#Soap would be blue paladin for sure

[pretty-boy-eddie]

Not to be that bitch and bring up voltron in the godless year of 2024 but yall-

COD Voltron AU?

[pareiwheeler]

doing this 50 question challenge thing! i got it from @paladin-n-cleric

1. who is your favourite tv show otp? byler

2. what's your favourite colour? green

3. favourite quote? "you were the aching, too-young sun for such a cold and rotting thing, you were the cure and never the disease"

4. what's your zodiac sign? aries

5. what is your middle name? angelina (🤮)

6. when is your birthday? march 20, 2 days before wills!

7. what is your love language? words of affirmation

8. would you rather watch a rom-com or a drama? rom-com

9. three places you want to go to? hawaii, japan, italy

10. favourite perfume/scent? lavender

11. what’s the last song you listened to? the opposite - the smile

12. i'm giving you a plane ticket, where are you going? san francisco

13. chocolate or vanilla? chocolate

14. cake or donuts? cake, unless the donuts are apple cider. than donuts.

15. you can only wear one colour for the rest of your life, what colour is it? blue

16. favourite quote from a book? "to see the ocean once is to learn how to miss it." (the ask and the answer, by patrick ness)

17. you are in a fight, which tumblr account are you getting to help you? i would say @will80sbyers

18. cotton candy or ice cream? ice cream for sure

19. what's your dream career? actor or author

20. biggest pet peeves? loud chewing

21. describe your style/aesthetic. mix of like 90s and 00s vibes. i basically dress like a mom

22. what's your favourite thing about yourself? my hair

23. what's your favourite day of the week and why? friday or saturday

24. morning or night person? night definitely

25. tea or coffee? coffee

26. you can only read one book for the rest of your life. what book is it? harry potter and the deathly hallows

27. you're stuck in a lift with your favourite tumblr account who is it? hmm @kidovna

28. do you have any siblings? yes, two with one on the way

29. what's your biggest fear? drowning

30. what is your favourite word and why? two words but shish kebab. its just fun to say

31. you're in a bookstore and you can get any three books you want, what are they? the first ones i see, because im impatient and i like books too much to not read the random ones i pick anyway

32. what is your comfort movie/tv show? mrs. doubtfire or IT

33. if you had to describe your tumblr with only 5 words what would they be? crazed aggression oh and byler

34. what celebrity/person in your life do you look up to the most? probably noah schnapp he is really awesome

35. what's the worst tv show/movie you have watched? oof probably sharkboy and lavagirl

36. what is your favourite/lucky number? 4

37. favourite flower? poppy

38. what is favourite gemstone? amber

39. you can dye your hair any colour and it would look good regardless, what colour are you dying it? red

40. you can go back or forward in time, how far back/foward are you going? 40 backwards, just for funsies

41. it's your last meal, what are you eating? zaxbys im so for real

42. favourite flavour of ice cream? strawberry

43. you can have dinner with one person dead or alive, who would it be? id be too nervous to meet a famous person

44. you can only use one product for the rest of your life, what product is it? soap. i haye being dirty

45. favourite time of the day? sunset. or lunch i like food

46. do you get complimented often? (if not here you go: you're an amazing person ♡) thats so sweet op ty and also yes sometimes

47. what languages do you know/want to learn? im learning spanish, i want to learn ASL

48. what's your favourite fruit? raspberries

49. the characters from the last tv show/movie you watched are planning your wedding, who's planning it? oh god mrs. doubtfire

50. nothing. i just wanted to say that ily. ily too!!

[captain-cerrillo]

(its all a set up for smut don't let me deceive you lol)

It was weird to be at the point in his career where he was beginning to spend more time behind a screen than on the ground. Though, it had always been the ultimate goal. The Paladin and the Captain were almost like two different people inside of him. He thought of blue eyes and wondered how many other selves he had tucked away inside.

Eva appeared in his office not nearly as much as he wanted her to but, infinitely more than he had expected. It was a jolt to the heart every time. He wanted to see her forever. He smiled at her expressions as she took in the large glowing datamap projected from the holotable between them.

“Not a scientist.” Isaac huffed a breathy chuckle, gesturing lightly between them. “Just a bit of a nerd.” The corners of his eyes crinkled.

He made a few shorthand gestures to navigate the hundreds of datapoints mapped in a three-dimensional landscape of information. With a thematic swooshing motion, it jumped to a close-up view of a section of ranges in blue. A cluster of particular points made what looked like a mountaintop in the pixelated scenery. Isaac gestured lightly. “Here’s you.”

Eva’s eyes narrowed and she bent to study the chart more closely. Telekinesis, kinetic fields, and spatial distortion - the Alliance’s golden trifecta of biotic classification. “Are we being studied?”

The thought surprised him and he shifted his weight, suddenly unsure. “Honestly? Probably.” He watched the weight of it settle over her, although he got the distinct impression that she was neither surprised or particularly concerned. “Officially, I don’t have any reason to say yes. Unofficially, I know the people that I work with.” He gestured to the map of data in front of him.

"You know.” He glanced to her, hesitating as he considered. “Sometimes the soldiers call biotics wizards and, while maybe insensitive, I'm not sure it's wrong." He gestured again to move the datamap to a wider section.

"This is the little one." In a sea of blue, a line of teal green spikes stood out. Eva looked away from the landscape only to take in the way he put his hands on his hips, brown eyes heavy and far away in thought. "These are just the base readings that the shuttle picked up on our last run.”

Eva watched his face as he studied the mountain of information, wondering what he was looking for. “Isaac.”

His eyes lifted to hers and he didn’t want to talk about the data anymore.

“Here.” He activated his omnitool and Eva watched it glow softly, casting shades of orange across his face as he tapped a quick input and then extended an open hand to her across the table.

Eva returned the motion to let her ‘tool capture whatever he’d transferred, then studied the small display. A line of characters from different languages - common, binary, and foreign all mixed together – danced across the screen.

“What is this?”

“An access code.”

“An access code to?”

“My quarters,” he replied quickly, coolly and confidently, just before he realized, once again and way behind schedule, that normal people would automatically assume that was a sexual proposition. He panicked.

“But not for- To talk!" He blurted, almost sputtering the words before pausing to breathe, allowing himself a heartbeat to collect his thoughts. “I just meant to talk. I just want to talk to you...” He gestured to the sterile, accessible office around them. “…comfortably.”

Eva’s eyes sparkled and Isaac’s cheeks flushed a lovely shade of pink. “Only if you want to. Eva, I-”

Eva's mouth had just fallen open to respond when the door behind her slid open. Luca, Davis, and then Harris almost fell through.

"Captain!"

Luca always started with an exclamation so Isaac waited for the spiel, genuinely curious about what could have sent the entertaining trio running to his office. His posture quickly stiffened, brows knitting tightly together when he realized, realistically, what sorts of shenanigans could have sent them running to his office.

"Is this a one or two door problem?" Isaac asked, referencing an old conversation.

(Isaac had pulled Luca aside early on to share a situational assessment technique his mentor had taught him years before – a solid, reliable, and easy way to distinguish true emergencies from the multitudes of mundane would-be stressors that were bound to come up on a spaceship in the middle of a war.)

"Um." Luca shook his hair out of his face as he considered. "Two."

"Okay. Good.” The captain felt genuine relief and his curiosity bubbled. He’d apparently lost every bit of necessary emotional distance, he mused as he watched the trio bumble over themselves and wondered what he was about to agree to.

"What were you- were you busy?" Harris asked – interrupting but, as innocent in intent as she was emotionally intrusive. Her big brown eyes studied Eva, who only stared her down in silence.

Isaac tried not to smile. "Almost always. But how can I help?" His eyes smiled for him.

“Luca tinkered with the projector in the conference room trying to set up a stupid Blasto-fest date night with that Phoe-” Harris’ eyes widened at Isaac as her mouth snapped shut, suddenly remembering all of the times the captain had specifically asked to never hear the word Phoenix in reference to a request.

Luca turned three shades of red and squealed a little, realizing he really needed to get better at learning to hide.

“And he broke it and you need to approve the replacement requisition before the meeting with Captain Sharon from the SSV Belgrade next week,” Ensign Davis chimed in with refreshing practicality, holding her ever-present datapad.

“Hey!” Luca whined. He reminded Isaac of a puppy. “That’s not exactly what-”

“Requisition. On it. Anything else?”

Harris and Luca shared a heavy look that made Isaac furrow his brow. They both looked to Davis who shook her head NO and the pair visibly deflated.

“I don’t even want to know.” He cast a weary glance between them. “Anything else?”

-

Isaac thought of Marie as he pressed a selection of shining buttons on his shower wall to start the steaming hot stream. He’d always been fond of the Sentinel in an abstract, if not brotherly way, but it was newly heartwarming to see her come into her own as a Commander on the Berlin.

He peeled his crisp blue shirt from his shoulders and tossed it to the corner of the room’s wide bed before working on his belt buckle as he toed off his shoes next to a small closet. While it would have been ridiculous to say that the Captain’s Quarters almost made the whole job worth it, it wasn’t too untrue, he thought with a small smile when he finally slipped under the hot water.

Isaac’s career gave him enough variety that he preferred to keep his personal routines the same. He used the same soap he’d grown up with – handmade with rosemary, black pepper and goat’s milk from a local farmer on Terra Nova – because it smelled like home for as long as the fresh shower scent lasted. It was one of the few things he’d made a point to ask of the Requisitions Officer before disembarking.

The scent carried on the shower’s thick steam air out of the little metal bathroom and into the open space of the bedroom. Eva noticed that first as she stepped across the threshold into a place she probably should not have been. Isaac rounded the little bathroom’s corner and they both froze.

“Is this a bad time? I can go-“

“Maybe… don’t?” Isaac blurted, grateful for the fact that his loose grey shorts were already on as he finished pulling a plain black t shirt over his damp skin. He slicked his wet hair back with a self-conscious smile. He couldn’t tell her what to do but he really hoped she’d want to stay.

-

He’d noticed her absentmindedly trying to stretch her sore legs and her eyes twinkled when he sat his datapad down to clap his hands against his lap in invitation. Although it had seemed perfectly natural and not at all blatantly inappropriate in the moment, the feel of her skin and the slight shifts of her weight against his lap betrayed him.

“It’s not too different from Earth,” Isaac said seriously, brows knit together as his hands worked. “There’s a desert around the equator but the poles are pretty lush. There’s a waterfall with a pink sand beach called Moonmoor – which is kind of funny because Terra Nova doesn’t actually have any natural satellites.”

He paused, glancing at Eva when she hissed as he worked at a particularly stubborn knot in her lower calf. She sensed his concern through her closed eyes and waved him off with a smile while she breathed through the waves.

Even though he wasn’t sure why, she seemed to enjoy his ramblings. He rambled mostly to keep his mind distracted as she stretched next to him on the lounge, shifting her slim legs across his lap to give him better reach.

Isaac couldn’t believe how soft and smooth she was under his battle worn hands. It was hard to believe she was the same Fury that inspired so much curiosity, awe, and even fear among the scattered crew. He fretted, internally, about all the ways his lack of biotic ability made parts of her feel inaccessible. It didn’t matter.

“What’s your home like?” Her voice was soft and her eyes traced the lines of his face as he considered how to answer.

“Wheat fields and cows. The closet neighbor a klick and a half away. People leave their doors unlocked at night.” He smiled at the memories, more aware of the homesickness deep in his bones than he’d ever noticed before. “The colony is huge overall but, my home is just a little village in the southern valley.”

“That sounds nice.” Eva’s eyes drifted shut again as Isaac’s hands worked over her lower legs, coaxing the tension from her tired muscles.

“I miss it,” he said quietly, serious and half-lost to old memory. “And peanut butter jelly sandwiches,” he admitted with a genuine despair. “What do you miss?”

Eva smiled with her eyes closed, surfing her own memories in her mind. “Elyssian sunsets. Eletania’s mountains. Nodacrux’s lightning storms. The way eezo sings on Thessia. Peace and quiet. Organic broccoli.” Her laughter almost twinkled and he couldn’t help but join her. “My life is kind of a tornado.” She gestured lightly to the iconic red stripe that flowed down the shoulder of her oversized hoodie. “Too much of a disaster to miss much.”

“You're not a disaster.” Isaac’s voice was warm and sure but, he didn’t meet her eyes because he was afraid she would see. “You're a miracle.” He could feel the heat from his flushed face again and let his eyes trace the lines of the interlocking metal plates that made up the quarter’s floor. Her body stilled under his hands and he swallowed but, continued.

“Eva, you're the most beautiful thing I've ever seen.” He said it so matter-of-factly, almost as if it were just another immutable statistic, burned into his brain. “And I’ve seen a lot of things.”

The tension of all the unspoken crested between them when she laid her small hand over his and whispered his name.

He marveled at the way his hands found her body as she closed the space between them, crawling into his lap and settling over him with an unmistakable hunger in her perfect eyes. He was rigid before her lips crashed into his but, he was throbbing by the time she rolled her hips. She ground herself into his lap as they tasted each other with warm, open mouthed kisses and gentle slips of tongue.

Every movement one of them made escalated the desire of the other. His fingertips found the skin of her upper thighs and he tried not to groan at the feel of her lithe muscle under his palms as she moved against him, working for delicious friction. Her hands went under his loose shirt and the tickle of her nails across his ribs almost made him giggle. She swallowed it.

“Eva,” he pleaded against her lips, his hands cupping her breasts under the oversized hoodie as she squirmed on his lap, moving her hips to increase the friction. “Eva, please.”

She stilled only enough to look at him with eyes full of questions and he could only beam a shy smile. He wrapped his arms around her folded body, already scooping her against his chest. “Can I take you to bed?”

-

His mouth caught a nipple, rolling the sensitive bud against his tongue before his lips slid down her body, savoring her supple curves. One hand worked between her thighs as he kissed the planes of her soft belly. He hummed against her skin as she reacted to his touch, arching to feel more of his body against her.

His fingers alternated between dipping into her wetness, rubbing his thick fingers against her slick walls and swirling tiny circles on her sensitive clit. He took his cues from the way she breathed, gasped, moaned, and strained under his attentions.

He used his free arm to support his weight as he shifted up to kiss her again. He moaned against her mouth when she tangled her fingers into his thick, damp hair and tried to pull his body closer with the sweetest whine falling from her open lips.

“Hey.” He whispered, pecking her smooth cheeks to try to bring the temperature down. His body surged at the idea of discovering all of her other sounds.

“Hi,” she whispered back, eyes twinkling in the dark. She squeezed her thighs around his hand, still steadily stroking as he nuzzled against her neck, trailing kisses to her shoulder.

“I just want you to know its not that I don’t want to know what you feel like. On the inside.” His eyes shuttered, a micromovement betraying his need. Eva moved her hip against his tented shorts knowingly and he fought the urge to hump against her - if only for the fact that he was certain he’d cum. He blinked back to reality and his eyes crinkled at the corners. “But there’s a whole lot of other things I want to know about you first.”

He kissed her deeply, slipping his fingers from her aching body only to spread her thighs for his descent. More than anything he just wanted to fall asleep in her puddle.

[otterknowbynow]

T’as de la place sur le canapé

Sometimes the others need a nap; Hunk is more than happy to provide comfort for his paladin family.

Written as part of Gentron Week 2020 for the prompt Cuddle Pile | Literal Sleeping Together. Also on ao3

Keith falls asleep on him first. Hunk wouldn’t normally expect it, but the guy’s been up for three days straight at this point, probably, between all they’ve been doing for alliance-building since Shiro’s been back and zipping off on Blades missions left and right. He’s focused on going over the notes from his last few sourdough biscuit attempts -- it seems like the space yeast, or whatever it is, is more sensitive to temperature than the Earth variety -- when Keith slumps over sideways against his shoulder. He tenses for a brief moment, worried something is very wrong, and looks over carefully without moving anything apart from his eyes. Keith’s mouth is slack, but his eyes are still open and as they focus on Hunk’s face, they widen, and Keith sits back up again quickly. 

“Sorry,” he mutters, looking away. His shoulders tense quickly and resettle as he leans against the back of the couch, as if he’s felt a chill. “Didn’t mean to…” he trails off, one hand waving vaguely in front of himself. 

“Oh, it’s fine,” Hunk says with a shrug. And it is, of course, now that he knows nothing’s wrong. “We’re all family here.” Keith looks back over at him and blinks. 

“...we are?” He doesn’t sound upset, just bewildered.

“Aren’t we?” Hunk asks, and thinks he’s probably just as confused as Keith is. He’s pretty sure there isn’t a better word for the five of them -- seven really -- than family at this point, considering. 

“I…” Keith trails off and picks up his tablet again, and Hunk shrugs as he goes back to his notes. He’s just worked out what he thinks would be an ideal ending point of temperature for the yalmor fat in the biscuits and has started to factor in the ambient temperature of the kitchen to know where it needs to start when Keith speaks again, so quietly he’s not sure he’s supposed to hear. “I guess we are.” Hunk nods without adding anything to that, still mostly focused on the numbers in front of him. Keith shrugs and leans to the side again, tentatively resting his head against Hunk’s shoulder. 

“This okay?” That question he knows is meant for him to hear, and Hunk nods again without really looking up.

“‘Course,” he says. 

As he finishes writing out the new procedure for his biscuits, Hunk slowly becomes aware that Keith’s body is vibrating softly against him. He frowns, almost opening his mouth to speak, and then closes it as he looks down and realizes the vibrating is accompanied by a quiet rumbling sound, and Keith is out like a light.

“He’s purring,” says a voice, and Hunk looks up to see Pidge leaning against the doorway to the lounge, carrying her tablet in one hand and a shoebox-sized container under her other arm. 

“He can do that?” Hunk asks. “That’s…” 

“Something he’s done for a long time,” Pidge says with a shrug. “He makes a lot of noises, if you listen for them -- extraverbal communication and all that. I noticed the trend a while ago -- that his tends to be cat-adjacent.” Hunk thinks back over the past several months and nods slowly. 

“Yeah, I guess he does. I never really thought about them being cat noises...thought they were just, I don’t know --” it’s Hunk’s turn to wave his hand vaguely in front of himself, carefully avoiding moving the side Keith’s leaning on “-- him noises.” Pidge shrugs again and crosses to sit on the couch on his other side, the shoebox thing between them. “What is that, anyway?” 

“Couple of broken communicators. I’m pretty sure they’re just old Altean walkie-talkies,” she says, lifting the lid so he can see two sleek white things that look like exactly that. “The thing that’s cool is they don’t use the same long-range frequencies as our suit communicators or the intercom. As far as I can tell, they’re just run-of-the-mill handheld two-way radios -- maximum communication distance should be something like five miles, but it seems like they might come in handy if I can figure out how to reload their power source..” 

“Nice,” Hunk says, looking them over and taking in the dual antennae and impossibly delicate-looking speakers. "Do they not just run on quintessence…?"

"Oh, they do," she says, nodding rapidly, Hunk assumes to offset how low they're still keeping their voices. "It’s just not in a form I’ve seen before, and I’m not sure how to recharge them, or really how they discharge." She flips one of the units over as she's speaking to show him a little catch on the back, which she slides open to reveal what looks like a small bag full of translucent blue gel -- it reminds Hunk more than anything of those little packs of dishwasher soap, but nearly drained. 

"Oh, wild," he breathes, careful not to let his shoulders move and jostle Keith. "Is that like...quintessence goop?" 

"Looks like it! How they got it in this form is still a mystery, though, and I think I'm well past having the level of focus I'd need to figure it out -- nearly fell asleep in the lab. I thought the change of scenery might help, or you might have some ideas, but..." She glances over at Keith -- head still resting on Hunk's shoulder, arms folded in front of his chest, and soundly asleep -- almost longingly. Hunk grins. 

"Tell you what -- why don't you get some rest and let me think on it?" 

"You sure?" She asks, stifling a yawn. 

"Yeah, I’m sure. You deserve a break, kid.” She grumbles a bit at that, but when he moves the box to the floor and picks up his tablet again, she doesn’t object. Instead, she faces the door and curls up against the back of the couch, resting her head on top of it. It doesn’t look like an entirely comfortable position, but Hunk shrugs and pulls up the data they’ve collected about the different matter forms of quintessence so far. 

Halfway through reading about its liquid form, however, he’s interrupted by a highly irritated-sounding Lance, who’s standing in front of him having apparently just come from the pool, if the combination of the smell of chlorine and his wet hair is any indication. 

“Oh, sure, no one bother telling me we’re taking a group nap, just don’t try --” he breaks off into a yawn, and Hunk takes the opportunity to shush him as emphatically as he can considering the sleeping forms on either side of him, but Lance continues just as indignantly as soon as he can draw a normal breath. “Don’t try to include Lance; he doesn’t need to know about local comfy gathering, more at 11!” His hands are on his hips, glare so sharp it could probably cut glass.

“Shush,” Hunk stage whispers, holding up his one free arm and trying not to laugh and disturb the others by shaking. “This wasn’t exactly a plan.” Lance narrows his eyes even further, looking down at the shoebox-y container on the floor. 

“Then why did you guys move things off the couch, hmm?” he asks, and Hunk is just glad he’s brought his voice down a bit. “Checkmate!” Apparently it’s not quiet enough, though, since Pidge stirs, mumbling something about a crick in her neck. And resettles facing toward Hunk instead, all without opening her eyes or taking her glasses off. 

“Lance, buddy, you are welcome to join us,”  he says, raising his eyebrows pointedly. Lance’s mouth is already half-open to continue his tirade, but he stops and closes it, blinking. 

“Yeah, that’s...probably better,” he says slowly. “I’m pretty beat.” He plops down onto the couch between Hunk and Pidge, where there’s barely enough space even for him. Pidge grumbles half into Lance’s shoulder and shoves him slightly toward Hunk, who lifts his arm to wrap it around him so he can still get to his tablet. Lance settles against Hunk’s side and yawns once, eyes already closed. 

“Wake me if there’s breakfast.” 

“I can do that,” Hunk says, fumbling a bit as he gets his screen back in front of him. He didn’t notice exactly when Pidge decided that his bicep made a better pillow than the back of the couch, but she’s wrapped onto his arm now, her glasses balanced somewhat precariously where her head was resting before. “I can do that.” 

[delaneytveit]

Satellites Part 13

WHOOOOO we’re halfway thereeee! OOOHHHHH (Actually we’ve been a little bit more than half way for a bit) but don’t worry, there’s still A LOT of story to get through. If you guys enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it, please consider buying me a coffee! 

Oh and I’m on twitter! if you want to give a follow, or watch me scream into the void about Lance in tactical gear, that’s the place! 

Twitter - sfw -> @/spacemom_laney | nsfw -> @/15_agentwash

ko-fi - ko-fi.com/delaneym_15

 ( Part 12 ) ( Satellites Master Post ) (Part 14) 

The team left at 0800 the next morning. Allura had convinced, after quite a long time, Blue to let her pilot. Though it was clear that Blue was not happy about it. The only lion that was missing was the red one.

Keith had chosen to stay behind, to much confusion of the team. Though Lance could vaguely guess why. He felt guilty. Keith had been the one to bring into question Lance’s ability to complete missions, and even though that wasn’t his intention, he knew that it still hurt Lance.

Their relationship was rocky as it was. Neither of them really knew where they stood with the other, what they were to each other, and it seemed that the present situation had complicated things even more so.

Lance was refusing to talk to Keith, and it hurt. He hadn’t meant to indirectly ground the sharpshooter. He had only wanted to voice his concerns to Allura, positive that she would be able to do something for Lance that he couldn’t.

Normally, the only kind of confrontation Keith would be willing to face was violent, but he didn’t want to fight Lance. He wanted to apologize. To take responsibility for what was happening to Lance. He owed him that much at least.

It wasn’t hard to track the Blue Paladin down. He had locked himself in his room since breakfast. It was a good thing Keith knew the code by heart.

Punching in the code, he was relieved when the door whooshed open revealing Lance sitting at his desk. Keith could hear the volume of the headphones from where he stood, which made him cringe. The EDM music that Lance listened to was loud enough, didn’t anyone warn him of blowing out an eardrum?

Keith knocked twice before taking loud steps towards the boy, hoping that they would be loud enough to let Lance know that he was there. Lance’s anxiety had spiked dramatically since his return and it took one accidental sneak up by Pidge to inform the team that it was vital for Lance to know that you were coming, so as to avoid a swift punch to the face out of panic.

“What do you want, Keith?” Lance sighed as he removed his earphones. He swiveled his chair to look at the red paladin, arms crossed as he leaned back in his seat.

This was it, Keith had been rehearsing his apology for hours now, trying to make it sound as genuine and coherent as possible. Though at the very moment, what ever award winning speech he had come up with beforehand had vanished as those hard blue eyes stared into him.

“I’m sorry.” he blurted out, cursing himself for his lack of grace.

He immediately dropped his gaze, eyes staring at the floor. There was only a tense silence between them, and Keith begged his mind to come up with something, anything to put an end to this crushing feeling.

But of course, his mind, nor his mouth could seem to work correctly.

It was Lance who broke the silence instead.

“For?” he asked, the question forcing Keith to look up and face the boy. Blue eyes met his once more, a questioning brow raised as Lance waited for Keith to answer.

He could do this.

“I shouldn’t have told Allura about all of this. I- I didn’t know that she would take you off of missions. I should have talked to you and voiced my concerns to you, you didn’t deserve what Allura did to you and it's my fault that it happened. And I am so, so sorry for that.” He was rambling, he knew he was. How did people do this? How did they apologize?

He was only stopped when Lance held up his hand.

“I appreciate the apology, I really do. And to be honest, I’m glad that you told Allura. I don’t think she would have found out if you hadn’t. I’m not mad at you Keith.”

“You’re not?”

Lance chuckled a little, running a hand through his hair.

“I mean, I am a little bit. But I think I’m more pissed at the situation in general.” Lance leaned forward, perching his elbows on his knees. Looking down at his clasped hands, Lance spoke “You guys are right, I’m not okay. I haven’t been for a while and no matter how much I pretend that I am, I’m just hurting myself. I’m not getting better.” he sounded so...broken. Lance never really talked about himself, at all really. Superficial things, sure. Like how he got barely any sleep, or that he missed his mom’s cooking. But he never really talked about things deeper than that. Keith hadn’t really noticed until now, but Lance had been hiding a big part of himself away this entire time, and it only came out at his most vulnerable times at night.

A year ago, Keith would have thought of the way that Lance talks about himself as vain, but now he knew that it wasn’t really the case. Lance has been putting on a mask this whole time.

“But we don’t have time. The universe doesn’t have time for me to get better. It's a long ass process that Voltron can’t afford.”

He was right, of course he was right. Lance was vital to Voltron, even if he didn’t really see himself that way. He still knew that Voltron needed him. It was even more present today with Blue’s little tantrum about having to take on Allura as a pilot.

“But is the universe really more important than having you here?” That was what Keith was most afraid of. Lance had always been the self-sacrificial type. He couldn’t argue that he himself was any better, but Lance seemed to take it to a whole new level. The paladin would miss sleep and meals to make sure that everyone else was taken care of. He would jump in front of a bullet in a second to spare the others. On one occasion Lance had bounded into a burning building to save a few children stuck on the third floor, that had been the worst as it only reminded Keith of how he lost his father. He couldn’t lose Lance too.

“Keith-”

“No, Lance. Listen to me. The universe is not worth you throwing yourself away like that. What you need time to heal, what you went through was fucking terrible. It's no wonder you have PTSD from it.”

“We are the literal Defenders of the Universe, I can’t just not do my job!”

“I’m not asking you to stop being a paladin! I’m asking to for once in your life put yourself first. We need you, I need you! You need to let yourself heal from all of this because there is no Voltron if you continue to let your own health fall by the wayside!” Keith meant every word of it. They needed Lance. They needed him to come back, to be the best he could be, and as hard as he was trying right now, this wasn’t it.

“I’m worried for you, Lance. I can’t lose you too.” Keith’s voice was so small, he himself almost didn’t hear it. But he knew that Lance did, as the boy stood up from his seat and walked over to Keith, instantly wrapping his arms around the shorter one.

“You won’t Keith, I’m not going anywhere. I promise.”

Keith breathed in the scent of ocean and sandalwood of Lance’s detergent, and thanked whatever higher being was there that Lance had insisted on buying his own detergent all those mall trips ago. The pompous asshole had good taste in soap, and it comforted Keith easily.

“Just promise me you’ll at least try.”

He felt Lance take a deep breath.

“I am trying, Keith. I’m trying every day.” If Keith felt the shaky breaths or the wetness on his shoulder, he said nothing. It was clear that Lance needed this as much as he did, maybe even more. “I never wished I was Shiro, more than I do right now. He’s been through everything and he’s able to handle it all so easily.”

Oh, absolutely not. There was no way in hell Keith would let Lance talk about himself like that.

He pulled away from their hug, to much of his own dismay, and held Lance at arms length. Violet eyes bore into icy blue ones. The eyes that he could get lost in, but now as not the time to think about that, Keith.

“Lance, you said it yourself. WHat Shiro went through and what you went through was completely different.”

“But-”

“No. You really think that Shiro would be in any better of a state than you are now after being treated the way you were? I have no idea the extent of what they did to you, but I do know that it had to have been absolute hell. You don’t get to compare your pain to others, just because they seem to be doing better than you. Your pain is your own, so stop being an idiot and just acknowledge the fact that those guys are assholes!”

Keith was most definitely not expecting a chuckle from the Blue Paladin, but he assumed it would be better than the alternative.

“That was good, Mullet. You come up with all that yourself?”

Keith rolled his eyes. Of course, leave it to Lance to make a joke about a serious conversation.

“As a matter of fact, I did. And I’ll say it again. As many times as I need to for it to get through your tiny brain.”

“Hey! I’ll assure you my brain is of average size. Some may say it's even above average!”

It was Keith’s turn to laugh.

“Yeah, I’m sure it is.” he joked offhandedly, letting his grip on Lance’s arms finally fall.

Lance fixed him with his characteristically famous smirk that Keith knew could only mean trouble.

“Want to know what else is above average size?” Lance waggled his eyebrows knowingly as Keith facepalmed.

“Oh my god, Lance. No!”

[kcwcommentary]

VLD2x04 – “Greening the Cube”

2x04 – “Greening the Cube”

The Paladins are doing maintenance outside the Castle Ship, but Hunk and Lance don’t understand the technobabble Coran and Allura are speaking. Like with the use of odd units of time on this show, this particular technobabble is funny because it embraces its own goofiness. It doesn’t make sense, however, that they would send anyone out to do maintenance without the specific procedures needed for doing so having been reviewed in detail prior to doing so. It’s set up to make Pidge the genius above all others as she fixes the problem. It’s one thing for Lance to have messed it up, but for Hunk to not know what he’s doing when he’s supposed to be an engineer is annoying. If Hunk was allowed by this show to be smart, the way an engineer should be, then Pidge being smart wouldn’t feel so obnoxious. Instead, they have Hunk remark that the piece of tech they’re dealing with “looks like a big, delicious curly fry.” Because of course, Hunk is nothing but food. Ugh.

The ship, and thus the Paladins, start floating through a field of snowballs. I’m not sure why the ship wouldn’t have entered a stationary position while undergoing this kind of maintenance though. Or why all the Paladins are even outside for the maintenance. Seems like they were written to be out there solely so that they could have this snowball fight scene, which is a playfully pleasant moment. Hunk announces, “Squishy asteroid fight.” I don’t know why Hunk thinks they’re asteroids since asteroids are made of rock, not something that’s effectively a snowball. At least Pidge says something about them not being asteroids, and Allura calls them a spore. “This bioluminescent pulsing doesn’t seem natural,” Pidge says. Seems she needs to learn what the word “bioluminescent” means if she thinks it’s not natural. Just by looking at a snowball, excuse me, a spore glowing she declares it’s been programmed. That’s a massive conclusion for her to leap to. Ugh.

The quick decontamination scene is silly, but I love that Shiro seems to be really enjoying himself during it. Let that man take comforting showers more often please!!

Keith continues to ponder his blade, and he asks Coran about the possibility of the Galra ever being on Earth. Lance obnoxiously rants about Keith asking Coran about the Blue Lion. This is supposed to be more of Lance’s “rivalry” with Keith, but it just feels unjustified and unreasonable at this point.

Pidge’s going on about Alan Turing is a nice attempt at the show to point out how important Turing was to our technological development. The history of how he was abused by the British government because he was gay makes it all the more infuriating that more people don’t realize how much we owe him for all of our computers today.

The snowball, I mean spore’s glowing is apparently an encrypted message that someone’s under attack and a request for help. Coran declares that the “signal” came from Olkarion. I have a problem with it being referred to as a signal, but whatever. Once again, VLD has a planet that does not look like a planet; what the weird ridge of rock that extends way beyond the atmosphere of the planet is supposed to be, who knows. It’s ridiculous.

Coran not only knows the planet by name but explains the people who live there are known for being tremendous engineers. At least Keith asks why “tech wizards would use spores to send [a] signal.” Thank you, Keith. Pidge complaining that she doesn’t get to go to the city because the signal is coming from the forest is annoying. I get that they’re trying to create some kind of technology vs. nature argument in Pidge herself, but her being more interested in going to the “cool city” than in actually helping someone asking for help is irksome. Also, again, the message was in the spore, it isn’t being broadcast from the forest. These are some powerful spores if they can escape the planet’s gravity to go floating off into space. What sort of propulsion system do they have? because those spores need to be adapted into transportation technology. Highly propulsive spores that are a terrible communication system. It’s just weird.

Pidge “hate[s] the outdoors.” Keith on the other hand, says he “like[s] it out here, it’s quiet.” Awe. Let Keith have some peaceful time in nature!!

The Olkari (or at least Ryner) recognize Voltron on sight. They started living in the forest when the Galra attacked.

Pidge gushing over the Olkari being engineers is understandable since she likes technology, but, again, Hunk is the actual engineer of the group, but he just stands in the background.

The Galra have enslaved many of the Olkari and are forcing them to build a “superweapon” with their magical glowing hand/touch powers. We did the glowing hand/touch thing with the Balmerans/Balmera, and with Alteans and quintessence, why are we doing it again here?

The Olkari have plant-tech weapons, and they give the Paladins plant-tech crowns to wear to control the weapons. Hunk tastes his. He’s an engineer, the show places him in possession of advanced tech, and then writes him to lick the tech like it’s food. That is ridiculous.

“You must have a deep connection with nature,” Ryner says. “Not really,” Pidge responds. This tech v. nature thing this episode is doing is really heavy handed.

Ryner wants to rescue their king. (Does this show have any planets/societies who have governmental systems that are not monarchies?) He’s apparently the only one capable of designing the giant cube the Galra have had the Olkari build. The Paladins go on a stealth mission thanks to the Green Lion’s invisibility system Pidge installed on it (why hasn’t she put that system on all the Lions?).

Where is the Castle in all this? I can understand them wanting to hang back and not alert the Galra to their presence if possible, but are Allura and Coran just having tea?

Plot twist: the king is not imprisoned but watching soap operas. He’s helping the Galra, who now have no need/use for him since they’ve got the cube. Pidge blasts a hole in the wall with the Green Lion to help the Paladins escape. They return to the Olkari and then go on to form Voltron and attack the cube. The cube absorbs and redirects Voltron’s weapon blasts. So, they try using Voltron’s sword, which only just splits the cube into multiple functioning units. With the attack underway, it would make sense for the Castle to get involved now, but no. Lance tries freezing a cube, but no.

Pidge gets shot down, conveniently near Ryner, who tells Pidge she has to bond more strongly with Green’s spirit. So, after a few seconds of magic meditation, Pidge and Green are suddenly more “bonded” and return to the fight. Green has a plant canon: a beam that when it hits the cube causes plants to grow out of the cube. I’ve thought Blue’s ice canon and Red’s lava canon were bothersome, but a plant canon is just… absurd.

The Galra flee the planet when the Olkari attack in a very short montage. Shiro sets up the idea that the Olkari are allies of Voltron in fighting against Zarkon. And then we cut to everyone back on the Castle Ship. Who knows what Allura and Coran were doing the whole time.

Keith gets happy reflecting on the idea that everyone in the universe is related, “even the Galra.” I like seeing Keith seemingly happy in this episode. His thinking about the Galra and starting to piece together his connection to them is giving him something he really needs.

Zarkon’s ship shows up and the episode ends.

I’m really tiring of the Pidge-is-so-special-so-let’s-make-her-the-center-of-the-narrative writing like this episode gave us. Again, I can understand her being involved with a technology-centered story like this, but there was no reason Hunk shouldn’t have had some play in this too.

[bosstoaster]

oh my gOD, I'm in love with 9. maybe for sheith or shallura?

Sheith w/ number 9 for that prompt thing, if you’re so inclined? :)

We’re hiding from the authorities and it’s very close quarters in here, I can feel your body against mine.

This wasn’t supposed to happen this way.

For one, Shiro and Keith hadn’t even planned on investigating these pirates today.  They were a vague future problem, the purview of the remaining rebellion forces more than Voltron and the IGF.  As annoying and opportunistic as they were, they hadn’t rose above the level of being merely vultures.  One day, when Haggar was handled and the remaining Galra forces were cleaned up, then the Defenders of the Universe would bother.  Until then, it hadn’t been on their agenda.

That was, until the Widow’s Breath, the flagship of the pirate fleet, had landed in literally the same market place that Shiro and Keith had chosen for their... private discussion.  They’d come down in a nondescript cruiser rather than Atlas or the Black Lion, so they didn’t have the firepower to match the well-outfitted ship.

But they were landing in a marketplace.  Surely they were planning on sticking around, right?  And there were so many weird pirates coming and going that surely no one would question two new faces in their signature blue cloaks.

At least, that’s what they had both been thinking.

Shiro admitted that part of his enthusiasm had been nostalgia.  Captaincy meant less tilting off after windmills, and he wasn’t above admitting he missed it.

The other part was that Shiro was putting off their talk.

Keith probably was too.

So they snuck on, with all the giddy subtlety of teenagers sneaking into a bar.  The goal had been to have a look around, steal some files or anything that looked portable, listen to some chatter, then get out quickly.

Except almost as soon as they’d gotten aboard, the ship started to lift.

Their disguises were never meant to last longer than a passing glance.  Which meant anyone actually stopping and talking to them would give up the game, and the pirates would realize they had the ultimate hostages - after all, it wasn’t like no one knew Keith and Shiro’s face.

Which meant they needed to hide.

Which meant they’d hid in a tiny closet for lack of better options.

Which meant that Shiro and Keith were pressed together in the dark, humid confines of the room, chest to chest, face to face, silent as they listened to the footsteps outside and hoped no one needed a broom soon.

“This was a bad idea,” Shiro finally breathed, closing his eyes.  

The little room was musty and had the acrid scent of cleaning supplies the universe over.  But mixed into that was the undeniable scent of Keith - metal, sand, and just a hint of sweat.  That last one was mostly because of the heat of the little room.

Keith snorted.  “No kidding.”  He tried to lean back away from Shiro, giving them both space, but there was nowhere to go.  Both their back were already pressed to either wall, but they were still smushed together.  It was made all the worse by Shiro’s arm, which took up far more space than it had any right too.

They both stand there, awkwardly silent.

“I don’t suppose you’re still close enough to Atlas to get a distress call out,” Keith said, once the silence stretched out too long to bear.  

Shiro shook his head.  “No.  They probably went to hyperspace.  Our best bet is to wait till a night cycle or third ship, then try and break into the control room while they have a minimal crew.”

Keith nodded wisely, more than an edge of sarcasm to the movement.  “Which we’ll definitely be able to tell from our very well connected closet.”

Scowling, Shiro shrugged.  “Unless you have a better plan, Black Paladin.”

He didn’t mean for it to come out bitter.  It was just snark, a response to Keith’s sarcasm.  But he could already tell once the words left his mouth that they were going to sound bad.

Keith’s expression closed off.  His jaw physically worked, like he was grinding his teeth.  “Of course not, Captain.”

Shiro opened his mouth, then closed it when footsteps came closer.  He waited for the shadow to pass by the door and the noises to fade again before he responded.  “I’m not trying to criticize the job you do.  I’m sorry.  We’re both just tense.”

There was a pause, then Keith let out his breath through his nose.  “I wouldn’t be surprised if you were mad.  I did kind of steal your job.”

“You offered it back.”

“We both knew you couldn’t take it.  Not that you didn’t want it back.”

Keith wasn’t wrong.  He’d offered, and more than once, Shiro would have given anything to be the Head of Voltron again.  But even months later, the bond with Black was a sore wound that buzzed with energy and anxiety if Shiro got too close.

But that was before everything else.  “I wouldn’t now.  This is good.  How it all came together is good.”  Shiro reached out and put a hand on Keith’s arm.  “You were always the man I wanted for the job.”

Keith nodded, gaze still on his feet.

The silence draped over them again until Shiro’s stomach flipped.

This conversation wasn’t what they came here to talk about.  They both knew that, but neither of them wanted to bring it up.

Shiro’s hand was still on Keith’s arm.

They’re still pressed together, so close that Shiro could feel every exhale on his neck.

He tried not to think about that.

I love you.

Keith had said that during their fight (the fight with the clone, but Shiro was both).  In the same breath he’d used the word ‘brother’ again.  But then Keith also put his hand on Shiro’s thigh, hovered by his side all the time, stared at him like he was something precious.

It was about time they had a talk about them.  Where they stood.  What they wanted.

Shiro wanted a clear signal.  Wanted to know where the boundaries were and where his heart was allowed to lead him.  But that required getting some time to talk in privacy.  No where on Atlas was really private, so Shiro had asked Keith to accompany him into the planet while he established long-term trade for Atlas.

Then this had all happened.

Well, if nothing else, they were in private.

Kind of.

Shiro was still trying to figure out where to even begin when Keith sighed and looked up.  “We might as well get this over with.”

His expression was so miserable that Shiro nearly pretended not to understand what he meant.  But he swallowed and nodded.  “This doesn’t have to be bad,” he said softly.  “It can be affirming instead.  I just want both of us on the same page.”

Keith shrugged one shoulder.  “You don’t need to make a big deal of it either.  You could have just told me to back off on the side.  I would get it.”

Shiro blinked slowly, trying to follow how Keith had jumped to this topic.  “Is this a big deal?  I didn’t mean to end up on a pirate ship.”

“Going off ship, I mean,” Keith said, looking at Shiro’s chin rather than his eyes.  “I appreciate you making it private, but it doesn’t have to be a big production.  You can just tell me to step back.  I don’t need you to spare my feelings like that.”

...Yeah, Shiro still didn’t get it.

“The privacy was for me too,” Shiro finally said, slow as he continued to process what Keith was getting at.  “I figured if the conversation went badly, I would have a chance to get it out of my system before I would have to be in front of the crew or the team.”

If anything, that made Keith look more upset.  “Oh.”  He visibly steeled himself, then nodded. “Okay, then do it.”

“Do what?”

“Yell at me.”

“What?”

They both froze at Shiro’s exclamation, waiting in case anyone had heard.  Then Keith made a frustrated noise.  “You just said you were going to get it out of your system!”

Shiro shook his head, baffled. “How does that translate to yelling at you?  I can count the number of times I’ve yelled at you on one hand, Keith.  I meant get over the disappointment.  What are you talking about?”

For the first time, Keith looked off balance too.  “Disappointed about what?  How I feel?”

Wincing, Shiro nodded.  “There were a few mixed messages,” he admitted.  “So I thought I’d let you make yourself clear.  I imagine it’s exactly what you’ve said before, and I’ll have a chance to collect myself and adjust my behavior before anyone else has to know.  That’s all.”

Keith stared.  “I thought that’s what I said.  Except- what do you have to adjust?”

“At least I won’t have hope,” Shiro said, then clenched his jaw.  “Nothing will really change.  It’ll be a mental adjustment.  I won’t interpret you based on wild notions.”

Finally, Keith nodded slowly.  “Okay.  You want... You want me to stop giving mixed signals too, right?”

“You’re under no obligation to change anything,” Shiro said, shaking his head.  “I don’t want you to change a thing.  I just want to know how I should take it.  You’ve made yourself clear before, but when you touch certain places, I’m not sure if it’s supposed to be intentional or absentminded.  Or if you just don’t know the connotations of certain actions.”

Keith went pink and groaned.  He tried to lean back against the wall, but he had nowhere else to go.  “You mean the thigh touch?”

“Among others, yes.”  Shiro cleared his throat and absently ran a hand along the column.  His pulse thudded under the pads of his fingers, so powerful he could hear his blood rushing.  “For the sake of my nerves, can we just be blunt?  You see me just as a brother, nothing more, as you’ve said more than once.  I’ve let my imagination get the better of me, and I need to reel myself back.”

Keith opened his mouth like he was about to apologize, then frowned.  He looked Shiro up and down, considering him anew.  “You’re disappointed?”

“Nothing I can’t handle,” Shiro replied, clipped and brisk. “Nothing you ever need to worry about.  It’s handled.  You don’t have to change anything, and I hope the passing thought doesn’t make you uncomfortable.”

“You’re disappointed.”

Shiro winced and leaned sideways, as if he could merge with the shelving units and become a container of soap instead of the man in this closet.  “Just forget it, Keith.”

“Hell no.”

Before Shiro could try and explain, Keith surged forward and kissed him.

Their lips touching.  Keith’s breath in Shiro’s mouth.  His hands on Shiro’s hips.  Their chests flushed.  Keith’s heart pounding like a rabbit.

Kissing.

They were-

Shiro licked his lips as Keith pulled away.  His fingers came up to touch over his mouth, as if making sure he hadn’t just hallucinated the touch.  “Oh.”

“That was okay?” Keith asked, faltering.  “You meant- please tell me I didn’t just make this worse.”

“You never could.”  Shiro used his left hand to cup Keith’s jaw and pull him in for another, desperate kiss.  “Please, please tell me this isn’t a brother thing?  You’re not just really confused about brothers?”

“Don’t be stupid,” Keith shot back, nipping at Shiro’s bottom lip.  “If we weren’t surrounded by murderous pirates, I’d want to do way more than just kiss you.  How’s that for an answer?”

“Good.”  Shiro’s voice came out more like a squeak.  “Guess I kinda... presumed.  In my defense, you said it.”

Keith huffed, then started to nibble along Shiro’s jaw.  “Because I thought you saw me as a little brother.  Easier to play into your expectations.”

“I never said that.”

“Guess I presumed too.”

“Guess we’re a pair of idiots, then.”

Keith smiled against Shiro’s neck.  “We’re locked in a closet in a pirate ship.  We’re definitely idiots.”

That was fair.  Shiro slid his hand down Keith’s back, taking in the soothing heat of him.  “Well, I think we know how to pass the time until the night shift.”

“Great idea, Captain.”

Laughing, Shiro dipped his head down and stopped Keith’s snark with another kiss.

[sassysweetcollegegirls]

I’ll Love you No Matter What pt 1

The team had stopped on a small planet after battle to gather some supplies and Keith had wandered through the forest looking at different plants when he bumped into her.She was small and dressed in robes that reminded Keith faintly of Haggar. Her hair was white and she looked at him with two white eyes. 

“Who are you?” He asked quickly drawing his Bayard 

“ Have you no respect for a Lady?” She singsonged her voice was sweet and lilting 

“ I have plenty of respect...I just don’t know you.” Keith countered 

“ Fair enough. I am E.” 

“E?” 

“Yes. You seek answers do you not?” She singsonged 

“Yes,but how do yo-”

“E, has knowledge beyond this galaxy.” Keith remained still listening as she came close touching the tip of his Bayard with her pale fingers. 

“What do you want E?” He asked his voice level

“ I wish to give you a gift. For saving my Planet.” She was humming now swaying touching his sword and Keith could hear his radio cackling to life. Paladins were looking for him, wondering where he was. They had only landed so everyone could stretch, and Hunk could gather supplies. Shiro needed to talk to the Locals and that had left everyone to their own devices and Keith here with singsong E.

He pushed the withdraw button on his Bayard and hung it from his belt but he kept a tight grip on his knife. Whoever E was she hadn’t harmed him yet and Lance was always yelling at him about being nicer to the locals. 

“Quickly then.” He muttered 

Then her hand was on his neck and Keith felt nervous but all she did was draw something on his neck in paint. It dried instantly and then E was walking away. 

“MULLET WHERE ARE YOU?”

“KEITH THIS ISN”T FUNNY.” 

“Does this mean I get to go through his stuff.” Are all things that Keith hears when he slides the Helmet back onto his head. 

“No one is touching my stuff.”  Keith warned 

“ Keith! Thank god what if something had eaten you or a GALRA had attacked you-”  Hunk babled nervously 

“Easy Buddy I’m sure Mullet just got lost taking a piss.” Lance teased and Keith had to bite his tongue. Every part of him wanted to respond with something witty and sarcastic but he’d been trying not to lately. He’d been trying to be nicer to Lance and trying to make it less combative. 

“Glad your back Keith. What was the hold up?”  Shiro asked as he sat down in the cockpit of Red. 

“ Just got a little lost... Like Lance said.” 

“Alright team. Let’s get back to the Castle and get some food.” 

***

Dinner was uneventful. Everyone was their normal boastful selves. Keith kept itching at the spot on his neck where E left the Ink. When he got in the shower’s to bath though he couldn’t find the mark. His hands were free of the ink and he looked at his hands puzzled 

“Mullet are you going to take forever tonight?” Lance challenged joining him at the sinks a towel wrapped around his waists.  Keith couldn’t help but look at Lance. He was lean and beautiful. His shoulders were muscular and there was this scar on his arm and some freckles across his back. It was beautiful and breathtaking -and so out of Keith’s league it wasn’t fair. 

“Not as long as your dumbass.” He retorted his heart cracking slightly 

“At least I can’t see all my pores in the mirror after I shower.” Lance snorted knowing that Keith was mocking his beauty routine.  

Keith drew himself up and went into the shower stalls making the water as hot as possible but he could still hear the call of Lance,” You should let me give you one sometime.” 

The water was warm and Keith was wondering what it would feel like to have Lance’s skin touch his so carefully. To have him look and not flinch away or say something about his mullet. He lathered himself in soap as Lance stepped into the stall next to him It was hard not to look at him past the screen with his hands in his hair and his back turned. His ass was full pressed up against the screen while he waited for the water to warm,” MULLET STOP TAKING ALLTHE HOT WATER” Lance hissed the cold water splashing on the tiles 

Keith smiled and turned down the heat knowing he’d have to share. The water in the other stall warmed up quickly then. Lance sighed content,” You know what I miss Keith?” 

“If you say Ulta I swear to god I will come over there an-” 

“ I miss rain, and umbrella’s and those movies where people end up kissing in the rain...” 

Keith looked up surprised to see Lance posed by the screen water running in his hands looking at it like it was some kind of puzzle. Keith’s heart beat faster The screen wasn’t helping him leave much to the imagination. So he closed his eyes and took a deep breath imagining Lance standing in the rain waiting for a kiss it filled his heart with longing. 

“Hey Lance...”

“Yeah?”

“ I’d...If..If you want...I’ll try one of your facials..” Keith offered turning off the water all his soap washed away.  

There was silence as the curtain flew open and Lance burst into his stall eyes wide with excitement. Keith had just enough time to cover himself with a towel,”  Are you being serious?” Keith could see the freckles in on his face and the blue in his eyes. There was soap in his hair and everything about him was warm and beautiful and wet and Keith held his breath not trusting his voice he nodded softly. “Mullet you aren’t going to regret one minute of it. I’ll come by your room after I’m done here.” Lance squeeled going back to his shower allowing Keith to breath and retreat to the drier room. 

Once dressed in his favorite tank and sweats he picks up the little piles he has in his room and straightens out the books. He knows it’s probably not going to matter but he wants the space to at least look a little bit neat. His neck is Itchy so he scrapes at it casually. He’s making his bed when his door opens to Lance and Hunk. 

Keith’s heart falls a little because he thought the experience would just be between him and Lance. He loves Hunk but he wasn’t expecting the big yellow paladin to come in to his room and set down an armful of stuff on his desk. 

“Hey Keith. Sorry Lance didn’t have enough hands to carry all the products he needed to make the masks so he asked me to help.” 

“Yeah I realized I require four arms instead of two for all this stuff, don’t worry though he’s not gunna stay. “ 

Keith just watches as the two organize and then Hunk sweeps him into a hug and whispers in his ear,” Lance is so excited about this. Thank you Keith.” And then the yellow Paladin is gone and it’s just Lance in Keith. 

Lance looks at Keith and the at his mullet,” Your going to need to tie your hair up.” 

“I don’t have a hair tie” He reasons showing the blue paladin his wrist. 

“ I do, come here and I'll put it up.” Lance says tarnishing hair ties from the pocket of his robe which hangs over his shorts and t-shirt perfectly. 

“Why do you have hair ties?” Keith grumbles nervousness settling in his stomach as he steps forward letting Lance sit him in a chair and gather his hair in his hands. 

“I give Allura facials all the time.” Lance respond happily once theres a happy little mess of a ponytail on Keith’s head,” Oh my god. I wish I had a camera, this is to cute.” 

“You don’t get to speak about this to another living soul.” Keith threatens. His fingers touch the little pom softly and he crosses his arms trying to look tough. 

“Whatever you say Keef. So I’m gunna use this -oh god where did I-” Lance begins digging through the product that he has set on Keith’s desk and Keith watches as he leans. His body is so sleek and soft and Keith wonders if he does this kind of thing every night “HERE IT IS!” He pulls a big black bottle out of the mix and shows it to Keith who raises his eyebrows.

“CHARCOAL MASK.” He reads out loud and then he carefully looks at Lance who is smiling. 

“Yup. So basically I’m gunna smear this all over your face and then It’s going to sit for a little bit and then we peel it all off and it pulls all the stuff out of your face.” Lance says excited squeezing a large black glob onto his hand and Keith swallows watching as he dips his fingers and then looks at Keith’s face. “Close your eyes.” 

Keith obeys and he feel’s Lance’s cool fingers grip his chin and then a wet sticky substance right above his eyebrow. Lance is so gentle as he sweeps his product covered fingers across Keith’s forehead and around his eyes and over his nose. Keith doesn’t want to admit it but he craves the way Lance’s fingers touch his face. So soft but still full of purpose and meaning there is no fear in it.  

“Your good at being still. Usually Allura is twitching or Hunks laughing because it tickles.” 

“Do you do this often with them?” 

“ As often as they will allow me... Most the time it’s just me.  I gave one to Shiro once and he fell asleep in the middle.” 

“ Why is it getting stiff?” Keith tries to reach up and touch it and Lance slaps his hands away lightly

“Don’t touch it. The stiffer it gets the better that means it’s pulling the stuff out of your pores.”  Lance singsongs and Keith opens his eyes to look at him. He has his fingers coated in black and hes trying to apply his own black mask which looks difficult. 

“C-can I help?” he asks and Lance stops to look at him. He doesn’t look angry he looks at the bottle and then at Keith.

“Don’t get it in my eyes or on my eyebrows okay?” Lance warns handing him the bottle after he wipes his hands on one of the wet towels he brought with him. He bends down and Keith spreads a big glob on his fingers. The product is cold and dark,” make sure it’s thick.” Lance instructs as Keith carefully dabs a little under the blue Paladins eye and then spreads it. The stuff is harder to spread than the weird space butter that Hunk makes with Katlnekers milk.  Lance’s skin is softer than his and he tried to be as gentle as possible. By the time Lance’s face mask is finished Keith’s mask is starting to itch. Lance looks at him simpatheticly. 

“Your not going to like this part.” Lance says as her picks at a spot on Keiths chin gently where the mask has begun to peel. 

“Why?” Keith asks noticing that Lance’s mask is tacky granted not as tacky as his but still tacky. 

“ Because this part hurts.” 

“ What?” 

“It hurts Keith.” 

“What do you mean it h-” and then Lance just rips the damned thing up with one solid go. Keith hisses touching his face in pain and  looking at Lance in pure shock.

He grabs hold of both corners of Lance’s mask and yanks. Lance gasps and moans like the big baby he is,” NOT FAIR.” 

“YOU STARTED IT.”

“I TOLD YOU IT HURT.” 

“SO.”

“SO YOU CAN’T GO YANKING OTHER MENS FACEMASKS OFF.” 

And then Keith was laughing because Lance looked ridiculous only half of his mask had come off and the other half was still sitting under his eyes. He had one hand on his hip and one in the mixing bowl where he was making the second mask they would wear to bed. 

Keith couldn’t help the smile on his face as he took his fingers and carefully piked off the rest of Lance’s mask.  Lance applied his mask and then Keith applied Lance’s and they washed the bowl and Keith helped him carry the supplies back to his room. 

“Keith?” 

“Yeah?” 

“Thanks for being a cool friend.” Lance murmured as he wrapped an arm around the Red paladins neck and Keith’s heart leapt through his chest hugging the blue paladin hoping that maybe they could do this weird face mask thing again sometime. 

“Night Lance.” 

“Night Keith.” 

***

When Keith woke up the next morning he knew he had to wash off the mask. Part of him was terrified that perhaps it was all over his sheets but the stuff had remained plastered to his face as Lance had promised and he smiled remembering how Lance had smiled at him and hugged him goodnight.

The room was dark and Keith could feel his hair on his back. Had it always been that long though? 

Keith wasn’t going to argue though it was probably a trick of the mind that happened when he was sleepy. He stuck his hands under the water scrubbing carefully and all the green stuff fell away as Keith was scrubbing he noticed something. Something really not normal. 

His tank top was filled with what looked to be breast. He blinked and rubbed his eyes and looked again, they were still there jiggling slightly at any movement he made. He flicked on the light to his room and looked in the mirror. 

“What in the quiznack.” what stared back at Keith was defiantly not KEITH but it was the female equivalent of him. Her eyes were the same color and her hair was long the bangs were drawn up into this tiny pom on top of her head that Keith recognized from the facial last night and she was lean and beautiful and she had boobs and she seemed to be swimming in the white tank and sweats she wore. 

He touched his hair confused because last night it had been mullet short and the pompom had been fluffier. Then his hands trailed down his thin waist to his sweats, there was no way He had turned into She overnight. He looked into his shorts panicked but there was no penis to grasp. He ran his fingers down his thigh shakily and over his privates sure enough there was two mounds and a slit , not a set of testicles.... SHIT. 

He lifted his shirt the panic increasing and he could see his breasts they were rather large but not unpleasant. They weren’t like glue on fakes... SHIT SHIT 

He needed to find Shiro. 

Keith pulled his shirt down and tried to get the pompom out of his bangs it took him a minute. He knew he it was early no one was up. He ran down the hall hair flying behind him. 

Reaching Shiro’s door he pounded as hard as he could manage. “SHIRO. SHIRO IT’S KEITH.OPEN THE DOOR PLEASE.” But the voice sounded nothing like his own it was soft and girlish and needy on the verge of tears. 

The door opened to Shiro who was shirtless in his sweats rubbing his eye,”Keith it’s 4am what kind of emergency could you possibly be- OH. MY. GOD.” 

Keith is trying not to feel self conscious because he knows how weird this looks. A girl showing up at any door at 4am claiming an emergency means business but for them to claim their the red paladin of Voltron. Now thats looney. 

“Who are you? Where is Keith? How did you get on this ship?” Shiro’s eyes are wide looking around the hallway. “ I am going to kill him.” 

“SHIRO I AM KEITH.”  Keith whines and Shiro looks at him puzzled so Keith says the one thing he knows no one else knows about Shiro,” Before you go to sleep you sing the teapot song!” 

Shiro looks puzzled and then Keith starts to sing it softly,” I’m a little tea pot short and sto-” then there is a warm hand over his mouth and he looks down both ends of the hall to make sure no one is coming before he drags Keith into his room. 

Keith sighs in relief because A) he’s out of the hallway and B) Shiro seems to know what to do when these types of situations arise. 

“ Keith what the hell is going on?” 

“ I GOT BOOBS SHIRO.” Keith scream whispers as he lifts up his shirt and shows his brother the breast under his shirt. 

Shiro panicked pulls down the shirt before he can get that far though and looks at Keith serious,” Keith, You can’t just go around FLASHING people and telling them you got BOOBS.” 

“REALLY SHIRO, Then please explain to me how I receive one facial in my life and I wake up and I have no dick.” Keith Drops his pants and Shiro covers his eyes. 

“Pull your pants up and calm down please.” 

“CALM DOWN? I lose the one eyed snake of brotherhood and you tell me to calm down!!!” Keith is hysterical pulling the pants he was wearing back up. 

“Keith take a deep breath. Well figure this out...Did anything else happen yesterday beside the facial?” Shiro is trying to be rational and reasonable for all of this. Keith tries to think past the warm happy glow of Lance and the facial and then he remembers. 

“E.” 

“E?” 

“While we were on that planet this lady in the woods made this symbol on my neck. I came home and it was gone though. She called herself ‘E’ “ Keith says moving his long hair to touch the spot on his neck. 

“Let me see. Is that a Tatoo?” Shiro asks his voice calm as touches the ink that apparently has reappeared. 

“IT CAME BACK?!?” 

“What do you mean it came back.” 

“I mean it was gone I showered yesterday and It was gone.” Keith wailed his voice honey sweet something he is not used to. He is used to the musky grumble that he associates as his. 

“ Were gunna have to ask Coran...” 

All of a sudden Keith looks down at himself and his breast and the thin waist and he’s afraid. “ What if they don’t like me anymore.” 

“Keith I don’t really think anyones going to care that your a girl.” Shiro reasons. 

“But...Look at me...”  Keith murmurs and Shiro sighs pinching the bridge of his nose. 

“ I’ll wake up Allura and we’ll get you a bra, but your stunning Keith really... Just don’t go taking your shirt off willy nilly anymore okay. You have to practice modesty. For now take my sweater... “  Shiro hands him one of the Large zip up black hoodies he has and Keith puts it on hiding in the sleeves.  Every fiber of his being is worried about what everyone else will think. 

[crownedallura]

mutual | 1.6k

written for @jamesandkeith week!

Day 6: Pining/Unrequited/Mutual

Watching James and Keith is like watching a soap opera. But this is real life, which means Nadia can actually intervene, Ryan and Lance can make bets, and  Shiro can cry about having to deal with all this.

Nadia loves James, okay? She loves James, even with his intense attachment to the rules and that stupid piece of hair that falls in his face all the time. And because she loves him, she wants to help him find someone for himself. Someone who isn’t part of their squadron, who doesn’t grate on his nerves like Nadia and who doesn’t need him to explain multiple times like  Ina and who doesn’t force him into silence like Ryan does.

That’s what makes it so much funnier once she realizes whom exactly he’s attracted to. Keith Kogane always gets on James’ nerves, never understands what he wants to say, and constantly forces him into long, awkward silences.

Unfortunate circumstances (i.e. invasion of their home by Sendak) make Nadia shove this information into the back of her head. However, once Keith is up and running again and things are somewhat normal again, it crawls its way to the forefront of her mind. Having someone he doesn’t need to lead would be good for James, she thinks.

“Nadia, do not,” Ryan says. They’re the first words he’s spoken to her this week, but she is going to happily ignore them.

“Do you not see this?” she hisses at him, gesturing frantically between James and Keith Kogane, who are currently facing off in the middle of the hangar. If you didn’t look at them too hard, you would think they were only angry with each other. James’ arms are crossed over his chest, and he’s glaring down at Keith. Keith, in turn, is yelling up at him. Nadia is just waiting for him to kick James in the shin. If you’ve spent more than five minutes in their presence, though, you’d notice little things. Like the way James is swaying towards Keith but catches himself and straightens up every time. The way Keith moves in two steps and then forces himself to take one back.

Ryan nods, but his face is still scrunched up in displeasure.

“Okay, out with it,” she orders. “What’s your problem with me intervening?”

“This is a choice they should make for themselves,” he answers.

Nadia watches the two boys out on the floor continue their little dance. James leans into Keith’s space; Keith takes a step back. James straightens up; Keith throws his hands into James’ personal bubble as he gestures. “What if that choice is inevitable?”

“It’s still theirs to make.”

The only reason Ryan told Nadia not to do anything is because he has a bet with the Blue Paladin about how long it will take their brave and valiant leaders to do something about their very obvious attraction to each other. Lance McClain is absolutely infuriating and his reasons for why Kogane and James will get together tomorrow are ridiculous and just plain wrong. Ryan has Ina’s analysis of the situation to back him up. He knows he’s right. This mutual pining will all come to a head by next week.

He just needs one more day to pass, and he can get that one day by making Nadia not intervene, goddammit. Luckily, she seems to listen to him, and the day passes without incident. Lance McClain has officially lost their bet.

Ryan sidles up to the Blue Paladin and holds one hand out. McClain frowns at him, dumps credits into his palm, and says, “Not fair.”

Ryan raises one eyebrow. What’s not fair, goes unsaid.

McClain crosses his arms and stares him down. “You stopped your teammate from intervening yesterday. She would’ve at least gotten James to realize that he’s pining.”

Ryan shrugs. The whole motion encompasses everything he wants to say: that their bet guidelines included preventing intervention whenever they saw it about to occur, that James probably wouldn’t have realized that he was pining anyways, that it’s not just about one person having that epiphany but two in order for them to engage in a relationship.

McClain hmphs, displeased. Ryan lets one side of his mouth tip up teasingly.

If Shiro has to hear one more complaint from Keith about James, he is going to snap.

Well, that’s not true.

The correct statement is, if he has to hear one more complaint from Keith about James and if he hears about one more betting pool on them that Lance thinks he should join and if he sees one more loaded glance between the MFE pilots as they watch James yell at Keith, he is going to snap.

The thing about two people very obviously pining for each other is that it’s hell on their friends. In a military group like the Garrison, it’s hell on the superior officers, too. Shiro just wants them to realize this now. He doesn’t want to go into another meeting where James and Keith stare each other down from across the table with gazes full of anger and underlying sexual tension. Not only has he had enough of it, he’s pretty sure that it makes Commander Holt and Commander Iverson uncomfortable too.

Shiro did not die and was not forcibly resurrected so that he could watch his best friend and brother get blue balls from all the unresolved history and attraction with his former enemy. So when Lance comes complaining to him about how Ryan Kinkade didn’t let Nadia Rizavi intervene with James and Keith, he snaps the pencil he’s holding in half and slams his head on the desk.

“Why,” he asks the table.

“Because he wanted to win our bet!” Lance says. He’s in three betting pools which Shiro knows of. The one with Kinkade, which is over now; one with Pidge and Hunk; and another with Coran, Romelle, and Allura. He might be in more. Hell, he might be in one with Krolia, for all Shiro knows. He really wouldn’t put it past Lance.

“So they’re still not together.”

“Nope.”

“Just how long am I going to have to put up with this?”

If Ryan thinks James hasn’t noticed the extra credits sitting on his desk and the text messages from the Blue Paladin popping up on his phone screen, he is so wrong. James knows perfectly well that he and Keith are the subjects of a betting pool, but he’s not sure what it’s about. Maybe how long it’ll take before they snap and punch each other?

The best way to get Ryan to talk is to ask him questions he feels obligated to answer out of the blue. So James waits for his roommate to get back from the shower, and as Ryan is about to take his towel off, asks, “What did you bet with the Blue Paladin about?”

Ryan stiffens. Gottem, James thinks triumphantly.

“Something trivial.”

“If it’s trivial, I can know about it, right?”

Ryan only hmms. James rolls his eyes. Clearly he feels that he can’t answer James’ questions, for whatever dumb reason. Thus he must resort to more extreme methods. Fortunately, Ryan is facing the closet, turned away from the bed and the door. James stands up from his chair, takes his teammate’s phone from where it’s lying on the bed, and calmly walks out the door. As soon as he’s out the door he sprints down the hallway. When Ryan notices, he’s going to be on a manhunt.

“JAMES!” he hears from the direction of his room. That is the loudest shout he’s ever heard Ryan give. He runs faster.

He finds himself outside a familiar door. He doesn’t know quite why it’s familiar, but he can hear Ryan’s feet pounding on the tile, so he knocks desperately on the door. When it opens, he pushes his way inside and slams it closed behind him.

“What do you want now?” Keith snaps. Because James forced his way inside, they’re standing very close to each other. At this distance, James can see all the little details of Keith’s face.

“I just needed to see what Ryan was up to on his phone,” he answers, and turns it on.

Lance McClain - How about another bet?

Lance McClain - About Keith and James, of course.

“What the hell are they betting on us for?” Keith’s face is right next to his own, reading the texts just over James’ shoulder. “Lance, I swear-”

Lance McClain - This time I bet they’ll realize they’re pining for each other in two weeks. I’ve got Pidge’s analysis on my side this time. What’s your bet?

When he finishes reading the text, James reads it again. And again. There’s no movement from over his shoulder. His hand is beginning to go numb, not from holding up the phone, but from the nerves that are coursing through him.

Everyone knows. Everyone has noticed. He’s been too obvious with the way he interacts with Keith. His teammates and the other paladins of Voltron have literally been betting on him. His only possible course of action is to retreat to the hangar and fly away in his MFE forever. There’s absolutely no way he can ever interact with anyone ever again-

“Are you seriously pining for me?” Keith asks, and it’s the disbelief in his voice that gets James riled up.

“Yeah, I am!” he retorts crossly. “What, am I not allowed to like brave and attractive guys with serious fighting and piloting skills? You’re the one who should be pining away for me!”

Keith scoffs. “There is absolutely no way I’d ever pine after some hot guy who can competently lead a defensive squad on the front lines of a Galra invasion. Don’t be ridiculous.”

James stares at Keith. Keith stares back.

“I really like you!” James yells at him.

“Well, I like you too!” Keith shouts, just as loudly.

Pidge stares down at the two figures making out on her screen. “What the fuck,” she says softly to herself. “What the fuck.”

[jinris]

where you don’t see me

(wip)

a/n: well, i started writing this after season 6 and never got around to finishing it before season 7. this was supposed to be canon-compliant but now it’s...not lol and i have very mixed feelings about s7 so i’m impulsively deciding to dump some writing. i had about 7k words but i’m sharing only 2k here. k/a is still one of my fav vld ships so i might finish this eventually or it might go in my vault of abandoned wips who knows

---

Morning arrives on the barren moon in pale green. The crisp air bites her exposed face as Allura wakes with exhaustion weighing on her at the break of dawn. Her weary eyes, not yet ready for the new day, refuse to open. Enviously so, no one else seems to stir. Next to her, Pidge and Romelle are still asleep, and Allura decides to indulge in the comfort of her blanketed cot for a little while longer.

She tells herself not to think. Not about Voltron, not about Olkarion, not about Lotor. She builds herself a wall. Soon, her breathing slows. Her senses drift farther and farther away. Just as sleep begins to salvage its lost victim back into its trenches, warm fur tickles her back and nudges her leg. Easily guessing the culprit, Allura curls deeper under her blanket, but curiosity persuades her to turn around and confront the wolf.

Allura meets the cool surface of her pillow and comes face-to-face with Keith’s bright-eyed wolf, watching her attentively. Smiling tiredly, she reaches out and gently pets the wolf on its head, who responds obediently by leaning in to the touch.

“Keith trained you well, didn’t he?” she asks the wolf quietly, so as to not wake the others around them.

It seems to understand her and nods proudly. Hearing noise outside, its ears perk up and its head turns in the direction of the source. Light footsteps tread from beyond the shielded canopy, and Allura sits up from her cot, her messy, white hair cascading down to her waist. She scans the rest of the makeshift sleeping quarters and discovers only one cot empty.

The wolf scampers from Allura’s side, exiting the tent, and Allura feels compelled to follow. Climbing out of her cot, Allura smooths out her nightgown and soundlessly slips into her Paladin boots. She heads outside, and when she lifts the entrance of the tent, a strong gust of wind blows into her. Allura grimaces and clutches her nightgown tighter. She ventures further out and finds Keith with his back facing her, kneeling down and feeding his wolf a small snack before breakfast.

Hesitantly, she walks forward, until her heavy boots reach Keith’s crouched shadow and Keith’s wolf turns to look at her. In the back of her mind, Allura wonders if she’s allowed to interrupt them at all. Since their last interaction, Keith hasn’t even looked at her, let alone talked to her. It chips at her pride. She doesn’t know what she has done wrong.

Moondust grazes past her cheeks, lands in her tangled, unbrushed hair. Keith glances over his shoulder, and his eyes widen when he sees her. It suddenly occurs to Allura that she hardly looks presentable and mild horror shocks through her system.

“Princess, you’re awake,” he says, standing up to greet her.

“Good morning, Keith,” she responds. She tugs at the hem of her sleeve nervously and resists the urge to fix her atrociously improper hair.

“Is everybody else…?”

“No, I don’t think so. Just us.”

Keith takes a moment to process the information before he flashes her a smile. He’s more expressive since finding his mother and returning from the quantum abyss. Right now, he seems almost cautious, Allura thinks, and the mere suggestion of a growing distance between them stings her chest.

“That’s fine,” Keith finally assures.

Allura replies with a shy smile of her own. She notices the revealing dampness of his skin and the ends of his hair, drying in clumps against the back of his neck.

“Were you training?” she asks.

“Not for long. I didn’t want to do anything that would wake someone up.”

“That’s quite considerate.”

For a moment, neither speaks. It’s Keith who breaks the silence.

“We should leave in a few hours. That way, we reach Olkarion before the end of the day.”

“Right. Good idea,” says Allura, sounding more disappointed than intended.

“We could leave earlier –” Keith starts to suggest, but Allura rushes to explain herself.

“Oh, no, I didn’t mean it that way! Nothing like that. I’m just…” Allura trails off, causing Keith to frown in concern.

“Allura,” he asks, “Is something wrong?”

Keith’s tone is remarkably gentle, leaving space for Allura to breathe. She bites her lip and exhales slowly, unsure whether or not to proceed. Searching for affirmation, she anxiously glances at Keith, who stands in front of her waiting patiently for her response. Warily, she decides to tell him.

“I’ve had a lot on my mind.”

Allura doesn’t want to mention how her thoughts have tormented her for movements, how they have persisted despite opening up to Lance back in the Castle. Irritating locks of her hair fly wildly as the wind rises again.

“Like what?”

“I…”

She can’t breathe. If Keith finds out what she had done with Lotor, how she had let something so fleeting like infatuation blind her to the truth, he would probably never forgive her.

“Let’s find somewhere to sit down.”

Allura nods. She doesn’t miss how he almost extends his hand to her but decides against it at the last tick, like he already knows that her hands and her lips have been tainted.

---

They sit next to each other at one of the tables they use to eat meals and speak in hushed tones. Allura can feel its cool, steel surface through the thin layers of her nightgown and sleeping garments as she presses her crossed forearms into the sharp edge.

Her fingers clench tightly around Keith’s dark blue blanket, draped delicately over her shoulders. Keith had snuck in past Shiro and Hunk’s sleeping figures to retrieve it when a sudden blast of wind had nearly blown Allura’s nightgown off her body earlier.

“…I liked him so much, Keith,” Allura confesses in a horrified whisper, her walls finally crashing into dust and ashes. She can’t read the expression on Keith’s face. He’s not angry. He’s not jealous. Part of Allura wants him to be. She desperately needs to know what he thinks. Instead, he just listens. So she continues.

“He said all the right things. We were so alike. I…I thought he was my soulmate. It all happened so fast, and I let my emotions get the better of me. I helped create a monster.”

Suddenly understanding, Keith’s face falls and he leans back, contemplating the right words to say. He’s not good at giving advice, but memories of Shiro’s lectures and all the times he had gotten himself into fights, ruined second chances, let his own emotions control him, flood into his mind. Keith studies the anguish and heartbreak in Allura’s eyes, and as much as it makes him want to touch her, dry out her tears before they fall, tuck loose strands of wispy, silver hair behind her ear, he doesn’t.

“It already happened. You can’t blame yourself forever,” Keith says quietly, carefully. “Emotions are a part of you. They tell you things that words can’t. I was so angry for so long. But you learn how to control them.”

Allura manages a halfhearted smile.

“Shiro used to tell me ‘patience yields focus.’ Acknowledge my emotions. Be patient. I wasn’t always good about it, but it helped.”

“Patience…” Allura muses out loud.

“…Yields focus,” Keith finishes for her, grinning.

Wordlessly imagining the retired Black Paladin reciting his mantra, Keith and Allura share a reserved laugh.

Allura sighs, relaxing her shoulders.

“What happens if he comes back? He has access to unlimited quintessence.”

“Voltron will defeat him,” Keith responds squarely.

“How can you be so sure?”

Keith pauses while he stares at her and Allura’s breath catches in her throat. He averts his gaze for a moment before looking directly in her eyes.

“We have you.”

It’s uncanny how Keith is always there to catch her when she stumbles, both figuratively and…literally. Allura tries to hide her amused smile as she recalls the time Keith had caught her trying to sneak out of the Castle. When Keith looks at her curiously, Allura blushes and sheepishly waves off his concern.

They fall into a comfortable silence at the table, and like the calming wind, Allura feels so much lighter. Wrapping herself tightly in Keith’s blanket, she leans in against the table and stares out at the morning horizon. When she pulls the blanket up to her rosy, wind-chilled cheeks, the addictive fragrance of juniberry soap laced with a scent so distinctly Keith drowns her senses. The pale green sky is brighter now, delineating the evident passage of time of which they had lost track. Allura supposes that the others should be waking soon.

She feigns indifference, but she watches Keith quietly take out his Marmora blade from the corner of her eye. In stark contrast to his usually aggressive demeanor, he gently runs his thumb over the glowing jagged insignia, and Allura bites her lip, inadvertently wondering about how it would feel to be the recipient of that soft touch, to be the object of Keith’s warm affections. Whoever Keith falls in love with would be lucky, she thinks.

With piercing sharp focus, Keith begins to practice gripping techniques, slashing the air in small, controlled movements. Allura has always found Keith’s dedication endearing, his natural talent intimidating. Without realizing, she gravitates closer to him to observe his extraordinary skill in fascination.

When Keith finally notices her watching, he stops and looks at her, completely unaffected.

“Do you want to try?” he asks her plainly.

Taken aback by the blunt nature of his invitation, Allura’s eyes widen.

“I…May I?”

Her eagerness reveals itself in her tone and Keith smirks.

“All yours, Princess.” He flips the handle and offers it to her.

Allura casually leans in and her hand coyly reaches out to grab his Marmora blade, still warm from Keith’s tight grip. She studies the combat knife in its entirety, acknowledging the exceptional craftsmanship and admiring the quintessence-infused luxite. It dawns on her then that this knife, very much like her own crown, had been passed down by his mother in his infancy, and a momentary rush of sadness overcomes her. She can easily imagine how treasured and important this rebel blade must be to Keith.

Sentimental but resolute, she demonstrates her proficiency with a basic forward grip, slicing in a clean, diagonal motion.

“Not bad,” Keith remarks.

“Show me a reverse grip,” she orders, nearly shoving the blade in Keith’s face.

Keith smiles apprehensively but his eyes dance with childlike excitement. His hand catches her slim wrist and decidedly lowers the blade from his face.

“Not if you’re going to stab me,” says Keith, quirking his eyebrow.

Allura blushes.

“Sorry.”

“I’m kidding,” Keith replies, cracking a teasing grin and causing Allura to blush harder. “You want to hold it like this.”

Without a second thought, he moves next to her to adjust the blade and position her hand. Now distressingly aware of their pressed shoulders, Allura stops breathing and stares as Keith smoothly slides his hand from her wrist to clasp hers, leaving behind a scorching field. She refuses to look up. She can’t face him.

Sensing her stiffness, Keith turns to her.

“Allura,” he starts, and Allura jerks her head toward him at the sound of her name. “You have to –”

Their eyes meet, inches apart. Keith forgets what he intends to say.

“Oh! Allura! Keith! You’re both awake!”

They jump and separate at the loud, startling interruption. Allura gasps and both let go of the blade at the same time, but before it can hit and clatter on the table, Keith quickly swipes his blade back onto his belt. Like deer in headlights, they turn to meet their maker.

Coran emerges fresh-faced from under the canopy, cheerfully stretching out his legs. He walks over to the pair, thinking nothing of the obvious heat steaming from their ears.

“I hope you’re not too hungry, Princess! I’ll get to breakfast right away!”

Keith promptly and dramatically springs up from the table.

“I’ll help.”

“Gladly appreciated, Keith! How do you feel about cracking some kotka eggs?”

“Sounds great, Coran,” Keith grimaces, hurriedly following Coran and leaving Allura behind at the table without a second glance.

When she’s sure neither of them are looking, Allura collapses and buries her face in her arms. She can’t shake the image of his warm, calloused hand over hers from her mind. Inhaling sharply and holding her breath, Allura pleads her heart to stop pounding so furiously. Patience, she tells herself. Be patient. She breathes out slowly and takes another deep breath. Closing her eyes, all she sees is dark, shining violet.

[kallura-icedcoffee]

golden hour: fragrance

WARNING: RATED M

Like Rabbits

Even when you’re gone, your scent lingers

“You smell nice, new shampoo or something?” Shiro buries his face in Keith’s black mop of hair from behind.

“Excuse me?” Keith’s whole body perks up, flinches. He nearly drops his freshly poured cup of coffee.

“New shampoo? Smells nice, more flowery than the stuff you normally use though.” Shiro says nonchalantly.

He walks across the break room and sits at the counter, setting the files down he was carrying before grabbing a mug for himself.

“Uh yeah…heh…shampoo… Keith chuckles nervously.”Well I gotta go later!”

Keith takes a sip so the coffee won’t spill and hurriedly walks out of the room.

+++

“Allura we have…we have to stop…they’re…oh god yes…like that, yes” Keith babbles breathlessly.

He sits in the darkened cockpit of the black lion. His head tilts back as his toes curl in his boots. One hand is over and behind his head, clutching the top of the seat. The other is grasping a large fistful of white hair.

His moans echo in the small space, bits and pieces of broken words, sweet nothings, curses, fragments of her name. She digs her fingers into the sides of his legs, squeezing the more that he squirms.

“Fuck Lu…Lura I’m gonna come” he whines.

She hums prettily and the vibration it sends through his length and up his spine unravels him. He cries out then quickly clamps a hand over his own mouth, afraid someone will hear even though that’s impossible.

His legs go limp at his sides as he struggles to catch his breath. Allura finally sits back on her heels and wipes the evidence of her actions from her lips.

“What were you saying?”

Keith leans forward and cups her face in his hands, kissing her slowly.

“We have to stop, they’re gonna find out. Shiro could smell you all over me this morning” he tells her between kisses.

“I don’t want to stop” she mutters against his lips.

“I don’t want to either, but I also don’t want to deal with the fallout once everyone realizes what we’re doing. We’ll never hear the end of it.”

She pulls back and scoffs as she fixes her disheveled hair. He’s right, but surely there’s an alternative to cutting herself off from him. She’s not willing to do that.

“I won’t wear any perfume then.” She looks up at him and smiles.

“Incorrigible” is all he can say as he leans back.

+++

“You smell like a boy.”

“What?!” Allura whips around, hand to her heart as if that would keep it from leaping out of her chest.

“You smell like a boy.”

Pidge sniffs at her as she passes by the princess with a computer tablet in her hand. They’re running routine diagnostics on the Atlas.

“You’re not wearing that froufrou stuff you normally wear.”

“Yes well most of my ‘froufrou stuff’ as you put it went up in flames with the rest of the castle ship.”

Pidge nods regretfully.

“I know that was really hard on you. Maybe we can find you something in the city so you don’t have to borrow the guys’ stuff” she suggests, the glow of the screen reflecting in her glasses.

“That would be lovely.” Allura smiles in agreement with a slight anxious giggle.

+++

“I thought you said we needed to stop” Allura says before the air gets knocked out of her as her back hits the table. Her long white hair splays out everywhere like spilt water and her unzipped cadet jacket falls open.

Keith doesn’t initially respond to his own words getting thrown back at him. He’s too busy pushing up her white tank top to get to what’s underneath.

“Your scent was all over me. Pidge made note of i-AHHH!” She gasps as he undoes the blessed front clasp of her bra and immediately clamps his mouth over her soft sensitive skin.

“Can we not mention Pidge or anyone else while we’re doing this?” Keith growls as he goes back tracing his tongue in agonizingly slow circles.

“For someone who doesn’t want to get caught you’re being awfully reckless” she pants.

Keith stands up straight with a smirk as he unzips his own jacket and pulls it off, tossing it by her pants and boots on a pile on the floor.

They’re in the conference room where all the super top secret strategic war meetings are held, the ones he should have been paying attention to earlier that day except all he could do was stare at his princess and think about what he wanted to do to her on this very table. Now he’s getting his wish.

“It’s midnight, who’s gonna catch us?” He unbuckles his belt.

“I just think you should wear a different cologne or something.” Her mind is all over the place.

“Are we back on that?” He grips her panties and pulls them down her legs.

“Keith if they find out that we-” Her own words are cut off by the groan that escapes from her lips.

He’s grabbed her by the thighs and yanks her into him, and therefore him into her.

“If they catch-” she tries to get words out, but it’s fruitless.

Keith leans over and kisses her throat.

“Maybe if you shut up they won’t catch us. Can you do that? Can you be a good princess and be quiet for me?” He whispers teasingly with a deep raspy voice in her ear as he grinds his hips nice and slow, taking one of her legs and draping over his back.

Allura whimpers and bites her lip and shakes her head profusely. She can’t. She absolutely can’t if he’s going to keep doing what he’s doing and he knows it. And he doesn’t care. He loves this game. Telling her she needs to keep it down while simultaneously doing everything to make her beg, to get her nice and loud.

He presses his body against her, marking her with his aroma.

+++

“You smell nice” the young cadet’s voice catches her by surprise.

“Oh Mr. Griffin!” Allura jumps and twirls around.

“Call me James.” He smirks, leaning in the doorway of the mess hall.

She smiles and nods.

“Well, thank you Mr…James.” She corrects herself before turning back to the vending machine.

Ever since she’s discovered the magical earth concoction that is Doritos she cannot get enough. She’s also very fond of their bubbly beverage called root beer. She bats her baby blues at Iverson at least twice a week and he gives her whatever change he has. Pushover.

“What’s it called?” James approaches her with a grin and props himself against the glowing snack box.

“Pardon?”

“That scent you’re wearing, what’s it called?”

“It’s called Keith” the dark haired paladin retorts as he strolls into the room.

Allura’s eyes go wide while James’ narrows, darting back and forth between the two of them. Keith takes the bag from her hand and rips it open, popping a chip in his mouth.

“You don’t mind do you?” He looks at Allura with feigned sincerity. “I’m just so famished after last night.”

He glances at James as he deliberately eats another chip, crunching it obnoxiously loud with a wink. He and Griffin exchange a very knowing, very heated glare before James storms out of the room.

“So much for keeping it a secret” Allura frowns, snatching her snack back.

“Sorry” he mumbles guiltily with his mouth full.

“We really need to stop though. Everyone keeps pointing out that we smell like each other. We’ll be the talk of the entire base soon enough.” She crinkles the bag in her hands.

“Well what can we do about it? We either have to break up or shower 80 times a day.”

“Shower…” she repeats casually.

“Yeah,” he stares at her, “shower…”

She stares back, biting her lower lip.

He returns her gaze with a devilish grin.

Keith quickly grabs her by the hand, jerking her so hard she drops her Doritos.

“My chips!” she squeaks.

“I’ll buy you a new bag!” He promises, dragging her down the hallway toward the locker rooms.

Luckily Garrison has a very neutral smelling soap.

AO3 LINK

[mingyusmoneymaker]

Voltron Vines

Lance: Dad look, it’s the good Cush

Shiro: This is the dollar store, how good can it be?

-

Keith: Roses are red

Violets are blues

Why did you leave me Mom?

What did I do *cue sobbing*

-

Keith: I wanted to be cowboy baby

Lance: hell yeah

Keith: I wanted to be a cowboy BABY

-

Hunk: Who’s the hottest Uber driver you’ve ever had

Pidge: Ummm I went to Oovoo Javer

-

Hunk: Pidge has 19 bottles of dish soap and they give Gi-

Shiro: Wait why does Pidge have so many soaps?!

Pidge: MIND YO BUSINESS SHIRO

-

Lance: I spilled lipstick in your Valentino bag

Allura: yoU SPILLED WHAWHAUGHOWHA LIPSTICK IN MY VALENTINO WHITE

-

Hunk: Hurry up we’re gonna be late to school!

Keith: bruh chill I don’t know why you in a Big Time Rush *cue BTR theme song*

-

Pidge: I love how people are telling me I’m like 2, 9 years old. I’m 11 so shut the fuck up

-

Shiro: Hey how are your chicken strips?

Keith: FUCK YA CHICKEN STRIPS

-

Allura: I’m at this dumbass school with all these fake ass people

Kuron: hey

Allura: Hi!! Fucking bitch

-

*kuron running up to Paladins*

Paladins: daddy?

Kuron: DO I LOOK LIKE

-

Lance: Dude have you seen my phone?

Coran: oh I’ll call it

Lance: oh no you have t- *tik tok proceeds to play*

-

Coran: stop saying I look like Chicken Little. He’s dumb and a coward. And I am NOT A COWARD

-

Shiro: hey everybody, so my brother pushed me, so I’m starting a kickstarter to put him down.

*voiceover with a picture of Keith* the benefits of killing him would be that I would get pushed way less

-

Lance: I love you Bitch

Keith: oh my gosh

Lance: I ain’t ever gon stop lovin you Bitch

-

Coran: Allura! Is that a weed?

Allura: no this is a crayon

Coran: I’m calling the police!

*types 911 on microwave*

Pidge: 911 what’s your emergency?

-

Lotor: what the FUCK IS UP ZARKON? NO WHAT DID YOU SAY WHAT THE FUCK DUDE

STEP THE FUCK UP ZARKON

-

Hunk: when there’s too much drama at school. All you gotta do is... walk away ay ayy

-

Shiro: Happy Birthday Keith!!!!

Keith: I can’t swim

-

Lotor: Miss Zarkon? Miss Zarkon? Miss Zarkon! Oh my fucking gosh she fucking dead

-

Pidge: Welcome to bible study, we’re ALL CHILDREN OF JESUS!

*Matt, snorting a line*

Pidge: KUMBAYA MY LORD

-

Keith: DONT FUCK WITH ME. I HAVE THE POWER OF GOD AND ANIME ON MY SIDE! AHHHHH!!!!!

-

Lance: Country boyyy I love youuu ahhhh

-

Hunk: Road work ahead? Uh, yeah I sure hope it does

-

Lotor: you can’t sit with us

Allura: Actually MEGAN I can’t sit anywhere! I have hemorrhoids

-

Keith: All I gotta tell you is that school’s not important. Be whatever you wanna be. If you wanna be a dog, WOOF, ya know?

-

Coran: Perhaps it is the context which words are spoken that give them the power of meaning.

*yelling to Hunk* I LOVE YOU HUNK

-

Allura: um hey can you read number 23 for the class?

Matt: No I cannot. Whaddup, I’m Jared, I’m 19 and I never fucking learned how to read

-

Pidge: Who am I let’s go to the BEach Beach

.....nicki minjaj

-

Hunk: My favorite screamo band is probably Big Time Rush

Keith: oh my gosh

-

Lotor: She is a bitch

B I C T H

[angstalottle]

Countdown

Part 6:

“Ok here’s how this is going to work. Your going to do exactly as I say or things will get messy.” Keith glared as he cracked his knuckles.

Lance giggled and splashed the bath water.

Keith had decided it would be a good idea to take the baby for a walk around an alien park.

He had also wanted to let Lance play in the sand box...

However it wasn’t exactly sand and more like yellow mud that coated the baby paladin from head to toe before Keith realised his mistake.

Returning to the castle with Lance dripping wet and crying from the cold was not something Keith would ever want to do again.

He was sure that Shiro wanted to kill him and that Allura may still during training tomorrow.

He should be greatfull that the worst punishment he currently received was having to give Lance a bath, something that at the time had seemed easy.

Until Keith had actually gave it a try.

Soon as Lance had touched the water he went limp and Keith nearly had a heart attack thinking he killed him.

Then moments later Lance began to giggle and wiggle in his hold until Keith finally lowered him into the water.

———————-

“I knew you liked water but I wish you didn’t need to share with me.” Keith sighed removing his now soaking wet shirt.

He wasn’t sure if this much splashing was a baby thing or a baby Lance thing because at this point the bathroom could double as a pool.

Lance just smiled up at him making cute gargling noises and Keith felt any annoyance he had melt away.

“Ok baby lets get you cleaned up.” He smiled softly as he gently rubbed the shampoo into his soft tufts of hair.

Lance made a small noise of protest pushing uselessly at Keith’s hands pouting when the red paladin didn’t even register the attacks.

Finally Lance calmed down as Keith rinsed the soap away and picked him up in a fluffy blue towel and bundled him up.

“See not so bad....” Keith bopped him on the nose chuckling at how Lance yawned his eyes slowly dropping down.

“Fuck your cute... fuck I mean... don’t repeat that ok baby?” Keith whispered holding Lance close to his chest walking towards Lance’s nursery where he changed him into his red lion onsie and lay him down to sleep.

“Keef!” Lance cried as Keith tried to leave. However soon as he heard that little voice his feet became glued to the ground.

In one smooth motion Keith spun on his heels and picked Lance up hugging him close to his chest and lay down in what used to be Lance’s bed.

“Ok but only a little cuddle.” Keith sighed realising he wouldn’t be moving for maybe the rest of the night because now Lance was curled up and fast asleep.

He wouldn’t be moving until Lance was ready and not a moment sooner.

[direwolfd20]

Adventure, or Hell? Part 1

Rikku had become quite adept in sneaking out. There weren’t guards on her all the time like there would be for the Royal Family, but her own father was the guard she was most worried about. Of course, there were rules for her as well, being who she was, but she rarely listened. She listened to her heart more. 

“I don’t think this is a good idea.” Sir Didymus said, giving a paw a lick. “I sense something coming.” 

“Oh, hush. You just want to lay on your pillow and eat your fish.” 

“Should I wish for something more?”

Rikku rolled her eyes, a smile on her face. She loved that cat. 

“I suppose not.” 

“Precisely.” 

Carrying him in the pack had been a thing since he was a kitten. He’d grown much, and the pack now just housed most of him. His head stuck out, and he put his paws up on the lip, often gazing out at the world behind Rikku. The walk had gotten boring for him as well. He knew the streets by heart in seemed. At least if he ever got lost he could find his way back to his supper. 

Rikku walked into The Desert Rose tavern. It was your run of the mill place to get a drink. Nothing for the rich folk, who would find their place elsewhere. But, this was where she would often be. She glanced over to a table. A new set of faces were sitting at one. 

She’d never seen them before. All of them in their different armors, weapons close. She smirked. Adventurers. That was the kind of the people she liked. She thought about going over, asking what they were doing, but what would be the point in that. They were talking quietly amungst one another, as adventurers would. 

“Something... isn’t right with that one.” Sir Didymus muttered, his golden eyes keeping quite the tab on them. 

“None of our business.” 

“Isn’t that what you want to be? I can smell them from here, the sweat, and dirt.” Rikku rolled her eyes, able to picture him scrunching up his nose. She wasn’t going to worry about it. 

“Yeah, well, I have cleaning spells. I’ll be fine with a bar of soap. So will you.” 

Sir Didymus let out a growl. 

The door slammed open, and Rikku turned to look. Her heart dropped. ‘Oh, Sir William.’ she thought, looking over the drunkard. He’d been a grand man at one point. Now, he was a fallen Paladin. Her heart honestly went out to him. He didn’t deserve it, not with everything else going on. She didn’t follow a deity. She got her spells naturally, no divine intervention needed. He was why. How could one pray to someone who would strip everything from a man that was following his heart?

Of course, as far as Sir Didymus knew, he was her deity, and she didn’t think there was a reason to take that away from him. At least not yet. 

Rikku almost stood when William began making a scene. She wanted to help, but there was nothing to be done for it. If she made a move, she could very well just make it worse. It almost made her laugh though. Here she was wanting to be an adventurer, yet she wouldn’t make the move to get a drunk man to step off.

He was going on about dreams, an inn, a man, and most oddly, was that he’d apparently seen the new comers. He was a drunk man, and with them being strangers, Rikku wondered if it was just the alcohol talking. It would make sense. He was berating the one woman more, the blonde with the pale skin. 

As she went to stand, to hopefully get him away, the men in the bar took care of it, sweeping him away as he shouted he needed to get to the White Tulip Inn. Rikku had never heard of it. The woods and this city was all she knew. She didn’t know what to say about him, didn’t want to make any sudden movements, as if scared that she would be thrown out with him, her connection to him made clear. 

A barmaid went over, replacing the drinks that William had knocked over in his drunken fit. The men who tossed him out the door were paying for it. She’d be lying if part of her didn’t yearn to go out, to calm him. She could almost still hear him screaming he had to get to that inn. 

“Poor man,” The barmaid said, looking out the small window where William was still ranting, “used to be a Paladin, he did. Don’t know what happened exactly, but he was kicked from the castle right quick, and lost his Paladin blessing. He’s a fallen one now, he is. Such a sad thing for him too, he was a good one.”

“What could someone do to fall like that?” One of the women asked. 

William’s words swam in her head. ‘Someone needs to take me to the White Tulip Inn! I need to get to the White Tulip Inn. Can you take me, please take me.’ Rikku looked back to the adventurers, seeing the pale, blonde haired woman making her way to a room with a man. ‘You! You have to go there. He’s waiting. You were all there in my dream! You’re in my dreams!’

By the time she paid the adventures attention again, her mind taken over by how unfair it was that the Paladin was reduced to this, she noticed one of the other women was gone. And there, instead, now standing, was the last one. 

“Sorceress.” Sir Didymus muttered. 

“I figured as much.” Rikku muttered. Then, their Sorceress started moving. Rikku looked outside, realizing what she was doing. She was a frikken idiot. Rikku knew the city like the back of her hand, and she wouldn’t chase around a drunk. 

“I don’t think you should do that.” Rikku finally spoke, drawing the attention of a couple of customers.

“It sounded like it was important for him to go. I want to take him, at least see what he has to say.”

Rikku bit back her retort. Part of it being that she didn’t know that man from any other beggar that would lure a pretty girl like her and destroy her. Another part that she had no idea who William was. For all she knew, that was something he did to all new faces, maybe any face. He could just simply be insane.

Still, Rikku wasn’t about to risk her running through ally ways in case it became a chase. “Right, well, I’m planning on taking him.” Rikku said. A blatant lie, but she wasn’t about to just let some random girl fall for a man’s drunken actions. 

“You know him, I wasn’t expecting anyone to take him.”

“I know him, and yeah, I am.” The woman stared at her for a moment, more of in amazement than for not believing her. 

“Okay, I’ll leave it to you then. If you’re sure.” 

“Yes,” Rikku smiled, “you wait for your friends. I’ll take care of him.” she turned, leaving the bar, Sir Didymus watching the woman from the pack. Rikku looked back at him before seeing William, still grabbing at people, begging to be taken to the White Tulip Inn. 

“Oh, for the love of Didymus...”

“Yes, my child?” 

“Shh.” Rikku hissed back, walking forward. She could almost hear a snicker from the cat. 

“William?” Rikku asked, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. 

He turned to her, his deep blue eyes meeting her electric blue, “You! You have to take me-”

“I know, to the White Tulip Inn. But why?” 

“They’re all supposed to be there. I have to go!” 

“Wait, William, if they have to go, that’s one thing, why you?”

“I feel it, that I have to go!” 

The smell coming off him could kill a horse. It was strong body odor, garbage, and vomit, all mixed with hard liquor. 

“Okay, okay. Look, why don’t you go sleep it off. Talk to me when you’re sober?”

“You don’t believe me.” he accused. She was feeling her heart break for him. 

“William...” there was nothing else to say. It would be a go around that wouldn’t stop. “Just, tell me what the dream was.” she said, trying to keep him concentrated.

“I don’t... we were all standing there. And there’s a guy. And we were all there. One girl, she has to be there. She has to go. I have to go.” 

“The blonde?” 

“YES!! I HAVE TO GO!” He’d grabbed her bare shoulders, hard. She could feel his fingers digging in, nails, unkempt, close to drawing her blood. 

“William.” she was surprised by how calm her voice was as she looked at him. He seemed to come back for a moment, dropping his hands. 

“You don’t believe me.” 

“Wi-”

He waved her off, shuffling away, “You don’t believe me.” 

[starlightlance]

Confrontations

Read on Ao3 

Summary: While with the Blade of Marmora, Keith always imagined his returning being a happy one. He just didn’t expect it to go like this. (The team finds out about Keith’s self-sacrifice, Lance and Shiro decide to approach him)  Words: 2,855 Notes: Happy birthday @savingklance !! (Subtle Klance and Broganes) 

While with the Blade of Marmora, Keith always imagined his returning being a happy one. It couldn’t hurt to hope for one happy moment. As much as he pushed them away, he so desperately wanted to be back with them. He wanted to hear Pidge’s rambling. He wanted to taste Hunk’s cooking. He wanted the secure presence of Shiro. He wanted the stability of Allura and Coran. He...he wanted Lance’s comfort. He wanted to have it all again.

He just didn’t expect it to go like this.

All of it was true. He did crave the familial bond he formed with his team, especially since he never had that back on Earth. But he knew they didn’t need him. It was blatantly obvious that the team would do so much better without him and now that Shiro could pilot the black lion, he wasn’t needed. Keith was never fit to be the leader anyways. He always needed someone to hold him down and stop him from making reckless decisions. That someone was almost always Lance. And that was another reason. He didn’t want Lance feeling like he wasn’t needed on the team. Keith never understood that cause if anyone wasn’t needed it was him. Red was in good hands and Keith didn’t need to interfere. So, naturally, he did what was right.

But instead of sacrificing himself, Lotor had interfered and now they were more confused than ever. Keith had no doubt in his mind that it all would've been better if Lotor had just stayed out of it and Keith died instead. It was for the good of the team. And now, because his plan failed, they were discussing negotiations, potential betrayal, and whatever else could come out of Lotor’s strange requests. If only he had been a little faster...Lotor a little slower. But it didn't matter. Now, he was stuck with his thoughts and the rest of the team for at least a week. He had no idea when he’d join the Blade of Marmora for missions again. They were waiting until a decision was made. Lotor had requested to have a discussion and...they did. He wanted an alliance to help take down his father, Zarkon. But Keith and the others were, of course, wary so they were given a couple days to think it over. A couple days of everything and nothing.

Keith trudged down the empty hallway, still wearing his Marmora suit. He couldn't remember the last time he wore normal clothing during the day. He didn't exactly know where he was going either. Walking around the castle was sort of therapeutic, it gave him a sense of home. He would make up for lost time with the paladins, but what was the point if he left again? He’d just get hopelessly attached and become even weaker than he already was.

Though his alone time was short-lived. The door at the end of the hallway slid open and Keith’s heart rate sped up when he saw the person walking towards him. Lance. He hadn't actually spoken to Lance outside of the diplomatic meeting yet. He was almost scared that something would go wrong and ruin all that happened between them. What would you even call it? A friendship, possibly. Though the more time went on the more Keith definitely didn't want just a friendship. And that terrified him.

Lance was silent until he stood a few feet away from Keith, looking him in the eye. He wore his casual ensemble, the dark green jacket with a blue and grey shirt underneath. His brow was furrowed and he looked concerned. Seeing Lance like this was always a little jarring to Keith, especially after the paladin had come to his bedroom to speak.

“Keith,” He finally spoke. Keith finally made eye contact, and Lance’s eyes were even more worried than he thought. “I need to talk to you.”

Confusion and worry overtook Keith, but he simply crossed his arms and nodded. “O-okay.”

Lance sulked and his fingers fidgeted with his hoodie. “I noticed at the diplomatic meeting you seemed really strange. Like, even more closed off than normal and you...you were shaking. I figured it had something to do with the battle, so I spoke with Matt, who-who saw you fighting and...he told me what happened.”

Keith realized what Lance was talking about immediately. His sacrifice. Damnit, Keith forgot Matt had seen him voluntarily try to save everyone else by giving himself up. He’d planned on keeping it a secret forever, or at least until this was long over. He had to squeeze his own arms to keep them from shaking again. “Oh.”

“Oh? All you're going to say is ‘oh?’” Lance’s worry quickly shifted to anger as he put aggressive air quotes around the word ‘oh.’

Keith averted his gaze, staring at the floor and blinking rapidly to keep tears from welling up. He didn't want anyone to know. He didn't want this. He didn't want this. “What else do you want me to say?”

Out of the corner of his eye, Keith saw Lance’s mouth wide open. His hands shot up into the air, exasperated. “Keith, what were you thinking?!”

He scowled, looking up at Lance again. “I was thinking about the millions of people that could've died. I was doing my job.” Who was Lance to tell him what he could and couldn't do? He was a part of the Blade of Marmora. He was part Galra. Victory or death. Victory or death. He had to try to save those people. He had to do something. The galaxy could afford to lose someone as unnecessary as Keith in favor of all those innocent lives.

Still, Lance was having none of it. “It's not your job to die, Keith.”

“It's not your job to tell me what I can and can't do,” Keith retorted.

“But you can't just...you can't just do that! You can't go around ready to sacrifice yourself for any other being in the universe all the time.”

“And why not?” Keith snapped. “Hell, why are you even yelling at me about this anyway?”

“It's because I care about you!” Keith froze, staring with wide eyes as Lance’s expression slowly shifted from anger to hurt. “Do you not see how your death would impact us? When you were gone...I felt so unsure of everything. I went back to being the goofball because we all needed it. But….there was such a huge piece that was missing. And you're that piece.”

“Lance, I-”

“Listen, I know how you feel. I know what it's like to not be able to even grasp a reason to see yourself as valuable. But you, you are so essential to this team. Not just in fights but...as our friend. As my friend.”

Keith felt Lance’s words tug on his heartstrings and before he knew it his eyes were welling up with tears. Fuck, now he was crying? Pathetic. “I-I’m sorry. I should...go.” He put a hand on his face and began to turn until he was pulled back into a tight embrace. Lance’s arms nearly dug into his back, making the hug tight and warm. Keith never thought he was one for physical contact, but as he melted into the hug and let his face fall into Lance’s shoulder, he realized how touch starved he really was. Lance smelled like soap, like rain, like Lance. Add that to the list of Keith’s favorite smells.

With his head buried into the other’s shoulder, Keith allowed himself to let go. Nearly sobbing on Lance’s jacket, Keith was sure Lance would get a little pissed, but all he did was trace tiny circles on Keith’s back. Lance was so strong. Especially after this, Keith knew he wasn't the only one going through issues with himself. By now, Keith had become aware of Lance’s self-esteem issues, and still, Lance was here comforting Keith like he wasn't going through almost the same thing. In between sobs, Keith whispered into the jacket, “I’ll help you like you helped me.”

Lance didn't hear him. Instead, he kept tracing his hands all over the other boy’s back. “I shouldn't have yelled. You're going through a lot right now. I'm sorry.”

“It's okay, Lance. You were worried.”

The two boys parted, locking their eyes. Keith gazed at Lance, fondness and warmth filling his chest. Lance then placed a hand on Keith’s shoulder, a final embrace. “I need you to know that you are loved. By all of us. You have a family here.”

Keith didn't know how to respond. “Th-thank you.”

The corners of Lance’s lips turned upwards. Keith really loved that smile. “Alright then. Let's find the rest of the team, I’m sure they want to see you again.” Keith nodded, excitement buzzing through his mind. He was so damn glad to be back. This is exactly what he needed. And...and even if things were only temporarily fixed, Keith was able to believe that everything was okay, for even a single moment.

…

Belief didn't always last too long. Sure, the few days after his talk with Lance had been great. But, the atmosphere around Keith had become indescribably strange. He found himself on the end of concerned looks and glances, from his teammates and occasionally even the coalition members that were still lingering about. Keith had absolutely no idea why, until he remembered the conversation.

Someone must have overheard Keith and Lance talking. Keith wasn't sure who. Maybe Hunk, or Allura, or Pidge. It could have been anyone. He knew it likely didn't get around intentionally, but it did somehow and now Keith felt even more vulnerable. Everyone was looking at him like some sort of lost puppy who needed saving. He hated it. Keith couldn't even walk into a room without a teammate trying to hide their worried glance.

Keith didn't need pity. Hell, they were probably mad at him. Lance had claimed Keith was valued on the team, but did he mean it? Keith wholeheartedly wanted to believe he did. Lance wouldn't lie to him, would he? But still, Lance couldn't speak for the entire team.

It didn’t matter. That wasn't important. Right now, Keith had to focus on the Blade. He stood in a hallway, actually, the same one he’d talked with Lance in. The Blade members stood in front of him, going over strategy and when Keith was to rejoin them. They wanted him to join the group again immediately, yet Keith couldn't help but procrastinate his return. Being with the team for the past couple days had been the best feeling in the world, even with everything that was going on. He was not ready to lose that.

“You are improving by the tick. You must come on the next mission with us if you wish to continue your training properly,” Kolivan said, his hood down and his brows furrowed.

Keith fought back. “What mission? We don’t even know what we’re doing right now. I'm sure the Blade of Marmora can do this one thing without me.”

“Of course we can. But, you must get better. You still do not know how we operate in battle.”

Right as Keith started to say something, the same door at the end of the hall swung open. Keith turned, sort of expecting it to be Lance again, but this time it was Shiro. He looked...angry. His eyes were narrowed and his brows creased as he stormed into the room up to the Blade, specifically Kolivan. “You,” he growled.

To Keith’s surprise, Lance then followed. “Shiro, stop!” He cried out.

Shiro didn't listen. “All of you. You did this to him. You made him do that. How could you? How. Could. You.” Keith didn't understand. Was...was Shiro talking about him? He had no idea who else Shiro would be referring to. The daunting possibility of it being because of Keith’s….choice sent a chill down his spine.

“Shiro, what are you doing?” Keith said, anxiety only growing stronger.

Shiro turned to Keith. “What’s right.” It only lasted a moment, since he turned back to the Blade, all softness on his face twisted into anger. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but Keith is a child. He’s a hell of a strong one, but what you’re doing to him is manipulative. Honestly, how dare you let my little brother think like that?! Did you hear me? Keith is a like a brother to me and I am not going to stand for this shit.”

Kolivan stiffened. “He was following the motto of our organization.”

“No, you made him think he was worthless! Like he didn’t matter to any us, which couldn’t be further from the truth. He’s already dealt with enough in his life, he doesn’t need an extra weight on top of him.” Keith felt a surge of warmth fill his chest. When Shiro barged in looking more enraged than Keith had ever seen him, Keith was afraid. Afraid of what was to come. A small part of him feared that the irritation was directed towards him. And then...and then Shiro defended Keith. Called the Blade of Marmora out. A man who was always so calm cared enough about Keith to yell at team Voltron’s allies. It didn't make sense. This could make a serious dent in their allyship. But...Shiro didn't care.

Kolivan huffed. “If he wishes to not return to us, he may. However, we strongly advise that he does come back to our organization.” He signaled for the rest of the Blade to leave and they made their way out of the hall, heads up high and backs straight. Keith caught Shiro’s lasting glare as they exited and they met eyes afterward, Shiro’s expression immediately becoming more caring.

Keith didn’t have time to react before Shiro gripped his hand and pulled him into a tight hug. Keith leaned into his brother, accepting the comforting gesture. It was strange. Keith had gone from absolutely no physical contact to two hugs in a few days. It felt...nice.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Shiro whispered before they backed away from each other. “Why didn’t you tell me what they made you think?”

Keith responded, “I’m sorry. I wanted to. I was just so...scared. And it-it wasn’t just the Blade. I’ve never...held myself in high regards, I guess.”

Shiro took a deep breath in, staring at Keith. He’d expected the look Shiro gave him when he was disappointed, but this one was different. It was filled with empathy a desire to heal. “Then we’re going to change that. One step at a time. I don’t care how long it takes.”

“Yeah, I got it. I’ve actually never seen you that pissed off before.” Keith couldn’t help but smirk.

Lance, who’d been still and to the side the entire time finally piped up. “You didn’t see him with Slav. He was a beast!” All of them let out loose laughter. The sound of joy rang throughout the castle hallway. Keith felt safer and warmer than he’d ever been before. He felt like he had a place here. It was new and sudden and strange. But...he liked it.

…

For Keith Kogane, growing up was never exactly easy. His dad would sit him down on their old, ratty couch and tell him stories of his mother. He always said she was an extraordinary woman. Out of this world, in fact. His father would take Keith up to their roof and show him the array of bright stars in the night sky and say, “Your mother’s up their somewhere.” Keith never knew to take it literally. He assumed she was...dead. And then his father died and left him all alone in the world. Hopping from orphanage to adoption center to foster family and back around again. He was stuck in an endless cycle of moving and moving and moving, the only constant in his life being the bright red backpack he lugged everywhere until he was sixteen. The Galaxy Garrison’s acceptance brought upon a new chapter in his life. A place where he was guaranteed to stay. Consistency. The place where he met Shiro, his newfound brother, and the place where he had his chance to rise. Then Shiro went missing. Then he lashed out. Then he got kicked out. And he was right back to where he started. Alone, with only his thoughts and his past to keep him company.

Thinking about it, running off to that crashing spaceship may have been the best decision he’s ever made. Sure, things were messy at first. He was stuck in a god damn spaceship with five people he barely knew and someone who left him for over a year. Hell, he barely even spoke to anyone besides Shiro at that point. But...things got better. Keith was able to find solace and solidarity. He strengthened connections with...with everyone. Pidge, Hunk, Allura, Coran, Shiro, and...Lance. Keith finally had what his six-year-old self only dreamed to hold close.

A family.

[tumultuoustuna]

Hey hi! :) For the writing prompt maybe Shidge 16? .- @quinzak

16: Things you said with no space between us

Shout out to @orcaspanielmermaids for helping me edit this tiny monster; I love you bro!

Also, warning, it’s v long. the keep reading is there so I spare others from having to scroll for so long, I swear 

Training is always close quarters, whether it be slashing and dashing away from the training sentinels or taking on a fellow Paladin. Today it was the latter for Pidge.

Shiro was a brutal opponent. Yes, she had defeated him before, but that was when he was under the influence of mind-controlling mushrooms. Now with Shiro as a true opponent, Pidge could only repeat one thing to herself as they brawled.

“Shit.”

The Black Paladin launched forward again, speed unparalleled to any of the other Paladins. Pidge took advantage of her jetpack yet again. Shiro hadn’t managed to catch her yet, but Pidge was counting. She just knew sooner or later he’d grab her.

She aimed her Bayard at the ceiling and pulled herself up. She planted her feet on it and looked down (well up from where she stood). 

Waiting her turn to spar Allura was off to the side. She snorted, amused at Shiro’s frustration.

“Training usually consists of actual fighting last time I checked Pidge. You know, actual fighting?” Shiro called. Pidge smirked in return, putting all of her strength into keeping herself from falling.

“Pidge, come on,” he yelled. Pidge shrugged.

“Pidge!” 

Pidge’s eyes narrowed. “Game point.”

To say the least, it surprised Shiro when a ninety-five-pound, green torpedo dropped on top of him, crushing him flat.

“I win,” grinned the torpedo.

Allura introduced the Paladins to the very, very overdramatic Altean soap operas one night after Coran had gone off with Slav and Matt to a planetside bazaar.

According to Slav, the planet was too liable to the shenanigans of the Paladins (”In 57% of most realities The Blue and Red ones get into a massive fight that ends with fire and the Castle crashing onto the planet.”). With that information and with it being a fact that Lance and Pidge found ways to be gremlins in short amounts of time, Allura agreed it was a good idea to stay on the ship and land it.

As they watched, Keith was overly confused, Hunk tried making hands-or-tails of the dialogue, Allura sighed dramatically at the idiot characters, and Lance was laughing at the jokes that broke through the language barrier and matched his style of humor to begin with.

With that said, Altean humor is actually just a bunch of memes and k-drama tropes.

It amused Pidge.

A lot.

Shiro too.

And while Matt would’ve been amused as well, he also would have tried to worm out Shiro’s secret meme humor, more to humiliate him then to laugh along with his friend. As it was though, Shiro was holding back making any remarks.

But alas Pidge knew better.

Coran, Slav, and Matt return shortly, gaining Lance’s and Hunk’s attention. Seeing the items they had procured were food based, said Paladins got to cooking. Matt, in favor of cooking, took Hunk’s place on the couch next to Keith.

When the credits started to scroll, Allura tossed a slim remote to Shiro so he could scroll through the channels on the holovision (Pidge’s genus name for the holographic tv) and find something to watch. “You need this,” she had smiled, leaving the room to watch Hunk work.

Shiro’s choice was a technicolor kid show. It starred aliens as the leads, who resembled cows. They were reciting what Pidge could only guess to be some sort of alphabet.

“What the fresh fuck, man?” Keith whispered slowly to Shiro, sounding genuinely concerned for his mental health. 

Matt doubled over in fits of laughter. “Yeah! S-Shiro, buddy, what the heck?”

“What? Can a grown man not enjoy a colorful kids’ show with deer as its main characters?”

“Those are cows,” Pidge chimed in. “And you’re only two years older than me buddy, I assure you there’s nothing grown about you maturity-wise.”

“Guilty.”

Pidge made a grab for the remote.

“Pidge no. Let me have this,” Shiro pouted, shoving the shorter Paladin away by the shoulder.

“No, this is for your own good,” Pidge insisted, ducking under his arm and crawling over to snatch the remote.

“Get ‘im!” Matt encouraged.

Pidge squinted ever so slightly and pursed her lips. “Game point,” she muttered before making one last sitch effort to free the remote from Shiro’s grasp.

It all ended with Shiro more or less sitting on Pidge. And as massive as a fail it was, Matt sure got a kick out of it.

“I win,” Shiro smirked.

Pidge, with her head in the cushion, flipped him off

Matt was wheezing on the floor.

“I’m done with all of you,” Keith sighs, and leaves the lounge in favor of starting a food fight with Lance helping cook.

Shiro had issues sleeping some nights. It led to him wandering everywhere, even in the other Lions’ chambers. This led him to also find out what his fellow crew members did if sleep didn’t come.

Coran occasionally stayed up to see Allura to her room and that Allura often cried, away from eyes other then Coran. 

Keith, even though he was a sucker for sleep, would be found in the kitchen. He stared wide-eyed at food rotating in the machine equivalent to a microwave when he had something on his mind, weighing him down. 

Often he’d find Lance staring at maps on the bridge, looking at Earth. Tears silently rolled down his cheeks. Shiro often wanted to reach out and comfort him. Most of the time he had no idea how.

Hunk fiddled with random pieces of metal, crafting and welding together beautiful sculptures; he said it was because he loved the Balmera’s crystals, wanting to replicate them artistically.

Matt, upon coming back and plagued with nightmares, sought out Shiro some nights to talk. 

Slav never slept, Shiro was certain.

The Blade members… He wasn’t sure what they exactly did. Played card games? Strategised? 

Pidge was one he often didn’t see around the Castle. He had, more or less, seen everyone at one point doing their own thing at night, but Pidge was the odd one out in this format.

So seeing her in Green’s hanger actually took him by surprise. He blinked, shook his head, did a double take. Yep, it was Pidge.

“So uh, what brings you here? Come here often?” Shiro asked. It sounded too loud.

“I would hope so,” Pidge remarked.

“Uh, yeah.” Shiro scratched the back of his neck. “A better question I guess I should ask is why you’re here now?”

“Green’s cloaking device. It uh, broke.”

“How?”

“Might I remind you of Lotor’s last attack?”

“Oh, right.”

“It’s okay. We were all very… stressed. I don’t expect anybody to remember anything, let alone Green getting hit so precisely her cloaking device was damaged.”

Shiro’s brow raised. “This much apathetic salt leads me to believe you need some sleep, Katie.”

“Probably, Takashi.” Pidge yawned.

Pidge didn’t protest when Shiro scooped her up into his arms and started towards her room. She snuggled into his solid chest, glasses off and in her hands.

“I really wish Zarkon could be changed by just the power of friendship. It would make things so much easier,” Pidge muttered about halfway through the trip.

Shiro laughed softly. “Right? Lotor at least.”

“I mean, he has a bunch of generals. I’d would assume they’re friends.”

“The one named Ezor seems like she is.”

Pidge smiled sleepily. She had fought Ezor once, and she couldn’t stop talking to her the entire time. Sure, it was a serious fight, but what was a better catharsis to war than casual banter with the enemy? Ezor was actually quite fascinating and Pidge hoped they would meet one day on better terms, like the mall, and be able to talk even more casually.

“Yeah, she seems to be.”

Shiro opened the door to her room and set the small Paladin down as gently as he possibly could. He tucked her in, earning a look.

“I’m not five, Shiro.”

“I know, but I’d think anybody likes feeling like a kid again. That and I feel like you’d fall asleep without actually having blankets on yourself and freeze yourself.”

Pidge snorted. “Dude, how tired are you?”

“Very, if I’m gonna be honest.”

This gave the small girl an idea. “Why not stay here tonight?”

“What?”

“You kinda wander aimlessly in the halls and I worry sometimes. Maybe instead of being alone, you could stay here tonight,” Pidge nonchalantly laid out. 

The Black Paladin looked over at the door for a moment. What would the others think?

“If you’re thinking what Matt would think, I can assure you he wouldn’t ask. Come on, give yourself more credit. You aren’t a sleazy guy.”

“It’s… okay.”

Shiro discarded his shoes and carefully removed his arm, putting them off to the side.

“I don’t think I’ve seen you without that honestly,” Pidge said in almost awe, staring at the now still appendage.

Shiro blushed. “Well, after I figured out how to turn off a lot of the nerves I took advantage of it. It was really painful to take it off at first. Enough so that I’d just scream.” He paused and sighed. “Your research helped a lot with that.”

“Well I mean, I’m glad I could help.”

“Me too. We’d be screwed without you.”

“Meh, your leadership holds us all together, not my skills.”

“Pidge, you’re the only way we have access to the ships’ computer systems and survive.” Shiro put his hand on her shoulder. “You are the reason anything gets done, ‘nough said.”

It was Pidge’s turn to blush. “I mean, yeah, but what I mean is that I’m not… Eh, how do I put this? Not the most approachable person? I mean, compared to Keith I’m a stellar example of extraversion. But I’m not the ‘team glue’ if you will. That goes to Lance.”

“Yes, but that’s not my point. Pidge, can you not just accept my compliment?”

“No. I must push away all forms of kindness and connection if I want to reach extreme levels of edgy-ness.”

“I am more than positive you got that from Keith.”

“He said it to Lance once; it was quite clever.”

Shiro grunted a ‘yes’ and fell silent. Others might have found it awkward, but the two Paladins stared into each other’s eyes for quite some time before Pidge smirked and said, “So are we going to sleep now?”

Shiro smiled, eyes drooping. “Uh huh,” he replied, mouth closed.

As Shiro drifted off, probably for the first time in a few days, Pidge grinned and wrapped her short arms around him as much as she could. Game point, she thought. As he snuggled closer, Pidge smile turned fonder as she said, “I win.”

“So did I,” muttered a half-conscious Shiro. 

Hope you enjoyed!