#There's another Lance who is trying to kill a god like being and fights voltron the robot who has gained sentience | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

klixxy · 2 years

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ultimate voltron fic recs (mostly keith angst lol)

(ft. my bookmark comments)

klance

I Don't Know Where You're Going - perpetuallyangryinsomniac

(klance/gen, keith-centric, time travel au, angst, 29k words, ongoing)

Keith doesn’t give up often. When he does, he’s pulled back in; Shiro puts a kid in the simulator and shows him a life worth living, Blue tells a lost boy not to run just yet, Lance tells a cobbled-together Black Paladin not to split up the team. Despite everything--the list keeps growing--he has to believe he has always been exactly where he needs to be.

Between training, parading, babysitting, and ruining both intergalactic alliances and two-thousand-seven-hundred years worth of physical theory, Keith has plenty of time to reconsider.

When Your Giant Interdimensional Space Cat Gives You Superpowers To Fight The Galra - eternally_tired_muffin

(klance/gen, space lion superpowers!!, romance, fluff, angst, 66k words, oneshot)

Galra troops are being moved from galaxy to galaxy, leaving some planets badly defended. Taking advantage, Voltron manages to free them and gain new allies, learning more about the Lions - and each other - in the process.

With the Galra's complex plans, unexpected abilities and even more unexpected feelings, saving the universe gets a little more complicated.

☆☆☆

Keith was looking at him with a soft smile. "You're ridiculous."

Lance grinned and spun, shooting finger guns at him. "You know it."

For a short second, Lance swore Keith was blushing, ears tinted red. Lance couldn't look away.

☆☆☆

Essentially, a 'what if' scenario where the battle at the end of season two ends with Zarkon only mildy injured and Shiro doesn't disappear, and where klance becomes canon.

i want your heaven and your oceans too - mothpoem

(klance, angst, hurt/comfort, romance, getting-tgth, 11k words, oneshot)

“Not—not that you’d be my rebound! I mean, you’d be helping me take my mind off of this guy, but to be a rebound, I’d have to have dated him first, I think, and he doesn’t even know I like him, so. You wouldn’t be a rebound. At worst, we become badass partners-in-crime with a grudging respect for each other, at best, we’re soulmates for life and this is fate trying to help us find happiness. So. Um.” Lance swallows and looks up at the Blade of Marmora soldier through his lashes. “What say you?”

They look down at their hands for a moment, fingers twisting together in deep thought. Then they’re pulling their gloves off, revealing pale, half-bruised knuckles of the human variation, and their mask is dissolving, giving way to big blue-purple eyes and an achingly familiar jet-black cowlick. “Who,” says Keith Kogane, in that low-pitched rumble that makes Lance’s stomach roil in the good way—holy fuck—“is this guy you’re trying to get over?”

joke’s on your, loser - zxrysky

(klance, romance, pining so much pining, getting-tgth!, 5k words, oneshot)

Now, here’s the thing. Lance is crushing on Allura with her pretty eyes, dark skin, sweet smile and the way she can kill you if she wants to because Allura is scary and dangerous, which is hot.

But Keith is scary and dangerous as well, with pale skin and a challenging smirk on his face and he’s much more willing to hold his knife to Lance’s neck and make his blood run hot, which makes Lance crush really fucking hard on Keith. It’s a horrifying thought that he’d ever choose Keith over Allura, but the day has come, it’s probably Doomsday or something, and Lance is horribly attracted to Keith and his stupid hair and his infuriating smile. And those muscles, goddamn.

The Red String - Le_Tournesol

(klance, angst, hurt/comfort, backstory, :((, 19k words, series)

Lance and Keith keep coming across one another at different points in their lives.

[notes: this is. so poignant and devastatingly sad, but also ugh god its so sweet in a weird heart wrenching way. :(( <3]

sheith

galaxies away (a home to return to) - aerixlee

(sheith/gen, keith-centric, post-war, fluff, teamteam!!, 9k words, oneshot)

[Keith: is blowing off fifty dollars for a piece of ginger root worth it]

[Hunk: ?????? what the fuck no] _____

or: After the war, Keith explores the Earthen side of his identity. Featuring Korean food, love, and family.

[notes: okay as a korean person i never rlly understood the korean keith hc bc kogane is just n o t a korean name. im so sorry i wish it was but its rlly rlly not. but like... also,,, man what a great exploration of culture and identity and just,,, just great things in general. idk i just personally related to it a lot]

you, in a fight you lost - arahir

(sheith/gen, keith-centric, blood/injury, angst, near death, 5k words, oneshot)

Keith loses a fight with Haggar. It's bad.

“It’s too much to take in at once—there’s blood on Keith's face, in his hair, streaked down the white of his Paladin armor on one side. A mark spreads across his cheek like a bruise, dark and lurid, and he’s holding one arm at an odd angle—

No, it’s broken.

He takes a halting step toward them. The splatter of blood hitting the floor is audible.

That's how they learn Altean healing pods don't work on Galra.”

To Know One’s Family - alisayamin (sh_04e)

(sheith/gen, keith-centric, hurt/comfort, teamteamteam!!, BONDING MOMENTS, 18k words, complete)

“They want you to dance.” Pidge came clean, “Told us when you two were out flying earlier.”

Shiro raised his eyebrows. “Well, Keith isn’t as bad as me-“

“That’s the thing.” Matt cut him off. “They want both of you to dance. To honor our alliance and celebrate your killing of the giant worm. Together.”

Keith looked up at Matt slowly and said with fake solemn, “We’re doomed, Matt. The horror of 2050 has come back to haunt us.”

Matt played along with faux dread in his voice, “I told you we should have said the awful dancer that tripped everyone at the Garrison masquerade was Shiro.” Matt dramatically raised the back of his right palm to his forehead and tilted his head back with closed eyes. “Karma is reminding us of our bad decision.”

Hunk, Lance and Pidge’s eyes widened.

“THAT WAS YOU, SHIRO?!” Lance shouted while Hunk and Pidge gaped at their senior officer.

Shiro looked at Matt, then at Keith. “Please know, that I hate the both of you.”

gen

home again - chidorinnn

(gen, keith-centric, s4-centric, angst, hurt/comfort, 3k words, oneshot)

Yet again, Keith fails to show up in time. The team waits, ready to confront him for his diminishing commitment to Voltron in favor of his newfound duties among the Blade of Marmora.

Then Coran patches through a call from Kolivan.

"Keith is in urgent need of medical attention. Our estimated time of arrival is in three dobashes."

[my bookmark comment: please season four made me so mad gosh]

suffered the best for last - chidorinnn

(gen, keith-centric, s4-centric, angst, hurt/comfort, 2k words, oneshot)

Keith watches a fellow Blade die, and the reality of it doesn't hit until much, much later, back at the Castle of Lions. He doesn't handle it well.

Tag to Episode s04e01: Code of Honor

[notes: god this made me so sad... i just have no words the grief in this one was gut-wrenching. ive reread this oneshot multiple times]

stardust (and other intangibles) - aerixlee

(gen, keith-centric, s4-centric, angst, hurt/no comfort, 7k words, oneshot)

“Keith?” Matt asks quietly, and it’s in a private comm, like he’s anticipating a heavy conversation. “Keith, are you alright?”

And isn’t that just a wonderful question. What’s he supposed to say? Yes, I’m doing spectacular, which is exactly why I just tried to ram my ship into a force field knowing full well I would die.

“Fine,” Keith says. “I’ll be fine.” ______

or: Season 4 from Keith's perspective.

[notes: another absolutely breathtaking and heartbreaking oneshot about s4. man i think i actually broke out into sobs at three am for this one.]

in orbit - Anonymous

(gen/keith&pidge, hurt/comfort, fluff, BONDING MOMENT!!, 3k words, oneshot)

“You’re clearly not fine,” says Keith bluntly. He folds his arms across his chest, looking at Pidge head-on. “Come on. I’m shit at this stuff, so you’re just going to have to tell me. I’m not leaving until you do.”

Pidge gives him a weird look, anger evaporating in favor of vague bewilderment. “Most people don’t comfort others like this,” they say, raising an eyebrow. “Is this seriously your idea of helping?” _____

Or, Keith cuts Pidge's hair.

the stars burn out - Anonymous

(gen/keith&shiro, angst&pain, tw;suicide attempt, hurt/no comfort, 2k words, oneshot)

“You’re dead, aren’t you?”

Shiro lifts a shoulder, then drops it. “Maybe,” he says again, and Keith imagines him tilting his head a little, giving him a searching look. “It’s likely that I am.” _______

Keith considers death, the desert, and Shiro.

[my bookmarks: absolutely breathtaking. my heart hurts.]

Kings Over Aces - justheretobreakthings

(gen, keith-centric, angst, tw;attempted rape, oh god the trauma, 30k words, complete)

The Voltron Coalition has an alliance in the works with the resource-rich planet of Yuipra, and it’s the paladins’ job to keep on the king’s good side while the deal is made. That shouldn’t shouldn’t be too great a challenge; after all, they’ve courted plenty of planets before for the sake of alliances.

Unfortunately, things are made much more complicated when the king takes a special interest in Keith.

[notes: just here to break things indeed yeah like my FUCKING HEART GOD. (okay but tw!! check the tws!!! bc i actually mayhaps had a tiiiiiny panic attack reading this. pls pls pls be aware of the tags]

Magnetic North - Reverent

(gen, keith-centric, hurt/comfort, teamteamteam!, 8k words, oneshot)

Keith wakes up on a battlefield with no recollection of how he got there, but his team needs him to get to the Red Lion and form Voltron, or they’re all going to die.

[notes: genuinely in love with this fic. not kidding. i think ive actually reread this multiple times and just,,, had a great fucking time bc holy shit is this amazing]

The Kennerya Trilogy - SilenceIsGolden15

(gen, keith-centric, hurt/comfort, teamteamteam!, cuddle-bug au, 27k words, series)

The paladins are visiting a planet in hopes of securing an alliance when Keith is bitten by a mysterious insect. The effects are anything but comfortable.

the fear of falling - amillionsmiles

(gen, keith-centric, backstory, angst, hurt/no comfort, 3k words, oneshot)

Keith can pull off a downward spiral. It's the kind of maneuver he does in his sleep.

[my bookmarks:

“No one is surprised when Keith gets declared fighter class. A plane is something else in his hands. A weapon, sure, but also an instrument of art.

Come here, Keith, feel the balance on this.

See how the wing can be a blade. The way it slices through the air.

I know, Dad. I know.”

---> stunning. beautiful. breathtaking. poignant.]

It’s a New Start - DarkScales

(gen, keith-centric, galra keith au, teamteamteam!!, 27k words, series)

In which Keith, raised Galra and forcibly drafted into Zarkon's army, escapes from the Empire and proceeds to steal (then subsequently become adopted by) the Red Lion. Misadventures ensue, and Team Voltron gains an... interesting new member. The Empire isn't going to know what hit it.

[my bookmarks: a very interesting take on galra keith!! <3]

Recoil/Release - Cheshyr

(gen, keith-centric, amplified emotions, angst, :((, 22k words, complete)

When Keith is bitten by an alien creature with venom that causes your dominant emotions to be amplified, the team is ready for a day of dealing with an incredibly angry paladin.

Which means they're not ready at all for what actually happens.

[notes: ugh god i need to start reading more fluff im crying now look what you’ve done]

hound - story_monger

(gen, keith-centric, backstory, alien infiltration, angst, teamteamteam!!, 47k words, complete)

Keith has a lot of practice being alone; you might almost say he's good at it. When he finds himself seriously injured and stranded on an unknown planet, he knows he's not alone there. And here's the worst part: even after rescue and after things return to normal, Keith gets the distinct sense that whatever was on that planet has followed him. He doesn't have proof. But he knows it's there. He knows it's not going to stop until it gets what it wants.

[notes: im not even kidding this fic is absolutely brilliant. had my heart aching from start to finish- an incredible rollercoaster that ive made sure to read multiple times over and has been just as good no matter how many times ive read it. it juxtaposes two storylines; one from keith’s past in the desert on earth, and one in the present, in which he and the team encounter an alien infiltrator, and it is done wonderfully. just- this fic. pls read.]

Keith's 'Physical Contact' Initiation Program - alisayamin (sh_04e)

(gen, keith-centric, teamteamteam!!, BONDING MOMENTS, cuddles!!, 26k words, complete)

Keith didn’t move and neither did Pidge. It was a little awkward until Keith finally said, “Maybe we could officially officiate this..?”

“What do you mean?”

“Fist me.”

Pidge recoiled and sputtered, “Keith, what the f-” She was cut off by Shiro’s bellowing laughter from the observatory deck.

With his straight face unchanged, Keith lowered his left hand with the stopwatch and lifted his right hand, fisted.

Pidge actually sighed with so much relief, “OH. You mean fistbump! Right.” She slapped her forehead to remove the very very wrong image her imagination drew for her, “Holy shit, Keith, we need to work on that but yeah sure, I’d be honoured to officiate your physical contact program whatever.”

That one time Coran realized Keith was too distant and decided to make him undergo the 'Physical Contact' Initiation Program which then led to --> 5 times the paladins realized Keith was an actual cat.

Primal Fear - SilenceIsGolden15

(gen, keith-centric, backstory, no voltron au, angst so much angst, tw; implied rape, murder, abuse, 10k words, oneshot)

They say violence is never the answer, but the real world is a little more complicated than that.

[notes: this is so tragic and terrifying in a horribly real sense in that this happens in the real world. this is real, this really happens to so many strong people out there, and its really fucking shitty. moral lines are so hard to draw, and the law can be so shitty sometimes, and this fic explores all of it- and it explores it well. give it a read, its such an eye opener. tw warning though be careful!!]

Liar, Liar - SilenceIsGolden15

(gen, keith-centric, truth serum au, angst so much angst, hurt/comfort, 4k words, oneshot)

Keith gets grabbed while on a mission, and of course it's the most secretive member of the team who gets injected with the prototype truth serum. This should be fun.

[notes: everything by this author is great. uve seen them mentioned above, im sure, but god everything on their account is just phenomenal so go check all that out, but im just recommending my personal favorties]

my world is over one more time - SilenceIsGolden15

(gen, keith-centric, reliiving memories au, angst, hurt/comfort, implied abuse, trauma, 10k words, oneshot)

The team are stuck in dead space, and only a special kind of sacrifice will get them out. And martyr that he is, Keith is the one who makes it.

[notes: god this one had me speechless. i was so sad, it wasn’t even funny]

Miscommunication Celebration - SleepySsnail

(gen, keith-centric, birthday fic, fluff, teamteamteam!!, BONDING MOMENTS, 4k words, oneshot)

Keith was never too focused on his birthday, but when it rolls around he hopes his team remembers it. When Keith's birthday is full of quality time and fun, he doesn't even question why his friends haven't said "happy birthday" to him.

Or: Where Keith thinks everyone is celebrating his birthday when they really forgot about it. Keithtober 2019 Day 23: Birthday

[notes: gasp, a fluff fic in the midst of the agonizing angst? ure not dreaming, i swear. okay but no joke this one was absolutely adorable and i just had to put it in]

Carry You Home - MashpotatoeQueen5

(gen, pidge-centric, hurt/comfort, angst, teamteamteam!!, BONDING MOMENTS, 9k words, oneshot)

Pidge is small. And light. And very easy to carry.

Everyone ends up doing it at some point.

(Otherwise known as that one fic where everyone gets a bit of fic where they get to pick up the smallest Paladin for some reason and said reasons just involve more and more angst cause I'm a monster who loves Pidge.)

23 notes · View notes

bearly-writing · 3 years

Text

This was originally requested by a very lovely prompter who wanted faux-affectionate villain with Lotor and either Shiro or Keith. I really struggled with the fic for some reason so wrote a different one for them instead. When I decided I was getting back into bthb I wrote this fic and wondered why I struggled so much the first time. Then I checked the original request and realised I’d totally forgotten they asked for Lotor 🤦‍♀️ If the original prompter does read this, I’m sorry it’s not what you wanted!

Also, just to note that I generally don’t write Voltron fics anymore. That isn’t to say I never will again, but at the moment I’m only writing Voltron for bhtb, just to warn anyone who might be expecting me to write more Voltron after this!

Forget Me Not

Fandom: Voltron: Legendary Defender

Prompt: Faux-Affectionate Villain

Characters: Shiro, Keith, Lance, Pidge, Hunk

Warnings: Implied past rape

Summary: “We had an arrangement, the Champion and I, back then. An exchange of favours. Blankets and water and such in return for what I wanted. And I always followed through, didn’t I? Not like some of the others.”

There‘s a throbbing pulse somewhere in the back of Shiro’s head. His face feels too hot, his throat tight. The scar across his nose tingles oddly. It feels a little like the flashback he’d had in Voltron, when they’d first laid eyes on the robeast that had once been Myzax, but slower. More insidious.

Read it on AO3 here!

Shiro doesn’t like this. Normally during intelligence gathering missions like this, they try to avoid any of the higher-level Galra. They’re usually stealth missions, only resorting to fire fights if something goes wrong, but this time, there hadn’t been an easy way to access the terminal. The Galra commander in charge of the ship had still been in the control room when Shiro and Pidge had made it through the blast doors. They’d taken him down quickly, but now Lance and Keith are standing over the Galra kneeling on the floor, hastily tied up, and glaring as Shiro presses his glowing Galra hand to the terminal whilst Pidge downloads the necessary information to the castle.

It's nothing they haven’t done before. Sometimes situations require them to have to confront the Galra. If they don’t have to, they try not to kill anyone. Sometimes they even manage to get some useful information out of the Galra - if they’re particularly cowardly.

For some reason, though, Shiro has a bad feeling about this. Worse than the normal low-level anxiety he feels whenever any of the paladins are having to deal with actual Galra face-to-face. Worse than even some of the more dangerous intelligence gathering missions. It’s stupid, because this particular Galra is hardly a big player and the ship itself would barely even be a blip on Voltron’s radar if they hadn’t gotten a tip-off that it might have been involved in the Kerberus mission’s capture.

Maybe that’s all it is - this reminder of what had happened to Shiro. Maybe this ship really had been involved in the worst year of his life, and something in the back of Shiro’s brain recognises that. But he doesn’t like it. And he doesn’t want to be here a second longer than he has to be.

“You won’t find anything useful there.”

The voice startles Shiro. It’s the Galra. A strange sensation prickles across the back of Shiro’s neck. There’s a weird sense of deja vu, like he’s heard this Galra’s voice before.

He ignores it. It’s never a good idea to listen to unsolicited advice from the Galra. If they’re trying to offer it up on their own, it’s unlikely to be reliable.

“Shut up,” Keith growls. His bayard is held low in front of the Galra’s face, an implicit threat.

The Galra eyes him cooly. “I was speaking to the Champion,” he says.

“Well don’t,” Shiro snaps. “I don’t need to hear anything you have to say.”

The Galra makes an odd noise. “But I can help you. We can help each other.”

Something spasms at the back of Shiro’s head. There’s a flicker of something, like a shadow of a memory. Shiro flinches away from it automatically.

“We don’t need anything from you,” Keith says.

“Perhaps,” the Galra allows, sounding far too calm and in control for someone with a glowing sword shoved in his face, tied up and on his knees. “But perhaps not. I have information, and I’m not asking for much.”

Shiro doubts that’s true. It’s highly unlikely this Galra knows any more than they’ll be able to gather from the ship itself. And even if he did, it’s not worth risking a debt to their enemy.

“I’m downloading data right from your ship,” Pidge says, dismissively, like she read Shiro’s mind. “I doubt you can tell us more than that.”

The Galra shrugs. “If I can’t, then you won’t need to follow through on your end of the deal.”

“And what is our end of the deal?” Lance asks. His own bayard is pointed at the Galra too, perfectly steady in Lance’s hands.

“All I’m asking for is safety. If the empire finds out you took data from my ship…well, victory or death, as it were.” He gives a low, bitter laugh. “Just get me out of this system and I’ll tell you whatever you need to know.”

“Right,” Keith scoffs. “Because we could trust you not to fuck us over the moment you get on our ship.”

The Galra ignores him. “The Champion will vouch for me.”

Shiro cuts him a sharp look. There’s something strange about this. The Galra says it with such confidence - as if he knows Shiro - and there is a certain familiarity in his voice.

“Why would I do that?” he asks, icily, although he shouldn’t. He shouldn’t be encouraging this. All they need to do is download the information and get out of here. Who cares what happens to the Galra after they’re done here?

“I never went back on my word, then, did I?” the Galra asks. “I always honoured our little agreements.”

A trickle of ice slides down Shiro’s spine. Keith looks up sharply, narrowed eyes finding Shiro, but Shiro ignores him. His focus is on the Galra. Does he know him? Does he recognise him from the blank inside his head that’s almost all that’s left of that terrible year?

“I don’t know what you mean,” he says, slowly.

“Guys,” Hunk says from where he’s guarding the door, sounding nervous. “Maybe we shouldn’t be talking to the enemy.”

“You don’t remember?” the Galra asks, completely ignoring Hunk. A slow smile slides across his face. He cocks his head and his eyes run up and down the length of Shiro’s body. Despite his armour, Shiro feels strangely vulnerable beneath that gaze.

“Remember what?” Keith asks, as sharp as his eyes had been.

The Galra twitches, like he’s shaking Keith off, but he answers. “We had an arrangement, the Champion and I, back then. An exchange of favours. Blankets and water and such in return for what I wanted. And I always followed through, didn’t I? Not like some of the others.”

Shiro shakes his head. He doesn’t - he doesn’t remember, not properly, but he suddenly wants to be very far away from here. For the other paladins to be very far away from here - back on Earth, maybe, where none of this could touch them.

“We don’t exchange favours with Galra,” he says, coldly.

The Galra makes an affronted noise. “What? You’re going to let me die, after everything I did for you?”

“You didn’t do anything for me.”

There’s a wild look on the Galra’s face. Shiro wonders if it’s true - if the Galra really will be killed just for being overpowered. It doesn’t sound unbelievable, considering the Galra. But Voltron have been responsible for plenty of Galra deaths. Shiro can acknowledge that. One more is just another blip on the radar.

“I helped keep you alive,” the Galra snarls, low and vicious. “I could have just taken what I wanted. I could have just raped you like the others.”

An electric shock jolts right through Shiro. Suddenly he isn’t in the command room anymore - he’s on another ship, in another time. There are claws digging into his shoulder, his throat, his hips. Bruises on his knees that didn’t come from a fight. An ache in his jaw. A searing, throbbing pain deep in the core of him - a filthy, violating agony that hurts more than any of his arena wounds.

He gasps.

“Get on your knees,” the Galra growls in his ear, thick with lust. Shiro’s throat is so dry, aching from the lack of water. The bottle the Galra is holding - the promise of more, when Shiro has been starved of it for so long - is like a siren call. Burning with hate and embarrassment, Shiro sinks to his knees.

Someone slams him into the bars of his cell. There’s no water this time - no promise of anything, just rough hands on his hips, a burly thigh pressing his legs apart. Teeth on his neck and pain and pain.

There’s sand in his mouth. Someone at his back. Shiro tries to roll away from them, but his mangled arm screams in furious agony and - it’s not even so bad, really, compared to the nauseating pain in his arm. If he just lies still it will be over soon. God, let it be over soon.

“Shiro?” someone says, soft and scared.

Shiro blinks and the command room slowly materialises around him. It had felt like a long time - trapped in that flashback - but it can’t have been more than a few seconds. The Galra is still on his knees in front of him. The paladins are still standing in their positions, although all of their eyes are on him.

“What the fuck is he talking about?” Keith asks, in a voice that lashes like a whip.

Fuck. Fuck.

Bile rises up the back of Shiro’s throat. His body feels stiff as a board, but he’s trembling, he notices, in a distant sort of way. He doesn’t feel entirely in his body. There’s a part of him that’s still on that prisoner ship, sharp claws buried in his skin, a monstrous alien panting over him.

He can’t tell them, the part of him that’s the Black Paladin, their commanding officer, Keith’s mentor, hisses. They can’t know what Shiro had just witnessed in painful technicolour.

They already do, another part of him argues. One of the Galra who’d raped him had just announced it to the whole room. Shiro hadn’t even known…

What else doesn’t he remember? What else had he done in the year he’d blocked out of his mind? If he’d been willing to whore himself out to the Galra for a bottle of water, what else had they managed to make him do?

He feels sick. How can he trust himself? How can anyone else ever trust him again?

“Shiro,” Keith says, the name tinged with desperation. “What does he mean?”

Keith’s eyes are wide and pleading. The other paladins are staring at him too, faces pale and shocked. Shiro shouldn’t - he should find a way to reassure them. He should tell them that the Galra is lying, that nothing like that had happened, but the words stick in his throat and choke him.

“Ignore him,” he manages, finally. His throat feels like it’s glass coming up from his chest rather than words. He sounds like it too, strained and broken.

“Ignore him?” Keith asks, incredulously. “He - Shiro…”

Keith’s voice shatters over his name. Shiro flinches. He has to turn away. To stare at where his hand - his Galra hand - is pressed into the console, glowing a sickly purple.

“Shiro,” Keith says, again, like it’s all he knows how to say. “What -? Raped?”

Shiro shivers at the word - at the strangled, devastated way Keith says it.

“Not now,” Shiro grunts. Not ever, if he has his way - although not a single one of the paladins is likely to ever let this go - but especially not here, with one of the Galra who raped him kneeling on the floor and grinning at them.

“Sorry,” the Galra says - Shiro had slept with him and he doesn’t even know his name - not sounding sorry at all, “did you not want them to know that? There’s no shame in taking what help you can. And we can help each other.” A moment of tense, awful silence. “I won’t expect a fuck this time.”

Keith snarls, a low, animal sound. There’s a loud crack, and Shiro glances up in time to see Lance’s bayard bouncing off the back of the Galra’s skull.

“Shut up,” he growls, in a voice that Shiro has never heard from the blue paladin. “Stop talking.”

The Galra keeps his head down for a long moment, submitting to Lance’s anger. Shiro stares at the back of his neck. At the soft purple fur there. Shiro’s own neck is marred with scars. Most of them from the arena, Shiro assumes, but some of them must have been from this Galra - from other Galra - bite marks and claw marks, scarring Shiro with the evidence of what they had done to him.

And Shiro wouldn’t have even known. If it weren’t for this encounter, would he ever have remembered? Would he have recognised the scars for what they are? Or would they forever have been lost amongst the ruined topography of his flesh?

He shivers again. His throat aches with the sting of bile. It reminds him, hatefully, of a different ache. Of flesh rubbed raw. Of another bitter, ugly taste on his tongue.

No. Shiro needs to stop this. He isn’t there anymore. He can’t let himself sink into the past. His team need him here - need him present. He can freak out about this later, when he’s sure he’s alone and no one else can get hurt.

A hand touches his shoulder. It’s a feather-light touch, but Shiro still flinches, not expecting it, the sense-memory of large, claw-tipped hands pressing him cruelly to his knees too fresh and raw.

“Sorry,” Pidge murmurs, retracting her hand like Shiro had burnt her. “The download has finished. We can - we can get out of here.”

Shiro tugs his arm free from the console, but doesn’t power it down. He doesn’t think he can, not while he’s so full of restless energy - something close to panic.

“We‘ve got what we came for,” he says to the rest of the paladins, because no one has made any move. “Let’s go.”

“Wait,” the Galra says, desperately. “You can’t leave me here. Not after everything I did for you! You might as well just kill me and -“

He’s cut off by Keith practically leaping at him, snarling, knocking the Galra heavily to the ground and pinning him there with a sword at his furred throat.

“I should kill you right now,” he growls, barely sounding human. His hands are trembling where he’s gripping the sword, his face red with fury. Lance steps back, but his own bayard is still pointed unerringly at the Galra’s head.

“Keith,” Shiro snaps. In two quick steps, he reaches the red paladin, looping his arm around Keith’s chest and dragging him upright, away from the Galra. Leaving him here might be a death sentence, but that doesn’t mean Shiro is willing to sit back and watch Keith murder a living creature in cold blood.

Shiro knows better than anyone, the toll that can take. Knowing your actions might lead to the death of another, and actually taking that life with your own hands, feeling the heat of their blood, watching the light leave their eyes, are two entirely different things.

Maybe they shouldn’t be, but Shiro can’t deny that they are.

“Leave him, Keith. He isn’t worth it.”

For a moment, Keith strains against his hold. If he truly wanted to, the red paladin could probably break it - Shiro is holding him in an awkward, one-armed hold that Keith could easily twist out of. He doesn’t. Instead, Shiro feels the fight leave his body. Slowly, he eases his grip, stepping away when he’s sure Keith isn’t about to attack again.

“Let’s go,” Keith says, in a rough voice, not looking at Shiro, before turning to leave.

They leave the Galra lying on the ground where Keith had dropped him. He calls after them again, one final time, but no one turns. If he is telling the truth, and the other Galra will kill him for this, Shiro doesn’t care. He’d deserve it.

The trip back to the green lion is tense and silent. Shiro can sense the other paladins’ worry. He can see them stealing less-than-subtle glances at him. He ignores it, keeping his own gaze fixed ahead of him, pretending he can’t feel the tension humming in the air around him.

The silence lasts as long as it takes the green lion’s hatch to close.

“Shiro,” Lance says, sounding as devastated as Keith had.

“Don’t,” Shiro says without even really meaning to, feeling weak and pathetic, “please don’t.”

There’s another tense silence. Then: “Raped,” Keith says, short and sharp. “He said you’d been raped Shiro.”

Shiro’s throat hurts. His chest feels too tight. What is he supposed to say? How can he justify this?

“He didn’t mean…” but he trails off. He can’t say the Galra didn’t mean it. No one will believe that, and the lie tastes sour and salty on his tongue.

Two broad arms wrap around him, carefully, slowly, to give Shiro time to pull away. He hates it - hates the casual affection and the obvious pandering to his potential triggers - but he doesn’t pull away. Hunk doesn’t deserve his aggression. He’s only trying to help.

“I’m sorry,” Hunk murmurs, sounding choked, his face pressed into Shiro’s shoulder. “I’m so sorry.”

Shiro does jerk away, then. He doesn’t want this. He hates the fact that this has happened - that he’d been fucking abducted by aliens, tortured, forced to kill, experimented on, and now this. That there’s no part of him that the Galra haven’t touched. Nothing that hasn’t been tainted and violated.

And that it’s not just him who’s been confronted with this awful reality. If he’d just had a nightmare or a flashback he could have handled it himself - an awful, disturbing realisation, but something that could be hidden. If he’d been alone, he could have pretended it didn’t happen, as best as he could.

Instead, every single member of his team had listened to the Galra reveal this brutal secret. They’re so young, still children. They don’t need to be burdened by this.

“Did you know?” Keith asks. He’s still shaking, anger and heartbreak clear on his face. “Did you…why didn’t you tell us?”

Shiro’s chest aches. His face is hot with shame and his own anger. Even if he had remembered, there’s no way in hell he would have ever told the other paladins of his own volition.

“No,” he says, shortly. “I didn’t know.”

“Do you -“ Lance starts, but Shiro cuts him off. He doesn’t want to discuss this with the paladins. He doesn’t want to reveal any more of himself to them.

“I’m not going to discuss it,” he says, more sharply than he means to. “It’s not something any of you need to worry about.”

“Shiro,” Pidge starts, at the same time as Hunk says, “But we are worried.”

“I’m not going to discuss it,” Shiro says, again, this time a clear command. He moves stiffly to the other end of the green lion hangar, putting distance between himself and the rest of the paladins. “Get us back to the castle, Pidge. Now.”

There’s a tense silence. Shiro can sense the other paladins exchanging glances, unhappy and upset. But Shiro can’t deal with this now. His head is too much of a mess, hateful memories crowding, clamouring for attention. He needs a moment to be able to sort through the emotions swirling in his gut. He needs…

He needs to not be here. But he is.

Thankfully, the other paladins give him space, but Shiro knows that won’t last long. He’s dreading the inevitable interrogation he’s sure he’ll be subjected to. He’s dreading the conversation he’ll have to have with Keith.

He needs to get himself together, as quickly as possible. Compartmentalise. Repress. The ghosts of claws at his skin and teeth at his neck are not helpful. Shiro needs to push through this. Nothing has technically changed between this moment and just a few hours ago. He’d been as violated then as he is now. He just hadn’t known.

He does now, but it doesn't change anything.

It can’t.

#badthingshappenbingo #bthb #voltron #voltron legendary defender #vld #Shiro #Keith #Lance #Pidge #hunk #my writing #fanfiction #rape tw

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teatimecrumpetsandsugar · 3 years

Text

ethereal (voltron fantasy/royalty AU) (set up; part zero)

Heyo! It’s your friendly neighborhood Voltron fanfic aficionado- now your friendly neighborhood Klance writer but that’s honestly besides the point I don’t even know why you’d bring up my increasing obsession with them in this Klance fanfic that I swear everyone else will be in, too-

Today, I’ll be writing from a fantasy royalty AU with my favorite show cast ever, even though it may or may not be solely because I want to put water elemental!king!Lance in pretty dresses and makeup and just go crazy with my descriptions of gowns and other things.

I imagine, here, Lance would be from a kingdom with strong ties to Pidge’s kingdom, who has strong ties with Hunk’s kingdom, making them a powerful trifecta. I also imagine that Keith and Lance’s kingdoms are on very thin ice with one another, so Pidge encourages Lance to sit down with fire elemental!king!Keith.

I also imagine that Pidge’s kingdom is closely allied with Allura’s and that the two of them grew up together, while she didn’t meet Hunk or Lance until she became queen. Also, I’d like to have my beloved Ruler Pidge go by she/they pronouns, simply because I see a lot of myself in the way she dresses and carries herself and I actually believe that these pronouns would fit her, alongside all pronouns.

Hunk and Lance likely grew up together in a very close ally ship and continue to be close friends well into adulthood because that’s just how they are. I can imagine Lance is very vaguely aware of Allura’s kingdom and would never dream of picking a fight with hers since, by default, allying with Pidge made him allies with Allura, but he probably doesn’t know her very well pre the canon timeline because I kind of want to build that relationship from the ground up to make up for what the show did to me-

Keith is definitely allied with Shiro, and Pidge and Shiro were always friends through her older brother, who, along with her father, abdicated from the throne and joined an adventurer’s guild instead (because they believed that Pidge would be a better fit for a ruler and decided that, given how they are, reconnaissance and exploration fit them better. She agreed with this insight, deciding to rule the kingdom the best way she knew how). Shiro, being a much more experienced king and friends with their brother, likely prepared them for the role as they grew into it; the two are on friendly terms, but allied isn’t exactly the right term as none of the people in their alliance knew Keith, so they weren’t sure they could ally with him.

Lance met Keith at a gala years into his reign; they did not get along.

The system of Magic here will likely be dictated by what element one is born in the kingdom of, (i.e., Lance’s kingdom being the Aqua Kingdom, Pidge’s being the Spiritus Kingdom) and the strength of it in each person will be chosen based on a random set of variables that usually depends on the mood of the Gods corresponding to each element.

Lance- Water (Aqua Kingdom)

Keith- Fire (Ignis Kingdom)

Pidge- Life (Spiritus Kingdom)

Hunk- Earth (Terra Kingdom)

Shiro- Moon (Luna Kingdom)

Allura- Light (Lux Kingdom)

I imagine the reason an alliance is called for with Keith and Shiro’s kingdoms is because a traitor to Allura’s kingdom, either Lotor is planning on starting an entire mutiny with the ranks he’s managed to gather and then, consequently, conquer all of the rest of the kingdoms by force in the name of a long-dead kingdom- the Tenebris kingdom. His parents having died in the midst of a total economic crash caused by a codependent relationship with Allura’s kingdom whilst it was under her father’s rule, he was taken in by the state of Lux by Allura’s request, since they grew up together; unfortunately Lotor held lingering feelings of resentment- towards Lux, for causing the destruction of the only thing he could’ve ever considered his own by right, and towards his parents for always making him feel as if he was of no worth. He wants to conquer the entire world just to prove to himself that he is worth something, though, unfortunately, he’s on a path straight to death.

Might redeem him, might kill him off, might exile him- who knows at this point?

Hunk, I imagine, was a commoner who won the title of king through a series of magic-based trials (upon the death of the last ruler) and now keeps his entire family in the palace with him, using his title to take care of his family and citizens as a benevolent ruler. This likely happened when he was quite young- likely when he was 9 or 10, since magic is an innate thing and, in this kingdom, it’s tested in the youngest members of the kingdom in order to deem who is the most connected to their Goddess Terra.

Allura inherited her title when her own father died in the conflict with Tenebris- he went to battle with the people they’d unintentionally doomed in order to protect his daughter and his people, and died in the process; similar to her story in Voltron except her kingdom survives and Lotor and a select few survivors of the Galra become refugees.

Keith became king by beating the previous king’s son in a battle- his mother, being one of the higher ups in the government, sent word to him that the prince didn’t want to be king, so Keith wound up challenging him for the title. He won, successfully making his way into the world of prestige and getting closer to his mother. The prince left the kingdom shortly after- it’s believed that he ran away to be with someone, but no one is quite sure. All anyone knows is that he’s happy.

Lance wound up being king at a really young age- I’m imagining that, prior to his reign, his kingdom was incredibly strictly patriarchal. The previous king likely only had daughters, and the day of his death, Lance was born with incredibly powerful water magic. As a result, at the age of 6 years old, he was forcibly taken from his poor family and raised strictly to be a perfect king- however, he still saw his sister Veronica frequently in secret, the two of them sneaking around to eat baked goods and try on dresses together. When the palace staff found out, they tightened security and warned Veronica that she was no longer allowed to see him unless she wanted to be publicly executed. After his coronation (at age 8), however, he started making drastic changes to the laws that made the laws against commoners interacting with royalty more lax, and, once allowed to dress himself, started wearing dresses and makeup because it reminded him of home and made him feel as beautiful as he knew he was. He gets quite homesick quite often, and he’s still battling to get his family into the palace with him- he has, however, stripped the kingdom of its strict patriarchy. He constantly tells the kingdom that he hopes to one day pass the throne down to his own future daughter and still keeps the three princesses as his trusted advisors because he believes what happened to them was horribly unjust. The story will be told primarily from his perspective.

Shiro became ruler of his kingdom by fighting his way through gladiator ranks when he was only thirteen, winning the entire kingdom by brute force alone and leaving him with a lot more experience and trauma than he’d have liked. Being the oldest of the current generation of rulers and having inherited a kingdom that was closely related to Pidge’s and Keith’s, he guided them both through the process of becoming a ruler and the process of ruling, no matter how difficult it gets. It’s taken far longer with Keith than it has Pidge, since Pidge was raised a royal and has an innate sense of leadership and Keith is... interesting at the whole being a royal thing. Shiro, having grown up with Keith’s mother on the streets of the kingdom of Tenebris, was more than happy to take Keith under his wing- it helps the both of them come out of their shells more, so they have a mutual appreciation for one another.

I imagine this world will be vaguely futuristic and medieval at the same time- they’ll be able to have video conferences and reach other via communicators, holographic calls, things of that nature; but they’ll also be pretty old-fashioned in their manners of dress, their social systems, their currencies, and the vast majority of their laws. I hope that makes sense.

I wonder if it’s visible here that I spent three hours winging this and started getting more and more into it as I went, or if it’s obvious that I spend most of my time working with really obscure fantasy concepts.

BAHDHAAHAHA I HOPE YOU ALL ENJOY THIS-

If you’ve got any suggestions for relationship dynamics (platonic, romantic, or otherwise), any pitches for traits you think the characters may have based on their slightly altered backstories, or any feedback in general, feel free to share- I hope you all find this as fascinating as I did while I was writing it!

Also, @keefsteefs It’s happening, I’m doing it, it’s gonna be so fricking awesome-

#voltron #voltron au #voltron alternate universe #VLD #Voltron legendary defender #klance #voltron klance #vld klance #voltron keith #voltron lance #voltron hunk #voltron pidge #voltron allura #voltron shiro #voltron lotor

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queven · 4 years

Text

Y’know Superman? This is an AU based on that

A/N: Me and my sucky titles. Prepare yourself for some heavy emotion

“You!” a voice exclaimed angrily. Keith jerked his head up, his eyes meeting Lance McClain’s angry blue ones.

“How did you get an interview with Superman? He kept on refusing to answer me!”

That may have been Keith’s fault a bit. Okay, a lot. Their city newspaper, the Voltron Times, was looking for journalists to get an interview with the Man of Steel himself, Superman. Which was kind of lucky considering Keith is said Man of Steel.

It may have been cheating a bit, but Lance was already the best journalist on the team. Let Keith have a chance at getting the front page article, man.

But now he had to deal with the angry journalist, who already declared a supposed rivalry with him on sight.

“Probably you were too forward with him. Maybe Superman is people-shy?”

Lance scoffed. “As if. He tried more pick-up lines on me than I’ve heard in my life, and that’s saying something”

“Pick-up lines?” Keith pretended to act confused. One of his favorite parts about being a crime-fighting hero was messing with Lance in his superhero identity.

“You know...like ‘You’re a knock-out!’”

Keith snorted. Lance shot him a bemused look, tension easing from his shoulders, and then rolled his eyes.

“Whatever. I hate that guy. Way too cocky”

Say what now? Keith thought Lance was into that stuff. It was easier to woo the dude with his own medicine while being the most famous hero in Altea City.

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“Take that, Sendak!” Superman aimed a well-made punch at the mad scientist supervillain who was knocked off of his new death ray. Seriously, that guy was so predictable. Every time, he would make a new death ray, and Superman would knock him out or destroy his machine with his laser eyes, and the cops would arrest the defeated Sendak. He would break out of prison again, and make a new death ray, and the cycle kept on continuing.

Talk about stubbornness.

Speaking about stubbornness, Lance McClain was storming over to the crime scene, clutching his journalist pad murderously.

Keith might actually be intimidated.

“I heard you gave an interview to Keith Kogane, but not me? Why? We’re part of the same newspaper. What does his interviewing have that mine doesn’t?” McClain actually looked a bit distressed.

“Changed my mind after you left. Felt that if people wanted an interview, an interview they will get. So, when Keith came to me, I accepted” he shrugged, pretending to be nonchalant, while hovering in the air.

Lance pouted, crossing his arms slightly, and Keith smirked at the sight.

“Hey, don't frown, you'll never know who might be falling in love with your smile”

A startled look came onto Lance’s face, and then he screeched, stomping away from the crime scene.

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Keith was hanging out with Hunk, Pidge, and Lance at the cafe downtown for lunch when the subject came up.

“Who’s your guys’ favorite superhero?” Lance asked, chomping into his sandwich.

Pidge and Hunk perked up, exchanging looks. “Superman, of course” Pidge answered,”Pretty sure you already know that based on our dissection board”

Hunk and Pidge had a big dissection board in Pidge’s room, trying to find out the origins and limitations of Superman’s powers.

“Who’s your’s, Lance?”

“Batman, duh”

“Duh?!” Keith yelled indignantly. Seriously, why did Lance hate Superman so much?

“Well, Batman, unlike Superman, uses his brain, not super strength and powers and stuff, to defeat the bad guys” Lance finished, looking triumphant as if he just destroyed a debate opponent.

Keith had to grit his teeth not to pounce on the annoyingly infuriating guy. He also cursed his mind for falling in love with Lance.

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“Superman! Superman, wait up!”

Keith recognized that voice, and smirked inwardly. Lance. The manager of the newspaper firm, Allura, got Lance on the case of writing Superman’s biography. Of course he perked up immediately at the chance of messing with the journalist again.

“Yes? Is there anything wrong? You already look perfect, no need to worry.”

Lance ran a hand through his hair, sighing. “I’m working on an article again for the Voltron Times, and I need to know your secret identity? Like so that we can do this interview thing any other time you’re not bugged by fans”

“Nice try,” he chuckled, having gone through this a lot.

“It was worth it,” Lance leaned back, a bit more at ease. “But seriously, what about I ask you a few questions now, nothing about your identity, I promise.”

Keith nodded. Sounded fair enough. Spending time and changing the opinion of the guy he had a crush on? Count him in.

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“So, what’s your favorite animal?”

Covering his hands to stifle the laugh that came up was hard. Lance groaned.

“Jeez, that was all I could come up with, okay? I didn’t expect you to say yes!”

“Don’t you always have a backup plan?”

“Ye-wait. How do you know that?”

Oops. He slipped. “You’re pretty famous in Altea City, to be fair. Leading journalist. Smart and pretty.” Keith answered, lying through his teeth.

The journalist blushed this time, shuffling through his haphazard notes blindly. “So? Your favorite animal?”

“Oh my god” Keith was actually stunned. Nobody had ever tried to ask such a normal question to Superman him before. “Hippos. Definitely hippos”

Lance’s lip quirked as he was trying to restrain a laugh. He jotted it down into his signature notepad, and put his pencil down. Keith zoned out, observing his hands.

“Keith?” Lance asked, trying to get his attention.

“Yeah?” Keith answered back. WAIT. No. Superman. Not Keith. Shoot. “Umm...I mean...who’s Keith?”

“Nice try, man. I’d recognize that mullet anywhere” Keith put a hand to his hair, feeling the loss of an elastic band. Whoops.

“When did you find out? About this?”

“Probably a long while back, when you first gave yourself an interview. That’s cheating, technically”

“Oh”

“Yeah, I also said that comment during lunch today to test my theory out, and you reacted like I thought, so I thought Hey, he’s probably just a crazy fan or something, but no. You’re Superman.”

“Say it louder so that Sendak can hear, yeah?” Keith snarked, feeling a bit annoyed and panicked at this point.

“Can’t-I can’t believe this! Superman is also the coworker I’m in love with! This is your secret identity!”

“In love with?” He felt like hysterically giggling, because they were both so stupid. And in love. Yikes.

“Oh my god, shut up, Keith! Or should I call you Super Keith?”

“No”

“Keith Man”

“No”

“Super Mullet”

“I will fly off and ditch you right here, and right now.”

“You wouldn’t do that, Superman, would you? Man of Steel, defender of the weak.”

Keith’s stomach rolled like it was attempting(and failing) to do a somersault. “You won’t tell anybody, would you? You better not. People could get killed, Lance.”

Lance chuckled nervously. “Who do you think I am? Some kind of gossip?”

Keith gave him a flat look, and Lance sighed, offering his hand out. Spitting on his palm, Keith slapped it onto the other’s, grinning slightly when Lance winced.

“I still don’t know why you always insist on doing this, do you know how unsanitary it-wOAH!”

He flew up suddenly, cradling a kicking Lance in his arms, laughing.

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The next day, a newspaper was slammed onto Keith’s desk by a familiar tan-colored hand.

“Nice paper today,” Lance stated, coolly.

The main headline was in block letters, saying SUPERMAN SAVES LOCAL JOURNALIST FROM DEATH RAY. The big front page picture was of Keith carrying Lance, who was making a peace sign with both hands to the camera, grinning widely. The article, written by Pidge, was going on about how Superman saved yet another citizen from Sendak and his reign of terror.

“Congrats, man. Allura must be impressed.”

“Yeah, she’s impressed all right. Forgave me for not getting an interview earlier and failing to figure out yo-Superman’s identity” he finished, awkwardly.

Keith raised an eyebrow. “Smooth”

“Shut up.” Lance grumbled, cheeks flushed. “She still says I need some info on him, so how do you feel about meeting up later for coffee? Incognito?”

“It’s a date,” Keith grinned. He could live with this.

Part 2(fluff)

#klance #klance au #klance fanfic #fanfiction #superman #superman au #sorta a superman/lois lane au #not really tho #just the article w/superman plot thing #except done in the klance way #keith x lance #voltron keith #keith kogane #lance mcclain #lance mcgay

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makorragal-312 · 3 years

Text

Void (Part Ten)

We have now arrived at the final chapter of 2020! Hope you guys enjoy and I’ll see you guys in January!

28...29...30

Allura released her grip from the pole, landing on her feet flawlessly as she placed her hands on her knees, catching her breath. She could hear the constant pounding of her heart in her ears, its rhythm starting to let up the more she inhaled and exhaled. She had been spending her time in the Garrison training room for the last couple of hours, mostly kicking and punching her stresses out via punching bag after punching bag. By the time she was done beating the bags into submission, her knuckles were aching and bruised, yet that didn't stop the satisfaction that filled her bones, As a reward to herself, the princess decided to stick to a lighter yet mundane regimen consisting of crunches, push-ups, and pull-ups.

The princess sighed as she walked away from the contraption, making her way towards the nearest wall where her belongings laid, that being a bottle of water and a orange gym towel provided by the Garrison. She bent down to pick up the bottle, already feeling the moisture being absorbed through her palm as she stood back up. She quickly undid the cap as she tilted her head back to consume the cold liquid, feeling its cold and replenishing effects make their way down her throat. She released her lips from the bottle after a few seconds, twisting the cap back onto its rightful place as she placed the bottle back on the ground and picked up the towel to dry her hands.

"Come on, Cass! You can do better than that!"

"Well, some of us aren't as flexible as you are."

Allura turned her head to the source of the voices. Her blue eyes gazed upon a young man and woman who seemed to be in the middle of a workout, both in Garrison gym attire and seemed to be at least in their late teens or early twenties like Keith. The man had fair, white skin with a pink undertone that gleamed underneath the ceiling lights due to the sweat that clung to him. His curly, obsidian hair swept to one side of his fair while his side profile showcased an undercut and a silver piercing on his ear. He was standing with his hands in his sweatpants, his weight on one foot as he was leaned back, looking down at whoever he was talking to as a smile secured their place on his face.

The princess followed his line of vision and looked to see the girl, who happened to be sitting on the ground with her legs outstretched before her. She had sepia skin and short, curly, dark brown hair that stopped right next to her chin. She held a playful yet somewhat annoyed expression at the young man as her mouth tried to suppress whatever she wanted to say to him. It didn't take long for the man to smirk and walk.behind her as he crouched down.

"Allow me, then." he said mischievously, before leaning his body down on her back, wrapping his arms around his friend as she attempted to squirm out of her grasp, letting out a string of giggles as she struggled.

"Oh my god! Jae, get off me! You're gonna break my spine!" she laughed. The struggle only lasted for another few seconds before Jae leaned back on his bottom, still holding Cass in his arms. The chucking girl was too busy trying to cease her laughter that she didn't notice the way he was looking at her, a warm smile gracing his features and the subtle tightening of his arms around her. It was a look that Allura knew all too well: Love. The Altean could only watch helplessly as the young woman finally turned to face him, her hazel orbs meeting his dark brown ones as her laughter finally over before a similar smile made way to her face.

"You're stupid." Allura heard her snort. Jae's smile grew bigger.

"I know." he replied softly, before leaning in to connect his lips with her as they quietly giggled between kisses before they got themselves off the floor and walked to the treadmills together.

Allura felt her chest tightened as she watched the scene before her. She couldn't ignore the way she saw herself in that girl. Spending time when the person she cared for and wanting to be wrapped in their intimate embrace, not caring about who knew or saw. She turned her head away from them, staring down at her towel as her mind started to wander. Just seeing that display of affection reminded her of her and Lotor before everything went awry.

The way he held her hand so gently.

The way he looked at her so lovingly.

The way he had kissed h-

Allura felt her eyes widened as someone popped into her mind.

Lance.

The princess felt a pang of guilt enter her chest as she spoke his name internally. It had been a couple of days since their argument in his hospital room and she was making an active effort to give the paladin his space. How could she not after everything she said to him? Despite this, however, she would still walk by his room and peak through the window to see how he was. There were times where he would catch her looking in and look away quickly, making an effort to keep his eyes trained on the blankets that covered him. At first, she assumed he was merely trying to forget about the fight and that because of her actions he was going to be somewhat distant. But then she would go back to his window and he would look so different. Gone was the look of anxiousness and the body language of someone looking to be small. Instead was the look of tranquility and the stature of someone who hoped to be small no more.

His trademark smirk when he joked with Hunk and Pidge.

His vivid and humorous face when he talked with Shiro.

His gentle smile and attentive eyes when he listened to Keith.

And not her.

"Allura, I wanna be your family."

"I would follow you across the universe."

Allura's grip tightened on her towel as she reflected on his words from their first date. She knew that Lance loved her, but she never realized the full extent of it until that night. Even though the mice had told her of his feelings back in the Castle of Lions, she merely brushed it off. But then the truth about Lotor came out and she found herself betrayed and hurt, and yet he was there. Just like he said he would. At least until this moment.

Now, the young man who said he would be by her side was doing everything in his power to be away from her side. The speedy walks away from her, the quick glances before looking away, his discomfort in his face whenever she would attempt to get close. And if the recent events on the volcano planet did anything for the princess, it basically confirmed just how far Lance was willing to go to keep his distance. She knew she was probably exaggerating, but that didn't make her concern any less valid. For quiznak's sake, he decided to separate himself from the group and almost got himself killed!

He was avoiding her. But why?

Did she say something wrong?

Did he not want to kiss her that badly?

Did he...not want to be with her anymore?

"No."

Allura bent down quickly to pick up her water bottle, making a quick haste to the women's locker room to take a much needed shower. As she made her way out the room, she glanced back to find the young couple from earlier at the weight station. Jae was smiling down at her, making sure she didn't get herself crushed as she focused on lifting the heavy weight. Allura turned away from the sight as she focused on the path in front of her, aggravation and fear filling her veins.

"I need to settle this.' _______________________________________________________________________

You came back.

Of course I did.

Lance reflected on his dream once more as he sat on the window ledge of his hospital room, looking out at nothing. The red paladin took a deep breath before exhaling, releasing the tension from the day. He smiled, embracing the feeling of inhaling the air from around him and not from a mask. The red paladin couldn't stand receiving oxygen through masks and an uncomfortable nasal cannula. Not being able to inhale like a regular person because his lungs were practically scorched and might as well have been puddles of tar. His throat, chapped and dry from the burning air and sore from his bloody coughs as if he had was vomiting lava. Luckily, his breathing had improved greatly in the last couple of days since then. His condition improved rather nicely and he was deemed to breathe on his own again. Now, he was finally being discharged and free to go on his merry-Voltron-fighting-way.

Which meant he was going to interact with the team again.

And certain people on said team.

Now that wasn't to say that he didn't want to see his friends. If anything, he wanted nothing more but to get out of that hospital bed and see them. Especially since they went through the effort to come and visit him while he was still in the midst of recovery.

For starters, as soon as Hunk and Pidge heard about his condition, they rushed over without hesitation. The red paladin couldn't forget how hard they squeezed him when they lunged at him for a three-person bear hug. He would say that they squeezed the life out of him, but the smoke and lack of oxygen already tried to accomplish that so it would be in poor taste to say such a thing. He remembered how hard Hunk cried into his shoulder and how tightly Pidge wrapped her thin arms around his abdomen as she shook.

"Oh, buddy! You scared us half to death!" Hunk wailed.

"We thought we lost you!" Pidge cried, words muffled as her face was pressed against Lance's hospital attire.

Lance chuckled at the memory. As much as Lance wanted to tell them how badly they were bruising his already sore chest, he didn't have the heart to push them away. They just had the scare of their lives being on that planet; they all did. He hated to admit it, but it was nice to know that they were worried about him. Sure, they probably would because they're his friends. But given "certain events," he had somewhat started to doubt that. But he didn't want to think about that right now.

As for Shiro, ever since their conversation he's been making an active effort to check up on him despite his busy schedule. Out of the team, Lance appreciated Shiro's presence the most. There were times where he would come in and he would strike up random conversation with him to take his mind off of his current situation. There would also be times where he would let Lance rant about his stresses of the day and occasionally give him some bits of advice. And there would be the rare scenario of Shiro providing Lance with more stories of Keith in his youth for potential blackmail fuel. Nonetheless, having his leader and friend as a confidant and someone to vent to was relieving to say the least. With everything that he's been going through, he could use it.

Lance got up from the window ledge and stretched, raising his arms over his head to get some much-needed circulation within him. He let out a heavy exhale as he gazed upon his reflection in the window. He was sporting a white T-shirt and Garrison-Paladin pants and boots, one of his arms adorning a bandage from crawling on the hard gravel on the volcano. Lance leaned in closer to the mirror, only to be met with the subtle bags that plagued his eyes due to exhaustion. Any person who saw him would just assume it would be from his time recovering, but Lance knew better.

"We were already in danger the moment we landed. And besides, it's not like I went out on my own. I was with Keith the entire time."

"And look how that turned out."

Lance groaned as he turned away from his reflection. He walked towards his hospital bed, placing his hands on the mattress in front of him as he shook his head. When he had said "certain people," he was begrudgingly referring to the princess. Ever since their argument, she had made it a point to not come by as often out of respect, which was something the young Cuban somewhat appreciated. But he wish that it didn't have to happen the way that it did.

He hated the way he had fought with her.

Lance couldn't even comprehend how it had gotten to that point where he needed to shout at her the way that he did. At least that's what he tells himself. He knew what he did was risky...BEYOND risky. We were talking navigating a planet with an active volcano and with an alarming time limit on oxygen. Lance knows Allura meant well from a place of concern, but he wasn't a kid following their mother's directions. He was a grown man who was capable of making his own decisions, no matter how dangerous they were. And if he messed, he was willing to take that, regardless if his life was at risk. And isn't that what he signed up for when he stepped up to the plate of being a paladin? To make life-threatening choices in order to get the job done and protect others?

Honestly, Lance didn't have an issue with the way Allura opposed his choice to separate. If anything, it gave him a small bout of reassurance that she did truly did care for him. The thing that the red paladin took issue with was how quick she was to pull blame on Keith.

That, he wouldn't tolerate.

Lance already had a small feeling that she was upset at him for taking Keith's suggestion of abandoning the armor, but he thought little of it considering Pidge agreed with Keith also. But when he chose to go with Keith up the volcano, he knew that she was pissed. And given the way she stormed off into the forest with Pidge and Hunk on her tail, she was REALLY pissed. And in a weird way, it was probably well deserved...for him. He didn't expect her to have any animosity for Keith from the situation. But apparently she did with the words she said.

How Keith wasn't able to protect him.

How Keith should've turned him away more.

How it was Keith's fault that I ended up in a hospital bed.

Under normal circumstances, if it was any other person blaming Keith, Lance would've defended Keith without question. He just didn't expect himself to defend him so fiercely from Allura, even going as far as to remove his one source of clean oxygen just to prove his point. In a way, it felt like Keith's Galra reveal all over again, only this time he did the defending all by himself and he wasn't in the mood to go through those emotions again.

He didn't want to raise his voice at the Altean, but he couldn't help but to feel so protective. But clearly it shook her to her core because she practically never stepped foot in his room since that day. There were times, however, he would catch her outside of his window. She would gaze at him apologetically and he didn't have the heart to return his gaze, opting to look down at his sheets as the fight was still fresh in his mind and he didn't want that anger to build up again for the sake of his aching chest.

Think of something else, Lance. Anything else.

Lance turned his head to the side and looked at his jacket, freshly ironed and ready to be worn once more by the Red Lion's paladin, his belt laying beside it. He slowly reached out for the garment as he picked it up, letting it hang loosely between his fingers. He knew sooner or later he was gonna have to talk to Allura about what's been going on with him and why he's been so awkward and flaky. But there was just one problem:

They're tall.

They have a huge ass scar on their cheek.

And they have a mullet.

What the hell am I gonna say? "Hey Allura! I'm not really into you the way I used to be because I'm too focused on our leader whom I just now realizing I practically can't lose or I'll lose my freaking mind!" Lance thought, before he felt his eyes widen.

That's it. He admitted it. He couldn't lose him.

He couldn't lose Keith.

Lance couldn't deny or disregard it anymore. Ever since their almost-talk after they brought back Shiro, things had felt unfinished between the two paladins. Lance couldn't speak for the half Galran in question, but he was definitely feeling the empty space. He had so many things he wanted to tell him but he had to push it to the back burner for more important matters, like defeating the Galra Empire and trying to protect their home planet from being overrun. Not to mention the fact that he and the other paladins almost died and spent most of their time in hospital beds, so that just pushed things to the back burner even further.

At the beginning, he couldn't place why he was so adamant about talking to Keith again. As time went by, he just thought that those few moments they shared before he was able to get a word in were just a fleeting moment or him simply wanting to make conversation. Especially given how when the Black Paladin returned from wherever-the-hell he was at for all that time and completely brushed him aside.

But that was before the sunset.

The sunset that started everything.

Lance unconsciously held the jacket to his chest, tightening his then loose grip as the familiar hot sensation went through his bones. He still remembered the way Keith had reassured him before he went to see Allura. He still remembered how tenderly he looked at him and the reassuring smile he had sent his way. It was truly amazing how in a short amount of time someone could take all of his insecurities and doubts and replace them with confidence and care. He knew Keith was building him up so that he would be able to leave, but it only left Lance wanting to stay. He didn't want to be a boy getting ready to eat with a princess. He wanted to be a young man sitting with the person he didn't want to lose.

All those feelings culminating in a moment where Lance was about to do something life-altering. Something that would change everything, especially between him and his leader, and it scared him to death. So he did the only thing he could do and run. Run to the person he had been waiting for ever since they first stepped foot in the Castle of Lions, the person who was finally willing to wait for him. But when it came down to it and he and Allura went on their date, it didn't feel right.

Lance no longer felt that excitement and happiness when he was beside her and those feelings continued to dwindle the longer the date progressed. Despite how grateful he was to Allura for giving him this chance to be next to her, he felt as if he was so far behind her. And when it came down to it, he couldn't find it in him to kiss her nor did he bring himself to care about starting to lose her.

Fast forward to now, and he no longer felt he was behind her. No, he felt as though he was lightyears ahead of her. As if he was looking back at her from behind him as he continued to stride forward. Because now, he had to focus on what was up ahead...who was up ahead. After all the intense dreams and near-death experiences, everything was slowly but surely starting to become clear: Keith is important to him and he refused to lose him.

"Despite everything that happened to you, you were able to summon your bayard and save me. I'm sorry, Lance, but I just can't call that nothing."

Lance took in a shaky breath as he recalled Keith's words. He still couldn't believe he was able to summon his bayard out of nowhere. The only other person who did that was Keith back when they were captured which was sorta to be expected because...it's Keith. Not to mention considering what the "glow-up" he had back when he was on the space whale, Lance learned to expect the unexpected with him. But for himself to do that despite being on the brink of death was surprising even to the red paladin, but at the same time it didn't feel like a coincidence to him. If he hadn't, neither him or Keith would be here right now. A fact that still manages to make him shiver at the "what-if" of it all. Lance felt his legs begin to quiver underneath him as he turned and sat down on the bed. He lowered his head into the jacket as he wrapped his arms around his jacket.

"Oh my God." _______________________________________________________________________

Knock, knock, knock, knock.

Lance was in the middle of fastening his belt when he heard the assertive knocks on his door before it opened. He assumed it was a nurse considering they had last come in his room to tell him to start getting ready to leave ICU, so he didn't bother turning around as he try to secure his belt quickly.

"Don't worry, nurse. I'm on my way out. I already made the bed so I just need to get settled in this and I'll be out of the way." Lance spoke quickly, eager to get out of the way. He heard the door close as he heard slow footsteps making their way into the room.

"I'm not a nurse."

Lance's eyes widened in shock as he swerved his head towards the familiar voice. It was Allura. She was standing firmly, arms by her sides with a determined expression on her face. Lance shifted backwards on his feet nervously as awkwardness set in for him. He and Allura haven't had a proper conversation since their fight so it felt weird for him to be standing in front of her face-to-face.

"Uh, I didn't expect to see you here." Lance started anxiously, looking down at the floor in order to avoid the princess' gaze.

"Well, I figured that I just check in one last time before you're finally released." Allura replied calmly. Lance nodded before walking back to the window ledge, taking a seat. Silence permeated the room as the red paladin was too anxious to speak. Allura continued to stare at him before she sighed heavily.

"Look, Lance. I know that things have been...strange between us ever since our fight. And I'm sorry, but we can't keep avoiding each other." Lance's ears perked up at the statement.

"Allura, I was confined to a hospital bed. It's not like I could really go anywhere." Lance said sarcastically yet firmly.

"T-that's not what I meant." the princess stuttered. It was Lance's turn to sigh heavily before responding.

"Princess, I really should start finishing u-"

"Lance!" Allura shouted almost desperately, before lowering her voice and tone. "Lance, I know that I hurt you with the words I said, and I'm sorry. But you're really starting to worry me. Things haven't been the same between us since we went out together and I know you feel the same way."

Lance clasped his hands firmly and stared down at them. Shiro had warned him that sooner or later he would have to come clean about his feelings and just everything in general. He just didn't expect it to be like this. The only thing he was supposed to focus on was finally leaving this plain hospital room and returning to his bedroom. He didn't think he would be confronted by Allura and would have to try to avoid another negative interaction between them. Oh, how he wished he had more time. The young Cuban heard Allura's footsteps come a couple of steps closer before stopping, probably to put a respectable distance between them.

"I know this might be the wrong time, Lance. But I think we need to talk." Lance's hands tightened as it seemed that the day he was dreading was finally upon him. Shiro's words rang through his head.

"Just do what you feel makes you comfortable...However, I will say that should they ask why, it's best to be honest. You can either tell them everything you've been feeling or just say that you're figuring stuff out and just need space for the time being."

Lance breathed in deeply before finally raising his head and look at Allura, gazing into her vibrant blue eyes for the first time in what seemed like forever.

"Yeah, we do."

#klance #klance voltron #klance fanfic #klance fanfiction #klance vld #keith kogane #lance mcclain #vld keith #vld lance #voltron #voltron fanfic #Voltron legendary defender #voltron s8 #void #void fic #voltron void #ao3 #also on ao3

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stardust-and-blades · 4 years

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Winter Kiss

Yoooo klance drabble I finished on my insta :3

Summary: Lance, a fire fey, sneaks into winter fey territory out of curiosity to see if the gruesome legends are true. Little does he know he will meet a beautiful boy with a sharp tongue and a warm heart.

Pairings: Keith/Lance Fandom: Voltron

He was starlight against the fog of evening.

Lance is not one to venture beyond the summer court territories, one to bathe in the sun’s rays than to slip through the icy terrain separating warmth and cold.

They were at war. Fire fey had a sunset sea glass towering over the border between territory, a blistering beacon of defiance against their foes. A fragile looking wall containing the strength of the Gods, awaiting the other half to challenge it. To break it. To unleash a different form of war.

Little did the fire fey know was their very own approaching the wall, using their craft to exit as much as he can enter. Winter may not be able to approach, but summer can manipulate as they please.

As he crawled through the opening, as the heat pouring from his skin filled into a lukewarm feeling, he carefully settled his foot on snow. He nearly jumped ten feet in the air with how cold it was. What little winter they had (which was not much) was never this intense. Lance has not even felt snow before, which was one of the few reasons he crossed the barrier.

Allura used to tell him horror stories of the winter fey. Of their conquests and deceit. Their eerie gaze that can freeze you in place. The fangs protruding from their lips, ice daggers waiting to sink into the only warmth they desired: blood.

But there was one story that really stood out to Lance. One she did not speak often. But after a trial of a prisoner taking place years back when she was entering her late teens, her black and white tales molted into grey. She spoke of secret marriages. Of children born of winter and summer. Of a resistance group looking to join the territories rather than destroy one another. And while she had to shush herself upon sensing more than the ears she intended to whisper to, she made sure Lance listened carefully. Openly. To not be like the others.

Hence him passing the wall.

And maybe because he saw someone peering in from the outside, the only sign if it being fey was the dark hair sprinkled with snowflakes passing through the bushes.

Lance was going to find out who the fey was.

Maybe see if the tales about them are true.

Or if allura was right in the winter fey not being complete monsters.

So he set off. He followed tracks in the snow, the glistening white trees diamonds in the sun.

As he made his way to a clearing, he noted how the soft crunch of his shoes turned to shattered glass. Lance looked down to see the change, and noticed how he had set foot on a frozen lake.

And on top of the lake was a dancing boy.

The same boy with the dark hair, who hadn’t noticed Lance before Lance took another step on the fragile water.

He was beautiful. He glided on the surface with such ease, Lance questioned if he was a water nymph. His ears were long and pointed, decorated in fine crystals the shape of tears. He had stripped away his coat, the fur thrown to the side in order for him to freely skate with his black pants and white shirt. His skates, sharp as the newly forged blades by the fire blacksmiths. Except when they strike they did not exhume ash, but rather puffs of frost.

Summer and winter.

Fire and ice.

Ash and frost.

Hot and cold.

They were the opposites of the same coin. Destined to hate each other, proclaimed to be forever enemies.

If that was the case, then why did Lance feel no animosity? Why did he want to take a chance and introduce himself?

Why did he want to be dancing next to his sworn enemy?

Maybe it was because he was vulnerable in such state, completely unaware of Lance’s presence. Maybe it was because of Allura’s intriguing stories, sparking curiosity rather than resentment.

Maybe it was because he wanted to be part of the tale that defied all odds. Believed in peace rather than conflict.

But he is 100% sure it wasn’t because of the knife rapidly flying towards his head.

Lance screamed and ducked, the knife imbedding itself in tree bark.

He whirled around to the winter male. He stopped his dancing, his feet in a stance prepped for battle. He had two daggers in his palms, no doubt he held more somewhere on his body for easy access.

He narrowed his violet eyes, an arm arching back to chuck a dagger when Lance placed his hands in the air.

“WOAH WOAH WOAH, I’m not here to fight!”

“You have five seconds to explain why you were watching me before this knife meets its mark.” The boy said, ice gathering at the tips of the blade, elongating it’s already sinister edge.

“Um...”

“Five, four—“

“Hey give me a moment to gather my senses—“

“Three, two—“

“I was distracted by how pretty you were dancing oKAY?” Lance screamed.

The boy stopped counting.

“What?”

Lance threw his hands up. “I was curious. I crossed the barrier to check out this winter wonderland to see if it really was the scary, cold dungeon my side makes it out to be. I was thinking ‘hey lets take a look and maybe there are some softies or some cute animals’, not get a KNIFE to my HEAD”

He blinked, slowly lowering his arms. “You...wanted to see animals.”

“That’s what you took away from the response?”

He paused, looking over Lance. “How do I know you’re not lying?”

Lance sighed and lowered his arms halfway, his sun-kissed jacket flapped partially open as he kept his stance unguarded.

“You can search me. I have no weapons.”

“If I approach you so candidly you could stab me when I least expect it.”

“WOW, paranoid much?”

“I’m cautious.”

Lance snorted, his fear over the winter fey withering away. “Okay, Mr. paranoia. How should I prove myself to you?”

The boy pursed his lips, eyes traveling from the top of his head, down the front of his bright clothing, and back up again. Violets met azure, and if not for his keen hearing, Lance would have drowned from the beauty of the orbs that rivaled the dusk.

“Strip.”

Lance’s mind came to a screeching halt.

“What?”

The boy waved his blade towards him, nonchalant. “Take off the layers. It’s the only way I can be sure you don’t have an alternative motive.”

“I am NOT getting naked for you.”

He cocked his head to the side, his brow furrowed in confusion. “I’m not saying to get naked.”

“You just told me to strip.”

“Yes, but—“ he stopped, tossing what he said in his head until it dawned on him. Blush creeped on his pale cheeks.

“O-oh. I-I meant your top layers. Your jacket and anything that would hide what is apparent.”

“So not fully naked.”

The blush increased. “No.”

A cocky grin made it to Lance’s face. “You know if you want to see me in all my sunny glory you could just—“

The boy threw a warning knife, grazing Lance’s ear. Lance instantly shut up, having a deep feeling if he kept talking at least one of his arms would be pinned to the tree.

He unfurled his vest and coat. They were like lava against the white snow, bleeding to touch and burn everything in its wake. Crisp leaves amidst autumn; the blessing of the sun as it dips into the ether at the end of the day.

The clothes may be off, but Lance radiated the same essence the clothing did, his skin glistening despite the cold. If the boy was effected, he didn’t show it. He walked up to Lance cautiously, padding what’s left of his outfit (pants and a thin tunic). He made sure to avoid Lance’s gaze, poking and prodding but did not have an ounce of harshness in his touch. He was almost...gentle. As if Lance were a deer he was going to scare away if he wasn’t careful.

When he was deemed in the clear, the boy took a couple of steps back to allow Lance to put on his clothes.

“So since I did a strip tense,” lance joked. “I think you owe me your name in return.”

He hesitated, but after checking Lance, he doubted he could do any real harm besides embarrassing him.

“My name is Keith.”

“Wait,” Lance said, going still. “Keith. As in, the same Keith who is the knight of the winter palace?”

The legendary knight. The same one who had taken down dozens upon dozens of Lance’s kind, as well as his own when faced with betrayal. Rumors scoured the lands of Keith being so good at his job, the victim’s bodies couldn’t be found.

And yet here was Lance, literally looking him dead in the eye and somehow still breathing.

Lance expected him to do a 180 and kill him then and there, forever silencing the fire fey that managed to sneak across the barrier and find the knight of nightmares. He imagined a blade making a home in his vitals, his blood drenching the canvas beneath him in crimson rivers.

But rather than turn Lance into a decoration in the forest, Keith shuddered and inched away, as if Lance were the dangerous one.

“I...am Keith here. Just Keith. Nothing more.” He said, his voice a hush in the chill of the air. “Nothing less.”

“Just...keith.”

“Yes.”

“Then...you’re not going to gut me and dispose of me in one of these deep lakes.” Lance joked, trying to ease the tension. To slow his heartbeat into a natural hum, rather than the adrenaline spiking through his veins.

Regrettable choice of words. Keith cringed, indigo irises becoming shattered glass as he took in the meaning. Without speaking, he gathered his jacket and cloak and began to retreat. Lance’s heart withered. He didn’t know Keith well, but there was something about him shutting down from the mention of his misdeeds that tugged at Lance’s heartstrings.

That made him reach out, his fingers stretched to capture his shoulder. To cross the frozen lake, its glistening blanket cracking under his weight.

His foot went through the surface, cold nipping at his limbs as he plunged into the water.

All he could recall was his mouth and nose being flooded and his body tensing up from the sheer amount of cold.

The next moment, he saw a flash of light and a large, blurred figure grabbing him by the scruff of his collar.

He was yanked up, lovely oxygen making its way to his lungs and biting wind chomped on the apples of his cheeks to replace the slew of water. He was used to the sea of summer, not this bone chilled one leaving his lips blue and chapped.

“Are you alright?” Keith asked. He was knelt in front of Lance, a hand to his back and Lance coughed out the remainder of the lake.

“Yikes that’s cold,” lance commented. “My hair and wings are going to freeze over.”

His wings weren’t visible yet, but he could feel the ache settling on his back. If they were, they would most likely be turned to fragile crystals.

“Here, use this.” Keith said. He reached beside him and pulled out a white cloak, the fur lined the hood and the edges. It was plain, but in the light it shone with a thousand gems. Keith shook it out and wrapped it around Lance’s shoulders, the snow on it melting away as it touched his skin.

“Winter court clothes are imbued with their own magic to keep the wearers warm.” He tied the hood over lance, weaving a neat bow. When he looked at Lance again, their faces a mere few inches away from another, pink dusted his face. Even Keith seemed to have the same reaction, his hands stilling and his eyes unable to look away.

That was, until something wet licked his cheek.

“Kosmo!” Keith admonished. Lance turned to see a wolf beside him, twin melted coppers staring at the fire faery with his tongue lolled out. He was twice Lance’s size, yet posed no threat based on his white tail wagging.

“Sorry, he gets excited about newcomers.” Keith said, rubbing one of Kosmo’s ears. “He’s the one who pulled you out of the lake.”

Lance smiled, scratching Kosmo’s other ear. He leaned his head towards him, enjoying the attention. He licked Lance again, the boy laughing from the irony of an intimidating wolf being nothing but a pup.

“Too bad for you,” Lance joked. “I expected a knight in shining armor to save me, but looks like an adorable wolf beat you to it.”

“I can easily have him eat you.”

“Nah, he likes me more than you.”

“I’m his owner.”

“And I am the handsome stranger who is giving him belly scratches.” Lance stated, Kosmo officially on his back as Lance scratched his stomach. “I win.”

Keith shook his head, his lips quirked in amusement. “Whatever you say, Phoenix boy. I thought you could swim like all the others by the ocean.”

Lance puffed up his cheeks. “I CAN swim, thank you.”

“Not based on earlier.”

“Oh?” Lance raised an eyebrow, an idea popping in his head. “Is that a challenge I smell?”

Keith chuckled. “I don’t—“

He stopped, his ears twitching. Lance wondered what made him go quiet. He opened his mouth, but keith raised a hand, silencing him and put a finger to his lips. Kosmo stopped relaxing, the wolf rolling onto his paws and hunched over, a low growl rumbling in his chest.

Keith kept his tone to a whisper. “I’m sorry, but you need to leave. Now.”

Lance frowned. “Why?”

“Because when you crossed the barrier you let out a silent alarm.”

Lance squawked. “And you didn’t bother to tell me until NOW? I could be dead in five minutes!”

“Not if we teleport.” Keith said, grabbing Kosmo by his scruff and hopping on top of the wolf. It didn’t bother him, and he went so far as to bend down to Lance’s level for him to join Keith.

Lance hesitated. He doesn’t know this keith well. He may be nice, but for all he knew he could be setting up a facade and internally planned to transport them to the palace. To execute him right there for trespassing, sticking his head on a pike to ward off any future fire fey from crossing the barrier.

But as Keith held a hand to him, as Kosmo nudged his hip for him to follow suit, and as those violets penetrated his wards, he succumbed to the winter faery’s song.

When he took Keith’s hand, he could not help but noticed the warmth he held in those palms. He assumed they would be unbreakable ice. But really they matched the inner workings of the cloak draped over his shoulders.

There was a flash of light, and the next moment they were in front of the pane of sunset, Lance’s home beaconing for him to return. To strip away the cloak and dive into the beach waters filled with seashells that challenged the stars in beauty. To the motherly ocean, where it can caress you in times of crisis or unleash its wrath to drown its victims for the harming of its children.

Lance’s questions were answered. It’s time for him to go home.

Lance jumped off of Kosmo and was about to cross to his territory when a thought hit him.

He turned back to Keith, the boy scanning the area for prying eyes.

Lance wasn’t able to talk to him much. Wasn’t able to truly get to know him. To find out why Keith acted off when Lance mentioned his knight status.

But they weren’t exactly close to know each other’s secrets. So he came up with an excuse.

“Um, I’m still dripping from my plunge earlier,” lance started. “Would you mind if I borrowed your cloak for a little longer?”

“Huh? Oh, no you can keep it.”

“But it’s yours.”

“And you’re shivering like a leaf. Keep it, I have others.” He shrugged.

Lance groaned. “I can’t keep this, the court may think I stole it from you. If I’m anything, a thief isn’t one of them.”

Keith shook his head. “It’s not stealing if I give it to you.”

“It is in my eyes. Besides, you owe me for almost stabbing me. So all I ask is you meet up with me tomorrow so I can return it.” A knowing grin split his mouth. “Unless you’re scared of the big bad summer territory.”

Keith’s eye twitched. He bored his gaze into Lance, Lance feeling the hole going through his skull with how intense he was. If he ended up as a frozen statue, he couldn’t say he didn’t expect it.

But instead Keith sighed, heaved himself off Kosmo, and stood in front of Lance.

Sure enough, the cloak was the only thing preventing him from shivering up a storm and getting sick. His hair was sticking up with ice, his clothes damp, and his arms hugging himself. Yes they weren’t far off from Lance’s home, but the thought of just taking the material and flinging him back into the wild left Keith unsettled.

“Fine, but there is only one safe way for you to re-enter without setting off the alarm.”

Lance cocked his head. “What is it?”

“This.”

Keith stepped closer to Lance, grabbed him by the shoulders, and pulled him down. His hands moved from his shoulders to the sides of Lance’s head, kissing him atop the brow between his bewildered eyes. A cool sensation coursed through his crown, a frosted star embezzle right where the kiss was before it thawed away.

“A kiss from the winter court is an invitation for you to enter the grounds. Think of me as you pass through, and I will be here.”

“Um...I—what just...what—“ Lance’s face burned, and he knew it wasn’t because of the cloak.

Keith smirked and with one last wave of his hand, he disappeared with Kosmo.

When Lance got home, he screamed in a pillow.

#shania writes #klance #keith kogane #lance mcclain #VLD #voltron #fey au #fire fey lance #winter fey keith #yall thought keith would be fire but nOPE FOOL YA

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astranne · 4 years

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Crossover Idea Transformers/Voltron

So, another idea. Boy- today is the night of story ideas. I’m totally writing an oneshot about this, probably in german.

This one is about Voltron, yk rainbow paladins, flying giant robot-lions and fighting some aliens as a big robot-angel. And the transformers, yk big robos who can transform in cars and such stuff. But the storyline is from the new Voltron serie of Netflix.

Anyway. So, Primus has the Primes, his warriors, so who says, that his brother, Unicron (chaos himself) can’t have fighters too? And I imagine, that even if Primus and Unicron are trillions of years old, are still brothers and they still care about each other and all that. Even when they are fighting. So, if anyone has seen Transformers Prime, the serie, Megatron was a servant of Unicron. And after all this shit happend, Unicron realised, that you can’t rule with hate and fear and all the bad stuff. So he talks with Primus, (Primus a proud bro, that he finally sees his mistakes) and they search for a candidate. But nobody is good enough and time flys by. Cybertron is in peace, Megatron came back and is now friend with Team Prime.

(Probalby should also mention, that Unicron’s earth is not the earth of Voltron... yk. It has similarities, but the humans of Unicron are much stronger and all like that. Like a super soldier.)

In meanwhile the Galras take over the KNOWN univers. You see the capital letters? KNOWN UNIVERSE. They have no idea about Primus/Cybertron and Unicron and all that. The bots and cons and all my robos are living in peace, absolut bliss and stuff... until a girl lands on a near planet. Naturally they notice and find her in a escape capsule from the Galra. She isn’t even human anymore, almost all limbs are replaced with a ‘high-tech’ protese. But worse, she’s dying. The bots/cons, (like they are in groups but one race? I’m just calling them bots, like for every race, decepicons and all the ones) can’t do much, they could heal her, if she would be totally a robot/machine, but she still needs blood and food and yeah. So Optimus goes to the core of Primus, because he knows, she is important. He can feel it. (spooky)

Primus heals her, makes her fully human again but he knows, that she’s the one. The warrior of Unicron. (And Primus, but that comes later) And from the timeline... she’s from earth, like Voltron earth in the year 10 or something. Like in the middle of the Romain Empire. She was kidnapped by Galra, because why not. And they are assholes. Most of them.

So now this girl, Diana, lives on Cybertron. She draws her energy from Primus, so she can live with the bots. She becomes friends with everyone, but her favourite is Predaking. (Is like the kindest girl but absolut badass. A little bit naive, but still cute) They have a father/daughter relationship and it’s just fluff. But one day, she dies. Team Prime went on a mission and because Diana can fight, she went with them. Predaking is mad and doesn’t want to belive that she’s dead. So again, she was brought to the core of Primus. Primus could save her, but now is the time, she becomes his brother’s warrior. He tells Predaking of his plans. Predaking just wants her to life, so he sacrificed himself for Diana. Diana becomes a bot/predacon. Unicron gives her some of his powers and since Primus transformed her, she’s now also a Prime. And because of that, Primus creates a new star saber, Unicron too. Diana, now bearing the name Predaqueen to honor her ‘father’, united the two swords and became the first CRON (A Unciron warrior) and a PRIME. So her name is now Predaqueen Prime.

When she comes back to the surface, everyone is losing their shit. But after some time they can accept, that she’s not Diana anymore, she’s Predaqueen, a leader, a fighter, a warrior.

Megatron becomes the second Cron, names himself Megacron and is like the right hand of Predaqueen. She improves the whole army of Cybertron, becomes an ambassador, unites the two races of Primus and Unicron and is the voice of the gods/primordal beings or what ever they are. Everyone knows, there will be a fight, and they need to be prepared.

So yeah, fast forward to the Voltron serie. Primus and Unicron tell Predaqueen that soon Voltron will be activated, so she needs to be prepared. She goes to earth (Voltron earth), goes to the Garrison and meets Shiro there. (Totally not a hint to her ship. Can you feel the sarcasm? Anyway) Her name is Diana Prime and she’s the best pilot, becomes a professor? instructor? Idk what the name is, she’s teaching the kids, while Shiro prepares for his mission. Totally sexual tension there (she’s an ancient warrior, but not dead), totally Keith losing his absolut patience, like everybody else. Before Shiro is leaving, the sneaky boy (Keith) forces them to kiss. (He’s grounded but it was totally worth it) There are some cheesy farwell words, Diana tells him to be careful. She knows, this is the start of Voltron, and it’s not going to be nice.

Diana looks after Keith, she promised it Shiro after all and is still teaching. (there are totally many of the students crushing on her.) (Is the look important? Because, I imagine her as a tall woman, slim but athletic, her hair ridiculous long and bronze broun, with blue and violett streaks. Her eyes are golden and she has tattoos on the shoulders, the sign of predacons. (like there where all the bots have their marks/signs.) On her back are all symbols of all the races of Cybertron, in the middle the sign of Unicron and Prime.) Ugh-

Anyway. She meets the next paladins of Voltron and can only sigh. She took Keith under her wing, teached him some moves so he’s a little bit prepared, but the rest? Pidge is alright, she’s a smart girl. Hunk will do okay. But Lance? Oh boy- He’s totally like Knockout, he wont take it seriously until some one dies or is hurt. And then it’s most times to late.

When the three sneak out to rescue Shiro, Diana just watches with a smile. She waites until the next morning. And I can totally see this scene.

Keith talks with Shiro about his time in the galaxy and then Shiro says:

“How did you know to come save me when I crashed?” And Keith answers, “You should come see this.” They walk to his house, until Shiro stops.

“Wait, Keith- what... what about Diana?” Keith smiling softly and walking backwards.

“If you want, I can call her. She’ll be glad you’re back.”

Ugh, soft Shiro-

Anyway

The five find the blue lion, Shiro or better Keith forgets to call Diana and when he remebers, he’s somewhere in the universe. They form Voltron, kick for the first time Galras ugly ass and begin to train. Some days after Diana stands before the castle, Allura panicking, because this is a human and-

“Shiro, darling, we need to talk about your disappearance in the fucking universe.” Lance, Hunk and Pidge are confused, because that’s General Prime? In the universe?

Shiro tries to explain everything, but Diana/Predaqueen just smiles adn tells him, she knows already. He’s naturally confused and then she tells him about her mission, who she is and all that. He has a big mindblow but is happy, that Diana is back. Some fluff, because why not and Diana decides to tell the team.

“I am a Cron and a Prime.” Everybody is just blinking, because she says it like it explains everthing. With a smile, she connects herself with the castle and shows the story of Unicron and Prime.

“And then I became a warrior of Primus and Unicron, their voice and the leader of their children. They sent me on this mission, to watch over Voltron, over you and nudge you in the right direction.” Again some blinking, until Lance speaks up.

“So, you are basically another Voltron? And there is a whole planet of Voltrons like you?” Pidge facepalms, while Keith sighes. Coran has stars in his eyes, while Allura is glad, that others fight with them.

“No. Every bot has his own mind, they are like humans, but instead of flesh, blood and a heart, they have metal, enagon and a spark. The Primes, Optimus and I, and the Crons, Megacron and I, are the strongest. We lead the Cybertrojans in war, we are the voice of Primus and Unicron.”

So now the storyline is pretty much the same, Predaqueen is with Allura in the castle, when Voltron fights, because she’s their secret weapon. When they fight in the centre of the Galra Imperium, Predaqueen transforms for the first time. She’s normally as big as Voltron, but transformed as a predacon probably five times so big. She activates the space bridge and calls all the other predacons (her people, Shockwave cloned a few more and Primus also created new sparklings) They attack the Galra force, completly surprise them but still don’t win. Voltron barley escapes, but Predaqueen detransforms and attacks the wive of Zarkon, Honerva. She know’s that many will die and the universe will probably be destroyed, if she doesn’t kill her. Honerva goes nearly mad, this beast just attacks them? To be a bit dramatic, Predaqueen summons the presence of Unicron. She’s in her bot-form, but in human size. She glows with pure power, everything near her just dies, explodes and is destroyed. In her hand is the dark star sable, pulsing with chaos and death. Unicron totally roasting the Galras, calling them petty beings and such. Honerva is killed and you would think, the Galras would stop now, but no. Lotor is wants revenge. So he still takes over the Galra Imperium and builds this ships. But this time Megacron is making his life pure hell. Ah, so Lotors new ships are made out of a rare komet or what ever? Hmm, Megacron has the enagon of Uncrion and that’s chaos himself. Bitch, wanna try again?

So now Voltron is freeing the known universe, while Predaqueen helps. In the end, Cybertron is revealed, the Cybertrojans are now like the green lanterns? Keeping peace in the universe, because they are the ‘children’ of Prime and he’s creation himself. (I think so... or did I understand something wrong?) Voltron is still active, but now a symbol of peace and union.

Shiro and Diana/Predaqueen love each other dearly, but she still outlives him, sees how her family grows, how her children have grandchildren and so on. But still, Shiro will be her only lover, just because fluff. And basically the reason of this crossover? Because I think he deserved better.

Yikes... ugh, so if someone wants to write a story about this... I don’t mind, just tag me so I can read it and also reblogg it.

I didn’t second read it, it’s almost midnight and yeah... if something doesn’t make any sense, I’m swiss.

Masterlist

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saphsilver · 5 years

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Inktober Day 28: Companion

Prompt from @ttimemachines ‘ Inktober

Voltron: Legendary Defender Happy Ending AU: Fly Me to the Moon

Fly me to the moon, Let me play among the stars Let me see what spring is like on A-Jupiter and Mars In other words, hold my hand In other words, baby, kiss me

Fill my heart with song and let me sing for ever more

You are all I long for All I worship and adore In other words, please be true In other words, I love you

-By Bart Howard, performed by Frank Sinatra

This is like 4 days late cuz the power went out while I was doing this and it stayed off for days lmao thanks pg&e anyway

I followed VLD since 2016 and am veeery fond of sheith. As a form of self-care, I decided to completely disregard the existence of season 8 and I daydreamed a sappy, romantic ending I would’ve liked to see and am accepting as canon. GAY RIGHTS.

In a nutshell, Shiro and Keith get together and live on Earth. But you can’t tie down a space exploring power couple to one planet, so they go off with the Blade of Marmora. In this picture, they’re dancing to Fly Me to the Moon, celebrating their (kind-of) elopement and new life together.

I wrote a rough outline and bolded the main points. It’s long, so if you want to read it, buckle up and hit that Keep Reading!

Picking up from what little I remember of season 7 cuz I watched it the day it aired in 2018:

After the big battle with the Galra, everyone is chillin. Shiro is officially captain of the Atlas and Keith is like hell yeah I’m the Black Paladin! Idk whatever stuff they did to conclude the fight with the Galra, but I guess they did that.

Idk why they killed Allura, but that doesn’t fuckin happen. Everyone is happy!

They eventually settle into their new roles on Earth with Pidge/Katie working as a head of the tech department with the Holts. Hunk and Lance handle diplomatic/relief affairs. Allura becomes the queen of the Alteans they found with Coran and Romelle as her advisory. The mice are there too.

As admiral, Shiro gets a cool fancy house. So they throw a house party and the gang and some of the cool Earth/Galran/Altean people are invited too. It’s a great party 10/10 and 3 hours in, Lance gets wasted cuz Allura drinks him under the table. Hunk is getting some water while Pidge/Katie is taking blackmail pictures. Coran is still partying with the mice and Romelle.

Keith and his introvertedness has his social battery run out at this point, so he finds a porch to sigh upon. It takes Shiro exactly five minutes to notice that Keith isn’t coming back yet, so he seeks him out in the big fancy house.

Shiro finds Keith sighing on the porch or smth and jokes about this being their easiest time finding each other and Keith smiles at this. Shiro has a beer or smth and Keith asks to try it to break the ice. Shiro teases him about being old enough to drink. Then he’s like uh yeah remember the time I was stuck on a meteor for 2 years with my mom?? Fair point. Shiro lets him try it and Keith spits it out cuz it’s nasty even though bruh probably drank swamp water. They laugh and banter about that too.

The mood settles and then Shiro asks about those two years. And about their lost time. Keith asks if he took any of Kuron’s memories since he’s got a clone body now.

He does. He remembers it, but Kuron’s memories feel like it’s him, but he’s taken a backseat and is watching himself do things instead of doing them himself. Then Keith asks him if he remembers what he said when they fought. “You said you love me,” Shiro speaks softly as he turns back to face Keith. “Is that still true?”

Finally they talk about their feelings. Like a well-developed couple should. Keith does still love him and says that he always will. Shiro also admits his feelings too. Thought he was fam. Turns out he was bae. They almost kiss, but the Voltron gang interrupts because that’s how it be.

The two awkwardly get dragged back into the party and Lance is recovering okay. Also, he’s been offical with Allura at this point too. Lance teases them about being a couple and Shiro and Keith are internally screaming.

The party dies down and everyone starts to go home. The Voltron gang is the only few left and they help Shiro clean up. Lance gets benched cuz he’s still recovering. As they clean up, Shiro begins to notice how large and lonely the house is gonna get. He catches Keith before everyone leaves and slips him a key and says he’s always welcome just in case he gets lonely. Or something.... There’s some Shiro head scratching and Keith knows what’s up.

Everyone leaves. Shiro is alone. He tries to get some rest, but the house is too gotdamn big and unfamiliar. Being alone in a large space is not good for a guy with PTSD. He works out. He investigates his house, etc. Bro still can’t sleep.

Afterwards, he just gives up and sits at his kitchen going like :( at a glass of water. Then the doorbell rings. Who is it? DING DING, It’s Keith! With a duffel bag! Turns out he couldn’t sleep either. Shiro invites him to join him in the kitchen with his :( water and they talk a bit.

Then they pick up where they left off at the party and finally kiss. One of them asks if the kiss was okay, and the other is like HELL YEAH and so they keep going. It’s really spicy. One thing leads to another and then they go upstairs to Shiro’s large bed. (I’ll leave that to your imagination.)

Either way, morning comes and Shiro wakes up with Keith in his arm(s). (HELL YEAH) Guess they got REAL official. He asks about the duffel bag. It’s literally everything Keith owns. So like. 3 outfits. And some weapons. Hygeine products. Etc. (Dude is a minimalist.) Kosmo is in the living room or smth. Bottom(lmao) line is, Keith planned on taking Shiro up on his offer the whole time. He literally just left to pack lmao (HELL YEAH) Shiro gives him his own closet and drawers since the room is big. Guess they live together now yeehaw.

Eventually, everyone finds out they’re official and is like FINALLY and so they continue their lives on Earth with Shiro as admiral and Keith as captain. They sort out the war damage for a year-ish or so and then do whatever leaders do in peace time. Probably train their people idk. Shiro is up to his neck in papers. He’s not really digging it. He enjoys his peaceful life on Earth, but he often thinks about what it would be like exploring the galaxy now that the Galra aren’t a threat.

Allura and Lance get married. Lance still gets those blue marks but idk why. Why not lmao. It’s a big wedding and Lance throws the boquet. Keith catches it. He looks to Shiro and DING DING, the lightbulb goes off. The Altean Queen and King have many babies and they all have the marks too. Happy family. Goofy dad. Badass mum. Gotta rule the new Alteans too. That’s all good. They either live in space or get their own land cuz racism doesn’t exist on this earth. Cuz I said so. Either way, Lance and Allura visit the others often with their kids. Hunk and Pidge are GREAT with kids.

The Blade of Marmora calls. Krolia is like hey wus poppin’ son. Keith tells her he and Shiro are a couple and she’s like oh finally thank god. That guy was the only thing he’d talk about for the two years and like honestly it’d be awkward if they didn’t get together. But also, the Blade of Marmora needs Keith. For a while. Like, at year at least. He has a few days to decide to go with them. Keith’s torn between his people on Earth or his people in Marmora.

Shiro tells him it’s okay to go. But before that, he kneels on one knee and presents Keith with a ring. An engagement ring!!!! It’s specially designed by Pidge with a one-channel track that won’t get in the way of any signals or whatever, but they can find each other, no matter where in the galaxy each is. (Since that’s been a recurring problem throughout the series.)

Keith goes. Keith Galra Facetimes whenever he can. Weeks pass. Months pass. Seasons fly. Shiro terribly misses his fiancé. Nothing goes terribly wrong since this is the endgame, but Keith is away for a looong time. More than a year. He misses Shiro terribly, but he knows his duty is to the Blade of Marmora, which has become a relief effort and guardians of the galaxy. No talking trees or raccoons, unfortunately.

Eventually, Keith makes his way back to earth. Krolia, Kolivan, Axca, and the other Blades are with him. Krolia has a mother-son moment with him and asks him what he truly wants. Keith wants Shiro, but he also wants the life with the Blade of Marmora. It’s way better than on Earth, (no offense.) Then Krolia asks, “Why not take your man with us? His skill is going to waste at that desk.” And Kolivan is like “Shiro is a man of honor. He will always have a place with us if he so desires.” And Keith is like :0

He tells Shiro to come with him and Shiro’s like :O But he’s got papers! And Duties! And... the ability to train a successor to be Admiral! He gets on it. But low-key. Cuz he doesn’t want everyone to freak out. Like All Might and Deku, but not as life-threatening a situation and no consumption of hair. It’s probably that guy who thought Keith was his rival. Jack? Jacob? James! Or someone else idk. Who’s Curtis? We can sprinkle him in, I guess. Not sure if Hunk would want to be admiral. But either way, Shiro steps down from his position and gives it to someone very capable.

Then the Blades are back on Earth. Keith leaps into Shiro’s arm(s) all dramatically and gay as God intended. Shiro and Keith get married!!!! Everyone is there and it’s such a happy day like wowie.

After the wedding/goodbye party and preparations, the newlyweds announce their leave into space. And they fly off! Shiro is part of the Blade of Marmora. They’re a happy family and visit Earth and Altea whenever they can. Everyone still gets together every year for Christmas or something.

The last scene is the space ship leaving earth with Frank Sinatra’s “Fly Me to the Moon” playing. The planets and space stuff fade further in the background. They’re in a field of stars. It cuts to Keith in his uniform holding Shiro, who’s in his earthly clothing and kissing his husband’s hand. A golden ring shines on each of their fingers and they continue to dance. Gosh, they’re so happy and in love. The two never lose each other again.

THE END!!!

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sasuhinasno1fan · 5 years

Text

Time to heal- Shiro Ship Week Day 1

Time to give love to our favourite space dad! I still haven’t seen s8 because I wasn’t ready to sit and go through all the emotions but I’m sure once my job is over I can easily set my self on fire watching this. One of the things I did wish was that Adam wasn’t killed because, god, those two just needed a chance to talk. Even if they didn’t get back together, just talk. So here’s my fic where they got to do just that, enjoy! Wounds

“You know, I don’t think you’ve ever spent so much time on a ship.” Keith said, watching Shiro type away at a computer on the Atlas.

“I do have work I need to do before we leave.”

“And that work doesn’t include maybe, oh I don’t know, maybe visiting Adam? You know, your fiancé who managed to actually survive that ship explosion that Commander Sanda sent him to.”

“Ex-fiancé. He broke it off because I choose to do the Kerberos mission rather than stay here.” Shiro reminded, his voice sounding hard.

“To be fair, your disease was getting worse. The Galra did you a favour of cutting that arm off for you.” Keith pointed out, ignoring the glare Shiro gave him. “You thought you wouldn’t get the chance to talk to him after all of this, then we found out that he was taken by a Galra group, patched together and then forced to work on whatever camp he was in. You should be talking to him.”

“Don’t you have a Blue Paladin second in command to go and comfort?” Shiro asked, hoping to get Keith to leave him alone and go and see Lance, who was still trying to get over Allura telling him she didn’t have romantic feelings for him, let alone ready for a relationship after the whole Lotor issue.

“Fine, I’m going. Just didn’t think the one guy I always respected would be running away from a guy, especially one he’s still heads over heels for. Black told me you always thought about him.” With that, Keith left, leaving Shiro to his thoughts.

He wasn’t surprised Black told Keith about Adam. She was such a mother. Even though he wasn’t technically a Paladin anymore, he’d still feel her rooting around in his mind at times. When they finally arrived on earth and got to the Garrison, he thought Adam was gone, killed when his ship was shot down. To find out that he was actually alive – hurt, blinded in one eye and missing a leg, but alive – he knew he should have gone and seen him. But, the wounds from when Adam left him were still there. He was never mad at him for leaving. He was being selfish, wanting to prove to everyone he could still be a pilot. Adam was scared he was going to lose him and didn’t want to have to face that. Course, Adam was right in the end, he did get hurt, just not in a way any of them expected. He had sworn to himself that when they finally returned to earth, he’d sit down and talk to him but now that he had the opportunity, he was hiding himself in the Atlas. It was one of the few times he was happy he wasn’t a Paladin anymore. Black would just take him to Adam without his consent and drop him on his doorstep. Though, he had somehow managed to turn the Atlas into a mecha, so he shouldn’t be too surprised if it gained a mind of its own.

He had been so focused on working on whatever paperwork and mapping out the places they had to travel to, he almost didn’t see the message Sam had sent him.

Matt has finally finished your new prosthetic, you can come and see it. We can discuss your operation to change it.

Some people, i.e., him and his whole team, pointed out that his new arm wasn’t the best thing. It was a lot to have to remember to keep his floating arm near. If he let his thoughts drift, his arm went with it. Plus, Shiro was getting a bit tired of being used to hack into computers. Enough people had rattled around his head, thank you very much. Matt and Pidge had worked on making him an arm similar to his old one, but with the looks of his new one. He just hoped his body didn’t reject this one. He wanted to actually return Allura’s crystal from her crown. No need to give up the piece that showed her as a queen when there where was still Alteans who needed a leader.

He stretched, already ready to get rid of the floating arm as it started pulling his flesh arm a bit to hard.

Leaving the Atlas now. I’ll be there soon.

______

“Was the floating arm, that bad?” Matt asked, as he pulled his hair into a high bun. His mother kept insisting he cut it, but he was having fun putting it into different hairstyles.

Pidge looked up from where she was doing last minute checks. She been at her house but got bored looking at the TV show for Voltron and decided to help on Shiro’s arm.

“I’m gonna pretend you didn’t ask that.”

“I liked it.”

Pidge rolled her eyes at her brother. He was such a nerd.

“Excuse me,” a voice called from the door. Pidge looked over her shoulder to see a guy in a Garrison uniform. He wore glasses despite the large scar on his face that obviously left him blind in his left eye. She saw that one of his pant legs was pulled up, showing off a familiar silver leg prosthetic. The metal looked like what had been used on Shiro’s old prosthetic. “I was told to come here if I had any issues with my prosthetic.”

“Adam?”

“Matt?”

Pidge looked at both her brother and the guy. “Do you two know each other?”

“Uh, yeah.” Matt said, seeming to be unsure of what to say when Adam interrupted.

“Through a mutual friend.”

Somehow, Pidge could tell this mutual friend was important but also not to be talked about.

“So your prosthetic?”

“Yeah, got it when I got captured by the Galra after my ship crashed.”

“Wait a second. Weren’t you one of the pilots who was sent out by Commander Sanda?”

“Yeah. Managed to survive somehow but was captured by the Galra. After I was considered recovered enough, I was sent to work in their camp. My leg’s been giving me trouble since I got rescued. It actually collapsed under me today.”

“Alright come here.” Matt said.

Pidge got up to help when she heard a very familiar voice.

“Matt, your dad said you finished my arm. When can we get this annoying thing-” she turned to see Shiro in the doorway staring at Adam. “Adam.” The disbelief in his voice made it obvious to Pidge, this was how Adam and Matt knew each other.

“Takashi.” Well there was another. As far as Shiro told them, everyone called him Shiro because no one correctly pronounced Takashi.

“I…” Shiro trailed off. “I’ll come back later.” And with that, Shiro turned tail and left, though it looked more like running away.

“Damn, I didn’t think he’d get here so quickly.” Matt said, Adam pulling his arm away to get on to the table himself, staring at the door where Shiro disappeared from.

“Um, probably none of my business but I’m gonna ask anyway. How do you two know each other?”

“Pidge.” Matt scolded.

“It’s fine. I guess he never said anything. We were engaged.”

“What?”

_______

Shiro, that guy who came in, you were engaged to him? (Pidge)

Wait, Shiro was engaged to a guy? How did I not know this? (Hunk)

It’s Adam isn’t it? Hunk, come on, you know Shiro never hid his orientation. How do you think I was able to figure out my own? I always thought they looked good together. (Lance)

Wait, Adam, the guy who taught Aerodynamics? The one who offered to tutor you before they kicked Keith out? (Hunk)

How the heck did you catch Adam’s attention? (Keith)

What can I say Keith? He obviously saw greatness. (Lance)

Shiro’s eye twitched as he watched his team talk about his relationship with Adam. Like it wasn’t enough that he bumped into him earlier without being ready. He ran off without even talking him.

He still called him Takashi. Other than his late parents, he was the only one to call him by his name. most didn’t bother to try, taking the nickname he offered instead. He always felt bad that he couldn’t stop the Galra earlier, before they could have attacked Earth. Seeing Adam, who despite his not perfect eyesight was a promising pilot, blind in one eye because Commander Sanda thought he was a better fit to go up against the Galra, it hurt. He also had a prosthetic leg. Adam was an avid volleyball player. He didn’t doubt that it would stop him, but it would be harder for him.

“Shiro? Can I come in?” Matt called from outside Shiro’s room.

“Yes.” Matt came in, sitting at the desk. “Your sister is outing me to the team.”

“I thought you never hid it? Just never denied it.” Matt pointed out, which Shiro rolled his eyes at. That might have been true but still. “In case you were wondering, Adam is ok. His leg wasn’t as good as your arm so it’s starting to breakdown. We’ve got him scheduled to get a replacement tomorrow to make sure he doesn’t risk gaining an infection. He asked how you were. I told him we were giving you a new arm because you didn’t like your current one.”

“It makes no sense. I didn’t complain before because we were in the middle of a war. Plus, I could do without it being used to help you and your dad hack into Galra ships with my brain being used as the computer.”

“Fair enough. So…I take you never went to see Adam when he was rescued.”

Shiro shook his head. “what was I supposed to say? Last time I saw him, he pretty much told me our engagement was over because I was being selfish, which I was. Then I disappear for what, 3 years and then because we couldn’t end this fight, he got hurt.”

“Ok come on. Shiro, that wasn’t your fault. The Galra would have come eventually and you can’t dismantle a 10,000 year old empire in 3 years. Besides, Adam knew what being a fighter pilot meant. He can be mad at you for wanting to prove something over your own health, but he’s not mad at you for what happened. I mean, hello, you made the Atlas into a mecha to save your team. Can’t be mad at someone like that.”

“To be fair, including the time my clone was a Paladin, I was fighting in a mecha for 2 years.” Shiro sighed. “I wasn’t ready to see him though. We both left wounds on each other and I wasn’t ready to try and heal the ones I left on him, especially the physical ones.”

Matt looked sad, like he was upset he couldn’t help Shiro. “Do you think you can do me a favour? Adam’s parent’s died last year, before the Galra attacks so no one will be there when he’s recovering. You still have time to get your transplant done and you can recover on the Atlas and honestly, you need to talk to him, even if it’s just a ‘I’m glad you’re alive’.”

He knew he was right. He couldn’t just continue running off whenever he got scared. He fought the Galra for god’s sake. Being in the same room as he ex-fiancé shouldn’t scare him, though it did. God, he rather go fight Galra again.

__________

Tempting as it was to just hide and leave someone else to deal with it, he stayed. Plus, Allura heard what was going on (Thanks Keith) and insisted he at least stay and talk to him.

“There are things I regret never saying to my father before I was sealed away. I don’t have that chance anymore but you do. At least tell him the things you wanted to tell him if you weren’t taken.”

Seeing Adam unconscious without his glasses sent Shiro back to when he’d find Adam asleep on the couch in the teacher’s lounge after grading all evening. Even with the scar on his face, he still looked the same. He had to stop himself from pressing a kiss to his cheek like he used to, though, he missed seeing the sleepy smile that would come to Adam’s face as he woke up.

When the anaesthesia wore off, Adam groaned a little, looking like he had crashed hard the day before. He had a habit of doing that. God, Shiro could lecture him about that for days, but the minute he became a Paladin, he started exhibiting the bad habit. He opened his eyes, his fully green eye slowly focusing on the ceiling. He blinked a bit before turning his head, stilling when he saw Shiro sitting next to his bed. Shiro didn’t say anything, still too nervous to speak.

“Your hair is white.”

Ok, not what he was expecting, but Shiro could work with that.

“My hair used to look like yours.” He said, nodding to the white streak in Adam’s hair. It wasn’t as big as Shiro’s had been.

“You look like Allen Walker but with shorter hair.”

Shiro let out a little laugh. Adam’s favourite anime was D.Gray Man. Relaxation for him meant sitting in front of the tv watching episodes or reading the manga over and over again.

“When I heard about the Kerberos mission, I was pissed off, but not at you. They said you were responsible but I knew that couldn’t be true. I know I said you shouldn’t have gone, but I also knew that you would have done everything to bring everyone back. You’ve always been that stubborn. One of things I can’t stand about you sometimes but also one of the things I admire.”

“I…didn’t know that. I thought you would have hated me.”

“I never hated you Takashi. I was just mad that you seemed to care more about proving a point than your life.”

“I get that.” Shiro said, “but you have to understand. Since I was a kid, I let this disease control my life. When I told my family I wanted to go to space, they didn’t think I could do it and I decided to stop letting it control me. Every step I took had someone thinking I couldn’t achieve this. Yes, I know it was getting worse, and yes, I know I was being so selfish, but I had to prove that I could do it. When you broke it off, I thought I didn’t have anything to lose.”

Adam stared at him before he moved his hand, like he was reaching for Shiro. Hesitantly, Shiro gave him his hand, which was squeezed with as much strength as Adam could give.

“If I begged you, you would have stayed?” he asked.

“Yeah.”

“But you would have wished you went in the back of your mind.”

Shiro couldn’t deny it. “Yeah.”

“Well, I’m glad you did. Could have done without the getting captured by aliens though. It broke my heart thinking that you thought I hated you when you left, except you did.”

“I hurt you. I wouldn’t have been mad if you did.” Shiro said, wanting to put his other hand on top of their clasped hands, but he didn’t trust the floating arm to actually work when his emotions were running high. “I am sorry I hurt you. I should have talked to you and explained everything, but I bottled it up. Kinda like I’ve been doing since I heard you were alive. I was scared about what would be said, so I just stay clamed up.”

Adam moved his free hand to Shiro’s face, the Atlas captain moving closer to allow Adam to touch his face. “You always did have a habit of keeping things to yourself. God, no wonder Keith is a ticking time bomb.” He teased.

“Yeah, guess he didn’t get your calm demeanour.”

“By the way, that floating arm looks really stupid.”

Shiro couldn’t help but laugh. There was the no filter bluntness that drew Shiro to Adam in the first place. “I know. I’m getting it changed. Do you know Sam used it like a bug of sorts to hack into a Galra ship? My brain was the computer.”

“I respect that man, especially after what he accomplished after he returned to Earth, but he is weird as hell.”

“I’ll let him know. Before I forget, I’m heading back out to space soon, after my arm is changed. I don’t want to make the same mistake again and lose you.”

“Well, we’ll figure it out. Don’t worry. I think we’ve been through enough already.”

It didn’t mean things were automatically fixed, but wounds were starting to heal and that meant something.

#shiroshipweek2019 #adashi #adam lives

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thathopelessromantic · 4 years

Text

but at least the war is over (2/2)

Fandom: Voltron: Legendary Defender Rating: Teen Relationship: Lance/Keith Note: A very belated part 2 to Lance wanting to return to space and feeling bad about it but with a (cheesy) happy ending. Part of the Growing Up series. *previously titled “all’s not lost yet” until I listed to In Our Bedroom After the War by Stars for the 3 millionth time and had an epiphany.

No one expected Lance to be the first to want to return to space.

Least of all, Lance.

AO3: (x) Part (chapter) 1: (x)

I see you there and I see your faces And I see you there alone And what does a mirror show you Can you see the grey Your sadness it is quite lovely But it is the sadness of a slave Why don't you give yourself a rest Give your self some room -When the Devil's Loose, A. A. Bondy

When they wake up again, the sun is high in the sky and the small cab has gotten unbearably warm under it’s direct light, but Keith still hesitates to pull away from Lance, as if he might disappear from under his hands if he moves too far away.

So, unsurprisingly, it’s Lance who finally breaks the silence.

“Not that I’m not loving this,” he starts, and his voice still sounds oddly hoarse and broken in places. “But you’re like…right on my bladder.”

Keith lifts his head with a half-hearted glare, but stops short when he finds Lance already watching him with a watery smile.

“Hi.” Lance says softly.

“Hi. What’s wrong?”

“I really missed you.”

Keith was really determined not to cry, honestly he thought surely they were both all cried out, but he can feel it building up in his chest as Lance sniffles. “I really missed you, too.”

“And I’m really, really sorry I made you think I was leaving you.”

Keith leans down to kiss him. He can feel Lance hiccup under him as he starts to cry in earnest.

“I know,” he soothes, brushing the tears away as best as he can. Some are definitely now his too, but reluctantly he admits that maybe he needs this cry too. “Shh, I know.”

“I just...” Lance waves his hand in the air for a moment and makes a frustrated noise. “I just love you so much and I was so happy when you asked me to marry you and I never could have gotten through any of that shit without you and I hate that I hurt you and that I can’t just be happy in our stupid, idyllic married life in our stupid, perfect house on earth-”

Keith can sense he’s edging towards hysterical, so he sits up, pulling Lance with him and intertwining their fingers. With his free hand, he cups his face, running a thumb over his cheek and whispering softly until he can feel Lance calm.

“It’s not exactly…okay that you just disappeared off the grid with no warning, but I can understand it. I get it. But I don’t care where we have to be or go for you to be happy, so long as I can stay in the picture. Okay?”

Lance nods, finally, and shifts down to rest his head against Keith’s shoulder. Keith isn’t sure how long they stay like that. Through the windshield they can see waves crash against the shore while birds fly overhead. In the far distance, there’s a boat chugging along slowly.

“I actually really do have to piss now.” Lance suddenly says.

“Oh my God,” Keith lets go of his hand, shoving him towards the door. “Then get out.”

Lance looks back over his shoulder at him with a cheeky look, and it isn’t a real Lance smile yet, but it’s so much closer than anything Keith has seen in days it makes something squeeze in his chest anyways.

They’re moving slow, but eventually they load Keith’s bike onto the truck bed, strapping it down with questionably-functional bungee cords from the tool box, and get on the road. Keith drives, insisting he’s probably had at least a little more sleep than Lance the last few days. Lance is quiet for the first part of the drive, just watching the world pass by them through the window, but by the time they’re pulling into the parking lot of a truck stop he’s started sharing with Keith what he and Allura had discussed about the paladins coming back to space.

“I think her and Coran have been really lonely, honestly.” Lance admits as they climb out of the truck. “I think it’s really hitting them, now, everything they lost. They didn’t have a lot of time to really mourn it all in between training us, fighting, running for our lives, and rebuilding, but now that things up there have finally started to slow down and they’re spearheading these changes basically all alone…I can’t even imagine what that’s been like for them.”

Keith reaches out to pull Lance close, wrapping an arm around his waist just to revel for a moment in the feel of having him there again. “It’ll be good for them, then, to have us up there again.”

Lance is looking off into the distance, but he nods. “Yeah, right.”

They pay to use the truck stop showers in the back, and even having to put the same old clothes back on after, Keith has to admit he feels a lot better. Lance meets him in the store front and his hair is still damp and wavy, the drying ends curling over his forehead and around his ears. The dark circles are still under his eyes, but they look better, better than he could have hoped for from a nap and a shower. Slowly, Keith can feel some of his pent-up stress release.

“I kind of feel like a human again finally.” He quips. He looks soft and like little by little Keith’s real Lance is emerging from the sad, lost one he found on the sand. Keith runs a hand through his hair, just because he can and Lance doesn’t stop him, just looks at him with soft, grateful eyes.

They eat in the diner next door. The whole building smells like coffee and grease and the oldie’s radio station keeps going in and out, but the food is cheap and good, and the portions almost feel like enough to make up for the meals they’ve both skipped over the last few days.

Keith is half-way through devouring his third pancake when he looks up and finds Lance just watching him. There’s a pile of eggs on the fork in his hand, but he doesn’t seem concerned about his food for the moment.

“What?”

“I love you.” Lance says.

Keith swallows his food. “I love you, too.”

“We should renew our vows before we leave.”

“Okay.” Keith agrees easily. “Why?”

“Well we talked about having a wedding here on Earth, but life…got in the way, we never had time. So, we should do it for real this time, invite actual guests, leave with one really good memory instead of my breakdown.”

“Lance-”

“I know,” Lance interrupts, not letting Keith get into another spiel. “But I’m still serious about the vows thing. Our first wedding didn’t even happen on an actual planet. Like at all. I just wanna do it right.”

“Okay, let’s do it. We’ll have to plan it pretty quickly, though.”

Lance sighs, finally taking a bite of his food again. “I know. Abuela’s gonna kill me. Or Veronica. Whoever gets to me first, I guess.”

They fill up before they leave the truck stop, but they still have to stop a few more times before they make it back to town. Lance offers to drive a few times, in between short, fitful naps, but Keith insists he’s fine. But now, just under an hour outside of town, as he turns off the main highway, Keith can feel Lance’s suspicious eyes on him.

“Are you sleep-driving? Or lost? Because we are now going in the opposite direction of home.”

“I know where I’m going, just be patient.”

Lance makes a suspicious noise, clearly not happy about being kept in the dark about something, but he doesn’t protest further.

The desert looks familiar and foreign all at the same time. Keith spent so much of his time out here, alone, it’s weird to think about how far away life had taken him.

Lance grabs his arm suddenly, and Keith is pulled out of his thoughts as the familiar outcropping comes into view over the horizon. When he looks over, Lance’s eyes are wide and questioning, but he doesn’t look upset, so Keith continues on.

Eventually, they have to park the truck and go the rest of the way on foot. It’s been a while since any of them have been out this way. When they first came back to Earth, Allura and Coran were eager to see the cave where the paladins first discovered the blue lion, but it took them nearly two weeks to find it again. And then after a long discussion, they finally all agreed it would be best if other people couldn’t stumble upon it again by accident, and they showed the Garrison it’s location as well. Now as they approach it, there are towering chain link fences that block off their path.

Keith tosses a rock at the fence, just to be safe, and confirms his suspicions. It’s just a fence. No force field or electricity or even a posted guard. Some top-notch security from the Garrison. But he supposes, in this instance, he should be grateful.

Lance is uncharacteristically quiet through all of this. Even when Keith pulls out his Marmoran blade and cuts them a way through the edge of the fence, he doesn’t protest. When they finally reach the mouth of the cave, however, Lance reaches out and grabs his hand.

“Are you okay?” Keith asks, softly. “We don’t have to go in.”

Lance shakes his head. “No, I want to. I’m just…nervous.”

Keith squeezes his hand. “I’m right here. We’re doing this together.”

Lance sets his jaw, determined. “Okay. Let’s go.”

Hands clasped, they step inside, together.

The sun is setting behind them, and the dimming light makes it hard to see the deeper into the cave they go, but the old carvings that used to baffle Keith were still all around them, untouched and unchanged by time.

In the distance, there’s the sound of running water, and they have to step carefully, aware the ground could easily give out under them and drop them into the cavern below.

Keith came here for Lance, for a rising suspicion he had about the cave and the Blue Lion and his husband, but now that he’s here again, he realizes this was good for him too. He remembers the months he spent trying to understand this cave while looking for Shiro and hitting nothing but dead ends and the frustration when everything just seemed to effortlessly come together for the strange Garrison students who stumbled upon his rescue attempt. And when they first came back, Allura and Coran had so many questions for him as the one to first discover it, when all was said and done, he just wanted a break. But now, he feels more at ease here than he has perhaps anywhere else on Earth since they’ve returned.

The sun continues to drop further and further in the sky. It’ll be dark soon, and difficult to get through the desert back to their car. He doesn’t want to rush Lance, but he’s grateful when Lance finally squeezes his hand tight, reaches out, and touches the wall.

For a moment, nothing happens, and Keith thinks maybe he was wrong, and then, just like that, the cave lights up around them, the carvings aglow in a soft, pulsing blue.

Lance gasps, and Keith can’t help but marvel at the way he glows under the blue lights.

There he is, Keith thinks. His Lance, reemerged. There’s still a lot they need to discuss and deal with directly, but for the moment, his smile and the light in his eyes are genuine and that’s enough for now. That’s enough for Keith.

“We wouldn’t have made it to space, without you,” Keith says softly and when Lance turns to look at him, his awed expression doesn’t change. “All the times I came out here before and made no progress, and we could argue that it was because I was alone or it wasn’t the right time, but I think the Blue Lion was waiting not just for someone like you, but waiting for you, Lance, and without you there wouldn’t have been any paladins of Voltron, we wouldn’t have won the war, or managed any of the great things we did to help the universe. I think, maybe, you’ve always been destined to be a part of space, of something greater than this life on Earth.”

Lance is crying, again, but he doesn’t bother to wipe away the tears as he pulls Keith into a hug. It knocks the air from his chest, but Keith throws his arms around Lance too, and doesn’t dare let go.

“We wouldn’t have made it even this far without you, first. If I was meant to go out there, it was always with you by my side, mullet.”

Keith hides his smile in Lance’s shoulder, and he feels Lance pull him impossibly closer. “We’re better together,” he repeats softly, something Lance has said to him over and over again in the time they’ve known each other, even before they were married, even before they were dating at all. “We’re a team.”

They have no idea what’s waiting for them past tonight, past their next few days on Earth, but whatever it is, they can handle it, together.

#voltron #vld #voltron legendary defender #klance #laith #vld lance #lance mcclain #vld keith #keith kogane #established relationship #angst with a happy ending #fluff #hurt/comfort #fic: growing up aint what it seems #fic #rita writes #1.12.2020

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allhailqueenpidge · 5 years

Text

Julance Day 5: Sharpshooter

Lance had his sniper rifle trained at the shadowy figure that was barely visible on the rooftop he was perched on. His mission was simple: investigate this new guy on the scene and steal the data from him. Pidge was watching the target through the security cameras she hacked and Lance was poised to shoot if she gave the signal.

Four months ago Lance was scouted by Voltron, an elite agency that works to bring down famed CEO of Galra Enterprises and his gang known as the Galra Empire. Drugs, money laundering, murder, you name the crime Zarkon’s committing it. Allura had approached Lance and offered him the position of the Blue Paladin; to be the teams sharpshooter. Lance jumped at the opportunity and left his day job as a simple cop to be a sniper. Apparently Allura was searching for someone to fill this particular position for awhile and to scope out potential paladins she looked at the highest scores for the shooting part of his testing which he earneda perfect 100 in. Lance never missed a shot. After seeing his scores she puts tabs on him and watched him. One month later he had moved into the agency’s buliding otherwise known as the Castle and was introduced to the other paladins.

Pidge was the Green paladin and her specialities were hacking and recon missions. She was their eye in the sky. She joined team Voltron in the hopes of finding her father and brother who were captured by Zarkon’s men. Hunk (along with Pidge when she had time) created all their gadgets including Lance’s rifle and he updated Shiro’s arm. He was a fanastic engineer with a sunny disposition to match his role as the Yellow paladin. The Black paladin and leader of the group was Shiro who witnessed first hand the cruelty of the Galra. He along with Allura came up with all their plans and he was the decision maker. Allura, or the Princess, assembled the paladins to put a stop to Zarkon’s reign after he destroyed not only her father’s company but took his life. Allura vowed to avenge him and thus the idea of Voltron was born. She enlisted her father’s oldest friend and long-time business advisor, Coran, to help her. Coran’s role was mainly feeding the paladins, taking care of the castle and just generally helping where he can. He also assists in subtly dismantling some of Zarkon’s business ventures and other things along the same vein.

What Voltron was missing however was the Red paladin. None of the paladins bar Shiro were great at hand-to-hand combat and they needed a close combat fighter for missions. They made do in the meantime but it limited them.

Lance was polishing his gun when Allura had walked into the break room to announce a team briefing for their next mission. Hunk had immediately stopped tinkering with his latest gadget -a gun that could be split into two smaller guns- and followed Lance out the door. When they arrive at the briefing room Allura and Shiro were already there waiting for them. Once Pidge arrived from her lab and everyone sat down the meeting began.

“While assessing our next mark we discovered that someone was trying to beat us to the chase. Last week while Pidge was examining the data we collected on the mission in Daibazaal she uncoverd where the Galra held all the records of the people they imprison. It’s a privately owned by one of Zarkon’s cronies Sendak. To get the data Pidge needs to find her father and brother we’ll have to infiltrate the building. The last few days Pidge has been researching the building, finding weak spots, checking the building’s security and things like that. According to Pidge we’re not the only one’s with our eye on this target and in two day’s time he’ll make his move. I don’t feel confident enough to attempt our own data extraction mission in the next two days with little to no plan but we will not let this matter rest. Lance you will be stationed near the building and if this person has stolen the data we need you wil take them out and retrieve the data from them, understood?” Allura unloaded a lot of info on them all at once and Lance was glad that Pidge was making some progress towards freeing her family but Lance felt a bit unsettled by the thought of outright killing someone that could be just trying to achieve the same goals as them.Lance tried to voice these concerns with Allura but she didn’t listen.

“Lance, just think of how many lives we could save with this information. We may not get another chance to find Pidge’s family and save all the other innocent people taken by the Galra,” Allura reasoned. Her speech did its job and Lance was guilt tripped into doing the job for Pidge, for family. God forbid something like that could happen to his own familia and Pidge was staring at him with her sad puppy dog eyes he was weak for. He sighed and agreed to do it.

“Here is all the info we have on this guy,” Pidge muttered as she threw a brown folder at Lance. He emptied the contents onto the table and images of what appeared to be a young man with long dark hair, pale skin and a hideous red cropped jacket. The rest of his face was obscured with a maroon bandana.

“You have two days to prepare for the mission. Shiro will explain all the logistics to you and Pidge updated your com and she will be in your ear the entire mission,” Allura left after those parting words and Hunk and Pidge thought to do the same. Once Shiro had run through this mission’s protocol Lance decided to get in some practice with his gun. Even a pro like him needs to train once in awhile so his skills don’t get rusty.

Two days later Lance had his rifle pointing at the exit Pidge assured him was the one the guy would take. He was bored out fo his tree just sitting up on a roof waiting. The only thing that distracted him was Pidge’s updated on the guy’s position.

“Okay so he currently has the data and he’s 30 feet from the exit point so be prepared to shoot in the next few seconds Lance,” Pidge warned through the coms. Lance looked down his scope, focused his line of sight on the door and placed his finger on the trigger. The door burst open and their target ran out. As Lance watched the scared guy that looked to be only his age run from a guy twice his size he couldn’t do it. His bandana was nowhere in sight so his face was visible and what a nice face it was too. He turned around and began to fight the guy with a knife he had well concealed behind his back. The small guy could really hold his own in a fight.

Lance made up his mind and refocused his gun. He pulled the trigger and he went down like a sack of potatoes. After all Lance never missed a shot. Lance’s original mark glanced up trying to find the origin of the gunshot but he quickly sped away to avoid being the next victim.

Lance smirked, looks like he just found the red paladin. Allura can thank him later. All in a day’s work for the Sharpshooter of team Voltron.

__________________________________________

In case anyone was wondering why Keith broke in and collected the info it was to try to find Shiro and Shiro didn’t recognise Keith because it has been many years since he was captured and Keith’s face was mostly concealed.

If you want to read my other Julance stories you can find my master list here

#julance #julance2019 #lance #vld #voltron #day 5 #lance (voltron)

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littlewhitetie · 5 years

Text

(Mostly) Shiro-Centric Whump Fic Recs!

You bet I do, anon!! Always happy to share. :) I’m sure I’m forgetting some, but here are some favourites:

I've had Worse by cabbagespoon / @cabbagespoon (some gen, some Sheith)

A collection of sickfics and stand-alone drabbles focused on whumping the hell outta Shiro.

Full Circle by Glass Soldiers (subtract) / @glass-soldiers (gen)

The ripe scent of the blood pouring out of the body nearly made Shiro gag, but now that he was up close he could see that the rebel still had some sort of grenade attached to his belt. A terrible idea presented itself to Shiro in the few seconds of time he had left.

“Keith,” he said into his comm, “make sure you get the rest of them out of here.”

"Wait, Shiro!"

“There he is! Fire!”

Shiro will do whatever it takes to save the other paladins when they get in over their heads in a very dangerous situation. And then, they will do whatever it takes to save him.

The Greatest Challenge by VelkynKarma / @velkynkarma (gen)

Getting the Rembelii to join the coalition should be in the bag, an easy first mission back for Ryou after months of recovery. He shouldn't need Shiro for backup at all. But the leader of Rembeliss isn't interested in the coalition; he's interested in Champion and a challenge, and won't take no for an answer.

from the inside by valkyriered / @queenvallkyrie (Uliro)

Voltron gets hit with a virus. It doesn't feel nice.

brace by buttered_onions / @butteredonions (platonic or romantic Uliro)

Twenty minutes in to the space-thunderstorm, Ulaz notices Shiro is missing.

All Too Familiar by oldmythologies / @oldmythos (gen)

5 times Shiro couldn't sleep and the 1 time he could.

One For All, All For One by KaijuDork / @sheithlings (gen)

Everyone in Team Voltron has their own struggles, and Shiro always makes it a priority to help them out when he can. It's not always easy on top of his own issues, though; He's plagued by nightmares and flashbacks, and a growing sense of disgust at who he's become. His brave face is slowly crumbling as it begins to take its toll, and the other paladins agree to do something about it.

Or: Shiro helps each paladin out in turn, and sometimes they help him, but eventually they all come together to return the favour.

Numbers by oldmythologies / @oldmythos (platonic or romantic Sheith)

Shiro would hate it. He would hate knowing that Keith heard him scream sometimes, that Keith knew that he wasn’t completely okay. He’d feel weak, and he’d hide behind his speeches and his optimism and would be ever more careful about where and when he let himself fall asleep.

The cry reaches him from behind the door. It sounds like a child, and god, that child is so afraid.

This time, Keith doesn’t hesitate to open the door.

One Hundred Percent Probability by VelkynKarma / @velkynkarma (gen)

Shiro has no one to blame but himself for getting stuck on a mission with Slav, really. And of course it has to go all wrong, because really, when does it ever not.

Shadows of Our Dreams by KUG (gen)

-There comes a time and place where you don’t stand so tall-

The Paladins of Voltron have been reunited and are now resting and trying to heal, but nightmares tend to stick around longer than physical injuries. Time for a good ol' fashioned sleepover with the team. (Post-episode 11)

Parasite Knight by VelkynKarma / @velkynkarma (gen)

“You may refuse all you like, Champion, but I have found the one thing in the universe that can be absolutely counted on is that everything that exists desires to survive. Even you. Perhaps especially you.”

Something’s not right with Shiro, but it may go far deeper than anybody anticipated.

Beast You've Made of Me by BossToaster (ChaoticReactions) / @bosstoaster (gen)

The Alteans once had powerful allies. Some were wiped out, and some fell.

In hopes of regaining powerful friendships, the team land on a planet to search out signs of rebellion against the Galra. What they find instead are old acquaintances, court intrigue, and old wounds.

Or: One time the universe conspired to make Shiro's life hell

Drown Out Your Mind by BossToaster (ChaoticReactions) / @bosstoaster (gen)

Continuation from Chapter 4 of Like Forgetting The Words.

Shiro is sick. Very, very sick. The team tries to help.

for every bird there is a stone by lacking / @lightshesaid (gen)

Shiro walks away from his confrontation with Haggar injured and shaken. After falling through the corrupted wormhole and finding himself stranded alongside Keith on a solitary planet, Shiro begins doubting his bond with the black lion and his place among the other paladins. As the team is reunited and his health continues to decline, Shiro is forced to confront parts of himself he thought were long buried, and everyone is left questioning just how far he’s willing to go in order to survive.

Trust Me by votsalot / @saumenschliesel (gen)

Pidge is having a late night snack when Shiro comes to her for help only she can provide.

Hurricane by a_fearsome_thing / @thehouseofthebrave (gen)

Shiro is injured and very pragmatic about it. Hunk is decidedly less so.

Grounded by buttered_onions / @butteredonions (gen)

Separated from the rest of the team, Shiro must wait for rescue. In the meantime, he's not alone.

Spark to Ignite by BossToaster (ChaoticReactions) / @bosstoaster (gen)

Shiro wakes up in the dark.

He is alone.

Routine Maintenance by VelkynKarma / @velkynkarma (gen)

Being an amputee with a prosthetic limb is difficult enough. Having a solid metal alien prosthetic forced on you by another species entirely is even worse.

OR:

Five times Shiro’s Galra arm caused him trouble in some way and another member of the team helped him out with it, and the one time the same arm is the only reason any of them survive.

i have dug this grave for two by radialarch / @radialarch (Sheith)

This is what Keith promises himself: both of them will make it out of this. [Post-S1]

piling sandbags on parapets by alessandriana (gen)

"It's really not that bad," Shiro said.

Keith shot him a look of raging disbelief. "Pidge said you got tortured."

(Episode tag for Fall of the Castle of Lions/Tears of the Balmera.)

But I'm Sick of Learning How to Die by yet_intrepid / @apaladinagain (gen)

The paladins caused collateral damage in a battle, and they've resolved to do what they need to so their alliance with the impacted planet stays intact. Unfortunately, said planet has a judicial system based on corporal punishment.

Shiro has a plan to deal with this, but he underestimates what his team will do to protect him.

Where the Ocean Hits the Sky by maychorian / @maychorian (gen)

Shiro is sick and Lance is the only one who can look after him. If Shiro will let him, of course. Hopefully it's just a cold.

Breathless by radiofreekerberos / @radiofreekerberos (Sheith) (Keith and Shiro whump)

Shiro and Keith are stranded on a toxic planet that is slowly killing them. Can team Voltron rescue them before the clock runs out on them both?

Not long after they’d crashed, it became apparent that some element of the red dust was especially toxic to Keith. Shiro suspects it has something to do with his Galra DNA. He’d pulled Keith out of the red lion just before she’d been buried, but those few minutes of exposure to the storm as they’d retreated inside the black lion had taken a toll.

The Nature of Your Ways by ThatAcePaladin / @thatacepaladin (platonic or romantic Sheith) (Shiro and Keith whump)

Shiro always knew there was something special, something unique, about Keith. He never suspected that he would be half-alien, let alone half-Galra, but after learning that, everything seemed to fall into place.

or: five things Shiro thought were different about Keith, and the one two times he knew that Keith was still Keith.

Shifting Sands by Cardigan_Quincy (gen) (Lance and Shiro whump)

Lance picked himself up from the floor gingerly, testing his muscles before putting too much weight on them. Nothing seemed injured, aside from a few aches that would likely become a nice collection of bruises by tomorrow morning. But considering how hard Blue had fallen, Lance felt lucky. Blue was less lucky. --- Lance is stranded on a desert planet, injured and captured by someone who will go to any lengths to get their hands on the Black Lion. Fortunately or otherwise, he's not alone.

Boom Crash the Sound of My Ship by maychorian / @maychorian (gen) (Lance whump)

After a Galra attack splits Voltron, the blue lion is damaged and falls toward the jungle planet below. Shiro follows, and now he and Lance are stranded in hostile territory, fighting to survive. Lance is injured, Shiro is having flashbacks, and help is far away. And the Galra just...keep coming.

Won't Let Fade by Haleykim84 (tristen84) / @haleykim84 (gen) (Keith whump)

At a Voltron Coalition after party, Keith attracts some unwanted attention.

Compromised by gringle (gen) (Keith whump)

Keith ignored the rolling sensation of pain radiating from his stomach. “I’m uh… I’ve been injured. I can make it-” probably. Keith was never a betting man in the sense that he’d think in terms of probabilities. He just worked toward a goal, and he either succeeded or failed, and he can’t fail this. “-I just need more time.”

“That information is invaluable in overcoming this sector of Empire Control. You have five minutes, or until we’re compromised ourselves,” Kolivan stated, grim and final.

Another click, and Kolivan’s voice went silent.

If those aren’t enough for you, here are some of mine:

Interlude (platonic or romantic Sheith)

"Where are you going?” Keith asks, just barely catching Shiro before he collapses.

“My room, or just… not here. Please.”

Shiro should probably stay here in the infirmary where he can be monitored, but his eyes are pleading.

“Alright,” Keith concedes. “But I’m not leaving you alone.”

In which Keith takes care of Shiro after The Journey.

Lost and Found (light Sheith)

“Keith?” Shiro’s voice is barely a whisper, hoarse and wavering with disbelief.

Conflicting emotions seize Keith’s heart at the sound of Shiro's voice: utter relief in that they’ve finally found him; sheer horror in that they’ve found him here.

As Many Times (Sheith)

Shiro has fever dreams; Keith does what he can to help.

Silence (pre-Allurance; platonic or romantic Sheith)

An anti-Galra nanoweapon leaves Keith ill and Shiro badly injured. It's up to Lance and Allura to find them, take care of them, and get them home safe and sound.

Linger (light Sheith)

“You should go back to bed,” Keith says. “Get some more sleep.”

Shiro’s tired, but no. He can’t go back to his room, not yet. He’s not ready to be alone again.

Not wanting to leave Keith's side, Shiro looks for excuses to linger.

Pulmonary (Shallureith)

Infected with a disease that feeds off of heartache, flowers bloom in Shiro’s lungs, choking him with petals. He keeps the petals he coughs up a secret, but it’s getting hard to hide. The only thing that can stop its trajectory is if the person he’s in love with returns his feelings.

Shiro doesn’t even know who it is he’s sick for—Keith is Shiro’s anchor, his sun; but Allura is his compass and stars. Either way, it doesn’t matter. Neither of them could ever be his. They’ve each made their feelings for him—or lack thereof—known.

Not to mention the fate of the known universe is contingent on their upcoming marriage.

The coughing attacks get worse, but he can’t let them find out why. All he can do is try to push down his longing and watch as, little by little, Keith and Allura fall in love.

Finding Home (gen)

Shiro has hands that are his to hold.

After suffering a concussion and nearly drowning, Shiro falls ill. From the jungle to caves to cities and space, through fighting the Galra and seeking a cure, Keith and Allura are with him through it all.

What Once Was Lost (gen)

Shiro doesn’t want to remember, but he realizes he really should. He has his memories extracted, replaying them in the hopes of finding useful information, and maybe as a starting point in confronting his trauma. The days he spends watching them aren’t easy, but at least he’s not alone.

What We Do (gen)

On a mission gone awry, Shiro and Keith are captured and imprisoned. Shiro is injured and sick. Keith has no idea how to take care of someone, let alone comfort them, but he does his best.

Elementary (gen) (Keith whump)

A poison in the building they're captured in leaves Keith delirious and vulnerable, with only Allura there to take care of him. Unused to comforting others, Allura is completely out of her element. Luckily, she has Lance on the other end of the line to walk her through it.

Hope that helps!! And don’t forget to leave a comment if you enjoy a fic (even if it’s short!)--comments always appreciated and encourage writers to keep creating content. These authors are amazing and deserve a lot of love. :)

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uriel-ignatius121 · 5 years

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More Shadantis?? Shiro/Adam/Lance/Curtis is my new OT4

[i am loving this ot4 but i am having a hard time figuring out what i want for their personalities? Like we barely know Adam and Curtis - but it is safe to say that they are awesome dudes because, in VLD canon, Shiro loves them - even with the drama of Kerberos and Adam... but this is my happy-ish AU and i write the rules, and canon is my bitch now - all the ages are different because an institution like the Garrison should enroll people as young as 18 for programs like being a pilot or space explorer etc. Programs for highschool level can exist but just teach you general classes - but leanings towards sciences?? idk.]

Shiro and Adam met first, enrolling into the Garrison around the same time and got into similar pilot programs - though Shiro was more interested with going further than just being Fighter Pilot.

They were roommates and slowly got closer and closer - and then they started dating. Shiro was pretty much an overachiever and thank god Adam was around to nag Shiro to take a rest or eat between studying. Adam was content with his current position and place in life, but he worries about Shiro a lot since he was going to Space a lot and he was visiting the Medical Wing more times than usual.

Lance enters the picture when he enters the Cargo Pilot program at 18 years old with ambitions to move on to be a Fighter Pilot. Shiro is an instructor for basic flying between Space Missions while Adam trains the fighter pilots.

Lance has a huuuge crush on Shiro and practically worships the ground he walks on. When in need to extra help with his classes, especially in improving his simulation scores, Lance was too shy to ask Shiro for any help but he keeps visiting the Instructor’s Lounge or pass by Shiro and Adam’s room.

Adam notices though because he isn’t as oblivious as Shiro and he calls out to Lance one day to offer to tutor him.

Adam is impressed with Lance’s tenacity and charmed by his loud and bright attitude. Adam can see that Lance was very much capable of achieving whatever he puts his mind to, he just needed the occasional confidence boost and praise, which Adam can gladly give in buckets just to see those blue eyes sparkle.

Shiro soon notices Adam spending more time tutoring the younger Cadet and how happier Adam is after his sessions with Lance. Shiro started paying attention to the aspiring Fighter Pilot. He was happy to see the cadet’s scores improving since being taken under Adam’s wing. Shiro also started to see the happy-go-lucky cadet be the friendly, social butterfly he was and how that no matter what assortment of team members he got assigned with, he was able to adapt and adjust accordingly to be as useful and effective as possible.

Adam started out as bestfriends and then best friends who dated but they havent really explored much beyond that in terms of exclusivity. They very much love and care for each other and will like to keep being in love and happy through any means necessary. Shiro was much aware that Adam might be feeling a bit lonely, their schedules never meeting right and Shiro’s missions taking months away from planet... the possibility of seeing other people was never off the table.

They soon have a talk about it, Adam’s feelings for Lance and what Adam believes the depth of Lance’s feelings for Shiro.

After another tutoring session, Adam asks Lance to stay a bit longer. Lance is curious what this was about and he stays, right after sending Hunk, his roommate, a quick text that he might be late for their study date.

Adam suddenly invites Shiro into the room and Lance starts to feel like a cornered rabbit, but he is quickly reassured by the 2 Instructors what this was all about - inviting Lance into their relationship. First, Lance was totally shocked that his ‘unattainable’ crush and his tutor he was low-key flirting with were dating and second, they want to date him as well...

Lance request that he needs to think this over, he is still confused and unsure... but he promises to give his answer soon.

Lance goes to talk to his sister Veronica who worked at the Garrison as an Analyst. She smacks Lance on the backside of the head for not knowing Shiro and Adam were dating despite being a Shiro fanboy. The 2 siblings have a heart-to-heart, Lance finally admitting to someone who was not Hunk that he was bisexual and very much interested in dating guys - specifically these 2 guys who very much want to date him as well.

Veronica tells Lance that she loves him no matter what and she supports what decision he makes and when he does open up to the rest of the family. She also reassures him that if Adam and Shiro do anything to hurt him, she’ll make sure that their next flying exercises will be hell.

After the weekend, Lance comes with his answer and the comfy duo become a trio... much to Keith’s annoyance that the loud kid from his early flight classes is dating his sponsor and a guy he considers as family.

Fast forward through Shiro’s diagnosis (i dont think his illness would kill him instantly? maybe like cause muscle and nerve damage that would lead to paralysis if left untreated which would cause complications like respiratory distress and other organs and body systems failing), the sudden increase of Shiro’s missions despite his condition, the planning of the Kerberos Mission, Adam and Shiro’s big FIGHT (which Lance was very much concern of Shiro’s well being but Adam isn’t venting his frustrations to the younger man so he is unaware of the fight), the Kerberos mission and the crew’s disappearance, Lance trying to stay strong for Adam and himself, Keith’s expulsion from the Garrison and Lance jump into the Fighter Pilot program which Adam doesn’t instruct anymore because of the stress and depression from Shiro’s ‘death’, Shiro’s sudden ‘return’ and the finding of the Blue Lion.

Adam was at first distraught at hearing Lance’s last call, about founding Shiro but that there is something bigger going on and that he will only come back once everything was okay and he has Shiro by his side.

Adam trusts that Lance and Shiro will care for each other, he is happy that they have each other - Adam doesnt have high enough clearance to be informed of what happened that night, but he meets Lance’s sister who fills him in.

Fast forward some more through the story - Shiro is the captain of the Atlas, Adam is the Commander of the MFE pilots, and Lance is the Red Paladin, the SiC of Voltron.

The MFE pilots are working closely with Voltron while the Atlas stays as back up and support. Shiro is very much inexperienced in leading a group of this scale, a whole battlehip - but he needs to think about the lives that need saving all across the Universe as well as those he cares deeply about. He tries to keep his voice steady and clear and his aura of that as a strong leader... but there are times he feels alone, he is far away and way too busy to be with his friends and lovers. Shiro befriends Curtis, one of the Senior Officers chosen by Commander Holt to be part of the Atlas Crew. (Curtis is younger than Shiro & Adam but older than Lance)

Curtis has more experience in working with crews and ships of this manner, not of the scale of Atlas, but the protocols and basics are there. Shiro usually confides with all of the crew of his limitations in knowledge regarding being the captain of Atlas’ kind, but mostly to Curtis who was always happy to help. Curtis becomes more attuned to Shiro, as he wishes to be as helpful to the Captain as possible, he makes sure that the bridge functions as smoothly as possible - even asking Veronica’s help, which will cost him. He makes sure Shiro is aware of his scheduled meetings with the higher ups and his dates with his boyfriends, checking with the Red Paladin and the MFE pilots’ CO (he also starts to get to know Adam and Lance here as well). Curtis slowly realizes that he was developing feelings for Shiro... his captain who already has 2 boyfriends that love him fiercely that one them even traveled to Space for him.

One day Curtis walks into the bridge, accidentally interrupting some discussion Shiro was having with Adam and Lance. He quickly excuses himself but Shiro calls him back.

Curtis keeps his head lowered, looking at everyone’s feet instead of their eyes. He feels outnumbered and out of place, worried that they know of his feelings for the Captain and that they want to tear him a new one for even daring to even imagine being with him. He is startled by the hand on his shoulder, a friendly pat coming from the Red Paladin of Voltron, he receives a warm smile from him and a friendly greeting and reassurance that he has nothing to worry about.

Curtis looks at Shiro who seems bashful, but looking at him with curious eyes. Adam was the one to break the silence, explaining to Curtis what the current situation was - that Shiro has feelings for Curtis and thinks he might fit well in their little family, that Lance and Adam agree. Shiro and Curtis talk about it further, with Adam and Lance as an audience.

Similar to Lance, Curtis wants some time before he can give them an answer, and with that they all separate to return to their jobs, though Shiro and Curtis are awkward about it at first - they ease back into their roles with work as their main focus.

After a night thinking it over, Curtis calls for all three of them when he says yes, he wants to date them.

And the steadfast trio becomes a family of four

#shadantis #voltron #vld spoilers #voltron s8 au #voltron s8

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dammitadolfnomorecake · 5 years

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CSUAVS prt 16 update... 16 because I can't freakin count

Throwing another branch of the Fire he'd built, Keith sighed softly to himself. He'd gotten them both out the ridiculous magnetic waves with the help of Zak's program, only for Lance to wake up screaming. His crush so out of it, he'd nearly ended up crashing the stupid pod as Lance tried to take control. He'd intended to take Lance away from everyone. To let him recover, despite the fact they were supposed to rendezvous with the Telula. Instead he had to fight Lance off while calling Daehra to ask what he could use to safely sedate Lance before Lance got them both killed. Kosmo hadn't helped at all, yipping and barking like it was all a game, the sound seemed to only make things worse for Lance and needless to say, the wolf had grounded in the pod while Keith sat under the starry sky with Lance sleeping by his side. Daehra hadn't liked him leaping to drugs as an option, but with the way Lance was yelling and ranting, she'd finally relented. How did he fix this? Any of this? His best fucking friend had been sexually abused, and he'd been off delivering aide when he should have been there for Lance through it all. There was nothing he could say that would make it better. Lance didn't hate him. It wasn't that he'd done anything "wrong" towards him. The idiot had kept all his pain to himself and now he'd hit his breaking point. He hated all of it. He hated it so much he'd broken down and sobbed for the Lance's loss of innocence. His still felt puffy, his head sore, from the chronic onslaught of emotions that swirled around his mind. Lance was the kindest, more pure hearted, and loving person he knew. His team clearly loved him. They all appreciated him in a way Voltron should have. And now, thanks to him, the wounds stitched closed after phoebs of work, had been torn open. The bottled infection that had been brewing now spreading back through Lance's body, stealing the light from his eyes as its poison spread. Sniffling pathetically, he wanted to throw everything away. He wanted to take Lance by the hand and run forever from the memories that hurt him. But Lance wouldn't run away with him. He probably didn't even wish for Keith to know. He already didn't want him to stay... and losing Lance... it left him feeling like the same scared boy staring down at his father's grave. He wanted Lance to be his family. His home. He was already his strength and support. He kept him anchored despite everything. How could he begin to be that for Lance? "Keith?" Keith's breath caught as a soft hand reached for his leg. Blinking up at him, Lance's eyes were filled with tears. The flames of the fire dancing on his long lashes as he blinked again. With timid moves, his friend drew himself up curl in on himself. His hand holding onto the fabric on Keith's pants loosely. For anyone else, the gesture would be easily dismissed, but all Keith could think about in that moment was the courage it must take for Lance to reach for him "I'm here" "I..." Sniffling hard, Lance's bottom lip quivered as looked away. Tremors shook Lance's shoulders as the first small sob escaped his lips. Dressed in clothes he'd found in the pod, Lance looked fragile as his collarbone peaked out from beneath the loose fabric. Without thinking, Keith gathered Lance into his lap, arms wrapped firmly around him as he held him close, Lance wailing against him "I fucked up!" "It's not your fault" "Ugh! I... don't know what to do..." "Shhhh. You don't have to know anything" "Ugh... ugh... I... don't want to... be... like this..." "I know. I know, buddy. I'm here. I'm not going anywhere. It's just you and me" "I'm so stupid. Stupid. Stupid!" Lance's hand went to his hair as he yelled the last stupid. Catching it before he could pull out any more of those soft chocolate locks, Keith brought his hand down to hold it between them "You are not stupid" "I am! I..." "You are not stupid" Hiccuping, Lance started to hyperventilate "I... I... can't..." Rubbing Lance's back, his friend didn't flinch like he'd expected "Shhh. You don't have to explain. You don't have to force yourself to relive it..." "I... thought... when... I killed him... it would get better... I... can feel... him..." Of course it wouldn't get better for Lance. His noble heart would have driven him crazy over his own actions "Lance, I need you to try and breathe for me" "I... c-can't..." "I can see that. Here... put your hand on my chest... feel that... feel me breathing. I need you to breathe with me. Ok?" "C-can't..." "You can. I know you can. Here... here, come on..." Rearranging the long tangle on limbs, Keith moved Lance so he was sitting in his lap facing him. Placing both of Lance's hands on his chest, he took the Cuban's face in his hands, forcing Lance to meet his eyes "Here... breathe in with me... and out with me..." He knew there were all kinds of things people did to help with panic attacks, but the breathing one was the one that stuck with him. It was what Shiro had used a hundred and one times, and it didn't force Lance to concentrate on the things around them. The last thing he needed was Lance pushing himself too far or thinking he was stupid because he couldn't name everything he smelt... which, if he said anything other than seasalt, rotten citrus and maybe just the hint of juniper flowers, would have been a wasted answer anyway. All Keith could see was Lance. All he could focus on was Lance. Bringing Lance's breathing under control, the younger male collapsed into his hold. His forehead pressed against Keith's chest between his palms "I'm... sorry" "No. Hey. You did nothing wrong" "I did everything fucking wrong" "You weren't supposed to know" "I don't think any less of you" Those were the wrong words. Climbing off his lap, Lance balled himself up on the blankets Keith had brought for the ship for him to lay on. He'd changed Lance out of his suit after he'd woken up agitated, thinking maybe the suit was what what had made things worse for him. The warmth and weight of Lance was missed the moment he was off, but it'd be selfish to pull him back against him purely because he needed the reassurance that Lance was still alive "Are you hungry? I have some food here?" "I don't want to eat... sorry" "Maybe some water" "Keith, stop. Ok. Just stop" "Stop what?" He'd stop whatever Lance wanted him to stop... if he knew what that was "You. Being so nice. It's not... you" That... stung. That stung far more than it should have with what Lance was going through "Lance..." "Stop being nice! Stop! Just stop! I can't take it!" Yelling into his knees, Lance let out a soft whimper as he wrapped his arms tighter around his legs "You did nothing wrong. Those people who... hurt you..." "God. You can't even say it. They raped me. They held me down... gagged me... and fucked me until I came... I was so scared... but I... fucking came... ugh... ugh..." Lance's breathing hitched, his friend breaking his self hold to throw up near his feet. Reaching out to comfort him, Lance slapped his hand away. His eyes filled with self loathing and guilt as he looked to him. His words a soft mumble, as more tears rushed down his cheeks "I came... I don't understand... I didn't want to... I didn't... it hurt so bad... but I did... what's wrong with me?" Softly he reached for Lance again, his voice barely above a broken whisper as tears rolled down his own face "Lance... there is nothing wrong with you" "You weren't there!" Flinching, Keith's hand dropped "I know" "They wanted Red. That's what it was all about... he wanted a p-pet Paladin..." The lions had gone. To where no one knew... it struck Keith at that moment that it could have been any one of them. Watching Lance like this, he cursed the universe for not letting him be the one who'd been there instead "They pinned me down... gagged me... I screamed and I screamed but the didn't stop. He didn't stop... he didn't..." "Lance. What they did to you..." "I deserved it..." Anger flared through every part of Keith at those three small words "No! No. No... Lance. You didn't deserve it. No one deserves that" "I did... I do... I deserve it all" Fuck it. Lance needed something more than words. Shuffling closer, he ignored Lance's whimper as he pulled him back into a firm hug, both arms wrapped around Lance's shoulders as he shook his head "You did not deserve it. God. If I could take this pain from you, I would in an instant. You're my best friend. You're my best friend I had no idea. I..." His dangerously close confession was cut off "Don't..." "Lance" "Keith... don't... not you too" That took a right turn... "Not me too, what?" "My... body... Allura changed it... something in my scent... attracts Galra. They kept telling me I smelt good... she brought me back wrong... and now I'm... wrong. I should have... died..." "No, Lance. No. I've cared about you for years now. You were my first friend apart from Shiro. You made living on the castle bearable. You. God. You deserve sunshine and daisies. All the fucking good things in this world" Lance sniffled loudly, while somehow managing to snort at the same time "I don't deserve anything" "You do" "I'm dirty" Ignoring what he meant, Keith swayed Lance gently "We both are" "I killed people" "I have too" "You... do it because it's your job... I... did because I wanted to... and it felt good..." A moment too long passed as Keith tried to articulate what he wanted to say "See. I'm just a sad loser from Cuba. I wrecked my family. Got raped. Got tortured. I'm addicted to drugs. I have fucking panic attacks and nightmares for no reason! I kill people and now I find those people... aren't even dead... I couldn't stop Allura from sacrificing herself. I couldn't stop Klearo from raping me. I couldn't get away... I could never do anything right! I wasn't a good Paladin. I was never as good as you. I wasn't smart and cool like Shiro. I can't cook like Hunk, or fix things like Pidge. Allura only dated me because Lotor was a dick... I couldn't even kill myself" "Lance, none of that is true" "I hate that name. I hate Lance" "Why? Why would you say that?" "Because he... can't ever be good enough... I just want it all to stop" Lance was more than good enough. He'd always been more than he thought he was "We'll get through this" "I don't think I can. I don't even know if I want to anymore. I'm so tired, Keith. I'm so tired of being alive. I can't function anymore. I didn't even want a fucking team... but I was lonely... it's all a fucking joke. You weren't supposed to know" "Knowing changes nothing about the way I feel about you" "I don't need your pity" "It's not pity. You're still you. You're just a slightly bad arse bounty hunter you" "I got Kre'el killed... she's... gone because of me and I didn't even know!" "Shhh..." "I... don't know what to do" "I don't either, but you're not alone. I'm going to be right beside you" "You can't... you have your own life" "I'm making this choice for me" "I don't want you throwing your life away" "I'm not" "You are!" "I'm not throwing my life away. I don't have much of a life without you. Nothing was the same with you on Earth. I thought... I was ok with you staying there if it meant you were truly happy" Emotionally exhausted, the resignation in Lance's voice was breaking his already broken heart in a whole other way "Happy? I can't remember the last time I was happy. My family were scared of me... no one knew what to do. I killed my girlfriend and came back... but I didn't fit there anymore. I planted fields of junipers and she never came back, Keith... she never loved me at all. She was... attracted to the bit of her soul in me... she never loved me for me" "Lance, she cared. We all saw it" "Loving someone is different from being in love... now I'm here. And she's gone..." "I know she is" "Rachel said I was a lady killer... she was right..." "No, Lance. Allura made her choice. None of this is your fault. None of it" When Lance didn't reply, Keith waited a few ticks before brushing the hair back from his face. Having cried himself to sleep, Keith wished he could do the same. Having built for so long, when the first wave of emotion came crashing through Lance, he'd lost all control. Everything had poured out in one horrific story. How Lance got out of bed in the morning, he didn't know. Keith felt crushed from the weight of Lance's confession, and he'd literally just heard it all. Giving Lance a few more moments to fall into a deeper sleep, Keith then went about removing the blanket covered in watery sick. With no food in his belly, it'd been more spit and bile than proper vomit. Laying Lance down, he wanted to respect Lance's wishes, but he simply couldn't let him go. Spooning up behind him, Lance fitted perfectly into his hold. How could anyone hurt such a beautiful creature? How could they ignore his cries? His screams? How Keith wished they were alive so he could take his time very slowly killing them. * Sleeping late, Lance wasn't in his hold when Keith woke up. Scrambling up, Keith span in circles. His heart starting to pound in panic. Lance had been so broken... so hopeless and helpless... "Lance! Lance?! Lance, where are you?!" His voice died in his throat as he whipped around. Daehra's pod was still there... Lance couldn't be too far. Running over to the pod the ramp was down, Keith barreling up and into the pod as he continued to panic "Lance!?" Picking up the discarded clothes, something small dropped to the floor. The tiny camera Daehra had fitted him with. He'd forgotten about the camera with everything that had happened. He'd only been focused on getting Lance as far away from that stupid outpost as possible. Placing the clothes down on the spare chair, he retrieved the device off the floor, surprised to see it'd survived the adventure with no visible damage. Sinking down into the pilot's chair, his attention was drawn to a badly scrawled note from Lance informing him he'd taken Kosmo hunting. Letting out a huff of relief, Keith sank back in the chair. Lance out there with a blaster didn't seem the safest of plans, but with Kosmo with him, he should be fine. Hopefully. Quiznak. It was all a fucking mess. Lance really shouldn't be wandering around like he was... but his attention was torn. The tiny camera had recorded all that had happened in the outpost. Whatever was going on there wasn't legal or right. People cut up got for parts. That wasn't fucking right. He didn't know how to handle this. He couldn't handle this alone. Not something this big... and it was possible Guile had met the same fate. It was a new threat to Blade members, and everyone working undercover. Pulling out the connector cord from his communicator resting on the dash, Keith uploaded the footage, before sending it through to his mother. He'd forgotten Lance's confession was on the tape. Everything that had happened had all happened too fast. Following up the message with a warning to watch alone, Keith disconnected the camera, leaving it on the dash as climbed from the chair. If Lance and Kosmo were hunting, maybe he'd be back soon? Keith hoped he'd be back soon. They had so much to talk about, and he couldn't do that while Lance was missing. Casually wandering back to the campsite like he hadn't caused Keith a varga and a half of worry, Lance was carting what Keith could only describe as three "space chickens". The birds hanging from one raised hand as Lance chatted away at Kosmo. Catching sight of the fact he was awake, Lance gave a strained smile as he approached "Hey. I took Kosmo. I hope you don't mind?" "No. He probably needed to get up and out. How long have you been awake?" Lance hummed, as if he needed to think about his answer "A few vargas... I thought since we're going to be here a while, Kosmo and I could scope the place out" "Oh..." "Yeah. Zak tried to make a tiny improvement on the Telula, and ended up melting the electrics in the armoury. They're not going anywhere until he's fixed it" The what now? "You called Daehra?" "Yep. You looked like you needed the sleep" "Like I needed the sleep?" Lance's thin smile dropped "Are you ok? You seem spacey?" Maybe because Lance was standing there, acting like the previous night hadn't happened "Me? Are you ok? Last night..." "Just forget about last night. I shouldn't have... put you in that position. I'm going to string these birds up, try to tell Kosmo he can't eat them" He wasn't going to forget about the previous night. He was pretty sure he going to remember that night until the day he died "Lance..." "Keith. I can't... let me put these birds up ok? Then we can have breakfast?" "Lance, we need to talk about all of this" "No we don't. Ok. We really don't. I never have lost my shit last night and told you what happened. I can't..." "We do. You're... you're not alone in all of this" "You don't know what you're talking about" Storming away, Lance stalked towards the pod while Kosmo whining as him as he dropped down by Keith's feet "Did you go hunting with Lance? How was he?" Huffing softly, Kosmo rolled onto his side "Yeah. I think I made him mad. Leave those birds of his lone. He really needs us both to be on our best behaviour. I need to talk to him. He's probably going to get really really mad at me, but he needs help. You know that too. Why don't you stop sulking and go hunt for some more of those birds?" Kosmo cast a glance to in the direction of Lance, silently asking him "why should he hunt when food was right there?" "You're a lazy shit. Everyone has been spoiling you far too much. Stay here then, but you're not getting anything to eat until Lance has eaten something. And I'm telling Hunk not to give you any treats next time he sees you" Kosmo's head shot up, the wolf looking offended "Yeah. That's right. You brought this on yourself. If you want any to eat, you have to go hunt for it yourself. I'm going to talk to Lance" Lance was stringing up the second bird as Keith came to join him. He was certain that ramp hatch latches hadn't been attached for hanging up game, but from the look of it Lance knew what he was doing "Keith. I don't want to talk about it" "I know. But I do. And I think we need to" Huffing, Lance continued to coil wire around the feet of the bird he was holding "What's left to say? Do you want to know how it felt? Or how much I bled? I have nothing left to say, Keith. I have nothing left" "That's not true" "Really? What do I have?! Where stuck here because of me. Because I couldn't hold my shit together. I could have gotten you killed" "Lance..." "And there's that! I'm sick of you saying my name like that. God. I wish you didn't know then I wouldn't have to see you looking at me like this" "I'm not looking at you like anything" "You are. With that pity and disgust" "Lance... I don't pity you. I'm not disgusted by you. What happened never should have happened to you. Or to anyone" "Yeah. Well. It did. If you're not helping with the birds, then go away" "I'm not going away" "The agreement was I get you there. I'm sorry, but Guile is probably dead. He's probably in one of those tubes. When we meet back with the Telula, you'll go back to Daibazaal and I'll... go back to whatever's left" "I'm staying" "Keith..." "I'm staying" "You can't just stay!" "And you can't send me away. I'm not going away. You're my best friend" "I'm not your best friend. I'm not even sure I'm even a friend anymore. Let alone a person" "You're so frustrating! Lance, I want to help you. I want to help you feel better. I want to be with you" "And what about what I want?" "You said it yourself, you don't know what you want" "Don't go throwing my words back at me. Ok. You don't get to swoop in here and save me" Crossing his arm, Keith frowned "I'm not swooping in to save you" "Really? Tell me that you didn't hear everything last night and went about immediately coming up with some kind of plan to "fix" me. You can't fix me Keith. I'm too fucking fucked up" "You're not..." "Not what? A drug addict? Pretty sure I qualified before I even got off Earth. A murderer pretty sure I qualify there. A goddamn monster? Hell I've got the trifector" "We can..." "What? Magically wave a wand make it all go away?! You should get as far away from me as possible. All this bullshit about you staying, it's only because I'm fucked in the head. All these hopes and dreams you've built up of magically saving me..." "I'm staying with you because I fucking love you, you idiot! I love you!" Lance started to laugh. The sound grating on Keith's ears as Lance laughed even louder "That's... that's a good one..." "I'm serious" "You're seriously delusional. Did you hit your head?!" Keith's temper flared, his hands falling to his sides as he balled his fists "Are you?! What the fuck have you been thinking?! Running around the universe like nothing happened! You're not happy and you're not coping!" "I was coping fine until you came along!" "Why are you being like this?!" "Being like what? Telling you the truth?" "This isn't the truth" "What would you know?" Struggling with the words, Keith cursed himself silently. Lance knew how he felt about him. He'd told him again and again not to say it, but if he didn't say it now, Lance would never understand. Taking a breath, he calmed himself the best he could before clenching his fists all over again and looking Lance in the eye "I know that I've been in love with you for years. Years, Lance. Before any of this happened. Before you started dating Allura. Before we came back to Earth. I... I fucking love you" "No" Dropping the last dead bird, Lance stumbled back "No! You don't get to say that" "Lance..." "You don't get to do this to me" Clutching his chest Lance sank to squat, his breathing growing irregular "Lance..." "Don't..." "Lance" "Don't call me that! Lance is dead! Lance doesn't exist" "You're Lance. You're my best friend and I'm Keith, the idiot who fell head over heels in love with you" "No..." Falling back onto his arse, Lance shook his head "... I told you not to say it!" "I'm saying it because it's true. I love you" Shaking his head harder, Lance's eyes were filled with unshed tears "You don't" "I do. I thought I could be happy if you were happy... I thought Allura would make you happy. I thought Earth would make you happy" "You don't love me..." Edging closer to Lance, Keith sank down to squat in front of him. Taking him by the wrists, Lance ripped with hands back with a whimper "Don't Keith... don't... you can't..." "I love you" "I'm dirty! They raped me... the raped me..." "I know what they did to you. And god I wish they were here so I could get them for touching you. But Lance, I love you" "I'm dirty..." "You're not dirty" "I... am..." "You're a bit of an idiot. But you're the best sharpshooter in the whole universe. You're the best person I could have as my right hand man. You're the person I hurt the most because I was goddamn scared of telling you how I felt. But I'm so fucking in love with you" Sniffling, Lance wiped at his face with both hands "You don't even know me anymore" "Then tell me about you. Tell me everything. Scream at me. Yell at me. Shoot me if you want to, but I can't find you dirty. I can't see you as anyone other than Lance. They're the ones who are dirty. They're the ones who are monsters" Sniffling and hiccuping, Lance wasn't having it "I'm the monster" "You're not a monster" "I thought they were arrested... not... chopped into pieces..." "You didn't know" "It doesn't change anything. They used you. They did this to you... And I am not leaving you. Not again..." "You can't promise that. You leave... you always leave... everyone leaves" "No. Hey. No... no, Lance. What happened with Allura was not your fault. Neither was what happened with Shiro. We were still kids when we got blasted into space. We were all trying to do our best" "You did. You were always good... you told me to leave the maths to Pidge, then you left. I tried to be happy... but... I don't even... I don't even know I can love you... like I did... I can't... give you... anything" "I don't want you too. I'm not asking you to date me. I'm not asking you to suddenly love me. What I want is to be here with you. I want to be the one you know you can lean on. Love isn't about kissing and sex. I haven't... uh... um... had sex. And I'm not sweeping in to save you. I don't know what you felt. I don't know your pain. I've only seen what you showed me, Lance, but I have seen some pretty messed up stuff. We all did. I'm... still not very good at this, but you need to know I don't think any less of you. If anything, I think you're strong. Strong and brave. You've been running a whole fucking crew. With all of this on your shoulders. You're so fucking strong" "I don't feel very strong. All I've been doing is fucking crying... and you're being so nice... I can't even get out of bed without the drugs, Keith" "Then we'll work through this together. Let me do the thinking for now? I think you said something about breakfast, after hanging this bird up. We have to let it drain, and let the meat set, right?" Lance tilted his head, his beautiful brow drawn slightly. It took him a few ticks before he finally replied "Yeah. And pluck it... you should know that, shouldn't you?" "I do. It just really hurts squatting down like this, and I'm getting kind of hungry" Lance snorted loudly, the stupid sound made Keith's heart flutter. He hadn't been rejected by Lance. He hadn't expected a relationship. Nor did he want to rush into one. Lance might never be ready for one. But he wasn't crying anymore. They'd talked a little... Most importantly, he'd finally be able to say those words. He was able to tell Lance how he'd felt about him. Love wasn't some magical cure. Telling someone you loved them didn't take away the depression, the self hatred, or even lighten the weight on their shoulders, but it did tell them that they weren't alone "You're so fucking weird" Smiling the best he could, Keith stood. His legs protesting as he did. Holding his hand out for Lance to take, he wasn't offended when Lance chose to climb up on his own accord. There were so many things they needed to work out. Personal boundaries being the higher priority for Keith "At least I'm not "hinky"" "Oh, you're definitely hinky. Big. Grizzled. Rugged and hinky..." "I am not" "You lived in a shack and went all cryptid hunter for the Blue lion" "Where else was I going to live?" "I don't know. I can't even think right now" "That's because you went hunting without having breakfast" "In my defence, I didn't think I was going to end up melting down again so soon" "Hey. You do know we'll get through this? I want to help as much as I can" "I know you want to... but there's still so much you don't know. The whole thing is a mess. I don't know how I'm going to face my team now..." Running his fingers through his hair, Lance looked like an adorable mess. It wasn't that Keith liked him suffering, and as guilty as it made him feel, there was some small part of his ego stroked by the fact he was the only one Lance was depending upon at the moment. Giving a soft smile, Keith was sure the team already knew, yet none of them thought any less of him. Anyone who did, would be finding themselves with a one way ticket out the nearest airlock "Lance, your team really cares about you. They're not going to think any less of you" "I'm not telling them. And I'm not telling anyone but you. Having one person know is bad enough... I know for a fact I can't handle two" "I won't tell. It's not my business to, but I am grateful that you did talk to me. Let's tie the bird up. There's still some food over near the blankets from last night. We can eat, then find a river? We're going to need clean water" "I found one with Kosmo this morning. I took a bath with him... if you want to go..." Lance looked slightly panicked, which was weird given his love of water "Lance. I'm not going to force anything. Look. I care about you, but this is your body. I'm not going to force you to strip down and come swimming. I'm not going to jump your bones the first moment I can. I mean it when I say I want to be here for you. I was thinking after breakfast we could come up with some basic rules? Things that you know seem to trigger attacks?" Lance sighed at him "I must look so pathetic right now... especially if you're the one being all calm and collected" "What's that supposed to mean?" "That you used to always act before thinking" "I don't know. You were crying your eyes out and instead of giving you space, I forced you into my arms" "Don't say it like that... forced... you gave me a hug" So "forced" was off limits... That was good. It felt like another step in understanding "I cradled you in my arms?" Rolling his eyes at him, Lance let out a huff "It's not my fault I can't remember... I'd literally just been blown up" "You'd just saved Coran's life... then you saved all of us" "This is getting too close and personal, Mullet. Go take Kosmo for a bath. I'll get breakfast ready" Keith frowned. Lance had been running around all morning by the sound of it. He should be resting, especially seeing he'd made him cry again "Stop looking at me like that. I just need a little space to calm back down. This is... I never wanted you to know and now you've decided you needed to tell me that you love me... you have no idea how fucked up all of this is... its..." "It's a lot?" "More than a lot. I'm not going to steal Daehra's pod, so go take a bath. There's some soap and a towel down by the edge of the water. Kosmo knows where to go" "Just how long have you been awake?" "That one's better if you don't know. Now stop fussing" Keith opened his mouth to ask if Lance would really be ok on his own, but the look of Lance's face cut through the words. Silently pleading with him for space, Keith nodded "A bath sounds pretty good. I've got my comm with me..." "I'll call if anything happens. Now shoo, you're making my eyes water" "I don't smell!" "Mhmm. You stink" "Rude!" "Doesn't make it any less true" "You're impossible" "I try" "God. Fine. I'm going" "Bye! Have fun" Leaving Lance to finish up with the birds, Keith whistled Kosmo over as he walked away from his crush. Was Lance still his crush? Now that his feelings were known... did it change things? He'd meant what he said. He wasn't about to rush Lance into anything he didn't want... even if curling up with him in his arms had felt incredibly right. He was going to need to have a good hard think about where to go now. Lance was intentionally hurting himself. He was also dosing himself up and jumping at everything. Wrapping his arms around Lance didn't make the trauma go away, but hugs did seem to be ok as long as they weren't sudden. Hugs with Lance felt way better than he remembered, possibly because he'd never really been one for hugs like Lance was... yet, a hug with Lance... was... it was stupid to say but it was everything he'd hoped it would be. * Keith had only just stripped off his clothes when his communicator started to ring. Lance had said there would be soap and a towel down by the waters edge, yet failed to mention the fact he'd washed his clothes and strung up a make shift clothes line while he'd been at it. He knew he shouldn't be surprised, yet each time Lance pulled out some nifty trick, he found himself falling even more for him. He'd known Lance was handy, but the way he simply went and got things done was... hot. Snatching up his communicator, he plonked himself down on a rock as he took the call, his mother's face set firmly as Keith frowned at her "What the quiznak have you gone and got yourself into?! Where are you right now?" "Nice to see you too, mum" She'd definitely watched the video then... and definitely wasn't impressed "Don't give me that. I told you to stay out of this" "Mum..." "And now you and Lance... where is he? Is he ok? We'll come get you" "Mum..." "I really can't believe this..." "Mum! Just... calm down. It's been a long morning as it is" "How am I supposed to calm down? You're my son... and Lance... I can't imagine how he's coping. Has he told his family?" Keith blinked at her, an uncomfortable feeling welling in his empty stomach "How..." "It was on the video. He does know you sent it through, doesn't he?" Groaning, Keith kicked himself mentally. Lance was going to kill him "Keith?" "No... so much happened. I forgot it was... fuck..." "Keith..." "Mum... I told him I wouldn't tell. I promised him. I've only just... he's so fucking scared and now everyone knows..." "Keith. No one else saw. I watched it through alone first. How is he, really?" "Not good. You should have seen him. He's been trying to cope with all of this on his own... but that outpost pushed him over. He.. was fucking crying" Tears were welling in his own eyes. He shouldn't be talking about this, even if his mother only wanted to help "I think we should come get you" Shaking his head, Keith wiped the tears from his eyes with his thumb "No... Its not you guys, but the people who hurt him were Galra. I don't know how he can look me in the eye. I wasn't even there, but I feel guilty over it all" Krolia pursed her lips as she closed her eyes. Opening them, she nodded slowly "I understand. Are you two safe?" "Yeah. We're waiting for Lance's team. We were going to meet them, but now we're staying here for a few quintants instead. Daehra told Lance there were ship troubles, but I think that was because she knows Lance needs some time to process" "Is there any thing I can do to help?" "Yes... no. I don't know. That outpost was fucking disgusting. But if Lance is on there saying that..." "I will edit it out. I know he may feel shame, but he is not to blame. Remember that Keith" Keith couldn't hide his offence. The fact his mother felt the need to tell him that stung "Mum. Really? You think I'm about to hold that against him? I've told him that I don't think any less of him. I can't believe you'd even think that" "I don't. I know you. I also know that you're better with your blade than your words" "I'm getting through to him fine. He woke up crying last night and we talked. We talked some more this morning. I was about to take a bath when you interrupted that" "Keith, I'm on trying to say that what Lance went through is something no one should have had to, and you should expect that things have changed in his eyes when it comes to things such as sex and love. I know you love him, but don't expect him to reciprocate those feelings, and if you're only helping him out of pity, then it could all blow up in your face" "Lance knows how I feel. I told him" His mother's face saddened "Keith..." "It's ok. I told him before I even knew that I wanted to stay with him. I gave him my word and I won't go back on that. As long as he needs me, as long as he lets me stay, I'm not going to give up on him" "It'll be hard. Hard on both of you. Remember not everything said in anger is true, but once said words can cut deeper than even the sharpest of blades" "I know that. But he makes me happy. He's always been there for everyone. It's past time someone was there for him" "I understand. You know you'll always be welcome on Daibazaal. Both you and Lance" "I'm not going away forever" "I know. I'll let you get back to your bath, and consult with Kolivan over the footage. If this is happening, we need to bring an end to the practice" "Thanks, mum. Knowing Lance, he'll probably want to rush back in. So I'm hoping these few quintants will help. You should check in with all over undercover operatives" Krolia raised an eyebrow "I am already on top of it. You're far too young to think otherwise" "Give me a break. I have a lot of thoughts going on right now" "Ooooh. That sounds dangerous. Don't think too hard, we don't want you head to explode" "I'm hanging up on you now" "You know you love me" Keith nodded, feeling the weight of the words "I do, mum. I'll... check in soon. Be safe" "You too. And anything you need, just call" "I will" Ending the call, Keith still felt guilty as hell that he'd sent the video through to his mother without even thinking about the fact Lance had confessed what had been done to him while it'd been recording. He couldn't change the fact she knew, but now that she did, their operatives would be made aware, possibly saving other Blade members. If the guilty clawing at his heart at the moment was anything like the guilt Lance felt, he could understand needing the drugs to get out of bed. It fucking sucked.

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