#both lance and allura are on his lap | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

vldunchartedregions · 2 months ago

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Hello dear vldunchartedregions! First of all I wanted to thank you for all the hard work you've been doing to uncover all these info about s08, it's super interesting! I just finished rewatching all of vld and I've been reading both your posts and The Purple Lion's metas and it's just insane how much has been edited/cut in the end! I actually wanted to ask you a question regarding Pidge and Allurance. The Purple Lion's team, from what I've seen, is pro Plance and during my re-watch I noticed that Pidge seems to be rather involved with Allura and Lance's relationship: she's the only one who seems to be upset about Allura having a date with Lance, she sacrifices her video-game to get Allura a dress and even wants to bring her a gift during "Clear Day". I'm a multishipper and I remember, back in the day, that the Plance fandom was quite convinced that their ship could be canon (I also remember Bex liking Plance and writing about it on Twitter, but I could be mistaken). I know you ship Klance and that this meta is going to be Klance centric and I am convinced that there are WAY more hints for an eventual KL endgame, but I still wanted to hear your opinion on what is Pidge's role in all of this. I personally believe that she was supposed to be the one to realize that Allura and Lance aren't happy together and that she would eventually help them both to break up and to be with whom they truly love (and, on the other side, Hunk is the one who helps Keith to open up). Considering that you're using The Purple Lion's metas as reference, what is your position on this? I hope my ask won't anger any shipper, this is just a plot point that I'm curious about (and I'm open to all interpretations).

Thank you for your time and have a nice weekend ❤️💙

Hi! Thank you for your lovely question and I hope you're having a marvelous day.

Firstly, we wanted to iterate that going into this meta, we had no intention in accounting for and placing our bets on a particular ship. We just opened the doors and did some investigating after a source told us what they knew about the show.

When we were told that 1) Lotor & Allura were endgame, and 2) Keith & Lance were Korrasami implied, we did a first watch through without even touching ships as a whole, and then went into the second with the information we had about said ships.

I cannot express how many doors burst wide open when we watched with the above information.

Honestly? We weren't surprised by this information, to be honest. It was the same team who worked on Legend of Korra and Avatar: the Last Airbender, so we knew there would be similarities on many fronts.

Naturally, we rolled with the information we had and did a rewatch of season 8 alongside watching other seasons to find those parallels, thematics, foreshadowing, etc. etc. (and we're finding more and more everyday).

What we uncovered about Lotura was pretty like yup, this makes total sense! They were endgame.

It's been talked about before, but yes, he would've received a redemption arc, and yes, they would've been endgame.

@leakinghate and the team covered a lot of Lotura pretty well (shoutouts to them) but we'll also add our perspectives to this meta as it will be very relevant when doing our deep dive. It's not far off from what Team Purple Lion have discussed previously, but hopefully we can add some new nuggets of information on that front, too.

What we WEREN'T accounting for was Keith & Lance being way more than implied, plausible deniability, space ranger partners.

Oh no. They were also endgame (allegedly).

To the point that the season was completed, and then had to be edited to the nines at the final lap.

I mean, did you see how he ranted at the family dinner table during his date with Allura?

Listen to it here, it's great. [x] It's also great in other dubs too.

Secondly, this show was genius in paralleling many couples and platonic relationships and rolling those patterns into identifiable analytical points, thematics, and symbolism within character arcs and dynamics throughout the show.

We have one team member who's also working on a huge analysis on relationships in the show and how they all parallel. They've been cooking in the background, and it's pretty delicious if we do say so ourselves.

Now with all that out the way, let's answer your question!

"I personally believe that she was supposed to be the one to realize that Allura and Lance aren't happy together and that she would eventually help them both to break up and to be with whom they truly love."

And you'd be darn tootin' because guess what?

This quote becomes RELEVANT in Season 8.

LEAVE THE MATH TO PIDGE.

Yup.

She is one of the defining keys; a lighthouse so the ships can find their way.

In short, she's meddling. She's not personally involving herself in their relationship but man, is she trying to show them a big ol' sign that says,

'DO NOT DATE. YOU ARE NOT RIGHT FOR EACH OTHER.'

'WE ARE IN AN INTERGALACTIC WAR.'

She thinks it's weird, but most importantly, she's worried the team dynamic will be rocked by their budding romance.

She knows it will probably affect the original team dynamic, forming Voltron, and ultimately, she knows human relationships can be messssssy.

Question for you, fellow readers: What do you think she was speaking to Keith off-screen about here before the MFE pilots bumped into their conversation?

We have an answer on our position but we'd love to hear your thoughts, too.

As Bex mentioned once upon a time, Pidge is Batman. It's true!

All through the season and throughout most of the show, she seems to know everything that's going on.

She accounts for everything and typically has a plan B. Heck, she had a self destruct button for the Castleship on the off chance something went wrong.

What's the hardest thing to tackle that isn't technology? Well, navigating Interpersonal relationships.

In the original season, we allegedly see her struggle with the dynamic shifts as Allura and Lance enter their temporary relationship in the original season. They don't agree on a lot of things, and the team gets rocked and/or involved with these disturbances.

This season explores family and found family on a much deeper level, and this applies to everyone, especially the paladins.

Pidge loves Allura like a sister (hence why she trades the video game). Pidge loves Lance like a brother (hence why she 'helps' find something shiny for Allura).

Naturally, she wants to let them know (in an out of the loop way) that they're not right for each other.

Pidge wants them to be happy in the end, but trust and believe when we say she doesn't want to be involved directly.

That being said, that doesn't stop Pidge from having Beezer meddle on their date, therefore interrupting their kiss in the original season lmao.

Pidge wants to be that guiding light in the right direction, but they also know that it's messy territory that they don't want to touch with a ten feet pole.

It's uncharted territory for Pidge.

Dare I say, Uncharted Regions. Dun, dun, duuuuuun.

See why we chose it as our meta name? haha.

TL;DR: You're on the money, honey. 🍯

Thank you for the question! This was a fun subject to touch on.

#we love pidge in this house #leave the math to pidge #voltron #vld #vld meta #voltron meta #uncharted regions #lotura #klance #allurance #allegedly #pidge holt #vld pidge #pidge gunderson #voltron pidge #macross theory

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roseboysstuff · 1 year ago

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idk how to do requests its my first time doing this but could you do Shiro from voltron legendary defender x ftm reader?

Spoilers if ya havent watched it!!

Ok so like yk where that one episode Shiro disappeared and came back after a year and he just immediately went to reader and just fucks him.... soft dom Shiro brainrot... can be a mix of fluff and smut also u can do this req anytime u want no pressure (i have bad memory so i'll eventually forget this LMAO and i lovelovelove how u write i THRIVE with it)

You don't have to worry about spoiling the series to me, I've watched it all over and over Little note about the show : I actually enjoyed it all, even season 8. The only think I don't like is allura x lance, and that Lotor was a bad guy. Allura and lotor should have got together, and lance and keith should have got together. I would also accept keith and shiro.

And thanks for the compliment! I'm glad you like how I write honestly most of it is word vomit so I'm glad others like it too

He had been through hell. Being kidnapped by the Galra had made him mentally exhausted. But most of all. He had missed you.

You. You were his everything. The thought of you had gotten him through his imprisonment. He had almost given in plenty of times. But the memory of your smile, the way you would say his name, and the idea of one day seeing you again, it all kept him going.

And when he managed to escape? All he could think about was you. The ride back to earth in that escape pod was harsh, and he was drifting in and out of consciousness. But he could have sworn he whispered your name throughout the whole trip.

When Keith and the gang rescued him, he begged them to take him back to you. Which they happily obliged.

The reunion was tearful, and he whispered your name over and over like a prayer, holding you tightly until you were just both crying on the floor, embraced.

"I missed you. So much. I'm here, sweetheart, I'm alive. I'm with you."

He kept apologising, and you almost couldn't believe it was real. Takashi Shirogane, your Shiro, was back. You'd been led to believe he was dead. All of the military and all your friends had told you to give up. You'd grieved and cried for months.

And now he was back. You didn't blame him, of course, and so you shut up his apologies with a kiss. You were desperate to feel his lips on yours again, to feel his warmth, to confirm that he was really alive and here with you. He eagerly reciprocated the kiss, wrapping his arms around your waist. He pulled away, about to apologise for the coldness of his new arm, but you just kissed him again.

It was cold, yes, but you didn't care. You wanted your arms around you, no matter what they were made of.

It didn't take long until you were heavily making out, drinking in the taste of each other. He held the back of your head with one hand, with the other sliding down to grasp at your hip. He was unwilling to let go. Neither were you.

He barely managed to pull away enough to pick you up and carry you to the bed, pulling you onto his lap. And it was straight back to kissing again, tearing off each other's clothes, lost in a hazy fog of need, want, love and lust.

There was no need for more foreplay than this. You were completely soaked, and he was hard as a rock. You were ready. Ready to feel his big cock stretching you out. Which it did.

Before he was kidnapped, you were a little more accomodating, considering you were used to taking his cock. But this time, as you sank down, you could feel every vein on his cock, as it stretched you out for the first time in nearly a year.

"Gods... you're so tight, baby boy. Am i hurting you? If I am, we can stop and-"

Well you were having none of that. You sank yourself fully down on his cock, causing you to whimper and him to throw his head back in pleasure, a chesty moan leaving his throat.

"Oh, wow. You're just as voracious as I remember. That's my good little prince, bounce on my cock. Please, baby boy."

How could you refuse such a humble request? Your hips instantly got moving, bouncing and grinding and gyrating. No particular rhythmn, just the desperate need to be together as one. And it was heaven. For both of you.

He was seeing the person who had gotten him through the worst times of his life, bouncing and moaning on his cock. Seeing your hair bounce, your eyes shut, and your mouth wide in a silent O shape. It only fueled his lust, and he started to thrust back.

The rhythmn of your bodies meeting only got less steady as you both got close, and you found yourself clutching onto him for dear life. He was doing the same. Your bodies were impossibly close, not even an atom of space between you, as you both climaxed, crying out the other's name. His hot seed filled your cunt up, and your cunt in turn clenched and milked his cock. it was ecstacy.

As you came down from your orgasms, neither of you let go. How could you? You had both spent the past year begging the universe to give you one more chance, you weren't going to let go.

He kissed your neck and face, a big grin on his face.

"I missed you, missed this. Oh, baby boy, you have no idea."

#ftm reader #male reader #x reader #shiro x ftm reader #shiro x reader #shiro x male reader #shiro smut

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kidgetrash · 2 years ago

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Heyy !:) for the ship meme , who between Keith and pidge is the most affectionate?? also , big spoon/little spoon ??

Hey! Hi! Let's doooo this!!!!

Most Affectionate?

Pidge. It is absolutely Pidge. During downtime, Pidge is all over Keith like a cheap suit! They may as well just have one chair between them because she is on his lap more often than in her own seat. Unless they're eating at a dinner table, when she scooches her chair up to his just close enough that their elbows don't bang together. Other than that, his lap is fair game. Reading? Don't care, you can see your datapad over my shoulder. Just finished working out and sitting cross-legged? Now you have your girlfriend sitting wrapped around you koala style while she works on her datapad behind your back. Arguing with someone (probably Lance, maybe Shiro) while standing with your back to the door? Now your tiny limpet girlfriend is attached to your waist from behind because she ran out of peanut butter cookies. This does eventually start to rub off on Keith though, once he realises just how much he likes it (that didn't take him long) and that he can reciprocate (that took a bit longer). Tiny girlfriend sitting cross-legged somewhere working on her laptop? now she has a full sized boyfriend pillow behind her with his arms around her waist and a neck right there for kissing, unless it's something important. Having a bad day? Now you're in a cocoon of blankets with your super tall bf curled around you like the best coat in the world.

And this doesn't just go for casual either. In garrison meetings, Pidge's chair is surreptitiously always closer to Keith's than when the room was set up. And she convinces him that as long as no one sees then it's entirely professional to hold hands under the table! Then she manages to convince him that she can write on his palm with her finger and send him messages which he spells out in his datapad as though he's taking notes. Sometimes she tries to make him blush or laugh. Other than that, they are just always together. Pidge likes to lean on him, no matter the situation. If they're walking, they're either holding hands or just linking little fingers if they're still on duty, and Allura thinks it's the cutest thing she's ever seen.

Then there's the non-physical affection. Both of them are guilty of buying the other the stupidest little knickknacks whenever they see them. It's the whole "saw this and thought of you". And it is so ridiculous. No one else gets it, but between the two of them they have a huge collection of useless clutter. From snowglobes to dancing hula girls, clam shells with googly eyes to raunchy pens, as long as it makes the other laugh, and it always does, it's fair game!

Big Spoon or Little Spoon?

It depends on the situation. Generally, Keith likes to hold on to his Pidge. It means she's safe and right there with him. Pidge normally starts out the night with her head rested on his chest, but she tends to move around a lot, certainly more than Keith thought was possible. Within minutes of her moving away from his, he can feel the difference and wakes just enough to roll over and pull her in against chest again, her heart beating through her back into him like the most comforting thing in the world.

However, if Keith comes to bed late and doesn't want to disturb her he will try and go to sleep without touching. It never lasts long. One or the other of them seeks the other out. As for Pidge as the big spoon, sometimes Keith still has nightmares. Losing his family, losing his found family, losing her...when this happens when he's curled up on himself trying to even his breathing with his back to her, this is when she shines as the big spoon. Wordlessly, she shimmies her way to him, wrapping her arm around him and stroking his chest rhythmically, easing his mind and body with presence. They never talk about it, unless he instigates it, but he's okay with that and so is she. He knows she's ready to listen to him any time of day or night, but most of all she's ready to hold him until he feels brave enough to tell her he's okay.

I think that'll do it! Hope you enjoy!

Send me a ship meme from here!

#kidge #kidgetrash #ship meme

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queerquintessence · 4 years ago

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heyo

so i recently have been obsessed with the idea of the voltron paladins living in the same house together sooo

i may or may not have spent the last like 3 hours working on headcannons

the characters in the house are keith, lance, hunk, pidge, and allura

(since they’re all relatively similar in age)

so sadly no shiro or coran but

anyway

yeah here they are

(once again a bit unorganized but it’s whatev)

• first off allura and lance are both housewifes

• and neither of them take any shit from the others

• allura: keith, could you pick your feet up? i’m trying to vacuum down here

• keith, sitting on the couch: couldn’t you just do it later

• allura:

• allura: move your feet or i’m telling lonce you have a crush on him

• hunk does the dishes most of the time because he’s mainly the one who cooks their food

• but they also alternate on a schedule

• lance, sighing dramatically: i do everything around here! keith, when was the last time you washed the dishes?

• keith: i literally washed them last night

• lance: well you missed a plate so it doesn’t count

• keith takes out the trash a lot except he doesn’t wear shoes so his feet are always dirty

• lance yells at him for it

• whenever lance takes out the trash he puts on whoever’s shoes are closest

• pidge: lance are those my shoes?

• lance, tiptoeing in sneakers that are 3 sizes too small: maybe

• the couch that they own is too small to fit everyone

• they either argue for 10 minutes over who gets to sit where or they just pile on top of each other

• pidge usually lays on top of someone’s lap when it gets crowded

• she can just flop on top of someone and they’ll just let her- no words spoken

• keith sits on the armrests and everyone gives him shit for it

• lance: aren’t you uncomfortable?

• keith: i like sitting here

• lance: alright edgelord

• lance lays with his legs sprawled on top of the couch

• sometimes pidge will lay on lance who will have his legs on keith

• hunk is fine with sitting on the floor but even he’ll start arguing over the good spot on the couch

• hunk: lance, buddy, you sat there last time- why not give someone else a turn?

• lance: hunk when was the last time you did your own laundry? huh. that’s what i thought

• dinners pretty chaotic

• that’s usually when they have their debates

• lance, pounding his fist on the table: mac and cheese is to be eaten with a fork and that’s that

• pidge: why the hell would you use a fork? spoons are just fine in my opinion

• keith, silently munching on his food knowing he eats it with a knife:

• pidge: alright, we need to acknowledge the elephant in the room

• everyone:

• pidge:

• pidge: keith, you gotta stop putting corn syrup on your peanut butter sandwiches it’s fucking weird

• allura: everyone in favor of limiting lance’s shakira privileges say I

• keith, pidge, and hunk: I

• lance, who’s totally offended: wh

• luckily, they all have their own rooms

• except the walls are super thin

• lance scream singing beyoncé: GOT ME LOOKING SO CRAZY RIGHT NOW YOUR LOVES GOT ME LOOKING SO CRAZY RIGHT NOW

• keith: why has god forsaken me

• even when they try to play music relatively quiet it can still faintly be heard

• muffled music from keith’s room: when i was, a young boy

• pidge: HA fucking EMO

• they all have Alexa’s in their rooms

• and pidge has access to all of them on her laptop

• pidge: psst- hey lance, watch this

• pidge: *fast typing on laptop*

• blasting from keith’s room: COUNTRYYY ROAAADS TAKE ME HOOOOME

• muffled keith screaming: pIDGE I SWEAR TO GOD

• in the morning during breakfast

• allura: why has lonce not come out of his room yet?

• pidge: hang on, i’ll wake him up

• lance’s alexa in the distance: I’M A GOOFY GOOBER YEAH YOU’RE A GOOFY GOOBER YEAH

• lance’s startled scream is then followed by a loud thud

• once a week they have a movie night

• keith: lance i am not watching a cheesy romcom for the 2nd week in a row

• lance: i have to listen to ‘welcome to the black parade’ eighteen times a day sit the fuck down

• keith, crossed arm for the duration of movie night: this love story is completely unrealistic

• everybody shushes him on cue

• they also have monthly sleepovers in the living room where they giggle like middle schoolers

• keith knocks over an entire bowl of popcorn

• allura discovers the concept of a pillow fight and effortlessly knocks everybody to the ground

• lance flops on the air mattress and launches pidge across the room

• while everyone is trying to sleep

• lance: guys guys i’m gonna say something

• lance:

• lance: mayonnaise

• everybody loses their shit laughing because it’s 2 in the morning and they’re sleep deprived

• the bathroom sink is a mess

• their toothbrushes are color coordinated

• since they have to fit so much shit on the sink they have specific spots where they put their stuff

• pidge: hunk, your toothbrush is in my spot

• hunk: what? no- this corner of the sink is mine

• the debate results in all of them crowded in the bathroom arguing for 10 minutes

• keith: i don’t even remember having a designated spot on the sink

• allura: we need a toothbrush holder

• sometimes they do their nightly routines together

• which is also chaotic

• lance is applying a face mask, which drips onto pidge’s arm

• pidge then jerks her arm away- hitting keith’s toothbrush

• it then catapults off the counter and sticks to the wall

• keith: i left the room for one second what the hell did you do

• i’ve seen this headcannon somewhere before and i love it so i’m elaborating

• whenever keith is tired he’s giddy and hyper and loopy

• keith after not having a good nights sleep for 3 weeks, getting a running start and flipping onto the couch: a woop

• pidge: what in fucks name are you doing

• lance is the same exact way when he’s tired so they act like complete and utter idiots

• keith: lance, hey lance guess what

• lance: what

• keith:

• lance:

• they both burst out laughing

• lance: keith, omg you know what- keith rhymes with teeth

• keith:

• keith: holy shit

• eventually they both burn out and are just exhausted

• lance with his face planted in the carpet: uuuggghghggg

• allura: you finally done?

• lance: *angry muffled grumbling*

• pidge tends to fall asleep anywhere in the house

• usually with her computer on her lap or nearby

• she’s usually discovered the next morning

• hunk walking into the kitchen, sleepily rubbing his eyes: kinda want some orange juice

• pidge is just asleep on top of the fridge

• everyone else eating breakfast at the table

• keith: has anyone seen pidge?

• soft snoring is heard from under the table

• keith: ah

• they just put up with each other’s bullshit all day everyday and i love it

• lance, slamming his bedroom door open: everyone in my room i had a nightmare and need affection

• everyone emerges from their rooms grumbling and all file into lance room with their pillows and stuffed animals

• pidge trying to keep the remote away from lance: go long, hunk!

• keith appearing in the doorway and getting hit straight in the forehead with a remote: fUCK

• lance: are those my socks?

• keith: huh? oh, i dunno they were in my laundry pile

• lance: no those are totally my socks give them back right now

• when they all moved in together it was before keith and lance started dating so obviously there was shipping

• pidge, bursting into hunk’s room: i have klance tea

• hunk: spill

• lance: wh- keith and i are NOT dating

• pidge: you guys literally live together!

• lance: WE ALL LIVE TOGETHER

• allura, to hunk during dinner: i don’t know about you, but it seems to me like keith has a thing for lance

• keith: princess you’re not even whispering we can all hear you

• keith and lance secretly holding hands under the dinner table while lance is telling a story

• lance, being dramatic and expressive, lifts his hands in the air to accidentally reveal that his hand is intertwined with keith’s and its immediate chaos

• keith letting go immediately: wH HUH HOW DID THAT GET THERE

• pidge: I FUCKING TOLD YOU

anywayyy that’s all

i literally love this so much so don’t be surprised if i come up with some more later

yeah

bye

#lmao whoops i was so tired when i posted this i forgot to tag it #in my defense #it was 1:30 am #vld #voltron #vld headcanons #queerquintessence hcs #klance #kl #voltron funny #voltron legendary defender

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eternally--mortal · 3 years ago

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Klance Animatic

So ever since I heard Two Seconds In The Sun by Raynes I’ve had this vivid little movie in my head for a Klance animatic, and here it is (in description form):

You’ve never been easy

To reason with

And I get uneasy

If you’re quiet for long

—we see Lance and Keith fighting, before Keith pauses, seeing Lance looking withdrawn

—or, we see Lance confiding in Keith about something serious (before joining the Paladins and Allura, pretending that everything is ok)

Whenever you leave me

You sing like a canary

And tend to get it terribly wrong

—Lance flirting with Allura

I close your mouth with a kiss

—Lance and Allura kiss

But you shoot it off like you wish it were a gun

—Keith notices and turns away to walk off

And since the wind won’t blow it shut

I wish somebody’d sew a button to your tongue

We spent two seconds in the sun while it set

—the famous sunset scene

And then the sky turned black or blue

—Keith’s world turns blue as he looks at Lance. There’s light on him and Keith’s a little blinded by Lance’s smile.

I don’t remember it the way you remember

And I’m never going to

—Keith looks away

If I could light a flame

To burn away the rest of me that’s left in you

—back to the previous scene, Keith is clutching at his chest as he walks away from Lance

You’d think I meant to keep you warm like before

Assuming I still love you too

—Lance looks down at his hand in Allura’s

I’m not so sure I do

—Lance looks up at Keith as he’s walking away

You’ve carried the old days

For long enough already

Well, aren’t they getting heavy to hold?

—Lance with his Altean marks, looking tired

But you want it both ways

One life for taking photos

—photos of Lance and Allura, becoming a scene

And one you never show to a soul

—Lance looking at Keith who’s standing behind Hunk (who’s taking the picture)

What further grace do you need when

I left you basically bleeding in your room

If you’ve not sweat it off by now

You’d be far better off just howling at the moon

—Keith sparring with Krolia (and maybe Kolivan). Kosmo howls and Keith stops to look at him, smiling a little

We spent two seconds in the sun while it set

And then the sky turned black or blue

I don’t remember it the way you remember

And I’m never going to

—the scene from Lance’s perspective, this time, looking at Keith. The sky turns black with stars and constellations. Keith is an all-consuming mystery of wonder and warmth

If I could light a flame

To burn away the rest of me that’s left in you

—Lance touching his Altean marks

You’d think I meant to keep you warm like before

—He looks up at the memorial statue of Allura

Assuming I still love you too

—He begins to walk away

I’m not so sure I do

—and then looks back briefly

You need a place to believe in

—Lance stands at the edge of a field of Altean flowers, holding a farming rake

I left you basically bleeding in your room

—Keith approaches the edge of the same field. Lance hasn’t seen him yet

We spent two seconds in the sun while it set

And then the sky turned black or blue

I don’t remember it the way you remember

And I’m never going to

—Keith crosses the field to reach Lance with the sun setting in the background. Lance is sitting under a tree with his rake across his lap. Keith extends his hand to Lance.

If I could light a flame

To burn away the rest of me that’s left in you

—Allura’s spirit appears next to Lance. She takes his hand

You’d think I meant to keep you warm like before

—she puts his hand in Keith’s. Lance stands.

Assuming I still love you too

—Keith moves off screen. Lance follows him, dropping his rake and he goes and raising his hand to call out as he begins to run after Keith

I’m not so sure I do

—Allura stands by the tree and watches them go with a fond smile

***

I’m posting this here for a few reasons:

I don’t draw often enough or well enough to justify my hoarding this idea until I can work on my skills and overcome my perfectionism. I love this song and this twist on it, and I wanted to share it with everyone so we could enjoy it together. I don’t want it sitting in a box in my mind until it rots itself to pieces.

I’m not trying to pawn this off on anybody. But if anyone finds inspiration here, feel free to play around with the idea. Change it up, tweak the concept, turn it upside down, make half-baked sketches. It doesn’t belong to just me anymore. Go wild.

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teatimecrumpetsandsugar · 4 years ago

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freefall (voltron; pidge/lance)

Heyo! This story is based on a request from @jabbloo !

Hi!! I'm not sure if this is the right place for it, but I couldn't find your ask box AJDKSKDS ; I'd like to request Pidge/Lance discovering a planet where it's very lush and green and full of plant life, and it turns out you can essentially snowboard on slippery algae hills, so they grab some boards and go at it!! :D thank you for your consideration!! ❤️❤️

I’m gonna write this to the best of my ability for you- thank you so much for making a request! for the record, if you don’t see an ask box anywhere it’s because I’m really new to Tumblr and have no idea how to do any of this- I set up the request post with the instruction of a friend, so I’m hoping I learn over time! Anyway, onto the story :D

Btw, feel free to let me know if I didn’t touch on the prompt the way you wanted and I’m happy to go back and rewrite it or make a part two- I actually had a ton of fun writing this and wouldn’t mind doing more of it!

/ \

“It’s really... green,” Pidge comments, grimacing at the monitor, “Are you sure anything sentient lives there? I’m not seeing any signs of manmade structures here.”

Allura tilts her head slowly, “Maybe we’re missing something? I mean, the beacon definitely came from here, so there has to be some kind of civilization...” She gestures her hand towards the surface uncertainly, “...Somewhere.”

Pidge glances back at the rest of the team, cocking an eyebrow, “Do we go?”

Most of the team seems just as unsure, but, when her gaze locks on Lance’s, she sees a sparkle in his cobalt blue irises. She heaves a sigh, fondly rolling her eyes at his exaggerated pout, “What do you think, Lance?”

A wide, toothy grin takes up residence on his face, and he turns to the rest of the Paladins with an enthusiasm she wishes he’d have for any other important discussions, “It’s so pretty there, you guys!” He pauses, seeming to realize that isn’t a valid argument, and tries again, “If there really is a community there asking to join the coalition and we don’t go, it wouldn’t look good for us. Plus, it’s gorgeous and wouldn’t be a bad place to see up close- please, please, please can we go?”

Pidge turns her gaze back to the monitor, taking in the thick foliage and sprawling canopies of leaves they can see just from a satellite image of the small planet- it is objectively pretty, and she can’t fight the smile that tugs at her lips as she imagines the delight on Lance’s face. One was arguably more beautiful than the other, but that was more a matter of opinion than anything else, really.

She turns to Allura, hesitant, but the older woman already has a pleased smile on her face, “Lance is right- we should go, just to make sure it’s really empty.”

/ / \ \

It really is just as beautiful as it was on the monitor.

When the airlock opens, a burst of warm, sweet-smelling air hits her face, trees almost as big as the castle itself surrounding them. The warm orange light of the planet’s solar entity breaks through the thick canopy of leaves sparingly, forming cracks of blazing light on the forest floor, yet, somehow, there are flowers and grasses of all kind flourishing everywhere underfoot.

She can’t help but marvel as she realizes that all of these trees must be thousands- or perhaps even millions- of years old, small creatures nesting all along them and forming a glorious symphony of chirps, purrs, and soft buzzes of all kind around them.

She turns to look at Lance, marveling at the way the rich, blazing orange light hits his face, defining his each and every feature in a way that takes her breath away- the blue of his eyes is even more captivating than normal, twinkling with complete, blinding euphoria.

He smiles brightly, barking out a short, giddy laugh before snatching Pidge’s hand from her side and taking off running towards the trees. His excitement is contagious, even as she stumbles over her own feet trying to keep up with his long strides, and she finds herself laughing loudly as she follows after him.

It takes a while to weave completely through the trees, but, when they do, he stops suddenly, peering out over a vast cliff. She runs straight into his back from her own momentum, clinging to him in surprise when she realizes the ground is a lot more slippery here than it was in the woods. Curiously, she peaks around his tall, lean frame, a soft gasp pulling itself from her throat as she sees what’s on the other side.

The hill they stand on is steep, overlooking a vast basin and another sprawling forest, the orange sun shining high in the sky over the horizon and reflecting perfectly off of the shallow water in the center of the serene area. The shore is lush and green, dotted with colorful pinpricks Pidge can tell are flowers even from miles away, and the world seems to be at her fingertips, completely still and perfect in that moment.

She’s caught off-guard when the ground under their shoes begins to give under their combined weight, suddenly beginning to slide- Lance suddenly topples over, dragging her down with him with his grip on her hand, and the two of them soon find themselves sliding down the hill at a high speed. She cries out in surprise, followed by his hectic, raucous cackling as they plummet towards the ground at breakneck speeds, only to follow the hill’s gentle slope and slide to a stop on the basin’s shore.

For a moment, they’re both completely silent in surprise, laying on their backs with their gazes locked on the rich, pink-hued sky and rich violet water lapping gently at their ankles, breathing heavily from the sudden motion.

And then Pidge starts laughing. At first, they’re subdued little giggles, fits and spurts of amusement tickling at her throat, before she realizes how absurd it’d been and truly begins laughing, eyes crinkling at the corners and chest heaving, breath stuttering with each unceremonious snort that creeps in. Lance turns his face to the side to watch her in awe, a crooked grin slowly rising to meet his eyes and his own bright, delighted laugh breaking from his chest in a moment that’s truly absurdly them.

“It’s algae!” Pidge cries breathlessly, nose flushing pink from her stuttered breaths and warm brown eyes falling shut, “I was wondering why the grass got so slippery, but it was never grass at all! This body of water was probably formed by water running under the surface- it’s probably also why the grass and plants are surviving without enough sunlight!” She grins in realization, excited by the discovery, “This planet is at least 65% land-dwelling algae but it all looks so natural I didn’t even notice at first!”

She opens her eyes again, slowly turning to look at Lance, expecting to find him confused or asleep, but, to her surprise, he’s watching her with rapt attention. Her nose wrinkles in confusion, confused discomfort pressing against her chest, before he gives her a ridiculous smirk and says, “I love when you talk biology to me.”

She stifles a loud, surprised snort, laughing brightly until she registers the edge of honest reverence lurking just beneath it and her breath catches, “I like that you listen, even when you don’t get it.”

He pauses, unsure how to continue now that he’s gotten this far, before perking up suddenly, “You wanna go snowboarding on it, Pidge?” She squawks out a laugh, sitting up, “Would it even be snowboarding if it’s algae? Isn’t that just... algae-boarding?”

He pouts playfully, and she rolls her eyes fondly, “I’m just messing with you, Lance. We gotta find boards first, though...”

The pout is gone faster than it appeared, an excited smile taking its place as he shoots to his feet, pulling her up with him, “Come on! Come on, come on, come on- we gotta find something to use as a board, Pidge!”

She laughs again, letting him pull her along back towards the castle, knowing it’d only get more and more hectic as the day went on and looking forward to every second of it as long as he was by her side.

#voltron legendary defender #voltron plance #voltron pidge & lance #voltron pidge #voltron pidge gunderson #voltron lance #voltron lance mcclain #voltron #vld #vld pidge #vld lance #vld plance #fanfic #requested

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eastofthemoon · 4 years ago

Text

A Paladin in the Fire Nation

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3

Rating: PG

Series: Voltron Legendary Defender/Avatar the Last Airbender

Summary: After the fight with Zarkon, Shiro accidentally gets tossed into another reality where humans have the ability to bend the elements. His best shot at returning home is with someone called the Avatar, while he waits he might as well take on the job of being the Firelord’s bodyguard.

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

Zuko was silent as Shiro told them his story. He tried to keep an open mind these days and being close friends with the Avatar had caused Zuko to experience very strange things.

However, Zuko did have limits and Shiro’s tale was pushing them to the extreme.

“So you’re from another universe,” Sokka said slowly. “Where you go into space inside ships in the shape of lions, who are sentient and can become on a giant ship shaped like a person called Voltron, and fight an empire run by beings called Garlic.”

“Galra,” Shiro had corrected as Iroh poured himself another cup of tea, “but yes.”

“And you got here because your lion accidentally sent you here while you were fighting the emperor,” Toph added.

“Correct,” Shiro confirmed.

Toph and Sokka turned their faces to Zuko, likely waiting for his reaction. Zuko took a deep breath. “That is an..interesting tale.”

Shiro raised an eyebrow as Zuko stood and tucked his hands into his robes. “Toph, Sokka, may I speak with you in private for a moment?”

“You can use my bedroom and shut the door,” his uncle offered and by the sound of his tone had been expecting it.

“Thank you, Uncle, we’ll just be a moment,” Zuko said briskly.

Toph and Sokka followed close behind while Zuko was being very careful to not say a word until they were all inside and he shut the door.

“I’ll be the first to say it,” Zuko said as he turned to his friends, “he is insane, right?”

Much to his shock, neither of them instantly agreed. Instead, Toph was silent and Sokka waved a hand back and forth.

“Ehhhh, maybe but my gut is telling me no,” Sokka replied.

“You’re kidding,” Zuko said in disbelief. “Did you hear what he said? There’s no way for it to be true.”

“But that’s the thing,” Sokka said as he paced. “Look, a real criminal would probably try to come up with a reasonable explanation. Why would Shiro tell us that story unless it is the truth?”

“You’re saying it’s so crazy it has to be true?” Zuko asked.

“Exactly,” Sokka said with a nod. “Why even bother with telling us about giant lion ships if he assumed we wouldn’t believe it.”

“I’m with Sokka,” Toph said. “I monitored the guy’s heart during the whole time he talked, he’s not lying.”

“He could be good at lying,” Zuko argued. “You told me Azula is able to pass it.”

Sokka raised an eyebrow. “You honestly believe that Shiro guy is at Azula level of lying?”

Zuko opened and shut his mouth. He hadn’t even known Shiro for a day, but he had seemed confused by the interrogation earlier. It was possible the man was a very good actor, but still…

“It would also explain why his armor is so odd,” Sokka added, “and his arm too. Not even Teo and his dad have designs that advanced.”

“Plus, Iroh is taking him seriously,” Toph added. “That should say something too.”

Sokka touched Zuko’s shoulder. “Be honest, what do you feel in your gut about Shiro?”

Zuko shut his eyes. “My common sense is saying he’s delusional,” he sighed, “but my gut says he’s telling the truth.”

“So we are all in agreement then,” said Toph with a shrug. “Now what?”

“How about we start by telling Shiro we believe him?” Sokka offered.

Zuko nodded as he turned around and led them back. Iroh was pouring another cup of tea while Shiro watched them come back with concern in his eyes.

“We believe you,” Zuko stated and sighed. “Although a large part of me is calling me crazy for doing so.”

“I don’t blame you,” Shiro said with a nervous chuckle. “I would have a hard time in your position.”

“So then spaceman,” Toph said as she sat next to him, “how do you think you can get back home?”

“Yeah, if this Black Lion sent you here by accident can she just take care of it,” Sokka said as he and Zuko took their seats.

“I wish it were that easy,” Shiro said, “but I’m too far away for her to help even though I can still hear her.”

Zuko froze as he tilted his head. “You can..hear her?”

“In my head,” Shiro said as he tapped forehead. “We paladins form a connection with our lions and it allows us to communicate them with our minds.”

“I see,” Zuko said, trying to keep his voice calm while he felt his common sense glaring at him. What have I gotten myself into?

“Right, okay,” said Sokka who also sounded unsure as he crossed his arms. “Only person I can think of to help you is Aang.”

“That is what I was suggesting when you three entered,” Iroh said as he sipped his tea. “Since it sounds like at least some form of the Spirit World is parly how you came to be here.”

“I wouldn’t exactly call the Astral Plane a spirit world,” Shiro replied as he rubbed his neck, “but I can’t deny it isn’t that either.”

It certainly felt like a place where spirits could dwell.

Toph sucked the air between her teeth. “Yeah, well, you’re going to have to wait awhile since Aang is dealing with settling some disputes over in the Earth Kingdom.”

Zuko sighed but nodded. Some of the towns had been former Fire Nation colonies that had been given back, but the previous Lord it had belonged to had died and so his twin sons were currently arguing on who the towns now belonged to.

“He is supposed to come straight here when he’s finished,” Zuko replied firmly, “but it’s hard to tell how long as it takes.”

“I see,” Shiro said with a sigh. “If you can recommend where I can stay I would greatly appreciate it.” His frown tightened. “Also possibly where I can make some money since I have nothing to pay-”

“No need for either since you’ll stay here as our guest,” Iroh said.

Zuko choked slightly as he shot his uncle a look. We barely know him and you want him to stay in the palace?

Iroh slightly glanced at Zuko before sipping his tea. “Given your circumstance, I’m sure our GENEROUS Firelord would be more than happy to accommodate you until we can figure out how to get you home.”

Zuko twitched an eye and wanted to argue, but Sokka grabbed his shoulder and whispered into his ear.

“I get your concern, but it’s probably better if he stays here since I doubt we want a ton of people finding out we got a person from another world just dropped into our laps,” Sokka muttered.

Zuko frowned, but gave a slow nod. A lot of people would dismiss it, but there were a few that would probably try to use it to their advantage and there were a few former FIre Nation nobles he rather kept that information away from.

“Alright,” Zuko said as he tucked his hands into his sleeves, “although we’ll have to think of an explanation as to why I’m suddenly treating the intruder as a guest.”

“Just say it was a prank I pulled that went wrong,” Toph said with a shrug.

Shiro raised an eyebrow. “You expect the guards to believe that a mysterious intruder was all just a prank pulled by you?”

Zuko narrowed his eyes before sighing and massaging his forehead. “After the Badgermole and Groundpecker incident, they would.”

Shiro blinked. “The what?”

Sokka sighed. “Don’t ask, trust me.”

Zuko nodded in agreement.

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

Once Zuko had announced Shiro was a guest, he and Sokka escorted Shiro to a guest chamber. It wasn’t nearly as big as Iroh’s room, but Shiro was just grateful to not have to return to his cell.

The rest of the day passed by rather quickly. Iroh told Shiro he would get him some more clothes in the meantime, and Zuko had his armour returned to Shiro. He assumed it was a lost cause, but Shiro attempted to see if he could contact the paladins through his helmet. Much to his chagrin, all he heard was static.

It was killing Shiro to not be there with his team. They were probably all worried if he was dead, Keith especially. Shiro hated that he was putting him through this again, but it wasn’t as if he had a choice.

He briefly wondered if the Black Lion could just send a message that he was still alive, but Keith’s connection with the Black Lion wasn’t deep enough for that yet. Which meant, all Shiro could do was wait and hope this Avatar would be able to get him home.

Shiro tried not to dwell on this as he ate dinner. Zuko and Iroh had other duties to attend to, but Sokka and Toph joined him. They were energetic, but they seemed to be good kids. Truth be told, Sokka reminded him a lot of Lance, and he wasn’t sure if the two met if they would get along or butt heads as a result.

Shiro didn’t stay with them long. He was exhausted both from the day, and it hadn’t even been a full 24 hours since his life or death battle with Zarkon. So, Shiro went to bed early.

It hadn’t taken long for him to sleep, and it would have been restful if not for the nightmare.

Shiro was back at the Castle of Lion. He wasn’t sure how, but it was wrong.

The lights were off and everywhere there was nothing except darkness.

And no sign of any of his friends.

Shiro ran through the halls. “KEITH! PIDGE! ALLURA!”

He called out but no one responded.

“HUNK! LANCE! CORAN!” Shiro ran through the endless hall. “ SOMEONE ANSWER ME!”

He reached the control room and barged inside.

Shiro froze.

Allura, Coran, and all of the paladins lay motionless on the ground.

The only one who was standing was Zarkon as he wiped the blood off his sword.

“You took too long to come home, Paladin,” Zarkon scoffed as he slowly approached.

Shiro told his feet to run, but they remained planted. His body wouldn’t move.

“Your friends are dead because of you,” Zarkon continued as he raised his sword. “Now you shall share their fate.”

The sword lowered for his head.

Shiro gasped for air as he sprang up in his bed. Sweat dripped off his forehead as Shiro felt his heart pounding in his chest.

“Just a dream,” he muttered to himself. “Just a dream. They’re alright.”

For now, he thought darkly. But they could get killed tomorrow while you're stuck here all nice and safe.

Shiro grip tight on his bed sheets. Once he felt his heart calm down, he scrubbed his hand over his face.

“No way I’m going back to sleep,” he muttered.

If he was back at the castle, he would do some reading or go to the training room for practice. Shiro sighed as he tossed off the sheets.

I’ll go for a walk, Shiro thought. Maybe I can find a quiet place to do some training exercises.

He threw on some clothes and went out into the hall. Shiro headed towards the gardens. Iroh had said he would be free to go there and it seemed the most likely place where Shiro could be alone. He couldn’t see anyone being there this early.

The sun was just starting to rise as Shiro ventured outside. He didn’t see anyone in the garden, except for the ducks in the pond.

At least Shiro thought they were ducks.

The creatures certainly had heads and bodies of ducks, but upon closer inspection they seemed to have turtle shells on their backs.

“Turtle ducks?” Shiro muttered as he kneeled.

A small turtle duck glanced up curiously at him and quacked.

“You are actually not the weirdest creature I’ve ever seen,” Shiro admitted.

The turtle duck tilted it’s head, and then quacked once more before swimming away.

“I didn’t mean it as an insult,” Shiro said with a grin.

“What are you doing here?”

Shiro jumped slightly, and rose back up as he turned around to see Zuko.

He looked different. Zuko’s hair was loose and not as neatly tied up like earlier, and he seemed to be wearing more casual robes.

“Oh, uh, sorry,” Shiro said as he rubbed his neck. “I couldn’t get back to sleep and was looking for a place to train.” He then gave a frown. “Why are you up so early?”

Zuko’s eyes narrowed. “I am a firebender, and thus the optimal time to train is when the sun rises.”

“QUACK!”

Zuko froze.

Shiro glanced downward.

A small turtle duck quacked again before using its beak to tug on Zuko’s pant leg. It was only then Shiro noticed a small piece of bread in the Firelord’s hand.

Zuko sighed as he kneeled and tore off a piece of the bread.

“It..is also the best time to feed the turtle ducks,” Zuko muttered while blushing.

Another quack was heard when the turtle duck snatched the bread, gobbled it up and spirited towards the pond.

“I see,” Shiro said as he did his best to repress a smile, but couldn’t resist a small chuckle.

Zuko glared. “You find this funny do you?”

Shiro shook. “No, no, sorry,” he said quickly. “It’s just you look like my friend Keith when I caught him feeding some squirrels.”

He thought back to it. It had been Keith’s birthday, and Shiro had taken him into town to celebrate. They had ended up wandering into a park. Shiro had gone to get them some ice cream, only to discover Keith had been tossing some peanuts towards a squirrel.

Shiro may have quietly taken a photo on his phone before Keith realized he had been caught and blushed bright red.

Zuko frowned in response. “You mean rabbit squirrels?”

Shiro’s chuckles paused as he tilted his head. “Um..no squirrels.”

Zuko raised an eyebrow as the turtle duck finished the rest of the bread. “Your world must be very weird.”

Shiro held up his hands. “Look, I didn’t mean to invade your privacy. I’ll just leave.”

Zuko tossed the rest of the bread to a nearby duck and dusted the crumbs off his hands.

“It’s fine,” Zuko said as he stood. “I was about to leave anyway. There’s paperwork I wanted to get taken care of. You can use the garden if you like.”

“Um, thank you,” Shiro said, “and not just for the garden, but for also letting me stay here.”

“I’m not the one you should be thanking,” Zuko said as he crossed his arms. “That should go towards Uncle, Sokka and Toph for convincing me.”

“But it was still your decision in the end,” Shiro replied. “I realize it can’t be easy letting a stranger into your home.”

“It’s not,” Zuko said as he crossed his arms. “Frankly, I’m still suspicious of you.”

Shiro suddenly thought of Keith, who he knew would have had the same response as Zuko.

“Why are you smiling?” Zuko asked.

“Sorry,” Shiro replied. “You just remind me a lot of my friend Keith. He would have agreed with you.”

He couldn’t resist wondering if the two would get along.

“Then your friend is smart,” Zuko said as he turned his back to Shiro. “I’ll send a servant to fetch you when it’s time for breakfast.”

“You don’t have to-” Shiro began, but paused.

There was a metallic glint shone in the bushes. Why would there be-

Adrenaline and panic struck as Shiro dashed forward. “GET DOWN!”

He shoved Zuko to the ground and remained on top of him as an arrow flew over their heads.

“You okay?” Shiro asked as he and Zuko scrambled back to their feet.

“Ask our attackers that,” Zuko snapped and launched a ball of flame at the bushes.

There was a yelp and two men with scorched clothing tumbled out, one of them holding a bow.

“I don’t know who you are,” Zuko declared, “but surrender now and I promise you’ll be treated fairly.”

The archer snarled and prepared to launch another arrow.

“Oh no you don’t,” Zuko said as he charged and with fire burning in both his fists. The archer dropped the bow and pulled out a sword.

Shiro could only assume Zuko could handle it as the other attacker decided to rush at Shiro with a dagger. He dodged, grabbed the dagger with his cybernetic arm and twisted it out of the man’s hand before kicking him away.

The man stumbled, but quickly regained his balance. He glared at Shiro, and then stomped his foot to the ground. Instantly, spikes popped from the ground and headed straight towards him.

Shiro jumped and rolled on the ground just barely avoiding the spikes. He panted as he leaned on his knees.

“Wild guess, but I take it you’re an earth bender?” he shouted.

“Oh gee, aren’t you smart,” the man sneered as he raised his arm.

A small spike rose out of the dirt, only for it to harden as the man reached for it and snapped it off the ground.

The earth bender charged again.

Shiro sprang to his feet in time to block and flip the man, but not before he felt the spike cut at his normal arm.

He hissed as blood dripped slightly.

Really wish I had my armor on right now, Shiro grumbled.

Flashes came from fighting hand to hand. Having to ignore every cut, every broken bone and keep fighting.

No, no, not now, Shiro thought as he shook his head at the memories. It wasn’t the time.

Shiro looked up. The man had crashed against a tree, but was already getting back up. A battle cry caused Shiro to look over to Zuko. The young Firelord was holding his own, but the archer wasn’t slowing down with each swipe of the sword.

“Do the world a favor and die with your father!” the archer snapped as he tried to slice at Zuko’s head, but missed as the boy ducked.

Shiro heard movement and managed to block the earth bender by gripping his wrists stopping the spike just inches away towards his face.

Shiro grunted and realized Zuko was closer to him now as an idea came.

“Zuko,” Shiro called out, “I think these two should face each other instead!”

Zuko abruptly turned, frowned and gave a nod signaling he got the meaning. Swiftly, Zuko yanked the archer’s arm, and tossed him over just as Shiro did the same with the earth bender.

It was satisfying watching the pair collide into each other and fall into the pond.

Shiro dashed to Zuko’s side. “You alright?”

Zuko brushed the hair from his eyes and gestured to Shiro’s arm. “I should be asking you that.”

Shiro glanced at his arm and gripped the wound. “I’ve had worse.”

Zuko looked ready to say something, until the attackers climbed out of the pond. Both of them were dripping wet and eyes full of fury.

Shiro and Zuko got into fighting position, but suddenly mounds of earth sprang up and trapped the attackers with only their heads poking out.

Shiro blinked, but saw Zuko glanced over and spotted Toph who was now retracting her hand.

��You guys got into a fight and didn’t invite me?” she shouted.

“It was hardly planned,” Zuko snapped.

“Whatever,” Toph muttered as she walked over to them. “Everyone okay?”

“Shiro’s injured,” Zuko replied and sighed, “and he also saved me from getting an arrow through my head.” He slowly looked up and rubbed his neck. “Thanks for that.”

“Welcome,” Shiro said as he gripped his arm, “and it’s not that bad.”

“I think a doctor will be a better judge of that,” Toph replied as she crossed her arms.

Shiro opened his mouth but was cut off by a yawn.

“Okay,” Sokka muttered as he stumbled out, “why was there such a ruckus-”

He spotted the trapped angry men, blinked and then looked to the group. “What did I miss?”

“Nothing good,” Zuko muttered grimly.

Shiro nodded. He might not be in a war, but he had landed right in the middle of a lot of trouble.

#vldgen #atla #a paladin in the fire nation #vld #takashi shirogane #my writing

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mimi-croissant · 4 years ago

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Choir vs Band AU!!

Lance, Hunk, and Allura are in choir, while Keith, Shiro, Pidge, and maybe Matt are in band. The band and choir have a strange rivalry that no one really knows the history of, but it’s still in effect.

It’s announced by the choir and band teachers that they are going to host a concert featuring both the band and choir classes, a group effort for the spring concert.

Keith didn’t really mind choir kids, until he met Lance, who really just pushed his buttons and made Keith snap back. Lance was insistent about the rivalry, and eventually Keith got dragged into it.

They both despise the fact that they have to work together, much to chagrin of literally everyone else.

But one day Keith forgets something of his in the choir room, and has to go back after school. He sees Lance in the room, and immediately wants to say something, until Lance opens his mouth and starts singing. Keith is immediately entranced, because hearing Lance sing with other people and hearing him sing alone are two different things entirely. His voice is smooth, like honey, but with an undertone of raspiness he doesn’t have when he’s singing with the choir. Keith turns on his heel and that’s when he knows he’s completely and utterly fucked.

A while later, Lance has to get to school early because he had to take his niece to an appointment, which really should’ve made him late, but it was early. He thinks he’s the first person there, but when he gets to the band room where the two classes are meeting, he feels a spike of irritation that Keith is there before him. He was about to announce his presence when Keith starts playing his instrument. He thinks it would be rude to interrupt, so he stays until Keith stops. But he doesn’t take into consideration how Keith looks while he’s playing. He’s serene and at peace while he’s playing, the notes filling the air and surrounding Lance like a blanket. Lance flushes, and turns around to take a lap around the school because what the fuck.

Things change a bit after that. Lance and Keith are nicer to each other, and even are able to hang out with their mutual friends without starting an argument every five minutes. Their banter becomes more friendly, instead of the hard jabs they used to be. They even laugh together sometimes, and enjoy each others company.

On the night of the concert, Lance is pretty nervous about singing. Keith is with him, and tells Lance he will be perfectly fine. Right before they go stage, Keith works up the courage to kiss Lance, and when they part, Keith whispers “a kiss for good luck” before he joins the band kids on stage.

Lance is filled with confidence, and he does great on stage. They all do great.

Afterwards, Lance runs over to tackle Keith in a hug, which Keith reciprocates. They pull away slightly before Lance leans forward to kiss Keith again.

Keith goes “what was that for?” And Lance just replies “because I wanted to” before Keith leans back up to kiss Lance again.

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rosesnvines · 5 years ago

Photo

Hi @niazelki!! I’m your Secret Santa!! I did not do this lovely piece of art, I commissioned it from the ever so talented @Nyastyle from DeviantArt, and wrote this short story to go with it. I did post it on DeviantArt as well. Hope you enjoy!! @idyllchatter-plance-and-kallura

Pidge let out a sigh. Beezer came rushing to her and a worried expression appeared on his screen. The two were in Pidge’s room and Pidge was curled up on her bed.

“Hey Beezer, I’m . . .” She paused. Should she say exactly what was going through her mind or lie? She sighed, Beezer was a robot, but it would be nice to talk to someone. “Beezer, are you recording?”

Beezer shook his head.

“Ok, do not record this, I just want to get it off my chest.” Beezer watched her as she took a moment to gather her thoughts. “Lance . . . I like Lance, a lot. I think, I think maybe even love him.”

Beezer let out an understanding beep.

“Wait, you knew?”

Beezer nodded.

“Really? I didn't think I ever showed an interest in Lance.” She smiled. “But you do know me pretty well. Then you'll understand that I, I wanted . . . I wanted to . . .”. Tears began filling in her eyes. “I wanted to be the girl Lance asked out, not Allura!” The tears fell. “I-I mean, Allura’s great, don't get me wrong, and, everyone should like her, but, but I wanted it to be me!” She placed her head in her lap and sobbed. “I wanted it to be me! But I should have known, I really should have, Lance only notices the pretty girls. I'm just not that pretty.” She chuckled as the tears continued to fall. “I mean, he didn't even know I was a girl until I told him! He can be so dense!” She paused as the tears slowed. She wiped her eyes, sniffled, and then wiped her nose. “Yeah, yeah, he can be really dense, and an idiot, and a show off, but, but he's fun to be around. He’s nice, and caring, a great listener. And he is cute.” She giggled as she blushed. “Those blue eyes of his . . . I always feel like I'm flying, or swimming. I just, I just feel so free when I look into them.” She picked up a mermaid plushie and fiddled with the arms. She looked up at a picture of a sunset. “I just wish he would look at me the way he looks at her.”

Beezer let out a sad beep.

Pidge patted his head. “It’s Ok, this is only a relationship. Hey, he could still look at me that way, I just . . . I just need to give him time.” She rubbed her chin. “Hey Beezer, could you go take a picture of them on their date?

Beezer gave her a surprised beep.

She chuckled. “I know, I know, I just poured out my whole heart to you, that I want to be the girl going with him to his special place, but, I also want him to be happy. I want them both to be happy. And, I want them to commemorate it. Will you do that for me, please?”

Beezer gave an affirmative beep as he saluted her.

“Thank you.” Pidge watched him go before turning back to the picture of the sunset. “Sure, technology’s no sunset, but it has its purpose. It can capture that sunset and give you something to remember it by.”

...

It had been a few years since they had defeated Honerva, since Voltron was last needed to defeat a great evil, since Lance and Allura broke up. They had spent a good deal of that time trying to bring peace back to the galaxy and help rebuild what had been previously destroyed. Pidge was surprised to see more and more of Lance during that time, but didn’t think much about it outside of enjoying his company. She did note that Hunk and Shay went around doing stuff, so were Keith and Allura, and Shiro was going around with that guy whose name she couldn’t remember. Romelle was helping Coran with the Alteans, the three former generals of Lotor were working with the Galra, and her own brother Matt was off traveling with Rolo and Nyma. Pidge enjoyed every minute that they spent together, but didn’t want to push her luck. Besides, there were other things on her mind. So when Lance suggested a return to Earth for a quick vacation, she jumped at it. A vacation sounded like a good idea.

After going through the usual check-ins, check-ups, and catch-ups, Lance pulled her to the side.

“Hey, I, I was wondering if you could come with me somewhere?”

“Uh, sure, I guess,” Pidge replied with a shrug.

“Tonight, meet me at Red.”

Pidge raised an eyebrow. “Uh, Ok . . .”

“Great!! See you tonight!” He gave her a quick hug before dashing away. She watched him leave, blinking in confusion. Where exactly did he want to go? She shrugged and went about other things before getting ready to go.

Later that night, Green landed near Red. Lance was lounging against his lion, watching the sun set. He was wearing his old blue and white t-shirt and a pair of jeans, but the way the lighting was, Pidge thought he was the most handsome she had ever seen him. She blushed as butterflies filled her stomach, but quickly got rid of the feeling by the time she exited her lion to meet up with him.

He smiled at her, and the butterflies returned. “Great, you made it!”

Pidge scoffed. “I told you I would come.”

Lance ran his fingers through his hair as he chuckled. “Yeah, you did. Now, um, do you want to follow me, or just come with me in Red?”

Pidge’s eyebrow went up as she blinked. “Uh, does it matter?”

Lance shrugged. “No, not really, but, I would prefer it if we just took one Lion, doesn’t make sense to have both.”

Pidge shrugged. “I mean, you have a point, if anything were to go wrong, we can get back here pretty quick, and I can call on Green.”

It was Lance’s turn to raise an eyebrow. “Is there really anything wrong going on at the moment?”

Pidge chuckled. “True, but you never know.”

He laughed. “Good point. So, what shall it be . . .”

Pidge blinked at the cutting off mid sentence, but when he didn’t say anything else, she shrugged again. “I guess we can go in Red.”

He grinned. “Great, come on!” He grabbed her hand and the two dashed into the Lion’s mouth. Lance sat down at the controls and they took off. Pidge let out a soft giggle. Sure, they had done things together while no one else was around before, but this felt different, and she was liking it.

“So, where are we going?” she asked.

He smirked. “You’ll see. Just wait.”

“What? Why can’t you tell me now?”

“Because it’s a surprise,” was his reply. She pestered him some more, but couldn’t get any more than that out of him. The more she got more grumpy, the more excited he seemed to get.

Finally, they landed, though it had only been a couple of minutes away from the garrison. Lance grabbed Pidge’s hand and walked like he was on cloud nine.

“Ok, seriously, where are we going?” asked Pidge with a laugh as she allowed herself to be led around a park.

He glanced back long enough to shoot her a grin. “You’ll see, just wait!” They walked through a grove of trees before lance came to a stop at the base of the largest one. Pidge raised her eyebrow. This tree looked rather familiar. Where had she seen it before? Lance let out a sigh and pulled out a picture. Then it hit Pidge, this was the same place Lance took Allura out on their first date! The picture was of that moment, Lance and Allura standing in front of the tree. Pidge’s heart went into her throat. Lance sighed. “Yeah, I miss her, and I really wanted her to be the one, but . . . well, as you could tell it didn’t work out.” He looked at Pidge, a sad smile on his face. “I’m really happy for them.”

Pidge chuckled nervously. “Right. Who knew a TV show caught on that they were best for each other?”

Lance chuckled. “Yeah, I really should have paid more attention . . . to a lot of things.” His hand went through his hair. Pidge followed it with her eyes, wishing that could have been her hand. “And well, now I realize that she wasn’t the one for me, because there’s this girl who is.”

Pidge’s heart just about stopped. Who was this girl? “Y-yeah? What’s she like?”

Lance glanced up at the tree, a soft smile on his face. “She’s really smart, kind, and is very passionate about her work. She puts the needs of others first, and, well, she’s just awesome! And pretty too. I should have noticed before, but I think I let my starry eyed crush get the best of me instead of allowing myself to actually fall in love. Though, in a way, I did fall in love while I had that crush on the Princess, without knowing it.”

Pidge turned her head to hide her tears. “Then why didn’t you invite her here?”

“But I did.” Pidge’s head snapped back to Lance, eyes widening. She barely dared to hope, but he was looking at her earnestly. “That’s why I asked you here, Pidge, I, uh, I wanted to ask you out. I mean, sure, this isn’t the same way that I asked Allura out, but, this just felt right, because you’re the right one for me.” He looked back down at the picture. “And, well, to let you know that I have finally let go of Allura.” He stuffed the picture back in his pocket and scratched his head. “Ok, that didn’t quite come out the way I wanted it to, but it also wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be.” He grinned sheepishly. “That must have sounded stupid.”

Pidge laughed as the tears came down. “That’s because you are stupid.”

“Hey!”

Pidge ran into his arms and wrapped her arms around his neck. “But you’re my idiot, and I love you!”

“I don't know if I should be happy or insulted,” said Lance.

“Don't be insulted, you just try too hard. You're really not that stupid.”

Lance scoffed. “Oh, good to know.” But then he chuckled and returned the hug. “But right now, I’m the happiest man alive!” He kissed her.

#Plance #plancekallurawinterevent #niazelki

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sparklebitch · 5 years ago

Text

Toxin (Shance angst)

Summary: Shangst where Shrio is holding his poisoned lover, Lance.

A/N: @izanagisbitch requested this over a year ago and I completely misunderstood it and wrote something totally different lol (it's quite a few prompts back. Title: Toxic Love). I was rereading some of my old fics and remembered it. So I wrote what they actually asked for 😂 Again, so so sorry!

Trigger warning: posion, sickness, death mention, super sad feelings

~ ~ ~

The leaves rustled loudly overhead. The wind whipped the branches every which way. Animals all around were scattering, fleeing to their homes.

A storm was approaching.

Shiro didn't notice any of this.

His only focus was Lance's struggling breath.

"Are you sure you're okay?" he asked for the fourth time. Lance rolled his eyes, but Shiro noticed a bead of sweat roll down his forehead.

"Takashi, you worry too much. I'm alright. It's just a- a stomach ache or something" he assured his worried boyfriend. Shiro held up his hands in defeat, but he wasn't totally convinced.

Shiro and Lance had been on a stroll through a nearby village that evening, seeing as how they would be stuck here for a while. They had arrived for a routine checkup on the planet which had recently joined the alliance, but when they had tried to leave, their ship mysteriously broke down. Coran informed them that it could potentially be a few weeks before he could identify the problem and fix it, so they should make themselves comfortable here.

The walk had started out nice. The weather was pleasant. The villagers were more than welcoming. One had even brought them tea to drink on their walk.

But a few minutes after leaving the village on the small dirt path through the woods, Shiro noticed Lance's breath becoming labored. At first he laughed it off, assuming it was from the large meal they had had, but the longer they were out, the harder it was to deny that something was actually very wrong.

They continued to wander down the path that led from the village through the lush forest that surrounded the civilization. Everything was so pretty. It would've been a perfect night if it hadn't been for Lance's obvious discomfort.

"How long do you think we'll be here?" Lance asked, trying to distract himself, and Shiro, from his pain.

"I'm not sure. Coran hasn't figured out what's wrong with the ship yet" Shiro said. Lance smiled broadly as he closed the gap between their hands. He intertwined their fingers and tugged Shiro closer to his side.

"Maybe we'll be here for years" He said. Shiro frowned at the happiness in Lance's voice.

"That wouldn't be good" he murmured in confusion.

"Oh come on, it would be so fun! We could build a house!"

"Build a- Lance you don't know the difference between a phillips screwdriver and a flathead!" Lance, completely undeterred by this, continued.

"Of course we would have to have a front porch with a swing. And a nice sized backyard where we can plant a garden. I'd like to have two bathrooms, but we could make do with just one" He said to himself. Shrio stared at him in bewilderment.

"Wh-" Lance pressed a finger to Shiro's lips.

"Shh. We're just pretending babe. We're not really going to build a house" he whispered, as if it was a secret. Shiro's eyes softened in realization and he chuckled.

"Oh. Well... then I guess we'd need a decent sized kitchen with an island so I can cook you dinner" he pressed a flirtatious kiss to Lance's knuckles. Lance giggled but cut off in a sudden coughing fit.

The wind picked up around them as they paused for Lance to catch his breath.

"Okay, I think it's time we head back" Shiro said nervously. "You might be getting sick" Lance waved him off, though in his current state, doubled over and hacking up a lung, it wasn't very reassuring.

"I'm..." he coughed sharply. "F- fine" Shiro let go of Lance's hand and shielded his eyes as he looked around them, unsure of which way they had come.

When did they wander off the path?

"Let's- Let's head back the way we came" Shiro suggested. Lance nodded, groping around for Shiro's hand. He was too embarrassed to admit that his vision was blurring.

The two turned around and began their trek back toward the village. It was more difficult than they had anticipated, because of the weather.

Somehow neither of them had noticed how dark it had gotten during their walk. Angry looking dark clouds were looming overhead, threatening to break open and pour down on them.

Shiro's heart rate spiked as he continued to tug Lance along what he thought was the path. Everything around them looked the same. They were lost.

"Shiro..." Lance croaked. His began to stumble along, his head lolling lower and lower with every stop.

Shiro glanced over and thought to himself, "His skin is white as a sheet..." Before either of them could mutter another word, Lance collapsed.

The next thing Lance new he was laying on his side with his head in Shiro's lap. They had moved underneath a tree to shield them from the downpour that had started at some point.

"Wha-" Lance rasped. Shiro let out a loud gasping sigh.

"Lance! Shh... don't try to talk. Just relax. You collapsed" Lance was suddenly aware that his entire body was shaking uncontrollably. He was both too hot and too cold at the same time.

"What... happening?" Shiro has one hand in Lance's hair, and the other was gripping his hand.

"I- I don't know" There was a clap of thunder overhead. "We need to get back to the castle but..." He trailed off, staring up at the scene around them. The storm was so strong that the forrest has seemingly come to life. Trees swaying, limbs falling, debris flying through the air. "I think we'll have to wait out the storm" Despite being fairly well covered, Lance felt large drops of water splashing his exposed skin. "It's all going to be okay."

Lance listened as Shiro called to the others on his communicator. He couldn't make sense of what they were saying. All he knew was that Allura voice was frantic and she kept repeating several words like "poisoned" and "trap." The world continued to flicker in and out of focus for several minutes before Lance found the strength to speak.

"Shiro" Lance mumbled. His voice was barely audible over the howl of the wind. "Shrio, don't let go of me" he pleaded. He didn't want to frighten Shiro, but moments ago he became aware that he couldn't feel any part of his body.

Shiro searches Lance's eyes for the source of his pain, but came up empty. He desperately wanted to fix this, but he had no idea how.

"I'm here, Lance. I'm here. And I'm not letting you go. I'll get you back to the castle. You're going to be okay. Look, I think the weather is clearing up" he said, trying to stay positive. Lance knew it was a lie.

"I love you" Lance said, teary eyed. "Shiro, I love you"

"I- I love you, too" Shiro said through tears. "You're going to be okay. Everything's going to be okay" Shrio searched Lance's face as he tried to think of something to say, something to make this moment a little less scary. He didn't know what was going to happen next, but he was worried that this might be... That this might be the last moments he and Lance had together.

"Hey, we- we should get a dog" Shiro said, wiping the tears out of his eyes. Lance frowned for a moment, and then a faint smile ghosted his face.

"As long as it's a big one. And she'll... need a friend" he said hoarsely. He weakly lifted his hand to reach for Shiro's face, but he didn't have the strength. Shiro saw this and lifted Lance hand for him. He felt Lance's thin fingers brush against the stubble on his cheek.

"We can build a dog house for them" Shiro continued. "And- and we'll paint the whole house blue. The brightest blue. The neighbors will hate us" Lance made a noise that almost sounded like a laugh.

"We'll be happy" his voice was barely audible. He couldn't keep his eyes open anymore.

"Yeah, baby" Shiro said softly. "We'll be happy. Forever. Happily ever after" They both fell silent.

Lance's breaths grew shorter, the pauses between grew longer. His lips fell open as he let out small pained noises. He was in complete agony. The storm continued on around them, though it had let up a bit. Shiro considered making a run for it, but he knew that it was pointless. Lance would never make it. And any movement would cause even more pain for Lance.

It was the hardest decision Shiro ever had to make.

Through the deafening sounds of the rain, Lance could hear Shiro singing softly in his ear.

When the others finally found them, the storm had long passed. The morning light bathed the spot that Shiro and Lance were huddled. Allura sprinted to them with a questioning face.

Shiro cranes his neck to look at her. His face had smears of dirt and tracks of tears. He looked beyond exhausted.

"Shiro...?"Allura said questioningly. Shiro smiled weakly, more tears dripping down his nose, falling onto the boy clutched in his arms. He shook his head, his face breaking.

"He's gone"

#langst #shance #shangst #shiro #lance #voltron #vld #vld lance #vld shiro #prompt #prompts #mine

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pftones3482 · 4 years ago

Text

Commission for @extrasensorious-zoroark, who asked for a Luca and Lance fic. Gotta admit, this one was a little tougher for me, just because we have less than an episode of content with Luca, but overall I think it turned out well.

Set post-Voltron, is otherwise canon compliant (sorry, couldn't think of a good excuse to keep Allura alive within the word limit). Under a cut for length.

When word reached the paladins that Luka hadn’t, in fact, been lost to them like they had thought, it was a stampede to make it to the med bay, with Romelle at the head of the group.

Lance thought Romelle might have felt a bit responsible for Luka’s death – she was, after all, the last one who had spoken to her before Honerva had done…whatever it was she had done to kill her. She’d spent the majority of their time in space looking guilty, and nothing anyone said could snap her out of it.

After Allura’s death, of course, Lance had sat down with her, and they’d done nothing more than just sit silently and cling to each other.

Now, as they gathered outside the med wing in the Garrison, Lance leaned over to Shiro. “How-?”

Shiro shook his head. “No idea,” he murmured. “Doctors didn’t say what changed, just that she suddenly revived right after we left for space.”

“And they didn’t tell us?” Romelle snapped.

Shiro’s hand fell on her shoulder and squeezed. “We had to have our focus elsewhere,” he said, and Lance watched her expression relax.

The doctor appeared at the door, looking weary. “Thank you all for coming,” she said. “I’m Dr. Reynolds. Luka is stable, has been for several weeks, but she still refuses to speak to anyone. With Honerva gone, we don’t believe her at risk for relapsing and suffering as she did prior. We still think it best if familiar faces be let in.”

Her gaze turned to Romelle and then to Lance and he blinked, lifting his hands in front of his chest instantly. “She doesn’t know me, she-”

He remembered, then, the marks on his face, and his gut twisted. “N-No, I’m not-”

Romelle’s hand gripped his elbow. “Please, Lance,” she murmured, her voice cracking. “I need an ally in there. Just in case.”

He slumped, offering a weak smile. “Sure. Sure, I’ll go.”

He glanced back at his teammates as Dr. Reynolds led them inside, and they all gave him sad smiles that did nothing to quell the churning in his stomach.

When Luka laid eyes on the pair, she scowled and flung her pillow at them. Romelle and Lance both dodged easily, and the other Altean hissed at the doctor. “No. Anyone but them,” she spat.

Dr. Reynolds nodded quickly. “Of course. Another time, then.”

Despite not wanting to come inside in the first place, Lance felt his gut sink. He’d been feeling pretty useless since Allura, uncertain, and despite their history, he’d been hoping that maybe, just maybe Luka could’ve been helped. To see that she wouldn’t even try? That hurt.

He hesitated to follow Romelle out the door, setting his hand on the frame as he looked back to her and searched her stony expression. “Well. We’re here, if you need.”

She flipped him off.

He went back two days later, some of Hunk’s fresh gumbo cradled in his hands, and hesitated outside her door. Lance hadn’t told anyone he was planning to come here, so if he got the steaming stew thrown back in his face, he’d have a lot of explaining to do.

Luka was reading something on a tablet when he leaned in the door, tapping his knuckles on the frame and offering her a weak smile as she looked up. “Um. Hey. I brought you some not-hospital food, if you want it?” he offered, holding up the bowl and spoon. “Fresh from my teammate Hunk.”

Luka sneered. “Oh, you mean from the people who only destroyed my home planet? The ones who now keep me imprisoned here? No thank you.”

Lance shifted on his feet. “W-Well if you decide you want it, I’ll just…”

He set it down on the dresser at the end of her bed and gave her what he knew was more of a grimace than a smile before bolting back to the hallway.

When he walked by later, the gumbo was gone and the bowl was outside waiting for pickup with the rest of her dishes.

Lance didn’t know if she’d eaten it or thrown it away, but something like hope lifted in his chest.

~~ “Dr. Reynolds said you liked reading,” Lance said, standing in the doorway of Luka’s hospital room with his arms piled high with Earth books that had survived the war. “I brought some of my favorites from…from before.”

Luka lowered her tablet and frowned. “You keep coming here. Stop.”

Lance licked his lips and set the books down, refusing to be swayed. “This one here is about the Greek gods? They were these ancient gods that people used to worship, a-and the book is about their kids. And this book is about a girl who is a necromancer – that’s like, a person who can raise the dead. And she gets sent to a group home cause people think she’s insane, but actually the whole group home is just teenagers with powers. A-And this one is-”

“Paladin,” Luka snapped, and Lance jumped in surprise. She softened, setting her tablet on her lap. “Stop. I don’t…”

She sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose with her fingers. Her marks glowed faintly. “Your team…destroyed my home. It doesn’t matter how kind you act towards me, you will always be the people who killed my family. Just…stop. Please.”

Lance winced, thumbing the cover of The Hunger Games absentmindedly. “Luka, I’m sorry. We didn’t do that, though. We never hurt your home. Honerva brainwashed you to-”

The tablet shattered against the wall next to his face with a sickening sound and Lance jolted away, the book smacking the floor next to the broken glass. Luka’s cheeks were bright red and her eyes were filled with tears, the sight of which made Lance's chest ache. “Don’t you ever speak her name, you little-”

Lance threw his hands up, backpedaling out of the room before she could say more. His heart was beating fast, too fast, too hard, and he was back to their paladin wing by the time he realized he was crying too.

Despite Dr. Reynolds advising against it, Lance kept bringing her food. Kept bringing her books, especially when he noticed the slightly dog-eared pages of the ones she claimed to have never touched. He never spoke to her, just dropped off Hunk’s latest cooking endeavor and a new set of books, and then took the read ones back to the library.

His teammates noticed, of course they did, and eventually Lance found Keith at his side, pulling down books at the library and handing them over silently, Pidge knocking on his door late at night with a novel she’d just finished in her hands, Hunk approaching him with more Altean themed dishes. He appreciated the efforts more than they could ever know, more than he could tell them.

Luka was lost, just like he was. She’d lost so much, in such a short span of time, and Lance understood that pain. He just wanted her to realize that there were others in the Garrison who understood what she was feeling. Needed her to realize it.

He’d be damned if he let her spend her whole life locked up here. Not after getting it back.

“Your friend is a good cook,” Luka said as Lance set down the Mexican food Hunk had made that day. He blinked, not having expected her to talk, and looked up. Luka offered him what could only be called a grimace. “He um…knows his way around the kitchen. The Fineom he made the other day…that was an Altean dish.”

Lance nodded, turning to face her. “Yeah. Coran showed him how.”

She pursed her lips. “Coran is…the orange haired Altean, yes?”

“Yes,” Lance confirmed. “Hunk wanted to broaden his cooking horizons, and Coran knows some of the oldest recipes. He’s awful in the kitchen though,” he said with a chuckle.

Luka’s lips twitched in what look suspiciously like a smile, and she looked down at the book on her lap – To Kill a Mockingbird. She’d long since stopped hiding that she was reading the books Lance was bringing her. “Your world is so young,” she murmured, which was a shift in topic Lance wasn’t expecting. “You have dealt with so much that Alteans had forgotten ever happened on our world.”

Lance looked back to the book and hummed. “Yeah. We’ve come a long way. Got a long way to go. Cleaning up after the war is helping with that, shockingly,” he laughed. “Humans were pretty blind to everything outside our solar system – I think finally being able to interact with other planets made us realize how stupid and petty we all were.”

“Pettiness and stupidity occur no matter how old the planet,” Luka said, and her tone was bitter.

When she looked up, her eyes searched Lance’s with a depth he couldn’t fathom. His mouth went dry, and she shut the book. “May I…join you for lunch today? In the canteen? W-With you and your friends? I think…”

She put the book down and clasped her hands together. “I think I’m tired. Of eating alone and being stupid.”

Lance felt his face relax into a smile, and he held out an arm for her to cling to. “You were never stupid. But you’re welcome to join us – I and my teammates would really enjoy that.”

She reached out with a tentative smile and took his elbow.

#my writing #voltron #voltron: legendary defender #writing commissions #my commissions #lance vld #luca vld

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willadisastercry · 5 years ago

Text

Keith has a whole panic attack in the middle of a mission...

tw: description of a panic attack, depersonalization and derealization, breathing difficulties

Keith is the leader. How was he supposed to let his team know that he was dissociating when he was supposed to be leading them? He tried to push past it to finish the mission, but he can’t, not this time.

Keith secretly hates explosions.

Like really hates them.

Well, explosions and anything loud or jarring. So basically every sight and sound that came with the commotion of battle.

He’s in a war, he knows that the things he sees are terrifying.

Except it isn’t always battle.

It’s anything.

But he also knows that he doesn’t have time to have that type of visceral fear of something he experiences nearly every day.

So he ignores it.

He ignores the flinches and the odd looks and the spilled drinks and the times where it takes him an extra beat to respond over the coms.

He ignores it until he can’t help it anymore.

He pushes it down until the pressure is too great and it lets itself loose.

He can’t possibly let his teammates know that he is that vulnerable, that skiddish, that weak.

That they haven’t even made it through the war and he’s already been marked by it.

Because he’s observant and he seems to be the only one of his teammates that experiences it aside from Shiro.

And even then, Shiro has an explanation.

A reason for it.

But Keith doesn’t.

And though every now and then the tenors of battle catch up with one of them and the gravity of it all makes a striking appearance... but none of them crumble like him.

None of them struggle in their lions to make sense of what they’re seeing or hearing or doing with the sensory overload that came with battle...

or when his friends’ chatter spikes a little too loud and he shivers at his newly unfocused vision as they drone out of range...

or the bass of a song rings a little too heavy and then all he can hear is the sound of his own heart and suddenly he’s forgotten how to fill his lungs...

or the whir of an engine or machine somewhere distant in the castle stops him dead in his tracks, suddenly leaden with the burning anticipation of an attack, both alien and anxiety.

He wrote it off as just a teeny little aversion to loud and unexpected sounds. A knee-jerk reaction that he just couldn’t help. Nothing to dwell over.

Just sometimes when he’s particularly stressed or overextended or on a particularly noisy mission and something catches him off guard, he loses his breath. His focus. His awareness. But only for a moment. Because the feeling always passes and he waits until the battle is over to deal with it in safety.

At least it usually passed.

A thundering boom swallowed Keith’s attention as Black tumbled dazedly through space, jarred and unmoving, not because the lion was out of commotion from a strike, but because Keith was.

Keith had just been relaying an order to fall back and regroup when an asteroid in his blind spot exploded into dozens of bits and pieces beside him, one of the fighter ships having hit it rather than Black.

He should’ve been relieved because he wasn’t stunned. He could still fight and help his team.

But he wasn’t.

Because damn, why’d he feel so weird now.

He blinked hard and took a deep breath.

No. Not right now. It was nothing, you weren’t even hit. You’re fine. You’re team needs you, just focus.

“KEITH, do you copy?! Yellow and Red are stunned, it’s just me against this entire fleet—gah! I could really use some backup!” Lance rushed over the coms, but it took Keith a minute to fully absorb what he had said.

Everything seemed so delayed and distant even though the sound was right in his ear, it was like the coms were... yeah the coms were probably just fudged up.

Keith blinked back the haze that clouded his vision and brought his hands back up to the controls.

He didn’t remember them ever falling away or when they had started shaking.

So he took a breath, ignoring how tight his chest felt and sent his lion back into motion anyway, a minute later coming up on Lance’s rear and immediately returning the fire of the fleet that was kicking his ass.

“About time! What’d ya take a cat nap or something—“

“Shut it—“

“Guys I’ve almost retrieved all of the data... Shiro there are five sentries escorting a the package coming down the east corridor... Hunk, Allura, how are your lions?! There’s another fleet headed your way that Keith and Lance won’t be able to hold off on their own!”

Zip. Zip. Thud. His legs had officially gone numb.

“Working on it!”

“Red seems to be weak, but I will see what I can do.”

Zip. Crash. Boom. The cotton in his ears really muffled everything, making his friend’s voices sound robotic.

“Shiro!”

“Keith, on your right!”

“The reinforcement fleet just deployed and is headed your way!”

“Can anyone cover me while—“

But Keith didn’t hear the rest of Lance’s pleading question because another explosion or zap or something was making its way through his chest and rattling his lungs. It had been really close. He hadn’t even seen it. But he felt it. Was black okay? Was he...?

Keith inhaled sharply, his chest was now so tight it felt like the air he sucked down went nowhere.

“Fuck...”

He tore his hand away from the control stick, clawing at his armor so he could slip his hand under and scratch at the warm, sinking feeling just under the surface of his skin.

“Language, Keith!”

“What’s your deal, mullet? I’m getting destroyed over here...”

“M’sorry L’nce...”

Keep it together. Just a little bit longer.

But there were so many ships. And he just felt so off.

“Everyone just focus!”

But that’s the issue, he couldn’t focus.

“Almost done! Shiro and I will be on our way soon—“

“GaaAH!! Keith what are you DOing?!”

He wasn’t quite sure what he was doing either.

It was like he was on auto pilot, the sounds of battle and his teammates overwhelming him so much that his consciousness was starting to sort of retreat.

“Damn it...”

His voice was a broken whisper. He knew this feeling.

It started slowly. His hands were tingling, like pins and needles except he couldn’t quite feel any of his extremities anymore. He knew the sensation was there but everything was so dull, too far away to grasp.

He flexed them, stretching them out completely and then wringing them together.

Nothing.

“Shit—guys m’sorry,” he slurred, his mouth was so dry it came out as more of a croak that his lips couldn’t quite articulate correctly.

The whooshing of lazers wouldnt stop, it was constant. It was in his ears, it was in his chest, it was suffocating him. He grunted dejectedly.

Now wasn’t the time. Now was dangerous. Not even just for himself but also his team.

The steady beat of his heart lapped dizzingly inside his skull. They were relying on him and he was falling apart.

Please... not now.

Every nerve in his body seemed to hum with anxious energy, even though he wasn’t- he couldn’t be-

He desperately tried to stop it, tried to beat down the feeling as quickly as it flared, but it wouldn’t settle.

He thrust his head back against the pilot chair and sucked in heaving breaths.

He needed air. He needed to not be in Black and not be in space, anywhere but where he was.

And it just kept mounting. All the sounds of the battle going on outside, the conversation over the coms, the beat of his own heart. It was too much.

It was all just too much.

With a strangled yelp another wave of anxiety washed over him and he went rigid. His breathing was desperate and hysterical now.

His chest never relaxing past the arc of his pitiful breaths. Not releasing much, or filling much either, just tightening further and clenching harder each time he tried.

He could feel himself giving in to his body’s overachieving stress response, how his mind stayed firm but his constricted lungs pleaded with him, hell bent on removing the stress of the anxiety flooding it any way it could. He might pass out if it continued any longer.

But there were no messages being received by his brain or sent out to his limbs anymore, the channels had shut down. Nothing was in sync anymore. His mind wanted mercy, it begged with his body to listen to reason and to no avail. He was in danger, but this wouldn’t do him any good. It would get him killed. It would get his team killed.

But nothing would get through now. Not when he couldn’t manage his own breathing, not when the option wasn’t his anymore. There was no room to try and regulate it now, he was well past that point.

He couldn’t do it, he couldn’t keep it back, the terrible feeling that was now consuming him.

The floor had already dropped out beneath him, he’d already missed the stair, the shot of panic had fired, had been set into motion and there was no stopping it now.

It was cold and prickly and daunting and he didn’t want to feel it anymore. He’d pass out for sure and splatter his brains on the control panel in front of him if it continued.

He couldn’t.

He didn’t—

And then almost as subtley as it came on, there was a strange ease that flowed through him and his entire body went numb now, both hands falling limp in his lap and Black tumbling forward lifelessly as soon as he let go of the joysticks once more.

It was a different kind of warmth. Not even a warmth really. Just a lack of a crippling cold or anxious heat.

Like the dial had been turned from 10 to 0.

He’d broken, he’d caved.

He failed in subduing the ridiculous feeling. And now he was stuck. He was floating. Not just in space, but also somewhere outside himself.

It wasn’t that he was looking down on himself or able to see his own body. Rather he felt like he had lifted from the ground, like anti gravity had failed and he was now floating up except he was still within himself sitting on the chair.

Keith could see that he had not moved or shifted, but since he couldn’t feel it he couldn’t stop the sensation of believing that he had.

He wasn’t sure what was worse in this situation, full on panic mode or utter catatonic.

Both were dangerous.

Both he couldn’t stop or help even if he wanted.

But at least before he could move.

The only benefit to his withdrawn conciousness was that his hearing was filtering back in.

“—th-ieth—ome in!”

“—too many, fuck!”

“—damned mullet, where are you?!”

Soon he could sort of make out the indistinct static from the coms and then the mush of voices separated and solidified and he was becoming aware of the flurry of concerned remarks mixed with indignant ones that were flooding the channel.

“Has anyone had any word from Keith?”

“He sounded sort of strange that last time he was active...”

“Wait, what happened?”

“Is Black down?”

“Keith, do you copy?”

“There’s so many...”

Zip. Crash. Zip. Zip. Thud.

And as he came back to himself for a moment he also became well aware of Black’s absence. The lion had been taking heavy fire and was rendered just as unresponsive as Keith.

“Lance if you corner them against that asteroid then I think I can power up Yellow enough for one blast!”

“Red is starting to respond...”

“Agh!”

“So no one has gotten a status from Keith?”

“Keith do you copy?”

“Is he okay?”

“Keith?”

But things were growing fuzzy again, his surroundings dimming as his hearing faded again.

“Keith...”

His eyes lolled around lazily before glazing over, reducing whatever was happening over the coms and outside of Black to a sort of hollow static.

He didn’t think he’d call this blacking out, because he never lost consciousness. He just lost... awareness.

Like he was aware that the strap around his waist was the only thing keeping him from bonking around in Black since zero gravity was now actually down. And he was aware he was floating helplessly off into space, and that he didn’t feel like he was in his own body, and that he still wasn’t breathing properly.

But he wasn’t aware of how much time was passing, or that his coms were still working and his team was desperately trying to get him to respond, or that he was still very much being fired on.

This went on for a while.

But he supposed it was safer like this. Because when he feels the panic rise, the only thing he can focus on is stopping it before it gets really bad. But then when he can’t catch it in time he hyperventilates. And passes out.

Because the need to squash it down and the fear of not being able to sometimes made it worse. Like so much worse.

And so sometimes his body retreated instead.

He was scared to feel that, to feel everything at once. And he knew what came with feeling like that. His body remembered what he’d do to try and take back control, like muscle memory, like scar tissue.

He’d pinch his leg until it bruised or punch a wall until his knuckles split just to have something else to focus on so he didn’t get so hysterical he wasn’t able to breathe and faint or sob so hard he’d make himself so dizzy and nauseous he threw up.

The options were really endless. And they all terrified him.

But this time he’d had so much else to worry about that he couldn’t ground himself even if he tried. Sure it might’ve involved smashing up his hand on the console, but he wouldn’t have put himself or his teammates in danger by checking out like this since he hadn’t.

So instead when the panic rose but the battle still raged, it overwhelmed him rather quickly because he couldn’t handle something so abrupt all at once. It was too much input and he was just so tired already that his body didn’t even try to fight it for long and acted on reflex before he could.

His consciousness retreated and left him sitting in his pilot chair catatonic, his frozen gaze boring a hole into the dark control panel in front of him, his heart beat and the whirring outside an after thought over the serene sort of high of being detached from everything. Of feeling absolutely nothing.

If his chest hurt, he couldn’t feel it. And if his nails were digging into the skin of his gloveless hand through the fists he held, he couldn’t be sure until they opened. Or if his breathing had leveled, or hadn’t, or if Black was okay. He couldn’t feel it. He couldn’t feel anything.

And so he stayed like that until Blue and Green latched their claws onto Black and began towing them both back to the castle. The suddenness of it jarred him, tearing him from his bliss before he was particularly ready to come back.

Keith had no idea how long it’d been, but he knew he was moving now.

He reached around blindly for something to anchor him, the fact that he was physically floating around in his seat really didn’t help the false sensation of floating he felt as he tried to come back to himself.

Keith still wasn’t all there and it was another kind of terrifying. He blinked dazedly, hot tears making their way down his face and meeting at his chin.

He must’ve groaned or whimpered or breathed a conscious-sounding breath because the coms were alight in his ear after that. Though their sentiments were still delayed as it took him a while to decipher each phrase, his teammates worries managed to cut through the intense ringing.

“Keith!”

“Do you copy? Repeat: Keith, do you copy?”

He groaned again. He wanted to assure them that he was okay but his mouth didn’t move the way it should.

“The mullet lives, yay!”

“Shut up, Lance... and don’t worry Keith, we’ve gotcha.”

His breaths came in harsh pants now. He wanted to come back down into his own body. He wanted to feel his hands again. The in between was almost worse then the peak of it, not being neither here nor there felt so wrong. But no matter how hard he tried he couldn’t summon the feeling back.

He looked down as his hands clenched and unclenched. No, he hated that there was control but still no feeling and was soon discarding the other glove, wringing his hands together until they went white and then banging them against the console when that didn’t work but all he got was an angry nudge from Black.

Black! Black... hi.

He didn’t realize the presence of Black in his mind could be so comforting. It warmed him. He hadn’t known he was so cold.

Paladin hurt! Black Lion sorry they couldn’t get paladin safe. Black Lion also hurt. Black Lion sorry.

No... I’m not hurt and it’s not your fault. This-this happens sometimes I just... wasn’t ready. I’ll be okay.

Black Lion tried to wake my Paladin up. Blue and Green Lions came. They heard me calling to my Paladin. They help my Paladin.

I know they’re helping me. I’ll be okay soon. Thank you, Black. You did so good.

He was able to relax a little after that because Black was using whatever energy he had left to send reassuring waves of comfort to Keith. And eventually his breaths weren’t so harsh, but he still wasn’t really himself yet.

Just when he was coming to a steady pace, a regulated and somewhat controlled rhythm, Black’s ramp lowered with a hulking crack.

The panic swirled again. It rose up in his throat like sick would and then he was hunched over and heaving, gripping the arms of his chair so tight it was like he was scared he would all but disappear if he didn’t.

There was a hand on his back that made him flinch so hard his stomach cramped at the movement.

“Keith!”

Another was pulling his helmet off.

“What’s wrong buddy?”

Air. He breathed in deeply, almost choking as recycled Keith air became recycled castle air. Not much of an improvement but enough of a change to have his chest stuttering.

“Keith, can you talk? Can you tell us what’s going on?”

It was cold outside the helmet and his body trembled. You weren’t really supposed to sweat inside of the paladin armor, it was literally designed to regulate body temperature, but Keith’s hair was stringy and stuck to his forehead and it certainly didn’t help how cold he’d suddenly become that he was drenched.

“He doesn’t seem to be injured...”

Hands were pulling at what was left of his armor, he’d almost forgotten he’d basically ripped his chest plate off.

“Yeah, no, he’s all good. So why—“

His lungs swelled with a heat like he had inhaled fire, he couldn’t stop his strangled gasps now, or the tears.

He couldn’t breathe.

“Cn’t—can’t! Sh-Sh, f-fuck-can’t! Shir-Sh-Sh—“

“Woah, there mullet. Just relax buddy.”

“Uhm, shit. Shiro! We need you like now.”

“Hurry...”

Keith felt like his chest was in a vice grip. Like his lungs were being squeezed and dripped dry of every ounce of air they contained. Everything tingled and felt so far away all at once. His own hands felt far away as they clawed desperately at his neck, scratching at it like that would bring the air back and stop this. His blood coursing cold as ice through his veins, the steady flow of it burning against the heat concentrated in his chest.

He could vaguely feel tiny hands pulling at his own as they rubbed the skin at the back of his neck raw. He blinked back the tears welling in his eyes only to find that black dots had also joined the party and let a gutteral whine escape along with a particular strangled inhale.

And then a shadow loomed over him and he distantly thought he must be fainting until Shiro’s hands descended on his face, his own coming into view as they were held away from him.

“I’m here! Yes you can. You can breathe. Why don’t you try doing it with me? Just like this. That’s okay! Don’t worry about it right now, it’ll come easier soon, just keep trying. Yeah, just like that. Here, put your hand here, follow me. Good. That’s good.”

Keith came back to himself slowly and in parts. Once he could feel his hand on Shiro’s chest he tightened it around the material, like he might disappear too. And then his other hand was frantic, searching for something else that was solid.

“We’re here, we’re right here,” Lance assured, taking Keith’s hand up and squeezing. He sounded scared.

Why would Lance be scared?

“Hmn, huh-huh-fff...” the curse tapered off in a crackle, it started out as a languid sigh but turned into a sheepish hitch.

“Hey, just focus on breathing. You’re okay, everything will be alright. You’re safe, you’re back at the castle,” Keith clung to Shiro and Lance desperately, the sensations coming back to him and making him both overwhelmed and relieved.

“That’s it, just worry about breathing.”

Shiro was pulling the hand not clutching at his shirt away from his thigh where the nails were digging in, producing a sharp tingle that Keith welcomed because it was something. He then moved the strands of hair dampened out of his wide eyes while they darted around, wild and almost unseeing. That’s how Shiro knew what was wrong. That look. The distinct haze of Keith not really being present.

“Pidge is getting you something to drink if you’re up for it. And we can go somewhere else while you calm down, but only if you want to...”

Keith didn’t like the idea of moving just yet, of trying to walk. Because when he walked in this state he could really feel himself drifting off, detaching further with each heavy step. And apparently that got conveyed to Shiro who was squashing the idea from the response that followed it.

“We’ll wait a bit, no worries. We’ll wait here for as long as you need. The battle is over, you can relax now.”

Keith didn’t know what it was about what Shiro had said, but the comfort in knowing he was safe, that he was allowed to be vulnerable like this in front of Shiro... it got him. He didn’t know where he found the emotional reserves but was soon crying so hard his breath hitched as snot gushed from his nose and erupted in wet coughs from his throat.

There were hurried fingers fumbling with the belt that trapped him in his pilot chair, but then he was released and falling forward to his knees and into Shiro’s arms.

“I’ve got you...”

His cries were desperate and heartwhrenching, Lance caught himself wincing away at times, giving Keith’s hand a squeeze when he let out a particularly whining hiccough.

“I just-I just... I need it to stop-I don’t want to f-fe-feel like this... anymore, please-I-I-c-c-can’t-I can’t make it stop...” he sobbed, completely at the mercy of his swelling panic now. He hated not being in control of himself, he felt so weak and he hated it.

“You’ve gotta let it run it’s course, it’ll end. I promise, it’ll end... just breathe for now, in and out...” Shiro soothed holding his hand against his chest again so he could feel his calm, deep breaths and mimic them.

Lance motioned to the door, silently asking Shiro if him and Pidge should go, but Keith twitched when he moved to get up and let out a choking whine.

Keith didn’t want to be more alone, he didn’t even care about how weak he must seem.

“You want us to stay? We’ll stay, whatever you need...” Lance covered their clasped hands with his other hand, Pidge taking post at his leg and working herself between him and Shiro, getting a glimpse of his face with her new position.

“We’re right here, we’re not going anywhere.”

He wasn’t sure how long he stayed like that, Shiro rubbing circles on his aching back as his whole body shook, Lance on the floor a little further away letting him pinch and squeeze his hand as long as it wasn’t his own, Pidge humming something softly and guiding the straw of the hydration pack into his mouth when he allowed it.

He felt so safe. And loved. He just felt bad he couldn’t calm down quick enough. If he was more of his right mind he wouldn’t have been caught dead letting himself fall to pieces in front of his friends like this, but he didn’t have the energy to worry about that then. He was more than over it but coming out of that state completely proved difficult.

“S-sorry, I’m trying... I c-can’t-“

“That’s okay, however long it takes bud.”

There were moments where he was completely lucid and making jokes and moments where his breathing would become unsteady again and he’d try and ground himself but hands were there to stop him.

Eventually he mumbled something about being cold and wanting to go lay down.

“Okay, we can bring you to your room if you want... yeah? Ok. Lance do you mind—careful”

“Whoa!”

“Easy there, mullet.”

Shiro and Lance hoisted Keith up but his legs wavered and he leaned heavily into his friends’ supporting arms, turns out the feeling hadn’t fully come back yet.

“Sorry,” he gushed, “my legs feel... weird.”

“That’s okay, we’ll just take it slow.”

And they did. They guided an unsteady and still shaking Keith back to his room at a snails pace, stopping occasionally when he advised them that the room was spinning and he wasn’t sure he was still on the ground so they could assure him that yes he was in fact still on the ground.

They didn’t rush him or get mad when they had to pause, even Lance took on a concerned tone of understanding. Because he did, he seemed to understand perfectly just like Shiro had that Keith couldn’t control any of what his body was doing or how it felt. Because if he could help it, he would’ve finished the mission and walked himself back into his room, but he couldn’t help it. And they somehow knew that.

And they let him know that it was okay that he couldn’t.

When they finally got there they helped him sit and get him out of the rest of his armor. It was apparent that his hands weren’t quite working right just yet.

“I’ll get that,” Pidge said unfastening the straps of his boots when he struggled at the clasps, sliding them off for him. He didn’t even mind. He felt like he should’ve jumped at the brush of her hand against his, but he didn’t.

“Let’s get you out of this,” Shiro offered, dragging the zipper at his back down slightly.

He only grunted and shut his eyes because his head was pounding from all the sobbing he did and he wasn’t spinning anymore so the action didn’t make him nauseous now.

And then he really, really would’ve been embarrassed when Shiro and Lance were tugging him out of his suit, especially since Pidge was there, but he couldn’t find it in him to care much that he was in just his boxers.

And neither did they. They took care of everything for him as he sat there in a haze, just focusing on staying upright and alert while they helped him get dressed. He hadn’t even realized that they were done until Pidge was curling up in his lap not seeming to care that he was still trembling, Shiro and Lance carefully stripping the rest of the signs of battle away.

Although he was less hysterical, his body was still working its way through the physical symptoms that usually came after. Like being really delayed with his responses and his legs occasionally uncontrollably bouncing or how he’d involuntary take a huge gulp of air every once and a while.

They would ask him something occasionally and it would take him several blinks to comprehend their sentence and respond.

But soon someone was bringing a cold rag to mop the sweat from his face and the residue of blood from his palms where his nails broke the skin. It soothed the blotches he felt around his bloodshot eyes and helped ground him in a way he’d never really expected it could.

Pidge successfully intercepted a concerned Coran who had barged in at one point making Keith nearly jump out of his skin. He just wanted to know if a pod would ease his distress and tutted in understanding as they calmed him back down and continued to clean him up, because no this wasn’t something that alien tech could fix.

And then when they were done they wrapped his fuzzy throw blanket tightly around his upper body before easing him back against his pillow and shrugging the comforter over him. Pidge refused to leave his side when he gruffed that he didn’t care if they stayed or not and remained curled up against him like a cat. Lance strewn out at the foot of the bed. Shiro close by on the floor with his head against the wall.

It didn’t take him long to settle down like he had thought it might, like it usually did. He was completely exhausted, so that helped, but he was also just so at peace with his friends surrounding him that it came easy.

They all stayed until they heard his breathing even out until he was snoring lightly with his mouth hung open.

And then they figured they could stay just a bit longer until their eyelids started drooping and they fell asleep like that. Pidge having been out since her head hit Keith’s arm-pillow and Lance hadn’t been too far behind once he knew Keith was sleeping peacefully.

Hunk and Allura checked on them all quietly once they returned, not wanting to disturb the peaceful bunch. They didn’t stay because they were dead tired after having had wrapped up the mission by themselves once Lance and Pidge left with Black and Allura had dropped Shiro off.

But they also didn’t stay because from what Coran relayed, they’d had a moment with Keith and were taking this time to bond with the boy that didn’t let anyone besides Shiro in ever.

It was historic and they didn’t want to push it.

Keith had let himself be vulnerable in front of his teammates. He had let them take care of him. And they were glad that he did and were happy to do it.

They loved him. And he knew that.

He went to sleep thinking about that... knowing he was loved.

It was the best sleep he’d gotten in space so far.

#keith whump #voltron legendary defender #vld #vld fanfic #keith kogane #vld anxiety

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calligraphist-artemisia · 4 years ago

Text

Soul of a Lion (Chapter 6)

Sequel to The Smallest Blade.

Summary: After the Red Lion steals them away from the Marmora base and takes them through a wormhole, Shiro, Keith, Katla, and Lance find themselves in front of a majestic castle with nowhere to go but inside. The events that unfold while they’re there will change the fate of the universe.

Also posted on AO3 under the username “kishirokitsune”.

☆ - ☆ - ☆ - ☆ - ☆

6 | Patience Yields Focus

“We can take a break if you need one.”

“No,” Shiro refused, even as he shifted his position to try and get comfortable. “I've got this. I just need time.”

Allura sighed softly. “Shirotak, this isn't something we can rush or force to happen. If you're having difficulty, the best thing we can do is take a break and try again later. It could even be that the Serenity Garden isn't working for you and that we should change location.”

“This room is fine, I just need more time,” Shiro stubbornly reiterated.

What he really needed to do was focus, but that wasn't going to happen if Allura didn't stop talking to him. He breathed in deeply and then let it go, doing his best to clear his mind of the stray thoughts bouncing around in his head, but no matter how hard he tried, they wouldn't go away.

Another few doboshes passed and Shiro edged a little closer to admitting that he really could use a break. It was his second day of sitting in the Serenity Garden. Maybe what he really needed was to work off a little energy on the holo-deck and then try the whole meditation thing again.

He opened his eyes and saw Allura sitting perfectly still across from him, her legs crossed and hands resting neatly on her lap.

Shiro cleared his throat. “Princess, I don't think this is working.”

Her eyes fluttered open. “Perhaps we need to try a new technique? Although I must say, we've been in here for some time. Would you care to take a break and try again later?”

“Only if you need one,” Shiro responded, torn between his desire to triumph over whatever was holding him back and his want to get up and stretch his legs. Going along with whatever Allura decided was an easy way for him to not need to choose for himself.

Allura hummed as she unfolded her legs and stood. “I think we're in sore need of a short break. Shall we go see how the others are doing? Coran said he wanted to show off the Bridge today, so I'm sure that's where they are.”

“Sounds good to me,” Shiro said.

After all that he was told the night before about how the castle was actually a ship (as well as how the Altean method travel involved opening wormholes through space-time), he wanted to see it all for himself. A visit to the Bridge sounded like the perfect way to sate that curiosity.

Shiro got up and followed Allura up through the castle, making small talk as they went. He still wasn't sure what topics were safe to broach with her, so he stuck with simple things, like asking about her training and answering with details about his own – without revealing the existence of the Blade of Marmora, of course.

When they reached the Bridge, it was to find the odd trio of Coran, Katla, and Keith, who were all standing around the central podium. Katla appeared to be talking Coran's ears off while wildly gesticulating, and thankfully, the orange-haired Altean looked more excited than bothered by her enthusiasm.

A feeling of pride swelled within Shiro as he watched them get along.

“Hunk's not here?” Allura murmured with a frown.

“Maybe he needed to do something in the kitchen?” Shiro guessed.

“He could be,” Allura acknowledged as she stepped deeper into the Bridge. “Coran, how are things looking?”

While Coran cheerfully informed her of the state of the Castle-ship, Shiro looked around in the hope of spotting Lance. He'd feigned illness when they left for breakfast, but Katla had promised to try and coax him out when Shiro left with Allura.

Shiro looked to Keith, who shook his head in answer to his unasked question.

It appeared she was unsuccessful.

“Shiro, this is so cool!” Katla exclaimed, unknowingly interrupting the silent exchange. “We've been helping Coran map out this quadrant and figure out where the closest Galra outposts are. He thinks we'll be able to track their ships with a little tweaking to the Castle's sensors! It won't be perfect, of course, but it should get us close.”

“That's incredible news!” Shiro said, genuinely impressed.

“How are things going with you?” Keith asked.

Shiro couldn't bring himself to say that he was struggling with such a simple task, so he shrugged and hoped that would put them at ease. “It's going a little more slowly than I'd hoped, but we'll get there.”

“Well, it's just like you always tell us,” Katla said, sharing an amused look with Keith.

And then, in such perfect unison that they must have practiced, both of them said: “Patience yields focus.”

Shiro made a soft sound of protest at hearing his own words used against him. Words that he'd thought up in the heat of the moment in the hope that they would calm down two very rambunctious cubs and give him a few ticks to breathe before needing to avert trouble once again. Words that he'd apparently said more frequently than he thought if Keith and Katla were fully prepared to throw them back at him at the first available opportunity.

But maybe there was something to it.

Patience yields focus.

Was that really what he needed?

“So, how long have you been waiting to use that one against me?” Shiro asked them.

“Forever,” Katla said at the same time that Keith responded with: “Years.”

Shiro hid his amusement by turning his head as though he was checking on Allura and Coran. It also bought him a few ticks to decide the best way to change the topic.

“I noticed that Lance isn't here. What happened?” he asked.

“He didn't want to come out. Keith threatened to take him food goo for lunch if he wasn't out by then, but even that didn't work. We think something must have happened between him and Hunk,” Katla said, keeping her voice low.

“We haven't even seen Hunk today,” Keith added on. “Coran said something about him looking into some issue with a blockage in the main kitchen and that it'll take him all day to fix it.”

“I don't buy it,” Katla said, crossing her arms over her chest. “They're avoiding us – or each other – and I want to know why.”

There wasn't anything that Shiro could do about Hunk, but he could go down and try to talk to Lance before his next session in the Serenity Garden. Maybe a more gentle approach would get him to reveal something.

Shiro sighed. “Alright, I'll see what I can do. But before I go, how are the two of you doing? It looked like you were having fun when I came in.”

“Well, I can't speak for Keith, but I'm having a great time! Now that Coran knows we're not going to try and stab him the moment he turns his back, he's showing us all of the different parts of the Castle and how it works. I'm learning so much! Slav would be jealous for sure,” Katla said, throwing a not-so-subtle grin in Shiro's direction.

As always when Slav was mentioned in his presence, Shiro shuddered. “What about you, Keith?”

“Some of it's a little over my head, but Coran pulled up a map of the land around the Castle for me to look over, so I might do a little exploring later,” Keith said.

“Any natives nearby?” Shiro asked.

Keith nodded. “A small village to the southwest. They don't seem to be a threat, but I thought I'd look into it just in case.”

“Don't go alone,” was Shiro's final instruction before he left them to their work and went over to talk to Allura about his change in plans. He waited for her to finish her conversation with Coran before telling her that he'd like to go check on Lance before they returned to the Serenity Garden.

Allura looked relieved to hear that and Shiro didn't have to wonder why for long. “Coran says Hunk may be feeling rather under-the-weather, so I thought I'd drop by the kitchens to make sure everything is alright. Shall we meet back at the Garden in one varga?”

Shiro agreed and they left the Bridge together, splitting up a few floors down as Allura headed towards the main kitchen. Before he knew it, Shiro was knocking on Lance's door and hoping for a response.

Nothing.

He tried again.

Still, he was met only by silence.

Shiro wasn't going to let that deter him. If Lance didn't want to come out and talk to him face-to-face then he didn't have to, but Shiro was still going to talk to him and hope that would be enough.

“Lance, I'm not going to claim to know how you're feeling,” he said to the door. “It's clear that being here is difficult for you and that making you be alone with Hunk was a mistake on our part, and I apologize for that. For what it's worth, I believe that working with them is our best shot at making a difference in this war. And maybe it's just what your people need as well.

“I know you've never fully trusted us, even after all of this time. The risk to your friends and family is too great for you to take the chance that things could go wrong, but now we're here in this old Altean ship with three people who believe themselves the last of their people. I think – I know – they would do everything within their power to protect your family. But all of this is your secret to reveal. None of us can make that decision for you.”

Shiro sighed and leaned against the wall outside of Lance's door. “I have a little while before I meet back up with Allura, so if you want to come out and talk, I'm here.”

☆ - ☆ - ☆ - ☆ - ☆

Hunk was remarkably stubborn when he wanted to be.

The first thing Allura asked upon entering the kitchen and seeing trays upon trays of small honeyed cakes and tartlets cooling on racks was: “Alright, what's wrong?”

Hunk blinked in surprise, pausing in stirring a bowl of batter for a tick before remembering what he was doing. “Nothing. What makes you think something's wrong?”

“Because you're stress baking and you only do that when something's wrong,” Allura said, gesturing to the counter-tops. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“There's nothing to talk about because nothing is wrong.”

Allura raised an eyebrow in disbelief and stared Hunk down in the hope that he would crack and spill the truth. But while he shifted uncomfortably under her gaze, he didn't talk and she eventually gave up on that approach.

“How's the meditation going?” Hunk asked before she could come up with a new line of questioning.

“Not as well as I'd like,” Allura admitted.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Hunk repeated Allura's words, probably intentionally.

She crossed the room and slid onto the bar-stool at the front counter. “Actually, I would like to talk about it. I just don't know what I'm doing wrong. Why can't I connect to him? Do you think it could be because of how long we were asleep? Or is it something else?”

All of the questions that had built up over the many vargas that she spent with Shirotak in the Serenity Garden came spilling out.

“It might not be you,” Hunk pointed out.

“But what if it is?” Allura persisted. “He's trying so hard to do this, so what if it's my lack of faith that has put this impenetrable wall between us and won't allow us to form a connection? Or it could be that I've gone for so long without any practice. Even if to us it only feels like a few quintants, it has been ten-thousand years since we were last awake.”

Hunk gently set aside his bowl of batter. “I've been having difficulty keeping my emotions in check. Everything felt so... loud when we first woke up, but it's getting better. I only needed to relax and rebuild my mental shields, just like you taught me. Maybe you need to do something similar.”

“I feel as though that's all I've been doing,” Allura said with a soft sigh.

Hunk ducked down to a lower cabinet and removed a loaf pan, which he set down on the counter-top. “Well, if it's not you, then maybe the answer is to find a way to help Shiro. Maybe jumping right into meditation isn't enough. You could try talking first. Find something you both have in common and make a connection that way.”

“Is that what you tried to do with Lance?”

The way Hunk tensed up was the only indication he gave that he was bothered by the question. “I... I don't want to talk about it.”

Allura let it go. “I suppose we could talk some more... We've led such different lives that it's difficult to find much that we have in common.”

“Well, you both want to stop Zarkon,” Hunk pointed out. “That could be the place to start.”

Allura stayed to talk to Hunk for a while longer before leaving him to his baking so she could meet up with Shirotak at the Serenity Garden. She arrived a little earlier than she meant to, but that only gave her the opportunity to relax and reconsider how they were approaching the meditation.

She thought back to her own training and the steps her mother walked her through each time they sat down together. She thought about what Hunk said about needing to take time to rebuild the walls of his mental landscape so that he wouldn't be so affected by the emotions of those around him. And she thought about how she'd approached it so far, trying to take into consideration what wasn't working so they didn't repeat the same thing over and over again.

Allura settled into her spot in the center of the room. She closed her eyes and breathed, letting her mind drift while she waited for Shirotak to arrive.

Cool and comforting darkness slid over her, blanketing her thoughts. She felt weightless, as though she was floating in midair even though she could still feel the hard floor beneath her. From within the darkness, an ornate doorway began to form.

Allura backed away from it as she breathed out and opened her eyes, just as the door to the Garden slid open and Shirotak stepped inside.

“You haven't been waiting for long, have you?” he asked, concern lacing his voice.

Allura shook her head. “Only a few doboshes. Come and sit, I have something new I'd like to try.”

Shirotak joined her without hesitation, mirroring her posture as he sat across from her. “What do you need me to do?”

“Take my hands and close your eyes,” Allura instructed and held out both of her hands, palms up. “Relax your thoughts and let them drift by without lingering on any of them for too long. Focus on the feeling of my hands in yours. Allow me to be your guide into our shared mental landscape.”

“Mental landscape?” Shirotak repeated with some confusion.

“It's... How do I put this?” Allura mused, struggling to remember the way her mother described it to her so very long ago. “When you close your eyes and imagine yourself floating in a dark void. Sometimes there are sparks of colors. Sometimes you can see flashes of images. It's a place you can easily shape during meditation to try and organize your thoughts and everyone has a different way of creating it. I find the darkness comforting, but my mother loved bright landscapes so hers typically took an appearance similar to this room. With what we're trying to accomplish here, I will build a space where we can merge our mental landscapes together and hopefully see a representation of the bonds you share with others.

“The method I had us use before was much more difficult. It meant each of us needed to reach a perfect mental state before any sort of connection could be made and that's why it wasn't working. Something like that takes phoebs to build and I am ashamed that I did not realize it sooner,” Allura said apologetically.

“No harm was done, princess,” Shirotak responded as he took her hands into his much larger ones. “I'm ready whenever you are.”

Allura couldn't help but smile. There was something about Shirotak that made her feel... safe.

He felt safe, which was a word she never expected to be able to apply to any Galra after Zarkon's betrayal.

“Alright. I suspect I already know which Lion has chosen you, but let us find out for sure.”

☆ - ☆ - ☆ - ☆ - ☆

Enough was enough.

After a quintant-and-a-half of trying and failing to coax Lance out of his room, Keith was ready to drag him outside kicking and screaming if it came down to it. Approaching him in anger probably wasn't the best idea, and Shiro would probably tell him to go work it out on the holo-deck instead, but Keith wasn't in the mood for patience or whatever, especially when all of their attempts to talk to Lance in a calm and collected manner had completely failed thus far.

Maybe what Lance really needed was someone to yell at.

Keith figured he would be perfect for that.

He was still courteous enough to knock first and give Lance a chance to answer before he barged in. “It's Keith! Open the door!” he called out. “Katla taught me how to unlock all of these, so one way or another I-”

The door opened, cutting off the rest of Keith's sentence. Lance frowned back at him with obvious bags beneath his eyes, though the rest of his appearance was presentable. “You don't need to yell.”

“You've ignored everyone else,” Keith said, pushing past Lance to walk inside. He raised an eyebrow when he saw a number of glowing crystals scattered across the floor. “Uh, what have you been doing in here? Where did you get all of this?”

“I went out and got them from the storeroom where Katla built the communication device,” Lance said defensively. “Look, it doesn't matter. It isn't important.”

“Not important? You've been locked up in here for over a quintant! It had better be important!” Keith said, raising his voice. “I don't know what's going on with you and I really don't care about what excuse you have, but you need to knock it off!”

Lance stiffened, his eyes flashing blue as his Shift slipped. “You have no idea-”

“What I see is someone who refuses to look at the big picture. Allura, Hunk, and Coran are not our enemies, and finding them here, working together with them, means we might actually have a chance to make a difference in this war in a big way. Because maybe you didn't pick up on this during the phoebs you've been with us, but the Blade of Mamora can't topple the empire by itself. No one trusts us long enough to give us a chance and work alongside us, but these Lions – this Voltron thing – this could be our chance.”

“Hunk found out I'm Altean and it freaked me out, okay!?” Lance shouted back.

Keith eased up when he noticed how badly Lance was trembling.

“I know you don't get it! You look at them and see hope for the future, but for me it's different. I grew up believing that we were abandoned by the royal family. They gave up and let Zarkon win. There was no Voltron to come around and save the day for us. My people hid for deca-phoebs because of that. Disguising themselves so no one would ever suspect that they were Altean and when they were discovered, it was by someone they thought they could trust. So forgive me if I'm no so quick to trust someone just because they say they're an ally,” Lance said fiercely.

Keith was silent for a moment to give Lance a chance to catch his breath and say anything else that he needed to. “So, how did he find out?”

Lance slumped his shoulders as his fight drained away. “I can recharge the crystals. I didn't realize it until he handed one to me. My Spirit has always been a passive Aspect and I have no idea how to control it. I went out and grabbed some more so I could try and figure it out, but I still don't know.”

“And that's something only Alteans can do?”

Lance nodded.

“Well, if it helps at all, Hunk hasn't said a word to anyone. He's been avoiding us too,” Keith told him. “He spent all of yesterday working in the kitchen and today he made some excuse about cleaning up the engine room. This Castle is a ship, by the way. We learned that while you were busy hiding.”

“A ship? Seriously?” Lance asked, blinking in surprise. “I guess that makes sense. I hadn't thought about it before, but how else would it end up here?” He fell silent for a moment as he sat down on the edge of his bed, picking up one of the crystals laying there. “You all must be pretty annoyed with me.”

“Shiro is worried, I was annoyed, and Katla's probably somewhere in-between,” Keith said. “You can make it up to us by coming out for lunch. Have you even eaten?”

Lance nodded. “Someone's been leaving food outside my door. It wasn't you guys?”

“Nope. I was going to bring you food goo like I threatened to, but Katla told me not to. She seemed to think you'd come out if you got hungry enough. It must have been someone else.” Keith didn't have to think hard about who it could be and judging by the dawning look of realization on Lance's face, he was figuring it out too.

“Quiznak,” Lance muttered, running a hand through his hair. “Where did you say Hunk is? The engine room?”

“Yeah, it's down on one of the lower floors, kind of in the center of the Castle,” Keith said. He watched Lance for a moment, wondering if he really intended to down to talk to Hunk so soon. “You know, if you're not ready to see him yet, you could come with me instead. Shiro said I should take someone with me when I go outside to take a look around and it seems like you could use some time out of this Castle.”

Lance dropped his hand back to his side and raised an eyebrow as he looked up at Keith. “Why are you asking me? This sounds like the sort of thing you and Katla would run off and do together.”

Keith opened his mouth to say that Lance would know why Katla couldn't go if he hadn't been avoiding them but stopped himself at the last tick. “Shiro finished his session with Allura, so Katla is with her today. He's the paladin of the Black Lion, if you were wondering.”

“I guess that means I'm next.”

“Yeah, but not until tomorrow at the earliest,” Keith said and then turned and reopened the door. “Are you coming or not?”

Lance slid off the edge of his bed and shoved his hands into the pockets on his new pants, which were dark blue. “Sure. I think I could use some fresh air.”

Without waiting to see if Lance was going to follow him, Keith took the lead and began making his way to the front door. It had been so long since he last had the chance to get outside and enjoy it – every other time he was on a mission of some sort. He just hoped Coran was right about the locals being friendly.

☆ - ☆ - ☆ - ☆ - ☆

It really did feel like she was floating.

Katla hadn't fully believed Shiro when he described what it was like to let go of actively thinking and to just exist, but it was terrifying and freeing all at once. Allura's warm hands were the only thing anchoring her to reality and Katla focused on them as hard as she could until she was convinced she could see the Altean, floating across from her in a sort of void, her white hair billowing around her like a soft cloud.

Little-by-little, a web of what resembled colorful string began to appear around them, stretching near and far and in all directions. Katla tried to reach out and touch one, but Allura stopped her.

“Be careful,” Allura advised. “They're delicate.”

Katla lowered her hand back over Allura's. “What is all of this? Is it real?”

Allura nodded. “This is our combined image of a mental landscape and those are a physical manifestation of the connections you share with others. I've always liked the idea of it being like a web, so this is the form it takes when I do this, but it could take any form.”

“So... could it also be like a hallway full of doors and windows? Mom always likes to say that eyes are the 'windows to the soul' or something and that's how she knows when I'm lying. Oh! Could you make it a computer screen? With everything color-coded?”

Allura laughed gently, but not mockingly. “With a lot of work, I suppose I could change it. Most Alteans pick one method when they're young and then stick with it all their lives. It makes things less confusing. My mother always said that the bonds we share with others are part of what weaves a great tapestry of life, and so I began to envision them as strings.”

“This is so cool!” Katla looked around in awe at all of the different strings, wondering who they all linked up to. She'd never stopped to think about how many people she knew. “Which one are we looking for? Is it that gold one?”

“Gold?” Allura repeated, flabbergasted.

Katla nodded and pointed it out. It ran through the center, close to a bundle of five others. “It looks pretty special.”

Allura took a moment to respond. “Yes, it's quite special, but it's not the one we're looking for. The string that connects you to your Lion should have a glow to it, though it will be quite subtle. We're looking for one that is either blue, green, or yellow.”

Katla wanted to ask more about what the golden one meant, but they had a mission to complete, so she turned her attention to the rest and examined them one at a time, hoping to spot the glow that Allura mentioned. There were so many colors, some of them faint and others bright, and Katla found herself getting lost in the web and wondering which ones she'd already looked at.

“There!” Allura raised one hand to point above their heads.

Katla lifted her eyes, following where Allura was pointing until she spotted a string that was such a faded green that it was a wonder it could be seen. If not for the subtle halo surrounding it, it would have gone completely overlooked.

Allura made a gesture and the strings shifted around them, moving further away so they had the space to stand up and get a better look. “Now we just have to follow it back to the Green Lion. What I need you to do is place your hands around the string without touching it. Concentrate on feeling the energy it puts off. The Green Lion carries the element of nature. Of things green and growing. You must strengthen that bond before we will be able to see where the Lion has been hidden.”

Katla nodded, reaching out with trembling hands until they were mere inches from the glowing strand. She breathed in deeply and did her best to feel the energy like she was asked to.

There was definitely something there.

She could feel something that was almost like a pulse. A gentle heartbeat. And then a tingling sensation, as though static electricity was dancing over her hands and making her fur stand on end.

“Where are you?” Katla murmured, staring at the green thread. (Was it getting brighter?) “Show me where you are.”

There was a stronger pulse and then the string vibrated as though someone had plucked it. Katla quickly pulled back her hands and stepped away, afraid that she'd done something wrong, but as she looked up to ask Allura what was going on she was treated to the sight of the void seeming to blur as it shifted around them, pinpricks of light rushing by.

A large, spherical object loomed in the distance, rapidly growing closer until all at once they were floating high above a planet covered in green forests, stars glittering in the space around them.

“Wh-where are we?” Katla stammered, spinning around to try and get a grasp on their new surroundings. “Allura, what's going on?”

“This is where the Green Lion is hidden,” Allura said with a reassuring smile. “You asked to be shown where she is and so she has brought us here.” She paused a moment as she looked around and took it all in. “I think I recognize this place... We appear to be in the Dailix Quadrant. I recognize a few of the stars. And if you look over there, you can see the V2-Kylri Galaxy.”

Katla turned back to the planet, taking a good look at the place her Lion was hidden. “I hope you're right. The Empire hasn't made it out to Dailix yet. From what we can tell, they don't think there's anything of value in this quadrant.”

“Good. That will make it easier to retrieve her,” Allura said with a nod. She took one final look at the stars and the planet and then held her hands out to Katla. “We should return now.”

Katla nodded and took Allura's hands.

And all at once she opened her eyes and found herself back in the Serenity Garden, her back stiff and her legs aching from sitting still for so long. As she slowly stretched out and tried to regain feeling in her toes, Katla felt a growing sense of pride in how much they'd accomplished during their afternoon together.

They were one step closer to stopping Zarkon and the Empire.

#voltron #kidge #kidgemas #fanfiction #soul of a lion #galra shiro #half galra keith #half galra pidge #altean lance #altean hunk

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moonguilt · 4 years ago

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Klance 🍁

hey hello!! maple leaf hmm im a sucker for autumn and falling leaves so i must submit to my calling! please indulge me as i unload some pre-kl angsty keith unrequited (or so he thinks) pining. this kind of just turned into a full-on fic so uhhh sorry about that heh:

Allura has, obviously, never been to Earth before. She has never had the quintessential American autumn experience: leaf-peeping, hay rides, pumpkin-picking, apple cider, corn mazes, candle huffing, haunted houses—that type of thing, from what Keith knows of the subject. Which is admittedly kind of limited.

Lance is absolutely thrilled at the notion that he gets to introduce her to all of it. He clearly loves the idea of being the cool guy who gets to show an alien space princess an important facet of his lived experience here on Earth. As soon as the notion strikes him, one day while the team is scattered about their shared common room at the Garrison, he makes plans to take her on a tour. She is fascinated by the suggestion and immediately agrees—even expresses a particular excitement at the idea of getting to try out trendy fall Earth fashion.

Surprising absolutely no one, least of all Keith, Lance avidly encourages this and pulls out a phone to start making plans to wear matching outfits. (Allura seems to like the “dark academia” look, and Lance is more than happy to take her out shopping and also get some use out of his own turtlenecks.)

Keith, meanwhile, finds himself sitting across the table from them, watching this all go down, feeling bitter and sorry for himself. He’s a big gay idiot—he knows that—and, well. Sue him. He has to watch the man he loves make date plans with his crush. It’s hard. And for some reason, for some big gay idiot reason, because he must be a masochist or something, because he’s feeling so unreasonably grumpy and petulant about the whole thing, because he should be happy that Lance is happy and he hates that he’s just upset instead because what kind of dickish friend is he—

He says, “I’ve never seen any of that before either.”

And he wants to kick himself for saying it as soon as the words are out of his mouth, because he’s intruding on something that is not meant for him, and he’s such an asshole for trying to insinuate himself where he clearly doesn’t belong, and he’s also a liar because unlike Allura he has at least seen all of this stuff in movies and books and pictures so it’s not really a novelty for him the way it is for her, and now it’s like he’s trying to take something precious from her and from Lance, and he’s such an asshole and also so obvious and unsubtle.

It’s painful. He is in pain. Pain is in him.

He expects Lance to quip something snarky back at him, or to tell him to butt out, or to give him the “not cool bro” signal or—or something.

But Lance just lights up like a damned Christmas tree and leans over the table and says, “Really?! Dude, you’ve gotta come with!”

And the next thing Keith knows he’s being dragged by both his crush and an alien princess into Lance’s closet so that they can figure out his own matching ensemble for their weekend getaway to New England. He and Lance are basically the same size at this point, with a bit of variation in the details, so it’s an ordeal but not an unsuccessful one. The shirts are a little too loose around the shoulders—God, Lance and his smooth, wide shoulders—and a little too tight around the waist and arms, but they make it work.

Besides, Keith can’t help but feel a flicker of pride—misplaced, probably, but who cares—at the way Lance’s face goes a bit red at the sight of him. It’s probably nothing. But Keith is a fool and so he allows himself to entertain the frankly ridiculous fantasy that perhaps Lance likes the look of him in these clothes.

When the time comes, it’s a whole lot more complicated than Keith was anticipating—this is Lance, of course, so there’s a whole detailed itinerary of all the things they absolutely must do at every hour of each day of their weekend mini-vacation. Keith doesn’t know what the hell is in store for him and doesn’t really care; he trusts Lance to lead the way. And also he would much rather dig a hand into the roadtrip potato chip bag and lose himself in carbs than stress over a schedule that he knows is probably going to get messed up anyway because both Lance and Allura will be immediately distracted every time they set eyes on something fun or interesting or pretty. (But who is he to criticize when he himself is so often distracted by Lance.)

Anyway, he’s not really sure why Lance insisted on roadtrip snacks. It takes like a minute to get to Massachusetts in the Black Lion. But whatever; he knows better than to ask questions when Lance gets focused like this.

The trip ends up being remarkably enjoyable, actually. Keith expects it to be agonizing—he thinks he’s going to have to watch Lance drool over Allura the whole time while he third-wheels and follows them around carrying all their stuff—but the reality is a pleasant surprise. Keith hadn’t really noticed it until now, but there is something different about the way Lance and Allura interact these days. It’s less uncomfortable than Keith remembers. It feels more—natural, he supposes. And most astonishingly, it includes him as an equal and welcome part of the dynamic. Strange.

He notices it in the way Lance throws an arm around both him and Allura as they walk up a winding cobblestone street; in the way Allura says, “Boys, come here! Smell this candle! It’s called ‘pumpuh-kin spihsee’!” and beckons them both in close; in the way Lance asks a stranger to take their picture in front of a quaint old churchyard and, when Keith lingers awkwardly out of frame, calls him over and tucks him tightly in between himself and Allura.

It’s... fun. It’s so much fun. Keith is having so. Much. Fun.

He loves being able to share cider donuts with them. Instead of fighting over who gets the last one, like he thinks he would have been inclined to do once upon a time, they each keep biting it in half, smaller and smaller, and force the next person to do the same until they’re all nibbling tiny bites off of a pathetic little crumb. (Keith loses this game when he swallows the final piece because Lance leans in too close and brushes a sprinkle of sugar from his cheek. Not his proudest moment. He ends up having to pay for dinner.)

He loves being able to make fun of the silly ghost tour guide with them, mocking the dramatic affectation of his voice as he tells a story so obviously fake that it nearly brings them to tears. At least until the wind blows a door open so fast that Lance shrieks and jumps into Allura’s arms, at which point they really are overcome by tears—with the exception of Lance, of course, who just pouts at them both for a solid minute while he waits for them to recover from their laughter.

He really loves them. Not both in the same way, or with the same intentions—but he does. He loves them. And he loves this. And he is so glad he gets to experience it. So glad he didn’t submit to his urge to sulk and pine and grouse over his feelings for Lance. Because this is something precious, and he would be a fool to compromise it.

And no, it certainly isn’t the worst thing in the world, when they’re sitting on a pile of hay getting towed along by a rusty red tractor through the woodsy outskirts of a small farm, the way Lance curls his fingers through Keith’s and pulls their joined hands onto his lap, or the way Allura’s head droops to rest on Keith’s shoulder, while the three of them lounge together in the fading evening light.

“I love you both,” Allura mumbles drowsily into Keith’s borrowed sweater as he loops his arm around her back. “Very much so.”

Lance’s thumb rubs along the back of Keith’s hand. “Me too,” he says, turning to look at Keith with a gaze that could only be described as buttery soft.

Keith holds it for a moment, willing it to melt into his mind forever, then feels himself smile, slow and gentle, as he leans his head back against the hay and looks up. The first stars of the night have emerged to kiss the sky above. He tugs his friends just a little closer.

oh man i had fun with that, ty for reading and ty for the ask!!

#i feel so wholesome rn dfgkds #is this kallurance?? i think so #im gonna tag both!!#klance #kallurance #but its rly mostly queerplatonic #the romantic parts r kl parts #fanfic #moonguilt content #autumn #ask #fallensil3nce

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