#and the comms saying the whole audience was murmuring about it

[muirneach]

i shoulda been watching nba last night im seeing clips and teams on benches and the audience were all losing their minds despite being at entirely unrelated games. this transcends borders rn

[whiteqnn]

PURE [2] - Corpse Husband x Fem! Reader

Pairing: Corpse Husband x Fem!Reader

A/N:  443 notes?! THIS IS INSANE! Thank you guys so much for all the love under the first part of this, I was so shocked to see how many people enjoyed this story! I hope this one will be just as fun for you as the first one ^^

part 1

part 3 

part 4 

part 5

PURE [2]

Corpse stared at the red screen with the word IMPOSTOR written in the middle, his eyes widened, a small smile tugging at his lips. 

“No way” he murmured into his microphone, no longer holding himself from breaking into laughter. “Do you guys see this? I wish I could see Y/N’s reaction.”

It took his audience just a second to respond, his chat being flooded with lots of comments about the said girl. 

“SHES SHOOK” he managed to read one from the hundreds of comments, once again bursting into laughter. “Yeah, I can imagine.”

He decided to follow Lily for a while to make himself less suspicious. He probably didn’t need to do that this time, since the others usually suspected him when he was innocent. Ironically, each time he was the impostor, they seemed completely blind to every murder he committed. 

They were both doing their tasks in O2 when the first body was reported. 

“Woah, Y/N is fast” he mumbled, before unmuting himself. 

“Okay,” Lily began speaking first “Corpse is 100% innocent, we were together this whole round, doing our tasks in O2. That’s all I have.”

“Yeah I saw you guys in there,” Felix said. “Where’s the body Sykkuno?”

“Um, so first of all I can also vouch for Dave and Y/N, we were hanging out all this time. So in the beginning, we were all in the upper engine, protecting each other like good friends that we are, and then we headed towards the medbay. And that’s where it gets interesting because I’m pretty sure I saw Poki leave medbay and run to the cafeteria.”

“You really think I would kill my best friend in the first round?”

“Yeah well, some people do” Sean scoffed, clearly referring to the last game when he was murdered by Felix. “Besides, I saw you guys when I was leaving Security so it looks like you were with her the entire round.”

“Wha- Okay, let me defend myself. I would never kill her if I was the impostor, which I’m not because she’d literally come barging into my room to murder me. She’d kill me for killing her first.”

Toast, who seemingly still held grudge against Corpse’s fellow impostor, decided to call Y/N out “Y’know, we all played with Rae before, so we all know how furious she gets after being killed first... but there’s one person who doesn’t know that.”

“Y/N/N?” Sean’s voice blared through their headphones “As much as I know how hard it would be for her to make the first kill, I can actually see that happening.”

“What?! Sykkuno vouched for me literally seconds ago, where the heck did you get that from Toast?” she asked in utter shock. Corpse glanced at his chat and leaned towards his mic, making sure that he was muted in the game.

“Y’know guys, if I didn’t know she’s the impostor, I’d believe in her every word. I mean, she’s so innocent, just listen to her.” he said with a smile, not expecting in the slightest how his audience will react. 

“Aww, he goes soft for her ^^” 

“The duo we need but don’t deserve”

“Y/N FOR THE BRIDE”

“What?” he almost stuttered, quickly going through the growing number of such comments. “I mean-”

“Ooh, someone’s getting angry. Where the heck? That’s aggressive, Y/N” Felix’s amused voice brought him back to reality, and even though Corpse didn’t use a webcam, he still tried to hide his pink-tinted cheeks in the material of his hoodie.

“It was not me! I swear! I was doing my tasks all this time, making sure that no one murders Sykkuno or Dave!” 

“You’re pretty defensive for someone who claims to be innocent,” Toast said with a smirk hiding in his voice. 

“Give her a break guys, she was literally with us all this time. I’m sure we would’ve noticed if she killed somebody” Dave stood up for her, but it seemed like all the attention was directed from Poki to Y/N. 

“Well maybe the other impostor is either you or Sykkuno and you’re just trying to clear each other?”

“Um, if there were two impostors among the three of us, the third person would have to be a crewmate. I mean, it would be impossible for them to kill somebody without a crewmate seeing it.” Sykkuno pointed out, much to Corpses’ relief. 

“I knew Sykkuno would vouch for her” he told his chat, before unmuting himself to defend Y/N as well “Haven’t we already established that Poki is sus as well? She was last seen near the body and has no alibi.” 

“I didn’t do it. The only person that could vouch for me is dead, we were with each other the entire round. I leave her for a few seconds and somebody kills her, but it wasn’t me.” 

“I don’t think she’s lying guys, I mean, if she killed Rae she’d probably be dead already” Felix chuckled “Let’s just skip this round, we don’t have enough evidence.”

“Alright, but Y/N,” Toast said, as everyone pressed the skip button “I have my eyes on you.”

Corpse could hear her sigh before everyone muted their mics. 

“We’ve gotta get rid of Toast guys, he’s too suspicious. I don’t want him accusing my partner in crime, even though he’s right” he chuckled under his breath, following Toast’s character into Admin. “Alright, Felix is with us as well, good. If I just pretend I’m doing card swipe, they’re gonna both vouch for me since everyone knows I’m great at this task.” he shook his head with a deep laugh escaping his throat. 

He could see the other two astronauts running around admin, before they both decided to leave, which gave Corpse a perfect opportunity to frame Toast. He killed the lights and chased his victim who, much to his joy, was now completely alone in comms. 

“Hi, Felix. Bye, Felix.” Corpse snapped his neck before speeding out of the room and venting into Navigation.

That’s when someone fixed the lights. And Corpse jumped out of the vent, only to come face to face with none other than Toast. 

“SHIT” he laughed in panic, seeing that he couldn’t use the kill function yet. “Shit, he must’ve seen me.”

And indeed, it took Toast just a split of second to run out of the room and speed towards the emergency button, Corpse hot on his tail, even though he knew he wouldn’t avoid getting ejected. 

“I’m busted guys, there’s no way they’re gonna believe me” he told his audience, watching as Toast’s character approached the button. However, Corpse wasn’t sure if he was just seeing things, but he thought that he saw an outline of another character appear out of nowhere just mere seconds before Toast called the meeting...

“YES” he almost screamed, at the same time laughing hysterically, when he saw the red cross decorating Toast’s name. 

“WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK?!” Sean yelled, similarly to every other player that remained alive. “HOW DID THAT HAPPENED?!”

“Oh my God.”

“But- I don’t get it. What just happened?” Y/N’s soft voice sounded out, making Corpse laugh even more. 

“Someone killed Toast the moment he called the meeting.” Sykkuno explained, barely holding himself from laughing.

“Is that even possible?” she asked confused, her voice sounding so innocent and sweet that the other impostor couldn’t stop himself from grinning.

“Oh my god, she’s just- I can’t.” he chuckled deeply “She’s too precious guys, I swear I’m gonna do everything to keep her alive.”

“Yeah, that’s some big brain move. And since Toast is dead, there’s only one person with balls who could do it” Sean said, clearly very sure of his next words.

“CORPSE!” Lily chirped into her microphone, her voice soon being followed by others who eagerly agreed with her. 

“Okay, I admit I saw them in admin where I was doing the card swipe, but then they both left and I haven’t seen them anymore.”

“Were you in admin this whole time?” Poki asked. 

“Um- yeah, pretty much. I tried to beat my own record in failing a card swipe.” he replied, making everyone laugh. He thought of it as a good cover, unless someone entered the admin after he left... 

“Sykkuno where are you?” Poki directed her next question to the lime astronaut.

“Why am I accused again?” he asked confused “I was with Sean in medbay, I think Y/N joined us for a moment to do the scan, then she left, and then Toast called the meeting.”

“So maybe it’s her?” Dave commented “I mean, medbay is right next to the cafeteria, so she had quite an easy access to the emergency button.”

“Yeah, that would actually make sense” Lily added.

“Oh no, they’re gonna vote her off...” Corpse mumbled under his breath, deciding that he had to intervene. She just saved his ass, he couldn’t possibly just watch her get ejected because of that. 

“Guys, I didn’t even know it was possible to kill someone this way. Trust me, I played only a few times and Jack made sure not to reveal any of his big brain moves.” she scoffed at the last part, making Jack let out a loud laugh.

“How can we be sure you’re not just acting all innocent? I mean, you exposed Felix last game, being one of the last people to stay alive.”

“Y/N was with me when Toast called the meeting, she is innocent” Corpse decided to finally speak up. The silence settled among other players. “She found me in admin and made sure nobody killed me when I failed the fucking card swipe.”

“Why are you saying this just now, Corpse?”

“Cause he’s fallen for her god damn trap! I told you!” Sean argued.

“What trap?” Y/N asked confused.

“I mean, who wouldn’t? It’s like listening to an angel” Corpse said, before he could stop himself. Everyone on the call went wild, just like his chat did... He didn’t know why he said that, it just slipped before he really thought about it.

“Corpse, you do realize you’re simping only makes you even more suspicious?” Poki asked with a laugh, and Corpse felt the blush rising up his cheeks. Even more, when Y/N completely ignored this comment, deciding to suddenly stay quiet...

Did he make her uncomfortable with such comments?

“Seriously though, I’m pretty sure it wasn’t her. We watched each other’s back, so I’m also clean.” 

“As much as I hate to do it, I have to agree with Corpse on this one” Sean suddenly said. “That she’s innocent, I mean. I’m sure Corpse just follows her around like a lost puppy and I didn’t see the two of them, but I doubt Y/N knew it’s possible to kill somebody like that. No offense kiddo.”

“See? Guys, it wasn’t me!” she exclaimed. 

“Wait, why do you hate to agree with me?” Corpse asked in confusion.

“CAUSE YOU’RE KINDA SUS CORPSE” 

“What? I just told you my alibi, weren’t you listening Jack?”

“We have twenty seconds left” Lily reminded, cause everyone seemed to forget about the voting time. “We don’t skip at 7, right?”

“Alright, I’m voting Corpse, I still think he’s sus even though I agreed with him.” Sean announced, much to Y/N’s dismay. She quickly objected, trying to defend her fellow impostor:

“It’s NOT him, I watched him fail that dang card swipe!”

“DANG?! NO NEED TO BE SO OFFENSIVE YOUNG LADY” 

“I’m also voting Corpse, he must be one of them.” Lily agreed with Jack.

“Sykkuno, I hope you’re not doing what I think you’re doing” Y/N asked the lime astronaut, who was silent for the past few minutes.

“I um- I don’t know, they kinda have a point Y/N...”

“Sykkuno, listen to me.” she lowered her voice, trying to convince him “Corpse is not the impostor. You know you can trust me, right?”

“...”

“SYKKUNO GOD DAMN IT, DON’T LISTEN TO HER!”

“Sorry guys...”

Corpse burst out laughing, seeing that out of seven remaining players, five of them decided to skip. 

“She’s too good” he chuckled, quickly running up Y/N’s character when they started the next round. He circled her white astronaut, and she seemed to get his message because she eagerly followed him into Electrical to fake the tasks and wait for someone to show up. 

Soon enough two figures waltzed into the room, only to be simultaneously decapitated by the two impostors, who then swiftly vented into medbay and locked the door to their crime scene. 

“That was smooth” Corpse smiled, happily running around Y/N’s character. “I love being impostors with Y/N, it’s so much fun. The best thing is that no one besides Toast really suspects her of doing something wrong.”

Corpse figured Y/N sabotaged the oxygen because the next thing he saw was Lily running past medbay to stop it from depleting. 

“Ladies first, Y/N” he mumbled, and even though she couldn’t hear him, her small character sped up and left the medbay, chasing after Lily. He waited a few seconds, before bursting out laughing.

Victory. 

“WHAT THE FUCK?!” Sean yelled in shock “Y/N?! EXPLAIN YOURSELF RIGHT NOW”

“Y/N HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME?!”

“That was... I would never guess it was you!” 

“I’m sorry guys, I really didn’t want to kill any of you” she laughed apologetically, but Corpse could sense she was smiling “I just had no other choice...”

“Yeah, I’m sure you killed us by accident” Toast’s voice blared out, followed by loud laughter.

“What was that again? I didn’t even know you could kill someone this way?” Felix mocked in a high pitched voice, making them laugh hysterically. Corpse also found himself unable to catch a breath between his giggles.

“I told you guys they’d fuck us up.” Rae spoke up “But I was actually glad Y/N killed me first, watching her kill Toast was so much fun.”

“Ha ha, thanks, Rae!” Toast exclaimed ironically.

“Y/N and Corpse are just complete serial killers, I don’t know how else to comment that” Felix chuckled. 

“Well...” Corpse mumbled, unmuting his microphone “I can’t disagree. She’s a perfect partner in crime.”

“NOT AGAIN WITH SIMPING CORPSE” he heard Sean’s response, and once again felt awkward when his all his friends laughed at him, and Y/N remained quiet. 

That was, however, until her soft voice effectively quietened everyone. 

“It was.. an honor to murder my friends with you.” 

Corpse never thought his face could hurt from smiling so much...

“Alright, who’s up for another game?” Felix asked after a few moments, and received a chorus of me’s from almost everyone. 

“Unfortunately I have to go now, but it was so fun playing with you guys!” Y/N said, making everyone (Corpse included) object rather loudly:

“One more round, please? I want to see you kill someone again!”

“C’mon kid, what else do you have to do?”

“Stay with us Y/N, I need someone to protect me!” 

“I’m sorry but I’m really tired. I’m sure I’d just fall asleep on my desk and Toast would come up behind my back to murder me.”

“Well, that was actually my plan...” the man in question replied with a chuckle.

“You sure you don’t wanna stay?” Corpse finally asked “Killing won’t be the same without you...”

“I know, and I’m sorry... But I was working the whole day and my eyes just hurt and I feel like I’m gonna faint” she replied. 

“Alright, but just so you know, we’re playing again later this week, and I better see you entering the lobby on time” Felix said, trying to sound threatening, but failing at it. Y/N giggled to herself, the sound making Corpse smile almost unknowingly. 

“I wouldn’t dare to miss a chance to murder my new friends!” 

“Oh my god, she’s too adorable!” 

Everyone said their goodbyes and soon Y/N left the call, her small astronaut disappearing from the lobby, much to Corpse’s disappointment. He wished she’d stay a little longer, playing with her was something he found incredibly fun and quite relaxing if he was completely honest. Or maybe aside from playing itself, listening to her voice was what kept bringing a smile to his face every time she spoke up. 

“Guys, I think I’m also gonna call it a day, it was really fun.”

“What? It’s not even been over an hour!” Rae protested. 

“Yeah, I um.. I know but-”

“Don’t push him guys, he can’t play without his partner in crime” Toast’s teasing voice made everyone burst out laughing, and Corpse just shook his head, glad that nobody could see how red his face became.

“Fuck you guys, okay?” he chuckled into the mic, before finally saying his goodbyes and leaving as well. He thanked his viewers for watching and promised to stay longer next time, before closing the discord. 

He sat for a moment in his chair, staring at the black screen, a smile slowly widening on his lips. It was one of the best games he had ever played in Among Us, and he couldn’t wait to be Impostor with Y/N again. 

“Perfect partner in crime... I’m such an idiot” he mumbled under his breath and felt himself blush, shaking his head at how awkward that must’ve sounded. He pulled his phone out and checked his Twitter, only for his eyes to widen once he saw the top trending hashtags. 

#Y/NxCorpse

#Y/NfortheBride

#PerfectPartnerInCrime

“Oh my God...” Corpse yelped, covering his eyes with his hand as if it would make all those tweets disappear. “Why am I the way I am?” 

He considered texting her, trying to maybe make things less awkward than they already were, but decided against it. He feared he’d make even more of an idiot out of himself... 

Convinced that all those comments about simping and now those hashtags made her uncomfortable, it didn’t even cross his mind that Y/N might be looking at them at the exact same moment, with adorable blush tinting her cheeks, and her lips turning into a small, shy smile...  

A/N: I think about writing 3rd part... 

[doctors-star]

hi its me im back again #43 for lister/rimmer? (a non-cowboy alternative)

“I’ve never met a more stubborn person in my life.” “You like it.” “Do I?”

-

Lister taps his fingers against the iron girder. It’s painted the same red as the Dwarf, but chipping and loose - probably also like the Dwarf, only he’s not been out to have a gander in a while. Always seems to be something else to do these days.

He sighs heavily. Picks a flake of paint loose. Resists the urge to fidget.

“I spy-”

“Oh, Christ, we’re not that bored already are we?” Rimmer whines, and Lister allows his head to loll to his right. It puts his face within inches of Rimmer’s cheek, and though it makes him go a little cross-eyed to do so he can clearly see that yes, Rimmer is that bored.

“Well, we’re trapped for the foreseeable future in a pile of rubble and girders in an abandoned derelict, with no comms and no hope of rescue until Krytes and Cat can be bothered to come lookin’,” Lister points out calmly. “We can play fortunately-unfortunately instead if you want, but I don’t think this is going to get less boring quickly.”

Rimmer sniffs and glowers at the ceiling of their weird rubble igloo. It had, of course, been heart-stoppingly terrifying for a while; Lister had smacked the door release idly with the side of his fist, the doors had opened, and he and Rimmer had entered, bickering all the while so enthusiastically that what had happened after that was still a mystery to Lister. The upshot, crucially, had been that the ceiling had fallen in in a shower of sparks and trailing wires and laid them both out flat under slabs of metal panelling, chunks of what looked like concrete, and a few girders for colour. One is neatly pinning Lister’s hips to the floor, there’s a large amount of concrete on his ankles, and Rimmer is buried in metal sheeting up to his sternum, but on the bright side they can both breathe and nothing seems to be broken. Not that Rimmer could break, anyway, being as he is entirely made of solid light.

This had not stopped Lister from being apocalyptically terrified for a good thirty seconds after impact.

“Is it rubble?” Rimmer asks at last, with a tone of deep dissatisfaction.

“I didn’t even tell you the first letter,” Lister says, trying not to grin at Rimmer.

Rimmer shifts his head to gaze, unimpressed, at Lister.

“It was, though, yeah.”

Rimmer looks as though he wants to laugh, and also to despair of him; it makes his face twitch like a ferret in a sack. Lister presses forward an inch to drop a kiss on the end of his nose, because that usually makes the twitching worse. “Menace,” Rimmer says, flinching back to glare, cross-eyed, down his nose at Lister. But, you know, affectionately. Lister beams. “I can’t believe we’re stuck here waiting for two mentally-incompetents to rescue us,” Rimmer sighs. He fidgets his shoulders, shifting the panelling, and winces.

“Stop moving, man,” Lister says in a voice which he hopes is calming.

It isn’t; Rimmer thrashes about a bit like he’s being electrocuted, which makes the whole rubble pile shake in a deeply worrying fashion. He does, however, manage to work his left arm free and shake it triumphantly in the air. “Dead arm,” he says in explanation - and then, very casually, so subtly that the motion occurs in neon with bells on, he rests the hand on top of Lister’s girder. Next to Lister’s fingers. And then Rimmer doesn’t look at his hand, the girder, or in Lister’s direction at all, so Lister takes the hint.

“Dead everything, mate,” he says helpfully, sliding his fingers under Rimmer’s palm and giving his hand a squeeze. Rimmer’s frame relaxes ever so slightly, as though that threatened slight rejection had worried him more than the whole mild peril of their situation. Neurotic bastard. “Speaking of,” Lister adds, rubbing his thumb over the back of Rimmer’s hand, “you don’t have to wait for Kryten and Cat. You could go softlight, wriggle on out, and go get ‘em.”

Rimmer’s hand tightens briefly on his before carefully relaxing. “No-o,” he says with forced casualness, “I’ll wait.”

Lister nods. “Very helpful. You just wait here to avoid the walk. Can’t have you tirin’ yourself out. If I starve to death, I want the lightbee every two weeks, alright?”

“I am not arranging a timeshare with our afterlife!” Rimmer objects sharply.

“You smegging well are,” Lister corrects cheerfully. “If you kill me through inaction, you owe me at least some of your time. You promised, remember-” he says smugly, pressing as close as he can until his nose is pressed into Rimmer’s cheekbone. “Spend the rest of our time together, forever-”

“Exactly,” Rimmer sputters, face turning a very impressive red at the reference to their little...agreement. “Together - which we won’t be, if only one of us exists at a time.”

“You’d better go an’ fetch us some rescue then, eh?” Lister says, smiling into Rimmer’s jaw to make him squirm. “Or else.”

He can feel the muscles in Rimmer’s face twitch slightly with the effort not to turn into Lister’s ministrations and give up on the argument - only that would mean losing said argument, and that usually requires more attention than Lister can give with his body pinned to the floor. By something that isn’t Rimmer, that is. “Ah, but you said we’d stay together,” Rimmer points out firmly, voice only ticking up half an octave when Lister starts kissing at the hinge of his jaw. “Death do us part, you said.”

Lister grins and picks up their joined hands, nudging them towards the small gap in the ceiling that a lightbee, and corresponding intangible human shape, could easily fit through. “An’ you’ve already kicked it, so off you pop,” he says brightly.

Rimmer sputters indignantly for a bit, but makes no move. After a moment, the grumbling resumes, and Lister can’t help a sigh. “Where are those two, anyway? Even they ought to have noticed by now-”

“Rimmer, mate you literally don’t need to be here,” Lister says, impatience bleeding into his tone as he pulls back slightly. He doesn’t miss how Rimmer shifts minutely into his space before reversing quickly.

“Well, I’m not going,” Rimmer says, fingers tightening around Lister’s.

He shakes his head and lies back, staring at the ceiling. “I’ve never met a more stubborn person in my life,” he says.

“You like it,” Rimmer retorts immediately.

“Do I?” he replies, voice tired and dry. But he rolls his head back to face Rimmer. He knows Rimmer better than anyone in the entire universe; of course he had caught the wheedling note in Rimmer’s voice, the flash of insecurity, the minute increase in the grip on his hand. And sure enough, Rimmer’s eyes are wide and slightly worried, and then his face turns quickly away, schooled into something snide. He wishes Rimmer wouldn’t do that; has no hope that he’ll ever stop. Lister picks up their joined hands and gently knocks their knuckles against the girder three times. “Well, it’s still annoying,” he says eventually. “But as long as I don’t starve here, I’d still rather have you with me than not. So.”

Rimmer waves a hand idly. “Eat your own leg, or something.”

Lister gives him a thumbs-up. “Will do.”

They lie quietly for a while, listening to the rubble creak and groan, and to a mysterious dripping sound which, every third drop, fizzes with a decidedly electrical sound. There’s a lump of something digging into his spine, and his foot is rapidly going numb, but Rimmer’s hand is pleasantly warm and solid in his own, his breathing regular and steady in the half-light, and it is - god help his standards for living - not half bad. Lister is, despite himself, quite glad that Rimmer is more stubborn than a bull-headed pig when he wants to be.

He’s glad, too, to be something Rimmer gets so stubborn over.

He is quite bored, though.

“I spy-” he begins again.

“It’s girder this time, I know it,” Rimmer says quickly. “I am not playing this with you.” Lister closes his mouth. “It was panel, actually - and look, what do you want to do? Arguing didn’t take up as much time as I had hoped-”

“You picked a fight to pass the time?!”

“Yeah, only, it was a really rubbish argument. Unfortunately.”

“Well,” Rimmer says, sounding as self-important as a man can when being crushed by sheets of metal, “fortunately, we love each other far too well to ever argue.”

“Unfortunately,” Lister says, grinning at the barefaced lie, “no-one with an IQ over seven would believe that.”

“Fortunately, I know my audience,” Rimmer says smugly, eyes dancing and smile so cheerfully obnoxious that Lister has to laugh, he just has to, not least for the way it makes Rimmer’s whole face soften into something gentler, and more fond.

He squeezes Rimmer’s hand and feels it squeeze back. “Unfortunately, you’re stuck with him,” he murmurs, eyes dropping helplessly to Rimmer’s lips.

Rimmer smiles, small and genuine. “I’ll survive,” he says.

[stealthstark]

Undercover

Request/Summary: You’re the second youngest avenger whose dating Bucky. The whole team gets assigned to an extremely dangerous mission but you have a special role. The night of the mission, they find out you’re undercover as a belly dancer.

Ships: Bucky x Reader, platonic!Tony x Reader and platonic!Steve x Reader

Warnings/Includes: jealous bucky, protective steve and tony, Light sexual themes, swearing

The reflection in the mirror surely wasn’t you. You wore only a bra and bikini bottoms, which had sheer silk fabric hanging down to form a skirt with a slit. Both pieces were highly embellished, and in your hand you held a veil that you would use during your performance. During the briefing for the mission, you never thought taking down Abu Mussan, the leader of a terrorist group, would involve being a belly dancer. 

Seeing yourself like this was empowering, in a way, but you worried about the rest of the team’s reaction. They weren’t informed about your special role in the plan, and Coulson made sure that they wouldn’t be until after you were gone. You hoped your boyfriend Bucky wouldn’t strangle him for putting you up to this. Coulson was smart, his idea was the safest option for the entire team. If Mussan spotted any of the Avengers before they attacked, the place could go down in gunfire. But he’s never seen you. 

Taking one last look at yourself, you tore your eyes away from the mirror and snuck out of the Avengers tower. 

The venue was a combination of Arabic music and dances, paired with the typical westernized style of clubbing. You wait behind the stage anxiously, watching the strobe lights color the dance floor and the people on it. There’s a VIP section to your left, which is where Mussan was supposed to be. 

Looking at the clock, you realize it’s time to reestablish communication with the  rest of the team. You turn on the ear piece you had been fiddling with and sneakily hook it into your ear while brushing your hair out of your face. Within a few seconds of you coming online, about four people were talking into your ear at once. 

“Are you kidding me, sweetheart?” Bucky’s voice stands out above the others. “I am definitely not okay with this!”

“You’re putting yourself in a lot of danger.” Steve worries. “Once we arrive, I’m pulling you out.”

“Gonna have to side with Manchurian Candidate on this one.” There’s Tony. 

You roll your eyes at all three of them. You glance around to make sure no one see’s you talking before you speak up. 

“Sorry boys, it doesn’t matter if you’re okay with it or not. This is the best plan, and we all know I’m more cut out for the job than Natasha.” 

“Watch it.” Nat’s voice cuts through the comms system. You can practically hear her smirking. 

“I’m sure there’s a plan where you aren’t wearing close to nothing. You’re my girl.” Bucky ignores your reasoning. 

“Is someone jealous?” You tease, eyes still scanning over the club. “Don’t worry Buck, maybe you can come backstage before Mussan shows up and we can-”

“Okay!” Tony interrupts, and Sam gags in the background. “No need to subject us to hearing whatever you were about to say, thank you.” 

You chuckle, but your slight smile fell when Mussan sat down at the VIP section. Quickly, you walk to the side of the stage and make eye contact with the DJ. He gives you a quick once over and then grins, quickly ending the current song and transitioning into yours. 

“Please tell me you guys are almost here.” You murmur as you walk on stage. Everyone on the dance floor groans at their music being cut off, but quickly go silent when they spot you. “Plan is in motion.”

The instrumental music begins to play, and you begin your routine. You start off by twirling the silk veil around your body, only moving your hips slightly. The audience is completely entranced by you. You can feel the eyes of both men and women raking up and down your body. 

The music stays consistent but your movements build up, and you turn slightly towards Mussar. You casually look through the crowd before sliding your gaze over to him. He was already looking at you. You smirk at him before twirling the veil and wrapping it around your head so only your eyes were showing. By now Mussar is sitting at the edge of his seat, clutching his drink tightly. 

“Up top, girly.” Sam’s voice surprises you, but you keep the emotion hidden as you maintain eye contact with Mussar. In your peripheral you see movement on the top balcony and assume that the team had arrived. You wouldn’t risk actually looking up and breaking the tension between you and Mussar. 

Shifting so you were holding the material of the veil in one hand instead of two, you use the other to motion to Mussar. A single hook of your finger had him standing up and beelining towards you, drink long forgotten. He climbs up on stage and doesn’t stop until he was right in front of you. You let the veil droop slightly to flash him a smile. 

“Now.” You ground out, dropping the smile and turning your seductive stare into a glare. 

You unwrap the veil from your head and hook it around his neck, pulling him down and kneeing him in the face. He grunts, and you let go of the veil as he rises back up, blood pouring from his nose. You hear the sound of Tony flying in, and a split second later he glide-kicks right into Mussar. Unfortunately for you, Mussar managed to grab a handful of your hair before completely falling over, slamming you down with him. Pain erupts in your ribs as you fall off the stage, and a small yelp escapes your lips when your head bounces against the ground. Mussar manages to climb on top of you in your pain-filled haze. You see him reeling back for a punch, but before it lands Cap’s shield nails him in the face. He falls off of you, laying unconcious on the floor. 

Looking up, you see Bucky, Natasha, and Sam taking out the entourage Mussar had brought to the club. Metal hands gently grasp your torso and help you up, the coolness of the metal easing the pain in your ribs. You turn around to face Tony, holding onto his arm for balance. The Iron Man helmet retracts back into the suit, revealing Tony’s worried face. 

“You okay?” He asks, eyes settling on the bruise forming on your torso. 

You nod, hand hesitantly carding through your hair to feel for a bump. Your nail grazes a raised spot on your head and you hiss, hand jumping away on instinct. 

“You have a concussion,” Tony reveals, “I scanned you right after you fell.”

“She has a what?!” Bucky bellows, storming over to you. Bucky takes you from Tony, who then goes to pick up Mussar. The team starts heading back to the jet, and you begin to follow. 

“Hey..” Bucky grips your arm and you turn back to look at him, ignoring the pain. 

“Bucky.. stop.” You order, not knowing if your frustration or your concussion was making your head throb. “This was my choice. Do you really think you need to be jealous about a bunch of clubbers seeing me like this? We’re on a mission.”

Bucky just stares at you. You sigh, eyes flickering towards the ground and back up to his. 

“Look,” You begin, voice much softer. “You don’t need to be jealous.. because... I’m not going anywhere. I totally, definitely, only have eyes for you.” 

Bucky’s lip twitches, before a grin spreads across his face. He gently places his metal hand on the small of your back and pulls you in for a kiss. When you pull away, he’s still smiling. 

“That’s what I like to hear.”

[coffee-n-bagels-comic-universe]

Superheroes with Secrets: Kealani or Delilah (Fic part 137) (Set in 2001)

Around 2000 Words. 18+ in places.

please inform me if you wish to be tagged/untagged from posts.

Tags: @piratewithvigor

‘Giantess’ Kirby Roussimoff x Shane ‘Hurricane’ Helms (Circa 2001)

Reference Posts: Shane ‘Hurricane’ Helms

Kirby ‘The Blacklight Bandit’ Roussimoff

"Mr. Rogers, the overly sweet, overly wholesome kids show host?"

"Shane, I spent my childhood in gymnasium after gymnasium, didn't get any time to watch tv."

"That's a fair point."

"I should really get the fire going, Hon." Kirby whispers as she kisses him gently, pulling away to get the fire started.

It doesn't take long for Kirby and Lita to have the fire going, and the boys to start messing with each other as the girls give each other a knowing look. They're almost playing around like they used to as kids.

"I tell ya, L, if they're like that now, they're gonna be amazing around kids." She whispers as she leans on Lita's shoulder.

"Kids always get along with other kids." She nods, chuckling.

"Yeah, we gotta get Jeff a girlfriend, maybe someone more mellow, try and do the whole 'opposites attract' thing."

"Who're you thinking?"

"Don't know, was gonna say Trish, but then decided against it." She murmurs.

"He needs someone calm to balance him out"

"Yeah. Think about it, you've got the Helms', me and Shane, and then the Hardy's, Jeff, Matt and you, technically once you marry Matt, I'm your sister-in-law. Who do you want to call your sister, out of everyone we know?"

"Truly anyone who makes him happy. Guy or girl, doesn't matter."

"Same here, but how do we know who makes him happy, when, ya know, Jeff's being Jeff."

"Good question. Just gotta give him some people to try out."

"Jeffrey, little brother, you got any preferences when it comes to dating?" She calls over to the boys.

He freezes in his play fighting. "Come again?" He practically squeaks.

"Do you have any preferences when it comes to dating? Like guys or girls? Brunettes or Blondes? Tall or short?"

"I mean... I haven't really thought about it..."

"Well, eventually you gotta think about it, Jeff. Matt has Lita, Shane has me, you... you don't have anyone as far as we're aware."

"Yeah, cause I'm the family baby. I'm not the one people watch."

"Que veux-tu dire par là?" She asks, fully confused.

"I'm just Matt's little brother."

"tu es plus que ça, Jeffrey, tu es un jeune homme intelligent, attentionné, compatissant et fort, j'ai vu comment le public réagit à ton égard, les femmes t'aiment et aimeraient être avec toi."

"Translation, someone?"

Kirby sighs, glaring at Jeff before translating herself, "you're more than that, Jeffrey, you're a smart, caring, compassionate and strong young man, I've seen how the audience reacts to you, women love you and would love to be with you."

His cheeks go bright red. "Only ever hear them yell for Matt or Lita..."

"Jeff, apprends le français, mais les femmes t'aiment, tu es un beau jeune homme, mon petit frère. Or in my much worse English, learn French, but you are ... how do you say ... conventionally attractive? Young, dumb, blonde and fit, women want that."

"I'm dumb?" He chuckles.

Kirby sighs in exasperation, "tu es tellement stupide que tu as raté le putain de point de ce que je te dis, Jeffrey Nero Hardy, tu m'écoutes et tu écoutes bien, there are women out there waiting for a man like you to sweep them off their feet."

"I'd love to meet some if you've got any in mind."

"I don't currently have anyone for you and currently I'm too angry at your lack of brain cells to talk to you in English anymore." She states flatly.

"My lack of brain cells? Kirby, I don't speak French." He protests

"ce n'est pas seulement votre manque de connaissance de la langue française, c'est le fait que je vous dis que les femmes s'intéressent aux hommes comme vous et tout ce que vous en déduisez c'est que je vous traite d'idiot." She murmurs, trying her hardest to stay calm.

"What my sister is trying to say, Jeff, is that women are into men like you and all you seemed to get from her explaining that is that she's calling you dumb." Show explains.

"It's the only thing she keeps saying in English. And I'm not saying I don't believe you, but I don't get flirted with."

"un instant s'il vous plaît," She sighs, heading inside and coming back with a picture of a younger looking Kirby with two friends, one being Kealani and the other a young woman with bright blue hair and dark brown eyes, on the back is three names, 'Kirby Roussimoff, Kealani Pualani and Delilah Rosenberg, 1997, Honolulu, Hawaii' along with Kealani and Delilah's phone numbers, Kirby hands it to Jeff, "Kealani ou Delilah, à la fois jeune et belle, Kealani a des enfants, Delilah n'en a pas, faites votre choix"

"Make my choice?" He asks, a little pink.

"Uhm, how do I say, which would you rather go on a date with? Bear in mind, Kealani is currently going through a divorce and Delilah's currently working in Hawaii, they're both my good friends and Delilah does my tattoos and Kealani makes my ring gear." She explains.

"Are you trying to set me up on a date?"

"If you will allow me to." She nods.

"Well, I mean, I guess I'd rather start with someone who lives nearby."

"Uhm, well, small confession, I don't actually know anyone who lives in Ellerbe, except for my accountant and Eddie, who owns the diner." She admits sheepishly.

"Well, a little distance is okay. I just mean like not across the country."

"I uhm, I feel so bad for having to say this, but those two ladies are my only friends." her voice is barely loud enough to hear.

"What about the BSK?"

"I wouldn't exactly call them friends outside of work."

"You sure I'm good enough for girls who mean that much to you?"

"I wouldn't have handed you the photo if you didn't have my trust."

"Would you call them for me? Test the waters, see if they even want a relationship right now?"

"You want me to do that now?"

"Yes please."

Kirby checks her pockets, "Shane, where did I leave my phone, mon mari."

"Probably still upstairs. I'll get it."

"No, it's okay, mon mari, I'll get it."

As exciting as the concept of going on a real date is, Jeff can't help but be incredibly nervous.

"vous deux, gardez l'enfant fou calme pendant que je vais chercher mon téléphone." She whispers to Helms, kissing him gently before going inside to call her friends.

"Am I gonna need to learn French just to hang out with her?" Jeff chuckles.

"Yeah, probably." Show laughs.

"Someone just tell me if she starts yelling at me, cause half of the time, I'm just guessing."

"That's why you've got Helms, ask him, you do know French, don't you, Shane?" Lita points out.

"I can keep up when she's speaking normally, but if she gets too fast, I'm just as lost."

"That doesn't help that she's fast when she's angry, it's a mile a minute of French sass." Show chuckles.

"I'm getting better. Can't respond in French, but I know what she's saying like Ninety percent of the time."

Kirby comes back, phone in hand, "Jeffrey, petit frère fou, I think I have a potential date for you."

"Jesus, already?"

"Uhm, Kealani is too busy with her divorce and Delilah's currently working in Cameron, which, if I remember correctly, is your hometown, no?"

"Yeah, that's right."

"So, uhm, Delilah's free tomorrow after three in the afternoon, uhm, she's never watched any of your wrestling matches, but she has seen mine."

"Might be for the best. I can pretend to be normal."

"Yeah, maybe don't paint your face tomorrow, but she's creative and so are you, so I hope you like her, oh, and she's Jewish, so uhm, when you see her, say Shalom from me." She whispers as she walks up to Helms.

"Will do... any of you lovebirds wanna teach me how to not be an awkward weirdo when I get there?"

"Yeah sure." Show, Matt and Lita nod.

Kirby's distracted by something in the distance and goes silent, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

Helms notices her faraway look almost immediately. "You see something?" He asks.

"ne peut pas dire si cette chose est un cerf ou quelque chose de similaire, ressemble à un mélange entre un cerf et un orignal, mais... légèrement humain?" She whispers, utterly confused by the shape in the shadows behind the trees.

"Probably a deer. No one would be on the property this time of day."

Kirby walks past Helms, slowly approaching the shadows. He gets up to follow her, far too nervous to leave her alone otherwise. The moment Kirby gets close enough to see a small bit more detail, the figure flees and she gets spooked, jumping back slightly and bumping into Helms, her heart racing.

"Think it was just a deer, my love."

"That did not look like any deer I've seen before, mon mari." She whispers.

"This time of night, I'm going to pretend it was to maintain my sanity."

"I'm not suggesting it was human, just, very muscular for a deer, mon ange."

"Maybe a moose?"

"Maybe, looked like a baby moose if it was a moose. Oh, poor thing, it's probably lost."

"Even if it is, trying to take it in is a bad idea. The difference between baby moose and mama moose is the difference between Rey Mysterio and Undertaker. And likely twice as deadly."

"Okay, fine, I'll leave the baby moose alone." She sighs.

"You can be the scary big mama for our baby instead of messing with the baby of a far larger, far scarier mama"

"But it's lost and alone, and I could hug it and make it feel less alone."

Helms pauses to consider for a few moments. "We'll leave it out some food and go back to sit with the others. Give it somewhere safe to wait for its mama to find it"

"Okay, what do moose eat ... and is the plural of moose just moose, because that has always confused me."

"Meese. And mostly vegetables. Lots of leaves, but I bet leaving out some apples may encourage it."

"Okay, apples and vegetables it is then, I'm gonna get a tray, and fill it and just leave it near the trees."

"Good call. I don't want to leave an animal in need more than you do."

"Poor baby, which I'm not allowed to hug, but still, poor baby."

"I take it you've never seen an angry mama moose before. Eight feet tall, antlers even wider, two tons of pure muscle and surprisingly fast."

Kirby goes silent, standing completely still, her face is a mix of fear and disbelief.

"Meese should be feared and respected only."

Kirby blinks a couple times, leaning on Helms a little.

"Just don't ask me how I know what they look like angry."

Kirby shakes her head, blinking again, and practically vice-gripping his shoulder.

"You okay?"

"Everything's darker, and my head's spinning." She murmurs.

"Let’s get you back to your seat. You good to walk?"

Kirby shakes her head, "don't wanna faint."

Helms nods and picks her up in a bridal carry. Kirby clings to him as good as she can, her vision blurry and dark, her breathing heavy and her skin covered in sweat. He's carrying her like she weighs nothing in his determination to take care of her, bypassing the fire and bringing her directly up to bed.

"Shane, you don't have to do this." She whispers, barely loud enough to hear.

"I'm not having you faint outside. Taking care of you is my only priority."

"You really don't have to take care of me, mon mari."

"Sweetheart, I'm only going to say this once. I vowed in front of everyone who means anything to me that I was going to love, cherish and protect you until my dying breath and even beyond. I'm keeping that vow. I'm protecting my family."

"Thank you, mon ange." She whispers.

"You're welcome, ma cherie."

[shirosquared-old]

Habits of the Heart

Here’s my fic for the @shancesupportsquad‘s Valentine’s day exchange! My giftee was @hirocyonia!

Chapters: 1/1 Words: 6739 (6.7k) Fandom: Voltron: Legendary Defender Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: None Relationships: Lance/Shiro (Voltron) Characters: Lance (Voltron), Shiro (Voltron), The others are mentioned but it’s mostly just them tbh Additional Tags: Major Character Injury, Hypothermia, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, stranded fic, Flashbacks, depictions of injuries, Concussions, Mutual Pining, Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Lance and Shiro make a terrifying team, Lance is very capable, Slightly beyond canon-typical violence Summary:

After Shiro takes a hard fall, Lance is there to help support him even while the Galra hunt them through dangerous conditions.

“Shiro?” a voice yelled, the volume murderous to Shiro’s head. He knew that voice, so achingly familiar. Shiro hoped with everything he had that the blood he smelled wasn’t Lance’s.

[Read it on AO3]

Shiro groaned, his senses coming back to him one by one. First, he could hear the shifting and shouts somewhere nearby. What were they looking for? Then he could smell burnt metal, a heavy scent of blood, a hint of something almost like peppermint.

He could feel, and the first thing he registered was that everything hurt, so much that Shiro could barely think. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to get past the initial wave of it. Once he adjusted, he'd be fine.

Slowly, as his body adjusted—and really, he knew he shouldn’t be able to say he was used to this kind of thing, but he was—to the pain, he took stock of his own condition. Most of his armor was warped and dented, some parts singed and burnt. His visor was cracked and no longer able to seal shut, part of the material pressing uncomfortably against his head. He reached up to pull it off, but his right arm didn’t budge. Nothing even felt like it responded.

Shiro glanced over anxiously, unsure of what he would find. His breath caught in his throat when he saw the state of his prosthetic. Part of it was completely missing, destroyed from the elbow to his fingertips. Exposed wires hung out of the end, and Shiro resisted the urge to poke them. He had no idea what they did, and could just end up causing more problems for himself if he wasn't careful.

He didn’t see any large pieces of the parts that’d been broken, probably lost in all of the snow. By the time they found all of it, the snow that melted would have probably already wrecked the internals, even if he had the capability to actually do something with those pieces.

Shiro’s head pounded and his ankle throbbed, probably twisted or sprained. At the least, he should keep his weight off of it as much as possible to prevent it from getting worse.

The rest of him was covered in trivial bruises and scrapes, nothing life-threatening, though he couldn’t see his back well enough to tell. In fact, none of his injuries would end his life. He wasn't sure how he felt about that, honestly. He didn't want to die, nor did he want to live in pain. It really turned out to be a vicious cycle.

He still smelled blood, thick and heavy. Was it his? If it wasn't his, then who—

“Shiro?” a voice yelled, the volume murderous to Shiro’s head. He knew that voice, so achingly familiar. Shiro hoped with everything he had that the blood he smelled wasn’t Lance’s.

“Lance?” Shiro started to try to sit up, but a hand pressed lightly on his shoulder and pushed him back down. He had to get to Lance, he had to make sure he was okay—

“Easy,” Lance murmured. “You must’ve hit your head pretty hard to mess up your helmet like that. Are your comms busted?”

“Yeah,” Shiro muttered, looking over at Lance to try and assess his condition. It was hard to focus, to pick out the details. “Are you okay?” he asked instead. “Tell… tell me where you got hit.”

“I'm fine, Shiro,” Lance said, watching him carefully. “Are you—”

“Fine,” Shiro answered automatically.

“Let me check you over,” Lance said quietly. “You’re a mess. I came down here as quick as I could, but I had to land somewhere else so I wouldn’t draw attention to you. You scared me, you idiot.” Shiro realized he probably did look like a mess. That he was worrying Lance…

Shiro blinked. “Draw attention to me?” Had they been in a fight? Were they still?

“Yeah. How are you feeling?” Lance asked. “Where are you hurt?”

“I don’t know,” Shiro admitted. “Just… a lot.”

Lance carefully pulled off Shiro’s helmet, and Shiro relaxed with a sigh. The pressure against his skull had been making everything worse. “Man, this thing is completely busted,” Lance murmured, examining it. “I’d hate to think…”

“Of what might’ve happened if I wasn’t wearing it?” Shiro asked dryly. “I’d definitely be unconscious, maybe the head trauma would’ve—”

“Shiro,” Lance interjected, “you’re really starting to worry me. Come on, man, are you always like this?”

Shiro started to say no, he wasn’t, thank you very much—then remembered that it was a terrible lie. “... Yeah, pretty much. I usually try not to show it around you guys.”

“Yeah, well that’s bullshit,” Lance muttered. “You don’t have to hide anything from us. Whether it’s very poorly-timed jokes, or stuff about your year, or anything else… we’re here for you, you know that? We aren’t leaving.”

They weren’t leaving? Everyone left. Even Ulaz—

“I’ve planted a bomb to cover your escape.”

“I’m going to take it down from the inside!”

“Earth needs you. We all do.”

“Voltron is too valuable. The universe needs—”

“Shiro, come on, come back,” Lance said, pulling him out of his thoughts. “You alright?”

“I was just… thinking,” Shiro sighed.

“About what?” Lance pressed softly. “If you don’t want to talk, say so and I’ll stop asking, but don’t do it because you think I can’t handle it.”

Shiro grimaced. “I just… it’s a bit hard for me to wrap my head around that.”

“Around what?”

“That you’re not going to disappear.” And maybe it was a stupid idea to say that, but he was too exhausted to try and filter everything.

“Why would we do that?” Lance asked.

“I can think of a few reasons,” Shiro answered flatly. “I’m just… well aware of how easily life ends. And you’re all so young, you’ve got your whole lives ahead of you…”

“You’re only a few years older than me,” Lance reminded him. “You’re pretty young, too. You’re, what, twenty-two?”

“Something like that.” Truth be told, Shiro had no idea. It sounded about right.

“You’ve got your life ahead of you, too,” Lance insisted. “You’re not on death row, or anything like that. We’re gonna get you home.”

Shiro hummed. “Gotcha.”

Lance nodded, satisfied to let it go for now. “Good. We’ll talk later, but… later. Can you sit up? We should get your back checked out.”

Lance watched as Shiro struggled to push himself up, quickly moving in to help hold him steady. He hissed at the sight of Shiro’s back. “Dude,” he murmured. “Doesn’t that hurt?”

Shiro blinked slowly. “Doesn’t what hurt?”

Lance sucked in a breath. Take it easy, calm down. Be honest. “Your back’s all torn up. Probably where that blood came from, considering it’s all under you. Let’s get you on your feet, yeah? We should move.”

“Why?”

“We need to get those injuries wrapped up,” Lance said. They were being followed. He'd drawn them to his location when he yelled for Shiro, and now they needed to move. The Lions’ particle barriers would keep them safe for the time being, but Shiro and Lance didn't have that protection.

Shiro nodded, grimacing as Lance helped him stand. He hissed in pain, and Lance murmured a quick apology as they hobbled away from the area. Lance was careful to make sure Shiro put as little weight as possible on his ankle, but it was unfortunately impossible to avoid.

“Whassat?” Shiro murmured, looking around the bushes. “Smells like… peppermint.”

“Must be one of the plants.” Lance didn’t let Shiro sit down until they were far away from the patrolling sentries, kneeling down in front of him.

“Alright, Shiro, I'm gonna look at those cuts, okay?”

“‘Kay.” Lance carefully pulled the wrecked armor off of Shiro’s body, setting it aside. He hummed a quiet tune as he worked, mostly to keep himself calm. Some of the pieces were harder to pull off, but he hopefully managed while causing Shiro minimal pain.

Once the armor was all removed, he spoke again. “Shiro? You with me?”

“Yeah,” Shiro murmured. “‘Sup?” The walk clearly hadn't done him any good. Lance glanced up at the path, which was speckled with red and their footsteps. Well, that was a trail if he’d ever seen one. But Shiro couldn’t go any further without being treated.

“I need to pull your shirt off in order to treat this properly. Is that okay?” Shiro nodded, but Lance lightly tapped his shoulder. “I need you to keep talking. Don't go all nonverbal on me.”

Shiro blinked up at Lance. “Oh. Sorry.”

Lance shook his head. “Don't apologize. Can I take your shirt off to treat these?”

Shiro frowned, hesitating. For one horrifying moment, Lance thought he'd decline. Without getting the cuts treated, he'd eventually bleed out or die of infection. “... Yeah,” he said finally.

Lance nearly sighed in relief, carefully working the top half of the undersuit off of Shiro’s shoulders and arm until it bunched around his waist. He unclipped the Blue Lion’s med kit from his belt and set it on the floor, flipping the lid. His helmet identified the correct bottle and he removed it from the box, along with a clean rag.

“Okay, Shiro,” Lance warned, “this is gonna hurt. It's gonna burn, but we have to clean these out. They've all got dirt inside, and it'll be a bitch if they get infected.”

“... Got it.” Shiro closed his eyes, bracing himself. Lance hated to cause Shiro more pain, but it had to be done. He wouldn't let Shiro die out here.

“Three, two, one,” Lance murmured, pressing the rag to Shiro’s back shortly after. Shiro stiffened, hissing sharply, but Lance methodically scrubbed the wounds clean, being careful not to reinfect them with the dirty cloth.

He wiped away the excess blood that had traveled down to Shiro’s waist before grabbing the roll of bandages, wrapping the cuts around his torso. He had a bit of trouble figuring out the right amount of pressure, but luckily the cuts had mostly stopped bleeding by now.

Lance examined Shiro’s left arm, carefully cleaning the scrapes there. With the exception of a cut on his bicep, nothing needed to be covered, so he wrapped the one cut before moving back into Shiro’s field of vision.

“Hey, Shiro,” Lance tried to sound cheerful. “Can you look up at me?” Shit, how did he check for a concussion again? Shiro’s eyes met his, and Lance carefully looked him over. His eyes looked clear, and he had been talking clearly enough… was Shiro already experiencing the effects of blood loss? It hadn't been that long, had it?

Shiro frowned, his eyes scanning Lance‘s face. Lance wrapped his arms around Shiro’s neck and pulled him into a hug, closing his eyes. It'd only been a few hours since the initial crash, but they were both exhausted. Still, Lance wasn't sure if Shiro should be sleeping while he was in this state.

Shiro wrapped his left arm around Lance’s back, his right dangling uselessly at his side. Lance took a moment to calm himself down before pulling back to look at what remained of Shiro’s Galra prosthetic.

Lance wasn't an engineer by any standards. He still only needed one look to tell that the prosthetic was beyond repairing, at least not without serious work that he wasn't capable of (even if he had the right tools, which he didn't).

He hadn’t seen any pieces large enough to salvage where he'd found Shiro, and hoped the Galra never found it in all of the snow and ice.

“S’busted,” Shiro murmured, as if it wasn't obvious.

“We’re gonna get it fixed up at the Castle,” Lance promised, “but it's getting dark. We should find a safe place to rest for the night.”

Shiro frowned, glancing around at their surroundings. Lance followed his gaze, his stomach doing a flip when he looked back at Shiro, who was shivering hard. Oh, shit. Maybe it wasn’t blood loss. Maybe Shiro was experiencing hypothermia. Maybe it was both—an extremely dangerous combination. He should've never taken the armor off. Even if the thermal regulation was shot, the extra layers were shielding him from the cold. But then he wouldn’t have been able to treat the cuts, which would’ve led to severe blood loss or infection.

“Shit,” Lance hissed. They needed to get out of the cold, like, yesterday. How could he have overlooked that? “Shiro, hey, look at me.”

“Lance?” Shiro looked dazed. Wow, Lance was really bad at remembering symptoms. Shivering was definitely one, he thought he remembered something about speech? And… something about a pulse. Weak pulse? That sounded right. He lightly pressed two fingers to Shiro’s throat, searching for his pulse. It was difficult to find at first, and definitely not as strong as it should be.

Well, it turned out paying attention during those Garrison first aid classes would pay off. The only problem was he couldn’t really lift Shiro. Shiro was too heavy, which made trying to get him somewhere with little movement near impossible.

To make things worse, Lance could hear the faint sound of something approaching. The steps thudded softly against the snow, measured and mechanical.

He gritted his teeth, ready to fight here if it came down to it. He wasn't going to let them get Shiro. He needed a way to drag Shiro out of the forest and find a cave to hide in. It would get them out of the wind, and the few inches of snow on the ground wouldn't be quite as high.

Other than the footsteps steadily approaching, the area was silent. The silence carried an air of oppression, dampening and warping the sound waves. As the sentries got closer, their steps sounded less like steps and more like a cacophony of metal, scraping and grinding. How many sentries were on their way? Was the group only sentries?

Shiro tried to get to his feet, his heart thundering in his chest, but Lance pushed him back down. “No,” Lance hissed. “You need to take it easy.”

“They're coming,” Shiro murmured. “Coming… next fight.” He almost looked resigned, though Lance could see the barely contained fear behind the exterior.

Lance’s heart shattered. “Shiro, no, I'm not letting that happen. You're safe, remember? You're a badass Paladin of Voltron.” He chuckled, the sound coming out watery. “We were so happy when we found you, you know? And we love you. I… you're family.”

Shiro frowned. “Family?”

“Family,” Lance agreed. “And the others are waiting for us to come home. So you gotta stay with me, okay?”

Shiro grimaced. “They're coming.”

“They are.” They needed a solution, some way he could move Shiro without hurting him. But they didn't have time. The sentries would cross over that hill any moment, and they'd be screwed.

They didn't have a choice. Lance squeezed his eyes shut, taking a deep breath. When he opened them again, Shiro was still watching him.

“I'm sorry,” he told Shiro. “This is gonna really, really suck. But we really can't stay here.” He slipped an arm under Shiro’s knees and another behind his back, wincing at the pained sound Shiro made as he struggled to lift him. Shiro was heavy. It probably had to do with the hunk of metal attached to him (despite how broken it was, it was still mostly metal), but even without it he would've been hard to lift.

Lance barely managed to pick Shiro up into his arms, straining himself from the weight. The emergency pack and first aid kit hung at his waist, but the broken pieces of armor were still littered across the ground. They wouldn't do them any good. He carried Shiro through the trees, his arms protesting from the strain.

“Put… down,” Shiro murmured, his head resting on Lance’s shoulder.

“Not a chance.”

They walked a few hundred feet until the sentries’ footsteps faded, and Lance brought Shiro into the nearest cave. They went deep inside, and Lance didn't set Shiro down until they were safe. Then he nearly collapsed, his arms and legs shaking so bad that one might think he was the one suffering from hypothermia.

Fire, fire, he needed a fire. Something to help warm Shiro, or else he wouldn't survive. A quick search of the cave revealed a few pieces of something similar to wood. He carefully arranged them in a circle, fumbling for the fire starter. A quick drag sparked the flame, burning the lighter material before it spread to the heavier pieces.

The flames burned a bright green, but what mattered was the heat it gave off. Lance sighed in relief, pulling the emergency blanket out of the pack and carefully wrapping it around Shiro. Lance placed a water container over the fire, allowing the contents inside to heat up while he tried to make the cave safer.

Here, they were isolated from the wind, which made it several degrees warmer already. He rummaged through the pack, pulling out a short knife. He wasn't Keith, but the blade would be incredibly useful.

He tucked it inside his belt for now, checking on the water. The warmth radiated from the fire and from the water container.

“Alright, Shiro, think you can sit up?” Lance asked. “I'll help you.”

“Don't need,” Shiro murmured, struggling to push himself up on his own. His arm gave out and he would've fallen right down if not for Lance’s arms holding him steady.

“Take it easy,” Lance warned, supporting Shiro’s weight. He carefully pressed the water container into Shiro’s hand, making sure the heat wouldn't burn after being exposed to the cold for so long. “Take small sips, okay? If you chug it all, it won't warm you up.”

While Shiro drank the water, Lance pulled off his helmet. He pulled off the side panel like Hunk had shown him, exposing the wiring inside. The light of the fire allowed him to see the wire knocked out of place, and he was grateful that it was only one wire as he plugged it back in. He didn't know what the wires did, really, so if two of them had been out he wouldn’t know where to put them.

He slipped his helmet back on and static buzzed in his ear, to which he grinned. The signal might not be great, but now they had a signal.

“Alright, looks like we’ve got a semi-working mic.” Lance glanced over at Shiro, who seemed to be doing a bit better. He didn't look quite so dazed, but the effects were still there. “Try and get some rest, okay? You need it. The others are gonna be here before you know it.” Before Lance could stop himself, he leaned in and pressed a gentle kiss to Shiro’s forehead. “Rest easy. I’ll keep you safe.”

Shiro fell asleep fairly quickly, which was worrying in itself. Lance tucked the blanket a bit tighter around Shiro, trying to keep the cold out. The green fire still burned brightly, lighting the cave with a flickering emerald light. They needed to find a way back to their lions, and fast.

Lance didn't know when he fell asleep, but when he woke up something shifted next to him. He jumped to his feet, bayard flashing to his hand, and before he was fully aware he had the barrel trained on the source of the movement.

Shiro stared back at him, his eyes wide in a moment of clarity. “Lance?”

The blue rifle vanished as Lance kneeled down in front of Shiro, grimacing. He could’ve seriously injured Shiro if he hadn’t hesitated before firing… “Hey. How are you feeling?”

“I… still hazy.” Shiro closed his eyes, resting his head against the wall of the cave. Emerald light flickered across his face, making the whole situation look like something out of a horror movie. The cave entrance remained dark, which was good, though the early light of day had begun to slowly creep in. Lance couldn’t hear the sentries anymore, which was a huge relief compared to the panic of the previous night. His muscles still ached from the strain of carrying Shiro, and his injuries hadn’t exactly healed, but none of it was anything worse than superficial.

“Alright, you think you can focus on me for a little bit?” Lance asked. “We’ve gotta change your bandages while we’ve got time.” Shiro blinked slowly but nodded, his dull eyes on Lance.

Lance carefully shifted Shiro, reluctantly pulling off the blanket and setting it aside. Lance grimaced at the sight of the dirty bandages, unraveling them and tossing the bundle aside. He hissed out a curse when he noticed that some of the dirt had made it through the bandages and around the cuts. “Shiro, I’m really sorry about this, but we’ve gotta clean these again.”

Shiro nodded, and Lance wiped down his back with the disinfectant just like they’d done the previous night. It was difficult, knowing he was causing Shiro pain, but it had to be done or else things would just get worse. “Alright, the good news is that these mostly stopped bleeding, so that takes care of that issue… just gotta wrap these up again.”

One good thing was that the bandages stayed secure around Shiro’s torso but didn’t inhibit his movements or breathing any, which was a definite plus over Earth bandages. Lance remembered one time his brother had tried to use bandages around his chest and ended up going to the emergency room to have them cut off because he could barely breathe.

“And done,” Lance said, wrapping the blanket around Shiro’s shoulders again. Once it was back in place, Lance picked up another piece of the not-wood and tossed it into the fire to keep it burning.

His helmet buzzed and crackled in his ear, and Lance furrowed his brows as it shifted in pitch and volume. It hadn’t done that before. Were the others on their way?

“—iro! It… idge! La—!”

Lance started, trying to listen to the sounds filtering through the static. “Pidge! Pidge, is that you?”

“—kay— Galra— near—ation…”

“Pidge, I'm not getting anything clear. Where are you?”

“—way— soon. St— afe!”

“Pidge, what's going on?”

Static.

Lance swore, pulling his helmet off and making sure the side panel was still secure. He then put it back on, turning down the volume of the static in his ears.

He sighed. “Hang in there, Shiro. They're on their way, yeah? And then we’ll get you all treated and healed. Just keep your eyes on me.”

“Got it,” Shiro murmured.

“Alright, let's see… you think you can stand on your own? We should find a new place, we’re gonna get found here soon enough.”

Something exploded at the entrance of the cave. Lance ducked over Shiro as the rocks shifted and fell, effectively blocking their way out and cutting off their source of outside light. Thankfully, nothing landed on top of them, but Lance still felt the spike of ice cold fear in his chest at the thought of what could've happened.

“What was that?” Shiro murmured, looking over at the new rock barricade.

“I'm not sure,” Lance admitted in a low voice. “I don't know if that was done to keep us in or out. Stay quiet.”

Mechanical footsteps clicked overhead, growing in number and volume. Underneath Lance, Shiro shuddered, his breathing picking up. Lance grimaced, wrapping his arms around Shiro’s neck gently. “It’s gonna be okay,” he murmured. “We’ll be okay. I'm not gonna let them get you.”

Shiro nodded, though he still looked dazed. Thankfully, he wasn't shivering quite as hard, and a quick check showed a stronger pulse, but he wasn't out of the danger yet. “Is there a… another way?”

“Another way out? I'm not sure. There might not be.” Lance got to his feet and tossed another piece of the not-wood into the fire, leaving them with one piece left. “This fire’s gonna run out of wood soon.”

Shiro blinked, confused. “The Galra are… basically at our door and… you're focused on fire?”

“You’ve still got symptoms of hypothermia. Besides, it's gonna take them a few minutes to bust through that. A lot of rocks fell, guess they didn't think that through.

“I mean, seriously, who does that? What a horrible plan, that's not how you do an ambush. You know, the whole ‘surprise’ thing is important. It's crazy, though I guess whoever’s outside isn't all that smart. Matches most of Zarkon’s commanders, you know?” Lance kept up a steady stream of quiet chatter as the Galra broke through the rock wall, mostly to remind Shiro he wasn't alone.

“And most of his actually smart ones are now dead in space or otherwise, courtesy of a Voltron butt-kicking!” Shiro chuckled at that, some of the tension unwinding from his shoulders, so Lance kept going. “You’d think Zarkon could find better-looking ones, too, but I mean the only one who's even been remotely attractive was Lotor, and that's—ugh.” He made a face, causing Shiro to snort.

Lance took Shiro’s hand, winding their fingers together. He squeezed lightly, smiling when Shiro hesitantly squeezed back. “Pidge and Keith and Hunk are all gonna swoop in like badasses at the last second, ‘cause that's just how they are, and it’s gonna be super awesome. And then we can get back to the Castle and Allura’ll create a wormhole and then we’ll be away from here.”

The rock wall finally fell apart, scattering throughout the cave as one knocked over the makeshift fire pit. Lance got to his feet, the knife from the emergency kit gripped tightly in his hand. He wasn't a melee fighter by any standards, but he wasn't going to let them get Shiro without a fight. He charged forward with a shout, his shield forming on his left wrist as he struck with his right.

Dozens of sentries waited outside, if the loud mechanical whirring was anything to go by, but thanks to the cave-in they couldn't all rush in at once. Lance took the small advantage for what it was, working as quickly as possible to dispatch the sentries before more could flood in. Their numbers seemed almost endless, two more replacing every one he destroyed. Sparking wires and dead sentries scattered the floor in a rough pile, almost creating a blockade of their own.

But Lance could only hold out for so long, as much as he wished he could do more. His swings became slower, his shield couldn't block quite as much, and he backed himself into a corner as the sentries began to get the upper hand. He swung the knife wildly, exhaustion making his limbs heavy. But Lance was still between Shiro and the Galra. He wasn't going to let them get Shiro, not as long as he was still able to destroy the robots in front of him.

A few minutes later, one of them got in a lucky shot on his side. Lance shouted in pain, coughing and wheezing, and the newly-arrived commander easily knocked him to the ground. The knife clattered to the ground and the translucent shield vanished as Lance pressed a hand to the mark there. It was just a burn, thankfully, but it still hurt like hell and made it difficult to get up.

"Lance!"

Shiro scooped the knife off of the ground, looking shaky on his feet and unbalanced with only one working arm. But he charged forward anyway, meeting the commander head on. Lance gritted his teeth and materialized his bayard, firing at the sentries still in the cave as Shiro fought. Shiro grunted above him, likely receiving as many hits as he was giving, but Lance had his job and he needed to do it. This was the best way he could help Shiro right now—Shiro stood no chance with all of these sentries around.

The metal scraps on the ground made it hard to maneuver, hard to fight. Shiro hit the ground harshly and cried out, barely keeping his grip on the knife but having trouble getting to his feet with one arm.

The last sentry fell, the cave falling into silence. The commander approached Shiro, his expression murderous, and Lance trained his bayard on the Galra.

Inhale. He took a deep breath, following the commander's movements as he leaned down.

Exhale. His finger found the trigger, gently resting on it.

Fire. Lance pulled the trigger.

The commander fell—thankfully not on top of Shiro—and clashed horribly with one of the sentries. Lance couldn't find it in him to feel apologetic.

Shiro blinked, turning his head to look over. "Lance—"

Lance gave him a thumbs up, his bayard disappearing as he forced himself to his feet. "I told you, didn't I? I wasn't gonna let them get you."

The smile he got in return was small but genuine. Shiro released the knife and Lance pulled Shiro to his feet, taking some of his weight. The embers of emerald flame flickered weakly before extinguishing, leaving the cave in near perfect darkness.

That was how the team found them, hobbling out of the cave with Shiro’s left arm draped over Lance’s shoulders.

Everything after that passed as a blur. They were taken back to the Castle while the others grabbed Blue and Black, and both Lance and Shiro were put into healing pods to treat their wounds.

It felt like only a moment later that Lance awoke and stumbled out of his pod, only to be pulled into a tight hug courtesy of Hunk. Lance’s teammates were like a big party, loud but welcoming, and yet he found himself looking over at Shiro’s pod through it all. Shiro already looked much better, sleeping peacefully behind the pod’s translucent front panel.

Lance spent most of his time in the pod room, keeping Shiro company while he rested. Sometimes he talked to the air, sometimes he paced, sometimes he just sat there as if he could see Shiro get better with each passing tick. Shiro was supposed to be getting out of the pod today, a thought confirmed as the others began to trickle into the med bay. Lance stood as they gathered around, and shortly after the last person—Allura, having been finding a safe location for the Castle to hide—arrived, the pod slid open.

Shiro fell forward, and Lance reached out to catch him. Keith also reached out, and together they helped Shiro to his feet. Then the hugs started, and the shouting, but Lance was content to stay out of it. It was great to see Shiro feeling better, it really was, but now that everyone was really safe he couldn’t stop thinking about everything he’d done on Krishna Five.

He’d caused Shiro so much pain, allowing the bandages to get dirty and forcing him to fight for his life while injured and sick. He’d promised, and yet Shiro had had to fight anyway. Lance could've done more, maybe he could've found them a cave with more than one exit. How had he not even considered that?

Later, he promised himself, he’d talk to Shiro. They could work things out without the rest of the team hovering over their shoulders, listening to their every word.

Missions became more frequent, leaving the paladins with little alone time. A week after they were rescued from Krishna Five, Lance still hadn’t found the chance to talk to Shiro.

He ended up avoiding Shiro during group sessions, not wanting to start the conversation in front of everyone. It was hard avoiding him sometimes—Lance didn’t realize just how much time they spent together until he tried to avoid someone—but he managed where he could. At the very least, he could make sure he wouldn’t be caught alone with Shiro.

He wanted to talk to Shiro, he really did, but the thought of the others overhearing the conversation and knowing what Lance had done made his heart skip a beat and his palms slick with sweat. He closed his eyes for a moment, trying to breathe, and when he opened them again he froze.

Lance expected to be alone, not to see Shiro looking at him with something almost regret. Lance almost understood for a moment, though the sting is still there.

“... Lance,” Shiro murmured, “can we talk?”

“We’re talking right now,” Lance answered.

“About what happened on Krishna Five. I understand if you don't want to tell the others, but please at least talk to me.” Shiro’s eyes were sad and the corners of his mouth turned downwards. “I don't want to see you hurt like this.”

Lance stared. Shiro, the king of saying ‘everything’s just fine’ while everything crumbles, wanted to tell him to talk? What a hypocrite.

“I just… wanted to say thank you,” Shiro continued anyway, smiling softly. “You really came through back there. If you hadn’t been there, I’d be dead or a Galra prisoner.”

“That's why I went after you,” Lance said. “I saw you go down and all your systems were offline, so I went after you, but I took a hit on the way down and ended up also crashing. I… I'm sorry I couldn't do more for you. I mean, your arm is still broken.”

Shiro shook his head. “Lance, you saved my life. You're not an engineer, you're a pilot. Same as me. We’ll just leave it to Pidge, Hunk, and Coran. They know what they're doing. But my point is, I’d take a busted prosthetic over being dead or captured. You can't fix everything by yourself. That's what you've got us for.”

Lance scowled. There Shiro went, doing it again. “You’re such a hypocrite!” he snapped. Shiro’s eyes widened, but Lance barreled on before he could interrupt. “You give us all these talks saying how we need to open up and talk about what's bothering us, but none of us have seen you ever do it.

“It's because you're scared, isn't it? Scared that we’ll disappear just like you said so you keep your distance to avoid getting hurt. But you're still getting hurt because you bury everything down inside you and soon you're going to explode. It's ridiculous that you think we’re just going to up and leave at any moment, or be scared of you if you tell us things.

“It’s bullshit.” Lance stepped forward, closing the distance between them and putting a finger on Shiro’s chest. Shiro looked astonished, his eyes wide and lips slightly parted. “I'm not scared of you. You're our teammate, our awesome leader, and sure you've done some dark shit but haven't we all at this point? Nobody’s gonna suddenly change their opinion of you because you, say, made someone die slowly or tore them apart in the arena. It wasn't your choice.”

“It was—”

Lance kept going. “It wasn't your choice, because if you didn't fight you would've been killed. We trust you and we love you so, so much but it feels like you're on the other side of a wall sometimes. And God, I just want to get to know you. Not Shiro the Leader, not Shiro the Black Paladin or Shiro the Pilot of the Kerberos Mission. I want to know who Shiro is. When's your birthday, what's your favorite color, what's something stupid you did as a kid. That kinda stuff. If you say we’re your team, then trust us to be able to listen to you. You do on the field, so why not now? You're important, too. Remember that.”

Shiro stared for a moment before answering. “I was born on February 29th. My favorite color is blue. When I was younger, I climbed up a tree and would spend hours up there pretending it was a treehouse or a rocket to take me to another world.” A smile tugged at his lips, making him look adorable. “I was a weird kid.”

“Dude, everyone does that. But I appreciate that you're trying to open up. You can trust us. We’re all way too stubborn to let you go, anyway.” Lance grinned before it fell with a sigh. “Just think about it, okay?”

Shiro smiled gently. “I will. Thank you, Lance. Now, about Krishna Five…”

Lance shook his head. “Not now. Later. For now, think about what we just talked about.”

Shiro snorted. “More like you talked and I listened.”

“See, there's the spirit!”

Shiro laughed. “Alright, alright. Not now. Besides, the others are probably wondering where we went by now.”

“Yeah, probably.” Lance stretched. “Sorry for kinda… exploding at you. It's just… you were dying and all you cared about is if I was okay. I can't… we can't listen to you fading like that.”

Shiro nodded. “I got it. I'm not going to be upset with you for saying what you want to say. I'll try to talk to you guys more.”

Lance smiled. “That's all I'm asking. Thank you, Shiro.” He carefully wrapped his arms around Shiro, minding the sling that held his prosthetic, and held him close. Shiro stiffened for a moment before relaxing, leaning into the contact, and Lance didn't pull away for a while.

On their way back to the others, Lance cautiously slipped his hand into Shiro’s and gently squeezed it. Shiro returned the squeeze, both of them looking pointedly ahead and not at each other.

Shiro let go before they entered the lounge, to Lance’s slight disappointment, but they joined the conversation easily. While they talked, Lance wondered what thoughts were running through Shiro’s head right now. What did he think about all of this?

The others were talking about something with Shiro’s arm, so Lance tuned out the technical talk. He vaguely heard something about it needing to be rebuilt, and felt Shiro stiffen next to him, but he poked Shiro’s side and stuck his tongue out when Shiro looked over. Lance laughed and Shiro chuckled, his eyes fond.

“You guys are so gross,” Pidge complained. “Can you make heart eyes another time?”

They both looked at her, confused, before locking eyes again and smiling. Keith chucked a pillow at Shiro’s head and it knocked him forward into Lance’s arms. Lance grinned and wrapped his arms around Shiro, holding him close.

“Alright,” Shiro laughed after a moment. “Can I get up?”

Lance hummed in consideration. “Hmm. Nope. Not yet.” His hand idly reached up to card through Shiro’s hair, and despite his complaint Shiro made no attempt to move. His head rested on Lance’s leg, his eyes gently shut. He wasn’t asleep though, so Lance kept lightly massaging Shiro’s scalp until his breathing evened out.

Over the next few days, Shiro had the broken prosthetic surgically removed and got fitted for a new one. Lance volunteered to stick by Shiro’s side, helping him out whenever necessary, and slowly Shiro opened his heart for Lance. Lance opened his own heart, and together they became intertwined.

On days when Shiro’s dark thoughts threatened to drag them down, Lance stayed with him and helped Shiro work through it. Unfortunately, Lance couldn’t make Shiro forget or erase that trauma from his mind. Shiro wasn’t going to magically get better and be able to live without his demons in his shadows.

But Lance did what he could to make Shiro’s days brighter and better, and it made the bad days easier to get through. It sucked that they had needed to be stranded on a planet together in order to bond, but Lance wouldn’t change a thing.

Shiro was beautiful. Lance wanted to make sure Shiro knew it.

So, one day, while they were alone and idly chatting, Lance told Shiro everything. Shiro had been surprised, but quietly confessed he felt the same way. It wasn’t necessarily like the movies. They didn’t confess and then everything became magical and amazing. They didn’t even kiss on that day, just sat a little closer.

Lance was perfectly okay with that. They discussed boundaries and what they were comfortable with, and when Shiro had said he’d prefer to take it slow Lance was happy to oblige.

The day they finally kissed was a few weeks later, and it made everything worth it.

A few years later, after the war ended and the universe no longer needed Voltron, the two lovers exchanged their vows on the altar. Shiro had rested his forehead against Lance and whispered a few words meant only for Lance, and Lance leaned up to kiss him. He didn’t need to say how he felt out loud, transferring it into the passion and love in his actions and his eyes.

Neither of them would change it for the world.

That day, they became truly intertwined.