#cough lance and keith cough

[chameleon8]

Hey guys look at the super great voltron fanfic me and @cryoverlife wrote

[klanceyy-pants]

Should I draw them at the Garrison or their future selves first?

[justaz]

after the omega shield incident, lance suffers from sporadic tremors. a lot of the time it’s his arms/hands that shake but sometimes it’s his legs/feet which knock him off his ass for a good portion of the day. on the days it’s less severe he can get around w some stumbling, other times he’ll use a cane. he hates it and tries to power thru it but keith, shiro, and coran all force him to take it easy

[soulreapin]

lance is a trooper when he gets sick

as the pseudo-oldest when a cold went around the household he’d always suck it up and dole out the dayquil and make sure everyone had enough water and soup

it takes the literal scarlet fever to get lance to sit his ass down and actually recover

because of this he gets sick fairly often but its always mild and he’s usually never got a high fever

however. keith kogane. the award for biggest fuckin sick baby goes to HIM. he doesnt get sick often but when he does its like he’s contracted dysentery

im talking 103 fever wet cough chills body aches the whole fuckin show

he’ll like. try and tough it out but he cant do it when the shiroganes took him in shiro was already grown so they doted the hell out of him when he got sick

[autisticlancemcclain]

“Pass me the — thing.”

“The thing.”

“Yes. The one.”

Hunk’s amusement is evident. “Here’s the thing about capital-T Things, Pidge Podge.”

She makes a face. Ugh, not him too. The annoying nicknames Lance comes up with always seem to end up in other people’s vocabularies. It’s the worst. (They don’t even make sense, either. Her name comes from Pascha, her Hebrew name, because she was tiny even when she was a baby. And Matt is ridiculous. But Lance’s names come from nowhere!)

(…She supposes she’ll allow it, though. Occasionally. Because she’s the best ever, basically, and endlessly benevolent.)

“Things in concept are referential,” Hunk continues, snickering to himself as he dodged her blind kick. “Ergo, you need to reference them. Specifically. Outside of your own brain.”

She makes a noise of frustration, tilting her head in the direction of the scrap pile on Hunk’s work table. “The thing! Shiny! With the— blegh!” She is Focused right now, alright. There are Processes happening in her brain. Words are secondary.

“I’m just going to ignore you now.”

“No! The thing! The thing that looks like a dreidel!”

“There we go,” he says emphatically. She scowls at him. He grins brightly. She holds her glare for a whopping three seconds, which is frankly record-breaking, so. Point to her. “That’s a referential Thing.”

He scoops up the piece and tosses it at her. She catches it without looking (which is wicked cool and something she will subtly mention next time she watches Allura drop something) and sets it on the table top beside her, finishing up a tricky solder. Leaning back to admire her handiwork, which is, indeed, quite handy, her gaze keeps getting pulled to the little part.

“You know, it really does look like a dreidel.” She picks it up by the stem, flicking the little acorn-shaped object and watching it spin. It works like one, too.

Hunk hums. After a few moments, curious at the air newly lacking the sounds of her tinkering, he looks over at her. He purses his lips thoughtfully.

“…What day is it on Earth, do you think?”

Pidge shrugs. “We left in late May. Been a few months, at least.”

“Lance has a watch.”

“Course he does. ‘Cause he’s a big ol’ nerd geek loser.”

Hunk snorts. “Indeed.”

At the same time, without either of them having to say a word, they scramble to their feet, abandoning their projects and rushing out the workroom door.

“Pool?” Hunk asks.

“Nah, training room. He was in the pool this morning.”

Neither of them is particularly fast, but after months of Shiro’s training they can handle their own. They don’t, sprint, per se, because that would be embarrassing and Lance would be all dorky and pleased about it (can’t have that), but they…hustle. Hustle would be the right word. There’s some hastiness about, some purpose to their step.

As they run past the kitchen and finally turn down the corridor to get to the training room, a door opens on the left and someone walks out. Hunk grabs the back of Pidge’s sweater (totally not Keith’s grey hoodie that she stole) to keep her from crashing straight into them.

“Hey, Lance,” Hunk says, smiling brightly. “We were just looking for you!”

Lance, predictably, gets all dorky and pleased about it.

“Well, Lancey-Lance is at your service,” he preens, brushing fake dust off his shoulders. “Of course I am happy to offer my services to such —”

“Why’d you come outta Keith’s room?” Pidge interrupts, squinting.

She’s pretty sure that’s Keith’s room, anyway. The door on the left has a dent on it from when Lance tripped and brained himself on it in their first week of space.

Curiously — oh so curiously — Lance turns a violent shade of red and cringes with his whole entire body.

“Whaaat,” he says, voice cracking so many times she actually winces in reflective sympathy. He laughs nervously. “That’s not — I’m not — Keith isn’t —”

He opens his mouth, then closes it, then coughs, then doesn’t bother. Pidge can actually feel the heat pouring off of him, which is so humiliating that she almost decides to be merciful.

“Is Keith also in there?” she says instead, because fuck that.

Lance looks at the floor like he’s considering swan diving onto it. “What did you guys need me for again?” he asks, loudly.

Hunk, too soft from years of close proximity to Lance, takes pity. “We need your watch, dude. What day is it on Earth?”

Lance’s dark eyes go a bit sad, like they always do when someone mentions the E-word. But it’s gone before Pidge can so much as register it, really, and then he’s glancing down at his dork ass bright blue Moana watch and saying, “One twenty-six on December 7th.”

Pidge cheers. Hunk grins.

“Clear your schedule!” Pidge shouts, pumping her fists. “Hanukkah starts in a few hours!”

———

“An…oil…feast?”

“Yeah!” Pidge says enthusiastically. Allura leans forward, intrigued — she loves stories from Earth. Anything from Earth fascinates her, really. “Thousands of years ago, Jews — my people culturally and religiously — had just freed themselves from the cruel rule of a kingdom that resided over them. They wanted to purify the Temple — that’s where practicing Jews go to pray — so they were burning holy oil. But there was only one bottle of sacred oil, which was upsetting, since that would only burn for one night. But miraculously, the oil kept burning for eight nights!”

Allura gasps. “But how?”

Pidge shrugs. “Religious Jews believe it was a miracle from God, who is our holy deity. Whether or not you’re religious though, Hanukkah is celebrated at the end of every year to commemorate Jewish resilience and hope. The oil is our physical way of celebrating, ‘cause it burned for eight days exactly — as long as it takes to make more oil.”

“And so we get to celebrate by eating delicious fried food,” Lance adds, fist-pumping. He grins at Pidge’s raised eyebrows. “My sister-in-law is Jewish, so my neice and nephew are too. We celebrate Hanukkah every year and it rocks.”

Pidge can feel her smile lighting up her body. There are bigger celebrations, and more religiously important ones, but Hanukkah is so much fun. She hasn’t celebrated in too long — it came and went last year before she even noticed, too wrapped up in finding her brother. And the year before that, her and Mom couldn’t…not without Dad and Matt. They couldn’t celebrate with just the two of them, they spent most evenings in their own rooms.

Shiro’s steady hand comes to rest on her shoulder, squeezing gently. She glances up to find him smiling sadly at her, leaning down to press a kiss to the top of her head.

“We’ll light a candle for each of them,” he murmurs into her hair. “Colleen, too.”

“Is that what’s done?” Coran inquires softly. “Candles lit, in remembrance?”

Pidge hums, leaning back into Shiro. He holds steady, hand staying fast on her shoulder. Keith flashes her one of his quick smiles, small and comforting.

“Yeah. Eight candles, in something called a menorah. One for each night, one for each intention.” She meets Coran’s eyes first, then Allura’s, her own expression determined. “We’ll light a candle for Altea, too.”

“I would like that,” whispers Allura, swallowing.

“I can make the menorah,” Hunk offers, “if you and Lance want to help. Lance has a good eye for design.”

Pidge takes a couple more moments in Shiro’s embrace, soaking up some of his strength. No one interrupts her. Once she feels like she can stand straight again, like her family is tucked neatly where they usually are in the centre of her heart rather than spilling out all over the place, she stands, patting Shiro’s hand as it falls away, and steps towards her friends.

“Yes, let’s do. We’ll need a few things, actually, to get ready. Keith, you think you can paint the right symbols on the dreidel if I describe them to you?”

He nods. “Yep. I’ll draw ‘em out first, it shouldn’t take long. I think I’ve seen them before, anyway.”

“Cool. Allura, Coran, you wanna put up some decorations? Lance can help you out.”

All three enthusiastically agree, rushing off to make do.

“Shiro —” She falters. “Uh, dude, maybe steer clear of the kitchen. Wanna help with the menorah since Lance is on decorations? Then Hunk’ll have more time to cook.”

Shiro pouts, as he always does when he’s teased about his cursed kitchen tendencies, but the twitch of his smile gives him away.

“I guess,” he laments. “I’m sure I could fry latkes without burning the castle down.”

Keith, Pidge, and Hunk shudder in unison.

“Yeah, right,” Keith says. “You remember when you set a pot of water on fire, Hazard Boy? Because I do.”

———

For people who have no idea what they’re doing, the decorations end up looking really nice.

Everything does, actually. By the time Lance’s watch hits six — the time they have all collectively decided will be sundown based on absolutely nothing — everything is prepped and ready to go. Keith got the characters down after a couple tries, and the dreidel looks like any other one Pidge has used before. Lance had, from what Pidge picked up from Allura’s grumbling, channeled his inner festivity dictator to ensure all decorations were as lovely as possible with their limited materials. Of course the menorah Hunk and Pidge created looks beautifully intricate, one of the more gorgeous things Pidge has ever seen even with all the wonky mismatched candles.

“Okay,” Hunk says, clapping his hands together. “If you guys want to set up the table, Lance and I will be finished plating the food shortly. I dunno about you guys, but I’ve been smelling fried food for a couple hours now, and I need to eat.”

“Please,” Pidge groans, because she’s been smelling it too and boy is Hunk ever a head chef.

Everyone rushes to get the table set as quickly as possible. Pidge makes sure to put Lance’s favourite cup (that he has a hissy fit if anyone else so much as looks at, even though it is practically identical to ever other cup except one tiny chip one the bottom that he loves for some reason) next to the chair closest to the door, where Keith always sits, because she has not forgotten the Earlier Incident. If all goes well then something embarrassing will happen for her to witness, which is all she can ask for, really.

“Can someone who is not Allura come help me bring food over?” Hunk calls from the kitchen as Pidge places the last fork. “No offense, Princess, but I watched you and Lance walk into the same door this morning and I’d rather our hard work not end up splatted and inedible on the floor.”

“Offense taken,” says Allura darkly, and Lance’ whining echoes all the way to where they’re standing.

Keith meets Pidge’s eye and snickers.

“I got it, Hunk,” he calls, jogging over to them.

“Absolutely not!” Lance screeches. “There is no way I will allow Mullet to be entrusted with something I am not allowed to —”

He cuts himself off with a loud shriek. Whether Keith finally pinched him quiet or Lance is just shrieking for drama’s sake Pidge will never know, but moments later the red paladin is striding out of the kitchen, heaping bowl in one hand, batting Lance away with the other.

“If you drop that I’ll kill you both,” Hunk promises, setting the heaping plate he’s holding down on the table.

Thankfully, nothing gets dropped (although does it ever come close). Everyone is accounted for and seated and nothing has gone to waste, and Pidge’s stomach is growling.

“Got a little bit of everything,” Hunk says. “Classic latkes, kugel, and sufganiyot. And you mentioned the zippoli and arancini your Nonna used to make, Pidge, so I made some of that too. And Lance made lots of masitas and plátanos.”

“Hope that’s okay,” Lance says, face kind of scrunched. “I know it’s not traditional, but we had it on Hanukkah, and I thought —”

Pidge grins at him. “Looks great, man.”

Everyone takes turns passing food around and loading up their plate. Pidge takes four zippoli. She regrets nothing. She has had none in several years and this looks perfect.

Before anyone starts, all eyes turn to Pidge, so she squeezes her eyes shut and remembers her mother’s blessing: “Barukh ata Adonai Eloheinu melekh ha’olam shehakol niyah bidvaro.” She opens her eyes again. “Dig in, everybody.”

No one needs to be told twice. For a while the castle is even shockingly silent, everyone too busy shoving their faces. Keith chokes on latke. Shiro laughs at him until the red on his face is from more than a lack of oxygen.

“I love human food,” gushes Allura, inhaling more plátanos. “You guys got to eat like this every day?”

“Unless you lived with someone who regular fucks up ramen noodles,” Keith says pointedly, dodging Shiro’s under-the-table-kick.

“I think Numbers Two and Three might just be talented in the kitchen,” Coran responds. Both Hunk and Lance beam at the praise.

After dinner — and lordy it does not take long to polish it off — they clear the plates away, tidying up the table, as Pidge sets out the menorah. She carefully sets out the candles they have gathered, arranging and re-arranging the order. When she’s satisfied, she picks up the smallest candle, thin green stripes running up its sides, and places it in the space at the far right. She picks up the shamash — choosing the thickest and tallest one — and accepts the lighter Keith offers her. Once it is flaming, she holds it outwards, and begins to softly recite the blessings she memorized so long ago:

“Baruch atah, Adonai Eloheinu, Melech haolam, asher kid’shanu b’mitzvotav v’tsivanu l’hadlik ner shel Hanukkah. Baruch atah, Adonai Eloheinu, Melech haolam, she-asah nisim laavoteinu v’imoteinu bayamim hahaeim baz’man hazeh. Baruch atah, Adonai Eloheinu, Melech haolam, shehecheyanu v'kiy'manu v'higiyanu laz'man hazeh.”

She says the words slowly, carefully, allowing herself to feel the shape of them on her tongue. They are familiar. They are heavy. They get caught in her throat, tangled, and stay there until tears begin to trickle down her cheeks, softening the way out. Her voice shakes, but she feels her own strength spreading through her like the heat of the shamesh candle.

“Make it home to me, Matt,” she whispers, as she lights the first candle.

———

“Okay, there is no fucking way.”

Pidge cackles at Keith’s indignant protest, accepting Lance’s sharp high-five and dragging in the entire pot of tokens again.

The two of them are absolutely fucking killing it. Their token piles are high. Keith has had to begrudgingly ask Lance for a loan no less than six times. Everyone else is dangerously low, except for Coran, who’s doing alright.

Pidge thinks this is righteous. As the two youngest, she and Lance should be winning by birthright, basically.

“Suck it, Kogane,” she says gleefully. She flicks a token at him. “Take some charity.”

Keith scowls at her, but takes the token because he is too broke not to. It is greatly amusing.

Ha! Loser.

The game shouldn’t last as long as it does, but somehow it keeps going for hours. Pidge suspects Shiro has several dozen tokens up his sleeve and is cheating. Allura may also be using alchemy to make more tokens appear. Either way, Pidge and Lance’s hordes are steadily increasing, and the menorah has long since been blown out, and the food has settled in everyone’s stomach, and Pidge’s head keeps drooping.

“Think it’s just you and me, Pidge-Podge,” Lance says softly. Someone tucks her hair behind her ear, she’s not sure who. Her eyes might be closed. “What say you we call it a tie, huh?”

“There’s no tie in dreidel,” she argues. “We gotta finish.”

“I’m thinking we play again tomorrow,” Coran suggests. “I’m sure when you’re fully awake you can destroy Number Four much more efficiently.”

“Hey,” says Number Four in question, indignantly.

Pidge manages a smile. Keith sticks his tongue out back at her, and the next thing she knows there are arms around her waist and she’s airborne. She buries her face in a strong shoulder and pretends, secretly, it’s her father, even though she knows it’s not.

“Say goodnight, dork,” whispers Shiro. He pauses, adjusting slightly. “Oof.”

“You’re getting old,” says Keith gleefully.

“Respect your elders,” hisses Lance, accompanied by a swift punch to Keith’s shoulder.

“Ow!” Keith complains, but interestingly he only pouts at Lance instead of maiming him. “It’s Shiro! He’s not even an elder, he’s six! You —”

“Goodnight, Pidge,” say Hunk and Allura, loudly.

Pidge smiles. Her voice is half-buried in Shiro’s shirt. “Night.”

She doesn’t remember the walk to her room, but she feels it when she’s laid down, when blankets are fluffed over her and a kiss is pressed to her forehead.

“Sleep well, Katie,” whispers a voice, and the cool metal of the fingers brushing her hair are soothing. “Love you, kiddo. Happy Hanukkah.”

She falls asleep the the click of her door closing and a warmth burning hot in her heart.

[hypfden]

can I just say that your art style is absolutely scrumptious and I mean that in the best possible way. your klance art is giving me life.

Also if you're still taking requests, could you draw Keith and Lance on a double date with another ship of your choice? Doesn't have to be from Voltron either (*cough* *cough* maybe zukka? *cough*).

anyway love your work friend.

Hehehe giggling and swinging my feet. (Click to see properly :3)

[og-redpala-keith]

@the-vampire-lance

coran coughs, which pushes keith to break the kiss. keith looks up at him, expectantly. what is it he needs?

[bluemantics]

Lance breathed in a ragged breath.

In, out.

The soot fogged up his helmet, choking him up, but he still pushed onward. Step after step after step. In, out. His breathing was labored. His armor was dirtied. His limbs ached.

“Keith?” Pidge’s voice rang out over the comms.

Keith had come after Lance when the Galra had made the threat, when Lance dove down into that waste of a planet. At first, he’d been held back by Shiro. Keith was somewhere on this planet now, but Lance couldn’t focus on him. He had other priorities. Keith would be fine.

In, out.

Lance focused on his breathing instead, tuned out the outside sounds of the paladins calling for Keith and him. With each struggling step, his bayard illuminating the way, he dragged himself over to the cave home.

It’s curtains were drawn, and no light came from within. The only sign of life were the heat signatures his helmet picked up.

Fuck, the air was rough.

“Lance, your helmet is broken,“ Allura started.

Lance shut off the comms. Anything distracting him was preventing him from reaching /them./ He pushed his way through the curtain entrance.

There she was.

Huddling under a table in the corner was a small girl, a blue-scaled dragonling humanoid with bright red eyes. She was trembling. Lance got down on his hands and knees, crawling over to her.

In, out. His throat hurt.

“Hey,” he said softly, a rasp tickling his words. “I’m a Paladin of Voltron. I’m here to save you from the fires.”

The alien girl croaked out a whimper. She clearly didn’t recognize him, but her planet was a member of the coalition… fuck. Lance knew what he had to do.

He removed his helmet.

“See?” Her eyes lit up with recognition.

“Loverboy!” she exclaimed. Lance winced at his stage name, laughing outwardly to reassure her.

“That’s right, and I’m here to save you,” he agreed, reaching his arms out to her. Without the meager protection of his helmet, he was really starting to feel woozy. Still, that didn’t matter.

With shaking hands, he picked her up and began to walk outside the cave home and back to Blue.

This time, though, the trek was worse. He couldn’t see as well without his helmet, couldn’t recognize heat signatures or the fastest path back. Instead, he relied on lighting up his footsteps and retracing his steps.

That didn’t last long.

After 20 steps, Lance began to feel dizzy. He lurched, which caused the girl to make a series of clicks.

In, out. He patted her back and continued on.

After 50 steps, Lance started to lose the edges of his vision to blackness. He could feel the mucus in his throat fighting his inhalations. He fought back harder. He would have to reach a level of survival that went beyond what he could handle. To save her.

In, out.

Finally.

120 steps.

Lance fell to his knees.

The girl screamed.

Lance was only a football field from Blue. He had failed.

The girl scrabbled her claws at his armor, wailing, her cries embellished by the distant sound of crackling fire. Lance closed his eyes, listening to her pain, letting it soak in. He’d failed her, and this was his punishment, to lie prone and to hear her suffer. He had failed.

In, out.

He felt a tug to some hidden darkness inside of him.

“Lance!”

Oh, that wasn’t supposed to happen.

Lance felt more than heard the pounding footsteps of Keith Kogane as he ran to his side, kneeling by Lance’s head and cradling it in his hands.

“Stay awake, Lance, I have an O2 mask and we can get the girl to safety—“

“Loverboy!” The girl insisted.

Keith’s head snapped up. Lance chuckled weakly, coughing at the end.

“What?” Keith asked.

“She knows… shows,” he muttered in response. Keith huffed a breath, fogging up his helmet.

“Oh.”

Lance coughed again, and Keith panicked, pulling a mask from his belt. “Stay awake.”

“Loverboy,” the girl insisted again, tugging on Keith’s shoulder.

Lance blinked slowly. The world was slow. Why was the ash now falling on his face in slow motion? Why was Keith putting the mask on so slowly?

In, out.

Lance blinked. The darkness came back. He closed his eyes.

“No, Lance, no.”

Lance wasn’t listening. It was more peaceful, here, to focus inwardly rather than on the voices out there. It was quiet and dark and cool. The fires couldn’t touch him here.

“Loverboy? Stay with me, please. Please.” The rawness in his voice made Lance’s eyes snap open.

“Keith? I’m really trying…”

Words were too difficult, though.

So Lance let his heavy eyelids fall, let the blackness rush in. He felt the mask press into his chin and nose.

“I know, Lance.”

Silence again.

In,

[frostyblustar]

“Hey.. Lance.. I wanted to say that I loved you-“ Keith coughed onto the unforgiving metal floors underneath him.

“Loved? What?” Lance’s voice made Keith smile slightly, or maybe he was just imagining he did. He was starting to grow numb. “Keith what are you talking about? Are you sick? You should come back from the mission if you’re sick..”

“I’m fine. I just had to tell you, I had to.” His voice was weak and strained as he resisted the urge to hack up more blood. Lance did not need to hear that from him, he didn’t want to be remembered for this. “I’m so selfish.” His voice grew weaker. His throat felt clogged.

“You’re not selfish for calling me, Keith. Whatever you need, I’m here for you. We’ll get through it.”

Keith could barely hear that last part.

[jiyansthesis]

oooo can I request angst w keith? Maybe unrequited love ? Like reader and keith are childhood friends or sthm.

I ACTUALLY HATE WRITING ANGST. but it has to be done. i'm finishing writing a smut for him so 🙏I'LL TAKE THIS ONE. hint of klance?? really implied klance??. tbh i might make a second part if enough people want it

not proofread/really short because im ass at anything other than romance and smut

today was the day.

you straightened up from where you were sitting on your bed, holding a little letter in your hand. a letter you would give to keith if you were too scared to even say it straight to his face.

"i like you." it read. you slightly cringed at how it sounded like a middle schooler's confession letter.

but it was straightforward and got the point across. if it backfired, you could always make up some crazy backstory to the note, but you were sure it wasn't going to get to that point.

you were hoping it wouldn't.

you and keith have been basically tied together for as long as you could remember. you went through elementary school, middle school, and even the garrison academy, until he eventually dropped out.

somehow you had managed to follow him into space. a chance of fate, that one night you managed to follow lance and hunk and pidge.

now basically a medic, since you weren't meant to be a paladin and this was the best job you could fit into. and so far, you've been having the time of your life for the past few months.

of course, that didn't mean you were entirely relaxed all the time. it seemed way too often that one of the paladins have to come to you to fix up an injury they had received, either on a mission or even just practicing. keith was your most normal visitor, and you definitely weren't complaining. (but you were always worried for him.)

letting out a huge sigh, you stand up from your bed and make your way to the door, it sliding open once you were in close proximity. you began sweating as thoughts raced through your mind.

what if he genuinely doesn't like you like that?

what if this ruins what you guys have been building up for years?

what if this disgusts him and he never talks to you again?

what if he does something worse than him saying "no"?

you shook your head. you weren't too confident, but you also weren't going to dampen your mood. all you have to do is go up to him, hand him the note, and wait.

you were about to go search for keith, when it turns out you didn't have to move at all. he was making it down the hallway, and he perked up a little when he saw you standing there.

"hey, i have a question," he sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck when he had finished jogging towards you.

he noticed the envelope in your hands, but paid no mind to it as you gestured for him to come inside your room.

"so, what do you want to talk about?" you held off on confessing, opting to hear him out first since he did come looking for you, and you were curious. you placed the envelope on the drawer, right next to a picture of you and keith as kids that you had always kept on you.

he slumped onto your bed, letting out a big sigh as you could see he was struggling to find words for what he wanted to say.

"i don't know what to tell lance."

"tell lance?" you questioned. maybe he needed your advice to just talk to lance about something important.

"well. . ." he hesitated.

"you can tell me anything, keith," you made your way over to him and sat next to him.

"i don't know how to tell lance i like him."

you sure as fuck weren't expecting that.

your jaw dropped, and keith watched as you turned away from, not wanting him to see your glossy eyes.

"w-well." your voice cracked, you quickly covering it up with a cough. "sorry, allergies."

when you finally faced him again, you saw him looking at you questioningly. "you alright?"

"yeah, yeah." you rubbed your eyes as if they were itchy, playing into the 'allergies' cover-up. at least he won't ask why your eyes were red and teary.

(but you knew he was smarter than that.)

"hm, well." you tried not to think about it too hard, lest you start tearing up again. "just be bold and do it. you miss all the shots you don't take."

very ironic.

he grunted as he sat up. "as if i haven't been telling myself that for months.

months?

you've been pinning for a man who's liked someone else for months. all those years of childish infatuation down the drain. all the years of thinking about a future with him.

you wished you never met him.

quickly standing up so he wouldn't see the tears threatening to fall, you excused yourself.

"i have to use the bathroom. sorry keith, i'll see you later." right before you left, you turned your head at an angle so you could see him from the corner of your eyes.

"and remember, what could go wrong?" everything went wrong for you.

but you couldn't be mad at him. you were mad you didn't see the signs. it's not his fault he wasn't in love with you, and there was nothing you could do to change that. the most you could do out of love for him is hope that him and lance get together.

the door shut behind you, leaving a very confused keith on your bed.

he also made his way to the door, trying to build up confidence to ask lance out. his eyes trailed to the picture of you and him, and he smiled. he loved you like a sister, and couldn't imagine losing you, although you did seem a bit more distant after he. . .

he realized.

looking at the letter you left on the drawer, he saw that it was addressed to him.

he didn't bother opening it, because he already knew what was in it.

"fuck," he ran a hand through his hair. you were the last person he should've asked for advice. rushing, he went looking for you.

you on the other hand were in a random hallway, rubbing your wet face to make it look as presentable as possible before you went to the training deck to work out all your feelings. is it a healthy coping mechanism? probably not. but you didn't care.

how did you not see the way the two of them interacted? they were obviously a lot closer than with the other paladins. you were stupid.

never would you ever be blinded by hopeless love ever agai-

"something wrong?" you lifted your head to see shiro gazing at you worriedly.

part 2 with shiro!?!?!?

[incorrect-kidge-quotes]

Lance: So, you and Pidge thinking about having kids, huh?

Keith: She is...

Shiro: And you're not?

Keith: It's not that I don't want to... it's just that- I don't think I'd be able... I mean, I lost my dad when I was a kid and took care of myself until you came along, Shiro. I don't know the first thing about being a parent.

Shiro: And you think I did? I was winging it the whole time *chuckles*

Lance: Keith, buddy, I like to give you a lot of crap, but listen to me here and now. You are a natural caretaker, you want to be there for the people you care about, and that's the most important thing a parent can be.

Keith: But what if I can't find the balance? What if I miss ceremonies and celebrations because I have to go to another system for The Blades? What if I'm not there enough to be the parent I'd want to be? I don't want to put Pidge through that...

Shiro: Keith, balance comes with the job. But also, you're not alone. You have Kolivon and your mom to help with the Blades, Acxa cam lead your team when you're away from the ship, and also you have a wolf that can teleport from anywhere in the universe. If you want to be a parent, don't let the fear stop you from trying.

Keith: Shiro, Lance, thank you guys, for everything.

__________________________

Later that evening

Pidge: *with bottle of wine and two glasses sat out* Hey can we talk?

Keith: Yeah, actually I was wanting to say something too.

Pidge: Okay, I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for bringing the idea of kids up so much the past few days. I talked to Matt, Romelle, and my mom and they gave me a new perspective and I just wanted to say I want be pushy or anything about it anymore. I'm with you cause I want to be with you, and if you're not comfortable with having kids, I'm fine with that. As long as I'm with you the whole time.

Pidge: Sorry for rambling... What was it you wanted to say?

Keith: Oh, nothing. Just that we may want to lay off the wine if I'm going to get you pregnant later tonight.

Pidge: *spits out her wine and goes into a coughing fit* Is- is that what we're do-doing?

Keith: With much enthusiasm.

Pidge: Are you sure?

Keith: Absolutely.

Pidge: Do we have to wait until later tonight?

Keith: *smirks, scoops Pidge off her feet and into his arms* You're in trouble now.

[klance-headcanons-official]

I think that when the paladins finally get to see Keith after his time with the BoM/the two years on the space whale, he looks a tad bit unsettling. Like his hair gets a purple tint to it, his sclera have a yellow tint, sharper nails and teeth, and more galran behavioral traits. Cough cough, biting and scratching enemies, cough cough. And he acts more like his momma!

Let him act more like his mom and galran PLEASE 😔🙏

Also, I mean lance literally said “cooler, older more grizzled brother” soo 👀

- Vee 💜

Keith acting like both his mother and a cat is one of my favorite headcanons by far, I love it so much

[foolinafable]

v. i miss you, i'm sorry

SYNOPSIS: He doesn’t know how to love. You know this and yet you would still give everything just to be with him- even for just a moment. Or the story of how you and Keith finally get together. PAIRING: Keith Kogane x Altean reader WORD COUNT: 5.4k TAGS: Slowburn, Angst, extreme cannon compliance, fighting SERIES LINK: a love as cold as ours

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NOTE: edited this tipsy and with Grammarly so don't mind mistakes!

── ✧

The others had left on a little adventure to gather an element that could help recharge the lion’s power cores leaving you with Keith, Allura, Shiro and his mother Krolia you were mainly focusing on trying to heal Shrio's new body in hopes it would encourage it to fully accept Shiros conscious using skills you had learned from the white lion on Oriande not daring to look up to face the eyes of the two galrans who both watched your every move with intrigue Allura was also helping trying to take off as much of the burden as her powers would allow leaving you both exhausted as the hours ticked by. You were sat by Shiro’s body hand held up eyes closed as you tried to focus on the feeling of Shiro’s consciousness within the body trying to pull it further inwards when Allura spoke

“I’m afraid the clone’s body is rejecting Shrio’s consciousness” 

“There must be some way you can help!” Keith pleaded and it hurt you for him to sound so distressed opening your eyes to see him staring right you in despair 

“I don’t think there's anything more we can do” you confessed “I can feel him slipping away” voice hoarse as you looked away from the black paladin unable to watch his heartbreak you jumped when he banged against the glass separating you from Shiro 

“Shiro please” he begged as he banged against the glass again “Please fight!” as he began to sob making your heart clench “You can’t do this to me again” he continued when a faint coughing was heard from inside the pod you all quickly looked up at Shiro as the encasing disappeared Keith called out to him quickly when he eyes opened 

“Keith- I was dreaming” he spoke delicately in between breaths “You saved me” he confessed looking at the boy as he hugged him 

“We saved each other” Keith corrected 

You simply looked to Allura and smiled tiredly but before anything else could be said the rest of the paladins along with Coran and Romelle finally returned all looking shocked as they saw Shiro up the three paladins running towards him in glee “Shiro’s looking better! Alright!” Lance exclaimed 

“Where were you guys? We couldn't get a hold of you?” Keith asked 

“Well, we were shrunk by a magic skunk, but we ended up using that sparkly dust that makes electricity bigger or whatever” Lance tried to explain but the five of you just looked at him confused “So ready to charge up the lions?” Lance continued clearly unphased by your lack of understanding. Shiro simply sighed before laughing to himself

 “It’s good to be back.” 

“Why are you tired” Lance probed as he walked towards you causing you to open your eyes to look at the Cuban boy from your position lying on Shiro's metal shoulder- the only part left of his mechanic arm

 “I dunno maybe it’s from saving all your arses and transferring Shiro’s conscience into a new body?” you replied dryly as Shiro rubbed your shoulder with his working hand in thanks. At the same time, you gave Lance a pointed look with a small drowsy smile on your face that made him falter in his teasing realising that you were in fact not joking still looking a little worse for wear even after you finally healed the large gnash on your forehead from Shiro's clone. You closed your eyes again as you felt his violet ones staring you down clearly trying to get your attention but you ignored it- what more could he possibly have to say to you? More reasons why you aren't capable you nearly scoffed at the idea but simply pursed your lips trying to feign sleep when Shrio nudged you to open your eyes as Pidge approached, she sat on the other side of Shiro when the older man questioned “Where you able to get into contact with Earth?”

“No luck,” the smaller girl replied glumly. “The low power levels are probably affecting our broadcast distance but I'll keep trying as we get closer to Earth.” 

“I can't believe we’re finally going home” Lance admits softly looking down at the ground almost in thought

“I’m going to hug my parents and never let go.” Hunk claims as he hugs himself probably imaging how it would go

“I can’t wait to see how dad integrated Altean and Earth technologies together” Pidge exclaimed seemingly in a better mood just thinking of going home you smiled at her excitement but it didn't reach your eyes as it reminded you that your home was gone and after the war was over you didn’t have a family to come home to- rather Voltron was your family Shiro seemed able to sense your thoughts looking to you with a sad smile as he once again rubbed your shoulder with his working arm in comfort. “And my mom” Pidge continued before stopping to think her face suddenly becoming cloudy with apprehension “She is gonna be so mad I ran away, I hope I’m not grounded” 

“How long do you think it will take us to get home?” Keith finally tired of being ignored by you turned towards Coran who was seemingly already doing the numbers in his head

“I was just calculating that now” the altean admitted “Without the luxury of a wormhole and with diminished power cores, let me see-” he started mumbling to himself “if I carry the one” staring at his fingers as he did the maths “oh, it’s going to take us 150,000 earth years,” he replied nonchalantly you quickly sta up from your position on Shiro’s shoulder as everyone gasped in shock 

“One-hundred-and-fifty earth years?!” Keith exclaimed 

“Coran, I think your finger counting is a bit off” Pidge stated “It’s going to be 1.5 years” causing everyone to groan in annoyance 

“Oh right I didn’t carry the three” Coran realised 

“Well you never said you were good at finger counting” you replied to ease the annoyance he caused in the group

“And it’s not an exact science anyways” he defended and you swore it gave you deja vu

“It's going to be a very long and difficult voyage, but It’s our only chance at replacing the Castle of lions” Allura concluded  

“There were times where I thought I would never see Earth again” Shiro admitted “To be able to go back-” 

“Well, what are we waiting for guys!” Lance quickly interrupted, “Let's hit the space road!”

“I suppose we need to figure out who’s flying with whom,” Krolia announced and she was right but you weren't really looking forward to it you were already so exhausted you were unsure you would be able to handle certain people for the time being and hoped however that whoever ended up with you would give you some peace to recharge. 

“And what about the animals” Coran reminded you all

“What about them” Pidge questioned

“Well the wolf can't go with Kaltenecker, wolves eat cows and the cow can’t be in the same area as the mice because aren't cows sacred to mice?” made complete sense to you 

“No, elephants are afraid of mice.” Lance corrected 

“Elephant?” you mumbled in tired confusion what on Altea is that?

“Yeah, They’re giant grey animals with long noses that grab things,” Lance exclaimed trying to show what an elephant looked like by pinching his nose and using his other hand to act as its snout 

“Giants with long, gabbing noses? Earth seems so strange” Allura echoed your thoughts out loud what a preposterous creature that must be. 

“The wolf is riding with me” Keith decided “That means Hunk will have to take the cow” as he had the second biggest cockpit so was able to fit the cow easily.

“Me with the cow? Not a good idea” Hunk protests 

“Hunks right” Lance decides “Keith, you're keeping the cow. Someone else is gonna have to take the wolf” Everyone looked to Pidge 

“Not me. I am allergic.” 

“I’ll take the mice” Allura exclaimed clearly not wanting to take the wolf

“How come you get the smallest passengers?” Keith questioned arms crossing over each other in annoyance to which Allura just pulled a face

“I say we go old school and draw straws” Hunk decided 

“Or I can just take the wolf” you commented breathlessly honestly just wanting to get into the sky, the quicker you get going the quicker you can be left alone. 

“But I am terrible at drawing” Allura sulks causing you to laugh as Coran agrees “She really is” 

“Guys you’re all overthinking this. I know exactly where everyone should go.” Lance decides and for some reason, maybe to stop the arguing, everyone lets him place them into the ships.

This decidedly in your opinion was the worst idea ever, why did you let Lance decide who went whereas you were stuck for who knows how long in your lion with Keith's mother- Krolia. To say it was awkward was an understatement but you guess you got what you wanted as it was quiet but you could cut the tension with a knife clearly the woman wished to speak with you but she didn’t say a word as if she wanted you to initiate conversation but you have no idea what to say to her. It’s not as if you can be honest oh hi Keith’s mum yeah no I totally don't have a massive unrequited crush on your son who would probably rather be stuck by one of Haggar’s spells than even think of me that way and what if he told her about your argument during the kral vera so she knows you as the one who believes her son is according to your own heated words a ‘cold excuse of man’ you shudder at the thought of the stoic woman hating you only makes you feel even more anxious being left in a ship with her for 1.5 earth years. Luckily the other paladins don’t seem to be faring much better with Allura shouting at the wolf, Romelle trying to touch all the buttons on the spaceship leaving Lance annoyed, and Coran trying to teach Keith and Shiro the altean alphabet by singing a song that haunted your dreams as a little girl. 

“Keiths told me a lot about you during our time in the quantum abyss” Krolia commented clearly aware that she would get nowhere if she waited for you to start a conversation 

“I can only apologise for whatever you have heard from him, I assure you-” you began damage control only imagining the lovely choice of words he must have had to say about you, especially after your disagreement when she cut you off

“You are much more pretty than he described” was all she said causing a flush to creep up my cheeks as you turned away from her 

“Thankyou” you whispered in confusion as she continued to speak 

“He seems to have underplayed a lot of things about you but I am glad my son has found someone like you- you are quite similar to his father I suppose willing to give everything to others” she spoke softly at the mention of her lover but you were sat still shocked facing forwards her words ruminating in your mind clearly she liked you- approved of even which made no sense because why would she feel the need to approve of you- someone who isn't even really friends with her son not anymore, and the mentioning of you being similar to his father it didn’t make any sense but Lance’s voice cut into the comms before you could think on her words further 

“Guys, I think I did a bad job choosing the passengers” only took him so long to notice your thoughts. Why on earth would he split up Keith from his mother Lance’s logic was beyond you and now clearly himself 

“I think he thought by choosing the pretty altean he could charm her and have an easy time” You voiced your thoughts to Kroila who was watching Lance through the comms link and she laughed slightly

 “Clearly that is not the case” she agreed humorously and you simply smiled in reply as Keith turned on his comms so everyone could hear Coran’s rendition of the altean alphabet upon hearing it Romelle joined in which just as much enthusiasm causing you to chuckle as you sang along under your breath not noticing how a certain black paladin was watching your screen like a hawk having a not so nice hand gestures and eye conversation with his mother when she caught him staring at you with a soft smile at your antics. Eventually the singing and not knowing what his mother was saying to you got too much for Keith. Her smirks at him made him extremely nervous as he screamed

 “That’s it we are changing passengers!” to which Allura agreed quickly 

“I second that!” clearly fed up with the wolf drooling everywhere even though Keith told her he likes to drool several times.  

“Agreed” Lance called out trying to keep Romelle away from the buttons again

“Whatever you guys want” you called out trying not to seem rude towards the older woman 

“Hey guys, why haven't we heard from Pidge?” Hunk announced   

“Yeah. Wait, who’s in her lion again?” Lance questioned 

“No idea” is all you said

“Yeah Lance, you’re the one that came up with this grouping” Keith added to your point 

“Well, she must have– no, they're with Keith. And the wolf is with Allura and I have the mice” You suddenly laughed as you realised what's happened 

“She's all alone” you spoke laughing a hand covering your mouth as the others quickly realised that you were in fact correct.

 The team quickly used the wolf's transportation techniques to transfer all the passengers into Pidge's ship except for Shiro and Krolia who were now on Keith’s ship.

“Oh come on guys this isn't fair!” Pidge complained but you all simply ignored her amused by her suffering.  

Not long after Krolias voice sounded out from the comms “This is the Klii-Nyn System. There’s a Blade of Marmora rally point located on a moon here. We should check in with them and get an update on their operations.”

“Team, we're going to make a quick stop. Everyone follow me” Keith called out and you followed closely behind. You all landed on the moon with Krolia unable to make any contact with the base so you all quickly got out of the lions to check it out as something clearly wasn't right. Allura used her strength to open the door allowing Krolia to go in first as you hovered into the base. It looked completely empty, dark and decrepit with no sign of life at all within its walls.

“It doesn't look like anyone’s been here for years,” Keith commented while Pidge tried to press buttons on the control panel

“The system won’t boot. Looks like the power has been out for a while” She agreed with Keith's observation the place had already been deserted a long time ago. 

“If the Blade of Marmora abandoned this place, that means something really bad must have happened” Hunk theorised 

“That's impossible” Krolia admitted “This base was still fully operational during my last check-in with the Blades.”

“It doesn't make any sense even if they left within the last free days it wouldn't look like this” you exclaimed, twirling around and looking at the area it just looked old, not destroyed but before you could voice anything else a large explosion was heard from outside causing the area to shake.

“Enemy ship! Incoming!” Coran called out 

“Everyone back to the lions” Keith commanded as you all flew back towards the entrance you quickly came back to your lion and flew off with the rest of the team noticing the galran ships surrounding the area 

“It looks like a small fleet. Mostly Galra fighters” Keith commented 

“That's good. We should be able to take them out pretty easily” Lance responded

“Yeah ,but remember, we’re not flying at full power” Pidge warned 

“Pidge is right” Keith announced “everyone stay sharp.”

You flew quickly trying to avoid the blasts

“Keep an eye out” Lance reminded you all “Where there are fighters there’s usually a cruiser nearby” 

“Some of these ships look like they belong to Lotor’s fleet” you heard Romelle shout out from Allura comms making you pull a puzzled face wasn't she in Pidge’s lion?

“How did you get in here?” Allura asked confused you were about to voice your own concerns when a blue light appeared behind you in the cockpit to reveal Keith's wolf who quickly bounded up next to you to give you some support 

“Thanks, buddy” you whispered nudging your head against the world slightly causing him to push back in happiness for some attention before you grunted as a beam nearly knocked you off your path sending the wolf down with you “Sorry, it’s not going to be an easy ride”

“We need to get out of here” Keith called out warningly as more and more fighters seemed to appear out of nowhere 

“We’re getting our quiznacks handed to us. We need to do something.” Lance complained “we need to form Voltron”

“Okay” Keith agreed “everyone in formation”

You tried to form Voltron but the depleted energy cores made it impossible. You tried to escape but they backed you into a corner with the pirates behind you, crystals surrounding you and a cyclone at the exit. 

“We have no choice” Keith decided “Everyone into the cyclone” After formatting a plan you quickly left the cyclone trying to take your way towards a nearby unstable ice planet in hopes it could grant you the upper hand. You descended onto the planet with the fighter ships right on your tail using the landscape to the best of your abilities to lose the pirates, weaving around geysers, and flying through underground tunnels but it still wasn't enough as soon as you made it out the cave without any of fighters pilots following behind you were immediately captured by a large magnet pinning the lions to the floor- there was no escape.

You were quickly taken into a holding cell, arms bound by handcuffs, you were sat next to Allura with Keith right above you, none of you saying a word as Lance pranced around the cell pulling faces.

“What are you doing?” Hunk asked annoyed

“I’m feeling for secret passages” Lance responded as if it was the most sane idea ever, you looked up at him incredulously- was he serious

“You’ve watched too many movies, Lance. There’s no secret passage.” Keith complained 

“And why on earth would they put one where they keep the prisoners” you questioned the Cuban boy still in disbelief that he wasn't joking 

“Oh really?” he questioned moving to the middle of the cell “Then how do you explain this?” he quickly hit the side of the cell with his foot before whimpering in pain- clearly not an area for a secret passage you simply rolled your eyes at him not failing to notice how Keith smirked at your reaction making your eyebrows furrowed in confusion as to why he seems to care so much about you now. 

“Will someone shut him up?” Krolia asked after Lance hit his other foot on another area that he thought would be a secret passage but wasn't now holding his foot for dear life as he tumbled around in pain. “There's only one guard patrolling out there.” She observed “If we can get this door open, we can overpower him” 

“What happened to Coran?” Hunk questioned 

“He must of managed to hide when we were captured” Krolia guessed

“At Least we have one ally out there still able to fight for us” Allura spoke relieved 

 “Are you saying our fate rests in Coran’s hands?” Pidge asked, causing you all to look down in worry. “I will help you look for that passage” Pidge comments to Lance clearly believing his idea would have a better shot at getting them free than Coran ever could. 

Your head snapped up at the sound of the door opening when two very familiar faces appeared from behind their guards leaving you all shocked it was two of Lotor's generals

“Look who's here. It’s Voltron” Ezor mocked 

“We’re going to have a little talk” cackled Zethrid 

“Hey you’re the guys that Lotor shot into space” Lance stated the obvious clearly not reading the room

“And the ones that were trying to kill us” Pidge finished off for him

“Yeah sure, but we're all friends now right?” Hunk questioned and you started at him 

“I don’t think they would’ve captured and locked us up if we were friends hunk” You tilted your head at him as he gawked in understanding 

“I’m glad one of you has a brain,” Ezor smirked. “Makes it so much more fun when we torture you!”

“Where have you been all this time? And what happened to Lotor?” Zethrid questioned 

“What are you talking about” Shiro responded cooly 

“We’re talking about your little disappearing act.” Ezor clarified 

“Disappearing act? We followed Lotor into the quintessence field and then came back out not long after” you replied confused “Not sure how that counts as disappearing” 

“Answer the question!” Zethrid seethed, clearly not impressed by your answer “How did you survive that explosion?” she continued 

“Don’t you know? You were there.” Hunk questioned cautiously 

“I think there’s a little confusion about how the ‘we ask questions, you give us answers scenario works.’” Ezor commented

“Enough of your games. Where is Lotor” Zethrid asked 

“Lotors dead. We left him in the Quintessence field” Keith answered

“Yeah that doesn't really add up. Why aren't you dead?” Ezor probed 

“Because of the power of teamwork?” Hunk responded unsure of himself 

“I’m going to ask you one more time,” Zethrid challenged “and then we are going to have to take a more extreme approach. What happened to Lotor and where have you been all this time?”

“How many times do we have to say it to get it through your thick skulls? We haven't been anywhere and Lotor is dead:” you shouted in annoyance.

“Fine” Ezor replied 

“You leave us no choice but to apply pressure” Zethrid commanded 

“Who is the first victim?” Ezor asked excited 

“How about the smart loudmouth witch Lotor was always telling us about, let's see if she is really worth all his praise,” Zethrid responded, clearly referring to you. Ezor started to make her way towards you when Lance tried to attack her from the side “Don’t you touch them!” He shouted as he swung his joined together hands as Ezor who quickly dodged his attack sending him to the ground with a kick a guard with a gun was placed in front of him before he could make another move

“Your defence is adorable and so very misguided” Zethrid comments with a laugh 

“Leave us alone” Pidge shouted which resulted in Ezor slapping her with her hair and wrapped it around your hands dragging you to her Hunk called out your name in worry as Ezor’s hand went around your throat as you groaned and thrashed trying to get away 

“Let her go!” Keith commanded but was stopped by a soldier with a gun before he could try anything 

“Answers” Ezor commanded as she held you up against the wall a deadly tight grip on your throat barely leaving enough room for air 

“We told you, he’s–” Keith began to answer them his voice pleading when a large boom rattled the area and alarms started blaring making them all need to leave to check out the security breach Ezor quickly let go making you fall to the ground hard, you groaned in pain as you were held up leaning against Allura for support as the rest of the paladins watched her leave. Keith quickly helped you up, eyes looking alarmed as they assessed your neck clearly it looked as bad as it hurt but Krolia started talking before he could say anything much to your relief

 “This is our chance, the next time that door opens, overwhelm the guard.” she strategies you'll quickly go on either side preparing yourselves but when the door opened no guard came in, you all looked to the door to see the mice who had taken down the guard 

“Hello little friends” Allura spoke crouching down to them they spoke to her and she gasped “Coran is trying to rescue us and he’s got help- Axca” She turned towards Keith whose eyes lit up with recognition 

“What” was all he could muster.

You all quickly ran to find Coran quickly finding him fighting this large soldier purple and barely conscious from his efforts Lance and Keith quickly grabbed him helping him move along as we made our way towards the hanger that our lions were kept in while Keith went after Axca once inside the lions Keith called out to shoot on his location which you all quickly did resulting in a massive explosion that Keith and Axca fled and ran into the black lion's cockpit then the team quickly made her get away following Axca directions to one of her safe houses. 

You were all sitting in her cave, a fire brewing as she turned to speak to you “I don't know what Ezor and Zethrid were on about with Keith because you're my favourite paladin.” you smiled at her compliment 

“Well not that you are up against any tough competition but you always were my favourite of Lotors generals- the only level-headed one” you joked back hitting her with your shoulder as she laughed back “You're not wrong there” you continued to banter with the galran when Hunk came back with more firewood causing you to halt the conversation but both of your eyes twinkled with the idea that you were far from done speaking.

“I just looked at the lions and they’re in worse shape than ever.” Hunk worries

“We should probably give them some time to recharge before we head back on our way” Shiro decides

“Wow a lot has changed over the past few weeks” Lance comments

“Weeks?” Axca questions “what are you talking about?” 

“The last time we saw you. You were fighting alongside Lotor” Allura responds confused 

“That was three deca-phoebs ago” Axca tells you “No-one has seen you since your fight with Lotor.” 

“That impossible” Kieth stated 

“It’s true” Axca declared “After Lotor jettisoned us, we managed to make it to cover a meteorite. There we saw both Voltron and Lotor disappear. Eventually, Voltron re-emerged… alone. But, then there was an explosion and after that… nothing. That was three deca-phoebe ago”

“So, as far as everyone else in the universe is concerned, Volron has been gone for three deca-phoebe?” Allura clarifies 

“That would explain the discrepancies in the star charts in our lions.” Pidge realised “I thought they were off because of our inter-dimensional jumping which I guess they were in a way- because if you think about it, that must have been the cause of the time slip between our experience and that of the rest of the universe.”

“So how did you end up here, helping us?” Keith questioned the girl 

“Zethrid, Ezor, and I were marooned on the meteoroid for days. Finally, a Galra ship came to investigate Lotor's last known whereabouts. We took it over. With Lotor gone, it was clear that there was a power vacuum in the Galra Empire. Zethrid and Ezor wanted to exploit that for their own gain but I knew I had to find my own path. And it led me to you.” she replied gesturing to the team 

“Thank you for saving us” Keith smiled 

“I hope that this makes up for some of the wrongs I’ve done.” she clarifies you grabbed her hand and gave it a squeeze as you smiled

 “We understand” gesturing to you and Allura “How easy it is to believe in him” 

“I realise now that Lotor wasn't the man I thought he was. He preached unity, but in the end, he sought only power.” Axca continued “I’ll do everything I can out here to help the Voltron coalition.”

“Wow, so everyone that was helping is thinks we’re dead” Hunk thought aloud 

“Wait” Pidge called out in a panicked voice “I haven't been able to get ahold of my dad on Earth or Matt and the rebels. What's happened to them in the last three years?”

“And if Ezor and Zethrid became warlords in that time… what else has changed?” Allura questioned.

 The revelation that you had been missing for three deca-pheobes settled deep within you all as you sat in silence trying to gather the courage to speak- worry clearly covering all of your faces. You quickly stood up looking down at your feet as you left Axcas cave and made your way towards the lions sitting on the edge of the cliff they were stationed on trying to steady your breathing as you began to spiral at the idea of all the coalition being gone, all the people that Voltron had let down as you were presumed dead you could the lions humming in your brain quieter than last time thanks to their run-down state trying to ease your discomfort- it was still a new feeling every time you closed your eyes you could feel them like your life force was now integrated with their own, your pain was there and their discomfort yours just as Alfor prophesied you hoped he was proud- that it was all worth it. The buzzing of the lions in your head was probably what made you unable to hear his footsteps as they approached you only noticed him when he came to sit next to you the lion’s voices leaving you alone when your eyes stared into his violet orbs echoing your pain of lost time a feeling your sure he is a lot more familiar with. You turn away from him after a moment eyes going to your feet as they dangle from the cliff 

“How do you do it” you mutter to him unsure of how to ask for comfort from him now, after everything

“Hm?” He prompted trying to seem as calm as you for the first time since the Kral Vera started a conversation with him sacred if he said too much it would send you further away than you already where

“Forgive yourself for not being there, for not being able to protect the people you promised I guess” you replied eyes welling up as your throat tightened 

“I think” he took a deep breath as you looked up at him “you just need to remember that there was nothing you could do that could’ve got yourself there, we can’t go back in time” he explained voice soft as he took in your features as you sat there staring at the boy in silence the guilt and remorse finally caught up with you at all the things you had said that day- none of it was true, not to you any way she wasn’t  a sorry excuse of a man rather he was everything you ever wanted and while he may have been cold at times he never was to you- the scene right now proving it, even more, he never turned you away as you did to him that day

“M-sorry” you muttered “for what happened during the Kral vera it wasn’t true to me” you began when he interrupted you similarly to how he did that day 

“It’s okay” he smiled a little “I mean you were right I was being overprotective and cold- I had a lot of time to think about it when I was stuck in the quantum abyss with my mom” 

“I do not want to fight” is all you said, almost whispering 

“I know” he grabbed your hand as you both looked forwards “It’s okay” he repeated squeezing your hand “We’re okay” Maybe you were okay but your mind couldn't seem to stop thinking about his words ‘you were right’ a thought you also had these past few months but rather about what he had spoken about you. You knew what you had said was wrong you even told him that but he hadn’t taken his words back so that still must be how he thinks about you clearly you need to listen to what he said and then continue as you have been barely speaking- anything to avoid his ire and keep him as he is now content.

[things-wesaid-thatareklance]

keith: does anyone actually eat cough drops for their intended purpose

lance: yes.

keith: what the helllll

lance: i do. except i eat them for heartburntoo

keith: they solve heartburn???

keith: i gotta start eating cough drops

lance: for me they do idk why

keith: ive just been rawdogging life

keith: take as little meds as possible challenge

[soulreapin]

vld au where everything is the same but keith is always low-level sick All The Time

his nose is constantly runny or stuffy or burning or runny AND stuffy

there’s either an itch in his throat only coughing fixes or he has a sore throat

always running a mild fever like 99.5 or something its never enough for him to say “im calling in sick” he just says he runs hot

and i think he also deals with nausea a lot of the time but is constantly popping space dramamines and chugging pepto bismol to even the playing field

(lance who grew up taking care of and being taken care of. he sees keith out cold once on the couch and he looks a little cold, but when lance brushes his skin he’s literally burning up

he radios shiro and tells him that if you send keith on even a fucking cargo mission i will ruin your life as you know it

so lance spends the next week making keith pastina (italian penicillin) making sure he’s hydrated and eating easy foods that wont upset his stomach

keith is a little hazy but he knows acutely this Has to be what love is)

[autisticlancemcclain]

part one

———

“You did what.”

Keith coughs. “We, uh, we got married.”

“Accidentally,” Lance pipes up, because he can see the Stress Muscle in Shiro’s eyebrow start to twitch, and doesn’t want him to start freaking out which will make Keith get defensive and put his foot in his mouth — he’s as bad as Lance, really — and then the whole thing will be more difficult to handle than it already is. “It’s a whole big thing.”

Shiro stares at them for several minutes, then sighs, sitting heavily onto the kitchen floor with his bowl of goo. He shovels a bite in his mouth, then reaches blindly for the intercom switch on the wall, slapping around until he finally manages to hit it.“Team,” he says tiredly as it crackles to life, “please make your way to the kitchen. Keith and Lance made something stupid again.” He drops his hand back down, returning his full attention to his goo, committing to pretending Keith and Lance aren’t in the room.

Which.

Fair.

“I resent that ‘again’,” Keith mutters petulantly. “We’ve been remarkably well-behaved lately.”

“No,” Shiro says, without a second of hesitation. He doesn’t bother arguing.

It doesn’t take the rest of the team long to get here — Hunk and Allura have appeared to have sprinted, drama loving bastards — and they join Shiro on the floor, turning expectant eyes to the Red and Black Paladins. After a look of deliberation, Keith and Lance sit down, too.

“Tell them what you just told me,” Shiro says, voice garbled through his food goo.

Here’s the thing.

Lance knows he should feel nervous. Or worried, or scared, or embarrassed, even, about getting literally magically bound to his self-proclaimed rival (once a rival always a rival) because he got brained by the jacket that he left unattended. It is, objectively, a sitcom-level ridiculous situation. He knows that he is going to be shamed, and possibly gently bullied.

However.

Keith’s hand still grips him tightly. Lance doubts the Black Paladin has noticed, but every so often he runs his thumb over his knuckles, and every time he does his lips twitch up in the slightest smile. Lance couldn’t feel anything but ludicrously happy if he tried.

Plus. He and Keith just, like, made out in the hallway a bunch. If Lance is being honest, his brain is still kind of fuzzy. He’s half focused on everyone else and half focused on replaying the feeling of Keith’s hands pressed to his cheeks, cupping his face, kissing him like he was drowning and Lance’s lungs were the only place he could get oxygen. He’s still kind of lightheaded, and keeps having to fight off giggles.

“We got married,” Lance says, unable to stop the smile from spreading across his face.

As much as the team is used to their shit, that visibly shocks them. Coran squints at them and types something rapidly into his tablet. Pidge cusses and hands Allura a handful of GAC, which she pockets with a cackle. Hunk is the only outlier, the only one with a reaction Lance can’t place: he straightens up, looking between them with narrowed eyes, mouth flattened into a line.

“Explain yourselves.”

“It was an accident,” Keith assures, much like Lance did earlier. But instead of expressing is understanding, Hunk’s eyebrows only climb higher. Lance gets the same distinct feeling he gets when he knows he pressed the Wrong dialogue option in a video game.

“I hope you didn’t marry my best friend on accident, Kogane.”

Lance puts his head in his hands. He can physically feel the panic leeching from his husband’s (!!) body. He considers all the ways he can murder his best friend and make it look like an accident. He honestly doesn’t think he’s ever been this mortified in his life.

“No no no, I didn’t mean accident, well I guess I did —”

“Hunk,” Lance says through grit teeth. Hunk gives him a ‘what did I do’ look, stubborn set to his shoulders. Lance vows to take a seam ripper to his shirts.

“— like it was technically not a planned sequence of events, per se, if you want to look at things technically —”

Hunk continues to stare at Keith with his eyebrow raised and his arms crossed. Lance digs around in his pockets for something to chuck at his face.

“— if it went according to how I’d planned it in my head there would be more flowers involved, probably, and we’d be on Earth at least, but it kind of just happened, you know? It was so fast I swear I couldn’t have done anything —”

Lance tears his gaze away from Hunk and stares at his rambling mess of a husband. Any annoyance practically evaporates from his system as the implications of Keith’s words set in.

“You thought about marrying me?”

Keith flushes redder than he already is. “I’m not answering that.”

Lance barely manages to shove down the giddy laughter that bubbles up his throat. Keith, his crush, his rival, his husband, spent time daydreaming about marrying Lance. And kissing him, probably, and holding him and building a future with him. Keith maybe even got just as flustered as Lance did when they got too close, back off when sparing got a little too close, breathing heavy. The knowledge is exhilarating. Lance leans over, pressing his beaming smile to Keith’s lips. He softens immediately.

“I thought about marrying you, too.” He smirks. “Among other things.”

Keith’s gloved hand finds it’s way back up to his cheek, for the second time today, and the blood rushing in his ears downs out the sound of Pidge gagging.

“Gross. Can we force them to divorce? This is worse than the pining.”

“Physically impossible for me to divorce him,” Lance murmurs, distracted. “Since he technically owns me, now. Kind of.”

Keith makes a face. “I hate that a little.” He presses one last chaste kiss to Lance’s mouth before pulling away. It’s casual, and small, but the novelty of it is not lost on Lance.

He was not kissing Keith this morning, that was for certain.

It’s not until Lance manages to blink away his ga-ga eyes that he realizes that the rest of the team is looking at him in shocked confusion, and it clicks that his sentence would, sans context, be kind of horrifying to hear.

“Oh,” he blurts, without thinking, “I’m a Selkie.”

“You’re bad at this whole revelation thing,” Keith notices. “I think my Galra thing was somehow handled better.”

“Shut up.”

To his credit, Keith’s observation isn’t too far off. If anything everyone’s shock has only worsened, and it’s clear that Lance’s messy, half-explanations aren’t going to do much. The Alteans could probably do with some actual historical context, but for now, Lance thinks a demonstration is the wisest choice. And since he doesn’t have an ocean available to him, he decides to do the next best thing.

He slips his jacket carefully over his shoulders, spreading it out over his legs and gently running his fingertips over the rough canvas. Just as in his room, the fabric begins to blur, warp, change. He understands the change that is happening — it is his coat, after all; his own flesh — but he cannot find the words to describe it. There may not be. The coat simply changes in a way that is not comprehensible by non-Selkie eyes, as evidenced in the various strangled noises of bewilderment around him. Even Keith looks at the pelt in awe, unused to Earthen magic.

“How long have you been a seal person?” Pidge asks, hands twitching like she’s itching to touch.

“Two decades,” Lance says drily.

It doesn’t take long for the shock to melt away. That’s due in part to everyone’s curiosity, and the rest is because, as Lance suspected, their lives are just so goddamn weird — this Selkie thing just doesn’t even make top ten.

“So was that what the whole dramatic running out of the common room was about earlier?” Hunk clarifies.

Lance nods. “Yeah. I didn’t…I got too comfortable. Left my pelt out, Keith tossed it at me, boom, it’s not longer mine. Luckily I was wrong about how dangerous that is, ‘cause I didn’t lose my free will or anything, but I am essentially married to Keith now. So.” He turns to his husband and grins. “I don’t think he minds.”

Ignoring Pidge’s mutter of “here we go again,” Keith smiles back, leaning over to press a kiss to his cheek.

“I don’t.”

“I’m sorry you weren’t comfortable before.”

Lance looks up at Shiro, startled by the seriousness in his voice. His tired look from earlier is gone, replaced with something narrow-eyed, serious.

“Huh?”

“You said you got too comfortable.” He gestures to Lance’s lap. “With your pelt. I’m sorry you felt like you couldn’t tell us.”

“And I’m sorry for threatening you, Keith,” Hunk adds. “Well, it was barely a threat, but still.”

Keith reaches over to pat his shoulder. “All good, man. It was understandable. Lance probably warrants some threatening on his behalf.”

Lance narrows his eyes. He’s sure that’s an insult, somehow.

“Hunk, do not scare my husband away with your foolishness —”

“I know you’re just saying that to have an excuse to say ‘my husband’, you whipped simp —”

“Fuck off, no one asked you —”

“Pardon my interruption,” Coran says, holding up a hand. “But what is a Selkie?”

Allura raises her hand as well. “I would also like to know!”

“If I’ll be honest, I’m not that familiar with the legend either,” Pidge admits.

Lance pauses for a moment, considering. He knows that explaining everything would take a long time, and he knows he doesn’t have the energy for that. It’s something you learn over time, anyway, over years of stories at the right time. He can simplify some information, though. Get the point across.

“I’m not human,” he starts carefully. “I’m also not alien, not not-human. It’s complicated.” He runs his hand over the soft fur of his coat. “My pelt is like…a physical manifestation of my soul, I think. My quintessence? I’m not entirely sure. But when I wear it, I become another form of mine. Kind of like your shapeshifting, maybe? I turn into a seal, but I’m still very much me. And it’s not like I’m a seal with a human brain, or whatever. I’m a seal, I’m a human, I’m a Selkie. I’m never not those three things.”

Pidge cocks her head. “So you’re a seal right now?”

“Yeah. I’m a Selkie, I have to be. Unless my pelt were to be truly lost, I guess. If someone set it on fire I wouldn’t be a Selkie anymore. I’d lose my soul.”

“Jesus,” Pidge shudders.

Keith looks determinedly at him. “I won’t let that happen.”

“No shit,” Lance says, raising an amused eyebrow. “That’s your job now, Mullet. The pelt is yours to guard. You took it, it’s your responsibility.”

Keith’s determined expression does not change. Lance is just a little endeared but it. As unconventional as this has been, Keith genuinely seems to be excited to be with him. And if Lance trusts his word — which he does — then Keith has wanted to be with Lance for a while. With his space family’s approval, and the certainty that he will have the same from his Earth family when he makes it home, the weight he hadn’t realized he’d been carrying finally drops from his shoulders.

“God, I can’t wait to human marry you.”

Shiro sighs. This time, it sounds significantly more amused. He gets to his feet, dusting off his hands. “I guess that falls to me, huh,” he says, waving them over. “C’mere.”

Keith and Lance scramble up, running over to where Shiro stands, at the head of the table. He holds two twist-ties in his head that he has formed into rudimentary rings.

“I feel contractually obligated to remind you about Adam’s stance in elopement,” he says, looking pointedly at Keith. “And Lance, I don’t know your mother personally, but your sister and I were colleagues. You are also going to get into leagues or trouble when we get home.”

Lance grins brightly. “I am going to get in leagues of trouble anyway!”

Keith nods. “I left Earth against Adam’s specific instructions. I’m toast no matter what, so I might as well do the best thing I will ever do in my life before then.”

Lance’s ears burn. He glances down at his sneakers, embarrassed and pleased all at once.

He’s the best thing that Keith will ever do in his life. God.

“Well, that answers my first question, then.” Shiro turns to Lance. “Since Keith obviously does, do you, Lance, wish to take Keith as your lawfully wedded husband, so long as you shall live?”

Lance grins. “I would love nothing more.”

“Then by the power vested in me by the five dollar certificate I got online, I pronounce you wed. Congratulations. You may kiss the groom.”

Neither of them wait for Shiro to finish his sentence, surging forward immediately, colliding in the middle like magnets. Lance feels the weight of his pelt on his shoulders and Keith’s hands on his face in equal measures. It feels like swimming free.