The two things that stick with me upon reflection.
Babe burying himself in Alan when he arrives. This is the person who has always cared for him and given him a home. The person he feels he needs when he can't support himself. It's a child like regression to grab onto Alan here because he's Babe's chosen father.
The second is Babe offering up Charlie's gloves at his grave site as if he was giving them to Charlie again. He's asking to keep them but proffering them like he wants Charlie to take them because they're his. It's the visual conflict of trying to say goodbye but being completely unready.
The best thing I've ever heard about grief is that grief is love with no place to go. Those gloves, that love Babe is offering can't be accepted. Charlie is gone. So Babe has to take them back. Take them home and it guts him all over again.
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Done with no redemption
Lance heard him before he saw Keith, not because he was loud or anything, but because Lance was expecting him. His footsteps have always been annoyingly light like a ninja. Lance tensed, a sour frown taking over his previously good mood.
“Lance, I—” Lance rolled his eyes, turning around with the fakest smile in his arsenal.
“You what, Keith?” Lance asked pleasantly, cocking his head to the side. Keith paused for another moment, his eyes awkwardly averted to the ground as he fidgeted.
“I ran away from you.” Keith sighed, hands dropping and finally looking Lance in the eyes. Lance felt it wasn’t adequately remorseful enough.
“I’ve had a lot of time to think about it, and, yeah. You were right.”
“You were right.” That single sentence seemed to just echo in Lance’s brain. Because— because his Keith didn’t just come out and admit something like that. Ever. You had to fight him tooth and nail for a half confession. (And Lance had evidence. He had to throw down with Keith just to get an answer to Lance’s real life, actual, love confession. Stubborn prick.) To say Lance was too shocked to speak would be an understatement. The shock gave way to an odd mix of amusement and seething hot anger.
“I was just running because I was afraid to face my feelings— actually, no. I was afraid of you.” Keith gnawed on his lip, thinking his words through. (Good, he’s learned his damn lesson about that.) “Because I tell you things I can’t even tell myself. Around you? My… walls are about as effective as paper is to fire.”
“Is that so?” Lance hummed, turning around and going back to folding his laundry. “Glad you’ve had some time for self discovery in the past 11 months that you’ve ghosted the team.” —and me, went unsaid, but the message was just as clear as though he had.
“I’m proud— really! Congratulations, dude!” Lance's grin only got bigger, throwing one of Keith’s t-shirts at him. He caught it and unfolded it with a hurt expression.
“Lance, please—” Keith’s eyebrows creased, like they always do when he’s hurt or confused.
“Don’t “Lance, please” me, Kogane. It’s not like you ever listened to a single please from me. In fact, I don’t even think it ever even made you pause.” Lance calmly stated, wrapping up doing his laundry and storing it in Red. On the trip back to Earth with minimal supplies, Lance barely had any supplies— no moisturizer or anything! But he was making do in these trifling times.
Keith was silent for a long moment as Lance continued cleaning up his Lion, throwing trash away and clearing out things he didn’t need as though Keith weren’t there in the first place.
“...Is this not fixable?” It was a quiet, feeble question.
“It was.” Was Lance’s simple response. It ignited a hope in Keith, but left him feeling uneasy.
“..Was?”
Lance straightened up, standing chest to chest with Keith, leaning in as though he were whispering a secret. “”I just don’t want to be stuck here for eternity with Lance.””
“From— from the game show? Seriously?” Keith asked incredulously, eyebrows now furrowing in anger and confusion.
“Hmmm…” Lance tapped his finger to his chin contemplating. “Yep! From the game show. You and the team made it quite clear how you felt about me, ya’know?”
Lance spun on his heel, plopping down and grabbing his armor to polish. “So, on that note; I need you to be civil until I leave the team.”
“Leave the team?”
“Yes, that’s what I just said.”
“You can’t just— you can’t just leave, Lance! What about Voltron? What about us?” Keith’s temper was steadily rising, stomping towards Lance before he stopped and recollected himself.
“One, yes, I can. Why would I stay somewhere I’m clearly not welcomed or appreciated? I’m going home after this shit-show. Two, there's six paladins, Keith. Simple math, even I can do it. Since, ya’know, I’m too stupid and should just leave something that complex to Pidge. Shiro can take Black back, you never wanted the position anyway, right?” Lance’s sugary sweet words were practically dripping in anger, Lance’s grin starting to annoy Keith. He knew just how hard he was hitting, and if he was honest? Lance was amused.
“Of course we want you here! And— and, um…” Keith’s shoulders slumped, he was too flustered! He couldn’t think of an argument, yeah. He just didn’t see this coming— Lance was just confused! Keith reached for Lance’s wrist, brows furrowed and eyes oddly wet.
“You can’t leave us, please. We need you.”
“Well I don’t.” Lance yanked his wrist back with a disgusted turn of the lips.
“Now get out of my lion.”
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