#but since I already have a couple pieces for her and none for keith -

[cmaculatum]

[finnyboywolfhard]

Song That The Morning Brings (EPILOGUE)

Steve Harrington x Henderson!Reader

catch up here

summary: months have passed, and the group is spending time with one another. 

warnings: cursing and fluff af, short and sweet

A/N: and so we’ve reached the end! this story holds a deeply special place in my heart, and i am so glad that so many of you have enjoyed it and stuck with me along the way. I have no idea what I’m gonna write next, but i am very open to ideas! also lmk if you want to be on a permanent taglist! Enjoy :) 

word count: 1.5k 

“Okay, so I brought home Sixteen Candles, Nightmare on Elm Street and Gremlins.” Y/N said walking into her living room following a long shift at Family Video. The party and Steve were sitting there patiently waiting. She set her keys on the side table and slipped the vest off her body. She looked towards the group again, sadness gaining as Will and Eleven were missing from the group.

“Sixteen Candles is one of my favorites.” Max said towards the girl.

“That’s a chick flick!” Mike replied.

“And? It’s a good movie Mike.” Steve replied back, standing up to come towards his girlfriend. The kids continued to bicker about what movie they were gonna watch first. Steve left a gentle kiss on Y/N’s lips, and then gazed into her eyes.

“Will you help me make dinner please?” She said with her puppy dog face, knowing what it does to him. He sighed and rolled his eyes as a smile spread across my face.

“I will, but you have got to stop making that face.” He said, rubbing her back and pulling her closer and closer. The girl leaned her face towards hers, letting a gentle but long lasting smooch.  

“Can you guys go somewhere else if you’re gonna be gross?” Dustin let out in a huff. The two pulled apart while giggling, Y/N pulling Steve behind her to the kitchen. She made a simple dinner of frozen chicken nuggets and random vegetables she also found. The girl could cook, but cooking for six of them now and one for later, her mom, was a feat she wasn’t willing to venture down currently.

“How was it today? Was Keith more tolerable to you?” Steve asked.

“He was less flirty but there were still a few weird comments. You have the job and he’s been nice to you, hell, you already have a raise! How long do we have to keep this up?” She pleaded to him, regarding how they had to pretend they weren’t a couple at work.

“I don’t know, just a little longer just to be sure.” She sighed and turned back to the pot, stirring absolutely nothing, just deflecting her feelings elsewhere. She knew it was just so they could keep their jobs, but it did hurt not being able to openly love him everywhere. She knew she could keep it professional, but sometimes when Keith is gross, she just wants to involve Steve but she can’t.  Steve could tell she was getting tense.

“Come here.”

“I have to pay attention to this.” She said passive aggressively.

“Y/N/N, come here.” She shuffled over to stand in between his legs while he sat on a counter.

“Yes?” He cupped her face into his hands, making sure they were making direct, un-breaking eye contact.

“Y/N Y/M/N Henderson, I am wildly, deeply, crazy in love with you.” This had slowly but surely becoming their way of proving how much love they really had for one another ever since Y/N said it the first time.

“I am even more in love with you Steven Joseph Harrington.” They made loving eye contact for a few seconds before confusion spread across her face.” Hey, the night of the fight, why were you hugging my mom before we left?”

“Oh, yeah. She basically just said that she knew how much I loved you and she had watched me transform before her own eyes. Then I apologized for the way I acted there for a while and uhh—she told me that she trusted me to care for you and be there, because you let me in when you wouldn’t let anyone else in, not even her. All I could do was hug her in that moment. She saw all that I’ve ever wanted to do- Love you.” He watched as the girls eyes pooled with tears, letting his thumb swipe the drop from beneath her eyes. “Come on Y/N/N, please don’t cry.” She let out a softer giggle than usual.

“Oh shush, you’re the one who made me cry. You’re too much for me Stevie. You can act all tough as much as you want, but you’re really just a big ol’ softie.” She said before peppering his face with kisses. She tapped his thighs before moving back to the stove and oven, checking over the food. “Are you taking the party home tonight or are they spending the night? Dusty didn’t tell me.”

“I think they’re sleeping over, why?”

“Do you just want to sleep over too then? We could make breakfast tomorrow for them; maybe take them for a day trip or something?” Y/N asked calmly, beginning to get dishes out to serve dinner.

“Uhh—yeah, sure. That could be nice.” He cleared his throat, clearly becoming flustered.

“Calm down Stevie, it’s not like you haven’t spent the night here before.”

“That was when we weren’t dating, I want to be respectful.” He said, sitting up a little taller. This made her fully laugh.

“Steve.” She said, giving him a look that just screamed, ‘are you serious right now?’.

“Okay, okay! But if your brother says one stupid thing, I’m out.”

“Yeah, I’m sure you are.” She said, not believing him in the slightest. She went over to entrance of the living room. “Guys, dinner’s ready.”

They all found their way into the kitchen, got their food and went back into the living room, food propped up on their laps. “Did you decide a movie yet?” Y/N asked from beside Steve.

“We can’t agree on Nightmare on Elm Street or Sixteen Candles first.” Lucas said softly, he was clearly the center of this argument.

“Dusty, put in Nightmare on Elm Street, we’ll watch this now rather than right before we go to bed.” The movie played through, members of the group jumping every so often when things got scary. Y/N had herself tucked into Steve, as if he was protecting her from the horrors of the movie.

As the night passed on, Claudia came back from work and watched some of the movies with the kids, they ate a load of popcorn and shared a lot of laughs.  It was weird to not have Eleven or Will here, hell it was weird to see Nancy come into the video store without Jonathan. It was as if a piece of their hearts were gone.  But this was how they were healing, they were spending time sharing love with one another. Y/N began to yawn and feel tired, somehow cuddling closer and closer to Steve by the second.

“Okay, I think it’s time to get this one to bed. “ Steve said towards the kids, lifting the arm covering Y/N just a smidge.

“Hey! No! I want to finish the movie!”

“Y/N, don’t kid yourself. You’re gonna be asleep in ten minutes.” Dustin said, mocking his sister’s ability to stay awake. She glared at him for a few seconds, communicating with him through their minds, just like siblings do.

“Fine.” She stood up and folded the blanket that was just covering her and Steve. “Come here, give me hugs goodnight, each and every single one of you!” The kids stood to their feet and gave her a hug. Over the past few months, Y/N had been way more open and affectionate with each of them, seeing as how precious the days with them are. They never knew when another battle was going to come again, so she had to show how much she cared every single day. She swore that to herself after what happened with Hopper. Max had started to cling on extra long, clearly re-finding the comfort of a sibling in Y/N. After Billy had died that night, she could never be the same. Sure Billy was awful, and sure Max hated the way he treated people, but he was still her family. They had still been through so much. Y/N was happy to take on any familial role to any of them, knowing how desperately they all needed it.

“Goodnight guys, I love you all so much.” She said before darting up the steps, followed closely by her boyfriend. They meandered through her bedroom, getting ready to go to sleep at their own paces, moving in synchronous motions none the less. They crawled into bed and faced one another.

“I really do love you Stevie. A lot.”

“I really do love you, Y/N/N. So, so much.” He gave her a kiss and pulled her into his chest to fall asleep.

Steve and Y/N’s relationship was one that people saw coming, but could never truly have imagined how beautiful it would really be. They were each other’s favorite people to start and end the day with. They could talk about anything and everything without judgment. Yeah, they fought sometimes, but that’s completely normal. All in all, these two shared a bond of happiness, trust and memories. From the moment they met, their lives were intertwined. Even through the period of time where they were no longer friends, or when they were facing the awkward in-between, it all meant something.  It meant that they would fight the good fight, and they would do it together. Because to Y/N, Steve was the song that the morning brings.

taglist: @mochminnie @queen1054 @prettysbliss @voidnarnia

[yourcoolfriendwithallthecandy]

Why So Jaded Chapter 8

FFN AO3 

Enjoy. 

Chapter 8

Violet was all too happy to get Buddy out of SEB and even let him drive her SUV to where they needed to go on her first official "Raid Day". Where all the "spiders" would be "sleeping" and it would give Buddy and Violet some breathing room.

"Oh my God, may the heavens themselves bless you, I almost forgot how nice it is to drive and not be driven around everywhere." Buddy thanked her gratefully as he drove her very nice SUV around Metroville, surprisingly remembering his way around here as he marveled at how the city had grown and developed since he drove around in it last.

"So are we clear?" Buddy breathed.

"Yes, all the "spiders" are sleeping. They're not gone but they're sleeping. And I've been practicing turning some that Phillip doesn't control and isn't keeping track of off and on again along with every other one I can get my hands on so I can turn them on and off on my own." Violet divulged.

"You do realize that you are officially the coolest person I know right? Like that is mind blowing cool." Buddy told her which got her to giggle as he drove them to their first destination because Buddy had surprised Violet with breakfast in his apartment. 

"Thanks, I try, I just needed to witness them being put to sleep in order to figure out how to do it. Because all I've been able to do before is just know that they're on and where they are. But that's it, I mean there have been a few that I've purposefully overpowered and fried. Like turning a burner on its highest setting. But I hadn't been able to figure out how to turn it down." Violet continued.

"That's a really good metaphor." Buddy realized.

"Thanks." Violet grinned and Buddy looked over to see her hand resting on her arm rest and resisted the urge to just reach over and hold her hand before they went to a butcher shop to get their main course as Buddy was all too happy to give her some pointers and how to pick out a great steak or chop, and then it was onto a Merry Cherry to order a good cake for dessert that Violet would be picking up Saturday morning and then to a big box store to get all kinds of things, from a playpen and toys for the kids to other ingredients and then they stopped for lunch at one of Violet's favorite places to get lunch on her days off when she wasn't in a suit, which was a 'FUBU' Mexican place which she explained was a "For Us, By Us" Mexican place and Buddy was impressed when she spoke flawless Spanish in ordering for them.

"How many languages do you speak?" Buddy asked.

"A lot." Violet answered.

"How many is 'a lot'." Buddy posed curiously.

"Take a guess." Violet prompted.

"Obviously, at least two." Buddy guessed as he dug into the chips and salsa.

"Higher." Violet gestured for him to up his guess as she helped him decimate the delicious chips and salsa because both were super fresh and delicious.

"Five?" Buddy blinked and his eyebrows rose in surprise when she gestured to go higher.

"Ten?" Buddy pressed.

"Close, 12, complete fluent languages."

"What are they? Can you tell me?" Buddy prodded.

"English, Latin- and it's the Latin that made learning Italian and Spanish a breeze but I learned Mexican Spanish first and then Spain Spanish second. Let's see- I know French, Turkish, Arabic, Chinese Mandarin, Japanese, Korean, Russian and lastly Portuguese, I know bits and pieces of Swedish, German, Hindi and Greek. So technically more like 16. But I have to because Phillip is a world traveler and businessman and wants to make sure that he understands what everyone around him is saying, because again, paranoid." Violet explained.

"That and I already knew most of those before I ever worked for him because of my other work." Violet shrugged nonchalantly.

"And that's why you're the best at what you do." Buddy realized.

"It's one of the things, yes." Violet agreed before their tacos and other ingredients were brought out.

"Ok, these tacos are already amazing but to make them better, squeeze the lime to cut the fat, a spoonful of rice, a scoop of refried beans, a dash of mole, cover in queso, and just a dab of the green salsa unless you love really spicy then add the red and viola, the perfect taco." Violet urged as she did what she preferred to her own tacos as Buddy copied her pattern as they lifted their tacos and bumped them together.

"Cheers," they both smiled at each other before they each took their first bites before Buddy outright moaned and Violet giggled again and hummed in agreement.

"Oh, oh this is amazing." Buddy praised between mouthfuls.

"Now you see why I like to come here. FUBU anything is always better than the "mainstream" version and these are handmade, hand pressed corn tortillas that were being made as we were ordering and you always double up on the tortillas." Violet appraised.

"How many other little gems like this have you found in the city?" Buddy asked.

"Oh, dozens. Any and every kind of ethnic food you can think of, all of them 'FUBU's' . A year ago, in an effort to get a break from all the spiders, I would take myself out to lunch all on my own, I'd leave all the electronics in the car and park it like down the street and sometimes over a street from where I was really going and take like an hour and a half lunches, trying to find all these little hole in the wall places where there wasn't so many watching eyes and listening ears. And along the way, I found some amazing food and then I never showed any of them to him. Because I didn't want him to invade what little spaces of freedom and breathing room I had found. Not that he would be caught dead in any eatery that didn't have a five star rating and at least one Michelin star."

"So why are you bringing me to a place like this?" Buddy asked.

"Because I have a very good feeling you won't invade them. That you'll appreciate sharing them with me, and if anything happens and I disappear, it'll be one of the few places I'll reappear in." Violet answered softly.

"Well, count me honored and privileged then and if I'm ever in a position that I think I'm being tailed, I won't come anywhere near here or anywhere else you would take me, cause I would hate for an invasion, much less an infestation to take place." Buddy vowed.

"Good." Violet smiled appreciatively.

Once they finished lunch, which ended up taking a few hours because they got lost in conversation, they went to Violet's favorite wine and liquor store that was huge because they had everything under the sun where Buddy felt like a kid in a candy store as Violet showed him all her favorites and made suggestions based on his chosen menu and Buddy noticed that the more the day progressed, the closer to him she came, to the point that she was always taking his arm when they were walking side by side or simply standing looking at wines and other spirits and he was all too happy to get her doors for her and did his best to be a perfect gentleman which Violet appreciated and it was there in the cold room of the liquor store where Violet and Buddy were staring at one of many walls of floor to ceiling craft beer before none other than Keith and Greg showed up since they just got off of work and stopped in their tracks and stared when they saw Buddy in there with Violet as they huddled together in the cold room, trying to pick out beers but Violet didn't really drink beer and Buddy didn't either so they weren't sure what exactly they were looking at.

"Bud?" They called out before Buddy turned his head.

"Hey guys." Buddy greeted happily as Violet put on a friendly smile since she had already been running background checks on them and recognized them from meeting them in Vegas when Buddy had introduced them to her formally at the casino.

"Are you out on a walk?" They teased Buddy.

"He is, I figured if I held his hand, he wouldn't have to be on a leash." Violet answered with a shit eating grin which got them all to laugh as she slipped her hand into Buddy's and held it for emphasis but wouldn't let it go and Buddy was unbelievably pleased about that and gently squeezed it a little in appreciation.

"It would look a little strange." Greg allowed.

"Especially when he has to wear a shock collar to go with it." Violet clicked her teeth with a wink that got all of them to erupt into further laughter as Buddy's cheeks were beet red along with his ears and suddenly the cold room wasn't so cold anymore.

"So you're into that kind of thing?" Keith teased Violet.

"No, it was just a dig." Violet answered with a shake of her head.

"Damn." Buddy sarcastically snapped his fingers in his other hand in mock disappointment as Violet raised a challenging brow at him.

"I mean, whew, am I glad you're not." Buddy re-answered with a cheesy grin which earned some snickers from his friends as Violet just chuckled and shook her head.

"I'm gonna go back out and check out the cordials with the cart and warm back up, you guys can stay and pick out beer, help him pick out something you guys will like and enjoy on Saturday." Violet offered sweetly before she excused herself and Buddy immediately missed her by his side.

"Dude!" Keith quietly congratulated as he came and did the handshake hug with Buddy.

"Bud, be careful, you're playing with fire." Greg warned as he did the same.

"I know there's a risk for both of us, that's why we're just friends." Buddy reassured Greg.

"You didn't look "just friends" when we came in, you guys looked like 'cute couple' and even 'wow what's a dime like her doing with a nickel like him'." Keith murmured as he got to work getting some really good beers for Buddy to take to Violet which earned a humph from Buddy.

"Really? I'm a five." Buddy deadpanned.

"Four, five was generous." Greg added with a playful punch to the shoulder as Buddy gave him an unimpressed look.

"Sad part is I agree. So what beers should we get?" Buddy asked.

"Oh Dragon's Milk for sure. We need to cover the bases, we need to get a good stout or two, perhaps a porter, maybe a couple of lagers and pilsners and IPA's to round it out." Keith urged as he started pulling out what looked good.

"You and craft beers." Greg just shook his head at Keith who started handing him six packs and four packs before he handed the others to Buddy to hold.

"Yeah, but I'm grateful because anything other than whiskey or vodka and I'm lost." Buddy shrugged.

"Speaking of how are you doing with that?" Greg asked.

"Doing good, surprisingly." Buddy answered honestly.

"Well with a tall glass of water like the one you're with. I'd think you'd want to stay sober so you don't miss a second of her." Keith answered before he snagged two dessert beers himself.

"This is true." Buddy agreed with a fond grin.

"You know, even though she's kind of off limits. She did look pretty happy with you and vice versa. Whenever I see her with Phillip, she looks so serious and looks like she's just always on and always working and can't relax. With you it's like she's just hanging out and it's a lot more casual." Keith appraised.

"And you would be absolutely right and that's why she likes hanging out with me more than him." Buddy grinned victoriously.

"Just don't screw the pooch by screwing the boss' pet." Greg warned.

"Like I said, just friends...so far." Buddy admitted as he tried to keep his smile in check because the thought of anything more was too much to hope for yet strangely well within reach.

"So you've thought about it." Greg prodded.

"Yeah, I mean I'm still alive and have a pulse don't I?" Buddy returned as his friends hummed and murmured their agreement to that sentiment.

"Yeah I thought I saw your smile grow a little brighter when she held your hand and teased you like a proper girlfriend." Keith grinned.

"Ok, I don't know about you guys but I'm freezing my ass off in here, can we be done? Please?" Buddy requested before Keith grabbed one more.

"Yes, now we're done." Keith assured him as the three managed to get out and look through the store for Violet who was perusing the cheeses because the liquor store had a couture snack market to go with all the wine and spirits and had a really good selection and was putting some cheeses and crackers together and was getting hit on by some guy who was trying to lean into her personal space while he spit his best game at her and judging by her own body language, she was doing what she could to ignore him.

"Here's your chance, play her boyfriend and scare off the creeper, do it, do it, do it!" Keith urged in an excited whisper to Buddy who was already picking up his steps to come to her rescue.

"Honey? You pick out the cheeses you wanted?" Buddy took a chance and asked as he slipped the beer into the cart next to her and the smile Violet gave him was pure magic.

"Almost, I can't decide between the brie and the camembert. Did you guys get enough beer?" Violet giggled as Keith and Greg unloaded their beers into the cart too as she held up the cheeses in question to Buddy.

"I think we should get both." Buddy decided.

"Very smart decision Dear. I knew there was a reason I married you." Violet cooed as she stole into his side after she slipped them into the basket of the cart with the others.

"Oh, I..I didn't see a…" the guy tried to say as he started backing up at the sight of Buddy and his friends around him and knew he was outmanned and outgunned.

"Oh it's at the jewelers, one of the accent diamonds was coming loose." Violet waived off. "You ready to check out Handsome?" Violet urged Buddy as she practically moved Buddy into place pushing the cart so she could still wrap her hand around the crook of his elbow as he pushed it.

"If you are Darlin." Buddy answered as he followed her lead.

"Then let's go." Violet agreed as they walked to the check out as Violet let her head fall on Buddy's shoulder as they waited in line before she kissed his shoulder.

"Thanks for the save." Violet thanked him as she let her lips linger there and the utter delight in her eyes had Buddy hoping and praying and wishing on every lucky star he had that one day he'd make that a reality.

"You're welcome." Buddy answered before he took a chance and kissed her forehead sweetly which practically made her beam a happy smile at him as Keith and Greg knew then, that there were serious sparks there and were torn between being happy for their friend yet terrified for them both.

"You guys are gonna help us load all this up right?" Violet put to Keith and Greg who were buying their own packs of beer as they stood in line behind Violet and Buddy.

"Yeah, of course." They agreed from their place behind them and once through the line, the guys did their best "Tetris" it all into the back of Violet's SUV with everything else they had bought.

"Guys, it would be appreciated if not a word is breathed about what happened in there." Buddy reminded his friends as Violet was happy and relieved that he said something instead of her having to.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Greg answered.

"I didn't even know anything even happened." Keith shrugged.

"Thanks guys." Violet answered appreciatively as Buddy smiled proudly.

"Well, say hi to the missus' from us. See you Saturday guys." Buddy bid them before he opened the door for Violet to get in the SUV before going around and getting in it himself and was pleasantly surprised when Violet laced her fingers in his after he got the SUV in gear.

"Thank you for saying something to them, it meant that I didn't have to slip back into Ms. Parr and could just stay Violet." Violet thanked him in a soft murmur but her adoring smile was utterly divine.

"I didn't want that to happen either, if there's anything I can say or do to keep you as Violet, doesn't matter who I'm with, just let me know." Buddy returned as he chanced a gentle squeeze to her hand and was happy when she squeezed back but made no move to remove her hand from his.

"So where did you want to go out to dinner?" Buddy asked.

"Ok, I know another really good place." Violet answered as he gave him directions on where to go where she brought him to a dim sum/tapas place that was run by a couple where the wife was Chinese and her husband was from Spain and it worked beautifully as Violet once again ordered off both menus in both languages since their server was the couple's daughter and was herself trilingual, flipping from one to the other flawlessly to get all her favorites and Buddy was utterly enchanted to see her smile so excitedly and once all the food came out and soon covered every surface of the table and the dim sum had to be triple stacked because the tapas couldn't be, Buddy just beamed a proud smile to see her do a happy dance as she uncovered everything before she went around and identified everything that she ordered before she got her own plate and began getting one of everything, using her chopsticks like a pro before going for the soup dumplings first and walked Buddy through trying to eat them without burning his mouth before they alternated between the tapas and dim sum, slowly but surely getting through most of it, and making sure to at least try one of everything and Buddy felt he would have to loosen his belt and ate until he was just about stuffed.

"Ok, we have to get one more, it's a dessert dumpling." Violet said as she waived down the waitress and ordered what she wanted before she nodded and left again.

"I don't know if I could eat much more Vi." Buddy admitted as he took a breath, and tried not to belch too loudly.

"Just one more bite, find that extra pocket everyone keeps for dessert and get it ready to receive amazingness." Violet urged as she organized what they would be taking home in leftovers in the to-go boxes and in a few moments one last steamer box was brought out and Buddy could smell chocolate.

"Behold, chocolate soup dumplings, with chocolate, Nutella and bananas." Violet revealed as she took the top off as Buddy oohed. Then he carefully got the little pillow of mochi dough surrounding the gooey center and Buddy melted in his seat when he bit into it.

"See? Best last bite." Violet urged as she began to bire into one of her own.

"Do you know how to make this?" Buddy asked.

"Yes I do. The mochi dough is hard but the filling is easy." Violet answered as she finished hers just about the same time Buddy did.

"Do you want another or are you good?" Violet asked.

"I'm good, now if I take another bite, I'll pop." Buddy admitted.

"Wouldn't want that to happen." Violet replied with a fond smile before she checked the time.

"Well, we have two hours before our 12 hours of freedom is up. How do you want to spend it?" Violet asked.

"I don't care. However you want to spend it." Buddy returned.

"Could you do me a favor?" Violet asked thoughtfully as she tilted her head curiously.

"Name it." Buddy furthered.

"As sad and shallow as this is going to sound, I have not hung out socially with anyone except for other "gifted" individuals. In...well in years and being from a "gifted" family, all they know are other "gifted" people too and with other gifted people, you don't worry about hiding your gifts cause everyone has them and we always play and try to one up each other. So to try to be "normal" yet feel comfortable is going to be especially hard for me. It's going to be a challenge for me to stay Violet especially when I'm around anyone and everyone, but you, as Ms. Parr or simply "Vi" with my family. So...would you help me pick something to wear? Like set the tone, something actually casual but nice but not...intimidating. Because Ms. Parr is always commanding and intimidating wherever she goes and I don't want to be like that with your friends cause they'll never feel comfortable around me and if they're not comfortable, it's going to ruin it and this is your first social visit and I want it to go well and I don't want to ruin it for you. And I would ask Jack but he would see to it that I come in head to toe designer labels." Violet confessed lowly as they once again leaned across the table so they could drop their voices and have a private conversation despite the very busy restaurant.

"Of course." Buddy agreed.

"Awesome, then let me pay for dinner and we'll go." Violet offered and once they got their things, Violet directed Buddy to one of the high rise apartment buildings in town. Not the most luxurious, but close.

"Ok, now go to the tenth floor of the parking garage and park in parking space 10245." Violet directed as Buddy did as she asked, still not letting go of her hand as he drove his way up the parking garage. Not surprised when he saw a sea of Mercedes Benz, BMW's, Land Rovers and even some classic cars and sports cars before he found the right spot and parked her SUV into it before they got out and walked into the building where a doorman let them in from behind tinted glass of the entry way.

"Good evening Ms. Parr."

"Good evening James, how's Linda faring today?" Violet returned politely.

"She's doing better, thanks for asking." He answered before he looked questioningly from Violet to Buddy.

"Awesome, this is my guest Mr. Bartholomew Pine, This is Mr. James Conner. " Violet introduced before the two shook hands inside the entryway.

"Welcome to Sky Way, Mr. Pine." James said as he opened the door both of them as Violet came into the building and into the lobby of the floor.

"Good evening Ms. Parr." The receptionist greeted cheerfully.

"Good evening Samantha, how are you this evening?" Violet politely greeted.

"I'm doing great, thanks for asking, you have three packages today. Let me go get those for you from cold storage." She said as she quickly left and went into the office behind the desk and promptly returned with three packages, which were chilled before Buddy offered to carry them for Violet which Violet was grateful for before Buddy went with Violet to her apartment where she opened the door for him so he could get in and Violet blew out a breath of relief when she could tell that the "spiders" were still sleeping in her apartment.

"You can put them on the island." Violet directed as she got her actual mail that had been scattered on the floor since it overflowed the little mail basket and threw a small forcefield around all of it and pulled it back to her hand.

"That's a neat trick." Buddy commented as he passed her in the little hallway.

"Thanks, Jack calls it my 'yo-yo' powers. It comes in pretty handy so I don't have to bend over and pick anything up off the floor." Violet murmured a little distractedly as she looked over her mail and sighed as she began to look through it and started to organize it according to what it was before she used her powers to yo-yo two letter openers into her hand once they both came to stand at her kitchen island.

"You get the packages, I get the mail." Violet offered as she handed him one of them.

"Ok." Buddy agreed and took it and started opening her boxes which were all meal kits, which was why they were in cold storage to keep the contents fresh before he put all the food away for her as Violet opened her mail as she opened her bills first and looked those over before she opened all her other mail, ignoring the junk mail and going straight to the checks and opened those before she got a pen from a drawer in the island and signed the checks then got her phone out and took pictures of her checks to deposit them into her accounts directly before she put the checks into an envelope with the date written on the envelope to signify which checks she got which days before she put the envelope into a filing cabinet under the month folder.

Buddy couldn't help but notice that her income was far exceeding her expenses but kept his observations to herself as he realized her apartment was just as nice, if not nicer than his own apartment space. Quite luxurious and modern actually.

"You have a nice apartment." Buddy praised.

"Thanks, I'm never here enough to enjoy it, I only sleep here and eat about two meals a week here. Phillip insisted that I stay at a "safe, protected and respectable" place, so that left either here or a place at Green Gardens or Garden Square where he owns the penthouse there and that was way too close to comfort for me. Besides it has a spider and a mole problem and in two years when I'm not working for Phillip, I'll very happily be walking away from it." Violet answered as she took off her jacket and put it into the closet.

"I can take your jacket." Violet offered before Buddy took off his jacket and handed it to her.

"A mole problem?" Buddy repeated.

"Yeah not only does this place have thirty something "spiders" but the door men at both the ground level and this floor and half the reception staff and every single one of my neighbors on all sides are on Phillip's payroll to keep tabs on me and if I had to guess Phillip just got either two calls or texts or whatever saying that I've taken you to my place and so the spiders are about to wake up here, any minute." Violet predicted as she closed her eyes and focused on them around the place.

"Jeeze. Yeah, gilded cage." Buddy realized as he looked around and suddenly frowned at all of it, wondering where the spiders had their webs.

"Yup. So, let's go to my closet." Violet urged as Buddy followed her to her frankly gorgeous bedroom before she opened up a door that led to the most amazing walk in closet that was practically full of gorgeous dressy business clothes, handbags and heels before Buddy noticed that Violet stopped and stared at a little sliver of regular looking clothes before she took them all off the rack and then laid them over the bed before she decided to try to pull just a few of her more flattering blouses.

"Too much?" Violet asked as she held them out for Buddy as she held them in front of herself.

"No, like if you were to pair that with a pair of jeans it would be just fine. Granted Tammy, Lisa and Beth are probably going to dress up just a little bit too. You don't have to compete with them and you don't have to be the most beautiful woman in the room, I mean you will be no matter what, but that's just my opinion, but this isn't a competition. Just be Violet. Wear what you would if you were hosting a get together at your place with people you're comfortable with. Wear what you would be comfortable in. Remember almost all of them have kids and kids are messy so don't wear anything that won't be the end of the world if Beth's baby throws up on you or the kids decide to finger paint you with ketchup or something." Buddy explained as Violet just smiled appreciatively at him.

"Well, these are dry clean only, so something washable." Violet decided as she put them back and went through her other blouses before she came across one of her favorites that would 1. Make her look beautiful. 2. Was machine washable. 3. Not too dressy and it would go with the necklace Buddy had gotten for her that she had yet to take off.

"This." Violet decided before she held it up to her jeans before she found a nice pair of jeans to go with it.

"Perfect." Buddy nodded in approval.

"Are you sure it's not too dressy?" Violet questioned.

"You'll be fine. Honestly you could show up in just a plain t shirt and jeans and be fine." Buddy reassured her.

"Well, ok, well how about I pack, this and...this. Just in case Beth's baby practically leaks out of every orifice." Violet decided as she gathered what she wanted and put them into a small duffle bag before throwing in some unmentionables quickly from her dresser as Buddy simply sat on the bench at the foot of her bed and contentedly watched as she got what she wanted from around the room as he fantasized about how she would pack if they were actually together and he had told her that he was taking them away on vacation as he thought of all the places he would like to take her as he started to fidget with the skin around his left ring finger, wondering what kind of wedding ring she would get him if they ever did or could get married. He remembered fantasizing the same thing with Tali. But part of him was grateful that she had turned him down, because if she hadn't he would have never grown out of his obsession. And would have she been truly happy with him? Especially the person he was back then? Or would she have felt the way Violet felt about Phillip? Grin and bear it and then bolt at the first opportunity as he realized what had been Tali's breaking point. When he had shot down the plane that had them all on it. He had been so hell bent on revenge on Mr. Incredible that he hadn't even felt the slightest bit of guilt or shame in ordering to kill kids. He had no respect for the sanctity of life, especially young and innocent life and how much he deserved what he had gotten. He had earned it. That was for sure.

"You ok?" Violet asked as she noticed Buddy get withdrawn as he seemed to stare off into space before she settled next to him and reached out and held his hand again and brought him out of it.

"Yeah." Buddy took a deep breath and tried to clear his head of his accusing thoughts.

"Just deep in thought." Buddy tried to brush off.

"About what?" Violet asked curiously.

"The spiders are still sleeping." Violet whispered as she decided to rest her chin on his shoulder again and give him a curious look.

"Just wondering how close the parallels are between Tali and I and you and Phillip." Buddy confessed and Violet took a deep breath through her nose.

"Would you be surprised to learn not a lot?" Violet returned.

"I was an asshole, how could she stand me?" Buddy questioned, almost rhetorically before Violet lifted her head and just shook her head with a fond grin of her lips.

"Because of who she was at the time herself. You were strong and powerful and knew how to throw your weight around and she felt that you were simply misunderstood and she was genuinely attracted to all of that, especially when you treated her like a goddess and catered to her every need, want and whim and she was bound and determined to turn the two of you into a powerhouse couple. Be the next Beyoncé and Jay-Z but of the tech world. She appreciated your genius and knew it would just be a matter of time before the rest of the world recognized and appreciated it too and she was in it for the long haul. And if you hadn't tried to blow me and my family up and then when we survived how you treated us when you captured us, even as kids. Those were the steps too far and really bothered her conscience as they should have anyone. Otherwise she would have stayed. But messing with kids was her line in the sand as is mine. And when you stomped on it, that shook her hard enough to really see you for who you really were in that moment and it made her question if her genuine attraction was to you or to everything around you and question if it was worth it and she decided it wasn't. So she acted accordingly." Violet explained, not sugar coating it but telling him the truth, but still trying to be tactful.

"She made the right choice." Buddy concluded.

"She did." Violet nodded, proud of him for seeing that too.

"But the biggest difference is, her relationship with you was built on genuine, mutual respect that grew from there. Phil's relationship with me isn't. It's built off of power and control and manipulation and secrets and lies on both sides and Phillip adores Invisigirl and Ms. Parr -which is what his own fantasy of who I am is- that I have to live up to whether it's real or not and it doesn't matter how much I like it or hate it, it's part of the performance and he's happy with the act and buys the performance over and over again and he's never bothered to get to know Violet, the real Violet anyway. But you have, so our relationship is built off of um, let's see…." Violet took a deep breath and sighed as she brought his hand into her lap to consider how nicely their fingers interlaced together as she once again was drawn to all the scars on his hand as she couldn't help but trace them as she searched her thoughts and feelings for a moment.

"I feel ours is built on genuine mutual respect, honesty, understanding, sympathy and empathy and kindness. Which all good relationships should have and be built on to begin with, no matter what kind of relationship it is. And it's why it works as well as it does. Even with our shared history." Violet honestly appraised as Buddy carefully considered her words and was elated that it was even that much.

"What do you think?" Violet posed as she turned to him and looked at him curiously.

"I agree. Even though I'm not all that respectable, I'm a…"

"Don't. Don't start down that self deprecating pity party of a path. You're better than that and it's not fair to the guy you are now. In the past you were misguided and self righteous and vengeful. And then Karma handed you your ass and you humbly took the beating. And it's what you did after and since- that's mattered and it's what you're doing now that matters the most and who you are in this moment that matters too. Especially to me. Forgive yourself for the rest. I know I have." Violet appraised as the two shared a meaningful look and just as Violet gave his lips a glance as Buddy did the same and was seriously considering kissing her, her eyes went wide and she withdrew and bolted a few steps from him.

"Spiders are waking up." Violet whispered as she did her best to look and act "natural" again but even Buddy could see, the Violet he adored, shrunk back and Ms. Parr stepped back into the fore, he saw it in her posture and body language and Buddy was once again filled with anger and resentment towards Phillip, for doing such a thing to her. She deserved better than to live in fear, even in her own private space. Which should be sacred.

"Well, it's about that time Mr. Pine, we should be heading back, thanks for all your help." Violet thanked him as she put the bag over her shoulder and held onto it tightly as Buddy got up and left with her again and even in her SUV, Violet stayed withdrawn and eerily quiet as Buddy drove them back to SEB and the whole way over Buddy just got more and more angry and resentful to Phillip.

Violet stowed her bag of clothes in Buddy's room, in the closet before she helped Buddy unload everything else from her SUV and it was almost enjoyable to see and feel them slipping back into such domestic tasks in an effortless tandem. Even as mundane as putting away groceries was. But even Buddy could tell that Violet stayed withdrawn as Ms. Parr had taken over fully again because there was a surgical precision to her movements. She was trying to get things done as quickly and thoroughly as she could. Just a step below rushing before Buddy simply stopped and held her hands.

"The spiders won't always be around." Buddy breathed.

"I know. It's hard to know when they'll go to sleep again." Violet answered, her words barely a whisper before she reluctantly pulled her hands from his with an apologetic look as she finished what she needed to.

"Thanks for today though, I'll see you in the morning Mr. Pine." Violet said as she put her shoes back on before she left and drove home and finished putting her mail away and broke down her boxes and put them in a closet where she kept spare boxes to ship things out and was grateful that the "spiders" in her own apartment had been put back to sleep before she got ready for bed, brushing her hair and braiding it so it wouldn't tangle in her sleep and when she went to bed, she thought over all the events of the day in her head and actually smiled softly in the darkness. Buddy had been amazing, all day, and for him to slip into 'boyfriend/husband' at the liquor store had been so natural for both of them. Had her wishing maybe someday...because she couldn't deny or dismiss the feelings she had started to develop for him. It had started off as just two birds in side by side cages, sharing a toy or two. And it developed and bloomed from there. Natalia had even said that she had always been surprised when her attachment to Buddy had seemingly grown overnight and how one day she was his employee, and the next, she was his everything in all things. And how that seemed for her to be the same. One day, he was an an enemy, the next- an obligation and objective, the day after, an acquaintance, the next day he was a friend, and the day after that it felt like he was so much more but she was so scared of putting any names or labels on any of it because she didn't want to try to force it into anything or cut it into shape before it could fully sprout. She was genuinely curious to see how much more this would develop and bloom, like a growing vine despite the concrete around it.

But there was the issue of his name. Buddy wasn't exactly the most romantic name to call out during the throws of passion, Bud was informal but not quite right, although all his friends called him Bud. Buddy was a little infantilizing. Buddy is what you called other little boys on the playground when you didn't know their names. Bart was too old. Barret could possibly work before she got her phone and looked up common nicknames for Bartholomew. Barty was ridiculous. Tolly was too much like Tali. So that left...Barly, possible, but maybe too similar to barley, the grain, Barret, kind of like the gun, but it was the only good alternative she could like. But she needed something other than dead give away pet names, like Honey, Darling, Baby, Sweetie, Handsome that kind of thing that Phillip would immediately flag and get jealous and suspicious over, but still something a little more intimate than 'Bud' . Something she could use that was special but not something that would make others look at her strangely if she started to use it. It would be good on Raid days to call him something to go with Violet or Vi. Violet still came to the conclusion that Barret was as good as it was going to get because Barret and Violet did go together. Maybe he had something he preferred? Maybe something to do with his middle name. Maybe. But for now, she just needed sleep.

Violet found herself walking through another very luxurious home like space, normally, such a thing would make her a little nervous but she wasn't because Buddy was with her and held her hand as he excitedly showed her everything and explained what was what. And she was dressed casually and happily walked around barefoot as the windows were open and there was a warm breeze and bright sunshine coming in from all the windows, most of which were open and she could almost hear the ocean and to see him so animated and excited as she showed it off made her happy that he was happy. And that's all that mattered.

"And this is the bedroom, it has the best views." Buddy insisted as he opened the double doors for her before he brought her into the space as Violet softly gasped. It was even prettier than any bedroom she had ever seen in any magazine.

"We need to check out the bed." Buddy immediately hopped up on the bed, his own bare feet sinking into the softness of the mattress and the covers as he held out his hand to beckon her before she stood up on it with him before he started to bounce which got her to laugh as she started bouncing too before the two of them were outright jumping and bouncing all over the bed, laughing their asses off before they happily fell down and crashed into the bed on their backs next to each other as their laughter eventually died down.

"So what do you think of the house?" Buddy asked as they rolled to face each other.

"I love it. Even if you had not designed and practically built it yourself, and even if we had just bought it, I would still love it." Violet insisted as the two scooted closer to each other until they were chest to chest with Buddy's hand softly stroking down her back and her side as Violet reached around him and scratched his back, dipping her hands under his shirt to scratch at his bare skin, which earned her an appreciative keen from him as he rolled over her slightly to one- pin her to the bed, two- give her more access to his back.

"Really? You're not just saying that?" Buddy asked.

"I mean every word of it. Honest. It's perfect, you did so good, I'm so proud of you." Violet cooed before he dipped her head and kissed her happily as she kissed him back with all she was worth as the two of them seemed to follow a familiar pattern and chain of events as they pulled down the covers down as they tried to bare the other before they were finally rejoined.

"I'm not hurting you or the baby am I?" Buddy asked as he palmed her belly which had barely bulged as he positioned himself over her and began stroking himself into her.

"No, you're not, you're fine, I'm just happy the house is done before they come." Violet reassured him as she pulled him to herself so she could feel more of his body weight anchoring her in all the ways she needed it to before he continued.

"Me too." Buddy cooed in her ear before he playfully bit it before blazing a trail from her ear down her neck to her shoulder as Violet keened and sighed happily, letting him do as he pleased as she was all too happy to receive his affections as he poured all the love he possessed into her as she did the same.

[makorragal-312]

Void (Part Four)

This was by far the hardest chapter I’ve ever written, but I really hope you guys still like it tho. XOX

"...or the time when we were kids and Veronica mixed dirt with the water and told Lance it was chocolate milk."  

Lance heard the entire table laugh at the memory. Normally, he would laugh along, too, or at the very least attempt to deny his young obliviousness. But he just didn't have it in him tonight. Fifteen minutes into the dinner and the most that he could do was move his slice of chicken from one side of the plate to the other, head slightly down. He had a knot in his stomach that gradually began to grow the longer he sat and hasn't gone down since he had left the Garrison.  

The paladin's ears suddenly perked at the sound of Allura's laugh. Her vibrant, gentle laugh. He finally cut a piece of his chicken and plucked it into his mouth, hoping its juiciness would quench his now dry throat. His eyes slowly moved to focus on the princess. How her hair bounced when she laughed. How much her eyes sparkled with clear intrigue. How her bangles accentuated her beautiful hands.  

"What did he do?" Allura asked Veronica, the current topic of the chocolate milk incident still fresh.  

"He told on me, of course. Then Pop-pop gave him ice cream and I got none." Veronica replied. Lance managed to let out a small smile as he took a sip of his drink. It didn't take long for the knot to lessen for just a moment. Guess I was just thirsty, Lance thought.  

"Speaking of dates, maybe you can put in a good word for me with that long- haired friend of yours, hmm?" Veronica asked teasingly, a seductive smirk making residence on her face. It didn't take long for the red paladin to remember who in his circle had long hair. The same person he left atop of the Black Lion. The knot returned instantly as Lance's eyes widened.  

"What, Keith?! No, no, no!" Lance shouted. Just the thought alone of his sister having anything to with Keith just bugged him out. At this point, he wouldn't be surprised if the knot in his stomach erupted into a fireball and started destroying his organs. What if it did and he had yet to feel it? Was this how the red paladin met his end? Set aflame by his own body because of the mere thought of his sister dating his friend? Lance laughed nervously before getting a grip on his senses.  

"No way. No."

"Why not? She seems to be cool around you guys. I've even seen her spar with your friend Keith a couple of times. I just thought you were at least on speaking terms with, um. What's her name?" Veronica replied in confusion. Lance's eyebrows furrowed.

"W-wait? You mean, Acxa?" Lance answered with hesitation.  

"Yeah, her! I've been wanting to talk to her but nowadays I rarely see her. Plus, I don't think she really talks to anyone."

"Oh. My bad." Veronica smirked.  "What's wrong? Worried I was gonna steal your friend away?" Lance leaned away from her in disgust.  

"Are you crazy?! AS IF!!!" the Cuban teen exclaimed, earning laughs from the table and chuckle from his older sister, along with a bump on the shoulder. Yeah, there was no way in hell that Lance was gonna let Keith near his sister in any capacity after this conversation. The red paladin shoved the remainder of his chicken into his mouth and chewed in earnest embarrassment, plotting the black paladin's murder for no apparent reason.  

Yeah, there is no way in HELL he's getting near Veronica. It's not like he's interested in anybody. Unless there's something in his Galra DNA that can attract people. Great, one look at his purple eyes, cool dog and sexy mullet and the masses are done for! I swear, the moment he even looks at Veronica or Rachel, it's ON!  

Did I just call his mullet SEXY??!!  

Veronica stood from her chair and raised her glass, everyone else doing the same.  

"A toast...to family. Though we may be apart after tomorrow, we'll always remain close at heart. Family is forever."  

"To family!"  

As glasses were clinked at smiles were shared, Lance took another look at Allura, who was sharing a smile at his mother. To say that Lance was confused was definitely an understatement. He had the girl of his dreams right in front of him, with his family no less. She was laughing and smiling and having a good time with them. Having a good time with HIM. For once, everything felt right.  

Listen, if she's going out with you, it's because she likes you. The annoying, stupid, Earth version of you.  

So why didn't it feel like enough? _________________________________________________________________________________  

The sentiment continued to ring through Lance's head as he and Allura walked through the park. They had just finished dinner with his family not too long ago and his sister Rachel suggested he take her to his favorite park for some "royal private time" as she called it. His eyes became trained on the tree that stood at the center of the park, all withered and drained of life. As he stood before it, he became reminded of when he was a boy, running around the tree with his siblings in an intense game of tag that resulted in him and his siblings being covered in handprints. Fast forward a few years and he would carry his niece and nephew on his back, pretending to be an airplane and zooming around the tree.  

"This place used to be so beautiful." Lance said somberly.  

"It's all my fault the Galra did this to your home." Allura replied, guilt laced in her voice. The red paladin was quick to shut down her notion. He swiftly turned his head towards her.  

"No, it's not your fault. Besides, meeting you is the best thing that ever happened to me." Lance replied, smiling fondly at the Altean. His sentiment though seemed to be unheard as the princess walked towards the tree, placing her hand against it. Guess I said something wrong, Lance thought in disappointment.

Suddenly, his eyes widened in amazement as the tree began to glow, trails of quintessence consuming every root and branch upon it. Soon enough, balls of light began to float in the air as new batches of leaves grew on the branches and the tree's base. It wasn't long before the tree was revived to its former glory, strong and covered with healthy leaves; New flowers in bloom as the once blue balls of light were dimmed down to a calming orange hue. A smile graced Lance's face as he gazed upon the newly revived tree, amazed at the sight. He was so entranced with the sight he almost didn't realize that Allura had started to speak.

"When we were out there, fighting the Galra, I somehow felt like...like we were a family. Each of us was alone, but we were alone together."

Lance stayed silent as she turned.

"But now, here on Earth, I see that everyone already has a family and a home to return to once the war is over. Everyone except me. And for the first time, I feel uncertain about what my future holds."

Heartbroken couldn't begin to describe how Lance felt at that moment. He never realized just how along Allura felt. She had always made it clear that she saw him and the others as her new family, but deep down he knew that they couldn't replace the ones she knew before them. Looking back, he could see why. Since they've been back on Earth, Hunk has been spending time creating new recipes with family and feeding them Earth versions of the Altean dishes they had in the Castle of Lions (with Coran's permission of course.) Pidge has been busy doing her tech stuff with Matt and her dad, along with the occasional squabbles she has with her mom with her being grounded. Even Keith, who he once saw as nothing more than a moody loner, now has his mother and Kosmo. And even though he knows nothing about Shiro's loved ones, the red paladin is fully aware of the place he has in Keith's life and how much Keith viewed him as his older brother. Hell, Lance had just finished having dinner at his family home filled with his parents, siblings, niece and nephew. All Allura had was Coran, the mice, and her memories of a home who she's giving her life to avenge.

"It's silly. I used to think that the team relied on me. That I needed to be strong for everyone else. But now I see it was I that needed all of you. You are my strength." Allura finished, a small smile finally gracing her face as she looked at the young man before her.

Her strength? I'M her strength? No, by "you" she probably meant the team. Yeah, that's it. Or maybe...not?

The red paladin gathered his words together, not wanting to mess anything up.

"Allura, you are not alone. And if I have anything to say about it, you'll never be alone."

This is it. No turning back.

"I-I don't care if this is only our first date. I..."

Say it, damn it!

"Allura, I wanna be your family. Earth can be your home, or anywhere you wanna go. It doesn't matter. I would follow you across the universe if it meant helping you find your home." he finished somewhat confidently. Allura was frozen as she took in his words.

"You truly feel that way?" the princess inquired. The Cuban teen walked towards her and grabbed her hand, putting it on his chest. He held it tighter as a light smile formed on his face, his eyes holding sincerity.

"With all my heart." Lance said, love and admiration laced in his voice. He was frozen in place as Allura continued to look at him, her body completely towards him and looking at him in pure relief and security. Her smile soft, yet still full of hope for the future. Lance continued to stare as it appeared that the princess was moving towards him slowly. His breath became hitched, as he never in a million years expected this. For so long, the princess would pull away, sometimes hesitantly or immediately depending on what he had said or done before hand in his vain attempts to steal her heart. This might be the first time she actually pushed towards him. So why turn away now?

He exhaled shakily as he contemplated leaning forward or staying in place, his gentle grip on her hand becoming slightly firm. As he gazed into her eyes, he thought about all the things that brought him to this moment. Finding the blue lion. Getting tossed into space. Finding the Castle of Lions. Finding her. All the battles. The fights. The cheers. The tears. Everything. This was it. He saw everything he ever wanted and desired. The blue waves from the beach near his home. The hues of pink he would spot in the seashells his niece would pick up for him. The orange rays of light the sun would cast as it set for the night.

He saw the red and blue fireworks in the sky in celebration of the war's end.

He saw the green pieces of envy in the team's faces when he told him about tonight.

He saw the yellow in the lemonades he would sip with his family and friends once they had time for a proper vacation.

And when thought of this moment, he saw purple.

Purple.

Purple eyes.

The grip on Allura's hand was revived as he lifted it to his lips, giving it a gentle kiss. He felt the pause in Allura's movements as he bent slightly in a princely manner, his best attempt of a smirk appearing. The Altean seemed to buy into it as she chuckled, bringing her hand to her lips as she laughed on.

"I guess I shouldn't expect anything less then." said the princess. Suddenly, her eyes moved past the paladin as she gasped, making the boy stand in front of her for protection's sake. Luckily for them, it was simply the robot Pidge had built...who just so happened to be stalking them. The two looked in confusion as it squealed.

"I think he wants us to smile." Lance guessed. Allura looked at him for a moment before she put two and two together. The two decided on standing next to each other, Lance with his hands in his pockets with a wink on his face while Allura stood with her hands clasped in front of her, head on Lance's shoulder. As pictures were being snapped, Lance couldn't help but reflect on everything that had just happened prior to this.

He was moments away from doing the one thing he always dreamt of doing since he met her. He was almost going to kiss her. He was almost going to kiss the girl of his dreams. He had every opportunity at that moment to go for it, but he didn't. So many emotions were rushing through his head at once.

But the one that stuck out most was relief.

[admin-in-residence]

The Arcade Queen Pt. 2 (Billy Hargrove X Reader)

It didn't take me too long to think of a whole bunch of ideas for this series, and this was the one I thought was fitting for the 2nd part! I promise as this continues there is going to be more involvement with Billy!

Also a note; If you didn’t already guess, this is set a little ways into Season 2. 

Summary: A few days after your first encounter with Billy Hargrove, Max asks you to help him out, together the two of you successfully break your car, nearly wake the neighbors and you manage to break down a couple of Billy’s emotional walls.

Part 1

The next couple of nights you had off from the Arcade. It gave you a chance to catch up on homework, spend some time with your family, and dream about a certain Camaro driving boy.

But time flies especially when your busy daydreaming, and soon enough it was time for your next shift at The Palace. Unfortunately, it was another late closing shift. Packing your bag once more with perfume in case of emergencies, you grabbed a jacket and drove off to work.

The night had gone by quick, with you spending most of the time in the back taking inventory and unpacking new prizes, leaving Keith to work the front of the arcade. Roughly half an hour to the end of your shift, Keith popped his head into the back asking you to come out to the front.

You finished putting the empty boxes by the recycling bins and stepped out into the front.

“What do you need?” You asked walking over to your co-worker standing behind the counter.

“Little Red is out on the bench looking for you,” Keith replied.

Out into the chill of the Hawkins air, you felt a sense of déjà vu, you walked around the corner of The Palace, finding a certain red-haired girl sitting on the bench.

“Max? What are you doing here?” You called out to her, moving to sit beside the younger girl. You noticed the small shakes of her shoulders, and how her hair was currently hiding her face away from your view, but you knew none-the-less the girl was clearly upset.

“Hey, it’s okay...” You said softly, wrapping an arm around her. Max gave a soft hiccup before her shoulders began to shake harder. “You can talk to me, you know that right?”

You saw her head give a small nod, but you didn’t press further, waiting for her to open up to you, not wanting to push her away more.

“I got Billy in trouble.” She finally spoke, her voice wavering as she sucked some air in between silent sobs.

“Big trouble,” She quickly added, “I’ve never seen his dad so mad at him...ever!”

“Okay, alright...and then what?” You asked, urging her to keep going.

“His Dad and him got in a fight...a big fight, he hurt Billy and then he left, dad did, And Billy was really upset, and he left and drove off, and I panicked...” Max looked at you finally, her eyes leaking tears, red and puffy. “He shouldn’t be driving, I mean he’s really upset...so I ran off and I didn’t know where to go or who to go to and I figured that you would be here, so I came here.”

It was a lot to process at once, let alone for Max to experience it, but you sat quietly piecing her story together slowly in your mind once more.

“Okay, it’s alright.” You said, rubbing her back, “No more tears.”

“So, your dad hurt Billy,” You started, seeing her nod quickly, “Okay and then they both left, and now Billy’s out driving around Hawkins?”

“Yes!” Max said.

“Okay, what about your mom Max? Where’s she?” You asked.

“Out of town, she went to visit a friend for the week, I thought that his dad wouldn’t get mad if he had to watch out for me, but it’s never been this bad! I’m worried about him!” Max said, fresh tears beginning to well in her eyes.

You took a deep breath, letting it out slowly as you thought about the next steps in your head, you would have to take care of Max until you found Billy, and even then, you were positively sure you weren’t going to let either of them go back home tonight, not after what Max had shared with you...so the only thing to do next...

“Alright Max, we’ll go look for Billy, together...that sound good?” You gave the girl a reassuring smile, watching her expression change to relief.

You grabbed your bag and keys from The Palace, and after bargaining that you would clean the arcade for your next week’s worth of shifts, you left work early, entrusting Keith to lock up for the night.

And here you were, about an hour later driving around Hawkins, looking for any sign of Billy Hargrove or his Camaro. You had already driven by their house twice, in case he had returned, along with some frequent party locations, now you were just skimming some of the lesser roads of Hawkins.

Max had stopped crying but had been silent since the two of you had begun your search for her step-brother.

“So...this happens often?” You asked, breaking the silence, “With your dad and Billy?”

The girl in the passenger seat gave a small nod.

“And, does he always...hurt Billy?” You questioned.

Another nod.

You made a left turn, turning down a road lined with houses lined up on either side.

“Hey, he doesn’t...” You trailed off, not wanting to even ask this question.

“No. He’s never hurt me.” She answered, clearly understanding the nature of your question.

You both lapsed into another period of silence, checking out the driveways and anybody walking on the sidewalks as you made another turn, right this time.

However, shortly after your turn, your car gave a weird little sputter, a sharp little cough, and a horrible shake before ultimately shutting itself off leaving you to ease it over to the side of the road before it stopped entirely.

“That’s not supposed to happen.” Max chimed in from the passenger seat. You, on the other hand, let out a long groan at the timing of the entire situation.

You attempted to turn the key once more, hearing it turn over a few times before giving another sputter, this time a little steam rising up from under the hood.

You and Max got out together, her standing back a couple feet away from you as you lifted the hood up, waving your hand through the white steam flowing up from your engine.

“Yup. It’s dead.” You surmised. Max moved up next to you.

“What’s wrong with it?” She asked. You gave a sarcastic shrug of your shoulders.

“Your guess is good as mine kiddo. I’m not a mechanic. I use the equipment, I don’t fix the equipment.” You replied, shutting the hood down and leaning your back against it.

“So now what?” Max asked, moving once more to lean against the hood with you.

“No clue.” You said, raising your wrist to look at your watch. “It’s a little past midnight, and I don’t think that anybody around is going to be very cooperative helping out two kids in the middle of the night. How far away is your house.” 

It took Max a minute to retrace the last route you had taken from her house.

“Probably 20 minutes driving. We’re practically on the other side of town from my house” She replied. “What about you?”

“Couple of blocks from the last corner we took” You replied. “Guess you're staying over at my place tonight.”

Thus, the two of you began your walk of shame, you giving your jacket to Max who once again had left her’s behind.

“I hope Billy’s okay.” Max said, “He’s so...mean but he said something the other day and it just kind of stuck. We might not like it, but we’re family...I don’t want to see him hurt.”

“I know Kiddo.” You said, not finding the right words to admit your own guilt in not being able to help him.

It felt like an hour had past when you finally made it to your house and had shoved your key into the door when the two of you heard the familiar purr of a certain Camaro coming up the road.

Max and you looked to each other, and then to the road before you both made a mad dash to the sidewalk for Max, and you not even thinking twice into the road.

Headlight’s danced in your eyes, as you heard Billy’s brakes squeal into the night, the two of you screaming for him to stop, not caring about the late hour or your neighbor’s sleeping.

Your hand touched the hood of his Camero as you and Max made your way to the driver's side.

“Billy thank god!” You cried out, “We’ve been looking for you all night.”

Billy, on the other hand, had a mixed look of confusion, anger, and fear as he looked between you and Max, his cheek had a hint of discoloring on it in the dark, and you knew in the light it would be quite a shiner. His lip was also split, dried blood caked to it and trail of blood that had flowed down his chin.

                                                       ***

It took some convincing, but you had managed to get Billy to pull into your driveway, and you and Max had told him everything that had happened, from Max running to finding you, your car breaking down.

You set Max up in your guest bedroom finding some of your old pajama’s and closing the door behind you as you said goodnight to her, before you returned to Billy, grabbing a clean towel and some ice.

Now the two of you sat in silence upon your sofa, him staring anywheres except you, while you gently wiped down the blood and patched him up, holding an icepack to his cheek.

“I’m sorry.” You whispered, Billy, wincing as you wiped away more dried blood.

He stayed silent.

“You know if you ever need to talk-”

“Talk!?” He suddenly exclaimed, making you jump at the loud tone. “You want me to talk to you about my daddy issues?”

“Billy, that’s not what I meant-” You tried to cut in, but your words had already ignited the fire within.

“You want me to tell you about everything...about how much I hate this stupid town, and how much I hate my old man for having me be the personal babysitter for a 13-year-old, who should be able to go out and do what she wants instead of being stuck with a piece of shit like me? How about the fact, that I’ve tried to hide for so long so that no one would ever see or know what happened with me and my father!” Billy slammed a hand down upon the coffee table in front of you as he stood, making you jump again.

“Billy-” You started, but he cut you off once more. His mouth opened once, before it shut itself, wordless as you saw a tear slip out from his eye as he turned away.

You had no words to say, so you stood up and lightly slipped your arms around his waist, hugging him softly from behind. One of his hands rose up to lay over yours, and you could feel him shaking.

“Billy. I don’t know what any of that is like, to have your father roughing you up all the time...but you can’t say that about yourself, your probably the only thing standing in between your father and Max, your protecting her...and it���s not fair that your getting hurt, but your doing it for her...” You laid your cheek upon his back, as you felt him take in shuddering breaths.

“I just want her safe. And I’ve spent all this time pushing her away because I’m afraid that I’ll act just like my dad, but the entire time the only person I have acted like is my dad. I can’t fix this, Y/N.” Billy spoke, his voice laced with honesty.

“It’s never too late to fix your relationship with your sister Billy. She was so worried about you tonight, she was a wreck, it doesn’t matter what you’ve done, what matters now is what you can do to be better.” You said.

“And if you ever need a place to stay, my door will always be open for you. Both of you, I can help you, but you have to let me help.” You said as Billy turned around looking down at you.

He gave a small nod, and you gave him a warm smile.

“Good, now help me with the pull-out, Max gets the bed tonight for you worrying her all night.” You teased.

Together, the two of you set up the pull out bed on the couch and you brought down some pillows and blankets.

“Thanks, Y/N.” Billy said, taking a seat on the edge of the makeshift bed, you taking a place next to him

“Anytime. Seriously Hargrove, now get some rest, your driving us to school in the morning since my car died looking for you.” You teased, bumping his shoulder playfully. He gave you a cheesy smile in return, and you couldn’t help but thank that it was the most beautiful thing you’d ever see in your life.

The two of you stared into each other's eyes, and you could feel your cheeks flush under his gaze.

Feeling your heart pound just like the moment you shoved your phone number into his pocket, you leaned in close and pressed a feather-light kiss to his bruised cheek. As you pulled away, Billy brought a hand up to cup your cheek, with the softest touch, he guided you back, your lips meeting his, before letting you slip away.

If your cheeks were red before, your face was probably a tomato now, and you quickly stood, bouncing a couple of steps away from him before giving him a shy smile.

“Goodnight Billy,” You whispered.

“Goodnight, Y/N” He replied, his eyes following you as you practically skipped in joy to your room, shutting the door behind you. You raised your fingers to your lips and realized that you were, utterly and undeniably in love with Billy Hargrove.

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Tag list: @acidrain707 @golddustwitches @imsupposedtobedoingcollege

[kcwcommentary]

VLD8x07 – “Day Forty Seven”

8x07 – “Day Forty Seven” (I have no idea why the episode’s title officially does not have a hyphen between Forty and Seven like it should.)

This is another episode that is an absolute waste of time. Again, I’m not fundamentally against episodes of shows that are less directly tied to the main story. Episodes like this can be great for doing more detailed character study. But with the executive producers having complained about how there wasn’t enough time in the show to include vital fallout and character follow-up to plot events, when the episodes of this season’s main story are so complicated and confusing and needed more time to depict and explain what happens, having episodes like “Day Forty Seven” are a waste of time because that time is blatantly needed for other, more important content.

Before this episode, I already didn’t like Rizavi, and I only liked the potential that Kinkade had. But since both of them commit crimes in this episode and also violate the trust and privacy of their fellow officers, I can’t say that my opinion of them has improved.

I do, however, really like Hunk in this episode.

Look, it’s Kinkade. He’s the main character of this episode. It’s another episode that significantly shoves the show’s main characters to the side in order to pretend that the side characters are interesting. Yes, Hunk and Allura each get a bit of focus for a couple of scenes in this episode, but it’s predominantly not about them. Almost the entirety of this episode is focused on side characters, and none of them are interesting.

After I watched season eight for the first time however many months ago that was now, thinking of this episode in context of the whole of season eight made me wish that this episode had been centered not on Kinkade but on Curtis. What if Curtis had been filming personal videos throughout the episode? I know the show did not even slightly plan on having Shiro and Curtis end up together, that the series Shiro-Curtis wedding epilogue was a really, really late-production addition, but I can’t help but think about how, even if they didn’t have much time to set up anything between Shiro and Curtis, how this episode would have been the perfect time to hint at it. Have Curtis with the video camera, have him get a shot of Shiro in the distance, have him linger on Shiro a beat or two too long, have Veronica or someone come up beside him and ask him what he’s filming, have Curtis turn the camera on that person, who’s shown looking at Shiro, realizing that Curtis had been gazing at Shiro, and have that person conclude, “Oh, I see what you were looking at.” If the show absolutely couldn’t include any more, that would have worked to set up the plausibility of a Shiro-Curtis relationship developing. But again, having Shiro and Curtis end up together was a hasty super-late addition. There could be no set-up for it because the executive producers, story editor, and writers weren’t planning on having Shiro end the show with anyone. I can’t help but to think, what if, though.

Kinkade brushes his teeth while Leifsdottir sleeps within arm’s reach. There’s a bathroom sink next to their beds in the barracks? “I know it seems strange, but before Earth was attacked, I didn’t go anywhere without my camera,” Kinkade says. Who would think that it was strange that someone interested in videography would engage in videography but stopped because aliens invaded and occupied Earth for three years? This is supposedly funny: “Back home, people asked me why I like recording things. They also asked me why I didn’t talk that much. To both of those things, I’d always say, ‘Hmm.’” This kind of feels like this line was specifically written in response to criticism that Kinkade didn’t really ever say anything in season seven. Cut to Kinkade doing pull-ups. Granted, I haven’t spent a lot of time in gyms in my life, but the time that I have, I have never heard anyone counting their reps out loud while they were doing them. Romelle is puzzled by Kinkade’s recording, and James comments about how this is something Kinkade’s known for. Okay, we get it, he makes videos. “Being a fighter pilot was actually his back-up plan,” James says of Kinkade. Being a fighter pilot is hard, it’s not realistic that it would be anyone’s back-up plan.

“It’s true: I learned to shoot with a camera before I learned to shoot with a rifle.” Is that supposed to be impressive or something? Honestly, it mostly sounds like the writer thought he was being clever using two meanings of the word “shoot.” “I guess filming is just a small piece of the larger puzzle that makes up the picture of who I am.” How would we have figured this out without his exposition to tell us – in other words, this is the type of thing people are talking about when they say that in writing you should show, not tell. We don’t need Kinkade to tell us this because by fundamental nature of this episode being framed as his videography, we are being shown. And then we get a cliché gun assembling moment.

There’s a sequence of meandering shots of Kinkade walking to his fighter, touching his fighter, shocking himself by touching some electrical part of its system. I guess maybe he accessed the system because he was going to do maintenance? Fighter pilots don’t do the maintenance of their craft, at least from the impression I have about how it works in the U.S. Air Force they don’t. There are maintenance specialists who do that work, not the pilots.

This almost feels like a lampshade of criticism about this episode: Rizavi comes in and says, “Please tell me this is going to be more exciting than that project you did for Mr. Pollard’s biology class about yeast.” This episode isn’t really more exciting than that. Rizavi forces her way into Kinkade’s project.

They interview Pidge. The Atlas is heading somewhere there’s a disabled Robeast. Pidge asks if she “needs to explain that the Robeast was one of the ones used in Honerva’s galactic ritual?” I guess this line is supposed to be about Pidge commenting on the process of successfully constructing a documentary? It feels more like unnecessary exposition because the audience of this show would easily know the context of the referenced Robeast because that was just last episode. Pidge continues with more telling exposition. Rizavi turns to Keith to try to make their recording more exciting by asking Keith about the danger of the mission. Keith’s dialog is more unnecessary exposition.

Save us Hunk from this empty episode. Hunk asks to be in their movie, but then, “Wait, if this is an action movie – is it? – I don’t want to be in it.” At least I got a little laugh out of that. Rizavi complains about Hunk interfering in their filming their documentary. All I can think of is why didn’t Kinkade or Rizavi lock down the location for filming with Pidge and Keith then if they didn’t want to be bothered. They’re literally just sitting in the mess hall.

Hunk has a new recipe of a cake. Kinkade is actually interested and asks Hunk if he can watch Hunk work. Hunk’s cool with the idea. Rizavi, who butted her way into Kinkade’s personal project, complains. Of the four MFE pilots, the only reason I dislike James more than Rizavi is because James is such a blatant, cruel bully. Rizavi is not an interesting, likable character, and I really wouldn’t mind if she hadn’t been in this series.

Thankfully an emergency interrupts this waste of time. The ship is called to battle stations. Somehow, as Kinkade pulls Rizavi out of the mess hall through a door in front of where the camera is pointing, the camera tumbles over backwards away from that door and ends up not still in the mess hall, but in a corridor. The Holt’s dog finds and picks up the camera. He enters an elevator which opens onto the bridge directly behind Shiro. Guess what isn’t supposed to be behind Shiro on the bridge: An elevator. The door behind Shiro on the bridge opens to a corridor, as seen literally last episode when Zethrid came to the bridge. So, this inconsistent animation falls somewhere in with ignored established set design and/or bad storyboarding. Also, how is the dog able to make the elevator function? He doesn’t push any buttons to indicate the bridge as a destination, nor is he able to give a verbal command to the elevator to go to the bridge. This elevator just automatically goes to the bridge.

Of course, the entirety of the dog carrying the camera is contrived to keep going with the videography framing of the episode. The Atlas is being attacked by a giant squid. The MFE ships and Voltron fly around outside the Atlas. There are huge explosions in the clouds outside. None of this action scene means anything because the conflict is not defined, not connected to any character. It’s just meaningless action.

Since they can’t see the squid because of the clouds, so someone, Curtis maybe?, establishes a visual by scanning for the “biometrics” of the squid. The squid then seems to, like way too many large creatures do in this series, shoots a blaster beam at the Atlas. It scares the dog, who drops the camera and runs. The mice briefly look into the camera. Then the camera somehow falls down a corridor. How did it get into a corridor to fall down it? Did the other side of the door behind Shiro suddenly become a corridor again instead of the elevator it was a few seconds ago? The camera tumbles down a hallway and ends up in the room where Sam and Slav work, where Sam finally explains that the gravity has been knocked out. One, the camera hitting the walls of the hallway would have decreased its momentum in a near-zero gravitational situation. Two, despite falling into this room with notable speed, as soon as the camera sights on Sam and Slav it instantly stops moving. But the gravity isn’t on, so it shouldn’t stop hard like it does. I don’t know why I’m trying to analyze this. The camera’s relocation is totally contrived.

Slav complains about something being red, and thus he can’t grab it like Sam says. It’s not important. I don’t know why this piece of a scene even exists. The camera gets hit by a box that floats by and suddenly the camera is out in another hallway to film miscellaneous crew moving through the hallway. There’s a shipwide announcement that the Atlas is going to transform. The dog comes back to pick up the camera in its mouth, the camera conveniently floating right in line of the dog’s mouth as it floats down the hallway. Contrived.

There is ten seconds of blackness and dog breathing because that’s worth spending time on, then we hear Colleen talk to the dog while we get four more seconds of blackness before she pulls the camera out of the dog’s mouth. Shiro’s shipwide communications announces a countdown of the Atlas transforming, and Colleen is all, “Oh no,” like she just realized she’s in an unsafe location. Colleen is floating still in the corridor but then starts moving down the corridor, but there’s no gravity, and she’s not shown to have been close enough to a surface that she could push off of in order to move down the hall. Yeah, I still want accurate depictions of easily known scientific understanding on this show, even though I know I won’t get it.

The camera and/or the hallway shakes as if the camera is sitting on something and the gravity is on despite the fact that the camera is floating in near-zero gravity, so there would be no shaking whatsoever. Somehow a panel in the hall as part of the transformation process does not smash up the camera, but just knocks it, sending it spinning until the camera suddenly stops spinning without anything being there to stop it. Unless something stopped it, it would have kept spinning being in near-zero gravity. Basic laws of inertia.

It conveniently stops to point out a window where giant squid and the MFEs and Voltron still are fighting. And the camera loses power.

Cut to later when Kinkade has somehow reacquired his camera despite the hugeness of the Atlas. The whole action sequence was a waste of time. Kinkade floats down a hallway and runs into someone who I’ve never seen before and don’t know. The guy is going to be leaving the Atlas to take samples of something back to Earth. It’s a moment that’s portrayed, especially with the music, like it’s supposed to be some kind of emotional goodbye, but I have no idea who this guy is. The scene is 35 seconds long, and I have no idea why it exists at all. So, I google and eventually find out that this character is named Seok Jin and was done in memory of an animator and storyboard artist who died during the show’s production. I can understand wanting to memorialize a coworker, but there’s nothing about this scene that conveys that. It just seems like a miscellaneous waste of time within the context of the episode’s story. Without googling to find out, the scene is just confusing.

It still weirds me out that there’s so much floating on the Atlas, but objects (which includes people) do not follow the laws of physics that would govern their floating. Through the window into the mess hall, the dog and Sal are standing and sitting like they’re in gravity, but just on this side of the window where the camera is in the hallway, there is no gravity.

Cut to Kolivan being interviewed. It’s supposed to be funny. He’s boring and Rizavi makes fun of him being boring. This is a waste of screen-time. Rizavi says that they need to get someone more exciting in here. Cut to Coran.

Thank you, Coran, please save us from this absolutely pointless, uninteresting episode!! His antics are funnily delivered. The information of his storytelling does nothing to tell us anything new because it was only a retelling of a few of the events last episode. And then the scene is done. Coran is severely underused this season. Eliminate all the time given to the MFE pilots and to Sam and give it instead to Coran, please. Back to the standard boring that is this episode.

Now, Rizavi is interviewing Sam. There are several shots of a bunch of displays that don’t reveal anything important. Slav complains about Altean writing on the Atlas. The Atlas might be based on Altean technology, but it was built by humans on Earth, so why did they build the Atlas so that the writing used on the Atlas was in Altean? Did the Galaxy Garrison during the three years of the occupation of Earth make everyone learn to read Altean? This is something absolutely illogical but it’s in here because it was supposed to be seen as a joke. It just seems wrong to me.

“Our gravity generator is actually a fluid system, ever changing depending on the specific needs of the location,” Sam says. In other words, the show is lampshading the fact that they didn’t bother to create this episode or the series to actually follow the laws of physics. In other other words, people like me who expect the experience of being in a space ship to have even the most basic respect for and understanding of what the experience would be like can just shut up. The show actively rejects the expectation that it try to be at least somewhat realistic. It’s amazing that the show’s creative team is admitting to being this lazy.

Kinkade condescendingly calls Slav “weird” when Slav freaks out about landing on a crack. Anyone else remember how respectful Shiro was over Slav’s freaking out about cracks in 2x10 “Escape from Beta Traz?”

Cut to Colleen in the plant room. I was going to call it hydroponics, which tends to be a sort of trope in space-based science fiction, but hydroponics is specifically growing without having soil to plant things in. And the first shot is of Altean flowers growing in soil. So, plant room. I haven’t been shy in past episodes about how much I do not like Colleen. She, like her husband, should be in prison for what they did in 7x01 “The Last Stand Part 1.” She gives a tour of the plant room. “So much recycled poop,” she’s happy to point out. Yeah, this episode feels like we’re walking among some recycled poop.

Rizavi grabs the camera and puts together some footage of “extreme space harvesting” and its stylized as overwhelming “extreme” video. It’s supposed to be funny, juxtaposing “extreme” style with this empty talk about plants. I’m a science-loving guy, so I know I could actually find someone passionately talking about plants to be fun. Colleen doesn’t talk passionately about plants. She says the most generic statements possible because to have her genuinely depicted as nerding out over plants would require too much research about plants for the writer to bother with on this show. So, this is a waste of time.

Thank you, Hunk for interrupting. Hunk wants some specific yeast. I actually like that Kinkade, who had earlier been referenced as having done an old school project on fermentation, is interested in what Hunk’s doing. He had earlier been interested in watching Hunk cook too. They’re both small moments, but it’s just enough that it makes me want to see Hunk and Kinkade become friends. Hunk says, “I think I’ve got the topping down, but I’m still trying to figure out the sweetbread.” Did the writer of this show not know that sweetbread isn’t bread? Sweetbread is the thymus or pancreas of a creature. It’s not bread, it’s meat. But Hunk wants yeast, so he’s baking, so he means actual bread.

Cut to Rizavi and Kinkade floating down a hallway. The Atlas has come to some star system. They try to interview Lance about his going down to a planet, and Lance freaks out. I have no idea why Lance is freaking out. It’s played for humor, but it has no foundation. It’s just trying to make fun of someone having anxiety over something they have never been shown to have anxiety over. It’s such a meaningless moment.

Rizavi sneaks, against protocol, the camera into the meeting room. Shiro, Sam, Coran, and Veronica, and I guess Rizavi and Kinkade too, monitor the Paladins on their mission to the planet. They’re checking out one of the fallen Robeasts from last episode. Surprise, the Paladins get attacked by some ship that pops off the Robeast. The Paladins fire on it with their bayards, Shiro orders the Atlas to target and fire on it. It’s such meaningless action.

Somehow, in putting this documentary together, Rizavi and Kinkade get access to helmet cam footage from Pidge. Why her helmet cam recorded everything with a blue filter, I don’t know. The footage that Shiro and crew were watching on screen on the Atlas was normal, not tinted some color. Hunk says he has no sign of a pilot inside the ship. Keith calls out to the other Paladins and Pidge totally unnecessarily says, “Keith’s found something, let’s go.” It’s a waste of dialog because everything her line does was already accomplished by Keith’s line. They’ve found the tube that the Altean Robeast pilots are in when they pilot the Robeasts.

Almost 17 minutes into the episode (my number includes the time needed for the opening title sequence) and we finally have actually gotten to something that matters to the show. They’ve been capturing the Alteans pilots. Kinkade says that this is the sixth Altean pilot they’ve “recovered from the powered-down Robeasts after Honerva escaped Oriande.” Where are they getting six from? I would assume when the white hole went boom that that destroyed any Robeasts there. So, are they just getting them from the planets where they were siphoning quintessence? There were only four such Robeasts for that, not six. Where did the other two come from? Kinkade says that Allura has tried but they won’t talk to her.

Cut to a clear shot of an “authorized personnel only” sign. In other words, it is a violation of the rules for them to be bringing this camera here. Why are so many characters on this show, characters who are supposed to be members of at least a partially military organization, so blatantly violate the law, protocol, and rules? Why did this show so strongly write a message to the kids who were the target audience of this show that there’s nothing wrong with violating rules? It makes the show feel like the people in the creative team who produced this show were all a bunch of really immature people.

Kinkade covers his camera temporarily, but we hear Rizavi give orders to someone that “Commander Shirogane says that you two are needed on the bridge.” So, Rizavi just falsified orders. That, in the U.S. military, would result in a court martial and potential punishment of dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of pay, and/or five years confinement.

This show has flagrantly displayed an anti-military disdain, particularly in how Sam Holt and Iverson were never punished for their severe insubordination against Admiral Sanda in 7x08 “The Last Stand Part 2.” Here, knowing that Rizavi is not subject to punishment for this, the show continues to demonstrate a disdain for the military. It’s offensive that this show wants the appearance of military action, but similar to how they want the appearance of space science, they don’t want to have to actually do the work to write the characters to behave in the necessary ways to achieve that. Maybe it’s not a disdain for the military (still feels like it though), but maybe the creative team for this show are just lazy and think that things like what Rizavi just did isn’t a big deal even though it’s a huge deal.

Kinkade and Rizavi are revealed to have lied their way into a security center so that they can use the Atlas’s security system to sneak and get secure footage they absolutely are not allowed to have. This would be another crime they’re committing.

Allura and Romelle try talking to Tavo, a Colony Altean who Romelle says she grew up alongside. Romelle looks a lot younger than Tavo does, so how did they grow up together? She asks him to trust her, but he says that his people were told that Romelle was a traitor and says he “can see now that it is true.” Allura says she’s “done with all of them” and gets up and leaves.

Rizavi sneaks the camera to secretly record a private conversation between Allura and Lance. Yeah, I really don’t like Rizavi. I really wish this show didn’t portray her behavior as being acceptable. What she is doing is wrong. She is betraying her fellow officer’s trust. Allura is talking to Lance about official, serious stuff, and Rizavi gets a look on her face like she knows the scene is going to turn romantic. This is the writer severely ahead of what the plot is actually depicting.

Allura talks to Lance, saying, “You have no idea what it’s like to find out […] you’re not the last of your kind, only to be rejected by them.” This moment is more that makes me think Allura is heavily depressed this season, and why, aside from her being a female character of color who’s killed off to fix everyone’s problems, her death at the end of the series is so infuriating. I like how Lance responds to her. He says, “I don’t.” I like that he doesn’t try to diminish what she’s feeling by arguing against or trying to negate her having said, “You have no idea what it’s like […].” He’s actually being very supportive right now. He does say he wishes he could make things better for her. He acknowledges how much he recognizes the suffering in her experiences and says her perseverance is one of the reasons he fell in love with her.

Allura and Lance hug and go in for a kiss, and before they can kiss, Kinkade grabs the camera and says, “No, that’s private.” The whole thing was private. You violated their trust and their privacy the whole time and you only care right before they kiss? Clearly since it’s part of this episode, Kinkade didn’t destroy the footage, so he never recognizes that everything before the kiss was as private as the kiss itself. And of course, Rizavi is annoyed at Kinkade for his having blocked filming the kiss. Again, I just can’t help but to question how the executive producers and writer thought it was okay to send a message with this episode that this behavior is acceptable.

Cut to Romelle being interviewed. The camera is all up in her face/Romelle’s eyeball is nearly on the lense. Kinkade says, “Please don’t touch that.” Romelle doesn’t really move within her posture much, so it’s not like she was leaning forward far, and the camera zooms out, so it seems like she wasn’t actually anywhere near the camera the way it was made to look.

I’m kind of surprised that Romelle would agree to this interview, since the content is about sensitive (not emotionally sensitive, though that too, but sensitive in a security sense) topic. She still feels like the Colony Alteans are good people, despite the fact that they tried to commit genocide. I know the show seemingly had the planetary populations of the four planets the Robeasts destroyed last episode evacuated, but those Alteans went to those planets fully intending to kill everyone on those planets. They were trying to commit genocide. They’re not good people. I guess in the same way that this show wants to excuse Honerva and Zarkon for committing genocide, the show expects us to forgive the Colony Alteans for trying to do so too? If I’m being lenient, I’d say maybe the creative team of this show just did not realize the severity and full implication of the things they wrote in this story. That doesn’t make what the Colony Alteans tried to do not genocide though.

Romelle says, “If only there was just some way to get through to them.” Behold the foreshadowing.

Cut to the mess hall. James is still bothered by the tentacles of the squid that they fought earlier in the episode. Guess what, I don’t care about James.

Cut to Hunk stirring a mixture, just about to add the yeast.

Cut to an interview with Allura. Kinkade thanks her for doing this. I doubt she would do it if they let her know that they committed two crimes in falsifying orders and recording footage of her conversation with Tavo. I doubt she would do it if they told her that they violated her privacy by recording her conversation with Lance.

Allura expresses some of her frustration with the Colony Alteans. She says, “Oriande was destroyed. Lotor is back.” But he’s not really. Maybe this is just another of the executive producers’ and writers’ notorious audience manipulations, but the show is very much making it look like the narrative is stating that Lotor is still a part of this story. I know the EPs would probably just say that this is just what Allura thinks, not that it’s actually true. But if it isn’t true, then who was piloting the Sincline last episode until Honerva used her space magic to stop it? Even Honerva spoke as if Lotor was still piloting the Sincline. That he’s eventually shown to have been a melted corpse definitely makes the idea that the season was heavily re-edited seem plausible.

Allura’s comments suggest that the methods they had used to track Honerva previously are no longer producing results. They’re not detecting any traces of wormhole generation and the like.

Cut to Hunk in the kitchen. He pulls “an authentic Altean dessert” out of the oven that he plans on giving to the Colony Alteans. While there would be something to the Colony Alteans’ culture that could still possibly be traced by skilled anthropologists to the Altean culture of Allura’s 10,000 years ago, that 10,000 years would have caused the Colony Alteans’ culture to significantly change. Coran gave Hunk this recipe, but it’s not realistic that the Colony Alteans would have preserved this recipe through those millennia.

I really do like that Hunk is again able to find a way to apply his interest in food to his tendency toward wanting to engage in diplomacy. This show has made too many fat jokes about Hunk, but moments like this are genuine and nice.

Hunk says that when Coran gave him the recipe, “I think his memory was like a little bit fuzzy, so I did some improvising. No big woop.” In other words, it’s not “an authentic Altean dessert.” Improvising the recipe is not being authentic. This is so wrong.

Cut to Tova and several other Colony Alteans staring at Hunk’s baking. Eventually Tova tastes it and says that it reminds him of home. For him, home was the Colony, not Altea. But the show is treating it as nearly the same for the sake of convenience. None of these Colony Alteans would actually know what Altea was like.

Hunk points out that he made the dessert with help “from someone raised on Altea.” Hunk tells them that Allura and Coran were there at Altea until it was destroyed and would have remained if they hadn’t been sent away. Anyone else think that it was a failure of this show’s storytelling that we never did get to truly see the destruction of Altea, to see how Coran and Allura survived? The closest we got was Alfor violating his daughter by rendering her unconscious so that she couldn’t object to being sent away.

Tova mentions stories he’s been told about some spot on Altea that was supposedly beautiful. I love Hunk’s line, “They never told me about them, but I’m sure they’d love to tell you themselves.” The door opens and Allura and Coran are waiting to talk to the Alteans.

Cut to Kinkade winding up his day’s recording.

The only thing in this episode that was actually important was that ending scene with Hunk and the Colony Alteans. Emotionally, it was a nice scene if I set aside my issues with the realism of an “improvis[ed]” recipe being presented and effectually functioning as “authentic.”

I really did not like how otherwise the episode is a giant waste of time. I really did not like how Rizavi and Kinkade’s behavior is treated as okay when some of it is criminal and some of it is a violation of others’ privacy. I really don’t like how the show is glossing over that these Alteans tried to commit genocide. The story can still have Allura needing to talk to them while acknowledging the severity of what the Alteans were doing.

There really were only two things that was worth watching in this episode. One, the short scene of Coran’s antics when he retells the story of last episode. Two, Hunk’s small storyline, especially when he actually gives the dessert to the Alteans.

[draconida]

Shance Fic Recs (Part three)

More Shance! With Kuro and Sven too. 

82- Mysteries Become Reality by FullmetalDude1 [M/M/M/M, Sven and Kuro]

The world is full of mythical creatures that are slowly but surely being integrated and accepted into society, but a couple of hate crimes and BS still happens.

Lance is a human in this world, doing his best to help Mythics out even if he's got a bad history.

Then he meets 4 super hot Mythics in collage and he is gone, but he'll never admit that.

At least, not until he's been held for ransom by a gang of haters.

83- i don't have too much but i know enough by quiddative

Lance shot a panicked look at Keith but the asshole just laid there uselessly. “Don’t look at me like that,” he snorted. “They’re your kids, after all.”

What?

“What?” Lance and Allura yelled.

Allura turned to Kolivan with narrowed eyes. “Explain,” she demanded.

Kolivan looked very much like he wanted a drink. “The two of them appear to be the Red and Black Paladins’ children from the future.”

(Or: Lance and Shiro's children appear from the future and emotions ensue.)

85- Remember Me by boredomsMuse

Back before Kerberos, Lance and Shiro had been close. Boyfriends, type close. Boyfriends who'd meet each other's parents, all of them, type close.

Except, none of the Paladins know that. Not even Shiro.

86- Starlight Starshine by stirlingphoenix

'He’s beautiful', was the only thought Shiro’s mind could process as he watched Lance in person for the very first time. Those two little words repeated themselves on a loop over and over, making sure he’d never forget this moment. He’d always thought Lance to be exceedingly attractive, but seeing him in real life, as opposed to the TV screen or a movie poster nearly blew his mind.

Shiro had every intention of getting out of there before he ended up doing something embarrassing. Nevermind the fact that Lance wouldn’t know who he was, he still wasn’t too keen on potentially making a fool of himself. But just before he could make a beeline for the exit, the sound of his proper last name echoed throughout the air, forcing him to stop dead in his tracks.

“Excuse me, Mr. Shirogane?” The nervousness that plagued his caller’s voice hit Shiro’s ears wrong, yet it was still oddly familiar to him, as if he’d heard that same tone over a hundred times before.

As it turned out, he had, just never like this. Turning around, he came face-to-face with the lead of the production, the one and only Lance McClain himself, standing before him with a curious, perhaps even anxious expression covering his face.

87- Hi by Nevermoree

"in a world where you have your soulmates’ first words tattooed in your skin, he, obviously, has… well, that."

88- Te prefiero a ti by Nevermoree [Explicit and only spanish]

Lance has been in love with Shiro since he can remember, so when he have the opportunity to spend the night with Shiro, he have decided not to waste it. It's supposed to be a one-night deal, but things do not always work out the way you plan.

89- How to get a hot, shape-shifting dragon-man to fall in love with you by charlotteXOyates [Explicit]

Discovering a new species is a dream every reptile expert can relate to, so Lance's excitement upon meeting Shiro, a man with scales and a dragon tail, is understandably through the roof. What's less understandable, however, is Lance's sudden desire to help the dragon-man with his rut…

90- Daycare, Toddlers, and a bit of Love by starryrosez

Lance falls in love with the father of a boy he looks after in daycare.

91- Claws by AshesTheTerrible [Explicit and omegaverse] Lance had clawed his way through the Galra military ranks. This was the most important day of his entire existence. He was being assigned to a commander. One of the most ruthless commanders in the Empire. He had to make a good impression.

It would be just his luck that he'd be stricken with the beginnings of a ruthless heat. He knew the suppressants made him sick, but he took them anyway. Anything was better than a fucking stupid heat. He couldn't very well look strong with his heat boring down on his shoulders.

But puking at the feet of your new commander doesn't exactly make you look like a model Galra either… hindsight Lance supposes. 92- Lance's Guide on How to Embarrass Yourself in Front of Your Insurance Adjuster by Eilera

“This is for my mama, Hunk. She was so worried about this whole thing. They just finished renovating. I’m not gonna let her down. If my name isn’t Lance fucking Hernandez Martine-holy fuck he’s gorgeous.”

“Oh no. No. Lance do-“

Lance didn’t even hear him because there was a fucking gorgeous god walking up the path to the front door.

(In which Lance is helping his mama with an insurance claim and he was not prepared for the smoking hot insurance adjuster.)

93- designated drivers anonymous by kalakauuas

"It’s halfway through his sixth attempt at a puppy-filter pic that the bathroom door whooshes open wider than Lance’s mouth trying to prompt the puppy tongue onto the screen. Right when Lance screeches in surprised terror, he takes the picture.

“I’m so sorry! I didn’t know it was occupied,” says the person who threw the door open, his hands rushing to cover his eyes quicker than Lance would run from his mom’s chancla.

The good thing is, aside from vaguely humiliating selfie poses, there’s nothing to see here."

Lance and Shiro meet through a shared hobby, if you consider hiding in bathrooms during house parties a hobby.

94- Tris for Guys by quiddative

“Um, my name is Lance McClain-Reyes and I have a personal training session,” Lance said, though it came out as more of a question than a statement.

The girl hummed and typed something on the computer. “Ah, right on time,” she said. “Looks like you’ve been paired up with Shiro. If you’ll just take a seat, he should be out in a few minutes.”

Shiro?, Lance thought as all the gears in his brain suddenly screeched to a halt. I must have heard wrong. There’s no way—

“That’s okay, Pidge, I’m already here,” said a deep and familiar voice just behind Lance.

(Or: What do you do when the guy you've been crushing on turns out to be your personal trainer for the day?)

95- easier to lose by quiddative [Explicit]

Shiro is at the peak of his NHL career. Unfortunately, being famous has its downsides, particularly when it comes to dating. And that’s on top of the fact that he’s still in the closet. However, a chance meeting with college student Lance, who seems to be the only person in the entire city who doesn’t know who he is, gives him hope that maybe he won’t die alone after all. Just as long as he can keep his identity a secret.

96- A Halloween Tail by Cathwren

Lance just wanted to have a fun Halloween night, but when homophobic idiots give him trouble he makes a new friend in the dashing young knight that swoops in to save the day. Secrets are shared and Lance can easily say he got a night to remember...and maybe even a boyfriend.

97- 13 stories for Halloween by liddie [Explicit]

A collection of 13 Shance stories for the month of October featuring (but not limited to): vampires, kitsune, werewolves, demons, cursed scarecrows, ghosts, merpeople, oni and whatever else comes to mind!

98- Head Start by SuccubustyKisses [Explicit]

Werewolves. If there was one scent Lance knew above all else, it was Werewolves. Being born from a werewolf father and a human mother Lance knew werewolves. So when he got to the Galaxy Garrison and smelled werewolf in his class his first thought was to make peace with the other wolf.

Sure, Lance was only a half blood, and the closest to transformation he'd ever gotten was sharpened canines and claws during a full moon, but he was still wolf. As such, wolves should stick together. He left his family pack behind to come to the Garrison, maybe he'd be able to form a new pack here.

99- Forgotten Gods and Scales Like Jewels by keir [Explicit and Dubious Consent]

Lance has spent his entire career searching for the elusive and forgotten god of war and lust, a god made of part man, part snake. The pieces are there, and once Lance puts them together, he and his team discover the long forgotten temple dedicated to the naga god, but more lies in store for Lance than he could have ever dreamed of discovering.

100- Of God's and Fae's by MommaVanillaBear

A fae of the ocean, casted aside and alone made the dangerous trek to the festival of lights, and though the way back should have been easy, his steps become lost and the ocean he searches for is replaced by thick foliage and towering trees. Caught by a creature that claims to be an Earth fae, the one of the ocean must spend a month living in the forest or else the God who watches the forest will become aware of him. And there was no way the ocean fae could fight or hope to escape the wrath of a god.

101- Pornstar Lance by Ryuani [Explicit]

Lance used to work as a pornstar but space kinda stopped that.

102- Take a Chance by nuuuge [Fem!Shance]

Lance really just wants the hot Basketball prodigy to notice her.

103- Yearning Touch by CirqueBordello (CircusTalia) [Explicit and Sven]

Sven volunteers to be part of an experiment. But when that experiment makes a change in his body, Lance is there to support him but also realizes he likes the new Sven.

104- The Shirogane Triplets by MermaidLance [Explicit, Trans Lance and the title]

Three Boys

One Lance

He's in for an adventure.

105- Next Time, Pack Them Separately by Quiddity

“So, uh, you in Detroit on business?” Lance asks. The guy glances at him and for a second Lance thinks that he’s terribly misread his mood and he’s about to be snubbed in the worst way. Then he notices the dark circles under his eyes. The man’s totally exhausted. “No,” the man says, shuffling together his papers and securing them together with a wicked looking alligator clip. “I’m headed to New York.” Lance perks up. “Oh! Me too! I’m headed there to meet up with- uh…” Lance is cut off when his neighbor unbuckles himself, stands, and pushes into the line of passengers with a muttered apology. Lance sits there, dumbfounded as the man opens the overhead compartment and pulls down his- Nope. That’s Lance’s bag he’s strapping over his shoulder. That’s his palm tree name tag, that’s his laptop, that’s his senior film project he’s been working on for the past six months and his external hard drive with only back up of three hundred hours of work just shambling down the aisle and off the plane. Oh no.

106- The Knotty Omega by keir [Explicit, omegaverse and little All/Lance]

Lance never saw himself doing porn, but the opportunity fell in his lap with a wicked smile and the smooth talk of Lotor, a producer. The omega finds himself at the center of attention for many horny alphas as he does the most taboo and engages in heat sex for the camera.

107- Double Trouble by liddie [Explicit, Kuro and Shiro]

When Lance agreed to help out at his grandma's flower shop during summer break, he didn't know that it meant managing the shop singlehandedly for months while she went adventuring off to Europe.

Sure, he needs to practice his magic with living things...and yes, plants are a good way to do that without bodies stacking up if something went wrong. But Lance can't even keep a dandelion alive to save his life, so how the hell is he going to keep the entire stock of his grandma's enchanted flower shop alive and healthy for four months?

The answer is simple. He's going to summon himself some help using the dusty old spell book he found in the attic.

It's too bad Lance's handwriting looks like chicken scratch on a good day…

108- To Drown In You by Val_Creative [Explicit and Trans Lance]

Humans are a fearful race, unable to conjure anything other than simpler, volatile emotions, or so Shiro’s mer-clan has taught him. Lance’s compassion and his openhearted empathy deepens Shiro’s need for more. And he’s only know Lance for the turn of a moon.

109- How Deep is the Love We Think We Know by mizufallsfromkumo [omegaverse]

It had been a considerable while since Shiro nested.

So long in fact he didn’t even realize he was doing it.

Until he yanked one of the Castle’s lounge couch cushions out from behind Pidge. No regard for the fact that she was using it. He just knew he needed that one because it was the softest of all the other cushions. Pidge’s surprised squeak as she toppled to the side didn’t even register with him for a moment.

Or at least not till Keith called him out.

110- Repayment by SuccubustyKisses [Explicit and omegaverse]

“I need you to do me a favor Coran.”

“Anything for you, son.”

Lance stepped forward, digging his wallet out of his pocket and slamming it down on the desk in front of him. “There is a man here, an alpha named Shiro. He lost his arm in a car accident.”

“Yes, Takashi Shirogane. It’s a shame what happened to him.” Coran looked away sadly.

“I want you to take this credit card and give him everything he needs. The best, top of the line products.” Coran looked down at the credit card pressed between Lance’s hand and his desk then back up at Lance. “Please?”

111- Dream a Little Dream by thinkpink [Explicit]

Shiro is an adult- he knows how feelings work. He definitely knows his own feelings. Right?

112- Telltale Blush by thinkpink [Explicit and Dubious Consent]

“So why don’t we just skip the part where you throw lines at me and I pretend not to be interested, and you can suck my dick instead.”

113- Dress to Impress by thinkpink

How did Shiro even get sweatpants in space? And why are they so god damn thin!

114- A Dragon by liddie [Explicit]

On the day of his wedding, Prince Lance is carried away by a fearsome creature of old. The remote island is a prison and the dragon his keeper, although Lance is not completely alone. A mysterious man named Shiro is also a prisoner of the dragon, but as Lance learns just who he is, he comes to realize there is more to Shiro than he first thought.

115- In Flagrante Delicto by gwendy1

in flagrante delicto (adverb)

Definition of in flagrante delicto: 1 : in the very act of committing a misdeed : red-handed 2 : in the midst of sexual activity

116- Black's Deal by SuccubustyKisses [Explicit and little Klance]

I’ll give you what you need to get what you want, but you only get two quintent. Do you agree?

“Yes.”

Or the story of Shiro taking over Keith's body in the time of his disappearance between seasons 2 and 3.

117- The Beast Of Pirate's Bay by SuccubustyKisses [Explicit and Major character death, but don't scary you. Happy ending]

A loud shriek filled the air, causing him to fall back onto the damp metal of the ship floor. “I’m sorry.” He whimpered, covering his ears as the sound continued to ring out.

As instant as the sound came it quickly disappeared, leaving Lance to tentatively uncover his ears. “Please,” he begged, tears escaping his eyes as he looked over the side of the boat again. “I won’t even enter your territory if you just bring me a juniberry flower!”.

118- The Lion, The Witch, and the Cursed Ghost by SuccubustyKisses [Explicit]

When lance goes to Kogane forest in search of the cat he saw plastered all over the news he ends up with a lot more than he bargained for. But he's not complaining.

The ghost floated up, arms crossed as he looked over the trees. “I’ll make you a deal.” Lance’s eyes brightened, he knew his excitement was obvious. But, he didn’t care. “If you can find me in this forest before the sun sets, I’ll take you to see Shiro. If not, you will leave this forest without a fight.” He turned and lowered down to Lance’s level again, holding out his transparent hand. “Do we have a deal?”

Shiro must be the cat.

Lance reached out, taking the hand, surprised when he actually felt contact. “Deal.” Before he could even shake the hand properly it was gone, along with its owner, only the flutter of leaves in the air showing he had even been there. Snatching up one of the leaves, Lance grinned. This ghost vastly underestimated him.

119- That's not a phone by CrypticGabriel [Explicit and Trans Lance]

Lance had a part-time job at the movie theater. During his job, he liked ogling at a frequent flyer named Shiro. But he never expected to catch him doing the unthinkable while watching a movie. And no. It didn't involve a phone.

120- Let's Play A Game by liddie [Explicit]

About to leave for a little vacation time at his grandfather's seaside cottage, Shiro gets a text from Allura asking if he can drop her friend Lance off at the beach on his way. He agrees, but is entirely unprepared for everything that Lance is.

121- How Do I "Casual"? by The_Busy_Beee

Sometimes Lance loves living in the same building as his best friends.

Sometimes he hates it with a passion.

Usually only when Keith's involved, however.

Or:

Lance brings home a guy and isn't sure how to handle the "morning after" situation. Keith is exhausted and thinks Lance has murdered somebody.

122- Spilling Secrets by The_Busy_Beee

Everyone knows the past never stays in the past.

Or:

Shiro finally meets the Blue Lane crew, Lotor is a shit, and Lance really just wants today to go well.

123- Good Girl by strawberrylovely [Explicit and Fem!Lance]

Shiro hears Lance masturbating in the team bathroom. He’s not sure whether to help or run away, so Lance makes the decision for him.

124- Beautiful Breed by Blue_Queen662 [Fem!Lance]

Kept in captivity for years, Lance had not had any contact with others like herself in a long while.

Shiro had been gone from the sea for years. From being separated from his pod for a long time, he had forgotten how it feels to be loved by a mate.

Shiro has been chosen to be Lance’s mate. For his strangth, speed and intellect; it was decided amongst guests at a dinner party that the Champion will mate with Zarkon’s prize pet.

125- my boyfriend's back (and you're gonna be in trouble) by heavenlyrare

The Galra and the Alteans haven't been at each other's throats, thanks to Prince Lance's and Commander Shiro's relationship.

Unfortunately, the rest of the universe doesn't seem to know that.

126- Missing Pieces by AshesTheTerrible [Explicit]

Shiro comes back from two tours overseas a changed man. He has one less arm and a lot more nightmares. His best friend Keith convinces him Yoga is the perfect form of meditation to help with his PTSD and he's skeptical at best....that is until he sees the instructor and is instantly in love.

127- Full Moons and the Mornings After by Impetus

Lance really needs to stop letting stray wolves into his apartment.

128- My Best Friend's Brother? How Cliche by orphan_account

Lance has been pining after Shiro since he was 14, and the last time he saw him before Shiro left to go to veterinary school had been embarrassing as hell. But, things were different now. 3 years had passed, Shiro was back, and Lance was a new and improved version of himself. This time, Lance wasn't afraid to do what he wanted to.

OR that one where Lance hasn't seen Shiro in years but when he goes to drop some food off at Keith's house he walks in on Shiro working out.

129- How To Use a Long Rest by avoidingavoidance [Explicit]

In which the team's game of Monsters and Mana isn't actually a game, and Lance takes good care of Shiro. Several times.

130- Just Take That Breath in Your Lungs by mizufallsfromkumo [Omegaverse]

When Shiro was younger, and freshly presented as an Alpha, he use to think about how things would be when he claimed his mate for himself.

Ideally it would be their wedding night, but it wasn’t a necessity. Shiro was fine with whenever moment arose and felt right. And when his intended mate would find it, Shiro would turn on soft music. They’d maybe dance a little, or speak soft words of love. Then the night would progress in a slow, gentle, and loving path towards claiming.

Because yeah, Shiro was a hopeless romantic at times.

Sue him.

But that was the furthest thing that was happening, Shiro thought as he and Lance flopped into the nest both of them had constructed over two weeks ago.

131- Can You Find the Path that Leads Back to My Heart by mizufallsfromkumo

Lance was just left to sulk in the cockpit. And wonder just where his relationship stood with his mate, who had his soul transferred and fused into a clone's body. A clone Lance had just continued on courting like nothing ever happened, because he didn’t know his mate had even died in the first place.

Lance never thought going to space would be filled with so much drama.

Much less, drama that made his life sound like really bad telenovela plot line.

132- Some Good Shooting by AshesTheTerrible [Explicit and Trans Lance]

Lance and Shiro had been nothing but a hurricane of spats and frustration since the switching of lions. And then quite suddenly...they weren't anymore. Hunk couldn't figure out what had changed between the blue and black paladins but the rest of the team just seemed happy the two were working together. Maybe a little too well in fact.

Unbeknownst to the others, really all it took to change the two paladin's attitudes toward each other was one hard kiss in the hangar doors.

Parts 1 / 2 / 3 

[cyangarden]

Not Anymore?

An S8 AU (full) of misunderstanding between Pidge and Lance. Kinda angsty but I tried it to be as fluffy as I can. I’ve written this sometime ago in the PPD and I thought I’d share it here.

Lance and Allura still had a date however, they talked about what they should do afterwards, and they realized that it's the best for them that they shouldn't go any further but be best friends instead. Pidge still helped her get the dress using the KBP 26 she bought.

Lance made his way back home until his eyes caught a copy of KBP 26 and he decided to get it since he knew Pidge would like it (he still didn't know that she gave up her copy for them).

He then arrived at his home, carefully placing the game aside so he could give it to her before they leave, feeling excited about his surprise gift to her.

The next day arrived, Lance managed to talk to Pidge before she went away to prepare her stuff. He gave the game to her which surprised her because it's the same one that she bought and gave up for them.

Pidge was so joyful that she gave him a koala hug, causing him to blush. Lance enjoyed moments like this and secretly craved for more. Thankfully, they were facing away each other which helped hide his face.

Pidge then asked how the date went. She was surprised by answer because she found out that they decided to not go any further. She wanted to ask why (and more questions regarding it), but it still might be a delicate topic to him. She felt a bit relieved because maybe she would have the chance to be with Lance. Unknown to her, he was actually fine with the decision and maybe it was good that they had a realization during that moment.

They eventually went on their own ways to prepare themselves to leave Earth again

While Pidge was walking back to her house, she just realized that Lance might've found out what she did for them and maybe this was his way of thanking her. However, it just coincided with what Lance did and he still didn't know about the dress.

Skip a few days later while they're in Atlas and she finally had setup the game, so she can play it with him. Lance was more than glad to accept her invitations and he frequently visited her, playing the games and just spending more time with her

However, it became less common for them as the challenges they faced were harder.

Pidge realized what was happening and tried to apologize to Lance for not spending time with him, but he understood the situation and told her that she shouldn't even apologize.

He told her that he's going spend as much time as he can in hanging out with her after everything was done which came to a surprise to Pidge because she thought that he wants to spend time with his family

More time passed, and Nadia noticed that Lance was occasionally visiting Pidge's room. Nadia asked him why and he told her that he was playing KBP 26 with her. It astonished her since she saw Pidge giving up the game for Allura's dress and she asked Lance how they were able to do it.

Nadia: "You're playing KBP 26 with Pidge???" Lance: "Yep, you could play it with us if you want." Nadia: "I thought she gave that up to get Allura's dress." Lance (startled at what she said): "Wait, what?! She did that?" Nadia: "Yeah, she felt a bit sad when she did it at the time." Lance: "Oh.... oh." Nadia (felt that something was up with him so she excused herself): "Yeah... Anyway, I'll go with to my team now. See you later." Lance (his voice was weak): "T-thank you for telling me."

Lance felt touched and ashamed that she had to do that to help him be happy. He started thinking ways of making it up to her.

They were able to play together again, but he was quieter than usual. He kept thinking about what Nadia told him and Pidge noticed he was slumping a bit in the game. He just reasoned that it's just he's busy thinking about the harder challenges they would face.

They shortly stopped playing the game, so they could rest. Before Lance left her room, Pidge gave her a hug and told him that he could approach her if he needs anything. He told her that he’ll take that in mind.

A couple of days later, there was an incident with Pidge where she was almost taken in, but Keith was there to save her in time. Lance saw what happened and he felt a pang of jealousy hit him.

They got back to have Pidge checked if anything happened to her.

Lance wanted to approach Pidge and ask if she was fine, but Keith was already there accompanying her. He chickened out and went to his room, feeling dejected and hopeless.

He only came out of his room when a talk about the team/mission was needed or when he got some food.

Lance noticed that Keith was frequently visiting her, but he was doing it as a leader being responsible for his teammates, not for something else.

Lance mistaken Keith's actions as there was a thing going on between them and he felt defeated, thinking that he had hurt Pidge too with what she did for his happiness.

Maybe her recent actions meant that she finally moved on with him and she's treating him just like a best friend and nothing else.

Pidge was actually kind of annoyed that Keith was bugging her, but she understood him because he was just doing his role.

She wanted to see Lance and play KBP or other games with her though he was nowhere to be found.

He distanced himself from her to avoid feeling the pain of apparently losing the chance to be with her.

Lance kept reasoning that he's just training more to prepare of their final battle and needing more rest, though she didn't believe him, but she didn't press it any further.

Lance’s interactions with Pidge were just short and he did her best to not be rude with her. She was saddened because she observed that he's becoming more distant to her.

The team finally defeated Honerva and the Galra forces, all of them came back in one piece. Everyone was happy that it's all over now.

However, Pidge and Lance felt that there's still something else empty, but they couldn't piece it together yet.

They arrived back on Earth, celebrating the victory and spent time with their loved ones. A couple of days later, a ball was planned, and the team's presence was needed.

Pidge found herself wearing an elegant green dress that her mother helped her with it. Lance ended up staring at her beauty, leaving his mouth open in the process.

His thoughts were snapped when Veronica nudged him to move towards the stage to be recognized.

Pidge and Lance went up on the opposite sides of the stage, gazing into each other's eyes.

She was smiling at him, but he forced his and she noticed that something was up with him.

The Paladins gave a speech about the recent events, telling their experience, gratitude to everyone that helped, being glad that it's over, etc.

Lance was the last one to speak and in one part of his speech, he told everyone, "If there's a moment to make things right, please take it. You never know when you will be getting the chance to do it again but if you did, it might be already too late."

He actually alluded his situation with Pidge, but no one seemed to notice it, even her.

The celebration commenced, and everyone spread out to talk with one another.

Lance got himself a drink and stayed out of the crowd, trying to avoid interactions with anyone else. He then saw Pidge approaching Keith, but he didn't notice that Hunk was behind her.

He thought she was going to ask him for a dance, so he left the room, finding some space, trying his best to not think about them.

Pidge actually talked to Hunk to ask where Lance was then they tried approaching Keith to ask the same question, but she was leading ahead

The circumstance made it look like Pidge wanted to be with Keith because she was rushing to get to him.

She went out on her own, trying to find him because she wanted to talk and celebrate with him.

She then thought of going to the roof top and she saw him sitting on one of the ledges, staring at the stars.

Pidge: "Did you come up here to rock out?" Lance: "AHHH! Oh, it's just you, Pidge." [She sat beside him] Pidge: "What are you doing up here? Shouldn't you be having fun with everyone else below?" Lance: "Just wanted some fresh air, that's all." Pidge: "Really? Lance: "Yeah... really."

They sat in silence, but she knew she had to talk about his recent behavior.

Lance was startled but he knew that there's no way out of this, so he came out and confessed everything. He first apologized for hurting her with what she did for his happiness. Then berating himself for being an idiot and not realizing his feelings for her.

He looked away from her, thinking that all of this was nothing because she probably moved on

Pidge was having none of this, so she just kissed him to shut him up. Lance surprised, but he kissed her back feeling relieved.

He then asked her about Keith and she told him that he's just doing his responsibilities as the leader and making sure everyone was okay. There was nothing going on between them in the first place. Lance was just glad that Pidge was still in love with him.

They went back in the room together with their hands held and ending their night with a dance that made everyone in awe.

[patchwork-panda]

Electric Chapel (1/2)

@joltikon here’s that one-shot I said I’d write, where Keith is a stoic guitarist in a popular underground band and Shiro is his #1 fan/crush.

Keith is this cool bad-boy type guitarist who has a bad attitude and doesn't talk to people but he met Shiro at a meet and greet and has been pining after that smoking hot fan ever since and they're both too afraid to interact with each other except on social media.

“Hey Keith, your boyfriend’s here.”

The guitarist immediately went red in the ears. 

“He’s not my boyfriend,” Keith coughed, quickly looking away so that Lance would be unable to see the blush spreading down his neck.

Lance rolled his eyes and let the curtain fall, black velvet drapes obscuring the audience from view once again as he walked away from the wings, his heavy boots clunking against the concrete as he approached his band mate. He laid a heavy hand on Keith’s leather jacket and let out an equally heavy sigh.

“--yet,” Lance finished for him. When Keith scoffed and turned away, Lance merely plopped down beside him and scrutinized the dark-haired young man, his gaze betraying equal parts disgust and amusement as his eyes fell on Keith’s crimson ears.

“But seriously, dude. Do you think you can squeeze any more earrings onto that thin piece of flesh?” 

To prove his point, he lightly yanked on one of the uppermost clip-on rings curled around Keith’s right helix, to which Keith hissed and slapped his hand away.

“Don’t touch those!”

“They’re clip-ons, dude,” Lance deadpanned. “I thought you already had enough earrings to begin with, Mr. Look-at-me-I’m-the-Cool-Rebellious-One (TM). What happened to the Keith Kogane who hated posers?”

“Shiro said he liked my earrings.”

“In an Instagram reply!”

“Shiro said he liked my earrings,” Keith growled, making it clear his decision was final. He turned away from Lance yet again so that he could continue tuning his guitar. “Now go warm up your vocal cords or whatever it was you were doing before--”

“Oh, I’m all ready to go.” Lance smirked. “I’m gonna go out there and do what I do best and the panties are gonna coming flying in from all directions.”

“Uh-huh. And what’ll Allura say to that?”

This time it was Lance’s turn to blush.

“Don’t you bring Allura into this,” he hissed under his breath, his eyes darting around as if she had been hiding behind Keith all along, hoping to catch his little indiscretions. “I know she’s into me as much as I’m into her and unlike some people--”

Considerably miffed, he elbowed Keith a little harder than necessary, jostling his band mate enough that the guitar let out a sour note, much to Keith’s irritation. 

“--some of us haven’t decided to give up before we’ve even tried.”

He’d hit a nerve. His anger boiling over, Keith whirled on him, ready to give Lance the tongue-lashing he sorely deserved but before he could get even a single word out, the stage manager was running up to them and calling for them to take their places; the show was about to begin. Grumbling under his breath, he quickly finished tuning his guitar, ignoring Lance’s snarky comment about how much he loathed Keith being the one to have perfect pitch and joined Hunk and Pidge on stage just before the curtains were ripped away.

Shiro could barely contain his excitement. Granted, he could barely see a thing from where he was but he was excited none the less.

“You know I could just get you a backstage pass and we could have a much better view than this,” Matt groaned beside him, not-so-subtly nudging a few people out of the way as he came back to Shiro’s side clutching a couple bottles of beer. “I am Pidge’s older brother.”

“Are you kidding me?!” Shiro exclaimed, “And miss the whole show?”

“You’d be that much closer to Keith,” Matt said wryly, popping the top of his beer and offering the other to Shiro. “And to clarify, you wouldn’t be missing the show. You’d just be getting a better angle. Not that many people get to see what he looks like from backstage.”

Shiro choked and Matt had the good graces to give him a sympathetic, albeit heavy-handed slap on the back. Thankfully, there was no need to worry, for as soon as the lights came on, blue and pink and purple flashing like an alien warship amidst the screech of an electric guitar, he was up and cheering with the rest. Sadly, he chose the wrong time to take a second swig of his beer and choked again when he saw just how low-cut Keith’s loose white tank top was.

Half an hour later, Keith had locked himself in the dressing room.

“Oh come on, Keith!” Lance howled, his hands in his short, brown hair. “Just come out already! We’re just going for drinks, it’s not like you’re gonna die.”

“You don’t know that!” Keith hollered back, the panic in his voice unmistakable even though his voice was slightly muffled by the heavy wooden door between them.

“Keeeeeith, come onnnn,” he whined, slumping against the door. “Allura said she has to be home in two hours and every minute you’re in there is one less minute I have to get her phone number--”

“I already told you to go without me!”

“For the love of all that is good and holy, Keith--!!”

Luckily, before he could try to bust down the door, he was shoved to the side by a very small and very irritated Pidge.

“Keith, open this door right now,” she snarled, her light brown eyes flashing dangerously. “If you don’t, I’m going to break into your Instagram account and upload pictures of you in all those unflattering outfits you’ve tried on over the past month, AND I’m going to tag Shiro so that he gets to see each and every one--”

“You wouldn’t dare.”

From the other side of the door, Pidge held up a rectangular object displaying a brightly lit photo of a rather wolf-like large black dog.

“I have your phone. Search your jacket. You know it to be true.”

There was a moment of silence in which they could practically see Keith rummaging in his clothes for his cell, then a clatter which they could only assume meant he had thrown open his guitar case to search it as well. As the guitarist let out a series of well-worded swears, Lance took a step away from their pint-sized keyboardist.

“Remind me never to make you angry.”

“I will. Hey, Matt?”

At the sound of his name, Pidge’s older brother materialized in the shadows, dragging along a very buff and somewhat tipsy man, who was doing a rather poor job of trying to escape. Lance’s jaw fell open as his eyes fell upon the tell-tale scar across the man’s nose.

“Is that--?”

“Shush!”

And before anyone could say another word, Pidge and Matt had grabbed Lance and bolted, just as the door to the dressing room creaked open. As she ran, Pidge made a wild gesture in the air, prompting a hidden Hunk to shove Shiro through the open door and lock it behind him.

“I’m sorry Keith, I’m sorry Shiro!” the drummer moaned as he took to his heels and quickly jogged out after the others. “I’m sorry!!”

... I want to write an NSFW part 2... upload later, I promise!

[alongthoselineswrites]

#6 “I’m sorry” kiss AND #7 “I’ve missed you” kiss. 

I’m trying not to combine very many of these cause I want the practice writing, but these two fit so well together within the prompt, so I put them together

Post series. Pidge’s POV. ~2500 words. Angst with a happy ending. Background Kallura and Hunay. 

Pidge sat at the kitchen table, staring intently at the wall in front of her. She wishes she could say that she didn’t know how long she’d been there, but judging by the fact that the sunlight streaming through the window had moved from the floor to the top right corner of the wall, she would estimate it has been at least five hours.

Her stomach rumbles. She wishes she had thought to go out and eat before the cafeteria on the Garrison campus closed. Then she wouldn’t have to cook for herself.

She continues to stare at the wall. Despite her body’s signals, she doesn’t feel like eating.

Pidge wishes Lance was here.

Lance stood on the tarmac, laughing at something with Hunk and Shiro as Pidge approached. Lance turned and saw her, before scooping her up in his arms and twirling her around, a huge smile on his face as he put her down, keeping her in his hold. Pidge smiled back up at him, although less enthusiastically.

“Hey babe. How are you holding up?” Lance asked, leaning down to place a gentle kiss on her lips. Pidge felt her smile grow just a little bit wider.

“I’m holding up okay.” She reached up and kissed him again, “I wish you didn’t have to go, Lance.”

Lance’s expression fell slightly, and he brought a hand up to cup her face. Pidge loved the way the coolness of his ring contrasted with the warmth of his hand.

Pidge looked down at her own hand, silently admiring the way that the light glittered in the diamond placed daintily on her ring finger. She and Lance had been married for almost a year now. It hadn’t always been easy, but it had been worth every minute. She wouldn’t trade him for the world.

She shifted her gaze from the ring on her finger to the small stick lying on the table. She knew Lance would freak out if he knew she had placed it in the same place that they eat, but she couldn’t really bring herself to care. On one end of the stick was a piece of paper that kinda reminded Pidge of a pH test, although the purpose of this paper was slightly different. On the other end was a small screen embedded in the plastic. Two parallel lines were displayed in perfect clarity.

Pidge was pregnant.

“It’s only for two weeks, Pidge. Diplomatic meetings around a couple of neighboring galaxies, and then I’m back home before dinner. I promise.” Lance rationed with her.

“I know, but I wish that Hunk could go instead of you, or I could go instead of Keith, or something. You know Keith isn’t good at these things anyway.”

Lance laughed, “Yeah, but neither are you, my dear. Remember what happened on Yemurill?”

Pidge remembered perfectly well. After a wonderful meal and amicable negotiations thus far, the Yemurillan Prince had gotten a little too tipsy and tried to pull a line on Pidge. Next thing anyone knew, the poor prince was lodged into the wall above the dining room table, hanging upside down with two of his feet shoved in his mouth.

Pidge rolled her eyes, “He totally had that one coming.”

Lance laughed again, throwing his head back and making Pidge’s heart skip a beat. He leaned back in and placed his forehead on Pidge’s. “Fine, I’ll give you that one.” He placed a quick kiss on her nose, “Besides, Keith is the Black Paladin, he’s really kinda needed at these diplomatic meetings and such, which is why he needs his right-hand man to bail him out of all the sticky situations that Marmora blade gets him in.”

Keith called from the other side of the tarmac, “I have ears you know!”

“Stupid Galra ears!” Lance lifted his head and shouted back, since Keith was much too far away to have heard that with human hearing.

Pidge laughed, “Hey, Lance?”

He turned his attention back to her, humming and absentmindedly taking one of her hands in his and bringing it to his mouth, kissing her knuckles while she talked, “Don’t ever talk about Keith when we’re cuddling again.”

Lance paused for a second, before bursting out laughing again, “Alright, Pidge. Whatever you say.”

Unable to stare at the pregnancy test any longer, Pidge got up from the table, and finally began to assess the bodily functions that she had ignored since she took the test earlier this morning. After relieving herself and changing into some less sweaty clothes, she headed into the kitchen to try to find something to eat. She left the test on the kitchen table, and tried to leave it out of her mind.

It wasn’t that she wasn’t happy to be pregnant. Lance and her had talked extensively on how excited they were to have a family one day. Especially Lance; he was ecstatic about the thought of being a father. It was just the specific circumstances that made her anxious.

She put water on the stove to boil, pulling some linguini out of the pantry. She then hopped up onto the counter and stared at the wall some more. At least this time she had a fresh perspective.

“Take me with you, Lance. I don’t want to be away from you for so long.” Pidge pouted, pulling the puppy-dog eyes out of her box of tricks, knowing full well that after three and a half years of being together, he was mostly immune to them, especially knowing how important these diplomatic meetings were. She knew she was being dramatic and that it was only two weeks, but she couldn’t help it. 

“Pidge, you need to stay here. You’ve got to cover my classes for me, remember?” Lance reminded her jokingly.

“As if I could actually teach your classes, Lance. I’m no pilot. What business do I have teaching a piloting class? You should have asked Shiro.”

“You piloted a lion same as me, Pidge. Besides, everyone in my class is scared to death of you. You can just call any of them by any name off the top of your head and they’ll probably pee themselves.”

Pidge giggled softly, before growing serious again. She looked him in the eyes, gripping his shoulders hard, “Lance, I don’t want you to go. I know I’m supposed to be the rational one about this kind of thing, but I have a bad feeling about this.”

Lance cradled her face again, bringing his forehead to hers, obviously trying to bring her comfort in this, “I’m sorry, Pidge. I’ll be back in two weeks.” He leaned down and pressed his lips to hers, telling her everything she needed to know through the kiss.

Pidge heard a hissing sound on the stove, bringing her back to the present. She turned and saw that her water was boiling over. She quickly jumped off of the counter, removing the pot and turning off the stove. She leaned heavily against the counter.

Perhaps she shouldn’t be cooking in this state.

Her goodbye with Lance had been almost three months ago. Four days into their mission, Keith and Lance’s radios had gone inexplicably silent, and they hadn’t come online since. Pidge and Allura had immediately flown out to their last known location, only to find empty space, with nothing in reach for lightyears.

Pidge felt tears start to well up in her eyes, but she refused to cry.

She had worked tirelessly towards tracing their last known signal, but she knew deep down that if they weren’t broadcasting, there was no signal to trace. She had originally thought that the stress of the two paladins going missing had been what had been causing her cycle to be late. But after the third month with nothing, she couldn’t deny the possibility of her being pregnant any longer. 

That is what led her to her current situation, sitting alone in her and Lance’s small apartment, alternating between failing at cooking and staring forlorn at the positive pregnancy test on the table. If she truly was pregnant, she’d be well over three months along at this point. She was almost finished with her first trimester and she hadn’t even known she was pregnant.

Even more important, Lance didn’t know she was pregnant. And on the twelfth week of a two-week mission, there was an 89% chance that he would never know she was pregnant.

It was that thought that made the tears fall.

 A few days later, and Pidge still hadn’t removed the pregnancy test from the table. She can’t bring herself to touch it again; as if the act of acknowledging it will really make it true. Irrationally, she thought that if she ignored it, everything would go back to the way it was before.

Pidge was attempting once again to cook without burning the food, a task which she was currently having about 14% success after finding out about her pregnancy. She had dropped 21% from where she was after she had found out Lance was missing, which was already far below her usual 63%. Maybe she was just a bad cook.

The phone started ringing.

Knowing that in this frame of mind she wouldn’t have the brain power to cook and talk on the phone, she turned off the stove in order to answer the phone.

“Hello?” She answered, and it was at that point that she realized that she hadn’t spoken in three days. Only cried. Which made her voice thick, scratchy, and barely recognizable.

“Katelyn? Is that you?” Iverson’s voice rang through the receiver.

Pidge cleared her throat before trying again, “Sorry. Yeah, this is Katie.”

There was a pause on the other end of the line, as if Iverson wasn’t quite sure what exactly he wanted to say.

“You’d better come on down to the Garrison for a bit, Hon.”

She waited for more explanation, but when none came, she forced herself to inquire further, “What’s wrong?”

Another pause, this one longer. “It’s Lance… We found them.”

Tears sprang to Pidge’s eyes, and she wasn’t sure yet if she should be relieved or devastated. She tried to ask if they were okay, but all that came out was a squeaky sort of sobbing sound that Pidge was sure she’d be mortified about later.

“They’re all right, Katie. Calm down. They just came onto our radar, and Hunk and Allura already flew out to escort them back. But you should be here.”

She nodded, before realizing that he couldn’t see her, and said, “Okay. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

Pidge hastily scrambled to shove shoes onto her feet, before grabbing the first hoodie she could get her hands on, and rushing for the door. When she had turned the handle she stopped, spotting the positive test still lying on the table. On impulse, she decided to grab it, shoving it into her hoodie pocket and fleeing the apartment.

By the time she got to the tarmac, the lions were visible as they came in to land. I should have been here. She realizes when she views the lions coming in with a lack of green among them.

She only dwells on that for a moment however, when the red lion lands right in front of her. As soon as the lion’s head starts dipping towards the ground, Pidge is running. She meets Lance before he’s even gotten both feet on the ground, and almost knocks him off of his feet when she jumps into his arms, holding onto him like a baby koala.

Lance doesn’t comment, only sinks to his knees as Pidge cries in his arms, blubbering about how much she’s missed him and how worried she was, and don’t you ever do that to me ever again Lance McClain.

She felt more than heard Lance laugh, but it sounded watery, and he clung to her just as tightly.

Distantly she was aware of Hunk teasing them, before realizing how shook up they really were and transferring his teasing to Keith and Allura, who had had a similar (although less dramatic) meeting upon exiting their lions. When Keith made a rude gesture, Hunk gave up, going to greet Shay even though he’d only been gone for a matter of minutes. I guess he didn’t want to feel left out.

After not nearly enough time, Lance began to pull out just slightly, only so that he could get one his hands between them to cup her face and bring her eyes to his. Pidge probably looked like a complete wreck, between all the crying she had been doing and the general lack of self-care she had employed since Lance had gone missing.

Lance’s eyes were also red and puffy, and a nasty bruise framed his left temple, but he was here; he was alive.

“I missed you, Pidge. I missed you so much.” He swooped in for a kiss, one which Pidge returned heartily.

Her joy at seeing him again and holding him in her arms manifested itself into uncontrollable laughter, and she soon had to break the kiss and bury her face in his shoulder because she was laughing so hard. Unfortunately, because of her strange emotional spectrum due to the baby in her belly, her laughter still sounded like sobs.

Lance quickly became concerned, asking her what was wrong and if he did something. She started shaking her head, lifting it up to look him in the eyes, so that he could see that she was so unbearably happy. Lance started laughing with her.

When she was finally able to control her laughter, she remembered the test in her pocket. She caught Lance’s attention and pulled the stick out of her pocket, “I have a surprise for you.” She held it in front of his face for him to see.

Lance went slightly cross-eyed for a second, trying to understand what Pidge had whipped in front of his face. 

After a couple seconds, comprehension seemed to dawn on him, and he caught her eye.

“Is that…?” He asked hesitantly, not wanting to believe it.

“It is. I’m pregnant!” She exclaimed, catching the attention of the rest of the team nearby.

“When did you find out?” He asked, still wide-eyed in awe, and holding her just a little more cautiously now.

“I just found out a couple days ago, but I’m just over three months along.” By now most of the team had made their way over, wondering what all the commotion was about.

“What’s happening you two?” Shiro asked, and Pidge handed him the test from where she sat on the ground.

“Are you showing yet?” Lance asked softly, sounding like he missed the privacy of a few moments ago.

Pidge paused, realizing that she hadn’t even thought about whether or not she would be showing yet.

“Let’s find out.” She said, and reached down to pull her shirt and hoodie up to reveal her stomach. She could just begin to see the start of a bump forming.

Lance placed his hands reverently over her abdomen, before catching her eye and leaning in for another kiss, tears welling up in his eyes once again, “We’re having a baby, Pidge!”

Pidge looked around at the team surrounding them, and nodded. Yeah, They were having a baby.

[vmheadquarters]

We wish you a Happy Birthday, We wish you a Happy Birthday, We wish you a Happy Birthday filled with fanfic and cheer!

Happy Birthday @catefrankie!

And to kick-off our wish of fanfic for you, here’s the start of a Christmas tale written by our own @susanmichelin. Hope you enjoy! 

Mars and the Real Meaning of Christmas

Thursday, December 20, 2007

“I need your help, Logan.” Already this felt wrong. It was supposed to be the other way around. It was ALWAYS the other way- HIM coming to HER for help. Find my mother, I was falsely accused of murder, locate my sister’s scumbag boyfriend, false murder rap (again), missing trust fund money. Logan was the one who needed HER.

“What is it, Veronica? I’m kinda busy.”

He leaned against the doorjamb, looking better than an ex-boyfriend had a right to look. Wasn’t it a law that all exes needed to get Santa-Claus-fat? Maybe even bald? They were NOT supposed to get buff. And they certainly were NOT supposed to come to the door wearing nothing but a pair of a shorts with water droplets sliding over their chest and down rock-hard abs.  

Kinda busy. The words poked at her. Kinda busy doing... what? Or who? She gritted her teeth. Who Logan was doing was none of her business. “I need your help.”

“You said that already.”

Should she come right out and ask? Remind him of his promise, if you ever need anything. She bit her bottom lip. That was before Madison. Before Piz. Before they splintered each other’s hearts into tiny shards of sharp edges. Why did she think this was a good idea?

“Me” —he pointed to his chest— “Losing interest, fast.”

Bored, jackass-Logan. Veronica blinked. “Forget it; I shouldn’t have come here.” Turning on her heel, she stalked down the short driveway.

“Veronica, wait!”

Ignoring him, she made the left on the narrow street running behind his house and continued in the direction of her car. He caught up to her at the corner; his hand landing on her shoulder. “What’s wrong?”

She spun around to glare at him. Crossing her arms over her chest, she lifted her chin. “Why do you think something’s wrong?”

“My mistake.” He backed up a step. “You came to see me after months of not speaking to what… ask for help moving? No wait, you need a ride to the airport. Or did—”

“My father’s missing.”

“He’s an adult; I’m sure he’ll come home after he’s slept it off.” His gaze moved past her to a spot beyond her shoulder. “Ah, my company’s arrived.” A smirk spread across his face as he glanced at Veronica. “Weren’t you just leaving?”

One of those sharp pieces of her heart shifted, slicing her lungs and making it difficult to breathe. Without saying anything, she dropped her arms, and continued for her car. It was her fault for thinking… She shook her head.

There was no point in analyzing her FEELINGS. She was the one who’d told him it was going to take time and obviously he’d decided waiting around for her to forgive him wasn’t worth it - leaving Hearst while she was in Virginia and moving away from the Grand.

“Hey,” he called after her, but she refused to turn around. She didn’t want to see his face again and she DEFINITELY didn’t want to see his ‘company.’ Rooting through her purse, her fingers closed over her keys. Only a few more steps and she could drive out of his life forever. Logan stepped in front of her, blocking her path and foiling her plan. “Why do you think Keith is missing?”

Right. Her father. Missing. “Don’t worry about it; I’ll figure something out.”

She didn’t have a lot of rich friends. Okay, so she had exactly NO rich friends. Acquaintances? Eh, maybe. There was Dick —he was still floating around campus, presumably going to class— but the idea of letting him touch her was… nauseating.

Logan ducked his head to see her face; concern furrowing his brow. “Let’s start over. You can come inside and tell me about Keith and I’ll promise to dispense with the sarcasm.”

It was her turn to smirk. Logan without sarcasm was… her brain tried and failed to come up with an adequate analogy. What was that impossible? Unassisted human flight? Finding a unicorn in her dorm room? “I don’t want to interrupt your afternoon TRYST.”

“You always go there first. God, Veronica do you think about anything other than sex?” He arched his eyebrows and widened his eyes, faux-shocked. “I do have other interests.”

“Name one.”

He glanced over her shoulder again and held up a wait-one-minute index finger. And again, Veronica resisted the urge to look. An expansive grin spread across Logan’s face as he recognized the effort needed to thwart her curiosity. “Well...proper nutrition is important to me.”

Veronica rolled her eyes. INFURIATING. That was the word to describe him. Irritating, smug, and—

A shouted, “Hey!” from behind them interrupted her silent tirade. “Do you still want this, or what? I don’t have all day.”

She turned. A delivery guy in white t-shirt and red ball cap was holding an insulated warming bag, and glaring at Logan. I know how you feel, buddy. “Pizza? THAT’S your idea of nutritious?”

“Says the woman who eats ice cream for dinner.” Logan jogged toward the house. “Plus it’s from Bronx Pizza”—he called, over his shoulder—“extra cheese, pepperoni.”

Two of her weaknesses. Three, if you counted Logan himself, which she definitely DID NOT.

Veronica trailed behind the delivery guy, watched Logan pay him and carry the pizza inside, leaving the door open. It was invitation enough; she walked into the living room.

After seeing Logan live in the overly-decorated, tacky surroundings of his parent’s house, and then in the sterile, impersonal suite at the Grand, she wasn’t sure what to expect from a space designed by him, for him. The beach was a given, and it didn’t disappoint. The view was stunning. Large, folding glass doors were pushed open, accordion-style, creating a seamless flow from living space to deck.

“I’m going to take a quick shower before we eat and then you can tell me about Keith.” A wry grin. “Don’t make yourself at home.”

To hide her annoyance, she averted her face, and focused on the painting above the couch - a print of Hopper’s Rooms by the Sea. It was a metaphor for silence and solitude. But the other name for the painting—The Jumping Off Place—made her frown. It could be taken either way, as something dark, or hopeful. A final ending, or the point from which something is begun.

Veronica glanced back at the wood-and-glass spiral staircase, but Logan was already gone. Seconds later, the sound of running water said he’d started his shower. She relaxed, wandered across the sisal area rug to explore.

A blue-gray sofa with welted cushions and funky striped throw pillows stood under the Hopper. Club chairs in the same striped pattern were positioned for optimal viewing of the large flat-panel television, and instead of a coffee table, he had a cocktail ottoman printed with coastal beach signs - sand, sea, surf.

The kitchen was separated from the space by a large island and stools—no dining table—and Veronica opened and closed cabinets as she moved down the line. Bright, multi-colored Fiestaware, drinking glasses, pots, and pans - a fully stocked and functional kitchen. She peeked inside the filled-with-healthy-food refrigerator.

She shouldn’t be surprised. Logan had been taking care of himself, in one way or another, since childhood. It was just strange to see him ADULTING. It was hard to imagine him cooking and cleaning and paying bills. The only thing missing was any indication that Christmas was five days away.

Crossing the floor, she looked up the stairs as she passed—no sign of Logan—and moved to the wall behind them. Three custom bookshelves made of walnut and steel were crammed with a mix of hardcovers and paperbacks. Veronica perused the titles. The Count of Monte Cristo, Catcher in the Rye, The Call of the Wild.

She fingered the leaves of a nearby potted palm, wondered why he didn’t have a Christmas tree.

“It’s real,” Logan said, springing down the stairs. “So did I give you enough time to search all the drawers and cabinets, or should I go change again?”

Her cheeks warmed. “Haha.” For something to do, she pulled out one of the saddle-seat bar stools, and flipped open the pizza box. “What made you leave the Grand?”

Shrugging, he handed her a plate, took down two glasses, and poured them both soda. Instead of answering, he said, “Keith. Missing.”

He was right; this wasn’t a social call, but the reminder that they weren’t friends, still stung. Swallowing her sigh with a bite of pizza, Veronica watched him through lowered lashes. Leaning on the opposite counter, half-turned away from her, he was eating his pizza over the box top, and he looked just as good fully-clothed as he did when wet and in swim trunks.

Shaking off the thought, she asked, “Do you remember Deborah Daily?”

Logan’s grimace said he did. “Sure, who could forget the socialite of Debbie does Daddy Dearest fame?” He dropped his unfinished slice back in the box. “Is she still floating around Neptune? Pun intended.”

Deborah had lost her status as trophy wife when she was discovered in flagrante with the pool boy. “No, she’s living in Aspen now, working as an event planner...of sorts. Really she only works for one place - this very exclusive, luxury ski resort called The Glen?”

He nodded. “I’ve been there.”

Of course he had. “Anyway, they’re hosting this five-day Christmas event billed as a ‘traditional’ holiday getaway for couples only.” She finished her pizza and, without having to ask, Logan slid a fresh slice onto her plate. Veronica smiled her thanks, and he rolled his wrist for her to continue. Smile fading, she peeled the pepperoni away from the cheese. “Part of the festivities is a lavish Christmas Eve party, complete with a full orchestra, dancing, and a charity auction.”

“Oh the rich, whatever will they think of next!” Logan clapped his hands together. “Christmas shopping that’s also a tax write-off!”

She ignored his mocking. “Debbie’s been arranging the auction for months, collecting big-ticket items—Harry Winston jewelry, a classic Ferrari, private plane—you get the idea. And then, about two weeks ago, she started to get worried.”

“That her guests weren’t rich enough to afford such baubles?”

“Not quite. She began to suspect the charity was a fake. On paper it looks legit- an outreach program for troubled teens, but when she finally met the CEO...she had doubts.”

“And she hired Mars Investigations?”

“You don’t need to sound so surprised; my dad is very good at what he does.”

“Oh, I wasn’t disparaging the...efficacy that is Keith Mars; I’m asking, why not a firm in Colorado?”

“She didn’t want her boss to find out. If the charity’s a scam, not only will she lose her job, but she’ll be blacklisted. She remembered my dad from his investigation into...”

“Aaron’s stalker,” Logan finished her sentence. “And why should I care about Deb’s future job prospects?”

“I’m not asking you to help HER; I’m asking you to help ME.” Logan gave her a non-committal, hmm, and tapped his wrist like her time was running out. Veronica pushed away her plate, started to stand, changed her mind. She HATED needing him, but she did. “Dad went undercover as a member of the staff; he’s playing Santa Claus at the party, and—”

Logan smirked. “So in essence you’re investigating the case of the missing Santa?”

“I’m GLAD you’re finding this so amusing.”

Something in her tone, wiped the smirk from his face. “I’m sorry, Veronica; finish your story.”

“He checked in with me on Tuesday night, but I haven’t heard from him since.”

“That’s only two days”—Logan looked at the clock above the bookshelves—“Not even. Maybe he’s busy chasing down a lead or--”

“No, we had an arranged check in time; he would call me every night at six while the staff was eating dinner, and he missed last night’s call.”

“Maybe he couldn’t get a signal or his phone died?”

Veronica shook her head. “He has a SAT phone WITH a tracking feature AND global positioning. Even if he couldn’t call me, I’d be able to track his location, and I can’t. Someone disabled it, Logan.”

“Have you called the police?” She just stared at him, and he held out his hands. “What? That ‘waiting-period to file a missing person’s report’ thing is only a Hollywood myth.”

“I know, but I don’t have any proof of foul play, or even that he’s in trouble - other than my instincts, and they’re telling me something’s wrong.”

“And how exactly am I supposed to help you with this?”

“Did you miss the part about it being a COUPLES retreat? I need you to come with me, pretend to be my boy—”

“Husband,” Logan interrupted. “Your better half, the old ball and chain.”

Veronica rolled her eyes. “Fine, whatever; we leave first thing tomorrow morning.”

“Yes, dear.” Picking up his pizza, he folded it, and took a healthy bite. “See, we’re already playing our roles to perfection. You, the demanding, nagging wife, and me, the henpecked, lazy husband.” He wiped his mouth on his sleeve. “Just out of curiosity- what was your backup plan? You must’ve had one when you stormed off all indignant-like.”

“To find another bored rich 09er to go with me.” He raised an eyebrow, waited for her to elaborate. “I was going to ask Dick.”

He shook his head. “I don’t think even YOUR acting skills are that great.”

“Well, we’ll never know.” She slid off the stool. “Our flight leaves at six a.m. so I’ll pick you up at four.”

“Pretty sure of yourself there, Mars, making flight reservations in ADVANCE.” He tossed his pizza crust in the trash. “Going to ask Dick,” he scoffed under his breath.

“Just be ready when I get here.” She shouldered her purse. “We have a layover in Phoenix, but we’ll get to the resort in time for the welcome lunch at noon.”

“Layover? God, I hope it’s not COACH.”

[sunnybimbo]

have some heithsgiving.... the last time i did this was two years ago and WOW time has simultaneously flown and been shot dead on the floor c’: hope you enjoy!

links to follow in the replies if u wanna read on ao3!

A knock to the door echoes through Hunk’s little one bedroom cottage, startling him out of his daze. He wipes his hands clean on his apron and sets it on the hook that’s sitting on the back of his pantry door, reminding himself to throw it in the wash before the old food crusts over and makes a home in the fibers.

He steals a dollop of whipped cream from one of the pies sitting on the table as he passes, as he’s done about twenty times now. It was only missing a few pieces, but to any outsiders it would be obvious that he was much more interested in the topping.

When he gets to the door he’s licking the sticky away from his lips, hurriedly smoothing his hair back with his clean hand as he peeks out the window.

Blinking back at him are two pairs of purple eyes, and one pair of yellow, fuzzy ones. Hunk preemptively grins and hurries to unlatch the locks, throwing the door open harder than necessary. “Keith!”

Keith, who looks even taller than the last time Hunk had seen him. Keith, who was nervously toying with a bundle of flowers half-crushed against his palm, though he was careful with the petals.

Keith, who hasn’t been on Earth in about three years, seven months.

“Hey, Hunk.” Keith says, warm like bread on a summer day. He hands the bouquet over, and Hunk quickly stashes it in the vase he keeps beside the door, just on the cabinet above where he stores his shoes. “It’s been a while.”

“Mm. You haven’t changed one bit.” Hunk says, all smiles. He leans against the door frame, half-forcing himself not to look him up and down. “How’s space?”

“Still cold.”

Keith awkwardly shuffles his feet, and Hunk hurries to step aside, ushering the trio inside. The trio that is Keith, along with his mother and his space wolf, neither of whom Hunk has greeted yet.

He feels himself flush hot across the back of his neck, and he hurries to extend his palm towards Krolia. “Nice to see you again, Keith’s mom. Uh, ma’am.”

She, along with Kosmo, only seem faintly amused about being briefly forgotten. “Nice to see you again, Hunk.” She echoes back, shaking his palm up and down once, before tugging him into a side hug. “Thank you for inviting us.”

“I’m surprised you remembered what Thanksgiving was.” Keith mumbles under his breath. Krolia’s ears twitch in his direction, and her smile only grows around the edges. But, like… smirkier. Hunk’s seen Keith’s smile do that hundreds of times over the years.

It always warmed Hunk how alike the two of them ended up, for some reason.

Kosmo bumps into his shins, completely on purpose as he stares expectantly at Hunk’s hands. Hunk obediently drops to his level and begins their long-run tradition of Hunk scratching at Kosmo’s belly until his leg shakes. Turns out that, alien or not, it was still a thing for all canines.

“What a good boy— yes you are." Hunk baby-talks, complete with smooches across Kosmo’s chin. “Oh, so handsome, aren’t you? Aren’t you?”

Kosmo licks Hunk right across the nose, and he pulls back with a spluttering laugh. When he looks up, the two aliens in his foyer are smiling back.

“You guys can head into the kitchen. Already got everything laid out. Shiro was here earlier, so you may have missed out on the cornbread and mac ‘n cheese, but…” He shrugs, pushing himself to stand. “I’m sure I can make some more if you’re planning on sticking around for longer.”

“I didn’t realize we’d come so late.” Krolia hums, half under her breath. She leads the way to the kitchen, maybe following her nose, or maybe she remembers from the last few times she’d been over three years ago. “Have we missed everyone?”

Hunk pulls up two chairs for them from the dining room. Their mismatched in cushions, and one of the legs is wobbly but Hunk’s wrists had been hurting from overuse for so long that he’d put it on the backest of back burners.

As they sit, he goes to find plates and utensils. And drinks. “Nah, you didn’t miss much.” None of his cups are clean, so he hurries to pull a pair from the pile in the sink to wash. “It was more or less just Shiro, this time.”

“Lance didn’t come?” Keith asks, already munching on a piece of turkey. It makes Hunk happy that he’d decided to pre-slice the thing this year before he served it, even if it meant it’d get colder a little faster. “Or Pidge?”

“Not this time.” Hunk sighs, overdramatic. “Guess they forgot about little old me.”

Krolia snorts, though she hides her expression under the pretense of covering her chewing with her hand. Hunk sets the two clean cups in front of them and sidles over to the fridge to set out a few pitchers of what was left of the beverages. Mostly just lemonade and spiked fruit juice, but there was one cup left of the sweet tea.

Keith, though, looks troubled as he chews through another piece of turkey. Hunk slides the last remaining leg onto his plate. “Did they really forget?”

Bless his heart, that Keith. Hunk laughs, stealing a sip of Keith’s juice before he steps away to start loading the dishwasher (for the, like, twelfth time that day).

“I’m kidding! Pidge spent the holidays with the Holt family. Which, I guess is fair since she is a Holt. I think they went to a space station?”

“Of course.” Keith rolls his eyes. He smiles, though, and leans forward against the counter. Hunk can see from the corner of his eye how his hand hesitates before it reaches for his glass, but he inevitably does take a sip. The way he licks his lips, though, makes Hunk a bit embarrassed. Curious about the taste— and he’s not 100% sure if it’s just because of the juice.

He hurries on with his explanation, if only to keep his shy mind off it.

“Lance is still out with his family on that Spectacular Worldwide Lance-tour .” Hunk lets a couple spoons drop into the utensil box and dries a few suds off his hands before he does the signature, Lance-branded jazz hands to go along with it.

Krolia snickers, and it turns into a full-blown laugh when Hunk twists at the hip to do the finger guns that Lance had added.

“So, it was basically just me this year.” Hunk carries on, winking at Krolia. She shoves a dinner roll in her mouth in response, pointedly looking in Keith’s direction. “Well, I also mentioned Shiro, but he left pretty earlier. Captainly duties, ‘n all that.”

Hunk claps his hands, suddenly remembering: “Oh, he also video-called with Allura, Coran, and Romelle! They couldn’t come themselves, but I made sure to have him bring back a bunch of tupperware containers for them.”

With the dishes done, Hunk has nothing else to do with his hands. He leans against the table opposite of his two guests and beams at them. “It’s nice seeing you two, though. It’s been so long since you’ve been on Earth, huh? Especially after Voltron.”

“Much too long.” Krolia agrees. Keith nods, silent beside her. She nudges at him with her thigh, but he only nods harder.

Hunk steals another sip of his fruit juice.

The two of them, Hunk and Krolia, quickly fall into small-talk soon after. Kosmo more or less is allowed to pick from Keith’s plate, until Hunk gets them both their own, and Kosmo gets his own spot beneath their feet. Hunk makes sure to pepper a few extra helpings of potato salad for him. Kosmo loved the stuff.

Hunk learns a few new things that evening. One is that Krolia hates sweet potatoes of all things— though it comes as a surprise to her as well as the other two. Hates it so much that she actually steals a napkin to spit it out when she thinks Hunk isn’t looking.

Another is that the two of them had gone on another time-journey. Turns out that instead of Keith being two years older than him, he was now five. When Hunk learns it, he throws his hands above his head and good-naturedly shakes his fist at Keith. “I oughta keep you here on my couch ‘til I catch up again.”

“But you’ll never catch up.” Keith says, behind a bite of pie. His mouth is half-curved in amusement.

“Guess you’ll never leave, then.” Hunk says, haughtily. The thought makes his tummy squirm, though, and Hunk is old enough to not let himself think about it too deep. For now.

Krolia ends up getting a bit tipsy off the fruit punch, and she and Kosmo drop onto said couch nearly an hour after their arrival, drowsy. Hunk briefly leaves Keith alone in the kitchen to find a throw pillow and a quilt for her, though she doesn’t really need either. The space-suit keeps her plenty warm, and the couch was overstuffed for a reason. Still, though, it makes him feel better.

He turns the television on low for background noise, on a cartoon channel, and he’s still laughing at one of the slip-stack jokes as he circles back to Keith.

Hunk gathers the few and new dishes that remain, dropping them into the sink. Keith is still munching away, so he doesn’t deep clean too much— only wipes at the spot where Krolia sat with a rag. The dishwasher is stuffed full and running, so he busies himself with hand-washing.

He can feel Keith’s eyes on his back the entire time, even as the sun finally dips behind the treeline in Hunk’s backyard and probably blinds him.

Hunk wipes the nervous sweat that hide gathered at his chin. When he turns, Keith’s grey-purple eyes are fixated on him still. He’s picking at his plate, thoughtful in the way he slices his fork between mashed potato, and it shouldn’t be so intimidating— but Hunk technically hadn’t seen the guy in five years.

He flops into Krolia’s abandoned seat, suddenly tired.

“Thanks for the food.” Keith says, quiet. “Sorry it’s been so long.”

“Oh!” Hunk startles. For a moment, he’s worried that he’d been broadcasting his thoughts aloud, but Keith doesn’t have that playful look— only dead serious. “No, it’s fine! You’ve been busy. Everyone has, really. And, I mean… Voltron was forever ago, but space still needs help, probably. I’m glad you and Krolia are still going at it.”

“Didn’t realize no one else was visiting, though. Is it always so empty?”

“Only in the recent year or so. It’s a little hard to get everyone situated in one spot, you know?” Hunk sighs. “I always feel so… stagnant compared to you all.”

Keith fixes him with a look. “Hunk, you’re doing incredible things. You were head engineer of the Atlas of all things, and you basically pioneered the entire industry. Just because you work from home doesn’t mean you’re stagnant.”

Hunk flusters. Keith leans closer, shoving his plate to the side to instead turn completely to Hunk. “I’m sorry we didn’t come sooner.”

“It’s fine, Keith.” Hunk laughs, nervous at the sudden, full-force attention being tossed his way. “I… didn’t realize you kept up with me so much, though.”

“We’re friends.” He reminds, gently. Hunk tries not to wince at the word. “I like to keep tabs.”

“For murder?”

Keith doesn’t laugh at the joke, but Hunk does— loudly. It’s his nerves.

A palm comes to rest atop his, stopping his nervous fidgeting. It’s warm, heavy, and does nothing to stop Hunk’s heart from racing.

“I’m glad to see you again.” Keith slowly says, choosing his words. “I looked forward to it.”

“To seeing me?” Hunk laughs again, shaky.

“Yes.” Keith admits, half shrugging. He doesn’t pull his hand away, and his eyes are just intense as Hunk remembers them being.

He opens his hand, and Keith twists their fingers together, looking them palm-to-palm.

Before he can calm himself down completely, Keith obliterates him with his finishing statement of, “I missed you.”

Hunk shoves himself away from the table, blinking back the prickling hot tears that suddenly grip at his eyelashes. Keith lets him go, untroubled by letting Hunk have his space.

Hunk is grateful for it, standing over the sink. He turns the water on, to atleast pretend that he isn’t a grown man crying over someone saying that they missed him. Implying that they loved him.

It’s been so long since Hunk let himself think about Keith saying those specific words to him— about love— that he isn’t properly prepared with a response.

Keith gives him time. He finishes his plate, nearly has finished off the entire turkey, actually, though it was only about half-gone when he’d first arrived.

Hunk takes a shuddering inhale, clearing his throat, and keeps his back turned as he rambles, “Are you implying what I think you are? Or am I getting the wrong message here? Because I’ll be honest— even though it’s been a while I, uh… I’m still sensitive, you know? And I don’t like having my feelings played with, even if it’s a misunderstanding.”

Before he can go on for a half a page, Keith’s chair wobbles and scrapes across the linoleum. Hunk stays facing the window above the kitchen sink, but he does turn off the water. His fingers had already started to prune with how long he’d kept them under the faucet.

Fingers trace along his back, gentle and light. Testing. When he doesn’t pull away, the rest of the hand joins in and rubs a slow, warm circle across until Keith can rest it against his hip. He finds a spot to Hunk’s right, nestling in on the curve of Hunk’s back.

“I’m implying that I like you. Love you, actually.”

“Bold words.” Hunk mumbles, before he can stop himself. Keith doesn’t flinch back— and instead Hunk feels a rolling rumble of a laugh building in Keith’s chest.

“Guess so. I’ve had a lot of time to think.”

He doesn’t take it back, though, and Hunk doesn’t have anywhere to hide the dopey grin that makes itself known on his lips.

Keith inches even closer, until Hunk is firmly nestled between him and the sink. Keith’s other arm comes to wrap across his front, hugging him close, and Hunk feels a content sigh grow in his chest, wrapping first around his heart before it circles around his spinal cord and settles on his tongue.

“How did you know I felt the same way?”

Keith presses his forehead against the back of Hunk’s, at the very apex of the curve of his skull. Hunk feels a kiss pressed there, even above the thick layers of half-combed curls. He’d let it grow out over the years, and apparently the longer it grew, the curlier it liked to get. Hunk didn’t mind much, and by the way Keith leans into it— neither did he.

“Lucky guess.” He says, eventually. It sounds like a Keith-joke, and Hunk huffs, only half-irritated.

And maybe it’s the few sips of alcohol in the form of fruit punch that he’d stolen, but Hunk turns in Keith’s grip and looks up at him. It’s foreign , because Keith had always always been shorter than him— even after his first growth spurt. Galra genes, probably.

Keith looks back, shadows half-hiding him. The dark always crept in so quickly in the secluded area Hunk chose to live, and while he didn’t usual mind, it made him feel like a bunny in the middle of a field knowing that Keith could see him so clearly, and he only got half the picture from him.

He’s still feeling brave, though, as he dips forward to kiss him.

---

In the end, they don’t have a full make-out session in the kitchen. As much as he initiates it, Hunk is far too embarrassed (and also, much more of a Chef than a romantic to debauch his kitchen like that).

After Keith laughs at him for turning red like a sunburnt tomato, and instead tugs him into the living room. The TV had auto-shutoff, but Hunk turns it on again as they settle on the squeaky recliner off to the side of where Krolia and Kosmo are still peacefully in their food comas. Kosmo hadn’t even twitched when they came in.

“Guess it’s a good thing you always cooked for us and not the bad guys.” Keith teases. He keeps it low, but that just adds extra timbre to his voice, and Hunk can hardly stand it. He still laughs, though.

They settle in to watch early Christmas movies, Hunk sitting atop Keith’s lap in the recliner. When Keith tugs him down to steal another dozen or so kisses between commercials, Hunk doesn’t much mind this time.

[songsforfelurian]

Heith Fic: Deep Pressure Sequel

Chapter 3, “Touched,” is up on AO3! This chapter is not explicit, but the story is! You can read the new chapter under the cut. Please let me know if you like it!

“Hunk.”

“Mh.”

“Hunk. Seriously. We gotta get up.”

“Five more minutes.”

“Nope. That already happened. We overslept.”

“Baaabe. You feel so good.”

“Hunk.” Keith swallowed. “Shiro was just in here.”

Hunk sat up, finally loosening his hold on Keith in the process. Keith stood up from the bed, crossing his arms over his bare chest.

“Shiro came in here?!” Hunk looked appropriately mortified, swiping his tousled hair away from his forehead.

“Yup. So… he knows, now, obviously…”

“Keith…” Hunk looked upset, now. “I must’ve turned off the alarm… I’m so sorry. I’ll talk to Shiro, or… I’ll do whatever you want-”

“Hunk-”

“Are you mad?”

“No.” Keith sat down on the edge of the bed. “I’m not, okay? I just… I need to process, a little bit, and the medical officer is trying to track me down, so… maybe I can come see you later?”

Hunk stared at him for a moment, the corners of his mouth turned down in a gentle frown.

“Yeah,” he said. “I’ll be here.”

Keith held out his hand. Hunk picked it up and squeezed his fingers.

“Still just right?” Hunk asked, sounding hesitant.

“Yeah.” Keith squeezed back. “Still just right.”

He found the rest of his clothes in the bathroom, dressed as quickly as he could, and then headed back to the bed to leave a hurried kiss on Hunk’s forehead. Hunk stopped him before he could leave, though, taking hold of his wrist, applying firm pressure. He turned Keith’s hand over and placed three wrapped cinnamon candies in his open palm.

Keith met his eye and managed a small smile. He kissed Hunk’s forehead again - slowly, this time - before heading for the door.

“Keith?”

He stopped with his fingers on the handle.

“Yeah?”

“Um.” Hunk wasn’t looking at him; he was fidgeting with the blankets, smoothing one corner of the sheet between his thumb and forefinger. “You and Shiro…” He stopped, shook his head, met Keith’s eye. “Never mind. I’ll see you later.”

“I’ll be back as soon as I can,” Keith told him, his stomach lurching as the incident played out in his mind on a loop, as he saw Shiro’s expression over and over again and failed, spectacularly, at guessing what it could’ve meant.

He practically collided with the medical officer when he stepped into the hallway.

“Keith!” She glared at him, exasperated. “You had an exam scheduled fifteen minutes ago. You were supposed to notify the desk before leaving your room-”

“I know,” he said, following her back into the room next door. “I’m sorry. I had to check on Hunk.”

“Did Captain Shirogane speak with you?” She gestured sharply at the bed, and he sat down on the edge of it while she took stock of some equipment on a nearby cart. He placed the cinnamon candies carefully inside his night stand drawer.

“Uh… Shiro?” he asked, as she finally approached the bed and attached a device to his wrist and finger, taking his vitals. “I… not exactly.”

Her scowl deepened. “Be sure to get in touch with him, then.”

“What? Why?”

“Well, I assumed it must be something urgent. He was here early, asking to see you. I told him you needed a full night’s rest… asked him to leave a message and come back later… he insisted on coming to your empty room, though.”

She pursed her lips, just to drive the point home, but Keith barely noticed. He was too busy wondering what could’ve possibly been so important, that Shiro would override his physician’s recommendations to try and see him in the early hours of the morning.

“…since you woke up?”

He forced himself to focus on what she was saying.

“Sorry… what?”

She frowned, concerned, now, rather than annoyed. She retrieved a pen light from her pocket and checked the dilation of his pupils.

“How have you been feeling since you woke up? Any dizziness? Disorientation?”

“No. I feel fine. I was just distracted.”

“Any pain?”

“None. Not since yesterday afternoon.”

“Hmm.” She switched on her portable imaging device, a rectangular screen with a sensor attached to the back. She moved it slowly around his head, nodding to herself. “Looks good. I’d like you to stay through lunchtime, but I’m planning to cut you loose after that.” She switched off the device and set it down on the cart. “You have permission to move freely around the floor, now, as long as you tell the desk where you’re going.”

He nodded. “I will. Thanks for your help.”

Her expression softened. “Glad to see you on your feet, Paladin.”

“Thank you.”

She started arranging her equipment back on the cart, much to his relief. He needed time to process what had happened with Shiro, and to decide how he wanted to handle it. He gave the medical officer a small wave as she exited the room, wondering what Shiro could’ve come to here to say. If it had been related to his responsibilities as a paladin, Shiro would’ve left him a video message, or called a briefing with the whole team. And if it was personal, surely it could’ve waited a couple of hours, until visitors were allowed on the floor-

“Keith?”

He looked up. Shiro was standing in the doorway.

He wound his fingers into the blankets and squeezed.

“Hey. Um. Do you want to come in?”

Shiro stepped into the room and closed the door behind him. He sat down in one of the chairs next to the bed where Keith was still perched, legs hanging off of the side, ankles crossed. Keith felt that the posture was awkward, all of a sudden, so he tucked his legs underneath himself and tried to swallow the lump of anxiety that had lodged itself in his throat.

“How are you feeling?” Shiro asked.

“Better. I can get out of here after lunch.”

Shiro nodded. “I should’ve asked you, earlier. That’s why I came here in the first place.”

Keith stared for a beat.

“You came here before visiting hours… you forced the medical officer to let you in here… so you could ask me how I was doing?”

Keith could see redness climbing up Shiro’s neck from underneath the collar of his uniform.

He was anxious, too.

“Something like that,” he said. “And I was out of line, when I saw you with…” He cleared his throat. “I’m sorry about that. I was just… surprised.”

“Yeah. I was, too, at first.”

“So you two are… I mean, you and Hunk… was that the first time, or… how long have you been… um.” Shiro was frowning, now. Not at all in control of his expression, or the words that were coming out of his mouth. Keith didn’t offer any information – not because he was enjoying watching Shiro struggle, he really, really wasn’t – but because Shiro was speaking freely. Emotionally. He needed to know what Shiro would say next.

“Is it… more than just what I saw?” Shiro managed.

“Yeah. We’re together.”

“Oh. Good. I… that’s good.” Shiro was staring at the floor, his eyebrows drawn together, his mouth set in a hard line.

“Shiro.”

“Mm?”

“What’s wrong?”

Shiro met his eye.

“Nothing, I… I just didn’t think you were interested in… being close, like that. I mean, I didn’t think you wanted to be… touched.”

His voice fell quiet as he said the word. He made it sound like a private, intimate thing.

They had never spoken private, intimate words to each other, before.

“I…” Keith swallowed again. His mouth was so dry, he was surprised that any sound was coming out of it, at all. “I guess I’ve never known anyone else who’s acted like they wanted to get close to me.”

Shiro let out a short laugh. It was so at odds with the tone of the conversation they were having, Keith actually flinched.

“Really?” Shiro was saying, eyebrows raised. “You can’t think of anyone else who might’ve-”

He stopped. His expression went neutral. He stood up from the chair and faced the opposite wall, clearing his throat again.

Keith guessed it must be sore, by now.

“I won’t say anything to anyone,” Shiro said, his voice even, his tone conversational. “You and Hunk can figure that piece out for yourselves. I’ll have to trust you not to let this affect the mission, or the rest of the team.”

Keith’s mind spun at the sudden shift, trying to catch up with what Shiro had been implying just a moment ago.

“Shiro-”

“I’m glad for you,” Shiro said, glancing over his shoulder. “You deserve to be happy. You deserve everything.”

“Shiro, hang on-”

He was already leaving.

“Wait-”

He was already gone.

Hunk’s door was closed when Keith finally felt calm enough to head back into the hallway. He stared at it for a minute before he knocked, grateful for a little extra time to try to center himself.

“Who is it?” Hunk called from the other side.

“Uh. It’s Keith.”

There was a brief pause before Hunk opened the door, let him inside, and then shut it behind him. He was pulling the hem of his shirt down over his stomach, as if he’d just put it on. It was a yellow, long-sleeved t-shirt, paired with dark blue jeans.

“Sorry, I was just getting dressed. My parents are coming in a few minutes.”

“Oh. Okay. Are you… leaving?”

“Yep. They just discharged me.”

Worry prickled at the corners of Keith’s mind. He would’ve expected Hunk to deliver this type of news in the context of rambling, lighthearted commentary. He’d been bracing himself to be tackled into a hug.

But Hunk wasn’t even smiling.

“That’s great,” he offered. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”

Hunk nodded. “Are you?”

“Yeah. All healed up. I can leave after lunch.”

“No, I meant… shit, yes, I’m really glad your head’s okay, but I meant… well, Shiro stopped by here, earlier. A couple minutes after you left.”

The sickly, squirming sensation that had been building in Keith’s stomach all morning reached a new peak. He wondered if he might actually have to excuse himself to be sick. He squeezed one of his hands into a fist and focused on the feeling of his blunt fingernails pressing into his palm.

“Um. What did he say?”

“Nothing about… us. He just asked how I was doing. He didn’t stay, he… well, I’m assuming he went to see you.”

“Yeah. He did. He was-”

Keith faltered. He’d been trying to figure out what to tell Hunk about their conversation, and he’d come up short, since he’d barely understood it, himself. He’d hoped that the calm safety of Hunk’s presence would make things easier, but he could feel that something in Hunk had shifted. Some of the warmth between them had cooled.

“Keith, I… I know you and Shiro are close,” Hunk said, cutting into the tense silence. “I told myself I wasn’t going to worry about it, because I trust you, and because… well, I mean, why would you be messing around with me if you could be with Shiro?”

The words cut. Keith winced.

“Hunk-”

“But you brought him back from the dead,” Hunk went on, gesturing vaguely, as if Keith hadn’t spoken, “so if he wasn’t thinking about it before, he has to be, now-”

“Hunk-”

“…I mean, he’d be crazy not to, he’d be insane if he didn’t love you-”

“Hunk!” Keith took hold of Hunk’s wrists and squeezed, fighting off a wave of nausea. “Stop, okay? Please. You… you are my… person. My whatever. My boyfriend.”

Hunk met his eye. “Still?”

“Yes!” Keith couldn’t keep the frustration out of his tone. “You thought I’d have one conversation with Shiro and just… what? Go back on everything I said?”

Hunk looked wounded. “Shit. No. I… no. That would’ve been… shitty, of me.”

Keith let go of his wrists.

“Hunk… I told you. You’re the first person I’ve ever even kissed. There’s never been anything like that between Shiro and me.”

“But there could be.”

Keith opened his mouth, but nothing came out. As much as he wanted to deny it, he knew Hunk’s fears weren’t entirely unjustified. He knew there was a reason Shiro had come to see him, alone, so early in the morning. He knew there was a reason Shiro had turned away from him so abruptly, cutting their conversation short, practically bolting from the room…

He knew Shiro had come here to tell him something, and then changed his mind, when he’d seen him in bed with someone.

Someone else.

“Keith?”

He swallowed, begging the tears not to fall from his eyes.

“Yeah?”

“Just… talk to him, again, okay? Hash it out. Figure out what you both want, before you and I get any further.”

“I know what I want. Talking to Shiro isn’t going to change how I feel about you.”

Hunk shook his head. “Please don’t say that until you know it’s really true.”

Keith opened his mouth to argue the point, but he didn’t get the chance. There were voices in the hallway, drawing closer. They both looked toward the door.

“Shit,” Hunk muttered. “My parents-”

“Hunk?”

There were three quick knocks at the door before it burst open. Hunk’s parents stepped into the room, and Keith inhaled slowly through his nose, trying to adjust to the abruptness of this shift, trying to wrap his mind around the fact that he was about the meet his boyfriend’s parents for the first time, right now, in the midst of this emotional crisis.

Relax your face. Relax your hands. Shoulders straight. Focus on what’s right in front of you.

He blocked out the discomfort and forced himself to look at Hunk’s parents, and he was stunned to see how much Hunk resembled them both. He’d inherited his father’s broad-shouldered build and wide smile, along with his mother’s warm, brown eyes.

“Hi, guys,” Hunk said, with some measure of his usual enthusiasm. “This is-”

“Keith!” his mother blurted. She dropped the large, canvas bag she’d been carrying and took hold of his shoulders before throwing her arms around him in a crushing hug. He felt his body go rigid at the unexpected contact and took another steadying breath, trying to loosen up his arms enough to return the gesture. He managed to pat her lightly on the back while Hunk stared at him, looking mortified. He gave his head a small shake.

It’s okay. I can handle it.

“We were so worried about you,” she was saying. He breathed a sigh of relief when she let him go. “It’s so good to see you up and about!”

He smiled at her. “It’s really nice to finally meet you. I didn’t know you… knew me.”

She laughed. “Everyone on Earth knows the leader of Voltron! I’m just so happy we can finally thank you properly. Hunk told us what you did.”

Hunk’s father extended his hand. Keith shook it.

“You risked so much to try to save us, when the Garrison wouldn’t back you up,” he said.

“You saved Hunk,” his mother said, her eyes shimmering. “You saved all our lives. Everyone we’ve ever known. We’ll never be able to repay you, we know that, but we brought you some things…”

She picked up the bag she’d dropped on the floor.

“Hunk told us your sizes, so we found you some clothes and shoes. There’s some food in there, too- they let us use the kitchen at the barracks… oh!” She handed him the bag, pulled a memory stick out of her pocket, and handed that over, too. “We all recorded messages! We weren’t sure when we would get to see you in person, and we thought you should have something to keep from us, anyway, so…” She beamed at him. “I said it in the video, but… thank you for helping Hunk get home to us.”

“Oh, I…” Keith floundered, completely overwhelmed by the outpouring of kindness. “I just… I mean, Hunk didn’t need much help. He’s been incredible. He kept us all sane, out there. He’s saved my life more than once. He’s…” She was crying openly, now. He had to look away from her face, so he looked at Hunk instead, and said, “He’s amazing.”

Hunk stared, then smiled, then hugged him: firm, perfect pressure. Keith hugged him back, wondering if his parents could see what was between them as plainly as he could feel it.

He wished they were alone. He wished he had more time explain. He wished he’d been able to make Hunk believe that this – this warm, familiar, perfect embrace – was all he’d ever wanted.

“Find me later,” Hunk whispered, right before he let go.

  As much as it stung to watch Hunk walk away from him while things were so uncertain between them, Keith knew he needed some time on his own to let his mood settle. So he shut himself inside his room, plugged the memory stick into his viewscreen, and set the video to play while he went through the contents of the bag Hunk’s mother had given him.

It hadn’t occurred to him until he was unpacking it that he didn’t really own anything, anymore. It was a stark reminder of how drastically his reality had shifted because of this war, and as much as he was committed to his role in it, he felt part of himself rebelling against the burden of it, too. The only object he’d consistently carried with him in deep space had been his mother’s blade, and he’d given that back to her. He didn’t even own a pair of shoes, anymore.

Or he hadn’t, until now. There were two pairs in the bag: dark gray athletic sneakers and simple black boots, similar to pairs he’d owned in the past. There were two pairs of athletic shorts, several sets of plain, black boxers and socks, two pairs of jeans, a pair of long pajama bottoms, a soft, full-zip hoodie, and a variety of plain t-shirts in dark colors: black, gray, navy blue. He liked all of it; he could’ve easily chosen these things himself. He guessed this was entirely Hunk’s fault.

“Hi, Keith! What’s it like to fly the head of Voltron? Does the black lion go so, so fast?”

Keith looked up at the screen and saw two kids – a boy and a girl – looking back at him, crowding close to the camera. The girl had been speaking conspiratorially in a hushed tone; she shared Hunk’s warm, brown eyes. Keith filed through his mental inventory of Hunk’s family members and guessed that these were his cousin’s children.

“He doesn’t FLY THE HEAD,” the boy said, elbowing the girl in the shoulder. “He flies the LION.”

“Same thing!” she insisted, swatting back at him. “Anyway, Uncle Hunk says we can’t go for a ride in the yellow lion-”

“He said MAYBE SOMEDAY,” the boy corrected, exasperated. “Could we go in the black lion instead? Uncle Hunk said you’re the best pilot in the whole universe!”

Keith found himself grinning as they were scolded by someone off-camera. They both waved at him before the video went dark.

It didn’t stay that way, though. Hunk’s face appeared on the viewscreen next.

“Hey, team leader,” Hunk’s image said. He was sitting up in his hospital bed, wearing his orange pajamas and a genuine smile. Keith guessed he’d recorded this on his tablet yesterday, before Keith had come to his room.

Before they’d spent the night together.

Before doubt and confusion had interrupted the growing closeness between them.

“I already scrapped two versions of this video,” Hunk was saying. “I know I do this rambling thing sometimes, and you’ve never given me a hard time about it before, but I’m gonna try to spare you this time around, so… yeah. Bear with me, here.” He paused, then looked directly into the camera and said, “You’re the reason I believed we were gonna make it back home, and you’re the reason we did. You’re the reason my family is safe. And you’re a part of it, now. My family. Whatever else happens, I hope that will always be true. Whatever else happens, I promise you, Keith, that you’ll always be able to count on me, like I can count on you. I’m… I’m really glad you’re awake. I’ll see you soon. And if you’re watching this video ten years from now, for whatever reason, I hope that’ll still be true. I mean… I hope I can always say I’ll see you soon.”

He smiled at the camera.

The screen went dark.

Keith sniffed and wiped at his cheek.

He changed into one of the t-shirts and zipped the hoodie over it, rubbing the smooth fabric of the sleeve against his fingertips.

He opened his night stand drawer, took out a piece of red, cinnamon candy, pulled apart the wrapper, and popped it into his mouth.

He set Hunk’s video to play again.

[philosophiums]

I asked @ravenvsfox for some klance inspo post-season 7, and she gave me this really great prompt:

Oh shit dude I want to see some wholesome lance Coming To Terms™️ w his sexuality with the help of Keith looking like That and also certified gay advice-giver Shiro, I’m talkin heart to hearts I’m talkin confessions

...and then I didn’t really write it klsjbksdjfb

But what I did write is this 7k mess that’s also on AO3 for people who want an easier platform for reading (it also has a dope title hell yeah).

The Garrison’s training room is hot, humid, and not as advanced as the one on the Castle of Lions. But it’s out of the sun, and it’s familiar - the curve of the floor mat, the setup of the weights and the targets on the far end the equipment lockers. None of it’s changed in the years since Keith got kicked out of the Garrison for bad behavior, still perfectly shined and perfectly clean. Of all the things to not fall into disarray during the war, this is certainly an odd room to survive. Maybe Iverson spent so long yelling at them all to shape up and keep the place tidy that the room itself started following orders.

Keith swings his Marmora blade, practicing his precision over and over again by stopping each swing just before it can hit its mark. It’s a skill he’s not that good at - stopping an action when he’s already fully committed. Maybe this will help push muscle memory into place, even if it won’t be able to completely rework Keith’s brain to stop him from barreling headfirst into situations. He’s better at it now, but he’s still not perfect. He’s best when Lance is around, which is really shit luck on his part, considering that Lance is barely around at all anymore.

Keith hasn’t seen Lance since... since the battle for Earth ended with them all crashing back to the surface, unconscious and in drained lions. But even that wasn’t really... seeing Lance, and Keith knows that and feels it like a missing bone, something vital that used to be there and hasn’t grown back. But he hasn’t sought Lance out, even though he’s had nothing else to do except work on patrols with his old classmates and hang out with Kosmo. He figures that Lance wants to spend time with his family, and that he’ll come back around when he’s ready.

He isn’t prepared at all to see Lance now, but the doors open halfway through Keith’s next swing, and Lance steps through. Their eyes lock, and Lance comes to a jarring halt, and Keith’s sword slices clean through the dummy he’d been practicing with. The head and shoulders roll, but Keith doesn’t care. Lance looks... lost. Like he hadn’t come here on purpose but isn’t really startled to find himself here. Startled to find Keith here, maybe, but definitely not himself.

“Hey, man.” Keith lowers his sword and takes a step towards Lance, who seems to tighten up before walking closer.

“Hey, Keith.” Despite his posture and the empty fog look in his eyes, Lance’s tone is normal. “You can’t sit still either, huh?”

He really can’t - not that he’s ever been able to. But lately... doing anything at a speed that isn’t full tilt leaves him shaking. Everything’s calmer now, with the battle won and clean-up the forefront of everyone’s concerns. But the war is still raging, and Keith is gnawing to get back into the fight again. Every time he takes a step, his body wants to tip forward into a sprint, even with the security of the Garrison trying to reteach him how to take a day off. But it’s hard. Every time something heavy clatters to the ground, or a person walks by too fast, Keith is reaching for his bayard or his knife. Luckily, he hasn’t drawn either weapon on anyone yet, but the fear that he will is what’s pushed him into the training room today.

“Feels like I shouldn’t,” Keith says, watching Lance closely as he comes to a stop a few feet away. There’s a light in his eyes that Keith hasn’t seen in a long time, and he thinks it’s because they’re back on Earth, but the rest of Lance is… wrong. Off-balance and out of sorts and distant. “Do you want to… talk about anything?” He can’t imagine Lance sought him out, seeing as no one knew Keith was in here, except maybe a few people he passed in the hall, but he figures he should extend the offer anyway. “Or train?”

A cocky grin is quick to slap itself onto Lance’s face, which Keith would bet money has more to do with Keith’s extended concern than the training, despite Lance’s next words.

“Eager to have your ass kicked, Keith?”

Maybe he shouldn’t just roll with it. Maybe being a good leader and a good friend means that Keith should insist on talking if he thinks there’s something bothering Lance. But he doesn’t insist. He scoffs. “As if. Besides, I was thinking we could test out that thing Pidge made. Work together, you know?”

Lance tips his head, all confusion. “Pidge made something?”

Oh, right. Lance hasn’t been around anyone in a while, so he wouldn’t have known. Keith so desperately wants to get to the bottom of this, to shake Lance by the front of his shirt if he has to and figure out what’s wrong with him because he’s worried, but he just throws back a grin of his own. “Yeah. Shiro asked if she could make something similar to the training room on the Castle. There was a lot of technobabble, but I think it basically boiled down to Pidge is so busy working on other projects that she had to settle for making a crude device instead of the magnificent thing Shiro was imagining.”

Keith leads Lance over to the gun range, a separate room connected to this one, where the walls are thicker, and guns line the walls instead of the close-range weapons that were in the main room. There’s also a huge container of recycled Galra drones against the far wall, which Pidge has connected to her new training device. Keith doesn’t care about the science of it – all he knows is that if he hits a couple buttons, some of the drones power on. “Pick your weapon, I guess.”

Lance only looks at the wall for a moment before he holds out his hand and stares at his palm. Keith’s about to ask what the hell he’s doing when – “Holy shit.”

“What?” Lance looks up at Keith, fingers closing around the red bayard. “You said pick my weapon. I figured we were using alien weapons since you have your blade. Was I wrong?”

“No, Lance, I just.” He doesn’t know how to phrase this without it coming out sounding like an insult, but the fact of the matter is that he’s fucking astounded. Without his flight suit on, Lance just summoned his bayard, and it came to him. Keith’s never managed to do that, nor have any of the other paladins, to his knowledge. He can feel himself smiling, and it’s soft and tender and stupid like the smiles Adam used to give Shiro when he pulled off a reckless trick in a fighter jet. “You and Red must’ve gotten close.”

A hint of a blush seeps into Lance’s cheeks, but instead of preening at the compliment or saying something dumb about having a “way with the ladies,” Lance just looks embarrassed, and that’s… weird. “I guess we’ve been through a lot together,” he says. Keith thinks that’s an understatement.

For a moment, a silence that’s nothing but awkward slips between them. Keith stares at Lance and his bayard and wishes suffering wasn’t a requirement for forging such a deep bond with the lions – and maybe it’s not; maybe things would be different if they hadn’t fallen flat on their faces into being paladins in the middle of a war.

He notices Lance’s eyes on him, too – moving from his sweat-damp shirt up to his neck, which Keith knows is still at least a little flushed from training. Lance is quick to look away, though, when Keith pushes a hand through his hair and gestures with his blade at the device on the wall. “I suppose we should train.” Guns aren’t exactly the most effective in close quarters, but he’s seen Lance produce a pistol before, which is better than a rifle at this distance.

Keith walks over to the wall, and Lance follows. “So… how does it work?” Lance asks, poking at the metal box.

“Pidge explained it really fast, but basically, you flip the switch and you tell the thing how many drones you want, and how fast you want them to move. They start out lighted green, and you only supposed to attack them when they turn purple. Oh, and I guess they also shoot at you when they turn purple.”

“Wait, what?”

Keith flips the switch before Lance can freak and figure out a way to back out of this. “How many do you want?”

Still visibly unsure of this new development, Lance shrugs and wiggles his hands, body twisting so that he can look at the container of drones. After a moment he says, “Eight?” Really, it’s not all that different from the simulator on the Castle. You’re not motivated if you’re not in danger, and Altean training equipment never had a problem handing them their asses on a regular basis.

Immediately, eight green-lit drones lift out of the container. Keith sets a speed – not as fast as possible, but pretty damn fast – and together, he and Lance make their way to the center of the room.

They set themselves back to back with space between them. Keith hears Lance’s bayard materialize and feels Lance shift to accommodate the balance of holding a gun. The drones circle the room, taking up the whole space, their patterns unpredictable. Eight is a lot – too many, maybe, but Keith is up for the challenge. “You ready?”

“I got your back, buddy,” Lance says, voice steady. Lance has always been the calculated risk with something to prove to Keith’s reckless dive with nothing to gain.

Out of the corner of his right eye, Keith sees a drone clip to purple, and he lunges.

It’s like a dance. Keith is so focused, as always, ducking and diving, his brain morphing scenarios and pieces of previous battles until he forgets that this is just a training exercise. For the moment, as far as he’s concerned, he and Lance are alone and vulnerable, pinned down with only themselves for backup. He slices through a purple clone and rolls as another shoots at him, but Lance is on it, covering him like he always does, pistol perched in his palm like a kiss or a punch or both. Keith grins wild, and Lance returns it, and this is the most connected they’ve felt in so long it’s as breathtaking as the first time Keith got in a real fighter jet.

And then a drone zips in behind Lance and flips purple. “Lance! Behind you!”

The knowledge that the lasers are at most going to give a little shock flies right past Keith. It doesn’t matter what his brain knows when all he can see is Lance in danger, and he’s too far away to do anything about it.

Lance doesn’t even blink – Keith knows because he’s watching, because all he can see are those deep blue eyes looking back at him, and they’re dead already. There’s nothing there but a hard acceptance that he tripped up, and now he’s got to fix it. This isn’t the Lance who was pushed into war – this is the Lance the war spat out.

The bayard shimmers, and in between one second and the next, Lance’s pistol elongates into a sword, and Lance swings around. Keith’s already running at him, not giving himself even a second to comprehend or ask questions, because the drone is already winding up the energy to fire, and Lance can’t quite figure out where his body is in relation to the sword.

Keith has no idea what order things happen in, because his pulse is in his ears and every nerve ending is in his feet against the floor and all of his concentration is focused on Lance, on his torso, on the freeze-frame jumpy way his breath hitches up the second before everything happens. All Keith knows is that the drone fires, Lance’s blade hits its mark, and Keith’s shoulder connects with the soft spot under Lance’s ribs, and then they’re both on the floor, the shot from the drone impacting the ground away from them.

“Is that all of them?” Keith pants, fingers curled into his palm and pressed against the floor, torso still draped over Lance’s.

His bayard whirs, back to being a gun, and Lance raises his arm to shoot. A second later, metal clatters to the floor. “It is now.”

“Oh, thank god.” After pushing his blade away a couple of inches – which, yeah, probably should have done that before tackling Lance – Keith pushes himself up to his palms. For a moment, he’s suspended over Lance, his hair dangling in a curtain down his forehead and sticking uncomfortably to his nape. They’re both lost for breath, lips parted and teeth bared because they’re feral and alive. Keith notices Lance staring maybe before Lance realizes he’s doing it, and the pressure of Lance’s gaze is a fingernail trailing the curve of his Adam’s apple down to the dip of his collarbone and back up.

The urge to kiss Lance rises with the tidal force of a tsunami he should have seen coming, and Keith pushes hastily away, uncoordinated as he tries to put space between them without making it seem like that’s exactly what he’s doing. He can’t kiss Lance – he’s… Lance isn’t meant for Keith.

He clears his throat, opens his mouth and works his tongue before words collide out from behind his teeth. “So the uh… the sword’s new.”

Lance bounces back. He always bounces back, which is so damn admirable even if it can sometimes be a little annoying. “Pretty cool, right?” There’s that cocky smile curving up Lance’s face, pulling light and mischief into his eyes even when it perhaps doesn’t want to be there. “Allura said it’s an Altean broadsword, and her dad used to wield one.” He sounds proud of himself, like for once in his life he did something that might actually be cool, and on the one hand, Keith is so fucking happy to hear that, he could cry. But on the other hand….

Allura. Right. Of course she knows about this, has known about this. Of course Lance would have told her. It’s cool, it’s neat, it’s a new development in the bayards and in Lance’s fighting style, so it makes sense to tell her. But they’re also dating, probably, or something, so of course Lance would tell her because of that, too. There isn’t another explanation Keith can come up with, and he’s been through every scenario, every instance where he did something different. Inevitably, it seems as if Lance was going to end up with Allura from the start, if only because that’s how it always works.

“Pretty cool,” Keith echoes, and even to his own ears it sounds flat. Something in him has shifted – maybe his bones rearranging to make up for the one that’s missing – and he’s lost all desire to train anymore. He’s hurting and hollow, and maybe a shower and a long pointless walk will fix things.

Keith pushes to his feet and holds out his hand, helping Lance up as well. He holds on a little longer than he should, because he can’t shake this grade school crush and his want to just be around Lance as much as possible. He doesn’t feel balanced when he’s anywhere else.

But Lance lets go, holding out his bayard. They both watch it form back into a sword, nearly as long as Lance is tall. “Do you think you could give me pointers, maybe?”

��What? “Pointers?”

Lance frowns. “Don’t be an ass. I’m asking for help, okay? I haven’t used it since I found out about it because I don’t know how to… use it, really.”

Keith had noticed that, the incongruity between Lance’s body and the sword, two partners out of step in a dance that isn’t meant to be complicated.

He lets out a breath and pushes his hair out of his face, trying to force his body to cool off faster than it seems willing. “Sorry, Lance. I… not today.” He’s running away from this. All he wanted at the start of training was to spend more time with Lance, and now he’s running away because the thought of Lance and Allura together hurts. “Soon, though. Next time.” Keith tries to smile, even while Lance’s face falls. Fuck. “Tomorrow,” he promises, and Lance looks a little better at the clarification. “Same time, alright? I’ll teach you. I just. Can’t right now.”

Lance shrugs, and this time when he smiles, it’s a little softer, but at least he doesn’t look heartbroken anymore. “I’ll be here.”

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

Post-battle, Keith is a hero, and that’s something he’s never been in his life before Voltron, and it’s something that’s never hit home until now. He’s one fraction of the team that saved Earth from total destruction, and people he doesn’t even know stop him in the hallways to make sure he’s aware that they’re grateful. And Keith… appreciates it, but he doesn’t know what to do with it. There’s too much gratitude for him to hold on to, but he isn’t sure if he’s allowed to put it down. Maybe that’s part of the burden of being a hero – learning to see the horrors you took part in as something good. Learning to understand that the lives you took made sure that the lives around you are still breathing.

Learning to not see yourself as a monster.

Keith doesn’t have a destination in mind. He’s out of the shower, into clothes that aren’t Garrison uniforms, and his knife is tucked away against his back where it feels like home. But Lance was right – Keith can’t sit still.

He rounds a corner, taking a turn he hadn’t meant to take to avoid a large group of civilians walking his way, and Kosmo pops into existence against his side. Keith’s gotten so used to the cosmic wolf showing up unannounced and whenever he wants to that he doesn’t blink, but a couple of nearby Garrison pilots skitter against the wall. A smirk pulls itself across Keith’s mouth, and his hand drops to settle on Kosmo’s head. “You been sleeping all day?” he asks, teasing because he knows the wolf hasn’t been.

There’s a pressure in Keith’s head, the one he always feels when Kosmo’s about to tell him something, and then he’s flooded with something that’s similar to denial as Kosmo tips his head back and blinks up at him.

It’s been this way from the start – or nearly the start. After that first night, with Kosmo curled up against his back, Keith learned that he could more or less communicate with the wolf. It’s why he never named him. But Kosmo doesn’t seem to mind his name new paladin-approved name, even when Keith had asked him about it later. He hasn’t told anyone else about the connection because what’s the point? His mom knows, if only because Keith asked her if it happened to her, too, and she denied it.

They keep walking, Keith still having no destination in mind. He’s been pretty useless lately, shoving himself into patrols and going out with others to deliver supplies to survivors when they can, but right now the Garrison’s focus isn’t on war, it’s on rebuilding. Which means that Pidge, Hunk, Allura, and Shiro are up to their elbows and probably not sleeping, and Lance and Keith don’t have much to do.

Kosmo whines and bumps against his thigh as they walk. “It’s alright,” Keith reassures, fingers curling where they’re buried in Kosmo’s blue fur. “Why don’t you show me where you’ve been today?” It’ll give them both something to do, and it’ll hopefully stop Keith from thinking about how bored he is, and how much he’s maybe starting to miss war right about now.

There’s another pressure in his head before something that feels like a mental shrug, and then Keith is standing in the desert. In the first few seconds, all Keith knows is the blinding sun, the heat soaking into the bare skin of arms that haven’t seen a real sun – his sun – for more than three years. And then his body adjusts, and he starts to take in his surroundings.

Confusion and longing and recognition war within him. “You came here?”

The pressure in Keith’s head this time is comfort, which is the only thing that makes Keith realize how upset he is. This is his home – or what’s left of it. The house had collapsed long ago, in the years between his dad’s death and his expulsion from the Garrison. But the shack had survived those years, had been the last piece connecting Keith to his father and to his life here on Earth. It’s just a pile of wood now, sheltered from the swirling dust by the one wall left standing.

“How’d you even find this place?” How does Kosmo do anything, really? Maybe he tracked Keith’s scent out here, or maybe some cosmic force told him that this place was important. Maybe Kosmo had been privy to Keith’s memories in the abyss, too.

He feels like he should walk into the rubble. There are memories buried here, photographs and documents, items that used to belong to his parents or that he salvaged himself and called his own. But he doesn’t move. “You should bring Mom here,” he tells Kosmo, looking once more at the rubble and then lowering his eyes to his wolf. “This isn’t my home anymore.”

Keith blinks, and they’re back in the Garrison. He recognizes the launch bay of the Atlas immediately, the huge ship taking up most of the room, with the MFEs tucked off to the side. What Keith doesn’t know is why Kosmo brought him here. At least until he spots Shiro across the room. Shiro and Lance. They’re sitting down on a couple of supply crates, Lance’s arms wound tight and uncomfortable around his torso, Shiro looking like the dad he was born to be.

“What are they -?”

Kosmo teleports them, a needle weaving a thread through the fabric of time, and they’re suddenly so much closer to Shiro and Lance – close enough to hear what they’re saying and close enough to be spotted.

He ducks fast behind a stack of supplies, Kosmo winding around him until they’re both tucked up out of sight.

“I can’t tell you what to do, Lance,” Shiro says, and that tender older brother voice throws Keith back to his Garrison days. “It’s your life. It’s a part of you. This isn’t about Allura or Keith, or whether you’ve known for twelve years or six months. It’s about what feels right to you.”

Keith frowns, completely lost. What are they talking about? What is Lance supposed to have known? Hot and unwanted, the memory of finding out about Shiro’s sickness curls up Keith’s spine. The situation is similar enough that Keith feels like he’s there, outside the office and confronting Shiro on the tarmac simultaneously. Is Lance…? No. No, he can’t be. Keith won’t accept that.

“But you think we work well together, don’t you?” Lance asks, something in his voice that might be hopeful or defiant or shy or all three. The question slingshots Keith’s thoughts out of orbit, leaving him spinning in space. Work well? So he’s not sick then, probably. Not dying. That’s… such a relief that Keith feels it physically.

Shiro sighs, and for a long moment, Keith is left in the silence, staring across the room at parts of Atlas and grey walls and boxes and boxes and boxes. Finally, Shiro pulls in a breath. “There’s a reason you pilot the red lion, Lance. You and Keith balance each other in ways the others just don’t. You’re all a support system, and you’re a team who’s learned to work in unison, but there’s a reason the red and black lions form Voltron’s most powerful wings. There’s a reason the red lion is Voltron’s right hand.”

“Are you saying that Keith and I are destined to be together or something?”

Whoa what? What the – where the fuck is that coming from? Keith looks at Kosmo, eyes wide, but of course the space wolf only tips his head a little to the side and stares unblinkingly back. There’s no emotion from him this time.

“No.” Shiro sounds like he’s giving Lance a weird look, and that judgement radiates all the way over to where Keith is crouching, making him want to laugh. “I’m saying that you two are close. That you have a bond. What you do with that bond is up to you.”

The space around them falls quiet again, the only sound a shift of clothing and a soft sigh that’s probably Lance’s. “Okay.” Definitely Lance. “Thanks for listening, Shiro.”

“I’m glad you felt you could trust me enough to tell me.” Shiro’s voice sounds different when he smiles – sounds just like that.

“Heh. Yeah.”

Keith smiles at that while he stares at his nothing, the sound of Lance’s awkward closing to the conversation fuzzing up his head. Why the fuck is he so cute and why the fuck can’t Keith get over him?

After a weirdly spaced moment, there’s a shift, and then a pair of footsteps starts walking away with a tempo that’s purposeful – not rushing, but still brisk. The problem is that’s it’s only one pair.

A door closes, and Shiro says, “Keith,” in his disapproving dad voice. Of course, Kosmo chooses that moment to pop off somewhere else, leaving Keith to face down Shiro’s frown alone. He pushes to his feet and folds his arms over his chest, defensive before he’s even heard an accusation. “Listen, Kosmo brought me here. I didn’t ask him to. I didn’t know Lance was here. I couldn’t just leave once I was here. I -”

Shiro holds up a hand, and Keith falls silent. “I know. I just need to make sure you’re not going to confront Lance about this.”

“I don’t even know what you guys were talking about,” Keith says, because he doesn’t know without thinking about it, and thinking about it sounds dangerous – like it could get him hurt just as fast as a dull knife.

One of Shiro’s eyebrows pulls up perfectly in the middle. “Don’t you?”

Ah, fuck. He’s going to make Keith think about this. About the mix of emotion when Lance was asking Shiro’s opinion on their dynamic, about the way the word “destined” sounded when it spilled out of Lance’s mouth, about the blush on his cheeks that Keith can so perfectly place even though he didn’t see it when Lance couldn’t figure out what to say to Shiro thanking him for honesty and trust.

Keith’s arms uncross, hands dangling useless and awkward at his sides. His head tips down, though his eyes stay trained on Shiro, and he worries his lip between his teeth before he asks, “Does he… does he like me?” Oh, god, and Keith has worked so fucking hard his whole life to hide the insecurity that shoves its way to the front of his throat, packing itself into those words like punches.

“You two have a lot more in common than either of you seem to realize,” is all Shiro says, and his expression is soft. “I don’t know what he’s going to do, Keith. But just let him come out to you at his own pace.”

And just like that, Keith’s frown is back in place, hands shoving themselves into his pockets. “I’m not going to force him to do that, Shiro. I’m not that much of a fucking dick. The fuck? It’s not like I think that just because I’m gay it means I can push people out myself.”

“Keith. Keith, oh my god, calm down.” Shiro drags his hand down his face, looking out at Keith from over the top of his fingers before he drops his hand again. “All I’m saying is that he might come out to you tomorrow or next week or never, and you just need to be okay with the ‘never’ part if that’s what he decides he wants.”

“I…” Keith deflates again. “I know.” Because in the end it comes down to Lance’s comfort and Keith’s desire, and the former is always going to come first for Keith. Always.

Shiro smiles, and his everything softens around it. “I know you do.”

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

Waiting for Lance in the training room feels like a risk on Keith’s part, which is so fucking stupid, but his anxiety is all-consuming and so physically present that his stomach hurts and it’s hard to breathe through each of the positions he puts himself in to stretch and remind his body for the millionth time how it feels to hold a sword.

Lance likes him. Keith had thought Lance and Allura were already an item, here to find out that Lance likes guys, too.

And how goddamn stupid of them both to not say a thing to each other about it while stuck in the void of space for several years. Looking back, there were so many times that Keith could have said something, should have said something. But the moments always went on too long, and Lance either ruined them with his insecure brand of cockiness, or Keith ruined them by building his walls right back up again.

The door opens. Lance walks in with a purpose, though the mask he’s wearing is one that Keith has unfortunately become familiar with. It’s the “everything is shit but I’ll make a joke so people don’t worry about me” face, and Keith hates it. He admires the selflessness and the resilience, but he hates it.

“Hey, man,” Lance says, rolling his shoulders as he shrugs out of his jacket and summons his bayard. Keith still thinks that’s fucking neat, and he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t at least a little jealous.

After a small flip of his blade, Keith tucks the knife away and moves towards Lance. “Hey. Ready to practice?”

Lance tips one shoulder up and gives Keith a wicked grin. “Eh. I guess I can put in some effort today. Show off these guns. Or, well… swords, I guess.” As he says it, the bayard shimmers and elongates, the large red broadsword from yesterday dominating the room.

Down to business then. Probably for the best, considering, well, yesterday. Keith knows things he shouldn’t know now, and while that makes him near giddy with relief, it also makes him anxious as fuck that he’s going to slip up somewhere and spill what he knows all over the floor. So the plan is to focus on training, to keep his mind occupied on helping Lance succeed instead of on… Lance in general.

“How’s the weight of it, then?” he asks, reaching out to adjust Lance’s grip. “It’s a broad sword, so you’ll need to use two hands. You tend to be right-hand dominant, so right hand on top, left on the bottom.”

“Two hands? It’s pretty light.” Despite his protests, Lance leaves his hands where Keith puts them.

“Oh, well that’s good, at least. Most broadswords are heavy. You still need two hands, though. Because it’s long and double-edged, you need one hand for power and the other for manipulating the blade, like,” he thinks he knows what he’s talking about, “the motor and rudder on a boat. When you get good with two hands, we can work on a one-handed grip.”

Lance hums and shifts his hands around, adjusting his grip on the pommel until he’s comfortable. “That makes sense. Okay, so now what?”

Keith talks him through it, everything from the correct stance to how much of Lance’s weight should be on which foot to provide maximum range and stability. It’s slow-going for both of them – for Keith because it’s been so long since he’s had to think about the technical side of wielding a sword, and for Lance because he’s never done it before. Swords are an extension of Keith’s body in the way guns are an extension of Lance’s, but the bayard wouldn’t have turned into a sword if it didn’t think Lance was capable of using it.

The problem with the basics taking ages to teach and learn is that it’s exhausting, with minimal signs of improvement, and it doesn’t take long for Lance to start losing focus. Keith starts noticing it when he has to repeat himself more than once just to get Lance to do one thing, and then Keith’s frustration builds, and his patience gets shorter, a fuse burning itself to an explosion, until he finally has to stop before he ruins this.

He backs away, frustrated, and has to physically stop himself from yelling by gritting his teeth and clenching his stomach muscles. But there’s just no stopping the snap in his voice, the hidden blade cutting up his mouth when he says, “What’s wrong with you today?”

“I like guys,” Lance blurts, almost before Keith finishes speaking, as if the words had been rattling behind his teeth, trying to break free from the moment Lance walked in.

Keith’s fuse fizzles out, and his whole body just sort of… freezes. Not even his prior knowledge gained via snooping space wolf can stop him from blinking in surprise, his stance shifting to allow for him to cross his arms, but he shuts the action down. He’s not going to build walls up, not when Lance is coming out to him and – holy shit Lance is coming out to him.

“I mean, I don’t only like guys. Girls are super cool, too, and no way would I have kept flirting with them if I hadn’t like… wanted their attention, you know? Or maybe that’s just something I thought I wanted? Because I mean, now that I have Allura’s attention I don’t really want it.” The introspection doesn’t derail Lance at all, and it only sticks around long enough to pull Keith off his balance before Lance is going off again.

“I like you, Keith. Not just guys as a concept but you.” Here Lance blushes, and Keith watches, enraptured, as the rosy glow spreads across Lance’s face. He doesn’t want to put a halt to this just yet, curious what all Lance will tell him if Keith doesn’t interrupt. “I mean, I’ve liked other guys before, I guess. But I’ve liked you for a long time, and no one else that I liked ever seemed to be… you? I used to hate myself for it, you know. Because you didn’t notice me, and you just had this stupid fucking attitude, and it was obvious that you were close to Shiro. Like I was jealous of you big time, but I never wanted to be you, I just wanted to be with you, so I made up some stupid rivalry so that none of my friends would figure it out. I didn’t know how to tell anyone, and I didn’t – it was all just so dumb. And then space happened and you were there and you were brilliant and abrasive, but the longer we were together the more obvious it became that my crush on you wasn’t gone, and you’re really intimidating and you’re kind of scaring me right now with how quiet you’re being so please say something.” Despite saying that, it still looks like it takes a lot of effort for Lance to stop talking, his body now thrumming with an energy that says he’s seconds away from either bolting or – actually, probably just bolting.

So Keith smiles. “I like you, too.” He tries to shrug it off, but there’s something so very grade school about the words “I like you” that it’s impossible for Keith to not feel a little giddy when he says them. “For the record, I don’t like girls. And I guess aside from a few celebrity crushes, I haven’t thought about liking anyone else.” Which is also a weird thing to say, but Lance deserves to hear it, even if the words feel awkward and uncomfortable on his tongue, like sannakji only moments after it’s been served.

For a moment, Lance just stares at him. “Oh.” He frowns, which makes Keith’s stomach drop right to the floor, but then he grins, and so much of Keith’s blood rushes to supply the blush on his face that he feels dizzy for a moment. “Guess we’re both kind of dumb then, huh? For not… just talking about it.”

Keith scoffs. “As if either of us are the type of person to just talk things over.”

“Yeah… we should work on that.”

“Probably.”

Lance shifts on his feet and looks around the room. When he looks back, his eyes are focused, the blue in his irises dark and glittering like the middle of a star-dotted deep space. “So… how come you never brought it up?”

Oh boy. “I thought you were dating Allura,” he admits.

“Wait, what? Really?” Lance’s face is having a war with his emotions, not quite sure which to settle on. “You thought I was…?” Keith’s blush flares so much he’s afraid it’ll cement itself permanently to his face, because obviously he was wrong, and Lance is going to – yep, Lance is laughing. But it’s such a giddy, delighted sound that Keith can’t help but laugh a little too, even when Lance pulls his hands away to cover his eyes and hold in his stomach.

“Yeah, okay, it’s not that funny,” Keith tries, feeling self-conscious now. Yeah, sure, he should have known better. Maybe. No, fuck that, how was he supposed to know? “Lance, oh my god, shut up.”

Lance’s laugh hiccups, and when he drops his hand from his eyes, there are tears flowing freely over the smile on his cheeks. “Oh. Oh, wow, we’re messes,” he says. “Way to be heteronormative, Keith.”

A frown takes over Keith’s expression, but the blush is still there. Lance is right. About a lot of things, usually. Keith’s not going to tell him that. Not… right now, at least. He looks at Lance’s hands expectantly, the bayard back in its original form. “Are you more focused now that that’s… been said?” He’s not good at this. Friendships are hard enough, but admitting to liking someone? What the fuck is he even supposed to do with that? “You were paying attention, right? Use your sword. I want to see what you remember.”

“Oh, I bet you do.” Lance winks and shoots finger guns at him, which makes Keith roll his eyes and shove at Lance’s shoulder. But Lance just laughs and grabs Keith’s wrist, pulling him in until they’re inches away, breaths away. “Kiss me first?”

“You haven’t earned that yet.” But Keith’s caught. He’ll be the first to admit it. He could break Lance’s hold, but why bother when Lance is warm and soft and looking at him with pouty lips and eyes that are open waters.

“Aw, c’mon. It’s not fun without a little foreplay.”

Keith shoves at Lance’s shoulder again, backing him up until he knocks into the wall, until there’s something solid in the equation to keep them both from sliding to the floor. “You’re the fucking worst,” he breathes, and then catches Lance by the jaw and pulls him in for a kiss.

It feels like everything he’s missed his whole life. That hollow space, that missing bone, fills in and grows back with every second their lips touch, and it doesn’t hurt the way he imaged it might – it’s just a huge fucking relief. He grabs onto Lance’s shirt and pushes his fingers into Lance’s hair, and his whole body jolts when Lance touches him back, fingers kneading at Keith’s sides, his hips, pulling him in a breath closer.

Keith pushes and Lance pushes back, and it’s a fight to get as close as possible and to keep themselves from getting too close too fast. It’s hotter than he thought it would be, and neither of them can fucking shut up in between motions. Each slide of Lance’s fingers is the first time Keith’s felt truly alive, and each tug to Lance’s hair is an arched back and biting teeth and the best, most desperate noise in the whole world.

It’s a surprise to Keith when he pulls away first, Lance’s whine of complaint perfectly echoing in the space around them and perfectly mirrored on Keith’s lips, but someone had to do it before they ended up on the floor, half undressed, to be found by some poor cadet. “I always knew that would be a bad idea,” he murmurs, kissing down Lance’s neck so that the words don’t come off as a bad declaration. “Never want to stop kissing you, now.”

Lance laughs, and his grip tightens. “I’m not going to complain.”

“Oh, no. You’re not getting out of training that easy.” As much as Keith would love to throw the rest of the day’s productive energy at learning everything there is to know about Lance and his body, that’s just not going to happen. It’s too fast, too rushed, and it’s going to end in as sloppy of a crash as the first time Keith got emotional in the cockpit of a fighter. If this is going to be something that works, they’re both going to have to slow down.

“But Keeeeeith,” Lance whines, body going lax enough in complaint that Keith has to decide whether to catch him or let him fall. He chooses the former.

Keith grunts, pushing Lance up by the shoulders until he’s more or less vertical. “Would you stop being such a baby? It’s not like we’re going to war tomorrow. Do you know how long we have to kiss each other now? So long, Lance. Which means that you can give me another hour or two of your time until you get the basics right.”

Lance groans, and whines, and groans a little more just to be dramatic, but he does put his weight on his own two feet and slips past Keith to the center of the room. “Teach me then, fearless leader,” he says, taking up the fighting stance in a way that’s almost perfect. Keith can’t not walk over and correct it immediately, because really, as great as Lance already is, Keith knows he has it in him to be even better.

[icypantherwrites]

Voltron Season Seven: Thoughts and Reactions

As you can see, I am out of hibernation mode ;p Just finished up a bit ago.

My thoughts in no particular order on season seven. Prepare for a few unintelligible spazzes and random questions that like, why were these not answered? Oh Voltron writers, you and your plot holes. Tagged with all of my previously mentioned ones so here goes!

Okay, so Adam? As much as I didn’t care for how he wasn’t supporting Shiro, I was excited by his role and inclusion in the story! Also, haha, I laughed because I named the one character in my Keith and Shiro backstory Adam and he’s a pilot too, haha. They definitely aren’t the same one because mine was a jerk, but I love that somehow I still got that name. (or maybe that’s how he and Shiro got to talking after Shiro confronts him for what he said to Keith? hehe. Look at me ;p)

But then. When they were mobilizing to fight the first wave I’m like, is Adam a pilot? And then we saw him and then his ship blinked out… gosh. Shiro at the wall with his name broke my heart. There’s a lot of regret there. Definitely something I wish had been further explored, but I’m not surprised they didn’t. There’s a lot that has been skipped over already.

So… Shiro has a disease that gets brought up once, never impacted him at all in the first six seasons and… never mentioned again? Er… what was the point of that exactly? (clone body not have the illness?)

Oh baby Keef. I cheered when he punched Griffin. Glad to see Griffin has grown up since then. But uh, can someone confirm for me the new cadet pilot with the glasses. Is her name… Wasabi? Usagi? And while I adore my Keith backstory this one was endearing too. And his dad died in a fire? Gosh. I had a feeling after the fireman refs but to hear it confirmed. Sad.

Where did Axca go? Like, she left the base with the Paladins and they have no resources to provide her a ship. So…? I’m curious with her popping up at the end behind Krolia and Keith at the grave… interesting. Once it was disproved that she wasn’t Keith’s twin I thought she might be Krolia’s sister but no mention when they met so… hmm. Curious and curioser. (does she like Keith? Hehe ♥ I admit I think they’re pretty asthecially pleasing together and I love Axca’s new design.)

Veronica is a fucking badass. As soon as she showed up on screen I’m like, that’s Lance’s sister. My sister was like, no, and I’m like, uh, her name is Veronica, coloring is the same including the blue eyes and in that really crappy family projection photo from season one there was a relative in a military uniform. Damn, I love her so much. Almost cried when I thought she died (twice xD). Also, her teasing Lance about Allura and her little smirk smile there? I died. So fucking cute.

This is my personal preference but I did not care for the game show episode at all, nor the “reason” behind it. There were a couple cute moments in it (all of them choosing each other to leave and I winced when Lance kept being called the dumb one and could taste the angst) but overall, my least favorite filler. And this coming from someone who adores game shows xD

The “lost in space” episode also wasn’t high on my list. I loved the idea of it and them forming a circle (that was so flipping cute) to stay together with the check ins (and a note to Keith and Krolia’s time together) but the words exchanged? I get it and didn’t mind but they never *really* resolved it. Not really. And some pretty hurtful things were said. Also, the fact they have almost fatal oxygen depletion based upon Keith’s indicator and their weary lines under their eyes, but then they literally bounce back full power to fight? Just throw the realism out the window. Just like the castle of lions losing all oxygen in a matter of hours two seasons ago xDD

How have we ever survived without the space wolf? Seriously? I’m bummed his name is not Yorak but I’ll take Cosmo. Very cute! Love how keith is waiting for the wolf to name himself. Oh, sweetie.

The Blade of Marmora luring with the Druids was delicious. Loved that bit. Glad Kolivan made it out. Wasn’t surprised when Krolia left the main cast; it was getting crowded and given that the writers have difficulty managing characters on a regular basis at times the more the less merrier.

On that note, loved Romelle in the first episode but she practically disappeared for the rest of the season. Disappointed. Thought her and Hunk were hilarious.

Same token bummed Matt was offscreen for most of it. But again, see above.

The three year time gap was interesting. Never really explained well either; pretty much I think a way for earth to get completely overrun by Galra. On that note, loved all of the Sam episodes, think the new pilots are pretty neat additions. Particularly love… Usagi? Wasabi? Kinkade too; a man of few words and I adore his name. Iverson too was a pleasant surprise and I loved his apology to Keith later and his constant backing of Sam. Also, Collen is a badass too. I do have to give credit to the writers; they make some amazingly strong female characters and it’s such a breath of fresh air (from watching YYH it was a stark reminder how things have changed over the years in terms of representation across the board on many things).

But one woman I did not care for was the Admiral. Boo hiss. I also hate that I called her turning on them as she was adamant throughout the entire thing about protecting earth in “her way” and I was waiting for this move. She did save the Paladins lives but she endangered them in the first place so… I acknowledge her desire to protect earth but am disappointed in how her character was played out. (and honestly, why the fuck would she trust Sendak to keep up his end of the deal? Why? Bit of weaker writing there).

Speaking of characters… where’s Haggar? At the end with the giant robot my sister and I were arguing who was driving it; I was Team Lotor and she was Team Haggar. Nada to both of us. Very interesting with that result too;  how was one Altean doing all that? Hmmm. And with the colony missing something is definitely up.

The Hunk family feels I was not expecting and loved them. I was glad he didn’t endanger the team anymore after he found his parents were not accessible, but dios I felt so bad. It’s hard especially to see Lnace and Pidge with their families and he with none. Loved his and Keith’s moment too. ♥ Keith was particularly awkwardly sweet and I loved it.

And Lance’s family! Gosh. Him hugging his niece and nephew broke my heart and then his being mobbed by his family stomped it into the ground with love. So. Beautiful. My boy has his family and I am so so happy.

Speaking of the families! Haha, I’m excited that I was write in that both Lance and Hunk’s families are stateside and I am going with my headcanon of Arizona (Garrison location) given how they were *right there* to be rescued. My childhood besties idea for Lance and Hunk when Lance immigrated over is still well and strong!!!

Back to Lance. I was so so so excited to see him getting some really nice shots and pieces in this season. The sword (c’mon broadsword, let’s see you come back too), the giant cannon gun, the amazing sniper shots (hoshit don’t get me started on that part, I love good sniper cover and damnnn ♥) his attempts to seat everyone in Lions (whoops xD), his stepping up to really support Keith and be second in command... just so much good stuff for my boy ♥ I was freaking out when Red didn’t come right away in the summoning thing after he and Veronica went under fire, but I’m like, Red always does things differently. And then she came in like ajdfkajfklda right when Lance was closing his eyes and thinking it was the end and just, so good. Great timing on that part.

Shiro’s new arm… loved the angst and pain as first one didn’t calibrate xD I’m terrible. I will admit I’m not sold on the design; very bulky and I dislike that it’s not attached; that’s not a proper hug! But I am happy he has one so will go with that.

Er, this is getting long. Last few.

How was Shiro breathing in space in fight against sendak? Someone, please tell me. But also yesss, loved that the two of them had a final fight. Brings back memories. When Keith saved him I really wanted a throwback to the “as many times as it takes” but alas, no go.

On Sendak… is he the main big bad? He sure has quite the Galra fleet. How do Ezor and Zethrid’s turn to piracy factor in? Was expecting something else with Lotor given their mentions of him early on. Is space just one giant war out there right now? We never really found out any details and here I was expecting Axca to fill us in.

The Atlas turning into its own Voltron was super cool. Loved all of the fight scenes although I admit I get bored with all the constant blasts so would have liked those shortened down and more character stuff, but it is a show geared for little kids so… boom boom pow.

The very end speech via Shiro had me on my toes as I didn’t think any of our team died but I was legit slowly starting to panic that somehow the new cadets were going to be the new Voltron pilots because ours were unavailable Phew, not the case! Loved the little hospital scenes popping around, particularly Lance’s nephew wearing his helmet and then Keith waking up to Krolia there. Oh, and Matt getting a hug from his mom! (and that ponytail! ♥ I love guys with a nice ponytail, mm, weakness).

Overall giving this season a 7/10 rating. Not my lowest, definitely not my highest. Very much appreciated though having a longer season to watch.

If you have thoughts feel free to comment on the post! I will not be posting any asks with spoilers in the ask until next Saturday though so best way to get a response is comment here. What did you all think of the season?

[some-cookie-crumbz]

I think we all want you to share all the NSFW Galra Keith headcanons now >:D

Lol! Good to know y’all are just as nasty as me! Most ofthese are going with Keith still being half Galra but presenting much more ashuman, but they really aren’t any different than they’d be if he was fullGalra. The only thing that would really change if he was full Galra would besome specifics about his height/ their size difference, so do with thatinformation as you will.

And, as I mentioned before, since I like to be consistent,these are all things you’ll probably notice in any potential fics I write whereKeith is half/ full Galra. I haven’t decided if I’ll include smut in Time, Space and Everything Between yetbut I might still write smut based in that world so a lot of this will probablybe stuff you’ll see if/ when I do! ;3c

LAST WARNING THATTHIS GETS REAL KINKY SO PLEASE PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK!!

So, first things first, Pidge accepts that she is a Furryonce she realizes that she’s in love with and physically/ sexually attracted to Keith. She isn’tsurprised about the whole xenophilia aspect of it because, well, Pidge alwaysknew that she’d be interested in alien life forms once she found them. Butbeing attracted to a giant purple cat man? She wasn’t expecting that so much,but she just kinda rolls with it.

Also, she does admit she kinda likes the way his sharp teethgraze with just enough pressure to threaten breaking the skin but knowing thathe wouldn’t. And she loves it when he bites a little rougher into the meat ofher thighs when he goes down on her, because he uses enough force to bruise andfuck does she like that sight later on.

Now, what about size kink? In my Kidge NSFW Headcanons? More likely than you think!

Because Keith is only half Galra, he doesn’t grow to be astall or bulky as a lot of other male Galra, but he’s still really tall and abit bulkier. This is a little less true in AUs where he’s full Galra but he’s still kind of a runt in those AUs in my head so he’s not too much taller than her. Like, even after puberty and the last of their respective growthspurts, Keith is still a full head taller than Pidge, so she only comes up toabout his shoulders. She will happily admit that she likes how much bigger andtaller he is than her; especially considering that she can still dom theever loving shit out of his smitten Galra tail.

When Keith and Pidge have been together for a decent amountof time and the topic of them getting physically intimate gets brought up,Krolia and Kolivan swoop in to give them each a little lesson on Galra Sex Ed.Krolia talks with Keith while Kolivan takes Pidge.

Krolia spends her time mostly explaining to Keith that,while humans and Galra are sexually compatible – I mean, Keith is a fucking thing?Huge piece of evidence – humans are a little bit more delicate than Galra are.She doesn’t exactly go into detail, but she does admit there were a few…Incidents between she and Keith’s Dad when they were figuring it out forthemselves. She reassures him, though, that as long as he’s mindful they’ll befine. Additionally, she admits there’s something that makes the intimacy betterknowing there is that difference in durability because it shows a special levelof trust and security with each other.

This helps reassure Keith because he had a fear that he might seriously hurt Pidge.

Meanwhile, for Pidge and Kolivan… Things go a little bitdifferent. Kolivan decides to discuss with Pidge that Galra go into heat/ rutcycles. He explains that they are not only extremely vulnerable in theircycles, but that they tend to run more on instinct than rational thought,though rational thought will still appear and can be used for importantdecisions for certain situations (i.e. if there’s a threat by Zarkon’s forces).Ruts can last for as short as 48 hours or as long as a full week, depending onthe Galran, and occur once every four Earth months so he forewarns her to beprepared for that.

Needless to say, the talk with Kolivan leaves Pidge a bitconcerned about what could happen. Not for the reasons you might suspect, but we’ll get to that in a hot second.

They have sex a couple of times before Keith ever has a rutwith Pidge around, and my normal head canons apply here. The two bigdifferences, which tie directly into one another, are Keith’s ears. A sure-fireway to get Keith to melt into her hands is to lightly trace the base of one ofhis fluffy cat-like ears with her nails. This will always result in him lettingout a rumbling purr-like noise and turning into putty in her hands.

Another much smaller difference is that Keith has a bit ofextra fur in some places. There’s a small patch that covers almost all of hischest – he even has a lighter patch in the center that Pidge swears looks like alittle star – and he has a tail. The extra fluff as well as the fur on his tailare extremely silky soft, much like the fluff on his ears, and Pidge loves tosnuggle up against his chest and run her fingers through it or play with andpet his tail. Keith absolutely fuckingloves it. Keith may also make use of his tail a little when they have sexbut hey that’s just what you do when you’re a kinky alien boy with a kinkyhuman girlfriend right?

Also, Galra dick? Somewhat similar to human cocks – though she’swilling to wager they’re a bit thicker and longer than human ones - but thereare a few little grooves along it that start just below the head and go downabout 1/3 of the length of his cock, as well as a knot at the base. Pidge givesthe sensation of them grooves an A+++, best thing ever, holy shit she loves thefeel. She also learns that while the head of Keith’s cock is a little less sensitivethan she expected, the grooves are actually the more sensitive parts. She exploitsthe Hell out of this at any chance she can get.

So, back to that whole rut thing…

So, Keith is around when it’s coming up and lets Pidge know so she can decide how she wants to proceed, because he says that he’ll respect whatever decision she makes. Pidge becomes a little bit concerned because, the way Kolivanpresented the information to her, Keith was basically going to become abrainless sex monster. And she isn’t exactly sure how she feels about thatidea. Like, she likes it sometimes when Keith gets a little aggressive in bed,but the idea that he won’t be himself? She’s not really into the idea of Keithnot being himself. Because, ultimately, that’s what she likes about their sexlife; that it’s the two of them being genuine and authentic in who they are ina very intimate situation. She decides, though, that she wants to experience this with him because she knows this is a big thing for him and she’s decided that she loves him and wants to make things between them work.

She’s pleasantly surprised when, instead of becoming abrainless sex fiend, Keith being rut-horny just makes him more publicallyaffectionate and needy.

Like, she’s in the kitchen making herself an almost-bagel,standing at the counter while talking to Hunk, when all of a sudden Keith’sarms are around her waist and he’s pressing himself flush up against her anddipping his head to nuzzle ay her neck. Pidge drops the knife she was about tostick in the jar of pseudo-peanut butter and tenses immediately, her brainwhirling towards about three hundred different ways this could go, but then shefeels him slacken his grip a bit and lift his head at her tensing up. He tiltshis head to look at her better and, while his bright golden eyes are a littlehazy, she can still see very clearly that he’s still Keith and he looks worriedabout upsetting her.

And she feels absolutely relieved to see that Kolivan wasreally just preparing her for the worst case scenario. She relaxes into hisgrip and reaches up to gently combs her fingers through his hair, until her fingersglide up to reach his ear and she lightly rubs behind it. He releases arumbling purr so loud Hunk hears it and mumbles a soft “Aww,” under his breath,as none of the others have heard him get like that before.

“You hungry, Keith?” *Pidge makes sure to keep her voicequiet and gentle as she asks, continuing her ministrations.*

“Mm-mm… Just want you.” *Keith, eyes sliding shut indelirium and pressing closer. He tips his head a bit again and gently nuzzlesthe top of her head.*

“Can you go back to our room and wait for me while I make mybreakfast?”

*Quiet whine.* “Do I have to?”

“I promise I’ll only be a minute.”

*Keith let’s out another small whine but releases her,pressing a quick kiss to the top of her head, and then heads back to theirroom.*

*Pidge calmly picks the knife back up and finishes preparingher food. She pauses briefly to grab a little bag of what is essentially drycereal and two juice pouches as well.* “Hunk, can you let the other’s know I’mgonna be busy for at least the next 48 hours?”

“Um… What?”

“Don’t worry, I’ll probably be able to sneak away to comeget more food later, but just let the others know not to expect me around for awhile. Sometimes a girl just has to take care of her horny alien boyfriend.”*She flashes him a wink and then heads off herself.*

*Hunk is left there a blushing and sputtering mess, thoughhe does end up delivering her message to the rest of the team later. Hestutters and stammers the whole way through.*

Pidge heads back to their room to get to business. And, as shewas already aware, Keith being rut-horny makes him more affectionate and needy,but it also makes him much more subservient than usual. He only acts as sheinstructs him to when things start getting really heated, which is a bit of a surprise but not necessarily an unpleasantone. Pidge takes control for the first couple of rounds, just so that she can geta feel for how he reacts to things when he’s like this, but then she starts letting himtake charge and do things a bit more as he wants and that is certainly a funexperience too.

Keith gets a little bit rougher, but not to an extent thatshe’s afraid he’s going to hurt her, and is also super affectionate while hedoes. Like, he’s over her, rocking into her firm and fast with one arm aroundher waist to bring her closer to him with a sharp snap of both their hips, but hehas his head dipped into the crook of her neck, mumbling praises and littlekisses against her skin. Like, is she a bit sore after the rounds he helms?Yes, but it is the best kind of sore imaginable.

Also, in regards to the knot and knotting as a whole, Galraonly knot their partners when they’ve agreed to be committed mates. So while hedoes enjoy and get worked out by the sex they have while he’s in rut, he doesn’tactually knot Pidge because he doesn’t want to assume anything about theirrelationship.

The first rut lasts for just shy of three days. Thankfullyenough, Zarkon and the Galra aren’t particularly active during that period oftime so they don’t have to deal with any interruptions, which they agree is a benefit since this is the first time they’ve dealt with this together.

After the first time being with him in a rut, Pidge investsin some more things for them to make use of. She may purchase a collar andleash for Keith, too, and buys a pair of cat ears for herself more as a joke.Keith would be offended if he didn’t think she looked cute in them.

Also, remember that double-sided strap-on I mentioned may ormay not be a thing? Pidge may invest in some alternate strap-ons that are a bitmore similar to Keith’s cock just to see how he likes feeling what he does toher mwahahahaha.

Also, there are a few instances where Keith goes into rutand they get interrupted midway by Zarkon’s forces. Because duty calls, they’reforced to pilot and form Voltron, but Keith goes completely nuts. He is takingdown ships and darting here and there like a lunatic; additionally, he willconstantly intervene if Pidge starts getting swarmed by ships because he is NOT letting anyone mess with his girl.

Additionally, post-sex while he’s in ruts, he wants constantcuddles and affection, which Pidge is happy to grant him. She’ll snuggle upwith him and mumble in his ear about how good he made her feel and how luckyshe is to have him and he just… Gets flustered and hides his face into hercollarbone or chest, but he’ll also wrap his tail around her waist or her legsto let her know that he likes it.

Small Side Notes ThatAren’t Necessarily NSFW but Belong Here

Keith doesn’t knot Pidge until after they’re married and shespecifically tells him she wants him to. Pidge is absolutely blown away by howgood that feels and Keith wants to almost kick himself for not asking Pidge tolet him knot her sooner for both their sakes.

This is a bonus side note I had to include, but Keith willsnuggle up and purr quite for the Kidgelings when they’re babies and start tofuss. Pidge thinks it’s the sweetest thing and has hundreds of pictures savedof Keith with each one of their kids at some point when they were babies.