#romelle week

[mushed-kid]

i tried rendering and turns out i fucking hate it !

[discordiansamba]

extremely funny set of reactions here to Keith just casually taking out the pair of guards. especially since the sound effect subtitles implies that Keith just. killed them.

[every-character-ever-poll]

ROMELLE - Voltron Legendary Defender

[klanceficsthatmakemeripmyhairout]

it's five o'clock somewhere by soulreapin

rating: teens

published: 2024-03-09

completed: 2024-03-09

chapters as of may 22, 2024: [1/1]

word count: 8,180

summary: [ A sigh heaves out of Lance’s mouth and he props his elbows onto the counter before dropping his forehead into his hands. “Romelle. Bartender. We’ve been on the same shift for over a year.”

The bartender doesn’t say anything, contemplating. “Oh, she quit.”

“She quit?” Lance repeats, peeling his head from his hands and squinting at the bartender.

Now that they’re closer, Lance can see that there’s a faint scar on the bartender’s otherwise unmarred face, running from his jawline to the right side of his nose. His eyes are, like, forty different colors and Lance cannot tell for the life of him which one takes the lead, so he decides on a blackish-purple. They hide behind thick lashes and offer a no-nonsense look. “Yup. Quit two weeks ago. Don’t you work here? Why are you sitting at my bar?”

or, lance works at the san antonio riverwalk margaritaville as a waiter. during a horrible shift, he sits down at the bar expecting romelle, only to find she’s quit and someone new and beautiful has taken her place. ]

why i am ripping my hair out: what if i told you i am absolutely obsessed with margaritaville and the closest one to me is two hours away.. what if i told you that no matter your distance to the nearest margaritaville, you could experience those awe striking moments all over again from the comfort of your own home -- thats right, your own home!!!!

this fic is everything i love and enjoy in life, klance and margaritaville. im so serious. i went to margaritaville for the first time for my birthday and just thought about klance while i was there and also got drunk and dropped my phone in the toilet, but thats besides the point.

i have had this in my to rec bookmarks since it was written but ive been too busy to post and my retched formatting makes it difficult to rec on the go but anyways im back shout out margaritaville i absolutely adore this fic and it put me onto soulreapin shout out soulreapin if you read this i am subscribed

[soulreapin]

So like.. what about Bartender Keith and Waiter (Or host) Lance at a Restaurant AU of Voltron? Because.. Because yeah. I want a bit of cringy restaurant code-breaking and awkward flirting-

🫶

it’s five o’clock somewhere by soulreapin

1/1, 8.1k, klance, teen&up for swearing

beta read by @nostalgicish once again!!! she makes me sound so much smarter than i am guys + this ask is what inspired this fic!!!

summary: A sigh heaves out of Lance’s mouth and he props his elbows onto the counter before dropping his forehead into his hands. “Romelle. Bartender. We’ve been on the same shift for over a year.”

The bartender doesn’t say anything, contemplating. “Oh, she quit.”

“She quit?” Lance repeats, peeling his head from his hands and squinting at the bartender.

Now that they’re closer, Lance can see that there’s a faint scar on the bartender’s otherwise unmarred face, running from his jawline to the right side of his nose. His eyes are, like, forty different colors and Lance cannot tell for the life of him which one takes the lead, so he decides on a blackish-purple. They hide behind thick lashes and offer a no-nonsense look. “Yup. Quit two weeks ago. Don’t you work here? Why are you sitting at my bar?”

or, lance works at the san antonio riverwalk margaritaville as a waiter. during a horrible shift, he sits down at the bar expecting romelle, only to find she’s quit and someone new and beautiful has taken her place.

[justaz]

lance who always wanted to be a fighter pilot would NEVER be a farmer and we can throw hands if you disagree. anyways au time. allurance happens or doesn’t happen doesn’t matter but they aren’t together now. allura is queen of new altea with her advisor coran and close “friend” romelle. shiro is retired on earth w his husband adam. pidge also stays on earth and works with her parents on advancing earth’s technology. when they make breakthroughs, they relay it to matt when he pops by earth and then he takes it up into space to the rebellion who spreads it to planets that are behind on the galactic scale. hunk travels planet to planet with his moms and they connects all these different cultures and essentially does what he does in canon.

keith sort of takes over the blade and (since the war is over) turns it from a hidden rebellion group to a public aid and relief organization. they go planet to planet and help rebuild the worlds as much as they can. lance is on earth with his family but is Torn. he longed to be a fighter pilot since he was a kid, but being in space was almost unbearable bc of how bad he wanted to come home. when keith is visiting earth and talking about his travels to different planets, theres this flash of envy within lance and he comments about it. bada bing bada boom lance is joining keith into space once he leaves (he really has no idea how he gets into these things). he tells his family who are hesitant but ultimately supportive.

lance joins keith with the blade and finds himself greatly enjoying his time back up in space. he isn’t sure why until he mentions that he forgot something back of earth and keith asks if he wants to go back and grab it. lance has a choice now. he can go home if he wished and he can go up in space if he asked. when they were all kidnapped by the blue lion and jumped thru a wormhole, lance hadn’t been expecting staying up in space, away from his family, for years. the last bit of unease in lance settles and he thoroughly enjoys his time with the blade. by the time he’s set to go home, he barely even noticed time passing but he’s glad to be back.

he happens to return right as summer kicks off and he joins his family down in varadero. by the time august rolls around, he’s growing antsy again and staring up at the night sky with longing. his parents join him one night and encourage him to chase his dreams, to make younger him proud. lance says he doesn’t want to be away from his family like last time. they reassure him he won’t and point out how he could come home whenever he wished.

lance now spends end of august to beginning of june in space with keith helping planets, then june to august with his family on earth. its a good balance and makes everyone quite happy. eventually, keith starts to spend a bit more time on earth. he stops by toward the end of july and happens to catch lance’s birthday but that’s definitely purely a coincidence. keith spends a week in the states with shiro and adam then a couple of days with pidge and her family before going back down to cuba to spend the rest of august with lance before they fly back out.

rachel is the first to notice when lance and keith begin to share a bed when he stays. his mother catches them wrestling out in the water and chuckles to herself. veronica watches their hands linger against one another while doing the dishes after a family dinner that keith had attended.

its not long before keith’s time on earth extends until he’s practically following lance’s schedule. it’s not a surprise to anyone when marco walks in on lance and keith making out. he accepts responsibility as he did not knock before entering. his father had instructed them all to do so. thats on him.

[incorrect-kidge-quotes]

Not a parent hc post like I said I would do, but here is a one-shot I couldn't get out of my mind of Keith being a badass husband to Pidge in a traumatic time of need.

Semi-inspired by that one scene of Superman & Lois where Clark confronts Emitt in the diner.

TW: Violence, attempted assault

‐------------------------------------

"Hey Katie, you home from the lab yet?" Keith called out as he entered the front door. "Sorry I'm a little late, I decided to stop by Olkari before reentering the system, some of the human colonists took these grape looking things and made some wine, thought it might be nice for us to- oh, hey Matt. Sorry, didn't know you were here. Katie around?" He asked, looking around the entryway.

"Yeah, she's in the other room. But she asked me to come in here before you saw her and panicked."

"Panicked? Why would I panic? What happened?!" Keith asked before trying to walk past Matt.

Matt put his hand out to slow his brother-in-law down "She's okay, for the most part. She had a run-in with some people, we think it was an attempted mugging. We've already got authorities looking into it."

Keith's eyes went wide as he pushed past Matt and into the living room where he saw Pidge on the couch, Romelle comforting her as Sam and Colleen sat next to them.

"Keith, I-" Pidge went to stand up before Romelle eased her back down as Keith interrupted her.

"What happened, are you okay?!" Keith's mouth moved faster than his brain, it took a moment before his eyes registered her appearance.

Swollen cheek, the very corner of her mouth had a busted lip, her wrist red and he noticed she was holding her side with her other hand.

"What happened?!" He demanded again.

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

"Last call, sis, sure you don't want me and Romelle to give you a ride home?" Matt asked as the two left their lab and Romelle greeted the two.

"Nah, I'm good. Keith's coming back home tonight after a few weeks away from home. Going to go shopping to buy somethings for our 'reunion'." She chuckled

"La-la-la, not listening!" Matt over exaggerated his yelling as he covered his ears.

Romelle chuckled as she took his arm into her own, and they walked back to their vehicle "Well, you two have a lovely evening. We should all get together for dinner after he's settled back in, I'm sure your parents would appreciate it."

"Definitely! See y'all later, and don't forget the blueprints again!" She laughed as her brother got into the car and they sped off.

It didn't take long for her to walk from the Garrison to the town, the once easily shopping strip now fully repaired from the ruins of the war. She bought the two food for dinner, and a went by to get a new lingerie set to treat him.

As she walked out of the store she noticed a few men tailing her. 'Nothing too strange,' she thought, this is the most direct way to the residential district. But still, she always kept them in her peripheral vision, which she thanked herself for.

"Excuse me, missy, you lost? Need some help?" One of the men called out, go which she ignored. "Hey," he said as he ran up and grabbed her wrist a little *too* tight for her liking "I asked you a question, a pretty single girl like you doesn't need to be all alone."

Pidge raised her hand and flipped the man off, showing off her ring, the metal being a blend of luxite gifted by the Blades and solid gold. The gem was a fairly sizeable emerald as the centerpiece, with the sides being embezelled with rubies . "Not single. Don't need help. Thank you, but I'll be leaving now."

The man tightened the grip he had on her wrist, and though she's felt much worse, the pain was still surprising. "No need to be rude. Let us see that ring again."

"What have we got here?" The other man asked as he looked into the bag and pulled out her planned evening attire. "Look, the ring isn't all, she's got something else for us."

Pidge reached into her lab coat behind her back and summoned her newly created bayard, it may not be upto the standard of the original created by Alfor, but it's good enough.

She quickly jabbed it into the side of the man holding her wrist and electrocuted him before slashing at the other assailant and cutting his chest through his shirt.

The men cursed as the first man backhanded her across the face and the other managed to unfortunately get a hit into her gut.

Pidge dropped to the ground as she desperately gasped for air, it's been too long since her days of battle. She internally cursed herself out for being slow, these two should not have gotten the drop on her. She grit her teeth as she looked up at the assailants

"You good?" The first man asked as he kicked the bayard out of her hand.

The second dabbed his hand across his chest to wipe the blood away "Yeah, come one she's more trouble than she's worth."

"No, not yet." The first said as he kicked her in the side, as she curled up in pain he took the ring off her finger and picked the bayard up off the ground. "These shoukd fetch some good money, now we can go."

"Oh... oh shit, dude look at her coat. She's Garrison! What the fuck did you get us into?!" The second said in a panic as he ran off.

"Calm down, we'll be long gone. Come on, let's go that Sal's place before ditching town." He said as he followed after.

Pidge managed to sprawl herself out from the pain and she reached into her pocket for her phone.

"Matt..." she sobbed. "I need you to come get me..."

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

"Oh god..." he said as he dropped to the ground and laid his head to her lap, tears edging at the corners of his eyes. "God, Katie I'm so sorry. If I was home sooner, I could have picked you up-"

"No, don't worry about it. It hurt at the beginning, but honestly it looks worse than it is." Pidge told him as she ran her fingers through his hair.

Within seconds, Keith's regret turned into anger as he quickly rose to his feet. "You said they mentioned Sal's?"

"Keith, no-" she begged as she stood up before grabbing her ribs in pain.

Keith looked back at his wife, and he grit his teeth in anger. He began marching out of the room before Matt tried to stop him. "Hey, slow down. I'm pissed to, she's my baby sister, but like I said, we already have authorities looking into it."

"Matt, you can either move. Or I'll make you move." Keith threatened in a deadly even tone.

Matt knew he was serious, and he knew realistically he couldn't stop him if he tried. So he relegated himself to the side.

"Keith! This isn't a time for the leader of Voltron to be a hero again!" Pidge called out.

"The leader of Voltron isn't going." Keith said as he ripped her labcoat of the coat hangar and slammed the door behind him. Everyone inside heard his hoverbike rev up as he sped off.

"Come on, help me follow after him. He's not in his right mind." Pidge said as she slowly walked out.

"I'm not so sure we should, I say let the boy handle it." Sam said.

"Dad, if he goes there, he's going to kill them. He's too emotional when it comes to his loved ones. Now dammit, someone take me after him!"

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

It didn't take long for Keith to reach the center of town at the speed he was going, and it took even less after that to reach Sal's. He landed his hoverbike and threw his helmet to the ground.

"Hey, Kogane!" James Gfiffin called out as he, Nadia, Ryan, and Ina approached. "Long time no see, we were just grabbing dinner-" Griffin cut himself ff as he saw Keith's expression. "Everything all good?"

"Nope," Keith said flatly as he marched into the building.

The four all exchanged worried looks as they followed in after him.

Keith looked around the area before he saw two men sitting at the bar, one looking stressed and the other excitedly waving the bayard into the air. Keith took a step before he felt a tug on his wrist.

"Keith-" Pidge started as Matt, Romelle, and the others stood around her.

"That them?" He asked, cutting her off.

Pidge nodded as Keith pulled his hand away and approached. The second man caught him out of the corner of his eye, and his face turned to panic just as Keith threw the balled up labcoat at the first man.

"Hey! Did you do that to my wife?!"

The man turned his seat around to face Keith and smirked. He downed his drink and stood up in front of him. Physically speaking, he was bigger than Keith and at least *looked* stronger.

"Yeah, and the both of you are lucky that's all I did. If it went further, she wouldn’t be wanting you as a husband anymore after me."

Pidge shuddered in her place as Romelle and Nadia comforted her, Matt finally had enough and took a step before James grabbed him by the arm and shook his head.

"Give me back the ring and weapon, and I just may let you live."

The man laughed before throwing a punch. Keith caught it in his hand, surprising the thug. Keith then open-handed slapped him across the face, forcing the man to reel back in surprise and spit the blood out of his mouth. "Stronger than you look..." the thug lunged, and Keith weaved out of the way, landing a few punches into his back and pushing him face-first into the bar he was previously sitting at.

Keith then rushed over, grabbing the man by his hair and slowly forcing his face into the hardwood counter. The man struggled and was unable to lift his head up.

"Y-you're too strong! You ain't human! Come on, man, help me! Get him!" The man begged his friend who was still paralyzed in fear in his seat, and the glare from Keith only made him more committed to stay as perfectly still as possible.

"Katie!" Keith shouted as he yanked the man's head up and slamming it back into the counter.

"Y-yeah?"

"Which hand did he slap you with?" He asked.

"W-wha-"

"Which hand?!"

"His left."

Keith grunted in acknowledgment as he took out one of his Blades-issued knives and slammed it through the man's left hand, pinning it in place.

The man screamed in pain as he kept trying and failing to escape.

"Which foot did he kick you with?"

"His right..."

Keith then took his remaining knife and stabbed it through the man's kneecap, being sure to twist it for good measure.

"Now, I'm going to let you live. But I want you to know one thing."

"Anything man, anything!"

"Not only do I have the entire Galaxy Garrison at my disposal, but I have more resources than you can imagine. If you ever come near my wide again. I'll kill you. If you ever hit another woman again. I'll kill you. If you even think about another despicable crime? I'll kill you. They will never find your body, their will be no record of your miserable existence. Understand?"

The man was crying in pain as he nodded his head. "Yeah, yeah man. Understood. You'll never hear of me again. I won't ever do this shit again! I promise, man, I promise!"

Keith grunted as he twisted the knife in the man's hand to cause even more damage. He then pulled the man up by his hair and punched him in the face, knocking him out and to the ground in one motion.

"You..." he started as he turned to face the second man. "Don't think you're getting off easy either."

The second man raised his hands in a panic as he tried backing away and fell to the ground.

"Keith, that's enough, you proved your point!" Pidge shouted at the top of her lungs.

Her shout finally shook him out of his bloodlust. "Get your friend out of here, I don't ever want to see you two again."

"U-understood!" The man said as he crawled over to his friend and began to drag him away.

"Come on, let's go home..."

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

Hours later back at their house, and after everyone else left, Keith sat unmoving on the porch as if he were waiting for someone else to show up and harm his wife.

"You coming in? It's time for bed."

"Go ahead, I'll be up later."

Pidge sighed and shook her head. "Let me rephrase that, come inside and lay down with me in our bed. This is the first night in weeks I get to share a bed with my husband, and I'm not spending it sleeping alone."

Keith looked around one last time before coming inside and locking the doors behind him and carefully testing all windows before going to their bedroom.

As they crawled into bed, Keith wrapped himself around her and pulled her in as close as he could.

"I'm sorry about today..." he whispered.

Pidge moved one of his hands from her waist and kissed it before resting on her cheek. "Like I said, it's not your fault."

"It's- It's not just that... I couldn't control myself when I went after him. I didn't listen to you... I'm so, so sorry, Katie..."

Pidge turned to face him before giving him a kiss. "While I do think you may have took it to far, you did it for me. You did it so those assholes will never do to anyone else what they did to me. I will never hold today against you."

"I don't deserve you, I don't know how I got so lucky to be with you." He smiled softly before kissing her forehead.

"I think I'm the one who should be saying that to you. I love you, Keith Kogane."

"I love you to Katie, more than I'll ever be able to say.

[kidge-planet]

Krolia ships Kidge krolia: Ok son, now that war is over, you've got to find yourself someone to procreat.

keith: tooooo whaaaat now?!

krolia:you are a man and you are 23. Don't waste more time.

keith: hold on, what age did you had me?

krolia: that is not important. now, you've got to know that galrans are having kids has soon as they can. generally, galrans have huge famillys but unfortunately, war destroyed that aspect. I couldn't have more kids. but now that you can, im pretty optimist. what do you think of axca? she is a beautiful woman, a great fighter and she is half galra, just like you! plus, you two seem to have a thing!

keith: EWWW! what!? me and Axca?! no thanks! she is sure all you said but not my type! she is just a friend I guess and I had never had a talk that wasn't involving war with her. plus, she seem pretty pessimist and too serious. not my cup of tea!

krolia: Ok! so you want someone that is optimist.. WHAT DO YOU THINK OFF ROMELLE?!

Keith: Romelle? are you serious? I mean, she is nice and everything but do you really see me with her ?! I know I said the opposite before but I would like someone more serious then Romelle. like, someone that know when to be serious and when to not.. also,I think that I want someone smarter then Romelle. Not that she is not, but you knowwww... I feel like she is still a child in her mind somehow. I think I'd want someone that is smart enough to know what they want and where they're going. you see what I mean? like, someone mature enough.

krolia: serious only when the situation involves it ....smart... knows what they want and where they're going.... mature enough... I don't know anyone like it.

krolia:...

krolia: WAIT.

krolia: What do you think of Katie!? Colleen told me that she wanted grandkids too! keith, she is exactly coressponding to your descriptions! She is pretty and smart! perfect to have beautiful and smart babys!

Keith: MOM IT'S NOT ABOUT THE BABYS! IM NOT PLANING TO BE A FATHER YET!

Krolia: YOU DIDN'T SAY NO FOR KATIE (and you are blushing hard) ! IM CALLING COLLEEN TO PLAN YOUR WEDDING NOW! I CAN'T WAIT!

Keith: WEDDING?! MOM NO!

Krolia: MOM, YES!

bonus:

colleen: KATIE, HONEY! I HAVE GREAT NEWS! pidge: What is it? colleen: you are getting married next week! we've got to find you a dress and everything! IM SO EXITED!!!! pidge: WHAT THE QUIZNACK ?!?

[ladyandherbooks]

So this week I got a sudden urge to rewatch some of Voltron (only the Lotor scenes and episodes minus the Lotura break up, Romelle's Lotor backstory and Lotor's break down, I'll never be in the mood to rewatch them) and here are some of my thoughts since its been 5 years since this shows cataclysmic end.

The Lotor vs Zarkon fight is still great 5 years on. The best fight in the show by far.

Lotor's escape from Zarkon in season 4 is also great and one of the best examples of his skills as a pilot.

Lotor really was one of the most powerful characters on this show. He went up against so many foes who had a huge advantage against him and still managed to come out on top.

The Galra civil war with Lotor and Sendak as the leaders on either side with Honerva/Haggar plotting and manipulating from the shadows should have been of the main storyline post Lotor's ascension to the throne. They could have done so much with it.

For example, the reasons why certain Galran controlled planets and Galrans would choose either Lotor or Sendak. Perhaps some half or part Galra choose to follow Sendak and the paladins try to find out why. And some Galrans may only choose Lotor because they want to be on the winning side and believe that they will be rewarded for doing so. You could see a range of reasons as why certain Galrans chose a specific side and why.

There needed to be more focus on the prejudices faced by half and part Galra and what Lotor and his generals being in power would mean for the future of the empire.

Speaking of the generals, there really should have been 2 episodes dedicated to Team Sincline's backstory. We should have seen how they all met and how they became so close. And only 1 break up between them, when they reunited in season 6 they should have stayed together.

Speaking of staying I'm now imagining a better version of Lotor's break down. Allura defeats Lotor in space, not in the quintessence field. But when they (Voltron) approach Lotor to retrieve him Lotor, injured and still in the midst of a breakdown gets one more burst of energy and he tries to take them down only to be stopped at the last second by his generals who, knowing that Lotor wasn't truly himself quickly snuck back into the Sincline mech. They subdue him, take control of Sincline and flee before the paladins can react. They then take Lotor somewhere safe to hide out and help him. You could even include the 2 year timeskip and have Lotor be in such a bad way physically, emotionally and mentally that it takes him 2 years to heal and recover. Can you imagine how great that would have been? The angst, the emotions, the friendship, the fact that Axca, Ezor and Zethrid refuse to give up on him no matter how bad he gets in those 2 years. Add in Dayak at some point and it would be great.

Also Axca, Zethrid and Ezor should have learnt about what Haggar did to Narti in season 4 and Lotor should have also provided them with an explanation as well.

We should have also have seen Team Sincline fight in their mech at least once per season.

The show really did suffer from the split seasons from seasons 3 - 5. I know that LM and JDS had a set number of episodes but these seasons would have been better if they had all been 13 eps each. That way they could have explored all their storylines without the rush.

Too many cool and interesting concepts introduced but never explained or explored e.g. Lotor using the black bayard and being able to create 2 different weapons with it.

The moment that Honerva/Haggar remembered that Lotor is her son is still a great emotional moment.

The colony was a good idea that was executed with very little planning or care. It could have been a really good plot point to create a temporary rift between Lotor and the paladins e.g. have the reveal happen at the beginning of season 6, have a season or possibly 2 of angst and then have them work together again after Lotor has atoned in some way. Lotor could provide his actual explanation of what happened to the other Altaeans, the alliance would have remained intact just with the added rift between the paladins and Lotor where the paladins would still help Lotor stop the civil war but they would keep their distance and would only meet with him in public. Then once they had all truly reunited Allura and Lotor finally become a couple.

Also have their relationship be used against them by Sendak and his supporters who believe that this is evidence that they will soon be ruled by non-Galra and the hypocrisy in this belief considering how many planets and people the Galra rule.

[ao3feedsheith]

The One Where The Paladins Find Out

The One Where The Paladins Find Out https://archiveofourown.org/works/56250964 by slimerencek For Shiro Saves Keith Week: Shiro saves Keith from embarrassment / unwanted attention. AKA Keith gets confronted by all the paladins after walking out of a public bathroom looking wrecked. Words: 1470, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English Fandoms: Voltron: Legendary Defender Rating: Mature Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Categories: M/M Characters: Keith (Voltron), Shiro (Voltron), James Griffin (Voltron), Voltron Paladins, Romelle (Voltron) Relationships: Keith/Shiro (Voltron) Additional Tags: Implied Sexual Content, Semi-Public Sex, Misunderstandings, Secret Relationship, Embarrassment, Accidental Voyeurism, Flustered Keith (Voltron), Fluff, Humor, Shiro Saves Keith (Voltron), Shiro Saves Keith Week, M is for referenced sexy times, Bathroom Sex, Canon Universe, Post-Canon, but yk. everyones alive and no one marries any strangers via AO3 works tagged 'Keith/Shiro (Voltron)' https://archiveofourown.org May 28, 2024 at 11:42PM

[justmultifandom]

Kidge winter event

Day 6: Mistletoe/Movies

Christmas didn't exist in Altea, so Coran was very surprised when Lance asked him if they could celebrate it with their families at the new Castle of Lions. Keith remembered how complicated it had been for all of them to explain each tradition to him, and since they came from different cultures, each paladin had different traditions for that joyous day. He remembered how Lance boasted about the gifts to give to everyone, while Hunk talked about the cooking competitions with his family, while Pidge explained the religious reason in which she had been rigorously educated by her parents. Of course, Keith also had traditions that had been passed down to him by his father, and which he had continued to do after his death. However, Coran liked the idea, so he immediately nodded and accepted the proposal. For a week, the castle was in total commotion as robots hung pine garlands, branches, and fairy lights throughout the castle. The ballroom had been decorated and illuminated, and in every corner one could find small or large Christmas trees, and for a moment, although he hated large parties, he thought it was a nice thing to get all together on a day that it was Allura's commemoration.

December 24th arrived quickly, and all the families and important friends of the paladins showed up at the Castle of the Lions elegant and smiling. The foods that Hunk had carefully cooked together with his and Romelle's group accompanied the buffet of appetizers full of laughter, smiles and harmony, and for a moment everything seemed perfect in Keith's eyes. At least until the Holt family arrived, late, but not without smiles and elegant clothes; and as soon as he saw Pidge in a gorgeous, elegant green dress… well… that was more than perfect for him. The dress was a simple green dress with thin straps, a skirt with layers of tulle that fell above the knee but reached the calf at the back, a V-neck and stockings that perfectly reflected the color of her pale and warm complexion . She smiled and sat at the table apologizing to everyone for being late, while he watched her move around the room. Hell, it took Hunk to lock his jaw shut! But only then did he realize that, damn, she was now twenty years old and no longer a little girl, but it had taken such an elegant, tight and feminine dress, that it had surely been Colleen's idea, to make it for her. note? Apparently yes, but apparently that stupid reaction of his made someone else understand something else, even if in fact it didn't take him long to understand it. His cheeks colored every time he looked at her from behind or in front, even though he didn't have this effect with the other girls, who were dressed more or less the same.

Lance had approached him while he was drinking a glass of champagne in the corner of the party a few minutes after eleven while everyone else was dancing, an evil smile on his face.

“How's it going?” He laughed, wrapping his arm around his shoulders.

“Good…”: Keith replied, shrugging and taking a sip of the yellow, gaseous liquid, hoping it would stop the slight blush on his cheeks, while he looked at her from across the room talking to Matt and Curtis.

“Pidge looks beautiful tonight, doesn't she?” Lance chuckled, hitting that sore point Keith had hoped he wouldn't mention, and in fact he almost choked on his champagne.

“W-What? Well, in short... It's the usual Pidge...": he stopped his embarrassment by wiping his mouth with a napkin.

“Do you really hope that I believe you? Poor naive person, we all saw that as soon as she entered on your face exploded little hearts ...": he sighed, shaking his head.

"Everyone?": he turned pale: "Even her?"

“I don't know, either she's the only one who hasn't noticed or she's too kind to pretend nothing happened”: he replied.

“AH”: Keith nodded: “So what should I do now…?”

“You definitely can't miss her, I mean, look at her! She is smart, strong, smart and beautiful! Once upon a time, I admit, I would have questioned the fact that she was cute but now, man...": he interrupted the sentence, but the other immediately understood where he was going. For Keith, beauty was a subjective thing, and after seeing different alien races in so many physical aspects they had made him believe that, rightly, beauty wasn't that important, but then why was he now so attracted to her in that way? Once, as paladins, he was amazed at her strength and speed, her ingenuity and her mentality, perhaps it was that attraction that returned to the surface after all that time that made him react that way?

“You can't escape from love…”: his father always repeated every time he placed a mistletoe leaf on the ceiling. He always said that he did it because his mother liked that tradition, and that therefore for him it was like a symbol of hope that she would return. This had always made baby Keith cry.

“I didn't mean that…”: he shook his head: “I mean… How… How do you conquer a woman?”

"Oh! Wow! I never imagined I would have to give this speech to lone wolf Keith Kogane!”: Lance laughed.

“Just answer!”: he whispered, embarrassed and with his face on fire. Lance simply pointed to a small archway at the end of the room, where there was some mistletoe tied with a red Christmas bow.

“Are you kidding!?”: Keith shook his head, feeling his cheeks as red as his former uniform.

"Why not?"

“Because that's in front of everyone, you idiot!”

“Oh, well, then what's another one in the corridor before the stairs and the bathroom, almost no one ever goes there!”: he explained.

“Okay!”: He grumbled, rubbing his cheeks to reduce the blush. He looked back across the room at Pidge, who was standing up and giving Matt the glass of water. From her lips and how she pointed to the door he could assume she was going to the bathroom, perfect.

“It's your time!”: Lance exclaimed, giving him a pat on the shoulder that almost made the champagne fall. He growled for a moment, then sighed and with slow steps headed towards the door. Once he crossed the threshold he could see a short corridor lit only by the classic blue neon lights of the castle and by a few light lights on the stairs to the left, which had a small mistletoe plant on the ceiling at the beginning. He was alone for the moment, although he could hear the water running from the bathroom not far away, so he decided to lean on the start of the stair railing without rushing and waiting for her. Pidge came out a short time later waving her hands at the ground as if to dry them and when she looked up she jumped slightly.

“Keith, you scared me!”: she laughed, approaching him and leaning on the pillar as well.

“It's been a while since we talked, alone and as friends I mean…”: he sighed, and thanked heaven that the alcohol was finally having its effect, making his tone much calmer and sedate and his cheeks less reddish.

“Yeah…”: she nodded: “I've been pretty busy with the Garrison…”

“I know…”: he replied, looking up once again towards the mistletoe. After all, it was he who told Coran to put a few leaves hanging here and there around the castle, after all it was his tradition, and each paladin had been pleased with an important piece of their culture: Lance had embellished the tree and the gift packages with colored shells, Hunk had shared much of the traditional food on the menu, Shiro had bought lights of all kinds and Pidge had managed to steal an old nativity scene from her mother.

“Anyway, I was surprised to hear that your Christmas and your traditions are different from everyone else's…”: Keith confessed, looking at her.

"What can I say? My parents are very religious and then the traditional Italian Christmas is much less complicated than the American one. There's no mistletoe, Christmas Eve parties, stockings hanging on the fireplace...": she sighed: "You only see all this in those horrible Christmas films..."

“Have you really never imagined a kiss under the mistletoe?”: he asked.

“A kiss under the mistletoe? We don't even use mistletoe...": she shook her head.

“Oh, well, it kind of sucks… I thought everyone did that…”: Keith admitted.

“But, now that you make me think about it, it would be nice…”: she thought, thinking out loud: “It seems romantic…”

“It is…”: he nodded.

“Have you ever tried this?”: Pidge asked.

“No, I've never had the opportunity, like you…”: he shook his head.

She sighed, looking at him and then moving her gaze to the green leaves above his head. She looked around the empty hallway as loud sounds of music and laughter could be heard from the front door. Sometimes you could even hear someone yelling about the Christmas countdown.

“What if this was an opportunity?” She finally found the courage to speak, and he raised an eyebrow at her.

"Really? Would you like it?”: he asked shocked.

“Well, yes, just to try, and then we can just forget everything…”: she shrugged, moving away from the column and opposing him.

“What does it tell you that I want to forget?”: He followed her example, approaching her and looking down at her; she had grown and stood tall, but he still towered over her.

“And what does it tell you that I don't want to forget either?”: she replied in the same way. They both smiled as they slowly approached, moving backwards slightly so they were completely under the mistletoe. Shouts could be heard from the main room, probably the countdown had started.

“5!”

Her arms wrapped around his neck, gently massaging his tense muscles and jaw, adjusting the collar of his red shirt. Likewise he grabbed her waist, pulling her as close as possible and studying her hips with his fingers through the delicate fabric of her green dress.

“4!”

His hands moved from her hips to her cheeks, stroking them gently and looking into her eyes. With a slow gesture he moved her glasses, moving them above her head, definitively freeing those golden and shining eyes of hers.

“3!”

She looked into his eyes, drowning in that work of art of purple colors and shades. Maybe that was the only way she could tell that part of him was Galra. She wet her lips slightly, and, even though she had never done it, she didn't feel scared or embarrassed. Maybe it was Christmas that gave such a magical atmosphere?

"2!"

They came closer, again and again, closer each time. His hands fell to her sides again, while her arms wrapped around his neck as she moved on tiptoe despite the small heels she wore, and he bent over.

“1!”

Their lips joined with heat and passion, carried away by each other's taste as they gave impetus to what they had desired and hoped for for years.

"Merry Christmas to all!"

[the-kittens-of-vol-tron]

It’s Just Pretend

Chapter 2: Adjusting

AO3!

Chapter 1

Word Count: 1,883

-----

POP! 

“Congratulations!” Hunk, Shay, Allura, and Romelle cheered as they poured Lance a glass of champagne. 

 Lance was beaming ear to ear as he grabbed his glass. “Thanks, guys, I was getting stressed. I won't lie.” 

 “How did you manage to snag one? The market is so competitive right now.” Shay asked, her head tilting with the question. Her hooped earrings shimmered under the light. 

 “Well,” Lance took a sip of his drink. He placed his glass down, holding it between his two hands as his fingers tapped a random beat on it. “Keith and I are fake engaged…?” 

 Everyone stared at him. Unblinking. Romelle broke the silence with a giggle of disbelief. “What?” 

 Lance shrugged, “we just are pretending to be engaged. Only for a week but it was just to help us get a place and it worked!” 

 “How did you even come up with that idea?” Allura questioned, glancing at her girlfriend. 

��“A bartender gave me the idea actually.” Lance glanced at his friends who still seemed confused. He sighed. “Look at you all! You all are engaged and found apartments no problem. Keith and I are single and as soon as we pretended to be a couple bam! We got a place that visit.” 

 Hunk shrugged, taking a sip of his drink. “As long as you two have a stable place that’s all that matters.” 

 Shay smiled, “I agree.” 

 “You said it’s just for a short while?” Romelle asked. 

 Lance nodded. “Yeah just for a week. Maybe two.” 

 Everyone smiled and Hunk poured another round for the table. 

—

“You agreed to what now?” Pidge narrowed their eyes at the tv screen, not even pausing the game they were playing with Keith.

 “It’s just for a week. And we found a place so it doesn’t matter.” Keith focused on his game, ignoring his brothers chuckles from behind them. 

 “Where did you even get this idea to fake being fake engaged?” 

 “My roommate. Just for a week.” 

 “A week huh?” Shiro said with a smile on his face. 

 Pidge opened their mouth to reply but the front door opened. “Hey everyone, I’m home.” 

 “Hey baby,” Shiro leaned his head back, looking at his husband. “Pizza?” 

 Adam held up two boxes, “of course.” 

—

Lance slammed the door to his car, dusting his hands on the side of his blue jeans. “That is the last of it.” 

 Keith downed a bottle of water, lifting the bottom of his shirt up to wipe the sweat from his brow. “Now we just have to drive to the place and unload it.” 

 Lance groaned, “noooooooooo” and ran his hands down his face. “I’m too tired.” 

 Keith chuckled, moving to get into the passenger seat. “Just drive.” 

 “Just drive,” Lance mocked back as he made his way to the driver's seat. He closed the door, letting the silence move around them. He glanced back at their dorm building. Their keys were already turned in, the cleaning was done. They were done. He released a low whistle. 

 Keith tilted his head, “everything okay?” 

 “Yeah,” He turned on his car and slid it into drive. “Just closing the book I guess.” The car slowly rolled forward. 

 Keith shrugged and rested his head against the window. “Just the start of a new chapter. Not the end.” 

 Lance smiled to himself and pulled out of the parking lot. “Yeah.” 

—

“That’s the last one,” Keith called out as he closed the door behind him; a box in his hands. 

 “Thank god,” Lance fell to the floor, his breathing rapid. “The AC is on right?” 

 “It’s at 73,” Keith sat down next to his roommate, fanning himself with his shirt. 

 Another groan escaped Lance's lips, “I’m done moving for the day. I’m sleeping right here.” 

 “On the floor?” 

 “Our furniture doesn’t get here until tomorrow so where else am I going to sleep?” 

 Keith clicked his tongue and the conversation ended. They kept to themselves for a bit. Moving in silence as Keith began to unpack the kitchen while Lance stayed laying on his back looking at the ceiling. A knock sounded on the door and Lance mumbled curse words under his breath as he stood up. He opened the door with a smile, and an elderly couple was standing on the other side. “Hello?” 

 The woman grinned, “Well, aren’t you just a handsome young man.” She nudged the man next to her. “Don’t you agree, darling?” 

 The man nodded. “Yes.” 

 Lance made a small gasp of flattery. “Well, aren’t you two the cutest.” 

 The three of them giggled, “I’m Marlene and this is my husband Joel.” Marlene nudged the man now known as Joel, again. Who held up a small tray covered in aluminum foil. “To welcome you into the complex I made some cookies. It's been a while since we have had new tenets, let alone someone so young and handsome.” 

 “Oh, you flatter me.”

 “Who’s at the door?” Keith came around the corner, seeming a bit suspicious of the new voices.

 The elderly couple gleamed in excitement as soon as their eyes landed on the raven-haired boy. “Oh my! Who is this young man?” 

 Keith opened and closed his mouth a couple of times. He was never good at meeting strangers, let alone meeting them without warning. Lance took the lead, as he always did in situations like this. “Oh, this is Keith. My fiance,” Lance wrapped his arm around Keith’s shoulder. Pulling him against his body. 

 Marlene narrowed her eyes, scanning the two boys. “I don’t see a ring.” 

 Lance and Keith both froze until Lance cleared his throat. “Mine’s in the jewelry shop, Mullet here got the wrong size. Isn’t that right babe?” 

 “Uh,” Keith ran his hands up and down his upper thighs. His eyes darted across the ground, “yeah.” 

 “You’ll have to forgive him, he’s not much of a people person. I don’t know how he tolerates me.” Lance planted a soft kiss on the side of Keith’s head. Silently reminding himself to apologize as soon as the door was closed as Keith stiffened more. 

 Marlene laughed. “Those are the best couples. Just like Joel and I.” They chatted back and forth for a couple of minutes before the cookies were placed in Lance’s hands and the door was locked. Keith moved to the kitchen as soon as they were alone and Lance followed. “Hey…sorry about the head kiss. I didn’t realize.” He paused, his brows scrunching up and he thought about what he was trying to say. “I shouldn’t have kissed your head. I wasn’t thinking and that really isn’t an excuse but I’m sorry.” 

 Kieth shrugged his shoulders, keeping his back to his roommate. “It’s fine. Just was…unexpected.” 

 Lance nodded, “I’m still sorry. I won’t do it again.” 

 Keith nodded, turning around to open another box labeled with black Sharpie as Cooking Stuff. “Thanks.” 

 “Did you need any help?” He made his way over to Keith. 

 “Uh…that would be great. Yeah.” 

—

One month. Keith and Lance had been living together for one month. What should have been a week lie max, had turned into one month. Something neither of them expected. 

 “I’ll get it!” Lance lunged toward the door, nearly knocking his chair over in the process. Keith silently watched, bringing another spoonful of dinner to his mouth. Lance swung the door open, his signature grin on his face. “Oh! Granny Sydney. What a pleasant surprise. Babe, Granny Sydney is here.” 

 Keith responded with a small grunt, the sound of his chair sliding against the floor filled the air. 

 Granny Sydney was an older woman. She lived alone with her three cats. Her hair was a mix of white and black, and she used a cane to walk. She was the second person to come visit them after Marleen and Joel. She had become their “grandma” in a way. Always bringing them treats and random baked goods she made. “Oh, how are you two?” She held out a tray covered in foil. 

 Lance quickly grabbed the tray, stepping aside as Keith joined him in the doorway. He sent her a nod and a small smile. “What did you bring us today granny?” Lance began to unwrap the foil, his eyes fixated on the task. 

 “Lance,” Keith cleared his throat. He was still adjusting to being romantic in front of others. “Baby, shouldn’t we do that in the kitchen?” 

 Lance paused, “where are my manners?!” He turned his attention towards their guest. “Do you want to come in for a cup of tea? Or coffee? Mama just sent me fresh beans from her coffee shop.” He sent the older woman a lopsided smile. 

 “Oh! That would be lovely,” she smiled at the two boys as Lance stepped to the side. Allowing her to enter. 

 “Keith, be a doll and pull the grinder and the coffee maker out.” Lance shoved the tray into his roommate's hand and offered his arm toward Granny Sydney. She took it with a beaming smile and they shuffled to the kitchen as Keith moved to grab the requested supplies. 

 Lance quickly, but efficiently grind the beans and made three cups of coffee. Placing them on the table as they all sat down. After a couple more moments of idle chatter, Granny placed her cup down, her eyes falling on the two boys. “I have to ask, where did you two meet?” 

 Lance reached over and placed his hand on Keith’s. Covering how Keith’s hand tensed with the contact. “College. Same major, right baby?” 

 Keith nodded, staring into the dark liquid in his cup. 

 “Oh? And what major is that?” Sydney rested her head in her left hand. Her right hand holding the cup. 

 “Astrophysics,” Keith mumbled as he brought the cup to his lips with his free hand. 

 “Oh my,” Sydney looked at both the boys. Her eyes blew wide, “what do you two do with a degree like that?” 

 Lance took over providing an answer. “We’re both astrophysics engineers. We design planes and make sure they work according to design.” 

 Sydney slumped back in her chair, “I take it you two fell in love while working on projects and studying for a test.” 

 Lance laughed, ignoring Keith’s disagreement under his breath. “Something like that. Mullet here was on the verge of strangling me every study session. Isn’t that right,” Lance leaned over and pressed his shoulder into Keith's. Ignoring how red his face became at the motion. 

 Keith put his cup on the table, taking a shaky breath to compose himself. He focused all his attention on the older woman. He was still adjusting to any form of physical contact. “Believe it or not, he has a hard time staying focused.” 

 Sydney laughed as if she had just heard the funniest joke in the world. “But you popped the question?” Her attention fell on the ring Lance was wearing. Something cheap, but fancy looking, they got at a pawn shop. Yet, her question was directed at the raven-haired boy. Keith refused to even entertain the thought when Lance originally asked. 

 “Yeah,” Keith brought the cup to his lips, “who wouldn’t want to spend their life with him?” Feeling bold he sent Lance and wink. 

 Lance felt his face grow red, his heart pounding in his chest.

-----

Thank you for reading <33333

[every-character-ever-poll]

WEEK TWO LINEUP

Thank you all for a wonderful first week of this poll! As of posting this, I have received 457 submissions (which is a lot more than I was anticipating). Because of that, I've decided to make every week have 100 polls instead of the minimum 80 I had planned at the beginning.

Without further ado, here is our week two lineup!

Travis Matagot - Campaign Skyjacks

April Ryan - The Longest Journey

Sam Puckett - iCarly, Sam and Cat

Jade West - Victorious

Nicholas D. Wolfwood - Trigun

Vash The Stampede - Trigun

Meito Anizawa - Anime Tenchou

CATS - Zero Wing

Shin Amon - Yakuza, Judgment

Xue Yang - The Untamed

Lyman - Garfield

Marius Pontmercy - Les Misérables

Pierre Bezukhov - War and Peace

Netzach - Lobotomy Corporation, Library of Ruina

Ash Fox - Fantastic Mr. Fox

Sneeze - Fool's Gold

Max - Sam and Max

Alina Gray - Magia Record

Lloyd Irving - Tales of Symphonia

Agent John Bishop - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003)

TableTurf Card: Inkbrush - Splatoon 3

TableTurf Card: Aerospray MG - Splatoon 3

Marigold/Beth Parish - The Fairy Chronicles

TableTurf Card: Annaki Splatershot Nova - Splatoon 3

Thistle - The Fairy Chronicles

Warren Stone - Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Hypno-Potamus - Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Himena Aika - Magia Record

Tidy - The Little Trashmaid

Bon - Five NIghts at Freddy's High School

Tamaki - Mahou ga Tsukaenakutemo

Error!Sans - loverofpiggies.tumblr.com

Idia Shroud - Twisted Wonderland

Beetlejuice - Beetlejuice the Musical

Kotetsu T. Kaburagi (Wild Tiger) - Tiger and Bunny

Nikol - Xenoblade 3: Future Redeemed

Noel Gruber - Ride the Cyclone

Jack Fairy - Velvet Goldmine

Nightmare Knight - Cucumber Quest

Agent Olive - Odd Squad

Derrick Berg - Lord of the Mysteries

Yukine - Noragami

Father - Noragami

Hu Geng - The Tale of Food

Li Ling - Dislyte

Wylan Van Eck - Six of Crows

Naoto Shirogane - Persona 4

P03 - Inscryption

Gabriel - Ultrakill

Airi Momoi - Project Sekai

Myles Toyne - A Song of Ice and Fire

Jon Connington - A Song of Ice and Fire

Daemon II Blackfyre - Tales of Dunk and Egg

Buckshot (Bimbo) - Simba the King Lion

Maze Myers - Ebon Ward

Marcy Wu - Amphibia

Merry Nightmare - Yumekui Merry

Heiji Hattori - Detective Conan

Hapu - Pokémon

Cure Bloom - Futari wa Precure Splash Star

Mollymauk Tealeaf - Critical Role

Willow Rosenberg - Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Inigo Montoya - The Princess Bride

Cloud Strife - Final Fantasy VII

Aerith Gainsborough - Final Fantasy VII

Paruko/Harmony - Splatoon

dedf1sh - Splatoon

Arlan - Honkai: Star Rail

Ángel Valdivia - Detective Beebo

Nahyuta Sahdmadhi - Ace Attorney

Edmond - Nu:Carnival

Jupiter - We Know the Devil

Scarlet Witch - Marvel

Tobias Schneien - Ghost Eyes

Cure March - Smile Precure

Cure Diamond - Doki Doki Precure

Valerie - Pokémon

Alice Carroll - ARIA

Marika Kato - Mouretsu Pirates

Obi - Akagami no Shirayuki-hime

Nano Shinonome - Nichijou

Cure Butterfly - Hirogaru Sky Precure

Ran Mouri - Detective Conan

Houtarou Oreki - Hyouka

Yui Yumekawa - Idol Time Pripara

Kozue Kaoru - Revolutionary Girl Utena

Mew Ichigo - Tokyo Mew Mew

Last Order - A Certain Magical Index

Hau - Pokémon

Cure Melody - Suite Precure

Hannibal Lecter - Hannibal

Horibe Itona - Assassination Classroom

Puppycat - Bee and Puppycat

Momiji Binboda - Binbougami Ga!

Jim Lake Jr - Trollhunters

Romelle - Voltron Legendary Defender

Mai - Avatar: The Last Airbender

Vermouth - Detective Conan

Silver - Pokémon

[gentrychild]

I bring offerings and thanks to the Fic Finder Rats 🧀🧀🍇🫒🧀🧀 and humbly ask for help with finding a Voltron fic series.

I have searched for months but despite remembering much detail, I can't find it.

It was definitely a series, where Adam lived because black had somehow sensed Shiro cared about him and kept him alive, and Romelle was the one to find him in the wreckage (she asks him if he wants help and hes like nah im good. She leaves amd comes vack like 'sorry I'm told i have to help you' and everyone is freaking out that he survived for several weeks still pinned in his ship). It was a Crack series, and it was mostly team Voltron an co talking and catching up on both pre space times and during space times. Like, Hunk and Lance ran a food mafia, but people thought it was Pidge, who had conducted interviews about what made someone a dude to blend in. Also once Pidge got their period and was like 'how do I pretend I'm still a dude with this oh no' so one of their friends just screamed that "he got stabbed in the dick" and somehow that fooled the other students? I think it was fem pronouns for Pidge but unsure.

There was an Adam/Shiro wedding too and it was a big deal.

Thank you for your help even if you can't find it ❤️ 🍉🍊🍌🍞🥐🥖🧀🧀🧀🧀🧀🧀🧀

Fic finders, ASSEMBLE!

[vee-is-a-clown]

Log Entry #3

Red,

I was extremely unproductive today as well. I'm so stressed out but I haven't done anything to stress me out. I don't know why I feel this way. I feel guilt from not doing work but I don't have work to do. It's not just work, I didn't even go to the market today. I just had apples from the trees outside.

The apples are ripe now. Ugh! That's another thing I have to do. Add picking apples to the list. Really, I should be doing things. Every time I try, I get demotivated. I make excuses. I can't get into a routine. This is torture.

I heard that Pidge set one of Adam's plants on fire and he's ANGRY. Now, I can't sell fire potions to the Holts. Even if I wanted to, Adam would be upset. You do not want to see Adam when he's upset. After a bit, he stops being angry and just sits there like he's waiting for you to do something. I call it the stare of disapproval.

Unrelated, Hunk ordered 5 fire potions today. I'll make them tomorrow because I'm pretty tired right now. Hopefully he's fine with the wait. He's usually pretty calm about that sort of thing.

Hunk is great. He doesn't come over often because the forest creeps him out but when he does, he always has food in hand. It's helpful because my cooking is horrific. He's amazing at what he does. He designs armor for soldiers and militia men. You should see him work with metal. He looks really in his element.

When he comes over, he usually talks about what's going on in town while I'm cooped up in my house working for long periods of time. Hunk came over today actually. He delivered his order in person along with an amazing pie. He told me about how Pidge set Adam's plant on fire. I'm guessing I'll also hear it from Adam as well.

Writing in this book really does help. When I start writing, I feel stressed and sad but now I feel relaxed. It's helping me remember the better parts of my day. I still don't feel better about not doing anything today.

I'll make better plans for tomorrow and write them down. I think that might help.

Tomorrow, I'll go to the McClain residence in the morning. Then, I'll get food for the week. Last, I'll make Hunk's potions and maybe make some potions for Allura. She hasn't ordered any but it's been a while and I should get ready for the next time she orders. Her orders are usually massive. It's because she has a huge stock and needs to refill every once in a while. I'm predicting that she'll need some soon.

Shiro and Allura are my two biggest customers. Allura runs a fae inn deep in the woods. I stayed there when my house was being built. They sell potions to magical creatures there. It seems redundant but it's essentially like having a spell in a bottle. It's useful sometimes.

Allura inherited the inn from her dad. She thrives there with her girlfriend, Romelle and the manager, Coran. Coran was her dad's friend.

Shiro runs the hospital in town. I make healing potions that close wounds and fix tissue. Those are the biggest needs. I also make potions for specific cases like sicknesses. One of those potions saved Lance's life. From what I know, he's suspectable to getting badly sick so he needs a potion to help his immune system.

Shiro is engaged to Adam. It's cute because Shiro is a doctor and Adam is a nurse. If only I could have a boyfriend who works with me. There's a problem with that though. I work alone.

I didn't make any potions today.

[feyravenchatter]

Yes, I just dove right in and started it. Anneliese knows about her origins and doesn't think much of her father.

Chapter 1, Part 1

“Ugh, I don’t know what I want to do.  Dad, what do you think I should do?”  The declaration and question about a possible after-school job came from the teenage girl sprawled across the sofa, arms flung out to her sides, looking at her father upside down, black hair hanging to the floor in a thick curtain.

Keith chuckled from behind his laptop.  “Whatever you want to do, Liese.  You know I'm not going to be a lot of help here.”

Anneliese sighed, rolling over.  “Yeah, I know.  You were too worried about me and finishing high school.”  A thought struck her, and she sat up abruptly.  “I can go back to babysitting.  I have my own car now.”

She reached across the space between the sofa and the coffee table, nearly falling off while grabbing her phone.  While setting up her account on the babysitting app, Keith stopped work on the report he needed to finish, watching his daughter.  She looked so much like him it was almost painful, something he was actually glad of – he wasn’t sure if he would have liked the reminder if she’d turned out looking like her father.

Keith had found out that his high school boyfriend was cheating on him the day before he found out that he was pregnant.  He’d confronted Mason about the cheating after getting the pregnancy confirmed, and he didn’t didn’t deny it, he was actually proud of himself for stringing Keith along while hooking up with another guy and regularly fucking one of the cheerleaders.  Keith hadn’t meant to tell Mason the way he did, but hearing his soon-to-be ex bragging about cheating, Keith had said that he wouldn’t want to raise their baby around a parent who cheats anyway.

Mason thought Keith was fucking with him at first, but realized that he was serious just as Keith was breaking up with him.  They had begun to attract a crowd with all of Mason’s yelling about his conquests, including Keith’s best friend Romelle.  Mason knew exactly how fucked he was, Romelle’s girlfriend Allura was possibly the most popular girl in their entire school.  Keith never even had to see him again for the rest of their last year and a half of high school, even when he came back after missing the first few weeks of senior year when their daughter was born.

Anneliese was scrolling through potential clients, but stopped when she realized Keith was watching her.  “What?” she asked, looking up.

Keith just shook his head with a small smile.  “Nothing, princess.  Just thinking about how much you look like me.”

“Yeah, you and Gramma.  I’ve seen pictures of Gramma in high school, and it could be me, except for the awful 80s hair.”  She’d gone back to scrolling while passing judgment on her grandmother’s past fashion choices, but stopped, tapping on a potential client profile.  “Oh my god, she sounds so cute,” Anneliese said all at once, reading bits out loud, “She’s four, and her big thing right now is princesses and dragons, but specifically princesses who rescue dragons.  They’re looking for someone to watch her after school until about 6-6:30 a few days a week.  I’d have to get her from daycare, but that’s ok.”

She immediately messaged the parents, dark brows knitting in either confusion or concentration as she read through the instant response.  “Huh,” she said after a few seconds, “That actually explains a bit.  Looks like it’s just her and her dad.  Nothing I don’t know about.”

Keith set his laptop on the coffee table.  He knew she didn’t mean anything by it, but her comment still hit a nerve.  He hadn’t wanted to raise her as a single parent, but between finishing high school, going to college, working when he could, and finding a job in his field he hadn’t had much time for dating, or had any luck at it when he did – no one really wanted to date a single parent of a toddler while still in college.  He loved his little girl, despite her being 16 at that point and nowhere near a little girl anymore, and wouldn’t have changed a thing, but he also knew that it was hard on her as a kid, her friends’ parents being so much older than him, and that most of them had both their parents while it was just the two of them, no matter how good his family support system was.

It only took a few seconds for what Anneliese said to register in her brain.  She knew how Keith felt about not being able to give her two parents who loved her, despite him more than making up for it.  She had never met her father, and quite honestly didn’t want to.  He couldn’t be bothered to be there for her, and she certainly wasn’t going to be there for him.

She dropped her phone in her lap, climbing across the sofa to snuggle into Keith’s side, not caring when the device clattered to the floor.  “Aw, Dad, I’m sorry.  I didn’t mean it like that.”

Keith wrapped an arm around his daughter and kissed the top of her head.  “I know you didn’t, princess.  So what about this little girl?”

Anneliese launched herself, grabbing her phone from the floor before settling back in beside Keith.  “Oh my god, she’s so cute.  Ok, so-”