gas-”

“What sort of gas?” Coran wanted to know. “And what purpose does it serve?”

“He means gasoline,” Hunk clarified. “The vehicles in the game use internal combustion engines that use it for fuel. What he means is that’s the button for the accelerator.”

Lance huffed. “Okay, fine. This button’s the accelerator. Explaining this stuff is harder than I thought it would be. Anyway, this one next to it is the brakes. You know, in case you want to slow down, but it’s a race, so why would you?”

“Sharp corners,” Hunk reminded him. “Some tracks have sharp corners, and you can’t just speed around them or you’ll skid off the road.”

“Just let up on the accelerator, then.” Lance rolled his eyes, but smiled fondly at his best friend. “On the other side of the controller, you push left and right to move, well, left and right. Either up or down will activate a booster, and that’s pretty much it.”

“What are these ‘boosters’?” Allura asked.

Pidge had been flipping through the small booklet that came in the game box. “According to this manual, each driver gets two boosters that vary character to character and can be used at any time during a race. Allura, Bella has a speed boost, and Coran, that guy’s name is Slick, and he can leave oil on the track behind him to slip up other drivers. You can also find boosters along the track that are a random mix of everyone’s boosters. You always use the last boost you picked up, otherwise it’ll be you character’s boost, if they still have any.”

“Also,” Shiro added, “if you time it just right, you can get an initial speed burst when the flag drops, but it can also slow you down if you’re not on the mark.”

Allura and Coran each took a controller and stared intently at the screen. The mice took up various perches in the laps and on the shoulders of the new racers. When the checkered flag fell, the princess’ car sped off down the track, along with vehicles controlled by the game system, leaving Coran scooting forward in little bursts. One of the mice seemed to be trying to give backseat driving advice, though Coran wouldn’t have been able to understand it.

“You need to hold down the accelerator button,” Hunk instructed instead.

Coran corrected his tapping method and seemed to be doing all right until he suddenly began moving in circles.

“You’re holding down the turn button too long.” Lance was trying not to laugh at Coran’s dismay. The mouse on his shoulder felt no such compunction and laughed so hard they rolled off his shoulder and bounced onto the sofa cushions.

“You said the track is an oval, so shouldn’t I be turning?”

“It’s a big oval,” Lance explained with a sigh. “There are basically straight stretches and you really only need to turn sharply like that at the corners.”

“Ha! You can’t trick me--ovals have no corners!”

“Curves, then! Jeez, you are so literal right now...”

Eventually, Coran worked out the knack of steering about the time the other cars lapped him. He attempted to use his booster, but he’d already been passed.

Lance turned his attention to Allura. “Do you need any help?”

“No, thank you,” Allura replied absently, eyes glued to her racer. “I think I’ve got this.” Sure enough, she was out in the lead with an impressive gap between her and the second place driver. The mouse companion on her shoulder leaned into every turn and squeaked encouragement.

“Wow.” Hunk’s eyes were wide. “You’re going to take first place in your very first race. I’m impressed! I think I was next to last in mine.”

Lance shrugged off her success. “It’s probably just beginner’s luck. This is the easiest track, after all, and it’s not like the controls are that complicated.”

As if to belie that point, Coran skidded off the road after somehow running into his own booster.

Just as Allura crossed the finish line for the win and Coran was crossing it to complete his first lap, a voice called from the doorway, “You guys got started without me?”

The game was abandoned in favor of piling on top of the newly arrived Keith.

“You got here fast!” Shiro remarked with a grin. “We were just letting the Alteans get a feel for the game because they’ve never played before.”

Hunk dashed from the room. “I’ve gotta run and get some snacks ready!”

Coran abandoned finishing his race to assist in the galley along with a sympathetic Allura.

“Don’t worry,” she assured on their way out the door. “You’ll get the hang of it. If you can maneuver a whole castle, you can drive one of these imaginary cars.”

“Whoa.” Keith blinked at the game on the screen, which had been returned to the character selection menu. “I haven’t played Master Racer in forever! Where’d you even find this? The space mall?”

Shiro nodded. “There were other games too, but I was trying to get something several people could play at once.”

“I’m gonna have to go back there some time,” Lance mused. “I’ll bet there’s some other gems available.”

“Four controllers?” Keith observed. “How are we going to decide who plays when?”

“Good question.” Pidge considered the problem for a few moments before snapping their fingers. “I could come up with a bracket system! Except that there are only seven of us, so we’d have to throw in byes if it were single-elimination. Or maybe we could use a round robin format. I’m sure I’ve got a program that could generate something.”

“We could also draw names randomly,” Shiro said. “I can remember playing where whoever wins sits out the next round so people can rotate into the game when we had more players than controllers.”

Lance smirked. “I don’t really care how we decide the racing order as long I get to show you all my awesome driving skills.”

“Yikes.” Pidge snorted. “I’m having flashbacks to the flight simulator.”

“You guys have already seen me drive,” Keith remarked with a shrug.

“And now I’m flashing back to the most terrifying ride of my life.”

“Hey, we all survived!”

“You intentionally drove off a cliff, Keith. I don’t think that necessarily translates to good race driving.”

Eventually, Hunk and the Alteans returned with snacks: pigs in blankets and soft pretzels.

“I’ll have to duck out later for the cookies and brownies that are currently baking,” Hunk informed the others as they swarmed the trays of food.

Allura eyed the cheese oozing out of the pigs in blankets. “Those contain-” she paused to shudder, “-dairy, correct?”

“Yes,” Hunk answered simply but kindly. “You don’t have to eat them, if you’d prefer not to.”

Coran was already halfway through his second of the treats. “I do believe I’ve eaten worse and certainly in less pleasant company.”

The mice didn’t seem to have any issues with dairy, either, contentedly munching on tiny versions of the snack containing only cheese.

There were a few minutes filled only by the sounds of good friends enjoying good food before the subject of how to arrange playing turns came up again.

“I’ll volunteer not to be in the first group,” Hunk proposed. “‘Cause, you know, baked goods.”

Coran and Shiro also agreed to wait out the first race.

That settled, the other four scooped up controllers and prepared to make their character selections.

“Aw, man! Who already took Ace? He’s my favorite.” Lance pouted at the screen.

“He’s my favorite, too,” Keith said as he deselected the character, “but you can have him if it means that much to you.” He chose another option.

“No way!” Lance insisted, picking a different driver. “I’m not taking him just because you ‘let’ me.”

“I’ll take him.” Pidge snagged the still available option.

Allura decided to stick with Bella.

Shiro decided preemptively to put someone in between Lance and Keith on the couch in hopes that their competitive natures wouldn’t devolve to elbowing each other during the race. Since it might be unfairly distracting to put one of the other drivers in that spot, Shiro planted himself there.

After a short debate, they decided to use the Curvy Creek track because it was of intermediate difficulty, and though characters could slide off the main road, it was fairly easy to find it again and there were no major pitfalls.

The race began, and at first, everyone was too focused for commentary. Then Keith sideswiped Lance’s car on a turn.

“Hey, watch it!”

“You were practically taking up the whole road--I didn’t have room to just go around.”

Lance deliberately targeted Keith with a booster, and he retaliated in kind.

With the amount of slamming into one another occurring on the screen, it was probably a very good idea they had been separated physically. Shiro didn’t seem terribly pleased, but it had been his idea to sit between them, so he persevered. Allura and Pidge remained blissfully unaffected from their spots on the floor in front of the couch.

Lance and Keith crossed the finish line at almost the same time, Keith very slightly ahead. They were in third and fourth place.

“Who won?” Lance asked.

“Allura,” Pidge informed him. “Like thirty seconds ago. You guys were so busy being jerks to each other, I managed to take second, and I went off the road about three times.”

Lance sighed. “Sorry, Keith. Truce?”

Keith rolled his eyes, but he was smiling. “Sure. I got caught up in it, too. Sorry.”

Coran and Shiro subbed in for Allura and Pidge, and Hunk went to check the oven.

They used this pattern of first and second place sitting out the next race for a while, taking breaks for snacks as needed. Pidge, unsurprisingly, as they had been tracking the racing stats, was the first to notice that Allura took first every time she raced.

“It’s got to be the alien genes,” Lance mused as he watched Allura flawlessly navigate a tight turn. “She’s got a better reaction time.”

“I’ve got alien genes,” Keith reminded him.

“Yeah, but you’re only half Galra at most. Plus, Allura’s Altean.”

“So’s Coran,” Hunk reminded them, “and he’s... Let’s just say I’m not seeing any inherent advantage there.” Coran was somehow currently facing the wrong direction and not even on the road.

“Do you think she’s using magic somehow?”

“Why does it bother you so much that she’s good at this?”

“It doesn’t bother me that she’s good,” Lance attempted to articulate what was bugging him. “It’s more that she’s so good so fast, you know? She barely even has to work at it. Plus, she’s kind of getting a little smug about it.”

Allura crossed the finish line, in first place again, with a whoop. “This game is quite amusing,” she said, covering a small yawn, “but it’s also getting somewhat boring.”

Keith and Lance shared a look of unspoken understanding. Beating one another in the race was now less important than someone being able to beat Allura.

“Oh yeah?” Lance asked casually as the racers stood for a stretch break. “Maybe you should try the hardest track.”

Hunk gasped. “Graveyard Gulch? I’m out.”

Shiro agreed to be their fourth player for a run on the Graveyard Gulch track. It was both the longest track in the game and it had the largest number of turns, the majority of which had steep drop-offs that would cause a substantial recovery delay if drivers weren’t careful. Allura didn’t seem worried in the least.

Coran, Pidge, and Hunk lined up behind the couch to observe, even if Hunk was doing so through his fingers.

As the racers crossed the starting line, Lance and Keith flanked Allura, keeping as close as they could. They attempted a coordinated booster attack, only to have Allura utilize her brakes to avoid them, steer around, and then use her own speed booster to leave them behind.

Hunk chuckled. “No real use for the brakes, huh, Lance?”

Lance might have responded with a rude gesture, but his hands were busy. “Thanks for the moral support, buddy.”

Shiro frowned, half in disapproval and half because he was doing his best not to fall over a cliff on a turn. “Were you two really just ganging up on Allura? Kind of rude, don’t you think?”

“I wouldn’t worry about it,” Allura remarked dismissively. “They didn’t do a very good job of it.”

One of Shiro’s eyebrows climbed upward. “You’re awfully confident.”

“If the other races we’ve played thus far are any indication, they can try their best and it won’t matter.” The mouse on her shoulder nodded in agreement.

Shiro’s other eyebrow joined the first. He looked over at Lance and Keith, scrambling to catch up again and then smirked, though Allura couldn’t see it.

The double booster stunt had slowed her down enough that Shiro was still fairly close, and he waited until they were on a turn to bump into the side of Allura’s car. She managed, just barely, to remain on the road. Her jaw dropped in indignation for a moment before she grinned wickedly right back at Shiro. “Oh, I see how it is!”

The remainder of the race could be described as nothing less than brutal. Shiro, Lance, and Keith held nothing back, all teaming up to keep Allura from taking first place again. In turn, Allura had to employ every ounce of coordination she could muster and missed no opportunity to fire boosters back. The three team members in the “audience” behind the couch cheered everyone on equally.

Allura crossed the finish ahead of the others, but due to all of their interference, a character controlled by the computer had taken first place.

Allura released a huff of breath and looked down. At first, everyone was afraid she was going to be angry with them, but then her shoulders began to shake and she laughed.

“That was by far the most challenging race tonight! Well done, if not quite enough to beat me.”

“We’ll figure it out one of these times!” Lance proclaimed, followed by a large yawn.

“Probably better not try again tonight,” Shiro remarked. “I think we should all head to bed. We can always play some more in the morning.”

A chorus of yawning had followed Lance’s initial contribution, and Pidge was already half asleep, propped between Hunk and the back of the couch.

“This was really fun.” Keith smiled at their makeshift family. “We should do this more often.”

“Definitely!”

“Speaking of tomorrow,” Lance wondered, “will we be racing more, or did you get any other games we can play with a group?”

“Indeed!” Coran affirmed. “I can’t recall what it was called at the moment, but Shiro said something about tiny games?”

“Mini games?” Pidge perked up at the idea. “Tell me you found a copy of Alfredo’s Festival!”

Suddenly, every Earthling in the room seemed to be a bit more awake.

“Tomorrow,” Shiro reminded them firmly. “We’re done for tonight.” To emphasize his point he stood, walked over, and hit the power switch on the console. There was some unhappy grumbling, but they all began to file out of the room and head to their quarters for the night.

“Am I to understand that this other game is composed of many games that are very small?” Allura asked.

“The ‘mini’ name isn’t so much about literal size,” Pidge explained. “It’s more that the games are simple and short so you can play a bunch of them in a row easily.”

“The controls are even simpler than racing. You’re gonna love it, Coran.”

Shiro hung back, watching the others leave the room. It was good to have everyone together again. No one knew when the next catastrophe might strike, but for at least this one night, it had been so much fun to forget about responsibility and just enjoy one another’s company. If they were lucky, the peace would hold out through the morning, or at least long enough for everyone to enjoy a nice breakfast together and the chaos bound to spring up during a rousing game of Alfredo’s Festival.

#voltrongenminibang #voltrongenminibang2018 #vld #fanfiction #keith #takashi #lance #hunk #pidge #princess allura #coran hieronymus wimbleton smythe #team bonding #playing video games #they/them pronouns for pidge

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thetimeladyswan · 8 years

Text

If The Sky Comes Falling Down

Title: If The Sky Comes Falling Down

Summary: He needed to know – he needed to find his brother. The Saviour who could break the curse that enveloped the town. The one who could prove that Keith’s memories of him were real. Once Upon a Time AU.

Rating: T

Read it here: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12392777/1/If-The-Sky-Comes-Falling-Down

http://archiveofourown.org/works/9914768

one.

Shiro could not remember what his life was before sixteen years of age. He had been found, wandering with no memory. He had retained a name – Shiro – whether it was his first or last he did not know, but he knew it was his. His age had been the only other nugget of information he had remembered; his birthday had become the day he was found.

He had ended up in the foster system – his parents nowhere to be found. He had emerged fairly well-rounded, found a job and an apartment, continued his life.

A life that was normal, despite the void where the memories of the first fifteen years of his life should have been.

two.

Keith’s life was anything but normal. Cursed to be separated from his family, to live his days not quite knowing if his memories were real or dreams of an existence better than the one he currently lead.

He needed to know – he needed to find his brother. The Saviour who could break the curse that enveloped the town. The one who could prove that Keith’s memories of him were real.

three.

The town was odd – that was all Shiro could say about it. Keith was silent, as he had been for most of the journey, hunched against the window. He offered no commentary on his hometown, merely staring at the familiar (to him, not to Shiro) buildings as they passed by.

“Okay,” said Shiro, breaking the silence. “Where do your parents live?”

“Our parents,” Keith began, still gazing out the window, “aren’t together. They haven’t even met here, and they don’t know who I am. It’s a part of the curse.”

Shiro frowned, trying to meet his apparent brother’s eye. “So where do you live?”

He shrugged. “Wherever I can.”

“You’re homeless?”

Keith sighed, finally twisting around in his seat to face him. “The curse, it’s supposed to make us miserable. Taking us away from our families, check one. Making us forget our past lives, check two.”

“You remember.”

His mouth curled into a thoughtful expression. “It doesn’t work on me the same was as everyone else. My theory is that some of your Saviour magic worked on me too.”

“How long have you been cursed?” asked Shiro next.

“Nine years, I think. I’m seventeen now. You’re … twenty-five.”

He blinked. “How do you know that?”

“I’m your brother.”

“I suppose you are. Okay, where can we stay the night?”

Keith brightened at the use of ‘we’. “Take a left at the top of the street …”

Across town, in a hospital bed, a woman who had spent the last nine years in a coma opened her eyes.

four.

When Shiro awoke the next morning, the bed and breakfast room he had rented to share with Keith showed no sign of his roommate. Resolved to the worst case scenario, he dressed quickly, wondering just how difficult it would be to find Keith in a town this small, even if it was unfamiliar to him.

He was collecting the keys to the room and his car when the door opened.

“You’re awake,” said Keith, shutting the door before he continued. “I thought you’d still be asleep when I got back. I go to the hospital every morning to check on a friend of mine, Allura.”

The way he paused made Shiro uneasy, as though he were supposed to remember who Allura was.

“She’s awake,” he finished eventually. “She’s been in a coma for as long as the curse, I think it’s a good sign.”

“The curse can be broken that easily?” asked Shiro, frowning.

Keith shook his head empathically. “No, it’s gonna take more than you being here. But this is a start. Do you want to go for breakfast? There’s a diner downstairs.”

five.

She could not remember her name, nor anything else about herself. Allura, the boy who had visited her that morning had called her. It settled somewhere under her skin. Perhaps it was her name.

But how could the boy know?

She asked the nurses. “The boy who visited me this morning, Keith, did I know him?”

“He never talked to us. Comes to visit you every day, though.”

If that was the case, she could ask him tomorrow.

“Eleanor, thank god! I thought I’d never see you again.” A man burst into the room, immediately restrained by hospital orderlies. The nurse addressed him.

“Sir, this patient is an amnesiac, if you would please—”

“Eleanor,” he said again, “you don’t remember me?”

Eleanor, was that her name? Or was Allura? She could not remember.

“I don’t know who you are,” she said. I don’t know who I am.

six.

Keith provided a running commentary over breakfast, telling Shiro about the people who came into the diner – who they were, what the curse had done to them.

“That’s Pidge – Katie under the curse. We were friends before the curse was cast.”

Shiro listened without complaint, though Keith was sure that the info-dump was likely grating on his brother’s nerves.

“Are you okay?”

“It’s just—” he gestured in an encompassing circle with a fork. “This is a lot to take in. A few hours ago I didn’t have a family. Now I’ve got to break a curse? I don’t even know how.”

“I’m sorry,” said Keith, voice soft as he tried to think of the best thing to say. “I’m going to help you as much as I can. It’s okay that you don’t know how to break the curse. We’ll figure it out.”

Shiro nodded. “Thanks, Keith.”

seven.

Keith left for school after breakfast, giving Shiro his number and making it clear that he had no problems with ditching if he was needed. Shiro, who was surprised that Keith even attended school given that he had nowhere to call home, insisted that he go.

He decided that he would use the time alone to familiarise himself with the town. Breaking the curse was not going to be a quick task, if there was even a curse to break. He would likely have to stay in Storybrooke for a while.

It was a quaint town, much smaller than any Shiro had ever visited. People went about their business, some pausing to look at him when they realised he was not one of their own townspeople. On a street corner, he met the Sheriff.

“You’re new,” said the man, with an easy smile.

“Is it a crime to visit the town?” he replied, earning a laugh.

“No, no, not at all. Sam Holt, nice to meet you.”

They shook hands. “Shiro, I’m Keith’s brother. I’m going to be here for a while.”

“Keith …” Sheriff Holt paused as he seemed to remember who Shiro was talking about. “It’s good that he has family. He’s a good kid.”

Shiro nodded, bidding the sheriff goodbye and continuing on his way.

The layout of the town was fairly simple, and Shiro was confident that he could find his way around it. He sent a text to his brother, asking what time he would finish school at. They had things to discuss; if Shiro was going to stick around for a while, he’d need a job, and they’d need somewhere to live. Staying at Sal’s B&B forever was not an option.

eight.

In her dreams, she knew who she was; a princess, a warrior.

Her father told her to run, to get to safety, and she had no choice but to obey him. She heard the sing of metal on metal as she made her escape, the grunts and cries of battle, and she forced herself not to turn her head.

The younger prince ran to her, trying to tell her everything that had happened, his words emerging a jumbled mess. His parents were trying to hold off the witch so that his brother could escape, the curse was approaching on the horizon, he was scared.

She tried to console the prince, but eventually left him to rush to where she heard commotion echoing down the halls.

The elder prince was still there, risking his life when he should have been long gone. She called to him.

“Takashi, go!”

After looking between her and his frantically nodding parents, he did.

“Where are you sending him?” asked the witch menacingly. She stretched out a hand and the princess found herself trapped by magic, unable to move.

“Somewhere you can’t find him,” said the queen, voice strong though she trembled. “It’s over, Haggar. Your curse will be broken. We will defeat you and Zarkon.”

A menacing smile. “We’ll see about that.”

She disappeared, reappearing before the princess. Still paralysed, she could do nothing as the witch plunged a blade into her stomach.

She fell, like a puppet with its strings cut, and …

Awoke in her hospital bed.

Once she had slowed her breathing, and the heart monitor at her bedside sounded less like it would explode, she felt her stomach. There was a scar there, consistent with the injury she had sustained in her dream. She knew it was a dream; there were no witches in the real world, and she was not a princess.

A knock on the door startled her. She looked up to see Keith, the boy who had visited her yesterday – everyday, according to the nurse she had talked to.

“Hey, Allura. Did I wake you?”

She shook her head. “No, come in.”

He did, settling into the chair by her bed. “How are you feeling?”

“All right, I think,” she replied truthfully. “I don’t remember anything.”

“I think that’s normal.”

“Keith? Why do you call me Allura? Did you know me before this happened?”

It took him a moment to reply. “No, I didn’t. You never had any visitors here, so I started to come in to see you. No one knew your name, so I called you Allura. I can stop?”

“No … it feels right. Like it belongs to me.”

Keith smiled.

nine.

Knowing this time that Keith would pay a visit to the hospital before breakfast, Shiro was unworried when he woke to find the other bed empty.

He ordered breakfast for himself and Keith (hoping that his brother would be all right with the same thing he’d had the morning before) and asked the waitress, a girl called Shay, where he could buy a newspaper.

“Here, you can have this one,” she smiled, passing him one from the edge of the counter. “We’re finished with it.”

“Thank you,” he replied, unfurling the Storybrooke Daily Mirror as the waitress moved onto her next customer. He found the listings for work and apartments, scanning both.

“Looking for jobs?” asked Keith in greeting, sliding onto a stool beside Shiro. He looked cheerful.

“Can’t use up all my savings. Got any recommendations?”

“You could try the Sheriff’s Station,” Keith suggested, “Samuel Holt was our—” he paused as Shay delivered their food, “our master-at-arms. He’s Pidge’s dad. Not here, I don’t think they’ve ever even met.”

“I met him yesterday,” said Shiro, thoughtful as he took a sip of his coffee. Keith dumped an obscene amount of sugar into his before he did the same. “He seemed like a good person.”

He nodded. “So, you could try that. Or – what did you do in New York?”

“Whatever work I could pick up.”

“Or you could do whatever work you can pick up.”

“I’ll check out the Sheriff’s Station,” said Shiro, laying down the newspaper in favour of his breakfast.H

ten.

Sheriff Holt turned out to be more than happy to hire him at the station, so much so that Shiro was suspicious. He explained, however, that he was good at reading people and had known almost instantly that Shiro was trustworthy. Shiro wasn’t exactly sure what to make of that.

He declined the offer of a Deputy uniform, knowing that it would make him stand out even more than he did as the stranger in town.

When he clipped the Deputy badge to his jacket, the ground shook with tremors. He looked worryingly at Sam, but the Sheriff grinned.

“Ready for your first day on the job?”

Arriving on the scene, they discovered that one of the mining tunnels that ran underneath the town had collapsed.

“Who is this?” asked the mayor, a woman by the name of Helena, who Shiro had not met. She was clearly suspicious of him.

“My name is Shiro,” he replied, smiling as genuinely as he dared. “I’m Keith’s brother, and the new Deputy.”

“Deputy?” she repeated, turning to Sam.

“It’s in my budget,” he defended.

“Indeed. Well, Deputy, why don’t you make yourself useful by helping calm down the crowds?”

She turned to face the townspeople, clearly intent on giving a speech, but was cut off by a woman rushing towards the collapsed mine entrance, yelling intelligibly.

“Katie! Please, my daughter is down there!”

Katie? Shiro was sure he had heard that name somewhere before … Pidge, Keith’s friend.

If she was Pidge’s real mother, and not a family connection made by the curse, she didn’t recognise Sam. Shiro understood now, more than he had by merely listening to Keith’s stories, what the curse had done.

“You have to help her!” she implored the Sheriff, who may have been her husband in another life.

So it was that Shiro ended up being hoisted down an air shaft, torch in hand, calling for Katie.

He found her stowing rock samples away in her backpack. She was a scientist, she explained, and had not expected the tunnel to collapse.

“All that matters is that you’re safe,” he told her, relieved to have found her unharmed. “Your mother is worried about you.”

Katie sighed at this. “She always does. But I’m fine.”

“Still, I’d be more careful in the future if I were you.”

After checking the security of the harness, Shiro switched on his walkie talkie. “Sheriff? I’ve found her.”

There was some static, and then a reply. “Are you ready to come back up?”

Katie took this as her cue to approach him. When she was in position, he gave an answer. “Ready now.”

The ascent was a little bumpy, but otherwise uneventful. Katie took the opportunity to quiz him.

“Who are you, anyway?”

Shiro laughed. “You let a stranger rescue you?”

“You're trustworthy, I could tell,” she replied matter-of-factly. A trait she shared with her father, apparently. “But that doesn’t answer my question.”

“Name’s Shiro, I’m new in town. I just started at the Sheriff’s Station; you’re my first rescue.”

She seemed unimpressed by his attempt at humour. “What brought you here? We don’t see new people very often.”

“My brother, Keith, he’s from here. He came to find me.”

Katie pursed her lips. “The homeless kid?”

“Not for much longer, if I have anything to do with it.”

eleven.

The news that she would be released from the hospital was not a surprise, but yet Allura did not know what she would do outside of these walls. The town, it's people were strangers to her. Her only friend was a teenage boy.

She had been told her history by her so-called fiancé, Liam. After his initial outburst, he had returned and explained himself. Her name was Eleanor, she had been eighteen when they had gotten engaged, young but sure of their love. After argument, however, she had left for a walk in the woods to clear her head, and had somehow ended up in a coma. He had thought she’d moved, and never connected the Jane Doe in the hospital with her. She had never been identified.

Keith visited her that morning, as he did every morning. They walked around the outdoor gardens together, and Allura told him the news that she would be discharged later that day.

“Do you have a place to stay?” he asked.

She bit her lip. “Yes, I do actually. With my … fiancé. I don’t remember him, but I’m willing to give it a shot. Maybe it’ll jog my memory.”

Liam still called her Eleanor, which she had decided against accepting as her name, but it was clear that he cared about her. She would make a go of things, for the sake of the Eleanor that was.

“I hope it works out for you,” he smiled, but it was obviously forced.

“We can still have our meet ups,” she said, in an effort to cheer him up. “How about at Sal's? I heard they do a mean breakfast.”

“Sounds good,” he smiled.

After the mine collapse and the subsequent casualties, Allura’s bed was needed by the hospital more than ever. So, she packed up her meagre belongings and left the relative safety of the hospital.

twelve.

His conversation with Allura weighed on him over the following days. The curse was not above giving people different families and relationships, if that was what would make them miserable. When it came to Allura, however, Keith was sure that the plan had been for her to remain in a coma. She’d only woken up due to Shiro’s arrival.

Keith needed to find out who Liam was. Allura had only had one fiancé – Shiro. This engagement was a fabrication of the curse, something that furthered Haggar or Zarkon’s goals.

The mayor’s office was easy to break into. Finding what he was looking for, not so much. Haggar – or Mayor Helena, as she was known in Storybrooke – did not keep a handy chart of real- to cursed-names.

He searched instead for records of meetings and dealings the mayor had had over the course of the curse. Lots with Mr. Z, of course – Haggar and Zarkon had always worked together. Finally, he came across the name he was looking for: Liam Zimbel. Reading about the meetings he’d had with Haggar, Keith realised who it was.

“Lotor,” he said aloud.

Just as he had made his discovery, he was bathed in light.

thirteen.

It was a slow evening at the station. Shiro was on his fifth cup of coffee of the day, looking over case files when the phone rang, signalling the first interesting thing to have happened since lunch.

“Sheriff’s Station,” Sam answered. “Madam Mayor, what seems to be the problem? … I understand … I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

When he hung up the phone, he was grinning. Shiro raised an eyebrow.

“Your little brother finds himself on the wrong side of the law,” the Sheriff explained. “Would you like to handle it or sit here and look disappointed?”

Shiro laughed. “I’ll stay here.”

He returned with Keith in tow (thankfully not cuffed) not long after. Keith sighed as Shiro, arms folded, nodded towards a chair.

“Why did you break into the mayor’s office?” asked Sam.

“You broke into the mayor’s office?”

“She’s keeping things from us,” said Keith. “Secret meetings, under the table deals.”

“That’s politics, kid. It’s not nice, but it’s nothing we can arrest the mayor for. Now, she’s going to want some evidence of punishment. Shiro, I’ll leave that up to you.”

With a smile to the two of them, Sam retreated to his office.

Shiro raised an eyebrow at his brother. “What were you thinking?”

“Allura has a fiancé. She shouldn’t, unless it serves some purpose to Haggar and Zarkon.”

“It can’t the just a part of the curse?”

“No.” He shook his head. “They’d want her to be miserable.”

“Right. So, for your sentence.” His brother raised an eyebrow at the choice of word. “Community service? No, I have just the thing for you.”

He retrieved the keys from his desk, unlocking one of the holding cells.

“Seriously?” asked Keith.

“Seriously. In you go.”

Begrudgingly, Keith stood from the chair he had been sitting on and entered the cell. Shiro locked it behind him.

“Wait, you’re leaving me in here?”

“Time to think about what you’ve done,” said Shiro with a grin. “Plus, I’ll get a much better night’s sleep.”

fourteen.

Shiro was gracious enough to release Keith before breakfast. He was met with a scowl, and ruffled his brother’s hair in retaliation.

“Have you learned your lesson?” Shiro joked.

“Don’t try to help you break the curse? Yeah.”

After a shower, change of clothes and the promise of breakfast, Keith appeared to feel much better. His mood only improved when he and Shiro entered the diner.

“Allura!” he said, approaching a blonde woman at the counter.

“Keith!” she beamed, accepting his hug. She glanced over his shoulder. “And you must be Shiro?”

“That’s me,” Shiro smiled, offering a hand to her. “Nice to meet you.”

They shook hands, and Shiro felt a shock of electricity. Allura had probably picked up some static from Keith’s jacket. She seemed not to notice, but something shifted in her eyes, a slight frown creasing her brow.

“How have you been?” asked Keith, and she turned back to him, shaking her head slightly.

fifteen.

Allura continued to meet with Keith (and occasionally Shiro) for breakfast at Sal’s over the following weeks, dodging any and all questions about her fiancé. Keith was suspicious, she knew, but he never pushed the issue.

None of her memories had returned to her, and nothing about Liam made her feel as though she had fallen in love with him as a teenager. Perhaps it had been madness, and they’d been too young to know better.

She knew now; she had to leave. She could stay at Sal’s B&B until she found somewhere to live.

Liam did not take well to the news. “Eleanor—”

“My name is Allura, now,” she told him. “Maybe it wasn’t always, and maybe I loved you, once, but I think I deserve the chance to start over. Maybe this happened to me for a reason. A clean slate.”

The door to the pawn shop swung open with an almighty ring of the bell. Its proprietor, known only as Mr. Z to the townspeople, was unperturbed, and continued to polish the brass ornament formed a part of his display.

“Father,” said Liam, knocking his first on the countertop to further illustrate his impatience.

“What is it, Lotor?”

“You promised that under the curse Princess Allura would be mine.”

“I did,” replied Mr. Z, laying down the rag he had been polishing with. “And then Haggar stabbed her so that she would sleep. Her little way of denying you what you want.”

“She’s awake now, and still she is not mine.”

“There is nothing I can do to change that, my dear son. It is the Saviour’s doing.”

“We need to do something about him.”

Mr. Z smiled. “I couldn’t agree more.”

sixteen.

“Looking for a place?”

Shiro looked up at the familiar voice to find Allura smiling at him. She sat across from him in the diner booth.

“Yeah,” he answered. “Keith and I can’t stay here forever.”

She nodded. “A B&B isn’t a great long-term arrangement.”

He remembered Keith telling him that Allura had left her fiancé. “You’re in the market for a place too, aren’t you?”

“Yes,” she sighed, though she smiled at Shay when the waitress arrived with the coffee she must have ordered, thanking her. “Not so much luck so far. Wait—” her eyes lit up. “Why don’t we look for somewhere together, you me and Keith? It’d be a lot easier to find one apartment than two, and the rent would be less … towering.”

Shiro considered her words. She and Keith were firm friends, and Shiro couldn’t foresee any problems with living with her. It was a good idea.

“As long as Keith doesn’t have any issues with it, sounds like a plan.”

Allura beamed.

seventeen.

They found a two-bedroom loft apartment in the centre of town. Shiro and Keith were by then accustomed to sharing a room, so continuing to do so wasn’t an issue. It was a step up from staying in the bed and breakfast, in any rate. Keith was delighted with the change, but Shiro had the distinct feeling that he was hiding something.

“There’s something you should know,” said Keith, finally, as he and Shiro unpacked the boxes that had arrived from Shiro’s old apartment. “You and Allura knew each other, back home. You were … betrothed to each other.”

Shiro gripped the mug he'd taken out of its box a little tighter than was strictly necessary. “We were engaged?”

“Betrothed,” Keith corrected. “It’s not like you proposed to her. It was set up between our parents and hers. It’s the way things are back home.”

“And we were okay with it?”

Keith shrugged. “I think so. You were friends, at least. If you did have feelings for her, you weren’t going to tell your kid brother. I just thought you might want to know, now that we're living with her.”

“Yeah, it’s – good to know. Thanks.”

eighteen.

There was something about having a place to live – a place that did not scream 'temporary' as the B&B and the places he had been able to find shelter had – that settled him. It made him more hopeful, even confident that Shiro could break the curse. He allowed himself to imagine seeing his parents again, his friends.

All he could see at that present moment was a boy blocking his way.

It was no one Keith had known at home, but he thought he had seen the boy somewhere in Storybrooke before. Around his own age, and arrogant, if Keith’s instinct was anything to go by.

He grinned at Keith’s scowl. “Lance McClain, a pleasure.”

“Keith Kogane. Wish I could say the same. If you’d excuse me …”

“The Deputy’s baby brother, right?” asked Lance, infuriating grin still in place. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“That’s nice,” replied Keith, deadpan. “Now—”

“If I’d excuse you? No problem.” He made an over exaggerated sweeping bow, stepping aside to let Keith pass.

He felt a profound relief that he hadn’t known Lance before the curse.

nineteen.

“Sam?” asked Shiro, tossing his keys onto his desk. It was rare that he had to open the Sheriff’s Station, and he hadn’t heard from his boss since the previous day.

There was no sign of him at the station. Shiro frowned, trying his cell again. It went straight to voicemail, this time. It must have gone dead.

Shiro considered his options. If Sam was missing, he was now Acting Sheriff, and it was his responsibility to find him.

Checking the files found him a landline and home address. Sam Holt lived alone in Storybrooke, cut off from his previous family by the curse. He knew that Katie lived with her mother, and Matt lived alone, and none of them had any inkling of the connection they shared. That was par for the course, but it would be much easier if Shiro had someone to question.

The landline rang out, Shiro hanging up before he was asked to leave a message. His next move was visiting the house. He debated whether to lock up the station or not for a moment, before deciding that the townspeople might panic if they saw the station locked up and learned that the Sheriff was missing.

The front door of the house swung open when he touched it, and the place was empty. There were minor signs of a struggle. A kitchen chair was overturned, a glass smashed.

Sam was gone, that much was clear. And it seemed as though he had been abducted.

He called a meeting at the town hall, with some help from Keith as to what the protocol was.

“Sam Holt has disappeared,” he announced to the gathered crowd, allowing time for the gasps and murmurs of disbelief. “As his Deputy, I accept the responsibility of Acting Sheriff and promise to do anything I can to bring him home safely. If anyone has any information, please contact the Sheriff’s Station. Thank you.”

Keith looked despondent when Shiro approached him. He looked up at him. “This isn’t good.”

“No,” Shiro sighed. “It’s not.”

twenty.

It was at the edge of sleep that memories flooded his mind – a jumble, not many of them tangible, but all of them real. He knew which one to share.

“Keith?” he asked into the darkness of the room he shared with his brother.

“Yeah?” came the sleepy reply.

“I remember when you were born.”

There was a sharp intake of breath, but no reply, leaving him room to continue.

“There were celebrations everywhere, the people were delighted to have another prince. Mom and Dad were so happy. They were always happy; I guess that’s what true love is.”

“If you’re remembering stuff,” said Keith, slowly, “it means that the curse is weakening. And I think I know how to break it.”

“How?”

“True love’s kiss,” he answered, a smile in his voice, clearly thinking of their parents. “It can break any curse.”

“So, we need to get Mom and Dad together? How are we going to do that?”

“Sleep now, plan later.”

Shiro couldn’t argue with that, and settled back into sleep. In his dreams, he remembered further. Keith’s birth had been the first time he’d met Allura – she and her father had come to congratulate them. Perhaps that had been when their betrothal had been arranged. He could not know, unless he remembered more.

He hoped he did.

twenty-one.

Living with Keith and Shiro had calmed Allura, slightly. The overwhelming feeling of not knowing who she was had abated; she knew enough. She was Allura, she worked at the animal shelter (where she had taken a particular shine to a trio of mice and was considering adopting them). She was Shiro and Keith’s housemate, their friend.

She was always the first to wake in their apartment. The first to shuffle into the kitchen and the one who prodded their coffee machine into submission. It was calming to sit at the kitchen island with her coffee, a slice of peace before the other two got up.

Keith was the first of the brothers to rise, usually. He poured himself a cup of coffee from the pot Allura had brewed, thanking her with a yawn. Three spoons of sugar later, it was drinkable to him. He joined her at the island, sipping at his sweetened drink.

By the time Allura had finished her coffee, Shiro had completed their trio. He brought with him conversation – Allura and Keith were happy to sit in silence, but Shiro liked to talk with them.

They decided, then, whether they would make breakfast or go to Sal’s. It was a healthy mix of both, by Allura’s estimation. Wherever they ate, once they had finished they trickled away in reverse the order they had arrived. Shiro first, to the Sheriff’s Station; then Keith, to school; lastly Allura, to the shelter.

Her boss, Coran, was a little on the eccentric side, but she got along well with him. They both cared about the animals they were looking after, which was the most important thing.

Lunch was usually shared with someone; whether that was Keith, Shiro or Coran varied from day to day. Dinner was always with the brothers, and they spent the evening together watching television or talking.

She was content with her new life.

twenty-two.

There had been no break-throughs on the Sam Holt case. People had come forward to share the last time they had seen him, but none of the information had been useful to Shiro.

That was until he received a phone call telling him that Sam had been spotted in the woods on the night of his disappearance. He set off on a wilderness search, leaving a note on his desk for Keith or Allura came to invite him to lunch.

He found the Sheriff’s badge along a path in the forest, and felt more confidence in his search. He came across a man standing on the crest of a hill. He smiled at Shiro.

“Lovely view, isn’t it? I think some people forget the beauty of their own town, always wanting to travel. I don’t think we’ve been introduced. My name is Mr. Z. You must be Shiro, of course. Our new Deputy.”

“Acting Sheriff until we can find Sam Holt,” he corrected, trying not to let his uneasiness show on his face. This was Zarkon; the mastermind of the curse, according to Keith.

“Of course. What a shame that he disappeared like that.”

Shiro, whose uneasiness had morphed into fear, turned to leave, and was met by three men, blocking his way.

“What is going—?” he began to ask, but had fallen to the ground before he could finish the question.

twenty-three.

“Shiro?” asked Keith, as he entered the Sheriff’s Station. His after-lunch class had been cancelled, leaving him the freedom to share a long lunch at Sal’s with his brother … if he could find him.

“Shiro?” he tried again, looking around. He found a note on the desk; Gone to follow a tip in the woods, will probably miss lunch. He picked up his phone to call his brother, before realising that Shiro had left his cell on the desk along with the note.

He went to Allura for lunch instead, telling her about what he’d seen at the station.

“Maybe he found something about the Sheriff,” she suggested. “We should go and see after we eat.”

They did so, only to find the station just as deserted as it had been earlier.

Allura bit her lip. “I’ll go and see if there’s any sign of him in the forest. You should go back to school.”

Ignoring the instinct that told him to protest; to insist Allura let him accompany him. “Okay, text me when you find him.”

“I made some coffee,” mumbled Allura, offering him a mug. He took it, whispering his gratitude. He didn’t think she had heard it, but she nodded as though she had. She sat on the sofa beside him, tugging gently on the blanket – a request to share.

He granted it, pulling the blanket over so that Allura could cover her feet with it.

They did not speak, merely sitting there in silent solidarity. They were both worried about Shiro, and they knew there was no point in speaking reassurances. “I’m sure he’ll turn up” and “he’ll be fine” would fall flat.

They were just … there for each other.

twenty-four.

He and Lance had fallen into some form of a friendship, but the sight of him still made Keith sigh.

“Hey, Mullet,” Lance grinned, using the infuriating nickname he had given him on their second meeting.

“I don’t have time for this right now, I’m busy.”

“Looking for your brother?” asked Lance, lips curling into a smile when he realised it was true. “Being Sheriff is a dangerous occupation, huh?”

“It’s in the job description.”

“Hmm,” Lance looked thoughtful. “Do you want some help?”

“Help?” Keith frowned.

“Yeah, what sort of clues are you looking for?”

“I don’t know,” he admitted with a sigh. “I just want to do something, so I don’t feel useless.”

Lance nodded. “I get it. I’ll help you, come on.”

Still bewildered, Keith had no choice but to follow him.

twenty-five.

He was at school when he received the call. Knowing that it had to be about his brother, he ducked out of the class with a mumbled apology.

“Hello?”

“Keith Kogane?” asked the voice on the other end.

“Yes, speaking.”

“Your brother has been found. He’s in the hospital, in a stable condition.”

“I’ll be there as soon as I can,” said Keith, hanging up. His heart hammered in his chest. Shiro’s disappearance had been no accident, he knew, and he wondered what had facilitated his return. Had he been imbued with a cursed identity? Tortured?

School forgotten, he set off for the hospital, calling Allura on the way. He was Shiro’s emergency contact, but they had no reason to get in touch with her.

“Keith,” she answered, sounding confused. “Shouldn’t you be at school?”

“They found Shiro, he’s in the hospital. I’m on my way there now.”

There was a clatter. “I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

There was a doctor present in Shiro’s room when he burst into it.

“What happened?” Keith asked her.

“He was found in the woods by a jogger, unconscious. He’s in a coma, but his condition is stable.”

“Do you know what caused it?”

“We’re still running tests,” said the doctor, her voice soft and soothing. She had evidently had a lot of practice delivering bad news about her patients. “I’ll let you know as soon as we know anything.”

“Thank you,” murmured Keith, trying to ignore the rising panic. He was sure he knew what had happened to Shiro. He had heard the tales as a child, after all; the poisoned apple his mother had bitten into to save his father from certain death, the sleeping curse, the true love’s kiss that had awoken her from it.

It seemed that Shiro had been cursed in the same way as his mother once had.

twenty-six.

Allura rested a hand on Keith’s shoulder when she arrived at the hospital. He looked back at her, and she smiled reassuringly.

“He’ll be all right, Keith.”

He frowned, focusing on his brother’s form. He was more and more convinced that Shiro could not be helped by medicine.

“Can we talk?”

He led her to a supply closet where they could talk without anyone overhearing.

“I know this might sound crazy, but I need you to kiss Shiro.”

Allura was silent for several seconds. “What? He’s in a coma. You can’t just kiss someone without their consent like that.”

“It doesn’t have to be on the lips,” Keith pleaded. “Allura, do you trust me?”

“I—” she looked conflicted.

“Please, just try it.”

“Keith.” She spoke his name softly, as though trying to calm a wounded animal. “You’re worried about your brother; you’re not thinking straight. I think you should go home and get some sleep. Shiro’s in good hands here, I promise. The doctors will do everything they can for him.”

He sighed in defeat. This was not the way the curse would be broken. “You’re – you’re right, Allura. I’ll see you at home.”

zero.

He knew what he had to do, even as the fear that it would not work threatened to crush him.

Zarkon had tried to eliminate the Saviour, but Keith would not let that happen.

He bent down, pressing a light kiss to his brother’s head, praying that it would work.

Noise returned to the heart monitor – the most wonderful sound he had ever heard, and Keith’s entire body collapsed with relief, falling into the chair by Shiro’s bedside. He opened his eyes.

“Keith,” he murmured, voice scratchy. “I – I remember.”

“The curse,” the doctor said, her voice carrying from the doorway. “It’s broken.”

+ one.

Pidge (as everyone had thankfully returned to calling them, once the memories had returned), found their brother quite easily. He was among the group that had spilled onto main street, searching for families, friends, loved ones.

Takashi – Shiro, he hadn’t been Takashi in a long time – was at the centre of attention, begrudgingly accepting the thanks from the townspeople, saying, “it wasn’t me, it was—”, turning to look for his own brother, and finding that he had disappeared.

Pidge could talk to Shiro later; they had plenty of time. For now, they wanted the comfort of their brother’s arms, the delusion that everything was all right, for a moment.

“We need to find dad.”

+ two.

Keith had never respected peace so much as the moments of quiet he was able to find at Granny’s. Everyone who had been in the diner had left, joining the throngs of people gathering in the streets, reuniting with each other. It was easy to pour himself a cup of coffee and to sit in one of the hastily vacated booths.

The bell jingled to signal that someone else had entered the diner. Keith did not turn around, hoping that it was a stranger, or if it was someone that he knew, that they would respect his evident desire to be alone.

“Shiro says it was you who broke the curse.”

Keith repressed a sigh – it was Lance, who fit neither of the criteria. “It depends on how you look at it.”

The other boy approached the booth, standing by the table rather than sitting down. He looked more uneasy than Keith had ever seen him.

“Thank you,” he said, blue eyes earnest. “I have a family – if I can find them, and I thought I didn’t. And that’s because of you – or Shiro, whatever.”

“Why aren’t you looking for your family?” asked Keith, curious. As someone who had lost them during the curse, it stood to reason that Lance would be searching for them. Instead, he was here with Keith.

“I wanted to apologise, too. For how I acted during the curse. I was a jerk. Maybe we can start over?”

Keith looked at him, taking him in, and becoming more and more sure about the thought that had burst into his head weeks ago. “Yeah, we can start over. Would you like to go on a date with me?”

Lance blinked, struck dumb for a moment. Keith bit back a laugh as he waited for a reply. “Um, sure. I mean, yes, I’d love to go on a date with you. Are you sure you want to go on a date with me?”

Keith reached out, tugging the other boy down to his level. “Lance, I’m sure.”

And he kissed him. Lance flailed for a second before relaxing against Keith’s lips, kissing him back.

They smiled at each other for a moment after they broke apart, faces still close to each other.

The bell rang again, and the peace was disturbed, but, somehow, Keith couldn’t find it in himself to mind.

fin.

#voltron legendary defender #voltron fanfic #voltron au #takashi shirogane #keith kogane #princess allura #lance mcclain #pidge gunderson #samuel holt #matt holt #zarkon #haggar #prince lotor #shallura #klance #broganes #fiona's writing

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