#(except keith MIGHT be. just not for lance. sorry not sorry.)

[my-current-obsession]

every time i see bakudeku compared to k/ance (now specifically in terms of them getting shafted in the ending and/or accused of queerbaiting) i take psychic damage

[autisticlancemcclain]

parts one two

———

Lance is feeling remarkably better at dinner. Coran wasn’t sure about the plan, at first, but Lance was very convincing, so he relented. It helped that Coran also is not fond of needless animal murder, which is why he’s Lance’s favourite.

(Well, currently. Usually everyone is tied for his favourite, but no one else had his back today at the meeting, so they’re all currently tied for second-favourite. But they’ll have a chance to redeem themselves after this mission is over.)

He and Coran are the last to arrive to dinner, predictably, so Lance doesn’t waste a second.

“I am now on your side,” he announces as soon as he walks through the door. “You’re all correct, we should get this alliance at all cost, and murder the beast in cold blood. I am completely on board with your plan and happy with all the innocent blood about to be on my hands.”

The team, also predictably, stare at him in shocked silence. Lance sits primly in his chair, accidentally-on-purpose elbowing Mullet in the head, and immediately shoves food goo in his mouth so no one can ask any follow-up questions.

Also predictably, that does not work.

“…There were a lot of contradicting words in that announcement,” Mullet says. (Lance is currently very mad at him and as such he has been demoted from fond nicknames and even his regular name so he will be Mullet until Lance wants to bite him — angrily, angrily, not the way he usually wants to bite him — less.)

“Ooooh, SAT word,” Lance responds, just to be a jackass.

(It works. Keith reaches over to attempt to flick him, but unluckily for him Lance is very used to that reaction to his particular brand of annoying, and so Mullet falls off his chair due to Lance kicking it out from under him before his flick lands).

“So,” Lance says, as Mullet curses at him from the floor, “does anyone else have any comments or concerns?”

There is a very heavy, loaded silence, before Shiro, Allura, and Hunk sigh in tandem.

“Yeah, you’re not going to be leaving my sight,” Hunk says.

“Agreed,” Shiro mutters, head in his hands. “Sorry, buddy, but at the moment I can’t trust you not to go rogue. I was going to let you stay on the castle with Coran, but I no longer think that’s viable. You’ll have to stay with me for the mission.”

“That’s fine,” Lance says, working very hard to shove the smugness out of his voice. He thinks he does a pretty decent job. “You’re all dead to me anyways, so it doesn’t matter.”

“Christ,” Pidge mumbles into her goo.

Allura pinches the bridge of her nose. Lance hears her muttering ‘I signed up for this’ over and over under her breath.

The rest of the meal passes in tense silence. When Lance finishes, he stands up abruptly, tucking his chair back in with enough force that he might as well have thrown it, and washes his dishes with such vigour that he actually has to slow down so they don’t break. He then stalks to the door, pauses, and faces the team (except Coran, who is visibly fighting back a smile and avoiding eye contact — hehe, Lance knew he’d get him fully on board eventually).

“I am going to go to bed, for my final night as a man with a soul,” he says. “I’m sure the rest of you soulless individuals will have no problem going right to sleep tonight, but I will be tossing and turning for the whole time, as I ponder how many of my moral codes I will be breaking tomorrow, so I’m going to get an early start so I can squeeze out as much rest as possible. Have a wonderful rest of your evening.”

He walks calmly out of the room until he’s out of eyesight, then sprints full speed to Coran’s room, resisting the heavy urge to jump on the man’s bed to expel some nervous energy. Instead, he meticulously reorganizes the advisor’s bookshelf. (He gets pretty into it, honestly. Coran has a veritable rainbow of colours decorating the covers of his collection, and Lance loves to go ham with the colour coding. That’s the best part of the ‘tism, he reckons.)

“I had those ordered in a specific way, you know.”

Lance practically jumps to his feet at the teasing remark, turning to face Coran so fast he makes himself a little dizzy.

“Did it work?! Are they suspicious?! Are they ready to velcro me to one of them so I can’t run off?!”

“It did work, you evil mastermind. They’re all convinced you need to be under constant surveillance. They’ve even created shifts so you’re always being watched.”

Lance cheers.

See, his plan is really quite simple. No matter what he says or does, the team is never going to fully trust him with this mission. And understandably so — Lance has made his position quite clear. It would be foolish of them to think that Lance wouldn’t try anything. No matter what, they’re going to be wary of what Lance is doing.

But Lance was counting on that, you see.

He fully expected to be under watch. He also knew that they expected him to fight them, tooth and nail, the whole way. But if he subverted their expectations, just a little — if he said he was on board with the plan while making it very clear that he had no intention of following anyone’s orders — well, now they’re paranoid.

And if there’s one thing paranoia does, it’s make you sloppy.

Tomorrow, they’ll be so focused on watching Lance, so focused on thwarting whatever potential mutiny that they think he has cooked up, that they’ll be forgiving if Lance’s mannerisms are a bit… off. They’ll expect it, even. And they’ll spend so much energy on watching Lance and planning for his acting out that they won’t notice if Coran, up in the castle, isn’t sending a constant barrage of cheery check-ins on the comms.

And, most importantly, they will not be investigating the beast very closely at all.

The actual plan is very simple, with all that information in mind. All Lance has to do tonight is record and set up some of Coran’s regular check-ins to sound off during the day. Then Coran is going to exercise his shapeshifting ability — he’s going to turn into Lance for the day, as shifty and suspicious as possible.

And Lance? Lance is going to sneak out the castle after everyone’s already gone, find the beast before they do, and solve the problem his own damn self.

After all, that’s what the stupid dignitary wanted.

If you wish to sign an alliance, the paladin must handle the problem himself, the dignitary had said. Lance smirks to himself.

That’s not a problem.

Not a problem at all.

———

part four

[catsushinyakajima]

I’m sitting by a trash can at the bus stop waiting for the bus for the past TWENTY minutes and I am also late to class (my own fault for going to the gym instead of heading to class early :/) SO ANYWAYS-

Voltron headcanons (realistic and college AU, also inspired by my own college misery):

- they’re all stem nerds. All of them. I know a lot of people HC them as liberal arts major which is great! but they are canonically astronauts (one part of canon that I like)

- Lance would be the kind of guy to be like “WE GOTTA HIT THE GYM EVERYDAY THIS SEMESTER RAHHHH” and then dip the second midterms start. Every single semester. Without fail.

- Keith found lectures useless since he could just “read the textbook”. He never showed up to a single class except for exams and somehow passed. He only stopped the habit when multiple friends scolded him for it.

- Coran would be in twenty different clubs. Correction: he would be PRESIDENT of twenty different clubs. No one knows when he joined them. The clubs range from archery to competitive coding to mental health awareness. (“Hey Coran are u free tonight?” “No sorry, the Roleplaying Ancient Romans club is having a bake sale tonight” “the what-)

- hunk would do a LOT of volunteering. He’s probably cook for shelters but I can also see him tutoring underprivileged kids in engineering :)

- Pidge would have a surprising amount of school spirit. Not bc she likes the college or the sport. She just wants to hate on the other teams. Also if her tuition is going to the football coach’s salary, she might as well be passionate about it.

- Allura is a triple major. Maybe even a quadruple major?? She’s the girl you see constantly stressing about their schedule. “Okay so should I take this class…that makes me have eight classes total all back to back” “WHAT” “what if I did a minor in psychology?” “Allura how tf are you going to fit that in there”

- Shiro is a TA (teaching assistant) for calculus or physics or something. Because the world hates him it’s an eight am class where the professor teaches wrong content and then dumps twenty hours of grading on him. “So you find the derivative under the curve” “Professor that’s not-“ You will never see him without a coffee.

- Hunk has beef with the Dining halls. They don’t season their food and they don’t even have much to begin with. On the other hand, Lance practically lives there. He’s making the most of the meal plans he paid for.

- At least he sticks to tastier things. Keith, who also practically lives at the dining hall, will eat salt and pepper chicken four times a day (“it’s protein”)

- it’s how Keith and Lance have had most of their meals together. Notably, also alone.

- aside from living at the dining hall, Keith also lives at the gym. This explains why he’s never at class.

- pidge has a car on campus. It’s Matt’s car or whatever. Not only can she not park for her life, she also can’t stop getting parking tickets. She uses the tickets as wall decor for her dorm.

- Lance skateboards. He’s pretty good at it. He’s only fallen twice, and both times had been in extremely public settings. Once was in front of a bus stop with fifty people. He tried teaching Coran how to skate and Coran accidentally slipped and launched the board towards the main road.

- Pidge plays clash royale in class. Shiro roasts her for it but then secretly also plays word games in class

- on top of having four majors, Allura also has four internships??? Everytime she posts about something that seems relaxing, it’s misleading. She’ll post herself getting drinks and SIKE it’s a networking event. She’ll be going hiking SIKE it’s a colleague bonding trip. Girl cannot take a break.

- Keith hates frats. Even educational ones with job opportunities. Even if he knows all frat boys aren’t shitty, he refuses to budge on his stance

- Shiro is the kind of guy you’d be talking to and ten people come up to him to say hi. Everyone knows him. Even if he doesn’t know them.

[theroundbartable]

Okay, if you were asked who are in Merlin BBC & Voltron that you can see based on canon that are gay/bi/pan/demi, which characters are they? Why?

What a fun ask I'm totally not doing to procastinate on cooking... XD

BBC Merlin

Arthur Pendragon is, in my head, demiromantic and bisexual... It sort of depends on the circumstances/episode. Arthur needs a very long time to really feel connections with people and only starts to consider love after he really gets to know them, hence his constant search for true love in the show. With Merlin I'm not entirely sure if he was attracted to him instantly, strangely enough feeling a connection from the moment they met, or if it takes him till the end of the series when Merlin confesses his magic and finally shows his true self to realise the depth of his feelings.

Merlin is, well... Bi Bi Bi. A disaster bi in fact. With a preference for sweaty men in metal boxes, he's not very peculiar. However, Merlin is a one person hyperfixation kind of guy. Most people are convinced that Merlin's gay.

Gwen: I feel like most people in BBC Merlin are bi and Gwen is no exception. Like Merlin, she prefers the hero type in metal uniforms. But she also had a thing for Morgana in the beginning.

Morgana: lesbian. I have never seen a woman so disinterested in men, I'm not surprised that they casted Katie McGrath in supergirl as supergirls love interest. I might settle for homoromantic and asexual. But definitly in love with Gwen in the very beginning.

Sir Leon, my beloved, the immortal, the one and only, the eternal suffering aro/ace. I don't have to explain this one. The only counter moment is the Lamia episode where Leon suddenly develops interest in women out of nowhere. My personal take is that anyone could be fallen under a Lamia's spell, this one just had a taste for men (and male presenting).

Sir Elian: once upon a time I clocked them as nonbinary and sadly that's as far as I thought into this character. Pretty sure he's aromantic. He/they pronouns. I dunno, I don't think Elian would conform to anything if given a choice. Aromantic too, I think. Like Leon, there is no interest there, but he does play around with Percival and Gwaine quite often, so I'd take that as allosexual.

I am excluding Gwaine because I think canon Gwaine is written as a straight oblivious fuckboy. Albeit a kind one XD fanon Gwaine is often poly/ pan... Or into apples. Lmao XD and I'm not sure about Percival because the man has a dead wife and kids.

Voltron

Keith: with his lack of interest in women, he can only be gay. That man looks at no one quite the same as he looks at Lance. what the hell was the whole bonding thing if not a hint for post canon klance? Sorry, not sorry XD rivals to best friends to lovers.

Lance: *bi bo bi* bisexual lighting Lance. Doesn't matter if you prefer klance or shallura, this man is a walking bi flag. I don't know what you mean by proof, just look at this wiggly boy with the fingerguns. He can't even sit straight! Can't do math either. He's perfect!

Shiro: probably the only character in my entire history of shipping that I would unqueer without feeling bad about it. I know he's gay, I just don't really see it in the writing. Of course there aren't always clear signs that someone is gay which is why this is good rep actually (+he's married), but you asked me for proof in the show and all I see is that this man is a dad. That's his gender and his orientation and that's all I really need to know.

Pidge: aro/ace because I love my aroaces and this child loves robots and robots only. Also nonbinary/genderqueer. Pronouns: fuck/off XD

I think Lotor should have been bi. Pre-canon Lotor had us Langsters ship Lotor x Lance and it was so much fun :D

Bob: gender: evil, orientation: villain. I hate this guy

Coran: the georgous man is either gay or pan. More likely pan because I vaguely remember he had a son?

I hope I answered your question reasonably enough XD thank you for the ask, anon :3

[girlboypersonthingy]

hiii I saw the fluff alphabet for Keith and I was wondering if you could write one for pidge as well? ^_^

ABSOLUTELY I LOVE PIDGE SO MUCH. 💚💚💚sorry for the long wait, but here it finally is! ENJOY~ 😉

Pidge- Fluff Alphabet 💌

A = Affection (How affectionate are they? How do they show affection?)

Pidge is affectionate when she wants to be. Sometimes she’s a bit shy about it and prefers to show you affection in private. Pidge is simple and sweet, she enjoys soft quick kisses and linking pinkies and winking at each other from across the table during breakfast when the rest of the team isn’t paying attention (except for that one time Lance noticed YOU wink at Pidge and she blushed super red and Lance wouldn’t leave her alone about it for the next week).

B = Best friend (What would they be like as a best friend? How would the friendship start?)

Honestly, I think Pidge would be a good best friend besides being a bit blunt and totally honest. Some might find the green Paladin a little intimidating and condescending but she doesn’t mean to be, she’s just really freaking smart and she’s not afraid to speak her truth. She’s so smart that it makes most people feel really stupid even talking to her. But with you…she goes slow and tries her best to be patient and teach you along the way. Idk there’s just something about you ✨

C = Cuddles (Do they like to cuddle? How would they cuddle?)

Yesssss she really likes cuddles when she’s upset or frustrated or crying. She likes cuddles after a bad dream or after a really risky mission. BUT as soon as she drifts off fully into sleep, gorl starts doing martial arts in bed. Fully expect to be kicked, slapped, punched and fully laid on by Pidge. She’s a bit wild but she’s easy to wake. When she is cuddling, she likes to be the little spoon or be face to face with your foreheads resting about each other’s.

D = Domestic (Do they want to settle down? How are they at cooking and cleaning?)

I’d imagine Pidge has no intention of settling down with anyone until she truly feels deep in her heart that she’s met ‘the one’. She’ll try dating but she won’t commit until she knows you well enough and has time to decide how she feels and time to imagine her future with that person. Also, girl is the opposite of wifey material- can’t cook, messy asf, grumpy in the mornings but it’s all worth it. She has her moments~

E = Ending (If they had to break up with their partner, how would they do it?)

I think Pidge would be very straight forward about it but also try her best to be kind and gentle. She wouldn’t want to do it over the phone, she’d have the guts to sit you down and tell you to your face how she feels.

F = Fiance(e) (How do they feel about commitment? How quick would they want to get married?)

Sorta the same answer as ‘Domestic’ ⬆️, she wouldn’t be careless and rush into anything with someone she isn’t sure about. She could see herself getting married one day but doesn’t really consider it a top priority, ya feel me?

G = Gentle (How gentle are they, both physically and emotionally?)

I mean…she’s a tiny Aries who knows she’s smarter than everyone in the room at all times…she’s kind of a lot sometimes. She can be emotionally chaotic sometimes, she often grabs attention from others without even meaning to and it can feel a bit overwhelming at first but the more you get to know her, the more you come to adore her intelligence and it warms your heart when she shares her knowledge with others and her bravery every time she speaks up for herself in a crowd and her stubbornness really starts to grow on you. She’s physically about the same lmaoooooo like…with most people she’s very out there, extroverted and loud and she doesn’t mind getting her hands dirty or getting in to trouble in order to get a job done. She works hard AND plays hard, she’s a goofball. But with her s/o, she’s much softer and calmer and speaks quieter and moves just a bit slower and with more caution. She just really loves you 💚

H = Hugs (Do they like hugs? How often do they do it? What are their hugs like?)

NEVER hugs you in front of others unless like one of you almost died on a mission or you’ll be apart for a long time. Most hugs are done late at night while you’re falling asleep and Pidge is working way past bedtime, also mid day when the rest of the team is dispersed throughout the castle and doing their own thing, knowing that she has a low risk of being caught at this time she’ll come find you and give you a long, snuggly hug without saying a word and then run off back to her work.

I = I love you (How fast do they say the L-word?)

It’ll take a long while tbh…Pidge is pretty shy and inexperienced with relationships and lovey dovey feelings. She’ll probably wait until you say it first. Once you say it her tho, it comes out of her in a sigh of relief. It gets easier for her after the first time but she’s still getting used to it.

J = Jealousy (How jealous do they get? What do they do when they’re jealous?)

I don’t think Pidge is really the jealous type. Even if someone was actively flirting with you, she wouldn’t be so much jealous as she would be concerned…like she could care less if someone is just genuinely flirting with you but what if they have some devilish motive and they’re working for the galra and they’re gonna kidnap you and hold you hostage and- she needs to come intervene before she starts fully panicking. She’ll just come join you in a silent and nonchalant way like coming up and holding your hand. She’s not trying to butt in and be nosy, she just wants to make sure you’re safe and also make you feel safe, protected and supported. She’s not jealous, she just cares very deeply for you.

K = Kisses (What are their kisses like? Where do they like to kiss you? Where do they like to be kissed?)

Her kisses are awkward, sweet, sometimes silly and interrupted by soft giggles. She likes to kiss your lips but she LOVES kissing your cheeks and nose, she thinks you’re just soooo cute and she likes the look on your face after she kisses you there. She likes forehead kisses most bc they make her feel warm and relaxed and content. Forehead kisses really make her want to cry (in a good way)

L = Little ones (How are they around children?)

Mmmm she tries her best to be energetic with kids but she’s honestly so awkward. Regardless, kids ADORE HERRRRRR. Pidge has so much cool shit to say, she mesmerizes kids so easily with her science and space rambles.

M = Morning (How are mornings spent with them?)

Pidge stays up working and coding until like 3 am every night and then sleeps in until at least 10am if you let her, so most mornings are spent trying to drag Pidge out of bed as she groans in protest. It’s okay tho, her bed head is so cute and she won’t even open her eyes yet but you can’t stop smiling bc she’s cute even when she’s sleepy and grumpy. Once she’s got her eyes open and is sitting up, she’ll always mumble a raspy “morning” to you.

N = Night (How are nights spent with them?)

Unless you’re a night owl as well, you’ll probably be asleep before Pidge. She’ll always welcome your company while she’s working and will let you slump against her or lay your head in her lap and sleep. Most of the time, she gently wakes you and you sleepily walk to your room together but sometimes, she falls asleep right beside her work and cuddled up to you and someone ends up finding y’all in the morning like 🥹💖🥰

O = Open (When would they start revealing things about themselves? Do they say everything all at once or wait a while to reveal things slowly?)

I think she would open up rather quickly. I think Pidge has a pretty good sense of who she can trust and if she trusts you enough to be your s/o, she trusts you a lot. She would confide in you often along with Shiro I’m sure.

P = Patience (How easily angered are they?)

It depends…certain things tick Pidge off a bit but she can shrug it off. Other certain things make her want to explode. Lance makes a short joke, annoying but whatever. She accidentally codes something wrong and has to start all over, watch out, she’s seconds away from throwing something across the room as hard as she can.

Q = Quizzes (How much would they remember about you? Do they remember every little detail you mention in passing, or do they kind of forget everything?)

Pidge forgets NOTHING!!! This girl has a spectacular memory, she remembers everything you tell her and is very considerate with that info. She’s the type to remember your fears and try her best to shield you from that, she’ll remember hits favorite color and get you everything that color, she’ll remember your birthday no matter what. And she loves learning new things about you too.

R = Remember (What is their favorite moment in your relationship?)

Probably your first physical embrace. You weren’t officially dating yet but you could both feel the pining going on between you. She had been roughed up and tossed around by some galra on a mission one time and when she got back to the castle, you were the first one to greet her with a gentle hug and a worried expression on your face. She’ll never forget how soft your hands felt as they caressed her dirty face. That was the first time you’d ever shown her any kind of true intimacy and she got a glimpse of your feelings for her.

S = Security (How protective are they? How would they protect you? How would they like to be protected?)

She is extremely protective but she tries to give you space. She worries about you constantly but it’s not that she doesn’t trust you or doesn’t believe in you, she just knows first hand how brutal this war can be and she doesn’t want to lose you. Of course, she always insists you two stick together on any and all missions you attend bc she knows you have her back and she always has yours.

T = Try (How much effort would they put into dates, anniversaries, gifts, everyday tasks?)

She tries her best! She’s not great at surprises tho, she always tells you what the gift is or what the date is bc she has to make sure you want that first, she can’t just do it and risk you having a bad time. She does listen to you and takes every little detail into consideration. She often does simple things like complimenting you and offering you small bits of physical affection. For special occasions like an anniversary, she likes to ask you what you would want/ want to do and then she’ll try to make it exceed your expectations.

U = Ugly (What would be some bad habits of theirs?)

Bites her nails and just flicks her nails all over the place 🙄 also mess asf in general

V = Vanity (How concerned are they with their looks?)

She’s really not concerned at all about her appearance. Sure for a special occasion she’ll dress up and try to look nice but on the day to day, Pidge just wants to be comfy and feel like she’s dressing for her, not for anyone else.

W = Whole (Would they feel incomplete without you?)

Yeeesssssss 🥹 Pidge would become so used to your everyday presence in her life, so if you ever left or disappeared or got taken, she’d feel like there was a void constantly haunting her. She’d miss your smell, your laugh, your voice, your touch, your company so much she’d lose sleep over it for sure.

X = Xtra (A random headcanon for them.)

TALKS IN HER SLEEP AND SAYS SOME WEIRD, OFF THE WALL SHIT ITS HILARIOUS.

Examples:

“Hey, who’s that duck? He’s new here.”

“When are you going to the carnival? I want to go.”

“Turtles and birds are both dinosaurs, that’s wiiiilllddddd.”

Y = Yuck (What are some things they wouldn’t like, either in general or in a partner?)

Pidge wouldn’t like someone who’s really conceited and selfish. She likes people who aren’t afraid to look silly or foolish or messy. She likes people who worry about things other than appearances and possessions.

Z = Zzz (What is a sleep habits of theirs?)

Cannot stay still for the life of her. She tosses and turns so bad, good luck getting a good nights rest with how much she moves. She’ll low key beat you up throughout the night, she’s a crazy sleeper.

[imhereformysciencefriends]

Day 2: Sci-fi Fusion

Tags: @loturaweek2024 Homestuck crossover au, blink and you miss it background Ezor/Zethrid, blink and you miss it background Shiro/Keith, loneliness, yearning, chatfic, time shenanigans, one (1) raunchy joke

--- Read on AO3 ---

-- survivingSovereign [SS] began pestering millenniumRemainder [MR] at 9:09 --

SS: How long is it now?

MR: A day less than the last time you asked. 

SS: I miss you.

MR: I’m right here, same as I’ve always been.

SS: You know that’s not what I mean

SS: I’m so ready to finally see you face to face. To touch you and hug you and kiss you with more than just x’s and o’s. I want to hear your voice the way it sounds naturally, not over a microphone, I want to see more than pictures and video recordings, I want to stop being alone in this stupid empty castle.

MR: I know.

MR: I miss you too.

SS: Pidge and Lance have both been bouncing off the metaphorical walls about the ‘hot new upcoming game’ that’s featured in such reputable publishings as GameBro Magazine.

MR: Ha!

SS: I feel bad for not telling them.

MR: They might understand.

MR: They also might not.

SS: I know.

SS: They wouldn’t.

SS: Keith has no one to lose except for Shiro, and he’s coming in with us, but he’s never been the most pragmatic sort.

SS: Everyone else loves their families and friends so much.

SS: It feels cruel.

MR: It is not a cruelty of our own doing.

SS: I know.

MR: *kiss*

SS: Thank you.

SS: How about your end? The girls excited to team up against us?

MR: Oh, most assuredly.

MR: Acxa is putting on airs of being too mature to get excited over a game, but Zethrid and Ezor have already begun to crow over how thoroughly our team is going to squash you.

SS: Haha, they’re welcome to try! Though, in the end we’ll all be on the same team, I suppose.

MR: Another deception.

SS: Another deception. But it does give us the chance to play starcrossed lovers for a bit, mm?

MR: That it does <3

SS: <3

-- This session is IDLE! --

SS: Lotor?

MR: Sorry. I got to worrying again.

SS: About the team balancing?

MR: It’s supposed to be an even number. We’ve less than a month now until the game releases for our friends in the past, and we still don’t have the twelfth member. 

MR: We have six women and five men. Although reproduction as well as the production of ourselves and our guardians will be entirely through ectobiology, teams are kept at a balanced gender ratio meant to imitate the conditions necessary for natural reproduction of the god-species in the new world. 

SS: Lotor.

MR: And I think to myself, maybe one of our guardians is not actually a guardian but instead a player. Coran, although a fatherly figure to you (despite the thousand year gap between your respective lives), was not your actual father so maybe he would enter the game. 

SS: Lotor

MR: Or maybe Pidge will bring their brother in with them. She loves him very dearly, it would make sense for her to bring him along, and for them to play a game together. He’s friends with Shiro and Keith, he’s the right gender, roughly the same age as everyone else, it would be more than possible, but I’ve spoken with Pidge more than I usually do recently and they haven’t said a word about introducing their brother to any of the group chats and we’re running out of time.

SS: Lotor…

MR: It’s gotten to the point where I’ve started wondering if Narti’s service animal is going to bat at the keyboard of one of her spare computers and he’ll be her server player.

SS: Lotor!!!!

MR: Sorry.

SS: It will be OKAY!

SS: You’ve said it yourself a dozen times: the game does not allow for human error when it weaves its cords of fate.

SS: A twelfth player will be selected for us, the teams will be balanced, and it will be fine.

MR: Allura

MR: What if it’s not that?

MR: Twelve is the maximum number of players, but there are perfectly viable sessions with fewer.

MR: What if it’s ten?

MR: What if one of you dies?

SS: No one is going to die.

MR: The game is cruel. It could just as easily take one from our number to balance the teams as it could add another. I still think you are likely to be our Time player, so it can’t take you, but what if I’m wrong?

MR: Allura, what if you die?

SS: I am not going to die.

SS: The fact that I am here, in this empty, echoing castle, a thousand years after the end of the world, stranded in the middle of this empty, empty ocean half a world away from you, is proof that I am destined to enter into the game. 

SS: Pidge and Narti and Zethrid and Acxa and Ezor are not going to die.

SS: Like you said, the most likely course of action is that Matt will play the game with Pidge and be their server player, or they his. Even number, balanced genders.

SS: It will be okay, Lotor.

MR: I want so desperately to believe that.

SS: It Will.

MR: Thank you.

SS: <3

MR: <3

SS: Also I still think I’m more of a Space player.

SS: Can you name anyone else in our group suited for frog breeding? I can’t.

SS: Maybe Shiro, but as I understand it male Space players are exceedingly rare, and I still think he’s more likely to be Blood

MR: I think you are unequivocally suited to be the breeder

SS: LOTOR 0///////0

MR: I’m afraid you set yourself up for that one, my love. 

SS: You are incorrigible! 

MR: Yes.

MR: But you like it <3 

SS: Love it, really <3 

-- This session is IDLE! --

-- millenniumRemainder [MR] resumed pestering survivingSovereign [SS] at 21:53 --

MR: Allura?

MR: Why are you still up?

MR: It’s well past sunset on your half of the globe.

SS: I’m scared.

SS: Lotor I am scared of my own fickle heart.

SS: What if we’re not really in love with each other?

SS: It’s so cliche, isn’t it?

SS: The last two survivors after the end of the world. 

SS: The new adam and eve, fated for one another, meant to repopulate the world.

SS: Or the next world, in our case. 

SS: What if we just tricked ourselves into these feelings and the moment we see other people it… fades?

MR: We’ve spoken with others. Sent photos and voice recordings. You know our friends as intimately as you know me, thanks to this damned ocean that stretches between us.

SS: I know, but

SS: You’re the only one I can talk to. Actually talk to.

SS: Voice recordings aren't the same as a video chat.

MR: Do you want to video chat right now?

SS: I don’t know.

MR: Allura

MR: I love you.

MR: That’s not going to change.

SS: But what if it does?!

SS: What if you get the chance to have an actual, real conversation with someone else and you realize you were never attracted to me, just lonely and latching onto your only option? You and Narti are so close, and I think Acxa has a crush on you, and then there’s Hunk, of course, who wouldn’t fall in love with Hunk, and

MR: Allura.

SS: I just

MR: Allura.

MR: I love you.

SS: I love you too.

SS: So, so much Lotor.

MR: Then we will be alright.

MR: The game is going to make us miserable enough without us helping it along.

MR: But it will also bring joy.

MR: Because I will get to see you.

MR: I will get to hold you.

MR: I will get to murmur your name against your skin and hold your hand and stand side by side with you as we battle for our lives and our rights to have a future together.

MR: We are going to have a future together, Allura.

MR: The hour is late. Your own thoughts conspire against you.

MR: Go to sleep, my love, and rest knowing that my feelings for you are unchanging.

SS: You’re right.

MR: I often am.

SS: :P 

SS: I love you.

MR: I love you too.

SS: I miss you.

MR: We’ll see each other soon.

MR: Goodnight my love. xoxo

SS: xoxo

-- survivingSovereign [SS] ceased pestering millenniumRemainder [MR] at 22:11 --

-- survivingSovereign [SS] began pestering millenniumRemainder [MR] at 8:42 --

SS: How long is it now?

MR: A day less than the last time you asked. 

[kidge-planet]

KIDGE HEADCANON PART 12!

During the episode 9 season 8, we can find that scene:

Well, I have an headcanon about what happened next, when they got back to the Atlas:

So they came back to the Atlas and got immediately checked by some doctors aboard the ship to make sure that they were ok. Hopefully, everyone was ok (except Allura that had passed out at the end of the mission and was now resting.)

It was just the paladins sitting on the couch in a common area of the atlas but there was no one else around just them. Finally Lance left to go check on Allura because he was very worried about her and Hunk would be going to the kitchen.

So now only Keith and Pidge were in the room: pidge working on her computer and Keith just crossed arms in the couch... He seemed worried:

Pidge: are you ok? You look like you have something in mind.

Keith: I... Actually, yes. I needed to talk to you.

Pidge:ho?... Really? What's up?

Keith: ( blushes a little, not knowing how not sound weird) hummm... I just... Wanted to know... When you passed through the ground, what did you guys saw?.. (that wasn't what he had to tell her.......)

Pidge: mhh.. well... I personally saw a shadow trying to kill me. But it turned out that it was Trigel, the original paladin of my lion. I think it was the same for everyone else.

Keith: ho, I see...

(they stayed silent a moment)

Pidge: is that all you wanted to ask me? I mean, you literally said that you needed to talk to me and just asked a question...

Keith: (take a deap breath) Actually... No, I'm not done. I'm just scared that I'll sound stupid...

Pidge: why would you sound stupid ?

(Keith stands up and comes to sit next to her.)

Keith: you know, back there, I... Tried to, like, save you. I did my best, but I failed... Your hand slipped from mine. And, well, I felt so bad after that. I felt like I had lost all of you... I felt like I lost you.. But you know, for you, it was different, I really tried to save you! I did! And I failed. It all just made me realize how dangerous this all is... It made me realize that we could lose one of us easily... I'm just... So glad that you survived and... I want you to know that I'm sorry that I couldn't save you... I sound stupid, but it really keeps coming in my mind... I'm glad you're here.

(Keith blushed and looked away, feeling vulnerable.)

Pidge: Awww, Keith, that's so sweet!... Thank you, I'm glad you're ok too. Really. And stop thinking about what happened during that mission. It never really came to my mind but I forgot to thank you for trying to save me. But why me?.. Like, all of us were getting pulled in the ground...

Keith: Well, I don't know... My instinct told me to save you... The choise wasn't easy, of course, but I wanted to save you first... Don't tell the others tho... I also figured that if I saved you, we would work together to get the others back, somehow... I mean, I thought that you'd find a solution...

Pidge: I understand...

Keith: But anyways, this whole thing made me realize that we might die young after all... You know, I think I always thought that I was strong enough to defeat Zarcon and everything... But I'm realizing that we are now facing something very dangerous... And if we lose one of us... (If I lose you...)

Pidge: hey, I'm sure Shiro told you this before but, as my father always said: "if you get too worried about what could go wrong, you might miss a chance to do something great!" These words help me as a paladin. I am not the strongest, I'm actually far from being an ideal paladin... I could die any minute! But fuck it! If I think about my death during a mission, you can be sure that the mission IS going to go wrong. Nah, I'm just doing things and adapting myself to the situation. What I mean is that you should live in the moment and not think about the future. SO! STOP THINKING THAT IM GOING TO DIE IN OUR NEXT MISSION OR I'LL KICK YOU BUTT! But thank you for worrying tho, I appreciate that from you, emo boy. ( She gently punch his arm)

Keith: You're right.

Pidge: pfff, I'm always right...

Keith: that's true, that's why I trust you.

(Pidge smiled at him.)

Pidge: just, take opportunitys, alright?..

Keith: opportunitys... Mhhh...

( HE HARDLY WANTS TO KISS HER. But he doesn't take that opportunity. Probably not the right moment, he thinks to himself...)

Pidge: so are you going to stay here?

Keith: yeah, I like it here.

(she leans her head on his shoulder. Keith blushed slightly and after hesitating, he placed his arm behind her.)

Pidge: I like it too.

[rubymoon-snape]

Disclaimer: I don't own Voltron Force, Nat, Rachel, or the new guard. Nat belongs to breadstickcat and Rachel and the new guard belong to Queenscene2.

Author Note: This is Pidge/Nat.

"Distracted"

"Pidge, focus!" Keith barked.

"Shit, right. Sorry guys!" Pidge righted the Green Lion. He shouldn't get distracted while flying his lion.

"Pidge, are you all right?" Allura asked. "You aren't one to get distracted during lion drills."

"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine."

Pidge had gotten distracted by the castle guards taking advantage of the pleasant weather outside by doing their training in the courtyard. Normally, the training didn't even attract his attention, except for the Captain of the Guard, Nat. Even the slightest glimpse of the pretty brunette was enough to derail any conversation he was having, so catching sight of her leading her contingent of soldiers in a training session was more than enough to cause a distraction.

"Hey, Keith! Maybe we could cut this training session short," Lance's comment drew Pidge from his thoughts.

"What? Why should we?" Keith didn't like the idea in the slightest.

"To prevent Pidge from having to split his attention between two things he loves."

Even though Pidge knew Lance was teasing him in good spirits, he couldn't stop the blush from appearing on his face.

"I agree," Hunk chimed in. He knew his little buddy was head over heels for the Captain of the Guards, just like the Councilwoman was for the newest guard.

"It might be for the best, Keith. Besides, we have trained hard the past two days. Don't you think we deserve a small reprieve?" Allura asked. The princess was the only one who could persuade Keith to ease up on his workaholic tendencies.

Keith's pause in responding to Allura's question allowed Pidge a chance to gaze longer at Nat. He was so busy drinking in the sight of Nat sparring with the newest guard that he almost missed Keith's response.

"I suppose."

"Yes, and with that, I'm gone! Red out!" Lance sped off in the direction of the lava pits, to Red's resting place.

Keith sighed, shaking his head at his friend's actions. "Meet you guys back at the castle."

"I'm not going to make it back to the castle for a bit, Keith," Pidge admitted. "Hunk can just fill me in later."

"Oh, I'm sure we're not having a meeting, are we, Keith?" Allura's tone left no room for arguments.

"No, ma'am. No meetings," Keith agreed.

Pidge smirked at the interaction before landing his lion in the field near the courtyard. He used the viewscreen to zoom in on Nat, who was wiping her brow, having to take it easy on the newest guard, considering his heart condition.

Pidge knew he wanted to take Nat on a date soon, but he wanted to talk to Rachel Harmon soon and get her help with planning it as he didn't want to mess it up. He wanted everything to be perfect; Nat deserved no less. However, for now, he reclined in his seat, enjoying the view he got when the training resumed.

Fin

[ikimaru]

Skjdjd hey so I hope this doesn't come off the wrong way sometimes I just have troubl picking up the "between the lines" stuf. I ADORE your ongoing college au but I keep getting confused at the setting.. I remember you said at one point that Keith is still half halra in this. I've never seen a modern au colleg au where he was. So it's interesting and that's fine. I'm just confused how it all fits together I guess? Like I thought maybe it was like "he still is half galra but it's undiscovered" or smth. But now with the kosmo panels I'm more confused. Esp since lance had zero reaction to Keith saying his wolf could teleport. is the existence of aliens known and accepted by everyone in this au?? Is the galra empire a thing? (Also just to reiterate I'm sure this is just me being dumb sorry djjsjs pls and thank you if you can shed some light!!)

ahh don't worry! yeah that's more of a general setting thing, I thought it would be more visually fun if it was a world where other characters that aren't human are just part of the world anyway (like.. advanced space travel exists in this au)

but the choice was mostly bc of Kosmo (since he would be a regular wolf otherwise, I mean I could make an exception for him specifically but still) for Krolia, and in case there are other character cameos I can just draw them as their og selves 8')

Keith being half galra doesn't play a role within the AU storyline other than it might get mentioned here and there (there's still room to add or remove scenes if necessary)

basically it's "lore" stuff that I liked as in.. this stuff exists within the au, it's just that it doesn't exactly come into play bc it doesn't fit with the main storyline other than small scenes or mentions

and don't worry ur not dumb, I'm gonna make a poll about this in a bit to see which setting should I stick with 👍

[headspacedad]

Have you seen Hot Ones on YouTube? Where they eat progressively spicier hot wings until the last three leave people begging for mercy? How far do you think each paladin get on those 10 wings?

sorry this took so long to answer. I have used up most of my energy with just getting through the holidays thanks to working at a bakery. I have only seen snippets of Hot Ones but enough to get the general idea. REALLY good ask!

Let's see - headcanon only with the acknowledgement that others will see it differently -

I'd say Pidge is probably the first one to cave. Given she has issues with peanuts vs. peanut butter I think despite the fact we often peg her as a gremlin in fandom, she's got very mild tastes and possibly is pretty picky even about food textures and such. I suspect her family tends to the more bland foods (her father's favorite food is peas for instance). And so I'd say Pidge taps out super early in.

Next up I'm going to say that Keith is next to go. He strikes me as someone that will pretty much eat anything and not complain (or perhaps even pay attention) but he's also been through the foster care system and I don't know - it just strikes me that he doesn't have a lot of experience with a lot of foods. Like, he can probably eat stuff from a can that expired two years ago without his stomach noticing but when you throw in wild flavors/sensations his tongue probably doesn't put up with much from simple lack of training. Unless there's a Galra thing going on there but who knows whether that would help or make him even more sensitive. So I'd vote Keith taps out next.

I'm going to have Lance tap out next. Sure, he's Cuban and so he's got some experience and a lot more flavor varieties and hot sensations under his belt. He probably goes a pretty decent amount of wings before he has to tap out and he probably holds out through sheer stubbornness longer than he would if it wasn't a competition and he didn't have to 'do his heritage proud'. I'd say in a normal competition he'd actually probably win.

But he's up against Shiro and Hunk.

So Lance goes next.

After that we're down to Shiro and Hunk and I think they both last as long as they do for vastly different reasons. Shiro isn't inexperienced with hot foods. Let's just mention wasabi but also the fact that hot sauce covers a multitude of sins when it comes to food. Which when you don't often pay enough attention to what you're cooking to time it well is probably a mercy. But I think he might have actually tapped out before Lance except - 1. super HUGE competitive streak but even more 2. I think that he lost a lot of his attention to taste when he was a Galra slave. There is no way the Galra had food designed for humans. There was probably just some scientific, easy to produce slop that was engineered to hit the most nutrients across a vast array of species to keep them functioning without really caring if it met their energy needs or not. Taste was absolutely never a thought. Shiro -

Shiro probably got very good at swallowing things down without letting himself taste them.

Down side is that, these days, he has to stop himself and make himself concentrate on flavors when he wants to enjoy eating something or else his brain will automatically shut things down so he won't taste. Upside? He can look like a bad-ass chowing down on hot wings as long as he's careful to concentrate on other things to keep his mind from paying attention.

But let's face it - that's only going to hold off the burning so far.

He'd tap out.

Hunk is our clear winner. Because Hunk is a chef. He knows his flavors. He knows how to appreciate flavors. Hot is hot but what kind of hot and how hot and what would go good with the hot? He's got experience and tolerance under his belt way more than the others but he's also got a mind that needs to figure out flavors. What exactly went into each of the hot sauces and how would he duplicate or improve on them? I think Hunk's our clear winner and he'd probably be asking for recipes afterward too.

And then he'd go and make something to help soothe the other paladin's tongues and throats because he's a good guy like that.

As for Allura and Coran - they'd either wilt immediately at the horror of human spices - or they'd drink down the bottles of hot sauce like soda and giggle about it. Depends on how you want your aliens.

So how about it gang? I know I'm not the only one that loves to come up with headcanon. Share your thoughts on how you'd rank things! I'd love to hear ideas not my own and I'm sure that @the-last-spoken-word would love to get more than just my opinion on this!

[corvus--rex]

So, I started this back in December, wrote about 25 words for it, and then it just sat there doing absolutely the fuck nothing. Until tonight apparently when I added 1k+ to it out of nowhere. To be totally clear, I have no idea where this is going, but figuring out cis swapped versions of everyone is interesting.

~*~*~*~

It happened gradually.  One by one they just disappeared.  All five Paladins, gone from the castle.  The Lions were still in their hangars, but neither Allura nor Coran could find any trace of their pilots.

Keith woke with a groan, uncomfortable on the hard floor.  Maybe that gladiator drone hit him harder than he thought.  He was immediately aware of a toe nudging him in the ribs.  Reflexes kicked in before rational thought and he grabbed the leg attached to the toe, throwing its owner to the floor.  His attempt to pin them was thwarted, their positions flipped, and he once again found himself on his back on the floor.  Keith felt like he was looking into a mirror, or more accurately, some hologram simulation Pidge might have come up with.  The French braid hanging over one shoulder didn’t particularly surprise him, he knew his own hair was getting long, it was the narrower jaw, softer lines, slimmer frame.  While the person pinning him to the floor looked like his clone, he knew that unless Zarkon’s witch had upped her genetic experiment game, she couldn’t be.  He also knew he didn’t have a sister, he’d had enough visions in the Quantum Abyss to tell him that.  So who the actual fuck was this girl that looked like his copy?

She released him without warning, getting up and extending a hand.  “Come on, I don’t bite.  Much.  I’m Keira.  And who the fuck are you, besides being my not-clone?”

Keith accepted the assistance cautiously.  “Keith.  And who the fuck are you?”

Keira rolled her eyes at him, the expression familiar even on a feminine face.  “I already told you.  Keira?  Let’s go, I know Lea’s going to want to meet you.”

“Who?” he asked, following her out of what looked exactly like the castle’s training deck.

“Lea.  Sorry.  Leandra.  My girlfriend.  What about you?”

“What?  Oh, right.  I have a boyfriend.  Lance.”

“Huh.  Even alt-me is gay.”

“Yeah.  Very much so.  Where the fuck are we?”

Keira turned around, gesturing to the walls as she walked backwards.  “This is the Castle of Lions.”

Keith stopped.  “And next you’re gonna tell me you're a Paladin of Voltron.”

Keira stopped as well.  “What else would I be.  But that means that you're one too.  Holy shit, I think you're from an alternate reality.  One where it’s very similar but slightly different.  I wanna know how similar.  How’s your dad?”

“He…died.  When I was-”

“Six?  That’s when my mom died.”

“And yours?  Your dad, I mean.”

“Blade of Marmora.”

“So’s my mom.  I think literally everything is flipped.  I think your girlfriend is the other version of my boyfriend.  Our parents are flipped.  Next you’re going to tell me that Allura and Coran are flipped too.”

“I need to find Lea,” Keira said as she turned around again, leading the way faster than before, “And who the fuck are Allura and Coran?”

Keith broke into a jog to catch up.  “Princess Allura, and Coran.  When we found them in cryosleep we thought they were the last Alteans.  Turned out we were wrong about that, but that’s an entirely separate story.”

“Oh, you mean Prince Allurant and Corranore.  Yeah, we thought they were the last Alteans too.  But then I took an accidental road trip with my dad and we found a secret Altean colony.  Met Romellus there.  He’s a little scatterbrained, but I like him.  Dad kind of adopted him.”

“Yeah, Mom basically adopted Romelle when we found her.  It sounds like all our events are the same.  Like, nothing is different except for this,” Keith said, waving a hand between himself and Keira.

“I think we should be able to figure this out with Pidge’s help.  He’s our tech genius, and probably yours too.”

“She is.”  He stopped again before following Keira.  “Goddammit, that means that Matt’s a girl here.  I don’t want to know what that looks like.”

Keira turned to walk backward again.  “Maddie’s a guy?  That dork?  But hold on, you didn’t call Pidge anything different.”

“No, she goes by Pidge and threatens to stab anyone who calls her Katie.”

“Yeah, that sounds like Pidge.  Ok, this was the last place I saw Lea.  She’s usually with Hana now.”

They were in front of the kitchen, and Keith could only assume that Hana was their Hunk.  Keith stopped short, suddenly realizing that Shiro had to have a female counterpart in this reality as well.  As much as Pidge liked to tease him about being the emo loner, he really didn’t know how to hide his emotions other than literally running, and he knew that this realization was written all over his face.

“What?” Keira asked.

“Your Shiro…”

“What?” she asked again, but the confused crease between her dark brows smoothed when she realized, “Oh…Shiro, Shirogane…yeah.  That might be…interesting…I’m assuming your Shirogane adopted sibling is a guy too?”

“Yeah.  Shirogane Takashi.  Six-three, built like a brick shithouse but is actually a massive dork, metal arm…”

Keira nodded.  “Shirogane Yukiko.  Or just Yuki.  Adalie, her fiancée back on Earth, used to call her ‘The Amazon’.  But that was before Kerberos.  Before Yuki, Maddie and Sam – Samantha Holt, Pidge’s mom – got captured by the Galra.”  She shook her head, clearing the memories of her last days at the Garrison.  “Anyway, we’re here to find Lea.  And probably Hana.”

Keira turned on her heel, soundlessly stomping into the kitchen.  Keith had met Lance’s sister Rachel before, and if he hadn’t known better, he would have thought it was her sitting on the counter, nearly knocking a bowl over with her storytelling.  Keith noticed the other girl moving around the space, Hunk’s twin sister if he’d had one.  He was distracted enough that he didn’t see the other two people at first.  Not until a familiar high-pitched shout of his name came through.

“Keith!” Lance yelled, leaping over the counter.  He stopped when he got closer, cautious.  “You are my Keith, aren’t you?”

“Probably?  As long as we’re still together and you still leave dirty clothes all over the floor.”

Lance made a shrill indignant sound.  “…Yeah, that’s fair.  Ok, you are my Keith.”

“Well, fuck, Lea, you’re the same in every reality,” Keira said, wrapping her arms around her girlfriend.

“Rude.  Laundry is not as important as good skin care.  Not that you’d know anything about that,” Leandra shot back, muttering something about shower soap not being anywhere near the same thing.

“What?  Soap is soap,” both Keith and Keira said at the same time.

Hunk and Hana just shared a look and sighed.

~*~*~*~

Links to the rest of the series:

1 | 2 | 3* | 4 | 5* | 6* | 7 | 8 | 9* | 10 | 11 | 12* | 13 | 14 | 15* | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19* | 20* | 21* | 22* | 23* | 24* | 25

[autisticlancemcclain]

“Lance, don’t even try me.”

Lance stops in his tracks, fancy shoes scuffing the floor, and huffs, rolling his eyes.

“I don’t need it, Hunk. I’ll be fine.”

“Yeah, I won’t be taking that risk. You won’t, either. We promised your mother, remember?”

Lance huffs again, but stomps his way over after a moment of stubborn hesitation.

Hunk rolls his eyes, looking beyond exasperated as Lance yanks a fabric bag out of his hand before stuffing it in his pocket.

“There, see? Now my pants looks all stretched and stupid.”

“Somehow I think you’ll survive it,” Hunk drawls. “You know what you might not do if you don’t have that? That’s right. Survive.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Lance grumbles.

“What are you two talking about?” Pidge finally asks. “What’s in that bag?”

“Lance’s Epi-Pen,” Hunk answers.

“Oh. I didn’t know you had allergies.”

Lance rolls his eyes again. “Barely. They’re not that big of a deal. We’re in space, anyway.”

“I dunno,” Shiro says, brow furrowed. “I think it might be pretty important. I mean, we’re going to a banquet, right? You never know.”

“I’m not gonna choke on a fuckin’ peanut in space, alright? This is ridiculous. I’ll be fine.”

“Lance,” Keith says with a fond grin, “yesterday you tripped on a rag, which was the only thing in the ground in a room that was the size of fucking Union Station. The day before, you sneezed wrong and fractured a rib somehow. I don’t know how to tell you this, but you are the most accident-prone person in the actual universe. If anyone is going to end up with a wayward peanut on an alien planet, it’s gonna be you.”

Allura snorts. “Someone’s been paying some awful close attention,” she mumbles to Pidge, who giggles.

Lance scowls at him. “Don’t patronize me!”

“I’m not patronizing you! I’m just saying that it’s better to be safe than sorry, alright?”

He shoots Lance a small smile, all moony and soft. Lance visibly melts, a little.

“Alright, alright,” he concedes. “I’ll bring the damn thing. Not like it matters, anyway. It’s fuckin’ expired.”

Everyone looks a little panicked at that, until Hunk rolls his eyes — yet again; at this point his eyes might get stuck — and socks Lance in the arm.

“Stop freaking everyone out, you dick.” He turns to the rest of the team. “Epi-Pens still work after they’re expired. He’s fine.”

There’s a collective sigh of relief, before the heckling begins.

“Lance, you scared me!”

“Man, I can’t believe I was genuinely a little freaked for you. Asshole.”

“Do all humans have such inconspicuous downfalls? You seem so hardy, otherwise.”

“You talk a lot of shit for someone who dies at the hand of a tiny legume.”

The last challenge comes from Keith, because of course it does. What would the disaster duo be, if not constantly bantering to hide mushy affection?

Lance does not hesitate to fire back.

“Oh, piss off, you goober. I can be killed by lots of things. You think I’m limited to a measly peanut? Please. I am like a rich Victorian noblewoman. I frequently fall ill to many an ailment.”

Keith huffs, nudging Lance in the ribs. “So it’s not just peanuts, then? What else are you allergic to?”

Lance’s smirk is diabolical, making everyone immediately wary. He’s wearing that face, the one that promises the worst joke maybe ever to have been uttered.

“I’m allergic to all types of nut —” he winks at Keith — “except for one.”

Keith sputters, face lighting up, and Hunk sighs.

“Never a dull moment with you around, Lance.”

[musicanddancingthroughlife]

Shklance - I Died

I feel like I basically dropped off the face of the planet, and for that I apologize. I have no excuses, except stress and mental health have been a huge problem lately and I’ve just been trying to find balance in my life. I can’t promise anything in the near future, with holidays coming up, and I have finals in like 3 weeks, and then my husband and I are moving at the end of the year, and then my little sister’s wedding is a few weeks after so I’m helping with that, and basically my life is just a mess right now, but I am still working on stuff, comments are always welcome and really do help to get me motivated, and hopefully I can get back into the groove of writing daily and posting weekly!

This story is probs gonna be a part 1 of 2. Hopefully. As is, I wanted it to be a stand alone, but I’ve been drafting it for almost a month now and I just want to throw it at you guys. So know I’m working on a part 2, where they talk about the whole thing and you see everyone’s reactions to what happened. This was actually a request someone made of me on my Ao3 account, but I’ve always loved reading stories dealing with everyone finding out about Lance dying. Just never thought I could do it justice haha. Anyway, hope you enjoy!

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

Lance knew that this was going to be an emotional day for all of them, but seriously, this was a little overkill. He knew he shouldn’t have gotten out of bed today.

Sure, it was the one-year anniversary of the day they all saved the universe, ended the war that had gone on for decades, blah blah blah, but getting up also meant that he was going to have to see everyone again.

Not that he wasn’t thrilled to see them! He and Hunk especially had been waiting for this day for months, and he couldn’t wait to see Pidge and Matt again, either. Last Lance had talked to them, they had been working on some seriously neat stuff. They were sure to be a lot of fun.

Hell, he had even been looking forward to seeing Allura again, even though things had never really been the same between them after Allura broke things off. Though, considering how hurt he was still feeling about their break up, it was probably a good thing she had canceled last minute. She’d said that she needed to focus on helping the universe heal. Lance had wanted to go with her, but she rejected him. He knew she was trying to be kind, telling him that he “deserved the time to rest” and that she “knew how much he’s been missing his home planet.” But really, all it had done was serve to remind him that he wasn’t actually necessary.

Not like Shiro and Keith were.

Allura hadn’t had any problems taking them with her, even though everyone else (even Keith) and agreed that if anyone deserved the down time, it was Shiro. Especially since Shiro had seemed a little weary when he accepted the invitation from Allura. Personally, Lance believed the only reason he agreed to go was because he knew that Keith wouldn’t be happy staying in one place anymore, and of course, there was no way they were going to allow themselves to be separated again, not after everything that had happened…

And Lance was even looking forward to seeing Keith and Shiro, since he had probably missed them the most. But he also knew that it was going to be hard. It was always hard seeing them together, but knowing that they’ve been doing so much good out in the universe, that they’ve gotten to see so much more of those worlds than he had… That was going to be hard.

Not to mention Lance still hadn’t managed to shake the crushes he’d had on them for so long now.

Or the fact that while everyone else was off changing the universe, traveling the galaxies, creating newer and better technology and inventions, Lance had done nothing? Okay, so farming wasn’t nothing. And no one could deny that Earth needed some TLC after the trauma of the war had nearly destroyed it. But as much as he enjoyed the simple hard work involved, that didn’t mean he didn’t understand it was stupid. It was pathetic. His friends were still fighting, in their own ways, and Lance felt as if he had simply given up. He couldn’t figure out what he wanted to spend his time doing, what felt most worthy of his time and attention, and so he had allowed himself to fall back on something easy.

And he wasn’t sure that he could face his friends while knowing the truth about himself, that he was a coward and had no mission or goals in life.

******

So, maybe Lance was a bit of a drama queen, because things had actually been going better than he expected. Everyone looked good, older and more experienced. Hunk had even grown out some facial hair, though it was a little sparse coming in. Lance knew that wouldn’t be the case for very long. The most shocking was Allura’s news about expecting a child (Keith and Shiro had passed it on in her absence). That hurt way more than Lance thought had a right to, but he tried hard to suppress that pain until he could process it in private. Possibly while crying over a tub of ice cream.

And as far as their actual dinner and celebration went, well… it really had been inevitable that their discussion would become heavier. And, as usual, Lance couldn’t keep his own mouth shut.

“We had some good times, though, right?” Lance laughed easily, trying to direct the conversation back to something lighter, something easier (at this point he’d had a couple decades to cement his masks, and he was good at pretending like nothing was wrong). “I mean, we might have been injured, and tortured—”

“Lance,” Hunk warned. He darted a quick, concerned look to Keith and Shiro, but thankfully neither of them looked too worried. Instead, they were staring at Lance with such sappy looks Hunk was irritated Lance wasn’t paying enough attention to notice on his own. A shared glance with Pidge told him that at least he wasn’t alone in his annoyance.

Lance continued thoughtlessly, “and I mean, maybe a couple of us died, but hey! In the end, it all turned out okay, and look at everyone, living their best lives!” (Lance was firmly ignoring the fact that he had spent most of his free time leading up to today pouting in bed. No one else knew, and therefore it didn’t count.)

Pidge opened her mouth, but Shiro spoke first. His brows were furrowed, and his nose had scrunched up a little. Lance wanted to melt at the cuteness of it. “Did someone else die? I thought I was the only one. Who else died?”

Lance’s jaw snapped shut. He couldn’t remember if it had even been brought up or not… It had to have, right? There’s no way his friends – his team – had just gone on for this long without knowing! He thought they were just ignoring it! Things had been crazy, and they’d never really gotten a chance to slow down and breathe, let alone discuss everything that had happened. And that was fine! That was to be expected! But now he was supposed to believe they just didn’t know??? Did that mean they didn’t care? That they didn’t notice all the nightmares that had become the norm after his death? The way he was jumpier for months after that battle? And if that were the case, then was it even worth bringing up now, so long after it had happened?

Lance’s face was burning, the warm flush traveling up to the tips of his ears, and possibly all the way down his neck. He could feel his eyes welling up, but he brushed it away, pretending his face palm in order to hide the movement. He glanced at his friends, unsurprised to find Hunk staring at him intently. Pidge was muttering to herself, obviously trying to determine what had happened on her own. Lance couldn’t even bear to drag his gaze to Keith or Shiro.

He tried to get out of answering Keith.

“Oops haha, must’ve miscounted, I meant to say that one of us had died,” Lance laughed again but unlike earlier, this one was decidedly uncomfortable. “Because. Obviously. One of us… did. Sorry, Shiro. But like, you died. That happened. And it was weird and we got a weird clone out of the deal, which was weird – did I say that already? – and like he wasn’t a great dude, so I’m glad you didn’t stay dead, you know? You’re much nicer than that clone was, he was kind of a jerk. No offense, Shiro. I mean, not that you’re the clone or anything, cause you’re Shiro, and that was Not-Shiro—”

Oh dear God why wouldn’t they shut him up? Lance was so busy panicking about what he was saying that he didn’t notice Shiro and Keith slowly standing, approaching him from each side. But Hunk and Pidge could almost see the concern rising off them.

“But he was mean, and he yelled at us a lot. Although I guess he really spent most of his time yelling at me, which really, makes sense, but again, not something you would’ve done, Shiro, so I’m glad you didn’t stay dead or anything, because Not-Shiro was a terrible replacement and—”

“Shiro yelled at you?” Keith had come close enough that he could lay a warm, gentle hand on Lance’s shoulder. Lance almost flinched at the contact, it had been so long since someone had touched him like that. Sure, he saw his family way more often than he had while they were fighting in space, but, come on. They were fighting in space. He never saw them back then! Anything was an improvement over that! Anyway, the point was, he knew he was lonely. He ignored it. It didn’t matter. His friends were happy, his family was safe.

“Weren’t you listening when I said it was Not-Shiro?” was all Lance could think to say. Keith rolled his eyes.

“Why did he yell at you?” Shiro asked. Lance shrugged.

“Lance had some good advice to share. Though honestly, I’m thinking that Lance’s plan just wouldn’t have suited the clone’s purposes and he wanted to make sure that Lance would stop pushing. So he yelled, knowing that would be enough to shut Lance down,” Hunk said. He shot Lance an apologetic look as he did so. Smart, because Lance was Not Happy with him. Now wasn’t the time to share petty hurts!

“Personally, I believe it was because if anyone was going to find out he wasn’t really Shiro, it would’ve been you,” Pidge shrugged. And really, et tu, Pidge? This wasn’t fair at all. Not to mention, now Lance could feel the now-familiar guilt from knowing he hadn’t been able to tell.

And that was what finally had Lance speaking up. “Oh come on, guys, that’s not even the worst any of us suffered out there! Lotor joined the team! I died! Shiro died! Keith left! We had bigger things to deal with!”

There was a brief silence following this, long enough for Lance to squeeze his eyes shut and briefly mutter “Fuck” to himself, and then—

“What do you mean, you died?”

Lance’s ability to make things worse every time he opens his mouth really should be considered a wonder of the world.

He opened his eyes hesitantly to find that everyone was watching him intently. Tears were welling in Hunk’s eyes, and Lance knew that if he paid too much attention to his friend, then he would break almost instantly. He avoided looking in that direction, lips pursed shut, determined to stay quiet now. But they were just as determined to make him talk.

“Lance, please, what happened?” and since when the hell does Pidge beg? That’s just wrong. But effective, because that wrongness made Lance jerk his head up, eyes accidentally locking with Shiro.

He looked so sad…

“It really wasn’t a huge deal, I was just saying that there was a lot happening. It was pretty much impossible for all of us to keep up with each other, what with Lotor and Allura, and Keith disappearing then coming back, and the search for Shiro… and Hunk, Pidge, you guys had a great team thing going on there. That was a lot of fun! And then remember Coran had us playing Monsters and Mana? Good times!”

“You played what?” Keith asked, confused. Then he shook his head. “Stop distracting us, Lance. Answer the questions.”

“Um. What questions?”

Keith’s face hardened, eyes doing that dangerous flinty thing that Lance had always loved to see when he got mad. But before he could say anything, Lance’s phone went off. He really did try to hide the relief on his face as he stood, but the way Shiro set his jaw made him think he was not successful.

Before Lance could answer the call, he felt his phone plucked from his fingers. He lunged for it, and Keith slipped it into his own back pocket, out of Lance’s reach. Even worse, his lunge for it brought their faces way too close. Lance jerked back, face flaming a bright red, but he felt himself crash back into Shiro’s firm, solid chest. He started to stammer apologies, but Keith’s hands settled on Lance’s shoulders, pulling him away, and then he and Shiro pushed him back down into his chair. As Shiro moved to kneel next to Lance’s chair, Keith held him there, grounding and sure. He leaned down, putting his mouth close to Lance’s ear and then murmured “Please. We need to know. We’re horrible friends for not already knowing, but we’re asking now and we need you to tell us. Let us help.” And Shiro gripped Lance’s arm, thumb smoothing against his darker skin, making it harder and harder for Lance to want to move.

Lance knew that they were blowing this out of proportion. But he still felt touched. He’d thought they were just ignoring his death because other things were happening at the same time, but maybe that wasn’t really the case. Maybe they truly hadn’t known. Maybe Allura had never said anything, and Lance, expecting Allura to say something, hadn’t said anything either, and so maybe they just didn’t know. Maybe sharing it now would be okay.

[erithel]

I mean I would LOVE to see the whole team (except Keith because he loves his man so much) getting scared of Lance when he's on his angry and scary mode. Like Shiro's the leader and Allura's a princess but they're both older than Lance but they're scared of him and Hunk and Pidge really went too far with their teasing and now they regretted it and too scared to look at Lance. The team will have nightmares seeing Lance's scary and angry face. That would be super cool and funny at the same time! Keith loves Lance so much that only Keith can calm Lance down and that Lance only shows his happy, goofy side to Keith because Keith is the only one who loves and appreciates Lance for who he is. Lol sorry I'm a sucker for klance

So first, I don't begrudge you wanting something like this. I completely understand where you're coming from, and I'm definitely not saying you're wrong. But since this is my blog, I'm also going to give my two cents on this subject! ;)

I'm 100% sure there are fics where this happens.

Mainly because, as I've said before, most people relate to Lance and therefore hated how he was treated, especially in later seasons. It's a kind of…self satisfactory moment when you relate to a character and you get to see the people who have been putting them down suddenly fear them or look at them in a new light.

But hear me out.

Seriously…hear me out, because this is gonna sound stupid.

This is Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.

Okay, obviously, Rudolph didn't snap one day and everyone who bullied him suddenly feared and respected him. They "accepted" him because he was suddenly useful to them.

This isn't the way to go about it, though. And (in my opinion) Lance wouldn't have wanted a moment like this.

He wanted to be taken seriously – but he wanted to be taken seriously as himself. He wanted to be accepted as himself – and that includes all the moments when he was being goofy and trying to lighten the mood.

I love a good "character snapping" moment as much as the next person, but a moment like this for Lance would be unsatisfying for me. Because let's say one day Lance reached his breaking point and he got angrier and scarier than he'd ever been. It's true that the rest of the team would take him more seriously after that – but would he want to be taken seriously out of fear of what he might do? Would he want his friends and teammates walking on eggshells around him, always wary and wondering when he might be set off again?

This trope does work in certain shows/movies/etc, and with certain characters. But I can't see it working with Lance's character. I don't think he would want to be suddenly shown this hollow respect because his teammates saw him differently – because that doesn't mean they accepted who he is, just feared what he might be.

With Lance, specifically, I like the small, quiet moments (especially if it's coming from Shiro) where he is told to his face that someone has seen his worth for a while, and they are taking a private moment to acknowledge it. I think Lance would appreciate those moments more than some grand, out in the open gesture. Because it would be something he could hang onto. It would be something he could remind himself of when he was feeling insecure and worthless – he could stop and tell himself, they may not acknowledge my worth every second of every day, but they do see it. And if they see it, then I can see it in myself.

If someone pays you a compliment loudly in front of a crowd, they aren't saying it to you. They are saying it for their own benefit; to paint a certain picture of themselves for the crowd. If someone pays you a compliment quietly to your face with no one else around to hear it, they mean what they are saying.

[loveafterthefact]

Love After the Fact Chapter 79: The Glass Floor Beneath Our Feet

I am sorry.

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Fingertips trail over skin, and lips follow. Lance inhales deeply, doesn’t open his eyes. It’s a nice feeling, those hands… Mmmh, the tug of claws against his scales...

“Good morning,” Keith murmurs, just before the sharp, delicious sting of pointed teeth plucking into Lance's bared throat. He jolts, stubbornly keeps his eyes closed. “Open your eyes for me?... Please?”

As if Lance could deny such a fond request, lashes fluttering open to reveal brilliant blue and pink gazing into glinting amethyst and gold. He’s on his back, Keith in his lap, leaning over him. It’s a dazzling image: lean, still-toned muscle rippling beneath purple-furred skin, long limbs, sheets of pitch black hair tumbling down. And those deep purple eyes, wide and shining, pupils narrowed to slits, playful as the accompanying smile.

“Hi,” Lance mumbles, still sleepy. “How are you feeling?”

“I feel great! Seems those pills worked. Little one and I will get to eat today. How are you?”

“Mmmh…” Lance sighs, gazing sleepy and dazed at his love.

“Happy birth quintant.” Keith leans down, kisses him again, hands on his cheeks, thumbs caressing his scales. His tail curls around Lance’s ankle.

“Hm.” Lance hums, working up to a smile as he kisses back. He mumbles, “You should wake me up like this every morning.”

“You’d like that, wouldn’t you.” Keith sits back in Lance’s lap, hands sliding down the Altean’s chest.

“I really, really would.” Lance’s hands find Keith’s bare hip, his arm, touch as fond as his gaze. His gaze roves over Keith’s form. “It’s been a while since I got a good look at you… You don’t seem much changed.”

“I know. But I have a scan tomorrow with Thace, so hopefully he’ll be able to provide me with some kind of timeline or rate of development. Unless there’s something wrong…”

“Hey.” Lance squeezes Keith’s forearm. “Little One is fine. There’s no reason at all to think otherwise.”

“...I love you,” Keith whispers, smiling. “And Little One loves you too.”

“Of course they do! I’m very loveable! Speaking of which…” Lance waggles his eyebrows. “If you wanted to, y’know-”

“Oh, shut up.” Keith leans down, kisses his mate soundly, fingers curling around to the back of Lance’s neck to sweeten the angle. He rasps over Lance’s smooth tongue as his fingers slide up into his starlight hair. As Lance’s hands find his hips, one of his own finds the headboard. Keith hums, pleased with himself as he positions himself in Lance’s lap-

And their door opens.

“Lancel, happy-”

Keith pulls away, turns to glare at Alfor, who’s staring at the scene before him. His ears pin back, tail twitching back and forth with irritation.

“Can we help you?” he asks, not bothering to hide their indecency despite his mate’s hands snapping up to cover his own, blushing face. Keith doesn’t even remove his hand from the headboard. He's much too annoyed to be embarrassed.

Alfor sighs, turns to leave, nothing but an “and we’re back to this shit” and an eye roll before he slams their bedroom door.

Keith snickers, laughs down at his mate. “Lance… Lance, come on.” The Altean removes his hands from his reddened face, lets Keith place them back on his hips. “Come on, your father’s seen you worse.”

“That was different! I wanted him to see!”

“Oh my gods, kiss me.”

Lance does just that, pushing himself up on his pillows. When his arm wraps around Keith’s waist, that’s when the Galra knows he’s got his mate exactly where he wants him.

-You’re right that I took little advantage of my time on Daibazaal. I saw nothing of your planet except what you forced so affectionately upon me. I would absolutely love to see more- all your favorite places, all the ones you think of when you think of home.

Still, I hope you will visit here again. There are places on Altea that are just as beautiful as your ocean. I want to share them with you, the same way you have shared your home with me. The respect we have cultivated is still fragile, newly born, and I would nurture it.

Regardless, I have hope we will be together again before long. I miss you.

All my love,

Adam

Personal Attendant to

Crown Prince Lancel of Altea

And Prince Yorak of House Kogane of Daibazaal and Altea

Shiro smiles, files the letter away on his datapad with all the other correspondence between himself and his beloved Altean. Adam was telling the truth when he’d said he was more articulate in writing. Every letter the attendant sent was almost exclusively things he would never say in person. The fact that Shiro receives script instead of typeface, that Adam writes to him by hand, affects him in a particular way with every letter.

It’s absolutely going to Shiro’s head, no doubt about it. An exclusive look at what actually goes on in Adam’s mind? Sign him the fuck up.

Shiro scans the empty training yard. This quintant is optional training, but usually he has at least a few men running about. Something doesn't feel right, hasn’t for a while. Now, it feels outright wrong.

He could call Adam, but if something is wrong, contacting Altea might be dangerous. Deciding he’d better investigate, Shiro rises from his spot on the ground, stretching wide, casual, inconspicuous.

As he lowers his arms, the mane on his back lifts on end, and he feels like someone is watching him. Turning, he sees nothing, smells nothing, hears nothing.

“Hello?”

Nothing.

“Hm.” Shiro cocks his head, heads in the direction of the mysterious presence until he arrives at Control. He hasn’t passed a single person, seen another Galra. The only sound is the patter of his feet on the stone floor. It’s like the compound has been abandoned.

At Control, Thace and Ulaz are watching various security feeds, frowns deep on their faces. Raj is missing.

“Gentlemen.”

“Captain. Where is everyone?”

“I don’t know,” Shiro murmurs. “There have been a lot of deserters lately…” “Yes,” Ulaz agrees, “But it seems like half of our remaining numbers are missing. Like they vanished overnight. And the feeds stalled out last night. We can’t find the records.”

“Where are your kits?” Shiro queries, keeping himself calm, controlled. Just in case someone is watching. “Your little one?”

“Raj is with Mashan and the triplets for today. Is your Altean here?”

“No.” Shiro turns to his friends. Thace’s garnet eyes haven’t left the screens, even as they look thoughtful, evaluating the situation.

“Sir, I must send a message to Adam. Prince Yorak is due for a scan this quintant. I want it done immediately, and remotely. Just in case.”

“Agreed. We should position ourselves near the prince and princess.”

“Not the imperial couple?”

“No. The prince and princess are definitely not our enemy. I cannot say the same for Zarkon or Honerva.” Shiro grits his teeth. “Stay vigilant.”

“Yes sir.”

Adam is arguing with Vetroneius. Which is exactly what he didn’t want for his morning.

“He does not need new clothes. He’s happy with what he’s wearing-”

“It’s unprofessional, and he will have a wardrobe that befits his status.” Vetroneius’ eyes don’t waver. “You might be able to terrorize everyone else around here, but not me, attendant.”

Adam leans forward, feeling fiercely protective of the small Galra he’s grown so fond of.

“Is that the truth?” Adam’s eyes flash green, his quintessence piercing the other Altean’s skull like a lance, a needle’s poke through the gray matter. He leans back at their frightened squeak. “I thought not.”

Adam stares Vetroneius down. “Price Yorak will not be coming in for any measurements. He has made it very clear that he prefers his own clothes, and says making anything for him would be a waste. He does not wish for you to spend your efforts on something that will not be worn.

“However, should he require any alterations in the future, he will let you know. Good day, my friend.”

“I’m not your friend.”

“Everyone is my friend, even if only by necessity-” A ping from Adam’s datapad cuts his words short. It’s a message from Thace.

I cannot travel today. Tavo will conduct the scan while I observe remotely. Have the princes report immediately to Medical.

Ventroneius peers over Adam’s shoulder. “That… cannot be good.”

“No. That Galra is never in a hurry to do anything. I’d best get moving…” Adam hesitates. “I recommend you and your tailors leave now. Go home.”

“Most are wards of the castle. But I will send them to their quarters to await instructions if need be.” Vetroneius pauses. “You could have just told me he was pregnant. It would have saved us both a lot of trouble.”

“The princes informed me that they wish to keep it to themselves for now. I am merely following orders.”

“Hm. Well let him know that when he inevitably needs alterations made, I would be happy to help him.”

Adam nods, leaves without another word. When he arrives at the princes’ quarters, he knocks.

The door opens to a grinning, disheveled Lance. “Hey! Someone knows how to knock!”

Keith’s giggling as he pulls his shirt down over his head. Adam sighs. “I’m not interrupting, am I?”

“No. Alfor did, though. He busted right in here-”

“The point is!” Lance cuts in, blushing. “My father is not very polite.”

“We knew that already. Now.” Adam pushes up his glasses. “I received a message from Thace. For undisclosed reasons, he cannot make the trip to Altea, so he will be joining us remotely. He asked that we begin immediately, so I came to retrieve you.”

The princes frown, immediately concerned. Keith asks, “He wouldn’t say why?”

“No. He only gave instructions.”

“We should go now,” the Galra determines. Lance immediately takes his hand, and the three hurry down the halls.

Tavo is already prepared. “Hello, your Majesties. Do you know what the objective is today?”

Keith licks his lips, hesitant to be anything but anxious, but when Lance’s hand squeezes his, the word “heartbeat” exits his mouth on a smile.

“Yes.” Tavo smiles. “Are you ready, Thace?”

“Entirely!” The genial Galra’s face shows up on the screen. “I’ve got the feed from your machine, so I am all set. Keith, have you seen any difference in your physicality?” Thace seems very at ease, but Keith’s not sure if it’s a farce. It could be, or it could be that “happy-friendly” is the man’s only real mood. Either way, he finds himself lying in a chair.

“No, though I’ve noticed a subtle soreness in my hips. And my chest. No bump.” Keith climbs into the chair.

“All of that is expected in your case. We’ll run some bloods to check your folic acid to make sure that’s still where it should be and analyze your overall health, and then do a careful scan.”

Keith nods, pulls off his shirt, watching Tavo take a few vials of blood. Lance takes his hand in both of his, kissing each of his fingers, a welcome distraction from the needles he’s developed such an aversion to. He’s a grown-up. He can deal. He takes a deep breath, swallows his apprehensive nausea, focuses on Lance’s touch- And it’s over. He breathes a sigh of relief.

Tavo lays a thin, clear film over Keith’s lower abdomen, to “protect the little one.” Keith smiles his appreciation, nervous. Lance must pick up on it, because he squeezes Keith’s hand tight, kisses his ear while the medic positions the scanner above his abdomen.

And then… a little blob, in a circle of empty space. And the blob becomes a little… thing. With a tail, stubby arm lumps, a snout sort of thing, the bumps that will become a spine…

*be-beat* *be-beat* *be-beat* *be-beat*

Rapid fire, like someone in a flat out sprint. A little dark circle within that form, clenching, unclenching. A viable embryo.

“Counting…” Tavo murmurs. “Counting…” A long dobash. “One-seventy-seven beats per dobash. A little fast, but not out of normal range. Beautiful.”

Thace hums. “Not ectopic… relatively normal mammalian development… Much slower than a Galra, but we expected that... Not sure if the tail will stay, but overall I’m pleased.”

Keith barely hears. This tiny wad of cells could become a whole person. They could have his fur, Lance’s skin, his ears, Lance’s eyes- Please gods let them have their sire’s eyes.

It’s not a person. Not yet. But there’s all the potential in the universe.

“Look at that, beloved. Look how little they are.”

“That’s… how it works,” Keith breathes. “They start out tiny and-” He sighs, turns to nuzzle into Lance’s hands, still enveloping his own. Lance reaches out with one of them, brushes hair out of his face, rubs the base of his ear.

“Best birthday present ever,” Lance whispers, still stroking Keith’s hair. “I still can barely believe it.”

“Well- Well you better start,” Keith chokes. “I need you.”

“You’ve got me. Always.” Lance presses their foreheads together, leaning over his husband, never letting go of his hand. “Always-”

Thace’s feed buzzes with a moment of static.

“I’d better go see what that’s about. Tavo, prioritize getting those bloods to me, and saving a recording of that scan to Altea’s medical database. Then back it up on a portable device small enough to wear-” A shout in the distance cuts him off.

“Thace?” Keith pushes himself into a sitting position, Lance standing by his side, still holding his hand. “What’s wrong?”

The galra frowns, ears twitching, rotating this way and that. “I’m not sure. Stay-”

The feed cuts out.

“Thace? Thace!” Keith’s more than a little alarmed, letting Lance help him to his feet. The Altean’s eyes narrow. A brown hand finds the small of Keith’s back.

“We should return to our rooms,” he whispers. “And await word from our contacts on Daibazaal. Or from Father.”

“You don’t seriously think-”

“I don’t know. But your life has priority now, and we must keep you safe.”

Keith allows himself to be steered from the room, where Tavo remains studiously putting away his equipment like nothing is wrong.

“I don’t appreciate you attitude, Lance,” he grumbles, teeth grit and bared. His ears pin back against his head, tail sweeping across the floor.

“I know you don’t, and I love that about you, but this is about more than just you. Or us. You are the future of Altean civilization, and I beg you to act accordingly.” Lance is in full-on Crown Prince mode, poised and elegant, moving at a careful pace so as not to raise alarm, but also to cover ground quickly. “Just this once. For me, beloved.”

“I understand.”

And Keith does, really. He really, truly understands. He hates it, but he is currently carrying the potential heir to the throne, the perpetuation of Lance’s bloodline, and the cornerstone upon which Altea’s government is built.

Which is fucking stupid, but there it is.

He allows himself to be steered into their quarters, watches Lance bar the doors, alter the settings on their security system. The hidden doorway in their gardens he leaves unlocked, just in case. Keith sits on the edge of their bed with BleepBloop and Kosmo, watching Lance pace, write furiously on his datapad, try repeatedly to reach their contacts on Daibazaal.

When they get a message from Daibazaal via Krolia, it’s not what either of them were expecting.

Daibazaal Imperial Compound under siege by Galra ships.  Imperials believed trapped inside. Forces mobilized. Rebels bound for Altea. Compound sending distress call shortly. Allegiances uncertain.

Knowledge or Death.

A tick and a half later, the lights in their rooms are reduced to the pale blue tracks a dash about the floor, and alarms are blaring. When Keith looks to his mate, Lance has opened a panel in the wall, strung his bow. With a grimace, the young prince, still vargas away from nineteen decaphoebs, has removed a gorgeous broadsword, the unsullied blade glinting sharply, white metal reflecting the dim glow of the room around them.

“Forgive me, beloved, what I may do this quintant.”

In that moment, Lance stands in sharp relief, lean and powerful, poised and confident, a beautiful young man with a crown on his brow and a blue flame in his eyes. He is everything a Crown Prince, a warrior, should be. Everything Keith expects him to be. If only it didn’t feel so wrong.

Lance straps the sword to his waist, and Keith looks away. His eyes find his chest from Daibazaal, and his mind finds the suit at the bottom. This feat will take both of them to pull off, and he’d best prepare to protect himself, their child, and their peoples with every bit of breath in his body.

Like his father before him.

[izlaria]

Someone you like (part 4)

This is the fourth chapter of my “Someone you like” inspired fic. It’s also available on AO3 in case you prefer that platform. Please hit me up to talk about Plance!

Summary: In the days following their arrival on Earth, Pidge finds that conflicting feelings don't just disappear because there are more people around. On the contrary, with the approach of the final battle, they seem to get worse.

FYI, we’re still on Pidge pining hour.

18 and 16 years old

Life was not easy when you were a soldier fighting against an evil, intergalactic empire, but Pidge had found a sort of balance to it all. Now that they were back on Earth and she knew her family was relatively safe, much of the sorrow she’d carried had dissolved into hopefulness.

Much, but not all.

Pidge leaned her head against the wall, hugging the papers to her chest. Being on the Garrison made it easier for her to ignore her erratic heartbeats, because she could just avoid Lance most of the time, but it also sent her into overdrive when she accidentally met him in the hallways. She could usually depend on her mother to be there – Pidge was grounded, after all –, but there were times when not even Colleen could protect her.

She wanted to talk to Lance, of course. He was one of her best friends and no crush could ever change that, but it took a lot out of Pidge to hear him drone on about Allura and all the places he wanted to show her on Earth.

Maybe her evasiveness wasn’t the most mature of Pidge’s choices, but she was tired and lovesick and feeling neglected. She would have to be excused a little pettiness.

“Do you want to tell me why I just saw you ignore Lance?” Matt raised his brows at her, an expression that Pidge herself often mimicked and that was especially irritating to be the target of. He was standing off to the side of her station, gloves still on.

Pidge pushed away from the wall, feeling flustered. She hadn’t realized her brother had witnessed the scene.

“Did I ignore Lance?” Pidge opted to feign innocence. “I was so lost in thought I didn’t really see him there. Or you.” This last bit she said with a touch of hostility.

Matt crossed his arms and hummed, sounding disbelieving. “You always were the worst liar out of the two of us, Pidge.”

She shouldered past Matt with a glare. There was a lot of work to do until the Atlas was completed and the last thing she needed were distractions like her feelings for Lance or a fight with her brother.

“When did you land on Earth, anyway?” Pidge put the papers down on her table and moved to one of the computer screens, where she’d left a new code running. It was an improved version of her and Matt’s previous software for predicting Galra presence. “I could use your eyes on this.”

Matt stood at her back, looking over her shoulder at the lines that lit up the computer.

“This is interesting…” He squinted down at Pidge. “Don’t think for a second that a new challenge will make me forget what I just saw.”

She took advantage of Matt’s positioning to elbow him in the gut.

Truthfully, Pidge knew her brother wouldn’t tease her too much about her circumstances. Matt was caring and even protective when it came to her well-being, so he would never rat her out to Lance or any of the others, even if he disagreed with her actions.

Despite that, she struggled with being vulnerable around him.

Pidge didn’t want to think about it, but the years they’d spent apart had certainly affected their relationship. Before going to space, Matt was more than her brother, he had been her closest friend. But now she had Hunk, Lance, and even Keith and Allura. If she needed guidance, Coran and Shiro were only a call away.

She would always be close to Matt, but he was no longer the only person whose company she valued.

“We should finish this up before mom comes around,” Pidge said, trying to refocus. “She comes to collect me at the end of the day.” She rolled her eyes.

“That still going on?” Matt chuckled as he pulled a chair over to her station. He scanned the reports she had just brought in.

“I can’t even go out to eat with the team. We’ve had to meet in the cafeteria, of all places.”

“I’m just glad the cooking staff changed since I was a student.” Matt wrinkled his nose. “That was just nasty.”

“Except for the burgers.” And here Pidge smiled, suddenly reminded of all the times Hunk and Lance had dragged her to lunch and how they always ended up making a mess of their table.

“On Mondays, that’s right!” Matt glanced at her and Pidge couldn’t quite read the look in his eyes. “Until when are you grounded, anyway?”

“Let’s see, I was fifteen when I was whisked into space, so…” She pretended to do the calculations. “Until my twenty-first birthday, unless dad intervenes.”

Matt snorted. “Good luck with that. He doesn’t really have any weight with mom right now. She’s still upset about the whole being-pronounced-dead thing.”

Pidge groaned, burying her face into her hands. “I’ll be going to war in a month, but I still have no freedom here.” She raised her eyes to look at him. “Can’t you talk to mom?”

“And risk my newfound position as the favorite? You’re on your own, kiddo.” He continued to stare down at the papers for a moment, before turning to face her properly. “You know why she’s doing this, right? You spent three years MIA. We thought you were dead.” He exhaled forcefully. “I thought you were dead.”

Pidge didn’t really know how to respond. Since her arrival on Earth, she’d had versions of this conversation with several people, but her brother had always stood back and given her a little space. He probably knew better than most how overwhelming such a welcome could be. “I am sorry, Matt.”

He gave her a tight-lipped smile. “Turnaround is fair play, I guess.”

“Stop.” Pidge put a hand on his arm. She worked her jaw, trying to figure out what to say. “I never wanted you to find out how that felt.”

Matt nodded once, swallowing hard. Pidge could tell that he was putting his emotions back in check.

“I’m proud of what you’ve done, Katie. Mom might act like you’re still a kid, but I was out there before you came along.” It reminded Pidge that, though he hadn’t been present for her battles, Matt had seen his own share of horrors. “Voltron turned the tide, in no small part because of you.”

“Thank you.” She tried to blink away the tears. Matt smiled and brought his hands up to cup her face.

“My little sister is a badass, so I don’t want to see you hiding behind corners because of some stupid boy.” When she tried to protest, he just squished her cheeks. “Who does not deserve you, by the way.”

Pidge couldn’t help but laugh. She could always count on Matt to make her smile through her tears.

“I thought you liked Lance,” she said once Matt had let go of her face. He grimaced.

“He’s eighteen and a flirt.” Her brother didn’t even try to go back to work, he merely kicked his legs up onto a workbench and crossed his arms. “I would feel better about Keith, even.”

“You say that because Shiro would be just as bad of a protective older brother as you.” She pushed at his chair, making Matt almost lose his balance.

“You would never be alone unchaperoned, it would be great,” he confirmed, still pulling himself back into position.

“You realize that I’m technically nineteen?” She aimed a sharp look at him.

“You realize you look twelve?” Matt shot back, looking unbearably satisfied with himself. This time Pidge had no mercy for him; she sent his chair rolling down the aisle and Matt with it.

“Honestly, you have nothing to worry about.” She wrapped an arm around her middle. “Lance is so enamored with Allura that I could yell in his ear that I like him and the goofball would think I meant it platonically.”

Matt wheeled himself back to her. “Then he’s a fool.”

“You’re just saying that,” Pidge scoffed. “You were just as bad as him when meeting Allura.”

“Look, Allura is beautiful, that’s true, but it doesn’t diminish your qualities.” He put a hand on her shoulder, leaning in close so that their voices didn’t echo in the empty laboratory. “You are funny and witty and smarter than anyone in this damn complex. Don’t you dare compare yourself to Allura.”

Pidge dragged her chair until she was resting against Matt’s shoulder.

“It’s sort of inevitable. She’s the one he likes and I have to accept it.” She looked at the computer, where lines of code kept appearing and disappearing. “It’s just hard to be near him. I feel like I’ll do something and everyone will… know.”

“You spent almost a year pretending to be someone else, I think your acting skills are a little better than that.”

“Didn’t you criticize my lying just a few minutes ago?” she deadpanned.

“Well…” Matt gave her a cheeky grin. “I’ve known you your entire life, so I’m a Katie Holt expert.”

“Of course,” she drawled out, rolling her eyes.

Pidge felt her brother put an arm over her shoulder, squeezing her to his side.

“You’re perfect, okay?” he murmured into her hair. “Don’t ever let anyone convince you otherwise.”

She closed her eyes and let herself fall into his embrace. It was something she had missed, even now that the team was back on Earth. Everything had changed since the Kerberos mission and, while a lot of it was good, Pidge couldn’t deny that she wished Matt would stay with them more often.

“Okay.” Her voice trembled, but Matt didn’t mention it, choosing to tighten his hold on her.

“Knock, knock! Anyone in here?” As soon as the voice sounded, Pidge scrambled to hide her face. She got up and pretended to check a different monitor, turning her back to the door. She heard Lance approach their station. “Oh, hey, guys!” Then, seeming to notice the mood of the room. “Is everything alright?”

“Yeah, man.” Matt was the first to recover. Pidge felt him move, probably trying to keep Lance from getting any closer. “We were just discussing some Holt secret coding.” She almost snickered at this, despite the heartbeat that still hammered in her ears. It was the sort of thing that only a non-techie would believe.

“And I thought us McClains were bad with our ropa vieja recipe.” She chanced a look over her shoulder to catch Lance’s smile. He was always at his brightest when talking about his family.

“You needed something, Lance?” Matt was being a bit more brusque than normal, but his expression was thankfully still amenable. Pidge would have hit him if he just started being a jerk to Lance.

“Not really,” the other boy responded. He looked around Matt to smile at Pidge. “I was just hoping to catch up with Pidge before your mother comes around.” He shuddered. “Let me tell you, that’s a scary lady. She could almost beat mami with that I’m-not-mad-just-disappointed face.”

“You tell me?” Matt sighed. “That’s one thing I don’t look forward to when touching down at the Garrison.”

“You wanted to talk to me?” Pidge interrupted before they could keep going. Putting two of the friendliest people she knew in the same room was only a good idea if she had the patience for a long conversation. Which she didn’t.

“Ah, are you done ignoring me, Pidgeon?” Lance cocked his hip to one side, looking too sure of himself for his own good.

“I’m working, Lance, something you should be doing as well.” She pretended to fix her glasses, if only to have something to do.

The boy waved a dismissive hand at her. “I’m done for the day and I know for a fact that you’re just working on pet projects until Colleen comes to get you.” When he tried to lean down towards her, Matt moved to stand between them. Lance hesitated, before letting the strange behavior go. “Matt can keep your mom busy if she shows up, right?”

It was difficult to say no to Lance. He was jovial and charming, in particular when he wasn’t actually trying to impress anyone.

“Can you, Matt?” Pidge found herself asking. Her brother frowned at her with uncertainty.

“If that’s what you want, Pidge,” he yielded, when she didn’t back down.

“Let’s go before you get me in trouble, McClain.” Pidge gave a long-suffering sigh and moved past the two boys, who were saying their goodbyes.

Lance caught up to her at the door, opening it with an exaggerated bow.

She walked briskly down the hallway, but Lance had the advantage of his height. For every two, quick steps Pidge took, he only had to take one long stride.

“In a rush to get away?” There was laughter in his voice.

“You’ve seen how mom gets,” she replied, peaking around corners as they moved. “If she doesn’t know where I am for more than five minutes, she seems to think I’ll jump into a ship and disappear for another four years.”

“As if I had it any better.” He gestured to a hallway Pidge knew led to the analytics department. “I’m just lucky Veronica is the only one in my family with clearance to come into the Garrison.”

Pidge snorted. “I should sic my mom on you and Hunk, to make things even.”

Though she’d spent so much of their time on Earth making up excuses not to see Lance, the conversation between them flowed naturally. He had an easy-going energy that calmed Pidge’s more tense nature. While they were in the castle-ship, he had been able to soothe the worst of her worries, until Pidge could actually have fun, despite the fears that troubled her mind.

She didn’t know what would have become of her in this war, if Lance hadn’t been there.

“On the subject of your family…” Lance sent her an anxious look. “Is everything really alright with your brother?”

Pidge could tell he was actually worried, which sent a wave of affection and pain through her chest. She struggled to keep her expression blank.

“We were just talking about the war.” She allowed apprehension to seep into her tone. “I know he has a role to perform out there, but I wish he could stay longer.”

Lance twisted his mouth to the side, an unhappy expression he often adopted when trying to look empathetic. “What has Matt said about it?”

“He misses home, but he can’t really ignore what’s going on with the rebel forces.” Pidge rubbed at her temple. “If we are actually able to end the war, then things might be different, but for now…” she trailed off.

Communications from all around the universe told them Voltron wasn’t the only force preparing for battle. There were a lot of moving parts to consider, especially with the still unknown variable of whose influence had been affecting the Altean colony.

“I know what you mean. After this is all over, I think I’ll take a long vacation to just enjoy good, old Earth.”

This surprised Pidge, startling her from her previous line of thought.

“What, is the Tailor going to retire?” She knocked Lance lightly on the arm, trying for a playful mood.

“No,” he objected. He bent at the waist to look her in the eye and winked. “You know I can’t deny the rest of the universe the beauty of my presence.”

Pidge pushed his face away. It was easy to pretend to be annoyed at Lance when he insisted on acting like this. He was most dangerous when he was genuine. “Be real, man.”

“I am!” He laughed as he stood upright. “It’s just… We’ve been off-planet for so long, I kinda want some time to spend with my family, maybe travel around. I’ve only ever been to Cuba and the US, can you believe it? I’ve seen more of space than of my own planet.”

“Yeah, me too.” Pidge frowned. She hadn’t thought about the situation in these terms before. “I’ve been to Italy and England, but that’s it.”

“We should come up with a plan, get the others in on it.” Lance shot her a smile.

They had walked all the way to the MFE taxiway and Pidge focused her attention on the aircraft that Ryan Kinkade maneuvered across from them. She didn’t want to think of Lance’s warmth so close to her, nor of the future he described.

It didn’t matter how long she avoided him, Lance always found a way back into her life and into her heart. This awareness was painful, when Pidge knew he would never look at her as more than a best friend or a younger sister.

She felt something hit her cheek and looked up at the sky. Dark clouds gathered over them and soon there was another drop.

“Oh, it’s raining,” Pidge commented offhandedly. By her side, Lance let out a laugh. He sounded so joyful that she couldn’t stop herself from staring.

Lance had opened his arms and raised his face to the rain. It reminded her of something he had said months ago, about the aspects of Earth he missed while in space. She was once again struck by how attracted she was to Lance: his cheerfulness, his stupid humor, the curve of his Adam’s apple and the way his uniform clung to him in the rain.

“I really missed this!” he exclaimed mid-laugh.

Pidge stood still, admiring his delight even as her hands closed to fists at her sides. “Yeah,” she breathed out, “me too.”

--

After they left the mall, there was still some time for Allura to kill before her date and it was decided that she, Romelle and Pidge would stop to grab something to eat. Rizavi and Ina had previous plans, but they encouraged the girls to have some fun together, leaving unsaid that it might be their last chance to do so.

“I cannot emphasize how thankful I am, Pidge.” Allura reached across the table to grab her hand. She and Romelle had insisted on going into a coffeeshop that had recently reopened; the design was minimalist but cozy, a step-up from anything else they’d seen outside downtown.

“And I’ve said it a hundred times already, princess, I don’t mind.” Pidge let her hand go slack in Allura’s, trying not to snap at her friend. While she appreciated the gratitude, the constant touching was starting to grate on her nerves.

“You do mind,” Allura contested, with the kind of serious but diplomatic tone she used when arguing with Garrison officers. “I could see your hesitance when the vendor first offered the trade. None would have denied your right to keep the item.”

Allura pulled back into herself as she spoke. It was strange to see her uncomfortable, since the princess usually kept either a tranquil or a powerful front in the face of adversity. Free from her touch, Pidge suddenly felt bad for not responding more fervently to Allura’s efforts towards a closer bond. In the castle-ship, she had pretended they were simply too different and, on Earth, too busy.

The truth was much less dignified: Allura had seemed like an unapproachable ideal, made solid only to remind Pidge of all that she could not be. She was prim and beautiful and feminine. Once upon a time, before the complexities of her multiple identities, Katie had aspired to this image, to some degree.

“You’re more important to me than a video game.” Pidge tried to be casual with the way she said this, but the knowing glint that shone in Allura’s eyes told her it was unsuccessful. “I’ll have plenty of time to find it again after the war is over.”

“Perhaps you could teach me these games once we are back.” Allura smiled at her, the picture of earnestness. “I was always curious about the time you and the other paladins dedicated to them.”

“It can be pretty frustrating,” Pidge warned, thinking of the hours she’d wasted with Hunk and Lance just to get past some particularly difficult levels.

“I have noticed that you scream a lot while playing,” the other commented thoughtfully, “but that appears to be part of the bonding experience.”

“You can say that again.” She scoffed.

“Why would I say it again?” Allura tilted her head to the side in confusion and Pidge had to disguise her laughter.

“I’m just agreeing with you.” She sometimes forgot that the Alteans weren’t completely used to Earth culture. In the Castle of Lions, the paladins were the ones to adhere to new patterns. Now, Allura and Coran had to slowly learn their customs, like with this date.

“I suppose we did have something similar in Altea,” Allura mused. “Activities like the maze we had in the Castle were quite popular among the youth.” She leaned over the table to speak in a lower voice. “The element of danger was a point of interest, though I couldn’t quite comprehend why.”

“That’s a lie and you know it!” Pidge pointed accusingly at Allura. “You’re almost as bad as Keith with throwing yourself into dangerous situations.”

“Am not!” It was always funny to rile her up like this. Allura was so calm and collected that getting her to sound immature was a reward in itself. The other shook her head and settled back into her seat, straightening her posture. “Oh, I know what you are doing.”

Pidge continued to grin at her. “What am I doing?”

The princess narrowed her eyes at Pidge, but her mouth struggled with a smile. “You and Lance have such a way of getting me to lose my cool.” She tapped a rhythm on the table. “I must admit it is endearing.”

There it was again, the shock of warmth and sadness that had troubled Pidge the entire day. She loved Allura and was even happy for her, but her heart was conflicted by the news of her new-found interest in Lance.

It just seemed so sudden, Pidge hadn’t had the opportunity to prepare herself. Or maybe those two had grown closer in the Garrison, while she tried her best not to see them, and this was simply the outcome of her bad choices.

Pidge was saved from responding by the arrival of Romelle, her arms full of napkins.

“What a bargain!” She proclaimed as the packages fell from her hands and bounced across the tabletop. “They have agreed to serve us their best delicacies in trade of Pidge’s autographs, a video of her endorsement and an appearance once every phoeb for the next five moons!” The blonde beamed down at them. “On that regard, what is an endorsement?”

Allura and Pidge shared a dismayed look over the piles of napkins.

“Surely they do not expect Pidge to autograph all of these.” Allura gave Romelle an hesitant smile, as if her politeness could change the answer they all knew was coming.

Romelle blinked at them. “The cook assured me it was an amazing deal.”

Pidge pinched the bridge of her nose, calling on any patience she could muster. She had nothing against Romelle and the Altean was nice and cheerful most of the time, but her naivete when dealing with human conventions never failed to amaze.

“Oh dear,” Allura fretted. “I should go deal with that.”

“Think you can convince them to give us food without getting me stuck here for the near future?” Pidge teased, to disguise her vexation.

Her friend slid off the booth. “I have reasoned with beings from several galaxies, I cannot fathom a Terran entrepreneur will be more stubborn than certain members of the coalition.” Allura straightened her spine and clasped her hands over her stomach, looking every bit the princess she was. The determination in her expression made Pidge smile.

“I can autograph one pile of napkins and I agree to do a video endorsement, but I’m not changing back into costume.” She turned to look at Romelle, who seemed to be accompanying the conversation with good-humored confusion. There was something almost sly about the look in her eyes. “I’m going into space tomorrow, how was I supposed to come back? Besides, I’m grounded. If mom found out we were finished shopping, she’d already be here to drag me home.”

“I might have been swayed by the delicious smells wafting from the kitchen,” the other admitted in a manner that could pass for sheepish. She eyed the napkins, before picking up a package. “I suppose these are a little excessive.”

Allura sighed. “I will be right back.”

They watched the princess move towards the front of the coffeeshop, where the human owner was talking to another set of customers. Romelle sat down where Allura had previously been.

“Alone at last.” She clapped her hands together and faced Pidge with a seriousness that contrasted with her usual vibrancy.

Pidge narrowed her eyes at Romelle. “I knew you were plotting something.”

The blonde shrugged. “I wanted to talk to you privately and I didn’t think we would get the chance in the Garrison.” She glanced back to where Allura stood waiting for the other customers to leave. “The owner was a darling, but he was a tremendous flirt, so Allura won’t be here any time soon.”

“Do I even have to sign anything?” Pidge rested her chin on her hand.

“He wants a picture with you and the princess and an autograph to hang on the wall, but that’s it.” Romelle winked at her.

“So what do you want?” Pidge tapped a finger against her cheek. She didn’t mean to sound so suspicious, but the girl’s orchestrations made the situation feel a little like a trap.

“To thank you.” The emotion in her voice sounded almost like pity. “For your sacrifice today.”

Pidge groaned. “I already told Allura that the video game wasn’t that much of a loss.”

“I am not talking about the game.” There was a moment of silence, during which Pidge kept very still. “I saw your reaction when we told you about the date. It was only then that I realized: you like pointy chin.”

“What makes you think that?” She raised a brow at Romelle, doing her best to appear natural.

“It makes sense.” Romelle looked up at the sparse decorations that adorned the coffeeshop, her expression pensive. “He’s the one you spend the most time with, after Hunk. I didn’t think you were interested in romance, given your almost complete lack of sentimentality,” and here she made a face at Pidge, “but I suppose we’re all dealing with high emotions right now.”

Pidge didn’t know how to reply. So far, Matt was the only one who had realized her crush on Lance and he’d been thankfully quiet since. The whole day left her feeling off-center, especially with what Romelle now wanted her to confess. Pidge didn’t want to talk about her feelings. She wanted to take her bayard and carve the jealousy and affection and misery right out of her chest.

Romelle took her silence as a sign to go on. “Look, I know we are not close, but you can talk to me.” The expression on her face was so eager that Pidge didn’t immediately protest. “You are… not kind. Not always, at least, but genuine.” Romelle hurried through her words. “Which is more than can be said about others I’ve met since arriving on Earth. And I can see how much you care for Allura, though you hide it beneath your sarcasm and reluctance.”

“Has anyone on Earth given you trouble?” Pidge chose to focus on the subject that was easier to approach. Romelle clearly knew what she was doing, because the blonde gave her a very annoyed look. “The team and I have tried to shield you from the politics of having non-humans around, but it’s not always possible.”

“I grew up worshipping a man who turned out to be harvesting quintessence from the bodies of my family and friends,” Romelle stated coolly. “I can handle the Terrans.”

“Well, this thing has to go both ways.” Pidge leaned back against the booth to gesture forcefully in the other’s direction. “If you want me to talk to you, then you need to talk to me.”

Romelle seemed to consider this, her eyes narrowed. “Fair enough.” She glanced quickly over her shoulder, then leaned forward. “I know we both want what’s best for Allura, but I hope you will be happy, too.”

Her eagerness brought a small smile to Pidge’s lips, even as her chest constricted with the acknowledgement of her feelings.

There were many things in the universe that she valued more than romance: her family, her intellect and ability to continue learning, and now her friends. Pidge would do anything to keep them safe and content, regardless of how she felt about Lance. She would eventually get over him, of this Pidge was sure.

She loved Lance, but she loved herself more.

“I don’t need a boy to be happy, Romelle. I just want this war to be over.”

The blonde nodded at her response. “You have already done so much for me by going against Lotor.” She sighed. “You will always have my loyalty for that.”

Pidge took a moment to study her. Romelle could be energetic and joyful, but she had also suffered more loss than Pidge could really comprehend. She had never believed Matt and her father were dead, even on the early days of the Garrison’s declaration. Hope had moved her forward, but Romelle hadn’t had that privilege.

“Have I ever told you how I became a paladin?” she asked, much to Romelle’s surprise.

“I don’t believe so, no.” The other furrowed her brows in puzzlement. “Are you changing the subject again?”

“I was just thinking that we have more in common than you know.” Pidge lowered her eyes to the tabletop, tracing a series of scratches with the tip of her fingers. “You have met my brother Matt, haven’t you?”

Allura approached as she said this, a tray of food balanced on her hand. “Oh, has Romelle heard of your search for Matt?”

Pidge stood up to help Allura place the coffee without spilling it and grinned at her friend’s enthusiasm. “I was just about to tell her.”

The princess sat down next to Romelle and put her hands to her chest in a show of sympathy. “It is a lovely story, please go on.”

With a laugh, she did.