#like an alien gives keith a shiny blade

[bluedemon1995]

31 Resolutions-Happy New Years! Better late then never right? I wrote way too much and then had a killer headache so sorry it's not on time.  To make up for it, I added a bonus! Hope you enjoy and please let me know what you think! Also this one is so long that I’ll add the link if you want to finish reading there!

Pidge was sitting at the table at the NYE gala and for the first time in a long time, feeling unsure. It started off well enough. She was dressed up, wearing a green and black gown that Veronica had assured her was stunning. It hugged her body and yet, didn’t make her feel uncomfortable or self conscious. She wore shiny sandals that reminded her or ivy and some jewelry that some of the Olkarion refugees had made for her. She was even feeling good about her hair and makeup. She felt that she still looked like herself but maybe a more shined up version or even more adult version.

The girl MFE pilots and Romelle all got ready together, having a few pre-drinks and even hiring a driver to take them to the gala. End result, when she arrived at the gala for the first time while attending an event like this, she was feeling happy and relaxed. And while her mom wasn’t happy that she declined a few invitations from some other officers overall she was letting her be because ultimately Colleen was just glad that she was in attendance. But what made today special was that Pidge knew she was getting another opportunity to enjoy her friends and family before everyone dispersed and went back to their own lives.

But that comfort was short lived because over the course of the night, what started as a small look or comment turned into blatant rudeness and what felt like an outright attack on her. Which Pidge was sorely unprepared for. While in school as Katie, she was used to being an outcast and the nerd. But she wasn’t outright bullied because well, no guys were interested in her and she was pretty low on the totem pole. Then at the Garrison she was a guy and while often ignored she wasn’t picked on. Then she found Hunk and Lance and well, no one said shit to her.

But thinking back to when she walked in with the girls and met up with the MFE pilots and the paladins-minus Coran. Everyone greeted each other warmly and introductions of the new people were made. Keith introduced a few new Blades- the males: Linus, Titus and a new female-Amoza. If Pidge thought Acxa was intimidating, Amoza was ten times that. Apparently, they were hoping to see Earth customs firsthand and make a few contacts. They all entered together and grabbed drinks and stood around to mingle. But one of the first things Amoza said to Pidge was inquire why she was so small, if she was a kit.

That comment made Pidge flush and stammer, which probably provided her proof, but she was just unprepared for that comment especially after feeling so mature. Thankfully, Keith interjected, joking that she didn’t want to make that mistake. He gave her a warm look, that made her flush, and when she averted her eyes from his gaze she noticed that Amoza was staring at her. Pidge looked to Veronica but she was arguing with Lance and Hunk and Shay were closely talking. And it didn’t look like she was impressed with her. Getting lost in her thoughts, Pidge lost track of the conversation. Tuning back in, she realized that Amoza had somehow managed to turn everyone so she was on the outskirts of the group. Sighing she glanced around the room looking for an exit strategy.

Spotting her parents, Pidge excused herself to go and say hi to her parents and Krolia. Both Keith and Matt quickly followed however, with Keith asking if everything was ok. She nodded while avoiding his eyes. She didn’t want to seem immature so she just jumped into the conversation. Later, as others mingled she found herself standing with Keith off to the side of the room. As always, she felt herself relax and again feel that strange comfort and familiarity that she often doesn’t find with others. And when Keith asked what she was drinking and she explained it was some new drink that was a version of sake he asked if he could try it. Shyly nodding he took her hand and guided it to his mouth. Pidge felt that his eyes were on hers and she couldn’t break it away. Then the announcement came for everyone find their tables. When she turned she looked up only to find Amoza’s gaze steadfastly on her.

Shaking off that uncomfortable feeling both headed to the table with Keith’s hand in the small of her back. Which was nothing unusual except that her lower back was uncovered due to the dress. As they made their way to the table, Pidge could feel the heat of his hand and that his thumb rhythmically move up and down. As they approached the table of 8, she quickly surmised there was a problem. Sighing she looked around frantically trying to keep her cool. Shiro, Curtis, Hunk, Shay, Lance, Veronica, and Amoza…they were short a seat. As they get to the table, she can feel herself start to panic and she turns looking for a seat close by at a different table.

Keith catches up and quickly sees the problem, frowning, he questions, “Amoza, I thought you were seated with the Blades?”

The young and beautiful alien looks up in surprise. “Oh sorry, I just assumed as your partner, I’d be seated with you. My, um, how do you say, mistake.”

That said she didn’t move. An inch. Pidge had started at the word partner…was Keith in a relationship with the alien? Why didn’t she know about this. But why wouldn’t he? He was single and attractive, and so was she. And tall. Strong.

So many thoughts started flying through her brain that she unintentionally took a step back, slightly twisting her ankle in the unfamiliar heels. She let out a quiet, “Ahh” when Keith’s hand turned into an arm support for her. Adjusting quickly to the added weight he bent his head, murmuring directly in her ear, “Hey no worries, I got you.”

Pidge felt her eyes tear and for a moment everything was blurry. Quickly blinking, she tried to straighten and looked around, “Hey, no problem, I’m fine. I’ll just find another seat. Go ahead and sit Keith.”

She moved away and looked around, right into James’ concerned face. Their eyes met and he stood. “Katie, I’d be honored if you sat at our table. None of us have dates, so we have the room. I mean if, you don’t mind sitting me and a bunch of unruly MFE pilots.” Smiling he reached a hand out to her.

Filled with relief, Pidge nodded, “Sure, thanks James.”

Just as his hand held hers however, Keith interrupted abruptly, “No need Griffin, Amoza should really be with her teammates.” Lacing his fingers with Pidge’s he continues, talking directly to her, “C’mon, like I’d, or um, WE would let you sit anywhere else.” Tugging on her hand he urges her back towards the original table. Now speaking to James-his gaze on the other man standing, “Appreciate the offer but Pidge is ours.”

Pidge starts to move back when she hears James say, “Well, I think she works more with me now so that’s debatable. I’d even go so far to say mine, but sure, you were part of her first team. I understand you have some history there.”

Pidge’s eyes get large and she makes eye contact with Veronica who pretty much spit her wine out all over Lance at that comment. Lance howled, torn between laughing and being bad at getting wine over his suit-loudly, which was a nice distraction. Because Keith had already turned and moved towards Griffin to reply. Pidge quickly pushed Keith towards the table, “Not now! Please.”

He looks down at her and pulls her arm so they are practically embracing. He looks over her head and stares at James, “We can talk about this later Griffin.”

“Looking forward to it, Kogane.”

“Keith, everyone is staring, let’s just sit.”

He nods, turning to the table, “Amoza, do you know where your table is?”

“No, can you show me?”

He nods, “It’s on the perimeter by the entrance doors, two from center.”

Amoza stares at him, then at her. Veronica interjects, “If you’d like I can walk you over now, I just see that Acxa has arrived and I’d love to say hi.” Standing, “Let’s go.”

Amoza finally stands, giving Pidge a look that clearly was not filled with love or New Years cheer. As they sit, she looks down, at her painted nails, thinking, I never stood a chance.

Keith leans close, “Hey, um, sorry did you want to sit with Griffin?”

“Huh?”

“It’s just you look a little sad, I’m sorry if I spoke for you. I, just, you belong here with m-us.”

“No, Keith don’t be dense, of course I want to sit here. I just feel bad that your partner had to leave.”

Lance interjects here, “Yeah, what’s with getting a girlfriend and not even telling us! C’mon you could of sent a message!”

Now it was Keith’s turn to say “Huh?”

Lance rolls his eyes, “Um yeah hot alien who said she was your ‘partner’.”

Keith shakes his head in the negative, “No! We aren’t dating. She’s still new to the language I’m simply training her. And the way it works is during training with the Blades is they are supposed to stay with their trainer. Nothing more, so stop.”

At that reply, Pidge lost track of the conversation but felt so relieved that she took her glass of wine and took a healthy drink. Damn, what was going on with her???

The rest of dinner went by fine but Pidge could swear she could feel the alien’s eyes on her. And she was right because each time she turned or looked, she was staring. And somewhere along the line, Keith had his arm draped across the back of her chair and was pretty attentive to her overall, which was only adding to the confusion on Pidge’s end. Which let to a little too much wine at dinner.

Getting up, she excused her self to the restroom hoping to get a handle on herself. As she was washing her hands, she looked in the mirror. Her face was flushed and her hands were shaking. Sighing she wished things could just be easy. Lately, she had found herself thinking of Keith in very unplatonic ways and their phone calls and messages started to become more frequent. She thought Shiro had said that Keith was thinking of staying on Earth for a while and that led to some pretty fun daydreams on her end. But apparently that information was incorrect and she needed to adjust.

Just as she turned to head for the door, Amoza stalked in. She looked her up and down and stated, “Human, I want to inform you that Keith will be my mate. We are perfectly suited and my father is a very powerful man on my planet. I get want I want.”

Pidge blinked, what the hell?!

Suddenly angry and less self conscious, she replies instantly, “Well, alien, I’m thinking Keith has something to do with this and it’s up to him who he will be with. You may think you are perfectly suited but I know we are. That’s what years of fighting side by side do. And I don’t need my daddy to get me a man. I can do it all on my own so fuck off.”

Pushing forward she storms out of the bathroom, only to see Veronica and Acxa listening at the door. Pissed at herself for losing her temper and pissed at the alien who thought she could push her around Pidge looks at them both. Not sure what to expect she’s surprised when they both grin and Acxa replies, “You stop girl!”

Veronica laughs, “I think you meant, you go girl. And I second that, no one has that right and I’m thinking she’s an alien gold digger or hussy.”

That was enough to make Pidge laugh and readjust her mood. The girls walk with her back to the table. “Didn’t you guys have to go to the bathroom?”

“Nope, just wanted to check on you and be sure you had backup if necessary. Acxa saw Amoza leave right after you. We wanted to be sure she didn’t ambush you but a few people slowed us down.”

Feeling calmer, Pidge nods, “Thanks for the backup.”

The rest of the night progressed similarly with Amoza trying to get alone with Keith or trying to put Pidge down but everyone was quick to stop it. But nonetheless it was exhausting trying to keep up her guard. Pidge finally found Matt, “Hey, I’m gonna go, I got a room up stairs and I need to get out of here.”

Matt nods, “I’ll come too.”

“No, no!! Please stay. Tell everyone good night and I’ll see then at the breakfast buffet.”

Matt nods, kissing her cheek. “Be careful, love you and Happy New Year.”

Pidge strides out of the ballroom, stoping at the stairs to take off her shoes. They are killing her and she just doesn’t care anymore. She goes up one step when she hears her name being called loudly. “Pidge, stop.”

Looking across the hallway she sees Keith jogging up to her. With her on the step they are almost eye to eye. “You are going to miss the countdown.”

“It’s okay. Go find”

“No.”

“Keith.”

Both can hear the yelling and the countdown, when Keith tentatively slides his hands on her hips and slowly around her. Pulling her closer, his one hand is splayed on her lower back and the other is on her neck, all the while maintaining eye contact. “Happy New Year” with those words he lowers his mouth to hers. Foregoing a typically tentative first kiss, this kiss was all heat and passion. Pidge’s mind swam and she automatically opened her mouth to his demand. And demand it did. The kiss stole her breath and made her realize that this was what she was missing from her life. How did she survive without Keith’s kisses??

She heard a moan and absently realized that was her! Pidge has no idea how long they kissed but when they stopped her shoes were on the floor, she was pressed up against the stair railing, somehow Keith’s leg was in between hers and she was essentially riding his leg. Her hands were tangled in his hair and both were breathing heavily.

Keith brushes his nose against hers, “So, my New Years resolution is to stop being afraid of rejection and to reach out to those people I need. I’m going to communicate better. That said, I have come to realize, that I need you Katie, so much. And I’m tired of pretending otherwise, I want more than friendship, a lot more. So, I gave my resignation to the Blades and am opening a mechanic shop. I told Shiro I’d freelance for him and the paperwork just got cleared. So I’m officially a consultant for the Garrison and I’m looking for a house. I was hoping and praying, that maybe you’d like to…well..be mine?”

Pidge’s eyes filled with tears, “Quiznack! Of course. Shit Keith that’s the best New Years resolution and let me say, I will also make that same promise. I have come to realize I’ve had feelings for you too and I was too scared to tell you. But, never again.”

They both smiled and kissed again. Upon hearing a whistle and the comment, “Hey isn’t that the Green and Black paladin?” They both decided to adjourn to Pidge’s room and relax.

Bonus

Next day….

Keith was in the gym going over his mourning routine. He had about 40 minutes before he needed to wake Pidge up for the breakfast. He was hoping to be done in 20 so they could have a little time before meeting up with everyone. He couldn’t wait to tell Shiro the good news even though he figured he already knew.

With that he turned to see his blade team walking in. Acxa smiled, “You look very happy.”

Keith grinned, “Yeah I feel it too.”

She nods, stating quietly, “Just so you know, there will be money exchanging hands. We have quite a large pool of money on the outcome. So there will be many questions at breakfast.”

Keith laughed, “You know what, I don’t even care. I’m that happy right now.”

Amoza walks up to him and states, “When do we leave?”

Keith nods, addressing the whole group. “So, I was going to tell you this later but now is good. I’m not returning, Acxa will be your leader and I’m staying on Earth. But if you ever need anything please don’t hesitate to reach out. And you know what, I’m done for today, so I’ll see you at breakfast. I’ve gotta go see about my girl.”

He leaves before anyone has a chance to say anything.

At breakfast, the room quiets down fast when Amoza storms in and growls, “You should rethink this. I have offered for you. If necessary, I am willing to battle for your hand. You definitely deserve better than that kit.”

Keith frowns, “That is uncalled for. I’ve never considered us anything other than coworkers. What the hell?”

Pidge grins, “I’m game! How do we battle for Keith’s hand? I haven’t really kicked ass in a while.”

Colleen shoots her a frown, hissing, “Do you SEE how big that alien is? I don’t want you hurt!”

Matt laughs, “Seriously mom, you have no worries. Pidgey is totally badass.”

Krolia stands, “There is no need for a battle. Keith, hand me your blade.” Keith passes it over immediately, “Little one, please take this.”

Pidge takes it, holding it in her hand. Krolia continues, “Please say Knowledge or Death and hold the blade in a fighting stance.”

Pidge nods, standing and instantly mirroring Keith’s fighting stance with the blade and says clearly, “Knowledge or Death.”

The blade instantly glows and transforms into Keith’s preferred weapon. But then the blade glows even brighter and slowly transforms into a weapon that is better suited for Pidge, lighter and more balanced for a smaller fighter. As the room is filled with gasps, all of the Blades kneel and with a fist over their hearts reply, “Knowledge or death.”

Pidge looks to Keith who looks just as confused. Krolia speaks up again, “Thank you. You may pass the weapon back to Keith. This is proof that even the blade recognizes you as Keith’s true mate.” She smiles and reaches out to squeeze Pidge’s shoulder.

Pidge sits down, “Wow, that was intense. I wonder how that does it? It actually felt lighter when it changed for me. I wonder if I could“

Keith grins, and kisses her on the mouth, “Later, we have all the time in the world remember?”

[dammitadolfnomorecake]

Caramel Skin Under A Purple Rain prt 57

Food was a thing Keith had forgotten. A very important thing that filled the hole his forgotten hunger had gnawed into the pit of his stomach. Lance was on a strict liquid diet, the sign above his bed so, but with how high his husband was, and his current state, Keith severely doubted that Lance gave two quiznaks when it came to food. Laying on his side, Laith and Hunter lay before him. Lance transfixed on their baby boy, while Pidge and Krolia chatted on the bed his mother had gotten for him, Korra awake and propped up in the crook of his mother’s elbow. Keith watching as Pidge kept glancing over from her laptop at his little sister, for a Gremlin she seemed pretty ok with babies. In his chair, Coran was talking softly to Lance. More at Lance. Mami had come shuffling back into Lance’s room, the personification of worry as the first of the medical staff left. Her nose had been wrinkled up at Lance’s not so nice scent, then wide eyed and concerned as they were told to watch for seizures. Having promised Lance he could cuddle with his sons, that had to wait as a nappy change was needed. Miriam talking him through it, Keith not sure he’d ever get over what he’d seen in Hunter’s nappy, though kind of proud he’d done the hands on side, even if it’d made him gag. They’d barely settled Lance down, who’d gotten “slightly” excited when Laith was laid in his sight, when Coran, bearing food for him and Miriam. His mother had arrived a few minutes later with Pidge who seemed to escaping from whatever she was supposedly to be doing by bringing her laptop with her. Feeling second hand embarrassment for his husband, dusty redness still in Keith’s cheeks as he attempted to pretend what had happened hadn’t. Lance had proudly declared that “Keith’s huge dick had made the most perfect babies and he was his baby, and that he wanted another one”. This came with the declaration that “Keith wasn’t allowed to destroy his arse again” and “if Keith came at him with that thing he might end up with it cut off and shoved up his own arse”. His husband happily telling Coran all of this when all Coran had wanted to do was sit by him and their boys. Given Lance had done similar, Keith wasn’t going to get too close... He was rather attached to his junk. Performing his first true parenting duty by “sacrificing” his boys to their loved up father for food, he scarfed down half the plate without tasting anything. He might have gone a day or three back in the Blades without food due to missions, but living with Lance and Curtis always meant he was well fed. His stomach not impressed over having been neglected now that he could breathe. His mother’s scent seemed more muted than it had, Lance was busy with their boys and he had food. What more could their little bubble ask for? Apparently the universe decided Keith needed an answer to the unposed question. With a loud knock, the door to Lance’s hospital room was opened. A stream of half muttered commands came from the hallway, Curtis holding the door open as Colleen Holt carried through a bouquet of alien flowers nearly as wide as the doorway. Behind her Jorge shuffled in, the poor man having not been returned to his natural habit of his farm in Cuba. In the hall Shiro was scolding Kosmo, Curtis laughing at whatever his boyfriend was up to “Katie!” “Oh quiznak... uh... Hi, mum!” Colleen shot Pidge a scowl, her face then brightening as she made her way over to where Keith was sitting mid-forkful. Placing the fork back down, his stomach growled at the food in front of him he’d have to temporarily neglect. Rising up he took the flowers from Colleen, a little flustered as they weren’t exactly close “Congratulations! I hope you don’t me stopping by, it seems I’m a little late as my own daughter neglected to tell me your big news. Luckily I ran into Shiro and Jorge here. Jorge and I had quite the nice talk about agriculture and how a certain daughter of mine saved his son’s life” Huffing, Pidge rolled her eyes at her mother “I’ve been busy...” Colleen wasn’t having it, the woman honestly scared Keith. He absolutely never wanted to get on the wrong side of her “I heard. Stealing Garrison property. Abducting staff and skipping out on the lecture you were due to give to this years class of new students today” Pidge pushes her glasses up her nose, Krolia raising an eyebrow at her. His mother knew Lance had issues with her, but to him it seemed she’d restored her faith in the former Green Paladin “I’m not skipping out. Lance is vulnerable right now, he needs our support” “Lance gave birth out his arse!” Keith hung his head, Colleen covering her mouth at his husband’s words. Coran hushed Lance, while Lance would have forgotten what he was saying the moment it passed his lips “Sorry, he’s been given pain medication. He’s been staring at our boys for so long that I didn’t think he was listening. He... uh... he pretty much has no filter and we have no idea when he’s actually listening” Colleen waved at him with her free hand, thankfully she found it funny “No worries. I had already worked that out for myself. Do you mind...?” Keith looked over his shoulder to Lance and their boys “He might not remember you dropped by, but you can say hello. Maybe... don’t move the twins from his side. Not yet. He’s not allowed to hold them yet. He’s pretty gutted over it, and we need to keep him as calm as possible. He already had a minor seizure today” Colleen’s eyes got watery, Keith feeling even more awkward about addressing her. She was the adult here and there he was, telling her what she could and couldn’t do “Oh, poor boy. There’s nothing greater than holding your newborn child. Hopefully yours doesn’t run away to space to become a Paladin without telling you where they’re going!” Snapping her laptop closed loudly, Pidge glared at her mother “Mum! How long are you going to hold that over my head?!” “I don’t know. Katie. Until you understand that there’s consequences to your actions” “Lance might have died if I hadn’t gone out! How was I supposed to leave them stranded at the cabin?! Lance could never have walked out on his own!” “I’m not saying you didn’t do the right thing, but you didn’t stop to think. I would have offered you my assistance...” “I just wanted to help them!” “You left in the middle of a category 3 storm... The fleet was grounded for a reason. You wouldn’t have been able to help them if you’d crashed!” “I flew through worse in Voltron!” “Whoa! What’s with all the yelling?” Shiro saved them from the erupting argument... for all thirty seconds. Walking Kosmo into the room, his fur son was displeased with his current predicament. Tied to his collar were a collection shiny metallic balloons reading “congratulations”, “it’s a... girl” with “girl” crossed out and “boys” written in black marker. Tugging on his lead Kosmo was attempting to make a beeline for him, his eyes begging to be released from the indignation of being a delivery boy. Deserting his food, Keith went to his fur son, relieved Kosmo has survived being abandoned by them. Kneeling down, he was knocked on his arse as Kosmo head butted him, then tried to climb into his lap. Wrapping his arms around his wolf, he distracted Kosmo with cuddles as he untied the balloons from his collar “Did you miss me, boy? Let’s get these things off. You just want to look handsome for your other human, don’t you” Kosmo whined at him, Keith snorting through his nose. His fur son may love him, but Lance was where his true loyalties lie. “Keith, you’re ruining it. Those were for Lance. Do you have any idea how long it took us to tie them to his collar?” Arranging his features into a hurt pout, Shiro got no sympathy from him “Lance is off his head again, and Kosmo is miserable” “Can we at least show Lance before we take them off? He could use a little happiness” Curtis was supposed to be the adult of their small family, yet there he was, backing up his boyfriend. Beside, Lance couldn’t be happier, he was high and he was in love with their boys. He may have had that small hiccup with the examination, but now he was too drugged up to be stressed. The problem was if Kosmo would accept the twins... It was like ripping off a bandaid, it he continued to think about it, he’d get too anxious about Kosmo meeting the boys “Coran, can you move Hunter, Jorge, can you take Laith. I’ll hold Kosmo... I’m surprised he hasn’t teleported over there yet...” Kosmo always knew when Lance was hurting, they seemed to have a bond beyond words and scents. Whether it was taking Lance by the hand and walking with him when he was sleep walking, dragging his hand away before he could self harm, or stealing his spot in bed because Lance needed cuddles, he always seemed to just know what to do. Keith didn’t think Kosmo would go the twins, not with how attached to Lance’s baby bump he’d been, but he’d rather be prepared in case it did. Gathering up both baby boys, Keith led Kosmo over to Coran and Jorge. Miriam had her smile hidden by her hand. Colleen had missed out on seeing them laying with Lance, but now Kosmo was there he could preoccupy Lance while the twins did the cuddles rounds. With his tail between his legs, Kosmo slowly edged toward his new brothers, his belly nearly dragging on the floor as he tried to make himself smaller. Not that the idiot could. He looked so pathetic that Keith had to suck his lips in from laughing as he shuffled with Kosmo between his legs. His wolf was too damn big for this behaviour, but Kosmo seemed to want his paw held “Hello, Kosmo my boy... You remember me, right?” Coran seemed nervous, Kosmo dipping lower. With balloons in his face, Keith knew how ridiculous he looked. As much as he prayed Pidge wasn’t filming this, he kind of hoped she was so future Lance could share in it. Whining softly, Kosmo them sat with a huff. His idiot fur son staring up at him “These are your brothers. Laith and Hunter. Lance gave birth... I know you know that, you were hiding you big fat coward” Behind him, Shiro supplied “At least he didn’t faint when Lance’s water broke” You faint once and they never let you forget it. Rolling his eyes, he nudged Kosmo with his heel “Go on, say hello” Lowering Hunter, Coran tucked back the blue blanket he was swaddled in. All at once Kosmo forgetting he was pathetic mess. His arse started wiggling from his tail wags. Giving a yip, he nosed into Hunter’s cheek. Hunter had no idea what was happening, starting to cry from his “wet nose” attack. Reeling back at the fact it made noise, he raised a paw and placed it lightly on their sons face... covering his eyes with his hand, Keith shook his head “Kosmo, you can’t gag your baby brother because he cries. They do that” Tilting his back up to it, Kosmo’s eyes were saying “I don’t like it, dad. I don’t want it to do that” “Try saying hello to Laith. Maybe not a wet nose this time” Still not sure over this crying thing, Kosmo looked to Jorge, Coran holding his paw off of Hunter’s face. Laith was already crying, so it wasn’t like he was going to set him off. Leaning in, Kosmo quickly sniffed at his baby brother, then licked Laith across the face before yipping and teleporting from between Keith’s legs and over to the now empty chair Coran had been sitting in before moving Hunter. Placing both paws on the bed in front of Lance, he immediately nosed at Lance’s face. Lance starting to laugh as Kosmo began wriggling and trying to lick him, while his husband snaked his arm loosely around Kosmo neck “Who’s the best boy in the universe, you’re the best boy, yes you are. Yes, you are. Yes, I missed you too” Taking that as an invitation, Kosmo tried to squeeze himself into the small amount of bed space available, Lance too high to care that their fur son was moving him way too much. Not fitting in the small space, he climbed up to sit on Lance’s hip, bringing forth a whole lot of scolding as he did. Everyone in the space objected, even Lance tried to say no, but Kosmo wasn’t listening. Flopping his whole weight down, Lance yelped from under him, a stray paw ending up somewhere it shouldn’t before Keith could get there and wrestle him down. Growling at him, Keith continued to pull on Kosmo until finally he’d hefted him off the bed and down beside it “You can’t sleep with him, you need to stay off the bed. Lance is very hurt right now” Kosmo whined at him, his tail no longer wagging “Kosmo...” Lance sounded as sad as Kosmo looked, patting the side of the bed Kosmo’s ears pricked up at the sound. Between his husband and Kosmo, keeping Kosmo off the bed was going to be a challenge. Bristling in, Miriam took Lance’s patting hand in hers “Lance, you can’t have him on the bed with you. You’re recovering” “Kosmo. I want Kosmo” “He’s here, but he can’t be on the bed with you. You need your rest, Mijo” Lance sniffled, Keith was weak when it came to a crying Lance. His husband had cried enough tears in his short life as it was. Tugging against his grip on his collar, Kosmo wasn’t making things easy on that front either “I want Kosmo...” Miriam sighed, losing some of her softness as she scolded him “You can’t, Mijo. Kosmo has to stay off the bed. There’s no need getting this upset, he’s still right here. With these balloons for you. Did you see the balloons? Curtis and Shiro organised it, don’t you want to thank them” “I want Kosmo!” Lance’s voice was slightly above an acceptable tone, after the examination Kosmo probably made Lance feel safe and secure “Lance, no. Kosmo’s still in the room, but he absolutely cannot be on the bed with you. He just hurt you as it is” “P-p-papi...” The machine monitoring Lance’s heart rate started to beep loudly. Kosmo barking an actual bark, not his usual “Yip”. Watching Lance’s body tense, Miriam was ill prepared as Lance started seizing. Releasing Kosmo, Keith was by his husband’s side in an instant, Miriam pulled back so he would be the first one Lance saw when it finally passed. The stress of the examination, then a room full of scents... plus the one thing that could make Lance feel safer than he could being denied to him, everything had piled up. As Lance continued to seize, Keith hit the call button, afraid when it passed the 30 second mark “Everyone out, now!” Seizing until he lost conciseness, they were all evicted from Lance’s room so the hospital staff had space to work. Kosmo a sad mess as he collapsed across Keith’s feet, Keith leaning against the wall, closest to Lance’s room. Being pulled away from his husband never sat right with him. Lance needed a solid presence with him. He didn’t feel safe being unconscious. They weren’t fond memories for him... “Is this... are they always that bad?” Right. Colleen. Colleen hadn’t seen Lance’s seizures. Pidge was pulled up against her, Pidge teary eyed as she nodded at her mother’s question. Taking a deep breath, Keith shook his head “No. Not always. The one he had earlier was smaller. He... uh, has seizures from brain damage. He did have a device in his head that seemed to work, but... since he gave birth...” Beside her, Miriam was just as shaken as Pidge. Shiro had his arm around Curtis who had his hand to his mouth. Jorge was wringing his hands, and Keith was left with the realisation that he and Shiro were the only ones who knew how to approach or deal with Lance’s seizures. His heart still clenched with panic each time Lance seized, but he couldn’t pin point the exact moment that they... they didn’t stop being scary, but he had accepted it... “Is there anything they can do?” “They’ve stopped... they aren’t... They’ve stopped plans for surgery, and I think he’s supposed to be on anti-convulsants. They’re... waiting on Coran and advice from Altea” Being on the outside of his own husband’s medical care sucked quiznak. Colleen’s questioning came from a good place, but he wasn’t equipped to answer “What does Lance say about it? Surely there’s medication he can take to control them?” “Lance doesn’t like taking pills. They... uh, make him gag. He’s placed me in charge of his medical care. He’s not been lucid enough to discuss things, really. He also doesn’t like the idea of having something in his head... Maybe now we have the boys he might consider it?” Not immediately. Lance needed to calm and bond with his boys first, but they’d have to work something out. If Lance seized then that held the risk of their sons possibly being injured in the process. Keith had no idea what’d been in Lance’s head as he asked? for his papi “Keith, do you mind if I look into this further? I have a few ideas on how to help” Keith nodded at Colleen “You should talk to Daehra. She’s been treating him, even made a compound he could drink like a shake. He had something put in his head on Erathus when he had surgery... but now... I don’t even know what’s going on anymore. They haven’t told me anything” Why was he getting teary? Hadn’t he just told himself he’d accepted Lance’s seizures? Before he knew what was happening, Keith found himself pulled into a hug by Coran. Careful not to crush Hunter between them, Coran kissed his hair in a classic move he’d seen the older Altean do to Lance a hundred times. Kosmo whined his annoyance at being forced to move the whole few centimetres to avoid Coran’s feet “We’re working hard to figure out what the next step is for young Lance. He suffered quite a bit of damage down there, as you know. He’s going to need surgery to repair the internal damage, then surgery to repair the external damage. I’m waiting for a reply from his obstetrician. Erathus seems to have remarkable surgical capabilities. If we can perform one procedure rather than a series, I feel Lance’s prospects will be greatly risen. When all hope seems swallowed, remember there’s always a ray of light to be found. You’re a father now, Keith. Though I wish you’d considered “Coran”, Hunter and Laith are both fine names for the sons of fine young men. Lance has been through worse and made it through. You’ll see” “I-I know... it’s... it’s not fair. All he wants to do is hold his boys. He should be allowed to. He went through... he went through so much. He hates being in hospital. He hates everyone seeing him like this... He hates being treated differently here... He doesn’t feel wanted here. He’s so scared he’s a burden and they all think he’s a freak. It’s not fair. This wasn’t how it was supposed to be for him” Coran hushed him, Keith knew he’d overshared but he was angry that his husband felt that way “When he’s more lucid he’ll understand. In the mean time, this little one needs his father” Keith wiped at his teary eyes, nodding as he moved to take Hunter into his hold. His son was way too adorable to be his child. So small and innocent, staring up at him without a care. How they’d created something as incredible as their boys, he’d never know “I know. I’m sorry... I just...” “You hate seeing him this way. We all do” “Yeah. Dios...” Moving to his side, Shiro wrapped his arms around the three of them “He’s going to be ok. Curtis and I might go. He’s had a big day and he’s clearly overwhelmed. You need to take a shower and get some rest” “I’m...” “You’ll be more help to him when he wakes up, if you take care of yourself. He’d be the first to tell you that you stink” Keith snorted “Thanks for that... Thank you... I’m sure he’ll love the balloons once he’s calmed down” “We know he will. I’ll bring you something for dinner, and check in with you then” Curtis cleared his throat from behind his boyfriend “We’ll bring you something for dinner, and something fresher l wear. We can swap out, so Lance won’t be alone when you shower” “Can you bring a couple of extra shirts?” “Sure. We’ll see you soon” When Shiro and Curtis left, Colleen was the next to hug him. It was weird... he kind of felt like he was at funeral or something with all the hugging going on. Coran was beaming as he backed up to make space for Mrs Holt “I’ll research further into herbal medication that will help with his seizures. I’ll let you know what I find. If you two need anything, you let me know” “Thank you, Co-Mrs Holt” “You’re most welcome. When he’s up and feeling better, we’ll have a big dinner here on the base. There’s no need to rush it” Lance would hate it “Thanks... that sounds good” “Come along, Katie. You have a class to teach” Wrinkling her nose at the use of “Katie”, Pidge wrapped her arms around his waist next “You call me. I’ll be back for my minions if you need any help” “I know... and thank you. Not everyone would steal a pod to help us out” “Not everyone has two great big idiots like you two for brothers. I have no idea how you managed to make such cute minions” “I don’t know either... They have to get it from Lance” Pidge released him, wrinkling up her nose as she did “Ewww... I’m out of here before you get all mushy. Babies are one thing. That look in your eyes as you gush about Lance is another. Later loser. Take care of my minions for me!” “Bye, Gremlin” Pidge flipped him off, the action not missed by her mother. The pair beginning to bicker as they headed the opposite way to Curtis and Shiro. With the majority of their group now gone, Keith turned to Miriam and Jorge, Miriam giving a tired nod “I’ll be staying, at least until Lance is out of the woods. Jorge needs to get back to the farm” “I can take you, if you don’t mind?” Making the offer, Krolia patted Korra’s butt as she moved closer. Keith knew he had to go, but Lance would be upset if he didn’t get to say goodbye “I think it’s best you stay until he wakes up. He’s really missed you, both... I mean... I get it if you can’t... I...” English hard. His brain wasn’t doing the thunk. His tone was accusing, not asking, and not what he’d been going for “I know I’m an old man who thinks too much of his farm, but I’m not about to leave my son without saying goodbye” Miriam patted his arm “Now dear, Keith clearly didn’t mean it to sound as it did. It’s all over his exhausted face. We might take a few hours and get some sleep. You’ll call when he wakes up?” “Yeah... Seiz-Seizures like this take a lot out of him. He probably won’t be waking up until pretty late” “Ok, sweetheart. You call us if you need anything. Jorge, why don’t you lay Laith down once the doctor leaves the room? I know you want to keep ahold of him, but Lance wouldn’t be happy to hear you kidnapped your grandson” Jorge grumbled, Keith dared to say “playfully” “It’s his fault for doing such a good job. It feels like only yesterday he was tucked up like this...” “I know. They’re simply beautiful. I’m sure he’ll be happy for the help once things settle down” “We’ll both be... I... you...” Keith pauses to take a deep breath through his nose. He wasn’t going to stuff this up “You guys showed me what it was like to have a big warm family. You didn’t have to accept me... or even want me around... but you did. I... Shiro did his best... but... I didn’t know what it was really like until Lance... He... he’s my world and you’re both... You both raised an amazing son. You took me in. You showed me what it was like to have that. To be loved...” Miriam left her husband’s side, her arms warmed as she wrapped them around him “Mijo, we love you. You’ll always be welcome at our farm. You’ll always be part of our family. Lance choose you, and we can all see why. You’re a good man. You’re good for our son. He often talked about you, about how he missed you. I think he always wanted you to come find him, and I thank the Lord every night you did. You gave us our boy back” “I... I love you too... I didn’t mean to sound... I just knew Lance wanted both of you” “I know, Mijo” “When he’s... better, we’re going to come down to Cuba. He wants to introduce the twins to everyone” “I’ll make sure his room is ready for you both. You can bring Kosmo and stay as long as you want” Kosmo would love the space. He’d love chasing the chickens, and being able to roam. Mami wouldn’t be able to stop herself from feeding him treats, and Lance would love to see Kaltenecker again “We... we will. I’m sorry. I don’t know why I’m crying. Thank you for being here” “Anytime, Mijo. And not just for Lance. You’re part of our family. Don’t you forget that. We all love you, and we’ll all be waiting for you in Cuba when the time comes. Even Rachel and Luis” A real family. A family who wanted him. Who didn’t lock him in the dark. Didn’t beat him for asking questions or standing his ground. A family that actually cared and wanted him. Accepted him, flaws and all. If his younger self could have seen this, he never would have believed it. Miriam loved him. She loved him for him, as well as loving him for being Lance’s husband, and the father of their children... He’d found a brother in Shiro, a family with the Paladin’s, and the place he belonged at Lance’s side. Lance might think he was a constant strain or burden, and sure they still fought, and things weren’t always perfect, but... but he was okay with that. He could do absolutely anything if Lance was by his side... even be a father to the two boys he’d thought he’d never have. Quiznak. The only reason he’d found a family in Voltron was because Lance was there. Lance who insisted everything had to be a competition. Lance the shameless flirt that was so desperate for someone to see him for him. Lance who’d carefully fixed the broken pieces of him one shard at a time with so much love that he could drown in it. His husband was the salve that healed his weary soul, that made all the chaos around them bearable. That always believed in him, even when he couldn’t believe in himself. Lance who could have wallowed in self pity over his seizures, but instead kept moving forward as he tried to shake the shackles of his traumas. He’d never be the man he’d been when he was a Paladin, but where any of them really? He’d changed. He’d grown. He’d fallen in love with his best friend and couldn’t ask for a better partner to go through life with. Maybe this was why he was crying? Not because Lance had seized, but because even though he had, their family remained by their sides. It wasn’t just the two of them against the world anymore. It was the four of them, and each and every one of their friends and weird little family they’d made themselves.

[guillotinedangel]

Day 01. RESET

Based on the January 2019 prompt list published by @downwithwritersblock

The future is now.

Author: @blackpaladintshirogane

Ship: Klance

Characters: Keith, Lance, Acxa, Zethrid, Ezor.

Warning: S8 spoilers, offensive language.

Summary: During a BOM benefic delivery, Keith encounters a rebel resistance Galra group that attacks him an puts his life in jeopardy. Fearing he may die anytime even thought the war is over, he flies to Altea to find Lance and confess his feelings.

Song:

"Keith, do you copy?"

Acxa's voice sounded, worried, on the other side of the comms. She had been trying for a while now to reach her captain, but there was no sign of him since he had gone down to the planet they were currently in, looking for signs of life they could help.

Now that the war was over, the Blade of Marmora had been renewed. They were still incredible skilled warriors but now their duties had been changed to deliver help to the places in the Universe that had been affected by the battles and the destruction. They usually did not have any trouble but today it had been different and Keith, who always took the responsibility of patrolling the area before landing, was not answering his team's call.

"Maybe we should go down ourselves, just in case" Ezor suggested, also worried by the lack of answer.

"Give the little one a bit more time. He's tough" Zethrid added.

"This is weird"

Acxa worked on the ship's panel of control, trying to look for anything she could possibly do, but she got jack.

Meanwhile, on the ground , Keith was running for his life.

Panting, with his lungs already aching every time he gasped for air, the boy was trying to escape his persecutors, who he could hear, yelling to each other, only a few steps behind him.

The attack had taken him by surprise, but, still, he was punishing himself for being so careless. If he hadn't been agile enough, his blood would be painting a beautiful canvas on the rocky landscape of the planet.

It had been Garla, nonetheless, the ones who had tried to kill him. Maybe that was the reason why he was running and not fighting back: the shock he had upon seeing the purple skinned soldiers, referring to him as paladin of Voltron, even though it had been years since the lions had abandoned them.

"Acxa!! Ezor!! Zethrid!! Somebody!? Do you copy me!?" he shouted over the comms between gasps, but the plain and cold static answered him.

Tired already, desperately trying to reach his team for help, Keith did not see the rift splitting the ground in two at his feet and he fell right on it, with a cry of pain, hitting his ribs on the ledge and spraining his right ankle on the deep hole. Soon enough, he was able to feel the warm blood running, tickling his skin under his tight suit.

He struggled to get himself out, not caring about injuring himself even more, but in vain. The rift was shallow but too narrow, so he was trapped on it. Little was worth all his screaming and cursing, and then a shadow hovered over him and the click of a gun and an evil laugh reached his ears.

"Look at you. The mighty Red Paladin, trapped like a rat in a hole on the ground. Pathetic"

"Fuck you" Keith growled , angryly, which earned him a kick on the head that made him spit blood out of his mouth.

"Shut it, and try not to keep spilling blood over my new skin trophy. Now. You're gonna be a good boy, and tell us where the rest of your team is"

"What are you even barking about? Haven't you heard the war is over?"

Keith could almost hear how the big warrior gritted his sharp teeth.

"We know, but you worms are still alive. That's insulting to us, to the memory of our great Emperor Zarkon. You destroyed it all!! We want our revenge!!"

"Then get me out of here and I'll show you the blade Zarkon tasted!!"

His words had the effect required and the soldier grabbed Keith by his neck and raised him in the air and out of the rift like a flower out of its soil, to throw him on the ground under his feet with anger. The boy twisted in pain to the impact. He probably had a few ribs broken.

"I'll break every single bone in your tiny body"

"Fuck you" Keith cursed again at him, but before the soldier could even point his gun at him, he was brought down alongside his companions by three figures that appeared out of nowhere.

"Keith!!" Acxa shouted, upon seeing her captain on the floor, the blood starting to shine through the dark fabric of the suit.

The three warriors ran to help him.

"The blade Zarkon tasted?? Do you have a death wish? " Zethrid faced him while Acxa and Ezor inspectioned his wounds.

"Stupid human" Acxa mumbled between her teeth, "It wasn't even you who finished Zarkon. It was Lotor"

"Who cares. I had to win some time and it worked, right? " Keith whispered, feeling how the exhaustion was starting to catch up to his muscles and brain.

"They were going to kill you!"

"No. I can't... I can't die. I have to do something first"

"Yeah? Like what?"

____________________________________________

The day had dawned sunny and warm, and Lance was heading for the orchard to take care of his crops, with one of the altean kids that lived alongside him and other alien families on the farm he had retired to after the war was over, seeking peace of mind and relaxation after all the stress and fear that it had brought upon them. What he did not expect to receive were the news of the arrival of a stranger warrior out of the mouth of another of the children that were running around, and even less it being Keith in the flesh.

"Wow, that mullet gets worse with the years" Lance jokingly said as soon as his former partner was close enough to hear him.

Keith laughed to his words, but he merely managed to scoff. His broken ribs pained him too much to actually burst a laughter and, even though he tried to hide it, he was limping. Also, Lance knew him all too well.

"Are you okay?" the Cuban asked, with a worried look on his blue eyes.

"Just a mission that went wrong. Nothing to worry about"

Lance raised an eyebrow.

"A mission? I thought the Blade was doing humanitarian work now?"

"Um, yeah we do..." Keith wondered his eyes away from Lance's, "But I... Found myself with some old glories that recognized me. And they weren't nice to me"

"Okay, you're coming with me now. You need to lay down"

Keith half smiled upon seeing Lance's face, frowning with a troubled look. He would have tried to argue with him over it, but he knew there would be no way to make him desist, so he followed his friend to his home, were Lance made him lay on a very comfortable couch while he made some hot coffee.

"There you go" he said, offering him a cup, "Now would you tell me why you're here? Do you need a place to heal your wounds? You can stay if you want"

The offering took Keith by surprise. He hadn't even thought about that possibility.

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah! We have plenty of room here and I could use..." Lance stopped himself before saying what was roaming his mind and blushed to the very thought of even telling Keith what he actually wanted to say, "You'd be welcome"

"What was that?"

"What was what?"

"The sentence you didn't finish" Keith teased him, accommodating himself on the couch.

"Stay on your back" Lance ordered him in a soft voice, avoiding the question at the same time.

"I'll stay if you make me"

"Wha... What?"

Lance's face lighted up like a lighthouse and Keith smiled softly at him.

"I came here for a reason, Lance. I... I almost died in this mission--"

"You what!?"

"Let me finish! Dammit! Those soldiers almost killed me and the thing is... I could not stop thinking about... About how much I regretted not visiting you more often. Not... Talking to you since months ago. Not being by your side"

"What do you mean with all that, Keith?"

"Fuck! Lance!" Keith snapped, making a pinch of pain flood his chest on the process, "I'm not good with this feelings shit..."

The Cuban boy smiled.

"You mean to tell me you missed me, mullet?" Lance asked with a cheeky grin.

"Yes but, not only that"

Keith's cheeks started to dye red as he spoke. He wanted to shout it at Lance, but what if his friend did not feel the same?

Suddenly Lance raised from his seat and approached him, kneeling by his side, on the floor.

"What else then?" he asked with shiny eyes, placing his hand on Keith's knee. His altean marks seemed to flash for a second.

"I... I was scared, Lance. I thought I'd die and I'd never see you again. I'd never get to tell you that... Fuck... That I love you, dammit. That's it, I said it, now you can reject me or hate me if you want"

Keith stared into the black liquid that filled his mug, trying to ignore the feeling of crying that was crowling its way up his chest. He was regretting his words right now. Lance was still probably mourning Allura. He could see it on his eyes every year when they met before her statue to remember her. There was still love shinning in them.

"Sorry, I shouldn't have--"

But his words died on his throat as Lance leaned forward and pressed his lips against his', catching him by surprise.

"I love you too" the boy answered, breaking the kiss after a few seconds.

Warm tears streamed down Keith's cheeks, releasing all the pressure he had been feeling inside. Lance ran quick to hug him.

"Careful" Keith said between sobs, "My ribs"

"Sorry" Lance tried to pull back, but Keith wrapped him with one arm and pulled him back to his chest.

"I don't care about the pain. I just need you close now"

They stayed like that in silence for a few minutes until Lance broke the silence.

"You think it's too late to join the Blade?"

"What?"

"Well this calm life... Is driving me nuts. I wanna go back up there. With you"

Keith smiled wide and planted a quick kiss on Lance's lips.

"I guess I can find a suit for my sharpshooter"

–Chimera.

[lazyfox411]

KEITHS VLOG BROKE MY HEART SO HERES A FIC

MEGA THANKS to @hastalalaterkeith7152 for sending me quotes from the vlog so I could write this without internet and also motivating me

“I think it’s dumb.”

“Well of course you would, mullet,” Lance retorted.

“I’m just saying, there are better things we could be doing,” Keith fumed.

Lance raised an eyebrow. “Like what?”

“Hm, I don’t know, maybe trying to find Lotor?”

“Okay, that’s enough,” Shiro interrupted. “We haven’t found any trace of Lotor, so in the meantime, why not strengthen the coalition? It will be good for our allies to know more about their ‘defenders of the universe.’”

“Exactly,” Lance said. “So, Keith, get your butt in there and make a vlog!”

“I don’t even know what that is.”

Lance groaned. “Come on, mullet, it’s not rocket science. Vlog. Video. Log,” he drew the words out, one at a time. “Like a journal, but as a video.”

“What am I supposed to say?”

“Anything you want,” Shiro said. “Just be careful not to give away sensitive information, in case these ever get into the wrong hands.”

“Right. Sounds easy,” Keith muttered under his breath. Why couldn’t somebody else go first? That would make it easier. So far only Coran had done it, and Keith had learned from experience not to follow his example when it came to film making. But Pidge, Hunk, Allura, and Coran were all working on castle upgrades, and Lance and Shiro had a one-on-one training session planned. That left Keith to sit alone in what Coran had deemed ‘the recording room,’ talking about himself. Something he’d never been particularly good at.

“Hey, man, take it easy,” Lance said. “No need to cry over it.”

“I’m not,” Keith said, confused.

Lance groaned again. “It was a joke.”

Of course it was a joke. Lance always made jokes. And they always flew right over Keith’s head.

“I’m not going to cry,” he said in frustration, after the door to the recording room had slid shut behind him. He sat down. Took a deep breath. Turned on the camera.

“I’m Keith, the pilot of the black lion…what should I say?” he asked. “I’m a paladin. I fly the black lion. I-I said that already, see that’s why I’m bad at this. What else am I supposed to tell you? Okay, um, I guess I’m part Galra…”

After stammering through an introduction, finding words seemed a little easier. Whenever they visited planets, people always seemed most interested—or disgusted—to learn about his heritage, so he opted to talk about that for a little while, pulling out his knife to try and bring up the memories of the trials. Then he remembered what Shiro had said about sensitive information. Maybe talking about the Blade’s secrets wasn’t such a good idea.

Keith paused, staring down at the knife, at his reflection in the shiny, rare metal. “I guess being part Galra is a big deal. Might explain why I was never really good at…connecting with people.” He thought back to the events on Arus, how Lance had tried to teach him some sort of team chant. He still thought it was dumb, not as dumb as this video, but still dumb enough. He said as much, and before he realized what he was doing, his face was heating up and he was raising his voice in anger. Why did he have to get angry so easily?

“I am so sorry,” Keith said, remembering all their allies would be watching this. He leaned back, closed his eyes to calm down. “I am so sorry, I guess…I have a bit of a temper, so…”

Words were becoming hard again. Sticking to his heritage, Keith realized, might also not be the best idea. He didn’t know enough to talk about it with the ease he’d like. And not knowing was making him angry. Not knowing where he came from. Not knowing where his mom went. Not knowing why she left.

Words were hard, but for some reason Keith couldn’t seem to make them stop coming out his mouth. Emotions were rushing out, and he couldn’t keep them bottled up anymore, but this wasn’t the time or place. There was never a time or place for the leader of Voltron to break down.

Breathing was getting hard, too. He felt tears coming, sniffled once, and frantically thought of a way to cover this up. But it was too late. He’d spilled his guts and now everyone was going to know, the team was going to know, the allied planets would know, the universe would know that Keith Kogane was just some scared little kid lost in space.

“I'm—I’m outta here! Get me outta here,” he muttered, getting to his feet. “I'm—I’m outta here!”

He couldn’t do it. He couldn’t pilot Black, he couldn’t lead Voltron, even with Shiro back, hell, he couldn’t even make a damn vlog, whatever the hell that was. It was frustration more than anything that made him yell, “I said I wouldn’t cry!”

Keith stalked out of the recording room, the colours of the hallway swirling together as tears blurred his vision. It occurred to him that he’d left the camera on, but he didn’t care. He just needed to be alone. He was already alone. He was always alone. He was a loner. Right now, he needed to be alone somewhere safe from discovery.

He stumbled into his bedroom. He was dizzy, he couldn’t walk straight, he couldn’t think straight. He didn’t want to be here. He didn’t want to be a leader. He didn’t want to be a paladin. He just wanted to be home, alone in his cozy little desert shack, back when he liked being alone, when it was easy to pretend he didn’t care about his parents, when he had no idea that he was an alien.

Keith was really crying now, hot, messy tears dripping down his face. The armor that encased his shaking body was too tight, too constricting. He fumbled to get it off, piece by piece, fingers slipping over the smooth surface as he trembled with sobs, until eventually he gave up and sank to the floor. He was all alone. Nobody wanted him. Nobody cared. Why would they? All he’d ever done was push them away.

He wasn’t sure how long he stayed like that, crouched in the middle of his room with his head in his hands. Surely there were better things he could be doing right now. Like trying to find Lotor. Or training. He could’ve taken down the gladiator at least twice by now.

The sound of the door sliding open was barely audible. Just a gentle whoosh, a whoosh Keith had heard many times before. He didn’t pay it any attention, even as someone walked into the room and knelt beside him. He felt a hand on his back, rubbing up and down, slow and gentle, heard soft words being murmured in his ear. He tried to focus on that.

“Hey, Keith. Hey, it’s okay. Shhh, it’s okay, Keith, you’re alright.”

Keith swallowed hard and steeled himself to meet the kind pair of blue eyes that looked down at him.

“L-Lance?”

“Yeah, buddy, it’s me,” Lance smiled worriedly. He brushed tear-soaked bangs from Keith’s face. “Can you tell me what’s wrong?”

“I—” Keith froze. That was just the problem. He could never bring himself to open up. He never told anybody what was wrong. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t seem to take down all the walls he’d spent years putting up.

“It’s okay,” Lance soothed. “You can talk to me.”

“No, I can’t!” Keith cried, much louder than he’d meant to. Lance flinched. “Can’t you see that I can’t talk to you? I can’t talk to anybody! I’m no good at it. I can’t connect with people, I can’t open up. Nobody likes me, and I try so hard, but I can’t make people like me because I always push them away and I don’t mean to but it just happens because I don’t know how to do it any different and then I’m all alone but I don’t want to be alone anymore but I can't…I just…I can’t.”

“Keith.” Lance’s strong, steady hands found Keith’s shoulders. His voice was soft, caring. “What are you talking about, man? You’re not alone. I’m right here. I’m always here for you.”

Keith wiped viciously at the tears stained on his cheeks. He didn’t say anything. He didn’t know what to say.

“Let’s get off the floor, huh?” Lance suggested. Keith nodded. Lance guided him to his feet and helped him take off the pieces of armor he’d missed. Keith tried to do it on his own, but he felt so clumsy and useless he ended up just standing there while Lance reduced him to the black bodysuit that was underneath all their armor.

Lance sat them both down on the edge of the bed, keeping an arm around Keith’s shoulders. He was still warm and a little bit sweaty from training, but Keith didn’t care. It felt good, Keith realized. It felt good to be close to someone and have them look out for you.

“We all care about you, Keith,” Lance said. “You do know that, right?”

“I…” Keith paused, “don’t know.”

“Well, we do. All of us. And yeah, okay, I guess your people skills could use a little work, but we know you’re trying. You’re part of the team, Keith. You’re family.” Lance squeezed his shoulder, smiling. Keith looked at him uncertainly. “What is it?” Lance asked.

“I’ve never had that before,” Keith admitted.

“You’d better get used to it,” Lance chimed. “Because we’re not going anywhere. We love you, man.”

“I love you too,” Keith managed. He was tearing up again. Lance pulled him in for a hug, and Keith went with his instinct to hug him back. Things weren’t great, but with Lance here, they were better. Speaking of which…

“How did you know to come find me?” Keith asked.

Lance ducked his head. “I, uh, kinda saw your vlog. You left the camera running.”

“The vlog,” Keith moaned. “I don’t know what I was thinking, saying all that stuff. And now the universe is going to see it. What do I do, Lance?”

“Don’t worry about it. It hasn’t been sent anywhere yet, and I’ll bet there’s a way we can delete it. And we could make a new one.”

“I don’t think my second time around will be any better,” Keith frowned.

“We’ll do it together,” Lance grinned. “We’ll call it ‘Get to Know the Two Bravest Paladins of Voltron!’ Razzle dazzle, right?”

“Yeah,” Keith chuckled. “Razzle dazzle.”

[heavymetalhexcode]

Paladin Character Analysis

Here I am once again where I should be doing something productive yet thinking about Voltron. I am hyped for season 5! The thing on my mind today is an analysis of the Voltron crew’s personalities, largely viewed through the ways I can relate to them (or not). Each character is very archetypal, but I think the show does a reasonable job of throwing in a bit more complexity, allowing a lot of very different people to see different qualities that they admire or possess. That's how people decide they like fictional characters, after all. I've ordered this list roughly in order of how much I identify with or think I understand each person.

More after the cut. Much more.

Lance

Water. This is my element. It ebbs and flows, displaying equal gentleness and strength as befits the situation, and Lance has proven he is a versatile member of the team. The scene where he told Coran he misses rain really stuck with me – rain on the roof is possibly the most relaxing sound I can think of.

He's fun and lighthearted, often cracking jokes and trying to make the others smile. I find humor is often the best way for me to deal with stress or grief. Immediately upon coming out of the cryo pod, he makes a joke about Allura asking him on a date – and yes, I do believe that was a joke -- which shifts the tone of the conversation away from grievous injury. In the space mall, he jumps to help Pidge find the money for the game console so they could have something fun to do in the Castle. The blue lion is probably the most welcoming and friendly of the bunch, something that I strive to be despite being kind of terrible at dealing with people, and I'm sure that my first flight in a lion would have looked a lot like his. Despite putting up a front of confidence and cheer, he's insecure about his role on the team. It's only after he receives explicit recognition from his idol Shiro that he begins to feel confident in his skills. Even then he still has doubts, so much so that he offers to step aside for Allura.

Overcompensating. Absolutely. He likes girls, sure, but he's also way too overt about it. It's possible that he really is just that flirty, but I think he's overplaying it to draw attention away from something else, either intentionally or not. It could be that he's still figuring out or uncomfortable with his sexuality (there's just enough Klance chemistry that I would believe it if the show went that way), but it might just be that he's being loud, boisterous, and obnoxious to draw attention away from the fact that he's not always a carefree party boy. It's hard to say right now, but I bet we'll be getting some clues down the line. Personally I like the idea of a bi character on Voltron, and Lance fits the mold for someone still in the closet.

Lance's self-care routine is an awesome inversion of typical gender roles.  I think he and Hunk (cooking) are the only ones we've seen with noteworthy feminine-coded interests, and you know who's not about that "girly" life? Pidge! Allura is more typically effeminate than Pidge, which is fine, but I love that not being the only kind of femininity we see on the crew. It can be hard for a guy to accept having feminine interests, and Lance being comfortable doing so shows that either a) he really cares about making a good impression and strives to be well groomed or b) he don't give a shit what you think and will pamper himself if he wants. Possibly both.

Pidge

Nature! Technology! It seems conflicted! I'm a computer scientist who loves to unplug for a few days and go hiking or whatever. These two seemingly opposite interests in a person can absolutely blend, and it was great to see her realize that on Olkarion.

Machines > people. One of the primary reasons I decided to become a programmer, and I'm pretty sure the same is at least partly true for Pidge. She was a misfit at school because she was driven to learn (and possibly some other stuff), made fun of for her intelligence, and appears to have withdrawn from people to work on computers. I didn't have to deal with a lot of that, and I'm very thankful for the environment I had in my schools growing up. She needed the team to help draw her out of her shell, and now her friends are a surrogate family. Apparently, a lot of people like to characterize her as ace because she's a nerd, and while I agree with the ace bit, I argue it's actually the other way around.  Computers don't ostracize you because they don't understand you. Computers won't mock you or tell you that you just "haven't found the right person yet." I know some ace folks who have told me what it's like to grow up with that crap, and I'm not surprised Pidge gave up on people. I also headcanon her as trans, which is yet another possible source of social issues. That bathroom moment at the mall? Very telling.

The way she reacts to alien technology may look over the top, but let me tell you, an elegantly written algorithm is one of the most beautiful things in the universe. AI is exciting! The materials are exciting! There's so much shiny technology to explore out there!

Shiro

He is in his 30s. I will fight you. I know it's only supposed to be an age gap of a few years, but his appearance, behavior, and voice all make me believe he is older than canon. 

Good lord, this man needs a therapist! Shiro is so busy supporting the rest of the team and helping them through the zillion difficult situations this war has gotten them into that he hasn't taken time to deal with his own demons. He needs that. He's put things behind him, sure, and we're not seeing his PTSD so much anymore, but that doesn't mean it isn't there. He managed to shove it all away in a corner and stop looking at it. It'll be interesting to see what Sendak's return does to his mental health. Poor Space Dad.

Shiro is my favorite paladin. Hands down. I'm very drawn to dad figures, and he's attractive to boot. He's confident, a quick thinker, and does a remarkable job keeping emotions in check and leading with logic without being perfect. We get to see that even he has his limits with Slav and Sendak. He supports his team, knows their strengths, and doesn't force anyone to do things they don't want to. We've seen gallows humor from him as well as bad sound effects, and when he thinks he might die, he names his replacement to be sure that the team won't feel lost when he's gone. I'm also pretty sure he and I handle emotional stress in similar ways: poorly.

On the subject of stress as relates to shipping, I have thoughts. Shiro is hurting hard, and he needs someone he feels close enough to that he can confide his pain in them. I've been in a similar situation (to a lesser degree), pushing things away and bottling emotions up until it did very bad things for me. It took the kind of trust I could only form with my SO to start learning how to lean on someone else, and even now, years later and in a much better place, I can only think of three people I consider confidants. (Yes, I am absolutely projecting here, but) I wouldn't be surprised if Shiro has similar difficulties opening up. There isn't anyone he feels comfortable talking to yet, and he might need a stronger bond than the one between friends and teammates before he can. Unfortunately for our black paladin, I have a hard time picturing him with anyone currently available. The age/maturity gap that I can't get over immediately rules out the younger paladins. Besides, they're his kids. If Shiro is going to get into a relationship, he needs someone who can give him the kind of support he extends to everyone else, not someone who looks up to him like a father figure. Next choice? Allura, but they're both too focused on the war. They've got bigger things to worry about than dating, and neither will probably even think about such things until after they've won. Maybe a someday option, but not now. Coran? Just... no. Despite needing a deeper relationship in a bad way, I think Shiro is too private, focused, and traumatized right now to even think about it.

Can I just say I love watching him fight? It's beautiful. He's very fast, fluid, and in the other guy's face. Always very well animated, too.

Hunk

I love Hunk. Dude's awesome. He reminds me a lot of my sister: obsessed with food, just wants to be comfy, a little high strung when things don't go according to plan. No wonder he and Lance are bros. Not a lot of character depth for him yet, which makes me sad. Seems like Hunk is mostly played for laughs, so I appreciate that he was suspicious of Rolo and Nyma instead of any of the others. Of course, Hunk is also pretty stable as a person, so he's not in need of as much growth as the rest of the paladins. He's a solid grounding presence (ha ha) for them.

Keith

Keith is... difficult. I have a hard time getting into his head. He's a rebel; I'm not really. His anger is hot; I think mine is cold. He needs to figure out his family to know who he is; I couldn't do that until I got away from mine. He obviously cares about his teammates, and they're probably the closest thing to a functional family he's ever had. I wish we had gotten to see him struggle and grow more in a leadership role. While he is too reckless to be a good leader, the consequences of those disastrous first missions should have helped him do better. Instead there was an irritating time skip and OH YEAH KEITH'S TOTES IN THE BLADE. I wish that time had been handled better.

That said, he's doing well in the Blade. I like him there. There's more room for personal responsibility and the snap decision making that he likes to do. It's letting him stay in his comfort zone instead of pushing him to improve like leading Voltron would have, so pros and cons, but that was not a role that suited him. He'll find opportunities that are better for him. Even after real Shiro comes back and they beat the stuffing out of Kuron, I think staying with Marmora would be better for Keith.

Allura

I WISH SHE HAD MORE DEVELOPMENT. This gal kicks ass. I love her. She's not your standard princess in some ways, but she's also been their magic plot device more than once. Alteans are chameleons? Let's see that referenced again, please! The Balmera thing? Sweet, but I wish we knew more about that too. Is that a royal thing only? Could Coran do a ceremony? Probably not to save the whole creature, but I don't see why he wouldn't be able to do it on a smaller scale. Haggar/Honerva does magic stuff, too, which either tells us magic isn't just a royal thing or it's a result of messing with quintessence. Hard to say.

The mice? Much Disney princess. Such wow. Useful little buggers, though.

She really is the heart of Voltron, and she's the commander of the war effort as well. Devoted as hell. She killed her dad a second time for the war. She got (partly) over her Galra grudge for the war. She's been a diplomat, a support pilot, and a paladin for the war. Allura is cool.

Coran

He's the goofy uncle whose prime function is watching out for Allura. Flair for the dramatic. Not really much to say here. Nice 'stache.

[mikiri]

How It Feels

Rating: G Pairings: Gen Summary: Keith gets back to base after a mission to find a pile of presents waiting for him on his bed. Their contents leave Keith feeling wanted. Notes: Is very soft and texture focused. A Keith Birthday fic, though late, but I finally had time. Season 4 spoilers. Gift fic for Elliot.

AO3

Keith stared blankly at the pile of gifts left on his bed. He had thought being in space would have prevented him from getting presents. Or that it would have been like last year, just him, the moon, Jack the rattlesnake and Cody the coyote. It was even more surprising that he’d gotten gifts even after leaving the castle to join the Blade of Marmora, he really hadn’t thought anyone would have gone through the effort to get a present to him, but apparently they had.

Keith took a deep, shaky breath as he sat down at the edge of the bed. He carefully picked up the smallest present that had been left on top, a plain black box with Galran writing on it. Keith opened the box, presumably form some of the Blade members, and found a set of gloves with retractable claws, and a card that he had to scan to read that said “So now even our smallest can have claws.” Keith frowned at the comment about his height but ignored it as he slid the gloves on. The fabric was soft and smooth, but he could feel the sturdiness. He twitched his fingertips to cause the claws to deploy, smiling at the smoothness of the deployment. If he hadn’t known there were claws, he wouldn’t have guessed there were just from the feel.

Keith twitched his fingers again to retract the blades and slid the gloves off before grabbing the next box. It was longer than the first and wrapped in sparkly paper, the tag hanging off it read “From: The Tailor To: Keith.” Presumably it was from Lance, he tried to find and edge of the wrapping but had little success. Eventually Keith gave up and just tore the paper off the box. The box itself was plain and white, so Keith slid the top off without much thought. Inside was a simple black and red striped scarf and a letter that rambled on for three pages. Keith set the letter aside to read later and reached in to feel the scarf. The scarf was surprisingly thick and plush feeling. Keith rubbed his cheek on the fabric for a moment, just enjoying the feel before wrapping it around his neck, making a mental note to at least wear the scarf in front of Lance to show he appreciated it.

The next box Keith grabbed was far heavier than the previous two and was a plain box that latched at the bottom until the previous two boxes. Keith pulled the box into his lap, balancing it carefully, before unlatching the top. He pulled the top off to reveal what looked like a small cake with the words “Happy Birthday Keith” written carefully in icing on the top. Keith assumed it was probably from Hunk, who he trusted with food, but space food was still always a little dangerous. Keith stuck a finger into the cake and licked the frosting off his finger. The frosting tasted almost like peanut butter, which he presumed Pidge had probably absconded all the leftover, and the cake itself was almost chocolate flavored, a little bitter, more like the dark chocolate of home, but still good. Keith carefully slid the lid back on and latched it so he could put it aside to enjoy after he’d opened the rest of the presents.

Keith surveyed the boxes left, a brightly wrapped one covered in bows, a smaller one wrapped simply in white paper, and a large black one with tape all over it. Keith considered his options then grabbed the one wrapped in white paper. Having learned from the last wrapped box, Keith tore straight through the paper and opened the box inside. The box contained a practical hair tie, a particularly fluffy red scrunchy, a soft bristled brush, a note and a short stack of datapads. The note indicated the box was from Allura and Coran, both seeming excited by the human tradition of gift giving to celebrate living another year. Allura had included the hair ties and brush for when he was working out, or if he had a diplomatic mission and needed his hair out of his face. Coran had included the datapads with a number of translated Altean myths, a compendium of animals they might run into, and then one was entirely full of stories Coran remembered from the days of the Old Paladins. Keith checked his watch to make sure he wasn’t going to be required anywhere soon, which he wasn’t, and then brushed his hair out carefully, enjoying the feel of the soft bristles brushing against his scalp. He brushed out his hair until it was shiny then tied it up with the scrunchy, which went exactly three times around his hair without pulling or tugging too much. Keith put the brush back in the box and moved it over to the side with the “things to do later” pile.

Keith hummed quietly to himself as he tried to decide which box to open next, the overly decorated box or the largest box. Eventually he decided to save the largest box for last and opened the brightly wrapped box covered in bows. This box, Keith was able to find and edge of the wrapping paper and carefully removed it from the box. The box was very square and rather heavy so Keith wasn’t sure what to expect. He thought it might be from Pidge so maybe she made him something? Opening the box he discovered it was a set of red headphones, a small orange data storage device, a smaller set of black headphones that would wrap around his ears, and a note with directions and well wishes. The note said that it was from Pidge, Hunk, and Matt who had apparently been found since he had left. The data device was apparently full of movies and music from Pidge’s computer as a reminder of Earth. The headphones could both plug in, the large ones were noise cancelling and the smaller ones were so he could take music to the training deck with him. Apparently Pidge had been working on making more headphones since Lance kept snitching hers and had finally had the time to do so. Apparently it was a prototype so if he had any problems he was supposed to contact them between mission. Keith slid the noise cancelling headphones on, the little background noise of the ship being silenced as he connected the headphones to the space mp3 player and put the music on random.

Keith stared at the final box as he bopped his head to the music. Eventually he reached forward, this was Shiro’s present, it had to be everyone else had already given him something. He surveyed the box with tape on it everywhere and decided it would be easier to just cut it. Carefully using his knife he cut the top off the box and placed both the knife and the top to the side. In the box was a giant plush comforter, when he ran his hands over it it felt similar to the scarf he was wearing, probably made with the same fabric. Keith picked it up and shoved his face in it, noting there seemed to be a certain level of weight to the comforter. Keith smiled, Shiro had provided him with a weighted blanket back on Earth ages ago, but it hadn’t made it to space so the new one was greatly appreciated.

Keith left the blanket in his lap while he investigated what else was in the box. There was a datapad with the Altean equivalent of a sticky note that said “watch me last” and a small box that rattled some when he shook it. Taking out the box, Keith inspected what else Shiro had seen fit to give him. The box was full of swatches of fabrics that mostly felt nice, there was one that Keith really didn’t like, it felt too scratchy against his skin, then there was Shiro’s class ring on the chain Keith had left it on when Shiro had given it to him back before Kerberos, the presence of which made Keith’s heart skip a beat. It was Shiro’s one real reminder of Earth, of before the alien war in space, before his kidnapping, when space was something shiny and new, waiting to be explored. Keith couldn’t imagine why Shiro had sent his class ring, it wasn’t like the reminder of the Garrison would bring Keith much comfort. Keith puzzled over it for a few seconds while the song moved to the next one and Keith dumped it all back into the smaller box. He put the small box back into the larger one and grabbed out the datapad before shoving the large box off the bed so he could lie down. Keith flopped onto his side, carefully avoiding the other boxes still on his bed and pulled the weighted blanket up over his shoulder. Relaxing he unplugged the headphones from the music player and plugged them into the datapad. There was a video queued up when he turned the pad on so he relaxed and watched.

The video was dark, there was some whispering before a voice clearly said, “Guys, guys, shhhh the video recording is started.” There was a little more shuffling before what seemed to be candles were lit, each of the Castle’s residents holding one, even Matt who looked scruffier than Keith remembered with the scar on his cheek. Hunk, the person at the beginning started again, “Hey, Keith! So, Shiro told us you didn’t get to celebrate your birthday back on Earth much, so we decided to do it out here in space. You being away with the Blade doing all the sneaky important things made our plans a bit harder, but we adapted.” Hunk paused and it looked like Pidge had jabbed him with an elbow. “Right. Anyways, so we sent all this stuff with Kolivan last mission we had in common, so hope you enjoy the Space Birthday Song.” Keith let out an amused snort at the name, Lance’s habit of just putting space in front of the word seemed infectious.

Shiro counted them in and started the song, “Happy birthday, happy birthday, happy birthday to you.” Pidge joined in, voice clear, and the pair continued, “Happy birthday, happy birthday, happy birthday to you.” Lance and Hunk joined in next, adding to the harmony effect, “Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you.” Matt, Allura, and Coran joined in last, “Happy birthday dear Kei-eith, happy birthday to you.” Suddenly Lance yelled, “Make a wish!”

There was a lot of yelling over each other but Keith knew he heard at least once, “Keith comes back okay!” Keith felt tears build up in his eyes that he tried to blink away. Then he head Matt’s voice call out, “Now blow out the candles!” The video descended into darkness again before someone turned the lights on.

Hunk wandered forward, presumably to turn off the camera, and Keith’s eyes were overflowing from the overwhelming amount of feelings he had right now. Right before the camera turned off he heard, “Happy birthday Keith, hope you come home soon. We’re waiting.” The screen turned off, its message given, and Keith curled up in a ball under his blanket sobbing, who knew you could miss a few people this much. Was this how Lance felt all the time when he said he was homesick? Could you feel homesick about missing people? Keith didn’t know the answer as he slowly slipped into an exhausted slumber, clinging to the pad like a teddy bear.

[serenephenix]

Throwing Knives

I am always afraid of writing Keith. This has to stop. I want to love my space children equally!

…and the space uncle of course…

Me basically trying to see whether I can write our Red Paladin in a realistic way or not.

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Throwing Knives

[Fandom]:Voltron: Legendary Defender

[Rating]: Gen Audience/ Gen

[Genre]: Friendship, Team as Family, character introspection

[AU]: the team is back together and everything is well

[Word count]:  2.800

[Warning]: tooth rotting kindness and Coran being awesome

[Status]: oneshot/ completed

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 Keith knew people were staring. He knew and could see the shopkeeper also staring at him from just beyond the glass he was very nearly pressed against. Usually, it would set him on edge, make him uncomfortable until he would either throw the offenders a warning glance or retreat to make as quiet an exit as possible. But right now, it mattered little that others were giving him looks: he was far too fixated on the weapon on display in shop’s window, lying on a cushion Keith would have thought more befitting of some gaudy necklace.

The blade was a real piece of art.

It was simple, small and yet elegant; nothing like his curved flashy dagger although it held a shine to it he could not just attribute to the tinted glass. It was unlike anything he had ever seen. He racked his brain, trying to remember what he had read so long ago in one of those books when he was a kid, all the information he had practically absorbed as he sat in front of a computer in the Garrison library clicking and browsing through various articles.

Just what kind of blade was this exactly? It was not long enough to be a dagger. A poniard maybe? He wasn’t sure, the mental image not really aligning with what he was seeing in front of him. And even if so, what kind of metal was it made of? Something he knew from Earth? It was unlikely. It surely had to be some kind of material that was more common in this corner of the universe. Or maybe it was a metal just like those on Earth and the techniques used by these aliens to forge weapons were so advanced and refined that it enhanced any material’s properties until it was no longer comparable with its raw state?

Keith was dying to know, desperate to compare how this blade would feel in his palm, what difference it would make to wield it and he was, just like all of the other Paladins, completely and utterly broke.

Buying a weapon as costly at this (the amount of zeroes on that shiny price tag was intimidating) was out of the question. All he could allow himself was to gaze longingly at this masterpiece until he inevitably would have to turn around to trudge back to their meeting point. The saddest part had to be that, even if he did at some point manage to scrap together the GAC necessary for the purchase, the blade would probably already have found another owner with a heavy wallet.

He was close enough to the window that his breath was fogging on the glass.

Keith rarely ever wanted or needed anything much. Most of the things he wanted couldn’t be bought anyway. But just like back when he had been to town with Shiro and seen that awesome shirt, he now stood here and looked at something else he did not have the money for. He never let it bother him before, but right here, right now, he was actually frustrated that he could not have just this. one. little. thing.

It was so unfair.

“Hello there, number four!”

The hand on his shoulder startled him so badly that he hit his head on the glass, the window actually vibrating slightly from the impact. Keith gave a small gasp as he took two steps back, eyes clenched shut as his hand went up to nurse the throbbing spot on his forehead.

He could feel his eyebrows practically weld together as he glowered at Coran, the man looking so carefree as though he had not almost given Keith a heart attack.

“Hey, Coran.”, he finally grumbled, taking a closer look at the man.

Even after having informed the Altean that the disguises were actually useless, the man still insisted on dressing up as weirdly as possible – eyepatch and everything, although he had changed his coat for some strange robe. He was inclined to agree with Pidge who had muttered under their breath that Coran was probably just looking for any kind of excuse to dress up.

He noticed the bag slung over his shoulder. It had been empty upon their arrival but now seemed barely able to hold all of the stuff Coran had said he’d need to get to work on the simulator and apparently to do some much needed repairs on their Lions.

“Got everything you needed?” He asked, looking pointedly at the bulging bag and then into Coran’s face.

The eye-patch lifted a little as the mechanic gave a smile, jiggling the cord and bag.

“Indeed, and it was a fabulously good trade at that! When it comes to Coran,” he stroked his mustache with an air of smugness Keith only ever thought Lance capable of, “those Unilu stand no chance. Anyway, what have we got here.”

And to Keith’s mounting embarrassment and horror, he actually went to peek through the window Keith had been almost plastered against for what felt like vargas.

“It’s nothing.” He crossed his arms, tucking his hands between his elbows and rips and trying hard to look casual enough.

As much as Keith wished he had someone else besides Shiro to talk about his fascination with arms and war machines, it was one of the very things he tended to keep to himself. It was partly because most people did not seem to see the appeal and other parts because…

Well, because most of the people he had opened up to about it had from then on looked at him with that strange gleam in their eyes. A certain kind of look that gave Keith the feeling he was a freak. Especially the people in whose care he ended up. For some reason, a child finding interest in these kinds of things had been unappealing. Had been strange.

Shiro had been the only one not to judge him and Keith had been stumped by the sheer relief that had flooded him when the older teen had furthermore allowed him to show him the folder he had compiled on a thumb drive – his own small encyclopedia about ways of manufacturing certain blades, about the special bows no one could really rebuild because no one any longer mastered the craft, shields and spears from all around the world being unearthed by archeologists.

One evening, Shiro had even joked that Keith would have been at home in one of those fantasy novels, with the knights in shining armor and swords of destiny to banish evil and darkness. His only response had been to jab his elbow into his surrogate older brother’s stomach.

It was kind of ironic how unknowingly right he had been back then.

Coran was stroking his chin with his hand, looking critically at the blade and Keith could feel himself growing warm from the sudden bout of self-consciousness.

“Shouldn’t we go and meet the others?” he offered, glad that his voice did not betray any of the unrest he felt at potentially being found out.

He wondered who he was kidding here, because it definitely wasn’t Coran.

The Altean merely gave a low hum, eyes still squinting at the weapon and Keith was starting to get curious as to what exactly he had spotted that obviously he didn’t.

Keith always had had a hard time with understanding people. Shiro had once consoled him with the explanation that Keith was too honest for his own good, so much so that he tended to believe that other people were just as straightforward as him when he actually should know better.

And Coran in particular was one of those people Keith was never able to tell how open he was with any of them. It was somewhat intimidating; to never know what was going on inside the man’s head.

“That’s quite the eye you got.”

Keith blinked, the casual compliment blindsiding him and making him lose his train of thought.

“What?”

Coran smiled that knowing smile they had come to expect every so often, pointing at the object of Keith’s interest.

“These kinds of blades were already much coveted in the old days. Only the Eiraklo could forge these kinds of weapons.”

Keith inclined his head, staring critically at Coran. “Eiraklo?” It sounded familiar.

“Remember how I and Allura explained that the Olkarie could bend metal at will?”

Keith nodded.

“The Olkarie are, or at least as were, as much of explorers as us Alteans and some of them went to colonize other planets. I wouldn’t say that calling their new home after their planet of origin spelled backwards was very creative, but I assure you there were no finer smiths in any part of their galaxy.”

Keith nodded, feeling himself relax.

“Did they imbed it with technology?”

It would make sense. The Olkarie were after all a highly sophisticated people. If anything, not trying to enhance a weapon in such a manner would be a waste. Although Keith had to admit that he could merely think of the concept as amazing, not having any clear idea in what way exactly technology could be used on a sword or dagger.

But it still sounded cool in his head.

“Some blades, although those are heirlooms and pretty rare. This one would be a regular imitar blade.”

“What was it used for?” Keith could not hold back some of the excitement that was bleeding into his voice but the opportunity was too good to pass up. Here Coran was, willing to share his knowledge and to give Keith answers to all the questions that had had him glued to the spot in front of the shop.

Coran gave a casual shrug: “Small ones like these usually served as a hidden weapon – hard to detect because of their size and so light that one would barely notice them or weight them down.”

Without meaning to, Keith’s eyes instantly fell back on the blade, gaining a new appreciation for its design.

“Do you want to buy it?”

Even with his voice being the most calm and quiet Keith had ever personally heard it, it still made him jerk as if hit by one of the gladiator bot’s electric rods.

He stared at Coran with wide eyes, suddenly feeling uncomfortable at how easily the man could see through him. And he felt sheepish because now he realized how he had inadvertently leaned back towards the window. It was plainly obvious what he wanted.

But the idea of being so utterly predictable did not sit well with him.

“No.” He cleared his throat when his voice broke into a higher pitch. “I mean, it was just interesting to look at and we don’t have the money anyway so-“

“Keith.”

He stopped. Coran was regarding him, blue-pink eyes steady and calm. Keith gave a sigh.

He had a heavy sense of déjà vu of his afternoon with Shiro, his best friend looking at him in all earnest as he asked Keith whether he wanted that shirt or not. Keith had vehemently refused back then and Shiro had resected him enough to back off. That did not mean that Keith had never thought back on the offer, or the way Shiro’s eyes had clearly told him that he knew he had not been honest. But Shiro had been too kind to call him out on it.

“Actually, I do.” He finally admitted, although he could not directly say it to Coran’s face, opting to stare at a tile just beside the man’s left shoe. Heat was slowly crawling up his neck at the awkward confession and he decided it was high time to leave.

“Let’s go, the others are probably waiting.” He was already in motion, trying to hurry back to that gigantic clock with benches where they would rendezvous later but Coran was quick to announce what Keith definitely did not want to hear.

“Only a tick, Keith.”

And the teenager helplessly watched, gaping as Coran sauntered right into that shop before he could even open his mouth in protest.

The one arm he had reached out to stop the man slowly lowered until it fell back to his side limply. From this particular angle it was hard to see what exactly was going on, only catching the flash of one of Coran’s white gloves every few seconds.

His other arm came to reach his elbow, fingers fisting into the fabric of his jacket as he waited.

He should not have said anything. Coran shouldn’t bother. They needed the money for more important things than Keith’s inexplicable fascination with sharp objects.

It was hopeless anyway. No one in their right mind would even bargain the price of something as valuable as what Coran had made this blade out to be. And yet, as Keith concentrated on pulling at a loose string on the white seam, he could not help but find it touching that the advisor would at least try, when they really did not talk all that much.

He was somewhat aware that he spent more time with their Blue Paladin, if only because said Blue Paladin was very vocal about how much stuff the both of them cleaned up.

The rustle of paper was the only warning Keith got as a brown bundle was shoved into his hands. He barely managed to get a decent grip on it.

He hunched his shoulders automatically, blinking up at Coran as the Altean smiled, clapping him on the back.

“There we have it: one imitar blade for our Paladin Keith.”

Keith felt his mouth drop open. He had not thought it would work. He had not thought Coran seriously intending to spend such a sum on such a small object.

“Coran, no, I can’t...” he stuttered, suddenly panicked “We need that money for more important stuff.”

Coran made a show of feigning hurt, slapping a palm over where Keith guessed his heart might be, bending a little back for dramatic effect.

“Your sheer lack of faith wounds me, young Paladin. I made sure to let you all know I was a master of bartering!”

And indeed, when Keith looked back at the shopkeeper now removing the cushion and shiny tag, he could see clear discontent on his features.

He stared back at Coran, then the package, and back at Coran.

“I- I don’t know what to say.”

His awe seemed to amuse the older man.

“A simple ‘thank you’ should suffice.”

Keith was not exactly sure what kind of expression he was sporting, but his smile was somewhat unsteady but hopefully not any less grateful.

“Thank you, Coran.”

He clutched the blade harder, mindful of the rather unsecure wrappings. There was a tingle in his limbs, a kind of lightness that Keith only ever felt when he was with Shiro or on the rare occasion that the whole team did a relaxing activity together he could enjoy. It felt nice.

“Let us make our way back, shall we?”

Keith nodded, falling into step with Coran. His thumb kept running over the coarse paper and there was no way he would stop doing it anytime soon.

“Keith.”

He looked up at the somewhat serious tone but was reassured when there was nothing in Coran’s posture or eyes that spoke of a sudden change of heart. Although there was something more… remorseful hidden in the line between those orange eyebrows.

“You carry many responsibilities as the Paladins of Voltron. You took on a destiny that even many grown man and women would have been reluctant to accept. The five of you risk your lives each and every day for the universe.”

He paused and Keith, as if entranced, stopped in the middle of the arcade’s hall when Coran did. The warmth from those eyes was paternal and unlike anything Keith had ever experienced.

“The least we can do for you, is to make this burden a little more bearable. And if that means haggling with a livid shopkeeper over a priceless blade, then that’s what we will do.”

Keith did not blush easily, but right now he could feel his whole face combust at this sheer kindness. They stood in silence for a while longer and it took Keith a moment to understand that Coran was actually waiting for an answer. All he could manage at this point was a nod, his throat somehow having constricted.

Coran returned the gesture and they headed towards one of the escalators going up.

“If you wish,” Coran added as he leant back against the handrail, “I can show you to the Castle’s armory once we get back. I’d be happy to have someone help me keep everything in working order.”

Keith’s cheeks stung from the smile stretching his lips.

If Keith could have seen what Coran saw at that moment, it would have been a young lass with a child’s excited glimmer in his eyes.

[dammitadolfnomorecake]

CSUAVS prt 26 update

Dressed and ready for Hunk's party, Keith felt ready for it. Lance was still nursing his headache, asking his permission to take his daily dose before the party to help soothe his nerves. Keith wished Lance had been at lunch. They'd joked about old times, Pidge asking where Lance was, and Hunk asking what kind of adventures they'd been through together. Coran growing teary as he told them how proud he was of all of them. Lance should have been there. He should have been the one talking about his adventures, and he should have been the one questioned over who Daehra was. Pidge under the impression that Lance and Daehra were dating, causing Shiro to turn his snicker into a horribly disguised cough. Choosing each other's clothes, Lance had dressed him in a pair of black jeans with a nice short sleeved white button up shirt. Keith had dressed Lance in black jeans with a soft long sleeved blue button up shirt that brought out the gorgeous colour of his eyes, and hid his loves scars from prying eyes. Fussing with his hair, Lance couldn't get it to sit right insisting it had to be perfect for Hunk's sake, so being the best not-boyfriend boyfriend he was, Keith promptly ruffled his hair. Whatever product Lance had in, helped it settle into almost the sexy bed hair look that Keith loved so much. The half-Galra's own hair was pulled back into a practical ponytail that Lance swatted at as they walked up to the main conference room as it was the only place with a table long enough for them all to sit around comfortably. Keith had thought the engagement party dinner would be held in the dining room, but with this being Hunk's special night, Shiro had given him pretty much free reign of the Atlas. Entering the conference room, Lance physically jumped as they were announced by Veronica. Veronica crossing names off her list as she did, the directing them to where there would be sitting. Thankfully, Keith was next to Lance. Coran, the five original Paladins, Curtis, and Shay all seated together towards the end of the table where there was slightly more space. Not knowing anyone other then the pair of them, Lance's team was placed next to him. It resulted in the seating order being Gin, Edra, Chlo, Lucteal, Daehra, Lance, Keith, Shiro, Curtis, Hunk, Shay, Pidge, Coran, then the start of Shay's family. Krolia was down towards the other end of the table between his old team and Lance's family. Lance's mother was already talking to her, which Keith was hopeful over. If Krolia wanted motherly advice, she couldn't go wrong with asking his future mother-in-law. He didn't know what the fancy title for the relationship between the parents of two married people... He'd never thought to ask... but whatever it is, he hoped that Lance's family would kind of become his... His mum liked him at least, or like him enough to trust him with her baby boy. That was a pretty good start. Taking his seat beside Lance, Lance placed his gifts to Hunk and Shay by his feet, so Keith echoed the action. He felt silly, and unsure of his gifts. More so when he found Lance had already organised gifts without telling him, Lance finding a fully upgraded blaster in his travels which he'd set aside with Hunk in mind because of the yellow stripes when the weapon extended. For Shay, Lance had some fancy blue crystal he'd picked up, according to him it showed a map of the stars around Shay's balmera. When and how Lance had managed it all, Keith had no idea. All he'd gotten the couple was his and hers matching meteorite blades with their names on them where in the reflection on the side of the blade it spelled the others name. Technically Lance couldn't be mad. It was a gift both of them would know came from him, and they were shiny, so they matched Lance's criteria for ideal presents. He'd also purchased some spiced wine for them, as kind of an inside joke with Lance. They were silly little small memories, but for some reason he treasured them. Waiting until they both seated comfortably, Keith let his hand drop beneath the table, Lance's finding his within a few ticks. Squeezing softly, Lance looked to him with so much love in his eyes, Keith had to look away. He'd never know he'd gotten so lucky. Being two of the team of professional chefs on the Atlas, Hunk wouldn't hear of anyone else cooking. The meal presented banquet style, in a variety of presentations that left Keith clueless. It was cheesy and clique, but as Shay lifted the lid off the last dish, sitting in a bed of carved fruits was a thick silver band with a large diamond pointing upwards. Keith couldn't see from the angle he was sitting on, but the various fruit came together to make an intricate flower, and carefully piped out along the bottom of the platter Hunk had popped the question. Kneeling down, Hunk was waiting for Shay's answer as she turned back to him. The poor guy sweating up a storm as he awkwardly stuttered out the question, the microphones in the room meaning that everyone could hear him. Nodding her head, Hunk surged up to lift Shay off her feet, his thick arms around her waist as she leaned down to kiss him. With all the "dust" in the room, Keith wasn't surprise that Lance and Coran were both balling their eyes out like there was no tomorrow, Hunk helping Shay slide the "ring" into place around her wrist as more as bracelet then an engagement ring, as the two lost themselves in their moment. * Crying his eyes out, Lance was so damn proud of Hunk. Shay looked beyond happy, Hunk was practically glowing as he showed her off. Leaning sideways into Keith, under the pretence of making space, Lance enjoyed soaking in Keith's warms as he stealthily pressed a kiss behind his ear "They look so happy" "Yeah, they do. I'm so happy for the both of them" "When you get engaged, is this what you want?" "Mmm... I thought so, and once maybe. I think I want to be with person I love... and if it happens, it happens" "You're not giving me much to work with" "Shhh. The microphones are on" "I'm just saying. I want to be well informed ahead of time that you're not expecting it at all" "I don't think any of us would be expecting you to propose. That's too many emotions for a cranky emo" "Some day I'd like to..." "The I guess we'll all be waiting for that answer" "Can't you give me a hint?" "At this point in time, the answer wouldn't be no" To Lance, marriage had fallen back to being a dream. Something he thought unattainable with how dirty he was. Keith might be serious about things now, but there were far too many things on Lance's mind for Lance to simply say "yes". They weren't even dating. He still wanted to work on his panic attacks and fears. He wanted to work to make himself better, and to get off the drugs before he'd even consider saying yes to something like that. No. He could wait. He knew Keith was it for him. Keith made everything feel better. He even made him forget what had happened from time to time. He loved laying in Keith's arms when his nerves allowed it, listening to Keith talk about all kinds of stupid things because Lance wanted to hear the sound of his voice. As Hunk and Shay moved to the head of the table, Shiro saved from embarrassment by proposing a toast before they ate. Lance could see how badly Hunk had sweated with nerves. Hunk was one of the bravest people he knew from Earth. He'd been so scared of everything, his anxieties nearly as crippling as Lance's had gotten, yet he always knuckled down and got results. Even when he was scared of the things that went bump in the night, he was always able to become the hunter instead of the hunted. His memory might be slightly selective and biased given Hunk had been his best friend, but that didn't make him any less brave. Resisting the urge to lean back into Keith, Lance wished he was strong enough to be a real thing with him. Shiro and Curtis were making flirty eyes at each other, Shay and Hunk were over the moon, and all he could do was hold Keith's hand in secret, because he was scared of having his past brought to light. Opting for fruit over anything too heavy, things around the dining table gradually settled down. Everyone enjoying their food, the drink being served around the table was a spiced sangria that Lance was forcing himself not to down all at once. He was still high from his injection, and high from all the love in the air. His decision making skills weren't the best so it was better he not get wasted at dinner, before the party with everyone on the Atlas. Smiling politely and picking at the food the on his plate as everyone talked, he didn't expected to be brought into the conversation by Shay... and Pidge. Struck in the face by a flying grape, Lance dropped his fork in surprise, looking up to see a cackling Pidge "Sorry, Lance. I couldn't help it. You were ignoring Shay" Had he phased out? He thought he was following the conversation well. Smiling at Shay, Shay didn't seem offended "I'm so sorry, Shay. What were you saying? I was distracted by that beautiful gem on your arm. Hunk, my man, you snagged a wonderful woman here" Shay giggled, Hunk blushed "I was asking how you met your team, is it?" "Oh. Would you believe I was rescuing an alien princess while tracking down an evil cartel?" Shay gasped, while Pidge rolled her eyes "Don't listen to him Shay, he's just being Lance. If he'd done something that cool, he totally would have called us to rub it in" Speaking up from his side, Daehra's voice carried well "Lance saved our sister, the daughter of the King and Queen of my planet. That is how we met. Lucteal and I had tracked down the ship holding our sister, when we came across Lance in the forest. Asking us to wait, he went in and retrieved our sister alone" Pidge didn't believe her. Raising an eyebrow, she pointed at him with her fork "Lance... the dorky guy beside you?" "He is not dorky. He is our commander" Feeling an impending snarky comment from the green gremlin, Lance didn't want Hunk and Shay's night to be ruined. He also didn't want Keith snapping, or Shiro spilling something he'd said to him earlier this "I've been working as a bounty hunter for about half a deca-phoeb now. This is some of my team. Daehra, Lucteal, my two second in commands, then we have Gin, Edra and Chlo. You'll meet Zak and Tobias at the party, they're terrible at being people people. We're usually based out the other end of space, that's why it took us a while to get here" "Bullshit!" Staring at him in disbelief, Pidge looked to Keith "Keith, is he serious?" "I was shocked as well when I found out. Lance was helping me out on a mission to find a missing blade member... He's actually kind of a celebrity on Daehra's planet" "Holy quiznak! Wow... so you had to put up with him saving an alien princess, and on a mission?" Nudging him with his knee, Keith sounded proud as he replied to Pidge's question "He'd already saved Annla by the time we reunited. I've been travelling with him about two phoebs now" Pidge looked ready to explode with questions. At least she believed him now that Keith had confirmed things. Waving her fork at him again, the questions started "Wait. Wait. Wait... You said Daehra was your girl this morning? Are you dating royalty again?" Kind of, but not who Pidge was thinking "Nope. Daehra is the medical officer on my ship the Telula. She's amazing with herbs, and medical tech. Honestly, she's self trained and super talented. Lucteal, he backs me up in close combat missions. He also pilot's the Telula, and causes trouble with Zak. The pair remind me of you and Hunk when you used to go all techno-babble on us. We used to have two other bounty hunters with us... three if you include Jarpel. But mostly we do humanitarian work, or the occasional job for the police" Pidge frowned her brow, before launching into her next question "Why the quiznak didn't we know any of this!? We have group calls for a reason, Lance" Lance died a little on the inside. He barely belonged in said group calls. And how he'd become a bounty hunter still messed with his head too much to go into. Sensing his discomfort, Keith's hand slipped under the table to rest on his leg "He's been pretty busy. The sectors he works didn't receive help from Voltron, so it's a still a mess out there" "But he's like all bad arse and we had no idea" And who's fault was that... Clearing his throat, Lance looked to Hunk who had his "worried mum" look on his face "Lance, you're not doing anything dangerous are you" Shooting people. Murdering people. Luring random people back to his bed to tranqu them... blowing things up... being shot down... "Nah. It's not that bad. I've got a pretty awesome team, and if I get myself in trouble, Daehra will kick my arse" "But dude, I thought you were working in security" "I was for a while. Then I met up with the police and they offered my a job as a bounty hunter and stuff" God. After ignoring him for phoebs, Lance wanted to throw it all in their faces. It wasn't a great feeling when he realised how mad he still was. All of them had contributed to his mental issues, and he still felt like he couldn't reach out his hand and offer them friendship like they'd used to share. Poor Shay probably just wanted to enjoy her night with Hunk, not talk about him and his job. Make the effort. Don't think about how disgusted they would be to know the truth... He could do this "So yeah, that's me. Leading the Telula. She's an old ship, but she's my girl. How's it going for you guys? I mean, other than wonderful?" Blushing, Shay nodded "It's been amazing to travel by Hunk's side. After so long under Galra rule, I never thought it could be like this" "That's good. I'm really happy for the both of you" Effort made. Now to hide the crappy feeling bubbling up in his stomach the best he could. Reaching out, he took his glass and down the wine in one long gulp. So much for sobriety "Hunk said we can have whatever wedding I would like, but your Earth weddings sounds nice" Well that was fast... unless they'd talked about it before "Hunk would look killer in a white suit" "Ew, Lance no. Shiro could pull off a white suit. Hunk would look better in black" Pulling a face at Pidge, she threw another grape at him. Shay giggling at the pair of them "And what would you know about fashion, Ms Pigeon Gunderson?" Picking up another grape, Pidge was armed and ready "I know that if you call me "Pigeon" again, you're going to find..." Sighing deeply, Shiro stepped in to stop their banter and the senseless death of good grapes "Don't make seperate the pair of you. An Earth wedding sounds lovely, Shay" Blushing hard at his words, Shay looked to Daehra "What are weddings like where you come from, Daehra?" Daehra didn't get the whole "dreamy" look on her face at Shay's question. It was possible that with her father's ways, marriage wasn't for her or it was something she hadn't fully considered. Continuing to eat she spoke between bites "Most of our home is underground. We settled there after the Galra first came to our planet, so our church is located in the royal quarters of the city. Weddings are different to your Earth weddings, or what I have read of them. I'm sorry. My English is still improving, so please tell me if I use the wrong words..." Lance shook his head at her. She hadn't said anything wrong. With both her and Keith speaking English with her, she was barely making mistakes anymore "Dae, your English has improved so much in these past few movements. You don't need to apologise" Instead of taking the compliment, Daehra seemed a little annoyed as she continued "Thank you... Yes. We hold church and pray to the stars for guidance, happiness, understanding, love and strength. But at a union it is little different. A royal member must preside over the ceremony. You stand in a ring made of gold, and share the wine of a cup to open your minds. Our race are empaths, the wine is so you do not hide anything from your beloved. They pray for you, and they unite you, then you finish the wine in the cup. After that, a trinket is bestowed upon you as blessings for the union. It is two halves coming together..." Lance's head shot up at the same time as Keith's, both realising the same thing. Keith's voice was slightly higher than normal as he asked "Daehra, can anyone perform the ceremony?" "Yes. As long as they are of the royal bloodline" Oh fuck. Oh fuck. Oh fuck. Oh fuck. Oh fuck. Lance had thought Annla was playing... She loved unions and he didn't think about it all and oh fuck... he'd accidentally married Keith... oh shit... "Even Annla?" "Yes. She is especially fond of unions. Her mother used to oversee them when she was younger. Annla hopes to hold that position when she comes of age" Ooooooh. Fuck. Thank god for Shiro. Lance was about to panic himself into a panic attack. Keith's was probably feeling the exact same way. This... they couldn't be fucking married "On Earth we have a formal document. Does your planet have the same?" "No. Being empaths, we respect the feelings of each other. We don't need anything other than the trinkets from the union. It is strange that even though our races had never met, many people were rings or jewels upon completion of the union. Our tokens are chosen by the royal family, and very highly treasured. I cannot remember any cases where a union has come apart" Annla had given them her gold hair bands... They'd drunk the wine. They'd said vows. Oh god. He was a married man. His freaking husband was sitting right next to him... ave María llena eres de gracia... He'd married Keith. What would his mother say? And his family... Rachel was going to give him shit for years over this. And Keith... he was too fucking terrified to look at him... "Wow. That sounds really nice" Shay's soft voice brought him out of his thoughts. Someone had filled his wine glass during his meltdown. Reaching for it, he pushed the mask of Leandro to the surface. For Hunk nothing could be wrong... * Keith watched Lance having his mental breakdown feeling much the way Lance looked. They'd gotten married... and neither of them had realised. Annla had probably planned the whole thing... and now Lance looked... uncomfortably pale. They'd gone from teetering on the edge of a relationship to married in less than a tick... No one, except Shiro, seemed to notice that Lance had withdrawn from the conversation completely when Daehra stopped talking about unions, and with the way he'd stopped eating in favour of drinking, Keith wanted the dinner to hurry up and finish so he could talk to his not-boyfriend-accidental-husband before Lance had the panic attack that Keith could smell coming. Married... Nope. No. This wasn't how he planned it for Lance. Lance deserved the massive huge wedding that his dramatic little heart always wanted. It wasn't the being married bit that was the problem, but the Lance seemed completely unhappy about it. Leaning in, Shiro whispered "Is Lance alright?" "Yeah. It's nerves" "If you two need some air..." "No. We both know he won't to make a scene. I'll watch him until dinner is over then take him out so we can talk" "How about you? You bent your fork" Casting a glance at his fork, Keith found it was indeed bent "It's nothing..." "Keith. I know when something's up with you. Did something happen on Daehra's planet?" Yes. He married Lance... who now seemed to be shutting down in front of him "I... no. Maybe. Look, this is Hunk's party. I don't want to make a scene" "You're not making a scene" "Shiro, drop it. We're not doing this here" "So something did happen... you can tell me" Shaking his head, Keith didn't want to talk about it. He was a tick away from admitting he'd married Lance and Lance wasn't happy about it "No. It's between Lance and me. Let's let Hunk have his night" He needed the distraction of the others talking, forcing himself to pay attention to Coran as he talked about Altean wedding customs. Most couples needed deca-phoebs to teach the stage where they're giving each other the silent treatment... but now it seemed like he and Lance had already hit that. He didn't know what to say. He was kind of... maybe... secretly happy to be married to Lance... now if only Lance could look happy about it everything would be perfect. Realising he wasn't going to get anything else out of him, Shiro dropped it.

[princesserii]

Klance family

Sooooooo I wrote a crap Klance fanfic on Valentine's Day. My friend's seemed to enjoy it so I'm putting it here.

Voltron modern life au

Lance jolted back to consciousness, his heart racing. That dream was having, it had been so real. Everything felt genuine, from flying through space in a massive blue robot lion to fighting an alien overlord. Somehow, he had known how to join forces with other lion robots to make something that looked like a transformer that could squash Optimus Prime into a drinks can. Keith had been there in a red lion, as well as Pidge in a green one, Hunk in a yellow one and Shiro leading them in a gigantic black one. For some me reason, Allura and Coran had turned into the remains of a dying alien race and Sam and Matt were apparently missing from it all. But that was not what had spooked Lance so much. Rather, it had been when the group had needed to get out of their lions and fight on the ground. He had been a terrible fighter in the dream, probably the worst. Every time he tried to attack, he ended up missing or hitting a team member. Just sitting back whilst everyone else attacked with so much precision made his chest tighten and his breath short. Then, it happened. An alien's blade cut right down Keith's back. It penetrated through his thick white armour and tore into his flesh, not stopping as it drew blood and cracked bones. Keith screamed. Lance reached out... and woke up in bed. The room was silent, aside from the occasional crumpling of bedsheets. Opposite Lance, the wall was bathed in light from the mid morning sun as it rose through the window behind him. Squeezing the sheets with a trembling hand, Lance looked around. The closet was by the landing door as usual. The bathroom door hung ajar from last night and the draws were all open to different degrees. It took a few seconds for Lance to realise that he was safe. He swallowed hard, steadying his breathing as his heart was still pounding against his rib cage. He rolled over, his mind being occupied with a quick task to help forget the dream. As he made himself comfortable in his new position, he glanced up to be met with Keith's soft, sleeping face lying on the other side of the bed. Lance froze for a second, then let out a long relieved sigh. Even now that he was awake, watching Keith being sliced up by that alien monster terrified him. Just seeing Keith alive and well calmed him down. Feeling suddenly heavy, Lance buried himself deeper into the bedsheets, not once taking his eyes off Keith. The fear of the dream was still there, almost like if he looked away even for a second, Keith could vanish. Lance settled down, exhaling a deep, lethargic breath with a faint smile curling onto his lips as he gazed lovingly at his husband. Though Keith was fast asleep, he still looked so cute with the morning sun rising through the window behind him. His face was calm and vulnerable when he slept, the opposite to how he was with the others. The only other time he ever looked so tranquil was with-. There was a sudden movement under the bedsheets. It wriggled around between Lance and Keith, almost clawing its way out from underneath to get some fresh air. Lance should have been startled, but by this point, it was so commonplace for this to happen in the mornings that he only pulled a tired smile and a warm feeling welled up inside him. Carefully so as not to wake Keith, he lifted up the bedsheets to be met with a little girl, no older than six, lying on her tummy next to him. "Katie," he giggled softly. Katie looked up at Lance. She blinked, her big shiny eyes scrunching closed as she let out a laboured yawn. Rubbing her cheek as she saw Lance, her face lit up. Tiredly, she reached out a pair of chubby, little hands. "Papa," she said, and Lance knew immediately what she wanted. He chuckled, propping himself up on his elbow. Reaching down, he ruffled his daughter's wavy chestnut hair, before helping her snuggle up to his chest. She threw her arms around him, resting her head near his heart where she always did. "I'm sleepy," she sighed, burrowing her head into the folds of Lance's unbuttoned blue shirt. It crumpled as Katie slowly fell back to sleep, and Lance felt a wave of tiredness coming over him as well. He rested his head back on his pillow, stroking his daughter's hair softly. Allowing his eyelids to flutter closed, he felt her breathing against him. Usually, he would have gotten up by now, however the kids were on spring break, so it did not matter and he could sleep in for ages. He would still have to get up when when his son got up but knowing him, that might not be for a while. "Hey..." a relaxed, tired voice mumbled. Almost asleep by that point, Lance wanted to be mad that he had been woken up again so suddenly. However, he could never be angry at such a cute "hey". Opening his eyes, he looked soothingly at Keith, who was already gazing back. "Morning," Lance smiled tenderly. Keith lifted a hand, ruffling Katie's hair gently so as not to wake her. Lance watched as his husband's eyes sparkled. It was true. The only other time Keith looked so vulnerable was when he was with their kids. A hint of blush appeared on Keith's face when Katie shifted in her sleep. He retracted his hand, going back to looking at Lance. A few minutes of silence followed, as it did on most mornings. Lance was trying to wake himself up a bit now that Keith was awake, and he was pretty sure that his husband was doing the same. They kept on looking at each other, every so often turning their attention to Katie if she wriggled or sighed in her sleep. After a while, Keith nudged himself closer to Lance, being careful not get too close to squash his daughter by accident. Leaning forward, Lance closed his eyes as Keith touched foreheads with him. "Sleep well?" Lance asked wearily. "Average," was Keith's only response, before smiling awkwardly. "Heh, bet you still got more sleep than me," Lance giggled as he opened his eyes. Noticing a stray hair, his first instinct was to reach up and stroke it out of Keith's face. He rested his hand on Keith's cheek, feeling it's warmth as his husband blushed. "No way did you sleep less," Keith began to sound more jokey, holding onto Lance's hand. "You were out cold when Katie climbed in." "Nope, I'm pretty sure I got less than you," Lance giggled quietly. The two of them were definitely more awake by now. With his newly found burst of energy, Keith propped himself up, now able to look down on Lance. Slowly leaning forward, he could feel a tingle elated happiness as he planted a soft kiss on his husband's lips. He was about to pull away, but Lance reached up his hand, keeping him there for a second to soak in every ounce of his love.  It was not a deep kiss. Keith saved those for when the kids were not around. This was just a quick peck, though Lance was enjoying it perhaps a bit too much. After a few seconds, Keith finally pulled away, breathing heavily, his face heated and crimson. Falling back onto his pillow, he saw Lance pouting sarcastically. Keith could tell that he wanted more, but he would have to wait if he wanted another. Lance already knew that he only got kisses every morning and evening, so did not bother complaining. Rather, he just closed his eyes again and let Keith be. It was just as well, as not even a minute later, there was the smack of a door slamming shut, then racing footsteps on the landing that clattered down a flight of stairs. Upon hearing those sounds, Lance let out a deep sigh. There went Bora - his son. Unfortunately for him, it was time to get up. "Hey, Keith?" Lance muttered, sitting himself up. "Can you take Katie?" He was careful not to wake up his daughter, resting her head gently down on the bed. She rolled over, going closer to Keith, who took her in his arms and held her close to him. She unconsciously wrapped her arms around him, not even waking up. Keith let a gentle laugh escape him as he lifted his head from gazing at Katie to look at Lance. He was sitting on the edge of the bed, slouched over and buttoning up his shirt. Still a bit sleepy, he stood up and stretched his arms. Being sure to make his side of the bed look tidy, he smoothed out any creases he could find in the sheets and turned for the door when everything looked perfect. He pulled his indigo blue robe off its hook and flung it over his shoulders, pushing his feet into a pair of large aqua slippers. When everything seemed in order, he gave Keith a quick, playful glance then swung open the door and waltzed out, looking as fabulous as usual.

"What's for breakfast today?" Keith called softly just before Lance disappeared onto the landing.

"I dunno," Lance replied nonchalantly, popping his head round the door. "I'll see what Bora wants." Giving a soft smile, he was gone, his feet making the landing floor creak as he went downstairs. Keith watched him go, his smile never fading as he heard the muffled noises of Lance and Bora talking to each other downstairs. Throwing his head back onto his pillow, he decided to enjoy his extra time in bed and went back to sleep, Katie snuggled close to his chest.

[weiampenguinblog]

Wings Langst AU

Everyone was born with similarities to their spirit animal. Whether it’s eyes, fangs, claws, or in Lance’s case; wings. For years people with wings were known as the most dangerous people in the world and very rare. So when Lance began to grow wings at the age of 7 his parents panicked. They kept him hidden so that he wouldn’t be found out. This usually meant no going outside and when people came over he had to wear a jacket to keep his wings hidden. When he was accepted to the Garrison his parents were extremely worried for their son’s safety. After a few days he parents had let him go, hoping and praying he wouldn’t be found out.

It was there at the garrison that he made friends with a very friendly Samoan named Hunk and a tech gremlin named Pidge. Hunk’s spirit animal was very easy to figure out. With his hands turning into claws and his growing fangs when he was angry to his strength and giant bear hugs he would give Lance and Pidge. His was a bear. 

Pidge was a bit difficult to figure out but he had eventually found out that she had a cat. He had found this out when he saw her yelling at her computer with cat ears and her obsession with climbing onto people when she was scared. Then on very rare times he would catch her with an orange tail while sleeping.

Throughout their journey into the garrison Hunk and Pidge always asked what his spirit animal was, he would always reply with the same thing; ‘I don’t know, I guess I lost them.’ This usually caused them to give him looks of sympathy and avoid the topic completely. During this time he wouldn't be paying attention to the conversation anymore, instead he would be thinking about his wings and how he hid them from everyone.

Now he’s in space with an alien princess of a dead kingdom, an alien with a moustache, his best friends, a garrison legend, and a hot-headed emo. It was a dream come true. Note the sarcasm. He had learned about Keith’s spirit animal being a wolf, no surprise there, but he hadn’t figured out what Shiro’s was. The leader had never shown any hints of what his spirit animal might be. Lance began to think that he didn’t show it cause maybe he was like Lance. Maybe he had wings as well.

Caught on this idea, Lance grew extremely happy at the thought of someone else like him. He would smile more at Shiro and tried to hang out with him more. Key word tried. He would usually get brushed off or told to go train or something. After awhile he would just sit in his room with his wings out and look at them in the mirror with disgust. ‘You know they’ll never accept you.’ The voice in his head spoke causing him to grimace. ‘You don’t know that, Shiro might even be like me.’ He told the voice.

But the voice just laughed. ‘Yeah right he’ll probably be something normal unlike you. You’re shouldn’t even be alive because of how much of a mistake you are. Your own parents even kept you away.’ The voice taunted. “S-shut up!” he yelled as tears cascaded down his cheeks. ‘But it’s true, I bet they’ll even kick you off the team.’

A knock at the door was heard a moment after. “Lance? You okay buddy?” It was Hunk. “Uh y-yeah I’m fine.” He called out, cringing as he voice cracked. ‘Such a liar.’ The voice hissed. “You sure? Can I come in?” Hunk asked. “No!” Lance exclaimed. “Uh N-no I’m uh, I’m naked.” He said before cringing. ‘Really is that the best you could come up with. Why not just let him in and see how much of a mistake you are.’ The voice said.

“Oh. Uh sorry bud. I’ll just go.” He replied before the sound of his footsteps cascaded down the hall. Lance sighed in relief. He looked at his dresser to see a shiny object. He blade. ‘Yes. Do it. Give in to temptations.’ The voice demanded. Lance found himself picking up the blade and sliding it across his wrist, wincing as it began to sting. He watched the blood drip before doing it a few times more.

Worthless

Mistake

Useless

Idiot

Monster

Freak

He did one for each word before adding a few crying as he added the new cuts to his body. He watched as the blood streamed out of his arm before going to the sink and washing his cuts. He hissed as the water hit his fresh cuts before bandaging them. He quickly put his jacket on and headed out to everyone else. As he walked in he looked around as no one acknowledged his presents. He mentally sighed and walked up to Hunk who was making something that smelt like chocolate.

“Hey Hunk, watcha making?” He asked. “Chocolate.” He said confirming Lance’s thoughts. He grinned. “Cool! Dark or milk?” The Cuban boy asked. This question caused Hunk to smirk at him. “Any.” Was all he said before going back to making the delicious treat. He smiled at him before going to Pidge. “Hey Gremlin. Whatcha doing?” He asked the short child. “It’s something you won’t understand Lance.” She said with her eyes glued to her computer. “You don’t know that.” Lance defended. She scoffed. “This is much out of your rang of compatibility. Can you just go away, I’m really busy Lance.” 

Lance felt a pang in his heart and frowned before giving a weak smile. “Uh y-yeah, I’m sure someone could you a dose of god ol’ Lancey-Lance.” he said only to have Pidge roll her eyes. Lance left and began to look for Keith, maybe he could hang out with him for a bit.

He found the mullet boy in the training room as usual. His wolf ears and claws as well as his fangs were showing as he fought the bot. Once the bot was defeated Keith turned around to see Lance staring at him. “What do you want Lance.” He snapped, knocking the boy of his thoughts. The Cuban boy blushed a bit. “Oh uh I was seeing what you were up to.” He stuttered. Keith rolled his eyes. “Training, something you should do more often. Now go away so I can concentrate.” He spat before turning away. Lance frowned and left with his heart in his stomach. ‘Maybe Shiro and Allura could use some help.’ He thought as he entered the main room where Shiro, Allura and Coran stood.

“Uh hey guys I was wond-” Lance was quickly interrupted by Allura. “Lance not right now please. We are very busy.” She said, not even looking at him. Lance’s heart wretched as he retreated out of the room and to the lounge. Not even a moment after sitting down did the alarm go off for an attack. “All Paladins to your lions now!” I quickly rushed to my wonderful lion.

“Hey there beautiful.” I said as she let me in. As we shot out of the castle i saw a fleet of Zarkon’s ships ready to attack. “Pidge, I want you and Keith to take the left. Hunk, you stay with me in front. Lance, take the right.” Shiro ordered us. I nod and take on the ships in front of me. It was a bit hard because I had no one to cover me but I tried to shoot as many as I could. 

“Alright guys. Form Voltron!” Shiro said before we formed the giant robot man. We fought off Zarkons ships but as things were going well A blast shocked us, damaging the lions. “Uh guys Blue’s not responding!”

“Nether is Red!” “Yellows not moving either!” Their panicked voices could be heard through the coms before a blinding white light was the last thing they saw before they fell into a pit of darkness.

Lance woke up to voice’s all around him. His eyes fluttered open to reveal his team around him. he panicked and checked to see if his wings were out, luckily they weren’t. “God you’re awake.” Lance whipped his head to see Shiro looking back at him. “What happened?” Lance asked confused and as he got up. He tried to walk toward the door but was quickly stopped, he looked down to see chains around his ankle. 

“We think Haggar might’ve knocked us out and took us as prisoners, it would explain the white flash.” Pidge replied. Lance nodded and sat back down. “Any idea how to break out?” He asked. Shiro shook his head. “Our coms won’t work and Pidge is still trying to hack into the network.”

Lance zoned out. He couldn’t help but think of his wings, he longed to stretched them out. It hurt to keep them confined for so long. He glanced at Shiro. ‘Maybe he feels the same thing as me?’ He thought. ‘You’re still caught up on that?’ the voice said. ‘Uh yeah, i have a chance to actually be like someone else.’ Lance thought back. ‘Yeah right. You have a better chance t matching with a tree.’ The voice replied. Lance quickly blocked it out before a door opened, revealing the person responsible for their capture. 

“I see you have woken up, wonderful. It’s time for the test.” Haggar sneered before waving her hand. The sentries then grabbed each one of them and draggd them over to what looked liked a lab. The sentries strapped them to chairs before taking their armor off, leaving them in their black body suits. “Who shall I torture first?” Haggar threatened as she scanned over the others. 

Lance’s eye’s grew wide as her gaze landed on Hunk. “No.” He whispered. “You. the Yellow Paladin.” Haggar demanded. “No!!” he exclaimed. “No please.” Hunk whimpered. They strapped the Samoan to a chair before backing away. “Now I’ve heard that you humans have an animal inside you. If the animal is forcefully taken away the human will die. I’ve decided to test that out.” Haggar gave a sick grin before shooting Hunk with a blast of energy. 

Hunk screamed in pain as the energy engulfed him, pain searing through his body. Lance screamed for his best friend. He could hear Pidge crying and pleading for the witch to stop. He could hear the others screaming for him as well. Haggar kept hitting the poor with energy, knocking him almost unconscious. Lance felt something surge through him. He could feel himself getting angrier and angrier. 

He saw his vision heighten, he nails turned into claws. He saw Haggar hit Hunk one more time before he burst out of his restraints. He felt his wings rip through his undersuit. Small fangs grew as angry rushed over him.He quickly began to attack the sentries before slashing the throats of Haggar’s minions with his talons. He soon got everyone out of their restraints. No one said a thing. “Come on, we gotta go!” Lance explained. The team quickly snapped out of their shock and nodded before running towards their Lions. “Allura now would be a good time to wormhole!” Keith exclaimed. “Already on it. Everyone hurry.” Allura responded, setting the wormhole up and quickly flying through it with the other paladins.

Once they were back in the castle and hopefully far away from the Galra, Lance walked into a room of stares. “What was that back there!?” Keith exclaimed. Lance flinched at his tone. He stayed silent. “Well?” Keith said. “I thought you didn’t have a spirit animal Lance. You told us that you lost them?” Pidge questioned confused and upset that Lance lied to her. Lance sighed. “I was always told to keep my animal a secret because people with bird animals were-” 

“Dangerous.” Hunk finished. “Oh Lance, if you told us we wouldn’t think of you like that. We would’ve kept your secret, you know that.” “I’m sorry.” Lance looked down. “People with bird spirit animals were known to be the most dangerous ones there was.” Keith said aloud causing Lance to flinch and frown. “I know and I’m sorry. But it’s okay, cause Shiro’s one too. Right Shiro?” Lance said to the leader hopeful. Shiro frowned. “Lance my spirit animal is a lion. I just don’t show it much.” He said solemnly. “I’m sorry Lance.” “Oh.” Was all the defeated cuban boy could say. “It’s okay.” he said quietly. 

There was a moment of silence that killed Lance. “May I ask what kind of bird you have Lance?” Allura asked softly. “A Blue Macaw. There very rare.” Lance answered, facing her. Allura and Coran walked up to Lance. “May we?” Allura asked gesturing to feel his wings. “Uh y-yeah.” he stuttered not used to people being so fascinated with his wings. “Such a beautiful color of blue, so bold and vibrant.” Coran mused. “They’re so soft, like a Potalcha’s feathers.” Allura said happily. 

Lance gave a small smile before looking at the other. Hunk was the first one to hug him before Pidge joined him. “You can always talk to us Lance.” The Samoan said. Shiro soon joined the hug. Lance looked at  Keith. “Keith get your emo but over here.” Pidge exclaimed. “Ugh fine.” he grumbled before hugging Lance. Lance blushed a bit and hugged them all back. ‘They accept me for me.’ He thought happily

[altalemur]

the Voltron team as Skippy’s List

Shiro

2. My proper military title is “The Black Paladin” not “Princess Anastasia”.

23. Must never ask anyone who outranks me if they’ve been smoking crack.

35. Not allowed to sing “High Speed Dirt” by Megadeth during airborne operations. (“See the earth below/Soon to make a crater/Blue sky, black death, I’m off to meet my maker”)

36. Can’t have flashbacks to wars I was not in. (The Spanish-American War isn’t over).

52. Not allowed to yell “Take that Cobra” at the rifle range.

67. I am not the Psychological Warfare Mascot.

95. I am not in need of a more suitable host body.

100. Claymore mines are not filled with yummy candy, and it is wrong to tell new soldiers that they are.

114. I cannot trade my CO to the Galra.

124. Two drink limit does not mean first and last.

125. Two drink limit does not mean two kinds of drinks.

126. Two drink limit does not mean the drinks can be as large as I like.

147. I should not threaten suicide with pop rocks and Coke ®.

148. Putting red “Mike and Ike’s” ® into a prescription medicine bottle, and then eating them all in a formation is not funny.

172. “A full magazine and some privacy” is not the way to help a potential suicide.

206. Not allowed to get shot.

Sven

11. Not allowed to join the Communist Party.

12. Not allowed to join any militia.

13. Not allowed to form any militia.

66. There is no “Anti-Mime” campaign in the galaxy.

69. May not pretend to be a fascist stormtrooper, while on duty.

95. I am not in need of a more suitable host body.

106. I may not trade my rifle for any of the following: Cigarettes, booze, sexual favors, Kalishnikovs, Soviet Armored vehicles, small children, or bootleg CD’s.

147. I should not threaten suicide with pop rocks and Coke ®.

148. Putting red “Mike and Ike’s” ® into a prescription medicine bottle, and then eating them all in a formation is not funny.

162. Past lives have absolutely no effect on the chain of command.

206. Not allowed to get shot.

Hunk

31. Not allowed to let sock puppets take responsibility for any of my actions.

32. Not allowed to let sock puppets take command of my post.

33. Not allowed to chew gum at formation, unless I brought enough for everybody.

34. (Next day) Not allowed to chew gum at formation even if I *did* bring enough for everybody.

49. Not allowed to trade military equipment for “magic beans”.

50. Not allowed to sell magic beans during duty hours.

55. An order to “Put Kiwi on my boots” does *not* involve fruit.

84. Must not use military vehicles to “Squish” things.

88. Must not refer to Allura as “Mom”.

89. Must not refer to Shiro as “Dad”.

97. Gozer does not dwell in my refrigerator.

160. No part of the military uniform is edible.

161. Bodychecking General officers is not a good idea.

183. My chain of command has neither the time, nor the inclination to hear about what I did with six boxes of Fruit Roll-Ups. ®

184. When operating a military vehicle I may *not* attempt something “I saw in a cartoon”.

190. Must not make s’mores while on guard duty.

191. Our Humvees cannot be assembled into a giant battle-robot.

Lance

1. Not allowed to watch Southpark when I’m supposed to be working.

6. Not allowed to play “Pulp Fiction” with a suction-cup dart pistol and any officer.

18. May no longer perform my now (in)famous “Barbie Girl Dance” while on duty.

37. Our medic is called Coran, not “Dr. Feelgood”.

38. Our supply Sgt is Coran not “Sugar Daddy”.

43. Camouflage body paint is not a uniform.

45. I am not allowed to “Go to Bragg boulevard and shake daddy’s little money maker for twenties stuffed into my undies”.

48. I may not use public masturbation as a tool to demonstrate a flaw in a command decision.

71. I must not flaunt my deviances in front of my chain of command.

83. Must not start any SITREP (Situation Report) with “I recently had an experience I just had to write you about….”

87. If the thought of something makes me giggle for longer than 15 seconds, I am to assume that I am not allowed to do it.

88. Must not refer to Allura as “Mom”.

89. Must not refer to Shiro as “Dad”.

113. There is absolutely no need to emulate the people from “Full Monty” every time I hear the song “Hot Stuff”.

115. I should not speculate on the penis size of anyone who outranks me.

131. No dancing in the turret. This especially applies in conjunction with rule #113.

143. I do not need to keep a “range card” by my window.

145. I should not drink three quarts of blue food coloring before a urine test.

156. I will no longer perform “lap-dances” while in uniform.

157. If I take the uniform off, in the course of the lap-dance, it still counts.

159. When detained by MP’s, I do not have a right to a strip search.

166. No, the pants are not optional.

175. We do not “charge into battle, naked, like the Celts”.

199. I should not confess to crimes that took place before I was born.

201. Must not valiantly push officers onto hand grenades to save the squad.

207. The green goo is *not* a personal lubricant. 

Keith

16. Must get a haircut even if it tampers with my “Samson like powers”.

41. “Keep on Trucking” is *not* a psychological warfare message.

47. I am not a citizen of Texas, and those other, forty-nine, lesser states.

53. Not allowed to quote “Full Metal Jacket “ at the rifle range.

60. “The Giant Space Ants” are not at the top of my chain of command.

68. I may not line my helmet with tin foil to “Block out the space mind control lasers”.

78. I may not call block my chain of command.

86. May not challenge anyone in my chain of command to the “field of honor”.

88. Must not refer to Allura as “Mom”.

89. Must not refer to Shiro as “Dad”.

96. “Redneck Zombies” is not a military training aid.

101. I am not allowed to mount a bayonet on a crew-served weapon.

105. I am not allowed to bum cigarettes off of anyone under twelve.

115. I should not speculate on the penis size of anyone who outranks me.

118. Burn pits for classified material are not revel fires – therefore it is wrong to dance naked around them.

130. “I’m drunk” is a bad answer to any question posed by my commander.

136. Shouting “Let’s do the village! Let’s do the whole fucking village!” while out on a mission is bad.

137. Should not show up at the front gate wearing part of a Blade of Marmora uniform, messily drunk.

138. Even if my commander did it.

141. Not allowed to use a broadsword to disprove “The Pen is Mightier than the sword”.

146. Nor should I drink three quarts of red food coloring, and scream during a urine test.

171. On training missions, try not to shoot down the General’s helicopter.

179. On Garrison documents, my race is not “Other”.

193. The Masons, and Gray Aliens are not in our chain of command.

196. I am not allowed to give tattoos.

198. Not allowed to lead a “Coup” during training missions.

208. Not allowed to play into the deluded fantasies of the civilians who are “hearing conversations” from the NSA, FBI, CIA and KGB due to the microchip the aliens implanted in their brain.

Pidge

7. Not allowed to add “In accordance with the prophesy” to the end of answers I give to a question an officer asks me.

8. Not allowed to add pictures of officers I don’t like to War Criminal posters.

15. Not allowed to train adopted stray dogs to “Sic Brass!”

19. May not call any officers immoral, untrustworthy, lying, slime, even if I’m right.

24. Must not tell any officer that I am smarter than they are, especially if it’s true.

54. “Napalm sticks to kids” is *not* a motivational phrase.

56. An order to “Make my Boots black and shiny” does not involve electrical tape.

59. May not make posters depicting the leadership failings of my chain of command.

75. May not conduct psychological experiments on my chain of command.

88. Must not refer to Allura as “Mom”.

89. Must not refer to Shiro as “Dad”.

103. My commander is not old enough to have fought in the civil war, and I should stop implying that he did.

104. Vodka, green food coloring, and a “Cool Mint” Listerine® bottle is not a good combination.

117. Must not use government equipment to bootleg pornography.

122. Radioactive material should not be stored in the barracks.

129. The Microsoft ® “Dancing Paperclip” is not authorized to countermand any orders.

151. The proper way to report to my Commander is “Green Paladin, reporting as ordered, Sir” not “You can’t prove a thing!”

154. Shouldn’t treat “piss-bottles” with extra-strength icy hot.

173. I am not allowed to create new levels of security clearance.

174. Furby ® is not allowed into classified areas. (I swear to the gods, I did not make that up, it’s actually DOD policy).

181. Pokémon® trainer is not an MOS.

194. Shouldn’t take incriminating photos of my chain of command.

195. Shouldn’t use Photoshop ® to create incriminating photos of my chain of command.

Allura

3. Not allowed to threaten anyone with black magic.

4. Not allowed to challenge anyone’s disbelief of black magic by asking for hair.

28. Don’t take the batteries out of the other soldiers alarm clocks (Even if they do hit snooze about forty times).

30. Not allowed to wake an Non-Commissioned Officer by repeatedly banging on the head with a bag of trash.

46. I am not authorized to fire officers.

79. I am neither the king nor queen of cheese.

80. Not allowed to wear a dress to any army functions.

102. Rodents are not entitled to burial with full military honors, even if they are “casualties of war”.

186. I am not the Empress of anything.

201. Must not valiantly push officers onto hand grenades to save the squad.

Coran

20. Must not taunt the Unilu any more.

21. Must attempt to not antagonize SAS.

22. Must never call an SAS a “Wanker”.

39. Not allowed to ask for the day off due to religious purposes, on the basis that the world is going to end, more than once.

63. Command decisions do *not* need to be ratified by a 2/3 majority.

85. Not allowed to make any Psychological Warfare products depicting the infamous Ft. Bragg sniper incident.

123. I should not teach other soldiers to say offensive and crude things in Altean, under the guise of teaching them how to say potentially useful phrases.

132. The loudspeaker system is not a forum to voice my ideas.

133. The loudspeaker system is not to be used to replace the radio.

155. Teaching Altean children to taunt other soldiers is not nice.

189. Do not dare Paladins to eat bugs. They will always do it.

Matt

10. Not allowed to purchase anyone’s soul on government time.

12. Not allowed to join any militia.

13. Not allowed to form any militia.

42. Not allowed to attempt to appeal to mankind’s baser instincts in recruitment posters.

57. The proper response to a lawful order is not “Why?”

62. It is better to beg forgiveness than to ask permission, no longer applies to me.

77. The MP checkpoint is not an Imperial Stormtrooper roadblock, so I should not tell them “You don’t need to see my identification, these are not the droids you are looking for.”

94. Crucifixes do not ward off Galra, and I should not test that.

99. A smiley face is not used to mark a minefield.

119. I cannot arrest children for being rude.

158. The revolution is not now.

203. “To conquer the earth with an army of flying monkeys” is a bad long term goal to give the re-enlistment NCO.

[dammitadolfnomorecake]

CSUAVS prt 26 update. Yes. I'm unashamedly enjoying Keith

Dressed and ready for Hunk's party, Keith felt ready for it. Lance was still nursing his headache, asking his permission to take his daily dose before the party to help soothe his nerves. Keith wished Lance had been at lunch. They'd joked about old times, Pidge asking where Lance was, and Hunk asking what kind of adventures they'd been through together. Coran growing teary as he told them how proud he was of all of them. Lance should have been there. He should have been the one talking about his adventures, and he should have been the one questioned over who Daehra was. Pidge under the impression that Lance and Daehra were dating, causing Shiro to turn his snicker into a horribly disguised cough. Choosing each other's clothes, Lance had dressed him in a pair of black jeans with a nice short sleeved white button up shirt. Keith had dressed Lance in black jeans with a soft long sleeved blue button up shirt that brought out the gorgeous colour of his eyes, and hid his loves scars from prying eyes. Fussing with his hair, Lance couldn't get it to sit right insisting it had to be perfect for Hunk's sake, so being the best not-boyfriend boyfriend he was, Keith promptly ruffled his hair. Whatever product Lance had in, helped it settle into almost the sexy bed hair look that Keith loved so much. The half-Galra's own hair was pulled back into a practical ponytail that Lance swatted at as they walked up to the main conference room as it was the only place with a table long enough for them all to sit around comfortably. Keith had thought the engagement party dinner would be held in the dining room, but with this being Hunk's special night, Shiro had given him pretty much free reign of the Atlas. Entering the conference room, Lance physically jumped as they were announced by Veronica. Veronica crossing names off her list as she did, the directing them to where there would be sitting. Thankfully, Keith was next to Lance. Coran, the five original Paladins, Curtis, and Shay all seated together towards the end of the table where there was slightly more space. Not knowing anyone other then the pair of them, Lance's team was placed next to him. It resulted in the seating order being Gin, Edra, Chlo, Lucteal, Daehra, Lance, Keith, Shiro, Curtis, Hunk, Shay, Pidge, Coran, then the start of Shay's family. Krolia was down towards the other end of the table between his old team and Lance's family. Lance's mother was already talking to her, which Keith was hopeful over. If Krolia wanted motherly advice, she couldn't go wrong with asking his future mother-in-law. He didn't know what the fancy title for the relationship between the parents of two married people... He'd never thought to ask... but whatever it is, he hoped that Lance's family would kind of become his... His mum liked him at least, or like him enough to trust him with her baby boy. That was a pretty good start. Taking his seat beside Lance, Lance placed his gifts to Hunk and Shay by his feet, so Keith echoed the action. He felt silly, and unsure of his gifts. More so when he found Lance had already organised gifts without telling him, Lance finding a fully upgraded blaster in his travels which he'd set aside with Hunk in mind because of the yellow stripes when the weapon extended. For Shay, Lance had some fancy blue crystal he'd picked up, according to him it showed a map of the stars around Shay's balmera. When and how Lance had managed it all, Keith had no idea. All he'd gotten the couple was his and hers matching meteorite blades with their names on them where in the reflection on the side of the blade it spelled the others name. Technically Lance couldn't be mad. It was a gift both of them would know came from him, and they were shiny, so they matched Lance's criteria for ideal presents. He'd also purchased some spiced wine for them, as kind of an inside joke with Lance. They were silly little small memories, but for some reason he treasured them. Waiting until they both seated comfortably, Keith let his hand drop beneath the table, Lance's finding his within a few ticks. Squeezing softly, Lance looked to him with so much love in his eyes, Keith had to look away. He'd never know he'd gotten so lucky. Being two of the team of professional chefs on the Atlas, Hunk wouldn't hear of anyone else cooking. The meal presented banquet style, in a variety of presentations that left Keith clueless. It was cheesy and clique, but as Shay lifted the lid off the last dish, sitting in a bed of carved fruits was a thick silver band with a large diamond pointing upwards. Keith couldn't see from the angle he was sitting on, but the various fruit came together to make an intricate flower, and carefully piped out along the bottom of the platter Hunk had popped the question. Kneeling down, Hunk was waiting for Shay's answer as she turned back to him. The poor guy sweating up a storm as he awkwardly stuttered out the question, the microphones in the room meaning that everyone could hear him. Nodding her head, Hunk surged up to lift Shay off her feet, his thick arms around her waist as she leaned down to kiss him. With all the "dust" in the room, Keith wasn't surprise that Lance and Coran were both balling their eyes out like there was no tomorrow, Hunk helping Shay slide the "ring" into place around her wrist as more as bracelet then an engagement ring, as the two lost themselves in their moment. * Crying his eyes out, Lance was so damn proud of Hunk. Shay looked beyond happy, Hunk was practically glowing as he showed her off. Leaning sideways into Keith, under the pretence of making space, Lance enjoyed soaking in Keith's warms as he stealthily pressed a kiss behind his ear "They look so happy" "Yeah, they do. I'm so happy for the both of them" "When you get engaged, is this what you want?" "Mmm... I thought so, and once maybe. I think I want to be with person I love... and if it happens, it happens" "You're not giving me much to work with" "Shhh. The microphones are on" "I'm just saying. I want to be well informed ahead of time that you're not expecting it at all" "I don't think any of us would be expecting you to propose. That's too many emotions for a cranky emo" "Some day I'd like to..." "The I guess we'll all be waiting for that answer" "Can't you give me a hint?" "At this point in time, the answer wouldn't be no" To Lance, marriage had fallen back to being a dream. Something he thought unattainable with how dirty he was. Keith might be serious about things now, but there were far too many things on Lance's mind for Lance to simply say "yes". They weren't even dating. He still wanted to work on his panic attacks and fears. He wanted to work to make himself better, and to get off the drugs before he'd even consider saying yes to something like that. No. He could wait. He knew Keith was it for him. Keith made everything feel better. He even made him forget what had happened from time to time. He loved laying in Keith's arms when his nerves allowed it, listening to Keith talk about all kinds of stupid things because Lance wanted to hear the sound of his voice. As Hunk and Shay moved to the head of the table, Shiro saved from embarrassment by proposing a toast before they ate. Lance could see how badly Hunk had sweated with nerves. Hunk was one of the bravest people he knew from Earth. He'd been so scared of everything, his anxieties nearly as crippling as Lance's had gotten, yet he always knuckled down and got results. Even when he was scared of the things that went bump in the night, he was always able to become the hunter instead of the hunted. His memory might be slightly selective and biased given Hunk had been his best friend, but that didn't make him any less brave. Resisting the urge to lean back into Keith, Lance wished he was strong enough to be a real thing with him. Shiro and Curtis were making flirty eyes at each other, Shay and Hunk were over the moon, and all he could do was hold Keith's hand in secret, because he was scared of having his past brought to light. Opting for fruit over anything too heavy, things around the dining table gradually settled down. Everyone enjoying their food, the drink being served around the table was a spiced sangria that Lance was forcing himself not to down all at once. He was still high from his injection, and high from all the love in the air. His decision making skills weren't the best so it was better he not get wasted at dinner, before the party with everyone on the Atlas. Smiling politely and picking at the food the on his plate as everyone talked, he didn't expected to be brought into the conversation by Shay... and Pidge. Struck in the face by a flying grape, Lance dropped his fork in surprise, looking up to see a cackling Pidge "Sorry, Lance. I couldn't help it. You were ignoring Shay" Had he fazed out? He thought he was following the conversation well. Smiling at Shay, Shay didn't seem offended "I'm so sorry, Shay. What were you saying? I was distracted by that beautiful gem on your arm. Hunk, my man, you snagged a wonderful woman here" Shay giggled, Hunk blushed "I was asking how you met your team, is it?" "Oh. Would you believe I was rescuing an alien princess while tracking down an evil cartel?" Shay gasped, while Pidge rolled her eyes "Don't listen to him Shay, he's just being Lance. If he'd done something that cool, he totally would have called us to rub it in" Speaking up from his side, Daehra's voice carried well "Lance saved our sister, the daughter of the King and Queen of my planet. That is how we met. Lucteal and I had tracked down the ship holding our sister, when we came across Lance in the forest. Asking us to wait, he went in and retrieved our sister alone" Pidge didn't believe her. Raising an eyebrow, she pointed at him with her fork "Lance... the dorky guy beside you?" "He is not dorky. He is our commander" Feeling an impending snarky comment from the green gremlin, Lance didn't want Hunk and Shay's night to be ruined. He also didn't want Keith snapping, or Shiro spilling something he'd said to him earlier this "I've been working as a bounty hunter for about half a deca-phoeb now. This is some of my team. Daehra, Lucteal, my two second in commands, then we have Gin, Edra and Chlo. You'll meet Zak and Tobias at the party, they're terrible at being people people. We're usually based out the other end of space, that's why it took us a while to get here" "Bullshit!" Staring at him in disbelief, Pidge looked to Keith "Keith, is he serious?" "I was shocked as well when I found out. Lance was helping me out on a mission to find a missing blade member... He's actually kind of a celebrity on Daehra's planet" "Holy quiznak! Wow... so you had to put up with him saving an alien princess, and on a mission?" Nudging him with his knee, Keith sounded proud as he replied to Pidge's question "He'd already saved Annla by the time we reunited. I've been travelling with him about two phoebs now" Pidge looked ready to explode with questions. At least she believed him now that Keith had confirmed things. Waving her fork at him again, the questions started "Wait. Wait. Wait... You said Daehra was your girl this morning? Are you dating royalty again?" Kind of, but not who Pidge was thinking "Nope. Daehra is the medical officer on my ship the Telula. She's amazing with herbs, and medical tech. Honestly, she's self trained and super talented. Lucteal, he backs me up in close combat missions. He also pilot's the Telula, and causes trouble with Zak. The pair remind me of you and Hunk when you used to go all techno-babble on us. We used to have two other bounty hunters with us... three if you include Jarpel. But mostly we do humanitarian work, or the occasional job for the police" Pidge frowned her brow, before launching into her next question "Why the quiznak didn't we know any of this!? We have group calls for a reason, Lance" Lance died a little on the inside. He barely belonged in said group calls. And how he'd become a bounty hunter still messed with his head too much to go into. Sensing his discomfort, Keith's hand slipped under the table to rest on his leg "He's been pretty busy. The sectors he works didn't receive help from Voltron, so it's a still a mess out there" "But he's like all bad arse and we had no idea" And who's fault was that... Clearing his throat, Lance looked to Hunk who had his "worried mum" look on his face "Lance, you're not doing anything dangerous are you" Shooting people. Murdering people. Luring random people back to his bed to tranqu them... blowing things up... being shot down... "Nah. It's not that bad. I've got a pretty awesome team, and if I get myself in trouble, Daehra will kick my arse" "But dude, I thought you were working in security" "I was for a while. Then I met up with the police and they offered my a job as a bounty hunter and stuff" God. After ignoring him for phoebs, Lance wanted to throw it all in their faces. It wasn't a great feeling when he realised how mad he still was. All of them had contributed to his mental issues, and he still felt like he couldn't reach out his hand and offer them friendship like they'd used to share. Poor Shay probably just wanted to enjoy her night with Hunk, not talk about him and his job. Make the effort. Don't think about how disgusted they would be to know the truth... He could do this "So yeah, that's me. Leading the Telula. She's an old ship, but she's my girl. How's it going for you guys? I mean, other than wonderful?" Blushing, Shay nodded "It's been amazing to travel by Hunk's side. After so long under Galra rule, I never thought it could be like this" "That's good. I'm really happy for the both of you" Effort made. Now to hide the crappy feeling bubbling up in his stomach the best he could. Reaching out, he took his glass and down the wine in one long gulp. So much for sobriety "Hunk said we can have whatever wedding I would like, but your Earth weddings sounds nice" Well that was fast... unless they'd talked about it before "Hunk would look killer in a white suit" "Ew, Lance no. Shiro could pull off a white suit. Hunk would look better in black" Pulling a face at Pidge, she threw another grape at him. Shay giggling at the pair of them "And what would you know about fashion, Ms Pigeon Gunderson?" Picking up another grape, Pidge was armed and ready "I know that if you call me "Pigeon" again, you're going to find..." Sighing deeply, Shiro stepped in to stop their banter and the senseless death of good grapes "Don't make seperate the pair of you. An Earth wedding sounds lovely, Shay" Blushing hard at his words, Shay looked to Daehra "What are weddings like where you come from, Daehra?" Daehra didn't get the whole "dreamy" look on her face at Shay's question. It was possible that with her father's ways, marriage wasn't for her or it was something she hadn't fully considered. Continuing to eat she spoke between bites "Most of our home is underground. We settled there after the Galra first came to our planet, so our church is located in the royal quarters of the city. Weddings are different to your Earth weddings, or what I have read of them. I'm sorry. My English is still improving, so please tell me if I use the wrong words..." Lance shook his head at her. She hadn't said anything wrong. With both her and Keith speaking English with her, she was barely making mistakes anymore "Dae, your English has improved so much in these past few movements. You don't need to apologise" Instead of taking the compliment, Daehra seemed a little annoyed as she continued "Thank you... Yes. We hold church and pray to the stars for guidance, happiness, understanding, love and strength. But at a union it is little different. A royal member must preside over the ceremony. You stand in a ring made of gold, and share the wine of a cup to open your minds. Our race are empaths, the wine is so you do not hide anything from your beloved. They pray for you, and they unite you, then you finish the wine in the cup. After that, a trinket is bestowed upon you as blessings for the union. It is two halves coming together..." Lance's head shot up at the same time as Keith's, both realising the same thing. Keith's voice was slightly higher than normal as he asked "Daehra, can anyone perform the ceremony?" "Yes. As long as they are of the royal bloodline" Oh fuck. Oh fuck. Oh fuck. Oh fuck. Oh fuck. Lance had thought Annla was playing... She loved unions and he didn't think about it all and oh fuck... he'd accidentally married Keith... oh shit... "Even Annla?" "Yes. She is especially fond of unions. Her mother used to oversee them when she was younger. Annla hopes to hold that position when she comes of age" Ooooooh. Fuck. Thank god for Shiro. Lance was about to panic himself into a panic attack. Keith's was probably feeling the exact same way. This... they couldn't be fucking married "On Earth we have a formal document. Does your planet have the same?" "No. Being empaths, we respect the feelings of each other. We don't need anything other than the trinkets from the union. It is strange that even though our races had never met, many people were rings or jewels upon completion of the union. Our tokens are chosen by the royal family, and very highly treasured. I cannot remember any cases where a union has come apart" Annla had given them her gold hair bands... They'd drunk the wine. They'd said vows. Oh god. He was a married man. His freaking husband was sitting right next to him... ave María llena eres de gracia... He'd married Keith. What would his mother say? And his family... Rachel was going to give him shit for years over this. And Keith... he was too fucking terrified to look at him... "Wow. That sounds really nice" Shay's soft voice brought him out of his thoughts. Someone had filled his wine glass during his meltdown. Reaching for it, he pushed the mask of Leandro to the surface. For Hunk nothing could be wrong... * Keith watched Lance having his mental breakdown feeling much the way Lance looked. They'd gotten married... and neither of them had realised. Annla had probably planned the whole thing... and now Lance looked... uncomfortably pale. They'd gone from teetering on the edge of a relationship to married in less than a tick... No one, except Shiro, seemed to notice that Lance had withdrawn from the conversation completely when Daehra stopped talking about unions, and with the way he'd stopped eating in favour of drinking, Keith wanted the dinner to hurry up and finish so he could talk to his not-boyfriend-accidental-husband before Lance had the panic attack that Keith could smell coming. Married... Nope. No. This wasn't how he planned it for Lance. Lance deserved the massive huge wedding that his dramatic little heart always wanted. It wasn't the being married bit that was the problem, but the Lance seemed completely unhappy about it. Leaning in, Shiro whispered "Is Lance alright?" "Yeah. It's nerves" "If you two need some air..." "No. We both know he won't to make a scene. I'll watch him until dinner is over then take him out so we can talk" "How about you? You bent your fork" Casting a glance at his fork, Keith found it was indeed bent "It's nothing..." "Keith. I know when something's up with you. Did something happen on Daehra's planet?" Yes. He married Lance... who now seemed to be shutting down in front of him "I... no. Maybe. Look, this is Hunk's party. I don't want to make a scene" "You're not making a scene" "Shiro, drop it. We're not doing this here" "So something did happen... you can tell me" Shaking his head, Keith didn't want to talk about it. He was a tick away from admitting he'd married Lance and Lance wasn't happy about it "No. It's between Lance and me. Let's let Hunk have his night" He needed the distraction of the others talking, forcing himself to pay attention to Coran as he talked about Altean wedding customs. Most couples needed deca-phoebs to teach the stage where they're giving each other the silent treatment... but now it seemed like he and Lance had already hit that. He didn't know what to say. He was kind of... maybe... secretly happy to be married to Lance... now if only Lance could look happy about it everything would be perfect. Realising he wasn't going to get anything else out of him, Shiro dropped it. Lance lagged behind the others as they made their way up to the dining room for the party part of the night... Lagging even further behind, Keith watched his accidental husband as he talked with his family, his feet feeling like lead as he did. He'd wanted to talk to Lance, but Lance had brushed him off to give Hunk and Shay their presents from, Hunk trying to hide his enthusiasm over how advanced his new blaster seemed to be. His own presents of twin blades had Hunk rolling his eyes at him over the fact "he has an addiction" to knives. It would have been the perfect time to take Lance by the arm and lead him away, only Lance's family caught up to them, and Krolia had done what he'd wanted to do to Lance to him. Walking with his mother by his side, Keith's hands were firmly wedged into his pockets as he stared at his boots. He knew his mother was staring at him, wanting to question him over why his boots deserved to be glared at. Continuing up to the dining room in awkward silence, Krolia and Shiro had some how telepathically teamed up against him. Krolia guiding him past the door way and to the corridor on the other side where Shiro was waiting with his arms crossed. Looking between his mother and his brother, Keith wasn't impressed. How was he supposed to find a chance to talk to Lance when he wasn't even in the same room as him? "What is this? Some kind of intervention?" "I wanted to ask what that was during dinner" "And it takes both of you?" Neither of his concerned "parents" replied "Fine. Lance nearly had a panic attack. Nothing major happened on the planet, Lance just didn't take sitting around doing nothing well" "You went to that planet after the outpost..." "Mum. Don't even go there" "You did say he was struggling" "And he's doing better. He's better than he was" "Keith, Shiro told me about Lance's panic attack. And also what he said. Tomorrow we want to have a meeting over what you both saw at that outpost. Is there anything we should know about that will upset during the meeting?" "You two are talking about Lance now? Do you know how hurt he'd be over that?" Taking back over the conversation, Shiro placed his hand on Keith's shoulder. Keith was really getting sick of that "I want to make things easier for Lance. He changed during dinner, almost like he wasn't all there. I was hoping for his sake that we can discuss what happened without sending him into a panic attack" "Lance can handle one meeting about what happened. Focus on the outpost, and not on his former employer... But you should probably know, the guy in that tube thing, in the video, Lance was involved with how he ended up there. There's this cult, that have these "y" tattoos in red because they wanted Red for themselves. They worked for his previous employer. They tortured him. So if you don't want to send him into a panic attack, don't question everything he says. His friend who also worked at the outpost was killed..." "And is there anything else we should know?" "No. It's not my story to tell. Just don't push him too far... and let him enjoy tonight. He's finally reconnecting with everyone. If we make too much of a fuss, he'll feel too self-conscious" "Keith, I still think it might be a good idea to get him some professional help. We do have a counsellor on the Atlas..." Keith wasn't about ready to shove Lance into counselling. They'd had this stupid conversation "And I'll talk to him about that when he's ready. Now I'm going back to him and you two aren't going to hover. You're both going to have a good time. You're going to drink. You're going to congratulate Hunk and Shay, and you're probably going to have to deal with a drunk Coran. Plus, you've been neglecting Curtis since I got here" Why was he left to adult over his space parents? They'd both told him to reach out to them if he needed them. He wasn't reaching for them. Instead it felt like they were smothering him. Walking into the party, Lance had a drink in his hand as he chatted to Coran. Keith knew they were close on the castle, but Lance was clearly uncomfortable. The fingers of his free hand scratching at his thigh lightly. Before he could make his way over to Lance, Hunk was pushing a drink into his hand "This is your party, you're supposed to be relaxing" "I am. I am... I wanted to ask you about Lance" Not another one... Lance was literally right there. He could answer his own questions "What about him?" "Is he truly alright out there? I was worried about inviting him... After Allura... We both know how serious he was about her" What was stopping Hunk from asking Lance if he was alright? He was right there! "It's not easy work, but he's working hard. Making a real difference there, and helping smaller civilisations get back on their feet. And as for Allura, he's doing better, he's moved on. I'm planning on staying on his team for now" "He's not getting himself hurt is he?" "He's been staying out of trouble" "Good... that's good. Well, I'm I have to do the rounds. Drink as much as you like, Shiro's given everyone tomorrow off to recover" "Thanks, Hunk. And congratulations. You two look really good together" "Thanks, Keith" Finally released by Hunk, he'd lost sight of Lance, and less than a tick later, Pidge was grabbing him by the arm "Keith! Why didn't you tell me Lance was running around in space with his own team?" Lance was right there! "What's his ship like? Zak is infuriating... All the tech he's been telling me about, do you think Lance will pick some up for me?" Lance was right there. Literally there... somewhere in the room "You should ask him" "You know he doesn't listen to me. I can't believe he's got his own team. He didn't seem like the type" "Pidge, why don't you ask Lance about this?" "Well, its awkward, isn't it? After Allura... He said he was staying on Earth, and didn't want to come back out here" "People change, Pidge. He's moved on from Allura" "Ha! I knew he was dating Daehra" "He's not dating Daehra" "Her sister? I don't know what it is, but there's something different about him" "Annla is a kid. No. He's not dating either of them. I think Zak's looking for you" Looking around, Pidge slipped behind him "You never saw me" Keith had no idea were Zak was, but it succeeded in sending Pidge into hiding. Finally free, he noticed Coran coming for him. He couldn't have the same conversation again. Lance didn't have fangs. He wasn't going to shoot anyone for saying "hello". Caught with no place to go, he waited until someone was blocking Coran's way, then dove for cover under the nearest table. He wasn't proud of himself, but he wasn't Lance's keeper. Accidentally husband or not. Casting a glance across the room, he watched Coran's legs as he turned on the spot the started walking away. Finally. Finally some peace.... Oooor maybe not. Under the main grouping of tables, three single tables away, Lance was having a party of his own. Two bottles of sparkling wine sitting beside him. Crawling to the edge of the table, Keith made sure the coast was clear before crawling under the next table. Lance not noticing as he inched his way closer until he was half way under the second of the three tables, cocking his head sideways as he waved his hand. Holding his hand up to tell him "stop and stay there", Keith continued on, now on his knees so he didn't spill his drink.