#also Keith is pining beyond all reason
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nerdy-cait05 · 8 years ago
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“Tearing Up My Heart”
a sequel to this
Summary: Keith is pining for Lance.  Same old, same old.
Read it on Ao3 here! NOTE: my Spanish is a little rusty; please let me know if there are any mistakes so I may correct them!
Keith was frustrated.  Which, to be perfectly honest, wasn’t new.  The red paladin was constantly finding small frustrations and problems to deal with on this space castle or whatever that he was living on, and most of them stemmed from one blue paladin in particular.  But tonight, Keith was frustrated because he couldn’t sleep.  He figured it to be an unfortunate side-effect from consuming an alien drink that had the same amount of caffeine in it as 3 cups of coffee, but there wasn’t anything he could do about it now except to ride out the caffeine and wait for the inevitable crash.  If alien coffee worked anything like earth’s? He had no idea.
Keith ran his hands through his long hair and left his room, carrying his empty mug to the kitchen and thinking about hitting the training deck.  He figured if he had so much energy he might as well do something useful with it, and as he headed that way he passed the control room awash with soft lights.  Curious as to who else would be up at this time of night, Keith poked his head in the room and saw Lance huddled on the ground, staring up at the gentle lights floating in orbit around the room.  The stars moved across the room slowly, washing the paladin in blue light akin to his robotic Lion and across his skin.
Keith was struck suddenly with the beauty and overwhelming sense of longing of the scene he had walked into conveyed.  There was something unbearable about this boy sitting alone and staring at simulated images of a life far far away from the one they lived now, and he couldn’t bear it.  He couldn’t bear this aching in his chest and had half a mind to turn and clear his mind of it.  But he wouldn’t bear to see his friend so lonely and just leave him in this aching state.
“Lance?”
The blue paladin jumped like he had been electrocuted, “Oh, Keith! You took me by surprise!”
Keith had to stifle a laugh at Lance’s face and stepped into the room, “What, you?  Surprised?  I thought you were the master of all things stealth.”
Lance rolled his eyes and forced out a laugh as they continued with their usual banter.  It had become much less venomous as the weeks had gone on and they had gotten to know one another, and Keith found he enjoyed teasing and bickering with Lance over stupid, inconsequential things.  It made the whole “Defenders of the Universe” business seem much less intimidating and daunting when you had people who made you see the little things too.
And it felt right.  Being here, with Lance, in the middle of the night, came with an unbearable sense of ease that made Keith feel warm inside.  He stared for a moment at his blue paladin, watching the way the lights made his blue eyes shine and patterns like freckles across his face.  Keith felt a different warmth crawl up his cheeks as he sat down next to him with loud popping of his limbs.
“Dude,” Lance deadpanned, “You’re too young to be sounding like that.”
Keith forced back a derisive laugh, “You think I sound bad, you should hear Shiro’s back when we spar.  Or Pidge’s neck after she’s been coding for too long.”
“You mean every moment of her life?”
“Basically.” Keith smiled at that; he remembered having to lift the small girl onto a couch once in the middle of the night when she’d fallen asleep sitting upright.
Naturally, though, Lance had to do one better. “I’m sure Hunk cracking my back after getting out of that healing pod beats anything you’ve ever popped.  I felt as spineless as a squid after that hug.”
The memory of Lance stumbling out of the healing pod and his face as Hunk’s mass crushed him made Keith laugh, and he wasn’t sure if it was because of the caffeine, or how tired he was, but he laughed much longer and harder than he had in a while.  When he finally caught a hold of himself, though, Lance was staring at him with brilliant blue eyes as wide as saucers.
“Uh, Lance?” he suddenly felt self-conscious for some reason, “you okay?”
Lance cleared his throat and spoke quickly, “What me yeah I’m fine, it’s fine, we’re all good and fine, it’s fine.”
“You do realize the more times you say you’re fine the less I believe you, right?” He raised an eyebrow.
That only served to make it worse, however, because Lance just giggled and stood up shakily, “Sí estoy bien pero necesito usar el baño ahora mismo. Estoy bien es bueno, adiós!” He shot erratic finger-guns and ran off, leaving Keith confused and even more frustrated.  
He would never understand Lance, ever. One minute he’d be having a good, civil conversation with the blue paladin for once and then it would just get weird and he’d start rambling in Spanish.  He was loud and flirtatious and loyal and pretty and—
Keith felt his chest tighten and pressed his fist to his forehead, letting the coolness of his skin clear his mind. Every conversation he had with Lance left him breathless and overanalyzing every detail, wondering what had made him go off.
‘Was it something I said?’  
He didn’t really think so. Anyone could tell you that the mere sight of Keith drove Lance up the wall at times, case in point when he’d nearly gotten them killed saving Shiro back on earth.  So what the hell had just happened?
Something big, apparently, because Lance started acting especially annoying around Keith after that.  He started smirking at him more and was more aggressive with their ludicrous rivalry, though it never had any real bite.
Worst, though, was the flirting.  Lance had started being much more overt and flirtatious with any and all the aliens they came across, and not just the girls.  It shouldn’t have shocked Keith as much as it did when the blue paladin had quirked his ridiculous eyebrows at an alien and delivered awful pick-up lines, but Keith couldn’t get it out of his head.  For some odd reason that bothered him above all else, and he couldn’t stop thinking about it, even when he and Shiro were sparring and he’d nearly been decked by his Galra fist.
“Got something on your mind, buddy?” Shiro asked as Keith countered with his bayard.
“It’s nothing,” Keith shook his head.
Shiro glanced the blow off his metal arm and pressed on, “You know you can talk to me about anything, right?  It’s not good to keep things bottled up for too long.”
Keith fought the urge to roll his eyes; of course Shiro would go into “Dad-Mode™” if he sensed anything was wrong.  Coran did the same thing, except with a lot more alien confusion and explanations required. “Really, it’s fine.”
He caught Shiro’s raised eyebrow in between strikes, “Okay, I trust you.”
They finished their session quickly after that, the silence only broken by their huffs for breath and clanging of bayard against metal.  Keith could tell Shiro hadn’t slept well the night before from this silence; usually the black paladin was focused and cheery, but when he had nightmares it affected his mood while fighting.
When they finished, Shiro pulled off his helmet and wiped the sweat from his brow, “Good job today, Keith.  You’re getting stronger every day,” he smiled gently, his eyes distant.
“Does it ever bother you?” he blurted before thinking, “the seeming lack of dedication by the others, I mean,” he added quickly, “Sometimes it doesn’t feel like they understand what’s really important with our mission.”
Shiro looked confused for a moment, then placed a hand to his chin, “Is this about Lance?”
“What?” Keith felt his cheeks flush, “How—what does he have to do with anything?”
“Well, he has been a lot more…” Shiro trailed off, thinking of the right word.
“Annoying?”
“Outgoing is the word I was looking for, especially towards the aliens we’ve recently encountered,” the older paladin looked at him meaningfully, “and I’ve seen how you look at him.  You’re not as subtle as you think, you know.”
Keith squawked and felt his face burn, “What are we, sixth-graders?”
“From your expression, yes.”
He huffed and crossed his arms, turning away from the black paladin’s smirk.
“Hey,” Shiro said in a much gentler tone, making Keith turn to look at him again, “It’s okay for you to be jealous; just don’t let it affect the team, okay?”
The red paladin felt his anger deflate like a balloon and nodded, “Yeah, no problem.” It was no use denying anything at this point; it would just make him look more hopeless.
Shiro clapped him on the shoulder and left Keith to his thoughts. *** Needless to say, Keith tried not to rip Lance a new one the next time he flirted with an alien, but he couldn’t help but notice the way the blue paladin’s glance kept finding its way onto him.  
“Well, I may be homesick for earth,” Lance smirked as his gaze flickered over to Keith, “But I’m lovesick for you.”
Keith felt the familiar tightening of his chest with something akin to hope grip his heart.  Not because he liked Lance’s eyes when they looked at him.  Or that he always stood next to Keith wherever they were.
Or that they had a bonding moment they both remembered.
Nope, nothing like that.
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liltaz-asatreat · 2 years ago
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Also, I was thinking this over the other day, but all of the McElorys a really really bad at keeping secrets. Or, at the very least, they notoriously play characters that are really bad at keeping secrets lol In Amnesty, Duck tells Pidgeon within the first arc of them being fully fledged members of the pine guard. Aubrey slipped up with unnecessary magic and showed Keith the truth. Then the whole last arc happened. Graduation, just... *gestures at everything* Argo folding almost immediately after Fitzroy asks like, one question, Fitzroy almost telling Rainier right after finding out he and the other two were going to be put on trial, Firbolg Gary, as far as I can remember (I'm working my way through relistening again, but I've never been able to get through the hearing and beyond more than once, so I don't remember the back half of Graduation very well), is like, the best one out of the three of them at keeping secrets, which is ironic because he literally can't lie.
The only reason Balance holds up is because they literally had a giant alien fish that made it physically impossible for anyone to know what the fuck was going on if they weren't in the loop, and even then, they basically told Angus everything, at least as much as they could, within the first two conversations they have ever had with him, Taako had to lie to Hurley about why she could only hear static when he was talking about the Gaia Sash, I think the only thing that was ever successfully kept secret was Magnus keeping quiet about what he saw on the scroll and his conversation with Fisher, but even then, there wasn't much in game time for him to fuck that up until he came clean, and he was on the brink of saying something, or at the very least, Taako and Merle knew something was up, when he freaking asked if they knew how to alter memory after breaking in to talk to Pringles!
Now I'm not caught up with Ethersea, and it's been a while since I listened, but as far as I know and remember, they don't have to keep secret anything, which must be a huge relief on all of them, because I really think by halfway through of Graduation, everyone was worn out by secret keeping lol
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izlaria · 4 years ago
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Someone you like (part 3)
This is the third 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: Lance finds a better friend in Pidge than he could have antecipated.
Also, Pidge pining hour.
17 and 15 years old
“I can’t believe we have a cow.” Lance stared in awe at the animal. It looked completely out-of-place in the middle of the highly technological castle-ship. “Where did that dude even get her from?” he exclaimed, waving an arm at it. Lance gasped, lowering his voice to a whisper, “Do you think she’s… a clone?”
Kaltenecker kept on chewing, indifferent to Lance’s fussy behavior.
“Most likely,” Pidge responded. She was looking down at a tablet that contained results from the scan they’d conducted on Kaltenecker. “She is carbon-based, which isn’t such a rarity out here, but is always good to know. The anatomy also checks out with normal cow biology. The only change I could find is that her diet is more adapted to what’s available in this quadrant.”
Lance scratched the top of his head. “Does that mean she can’t eat Earth food?”
“She probably can…” Pidge tapped the edge of the tablet in a considering manner. “We eat alien food and nothing has happened yet.”
“So we’re winging it? That doesn’t sound very scientific.” He didn’t like the idea of putting their cow in danger. “Can’t you figure something out for her to eat?”
“I’m not a biochemist, Lance.” Pidge took her eyes off Kaltenecker to glare at him. “Nor a geneticist. That’s more Coran’s area of expertise.”
“Easy!” Lance held up his hands. “We can talk to him, then. I was just asking a question…”
Pidge huffed out a breath, then let her shoulders drop. “I don’t know how you’re not annoyed right now. We spent the entire afternoon in a fountain to get a freaking video game, only to realize we have no way to turn it on!”
“I actually had fun.” Lance shrugged. He didn’t really see what bothered her so much. Sure, he wanted to play Killbot Phantasm, but even the fact that they’d found the game out in the universe was enough for him. “It felt like the sort of crazy I used to get to back home.”
She fidgeted with the tablet in her hands. “Going to the mall and causing a scene?”
Lance eyed Pidge curiously. Her brow was furrowed, but she looked more lost than irritated. “Sure,” he acquiesced. “This was hardly my first time fishing out coins from a fountain.”
“It was for me,” Pidge interrupted brusquely. “I had never done that before.”
He cocked an eyebrow at her. “Really? You’re one of the biggest troublemakers I’ve met. I’m pretty sure you’re at least guilty of fraud after lying about your identity to get into the Garrison.”
For some reason, this seemed to startle her. It was almost ludicrous to think that Pidge had gone undercover without realizing the legal implications of her actions. It would be just like her, too, to get so caught up in the big picture that she simply bulldozed through every other detail.
“That was different, though.” She was pouting now, her cheeks comedically puffed out. “I was more of a homebody when younger.” Her gaze was lowered to her hands, distant. “I don’t have as many stories to tell as you and Hunk.”
“I seriously doubt that.” Lance scoffed. “Aren’t you always talking about the crazy experiments you and Matt did? I bet he will have a bunch of embarrassing shit about you that you never tell us. I can’t wait to get my hands on all that sweet, sweet blackmail!”
Lance wrung his hands menacingly, but when he looked down at Pidge the expression on her face caught him off guard. He expected her to be exasperated or at least displeased, so the tenderness in her eyes was unforeseen.
He’d been talking about her brother as if they would meet soon, Lance realized. Pidge mentioned him often, but not in detail, not in any capacity that didn’t serve to remind everyone of her mission to find her family. He guessed it felt too much like an open wound, like when Lance tried to talk about Marco or Rachel.
But maybe it did them some good, too.
“Besides, even if we never get to play Killbot Phantasm, we still did plenty today.” Lance began to count on his hand. “We stole money from a fountain so we could buy a vintage video game. We got a cow from a space mall. We were chased by an alien security guard who thought we were pirates! I couldn’t make this up if I tried!”
When he laughed, Pidge joined in. She tried to suppress it, but the air escaped through her nose and her lips quirked up in undeniable amusement. It always felt like a victory to make her laugh. Pidge didn’t let herself get distracted often.
“I don’t know,” she quipped, looking more relaxed. “You have the most convoluted stories of anyone I know.”
Although Pidge said it as if it was a bad thing, Lance could see the playfulness in the twist of her mouth. This was nice, too, because a year earlier he would have seen only the harshness in his teammate. On an impulse, he leaned down to hug her.
“W – What?!” Pidge thrashed against his arms. “Lance, let me go!”
“No can do, Pidgey.” He held on. Lance had crossed his arms behind her head, keeping her tight against his chest. “You can’t escape this friendship.”
“Yes, I can, you nitwit!” Pidge’s voice was muffled by his shirt and Lance simply pretended not to hear her. “You’re suffocating me!”
“We have Kaltenecker now, we’re her parents!” he stated happily, despite the sting of Pidge pinching his sides. “Stop, you don’t want her to see us fighting.”
Pidge let her arms fall, looking up at Lance. Her face was red and her hair stuck out from where he’d accidentally run his hands through it. “You’re ridiculous.”
There was a well-placed moo from Kaltenecker, as if the cow agreed.
Lance grinned and finally gave up his grip on her, taking a step back. Pidge immediately punched him in the stomach in retaliation.
“Ow!” he complained, though it was clear she hadn’t put any real force behind it. “We were having a moment!”
Pidge turned up her nose, but her complexion only grew more flustered. “Then you can forget all about it, like you did with Keith.”
“Fine, you win.” Lance crossed his arms, looking smugly down at her. “I did make you blush, though. I might be rusty, but old Lance still has an effect on the ladies!”
“Ugh!” Pidge moved so quickly that Lance had to hide behind Kaltenecker in order to evade her hits. When they stopped running, she kept her tablet at hand, brandishing it as if it was her bayard. “Never say that to me again!”
He stuck his tongue out at her, then had to duck when Pidge aimed the tablet at his head once more. “Jeez, you know I’m kidding!”
“Yeah.” Something in her voice made Lance shoot back up. She was staring right at him, looking more serious than he’d expected. “I know.”
Before he could ask what was wrong, Pidge walked away from where he stood and towards a panel in the back of the room. She deposited her tablet on one side, then started clicking away at a few keys.
“Coran mentioned we could reprogram the room to look like a field on Earth,” she explained once Lance had made his way over. “We could maybe get some vegetation from a planet in this quadrant and create an area for her to graze.”
“Yeah, that would be cool.” He felt almost dizzy from the ups and downs of Pidge’s humor. The coldness that surrounded her now made Lance want to apologize, but it also annoyed him. He thought they were having a good time earlier. “Introducing Kaltenecker to Earth food isn’t really the priority, huh?”
Pidge nodded, avoiding his eyes.
Despite the awkwardness, Lance didn’t want to leave. The idea of letting Pidge stay mad at him left a bitter taste in his mouth, especially after the day they’d had. She could be incessantly frustrating, but she had also grown on him.
Like a weed. A short, bad-tempered weed.
He watched in silence as she worked the panel. Her concentration was admirable, even when she used it as a way to push Lance away. It reminded him of their time in the Garrison, when it felt like every step he took in their friendship was met with two steps back from Pidge.
With the privilege of hindsight, Lance could guess how tiring the disguise must have been for her. Their studies had never been easy and Pidge had perfected her mediocrity like an art. Knowing her true genius now, Lance imagined she’d actually known it all but had chosen to keep herself under the radar.
“Are you just going to stand there?” Her tone struck a chord with him, bringing forth a familiarity that he hadn’t felt since Earth.
Lance put his hands on his hips, raising an eyebrow at her. “I’m just waiting for you, Pidgeon.”
She turned back to the panel, then took a deep breath, as if calming herself.
“I have a lot to do here,” she said in warning. After a moment, her expression softened. “Why don’t you take the game up to your room? I’ll grab Hunk on my way there and we can try to adapt everything to the castle’s power source.”
Lance could recognize her words for the peace offering that they were. He aimed finger guns at her, earning himself a snicker.
“Don’t take too long or I’ll fall asleep!” he called out as he walked backwards, towards the exit.
“I’ll get Kaltenecker to lick your hair, if you do!” she replied, attention already back to the control panel.
Lance laughed, but he knew that was no empty threat.
--
He didn’t often spend his nights roaming the hallways of the castle. Lance was a big believer on the benefits of good sleep and an established routine. It helped him maintain his complexion blemish-free and it contributed to keeping him sane when his mind felt scrambled beyond repair.
There were times, however, when not even spa days and special hair masks could calm his thoughts, and then he was stuck like this, struggling to fall asleep.
He buried deeper into his jacket. It wasn’t his normal one, but a big, fleece-y thing that Hunk and Pidge had gotten for him in their last trip to the space mall. Lance loved it fiercely. The castle cooled during the night-cycle to ensure the machines didn’t overheat and Lance always suffered for it.
A blinking light on the doors to his right caught Lance’s attention. It signaled movement in the hangar, just one of many fail-safes devised by Coran and Pidge to ensure no one was trying to mess with the lions. The light wasn’t all that worrying on its own; it was just a way to know what rooms were currently in use.
Lance was too tired to think through his actions. He moved into the hangar, not even questioning who might be in there. He wanted to see Blue. Or Red. Or anyone, really.
He rubbed at his eyes, collecting the tears that threatened to spill down his cheeks.
Sure enough, there was Pidge, curled around a set of tools and a big, wiry mess of parts. She had probably been propped up against the processing columns but ended up sliding down in her sleep.
The image filled Lance with so much affection that he found himself smiling. It was unusual to see their youngest member without her defenses put up. She was only second to Keith in her reserve, something that had initially displeased Lance about the two.
Pidge did have the habit of falling asleep while she worked, but Shiro and Hunk were the ones charged with checking on her. Lance thought she looked strangely cute like this, with her mouth a little open and her glasses askew. He’d forgotten how young she truly was, because of how smart and assertive Pidge could be. She didn’t want to be treated like a child and the whole team could respect her strength and maturity.
Even before they’d ended up light-years from Earth, Pidge had already carried more on her shoulders than anyone Lance had ever met. Despite knowing it was a vain hope, Lance wished he hadn’t made things harder for her back in the Garrison.
He crouched down and carefully pulled her glasses free. Strands of hair stuck to her cheeks and forehead, but without the too-big frames Lance could see her face more clearly.
Pidge already looked older than she had when they were students. After so many wormhole jumps, it was difficult to determine how long had passed since their discovery of the Blue Lion, but the passage of time made itself known in other ways.
She was pretty, but that didn’t surprise Lance. Pidge’s no-nonsense ways and sharp eyes had always been striking, even when he only pointed out these aspects of her as a joke.
Lance took off his jacket and balled it up, trying to slip it behind her head. It wouldn’t be comfortable, but it was an improvement to her current position.
“Lance?” Her eyes had fluttered open. From this close, he could see the fatigue that clouded them.
“Hey, Pidgey-Pidge,” he called out in a whisper.
“Hey, loverboy.” She giggled, lids opening and closing tiredly.
The nickname shot another wave of emotion through him. For some reason, Lance felt his eyes burn again.
“We should get you to bed,” he tried to say, though his voice sounded rougher than he intended.
Pidge didn’t immediately notice. She nodded a few times and sat up, stretching her arms over her head. She frowned at the pieces of tech still scattered around them, then focused her eyes back on him.
“Lance,” she sounded much more awake now, “why are you here?”
“Oh, you know,” he stalled. “Sometimes, in the middle of the night, a guy just needs to grab some food goo.” He flexed his now exposed arms. “I’m a growing boy, Pidge.”
Pidge raised a brow, looking supremely unimpressed. “Don’t lie to me.”
Lance winced a little at the terse tone she’d adopted. Even in her half-awake state, Pidge was still able to see through his bullshit.
“The kitchen is nowhere near the hangar,” she continued when he didn’t reply. Her voice was soft in a way Lance had never heard from Pidge. “And your eyes look red.”
He shifted his head to the side to escape her scrutiny. Lance half-expected Pidge to get angry at his stubbornness, so he couldn’t help the small, shocked sob that escaped him when her hand touched his chin, slowly lifting his gaze.
The worry in her face quickly changed into something understanding, an almost desperate ache that must have reflected his own expression. Without another word, Lance buried into her embrace, curved so that his forehead rested on Pidge’s shoulder.
“I c-can’t stop thinking about them,” he confessed amid his sobs. “What – What if they think I’m dead?”
Pidge murmured an “I know” into his hair. Despite their size difference, she wrapped herself around Lance so completely that he felt guarded by her arms.
“Come on,” she said once his whimpers had quieted down. “Your room is the closest.”
Lance let her move away. His knees hurt from the position he’d assumed on the floor and, now that he no longer had Pidge there, the cold of the hangar raised goosebumps across his arms.
“Put this back on.” Pidge draped the fleece jacket over his shoulders. Her hands lingered there for a moment, drawing a line in the fabric. “It’s a better coat than it could ever be a pillow.”
It wasn’t much of a joke, but Lance smiled at her. Crying made him exhausted, but not enough to ignore Pidge’s efforts to cheer him up. He stood up.
“Don’t knock it ‘til you’ve tried it.”
They made their way to his room in silence. Pidge had to stop at the hangar doors to put in the security measures, but no more words were exchanged. Lance was just glad to have company.
They paused in front of his dorm. “Will you come in?”
Pidge studied him carefully. Lance didn’t think she could see much in the dark of the hallway, but the truth was that she’d already caught him in a breakdown, there was nothing else to hide.
“Do you want to be alone?” she finally vocalized her concern. Lance shook his head, feeling his chest constrict at the possibility that she might leave. “Then I’ll come in.”
He went straight to his bed and laid down. Pidge stood at the entrance, letting the door slide closed behind her. The awkwardness was palpable and Lance couldn’t blame her for it; Pidge was not the best at social cues.
“At least sit down with me. I promise I won’t start bawling again.” He didn’t mean to sound depreciative, but his self-consciousness must have shown, because Pidge narrowed her eyes at him.
“I don’t care if you cry, you doofus.” She marched up to the bed and sat down near the headboard. “Put your head in my lap.”
Her demanding tone didn’t fit in with the gentleness of her actions. Lance was amused by the incongruity. Pidge was rough around the edges and her earlier show off affection now made her bristle, almost as if she was afraid to reveal too much to him. Lance could understand the urge to put up a front, but he was too exhausted to be embarrassed.
He rolled on his side, fitting his shoulder under her thigh.
“My mom used to do this when I was upset.” Pidge ran a hand through his hair, pulling lightly at the knots until they were undone. “The rhythm of it always soothed me. That and her, really. Mom had – I mean, she has a calming influence.”
Lance didn’t comment on her slip up. The feeling of nails scraping against his scalp was pleasing. The personal closeness was something that they also did in his family and he had missed it. He was a naturally affectionate person and the team didn’t seem to appreciate his expansiveness all that much.
“I used to do this for Veronica and Rachel,” he breathed out. “Ronie is older and she would force me to braid their hair when I was younger. I complained about it non-stop, but now I miss it.”
Pidge traced his hairline, then down to his ear, neck, collarbone. She seemed absent-minded as she did it, mind caught somewhere else.
“Matt was the one who would call me Pidge. I used to hate that nickname. After he disappeared, it seemed only right to assume it as my new name. For him.”
Lance shifted a little, so that he could look up at her. “Your real name isn’t Pidge?”
This made her stop for a moment and look down at him in exasperation. Lance suppressed the urge to laugh, but his lips still twisted into a smile, despite his effort.
Pidge flicked him on the forehead.
“I thought you were being serious!” It was funny to see her like this. Pidge usually responded to him with either blankness or sarcasm, so it was satisfying to garner an actual reaction.
“I could have been!” Lance brought a hand up to rub his stinging forehead. “You do realize you never told Hunk and I your real name?”
“It’s Katie,” she said without preamble. The only sign of her unease was that, when Lance tried to sneak another look at her face, Pidge’s fingers held his head in place, before resuming movement in his hair.
“It’s nice to meet you, Katie.” He let out a soft snicker, which Pidge mirrored.
“Nice to meet you, Lance.”
Lance fell silent, letting her touch lull him into a torpor. The point of contact gave him something to concentrate outside of his thoughts of Earth, until the sensation and Pidge were all he could focus on.
“Did you fall asleep?” she asked after some time.
“No.” Lance slowly rose up from her lap. “I don’t know if I will be able to sleep tonight.”
Pidge frowned, looking down at her hands as Lance repositioned himself to sit at her side.
“You and I are more similar than I ever thought, I guess.”
“What, you also go crying around the castle at strange hours, hoping no one else will see?” She raised a brow at him in response. It wasn’t that much of a surprise, really. Lance had known how broken up she felt about her father and brother’s disappearance. “We will find them, Pidge. I won’t rest until we do.”
The emotion in her eyes shifted. He couldn’t really tell what Pidge was feeling, but the look on her face was both sad and warm, grateful even. Lance tried to think of a time when he or any of the others had tried to support her in her search. There might have been something said when she’d first revealed her identity, but nothing stood out since.
His chest tightened with the realization.
It was possible that Hunk or Allura had spoken to Pidge privately about it, and Lance would put good money on the odds that Shiro had comforted her more than once, but that was it. Keith was quiet and broody, too dedicated to their mission to consider what the rest of the team went through. And Lance…
Lance had been too self-involved to notice. He had wallowed in his own misfortune and it had blinded him to the fact that at least his family was safe in Cuba. Pidge’s father and brother were lost in the middle of an intergalactic war, taken prisoners. Her mother thought she was missing.
He didn’t feel like he deserved Pidge’s gratitude.
“Can you tell me something funny?” she asked out of the blue. “I don’t think talking about our families is gonna help either of us sleep tonight.”
Lance let out a shaky exhale. “You’re right. I’m all cried out.” He poked at the skin under his eyes. It felt sensitive and swollen. “All that investigating for good eye masks and the work was all for nothing!” He put his palm over his eyes, playfully turning his head to the side. “Don’t look at me! I’m a shadow of my former self!”
“You’re the resident beauty guru, I’m sure you’ll figure something out.” Pidge rolled her eyes at his theatrics. She pulled Lance’s hand away from his face. “And you owe me a story.”
“Hey, how do I owe you anything?” He pouted at her. “I just saved you from getting a crick on your neck!”
She pulled more harshly at his hand, making Lance yelp. “You woke me up and I even gave you a head massage!”
It was his turn to tug at her arm, but his smile betrayed that Lance was having fun. “Fine, but then we’re even!”
Pidge finally let go of him, looking smug. He closed his hand and pointed at her face in an act of mock aggravation.
“Is it okay if I lie down?” She looked around the room, as if searching for a hidden futon where she could stretch out.
“Sure, let me just…” He scooted down and to the side. Pidge maneuvered into the space he had created, stuck between him and the wall. “I don’t think these beds were made to be shared.” He laughed.
The position wasn’t the worst they could be in. Pidge was small enough that, with her back pressed to the wall, Lance had enough space in the mattress that he wouldn’t fall over.
“This feels like a sleepover.” Her face scrunched up at the words. He couldn’t tell if she was embarrassed or just amused by the idea. “I never had one of those before.”
“Never?” he marveled.
“No need to look that surprised,” Pidge huffed. “I just didn’t have a lot of friends growing up. Not anyone close, at least.”
“Just Matt,” Lance blurted out without thinking. A shadow crossed Pidge’s eyes, but she didn’t seem upset.
“Yeah… You would like him. Matt can be as much of a goofball as you are.” She nuzzled quietly into the pillow. The lights had dimmed automatically when they laid down, so Lance couldn’t tell if Pidge was blushing or not. “It helps, you know? Having you here.”
Pidge refused to catch his eyes as she said this, which Lance understood. Being vulnerable could be scary, even when around your best friends. Still, he felt pride well up in him, glad that he had done something right towards her.
“You wanted a funny story, right?” he asked softly, the words only loud enough to be heard. Pidge’s gaze snapped to his, obviously relieved. “How about this: My first love was this little girl I met when I was fourteen. I never even knew her name.”
“That’s not funny, not really.” Pidge’s brows took a quizzical air. “How do you know it was love, then?”
“I just know. When I think about her, about that day… It felt like fate.” He saw the cynicism on her face before Pidge could even say anything. “I swear! I met her and everything changed. I don’t know if I would have met Hunk or got into the Garrison or even made it here without her.”
Pidge sighed against the pillow. “Honestly, that sounds like a lot of pressure to put on a first love.”
Lance watched as she drew patterns into the sheets between them. She wasn’t trying to be mean, he could tell.
“She doesn’t know, obviously. I didn’t even like her straight away. It’s just –” he paused, thinking it through. “It’s just funny, how much of a difference one person can make. When she talked to me, I was feeling sorry for myself. She cheered me up.”
That same day, he had met Hunk, who had later confessed that he’d only approached Lance because he’d appeared to be in a good humor. Without Hunk, his best friend, Lance might not have tried out for the Garrison. And, without the Garrison, he wouldn’t have been in Arizona to find the Blue Lion.
“Is she why you are so obsessed with fate and such?” Pidge teased. She was yawning every few seconds, but there was a smile on her face.
“You shouldn’t knock fate down.” Lance grinned, trying to bat her hand away from the sheets. They had bunched up a bit due to her movements. “It got us into space and closer to your family.”
Pidge made a face at him, then shrugged. They’d had this conversation before, about what had led the three out into Garrison grounds that night. Pidge argued that it was bound to happen, with how often she went out to search the radio frequencies, but even that fell back into Lance’s claim that they were all destined to become the new paladins of Voltron.
“I just think that love is about commitment,” she murmured, eyes already closed. “It’s about choosing one person and then falling in love with him, even when he’s obnoxious, even when he’s…” She trailed off, having fallen asleep.
Lance chuckled at her little speech. It was nice to think that someone would eventually choose to love him, forever. He felt comforted not only by the idea, but by Pidge's slow breathing, the heat of her hand so close to his chest. His own lids felt heavier and heavier. Lance closed his eyes.
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hwy-unicorn · 4 years ago
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Almost Lost You
A/N: Here is a Normero fic! Special thanks for @sevendaysofaphrodite for inspiring me to publish it. I hope you like it!! This was definitely supposed to be more fluffy, but it turned super angsty, so I apologize! Also, I am bad at editing, so please ignore any mistakes!!
Alex and Norma didn’t have a honeymoon. After all, this marriage was fake in the beginning, no real feelings were ever meant to happen, so a honeymoon was never really in the cards for them. They discussed it briefly one afternoon over tea and homemade cookies, but nothing ever came out of the conversation. They talked about it again, but Norman had just come home and it would be too difficult. He would feel left out. They haven’t discussed it since, and neither brought it up after the incident. But it would be nice, Norma thought to herself every once in a while, to have a honeymoon.
And she was daydreaming about just that as she sat in her motel office on the rainy Tuesday morning. She thought about all the places her and Alex could go, starting with a snowy trip up to the mountains, days full of hot cocoa, sledding, and snowball fights. She smiled at the thought. They could also go to a beach, spend their days swimming in the ocean, taking walks on the sand while the sun was setting. It all sounded so cliché, but Norma had always wanted something cliché. Her mind wandered for just a moment more, a smile on her face, before the phone interrupted her pleasant daydream.
“Bates Motel, how can I help you?”
“Hey, it’s me,” Alex replied on the other end.
“Oh! Hi honey!” Norma smiled brightly, twisting the phone cord around her dainty fingers.
“Sorry, you didn’t answer your cell, so I figured-”
“Oh, it’s in the back, I’m sorry. It must be on silent.”
“No, no, it’s okay, I just wanted to check in. See how you were.”
She smiled softly at his words, her heart fluttering at the sentiment. He’s been extra worried lately, calling to check on her more often throughout the day. She couldn’t necessarily blame him, and it admittedly did make her feel a little special. She didn’t like to linger on the reasoning for very long though.
“I’m good. It’s been a slow day. As usual,” she shrugged. “How are you? How’s work?”
He chuckled. “Slow day over here too. I uh- I actually was wondering if you’d wanna stop by my place tonight?”
She frowned. “Your place? Why?” she didn’t mean to come off so rude, and was backtracking quickly. “Not that- not that your place isn’t great! But I just- I um- erm-”
“Norma,” he laughed gently, cutting off her flustered voice. “I just have to get some stuff to bring back. I thought you could help me. If you’d like? I don’t know, it might take a while and I’ll…I’ll miss you,” he admitted bashfully, and she couldn’t help but laugh.
“You’ll miss me?” she teased. “Well that is just too sweet Sheriff!”
“Shut up,” he laughed. “You wanna come?”
“Sure!” she replied, a little gleeful over his admission.
She knew by now how sweet, and truly romantic Alex was, but sometimes she was a little surprised. It really didn’t seem all that long ago that he was banging on her door, questioning her about Keith Summers. It was funny almost, how they went from cop and suspect, to husband and wife. She never would’ve thought it would happen.
“What time?”
“Maybe stop by around 6:00? We can order some dinner too.”
“Yeah that sounds good. I’ll see you then.”
“Alright then. Hey. I love you.”
Norma smiled, never tiring of hearing the words come from his mouth. “I love you too. See you tonight.”
“See ya.”
If the day wasn’t moving slow before, it certainly was now. Norma reasoned with herself that she shouldn’t expect any new guests. White Pine Bay wasn’t exactly a tourist trap, and even with the warmer weather, not a lot of people were passing through. They probably wouldn’t want to stay here anyways.
She frowned at the thought.
Who’s gonna wanna book a room at the rape/murder motel?
Well now it was the rape/murder/second murder/multiple murders/near murder-suicide motel. Her throat closed up at the thought; she really hated how hard it suddenly became to breathe every time she thought about what happened here only a mere four months ago. She quickly cleared her throat, and her mind, grabbing a stack of papers off the desk and busying herself with shredding them in the back. She didn’t need to think about that now.
Norma closed up the office early. Her and Alex hadn’t discussed it yet, but they both knew business wasn’t going to improve, and that was a stress lingering over both of their heads. It didn’t help that Alex probably wasn’t going to be re-elected as Sheriff, with the DEA scandal still fresh in everyone’s mind. How he was able to evade any sentencing was beyond Norma, but she never questioned it. This town really had nothing left for either of them, and they both knew it, tiptoeing around the subject. Too many bad things had happened here, not only in the town, but in their own house too. It almost wasn’t worth it anymore.
Five o’ clock rolled around faster than expected, and Norma abandoned her half finished chores to get ready. It wasn’t a date, Norma knew, but she still spent her time trying to look decent for Alex, as if she ever really had to try at all. This was the first time she was going out in weeks, even if it was just to Alex’s house.
She arrived at six on the dot, not a minute earlier, nor later, and let herself inside.
“Alex?” she called, taking off her coat and hanging it on the wooden coat hanger by the door. “Why are all these lights off?”
She walked into the living room, flipping on the small lamp switch.
“Surprise!”
Norma let out a small gasp at the set up in front of her, placing a hand over her chest.
“What… is all this?” she asked, meeting him in the middle of the room, melting into his arms.
Alex’s living room was illuminated with small little fairy lights that were hung messily along the wall with thick pieces of duct tape. She could practically imagine Alex trying to neatly hang them, before becoming too frustrated and giving up, and smiled at how boyish and childlike it was. Blankets and pillows were thrown over the couch, and her favorite snacks were laid out neatly on the coffee table. 
“Well I thought-“ he walked away for just a moment, grabbing a few DVDs off his side table. “I thought we could watch some of these old movies you like? And, I don’t know- relax? I… I don’t know.”
“Oh Alex,” she gasped, looking around the room again. “This is…” her voice broke. “...so nice.”
Alex put the movies down, watching as she turned away from him, sniffling a little.
“Are you crying?”
“No,” she replied tearfully, and he chuckled, gently grabbing her by the elbow and pulling her back.
“It’s just a movie night, Norma,” he said gently, wrapping his arms around her.
“It’s just… it’s really nice,” she wiped under her eyes, and he couldn’t help but laugh.
“It’s just a movie night,” he repeated, leading her towards the couch.
“I know,” she sniffled again, curling into his side. “But it’s so nice. I can’t believe you’d do all this for me!”
He gave her the softest of kisses against her lips and she sighed a little, warmth flooding in her chest at the love she felt for him. Getting over everything that happened hadn’t been easy on either of them, and working towards a place where they could live comfortably again was more difficult than either of them could imagine. But Alex somehow made it so much easier on her. There was no one else in the world she could spend her life with.
He separated from her and she whined just a bit, but he assured her he’d be back in only a moment. He put in the first DVD, Casablanca, and she immediately gasped.
“I love this movie!”
He just smiled. He already knew that, of course, that’s why he chose it. Alex felt like he knew everything about Norma at this point. They had learned so much more about each other these past few months, Norma suddenly insisting that she’d always be one hundred percent honest with Alex, swearing she’d never lie to him again. He knew that wasn’t completely true, but her lies and deflecting were learned behaviors, some that would take time to undo. It wouldn’t happen overnight. She was trying though, and that’s what mattered.
They made it barely halfway through the movie when Norma began to doze off, the stress of the day wearing her down, and Alex’s warm body against hers lulling her to sleep. He pressed a kiss to her head, shifting her just a little so he could grab the remote and turn off the television.
“Wait!” she mumbled out sleepily. “It’s not over yet.”
“You’re sleeping,” he argued, a small smile on his face, and she quickly opened her eyes, shaking her head.
“I’m not sleeping!”
“Norma-“
“Please? Just a little longer?”
He huffed a small laugh, and eased back down. “Yeah okay. Just a few more minutes, okay?”
She hummed in response, clearly pleased at getting her own way. It’s not like Alex could say no to her, even if he wanted to, which most of the time he didn’t. He pulled her a little closer, gently running his fingers through her blonde strands of hair.
His mind couldn’t help but wander as he held her, grateful that she was even here in his arms. He felt a sting in his chest at the memory of pulling her lifeless body from her bed, her face pale and hands cold. It seemed so strange compared to the warmth she was emitting now. He had given up praying and religion a long time ago, but in that moment he prayed to whatever god was out there to give him his wife back. He almost couldn’t believe that she was here now, and while it took a long time for them to find any sense of normalcy, they were doing it. Together.
“Norma,” he gave her a little nudge and she hummed, sitting up a little. “Norma I-“
I want to leave this town. I want to leave the place you almost died. I can’t be here anymore. I almost lost you.
“What?” she asked, sitting up straighter, noticing the concerned look on his face. “Alex?”
“I just can’t believe I almost lost you. I- I can’t stop thinking about it.”
“Oh Alex,” she cupped his face, pulling him close. “Alex… I-I’m so sorry.”
He choked back a sob that was burning in the back of his throat, and she pulled him in closer. He buried his head in the crook of her neck, a few tears escaping his eyes as he thought about what could’ve been, what could have happened had he decided to not come over that horrible night.
“I’m here,” she spoke, her tone soothing and kind. “Nothing is ever going to happen again, okay? Honey- hon- look at me,” she pulled his face up to hers, placing a soft kiss against his lips. “We’re okay.”
“Norma,” he gasped, and she sniffled, wiping her own tears as she cuddled in even closer. 
She shushed him as he choked on her name again. Norma realized that Alex hadn’t really broken down like this since that night in the hospital, when she woke up, gasping for air. He sobbed right then and there, holding her ever so gently, close to his body as he repeated over and over how much he loved her. Norma grieved for weeks after everything, reliving all that happened and Alex was there with her through it all.
Norman had somehow survived. It was nothing short of a miracle, one that Norma was grateful for. She had begged for days to see her son, but police were questioning the pair of them, separately, and for a while, they believed that Norma had tried to kill them both. It wasn’t until Norman admitted to everything that the truth came out.
He was admitted to a mental facility through their local prison, much to Norma’s disdain, but he was deemed too dangerous to return to Pineview, so that’s where he would be for the time being. She hadn’t seen him since, and hadn't wanted to either. She was entirely too nervous to even think about having a conversation with him, and throughout it all, Alex was there. He was so busy supporting her that he hadn’t even had the chance to have a break down; to let his emotions out.
But he was now, and he felt guilty for ruining their movie night. Norma didn’t seem to mind though, her own face slick with tears, her head resting on his chest, listening to his slowly calming heartbeat.
“We need to get out of this town Alex,” Norma whispered against him. “There’s nothing left for us here anymore.”
“I know,” he replied, finally seeming to calm down. “I know.”
“I don’t know how we’ll ever sell the motel. I mean, no- no one’s going to want it. Not after everything.”
He shushed her. “It’s okay. We’ll figure it out.”
In all honesty, Alex already had things all figured out. Over the past few weeks, Alex had been skipping his work days and making the drive down to Seattle to look at houses with the help of Dylan and Emma. He knew it was a decision he probably should have made with Norma, but he wanted to surprise her, and he was sure he found the perfect house for the both of them. 
It was a beautiful little place, out in the countryside, but only a short drive to Dylan and Emma’s house. In only a few short weeks, Norma and Alex would be making their way down to Seattle to visit them, and Alex knew it was the perfect time to bring her to the house. It took everything to not tell her now.
But the surprise would be worth it. So for now, he held her close, promising her that everything would work out fine. Because he knew it would. 
“Just trust me Norma. Okay?”
“I do.”
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Why So Jaded? Chapter 9
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FFN, AO3, Enjoy. 
Why So Jaded
Chapter 9
Saturday morning Violet happily got dressed in a gorgeous floral dress that was tea length with a cardigan and beautiful comfortable sandals and did her hair and makeup to reflect a more- sweet, non threatening and likable look as she could, before she went to the florist to pick up the flower arrangements she had ordered for Beth, Tammy and Lisa and had ordered them to look like centerpieces because surely every woman enjoyed getting flowers and was happy when they came out looking and more importantly smelling- divine.
Then she went to the bakery, The Merry Cherry, to pick up the cake and the cupcakes, because Buddy and her had decided, especially since everyone was bringing their kids that they should make the cake tempting enough to encourage the kids to eat all of their dinner, so they got a galaxy cake and galaxy cupcakes which did look really awesome. Then she went to Chocolacier- a boutique chocolatier that was right around the corner from the Merry Cherry, to pick up her huge case of chocolate covered strawberries and four big cases of chocolates, one for each family to take home with them and the last one for Buddy and his guests to enjoy after dinner.
She had spent the night before with Jack who helped her get little gift bags together for all the kids at Party City, a party supply place which went with the galaxy theme because it was gender neutral and age appropriate for all the kids involved and Jack had been invaluable in making sure each child would receive something special, yet age appropriate and more importantly - super cool, before she made another stop across the street from Chocolacier, to Linster Rivera which was a very high end delicatessen and charcuterie bodega to get all the charcuterie elements because she was bound and determined to have a proper cheese and charcuterie board and even bought a huge authentic charcuterie board and a set of cheese knives because she had already gotten some cheeses and crackers at the liquor store’s market but she needed more to round everything out along with some last minute items before she drove into SEB to deliver everything.
Buddy frowned when he heard a thudding at his apartment door before he came and opened the door to see a pile of things so tall, he couldn’t see Violet’s head and knew she must have been “knocking” with the toe of her sandal but the flowers covering her head were breathtaking.
“Hi,” came Violet’s muffled greeting from behind the pile of things as her head had been nestled in the bouquet itself as everything else was precariously stacked within her arms, threatening to overflow them.
“Oh my goodness, here, let me help with that.” Buddy laughed as he took as much from her as he could manage but nearly dropped what he was carrying when he saw her. She was so beautiful. She was always beautiful but today, she was extra gorgeous and disarmingly bewitching that had him swooning, it was like seeing her for the first time all over again as the butterflies once again fluttered almost thunderously within his belly and his heart skipped a beat or two.
“Have you ever heard of taking two trips?” Buddy teased with a chuckle as he did his best to be as unaffected by her as he could and felt he was failing miserably.
“Well that’s the thing, I have another load down there, probably two or three.” Violet answered honestly as she organized what was left and avoided his gaze as she did her best to stamp down her own bashfulness as her cheeks flushed rose.
“Load of what?” Buddy asked as he tried to think of what else she could have possibly brought that he hadn’t prepared for.  
“Well, I got Jack off the bus yesterday and he asked about today and I told him about it and he suggested that we make gift bags for the kids and since we got a galaxy cake, we got galaxy themed gift bags and stuff because they’re age neutral and gender neutral and would be inclusive for everyone. And so we went to Party City and we kind of went a little nuts and then it snowballed from there. So I have gift bags for all the kids, and the baby.” Violet confessed because she had also drug Jack to Target to get together some things for Beth's baby- Roman, and Buddy’s heart melted that she was being so thoughtful and doubted Jack would really do such a thing and figured she was using her little brother as an excuse to do something nice and inclusive for the kids. Which was incredibly sweet.
“Aww, you didn’t have to, it’s just a dinner, not really a party. Very sweet of you to think of them though.” Buddy noted as he put his own stack on his kitchen island and started to unpack what she had gotten, impressed when he saw all the deli stuff as his stomach reminded him it was going to be lunch time soon.
“Yeah Jack, with his silver tongue, justified it as a mini SEB public relations stunt and I have extras just in case any of the kids end up bringing a friend or two.” Violet explained with a chuckle which got Buddy to grin, as he reconsidered his previous thought about Jack but also knew that Violet wasn’t one to be talked into something she didn’t want to do.
“So yeah, I have a big tub with gift bags in the back of my SUV.” Violet informed him bashfully and Buddy could tell she was nervous and anxious and obviously trying so hard to gain approval.
“Well let me help you unload the rest of it.” Buddy insisted as he slipped his own shoes on real quick as Buddy went with her to her SUV in the parking garage.
“How are the spider’s in here?” Buddy asked in a whisper as they walked side by side in tandem.
“Not nearly as bad, just watching, not listening.” Violet answered.
“Well let me know when their webs aren’t in the way.” Buddy said before Violet suddenly pulled them to be between huge SUV’s and Buddy didn’t even ask, he just pulled her into a tight hug and smiled sadly when she hugged him back just as tightly.
“Are you nervous?” Buddy murmured.
“I know I have no reason to be.” Violet answered with a defeated sigh.
“Do you by any chance feel the need to overcompensate?” Buddy guessed gently.
“I still feel like I’m intruding and I gotta make up for that.” Violet confessed.
“You’re not intruding. You’re just as invited as everyone else. They’re all cool with you coming. They were excited about it actually. Keith most of all, which is kinda creepy with how enthusiastic he was.” Buddy teased and smiled when he felt her smile into his chest.
“And even if they don’t like you, I can always get new friends.” Buddy offered which got Violet to snort a laugh.
“That’s ridiculous.” Violet murmured as she finally seemed to relax in his arms though as Buddy smiled happily when she finally did.
“Yeah but I like you better than I do them.” Buddy reassured her.
“You shouldn’t though.” Violet argued softly as Buddy felt her shoulder’s sag which got him to frown.
“Yeah, but I do, it’s too late to go back now, besides it’s going to be ok. It’s just a group of friends hanging out. That’s all it is and the moment they come into my place, you won’t have to be Ms. Parr for the rest of the day, all you need to be and should be is Violet. And that’s more than enough.” Buddy reassured her.
“Ok.” Violet finally caved as she nuzzled her face into the crux of his neck and shoulder before she got a call which caused them to part reluctantly.  
“Hey,” Violet answered when she saw the caller ID.
“Hey, what time is your thing today?” Violet’s mom Helen called.
“Uh, kind of an all day thing, but it technically starts at five, why? What do you need?” Violet asked.
“Could you get Jack, he spent the night at his friend Jaxon’s house and he was supposed to be spending the weekend with them and your Dad and I are already out of town on business and Dash is at Ashley's or Amy’s or I forget which girl he’s going out with now,  but Jaxon’s parents have plans tonight at someone else’s house and they don’t want to be rude to that host by having Jack tag along, so could you pick him up?” Helen asked hopefully as Violet scrunched up her face which Buddy thought was beyond adorable.
“Yup, I got him, I’ll give him a call.” Violet agreed.
“Thanks Honey, Jack will give you the address.” Helen answered.
“You’re welcome, have fun and be safe, bye Mom.” Violet bit her mom.
“You too Sweetie bye.” Helen thanked her.  
“Well, it seems Jack needs me to go get him. I’m sorry, I really wanted to stay and help out more.” Violet began to apologize.
“Well if it’s not too weird, Jack could just hang out with us, he’s more than welcome to and he can stay the rest of the day if he wanted to too, it’s not like he’s going to be the only kid around here.” Buddy generously offered.
“Really? You don’t mind?” Violet asked.
“Not one bit, as long as he’s ok with it.” Buddy answered before Violet reached up on her toes and kissed his cheek sweetly.
“Thank you.” Violet thanked him before she got back on her phone and called her brother.
“Hey Vi,” Jack greeted.
“Hey, so here’s the deal, Mom and Dad are already out of town, and Dash is still screwing his way through a model catalog…” Violet began before Buddy snorted a laugh before he quickly covered his mouth with his hand so he wouldn’t make any more noise as he and Violet shared a meaningful look.
“And I’m still here at work but I’m helping set up for the thing tonight, now my host has offered for you to just hang out with us…” Violet began.
“Yes! I’m ready now, you can pick me up now.” Jack eagerly insisted.
“Oh, ok then, text me the address. I’ll be there as soon as I can.” Violet replied before she hung up.
“Hey, by any chance, did you ever have any other nicknames besides Buddy or Bud, because Bartholomew is a mouthful?” Violet asked Buddy thoughtfully.
“Yeah, why? Were you looking for one?” Buddy asked curiously.
“Yeah, because you have the distinction between Violet and Ms. Par and Invisigirl, I was hoping you had another distinction between Mr. Pine.” Violet explained as she self consciously put her hair behind her ears.
“Uh, well, Tali called me Tully, so that’s out.”  Buddy realized as his brain was spinning into a tizzy at the possible implications of what this could mean for them.
“Uh, otherwise, I’ve been called any number of things…” Buddy tried to think of something to give her but was coming up with a blank.  
“What about Barret?” Violet suggested hopefully and Buddy was ready to go down to the courthouse to change his legal name to that because the way she said it was making the butterflies flutter again, like they usually did whenever she was around but now they were about to become a hurricane in his stomach.  
“Barret totally works, honestly I could just answer to ‘hey you’ if you wanted.” Buddy answered as he tried not to giggle. Because Violet having her very own private nickname just for him? Sign him up.
“Well, cause I’ve been thinking about this since Wednesday, and it would be a nice way to cut through all the Ms. Parr, Mr. Pine stuff with, but wouldn’t set Phillip off, like a pet name but I guess, not a pet name?” Violet carefully worded as her cheeks flushed cherry and Buddy was about to squeal in delight. She wanted an intimate pet name for him without tipping off the sensors or anyone else. So she did feel the same way! Oh how sweet the vindication and validation.
“Yeah, Barret totally works, Barret and Violet, Violet and Barret. Winning combination.” Buddy blathered off, trying to keep his excitement to a reasonable level.
“Thank you. Will your friends look at me crazy if I call you that in front of them though?” Violet posed.  
“They shouldn’t care honestly.” Buddy shook his head no with a shrug.
“Ok, well help me with the tub and then I’ll go get Jack before he tries to portal here.” Violet urged before she turned and nearly ran into the SUV on the side of her which made them both erupt into laughter.
“Wow, so smooth.” Violet chided herself as she led the way to her SUV and popped the back hatch to reveal a big clear plastic tub full of gift bags, with all the kid’s names on the tags and yet even more things as she grabbed the big case of chocolate covered strawberries and put all she could on top of the tub's lid in Buddy's hands before she got the remaining flower arrangements before they walked back into the building as Violet made sure he was squared away in his ‘gilded cage’ before she left to go pick up Jack.
Violet was barely parked in front of the house before Jack came running out of the house and practically leapt into her SUV with his backpack.
“Let’s go, let’s go!” Jack insisted.
“What is going on?” Violet asked as she waived to Jaxon’s mother before she pulled out of the driveway.
“We don’t have much time. Step on it.” Jack insisted.
“Much time for what?” Violet asked as she got back on the road.
“Are the spiders awake?” Jack asked.
“No, they’re sleeping.” Violet answered.
“Ok, so I was up really late last night and I think I have a breakthrough on Phillip. But I need a lab and hopefully Mr. Pine’s genius will do the rest.” Jack explained.
“You...Do you mean to tell me- that Jaxon’s parent’s really don’t have other plans that they couldn’t drag you along with? And that you literally called Mom and Dad to pick you up, knowing they were out of town and Dash is busy so that left me to get you so that I could watch you myself because you wanted to get one on one time with my asset?!” Violet demanded angrily.
“Yeah, look, you told me that you told him about Phillip’s powers and the fact that he picked up on the fact that Phillip has them, and he was cool about it and he’s been really awesome about everything. If he likes you as much as you make him sound like he does, that gives him- opportunity, motive and availability, the magic trio to work miracles. Because I have a really bad feeling we are running out of time. Like I want this done before you leave for Hong Kong, Tokyo at the latest.” Jack insisted.
“You...manipulator!” Violet growled as she threw her phone at him before he let it phase through him and her phone hit the passenger door.
“You said that he said that he’d do anything for you right? Let him prove it.” Jack pleaded as he got her phone and handed it back to her.
“God damn it Jack, I also told you I could be reading in between the lines and going out on a limb there.” Violet groaned.
“Yeah, I doubt it, come on, plus you know Phillip agreed that the moment anyone from your family is on SEB property that he’d promise to turn off all the cameras and listening devices. This way we get most of the day without Big Brother watching us and listening to us the whole time. Look Edna and I have been hitting our heads against a brick wall here and we’re out of ideas. And with the pictures that came up when you went to Vegas, Phillip isn’t making it hard for anyone to guess what his intentions with you are. And if we can’t find a way to stop him- you’ll be trapped as Mrs. Sebastian for life, however long or short that would be. You’re already miserable being his handler. I can’t imagine how awful you would feel being his wife.” Jack appealed.
“Jack this isn’t your problem to solve.” Violet answered.
“Well your way of handling it isn’t working, it’s just making it worse. If you told Mom and Dad half of what you’ve told me, then you know Dad would beat Phillip into a pulp but we both know Phillip would plant a suicide seed in his head before the first punch could be thrown. Same thing with Mom, that’s why you haven’t told anyone but me.” Jack explained and Violet couldn’t argue with that.
“But you said it yourself that whatever Buddy puts his hands on- he improves. Let him put his hands and his brain on this and the worst that can happen is he can’t come up with something. The best that can happen is he solves this. We just need to give him a starting point. Give him what we’ve come up with so far and have him do his genius thing. He's already been solving your medical stuff and you said you trusted him. So trust him, take the leap of faith Vi.” Jack pleaded.
“How am I going to explain to Phillip that you and Barret are working on a way to expose the very powers that he has killed -who knows how many- for even talking about?” Violet asked.
“Ooh, Barret, so he did go for the pet name that is so not a pet name .” Jack grinned cheekily.
“He did,” Violet confided.
“Well that and Barret is a good way to talk about him to Mom and Dad and get them to like him before they meet him face to face and freak out that you’re hot for the guy who tried to kill the family a decade ago.” Jack said with a shrug.
“Who said I’m ever going to let them meet?” Violet asked.
“As soon as you’re free from Phillip and you can hook up with him and go steady for a while.” Jack answered like it was the most obvious answer.
“Yeah, every day I’m little less and less certain that’s ever going to be a possibility and you’re almost making me regret ever telling you about any of this.” Violet confessed.
“You’ll be thanking me once this works, now call Phillip so he can turn off the cameras.” Jack prodded.
Violet begrudgingly called Phillip and told him that she needed to watch Jack and take him back to Mr. Pine’s floor because she was assisting Mr. Pine with the party which he agreed that the moment that Jack showed up on the cameras, they would all be shut off to protect Jack’s secrecy and privacy and they would remain that way until Jack went home. Even to the lab because he knew how Jack had a fondness for science equipment and Jack practically yelled into the phone that he had a science project that he wanted Mr. Pine’s assistance with which Phillip agreed to as well.  
“Perfect.” Jack beamed when Violet got off the phone.
“You’re lucky he still thinks he has to charm you.”
“And you’re lucky I’m immune so far.” Jack responded.
“It just sucks that Dash isn’t.” Violet grumbled.
“You really think he has a suicide seed planted in his head?” Jack asked worriedly.
“At this point, I assume everyone within a 500 foot radius has it, hell make it a thousand feet including and especially me, and especially Barret.” Violet confessed before Jack reached over and held her hand.
“Well then we have to find a way to find it.” Jack comforted her as she squeezed his hand back.
True to Phillip’s word, Violet could feel all the camera’s shut off and the listening devices get disabled as soon as Jack was seen by the cameras.
Meanwhile Buddy anxiously tried to get lunch prepared, he had to charm Jack. It was clear that Violet favored Jack and was especially close to him, more than anyone so if by a longshot, he could make a good impression with Jack, despite the history, maybe he stood a chance and just as he was getting things together, Jack burst into his apartment with a very irritated looking Violet behind him.
“Hey, Violet said I could call you Barret, you know I’m Jack, we got Phillip to put the spiders to sleep while I’m here, we need to get in the lab, we only got about six hours before your other company comes and we need your help.” Jack said quickly as he practically bounded up to Buddy eagerly.
“Help with what?” Buddy asked as he was completely but pleasantly surprised by this development.
“Help to expose Phillip as a Super, and save everyone who has to be around him, especially Violet.” Jack said as Buddy looked from Jack to Violet who seemed defeated and resigned as she leaned against the counter in the kitchen and looked apologetically from Jack to Buddy.
“Who else have you talked to about this?” Buddy asked them.
“Everyone else we can trust. Violet told me she trusts you. At least look at it.” Jack pleaded as he held up a case that had all the flashdrives of data in it.
“Please? Because I’m out of ideas and options and so is he and everyone else.” Violet finally spoke and the heartbreak in her voice was heart rendering.
“Violet? I really hate to do this to you, but, if you’ll finish cooking lunch, and follow this recipe, that’ll give me a head start on..” Buddy immediately decided.
“Let me clear your lab first.” Violet smiled in relief before the three of them went into Buddy’s lab and Violet pulled up the two computers side by side and started to put in two separate codes with each hand on two separate keyboards as she closed her eyes and focused on her finger movements, coordinating both hands to do separate things before she got two spare key cards and put them into the programmer and then went into The Agency’s database and brought up all the research she had been able to do in the last year and brought up everything every other agent had discovered in their post before the keycards finished programing before she handed one to Buddy and one to Jack.
“Ok, so the key cards are a shortcut to this project and they should disable all other eyes and ears when working on them and this way all three of us can work on this together and Jack I trust you’ll let Edna use yours when you’re not using it, all of this is encrypted, and if Phillip ever gets to see any of this, he’ll assume I’m working on someone named Dragon Eye who is actually a real guy in China who does have similar powers but he’s not nearly as dangerous as all this makes him to be, all the intel is on Phillip, but Phillip has clearance at The Agency and we had to make something he wouldn’t notice or suspect. Here’s how far I’ve gotten, Jack, your turn.” Violet offered before she left the lab and Jack immediately plugged in all the flash drives he kept for this into the computer as Buddy focused on reading all the could as quickly as he could.
“My sister really likes you.” Jack murmured to Buddy as he keyed in his own passwords to get to the contents of the drives.
“She shouldn’t.” Buddy blurted before he fully let what Jack said sunk into his consciousness. Holy shit, Violet really liked him?! Yes!
“But she does. Violet doesn’t trust people as far as she can kick them. She’s been doing the wrong kind of Super work for way too long and it’s changed her, but not for the better. She has no faith in people, much less humanity. She’s incredibly jaded and guarded. So for you to get through all that- says a lot about you.” Jack noted as he pulled up everything for Buddy to see.
“All I’ve been doing is just being myself.” Buddy muttered.
“And that’s all you needed to do. Violet has every reason to believe everyone she knows is in danger and can be used as leverage against her and despite everything that’s happened to her and everything else she’s done- she’s still a good person. And she will sacrifice herself to save others.”
“Even when those others aren’t worth saving.” Buddy finished as he carefully looked at everything.  
“If she deems someone worthy of being saved, then they’re lucky to have her view them as such. And it means that they should respond in kind.” Jack insisted.
“This is true.” Buddy had to admit.
“I like you.” Jack grinned at Buddy as he watched Buddy get to work.  
“Why? You don’t even know me.” Buddy frowned.
“Violet does, and that’s more than enough for anyone, even me. And don’t worry about everyone else, they’ll come around. Just keep having her back and do everything you can with helping us with this. It’ll work out, I got a good feeling about it.” Jack advised.
“There, now that’s everything.” Jack said once he was finished and once Buddy read over everything, his spark lit up like lightning again before he started to link things together, like taking two halves of a sweater and finally threading and knitting them together on both ends to make a whole and complete work as Jack simply sat back and watched on with proud excitement just as Violet came in several minutes later with two big bowls of chicken carbonara Buddy had started as she handed the first to Jack and then simply placed the second one into Buddy’s hands since he was preoccupied and already jumping down the rabbit hole.
“Thanks Vi.” Buddy answered a little bit distractedly as he blindly reached for the fork before he started to feed himself before Violet leaned over and kissed his cheek sweetly which did give him pause as his head skipped a beat or two.
“Thanks Barret.” Violet couldn’t help but coo before she left as Jack did his best to pretend he didn’t see it.
“You-you’re welcome.” Buddy replied before Violet retreated as she left and got her own lunch and before Buddy knew it he had already dived right in again with renewed vigor and enthusiasm and Violet was grateful Buddy had written down a ‘to do’ list on when to start what and already had all his recipes pulled up and Violet happily picked up where he left off while she happily danced away in the kitchen once she synced up her phone with the kitchen sound system so Buddy could focus on her own problem as Jack seemed to float back and forth between the two all afternoon.
“How’s he doing?” Violet asked Jack as she put two of the dishes into one of the ovens while the main course braised in the other.
“Oh he hasn’t barely come up for air, I’ve had to hand him- like two water bottles and a brain superfood bar so far. He’s dove in head first and he’s threading everything all together and making a proper spider web. It’s awesome. He’s even redesigning your suit. Because we’ve narrowed it down on which particular bandwidths that Phillip is “broadcasting” off. Like a radio tower. So the suit, as long as it can cover your head, can, in theory- protect you and he has already designed like a dozen more features that Edna would be drooling if she saw them and every other Super is going to want their own set of them. It’s working perfectly.” Jack informed her proudly as he got into the fridge to see what Buddy had in the way of afternoon snacks.  
“I can see what you see in him. For once you have really good taste in men.” Jack teased before Violet mused his hair.
“You keep that quiet.” Violet urged.
“He’s actually a really good guy though. And he clearly cares about you enough to take all this on with just a single ‘please’ from you and if I had to bet, he’s clearly way beyond head over heels for you. And I think you’re in just as much danger of being the future Mrs. Pine that you are being Mrs. Sebastian.” Jack hinted with a scheming grin.
“My love life is also not a problem to be solved, much less by you.” Violet tried to argue but the little excited grin that she immediately tried to swipe off her face was pretty telling to Jack especially.
“I’m not saying that like it’s a bad thing. You’d two be a cute couple. Whereas in the other one you’d be a hostage.” Jack shrugged as he found a string cheese and started to eat that for a snack before dinner which Violet had been doing so well at following the directions Buddy had left for himself.
“That’s true.” Violet admitted- as she got a blackberry yogurt from Buddy’s fridge and ate that as a snack herself.
“And the moment you pop out a kid, and give Mom and Dad a legitimate grandbaby they will be all on board.” Jack reminded her.
“What about the two they already have?” Violet argued, referring to Dash’s kids.
“They’re from two different baby mama’s and he’s not even with either one of them right now and he’s probably on his way to making a third as we speak.” Jack retorted as Violet did nod in agreement to that as she did her best to hide her own guilty expression.
“Maybe after Barret solves this, he can tackle a way to put a permanent condom on Dash.” Violet muttered sarcastically.
“It wouldn’t be a bad idea.” Jack offered.
“No it wouldn’t be.” Violet agreed as she wrapped her arm around Jack and gave him a side hug.
“Do you really think Barret can do it?” Violet asked softly.  
“I do. He’s working like over a dozen angles simultaneously and is using his entire lab to work on all of it. He really is a genius. Like a savant level of genius. Almost makes me wonder if he’s actually a Super himself.” Jack answered.
“He probably is a low grade one, but one that there isn’t a test for yet.” Violet mused. “Either that or one hell of a gifted normal.” Violet shrugged.
“Either way, good brother in law material.” Jack muttered.
“That’s if we can survive Phillip’s best efforts.” Violet murmured with a grimace before she could stop herself.  
“Well Barret gave Phillip the blueprint about how to come clean with you and how to move his relationship with you from asset and handler to genuine and legitimate and Phillip has yet to take him up on it or follow any of it. All Buddy is doing is following his own blueprint and it’s working out for him. That and your chemistry is pretty good if one kiss on the cheek from you sent him into a mini tizzy, I can’t imagine what he’d do if you actually kissed him- kissed him.” Jack teased and cackled when Violet smacked him upside the head.
“Get back in that lab before I hurt you.” Violet ordered.
“Ok, ok, I’m gone, one more string cheese and a Coke.” Jack said before he grabbed the can and another snack before he retreated into the lab again as Violet set everything up for the company and artfully arranged all the snacks on trays. Making not just a cheese and charcuterie board but also a tray for the remaining cheeses and fruits and nuts and of course the chocolate covered strawberries and even wrapped the cases of chocolates and made sure to fill the cards out for each of the families before putting the snack trays back into the fridge and even made an extra dish for the dinner because Buddy had the ingredients and did her best to keep her dress clean with the help of the apron but was all too happy and comfortable to be barefoot in the kitchen and out of her heeled sandals as she continued to dance around the kitchen, listening to her music and feeling right at home for some reason. Violet even had time to take a leisurely break and watch some TV as she waited for everything to finish cooking in the ovens before she set the ovens to be warm for most of the food so it wouldn’t overcook while the main course finished braising and arranged all the bottles of wine and beers before it was time for her to go greet her guests if they decided they would be coming early.
“Hey guys, we got about 25 minutes before our company should be coming. So try to wrap up what you can and just set things to process for a while.” Violet reminded them.
“Ok.” Jack agreed from his spot at one of the pieces of equipment from the other side of the lab.
“Yeah.” Buddy answered but Violet could tell by that tone that he was still super distracted with what he was working on before she simply shook her head and walked across the lab and purposefully sat in Buddy’s lap and placed her arm around his shoulders as the touch completely yanked him out of his hyper-focus.
“Wha- huh?” Buddy asked as he suddenly realized she was not only next to him but obviously in his lap and the serene but expectant look she gave him as she simply reached up and gently threaded her fingers through his hair and grinned when he seemed to melt at her touch.
“Did you hear what I just told you?” Violet asked sweetly but thoughtfully.
“Uh...something about the time?” Buddy asked before he noticed what time it was.
“Oh shit, the dinner…” Buddy realized.
“Nope, I took care of it. I just followed the to do list you left yourself and followed the recipes you had pulled up on the tablet in your kitchen. It’s all done, it’s all ready to go. The main course still has about thirty minutes left, but everything else is done. All the snacks and cold appetizers are in the fridge, already on the trays, all you have to do is pull them out of the fridge and set them on the breakfast bar. I’m just letting you know, you now have about 23 minutes before your guests arrive. So that gives you 15 minutes to wrap things up and set things to continue processing while we socialize. Can you handle that?” Violet reassured him in one of her more calming, soothing tones and Buddy was ready to propose to her in that instant as he readily held her steadily in his lap and was ready to break at least one chair if it meant she’d have nowhere to sit but his lap for the evening.  
“Yep, I can do that.”
“Good, give me your phone so I can set an alarm, just in case and then I’ll go down and see if anyone ends up being early. Ok?” Violet posed before Buddy freely handed her his phone as she put an alarm that would sound in 15 minutes.
“Thank you Barret, see you in a bit.” Violet thanked him and gave his temple a quick kiss she offered before she got up and sauntered away and left as Buddy was hopeless but to watch her leave. God was he falling hard and fast for her.
“Someone’s gonna be Mrs. Pine.” Jack teased in a sing-song tone from across the lab once the door was closed behind Violet.
“Shh! Don’t jinx it Man.” Buddy shushed him.
“Violet didn’t have any aversions to it when I said something about it to her earlier.” Jack added temptingly and nearly fell out of his chair laughing when Buddy reacted to that revelation.
“Wait what?” Buddy pressed as he nearly fell out of his chair as he leaned as far back as he could so he could see Jack clearly from across the lab.
“Look, with Phillip, she’s a hostage, with you she’s happy and more like her old self before she did so many missions as a spy. It’s just an observation.” Jack answered as he put his hands up in defeat.  
“Really? She’s happy with me?” Buddy pressed.
“You really need to ask that? I thought you were a genius?” Jack teased with a shit eating grin.
“Yeah with computers I am, to women and most social situations, not really no.” Buddy confessed.
“None of us can have it all Man.” Jack shrugged. “Come on, we only have like 12 minutes left.” Jack reminded him before they went back to work trying to get as many processes starting as they could before they ran out of time.
Meanwhile Violet waited anxiously at SEB’s entrance, having brought the tub of gifts down and set them up on a table on the other side of security so she could hand them to the kids once they came through the metal detectors before Greg and Tammy and their kids came in and Violet put on a bright, welcoming smile.
“Well hello guys! Welcome to SEB Industries. I’m Miss Violet Parr, acting head of security. And I’ll need all of you to come through the metal detector and then I just have some really quick paperwork for you.” Violet said sweetly as Greg’s little boy Alex, who was 4 smiled brightly at her.
“Hi!” He greeted.
“Hello, what’s your name Handsome?” Violet cooed as she turned to him from the other side of security.
“Alex!” He greeted.,
“Well come on through Alex,” Violet invited as she waived him through before his parents followed him through security as Violet got their paperwork in order.
“Ok, so in exchange for the cameras to be turned off so we’re not in a complete fish bowl, I need both of you to sign these. And while you’re reading these over and signing them. I have these for Evan, Alex and even Kaely, I didn’t know if they would be jealous that you guys got to sign paperwork and they didn’t. So I wrote up something they could “sign” too.” Violet informed them as she showed Greg and Tammy the “contracts” she had written that basically had big check marks next to the things she thought would be appropriate for each kid. Kaely’s paper just had pictures with check marks on. Which Tammy and Greg thought was super cute and agreed to let her show their kids as Evan took his “contract” and snorted a laugh but agreed and signed it while Kaely happily sat on the floor and did the same with hers, choosing to scribble on the pictures while Violet helped Alex with his.
“Ok Alex, while your mommy and daddy are signing their paperwork, you have the most important paperwork. Let me read it to you. Objective number 1, so think of this like your mission, should you choose to accept it- is you will have fun while you’re here. Do you agree?” She posed.
“Yes.” Alex eagerly answered.
“Awesome, so put a check mark right here.” Violet directed as she handed him a pen which he happily did.
“Ok, now, objective number two, you will eat all your dinner so that you can have dessert? Which there is an awesome cake up there, it’s super yummy. Do you agree?” Violet posed.
“Yes.” Alex giggled as he checked that off.
“Number three, most important, there are other kids coming tonight and a limited number of toys, so that means that you have to share what’s up there and do your best to get along, do you agree?” Violet posed.
“Yes.” Alex answered as he checked that.
“Ok, now all you gotta do is sign your name, which if you don’t know how to write your name, you can totally just scribble it in.” Violet reassured him before Alex scribbled excitedly.
“Now we gotta stamp this, can you stamp it for me?” Violet asked as she handed him the “Approved” stamp and had him stamp it which he did, like five times, all over the paper before Violet could get the stamp back with a laugh.
“Super duper approved! Awesome. Ok, so now we put the stamp back and we give this to your parents so they can keep it.” Violet urged as Alex took the paper and eagerly showed his parents who had just gotten done with their own paperwork as Violet traded and made sure that they had initialed, signed and dated it before she did the same and stamped the paperwork herself quickly before she directed them to the gift table to pick up the kids’ gift bags along with the family’s gift case of chocolates to take home which the wives all eagerly took and held onto as the others came and she repeated the process, all the parents thinking it was super adorable that Violet would include the kids and be as awesome with them as she was and Greg, Keith and Scott along with their wives were happy to see this soft side of Violet and the kids were super happy about the gift bags and had already looked through them a little and had found all kinds of goodies and even the "older" kids thought it was awesome that she made theirs different than the little kids.  
“Ok, is everyone here and accounted for?” Violet asked as she did a head count and double checked her paperwork to make sure she had everyone.
“Awesome, well follow me guys,” Violet said as she led the way to the freight elevator that would be big enough for all of them before they all squeezed in and Violet hit the floors with her passkey that she had on a lanyard on her neck.
“So how come he doesn’t have an actual floor on the elevator?” Evan asked.
“Oh it’s a safety precaution. SEB is not immune to corporate espionage and the last thing we need is for Mr. Pine to be subjected to any while he’s here with us since all the projects he works on are all the intellectually property of SEB.” Violet answered politely.
“But I thought that’s what you were here for as head of security?” Scott posed.
“I’m only one person. I can’t fight off everything and everyone.” Violet shrugged before they came to the floor and Violet led the way to Buddy’s apartment and walked in to see Buddy thankfully in the kitchen, putting out the trays of appetizers on the breakfast bar like Violet had suggested.
“Hey guys! Thanks for coming, take your shoes off, stay a while.” Buddy warmly invited as he came over and did the handshake hug thing with everyone as the kids eagerly went over to where the cake was set up to look at it in awe as they realized it was a galaxy cake as Violet simply slipped away to change out of her dress and into more casual attire before she seemed to reappear just as the adults were gathering around the breakfast bar to dig into the snacks provided before Jack came out of Buddy’s lab and into the apartment.
“Well hi.” Greg greeted Jack as he looked from Jack to Buddy curiously.
“Hi,” Jack replied before he soon took refuge next to his sister.
“Is this your son?” Greg asked Violet but he was struck by how ginger Jack was, almost like he could be Violet and Buddy's son if they ever got to have kids.
“No, I’m her little brother, Jack, nice to meet you.” Jack immediately countered.
“My parents are out of town for the weekend so I’m staying with Violet and Barret agreed to help me with a school project.” Jack informed them casually as all the adults blinked in surprise as they looked from Jack to Buddy excitedly.
“What’s the school project about?” Tammy, Greg’s wife asked.
“Radio waves.” Jack answered.
“Oh, cool, well if there was anyone to help you with that, it would be Bud, or uh, Barret, rather.” Tammy nodded as she looked at him and tried to think of where she had seen him before Tammy’s son Evan came around his mom to grab another handful of snacks himself, mostly a handful of blueberries and another chocolate covered strawberry.
“Hey! I know you! You play at Millwood Park a lot.” Evan noted to Jack.  
“Yeah!” Jack beamed in excitement because low and behold, he had a friend at this shindig after all before he happily left Violet’s side to go over to Evan before the two went back with the rest of the kids to play among themselves in Buddy’s living room while Jack happily got to have his own gift bag from among the extras.
“Wow Bud you really went all out.” Beth, Keith’s wife noted as she appreciated the spread.
“Actually, this is all Violet’s doing. Jack and I went down a rabbit hole for his school project so Violet is the one that put this all together. Didn't she do a great job?” Buddy proudly answered as he marveled at these snack trays and happily started putting a little bit of everything together and marveling at the amazing quality of it all, being immensely proud of Violet for putting all this together and saving his bacon to speak.
Almost like a real couple should.
“Well I wouldn’t have done half as good if you hadn’t left a pretty good plan to follow, I just followed your ‘to-do’ list that had all the instructions on what and when to start all the elements. It was a piece of cake because of that.” Violet returned with a little shrug but her pleased grin shamed the sun at the praise, being ever so happy he pleased with it.
“Well now that you mention it, yes it’s obvious you did it because there’s no way he would have thought to include flower arrangements or half of these snack trays and look at that cake and those cupcakes, and this wine selection is flawless, I mean come on, all this does scream feminine touch.” Lisa praised as she gestured to everything as she even noticed Buddy’s table was set up beautifully too before they dissolved into idle chit chat before the oven beeped which signaled that dinner was ready before all the adults got a place around the table and all the kids got to sit around a second table that Violet had set up for them, complete with galaxy paper plates and napkins and cups as all the adults seemed to grab a dish and put it on the table before Buddy said grace and all the mothers got their kid’s plates ready and squared away before all the adults dug into what was left and even Buddy was pleasantly surprised to see Violet’s added dish and thought it complemented the meal perfectly and he was ever so grateful that Violet had just picked up where he left off so he could do the same for her and they had done it flawlessly together and with him sitting at the head of the table and her sitting to his immediate right, he was all too pleased about this and thought she fit in flawlessly, if anything she was the integral part to all of this and with the way they were kind of smooshed around the table, his knee was happy to rest against hers.
“So, where are you from Violet?” Beth asked.
“Uh, well my parents are originally from here but then they moved around a lot when I was little but when I was 14 we settled here back here in Metroville and my family has been here ever since.” Violet answered.
“Oh, so you’re just a hometown girl who’s made it big then?” Beth surmised.
“Well, yeah, I guess you could say that.” Violet mused.
“Where did you go to college at? I mean I assume you’ve been to collage if you’re head of security.” Beth furthered.
“Actually I didn’t go to collage, although I did have internships.” Violet said simply.
“Oh that’s nice, how did you manage that was the application process hard?” Beth guessed as all the guys looked a little worriedly from Violet to Buddy who looked tense who kept looking from them to Violet to gauge her reactions at being poked and prodded.  
“It was really a case of who I knew and developing the right skill set.” Violet tried to explain delicately.
“But what about you guys, since you brought up college, where did you go?” Violet returned, trying to keep the focus off of herself which Buddy and Violet were grateful for which worked for a little while before the conversation came right back around to her.
And then when they learned that Violet was "single" then all the girls seemed to try to make Buddy out to be this amazing catch of a guy. Which Violet thought was adorable because Buddy was getting a little flustered by it but when her hand went under the table to gently squeeze his knee, that had him relax a little and then to hold his hand under the table had him relaxing even more and taking it all in stride.
Then once dinner was eaten and the cake was cut and all the kids eagerly taking a cupcake before Violet put on a movie for them, the adults happily cleared the table and moved the snack trays to the table so they could sit and continue to snack as Violet opened Buddy’s case of chocolates to enjoy with them as Buddy eagerly and happily went through the case of chocolates to find his favorites as his friends gently poked and prodded Violet some more to try to get to know her better which was an easier feat with Violet happily drinking her favorite wine and with Buddy’s hand and hers both seemed to be drawn together under the table and before Violet knew it she was happily holding his hand under the table since they were still kitty corner to each other as they ate and drank happily with their free hand and Buddy was so unbelievably proud of Violet for staying Violet and it really was- for a few blissful hours- just a group of adults hanging out for a dinner.
It wasn’t until after the second movie that Violet put on for the kids, that the group heard the tell tail signs of little ones snoring as they had all snuggled up together on the couch with a couch throw over them and had fallen asleep since it was now almost midnight. But the adults had had too much fun just talking and catching up and getting to know each other better and Violet was very happy when all the women invited her and Jack to their kid's birthday parties and slumber parties and even to out to brunch and stuff which Violet was thrilled to have because she didn't really have any close friends besides other Supers and Tammy, Lisa and Beth were really fun actually as Buddy was grateful that they had eagerly accepted her into the fold.
“I think it’s time we better go.” Beth encouraged them before they all murmured their agreement and Violet happily, yet sleepily let them out.
“Please be gentle with him. Tali did a number on him when she left him, granted he’s changed quite a bit since then, but still. To see how you are with Phillip in the tabloids, I’m worried about how messy that could get.” Beth murmured to Violet as Violet carried Beth’s daughter Riley out to their van while Beth carried her newborn, Roman on her chest, covered in a thick baby blanket.
“I’m aware,” Violet nodded in understanding. “And I’ll do my best to do what I can.” Violet reassured her.
“Thank you Vi.” Beth thanked her.
By the time Violet got back into Buddy’s apartment and to see Jack still zonked out on the couch, she wanted nothing more than to just crash as Buddy was loading up the dishwasher and setting the pots and pans to soak in the sink overnight and noticed Violet was beyond tired herself.
“Why don’t you stay?” Buddy finally spoke up which caused Violet to turn her head to consider him.
“Oh, no uh, I really should get home.” Violet tried to refuse even though the thought of just crashing in Buddy’s bed sounded particularly fantastic.
“Vi, it’s late and you’ve been drinking, please, I’ll move Jack to my bed and you can sleep in it with him and I’ll take the couch. I don’t want you to chance you driving like this.” Buddy gently argued, even though Violet was far from drunk or even tipsy. He was more worried about her driving exhausted more than sober.
“Ok fine.” Violet easily caved before Buddy washed his hands from handling the dirty dishes and then happily came over and picked Jack up and carried him to his own room as Violet happily got her own bag and realized she had actually packed it for staying over which she thought was interesting that she had either consciously or subconsciously done that before she went into Buddy’s bathroom to wash the makeup off her face and brush out her hair and braid it so it wouldn’t tangle before Buddy simply knocked on the bathroom door and when Violet had opened it, he was holding an old tshirt and held it out to her so she had something to sleep in which Violet happily took, even though she technically brought pajamas, she readily accepted his offering, preferring his super soft, oversized shirt.
“Thank you Barret.” Violet cooed tiredly as she took and when she emerged, she noticed that Jack had already been tucked into the bed and a set of Buddy’s spare set of bedding had been taken out of his closet and when she had peaked into the living room Buddy was taking the pull out bed from his couch and setting up the bed and she was able to walk up behind him and hug him from behind and nuzzled his back with her face, letting his scent settle deep into her lungs and happily welcomed the comfort it brought which gave Buddy pause as he simply hugged her arms in turn.
“You’re welcome.” Buddy returned.
“Goodnight Barret.” Violet murmured.
“Good night Vi.” Buddy replied before he felt her pull away and retreat as he looked over his shoulder to see her go and blushed when he noticed she wasn’t wearing pajama pants or shorts or anything and took a moment to appreciate her amazing legs even though she was drowning in his shirt- just enough to be super adorable before she disappeared down the hallway to his bedroom before he finished making the bed and just as he was about to get into it , he heard a beeping sound in his lab which woke him up fully and got him to go into the lab to see what processes had finished before he once again happily plunged himself down the rabbit hole.
An hour and a half later, Violet woke up, having to go to the bathroom and decided to check up on Buddy before she noticed that the lights were still on and his bed was untouched which made her frown before she went around the apartment and turned the lights off before she opened the door to the lab to see Buddy still working on stuff.
“Barret?” Violet called out sleepily which got him to jump before he turned to her and was relieved it was only her.
“Hey, you should be in bed.” Buddy softly encouraged her.
“So should you,” Violet returned as she walked up to him.
“Sorry, I got caught up in…” Buddy gestured to what was in front of him which got Violet to hum and nod sleepily before she straddled his lap in his chair before she laid down on his shoulder and wrapped her arms around his neck and shoulders.
“You got two minutes to set things to process overnight, then you’re getting in bed.” Violet warned.
“But…” Buddy tried to argue but once Violet lifted her head and fixed him with a look, that even though she was beyond tired, still conveyed the seriousness of her request.
“Do it or I will use my secret weapon on you.” Violet threatened and Buddy was both scared yet intrigued to see what exactly she would do before he simply reached around her and did as she asked before she let her head rest on his shoulder once again and for the last fourth minute it took him to get everything squared away, his heart was hammering, wondering if she was noticing it was taking longer than she told him to take and once he was done, he blew out a breath of relief.
“Ok, I’m done.” Buddy informed her.
“Good, come on, bed.” Violet insisted and got up but pulled him after her and got the lights to the lab on her way out before she led him to the pull out bed and practically pushed him into the bed before she got into the bed with him and pulled his head to rest in her chest as he readily gathered her into his arms and when she started petting his head , her fingertips lazily scratching his scalp as her other hand softly and comfortingly smoothed over his back.
“Is this your secret weapon?” Buddy asked, his words muffled by his own t-shirt she was wearing.
“Yup, works on babies and grown men alike.” Violet answered, refusing to open her eyes and smiled softly in the darkness when he felt her relax and in 5 minutes flat, he was out like a light as she stopped her motions and simply wriggled down so she could cuddle with his chest and go to sleep herself.
But that wasn’t until Violet heard Buddy murmur something in his sleep.
“Hmm?” Violet hummed in question.
“I love you Violet.” Buddy answered, even though he was completely asleep.
“I love you too Barret.” Violet murmured back, a pleased, but happy smile on her face as she fell asleep in his arms.
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stardust-and-blades · 5 years ago
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Shatter: part 1
*whispers* I swear I’m writing fluff in my ghost au but at the moment I wanna write a zombie apocalypse scene that I had in my head for my oc’s but was unable to write due to a past friend not willing to write with me anymore so here it is
klance form
Summary: Keith and Lance are set up on a mission to gather supplies within a small town. It was meant to be an easy errand, one they have done before. But the situation turns dire when Keith ends up getting bit and doesn’t tell the team.  Nor Lance.
----------------------
Keith lied awake in bed, Lance knocked out from the day’s earlier expedition. He is curled up besides Keith, his head resting in the crook of his neck and a hand in Keith’s. He was content. Most likely dreaming about finding his family. Dreaming of a world where the dead stayed dead and you could walk anywhere without the fear of being eaten. 
Keith wanted to dream like that. Have his entire mind submerged in fantasy, living in another reality for five minutes instead of the remainder of his life in the absolute shithole humanity managed to dig themselves into.
He wanted to imagine his life extending far beyond a couple of days, looking forward to red and blue tulips and a flowery path leading to a priest, bands of gold embracing his marriage finger.
But no. He does not have eternity. He does not have a year. He does not have 24 hours, because the throbbing in his side reminded him of what is to come. To relive the early days of the zombie infestation, his parents being turned and Keith being forced to kill them.
Is that what awaits him? A cold death. A brutal death. Either one by a bullet to the head or his human will slipping from his fingers, it overwhelmed by the need to feed and the desire to sink his teeth into soft, pulsing flesh. 
He didn’t eat, but his stomach churned to expel the nausea. 
Keith slowly got up, slipping his arm out of Lance’s grasp. Lance frowned in his sleep, wondering where the warmth of his partner went. To ease him, Keith kissed the top of his head, whispering he needed to use the bathroom. It smoothed out Lance’s features, him mumbling a faint “kay...ove you...” before those beautiful whisps of imagination and ‘what ifs’ ebbed him back into a blessed slumber.
When Keith locked himself in the bathroom, he covered the small window far up above the toilet with its black drapes. He switched on his flashlight and pulled his shirt up, hissing as he prodded on the torn, scabbed skin. Purple veins popped out, the yellow and green of infection coursed its way around the bite, Keith suppressing the urge to claw at it. Make it bleed. Swallowing the wave of chipped nails and chilling, metallic shards. Anything so he could feel human.
If he were bit on the arm or leg, he could have easily chopped it off. Hacked at it away until he was sure he was safe, at ease to lose a limb than the life he grew to value. But no. He went out and got bit on the stomach. There is no amputating that.
To think he made such a rookie mistake.
“Hey Keith, lets check out the building over there!” Lance suggested, nudging him with his elbow. “The market is still a little ways away, and usually swarming with undead. Maybe we can find some nonperishable items in the food bank.”
Keith smiled. “Good idea. Hopefully some bottled water, too. We are running low. And we will need some medication for Shiro’s arm.”
Lance tapped his chin. “Hmm, we can try a couple of houses. Hospitals are hard. And it looks like this place is hanging on by a thread.” Lance glanced around, taking in the rotting wood, overgrown weeds, shattered windows, and lack of humans and zombies. It was a small town, afterall. Unlike the city, the place mirrored the dead in outcome. 
“Yeah, I had to save your ass last time we were at a hospital.” 
Lance pouted. “Hey, it’s not my fault there was a random torso underneath the desk.”
Still had to save you.”
“Keep talking and I’m chopping off your mullet.”
Keith shrugged and kissed him on the lips, silencing him at least for a good five seconds before his face bloomed with blush and began sputtering. “You--! You can’t keep doing that to win an argument!”
“Why?”
“Because--Because--” He fished for a reason, his hook coming out with very little. “Because you just can’t!”
“Smooth, Lance.”
Lance just shoved his hood over his head and tightened the strings. “You’re insufferable. I hope a zombie eats me.”
Keith went quiet. He almost forgot what they were there for. What world they are in. For a brief second, he felt like he was back in the time Before. When he was just a kid trying to pay off his school loans. 
Noticing Keith’s silence, Lance peaked from his hoodie. Keith’s eyes are far away, the shine dimmed and his body tense. He could have been mistaken for a statue.
Lance wrapped his hands around his limp one by his side, the other one holding a prepped knife. “Sorry, poor choice in words. If anything, I won’t be eaten.” Lance said, a feather of good fun disguising his comfort. “I’ll be saving the day. Like always.”
Keith, consumed by the past, snapped out of it and looked back at Lance. He melted, the crease in his brow and the infecting paranoia subsiding. Washed away with Lance’s warmth, leaving the mode of survival and embracing the rush of love through those beautiful aquas. 
“Yeah. Like always.”
So they went into the abandoned food bank, drunk on the sparkles and butterflies of those moments.
It was a two leveled house made to look like a business, the main foyer holding aged desks and shattered lamps. They checked for any zombies that could be lurking in nooks, crannies, and closets, taking slow footsteps and weapons drawn. The basement, which was flooded, was left unchecked until Keith flashed his light inside, calling to Lance that he was going to dive in and see if there is anything pidge could tinker with. Maybe find some canned food untouched by the murky waters. No doubt the flooding was caused by a broken, rusty pipe. It wasn’t that deep. Up to his knees. Quiet. harmless.
Or so he thought.
He saw what seemed to be an old package of bottled water, Keith not bothering to double check he was safe. He just went to the water, picking one up when it all went wrong.
It all went terribly wrong.
A hand wrapped around his ankle and pulled, Keith losing his footing and splashing into the dirty water, his nose flooded and throat choking for air. He tried to scream, but all that came out was gurgles and bubbles. Lance probably can’t hear him thrash, his face being shoved further down as he caught sight of decaying teeth and skin. His knife gone. He fought for the surface. Writhed and squirmed for his machete, pure terror coursing through his veins as his eyes landed on the teeth inching towards his stomach.
No, no no no no--
As he got hold of the hilt of his machete, red hot pain flared, Keith letting out a scream as a chunk of him is torn out. He pushed and kicked, refusing to be a meal on the zombie’s menu. He kneed the rotting corpse in the head, it releasing Keith as he gasped for oxygen. But he didn’t stop to fully breathe, for he plunged his blade deep into its head. 
His ears were ringing. The water tinged with crimson, his eyes seeing nothing as all he registered was the the fact he got bit.
He got bit.
He didn’t even hear Lance call from him above, Keith’s body moving on its own as he angrily sifted through the water, searching for another corpse to kill. To mangle. To destroy, just like they destroyed his future. It was bad enough he lost friends and family during the breakout. Now...Now he is doomed. Branded. Cursed to become one of them. To bring grief to the smiles he adored.
To hurt Lance, already seeing Lance’s serene blues morph into a drought of disbelief and teardrops.
When Lance found Keith due to him not responding to his calls, he discovered a motionless boy, staring down at the zombie and his machete soaked with blood. The face of the undead is barely recognizable, and Lance wondered what provoked Keith to unleash such brutality. 
“Keith?” Lance said again, grabbing him by the shoulders and forcing him to look at Lance. He cupped Keith’s face in his hands, asking desperately for a response. “Keith? Keith, are you hurt? Are you okay? Keith?”
He could only muster a weak hug as Lance held him close, shoving a bloodcurdling scream deep within until he was away from Lance.
He had to tell someone. But who? 
There was a light knock on the door, Keith shoving his shirt back down.
“Yeah?”
“Keith?” Shiro called. “You okay? I saw your light earlier.”
No doubt. Keith forgot Shiro was on watch tonight.
Keith opened his mouth to say what he usually says, an old habit he was good at. But he stopped, taking in the memory of earlier that day.
He had to tell someone. He had such a short amount of time left. He didn’t want to end up like one of them. But he also didn’t want to be alone. 
He took a breath.
“Actually, can you come in? I need to tell you something.”
By the end, the others remained in blissful ignorance, never hearing the choked sob of the dying boy and the drop of a flashlight, the protective glass shattering into a million pieces.
And as Keith walked up the stairs of his and Lance’s room and Shiro lost the sensation of drowsiness to the plans for the next day, Keith curled in the sheets. He kept Lance close, breathing in his smell of sweat and pine and working to memorize it. To savor the last little bit he had with his love, the tears not stopping until morning broke. 
Lance greeted him with a sleepy but soft smile. The sunlight not touching the couple, but might as well have with the radiance seeping from a simple glance. Keith wanted to bottle it up, hold it close to him until his dying breath, refusing to let the rain touch it. 
But life had other plans. The rain came early. And Lance was left speechless, worry etched in his tone as he asked Keith what was wrong.
“Nothing,” Keith said, wiping away his tears. “Just a nightmare.”
Lance wiped a drop from his cheek, understanding. “Ah. Do you want to talk about it?”
“No...I...” Keith struggled for words, split between telling him and sealing his mouth shut. He hid his face in the pillow, wanting nothing more but to disappear. “Not yet. It’s still fresh. I just want to stay like this for a little longer.”
“Hunk is going to be serving breakfast in a bit. We should go eat something.” Lance suggested, kind but also knowing the team rarely had meals like this. They scored in finding plenty of supplies for a week in the food bank. Hunk no doubt wanted to celebrate by eating a full meal rather than the beans and canned fruit they had lived on. 
Keith circled his arms around Lance’s middle, begging for five more minutes. Five more. That was all he needed to gain his bearings. To put his mask back on. To believe he had years left of life than a measly couple of days. Or was it a day now? He did not care. He wanted to focus on the now.
Lance sighed, but combed his hands through Keith’s nest of hair and kissed the top of his hairline, Keith turning into a puddle by the normalcy. The facade everything would be okay, thought deep down he knew it to be a lie. 
He hated lies. But this lie is the only one he can allow.
Soon, fatigue laid their sheets, Keith’s vision becoming scarce as the fingers of his lover whisked away his fears. Cascaded them to the wind, his nightmare temporarily being forced into remission. 
If he could choose, he would choose to die like this. Caressed and loved. His heart human and his mind content. 
Don’t break the illusion.
Don’t shatter.
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hollow-dweller · 6 years ago
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when the curtain is drawn
Pairing: Allura/Lance, side/alternate universe klance (it’s not the focus except for allura’s pining for her own lance, but just so people know) Words: 3955 Summary: allura had been so wrapped up in convincing herself that she was okay leaving it all behind, that she was okay sacrificing herself for the good of the universe, that the notion of going back stops her short. she looks at her- herself, sees her determination, her desire to help, and she lets herself believe, at least for the moment, in possibility
or allura doesn't die when she sacrifices herself, but rather is thrown into an alternate universe where shiro never died (but neither did zarkon), she never lost her leadership role (but never became a paladin), and keith never left (but lance never...)
also on ao3 at the same title (author’s name also the same) (is tumblr still hiding posts with links from search?)
a/n: i was planning to do a more fleshed-out version of this, and i still might, but i wanted to get this out there. it’s pure self-indulgence (also i haven’t actually watched s8 so if there are inconsistencies just accept them in the name of ~plot~, because that reasoning’s never lead us astray before)
also title from “hypnotized” by years & years, the most allurancey of allurance songs
i didn’t really intend for this version to get so long, it was supposed to be a bunch of headcanons in bullet point, but here we are. please take this nearly 4000 word ramble about allura missing her boyfriend
honestly, allura can’t help but feel a little bitter. it’s unfair, she knows, because these paladins have been fighting a war too, they’ve seen their fair share of horrors, zarkon’s nowhere near defeated, this version of her also lost altea and with it everything she ever loved-
it just. it just all seems like it’s so… easy. they’re bonded, to their lions and to each other, and they seem hopeful. they seem determined. they seem motivated. they seem happy.
(allura had come close, for the first time in ages, to something akin to happiness. she feels echoes of that happiness even now, when it seems a lifetime away, when she remembers warm hands, soft despite their gun callouses, covering her own. she remembers a chest she could lean against, exhausted, in those moments where she needed relief for the sheer overwhelming pressure of it all. she remembers wiry but strong arms encircling her, comforting and protective, if even for a moment. she remembers blue eyes, usually so bright with mirth, but in this moment serious- even a little sad- but filled with utter conviction and endless devotion. she remembers i would follow you across the universe-)
*
this team is slightly strange to her in their openness, their friendliness, instantly accepting her story. it does make some sense, considering they had all been experiencing the crumbling of the universe around them, frantically trying to find a way to stop it without even knowing what was causing it. it likely came as a relief to them that instead of the end of all things, they merely got her, jettisoned out of a quintessence rift and into the space directly in front of where the castle- the castle- was drifting.
she’s lucky to have been wearing her paladin armor, that her helmet could materialize from the sub-reality pocket in their suits that stored their bayards and headgear. she’s luckier still that even here, her bond with blue persists. this blue lion isn’t hers, not really, but as soon as she traverses the vast, imperceptible divide between rift and reality, allura hears her in her head, growling protectively. she can imagine the look on the team’s faces (on his face) as blue had leapt out of her hanger and into space, swallowing her up and carrying her back to safety.
*
they have a million questions, each talking over each other, about where she had come from, what had happened to her, why she was in paladin armor, why blue had come for her. she tries to explain as best she can, tries to keep it brief, but it’s a long story regardless. they talk for vargas, going over differences and similarities, trying to pinpoint the essential moments of divergence.
her alternate universe self, clad in a dress that allura both does and does not miss, in the sort of way one misses a cruel ex-lover, aching but relieved- her alternate self is intent on the alchemic portion of her tale, having never gone to oriande herself (and that diverts them for a whole varga, with allura and coran eagerly pressing her for answers about the altean thought-to-be-a-myth and her stumbling through the story, trying to give them an accurate retelling while avoiding mentioning that she had not taken that journey alone). this allura is eager, hungry for knowledge- naive- and allura is startled when she vows to help send her back to her own reality, to help her get back to her family.
(allura had been so wrapped up in convincing herself that she was okay leaving it all behind, that she was okay sacrificing herself for the good of the universe, that the notion of going back stops her short. she looks at her- herself, sees her determination, her desire to help, and she lets herself believe, at least for the moment, in possibility)
*
she settles into life with this team fairly easily, surprisingly so. they are not so different, if perhaps less burdened- or differently burdened- from her own, and she finds that as the quintants stretch into movements, she becomes relatively comfortable. she still aches for home (still aches for him), but she can set it aside, not gone, but neatly stored until she has both the time and ability to deal with it.
(allura has become very good at this sort of compartmentalization. she remembers expressing this one day, trying to describe how she was coping, despite everything. she remembers warm laughter, and fingers brushing her hair back from her forehead, and warm lips on her skin moving in time with the words, practice makes perfect, right princess?)
it helps that even as similar as they are, they are also markedly different. it is comforting, in a way, to be reminded that although these people are familiar, and warm, and kind, they are not her family. her family is waiting for her beyond the rift, and these people will never replace them.
*
there are some divergences, however, that allura finds she cannot make her peace with. this she discovers one day as she walks into the lounge, instinctively following the warm tones of a familiar laugh, and walks into-
lance, lance (so like hers and yet so very, very not), straddling keith on the couch, grinning down at him, hair tousled and lips red in a way that  had at one point been intimately familiar to her. it was a sight she had treasured, that she had hoarded, like the mythical beasts of her childhood tales had hoarded precious metals. it was something she had arrogantly believed was all her own, something she foolishly dared to think she would never lose.
(in that moment it does not matter that in her reality, that belief held true. she was not in that reality- she may never again be in that reality. it doesn’t matter, and allura burns)
lance yelps and clambers off keith’s lap, falling in a tangle of limbs onto the floor. keith leaps up to face her, hand already reaching towards the knife at his back, ready to stave off an intruder. the fire that burns through allura quickly turns to mortification and she squeaks, hands covering her mouth. keith softens and lance pops up from the floor, looking embarrassed but not angry, and waves off her stuttered apology. “it’s not your fault,” he says, looking both smug and contrite, “we shouldn’t have been doing- uh, anything here anyway. totally our bad, princess.” allura ignores keith’s muttered “and whose fault is that” because she knows, she knows exactly who the instigator was, because ancients know that keith was always too reserved for his own good.
(in her universe, that reserved nature had been something she had thanked the ancients for. it was petty, maybe, and a bit unkind, but she knows that she only got her chance to learn to value lance’s love because keith had squandered his, that if he had been more open, or more honest, or simply more brave, she would have- well. she’d be exactly where she is now. she’d never talked to lance about it, because he’d have vehemently denied it, but occasionally, at dinner, or during team meetings, or at increasingly-rare paladin movie nights, keith would meet her eye. with lance, usually, pressed all along her side, or with his arm thrown casually over her shoulder, or with her hand in his back pocket, keith would simply look at her, pause for a long tick, and nod, ever-so-slightly.)
so allura ignores keith, and ignores lance too really, but rather takes a deep breath and fixes what she hopes is a warm, teasing smile on her face. she comes fully into the room as the two boys sit back down, side-by-side, respectable and chaste, and folds herself up on the other end of the couch. she urges them to tell her about it, about what brought them together, and laughs when lance exclaims in wonder over them not being together in her own world. lance dominates the conversation, slouching ever more so into keith’s side while chattering brightly, spinning a tale of a series of increasingly-confounding alien diplomats’ misconceptions, a delicate political alliance contingent on them maintaining the farce, and an eventual breathless, positively cinematic confession. the whole time, allura smiles, and gasps, and is the perfect attentive audience. keith, characteristically, is quiet, only interjecting to reign in some of lance’s more embellished plot-points.  
(keith spends most of the conversation simply looking at her, his eyes dark with understanding. allura is not proud to say that she avoids his gaze, but she does. her respect for the keith of her reality, always high, is felt acutely in that moment. after all, this conversation is enlightening- and he is far braver than she thought.)
*
she works closely with coran and her other self, even pidge on occasion, exhaustively going over the details of her trip into the rift, the trials and travails of her alchemic journey up until that point. the sessions are part desperate search for answers, part training for the allura who never had the opportunity to unlock these powers in herself. this allura has certainly not been shielded from battle, not by any means. after all, she learned her lessons of warriorhood at her mother’s knee, just as she learned diplomacy at her father’s. together they shaped her into a leader, a fighter, a ruler. and there is not a universe in existence, allura is sure, where she does not strive to do justice to their legacy.  
(in some ways, allura is jealous of this universe’s version of her. as much as she loves blue, and being a paladin, those duties had frequently torn her from her place at the head of the coalition. she has found herself, slightly perplexingly, in the position of taking orders from keith and shiro, and occasionally even lance. and although they are all excellent leaders in their own way, allura is, in another universe, in a former life, a queen.)
(in other ways, allura looks at this world’s allura, and is not jealous at all. she sees how there is still distance between her and the paladins. she sees how this allura does not join in on paladin activities, has never played monsters and mana, cannot sit easily with the five of them and joke, and tell stories, and laugh, too busy looking over starmaps and treaties. she sees how this allura yearns, even still, for any single scrap of connection to her past, to altea, and shudders at the memory of the dangerous roads that yearning had led her own self down, before she learned, painfully, to move on.)
(she sees how this allura goes to bed alone.)
*
“woah, woah, woah, you left part of your soul behind?”
they are at the dinner table near the end of a long quintant, tucking into their food goo, idly discussing the possibilities for getting allura back home. everyone is at least half listening in, even if allura is fairly certain, from the increasing redness of keith’s face, that lance is playing footsie with him beneath the table.  allura hadn’t thought anyone was truly paying great attention to her conversation with… herself, but this interjection comes from hunk.
this snaps everyone’s attention to her, and she nervously pushes her hair behind her ear. she had mentioned quintessence transfer to the others before, in passing, as a potential bond they could exploit to connect back to her reality through the rift. she had skirted, however, around explicitly stating that she had actually transferred a part of her quintessence into someone, because… well. she hadn’t precisely been ready to get into the details of how. or who.
(she didn’t even know if it had worked, adrenaline and desperation prompting her, in what she thought were her final moments, to will some of her quintessence out of her body through a kiss. she hadn’t been thinking of establishing a tether or creating a true bond of any sort. she had simply wanted to leave a part of herself with him. a selfish fantasy that the last touch of her lips to his would linger, that his memory of her in turn, would never fade. that even if she had to leave him, he would not be alone.)
“it’s not a part of my soul,” she clarifies, hedging. “altea doesn’t really have a concept of souls, though i suppose it’s as close as your human mythologies come to understanding quintessence.”
pidge leans forward, glasses glinting. she looks intrigued, and the curiosity shared between her and hunk makes allura feel a little trapped. if anyone can get the full story out of her through sheer persistence and nosiness, it is these two.
coran, thankfully, jumps in here. “indeed! quintessence transfer is simply the deposit of quintessential energy into a vessel, usually for safekeeping. it can either be mined from environmental sources or pulled from within the alchemist. if the quintessence source is not entirely drained, a bond remains between the quintessence source and the vessel, even as quintessence perpetually replenishes itself in living beings.”
allura’s relief is short-lived, however, as coran slides a terrifyingly knowing look her way and continues: “it is, however, exceptionally rare for the vessel to be a sentient creature. if the transfer takes, the bond in that case would likely be much stronger, as the quintessence of the vessel would incorporate that of the source, strengthening it immeasurably.
i say it’s rare because it is much more likely that the vessel would reject the source’s quintessence. the vessel and source would need to have a very strong existing bond in order for the transfer to take.”
it’s at this point that lance interjects, leaning towards hunk and pidge to whisper, perfectly audibly, “dudes, allura made a horcrux!”
it’s obvious that the allura and coran of this world are befuddled by this reference, but allura spent over 14 vargas watching the most recent edition (”reboot, ‘lura, it’s called a reboot”) of those movies with her lance (and then nearly forty more eagerly devouring the ancient literature they were based on). she knows precisely to what lance is referencing, and is wholly unimpressed.
she clears her throat over pidge and shiro’s loud guffaws (and hunk and keith’s equally loud sighs, with which she wholeheartedly sympathizes). the room quiets and, voice prim, she responds, “to coran’s point, i did attempt to make a quintessential transfer prior to moving into the rift, but i have no way of knowing if it took. we can explore it as an option, but i’m afraid that altean alchemy is rather more delicate than all that.”
she stands, sweeping non-existent crumbs from her body for effect, and slides a smirk lance’s way. “certainly, if i were seeking immortality, i fancy myself more of a nicholas flamel than a tom riddle.”
with that she exits the room, grin spreading across her face as she listens to the beat of shocked silence left in her wake, promptly followed by raucous exclaiming and a distinctly shiro-sounding cackle.
*
they never get the chance to go more in depth into the theoretical usefulness of her potential quintessence transfer. the team is busy, still fighting a war after all, and when they are not in battle they are doing much of the same work with the coalition as they had been in her reality (though with significantly less ice skating). they are all working overtime, taking care of all their usual responsibilities, as well as trying to help allura find her way home. for her part, she is eager to pitch in wherever she can.
(allura is ill-equipped to handle downtime. she despises it, in fact. there are simply too many neatly-packed emotions waiting in her head. if she slows down, stops working, stops striving, they will have too much space in which to rattle around. compartmentalizing has always been something allura has excelled at. de-compartmentalizing, however, not so much.)
in the end it doesn’t matter that they’re busy, that even with all of allura’s knowledge and her counterpart’s intuition they simply do not have the resources, they do not have the time, to figure this out. in the end it does not matter.
he comes for her regardless.
*
they are experiencing a rare moment of downtime, drifting through space in a tucked-away galaxy, far from galra control. the paladins are together in the lounge, relaxing, and allura has coaxed her counterpoint there as well. they are supposedly going through the castle’s virtual library, looking for clues, but allura is pleased to see that her other self has been drawn into yet another of hunk and pidge’s debates about modulation. she knows enough about engineering to egg them on, a familiar gleam of mischief in her eyes as she stirs the conversation up with sly asides every time it threatens to calm down.
allura, for her own part, is half-listening, trying to keep from looking at lance and keith on the couch opposite. they are stretched out together in a rare display of public affection, keith napping on lance’s chest, and lance has a tablet propped up on keith’s back. allura is glad that keith is the one asleep, as she is as certain that keith would notice her surreptitious glances as she is that lance has not.
the lounge has a full window, and through it allura can see an endless expanse of stars, gleaming in the inky blackness.
blackness that is abruptly interrupted, in a sudden swell of light, expanding from a pin-prick of a distant star to eclipsing the window within ticks. allura shouts and jumps to her feet, hand moving to her side and bayard materializing in hand. she hears exclamations from the other paladins, as well as the clatter of a tablet falling to the ground, followed immediately by two grunts as lance and keith roll off the couch.
it’s over as quickly as it begun, before lance and keith can even scramble to their feet, before allura can even finish taking in the breath after her shout. the bloom of light collapses in on itself, winking away into nothing. from it’s epicenter, or what used to be, a trail of light appears, streaking towards the castle. allura’s eyesight is better than the humans’, and she’s sure that they’re still blinking away the aftershocks from the sudden flash of light when she realizes what that trail means.
for a tick, allura can’t breathe, can’t bear to hope that what she’s seeing is real. in the next, a whisper trickles into her mind, faint, wholly new but entirely familiar. a tick after that, and allura is running.
*
she knows the others are following her, probably startled and concerned by her mad dash out the door. she can hear them calling her, asking her to slow down, but she can’t. she feels as though this moment, the one she’s dreamed of, the one she’s barely allowed herself to hope for, is like water trickling through her cupped hands. once it’s gone, she won’t get it back.
she barrels around a corner and straight down the hallway leading from the main antechamber to the red lion’s hangar. she can hear keith, hot on her heels, galra genes making it easier for him to keep up. wildly, her heart thudding in her ears, she fancies that even without those, he’d know where she was headed.
there is one thing, after all, of which the two of them share a perfect understanding.
allura dashes into the red lion’s hangar and comes to a dead stop.
there are two red lions here.
allura feels like everything should be indistinct, like nothing should be registering properly with her. she feels like she should think she’s dreaming, that everything should seem distant, blurry, impossible to grasp, like smoke. instead, she is fully, thoroughly aware.
she’s aware of the others making it into the hangar. first keith, then herself and coran, and the other paladins shortly thereafter. she’s aware of keith stopping them, telling them to wait, to give her a moment. she’s aware of herself, stepping forward as the red lion lowers her head and opens her mouth. she’s aware of the ache in her lungs as she tries to catch her breath.
she hears his footsteps clatter against the metal of the lion’s ramp, and then she sees him.
*
the first thing that allura notices is that he’s older. it’s only been a few phoebs that she’s been stuck on this side of the rift, but obviously in her proper reality time has passed differently. he’s not a lot older, no more than a few years, but he’s a little taller, a little broader in the shoulders, hair a little longer. he’s got a scar cutting through his eyebrow, and dark smudges, like shadows, under his eyes.
and he has altean markings.
they’re blue, and as he walks toward her they start to glow a little. he takes a few quick steps forward, then stops, not far from the lion, looking suddenly unsure. his hand comes up to rub his neck in a gesture so familiar she has the sudden, near-irrepressible urge to cry.
he licks his lips, nervous, and when he speaks his voice cracks a little.
“um…hi?”
allura breaks.
before she knows it, she’s running, rapidly closing the distance between them and leaping into his arms. she doesn’t do it full tilt, like she kind of wants to, because she might actually flatten him, but she lays off enough that he can catch her, arms immediately moving to support her as she locks her ankles behind his back. she catches the barest glimpse of his wide-eyed gaze, the marks on his cheeks so bright now they’re almost blinding, and then she’s kissing the living daylights out of him.
she thinks she might hear gasps, perhaps even a startled yelp, but in this moment allura could not give a flying quiznack. she relishes the feel of his lips on hers, one of his hands sliding up her back, her fingers buried in his hair. they kiss for a long, blissful dobosh, and she only realizes she’s crying when he pulls away, just enough to move his hand from her back to her cheek, brushing away the moisture there.
he’s crying too, and she dutifully sweeps her thumbs under his eyes, delicate over the altean marks whose glow has begun to fade. the marks on his cheeks make the blue of his eyes stand out even more, but so too do the dark, almost bruise-like circles under his eyes. tears spill anew, her forehead coming down to rest against his as guilt for the marks she’s left him with nearly overcomes her.
“i’m sorry,” she whispers, lips so close to his they brush together as she speaks. “you promised me i’d never be alone, but i-" she's gasping now, unable to get enough air into her lungs, "-i couldn’t do the same. lance, i’m so sorry, i-”
her shoulders heave and now she’s truly weeping, full-out, sobs wracking her body. he sets her down gently, tugging her close again as soon as her feet are firmly on the ground. one hand grips her around her waist and the other is at the back of her head, holding her face against his neck as she cries.
eventually she pulls away, chancing a look up at his face. despite it all he’s smiling, eyes still shiny with tears. he looks a little sad, yes, but nevertheless she can see it, feel it: deep conviction and always, always, breathtaking devotion.
“thank you for coming for me,” she whispers.
he smiles wider, cups her face in his palms, warm against her skin. "across galaxies, across universes, across realities,” he breathes, and kisses her again.
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isweartoerenimnotjaeger · 5 years ago
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Omg can you describe some headcanons in which Allen finds out he’s completely gay? How he deals with it, how he says it to Cross and his friends, to Tyki?
Headcanons in which Allen finds out he’s gay:
Ooo I love this ask! First of all…I haven’t introduced Tykiin my story yet (gahhh! Sorry Tyki!). I did introduce Road, Devit, and Jasderoin passing though since they’re all on the school’s dance team in my drabbles.I do plan on introducing him…I just haven’t found the right time to do so. Probablywhen Allen goes over to Road’s house sometime? At a dance competition? This isgoing to be long so please read under the cut. Also this is not a Tyki x Allen related thing (just a NOTP of mine but since there has been discourse lately, I’d thought I should say it because I don’t want hateful anons on it. I’d rather keep a safe distance from the discourse since shit is sort of hitting the fan in my life and I don’t have energy to deal with any part of that discourse right now.)
So, first, how does Allen figure out he’s gay?
In the beginning he thought Link was pretty when he firstmet him, but he never really thought about Link in that way. I mean, in mystory he starts out at age 8. All he cares about is ‘wow this wonderful,beautiful stranger is giving me food and he likes my voice!? Let’s be bestfriends!’. Later on, Allen found himself pining over male band members at theconcerts Cross would take him to, or the bands he would introduce him to overthe years. He had a major boy crush over Adam Lambert, Keith Murray from We Arethe Scientists, Alex Turner from Artic Monkeys, Andy Black from Black VeilBrides (Also could go under Andy Sixx), to name a few. Kellin Quinn fromSleeping With Sirens was also a favorite of his. That’s only to name a fewthough haha, his heart still belongs heavily to Adam Lambert, though Andy Blackcomes in close second. (Andy Black and Kellin Quinn are my person projectionsonto Allen lol. No regrets!)
Allen would also pine over the boys he’d see in musicals(there was a time he was heavily into Zac Efron because his eyes, oh my god hiseyes!). Chris Pine was pretty hot. He played Prince Charming in Into the Woods.Sadly…I am not too hardcore into musicals (but I will be because I will do sofor Allen and my drabbles. Also, my friends who shun me because I don’t seemusicals).
Allen isn’t too bothered with it though. He’s still fairlyyoung and he doesn’t quite know that his interests are heading in thatdirection. He has an inkling, but he’s not bothered by it until he begins tofan boy at school about the guys he’s seen in concert or actors that he hascome across over the years. The kids begin to call him gay, fag, or give himweird looks because ‘Why are you that excited over a guy? What about the big breastedactresses?’ Allen writes it off that he’s just being a fan boy over theirsinging and acting, it wasn’t like he was pining after them or whatever. Hejust loved them for their talent…and they just happened to look sexy. That’sit. That’s all.
It didn’t hit full force until he got to see Tyki, Road’suncle, for the first time. (And before ya’ll get on my ass about this. No, Idon’t ship Tyki and Allen nor do I send hate on it. But Tyki is a sexy dude andI can totally see little Allen being all “Oh wow this guy is a super model! Ohgod I’m gay!”) Allen just stares up at Tyki all open mouthed and in awe because“Oh my god this is the sexiest man alive.” He ends up running away from Tykibecause he’s scared, embarrassed, and he’s having a major boy crush moment.
During all this, Cross figures out indirectly because hetried to introduce Allen to female vocalists that were smoking hot, actors, youname it, but the kid didn’t show as much enthusiasm as he did with men. Thatwasn’t to say he was disinterested in them. If they were talented and had abeautiful singing voice, he loved them. There was a difference between his fanboying over men and fan boying over women though. Cross also gets inklings ofit through the way Allen dresses and how he liked to play in make-up. That wasn’tto say it was something that said, “oh my god my son is gay”, I mean the kidwas good with make-up. He could be good with it and be totally straight. That’swhy they were only ‘inklings’. He kept his concerns to himself though andstayed open-minded.
(I headcanon Cross to be very open-minded. He was rebelliousas a kid and even now, he ran with society’s outcasts, the people that peopleturned their noses up at. He learned to be open minded because of the people heran. He also learned it through his annoyance at other people thinking he was abad kid because he couldn’t sit all nice and still in a desk and spit outinformation like a computer. I will write a drabble more on Cross’s backstorylater).
First person Allen tells that he is gay to? Jeryy. Jeryyworks at the school cafeteria and he’s become like a second or third mom toAllen. (Second or third because I have an OC secretary at the school who knowsCross well and became good friends with him when he was a teen). Jeryy is Allen’sabsolute safe space/comfort space. Jeryy provides food, advice, and a listeningear. Allen didn’t feel nervous at all.
Going to his list of friends though. Oof. Out of everyone,Lenalee, Alma, Kanda, Link, Lavi, his dance team members, Allen chose Kanda. Iknow crazy right? Well, he tells Kanda because Kanda can keep a secret. IfAllen ever had a serious problem, Kanda had his back. They may bicker and fightbut in the end they are there for each other. Kanda was also the type to beblunt and he can usually keep his cool…usually if the situation is seriousenough. Allen was scared shitless to tell him because he didn’t want his headto be sliced off or something because he was gross or something. He tells Kandaat his house in his little ‘sensory room’ that Tiedoll made for his boys. Kandais all “So what? That’s it? I thought someone died or something.”
Kanda is not the typeto blab to someone else, like Alma is (mostly when he gets too excited. Hedoesn’t mean to poor dear. He ends up being last.). Lenalee, she’s trustworthybut it’s her damn brother Allen can’t trust! He didn’t want Komui to overhearit. She becomes next when Allen can find a good spot to tell her. He didn’tfeel quite as nervous as he was with Kanda, but he still was. He was mostlynervous about Komui somehow hearing and telling people (seems like wheneverLenalee is in trouble or if there was a boy around, Komui somehow poofed intoexistence right there to defend his dear Lenalee!). I don’t headcanon Komui asbeing someone who gossiped over something as serious as this, this is purelyjust Allen’s worried thinking. Lenalee was all tearful and happy that he toldher.
Lavi is next. Lavi is hurt he wasn’t the first one told(even though, like Cross, he had a pretty good idea), but he gets over it. Hefigures out that it’s only because Allen was afraid of losing him as his ‘mostbestest best best friend’ in the whole world. Allen was dreadfully nervousbecause Lavi was his first friend he made since Mana’s death and he couldn’tbear the thought of not being friends with him anymore. Lavi is in tears whenAllen tells him, both out of hurt, but also more hurt that Allen would everthink that they wouldn’t be friends anymore. I mean they were ‘bestest bestbest friends’ and those kinds of friends didn’t break up over something likethis! Like bro, if you killed someone and needed to hide the body, I would hidethe body with you, no questions asked! Bro, I’ll get our alibis lines up, fakei.d’s, anything bro!
Link and the dance team? They knew. Oh, they fucking knewit. Link probably knew it before anyone else ever but was not ‘openly admittedto’ until after the whole friend group. Allen was blabbering about his boycrushes and his worries over being gay to Link for forever. Link became Allen’s‘hitting board’ for his thought processes and Link usually stayed silentallowing him to blabber to himself. He’d chime in with a piece of informationhere and there. He knew Allen was battling with himself over whether or not hewas gay. Allen didn’t settle on being gay and openly admitting it to him untilafter Alma was told and the other team members. Link didn’t react to Allenbeing gay until he admitted it officially to Link. Link’s reaction was morealong the lines of “I’m happy that you are no longer conflicted anymore. Thanksfor officially telling me, shall I make some tea?” Everyone else on the danceteam was all “Well jee, that’s not a shock. Congratulations on finally comingto terms with it, we’ve waited eons. We still love you.” Alma was all “OH MYGOD ALLEN I’M SO HAPPY THAT YOU TOLD ME I SUPPORT YOU 100% OH MY GOOOODD!”complete with tears and glomping.
To Tyki? Lol. Tyki knew the moment the kid laid eyes on himthat he was a flaming gay. It was awkward as fuck for Allen to tell Tyki “Ohhey, by the way I’m gay. So, you can tell Sheril that so he can stop being allsuspicious with me around his daughter. Fyi, you were my sexual awakening.”Tyki is all “Yeah I knew the first time I met you. I am the reason for manypeople’s sexual awakenings. Glad I could help.”
Road’s reaction is all “Awwhhh…and I was seriously hoping wecould be married. Oh well, Lenalee is looking pretty cute. Maybe she’ll marryme.”
Devit and Jasdero are all “So does that mean we can make gayjokes towards you now and it won’t be considered insulting?”
Cross was dead last. Anita came before Cross and even then,Allen was beyond nervous. He thought he was going to die. Cross was at work andAllen was brushing through her hair like he does a lot. He’s been putting offtelling them, thinking it would be better to keep his mouth shut until he was18 and out of the house. His friends kept telling him that he should reallytell them soon. They were going to find out eventually. I mean what if hedecided to date a boy from school? So, Allen paused and just blurted it out. Hedidn’t really notice he said it until it was out in the open. He was about torun and hide until Anita hugged him and was all “Oh honey I knew it a long timeago but thank you for telling me. I’ll always love you no matter what. Did youtell your father?”
So yeah, Cross was dead last. Allen just couldn’t approachhim with it. When he thought about it and how he’d react (which was usually badin his thoughts) he’d start crying. Cross knew something was off with the weekleading up to it. Allen was more withdrawn from him than usual, he didn’t eatas much as he usually does. Finally, Anita had enough and so did Cross. Anitadecided she’d give Allen a little push and urged Cross into going to a prideparade and taking Allen with him.
“Why do I have to do that? I mean the kid should know I’mnot going to judge him for it. I never judged him for wanting to wear dressesor playing in make-up.”
“You always wonderedif Allen was gay, so why don’t you take him to the parade? You know some of thepeople going there. If he sees that you’re supportive of the community then hemight open up more. There’s a difference between saying your accepting andactually showing you are.”
So Cross takes Allen to the pride parade. Allen is sonervous he refuses to eat, he’s already super suspicious because ‘why the helldid Cross take me here’? His nervousness slightly dissipates when he sees Crossinteract with some of the LGBTQ+ members, a lot of them were past friends hegot acquainted with in his youth. He was still nervous though because ‘he mayaccept people who are different but he might not accept me because I hit closerto home’ (this is an issue I struggle with myself when it comes to my dad whois supportive of my gay cousin…but may not be supportive of his own daughterbeing bi). So, they wander around, talk to people, etc. Allen is heavily withdrawnthrough the whole thing and that is a huge red flag for Cross that somethingwas wrong. He also didn’t want to push Allen into it though. It was hard to seehim struggle through the whole day though. Finally, Allen couldn’t take thenervousness anymore. He was getting light-headed and exhausted from not eatingall day because he’s so nervous. So, they’re just sitting there, alone,watching the sunset, and Allen’s bottom lip begins to tremble.
He begins to cry because he wants to say it but it’s so hardbecause he’s afraid Cross was going to yell at him or kick him out.
“Kid. Just tell me what’s up.” Cross said, tired of Allenstruggling with himself and making himself sick because of it.
“Dad…I’m gay…” Allen choked out, openly sobbing.
Cross hummed, thinking over his words a little bit beforeblurting out, “Hi gay I’m Dad.”
It was the most unnerving, stupidest things that Cross hasever said (he usually does not do dad jokes) but the kid was so nervous andshit, he thought he needed to say something stupid to dissipate the heaviness.
“W-What?” Allen asked, confused and thinking that Crossthought he was joking.
“That’s what was eating at you this whole time? For a second,I thought you got ahold of drugs and didn’t think to share with me. Unless youare on drugs, in which case I will beat your ass.”
“So, you’re not mad…?”
“Fuck no. Why should I be mad? I could think of many otherthings to be pissed about like the fact you still didn’t clean your room like Itold you to. Well okay, I am a little mad because now I have to change the sextalk to you a little bit. I’m also pissed you were worried sick over this thewhole damn time. Jesus, why didn’t you just tell me?”
“Cuz I thought you were going to kick me out…”
“I could think of a better reason to kick you out than overbeing gay. God with all the shit I’ve done over the years the one who should bekicked from the house is probably me,” Cross said, ruffling up Allen’s hair, “Nowcome on, you didn’t eat all day and Anita will burn me alive if she finds out.”
Cross also got Allen a flag to hang in his room
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king-klance · 6 years ago
Text
Hey!
It’s been awhile, I’ve been super busy between school and appointments but, to that anon awhile back, I have been working on that prompt!  The only thing is, it’s getting a little long so I decided to post part of it so you guys can tell me what you think and I can work on it while not leaving you completely hanging! Thank you for being so patient!
Tags: Klance, pining!keith, jealous!lance, James (kinda), very lowkey allurance (I won’t put it in the tags)
Warnings: very light swearing, otherwise none
Prompt: klance fic where Keith starts showing interest in James trying to get over Lance since he and Allura started dating. Bonus points for jealous!lance and pining!keith
A/N: so Keith kind of uses James but a little differently...my boys still hung up on Lance...at least in this part... About 1.5K words
(I didn’t watch season 8 so sorry if the timeline is a little off canon) (also I call Lance the blue Paladin because he wears blue, same goes for Keith and red)
“I think he’s like the future”
“Lance? Why Lance?” 
“I just don’t want...I just...” Keith spared a glance at Lance. He found wide, curious blue eyes and slightly open lips, waiting for an answer. Keith spoke softly next,
“I just don’t want Lance to never see his family again.” Keith looked at Lance again, this time finding his eyes blown to size of the moon and his jaw on the floor.
“And...he’s a great pilot. And a great person, a great Paladin. A great friend. He says I’m the future but...I think it’s him.” Lance spoke up now,
“Keith, I-I don’t know what to say.” Lance was suddenly in front of Keith, so close, when did he get so close? Keith could swim in those eyes he thinks. Has Lance gotten closer? Yes definitely, how long has he been staring at Lance’s lips? He hopes Lance didn’t notice. No, Lance is looking at Keith’s lips too. Oh. Lance is moving closer now, Keith can feel his breath on his own. His eyes are closing-
“Kogane! Get up. Shiro wants to see you.” Keith felt a foot on his shoulder and quickly met the floor with his face.
“Thanks, James.” Keith said dryly. He looked up at his assailant. But what caught his eye lie beyond him. Two figures he recognized well. One possibly more than the other, a certain Paladin wearing (shining, really) in his new blue garrison uniform. Next to Allura. Standing awfully close, he might add. And laughing. Keith liked Allura, she’s driven and intelligent and most of all, compassionate. Her and Lance had that in common. They were perfect for each other. Keith groaned. When he stood, he noticed Lance on his way over to him and Allura heading in the opposite direction. 
“Hey, Keith!” Keith tensed, he and Lance hadn’t been as close as they had been in the past...Keith wanted to spend time with Lance, he did!  But he’s dating Allura and they’re a good couple and they’re happy. Lance is happy and Keith doesn’t want to ruin that for his best friend. How did he end up here? He always liked Lance, possibly maybe had a small crush on the man since they were young but love is a strong word. A very, very strong word. That describes exactly how Keith feels about Lance. So yea, Keith was tense. All he could muster was a tight smile and dodgy eyes. Which, of course, Lance noticed. 
“Was James bothering you? I never did like that guy.”
“No, no he’s fine. I’m just tired.”
“Are you sure? ‘Cause I can take care of him, if you know what I mean.” Lance exaggerated a wink at Keith. Keith huffed, a smile threatening his lips. Lance lit up at the ghost of amusement on Keith’s face.
“He’s okay, Lance. But thank you.” Lance’s face went soft for a moment, but quickly formed into...disgust? Confusion? Both?
“He’s....okay? What do you mean he’s okay?! That guy is a psycho!” Oh. Well Keith may have told him about James bullying him when they were younger.  Lance’s feelings are justified. Keith was about to tell Lance that him and James had cleared it up, even though their relationship is still rocky but that’s on account of James being a dick so, it was different. But, Lance wasn’t done.
“I mean he-he’s arrogant, ignorant, ungrateful, cocky, he’s a bad dude, Keith!” The blue Paladin was now pacing back and forth in front of Keith. He understood why Lance wouldn’t like the guy and he understood that Lance was protective of his friends but even this was a little intense.
“-rivals to friends and you cannot be friends with that guy!” Lance threw his hands up before they slapped down to his sides for dramatic effect. That part caught Keith’s attention.
“Rivals to friends? Lance, are you jealous? Do you...do you think he’s replacing you?” Oh Keith has been smug before but nothing compared to this moment.
“Wha-? No! I’m just saying, you have a tendency to-you know-make friends with your enemies and you can’t be friends with him!” Keith loved the attention but he also wanted to know why Lance was so bothered by this. He knows Lance had some problems with insecurity about belonging before but Keith thought he was past that. Not to mention all the times Keith straight up told Lance he belongs with Voltron. And, more importantly, with him. As his right hand man. Keith decided to push him gently, using his smugness as a cover.
“Oh? And why not?” He thinks Lance broke. But, only for a moment. Lance shook his head, his brown locks moving like waves with the movement, he must’ve just washed his hair with how much the light bounces off of it and how soft it looks and now is not time, Keith.
“I just told you! But don’t worry, Keith. I got your back. I will fulfill my flight partner duties and won’t leave your side until this phase passes.” Lance rolled his eyes but quickly regained his determined composure. Now he had his hands firmly resting on Keith’s shoulders, it suddenly feels warm in here, doesn’t it? Keith swears he can feel the Paladins breath on his lips...
“Lance! Are you ready for lunch?” Saved by the Allura. Lance quickly turned to her, yet Keith’s left shoulder still felt a solid pressure that kept him grounded after the moment of too-close but not-close-enough proximity. 
“I’m always ready, Princess!” Followed by a wink that might have killed Keith in a different way, one he would’ve liked, had it been directed at him. Lance was facing him again, with a stern half-serious expression.
“I will not leave your side starting tonight.” He thought for a moment. And, as if Keith wasn’t smitten enough already with bashful Lance, Lance just had to scratch the back of his neck and look ever so slightly downward with a dumb -adorable- blush that murdered Keith yet again.
“Make that tomorrow, I’m having dinner with Allura tonight. But never fear! Lance will be there!” And with that, he was gone.
 This was not a good idea. Keith knew that. He knew it was petty and shallow. Did that stop him? No. Because Keith also knows he is a sucker for Lance and, by extension, Lance’s attention. So, precisely two hours after Keith was left standing alone, he happened upon a defenseless James. Laying on a bench, with his phone held directly above him. It was too tempting to not kick him over and, well, old habits die hard and Keith did indeed kick him over. Which earned him a “what the hell, man?” And for some reason, impulsivity struck again and before Keith knew it he was telling James when and where to train with him tomorrow and promptly walked away. Why? He had no clue. Absolutely no idea. He thinks about the ocean. 
 And now Keith is in the middle of training with his childhood bully when he hears a strained and cracked “wha-?” to the side of the training area. Keith definitely hadn’t been holding back this whole time waiting for Lance to arrive, but, he does have some extra energy all of sudden so why not put it to good use to whip James’s feet from under him and send him straight on his back. Keith definitely isn’t showing off. But he spares a quick look over, he sees Lance with an expression that’s somewhere between astonished and mad and it sends electricity to his stomach. Satisfied, he helps James to his feet and holds his hand out to thank him for a good round. However, the moment James took his hand genius struck again and Keith pulled him into a hug before thanking him and high tailing it out of there, straight past a dumbfounded Lance to the water station. Keith’s ears were pounding and his face was certainly a tomato by now. Why? Why has he done that? Keith what the fuck??? James probably thinks he’s insane and Lance, oh god Lance. He doesn’t dare look behind him. Luckily, he doesn’t have to.
“Hey Keith.” Lance’s voice pierced through the panic.
“Hey Lance.” Keith began slowly, coming back down to earth. His body slumped down momentarily from the weight of an arm across his shoulders. It was comforting. Lance had always been comforting.
“How about a friendly wager?” Huh?
“Huh?” Lance’s arm slide from its position, leaving Keith cold but he then turned Keith’s whole body around to face him. Lance was far too close for Keith’s health.
“You and I. Sword fight. Tonight.” Well that put some images in Keith’s head that he quickly pushed away.
“You want to duel me?” Lance eagerly shook his head. Oh, those beautiful locks.
“Why?”
“What? You afraid I’ll beat you?” Keith knows he shouldn’t be egged into this but, he is a sucker for Lance. And for competition. Keith smirked, narrowed his eyes for effect.
“Alright. 6 o’clock. Here, we duel.”
“Deal.” They shook hands. Keith felt electric.
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love-at-first-klance · 6 years ago
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Some Hogwarts Shit
Voltron Modern Hogwarts au! Featuring the Power of Friendship, lots of Quidditch, the squad teasing the crap outta each other and being super supportive, some adventure shit, mutual pining, and lots of emotions.
A Collab With @thesirenserenity, with amazing art (click here!) by @kimchee2222
More Hogwarts shit coming soon!
Some notable headcannons:
Lance - Gryffindor because of his passionate, playful, and idealistic personality, how courageous he is when it comes to protecting people, and how he throws himself into anything he does.
Comes from an ancient line of wizards that died out. Family lived as muggles in Cuba for forever and are a bunch of squibbs currently. When he was 11 his mom took him on a trip to visit her Bisabuela at her manor in England. While cleaning up in one of the rooms, he came across a dangerous magical heirloom that reacted with his dormant magic. An awkward conversation with Bisabuela, who had been the last witch in the line, he finds out he’s a wizard. He gets his letter for Hogwarts the next day and his mom flys back to Cuba without him. Lance is thrown into a whole new world!
Lance starts the rivalry with Keith because Keith- being awkward and uncomfortable around strangers- snapped at him on the platform of the train. On top of that Keith is a natural at magic and flying and Shiro’s little brother so Lance feels like he has a lot to prove.
Lance working his ass off to catch up with all his amazingly talented friends who have known about magic all their lives, but not realizing how fast he has learned everything and how gifted he is.
Constantly has to explain Muggle things and expressions to Keith, Shiro, and Allura, who don’t spend much time in the Muggle world. Bonds with the Holt siblings and Hunk who, whilst being purebloods, have always had a fascination with technology and Muggle culture. Cue Matt and Lance watching anime together and the whole group making their own memes.
Has an adorable cat named Blue!
Best classes: Divination and Potions!
A Chaser on the Quidditch team.
Keith - Gryffindor because of his complete recklessness, stubborn and blunt nature, and unshakeable courage.
Adopted by the Shiroganes at age 8, and loves his new family! Wants to find his mother, who was a witch and supposedly died during childbirth. His muggle father didn’t believe that and continued to search for her. He ran himself ragged and into an early grave, leaving poor halfblood Keith abandoned in a muggle orphanage while experiencing his first bursts of unstable magic.
Roommates with Lance! They are the only Gryffindor boys in their year, and thus have a room alone together... The whole squad is surprised they haven’t torn each other to shreds because of their rivalry.
Keith actually feels bad about snapping at Lance when they first met but he couldn’t find a good chance (or the right words) to apologize and then Lance started their ‘rivalry’ and Keith ends up thinking Lance doesn’t like him.
Lance: “Of course we’re friends you dimwit! I’m definitely your friend.” 
Keith: *internally dying because that’s the first time someone besides Pidge has explicitly said they were friends* Oh… Cool.
The best Seeker Hogwarts has ever seen!!
Best Classes: Defense Against the Dark Arts and Transfiguration
Has an adorably shy cat named Red (Lance: “You copied my naming idea!!” Keith: “I named her before we met, idiot. How could I copy you?”) who likes to ride around on Keith’s shoulder. Red takes a while to loosen up to her cat-roommate Blue, but then they are the best of friends!
Hunk - Hufflepuff! The Puff-est of Puffs!  Extremely hard-working, genuine, and loyal to his friends! Open-minded, fair, and accepting.
Grew up in a Pureblood family who is super down to earth and loves muggle shit. They live in the same Wizarding neighborhood as the Holts and Shiroganes and  He was best friends with Pidge even before Hogwarts!
Took poor lost Lance under his wing on the train day one and the rest was history!
Will absolutely destroy you if you hurt any of his friends.
Disapproves of Lance’s “adventures” to the kitchen, but loves the house elves and they let him bake at all hours of the night.
Not in Quidditch, but loves to watch and root for his friends and a specific Hufflepuff Keeper ;)
(Shay. It’s Shay. and spoilers, they are the cutest couple ever!!!)
Hunk knows that two certain Gryffindors in their friend group are hopelessly in love with each other before they know themselves. This does not surprise him. (It does frustrate him)
Pidge - Slytherin!!! Ambitious af, driven, self-reliant (“NO HUNK I CAN REACH THE BOOK MYSELF”), ruthless, adaptable, and uses their intelligence to achieve their goals.
Family of purebloods who lives in the same neighborhood as Hunk and Shiroganes. BFFs with Hunk for their mutual obsession with muggle shit, and BFFs with Keith because Shiro brought him along whenever he hung out with Matt so they became friends out of a common interest of pulling pranks on their brothers.
A year younger than the Lance-Hunk-Keith crew, but dove right into their friend group (literally. They have a tendency to jump on top of people).
Rides around on everyone’s back, especially Keith (“Awww, Keith. Don’t be jealous, you know you’re my favorite noble steed.” “I am not a noble steed, fuck you.” “Oh, you’re right, you would be the assassin’s steed!”)
Comes out as Non-Binary their fourth year. The whole squad is super supportive, but some of the traditionalists in Slytherin get a little rude about it until a certain someone steps in (hmmmm… wonder who that could be ;)
PIDGE HAS AN OWL NAMED ROVER FIGHT ME
“What’s up Gryffindorks.”
Gets Hunk a mug that says “I don’t give a Hufflefuck” and Hunk is so torn because of the swear, but loves that his BFF got him a mug.
Shiro - Seriously was a hat stall, but wanted to be in Ravenclaw with his BFF Matt (and the super pretty, intimidating daughter of the Headmaster). He fits pretty well because of his introspective nature and wise, analytical, and steady mind.
From a Pureblood family that adopted Keith.
Best friends with Matt since FOREVER
An amazing wizard and hard worker in all his classes. Many say that he is one of the best wizards on campus.
Him, Matt, and Allura are all a year older than Hunk, Lance, and Keith.
Fantastic Quidditch player, because he and Matt have been playing together since they got their first brooms at the young age of six. Both are Chasers, a terrifying team, and part of the reason why the Ravenclaw team has been dominating at Quidditch recently.
Is everyone’s big brother and chides them to take care of themselves. And yells at Pidge for their language.
Has a frog named Slav who is ALWAYS croaking and annoys the shit outta him. Most common threat “I will turn you into a tea cozy” any time the frog croaks at an inopportune time (which is very often)
Allura - Ravenclaw AF for her no nonsense diplomatic mind and creative soul. She is so smart and aces all her classes, but gets distracted from her homework because she is so naturally curious and inquisitive. She is independent, talented beyond her years, and loves to learn.
Alfor is the Headmaster of Hogwarts, and so she knows ALL the secrets of the castle!
Sometimes spends a few weeks of the summer with her Uncle Coran, who is the Charms Professor and head of the Ravenclaw House, but has an apartment in Diagon Alley.
A Beater and the other reason why the Ravenclaw team has been dominating at Quidditch. She becomes the Quidditch captain in her fifth year, but was really running the team since she joined her third year.
Still has all the mice ALL THE MICE (“No, they are not rats”)
Matt - Ravenclaw for his brilliant mind and indefatigable wit. He often plays devil’s advocate in discussions because he is a cynic. Quotes shakespeare and memes simultaneously.
Roomates and bffs with Shiro!
Ships Shiro and Allura so hard, and wins a very specific bet as to how they will finally get together (FINALLY).
110% Started the “Space Dad” nickname for Shiro with the help of Lance.
Is Pidge’s biggest supporter and will destroy anyone who hurts them, which is very out of character from his normally chill demeanor (“In this house we love and respect Pidge.”)
Coran- Charms professor and head of Ravenclaw house. Everyone’s favorite teacher but no one can really say why. (“He just… I dunno… He’s fun?”)
Will invite you to his office for cookies and tea and you will like it
You will also tell him everything that’s bothering you and he will give you the one bit of advice you needed to hear and then you will leave feeling a lot better
You will then realize he didn’t ask you a single question about why you were upset you just kind of… blabbed at him.
Sure he’s the charms professor but he knows tons of things about tons of subjects. You could ask him about any type of magic and and could tell you about it. (Or at least tell you where to look to learn more)
Very interested in Muggle things but very bad at understanding them.
Took charge of Lance during his first year at Hogwarts and now it’s not uncommon for Lance to just spend his downtime hanging out in Coran’s office talking.
“I don’t have a favorite student. That would be very unprofessional.”
He does
It’s Lance
Much to Allura’s frustration (“Allura, you can’t be my favorite, that would be nepotism.”)
Lotor
Has been punched in the face
It was Keith
Keith: “10/10 would punch in the face again.”
Lance: “Do not!”
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theashesofthefirststar · 7 years ago
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Lance's Love Interest
Okay guys. I could write a dissertation on why I think Keith will be Lance's love interest, but that’s pretty much already been done. So what I do want to talk about is why Lance's love interest won't be Allura.
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Before I get into this, I feel obligated to say that I'm a big ol’ bi sexual. Meaning that I'm not against this ship because ew girls. I'm not against it at all. Sure, I don't ship it, but personal feelings about a pairing have no basis in cannon analysis.
Lets start with Lance's vlog
What I got from the vlog is that nobody lies to Lance like Lance lies to Lance. Like seriously, how Lance can breathe beyond those Layers of Bravado is beyond me. He spends the majority of the vlog talking about how Allura probably does like him because he's such a lady killer and yada yada yada, bull shit, bull shit, bull shit. You get the picture.
But then there’s this moment.
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It's legitimately sweet. Lance is gushing not about how he's going to win over Allura or how awesome he is but about why he likes her so much. Only then he catches himself and goes right back into his Wow I'm So Awesome mode.
Then directly after this, he starts talking about how he's not ready to settle down, which is... strange. Yeah, you could argue that Lance is saying this because he's young, but the way it's presented makes it seem like he's covering something up, especially when you take into consideration Lance’s How to Fall in Love guide.
Lance loves love, not just as an end goal, but as an continuous endeavor. He understands it's hard work, but he wants to put in that work. Lance wants to be in love.
What I'm getting at here is, Lance really likes Allura, but I think deep down he knows she doesn't return those feelings. I mean, hes all like, 'Pff, yeah, of course Allura thinks I'm awesome, but sorry babe, can't hold this stud down' directly after we see him swooning over her, and honestly, how more obvious can it be that he's hiding his real feelings/over compensating?
Lance knows Allura probably wont ever return his feeling and us as the audience knows that too. Or at least we should. Seriously, if I could say there was one thing I really have against this pairing, it would be the fact that Lance continues to flirt with Allura despite her obvious discomfort with it. The only reactions to his flirting we've ever gotten from Allura are disinterest and down right disgust. Meaning, his feelings are not returned.
Oh, but you might say, well they could be one day, and that's where I'm going to have to disagree with you. I really don't think Allura would just suddenly start to have feelings for Lance, not when there hasn't been an ounce of romantic subtext between them and especially not when taking into consideration some of the comments made by the creators and voice actors.
Jeremy Shada said that Lance still thinks he has a chance with Allura, heavily implying that he doesn't. The creators said that Lance would end up with someone he needed, not wanted.
Even if you ignore the blatant fact that Lance has wanted Allura from the beginning, it still makes this scene and Lance’s choice of words really interesting.
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Lance straight up said that "Sometimes we don't get what we want" while talking to Blue. And who is Blues new Paladin? That's right! Allura! She even walked in right after he said it.
I know this has already been said, but just for the hell of it, let me point out that they also said Lance would end up with someone self assured, something Allura is not. She doubts herself more than any other character and has from day one. In fact, it's Lance - one of the most insecure characters in the show - who gave her the confidence she needed in the season 4 final.
Now I really want to talk about this scene. I've heard people say that it parallels the 'We are a good team' moment from season one, and like, totally. It does, but apart of what this scene accomplished - at least to me - was solidifying the fact that Allura does not have feelings for Lance.
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Lets break it down: There's the obvious differences between these scenes. Keith and Lance's has soft background music, unnecessarily long eye contact, fond smiles, a purple background (the combination of their respective colors), and a total mood shift. Its filled with romantic subtext and is also brought up later on several occasions. Lance and Allura’s moment had none of that.
Something less obvious Id like to point out is that if these scenes do parallel each other, then Lance would be the Keith in this situation and Allura the Lance. You may not agree with me, but I'm pretty positive that Keith has been low key pining for Lance since season one, which is fitting, because Lance has been pining for Allura. In Keith and Lance’s scene, Lance is drawn in by Keith whereas Allura merely glances back at Lance and then brushes him off. Insinuating that while Lance and Keith’s scene is a big moment to both of them and could be the start of feelings that Lance may go onto reciprocate, the same can not be said for Allura and Lance’s scene. In summary, Allura - being the Lance in this situation - did not show the same interest that Lance showed to Keith in their scene.
You could say that the situation was dire, and yeah, you'd be right, but for one, they don’t show us parallels for nothing. They're used as a means to compare and contrast. Two, Keith straight up almost got his ass handed to him in the midst of a battle all because he was too busy making doki doki eyes at Lance. Meaning circumstance isn't really an issue when dealing with this sort of thing.
The last thing I want to point out is, while Allura never reciprocates Lance's advances, Lance - in his own self deluded, deny the bi, sort of way - does reciprocate Keith's. First off, it should be heavily noted that Keith's interest in Lance is much more subtle than Lance’s interest in Allura, because as we all know, Keith has abandonment issues, walls, and all that fun stuff. He doesn't parade around his interest because he probably doesn't see it ever being returned, not realistically.
But he's wrong and here’s why: Lance feels inferior to the entire team, so the idea that he goes around challenging Keith and constantly vying for his attention out of pure jealousy/a need to prove himself makes no sense. If that were the case, he would behave that way towards everyone. Granted, Lance did think that Keith thought he was better than Lance, but in season two, Lance said, "I guess no one else thinks that" in regards to his marksmanship. Meaning Lance thinks that the rest of the team thinks hes not as talented as them also, and yet he treats them the same way he always has. Lance is literally obsessed with Keith, especially in season one. He's the embodiment of the boy pulling on the girls pigtail to get her attention.
He also talked about Keith in admiration when he wasn't around, wearing a similar face to that of the one he wears when hes flirting. Hell, he wears that same expression every time he teases Keith, but when he does it here, paired with this praise, we know it’s meant to be interpreted as a fond expression.
(also note that his expression morphs to this when he starts talking about Keith and only Keith despite the fact he’s praising the entire team)
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He admires Keith. He wants Keith's attention and respect. He flirtatiously banters with him. He goes to Keith when making important decisions about his future and place on the team. He expresses ambiguous jealousy every time Keith is with a girl.
Allura does none of this. So if you want to say that she could possibly reciprocate Lance's feelings then you have to say the same for Lance towards Keith.
Look, my purpose here isn’t to dissuade anyone from shipping Allura and Lance or to down said shippers. I’m just trying to analyze cannon material and reach an conclusion. So my final theory on the matter of Lance’s love interest is that Lance has feelings for both Keith and Allura. He just doesn't get that he has feelings towards Keith for the same reason he doesn't want to admit he knows Allura doesn't like him romantically. He likes to keep a lot of things tucked away in his head and chooses ignorance over introspection until those thoughts some how make it to the forefront and he's forced to do otherwise. I think in season 5 the vlog will come into play and we'll see the summation of Lance's feelings towards Allura, but I have little to no doubt that it will not go the way he hopes it will.
And hey, if I’m wrong, I’m wrong. More power to you Allura and Lance shippers.
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sheithauzine · 7 years ago
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Stargazing Zine Contributor Spotlight
Get to know the contributors that are a part of Stargazing: a Sheith AU Fanzine!  Next up is @amorremanet​, who did a roleswap AU fic!
A special thank you to Andromeda Zine for allowing us to borrow this concept!
Amorremanet
“Keith says, ‘Nothing is worth Shiro’s pain.’ I say, ‘Yeah okay, honey, you can take care of him when I’m done’”
Amorremanet on AO3 @amorremanet​ on Tumblr
Your piece for Stargazing has Shiro and Keith with their roles reversed: Keith on the Kerberos mission and Shiro as the half-Galra Garrison washout.  Without giving away too much beyond what has been shared in previews already, can you give us some insight into the inspiration behind this AU, and how you picture it changing up the events and interactions of canon?
Role-reversal AUs are a favorite trope of mine. All AUs offer the opportunity to explore pieces of the characters that might not come out as easily in more canon-adjacent fics. What I love about role-swap AUs, though, is the creative challenge of exploring how the “cores” of the different characters can both change and not when they’re literally placed into another canon character’s shoes. As for how the swap in “The Oncoming Storm” changes things, the Galra reveal would also go very differently, because Champion!Keith would fight Allura harder in defense of Shiro than canon!Keith does in defense of himself. But most of the changes that I see coming in this AU are subtler at first, and end up having some cumulatively huge effects. For instance, I think Shiro would still be the Black Paladin at first, while Keith would still be in Red. But that changes the eventual build-up to the Galra reveal: Shiro can’t fight Zarkon head-on and hear the, “You fight like a Galra” line, as canon!Keith did; he would have been ejected by the Black Lion. That line is easy enough to transfer onto Sendak during their fight in “The Fall of the Castle of Lions,” because it’s something that he’d say (and with Sendak, he’d probably mean it as a compliment). But the significance of that fight changes if Shiro is running into a fight with someone who has such a huge advantage because Sendak hurt Keith, Shiro’s beloved. This changes Shiro’s astral plane confrontation with Zarkon, and it all adds up to a very different Galra reveal. The worst part of it for Shiro, though, would be feeling responsible for Keith’s trauma. He blames himself for “pushing” Keith onto the Kerberos mission, but for him to be a member of the species that harmed Keith? In canon, Shiro doesn’t blame Keith and loves him fiercely. But sadly, Shiro wouldn’t show himself that same understanding. So, yeah. A mix of obviously big changes, and little ones that add up to big ones.
I was going to ask you about your favorite minor character in Voltron, but given the contents of this fic, it's not exactly hard to guess!  Tell us a little bit about why you chose Iverson as a major character in this fic, and how you went about developing his character.
A: In fairness, I love a lot of the minor characters! That said, I do have an Iverson bias, and I feel like he gets a raw deal. He can be abrasive. His first scene is him chewing the Garrison Trio out. While doing so, he says things about Keith and Shiro that can sound pretty negative. This makes it easy to write Iverson off as a jerk, even a villain. That reading of him doesn’t hold up for me, though. There are several reasons why not, but his relationship with and treatment of Shiro are the most telling, for me. He doesn’t blame Shiro while talking about the Kerberos mission. Iverson doesn’t mention Shiro at all, which is strange when he’s so direct about everything else. Then, when Shiro crashes, Iverson is present in the med-tent for unexplained reasons (which could be personal). When speaking to him, Iverson uses the name, “Shiro.” This isn’t a super-intimate nickname (Lance uses it despite not knowing Shiro personally before Team Voltron). But if Iverson were sticking to protocol, he’d call Shiro, “Lt. Shirogane” (or similar). Before anything else, Iverson tries to reassure Shiro that he’s safe. He only makes the call to put Shiro under because they don’t know what his prosthetic arm can do or not (which is a fair concern). The way Iverson talks about this sounds regretful, too. He doesn’t like drugging Shiro, but his options are limited. That’s how I see Iverson in general. He’s in some difficult places, facing dangerous and high-stakes situations. He isn’t a monster; he’s just a man who’s trying his best with very limited choices and seemingly insurmountable odds. Which is how I tried to portray him in this AU, too, Also, I have a Shiro bias, and canon!Shiro doesn’t have very many non-Keith personal connections before Team Voltron. The way Iverson treats him makes me think Iverson might have been one of them. And I liked exploring that possibility in this fic.
After reading that, definitely consider me a convert.  It's always fascinating to see different trends and countertrends in fandom.  Related to that, you've mentioned that you've been indulging in fandom between frantic work on your thesis, which is… also about fandom?  What's the premise there, and and how are you bringing your own experiences as a fan into your academic work?
A: My MA thesis is about fandom, yes! It’s been through a few different versions before ending up where it is. First, it was going to be a more traditional academic paper, focused about how fans write about LGBTQ experiences and issues in fics/headcanons, and focused on trans and/or non-binary representation in particular. (I worked on this version in 2013-14, so there were even fewer trans fics/hc’s than there are now. Also, the main fandoms in it were Supernatural and Teen Wolf, not VLD.) But my school’s program in women’s/gender studies has three options for the final project: the thesis; the practicum (basically, an internship where you write a paper at the end); and the creative project (which still has a research component, but isn’t). In a required class, our prof had us list ideas for how we could pursue our interests in all three of these options. The creative project that I came up with was, “I mean, I write fanfiction? I guess I could do that.” I expected my prof to tell me how ridiculous this sounded. Instead, she got excited about that idea, which got me excited. Which got my poor advisor excited (especially because my original fic ideas were for HP, which is her pet fandom). Then, everything got derailed by IRL drama for a while. But now, I’ve written my fic (“But boys spring infernal,” my overgrown monster of mutual pining Sheith) and I’m finishing the paper about it. In general, the project is about the LGBTQ and feminist potential of fanfic, with a focus on hurt/comfort and AUs, which are sadly under-researched. Aside from canon-divergence fics, AUs especially get a raw deal. Most fan studies scholars write them off as original fic with fandom characters pasted on. That bugs me both as a fan who loves AUs, and as someone who sees the field of fan studies stagnating because we aren’t adapting as fandom evolves. So, I’m bringing my fannish experiences into my project because they are the project (or a pretty big part of it). In addition to the research that went into this, there’s an autoethnographic element to the paper. I have to write about the process of writing BBSI, as well as the different personal experiences that went into the fic, and it’s been fun but incredibly challenging. On the other hand, I got to cite Legit Sources™ like Michel Foucault while justifying my love of long-haired Shiro. That’s probably my personal peak of questionable academic arguments, and I probably shouldn’t be so proud of it? But I am.
Long-haired Shiro, the Shiro we all deserve.  Also, I am totally jealous that you've gotten to write fanfic for a school project. Final question!  After reading your piece, I think I ascended to another plane of existence.  I absolutely loved it.  So I have to ask for your blessing: may I have your fic's hand in marriage?
Oh my god, fgkdhf, thank you! For that compliment, for letting me babble about this fic, and for giving me the chance to write for this zine. As much as I love this role-swap AU idea, “The Oncoming Storm” might not have gotten to exist without Stargazing giving me the push to actually write it. (Which I could write another long answer about, because I find the different levels of communal writing/collaboration that go on in fanfic so fascinating.) With that said? You absolutely have my blessing to marry this fic. I’m so glad that you’re so excited about it, and I’m excited about getting to read everyone else’s fics and see the art pieces when the zine comes out! <333
You can pick up your own copy of Stargazing here!  All profits will go to the Center for Victims of Torture.
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orbemnews · 4 years ago
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Inside the complicated business of disguising 5G equipment Across the United States, clunky 4G cell towers are often “disguised” with regionally-prominent foliage. Evergreens are attached to sites in the Northeast. In the South, they’re decorated to look like palm trees. And then there’s the cacti out West. In some cases, the equipment is tucked into existing church bell towers, town square signs and on the side of historic landmarks. On farmland, 4G-enabled water towers are set up as props to give the impression they’re part of the landscape. But with the rollout of 5G, the next-generation of wireless speed, cities like Scottsdale will rely less on elaborate cover ups and more on a piece of architecture that’s been a mainstay in urban and suburban environments for well over a century: street lights. It’s not as creative as hiding technology in a faux plant but the shift is currently playing out all over the world. “Design will be just as important moving forward with the 5G installations, but we will have a greater focus on streetlights than the cacti,” said Keith Niederer, telecom policy coordinator for Scottsdale. That’s because 5G radio signals for small cell sites operate at a higher millimeter wave frequency than 4G, making them more easily blocked by objects, such as wooden fixtures or leaves, and certain materials. Consequently, installations must be set up every couple hundred feet — and that distance will shrink even more as data-needy technology like self-driving cars hit the roads. They also need to be close to street level for people to access the signals and the antennas, for the most part, must remain exposed. All this is to say, you can’t quite put 5G in a pretty box. The technology needs to be out in the open — on main streets, residential roads and frankly, everywhere. “In Scottsdale, aesthetics are pretty important. Every street has a different theme and streetlights vary,” added Niederer, noting the technical limitations. “We want them to blend in as much as possible and not stand out.” With speeds nearly 30 times faster than 4G in the US, 5G promises to handle significantly more internet traffic and bandwidth with zero latency, allowing for immediate response times for data transfers. 4G made services like FaceTime or Uber a reality, but 5G intends to do even more, such as help self-driving cars process all the information they need to make life-or-death decisions in the blink of an eye or enable robotic surgeries. But in the short-term, 5G deployment presents an opportunity for the businesses that conceal the technology. The wireless carriers in the Phoenix metro area, including Scottsdale, are working with Valmont Industries, one of the largest concealment companies in the world and the first maker of the camouflaged pine tree tower nearly 30 years ago in the Denver market, to ensure the colors, designs and use cases fit with neighborhoods. (Valmont just wrapped a similar project with the city of San Antonio, Texas, swapping its signature fluted poles with swooping arms for ones with a similar style but a stronger base and thicker steel to support the 5G equipment.) “There’s no form factor we won’t consider using,” said Mark Schmidt, general manager of communication concealment at Valmont. “Our goal is to bridge the gap between the aesthetics in a community, what a jurisdiction would like to see and what the wireless carrier requires as a form factor. … But the most natural fit here will be traffic lights and street lights.” Verizon (VZ), T-Mobile (TMUS) and AT&T (T), which owns CNN’s parent company WarnerMedia, are pouring billions of dollars into 5G. The new networks and associated technologies are expected to add $17 trillion to global economic growth by 2035, according to ABI Research, a tech market firm. Carriers continue to deploy their networks across the US despite some disruption due to the Covid-19 pandemic, such as overcoming engineering problems and installing new cell sites as workers maintain social distancing and city permitting offices were closed in the early days of the outbreak. However, tech companies such as Cisco say the pandemic has highlighted the need for 5G’s high-speed and high-bandwidth connections. Swapping out older street lights for 5G-capable ones to support that growth may sound like relatively minor process, but doing so will serve as a big step for many communities to become smart cities. According to Dean Tan, analyst at ABI Research, a lamp posts’ access to a power supply will make them an “integral part of any smart city project.” They can double as electric charging stations, security camera installations or feature LED displays for advertising. The Japanese government has been trialing this approach in Tokyo, where smart poles have public Wi-Fi, cameras, provide real-time traffic updates to help the local administration with city traffic management and have digital advertising and information boards. Tan said there is a “growth opportunity” for concealment companies as they play a big role in the global rollout of 5G. “Other potential options [beyond smart poles] include bus stop displays, manhole covers and even traffic lights,” he said. However, street lamps are ideal as they have elevation and an existing source of power.” Tom Kuklo, a global product manager for Radio Frequency Systems (RFS), which is already rolling out components for smart street lights in some international cities, agrees street lamps will soon become crucial communication hubs. “We’re already seeing this in China and some other locations where smart poles are very predominant,” he said. “They’re becoming part of the landscaping; you walk right past them and don’t even know that’s what’s giving you a 5G signal unless you’re looking for it.” He said there’s an increasing interest in concealment for security reasons, too. Some groups in the UK have vandalized 5G streetlights, shooting them down or setting fire to them, over baseless fears about health risks and conspiracy theories that it’s linked to Covid-19. “Concealment is absolutely the buzzword and what everyone is trying to do right now,” said Kuklo, noting the various reasons for deployment. “We have at least double of the interest in 5G that we did last year, but we are still rolling out 4G concealment. Not everyone in the world is in the same place when it comes to wireless connectivity.” Source link Orbem News #Business #Complicated #disguising #equipment #Insidethecomplicatedbusinessofdisguising5Gequipment-CNN #Tech
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dipulb3 · 4 years ago
Text
Inside the complicated business of disguising 5G equipment
New Post has been published on https://appradab.com/inside-the-complicated-business-of-disguising-5g-equipment/
Inside the complicated business of disguising 5G equipment
Across the United States, clunky 4G cell towers are often “disguised” with regionally-prominent foliage. Evergreens are attached to sites in the Northeast. In the South, they’re decorated to look like palm trees. And then there’s the cacti out West. In some cases, the equipment is tucked into existing church bell towers, town square signs and on the side of historic landmarks. On farmland, 4G-enabled water towers are set up as props to give the impression they’re part of the landscape.
But with the rollout of 5G, the next-generation of wireless speed, cities like Scottsdale will rely less on elaborate cover ups and more on a piece of architecture that’s been a mainstay in urban and suburban environments for well over a century: street lights.
It’s not as creative as hiding technology in a faux plant but the shift is currently playing out all over the world. “Design will be just as important moving forward with the 5G installations, but we will have a greater focus on streetlights than the cacti,” said Keith Niederer, telecom policy coordinator for Scottsdale.
That’s because 5G radio signals for small cell sites operate at a higher millimeter wave frequency than 4G, making them more easily blocked by objects, such as wooden fixtures or leaves, and certain materials. Consequently, installations must be set up every couple hundred feet — and that distance will shrink even more as data-needy technology like self-driving cars hit the roads. They also need to be close to street level for people to access the signals and the antennas, for the most part, must remain exposed.
All this is to say, you can’t quite put 5G in a pretty box. The technology needs to be out in the open — on main streets, residential roads and frankly, everywhere.
“In Scottsdale, aesthetics are pretty important. Every street has a different theme and streetlights vary,” added Niederer, noting the technical limitations. “We want them to blend in as much as possible and not stand out.”
With speeds nearly 30 times faster than 4G in the US, 5G promises to handle significantly more internet traffic and bandwidth with zero latency, allowing for immediate response times for data transfers. 4G made services like FaceTime or Uber a reality, but 5G intends to do even more, such as help self-driving cars process all the information they need to make life-or-death decisions in the blink of an eye or enable robotic surgeries. But in the short-term, 5G deployment presents an opportunity for the businesses that conceal the technology.
The wireless carriers in the Phoenix metro area, including Scottsdale, are working with Valmont Industries, one of the largest concealment companies in the world and the first maker of the camouflaged pine tree tower nearly 30 years ago in the Denver market, to ensure the colors, designs and use cases fit with neighborhoods. (Valmont just wrapped a similar project with the city of San Antonio, Texas, swapping its signature fluted poles with swooping arms for ones with a similar style but a stronger base and thicker steel to support the 5G equipment.)
“There’s no form factor we won’t consider using,” said Mark Schmidt, general manager of communication concealment at Valmont. “Our goal is to bridge the gap between the aesthetics in a community, what a jurisdiction would like to see and what the wireless carrier requires as a form factor. … But the most natural fit here will be traffic lights and street lights.”
Verizon (VZ), T-Mobile (TMUS) and AT&T (T), which owns Appradab’s parent company WarnerMedia, are pouring billions of dollars into 5G. The new networks and associated technologies are expected to add $17 trillion to global economic growth by 2035, according to ABI Research, a tech market firm. Carriers continue to deploy their networks across the US despite some disruption due to the Covid-19 pandemic, such as overcoming engineering problems and installing new cell sites as workers maintain social distancing and city permitting offices were closed in the early days of the outbreak. However, tech companies such as Cisco say the pandemic has highlighted the need for 5G’s high-speed and high-bandwidth connections.
Swapping out older street lights for 5G-capable ones to support that growth may sound like relatively minor process, but doing so will serve as a big step for many communities to become smart cities.
According to Dean Tan, analyst at ABI Research, a lamp posts’ access to a power supply will make them an “integral part of any smart city project.” They can double as electric charging stations, security camera installations or feature LED displays for advertising. The Japanese government has been trialing this approach in Tokyo, where smart poles have public Wi-Fi, cameras, provide real-time traffic updates to help the local administration with city traffic management and have digital advertising and information boards.
Tan said there is a “growth opportunity” for concealment companies as they play a big role in the global rollout of 5G. “Other potential options [beyond smart poles] include bus stop displays, manhole covers and even traffic lights,” he said. However, street lamps are ideal as they have elevation and an existing source of power.”
Tom Kuklo, a global product manager for Radio Frequency Systems (RFS), which is already rolling out components for smart street lights in some international cities, agrees street lamps will soon become crucial communication hubs. “We’re already seeing this in China and some other locations where smart poles are very predominant,” he said. “They’re becoming part of the landscaping; you walk right past them and don’t even know that’s what’s giving you a 5G signal unless you’re looking for it.”
He said there’s an increasing interest in concealment for security reasons, too. Some groups in the UK have vandalized 5G streetlights, shooting them down or setting fire to them, over baseless fears about health risks and conspiracy theories that it’s linked to Covid-19.
“Concealment is absolutely the buzzword and what everyone is trying to do right now,” said Kuklo, noting the various reasons for deployment. “We have at least double of the interest in 5G that we did last year, but we are still rolling out 4G concealment. Not everyone in the world is in the same place when it comes to wireless connectivity.”
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Text
Not Dreaming of You [Ch 2]
(Because You Won’t Let Me Sleep)
Series- Voltron
Pairing(s)- End Game is Klancelot, with a heavy slight incline toward Keitor simply based on the set up.
Other pairs include minor Shallura, past Rolotor, one-sided Sheith. platonic Plance and even a hint of Heith if you squint real hard.
Characters in this fic in order of most screen time: Keith, Lotor, Lance, Pidge, Hunk, our Lovely Lady Generals, Kuron, Shiro, Allura, Rolo and Nyma
Synopsis: Keith has been tensely living with Lotor for about a year. They aren’t exactly friends, but occasionally they can get along. Suddenly with no explanation their neighbor Rolo moves out and two very noisy whack jobs move in. Somewhere between the loss of Lotor’s old fuck buddy and Keith’s sleep deprivation things start to get a little…odd.
“I’m telling you, there is something wrong with them!”
---
Chapter 2- Lotor’s favorite smell: Subtle and controlled Pine
When Lotor dragged himself out of bed that afternoon, a glorious day spent lounging in his sheets with his laptop and leisurely managing his online classes, he hadn’t expected to open his front door to Rolo attempting to make his way down the stairs; his meager belongings gathered up unceremoniously in his arms.
“Going somewhere?” Lotor had asked him.
His friend and old bed mate looked at him with crazed brown eyes and Lotor fought every instinct in him that started to scream in concern.
“Uhm. Moving.”
“...in with Nyma?” Lotor offered. Nyma was Rolo’s girlfriend, it made some sense. Well, as much sense as Rolo trying to move so abruptly.
“You know, you’d think that would be...” Rolo eyed the ceiling, sweat breaking on his brow, “I don’t know. I’m going to stay with my family for a bit. Actually...”
Lotor wanted to fight the growing concern more, he and Rolo had always kept shit casual and now Rolo has a steady and surprisingly wonderful girlfriend that Lotor was almost fonder of than him.
It was not his problem to worry over Rolo.
He had his own issues.
All that said, Lotor was extremely concerned.
“You don’t even like your family...?”
Suddenly there was a crash from inside Rolo’s presumably empty apartment as a small girl popped her head out of the front door, “Sorry! Sorry, I slipped, no big deal— oh. Oh, hello stranger. STRANGER who is NOT Rolo and has not yet spoken to LANCE.” Her last word was said like a call rather than the end of her statement.
There was another jumble of noises, a box falling, someone mumbling “ow-ow-ow.” Some thumping like they were bouncing on one foot, and then suddenly there he was.
Lance, presumably.
Lotor blinked at him, then at the small girl, then at Rolo.
“The new tenants? You already have new tenants?”
Rolo nodded.
“...I could live with this,” Lotor mumbled idly. Rolo was the only one who heard him, and he dropped his things and made to shove Lotor hard in the side.
“Hey!”
Because, to be fair to Rolo, he did in fact know Lotor rather well.
“H-hey, there...!” Lance started as casually as possible. The girl shoved him into the hall and shuffled about so only her eyes and the top of her head were visible beyond the apartment door as she stared at Lotor through bright hazel eyes.
Lance knelt and started to pick up Rolo’s things, gathering them into a neater pile than what Rolo had previously been carrying and he smiled warmly up at the other two men in the hall.
Lotor eyed him, kneeling on the ground, bright blue eyes reflecting the light in the hallway, gorgeous smile, broad shoulders and seemingly perfect dark skin so very visible due to the man’s baggy dark blue tank.
Ah, goodness, he looked good kneeling.
Lotor considered it for a moment and decided, then and there, he can never meet Keith.
“Do you rent 5A?” Lance offered as the awkward silence started to settle.
Lotor nodded, “I do, you pounced awfully quickly on 5B, I didn’t even know Rolo was moving.”
“Yeah well, Rolo and I are old friends so…”
“Really? Because I’ve known him for three years and he’s never mentioned you before.”
Rolo stood there quietly, twiddling his thumbs before remembering he was supposed to do something. He knelt beside Lance and picked up his things, “I have to take these downstairs, right?” He asked.
Lotor raised a brow.
Lance croaked, “Uh. Yeah. Silly. Of course, you have to take your things downstairs since you’re moving out and all. Ha-ha. Rolo, my man, once you’re done with that can you come straight back inside? Just so we can work out the subletting deal and all.”
He looked at Lotor and bless his pathetically beautiful face, Lotor let him have his crazy bizarre behavior.
Because Lotor wasn’t an idiot.
Dismissive, passive, disinterested maybe.
But he wasn’t an idiot and he was fully aware of the fact that something was very wrong with this picture.
Rolo nodded and got up to start down stairs again.
“And hurry back! No detours! I mean— you know Pidge, all kinds of impatient and I have to live with her, ha-ha...!” Lance called after him.
Lotor quirked a brow but reminded himself to not get involved. The girl at the door slammed her hand into her forehead and disappeared into the apartment.
“W-well it was nice to meet you!” Lance stumbled, getting to his feet. He was almost as tall as Lotor. Suddenly this made him less attractive if only because It meant he had roughly the same adorable height difference with Keith.
Definitely keeping him away from Keith.
If I sleep with him first he can’t have him. That’s a perfectly good reason to get into Lance’s pants, right?
...later.
Maybe.
Lotor offered his new neighbor a smile and took his hand, pressing a kiss to the back of his palm, leaving the door open for later.
“It’s been a pleasure, I look forward to your house warming.”
Or bed warming.
Whichever comes first.
Lance stood stock still for a moment as Lotor finished locking up his apartment door. When he turned back to face the stairs he offered the still frozen boy a dashing smile and a wave that he awkwardly returned and traveled down the steps to meet Zethrid and Ezor for lunch.
Lunch turned into standing around with Zethrid while Ezor shopped. Which turned into flagging down Narti who was finally calling it a night in regard to her studying. Acxa was the hardest to get out of the house but once they showed up at her door and Lotor used his patented, “don’t leave me with them!” As if he didn’t adore each of them individually and with all his jaded heart, she gave in and changed out of her pajamas.
Lotor did her eyeliner in the car, per Ezor’s request, and the rest of the night was spent idling around bar to bar as most every night the lot of them managed to get out. IF they were short one they usually ended up at Zethrid or Ezor’s house watching terrible movies while Lotor discussed how they could be done better.
He wasn’t a film major by any means, but it was far more fun to discuss than political science.
Acxa, the law student who Lotor occasionally considered was only his friend so she could get in with his father’s firm when she graduated, opted to be the designated driver.
“I have a quiz tomorrow, don’t want to be nursing a hangover.”
So, it was with Acxa’s continued sobriety in mind that Lotor allowed Narti to order the rounds and downed two glasses of something that tasted deceptively low on alcohol before considering why that might not be a good idea.
See, because Lotor wasn’t as put together as he liked to think he was. And when vaguely inebriated and at a certain level of comfort…
He starts to talk.
Not babble, he wasn’t that kind of drunk.
Just. Casual things.
Things that made him happy.
“Yesterday—Yesterday he really—he was wearing that gaudy red jacket I’m always complaining about you know the one that doesn’t belong on this planet…and he…” Lotor chuckled to himself, sipping at his drink while he tried to keep his conversation going with Ezor who simply smiled fondly at him from across the table, her head in her hands, “I have no idea how he does it but the boy gets himself stuck in the bathroom door. You’d think the jacket is short enough that would be particularly difficult to do. But no, no, my roommate is magical and he just…”
Zethrid rolls her eyes and Acxa taps away at her phone while Narti leans her head lightly on Ezor’s shoulder, a small smile on her face also though her hair falls over her eyes.
“Honestly I blame the jacket. It’s just asking for trouble and the world is trying to tell him to get rid of it.”
“Maybe you should buy him a new one,” Acxa offers without looking up.
Lotor almost spits out the sip of his drink he’d just taken, “What? Why would I do that? We don’t buy each other things that’s. Weird.”
“And going to fuck your neighbor every time the two of you spend more than twenty minutes together isn’t weird?” Zethrid scoffed.
Lotor darted his head back while Ezor giggled and Narti made a ‘tut’ noise.
“Is this the trial of Lotor? I thought we weren’t scheduled for that until next week.”
“Oh! He’s right, see guys that’s March second, Zethrid pull it back, save it for next week,” Ezor laughed, motioning towards nothing in lieu of a calendar.
Lotor rolled his eyes and leaned back against the booth they were currently sitting in, downing his third drink as it all started to dawn on him.
“…My neighbor moved out today.”
All eyes turned to him very abruptly and the mood sunk like a stone.
“Oh no,” said Ezor. Acxa bit her lip and Zethrid rested a comforting hand on Lotor’s shoulder.
“I guess you’ll just have to… I don’t know….” Narti said thoughtfully as she presumably peered through her long heavy bangs toward the ceiling, “Deal with your feelings for your roommate.”
Lotor glowered at her while Acxa chuckled through her nose, taking a sip of her Jamaican cola. She wasn’t Jamaican, but when she was designated driver she liked to try the more fun sodas. So far, this one was her favorite.
“I don’t have feelings for my roommate. He just. Happens to be attractive.”
“Lotor you’ve liked him since you almost crashed your bike into him freshman year.”
Lotor eyed Zethrid like she was really coming for his life, she was really going there tonight.
“Must you?”
She raised a brow.
“Must you attack me in this way, Zethrid?”
Her hand which hadn’t left his shoulder tightened its grip and shook him a bit, “Relax man, just admit it.”
“I don’t have to admit it, there is nothing to admit. I’m just. Going to have to find another easy outlet to sexual frustration. Because that’s all there is to it. Understood?”
Acxa and Ezor eyed each other across the table and Narti tapped on the table, her other hand lightly pressed to her cheek, “Whatever you say Lo.”
Lotor twitched.
Ezor grinned and shoved her friend playfully, “Nice one Narti.”
Zethrid’s hand dropped and she pointed a finger on her other at Narti, “Low blow N.”
“Yeah you know you can’t do that,” Acxa grinned over her glass, “That’s Keith’s name for Lotor.”
Lotor ordered and finished his fourth drink and decided that if the girls were going to play tonight this was his last one.
Two hours later found him suspiciously sensible as he walked up the steps to his apartment alone.
Maybe he should have had a fifth. Or perhaps had less water. It would certainly be easier to sleep with Keith down the hall if he were inebriated enough to just pass out the moment his head hit the pillow.
He remembered how Keith had said that was how he slept. Fast and easy and without a care in the world. It had been a discussion before Keith had signed on to be his roommate, when Lotor had explained to him that Keith would make a tolerable roommate however he would need to put up with Lotor’s late nights.
“Yo for the rent, even if I you woke me up, I’d handle it.”
“It’s a good thing you’re a beggar child.”
As it stood, Lotor was feeling far too sober. Nervous energy was ebbing at his skin and he wondered if Keith was wearing his boxers/t-shirt pajama combo or if he was doing the lounge pants and tank. Or, god help Lotor, was he doing that awful thing where he wore a robe and Lotor had no goddamn idea if he was wearing anything under it.
Not that it mattered. Keith would be behind a closed door at the end of the hall sound asleep and the odds of Lotor being up early enough to see his pajamas given how late he was coming in were slim to none.
Besides, why should he be thinking about his roommate’s pajama choice anyway?
The man was just.
He was.
Maybe Lotor was a little tipsy because then he could blame the little weak fluttering in his chest at the idea of his roommate’s ridiculous antics on the alcohol.
But then he was there. In the kitchen. In nothing but a towel with his damp hair sticking to his neck and pop tart crumbs on his lips and Lotor felt the exact moment his heart decided it no longer wanted to live in his ribcage and started to thrash about wildly demanding its freedom.
He had to fight it. He had to will it down. He forced the heat from his face and took full damn control of his body thank you very much.
“Good Morning, Red.” Nailed it.
As Keith proceeded to talk around the pop tart in his mouth Lotor reminded himself, this is it, this is the man who haunts his dreams.
Idiot.
Ah but damn if he didn’t look… Lotor caught himself eyeing him and realized if he was being too obvious he needed to play it off playfully or face the consequences. How could that even work? Play up ogling your roommate to detract from the fact you were definitely ogling your roommate?
“Darn, and here I thought you’d finally cracked and fallen prey to my charms, that I could have gotten lucky tonight after all. Perhaps there’s still a chance to convince you?”
…Whatever it seemed like it worked.
Then Keith, in all the sultry goodness of a baked potato responds to his playful jibe with, “You want to convince me?”
Goodness there’s still pop tart crumbs on his mouth.
Lotor wants to kiss them off.
Whoops don’t do that don’t.
Lotor forces the smirk to remain on his face and continues their little game. After a jibe about the food on his face he watches Keith clean himself off against the sink and Lotor realizes the flush on his cheeks is just all manner of frustratingly adorable. And maybe he’s a glutton for punishment because now he wants to be closer to Keith. Just a little. Just enough to feel his energy just within reach.
“Maybe I should eat something myself actually. Narti had me try something called a Dirty Bong Water. We had…possibly eight of them.” Lotor lies, trying to continue covering up his behavior while at the same time trying to distract himself as he brushes up against Keith’s bare back in their too small kitchen.
He smells like soap and Lotor’s own shampoo and were he feeling any more sensible he’d call the shorter boy out on it, but he was already well aware of the fact Keith’s shampoo had run out yesterday and hell if the idea that Keith smelled like Lotor even for a minute didn’t make him light headed.
Distraction. Distraction. Must find a distraction.
“We have to go shopping,” He mumbled. It would have been the perfect opportunity to remind Keith to purchase his own shampoo again but at the same time Lotor really didn’t want him to. Regardless, the following bumbled conversation concerned Lotor a bit to the point where he had to turn a sympathetic stare on his roommate.
Because, while not unlike the case with Rolo, Lotor couldn’t help but care when it came to Keith. He tried to tell him to go to bed. Keith agreed, but suddenly he was talking about the new neighbors.
Lotor wasn’t sure if he should be happy that Keith apparently wanted to continue their idle chatter or put out that the boy needed sleep and wasn’t getting it. And then there was the added issue of being reminded that Rolo had gone and honestly right now Lotor could definitely use him.
How long had it been since Rolo and Nyma started dating?
How long had it been since Lotor’s last tryst?
How long was he going to last without one if Keith was going to parade around the house in a towel?
Lotor placed both hands on Keith’s shoulders to push him into the hall, hopefully to sleep. He ignored the nagging in the back of his head that Keith’s skin, clean, pale, smooth and perfect, looked far too beautiful when the added contrast of his own dark hands came into the image. He briefly imagined what it would look like if he gripped the boy’s hips, thumbs pressing into his waist. Would he even like that? Or Keith’s hands against his skin. Small, shy, awkward…
STOP.
“I didn’t really like him anyway,” Keith explained, regarding Rolo. Lotor released him and tried to settle his breathing.
Besides, he knew that already. Rolo always told Lotor about how poorly his roommate treated him when Lotor wasn’t around. How the boy was rude and agitated and usually avoided Rolo like he was some kind of pariah. He wasn’t sure why Keith disliked Rolo this way, but he had his suspicions.
At least, it certainly seemed Keith was extra irritable whenever Lotor would come back from the other man’s apartment. But then again, it might have just been Lotor’s wishful thinking. For all he knew Keith might have just felt uncomfortable about the whole thing.
Lotor reaches up and releases his hair from the bun he’d tied it into earlier in the day and starts to rake his fingers through it, make it sensible. Keith was standing there looking gorgeous as ever so Lotor sure as hell wasn’t going to disappoint with messy hair.
Keith started to babble about the noisy neighbors and Lotor decided he didn’t need to be so self-destructive and went to brush his teeth. It was silent for a moment as he walked into the bathroom and he wondered if Keith had decided to call it a night. But, on the chance that he hadn’t, and they could continue this conversation for just a bit longer…
“Noisy?” Lotor asked him.
When he finished washing up he casually slipped Keith the mention that he’d gladly visit the new neighbors and he watched the boy’s cheeks flare just a bit. Judging by Keith’s immediate reaction, he must have smiled.
“Which one caught your attention…?” Keith grumbled, his eyes downcast, his arms crossed over his bare chest, his cheeks just the faintest pink. Lotor’s eyes trailed down from Keith’s cheek, past his neck where his damp hair still stuck to it, to his collar bone just ever so slightly protruding and giving Lotor just a little too much to stress over.
Put those thoughts away.
Lotor, again, the master of his person, continued the conversation with a casual lilt and a smile, “I don’t know what you’re talking about Keith.”
They only stood there a few more moments before Lotor decided it was time to call it a night. He needed to curl into his bed and release the tension digging into his chest from just being in such proximity to Keith.
And yet, he did it anyway.
He reached out and roughed up Keith’s cold damp hair. It almost felt like there was still a bit of conditioner in there making it extra soft. But that wasn’t the point. The action made Keith’s lips part slightly and his breathing come out a bit quicker in his surprise and really Lotor had no one to blame but himself for what that was doing to him.
“Nice chatting with you, we should avoid it in the future.”
Keith shivered beneath his hand, “We should. Agreed.”
Lotor removed his hand and made his way down the hall with a wave, “Night, Red.”
“Night, Lo.”
Lotor shut his bed room door quietly and pressed his back against it for a long moment, just breathing, reminding himself to do so. He had total control of himself, his emotions, his actions, his feelings.
And he absolutely did not want that awkward mess of a boy down the hall to be his.
Nope.
He covered his mouth with his hand and shut his eyes and imagined Keith’s trim waist in his grasp again. He imagined those eyes, thankful to the dark of their apartment for not allowing he be assaulted by those eyes just this once as he normally was, darkened and watching him. Those lips parted, the faintest whisper in his head.
He noticed his other hand was gripping his own thigh tightly and with an irritable groan he pulled himself away from the door and collapsed onto his bed.
This was fine. Being attracted to Keith was fine. Plenty of people were attracted to Keith, the man was gorgeous and fit and perfect. He could stick to this.
But when he finally fell asleep to the thought of crumbs on the corner of his mouth and stumbled flirting and petulant fits over neighbors and Keith’s slightly awkward voice saying stupidly, “You want to convince me?”
Well. Lotor sighed into his pillow. Maybe he was the one who needed more convincing.
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flusteredkeith · 7 years ago
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will you post all of the results of the quiz on tumblr because i'd love to see them all 😭 i love the descriptions for them they're so spot on
Oh my gosh, thank you! This was a really fun idea I randomly was inspired to take on and I’m so glad people are enjoying the quiz! The results actually took me a while to think out and write so I really hope it was worth it.
Although I couldn’t include every quote (as that would’ve taken me AGES) I’m thankful people are having fun with the quiz as it stands. And judging by what most of y’alls reactions were, there was truly no one right answer — just a ton of Sheith feels. If that’s true, I think my work here is done. 😊
And without further ado, here’s a master post of the quotes + results I used for the test :) if you haven’t taken it yet, here’s the link!
(Also, special thanks to @quarrely​, @atimelordswife, and @amillionsmiles for helping me brainstorm + read over my quiz! And for supporting me always, I love y’all so much.)
1. “It’s good to have you back / It’s good to be back”
There’s no other word for it: you are a classic. You love recurring exchanges and significant first impressions. Things that define and lay the groundwork for the rest of history to come. Familiarity. The feeling of coming home. Reunions. The end of yearning. A casual and comfortable way of saying I love you. Timelessness. May your soul stay classy and beautiful.
2. “If it wasn’t for you, my life would’ve been a lot different.”
Filled with cause and effect, nostalgia, and the strongest hint of a backstory – you love the implications of a loaded history, the strings of fate being so inexplicably linked and bound together, the life changing consequences of small acts of love. Every moment and interaction since meeting one another has built up over time, to the point where who you’ve become as a person cannot exist without the other. All of this has led you both here. No turning back. No regrets. Only deep gratitude and mutual acknowledgement.
3. “Keith, if I don’t make it out of here, I want you to lead Voltron.”
On the surface, you value thinking strategically and placing the notion of doing the right thing over any underlying feelings. But deep down, it’s a dying request said in a despairing moment of fatalistic acceptance. As such, it’s not something that’s expressed lightly, even if the strategic reasoning still holds true. But beyond that, there’s established trust with the person you love, as well as absolute faith and confidence in their potential.
4. “And at this moment, your friend desperately wants to see you.”
Nothing hits you harder than seeing raw, gut-wrenching desperation exposed. It makes you ache to think of how, in that moment of greatest weakness, the depth of closeness, hopes, and fears can’t help but show itself. It’s vulnerable, it’s angsty, it’s an intense bond that runs more profoundly than anything you’ve ever seen. And when all else is stripped away, this raw desire is the last thing that remains.
5. “Shiro is the one person who never gave up on me. I’m not giving up on him.”
You love the stubborn, the adamant, the refusal to give up. The mutual persistence to give each other everything you can. It’s less about the endgame love and more about all the actions of the past, present, future wrapped up in one. Although it feels impossible to reciprocate something so vast that someone has done for you, you have an incredibly strong determination to return that favor in equal measure, if not more
6. “This one’s for you, Shiro.”
There’s something incredibly intimate to you about a self-sacrificial promise made in solitude. It’s a quiet, melancholic devotion, and nothing says loyalty and dedication like giving up one’s own desires for the wishes of the person you love. Even if there’s reluctance, you are sincere in your commitment and will ultimately take on the mantle to ensure their final request is fulfilled.
7. “As many times as it takes.”
A perfect mix of quiet intimacy and heartfelt promises, you are all about the stubborn persistence of long term fulfillment. It’s fatalistic, but a promise is a promise, and you intend to see it all the way through. It’s not just about never giving up, it’s about choosing to dive into the deep end despite knowing you’ll be trapped in an endless loop. Because no matter how tough things get, or how many times it takes, it’s a life you’ve chosen for the sake of higher devotion.
8. “Split it open, Keith!”
You’ve got a great sense of humor and love clever double meanings. You prefer the lighthearted and fun, the cheeky and playful, the banter and entertaining battle dynamics. And of course, a little bit of spice.
9. “It’s killing me when you’re away.”
Technically not a canon quote, you’re interested in the possible thoughts and feelings beyond the solid material in front of you. There’s just so much depth and angst to be explored and you want to indulge in all of them. Even if it isn’t directly said in the show, it doesn’t make the sentiment any less real for you. And plus, you love the idea of strong mutual pining.
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